However, his deception had another flaw—the issue of parallel worlds.
If Black Zetsu learned about parallel worlds, even with his preconceived notions, he might eventually link the late Aniki's remains to his own existence in another world!
Aizen's eyes flickered. While he could explain the matter of parallel worlds, too many explanations would be troublesome and could easily lead to unforeseen consequences. It'd be better to adopt the most direct method—blocking related information!
By using a bit of genjutsu to subtly influence Black Zetsu's hearing, any mention of parallel worlds would automatically get replaced with irrelevant nonsense.
After a brief pause, Aizen spoke solemnly, "It's indeed possible. Mother sent me down here to assist you partly due to the possibility of someone from the Otsutsuki clan arriving. He just didn't expect them to show up so soon!"
As he spoke, Aizen patted Black Zetsu's shoulder with apparent concern. "Little Zetsu, thanks to your warning this time, otherwise, I might've been discovered by them!"
Even though being called "Little Zetsu" was a bit awkward for someone his age, Black Zetsu felt deeply moved to finally feel some real family warmth.
"With your abilities, Aniki, you would've eventually noticed this even without my warning…" Suddenly recalling something, Black Zetsu exclaimed, "Oh right, Obito! Aniki, let me talk to you about this later—I've got an important pawn about to get killed!"
"Don't worry, that little girl is working for me. She won't do anything serious to him," Aizen assured him.
"Konan is actually working for you, Aniki?" Black Zetsu asked in surprise.
Aizen nodded. "I sensed an aura similar to mine on her, and learned about the Rinnegan from her too. I suspected this Akatsuki organization might be related to you, so I intentionally let her lure out whoever was behind this."
"No wonder Konan has become so powerful lately, even surpassing Obito. So it was all thanks to your guidance, Aniki!" Black Zetsu exclaimed, suddenly understanding.
"Let's return to our previous topic," Aizen redirected. "If those two are truly representatives from the main clan, for such a proud family to willingly interact with ordinary humans is truly confusing!"
Black Zetsu nodded slightly. From the memories Mother had left him, he remembered that clan's arrogance well.
"Could it be they enjoy showing off in front of mortals? Although most of our clan members are proud by nature, exceptions do exist—for instance, those two traitors actually betrayed Mother for the sake of some inferior beings! Considering this, it wouldn't be impossible for some individuals within the clan to enjoy displaying their superiority to humans."
Seeing how enthusiastically Black Zetsu was helping him build the explanation, Aizen nodded with satisfaction. "That's definitely possible. However, there's another possibility—we shouldn't rule out Hagoromo's influence!"
Black Zetsu looked confused. "Them fearing Hagoromo? They're the ones even Mother feared from the Otsutsuki main clan!"
In Black Zetsu's mind, Hagoromo required cooperation with Hamura just to seal away Mother, clearly indicating his strength was far inferior to Mother's.
Moreover, he genuinely looked down on Hagoromo. Hagoromo couldn't even protect his own son and was played like a pawn in his hands—how could someone like that be considered a real father?
Aizen spoke with pride, "You're wrong. Mother doesn't fear the arrivals from the Otsutsuki Family—it's the entire Otsutsuki Clan! In fact, after absorbing energy from this strange planet, Mother's power has surpassed most of the Otsutsuki!"
"Indeed our Mother!" Black Zetsu shouted excitedly, filled with admiration.
Aizen continued, "Even though Hagoromo managed to seal Mother only with Hamura's help, this alone sufficiently proves his strength! Considering this, it's understandable that those from the Otsutsuki Family would be cautious."
Black Zetsu nodded thoughtfully, "Then what should we do now? Should we rescue Mother immediately?"
Aizen pondered before replying, "We must break the seal, but we can't rush it. Both Hagoromo and the Otsutsuki Family are focused on targeting Mother. If Mother comes out too soon, she'll be their common target. Therefore, my idea is to weaken their strength as much as possible before rescuing Mother."
Black Zetsu spoke with a heavy heart, "But that won't be easy. Those two from the Otsutsuki Family didn't immediately provoke the entire world upon arrival, meaning they're cautious. As for that guy Hagoromo, he's even more so. If it weren't for your warning, I'd have believed he was really dead!"
"With both sides so careful, getting them to go at each other recklessly will be extremely hard!"
Aizen nodded in agreement, "You're right. So we also need a variable, someone to stir things up!"
"A variable?" Black Zetsu expressed confusion, "Who has the qualification to disrupt them?"
Aizen said with emphasis, "The one who came to this world alongside Mother—the first Otsutsuki, Isshiki!"
"Isshiki Otsutsuki? The original Otsutsuki?" Black Zetsu opened his mouth in bewilderment. That was never in the memories Mother gave me!
Once again, he was treated differently. How sad!
Seeing this, Aizen immediately knew what Black Zetsu was thinking. He proactively comforted him, "Don't think too much about it. Mother's methods for ambushing Isshiki back then were rather disgraceful. Under such time pressure, naturally, it wasn't recorded in her memories. I heard it from Hamura Otsutsuki!"
"Oh, that's how it was!" Black Zetsu immediately looked happy. Then with half admiration and half embarrassment, he said, "Brother, you've even defeated that bastard Hamura, but I haven't achieved anything here yet. I'm really pathetic!"
"Sure, your skills are a little weak, but your loyalty beats theirs a million times over. This is the most important thing!" Aizen said while patting his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah!" Black Zetsu nodded repeatedly—he was proud of that. "By the way, Brother, where exactly is this Isshiki you mentioned? I've been in the shinobi no sekai for so many years, but I've never heard anything about his existence!"
"That you haven't heard of him isn't strange at all. Someone of that level can easily remain undetected. Even Mother only recently began sensing the world." Aizen lied fluently.
Black Zetsu exclaimed in surprise, "Can Mother sense the world now?"
Aizen casually replied, "Didn't I just say that?
"To send out the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, I opened a passage on the outer layer of the Seal. Although this passage isn't enough for the Mother to come out, it's barely possible to perceive the outside world through the cracks!"
"So that means Mother can keep an eye on me?" The moment he realized he might be under Mother's gaze, Black Zetsu was filled with motivation!
Aizen went on, "Judging from my speculation, Isshiki Otsutsuki might be hiding in a space similar to Mother's Amenominaka. And the key to connecting that space with the mortal world... is Nagato's Rinnegan!"
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