Chapter 574: Black Zetsu’s Horror

Hearing Black Zetsu’s words, Isshiki raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a contemptuous smile. "That creation of Kaguya, that low-level Otsutsuki, is indeed fitting of her level. You can lie, but the information on your body cannot."

Black Zetsu’s words could not fool Isshiki. When Black Zetsu had just infiltrated the base, Isshiki had already sensed the dense aura of Kaguya on his body.

After capturing and examining Black Zetsu, Isshiki immediately understood his true nature. This was a creation Kaguya had made from her own flesh and spirit.

He could be considered Kaguya’s child, though this child was rather special.

Black Zetsu felt an unprecedented sense of panic, even greater than when Nagasawa exposed his plans.

Nagasawa only knew his plan, but the elegant-looking man before him had casually spoken words that were extremely terrifying upon closer thought.

Black Zetsu knew his mother’s full name. It was Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Yet this man had immediately said that Kaguya was a low-level Otsutsuki and that he was the creation of a low-level Otsutsuki.

Combined with the fact that his previously foolproof concealment ability had been seen through, Black Zetsu instantly deduced a terrifying fact.

This man and his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, belonged to the same family, and this man was even more powerful and noble than his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Otherwise, this man would not have called his mother Kaguya a low-level Otsutsuki.

Having lived in the Shinobi World for over a thousand years, Black Zetsu knew what this meant. It was the contempt of nobles above others toward commoners.

In that case, if Kaguya was a commoner Otsutsuki, then the man before him was a noble Otsutsuki.

When he realized this information, Black Zetsu felt somewhat distressed.

Why could Black Zetsu recklessly strengthen those shinobi? It was because Black Zetsu believed his mother was invincible. As long as Kaguya was unsealed, she would sweep away everything.

But now an Otsutsuki even higher in status than Kaguya had suddenly appeared. How could Black Zetsu possibly feel good about it?

It was like painstakingly trying to pull the strongest character in the current version, grinding like crazy, yet still failing to get the character. Then, a character you were destined to never obtain appeared and replaced the previous strongest character.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

"Tell me Kaguya’s plan," Isshiki said indifferently, applying a little more force to the hand gripping Black Zetsu.

Isshiki was an absolute believer in Otsutsuki supremacy.

Even though Kaguya was among the lowest-ranking members of the Otsutsuki clan, Isshiki still felt that Kaguya could not possibly have been sealed without leaving behind any backup plan.

After all, Kaguya had been capable of making the outrageous move of betraying him. If this matter were reported back to the Otsutsuki clan, Kaguya would definitely receive the harshest punishment, the kind that would make death preferable.

In Isshiki’s eyes, Black Zetsu was Kaguya’s backup plan for breaking the seal.

’What should I do? I’ll die if this continues.’ Black Zetsu’s mind raced as he thought of a way to deal with the situation.

The information between the two sides was far too unequal. That man knew far more than he did.

Black Zetsu had no idea what method Isshiki had used to determine that Kaguya had created him.

"My plan is to gather the Tailed Beasts, recreate the Ten-Tails and its Jinchuriki, then plant the God Tree, use the Rinnegan to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, possess the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki through my technique, and finally resurrect her." Black Zetsu chose not to lie and instead truly revealed his plan to resurrect Kaguya.

There was no other choice. If he lied again, Black Zetsu had no doubt that the elegant man before him would kill him.

Black Zetsu could sense the anger toward his mother Kaguya in the man’s calm tone.

Therefore, Black Zetsu revealed the plan without hiding anything.

After all, it was only a plan. He, the one carrying out the plan, was the most important part of it. If he were killed, who else would resurrect Kaguya?

Black Zetsu valued his life very much because he carried the important responsibility of resurrecting his mother. He was not living solely for himself.

"Gather the Tailed Beasts and recreate the Ten-Tails, then plant the God Tree..." Isshiki released Black Zetsu and showed a thoughtful expression. Just as Black Zetsu was feeling relieved, Isshiki instantly created a black rod and pierced Black Zetsu’s leg, stabbing it into the ground.

The instant the black rod pierced his body, Black Zetsu’s heart sank. He could no longer use his abilities to escape.

Isshiki poured a little red wine into a wine glass and gently swirled it, thinking as he savored the wine.

Black Zetsu was an unexpected delight to Isshiki.

Isshiki had never forgotten the pain of having half his body eaten back then.

Feeling the dense aura of Kaguya on Black Zetsu’s body, Isshiki wanted nothing more than to directly summon a gigantic cube with Daikokuten and crush Black Zetsu to death, repaying the pain of being betrayed back then.

But Isshiki was a very rational person.

Killing Black Zetsu would certainly feel satisfying, but it would also create a major problem.

It would be very difficult to resurrect Kaguya.

Some might wonder why Isshiki cared about Kaguya’s resurrection.

This involved something very important: the God Tree Fruit.

The God Tree could not simply be planted and then made to absorb the planet’s energy before producing a God Tree Fruit.

In reality, it was not impossible for it to produce a fruit that way, but the probability was very low and unstable, and it was difficult to produce an excellent God Tree Fruit.

If one wanted to increase the probability of the God Tree producing a fruit and make it produce an excellent God Tree Fruit, the method was actually very simple: feed an Otsutsuki to the God Tree.

Kaguya had almost fed Isshiki to the God Tree back then, which was why the God Tree produced a God Tree Fruit. However, Isshiki reacted quickly and only half of his body was eaten by the God Tree.

This was also why the Otsutsuki clan always acted in pairs, with one member whose bloodline was slightly higher being the protected party and another member being the protector.

The protector not only had to serve as the protected party’s guard, but also had to bear the responsibility of being eaten by the God Tree.

However, the protected party would not die either, because the Otsutsuki clan had all mastered the power of Karma. They only needed to find someone capable of bearing the Karma before being eaten by the God Tree, allowing them to resurrect after death. All they needed was to endure a long period of dormancy.

Isshiki did not merely want to recover his strength. He also had to fulfill the mission of the Otsutsuki clan, plant God Trees, obtain God Tree Fruits, and evolve toward becoming an Otsutsuki God.

Therefore, Isshiki would ultimately still have to resurrect Kaguya. There was no way he could feed himself to the God Tree. He needed Kaguya to complete the original mission and be eaten by the God Tree.

However, Isshiki had no intention of letting Kaguya leave behind a Karma before being eaten by the God Tree.

He did not want a protector who had betrayed him like Kaguya. He could simply apply to the clan for a new one after returning.

"Although she is a low-level Otsutsuki, she is still a member of the Otsutsuki clan. I will help you resurrect Kaguya." Isshiki put down the wine glass and said.

Black Zetsu froze, never expecting Isshiki to say that he would help resurrect Kaguya.

Just now, Black Zetsu had desperately been thinking about how he could survive. For that sake, he could even become Isshiki’s dog.

He never expected Isshiki to suddenly change his attitude and say that he would help him resurrect Kaguya. This surprised Black Zetsu.

After all, Isshiki had just been calling her a traitor and a low-level Otsutsuki at every turn.

"This help isn’t free. I need you to work for me," Isshiki said, his calm tone containing an unyielding force that allowed no refusal.

"It is my honor to work for you, my lord. How should I address you?" Black Zetsu instantly put on a sycophantic attitude. Anyone who saw him would think Black Zetsu had been Isshiki’s subordinate for many years.

Black Zetsu was not opposed to becoming someone else’s subordinate.

Isshiki let out a cold snort and did not comment much on Black Zetsu’s reaction. However, he told Black Zetsu his true name instead of Jigen.

After all, Black Zetsu could somewhat be considered a member of the Otsutsuki clan, so he was different from those natives.

"I’ll tell you what to do when I need you. Also, don’t even think about escaping from me. I left something inside your body. No matter where you are, I’ll be able to sense you," Isshiki said indifferently.

Some bold ideas in Black Zetsu’s mind instantly vanished without a trace.

Facing this existence who was even nobler and more mysterious than his mother, Black Zetsu did not dare to gamble on whether what Isshiki said was true or false.

Suddenly, Black Zetsu thought of something. His eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Lord Isshiki, there is a major obstacle to resurrecting Mother. That is Nagasawa of Konohagakure."

"To resurrect Mother, we must gather all the Tailed Beasts. But Nagasawa’s strength is far too powerful. It is simply impossible to take the Nine-Tails from Konohagakure."

"Please, Lord Isshiki, take action and kill that Nagasawa!"

Black Zetsu wanted to use someone else to eliminate Nagasawa, this major threat.

Nagasawa had truly left a psychological shadow on Black Zetsu. In over a thousand years, all the losses he had suffered at the hands of others combined could not compare to what he had suffered at Nagasawa’s hands.

Now that he had recognized a powerful new boss, Black Zetsu could not wait for Isshiki to take action and kill Nagasawa. If that happened, Black Zetsu would really have to pop open the champagne.

As for why Isshiki did not seem particularly powerful from his perception, Black Zetsu did not take it to heart. After all, Isshiki was a mysterious member of the Otsutsuki clan.

"Are you ordering me?" Isshiki’s eyes became sharp as he stared at Black Zetsu, making him extremely panicked.

"Of course not. I just wanted to say that this Nagasawa poses a great threat." Black Zetsu naturally did not dare admit it.

"He is merely a native. There is no need to care about him. With me here, there will be no accidents in resurrecting Kaguya." Isshiki said casually, as if Nagasawa were nothing more than an ant he could crush at any time.

Of course, Isshiki did not really think that way.

Looking down on natives was true, but Isshiki was certain that fighting Nagasawa in his current state would be tantamount to suicide, even if he could kill Nagasawa before dying.

Jigen’s body could not withstand his power. Releasing too much of the power of Karma was equivalent to suicide.

Isshiki was certainly not foolish enough to sacrifice himself just to kill a native.

Isshiki would never allow Kaguya to be resurrected before he had fully recovered his strength. Otherwise, it would be difficult to say who would end up feeding whom.

The only possibility of resurrecting Kaguya was after his strength had already been fully restored.

"Lord Isshiki, that Nagasawa really..." Black Zetsu was unwilling to give up and wanted to remind Isshiki about Nagasawa’s potential.

But when Isshiki looked at Black Zetsu with a cold gaze, Black Zetsu shut his mouth and said nothing more.

Because Isshiki was not like Nagato and Obito before, puppets that Black Zetsu could manipulate at will. Isshiki could really kill him.

’I can only leave it like this for now. I still have to rely on myself to resurrect Mother.’ Black Zetsu thought.

Naturally, he could not place all hope of resurrecting Kaguya on someone who had insulted Kaguya by calling her a low-level Otsutsuki.

Black Zetsu planned to temporarily play along with Isshiki while secretly carrying out his plan to resurrect his mother.

......

After a brief period of chaos, the Shinobi World once again welcomed peace.

Apart from Iwagakure, the other four Great Shinobi Villages actually did not suffer much damage.

Sunagakure and Kumogakure had only been fighting for a short time before they ceased hostilities. Kirigakure did not even get into a fight, and Konohagakure had not declared war on any Shinobi Village either.

Although the losses were not great, the impact caused by this war was enormous.

When the Five Kage held a meeting together, apart from the Hokage of Konohagakure and the Raikage of Kumogakure, the other three Kage unanimously believed that this war was enough to be designated the Fourth Shinobi World War. Its impact was extremely vile. It had not only seriously challenged the authority of the Five Great Nations, but had also endangered peace in the Shinobi World. The leaders and higher-ups of the Shinobi Villages in the Shinobi Village Alliance should all be executed, more than seventy percent of their shinobi forces should be disbanded, and the countries where they were located should compensate the Five Great Nations for the enormous losses they had suffered during the war.

"If something like this happens once, there will be a second time. We should put an end to this kind of thing happening again!" Rasa said with a serious expression.

He was glad that Nagato had attacked Iwagakure first. Otherwise, if Sunagakure, which was already at the bottom, had gone through such turmoil, it really would have been finished.

Onoki looked at the Fourth Raikage, who remained calm and expressionless, and slightly furrowed his brows.

Normally, the hot-tempered Fourth Raikage should have been the first to speak up. Why was he being so silent?

Onoki had only just thought this when the Fourth Raikage spoke, but what he said was completely different from what Onoki had expected.

"Isn’t treating the smaller Shinobi Villages this way a little too harsh? Everyone here has fought plenty of wars before. Where is the evil or justice in war? Everyone should understand the fundamental reason for this turmoil in their hearts." The Fourth Raikage said with his arms crossed.

Rasa rubbed his eyes, confirming that this really was the Fourth Raikage and not some Third Tsuchikage.

’Strange. How can this hothead say something like that too?’ Rasa wondered.

Moreover, Rasa felt that the Fourth Raikage’s position was biased. Everyone was from a Great Shinobi Village, so why take the perspective of a small country?

Onoki also found it strange. He looked toward Nagasawa and Minato, who had likewise not said much, and had a guess in his heart.

Minato took out several documents and handed them to each Kage.

Onoki opened one and saw that the very first page contained the words "All Shinobi Village Alliance Plan."

Onoki then quickly flipped through the pages. The more he read, the more shocked he became.

Konohagakure, which possessed invincible strength, actually did not want to dominate the Shinobi World. Instead, it had come up with a plan that benefited the smaller Shinobi Villages and weakened the influence of the major Shinobi Villages.

Onoki felt that Konohagakure really was a bizarre place. Powerful individuals emerged one after another, yet they were all a bunch of people who dreamed up impossible ideas.

"What will happen to that Nagato?" Onoki asked in a deep voice, voicing the question he cared about most.

In this turmoil, Iwagakure was the unluckiest. It had lost face and sacrificed so many shinobi forces. Even he himself had been captured by Nagato. It had truly suffered a severe blow.

Therefore, Onoki was extremely concerned about how exactly Nagato, the culprit behind everything, would be dealt with.

"Everyone will judge him together."