Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were damn good at infiltration and stealth.
You had to give them that much credit.
However, their skill set was mainly reflected in their ability to block sensory perception and their uncanny camouflage capabilities.
They couldn't physically become invisible.
They weren't ghosts.
So, even though Tobirama didn't initially sense Black Zetsu through chakra detection, once his sharp gaze landed on the anomaly, he spotted the bastard immediately.
Faced with Tobirama's sharp inquiry, Nagato looked directly at Makoto.
That simple action made it crystal clear to everyone present that Nagato hadn't given any command for this creature to be there.
"Black Zetsu, what the hell is going on?" Makoto didn't say much else and directly walked forward.
Tobirama and the others closely followed behind him.
This was no small matter!
They had to be cautious, as Zetsu was a slippery variable they couldn't afford to ignore.
"Strategist, the attempt to revive Mother has failed this time." Black Zetsu remained perfectly calm while embedded in the ground like a stubborn weed.
He waited patiently until everyone had gathered around him before speaking calmly to Makoto.
"Mother?!" Tobirama caught the keyword instantly and looked at Makoto in astonishment.
"Who the hell is 'Mother'? What exactly is this black thing talking about?"
The others were equally surprised by the terminology.
Makoto had told them that Kaguya Otsutsuki was the Sage of Six Paths' mother. So, logic dictated that this black mass couldn't possibly be the Sage of Six Paths himself.
"You're just telling everyone like this? no more hiding it?" Makoto was genuinely curious why Black Zetsu had suddenly become so frank and open.
After all, before Black Zetsu uttered those words just now, he hadn't revealed this sensitive information to anyone.
This included everyone within Akatsuki, and even Makoto himself, who had originally proposed the plan to revive Kaguya.
Now Black Zetsu was casually dropping lore bombs.
And present here was also a certain reincarnation of Ashura's Chakra, Hashirama Senju.
"Strategist, you show no emotional fluctuation. It seems you already knew. I figured as much. That's right, I am Kaguya's will. I've lived for over a thousand years for the sole purpose of reviving Mother. Under your planning, Strategist, the people of the Shinobi World finally won't treat Mother the way Hagoromo and Hamura did. I've watched all those movies you made—they were very touching. And don't worry, I didn't sneak in for free. I stole Kakuzu's money to pay for tickets, and I even paid for two seats since White Zetsu came with me..."
"What the fuck? why do you sound like you're delivering your last words?" Tobirama interrupted, sensing the finality in the creature's tone.
"...They are last words. Because this revival of Mother failed, I can clearly feel my consciousness fading away. From now on, the task of reviving Mother falls entirely to you, Strategist."
After answering, Black Zetsu continued looking at Makoto and began recounting his reasoning.
He spoke about which movie made him feel Makoto's deep understanding of his mother.
He spoke about witnessing the Otsutsuki Clan's emergence firsthand and the things that worried his mother.
He spoke about making everyone, including Hashirama, finally recognize the existence of his mother correctly.
In short, it was all about glazing Makotos and then trying to stabilize him, urging him to persistently continue the mission of resurrecting Kaguya.
As the saying goes, a man's words are kind when death is near.
In reality, even if Black Zetsu wanted to be unkind or manipulative, it was useless now.
Black Zetsu didn't possess even a fraction of power anymore.
He couldn't resist the dissipation of his own consciousness, so he could only pin his hopes entirely on Makoto.
Of course, besides relying on Makoto, Black Zetsu also wanted to do one more thing—eliminate everyone's misunderstandings about his mother once and for all.
So, Black Zetsu began telling a story.
He spin a tale of ancient times, painting a picture of Kaguya not as a monster, but as a tragic figure.
After the story was finished, just as everyone was marveling at such an extraordinary tale from the past and sympathizing with how the originator of Chakra had such a tragic life, Makoto's sudden remark sent a chill straight down Black Zetsu's spine!
"Black Zetsu, you're adding legs to a snake."
"Wh-what? What did I do wrong?"
A trace of genuine panic actually appeared in Black Zetsu's usually expressionless eyes.
Black Zetsu wasn't afraid that Makoto had seen through some of his grand scheme.
He was genuinely worried that he had made a stupid mistake that might disrupt Makoto's plan to save his mother.
"I also think there's something very wrong with it. Were you making up a bullshit story to deceive us?" Kushina nodded in agreement, her arms crossed skeptically.
"What?"
Hearing this, even if the others couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, they immediately became wary of Black Zetsu again.
"See." Makoto spread his hands out.
The suspicious attitudes of those around said it all.
Black Zetsu had indeed ruined the moment by trying too hard!
He had added legs to a snake, making the whole thing look fake.
"You said at the end that you were thrown out when Kaguya was sealed by the combined efforts of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, meaning you were born at that exact moment. Even if you inherited the will to resurrect Kaguya and incidentally learned some stories about the Sage and his brother, how the hell did you know the earlier parts of the story? If you knew the earlier parts, then why didn't you know the most important thing about the Otsutsuki Clan being extraterrestrial visitors?" Makoto's two counter-questions made Black Zetsu's scalp tingle with realization.
Indeed, Black Zetsu had completely overlooked this massive logical gap.
Having watched Makoto make movies and write scripts so often, he thought he could fabricate a reasonable story to portray his mother as a victim who understood love.
But there were too many damn loopholes!
This confirmed that the story was trash.
Unlike the anime and original version where Kaguya gave birth to Hagoromo and Hamura through mysterious blessings, this version gave Kaguya an extremely bizarre romance.
A lesbian maid named Aino, and the Emperor of the Land of Ancestors? The latter was even more outrageous!
Compared to that guy, even the mythical Ito Makoto could be considered somewhat of a decent human being.
What is even more humorous is the idea that Kaguya was a mere concubine who could be demanded by people from other countries like property.
All these inconsistencies could be explained by one reasonable explanation—Black Zetsu was making up shitty fanfiction about Kaguya right to their faces.
In order to shape Kaguya into the image of a "victim" who "understood love," Black Zetsu had tried to channel his webnovel author and waved his hand to write such an absurd script.
And Kushina could see the problems clearly because she was the only person present with actual, functional heterosexual experience.
She could clearly sense that the 'sovereign of the Ancestral Kingdom' in the story was completely inhuman trash.
Forget about his appearance.
Even if he were devastatingly handsome, aside from wealthy women willing to sponsor him for a night, no one else would possibly find him appealing for marriage.
Who is Kaguya Otsutsuki? According to what Makoto had explained earlier, she had just "decisively and ruthlessly" obliterated Otsutsuki Isshiki and fed him to the Ten-Tails.
Then, in the very next moment, the story claims she turns into a pure, infatuated fool and marries a sovereign who acts like he has Down syndrome?
The character consistency completely collapses right there!
Thus, as the only one with a working radar for romance, Kushina immediately spotted the flaws in Black Zetsu's story.
It was far inferior to the love stories Jiraiya wrote.
If this garbage were published, it would probably be torn to shreds by critics within a day.
"So you're telling me you wasted your final moments just to add unnecessary details with this improvised, bullshit story of yours?" Makoto crouched down, staring right at Black Zetsu's head emerging from the ground.
He felt that Black Zetsu's millennia-long plan making zero progress wasn't just due to a lack of power.
The guy suffered from a simultaneous deficiency in both power and raw intellect! Meaning, he was weak and a dumbass!
But honestly, this couldn't really be blamed on Black Zetsu.
The creature possessed neither a soul nor a brain.
Who knew what level his intelligence actually operated at?
"Sorry." Black Zetsu lowered his head in shame.
Compared to Makoto, he was indeed far inferior in the plotting department.
"Never mind. Let me send you off peacefully. Actually, I already have Plan B ready." Makoto patted Black Zetsu's shoulder, offering a small mercy.
Bzzzt.
Black Zetsu suddenly convulsed, his whole body shuddering violently before stiffening completely.
He froze up like a corpse in a morgue!
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