Chapter 209 (Patreon)

Deep down, Black Zetsu had no intention of cooperating with Kizaru’s plans.

However, Kizaru had already uncovered his true origins and exposed the secret he had guarded for a thousand years. Faced with Kizaru’s overwhelming strength, Black Zetsu had no room to resist.

For now, his only choice was to keep his head down and obediently follow Kizaru’s arrangements.

Black Zetsu clung to only two hopes.

The first was that Kizaru would overestimate himself and end up being killed by Uchiha Madara after Madara reclaimed the Rinnegan.

The second was time.

No matter how powerful Kizaru became, he was still human. Eventually, he would grow old and die. Once that happened, Black Zetsu could resume his plan to rescue his mother.

Of course, if Kizaru truly honored their agreement and helped him resurrect his mother one day, Black Zetsu would gladly cooperate.

But he considered that possibility almost nonexistent.

Black Zetsu believed only in himself. He trusted no one else, and he certainly did not believe Kizaru would be kind enough to help him resurrect his mother without an ulterior motive.

“Black Zetsu, tell them everything you know about Uchiha Madara,” Kizaru ordered as everyone stared at them in shock.

With a smile on his face, Black Zetsu began recounting Madara’s plans and everything he had done over the past several decades.

After losing to Senju Hashirama at the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara used Izanagi to rewrite his own death and deceive the world.

During their battle, he had bitten off a piece of Hashirama’s flesh. Madara later transplanted it into his chest, acquiring the power of the Senju Clan. After many years, that power fused with his own, causing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan.

Madara then used the Rinnegan to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and created a vast number of biological weapons.

His final objective was to collect all nine Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and become its jinchūriki. Once that was accomplished, he intended to reflect the Infinite Tsukuyomi off the moon, trapping the entire world in an eternal illusion—a world in which only victors existed.

As Black Zetsu continued, the shock on everyone’s faces never faded. Only when his explanation finally ended did their expressions gradually turn grave.

Even during his lifetime, Uchiha Madara had possessed power that later generations could only look upon in awe.

Now he had acquired the power of the Senju Clan and awakened the Rinnegan, ascending to an even greater level.

The pressure everyone felt suddenly became much heavier.

“The Rinnegan...” Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured.

He turned toward Kizaru, who had remained calm and silent throughout Black Zetsu’s explanation.

“Kizaru, if the Rinnegan is awakened through the combination of the Sharingan and Senju power, then what is the truth behind Nagato’s eyes?”

“Nagato’s Rinnegan originally belonged to Uchiha Madara,” Black Zetsu answered before Kizaru could respond. “Madara transplanted his own eyes into Nagato and used the immense vitality of Nagato’s Uzumaki bloodline to nurture them.”

Hiruzen frowned in confusion.

“Why would Uchiha Madara do such a thing?”

“No matter how powerful Madara was, he remained human. His body had already deteriorated due to old age,” Black Zetsu explained. “He entrusted his eyes to Nagato so that Nagato could eventually use the Rinnegan’s exclusive resurrection technique to bring him back from the dead and restore him to a youthful body.”

Resurrection?

The Rinnegan possessed the power to revive the dead and even return them to their youth?

A trace of excitement flashed through Hiruzen’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

“If the Rinnegan can resurrect Uchiha Madara, does that mean it can also resurrect him?”

As he spoke, Hiruzen looked toward Senju Hashirama. His meaning was obvious.

With Hiruzen taking the lead, the others could not help turning toward the First Hokage as well.

If Hashirama could truly be resurrected, Konoha would have two shinobi worthy of being called Gods of Shinobi standing against Uchiha Madara.

What would they possibly have left to fear?

Orochimaru was the only person present who did not look toward Hashirama.

From the moment Black Zetsu mentioned the Rinnegan’s resurrection technique, Orochimaru’s gaze had remained fixed on Kizaru.

He had not forgotten what Kizaru told him several years ago, when Orochimaru used the Edo Tensei to reanimate his parents.

Kizaru had claimed to know of a ninjutsu capable of truly bringing the dead back to life.

The Outer Path: Rinne Rebirth.

Had Kizaru already known the truth about the Rinnegan back then?

Had he also known about Uchiha Madara’s plan from the very beginning?

When Orochimaru considered how Madara’s closest confidants had all been subdued by Kizaru, the man before him suddenly seemed even more unfathomable.

Despite learning that there was a ninjutsu capable of restoring him to life, Hashirama showed no excitement. He merely rubbed the back of his head and laughed heartily.

“Forget about resurrecting me. Once we finish dealing with Madara, I’m going back to rest.”

Kizaru glanced at Orochimaru and smiled, silently indicating that they could discuss his questions later.

Orochimaru’s suspicions were trivial matters to Kizaru. What truly caught his interest was Hashirama’s choice of words.

Going back to rest?

That phrase could be interpreted in more than one way.

Was Hashirama simply referring to returning to the eternal sleep of death, or did he mean returning to the Pure Land, where his soul had rested before being summoned?

“If Nagato’s Rinnegan belongs to Uchiha Madara, then I suggest replacing Nagato’s eyes,” Danzō said. “The Rinnegan should either be removed and sealed away or entrusted to someone powerful enough to use it properly.”

Halfway through his proposal, Danzō turned and looked directly at Kizaru.

His reasoning was simple.

Since the Rinnegan possessed such overwhelming power, they should make full use of it by giving it to the strongest shinobi in the village.

“Oooh... no, thank you,” Kizaru replied with a look of distaste. “Those eyes would only interfere with my fighting style.”

“Hahaha!”

Hashirama burst into laughter at Kizaru’s immediate refusal. He could sense the unwavering confidence of a true powerhouse in Kizaru, and it was something he deeply admired.

“Then we should simply destroy the Rinnegan,” Danzō declared decisively, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

“That would be quite a waste,” Kizaru said. “I believe the Rinnegan could be used to revive the shinobi who sacrificed their lives for the village.”

“Is there no price for using the Rinnegan to resurrect someone?” Hiruzen asked.

As the shinobi known as the Professor, Hiruzen had mastered nearly every conventional ninjutsu in Konoha, along with many of the village’s forbidden techniques. He refused to believe that a ninjutsu capable of resurrecting the dead could be used without paying a terrible price.

“Ordinarily, the price is the caster’s life,” Kizaru answered this time. “The amount of chakra consumed by Rinne Rebirth varies depending on the number and strength of those being resurrected. But even at its lowest, the burden placed on the caster is terrifying.”

He paused before continuing.

“In theory, if the caster possessed enough chakra, they could survive after performing Rinne Rebirth.”

Everyone present was an elite of the shinobi world. Even the weakest among them possessed Kage-level strength.

They naturally understood what Kizaru meant.

When someone like Kizaru described survival as merely theoretical, it meant that the possibility was almost nonexistent.

“You are not to use that technique to resurrect me.”

Hashirama’s expression became completely serious as he addressed the younger generations standing before him.

As someone who had lived through the era of warring clans, Hashirama understood that the most terrifying thing in the world was never ninjutsu.

It was the human heart.

If the leaders of Konoha became willing to sacrifice another person to resurrect him, the First Hokage, what would prevent them from sacrificing others to resurrect themselves in the future?

Once such power became entangled with ambition and self-interest, the darkness and corruption it created could destroy Konoha from within.

“After this war is over, Madara’s eyes should be destroyed,” Hashirama said solemnly.

“I understand,” Hiruzen replied.

He had wanted to persuade the First Hokage to reconsider, but after seeing Hashirama’s grave expression, he chose to accept the decision without argument.

“Lord First, I see things differently,” Kizaru said. “I would like those eyes to be preserved, and I intend to take responsibility for guarding them.”

The atmosphere in the room changed the instant those words left his mouth.

Hiruzen and Danzō both looked toward Kizaru, silently warning him that this was not the time to contradict the First Hokage.

Tsunade, however, did not speak in support of her grandfather.

Instead, she reached out and took Kizaru’s hand.

“Grandpa, trust my judgment.”

Hashirama looked at Kizaru, then at Tsunade’s hand clasped around his. After carefully studying Kizaru for a moment, his stern expression gradually relaxed into a smile.

“I trust Tsunade’s judgment! As for the affairs of your era, you descendants should decide them for yourselves!”

“Those eyes may one day become a force capable of bringing peace,” Kizaru said with a faint smile.

He looked directly into Hashirama’s eyes.

“Lord First, do you truly believe the shinobi village system you created brought peace to this world?”

“Kizaru!” Hiruzen warned.

As Tobirama’s disciple and a member of the generation that followed Hashirama, Hiruzen had personally experienced countless wars, both large and small.

He knew better than most that the shinobi village system had failed to bring true peace to the world.

If anything, the creation of the hidden villages had caused wars to expand in scale while deepening the hatred between nations and villages.

“No,” Hashirama admitted without hesitation. “I failed.”

“Just as you joined hands with the Uchiha Clan to establish Konoha, created the shinobi village system, and changed the entire world, I also intend to bring about a new change.”

Ignoring the reactions of everyone around them, Kizaru held Hashirama’s gaze and spoke with unusual solemnity.

“I want to offer this world a new hope for peace.”

“Hahaha! Wonderful!” Hashirama exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy. “This is exactly what I hoped to see from the generations that came after me!”

“In that case, if you don’t mind, I would like to speak with you alone,” Kizaru said.

“Now?”

“Right now.”