This was Black Zetsu's proudest moment.
This was the moment Black Zetsu had been looking forward to the most. Betraying Madara Uchiha was satisfying, but this… this was pure bliss. It could finally reveal the deception it had woven around Emiya Shirou a thousand years ago.
Now, the peep show you don't get a prize for watching is about to begin…
Black Zetsu chuckled, its tone shifting from familiar to sinister. "Emiya Shirou, you may have been born in the ancient era, but you were born too late. You don't understand the truth behind the great war of that time at all."
"The one who started that war was never the Sage of Six Paths."
"It began because Mother's plan to raise humans for creating the White Zetsu army was discovered. She started the war to take back the chakra from the Sage of Six Paths and his brother. It was never a conflict over how chakra should be distributed."
"Mother has always wanted to reclaim all the scattered chakra. Why would she, as you imagined, waste time selecting so-called 'suitable' humans to receive her power? Humans were never worthy of receiving chakra in the first place."
"You humans…" Black Zetsu's voice grew more sinister, its smile widening without restraint. "In Mother's eyes, there is no difference between any of you. You are all just raw materials, fuel to be sacrificed to the God Tree to create more White Zetsu."
"Even if…" Black Zetsu's tone changed, a sneer twisting its features, "you are the most outstanding among them, so much so that I once admired you greatly."
This was the truth. Black Zetsu had genuinely admired Emiya Shirou back then. Even before Kaguya's revival, it had placed considerable trust in Shirou and his power.
"I have to say, your mind is quite clever," it continued. "After all, you stole the power of the Sage of Six Paths. However, that also became your greatest weakness. An overly clever mind and immense power always make humans arrogantly believe they must bear a god-like responsibility. And it just so happens that this way of thinking made you useful to me in the end."
"..."
Emiya Shirou remained silent. He couldn't refute it. Humans often ponder the meaning of their existence, feeling a need to find a purpose equal to the power they possess.
"I must admit, it was a series of coincidences, a twist of fate," Black Zetsu mused. "Originally, the pawn I selected was Indra, but while guiding him, I hit the jackpot. This prize—you—was so much more than I could have imagined. I was so caught up that I missed my chance when you tried to destroy Ninshu."
"But… everything is guided by fate. I thought that after you failed in the ancient era, you would be a useless pawn. I never expected that a thousand years later, you would return to the chessboard. I immediately gave up on Madara Uchiha. After all, there is no human in this world more outstanding than you."
"It was a hassle, you being born in the ancient era," Black Zetsu said, its voice holding a hint of regret. "Humans from that time all knew of Mother's existence, which made it impossible for me to hide my identity from you. I could only claim to be Kaguya's will."
The regret vanished, replaced by glee. "But your ancient birth also became my good fortune. The people of that era worshipped the God Tree and served the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya. A wise man like you was no exception. I just embellished Mother's story a little, and you restored your faith in her."
"I originally wanted you to become the sacrifice for reviving Mother," Black Zetsu said, its voice dripping with false sadness. "That way, you could have avoided the pain of seeing this cruel truth."
"Unfortunately, you were a bit too lenient with Madara Uchiha. No… not just Madara. You showed too much tolerance for anyone you recognized as a fellow traveler. This forced me to choose Madara as the sacrifice instead, and it led you to this moment—forcing you to once again experience the remorse of working for years only to find you were on the wrong path, just like when you failed to destroy Ninshu."
"Emiya…" Naruto couldn't see Emiya Shirou's expression, but he could imagine his thoughts. When the Great Toad Sage told him Shirou's story, he mentioned more than once how painful it would be for him to discover he had walked the wrong path again.
Sasuke didn't know what to say. His own self-righteous quest for revenge also seemed to have gone down the wrong path.
But what is the right path in life? It seemed no one could answer that question.
"Why aren't you talking?" Black Zetsu looked at the silent Emiya Shirou, the mockery in its voice growing stronger. "Show a little pain and regret, will you? Just like decades ago, when we met again after a thousand years. The way you regretted believing in Asura, the way you were in so much pain you couldn't find your way…"
"Come on… show me," it goaded. "Seeing you regret believing in Asura, seeing your pain because you couldn't revive Kaguya, seeing the favored child of heaven from the ancient era walk right into my trap… you can't imagine the joy I felt in that moment."
"Back then, I always had one thought…" Black Zetsu's form emerged from Kaguya's sleeve, slowly approaching Shirou. Its strange, eerie face twisted into a smile, the perfect picture of a triumphant, insidious conspirator. "And that is, I wanted to see what kind of expression you would have at this very moment."
"This guy…" Even Naruto was so angry he couldn't watch anymore.
At this moment, Emiya Shirou was the weaker one. Humans always have sympathy for the weak, especially someone like Shirou, who was kind-hearted but had been used by evil.
"Isn't this just what he deserves?" Obito's voice cut through the space. But no one paid any attention to him.
Naruto's gaze shifted to Kakashi next to Obito, a look of joy flashing across his face as if he had seen a savior. "Kakashi-sensei!" In that moment, Naruto felt like he was back in Team 7, where Kakashi would descend like a divine soldier to solve any crisis.
The others, however, did not share his optimism.
Black Zetsu's gaze sharpened, noticing the identical Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan in Obito's eye sockets. It seemed to guess what was happening.
"Mother! The enemy has a troublesome space-time ability! Banish them to another dimension first. We'll absorb the chakra from Emiya Shirou and these two brats before dealing with them!"
Kaguya immediately followed Black Zetsu's advice. She raised her hand, instantly banishing Obito and Kakashi to another dimension. Right now, absorbing chakra was the most important thing.
"What a pity," Black Zetsu said, turning back to Shirou. "Even pleasantries have to end. You're too strong, so I can't let you live. Let's absorb your chakra first."
Its body suddenly flew forward, pressing toward Shirou. It was about to turn into liquid and completely control him, slowly draining all the chakra from his body. This was the end.
As its body approached Emiya Shirou, a hint of regret flashed across Black Zetsu's face. If Shirou weren't so strong, it would have let Kaguya spare his life, to use him for experiments to make her even stronger.
But then again, if he weren't strong, there would be no need for such modifications. Now, his strength was simply too great a risk. If he broke free, he would be real trouble for Kaguya.
"Hmph." Black Zetsu's body began to liquefy, slowly pressing onto Shirou's. It was still watching his face. "This expressionless look of complete resignation is really annoying to see."
"Emiya!" Naruto watched in shock. If Emiya Shirou was dealt with, his chakra absorbed by Kaguya, wouldn't the entire ninja world be doomed?
However…
Just as everyone watched Black Zetsu close in, about to begin absorbing Shirou's chakra, one of Shirou's hands shot up and grabbed Black Zetsu by the neck.
At the same time, his other hand shot out, brazenly reaching for Kaguya Otsutsuki's throat.
"!!!"
Black Zetsu's expression contorted in shock.
"!!!"
Surprise flashed across Kaguya's face. She quickly retreated, but in doing so, she was forced to abandon Black Zetsu, watching as her will fell into Emiya Shirou's hands.
The progenitor of chakra hadn't expected him to break free from her Rabbit Hair Needle technique. It had clearly sealed his chakra points!
The turn of events happened so suddenly that even Naruto and Sasuke hadn't reacted.
"Black Zetsu…" Emiya Shirou held it by the neck and slowly raised his head. His hollow eyes seemed to see everything in the world with perfect clarity.
His voice held an unquestionable firmness. "When did I… ever accept my fate?"