At this moment, however, Black Zetsu slowly slithered out from within Kaguya's wide sleeves and gradually covered the bodies of Naruto and Sasuke. Instantly, both of them were filled with alarm.
"My chakra... it's being drained away..."
"What a loving mother... What a shame, though..."
Black Zetsu, now completely covering Naruto and Sasuke, seemed to change completely, his voice rising to a high, resonant tone.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki... sealed away by her own two children... truly a pitiful mother..."
"As the true form and body of the Ten-Tails, Kaguya was betrayed and sealed by her own sons—Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and Hamura Ōtsutsuki—using the technique Chibaku Tensei. She was turned into the very moon that hangs in the sky..."
While continuously draining the chakra from Naruto and Sasuke, Black Zetsu rambled on, recounting the ancient history and events of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from thousands of years ago.
"Hmph... Kaguya Ōtsutsuki... So, you finally show yourself... But starting things off with such a dramatic family drama... honestly, it's not really my style..."
Suddenly, a calm, indifferent voice drifted into everyone's ears out of nowhere.
"Huh?! Who said that?!"
Hearing Kaoru's voice, almost everyone instinctively turned their heads—including Naruto and Sasuke, who were forced to look around under Black Zetsu's control.
"That person... Who is he...?"
Kaguya slowly turned her beautiful yet cold face toward the figure slowly walking toward them. Even within her icy, pure-white eyes, a hint of surprise flashed for a moment.
"Those eyes... I can sense the aura of Hagoromo within them..."
"And what is that on his forehead...?"
Her Byakugan slowly shifted its gaze upward. When she clearly saw the blood-red, ominous eye exactly like her own, opening right in the center of Kaoru's forehead, a subtle but distinct change finally appeared on Kaguya's otherwise unshakable, beautiful face.
Kaoru walked toward them as if descending from the heavens. Apart from his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes, at some point, a new eye had appeared right in the middle of his forehead—glowing with a sinister, blood-red light.
The rippling pattern... and nine black tomoe... It was unmistakably the Rinne Sharingan—exactly the same as the one on Kaguya's forehead!
"If I'd known I'd end up awakening such an ugly-looking eye, I never would have absorbed the Ten-Tails' chakra in the first place..." Kaoru secretly thought to himself.
He had only awakened the Rinne Sharingan after absorbing the Ten-Tails' chakra. But even though he now possessed this legendary eye that symbolized the power of the Ten-Tails, Kaoru didn't look happy at all. In fact, he secretly thought it was really quite ugly.
If Madara Uchiha had heard Kaoru's thoughts right then, he would have been absolutely stunned and outraged. This was the power he had dreamed of his entire life—the power he had sacrificed everything to obtain—and yet Kaoru was actually complaining about it and finding it distasteful...
However, contrary to Kaoru's own opinion, the blood-red Rinne Sharingan resting on his flawless, handsome face didn't look out of place or ugly in the slightest. Instead, it shimmered beautifully alongside his Mangekyō Sharingan eyes, adding an indescribable, sinister charm and allure to his appearance.
"He actually awakened the Rinne Sharingan... Who exactly are you?"
Kaguya stared intently at Kaoru with her cold, pure-white eyes, her beautiful yet fierce expression revealing a hint of genuine astonishment as she spoke in her clear, frosty voice.
"Hmm... How should I put this..."
Hearing Kaguya asking about Kaoru's identity, Black Zetsu seemed somewhat troubled and hesitant. His voice carried a deep, complex emotion as he carefully organized his words.
"His name is Kaoru Uchiha... He could be considered a descendant of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki..."
"And he is... the sole and greatest variable in the plan I've followed for a thousand years... Thanks to his interference, my mission to revive Lady Mother nearly ended in failure..." Black Zetsu spoke slowly and deliberately.
"He was able to awaken the Rinne Sharingan probably because he absorbed half of the Ten-Tails' Yang chakra... the very portion he forcibly took away just moments ago..."
"I had to rush Lady Mother's revival just to prevent him from draining the Ten-Tails' power completely... I never expected... that he would end up awakening the Rinne Sharingan as a result..."
"Is that so... Black Zetsu..."
Hearing Black Zetsu explaining his identity and his actions in such detail, a strange, eerie smile slowly spread across Kaoru's face. His voice was deep, calm, and utterly indifferent.
"But tell me... do you honestly believe... that if I hadn't held back on purpose... you really would have succeeded in reviving Kaguya Ōtsutsuki so easily?"
"Held back... on purpose?!"
Hearing Kaoru's words and seeing the calm, confident expression on his face, Black Zetsu's heart suddenly trembled violently. A terrible premonition surged from deep within him.
"Don't tell me... You..."
Kaoru smiled faintly and was about to make his move when suddenly, his expression froze for a split second—as if he had just realized something completely unexpected and incredible.
"Hah... Madara Uchiha... I have to admit... you really are a little smarter than you were in the original story..."
The look of surprise vanished instantly, replaced once again by his confident smile.
"Madara Uchiha?" Hearing Kaoru mention that name, Black Zetsu was stunned. "Kaoru... what do you mean? Madara is already completely under my control..."
....
"Black Zetsu... I never imagined the truth would turn out like this... It seems even I can be used as a pawn..."
A clear, desolate voice rang out. Under the stunned and disbelieving gazes of Naruto, Sasuke, and Black Zetsu, a large patch of earth and mud directly behind Kaguya suddenly burst open and was thrown aside.
From the ground emerged a tall figure—bare-chested, with the portrait of Hashirama Senju painted clearly on his chest, and long black hair hanging loosely around his shoulders.
It was Madara Uchiha!!!
He was no longer wearing his sage robes, and the Rinne Sharingan that had been on his forehead was gone. However, the distinct ripple patterns of the Rinnegan were clearly visible in both of his eyes—he looked exactly as he had when he first awakened the Rinnegan.
"Madara Uchiha... That's impossible! I clearly completely took over your body and consciousness... How can you still be alive?!"
Black Zetsu was the most shocked of all. He had used his Yin-Yang Release: Spiritual Possession technique to completely merge with and control Madara—there should have been absolutely no way for him to break free or survive!
"I have to admit... it was all thanks to the repeated warnings and strange things you said, Kaoru..." Madara said breathlessly as he looked toward Kaoru.
"If you hadn't planted seeds of doubt in my mind about Black Zetsu beforehand, and if I hadn't secretly prepared a contingency plan... I really would have died just like that..."
"A contingency plan?! Madara Uchiha... There is absolutely no technique or method that can escape or counter my Spiritual Possession! What exactly did you do?!" Black Zetsu roared furiously, still unable to understand how Madara had escaped his control.
To revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, it was necessary to use the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki combined with the powers of both the Senju and Uchiha clans. As the host, Madara should have been completely expendable and destined to die the moment the revival was completed... So how could he possibly still be alive and standing here now?
"It was the Second Tsuchikage's Division Technique, wasn't it?" Kaoru spoke up calmly from the side.
"Hmph... Exactly..." Madara was startled for a moment before breaking into a confident smile.
The Division Technique created by the Second Tsuchikage was different from any other clone technique. It allowed the user to instantly split their body and chakra equally without the need for hand seals. The result was not a mere illusion or shadow clone that would vanish upon being struck, but an actual, physical division—a truly real, independent body capable of acting entirely on its own.
The only drawback of this technique was that the power of each divided body was reduced proportionally, and neither body could use the most powerful techniques they were capable of performing when whole.
Madara had personally defeated the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, in battle years ago and had long since memorized this technique perfectly. He never imagined he would end up using it to save his own life today.
Thanks to Kaoru's constant reminders and warnings, the very moment Black Zetsu had begun to use his Spiritual Possession technique, Madara had secretly activated this technique. He had split off a physical body away from the main one that Black Zetsu was taking over.
To ensure the technique would work and that the separated body wouldn't be absorbed along with the main one, Madara had decisively abandoned the power of the Ten-Tails within this split body. He knew full well that if he had tried to hold onto that immense power, he would have been absorbed completely regardless of whether he split himself or not.
"Madara Uchiha... You really do have the devil's own luck... But none of this matters anymore..." Black Zetsu's dark face quickly returned to its usual calmness after the brief moment of shock.
"The thousand-year-long plan has finally succeeded. Lady Mother has been revived. Whether it is just one Madara Uchiha... or even a hundred or a thousand like you... none of it changes anything..."
From a distance, Kaoru watched the scene unfold, his smile widening even further. He hadn't expected that his interference in history would actually allow Madara Uchiha... of all people... to survive. But then again, this was exactly how a true ambitious hero should be—someone who would never give up and always prepared for the worst.
Even so, standing before someone as powerful as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, whether Madara was alive or dead truly didn't make much difference... The only thing that changed now was that Madara was finally learning the entire truth behind everything that had happened.
"A thousand-year-long plan... Reviving your mother... Don't tell me... are you actually a child of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?!"
Having finally pieced together all the information Black Zetsu had revealed, Madara looked at him with a heavy, grim expression.
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