Inside a cave in the Land of Rain, within the Akatsuki Organization's sphere of influence, Black Zetsu had already left Yahiko's body, bringing White Zetsu with him.
Despite injecting a large amount of White Zetsu Cells into him, which slowly began to restore his body's vitality, the severely overdrawn Yahiko still hadn't woken up.
The massive injection of White Zetsu Cells still required an adaptation process; Yahiko's complexion was almost turning the deathly white of White Zetsu, and his grizzled hair regained its luster, though it remained grizzled.
Konan had already woken up; she was now warily observing this half-black, half-white monster, who looked like a pitcher plant, while also tending to Yahiko, feeding him some liquid food.
Black Zetsu paid no attention to Konan's wariness; he was contemplating how to deceive Yahiko. Based on the psychological profile he had constructed for Yahiko, he knew he would have to offer some genuine incentives to manipulate him.
He was highly experienced in turning kind and upright people into villains; over the past thousand years, he had countless times manipulated individuals with such personalities, and he already had a wealth of contingency plans.
Yahiko's obsession should be to bring peace to the world, but he no longer rejected radical methods. Perhaps reviving Nagato was also something he desired.
Whether it was guiding him toward a method for Ninja World peace or revealing a way to revive Nagato, Black Zetsu believed he could make him serve his purpose.
"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose? Why did you save me and Yahiko? You were there from the very beginning, weren't you?"
Konan wiped the water from the corner of Yahiko's mouth, then turned her head to look at the monstrous pitcher plant figure, who looked ugly and strange no matter how she viewed him.
"Oh, you don't need to know who I am. I'm just a nobody. You can call me Zetsu."
Black Zetsu tried to manipulate Konan, treating it as a rehearsal for his later manipulation of Yahiko.
"As for my purpose, does Ninja World peace count? I am searching for an all-ruling God for this world, a God who is incredibly powerful, omnipotent, and possesses Immortality, and thus can quell all turmoil in the world."
Black Zetsu spoke with increasing fervor; this long-lost feeling of controlling everything had returned. Just as he was about to continue his deception, Black Zetsu heard Yahiko's voice.
"I'll answer the last two questions. Zetsu was indeed at the scene. Your purpose is definitely for the Rinnegan. After I used Shinra Tensei, you stole the Rinnegan from Hanzō, didn't you? Give it back!"
Yahiko sat up, his expression cold and grim. He opened his palm, and a Chakra Black Rod appeared in his hand, ready to attack and seal Zetsu's Chakra at any moment.
It turned out Yahiko had woken up long ago; he had merely been contemplating Zetsu, the Rinnegan, and his own ideals. Upon hearing Zetsu and Konan's conversation, he spoke up to voice his suspicions.
"Heh heh, I don't have the Rinnegan, but I did come for the Rinnegan. As for the other Rinnegan…"
Black Zetsu chuckled. Since Ōtsutsuki Isshiki allowed him to revive his mother, he assumed that if someone opposed him during the revival process, Isshiki would not exterminate them.
"The other Rinnegan was taken by a strange man with horns on his head. He's very strong; I'm no match for him. Konan knows about this too."
Black Zetsu looked at Konan, who stood beside Yahiko. He knew Konan had clearly seen Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's face, and she also knew that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had come to seize the Rinnegan.
Facing Yahiko's gaze, Konan nodded.
"That strange man with horns on his head indeed came to seize the Rinnegan. He choked me unconscious, but for some reason, he didn't kill me. However, after I passed out, I don't know what happened between Zetsu and that strange man."
Konan was unaware of the relationship between Zetsu and the strange man, but the horror in Zetsu's eyes when the strange man appeared was unmistakable; Zetsu must know that person's identity.
Listening to Konan's explanation, Yahiko nodded, guessing that Zetsu and the strange man were likely enemies, and their goals both revolved around the Rinnegan.
"Tell me your purpose in approaching us. Why didn't you take the Rinnegan like that strange man did? Also, tell me that strange man's identity."
As soon as Black Zetsu heard this, he knew it was time for his grand deception to take effect.
"My purpose? Heh heh, I am merely a pitiful person trying to revive my mother. I am here only to help the host who has once again gained the Rinnegan after a thousand years achieve their vision of peace. As for that strange man…"
This time, Black Zetsu was speaking the truth, or mostly the truth. The power of a lie that is nine parts truth and one part falsehood lies in its logical consistency, with almost no contradictions.
"That strange man's name holds a unique power; anyone who utters it will be known by that strange man. Regarding him, you can refer to him as the Human God. It is a distant myth. Are you willing to listen?"
Although Yahiko had turned dark, he wasn't particularly educated. His, Konan's, and Nagato's cultural knowledge was all taught by Jiraiya. While Jiraiya was a writer, he had little patience for teaching cultural knowledge.
So, upon hearing that even a name held power and could only be referred to by the alias Human God, both of them felt a sense of awe and curiosity, which prompted them to nod and continue listening.
"In the distant Age of Origin, a Divine Tree was born on this planet. The power of the Divine Tree caused various forms of life to emerge on this planet."
"The Divine Tree nurtured two fruits, blessed by countless lives, including humans. Until several millennia ago, the two fruits matured, giving birth to two nearly omnipotent Gods, characterized by horns on their heads."
At this point, Black Zetsu looked at Konan and Yahiko, who were already somewhat engrossed in the story, and scoffed inwardly, "Is that all it takes?" He hadn't even put in much effort yet.
"One was a Goddess, named Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and the other was the Human God. Both possessed the power to control all of creation and the authority over the Divine Tree."
"Goddess Kaguya represented the good in the world, advocating for the coexistence of all things and the harmonious balance of heaven and earth. The Human God, however, represented evil; he was warlike and loved chaos, despising all lower life forms except for Gods."
Konan recalled that when she was being choked, the Human God's gaze was so indifferent, as if even looking at a mortal like herself was a defilement to his eyes.
"Thousands of years passed, and many nations were born among humans, but under the governance of Goddess Kaguya, no wars occurred, which is why humanity developed so rapidly."
"But the Human God endured thousands of years of loneliness. He desired the birth of new kin, not his adversary Kaguya, so he began to plot."
"He discovered that offering humans to the Divine Tree would slowly cause the Divine Tree to nurture new fruits, so he secretly sacrificed humans to the Divine Tree behind Kaguya's back."
"But with his sacrifices, Kaguya also discovered this matter, leading to a dispute with the Human God. After several months of fighting, they reached an agreement: the Human God could only sacrifice criminals to the Divine Tree."
Black Zetsu truly was a master of deception; he was practically whitewashing Kaguya to death. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Reiko would probably burst out laughing if they heard this.
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