Plans For Black Zetsu

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Upon hearing the revelation, Uchiha Madara's eyes reignited with a glimmer of life, but his heart brimmed with unrelenting anger and hatred toward Black Zetsu.

So, everything he had done all these years—including turning against Hashirama and even killing him—had all been manipulations orchestrated by Black Zetsu?

This was unacceptable.

It felt like his entire life had been a lie.

For a moment, Madara was overcome by a profound sense of disillusionment. He couldn't bear the thought of facing Hashirama anymore.

"But..."

Kaito, noticing Madara's inner turmoil, smirked faintly and suddenly interjected, "If you truly follow this method to achieve eternal peace..."

"It's not entirely impossible."

Madara and Hashirama froze, both turning to look at Kaito in shock.

Their expressions seemed to scream, Are you kidding us?

After all that talk about conspiracies and hidden agendas, was he now saying this plan could actually work to bring peace?

At this moment, both Madara and Hashirama felt an almost irresistible urge to punch him.

Even Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Naori looked at Kaito with amused expressions, knowing full well that he was toying with Madara.

"Haha, don't get ahead of yourselves!"

Kaito, enjoying their reactions, waved his hand and chuckled as he explained with a grin, "From what I know, casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi would indeed pull the entire ninja world into an illusionary realm, putting everyone into eternal sleep."

"In that sense, yes, wars would truly end."

"And it would be permanent."

"But not for the reasons you'd think. Because anyone trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, whether humans or other living beings, would gradually transform into White Zetsu after a certain period."

"They would eventually cease to exist entirely. No humans, no animals—only White Zetsu would remain."

"When that happens, the ninja world would, in a sense, achieve permanent peace."

"After all, if there are no humans, there would be no conflicts or wars. Am I right?"

Uchiha Madara: "..."

Senju Hashirama: "..."

"Wow, what a dark joke!"

At this point, Uzumaki Mito laughed and teased, "So, in the end, all humans and animals would go extinct, leaving behind a wasteland. Sure, that's one way to achieve eternal peace!"

"I must say, Black Zetsu really understood the essence of humanity and its flaws."

"As long as humans—or even animals—exist, conflict will never truly end."

"If you genuinely want peace, you either have to annihilate the world or unify it under absolute power combined with a fair system. That's the only way to achieve temporary, relative peace."

"And if you want this relative peace to last forever, the ruler would need to be immortal."

Saying this, Mito gave Kaito a meaningful glance.

Immortality... She felt Kaito might actually achieve it someday.

After all, wasn't Kaito already incredible?

With his current mastery of Eternal Life technique, his lifespan was already significantly prolonged.

As for the limits of this technique, it was still unclear.

A thousand years might just be the baseline. The true upper limit would depend on what came next.

And since Kaito had already surpassed the limits of one technique to create the life-extending art, who was to say he couldn't break through again to develop even more advanced methods for immortality and enhancing vitality?

She was looking forward to it.

Being bonded to Kaito, she and her clan members might have the chance to witness the future alongside him for a very, very long time.

That seemed like a pretty good deal.

"Is immortality really achievable?"

Hashirama furrowed his brow, skeptical.

"Why not?"

Mito smiled faintly. "Haven't you noticed that Naori and I have regained our youth and extended our lifespans? Nothing is truly impossible."

"Besides, you might not know this, but the Ōtsutsuki Clan are naturally long-lived beings, practically immortal."

"If she hadn't been sealed away, the Sage of Six Paths' mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, would still be alive and well to this day!"

Both Hashirama and Madara gasped audibly, their shock evident.

Madara's eyes glimmered with newfound longing.

If only he had possessed such method back then...

There would have been no need for him to plot and scheme from the shadows, clinging to life like a dying ember.

He could have openly unified the ninja world with his overwhelming strength and achieved his goals honorably.

But alas...

"If what you say is true, then it seems Black Zetsu is also immortal. But why wasn't the Sage of Six Paths immortal?"

"Why did he grow old and die?"

Madara's face was filled with confusion.

This was something he simply couldn't wrap his head around.

Surely the Sage of Six Paths, with his strength surpassing even Madara's peak after awakening the Rinnegan, wouldn't succumb to aging.

After all, he was the son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, a being from another world. How could someone like that die of old age?

And then there was Kaito...

What exactly had he done to restore Mito and Naori's youth and extend their lifespans?

Yes, Madara had finally pieced it together—the changes in Mito and Naori were all tied to this mysterious ten-year-old boy, Kaito.

Everything seemed to trace back to him.

This only made Madara more curious about Kaito's secrets.

Hearing Madara's question, both Mito and Naori were momentarily stunned. They, too, couldn't figure it out and turned their gazes to Kaito.

"Hmm, that's a good question," Kaito mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Logically speaking, someone like the Sage of Six Paths should have had an exceptionally long life."

"But the truth is... he did die!"

"That probably has a lot to do with him removing the Ten-Tails from his body."

"Once he lost the Ten-Tails' power, he was no longer immortal and ended up losing his life, just like how a Jinchūriki would die if their tailed beast were extracted."

"However, it seems like his death was voluntary."

"As for his true motives? That, I don't know yet!"

Kaito paused and added, "But it's probably not something good."

He had a feeling the Sage of Six Paths was playing a very long and complex game, and that his deliberate journey to the Pure Land of the Afterlife was a critical step in his grand plan.

Kaito even suspected that the Pure Land might have been something the Sage himself created by merging it with the original afterlife realm of the shinobi world.

It wasn't impossible.

If this theory held, then the Sage's purpose became clear:

To take control of the afterlife's power while using the Pure Land as a foundation to catalyze and absorb the chakra of countless powerful ninja souls. And how would he get these souls? By provoking endless wars in the shinobi world.

It wasn't just about growing stronger for himself. He might've been preparing for the eventual arrival of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Kaito didn't believe for a second that the Sage of Six Paths was unaware of the Ōtsutsuki's impending descent upon the world.

Even if he hadn't known initially, sealing his own mother would have revealed the truth to him.

He must've realized that his existence as a mortal had limits.

Just like how ordinary ninjas hit a ceiling due to their bloodline restrictions, the Sage of Six Paths might've faced a similar bottleneck later on.

If he wanted to keep getting stronger to face the future threat of the Ōtsutsuki, he would've had to break through those limits.

But how could he do that if his mortal body constrained him?

Wait for death?

Clearly, that wasn't an option.

So, maybe he used his Rinnegan or some other method to discover the afterlife and found a way to continue progressing—but it required him to become a spirit, separating himself from his physical form entirely.

Perhaps that's why he removed the Ten-Tails and willingly died.

Of course, all of this was just Kaito's speculation.

To uncover the truth, he'd need to capture the Sage of Six Paths in the future and dig through his memories.

"What do you think?"

Madara and the others frowned after hearing this.

They also felt that whatever the Sage of Six Paths had done, it wasn't without some sinister purpose.

But it wasn't something they could fully grasp right now.

"When are you planning to capture Black Zetsu?"

Madara asked Kaito, his tone filled with urgency.

He no longer trusted Black Zetsu.

He'd finally come to terms with the fact that Black Zetsu had been manipulating him all along.

Now, more than anything, he wanted revenge against that slimy creature.

As for the plans he had entrusted to Black Zetsu?

Madara had given up on them entirely.

Not only had Black Zetsu guided him to create those plans for its own purposes, but now that Madara was in Kaito's hands, sealed with countless layers of safeguards, there was no way Black Zetsu could rescue him from Konoha.

It was obvious that Kaito and his allies had prepared for everything, ensuring that Madara couldn't escape.

So instead of focusing on escape, Madara now placed his hopes on Kaito capturing Black Zetsu as well.

When that time came, Madara would make sure to "repay" Black Zetsu for all its betrayals.

"That'll have to wait for the right opportunity," Kaito replied with a helpless shrug.

"You know how Black Zetsu is. Its existence is unique, its perception is sharp, and its escape and survival skills are top-notch. It's not easy to catch."

Of course, Kaito didn't admit that part of him wanted to let Black Zetsu cause some chaos, gathering the tailed beasts to resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

He found Kaguya, in all her naive and quirky simplicity, quite intriguing.

He figured she might even become an ally in the future—a hidden ace with incredible potential.

Besides, Black Zetsu's meddling would inevitably target other ninja villages.

Especially when collecting tailed beasts, it would cause significant losses for those villages, forcing them to unite.

And that would be beneficial for Kaito's goal of unifying the shinobi world.

If Konoha grew too strong on its own, unifying the other villages would require force.

But that would only increase their hatred for Konoha, creating even more problems to deal with post-unification.

Too much hassle!

However, if a shared enemy like Black Zetsu emerged, combined with economic influence and later threats like the Ōtsutsuki, it could greatly ease the process of unification.

Kaito's strength was growing rapidly.

In a few years, he might truly become invincible in the shinobi world.

At that point, he could forcibly unify the villages through sheer power.

But the drawbacks of that approach were obvious. Winning goodwill afterward would be significantly harder.

That would delay his plans to eventually dominate the pirate world as well.

So why not take a more strategic route?

Slowing down the timeline for unification might actually save time in the long run.

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