Inside Konoha Village.
Emiya Shigen didn't care about anyone spying on him.
He had long expected Tobirama Senju to observe him in secret. With Tobirama's personality, he wouldn't let go of any chance to make Konoha stronger.
However, over a thousand years ago, Emiya Shigen had positioned himself so cleverly that everyone believed his existence to be harmless. This forced even Tobirama to take a roundabout approach to gain his favor for Konoha.
Everyone believed only one thing...
Emiya Shigen wanted to create a brighter future for the world.
Even Black Zetsu, who always sought to overturn the shinobi world, wasn't worried that Emiya Shigen would harm it. Black Zetsu's biggest fear was that Emiya Shigen might ignore it altogether.
And yet...
This was precisely what made Black Zetsu's task the most difficult.
Black Zetsu deeply wished that Emiya Shigen would abandon his so-called noble ideals and join it in devoting himself to the dark mission of reviving Kaguya.
Unfortunately...
When Black Zetsu quietly arrived in Konoha, the sight that greeted it was Emiya Shigen reviewing medical records from Konoha Hospital, meticulously summarizing the cases where he had saved lives. This made Black Zetsu's metaphorical head ache even more.
Why waste energy saving these ordinary people who, if dead, were simply dead?
"You're back?"
When Emiya Shigen noticed Black Zetsu revealing itself, his brush didn't pause. While continuing to write, he greeted casually: "Black Zetsu, hold on a moment. Let me finish this first..."
"..."
Black Zetsu had no choice but to wait helplessly.
It wasn't until Emiya Shigen finally put down his brush that Black Zetsu spoke, trying to persuade him: "Shigen, what we need to focus on is a far greater cause..."
"This doesn't conflict with that."
Emiya Shigen carefully rolled up the scroll and explained earnestly, "These minor matters don't waste my time. In fact, I'll continue to do them in the future."
"By the way..."
"What about that Uchiha Madara person?"
Emiya Shigen got straight to the point, as he had already anticipated that Black Zetsu would bring up Uchiha Madara. "I've heard some things about him in Konoha. The rumors about him aren't great—many people are afraid of him."
"Uchiha Madara is much like his ancestor, Indra."
Black Zetsu immediately picked up the thread, introducing their future pawn: "Madara firmly believes that strength is the key to dominance and stability. People who favor heavy-handed methods like his rarely win the favor of the weak. They often inspire fear instead."
"By the way,"
After introducing Madara, Black Zetsu continued, "Madara now wants to meet you. He's seeking some information from you..."
"What information?"
"How to awaken the Rinnegan."
When Black Zetsu spoke of this, its voice turned slightly eerie. "The Sage of Six Paths left behind a stone tablet for the descendants of his eldest son, Indra..."
As it internally cursed the Sage of Six Paths, Black Zetsu simultaneously used his name to deceive Emiya Shigen. "The Sage foresaw that the shinobi path might not be entirely correct. On the tablet, he outlined a method for Indra's descendants to awaken the Rinnegan. It seems he hoped they could use that power to rebuild order in the shinobi world after its collapse..."
"Of course..."
Black Zetsu's tone grew colder, carrying traces of bitterness and resentment. "At the end of the tablet, he also left instructions for reviving our mother, Kaguya."
"Perhaps the Sage believed that if both Indra's and Asura's paths failed to bring peace to the shinobi world, then the world would ultimately need the presence of the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya."
Of course, this was Black Zetsu's fabrication.
The tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths had never mentioned reviving Kaguya. In fact, it warned the Uchiha clan, Indra's descendants, to be cautious of Kaguya's return!
That bastard Sage!
He wanted to eliminate any chance of Kaguya's revival!
To bring Kaguya back, Black Zetsu had no choice but to alter the content of the stone tablet using its powers.
Because of this alteration, Black Zetsu now had to fabricate another lie to fool Emiya Shigen.
"Is that so?"
Emiya Shigen nodded thoughtfully.
He appeared to fully trust Black Zetsu's narrative, offering no support to the Sage of Six Paths. Instead, he sighed.
"What is this, really?"
"A child growing up and, across time, finally understanding the greatness of their mother? After spreading chakra to the world and turning it into an irreparable mess, they recall their once-omnipotent mother from whom they sought shelter as children?"
"..."
For some reason, Black Zetsu felt a pang of sorrow.
If its mother Kaguya could hear Emiya Shigen's words... If the final message on the Sage's tablet had been about reviving Kaguya... Perhaps Kaguya, with her fragile heart, might have forgiven her rebellious sons.
Sigh...
This Emiya Shigen...
Even the warmest words could pierce someone's soul.
"Enough."
Emiya Shigen's casual remark stirred Black Zetsu's emotions, yet he didn't linger on the topic of the Sage or Kaguya. "Since the Sage left a method for reviving the Rabbit Goddess, it seems we don't need to go to too much trouble."
"However..."
"Uchiha Madara knows nothing about this."
Black Zetsu finally got to the heart of the matter. Its voice became increasingly serious, as if fearing that Emiya Shigen might detect a flaw in its story. "Because the Sage hid the information about Kaguya's revival on the tablet, I suspect he..."
"The Sage of Six Paths really understood his children well."
Emiya Shigen interrupted Black Zetsu, as though immersed in the lie it had woven, and sighed deeply. "I've met Indra and Uchiha Madara. They both possess an arrogance that ordinary people can't even begin to approach."
Emiya Shigen let out another sigh, actively filling in Black Zetsu's fabricated story. "If those proud children knew that their ancestor had to clean up the mess they made, they'd never go through with it—unless the world was truly on the brink of destruction."
This Black Zetsu couldn't even lie convincingly...
And now, the so-called "deceived" Emiya Shigen had to help patch up the lie.
He had already figured out Black Zetsu's intentions—to use him to deceive Uchiha Madara and conceal the truth about Kaguya's revival.
But come on...
With such clumsy schemes...
Don't bother teaching him how to trick Madara!
Emiya Shigen sighed and said softly, "If we want Uchiha Madara to help revive the Rabbit Goddess, we'll need to hide the truth from him."
"Exactly!"
Black Zetsu nodded enthusiastically, seizing the chance to persuade Emiya Shigen to let go of his moral scruples. "Shigen, sometimes hiding the truth or telling a kind lie to those who need help isn't a bad thing at all..."
"How strange..."
Emiya Shigen's expression turned wistful, as though struggling to understand the era he lived in. "The shinobi of this age are even teaching me to lie and hide things. It seems that in this era of lies, honesty has become a sin..."
"..."
Black Zetsu felt a twinge of guilt.
"This is the absurdity of the world."
Black Zetsu quickly comforted him, cautiously guiding Emiya Shigen toward darkness. "Shigen, this has never been your fault. Everything we do is for the sake of steering this world back on the right track."
"When Kaguya is truly revived..."
"You'll no longer need to hide yourself in this world."
"At that time..."
"You'll never need to touch lies or deception again."
With its guilt dissipating, Black Zetsu continued weaving its web of deceit around Emiya Shigen. "You'll be able to return to your truest self and truly change this absurd world..."
"I understand."
Emiya Shigen looked at Black Zetsu, sighed, and reluctantly nodded, as though he had no other choice.