"It has been a long time, members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, and..."
A voice so familiar it made him go numb suddenly came from another direction.
Black Zetsu actually saw another "Black Zetsu" walk out from where the voice had come from.
"Indra and..."
"Ashura!"
What?!!!
For one instant, Black Zetsu felt an absurd sense of confusion, like Zhuang Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming it was Zhuang Zhou.
Why was there another Black Zetsu walking out in his place?!!
Of course, he had no way of knowing that this Black Zetsu was Naruto Uzumaki in disguise, based on the information Naruto had heard and seen while experiencing the life of the main-world Naruto Uzumaki.
The fake Black Zetsu walked out from the shadows.
Appearing with him were the young Madara Uchiha, whom he was holding hostage, along with Madara's younger brothers, Myoko Uchiha, Togakushi Uchiha, and Kurohi Uchiha, as well as the young Hashirama Senju, his younger brothers Itama Senju and Kawarama Senju.
Young Izuna's expression changed drastically on the battlefield. "Brother!"
Young Tobirama shouted, "Big Brother! Kawarama and Itama have been captured too!!"
Butsuma Senju and Tajima Uchiha looked shocked, with anger they could not hide on their faces.
"What is the meaning of this?!!"
"You're using our clan's children as hostages! What are you after?!!"
"Do you think this is enough to hold us back?"
"Whatever you are, you're far too naive."
The fake Black Zetsu, Naruto, chuckled. When it came to pranks, he was a professional.
Facing the furious questioning from the Senju and Uchiha, he opened his mouth and improvised. "Kaguya was sealed inside the moon by Rikudō Sennin. Before she was sealed, she ordered me to scheme and use the descendants of Indra and Ashura, in other words, the Uchiha and Senju Clans, to free her."
"Use..."
"The Senju and Uchiha?"
The ninjas of both clans were stunned. What was this pitch-black thing even talking about?
Black Zetsu was even more stunned.
He was convinced that no one could possibly know his plan.
The fake Black Zetsu, Naruto, said, "Hahahaha! The foolish Uchiha have no idea that the Stone Monument Rikudō Sennin left them was altered by me long ago. I guided the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan into war because I did not want them to discover the true method to treat the Mangekyō Sharingan..."
The Uchiha: "!!!!"
The Stone Monument their clan regarded as a treasure had been altered by this thing?!!
The method they had always used, exchanging eyes between blood-related brothers...
Was fake?!!!
With that speech, the fake Black Zetsu, Naruto, exposed half of Black Zetsu's secrets.
"The true method to treat the Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"Why would preventing the Uchiha from finding the real solution to their eye problem require you to keep guiding them into war with us Senju? I don't understand. What connection is there between the two?"
It was not only the Uchiha Clan who were confused. The Senju looked just as lost.
If not for the overwhelming pressure coming from Indra, played by Madara Uchiha, Ashura, played by Hashirama Senju, and the self-proclaimed members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan beside them, the Uchiha and Senju ninjas would never have believed this nonsense.
But the problem was that the difference in strength between these people and them was like the difference between lions and ants.
Ask yourself, would a lion deliberately put on a play just to deceive a group of little ants?
If anyone thought so, Indra, played by Madara Uchiha, would definitely say, Mere gravel does not amount to half of me. You? You think you're worthy?
Therefore, none of the Senju or Uchiha present believed that the so-called Ōtsutsuki and Black Zetsu were fakes.
That truly made the real Black Zetsu both furious and resentful.
Earlier, suddenly sensing the power of the Rinnegan had thrown him into panic, making him think that members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan had really arrived here.
But after calming down, he discovered that aside from sensing Rinnegan power from the one who called himself Indra, none of the others had the Ōtsutsuki Clan's unique chakra or the true power of the Rinnegan.
Black Zetsu thought it over.
Since the other side had sent out an impostor, that meant the current situation was likely one where both enemies were hidden in the dark.
They did not know he was hiding here, and he did not know their true identities, the purpose of these self-proclaimed Ōtsutsuki clansmen, or where they had learned about the Ōtsutsuki and himself.
For the first time in over a thousand years of scheming, Black Zetsu tasted what it felt like to lose control.
From within the Senju camp, a clear young voice analyzed and asked, "The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai disease needs help from the Senju to be cured, so you kept provoking conflict to stop the Uchiha Clan from curing their Kekkei Genkai disease? I doubt it's that simple. What would the Uchiha gain after curing their Kekkei Genkai disease?"
"!!!"
Naruto and the other kids were all stunned. The Second Hokage was only twelve years old at this point, right?
It was already one thing to be on the battlefield killing adults, but he could still analyze the situation so sharply at a time like this?
Young Izuna stood in the Uchiha camp with his pouting lips. Hearing the analysis from the white-haired boy he had just fought, he was surprised, and also slightly impressed by the other boy's quick reaction.
His combat strength was good too.
Mm.
Though his looks and power did not really seem like the Senju Clan's style.
Was he a child from another clan who had been switched at birth, or a girl in disguise?
Young Tobirama had no idea that the pouting boy across from him was thinking all that nonsense. His eyes stayed fixed on Black Zetsu, and he did not mention a word about his older brother being taken hostage.
Because of this, young Madara Uchiha even whispered to young Hashirama, asking whether that white-haired guy was really his biological brother. Naturally, young Hashirama's response was to sink into gloom on the spot.
The fake Black Zetsu, Naruto, said, "That's right! The Uchiha possess the, uh..."
He suddenly got stuck.
This was not like Madara Uchiha getting stuck because Hashirama had called him brother and his mind could not adjust. This time, the twelve-year-old Naruto genuinely...
Forgot his lines.
This long stretch of dialogue was what Tobirama Senju had told him to say, a way to expose all the information to the Senju and Uchiha.
But once academic research was involved, Tobirama Senju's words became extremely convoluted and complicated. Was that something Naruto could understand?
Never mind twelve-year-old Naruto getting stuck.
Even a sixteen-year-old Naruto, hero of the Fourth Shinobi World War, would get stuck all the same.
"Is it because the Uchiha are Indra's descendants and possess the Yin-nature chakra passed down through him, so once it merges with his brother's Yang-nature chakra, the Mangekyō Sharingan not only won't cause blindness, but may even produce Rikudō Sennin's Rinnegan?"
Minato Namikaze made a godly save, using a rhetorical question to say almost exactly what Naruto had meant.
Sasuke said, "It isn't that easy. Awakening the Mangekyō requires deep suffering, and awakening the Rinnegan is even more so. That Black Zetsu probably wants to choose a suitable candidate from among those who lose loved ones in war and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan through pain, then have that person awaken the Rinnegan and help him break the seal on Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
"Exactly! That's it!"
Naruto's line was perfectly saved by Minato and Sasuke, and he got through that crisis without danger.
Although there were plenty of holes, the ninjas of the Uchiha and Senju Clans were immersed in that explosive information and did not notice the tiny details of their mistake.
The son of Rikudō Sennin.
Yin-nature chakra and Yang-nature chakra.
As for the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai disease, it could even help them awaken the Rinnegan.
Holy crap! Were the Senju some kind of perfect tonic pill?!
Pair after pair of Sharingan turned toward the Senju with meaningful looks.
How had a group of rough men suddenly become so damn attractive?
"A thousand years of hatred, all because you wanted to use the Uchiha to undo some seal and turn the entire ninja world into a nursery, providing nutrients for this so-called God Tree." Young Tobirama simply summarized the information and decisively stripped Black Zetsu's secrets bare.
"That's right." The fake Black Zetsu, Naruto, pushed young Madara Uchiha, young Hashirama Senju, and the others in front of Indra and Ashura. "As long as these children are used as material to cultivate the Rinnegan, the Ōtsutsuki Clan's plan can proceed as usual."
Indra, played by Madara Uchiha, Ashura, played by Hashirama Senju, and Minato and the others who were also pretending to be Ōtsutsuki clansmen all nodded, seeming to approve of the fake Black Zetsu, Naruto's plan. Then they prepared to turn and leave with the seven brats they had captured.
Could the Uchiha and Senju allow that?
Of course they could not!
According to the plan, as long as they acted as villains and drew the fire of both clans, they would successfully stop the two clans from fighting, right?
Then the C-rank mission would be complete, right?
At the same time, they could also throw out everything about Black Zetsu, the Ōtsutsuki, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the God Tree.
Multiple birds with one stone.
Perfect.
However...
They did not know that the real Black Zetsu was right there.
Young Madara Uchiha and young Hashirama Senju were the two opportunities he had quietly spent a thousand years planning for.
For the sake of achieving his plan, their brothers were also sacrifices Black Zetsu had prepared in order to cultivate those two. He could not let them take even one of them away.
With that thought, the real Black Zetsu finally acted.
At that moment, he was possessing a White Zetsu that had transformed into a certain dead Uchiha. He was the first to jump out and shout to the Senju and Uchiha clansmen, "You can't believe their words!! They only want to take away the young Clan Heads and the young masters!!"
The people of the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan were already never going to let the sons of their Clan Heads, the young Clan Heads who would become the next leaders, be taken away right in front of them.
Whether Black Zetsu said anything or not, they had already charged forward, ready to act.
But!!
Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and the others all keenly picked up on a word that should not have appeared.
"Only?"
Do not believe their words. They "only" want to take away the young Clan Heads and the young masters.
An ordinary Uchiha clansman, one whose Sharingan only had two tomoe in each eye, had no reason to be so certain that their words could not be trusted. On what basis could he conclude that they only wanted to take away the sons of the two Clan Heads?
Although their hastily improvised plot was full of holes, under normal circumstances, that line should have been, "We can't let them take the young Clan Heads."
Not like that "Uchiha," who was certain everything they said was a lie and that they had some other purpose in taking away the young Clan Heads of both clans.
Unless...
[It's the real Black Zetsu.]
What suddenly appeared in Naruto's ears was Kurama's lazy, majestic voice, carrying a bit of smug arrogance.
Deep in his mind, Naruto arrived before the dark-gold gate.
"Really?! Kurama!!"
[That's right. Have Hashirama use Senjutsu. Otherwise, it'll be very hard to catch him!]
"Got it!!"
Naruto withdrew from his inner world, changed back to his original appearance, and shouted at Hashirama Senju, who was transformed into Ashura, "First Old Man! Kurama says to use Senjutsu!!"
Hashirama Senju did not hesitate in the slightest.
He clapped his hands together.
Boom!
He returned to his original appearance as Hashirama Senju.
Immediately after.
With a sharp sound, red Senjutsu markings appeared on his face, and his eyes suddenly turned golden. Hashirama Senju, who always looked innocent, now carried seven parts dominance and three parts majesty.
With Senjutsu Mode strengthening him, Hashirama Senju's chakra surged by several times over.
After absorbing natural energy, his sensory ability also became much stronger.
Most importantly, Senjutsu had a significant effect on Black Zetsu and the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Lock onto that different Uchiha.
"Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!!"