Black Zetsu felt that its once-glorious image had been completely twisted by the Heavenly Curtain into that of a foolish, childish pet—an idiot that could only crawl around on the ground.
That was worse than killing it!
As for the rest of the shinobi world watching the projection, their focus was entirely elsewhere.
Or rather—they didn't care about Black Zetsu at all.
Just a pet, wasn't it?
"So this is… the 'Clan of Gods'?" Countless people gasped, their eyes filled with shock and indescribable yearning.
"Eternal youth is one thing… but living for thousands of years?! That's practically a true deity!"
"My God… if I could marry a woman like that…"
A young shinobi began daydreaming, only to be smacked awake by his companion.
"Hey, wake up! Stop dreaming!"
"So here's my guess!" More people began building on the earlier "betrayal theory." "Later on, Kaguya must've given the Chakra Fruit to Tenji—either to extend his lifespan or for some other reason! Then that man gained power, changed his heart, and betrayed her! That's why she turned from love to hatred and fell into darkness!"
"Right! That's totally possible! Otherwise, how do you explain everything that happened afterward? The Chakra Fruit's power must've been used—and used on the wrong person!"
"But… wasn't the Chakra Fruit supposed to be offered to her clan?" someone questioned. "If Kaguya gave it away privately, wouldn't she fear punishment from the Ōtsutsuki Clan?"
"If she already fell into darkness because of love turning to hate, would she still care about clan punishment? Maybe using the fruit without permission is exactly why the clan later came after her! And that's why she had to resist—and even alter humanity to fight back!"
More elaborate conspiracy theories began to take shape.
Speculation spread wildly across the shinobi world. Everyone felt they were on the verge of grasping the truth of history, waiting for the Heavenly Curtain to confirm it.
—
A Hidden Base
Orochimaru's golden, serpentine pupils were fixed firmly on Kaguya's eternally youthful face within the projection. His breathing had grown rapid, his long tongue unconsciously sliding across his lips.
"They're all humanoid… all intelligent life-forms… So why… why does the Ōtsutsuki Clan so easily possess lifespans of thousands of years—or even longer?"
"The research value is immeasurable… absolutely immeasurable. If I could unravel the secret behind this…"
He seemed to glimpse a broad, golden road leading toward true immortality, his body trembling faintly with excitement.
Beside him, Karin was happily gnawing on a bright red steamed crab.
Hearing Orochimaru's muttering, she blinked and spoke through a mouthful of crab meat.
"Mmm… living a few thousand years? Is that hard?"
Tilting her head, she seemed to search through her inherited memories.
"In the legacy I received, even the lowest and weakest 'demons' could live that long—as long as they weren't killed or did something stupid."
"Some powerful ones live tens of thousands… even hundreds of thousands of years. That's normal."
Crack.
It was as though something snapped inside Orochimaru's mind.
He turned sharply to look at Karin. In those calculating, greedy golden eyes, a rare swirl of complex emotions appeared.
Shock. Envy. Jealousy. Disbelief.
And even a trace of… deep frustration.
He had devoted his entire life, risked everything, researched Forbidden Techniques, and transferred between bodies—all to pursue that uncertain, deeply flawed form of "immortality."
Yet this ill-tempered, reckless red-haired girl casually told him that in her so-called "Demon God inheritance," longevity was merely the most basic and inferior trait.
As ordinary as breathing.
What exactly was so special about this troublesome brat?
For the first time, Orochimaru felt a near-absurd urge to complain about "fate" or "fortune."
Karin was ill-tempered, disobedient, and constantly caused trouble.
Of all the children he had ever taken in, she was the most difficult—the most unruly!
So why was she the one favored by an existence of that level, granted a "default configuration" he had long dreamed of?
He watched her carefree expression as she cracked crab legs without a worry in the world, then glanced back at Kaguya's cool, distant face in the Heavenly Curtain.
Suddenly, the path he had chosen in pursuit of immortality felt unbearably arduous.
—
Within the Heavenly Curtain, Kaguya and Tenji's married life was peaceful.
However, that peace was shattered on what appeared to be an ordinary day.
In the projection, Kaguya—who had been sitting quietly in the courtyard—suddenly changed expression without warning.
For the first time, clear panic appeared on her eternally composed face.
She lowered her head abruptly, staring at her hands before quickly sensing her entire body. Shock filled her pure Byakugan.
"Mother? What's wrong?" Black Zetsu, dozing like a shadow at her feet, immediately sensed something amiss. It wriggled upward and asked urgently in its sticky voice.
"My power… it's disappearing rapidly!" Kaguya's voice had lost its usual calm, trembling slightly.
She could clearly feel the energy within her receding like the tide—flowing uncontrollably and continuously toward some deep part of her body. The speed was so great that it filled her with unprecedented weakness… and fear.
The loss of power was a deadly threat to any life-form—especially to a being like her.
"What?!" Black Zetsu was horrified, its pitch-black body swelling outward in alarm. "What's happening?! Mother, examine yourself carefully! Is something wrong?"
Forcing herself to calm down, Kaguya closed her eyes and conducted an extremely meticulous internal inspection, far beyond ordinary sensory perception.
Time passed slowly, the atmosphere in the courtyard suffocatingly tense.
At last, Kaguya opened her eyes.
The panic on her face had vanished.
In its place was an extraordinarily complex expression—shock, confusion, realization…
And a faint, indescribable glimmer of something strange.
She slowly raised her hand. This time, she was no longer examining her chakra. Instead, with a careful, almost tentative motion, she gently placed her hand upon her still-flat abdomen.
"This… this is…" Her voice was soft, as though afraid of disturbing something fragile, yet filled with disbelief. "I… am with child?"
"Ha???"
Black Zetsu seemed to freeze for several seconds, the dark mass stiffening in place as if unable to process the connection between that word and its powerful, aloof "Mother."
After a long pause, it finally digested the meaning. Its voice shot upward in pitch, brimming with astonishment.
"A baby?! A little brother?! Mother, you have a baby?! I'm going to have a younger brother?!"
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