Black Zetsu looked around in absolute terror.

"Madara Uchiha! You set me up?!"

Black Zetsu was genuinely rattled. Every single person who had appeared was someone Black Zetsu recognized, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze.

What on earth was going on?!

How had that useless White Zetsu been collecting information?

All these people had shown up, and Black Zetsu hadn't known a single thing about it...

Especially since these four had activated the Four Red Yang Formation. A barrier technique deployed by four Hokage-level powerhouses, there was absolutely no way Black Zetsu could break out of it.

And Madara Uchiha stood inside the barrier, watching the whole scene with a calm smile.

"I set you up?! Black Zetsu, haven't you always claimed to be my will? How could I possibly set you up? Or are you saying you were never my will at all?! That everything you did was just a lie to deceive me? That it was all just to rescue your mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki?!"

Black Zetsu stared at Madara Uchiha in disbelief.

To think that Madara Uchiha had already figured everything out!

But how?!

Could it have been that dog Hagoromo Otsutsuki?

That wretched creature, born of Mother, yet choosing to play the so-called Sage of Six Paths. A disgraceful, unfilial wretch! You don't deserve to be Mother's child!

Only me! Only I deserve to be Mother's child!

After the Four Red Yang Formation went up, more and more figures began appearing in the surrounding area.

Izuna Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Might Duy, Might Guy, Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi Hatake, Butsuma Senju, Tajima Uchiha, Tenren Hyūga, Kushina Uzumaki, Mito Uzumaki...

Every powerful fighter revived through the Summoning Space, together with the Hidden Leaf Village's own elite, had completely surrounded the Four Red Yang Formation.

Hirofumi Ito arrived at the outer perimeter of the barrier, dressed in the Fifth Hokage's haori.

Behind him followed the Hokage Guard Platoon, the Konoha 11, along with Sasuke Uchiha, who had crossed over from the future, and Boruto Uzumaki.

As Black Zetsu watched the figures outside the barrier multiply, a crushing weight settled over Black Zetsu.

Because many of these people should by all rights be dead.

What reason had brought all these dead people back to life?

Black Zetsu knew the Hidden Leaf Village had a forbidden technique called the Reanimation Jutsu. But the condition of these people clearly wasn't that, they had been restored in a perfectly complete state.

Without the Outer Path, Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, how had any of them come back?!

And it was obvious by now that this entire thing had been a trap set for Black Zetsu.

These people had already learned of Black Zetsu's schemes. And just moments ago, Madara Uchiha had spoken the name of Black Zetsu's mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, out loud.

"Black Zetsu... this is our first time meeting, isn't it?! You really are something — you're so pitch-black! Someone who didn't know any better might think you were cosplaying as the pig demon from Black Myth: Wukong!"

"You little brat... what are you even talking about? I have no idea what you're saying!"

"That's fine — let me put it a different way, and you should be able to follow. Do you still want to save your mom or not?!"

The moment Black Zetsu heard those words, Black Zetsu's pupils contracted instantly.

"You damned little brat! What did you just say?!"

Seeing Black Zetsu's stunned expression, Hirofumi Ito simply smiled.

"Black Zetsu... to be honest, all those years of scheming across the Shinobi World feel pretty unnecessary in hindsight. A child wanting to rescue their own mother — that part is perfectly understandable. But why did you have to stir up this much trouble to get there?!"

Standing nearby, Hashirama Senju heard Hirofumi Ito's words, nodded, and stomped one foot down hard.

"Exactly! You pitch-black little thing! Black Zetsu, is it?! Wanting to save your mom, that part is fine! But why did you have to deceive pure, innocent Madara?"

Hashirama Senju pressed on, face full of indignation.

"Madara is such a pure and simple person! Because of your deception, Madara abandoned me back then and left the Hidden Leaf Village!

And then went and had a fierce fight with me!

Which caused me to be completely miserable in the Hidden Leaf Village afterward!

Every bit of that is because of you!"

Inside the barrier, Madara Uchiha heard all of this, and his mouth twitched violently.

"Shut your mouth, you idiot!"

"Oh~ okay, I get it, Madara~~~"

Black Zetsu paid no attention to Hashirama Senju acting like a complete fool. After all, Black Zetsu had understood exactly what kind of person Hashirama Senju was a long time ago.

If Hashirama Senju hadn't been quite so utterly brainless, Black Zetsu might have actually tried to deceive Hashirama Senju as well, to make Hashirama Senju, just like Madara Uchiha, into one of the backup vessels for Mother's resurrection.

But unfortunately, this one was brainless in a way that defied all reason. Normally, brainless people are easy to deceive. Hashirama Senju was brainless, but not easy to deceive.

So in the end Black Zetsu had only ever managed to deceive Madara Uchiha, which meant that strictly speaking, Madara Uchiha really was quite remarkably pure-hearted...

Black Zetsu had actually tried various methods back then to influence Hashirama Senju's judgment, similar to how Black Zetsu had falsified the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet, planting false information for Hashirama Senju to find.

But the scene that followed was truly unbearable to witness.

Black Zetsu had crafted a stone carving, intending to imitate the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet, and arranged for Hashirama Senju to stumble across it as if by accident.

Hashirama Senju found it, took one look, and didn't bother reading a single word carved on it. Instead, Hashirama Senju kept exclaiming about what a fine piece of stonework it was, while rambling on and on about how it still wasn't quite as good as Hashirama Senju's own carving technique.

Then, with a clap of both hands, Hashirama Senju summoned a giant Buddha statue and smashed Black Zetsu's carefully prepared stone carving to powder...

Not giving up, Black Zetsu later prepared a wooden carving with false information carved into it just the same. Hashirama Senju picked it up, and split it apart and burned it to make a fire for roasting meat...

After that, Black Zetsu had absolutely no other option and prepared some sheets of paper, writing certain information on them. When Hashirama Senju was out in the wild, Black Zetsu maneuvered things so that Hashirama Senju came across these papers in what seemed like a perfectly chance encounter, and Hashirama Senju's eyes lit up.

Then Hashirama Senju pulled down the trousers, let loose in a torrent, and Black Zetsu's carefully prepared information became toilet paper...

From that point on, Black Zetsu completely gave up on trying to influence Hashirama Senju's thinking.

Because this one was truly, utterly brainless!

Madara Uchiha, on the other hand, had turned out to be unexpectedly pure-hearted. Black Zetsu had barely even tried to deceive him, and he had believed every word.

But right now, Black Zetsu had no desire to deal with Hashirama Senju.

Both eyes were locked hard on Hirofumi Ito.

"Brat! Just who exactly are you?! And what do you know?! You carry that cursed aura of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, so are you one of their descendants?!"

➤ Next: I Am Willing to Do Anything for You!

Chapter 216 - I Am Willing to Do Anything for You!

There was no running away now. madara uchiha had clearly already learned of Black Zetsu's schemes, and Black Zetsu had no choice but to face reality.

Black Zetsu knew the origins of hashirama senju and madara uchiha well enough, were they not simply the reincarnations of Indra Otsutsuki and Asura Otsutsuki?

But what was the deal with this infuriating little brat?!

Why did the aura around him feel so eerily similar to that accursed Hagoromo Otsutsuki?!

"My name is Hirofumi Ito. I am the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. I have no particular connection to the legendary Sage of Six Paths — but in a certain sense, there is some connection.

"None of that is the point, though.

"Black Zetsu, I know your schemes. I know your goals. I know exactly what everything you've ever done has been for.

"Your dream is simply to rescue your mother, isn't it?

"I'm a kind-hearted person. I can't stand watching someone fail to reach their dream.

"So I'll help you rescue your mother."

Black Zetsu froze.

"What did you say?! You said you're willing to help me rescue my mother?!"

"That's right. What, is there a problem? You've already seen it yourself. All these people who should have long since died have reappeared in the Shinobi World. Every last one of them is my doing. Bringing the dead back to life isn't particularly difficult for me.

"Not to mention, your mother hasn't actually died — merely sealed away on the moon. When the time comes, we break the seal, find a suitable vessel, and won't everything be resolved?!

"And the vessel doesn't have to be madara uchiha.

"You want madara uchiha to become the vessel for your mom, ahem, I'm not insulting you, by the way.

"You want madara uchiha to become your mother's vessel, which means executing the Eye of the Moon Plan, making madara uchiha the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, and then having him evolve into the state of the Otsutsuki Clan.

"What a hassle. Why not just grab an Otsutsuki directly as the vessel and be done with it?!"

Black Zetsu let out a cold laugh.

"Heh. Little brat, do you even know what you're saying?! Just grab an Otsutsuki as a vessel? Do you have any idea what the Otsutsuki Clan represents?! Their power is beyond anything the likes of you could possibly imagine!"

At this point, hashirama senju scratched the back of his head.

"Is the Otsutsuki Clan really that strong?! Didn't Sasuke Uchiha just send back the corpses of two Otsutsuki a few days ago? And we took down one ourselves."

Black Zetsu stared at hashirama senju in disbelief, eyes going wide.

"What did you just say?!"

hashirama senju gave Black Zetsu a simple rundown of how Urashiki Otsutsuki had been finished off a few days back.

Black Zetsu's mouth fell open. The jaw nearly hit the floor.

If anyone else had said this, Black Zetsu would never have believed it, but coming from the mouth of this dimwit hashirama senju, it had to be true.

It wasn't that hashirama senju was some paragon of honesty. It was that hashirama senju's brain capacity simply did not allow for making up lies.

So the Hidden Leaf Village had truly taken down an Otsutsuki not long ago, and had even obtained the corpses of two more?!

Black Zetsu had started to believe what Hirofumi Ito said.

"Little brat. Why are you telling me all this?! Do you really intend to help me rescue my mother?! You should know that my mother is also of the Otsutsuki Clan!

"My mother still intends to plant the God Tree, turn every person in the Shinobi World into White Zetsu, and raise an army of White Zetsu to resist the Otsutsuki Clan!

"And don't forget, my mother was sealed away by none other than the so-called founding ancestor of the Shinobi World, the Sage of Six Paths himself. If you help me rescue my mother, you'd be standing in direct opposition to your own founding ancestor!"

Hirofumi Ito simply shook his head.

"First of all, your mother is of the Otsutsuki Clan, but to be perfectly honest, if your mother had never existed back then, the Shinobi World would likely have ceased to exist long ago. That is an undeniable fact.

"And your mother has since been branded a traitor by the Otsutsuki Clan. If your mother were revived, those people would not let it go.

"On top of that: do you think White Zetsu's combat power is stronger, or ours?

"You don't actually believe an army of White Zetsu could hold off the Otsutsuki, do you?

"We can kill Otsutsuki. Can White Zetsu?

"As for your last point, standing in opposition to the Sage of Six Paths: the Sage of Six Paths is already dead. What does that have to do with our Shinobi World today?

"And do you really think we'd be afraid of opposing some so-called Sage of Six Paths?!

"Most importantly: the Otsutsuki Clan has already discovered the Shinobi World. If the Shinobi World is destroyed, the Sage of Six Paths dies too!"

Black Zetsu fell silent.

Black Zetsu suddenly felt that its brain capacity was running a little short.

Over a thousand years of scheming across the Shinobi World, all just to rescue its mother, and there had even been a time when Black Zetsu genuinely believed itself to be the greatest hidden hand in the entire Shinobi World.

The biggest boss pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Yet after all that, it turned out these people didn't seem to have any objection to Black Zetsu rescuing its own mother at all.

So what had all those years of scheming in the shadows even been for?!

And what this little brat said didn't seem to have any real problems either.

At the very least, the Shinobi World's strength was considerable, considerable enough in some measure to stand against the Otsutsuki Clan. That way, its mother could be protected too.

"Little brat."

Hirofumi Ito's brow lifted. He looked at Black Zetsu with an expression caught somewhere between a smile and a smirk.

"What did you call me? Don't forget, the Hidden Leaf Village runs by my word now. I am the one willing to help you rescue your mother."

Black Zetsu's expression went solemn. It stared at Hirofumi Ito, and then —

THUD!

Black Zetsu dropped straight to both knees.

Then its forehead slammed against the ground with a heavy knock.

"Hokage-sama! I beg of you, help me rescue my mother! As long as you can save her, I will do anything for you. Anything. Even die!"

Seeing that, not only was Hirofumi Ito stunned, everyone present was stunned.

Hirofumi Ito had just been toying with Black Zetsu a little. He never expected this one to go straight to kneeling before him.

➤ Next: madara uchiha's Black Hand