Akihara Kagura interrupted Black Zetsu, explaining proactively, "Before I came here, taking advantage of the time when you and Obito were not at the Akatsuki Hideout, I tried to snatch Nagato's Rinnegan by myself, hoping to use it to control the Gedo Statue. But in the end, I destroyed the Akatsuki Hideout and still didn't get the Rinnegan…"
Akihara Kagura knew there was no way to hide this matter, so he straightforwardly revealed the truth: "Originally, I wanted to use Jiraiya-sensei and Lord Orochimaru to help me attack Nagato, but they knew I was trying to snatch the Rinnegan. The two of them directly covered Nagato's escape. Now Nagato is afraid I'll seize the Rinnegan and use it with the Gedo Statue to destroy the Ninja World. He must have betrayed the Moon Eye Plan and probably already defected to Konoha's side…"
"What?"
Black Zetsu's little eyes widened!
What kind of joke is Akihara Kagura pulling here!
Why is he saying such shocking things now!
Does this guy even know what he's talking about? Why go after Nagato's Rinnegan? Why try to use the Gedo Statue to destroy the Ninja World?
This guy, Akihara Kagura...
Saying these things at a time like this, he must be joking, right?
"Why are you so surprised?"
Akihara Kagura looked at Black Zetsu, puzzled as to why he should be shocked by such a matter: "If I hadn't failed to get Nagato's Rinnegan, why would I be here watching the duel between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke?"
"What… do you mean?"
Black Zetsu found Akihara Kagura's remark hard to understand.
Looking at Black Zetsu, Akihara Kagura continued to ask, "Didn't you tell me that there's a possibility of an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan emerging between the Uchiha brothers Itachi and Sasuke? So I'm here to keep an eye out so that the second Rinnegan doesn't vanish…"
After finishing, Akihara Kagura added, "Oh right, Konoha likely already knows about my collaboration with the Akatsuki Organization. They'll probably classify me as a Traitorous Ninja on the wanted list. The plan to secretly capture the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, using my identity might also fall through…"
"..."
Black Zetsu's little eyes filled with dread.
A huge tide of information pounded Black Zetsu's brain, rendering it unresponsive for a moment. It had never experienced such a massive shock…
If it had a heart, Akihara Kagura's words would have made it explode right there, and Black Zetsu felt like the information was so overwhelming that its brain was struggling to keep up…
This guy, Akihara Kagura…
Just what the hell has he done!
Why, when the Moon Eye Plan was proceeding smoothly, even close to success, did he have to go and try stealing Nagato's Rinnegan!
Black Zetsu always thought its job was difficult enough—having never had a day of rest for thousands of years, finally seeing a glimpse of success recently…
Yet, right at the brink of success, Akihara Kagura acted recklessly and dealt it a heavy blow, causing everything to revert to the previous state!
Nagato escaped...
Konoha still has four generations of Hokage in charge…
Nagato and the Rinnegan disappeared together, and the Nine-tails need to be forcibly seized. If that group destroys the Rinnegan, will I have to find somewhere to mourn for decades again? Should I even be thankful that the Uchiha Clan hasn't been wiped out?
"..."
Uchiha Madara furrowed his brows.
Since Uchiha Madara had never been resurrected, he wasn't too clear about the current state of the Ninja World. He only looked at Akihara Kagura in front of him and asked his first question.
"Who are you?"
This was Uchiha Madara's greatest confusion about Akihara Kagura.
Why is this person, who tried to steal Nagato's Rinnegan and even sabotaged the Moon Eye Plan, also seemingly a part of the plan?
Come to think of it…
Was this person even a part of the Moon Eye Plan?
Why does he seem to be someone who achieves little yet ruins much?
"Let me take a moment…"
Black Zetsu's body appeared to lose strength.
The creature born of Yin Yang Release Creation, active in the Ninja World for over a thousand years, had never felt fatigue—but at that moment, Black Zetsu finally experienced what being tired felt like…
If a plan had never had any chance of success, Black Zetsu might not care, and it could keep trying persistently; but right at the point of imminent success, the plan suddenly failing utterly made Black Zetsu genuinely feel a bit weary inside…
Akihara Kagura earnestly invited Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara to get back to the business at hand: "Let's first go watch this duel, if Nagato's pair of Rinnegan wasn't captured, we can't let the other pair of Rinnegan have any issues…"
"I might need some rest…"
Black Zetsu's body grew more dispirited.
"Pull yourself together, Black Zetsu, you are my will."
Uchiha Madara coldly reprimanded Black Zetsu, keeping his gaze on Akihara Kagura, asking once more, "Who is this person?"
"I am Konoha's Hokage Assistant…"
The first words spoken by Akihara Kagura left Uchiha Madara in silence.
"Konoha's ninja?"
Uchiha Madara felt something was off, frowning as he pondered, then raised a critical issue: "Hokage Assistant of Konoha, how do you end up mixing with Black Zetsu?"
"Maybe because… I'm a spy!"
Akihara Kagura shrugged his eyebrows, nonchalantly leaning against a tree.
"A Hokage Assistant, acting as a spy?"
Uchiha Madara's brows were knitted tightly, evidently unable to comprehend Akihara Kagura's logic: "As Konoha's Hokage Assistant, aren't you supposed to become Konoha's next Hokage?"
This guy…
What does he make of Konoha's Hokage Assistant?
Even though every Hokage Assistant of Konoha—from the first, Senju Tobirama, to the second, Shimura Danzo—has always been something like a nuisance, each one worse than the last, the current Hokage Assistant conspiring with enemies as a spy, doesn't it seem like Konoha's ninjas have fallen too far, too fast?
"I can't become the next Hokage anymore."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, indifferent as he continued, "Jiraiya-sensei will definitely make it public that I conspired with the Akatsuki Organization to steal the Rinnegan, Konoha will immediately classify me as an S-Class Traitorous Ninja. It might even be higher than S-Class…"
"Forget it, consider it a form of penance…"
"I once drove Shikaku, the previous Hokage Assistant, to defect, and now it's my turn as the Hokage Assistant to become a Traitorous Ninja—not that surprising…"
"..."
Uchiha Madara felt his brain could barely cope.
No way…
Konoha's Hokage Assistants have indeed never been commendable figures…
But why is this generation's Hokage Assistant such a power and profit-loving individual, even conspiring with enemy forces and driving the previous Hokage Assistant to defect…
Has the era changed this drastically?
How many years have passed since Hashirama and I founded Konoha, yet it has already fallen this low? I can't even imagine what Senju Tobirama, the first Hokage Assistant, would think of today's generation if he knew…
"Hold on…"
Black Zetsu finally came back to itself, recalling what it needed to ask, "Kagura, why did you try to steal the Rinnegan at this moment…"
Akihara Kagura was quite frank, softly speaking, "Because if Nagato collected all the Tailed Beasts, I might not be a match for him. To be on the safe side, I have to grab Nagato's Rinnegan before he gathers all the Tailed Beasts. I need those eyes…"
"..."
Black Zetsu felt Akihara Kagura made a point.
There's no point, though!
We are all working for the Moon Eye Plan, so why turn the plan into such chaos when it's in progress and nearing completion!
The most troublesome thing…
Nagato, carrying the Rinnegan, betrayed the Moon Eye Plan and defected to Konoha!
"Oh, there's one more thing."
Akihara Kagura looked at Black Zetsu, actively inquiring, "Nagato controlled the Gedo Statue to attack me, its limbs were torn off. Will this hinder collecting Tailed Beasts?"
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent.
The mastermind who hadn't sighed for ages, finally found some consolation: "Compared to other issues, this is a minor one. The Gedo Statue can't be killed…"
"Let's go watch the duel between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke…"
Black Zetsu decided to first avoid trouble with the backup plan; having a spare Rinnegan was indeed crucial.
If Nagato really destroyed the Rinnegan, I might have to abandon Uchiha Madara and use the victor between Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi as my pawn…