Hiss—
The moment those words fell, the fused Black Zetsu and White Zetsu rose from the ground.
White Zetsu looked fine. Though he was surprised that Ren knew so many secrets, he didn't show it.
But Black Zetsu's heart was thrown into a raging storm.
Because Ren knew his true identity.
And if Ren knew that—
Then it meant every scheme he had ever laid might already be within Ren's grasp.
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
In that instant, Black Zetsu's scalp went numb—chilled to the bone.
He had always believed he stood on the hundredth floor, looking down on Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Nagato—pulling the strings in the shadows and controlling everything.
But now…
It felt like Ren was standing on the two-hundredth floor.
"So you finally came out."
Ren looked at the fused Zetsu calmly and said, as if this were all routine,
"You can tell Uchiha Obito the truth. Let him give up completely."
"…What?"
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu both froze.
Then White Zetsu snapped back first, his tone turning sharp.
"Uchiha Ren, what are you babbling about? We don't know what you're talking about. Stop trying to confuse people."
Ren didn't even blink.
"Black Zetsu," he said lightly. "You tell him."
He turned his eyes to Black Zetsu, his voice level—but laced with threat.
"I hope your answer satisfies me. Otherwise, the consequences will be serious."
In that moment, Black Zetsu wanted to cry.
He wasn't stupid.
He understood exactly what Ren meant.
If he didn't cooperate, Ren would simply reveal everything—tear his secrets into the open.
And that was the last thing Black Zetsu wanted.
At least not yet.
Not before the Ten-Tails was revived.
He did not want the world to learn what he truly was.
After a few seconds, Black Zetsu drew a slow breath and spoke cleanly, without hesitation.
"Uchiha Obito… what the Fifth Hokage said is all true."
"You are nothing more than a substitute chosen by Uchiha Madara."
"Nohara Rin was also set up to die by Uchiha Madara."
"From beginning to end, you were only a pawn."
"Black Zetsu—what are you saying?!"
White Zetsu's eyes widened. His emotions surged, and he blurted out in disbelief.
"Shut up."
Black Zetsu's voice turned cold.
Buzz—!!!
A strange chakra fluctuation swept through.
In the next instant, Black Zetsu tore free—separating from White Zetsu completely.
One black.
One white.
White Zetsu stared at him, sensing something, his heart jolting—
But he was wise enough not to say another word.
"So it's really true…"
Obito's fists clenched until they shook. Beneath the mask, his face twisted.
Why?
Why was the truth like this?
Without him realizing it, the foundation of his belief had already cracked.
If everything had been Madara's calculation…
Then what was he?
A pawn, and nothing more?
Then what was the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan even for?
No.
Even if he was a pawn—
He would still revive Nohara Rin.
He would still create a shinobi world without war.
After a violent storm of thoughts, Obito forced the chaos down. His eyes sharpened again, regaining their cold resolve.
He would live for himself.
He would live for Rin.
If Madara had used him as a pawn…
Then he had used Madara too.
Who would win in the end?
That wasn't decided yet.
"Fifth Hokage."
Obito stared straight at Ren.
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Just so you can die understanding what you were."
Ren sounded almost thoughtful, as if answering honestly.
"So you—and Nagato—know that you're both nothing more than pieces in Uchiha Madara's hand."
Of course, Ren didn't say the rest—
That Uchiha Madara himself was also just a piece.
"Hmph."
Obito snorted, his voice icy.
"You say I'm Madara's pawn…"
At that moment, Nagato finally reacted as well, his expression shaken.
"Me? That's impossible. I'm only cooperating with Uchiha Madara."
"Cooperating?"
Ren's tone was full of contempt.
"Your Rinnegan is Uchiha Madara's—"
"My Rinnegan… is whose?"
Nagato went blank.
His Rinnegan… wasn't his?
If that were true—
And if he connected it to certain strange things from his childhood—
A cold, creeping dread surged up his spine.
Why would it be like this?
Hearing so many buried secrets, Konan—silent until now—broke into cold sweat as well.
The thought that everything Akatsuki had done might have been controlled by someone else…
Made her scalp prickle.
"Alright."
Ren's mouth curved slightly.
"Time to move."
That was exactly the effect he wanted.
He hadn't come to the Rain Village merely to crush Nagato and Obito with strength—
He wanted to smash them mentally, too.
You thought you controlled everything?
In the end, it was all a joke.
Whoosh!
A sharp rush of air—
Ren vanished from the sky.
So fast.
"Not good—Ren is attacking!"
Obito and Nagato's expressions changed at once. Chakra surged as they snapped into battle stances.
But—
They were overthinking it.
When Ren appeared again, he was already behind the Asura Path of the Six Paths of Pain.
He drove a punch forward.
A pale-white wave of force flared—
The air exploded.
The Asura Path didn't even have time to react before it was blasted apart, exploding into countless fragments.
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