Black Zetsu went eerily silent upon hearing the words "Otsutsuki Main House."
His eyes narrowed, locking onto Jiraiya.
"Konoha..."
Black Zetsu's voice was raspy. "It's impossible for you to have access to information at this level. Even the stone tablet left by that old Sage of Six Paths doesn't record anything about the Main House."
He was testing him.
This was a scheme born from a thousand years of survival; he wouldn't believe the other party's words so easily.
Jiraiya seemed to have anticipated this, uttering only three words.
"Mount Myoboku."
Three simple words, yet they caused a massive upheaval in Black Zetsu's heart once more.
Mount Myoboku.
The Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru.
That living fossil from the same era as the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo. One of the main culprits who once incited Hagoromo and Hamura to seal Kaguya.
It was actually him!
If it were that old toad with the power of prophecy...
Then this information seemed extremely credible.
Ordinarily, as long as there was no threat to Mount Myoboku's existence, that old toad would usually just sleep and never interfere in the trivial matters of the shinobi world.
But now, he had revealed such top-secret information to Konoha.
This could only prove one thing.
The threat had grown so large that even that old toad couldn't sit still anymore.
The Otsutsuki Main House was really coming!
Something big was coming!
"It seems you've figured it out."
Jiraiya looked at Black Zetsu's fluctuating expression, his lips curling into a mocking arc. "So? Do you believe the information I've provided now?"
Black Zetsu took a deep breath, his black body wriggling slowly as he regained his footing on the ground.
He didn't answer immediately but turned to glance at Pain behind him.
The Deva Path Pain, controlled by Nagato, remained expressionless, but the cold light flickering in those Rinnegan eyes showed he had already developed deep suspicions toward Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu knew his disguise within the Akatsuki had been completely torn away.
"Since it's a prophecy from that toad..."
Black Zetsu's voice regained its calm, carrying a bone-chilling coldness. "Then I'll listen for a moment. If the Main House truly descends, this small patch of the shinobi world won't even be enough to satisfy their appetites."
He was an ultimate egoist and an absolute rationalist.
Before rescuing his mother, protecting her 'nursery' from being destroyed by others was the first priority.
"That's the spirit."
Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "Time is running out. If we follow your so-called 'Eye of the Moon' plan—collecting Tailed Beasts, reviving the Ten-Tails, casting Infinite Tsukuyomi... by the time that process is finished, the ship will have long since sailed."
Jiraiya pointed to the sky. "You wouldn't want to be stepped on by an Otsutsuki from the Main House the moment you finally release Princess Kaguya, would you?"
Black Zetsu fell silent.
This was indeed his greatest concern.
If the chakra fluctuations from Kaguya's revival attracted the attention of the Main House, his thousand-year scheme would simply be doing someone else's dirty work.
"Then what is your plan?"
"Aside from requiring the chakra of those two traitors' reincarnations, one also needs extreme Yang and Yin powers to undo that seal."
Black Zetsu asked, "Besides that, to liberate Mother, one must gather the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts and revive the God Tree. These were the rules established by those two traitors."
"Rules are meant to be broken."
Jiraiya shook his head, a gleam of confidence in his eyes. "Times have changed, Black Zetsu. Nowadays, we rely on science."
"Science?" Black Zetsu frowned.
"The first hurdle is how to liberate your mother—Otsutsuki Kaguya."
Jiraiya held up a finger. "We don't need to revive the Ten-Tails, nor do we need the Infinite Tsukuyomi. We just need to prepare a vessel for her."
Black Zetsu sneered. "A vessel? Mother's power is immense; a mortal body cannot possibly contain it."
"What if it's not a mortal body?"
Jiraiya pulled a photograph from a scroll in his robes and flicked it toward Black Zetsu.
The photo showed a pale clone embryo being cultured in Orochimaru's laboratory.
"This is a base body Orochimaru cultivated using Hashirama cells combined with certain special genes."
Jiraiya explained, "Of course, it's just a prototype. But with your cooperation, it'll be a different story."
"Me?" Black Zetsu looked at the photo, somewhat confused.
"Cloning a body capable of carrying a portion of Kaguya's power is enough."
Jiraiya's words were shocking as he proposed the plan that Gamakon and Orochimaru had deduced countless times. "Then, as the manifestation of Kaguya's will, you will provide the chakra and the connection to Kaguya."
Jiraiya continued, "You are a part of Kaguya. As long as you possess this clone, inject your chakra and will into it, and then supplement it with the massive life energy we provide..."
"...Kaguya can return through a borrowed body without alerting the God Tree or triggering any celestial disturbances."
Jiraiya stared at Black Zetsu, his voice dripping with temptation. "It's called 'Targeted Reincarnation.' Although her restored strength might not match her prime, it has the advantage of being discreet, fast, and safe."
"Once the person is back, power can be slowly recovered later."
"What do you say?"
Black Zetsu didn't speak.
His lone eye stared intensely at the photo on the ground, his mind frantically calculating the feasibility of this plan.
As Kaguya's will, he instinctively felt that this plan seemed viable.
If there really was a body capable of withstanding Mother's power...
Perhaps he could bypass the restrictions set by those two traitors.
This might be the third way to revive Mother.
"It's simply... madness."
Black Zetsu murmured to himself, but his tone no longer held its previous resistance. Instead, it carried a hint of awe. "That fellow Orochimaru... to think he could reach such a field."
"This is the cooperation we're discussing."
Jiraiya pressed his advantage. "You need the technology and the vessel; we need Kaguya's power to fight the Otsutsuki. It's a win-win deal."
"And..."
Jiraiya glanced at the nearby Pain and said meaningfully, "This way, you won't need to use Nagato anymore, and there's no need for that fake peace. Everyone gets what they want—isn't that better?"
Nagato stood on the pipes high above, rain sliding down his cheeks.
He looked down at the black monster haggling with Jiraiya, a sense of absurdity rising in his heart.
It turned out that the ideal he had fought for half his life was, in the eyes of these behind-the-scenes manipulators, truly just a 'dumb method' that could be discarded at any time.
Anger.
The shame of being deceived.
A fire was rising.
"Zetsu."
Pain finally spoke. His voice was no longer as ethereal as a god's; instead, it was laced with a chill suppressed to the extreme. "Since you've deceived me, I assume you're prepared to face my wrath."
Black Zetsu turned to face Pain, a strange and mocking smile appearing on his black-and-white face.
Since everything was out in the open, there was no longer any need to keep wearing that skin of 'unwavering loyalty.'
"Nagato, don't look at me with that betrayed expression."
Black Zetsu spread his hands, his tone as dismissive as if he were discussing an insignificant tool. "You also just wanted to use the Tailed Beast Weapons to deter the Great Nations and forcibly impose world peace by inflicting pain. Everyone is using each other; no one is more noble than the rest."
He paused, his black fluid body twisting slightly as he pointed at Jiraiya. "Moreover, the price Konoha is offering is one I cannot refuse. By comparison, your long-term plan that requires decades to collect, seal, and deter is simply too inefficient."
"For the sake of some ephemeral ideal, Mother would have to wait decades longer in her seal? Sorry, there's no time left."
"You..."
Standing beside Nagato, Konan's eyes turned cold. The paper wings behind her snapped open, and countless paper bombs rustled in the rain, looking as if they would blow Black Zetsu into powder in the next second.
"Don't do it, Konan."
Jiraiya suddenly spoke to stop her, stepping forward to block the path between the two sides. "Killing him now helps no one. Besides, if the Otsutsuki Main House really comes, the Rain Village won't escape either."
He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the rain to look directly at that pair of purple Rinnegan high up in the tower.
"Nagato, you heard it too. The real threat comes from the heavens. This is no longer a friction between nations, but a purge directed at the entire shinobi world. Instead of internal conflict here, it's better to think about how to survive in this upcoming era of chaos."
The rain fell even harder.
Cold water slid down the Deva Path Pain's cheeks, like the endless tears of this country.
Nagato's true body sat withered in the control chair, his skeletal hands gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Anger.
Of course, there was that.
But beneath this towering rage was an even deeper sense of absurdity and bewilderment.
It turned out that everything he had insisted on since Yahiko's death, the sacrifices he had made for this 'peace,' and even his arrogance in styling himself a 'god'... in the eyes of these monsters who had lived for a thousand years, it was merely a 'dumb method' that could be abandoned at any moment.
If that was the case, what did Yahiko's death matter?
What did the suffering of all these years count for?
If even the 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' was a lie, then was the so-called peace of this world truly just a mirage?
Nagato's breathing became hurried. The chakra rods connected to his back emitted unstable hums, and the ripple patterns in the Deva Path's Rinnegan fluctuated violently.
"Nagato..."
A warm hand gently rested on the withered shoulder of Nagato's main body.
It was Konan's true self; the one outside was just a paper clone.
She didn't speak, but merely gazed at him with those gentle eyes, just as they used to huddle around the fire in that old cave years ago.
"Regardless of whether the plan is a lie, regardless of whether this world is false..." Konan's voice was soft yet exceptionally firm. "Our original intention has never changed. We want to protect the Rain Village, to protect everyone."
"As long as you are here, I am here. As long as we exist, the bridge to peace is not broken."
Konan's words were like a clear stream, quenching the out-of-control anxiety in Nagato's heart.
Nagato closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Is that so.
If the very soil of the shinobi world were completely destroyed by the Otsutsuki, then no matter what philosophy of peace existed, there would be no room for it to grow.
Without the skin, the hair has nothing to cling to.
To realize Yahiko's dream, first, this world must 'exist.'
When the Deva Path Pain opened his eyes again, they no longer held confusion. Instead, they were filled with a deeper coldness and resolve.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
Nagato's voice came through the Deva Path. Although still indifferent, it had lost some of its divine arrogance and gained the weight of a human. "You've changed. You've become... more like a politician. But perhaps that is exactly what the shinobi world needs right now."
"I can temporarily set aside my prejudices."
Nagato looked at Black Zetsu and Jiraiya below, speaking one word at a time. "Since this 'Otsutsuki Main House' intends to destroy everything, then they are the greatest obstacle to peace. Until that obstacle is cleared, the Akatsuki is willing to help."
"Phew—"
Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief, a long-lost smile appearing on his face. He picked up the photo from the ground and handed it back to Black Zetsu. "Well then, Mr. Black Zetsu. Will you return to Konoha with me next to witness the birth of that 'vessel'?"
Black Zetsu looked at the photo, his lone eye flickering with greed and calculation.
He knew this might be a trap.
Going to Konoha would make him a turtle in a jar, under the strict surveillance of Orochimaru and Konoha.
But he had no choice.
For his mother, and to deal with the threat from the Main House, he had to take this gamble.
"Naturally."
Black Zetsu's body slowly sank, merging into the ground, leaving only his black head visible. He took one last deep look at Pain above, his lips curling into a meaningful arc.
"Nagato, although our cooperation has ended, out of consideration for your past efforts, I'll give you one last piece of advice."
Black Zetsu's voice was raspy and sinister, drifting into Nagato's ears with the wind and rain:
"Take good care of your eyes."
"Those aren't things that just anyone can possess... don't lose them."
With that, Black Zetsu let out a piercing low laugh and completely sank into the ground, vanishing.
He wasn't worried about the Rinnegan hosted in Nagato's body. If Konoha's plan failed, he believed Konoha would take the initiative to help him gather the Tailed Beasts.
Nagato's brow furrowed slightly.
Protect his eyes?
Behind those seemingly caring words, he felt a strange chill, as if those Rinnegan eyes never belonged to him but were merely something temporarily deposited on him...
Borrowed goods.
"Nagato?" Konan looked at him worriedly.
"I'm fine."
Nagato controlled the Deva Path to turn around, no longer looking in the direction Jiraiya had left, leaving only a solitary, resolute back for his teacher.
But what Nagato didn't know was that Jiraiya's final look at him was complex and full of pity.
It was as if everyone except for Nagato knew the truth.