The man in the black robe snorted and said impatiently, "Don't worry about White Zetsu."
The Venus Flytrap White Zetsu immediately looked like he was about to cry. His voice was full of bitterness.
"How can I not worry?"
"You people don't have to fear the Great Sage, but if the Great Sage comes after this later, what am I supposed to do? I'm just an ordinary White Zetsu who wants to loaf around Mount Myoboku until I die! And you people dragged me straight into this heaven-shaking scheme!"
The man in the black robe glanced at him and comforted him calmly.
"Don't worry. Afterward, I'll just say I controlled you. I'll take all the blame. Besides, the Great Sage is kind and forgiving. At most, you'll be punished with a few years of opening up the Pure Land. He won't make things too difficult for you."
The Venus Flytrap White Zetsu wanted to argue a little more, but the black-robed man raised a hand and interrupted him.
"That's enough. Don't say any more."
With that, the black-robed man turned around and said calmly, "I'll go see how the Tailed Beasts are doing."
The Venus Flytrap White Zetsu hurriedly reminded him, "They're all disciples of the Great Sage. I'm afraid they won't cooperate with you."
The black-robed man's footsteps paused briefly. A trace of confidence entered her voice.
"As long as I tell them the truth, they'll stand with me. They have a strong sense of justice. Before this, they even joined together to advise the Great Sage, leading to the Six Paths' Demon Purge back then."
Then the black-robed woman silently calculated with her fingers before saying, "Only the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails remain uncaptured. The Nine-Tails can be replaced with the corpses of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, but the Eight-Tails..."
She turned toward Uchiha Obito, whose eyes were empty after being completely controlled, and ordered coldly, "Tell every member of the Akatsuki to capture the Eight-Tails immediately."
"Yes."
Obito answered in a low voice and turned to carry out the order without any resistance.
The black-robed woman slowly walked toward the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. She placed a hand on its enormous body. Chakra surged, and she entered the sealing space directly.
———
Inside a vast, dim sealing space, several captured Tailed Beasts had gathered together, and the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed.
Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, and Chomei were all sitting around a stone table formed from chakra, playing cards, fooling around, and making a racket.
"Hahaha! I won again! Son, you owe me another ten barrels of barbecue!"
Shukaku laughed proudly, his tail slapping the ground.
Son Goku took a drink and snorted angrily, "You damned tanuki! How are you so lucky every single time? Are you cheating?!"
Shukaku immediately became unhappy.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Saiken lay lazily to one side, blowing bubbles.
"So boring... I'd rather sleep."
Meanwhile, Matatabi, Chomei, and Isobu were gathered together knitting sweaters.
Kokuo, on the other hand, was running all over the sealing space.
Just then, a powerful, familiar presence suddenly descended into the sealing space.
Every Tailed Beast froze at the same time and turned toward the entrance.
The black-robed woman stood there with her hands behind her back. Beneath the mask, her Mangekyo Sharingan slowly spun as her gaze calmly swept across every Tailed Beast present.
The atmosphere inside the sealing space instantly became tense.
But instead of showing fear, Shukaku's eyes lit up.
"No way. Someone actually entered the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path directly? I thought it was those two guys, Kurama and Gyuki, finally getting sealed too!"
Shukaku joked with surprise and amusement.
The other Tailed Beasts all frowned and looked warily at the unexpected visitor.
Matatabi, whose senses had always been the sharpest, stared intently at her.
The chakra on this person felt very familiar.
She had definitely met it before.
No... she'd definitely encountered it often.
Matatabi's pupils shrank slightly as she asked tentatively, "You are..."
Before she could finish speaking, the black-robed woman slowly raised a hand, removed the mask from her face, and revealed her true appearance.
At that moment, the entire sealing space seemed to fall into dead silence.
Every Tailed Beast froze.
Their faces filled with disbelief.
"How could it be you..."
The smile on Shukaku's face froze instantly, and the cards in his paw slipped to the ground.
———
Meanwhile, the entrance to another dimension quietly opened.
Arisu stepped out with his son, Yukio.
As soon as they emerged, the aura of the Sage of Six Paths around Arisu quickly faded away. His appearance also returned to the gentle and refined face everyone in Konoha knew.
Looking at his father's familiar face, Yukio couldn't help smiling.
"So that's why everyone in the village says I look like the Sage of Six Paths... Turns out, Dad, you really are the Sage of Six Paths."
Arisu smiled faintly and simply nodded.
After hesitating for a moment, Yukio couldn't help asking, "Does Mom know?"
Arisu shook his head, his voice gentle.
"She doesn't. And there's no need to tell her."
"But..."
Yukio stopped himself. In the end, he nodded and didn't ask any more.
The two of them walked side by side along a forest path as the breeze rustled through the leaves.
After a moment of silence, Yukio spoke again.
"Dad, why did you pretend to be an ordinary person and come to Konoha?"
Looking toward Konoha in the distance, Arisu answered slowly, "To observe the changes in history. Long ago, two of my disciples made a promise. They asked me to bear witness to it... I've remained in the human world for several hundred years."
Hearing this, Yukio suddenly felt a little jealous. He pouted.
"Dad... do you have a lot of sons?"
Arisu laughed, reached over, and rubbed his son's head. His tone was full of affection.
"Don't worry. You're my only son. I don't want any more. I like having an only child."
His father's words warmed Yukio's heart. The complicated feelings he'd been carrying instantly disappeared.
He had been worried that he wasn't the only one.
Yukio lowered his head and smiled, his eyes full of happiness.
So, in his father's heart, he really was one of a kind.
"By the way, how are things going with Ino?"
Arisu suddenly turned his head and asked casually.
In truth, he had always cared about his son's love life.
The moment Ino was mentioned, a sweet smile appeared on Yukio's face, and his eyes softened.
Seeing his son looking completely lovestruck, Arisu couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
Then he asked, "Son, are you still a virgin? You and Ino... have already done it?"
Yukio froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Dad, stop trying to make your son laugh. Of course I'm not anymore. Ino and I already... did it."
As he spoke, he deliberately dragged out the last few words, looking completely at ease.
The corner of Arisu's mouth twitched hard, and for a moment his expression nearly fell apart.
But after thinking it over, this was the world of Naruto, where everyone matured and fell in love early. Back in the age of constant war, it wasn't unusual for shinobi to marry and have children at fifteen or sixteen.
So he didn't say anything else. He merely sighed softly and patted his son's shoulder.
"Just be careful... Don't make me a grandfather too early. Though if you do give me a grandson or granddaughter, I wouldn't mind."
Yukio grinned and nodded.
"Got it."