Nagato and Itachi were a little surprised, but given who they were, they had long sensed something unusual about themselves.
Now that Black Zetsu had said it out loud, they felt even more sure about their true identities.
But Obito had no idea about any of this.
"So it's true… this guy… was never that simple to begin with."
"Has this already gotten tied to ancient times?"
Thinking back to the plans he thought he knew, Obito now realized those might all have been fake.
No — not just might — they were definitely fake.
That's why Obito had never planned to be just Madara's puppet.
He just hadn't expected Madara's plans to go this far.
Now, he understood.
Madara… probably wasn't just after the Nine Tails' power. That guy must have an even bigger plan.
And the plan Obito knew about was probably just one small part of it.
Now, Obito's eyes grew sharp again. He seemed to understand something…
To Madara, he was just a pawn — not even important enough to be told the real plan.
But just because he didn't know didn't mean Black Zetsu knew either.
Obito had now figured out a way to survive — to make himself someone that truly mattered.
It's not that he trusted Nagato.
Even though they had a grudge from the Akatsuki days, as long as he showed enough value, the Uzumaki clan's bold nature might be enough to let him live.
That's right, it's the spirit of the Uzumaki clan.
Because of Shanks' influence, people in this world now see the Uzumaki in a different light. They're known for their strength and fearless spirit, something that sets them apart from others.
Shanks is a good example—even though he's a younger generation, he has his own principles. He would never ignore someone who values life, and he'd never let someone who disrespects life go unpunished.
Naruto is the same. Over time, as he's interacted with more pirates, they've started to notice that same strong spirit and inner strength in him—the same kind seen in the Uzumaki clan.
Naruto isn't a sneaky or underhanded ninja. The way he fights is more like how pirates fight—head-on and honest.
Also, Naruto never looks down on any opponent. He even shows extra respect to the pirates.
And the pirates, in turn, have come to respect Naruto—or more accurately, they've come to respect the Uzumaki clan. When they face Naruto, they don't use dirty tricks.
To sum it up, the current view of the Uzumaki in the ninja world is that they have their own lines they won't cross, they have real courage, and—most importantly—they never lie. Even that blond guy is someone who keeps his word like a real man.
Obito was no different. He believed in Nagato's strength and spirit. But...
"That guy probably knows more than I do. And… if I don't act first, he might come after me instead."
Compared to the trust he had in the Uzumaki, Obito didn't trust Black Zetsu at all. Same went for Madara.
As for Black Zetsu—his mind was still spinning.
Until now, he had never gotten involved in the affairs of Asura and Indra. It wasn't hard to guess their identities, though.
Because those two would always end up fighting. They were strong, too—hard to miss.
But this time, he got involved—and totally messed things up.
Now, Black Zetsu was feeling kind of hopeless. Nagato's strength was clear for everyone to see... If Shanks hadn't shown up, Nagato would've been the top force of this era.
And Itachi... no need to say more. A total genius, through and through.
While Black Zetsu was still in a daze, Obito suddenly spoke up.
"Since you've already found us, go ahead and ask what you want to ask.
But... you should already know—we're just pawns that were sent out to do someone else's bidding."
Obito spoke first, trying to take the initiative. The rest could be figured out later—as long as Black Zetsu didn't get him killed.
After hearing Obito's words, Nagato and Itachi glanced at each other. They were all smart—by now, things were pretty clear.
"Huh!!?"
"What? There's someone else behind all this?"
"No way..."
Deidara and Hidan jumped out when they heard what Obito said.
They were part of the Revolutionary Army, not some third-rate group. They never thought another force had managed to sneak in behind their backs.
But just as the two of them stepped out, they noticed everyone looking at them.
Off in the distance, Kakuzu pulled out a notebook, flipped to the page with Deidara and Hidan's info, and quietly made a note.
Everyone else was staring at them like they were idiots.
Deidara awkwardly looked up at the sky.
"Ha, actually, I already knew. There's definitely another group using our Revolutionary Army from behind the scenes.
Hidan, that's just basic ninja awareness. Why are you so surprised?"
"Hah! Deidara, you think your brain's really that much better than mine?"
"I'm a ninja, remember!"
"I'm a follower of the Evil God too!!"
Hidan and Deidara started fighting like kids because of their lack of brains, and everyone around them was too embarrassed to even watch.
"Hidan, that's enough!"
"Deidara..."
Kakuzu and Konan stepped in—Konan quickly pulled Deidara back.
Deidara was the youngest member, so being a little immature was expected. Still, if Nagato hadn't pointed it out first, even Konan might not have realized it.
Konan looked up at the sky, her face calm and cold, but she felt a bit awkward too.
The others, all veterans of the ninja world, gathered around. They had the right to hear this kind of intel.
Obito looked at them all. When his eyes landed on Itachi, he paused for a moment.
"The former members of the Akatsuki... were killed by us."
"And the Uchiha Clan's downfall... I was part of that too."
Obito openly admitted what he had done.
"We already knew that. But you were probably just being used as a pawn."
"You killed Yahiko and the others, turned Akatsuki into a tool for your own group, gathered Tailed Beasts... then planned to use their power to go against the world, against the World Government.
And you wanted to use us, the Revolutionary Army, as pawns too. Isn't that right?"
Nagato looked at Obito and said what he had guessed—or maybe just what naturally made sense.
Obito froze for a second when he heard Nagato's words. That was exactly what he had just come up with in his head. If Nagato already said it all, what was left for him to make up?
Seeing Obito's reaction, the others became even more sure.
But Obito shook his head.
"I don't know that person's full plan. He definitely wanted more power."
"A lot of the intel he gave me was fake. The original plan was to gather the Tailed Beasts, then use the power of the Divine Tree to cover the whole world."
"That plan was called the Eye of the Moon Plan. The idea was to use the moon as the core and cast a genjutsu over the entire world, creating a New World."
"But..."
Obito looked at everyone.
"But from what I know about him, there's no way that's all he wanted. I think he actually wanted to use that power... to wipe out all the sages."
Hearing that, Black Zetsu stayed quiet.
It didn't dare admit that it had made up the plan itself just to bring back Kaguya.
Sure, the plan could work, but... no matter how you looked at it, it didn't really match what Obito was saying. Madara would never go that far.
"Destroy all the sages?"
The others didn't quite get it.
"The power of the Tailed Beasts isn't that strong, right?"
Itachi didn't get it. The Tailed Beasts were powerful, but not that powerful.
"You're right. They're not that strong by themselves.
But our plan wasn't just about the Tailed Beasts. It was about... the power of the Sage of Six Paths. Using the Tailed Beasts to bring together Rikudou Sennin's power."
"And on top of that, there were parts of the plan I didn't know about—like you, Nagato."
The power of Ashura and Indra, plus the power of the Sage of Six Paths—once the power that ruled over the age of sages shows up again, it might even be strong enough to destroy other sages.
At this moment, Obito had fully filled in this part of the information based on what he already knew.
Next to him, Black Zetsu couldn't help but sigh. Even now, Obito was still being kept in the dark by him.
"The Sage of Six Paths' power… if that's the case, then yeah, it's possible.
Since the start of the Earthly Sage Kingdom plan, the sages have been working hard to keep that power sealed away. They didn't want it to come back."
"So that's how it is…"
"They're using us to fight the sages? That's just cowardly and low," Kakuzu said with a hint of contempt.
Right now, the Revolutionary Army could already fight against sages even without relying on the Sage of Six Paths' power. Only the weak from the old era would act so timidly.
"To be exact, we're just one small piece of the whole thing. They don't even take us seriously."
Kisame spoke calmly.
But the Revolutionary Army now was a totally different force than before.
With the new era, many powerful fighters had joined them, and their influence now covered the entire world.
"Actually, we've got Shanks to thank for that. His appearance completely broke the world's balance—and even forced the sages to come out."
"That guy Shanks…"
At the mention of Shanks, Kisame also nodded.
There's no comparison. That guy isn't even human.
Sure, many members of the Akatsuki could be called human-shaped tailed beasts, but in front of Shanks, not even Nagato, Itachi, or the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra could stand a chance.
"Shanks is on a different level," Kakuzu said with a sigh.
By now, the truth about everything had mostly come to light.
But Itachi still asked the question on his mind.
"Did you have a hand in wiping out the Uchiha clan?"
When he heard that, Obito let out a cold laugh.
"You should know better than me. You're the one who came to me back then."
"The Uchiha clan's destruction had nothing to do with us. But weakening Konohagakure's strength and the power of the ninja was still helpful to us.
After all, our enemies include ninjas too."
After Obito said this, no one else reacted much.
The truth was, the pirates of this era also saw ninjas as enemies.
But what Obito said made Nagato and Itachi a bit confused.
You're fighting both ninjas and sages… aren't you just like the pirates? Isn't this basically what Shanks is doing?
No—actually, it's pretty close to what the Revolutionary Army is doing now too.
Same goal, just a different way of going about it.
"Are you guys basically just the ones being targeted by both ninjas and sages?" Konan asked, a little stunned.
Deidara, who was standing next to Konan, muttered,
"This doesn't seem any different from what pirates do…"
"Yeah… not much difference at all…"
"…"
Hearing that, Obito couldn't find anything to say.
Explain it? There's nothing they've done that could be called decent, but when it comes to the process and the goal… it's kind of the same.
Hard to accept, but no matter how Obito looked at it, they weren't the same kind of people as Shanks.
Only Black Zetsu, quietly standing to the side, felt a jolt in his heart when he heard them.
Now that he thought about it… this really was exactly what he'd done, wasn't it? And he couldn't explain it away either.
"One last question. Who's the force behind you?"
Itachi asked.
"I don't know. I'm just a pawn.
But the guy who gave me these orders—you've probably all heard his name…"
Obito looked at Kakuzu. Kakuzu was from that time.
Everyone became alert as they saw how serious Obito's eyes were.
"That man's name… is Uchiha Madara! One of the powerful shinobi who ended the Warring States era.
The first rogue ninja of Konohagakure, and someone the First Hokage valued a lot."
That man, who should have been dead long ago… was actually still alive!
"Uchiha Madara?"
"That guy… I've heard my grandfather talk about him."
"Who's that?"
The only one who asked in confusion was Hidan—he wasn't a ninja. But the others, after hearing the name, all gasped.
Kakuzu even trembled a little when he heard it. That was a man even scarier than Hashirama.
"Uchiha Madara… Looking at it now, the start of a new era was already set up back in the Warring States period."
"One thing no one in the ninja world could understand back then was—why did Uchiha Madara suddenly leave? The Uchiha and Senju clans were longtime enemies, but after Izuna Uchiha died, they still chose to form an alliance."
"And when the Warring States era ended, there weren't any big conflicts left—yet Madara left the village anyway."
"Maybe Konohagakure had already come into contact with the Immortals back then."
Kakuzu tried to piece together everything he knew. It didn't make sense at first, but if Madara's goal was to fight the Immortals, then everything fit perfectly.
As for Black Zetsu, he just sneered when he heard this. Madara? That guy was just a fool he'd tricked the whole time.
"Where is Uchiha Madara now?"
"He's dead. The plan is to bring him back with Edo Tensei.
As for the force behind us—I don't know. All I know is that right before he died, he disappeared from everyone's sight."
"And… Madara was able to make contact with the God Tree. Not long after he died, Shanks showed up."
When he got to this point, Obito raised his head with a sharp and certain look in his eyes. This was the one thing he was absolutely sure of.
"Madara… definitely came into contact with Shanks!"
The moment Obito said those words, Nagato's mind exploded—
it all connected: the missing branches of the Divine Tree…
What Madara did lined up with what Shanks had done.
The truth of this era… everything made sense now.
And at that same moment, someone else's mind was blown too—Black Zetsu.
Because it all matched up perfectly!!!
Madara really had disappeared for a while.
Back then, it didn't seem like a big deal… but now, everything fit together.
Madara had completely slipped out of his control.
Then… doesn't that mean his entire plan is ruined?
"How… how could this happen? How could Madara…? This wasn't the plan at all!"
"There's no way Madara saw through it… My plan was supposed to be…"
Black Zetsu was completely falling apart. No way. No chance.
His plan couldn't fail. It *shouldn't* fail.
But then—behind him—red tomoe slowly appeared.
In the real world...
Itachi opened his eyes.
Even Black Zetsu… had been used by Madara.
That time Madara disappeared—
it was obvious now—he had made contact with Shanks.
Shanks and Madara had the same goal.
Same as the Revolutionary Army.
Only difference was—they each chose a different way to get there.
As for the truth, once Uchiha Madara is brought back, everything will be clear.
"So in the end, it really *was* all about fighting the Sages... and reviving Kaguya?
Uchiha Madara... is this the kind of determination he had?"
"Elders, it looks like our Revolutionary Army has one more plan to add to the list."
"Say it—we've come this far already.
The rules of this world need to change.
We've already sacrificed enough."
"Unleash the ancient weapon.
There's a weapon on the moon—
one that poses a serious threat to the Sages!"
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