Chapter 220: Black Zetsu Shows Up to Tell a Story
But as the saying goes—
You might escape Uchiha Madara, but you won't escape the Rinnegan.
Li Yao didn't believe for a second that Madara could make it in time to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan.
Turning around, he was ready to fly back to Drizzle City and rip the Rinnegan out of Nagato's head, crush it to dust—or better yet, incinerate it with Fire Style until only ash remained.
"Li—"
"Where did Madara run off to?"
The moment a White Zetsu emerged and tried to speak, Li Yao was already beside him, grabbing him by the neck and yanking him out of the ground.
"I came here on my own."
A raspy, magnetic voice came from behind Li Yao—not the White Zetsu he held, but another that emerged from the earth behind him.
Li Yao turned, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Well, this is interesting."
This White Zetsu's eyes were black, and his aura was completely different. Li Yao instantly knew who it was.
Black Zetsu had shown himself in person.
Curiosity sparked in Li Yao's heart. He didn't attack immediately. He wanted to hear what this ancient manipulator had to say.
This was the guy who had schemed for over a thousand years, never showing his face until the end. Madara had believed Black Zetsu to be the embodiment of his own will. In truth, he was the will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and he had played Madara—and the entire shinobi world—like a fiddle.
Li Yao still remembered watching Naruto years ago, jaw dropped when Black Zetsu betrayed Madara at the last second.
Wasn't he supposed to be Madara's will incarnate?
What a snake.
What deep patience.
That moment had really shocked him.
Now, Li Yao was curious—what story was this guy about to spin?
"The Rinnegan must not be destroyed."
That was Black Zetsu's opening line. He had taken the risk to appear in person for one reason—he was afraid Li Yao would destroy the Rinnegan.
He had waited a thousand years. He wasn't willing to wait any longer.
And now that Li Yao had shown he could possess bodies and reincarnate without damaging his soul, even if the Rinnegan reappeared someday, Black Zetsu would still have to face this immortal monster. Waiting was meaningless.
It was better to reveal himself now and try to convince Li Yao to spare the Rinnegan.
"What's the reason?" Li Yao smiled, curious what pitch he'd try to make.
"I'm an immortal."
Black Zetsu paused dramatically, expecting a reaction.
Li Yao simply stared, unmoved.
"And?"
"Ahem..." Black Zetsu coughed awkwardly. Right… this guy might be an ancient monster too. No wonder he wasn't shocked. So he went on, "I was born a thousand years ago. I met the Sage of Six Paths. I know the truth about this world."
Li Yao kept his face calm, listening silently. Black Zetsu felt increasingly awkward—this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Forget it—he got to the point.
In a grave tone, he continued, "The shinobi world has always faced a great crisis. A thousand years from now, terrifying godlike beings from beyond the stars will descend to harvest the world's life-force and chakra. The Rinnegan is the key to saving us all."
"And then?" Li Yao asked again with a smirk.
Black Zetsu faltered slightly. Li Yao's expression was unreadable—like he was listening to a bedtime story. The pressure was unnerving.
Trying a new angle, he asked, "Do you know why the Sage of Six Paths died?"
"Why?" That actually piqued Li Yao's interest.
Clearly, the Sage had the power to live forever. But in the end, his body still perished.
Yes, his soul lingered in the Pure Land, possibly still influencing the shinobi world.
But his physical death was real.
Why had he let that happen?
Black Zetsu hadn't expected his random angle to work so well. Delighted inside, he took on a somber tone and continued:
"You may not know this, but chakra is a seed left on this world by beings from beyond the stars—gods and demons. They planted it here so it would grow and ripen, and eventually, they would return to harvest it."
"A thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths absorbed almost all of the chakra in the world and became a Six Paths-level being. Only then did he barely manage to defeat one of these invading entities."
"But there's more than one."
"As long as the chakra seed exists, they will return one day."
"To protect the world and ensure it could defend itself again, the Sage split his chakra into nine tailed beasts. He scattered the rest among people across the world, creating a system where chakra would grow and spread faster."
"This scattering of chakra also helped reduce the attention of the gods."
Black Zetsu grew increasingly animated. And Li Yao—surprisingly—looked increasingly serious.
According to Black Zetsu, after a thousand years of accumulation, the total chakra in the shinobi world had grown massive—like a seed becoming a towering tree, impossible to hide. Soon, it would draw the gods' attention.
And the only way to fight them was for someone with Rinnegan—like the Sage once had—to absorb all the world's chakra and ascend to a Six Paths-level entity or beyond.
Only that could save the world.
Black Zetsu said, even if Li Yao didn't care about saving the world, he should at least consider the lives of himself and that Uzumaki girl.
When the gods came, they would kill everyone—no exceptions.
"This is the truth of the world."
As he finished, Black Zetsu closely watched Li Yao's reaction.
Seeing that Li Yao appeared deep in thought, a smile crept onto his face.
"Join me," he said. "You can be the one to transplant the Rinnegan, become the savior who defeats the gods."
"No need for 'joining,'" Li Yao replied with a laugh, shaking his head. Black Zetsu's heart sank slightly—until Li Yao added, "But I won't interfere with your and Madara's plan for now. Go ahead, continue as planned."
"It's a deal," Black Zetsu said quickly, eyes lighting up. He didn't care why Li Yao refused the Rinnegan—he just needed him to leave it alone.
"It's a deal," Li Yao chuckled. He'd read the original story—he knew exactly what the Rinnegan was. He had no interest in it. His real trump card was his absolute mastery of chakra control.
Black Zetsu left quickly, and Li Yao summoned his clay bird and took to the sky, flying toward Koyuki.
Underground, Black Zetsu sighed in relief when he saw Li Yao flying away from Nagato's location.
The Rinnegan was safe.
Meanwhile, standing atop his clay bird, Li Yao wore a serious expression.
He knew full well that Black Zetsu's story had about 30% truth and 70% nonsense.
The gods from beyond the stars were just the Ōtsutsuki clan. The one the Sage of Six Paths defeated was his own mother—Kaguya.
Li Yao had seen the anime. He knew all of this.
But one thing Black Zetsu had said stuck with him:
"If the total chakra in the shinobi world grows too great, it will draw the gods' attention."
Chakra had indeed been brought to this world by the Ōtsutsuki.
Before that, the great summoning realms—like Mount Myōboku—used natural energy instead.
Kaguya brought the Divine Tree, which absorbed nature energy to create chakra fruit. That directly threatened the interests of the toads and other nature energy users.
So the Sage's two sons were manipulated—probably by Gamamaru—to turn against their mother.
After the battle, Kaguya was sealed, the Divine Tree dealt with, the toads kept their natural energy, and chakra spread across the world.
The toads benefited the most.
In theory, the summoning beasts should have started using chakra too.
But then Li Yao remembered something he had always overlooked.
After all these centuries… do the toads of Mount Myōboku even have chakra?
Think about it—whenever they used jutsu in the original story, it was always infused with natural energy.
(END CHAPTER)
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