They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 165 Showing off one's skills before Guan Yu's gate, spouting nonsense in front of Ghost Lantern

"That's right, I am the embodiment of the planet's will!"

Faced with these powerful words, even though Hozuki Shingetsu was prepared, he was still quite shocked by Black Zetsu's shameless words.

The body that had just gotten up to capture it stopped moving in extreme shock.

Looking at the face in front of him that was exactly the same as his own, even mimicking the scarlet immortal mask perfectly, Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

Was I tricked?

Hozuki Shingetsu never imagined that he, who had always been the one to do everything he could to fool others for some purpose, would one day be the one being fooled by others.

In a flash, he realized Black Zetsu's purpose—to deceive him and make him believe that it was the will of the planet.

Then, due to some intervention, he was forced to believe what it said, so much so that he would do as he had previously said and have Kirigakure put a lot of effort into researching the chakra cannon in order to optimize it into a complete version that could shatter the moon.

Hmm, very good. Now the key is to see how Black Zetsu is going to fool me, and what reasons he will use to convince me.

But... why does it feel so strange?

It doesn't think it can fool me with such a perfect transformation technique, does it?

With this extremely absurd feeling, Hozuki Shingetsu temporarily forgot that his original plan was to first capture Otsutsuki Black Zetsu, and then try to trick him into working for him.

Now, with this subtle feeling in his heart, he quietly watched Black Zetsu, anticipating its performance.

"What's wrong, young man? You don't seem to believe me?"

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's stopped body and his shocked gaze, Black Zetsu felt his hope increase and began to deceive him even more.

"As the embodiment of the planet's will, there's nothing in this ninja world I don't know. Please speak freely if you have any questions!"

Black Zetsu chose to start with the information gap that he was best at and most familiar with, attempting to fool Hozuki Shingetsu with his knowledge of thousands of years of history.

"Oh? Really?"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Black Zetsu with a strange expression and, following its lead, raised his own question.

Prove that any integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of three prime numbers.

Black Zetsu raised his head, looking at Hozuki Shingetsu with a bewildered gaze in his pure eyes, untouched by knowledge.

What is this person saying?

Why is it that even though it recognizes each word individually, it can't understand what the person in front of it is saying when they put them together?

Black Zetsu's reaction proves one thing: when people are pushed to the limit, they'll do anything, except math.

"Hmm? Is it too difficult? That can't be... Let me try a different question then."

Hozuki Shingetsu suppressed a laugh and changed the question, feigning confusion.

"Where did I come from, and where will I go after I die? Why did I come into this world? What does my existence mean to this world? Did the world choose me, or did I choose the world?"

"Is there a necessary connection between me and the universe? Does the universe have an end? Does time have a length? Where does past time disappear? Where does future time stop? Is the question I'm asking now the same question you just heard?"

"..."

Black Zetsu swore that it desperately wanted to go back a thousand years, back to the time when its ancestor Hozuki had just appeared, and then finish him off with a single strike!

Listen to what this thing is asking!

"Trying to fool me? That's incredibly presumptuous of you!"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the bewildered Black Zetsu and felt extremely satisfied.

Black Zetsu suppressed the urge to turn hostile and forcibly steered the conversation back on track.

"As the embodiment of the planet's will, your human knowledge is utterly insignificant to me... I claim to know everything about the history of the ninja world. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding its history."

Having finished his prank on Black Zetsu, Hozuki Shingetsu stopped talking and immediately asked a few questions about the history of the ninja world to satisfy Black Zetsu's "vanity," while feigning surprise to prove that he had indeed believed his lies.

After all, he was still very curious about how Black Zetsu was trying to trick him into developing a chakra cannon to shatter the moon.

"Phew... I finally believe it, huh? This kid's really tough!"

Black Zetsu looked at Hozuki Shingetsu, cold sweat pouring down his face. He secretly rejoiced that he had finally fooled the thing. Then, he began to use the information gap he was familiar with to continue fooling Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Back in the past, a thousand years ago, an alien descended upon the planet. In order to increase her strength, she went so far as to devour all the people in the entire ninja world to enhance her power."

"As the will of the planet, I naturally couldn't stand by and watch her act so recklessly, so I transformed into the Sage of Six Paths and engaged her in a great battle..."

Black Zetsu stripped away the causes and consequences of history from a thousand years ago, and then inserted himself into the story, telling Hozuki Shingetsu this seemingly plausible but ultimately false historical tale.

After all, as a ninja clan that has survived for generations and ruled Kirigakure for many years, they would have some records of that thousand-year history.

Black Zetsu knew that the highest level of lying was "nine parts truth and one part falsehood." In order to gain people's trust, it even went so far as to "smear" its own mother and follow the "historical image" of the ninja world, placing the Sage of Six Paths in a very positive image.

Hozuki Shingetsu watched Black Zetsu boasting quietly, secretly thinking that he should have grabbed a handful of melon seeds if he had known this would happen. Listening to him like this was really unpleasant.

"In the battle against that outsider, although I ultimately prevailed, that outsider actually sacrificed his life and the Divine Tree to unleash a forbidden ninjutsu."

Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was still immersed in his performance, wholeheartedly portraying his story.

"The principle behind that forbidden ninjutsu is quite simple: it continuously absorbs negative energy from the ninja world, storing it and transforming it into destructive power. Over time, this energy could even destroy the ninja world!"

"That forbidden ninjutsu isn't actually that dangerous. As long as everyone maintains a kind heart and understands and communicates with each other, there's nothing to worry about with this ninjutsu."

"And this is precisely why I founded 'Ninjutsu'—a method to spread chakra and communicate with human minds!"

As Black Zetsu spoke, he seemed to return to the past, and a compassionate expression appeared on his face, which was exactly the same as Hozuki Shingetsu's.

"It's just a pity! The Ninja Clan that I painstakingly founded has gradually evolved into a tool for killing and seizing power during its transmission. Over the course of a thousand years, it has accelerated the accumulation of negative energy."

"So much so that I had to create the moon high in the sky, far from the earth, using myself as a purifier to suppress negative energy for the ninja world..."

"Humans, how pathetic and lamentable they are!"

Black Zetsu sighed deeply, his face filled with indescribable sorrow.

(End of this chapter)