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

Chapter 249 Sealing Black Zetsu

"Lord Madara, have you heard of... the Tenseigan?"

Black Zetsu looked at Madara Uchiha, pondered for a moment, and then asked silently.

Upon hearing this, Madara Uchiha frowned and turned to look at Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu felt a pang of unease under Madara Uchiha's intense gaze, even with its extensive experience in grand schemes. It feared that Madara might discover some flaw in its plan, causing it to fail at the last minute.

There was no other way. After all, if they could trick Madara Uchiha into going to the moon this time, their mother could be freed. Even they couldn't take the implications of this lightly.

Actually, Black Zetsu didn't want to bring up the Otsutsuki clan on the moon so directly. He had a better way, such as altering the stone tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths under the Naka Shrine again.

The last time Madara Uchiha looked at this stone tablet, he only had the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and had not yet upgraded it to the Rinnegan.

Therefore, theoretically, as long as the timing is right, arousing his interest in the possible follow-up content of the stone tablet, and making him retrieve the Rinnegan from Nagato Uzumaki and take another look, will naturally lead him into the trap.

However, there's no way around it. Madara Uchiha is currently relying entirely on the God Tree of Chakra to prolong his life. Unless he takes a desperate gamble and absorbs a large amount of the God Tree's chakra in a short period of time, he simply cannot leave this place.

Under these circumstances, Madara Uchiha would naturally not go to the Naka Shrine to see the stone tablet, so Black Zetsu had no choice but to risk trying to persuade him with words.

After staring at Black Zetsu for a long time, Madara Uchiha finally turned his face and replied in a calm tone, "Never heard of it... Probably some kind of third-rate dojutsu like the Blood Dragon Eye, Red Eye, or Byakugan!"

Madara Uchiha was incredibly arrogant. Putting aside the Blood Dragon Eye and the Red Eye, the Byakugan is considered one of the three great dojutsu in the ninja world, along with the Sharingan and the Rinnegan. Yet, in Madara Uchiha's eyes, the Byakugan was only rated as a third-rate dojutsu.

If those stubborn old fogies from the Hyuga main family heard this, who knows how they would react.

Of course, if they knew that the evaluator was Uchiha Madara, they could probably only feel a helpless rage in their hearts.

After all, even the Hyuga Tenjin had to be subservient to Uchiha Madara back then, so what are these few old geezers compared to them?

Black Zetsu didn't react at all when he heard this. After all, in his opinion, if the Byakugan didn't upgrade to the Tenseigan, it was really just so-so and not worth mentioning at all.

However, its purpose was to arouse Madara Uchiha's covetousness for the Tenseigan, or rather, his competitive spirit.

"The Tenseigan is the ultimate evolution of the Byakugan, similar to the Rinnegan's relationship to the Sharingan. Just as the Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths, the Tenseigan is also the eye of the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother..."

Next, Black Zetsu gave a detailed explanation of the origin and power of the Tenseigan, attributing all the information to an internal meeting of the Hyuga clan.

After listening to Black Zetsu's introduction, Madara Uchiha's originally calm face finally showed some emotion.

"Tensegan... I really didn't expect that the Hyuga clan, a ninja clan like theirs, would have such information hidden."

Madara Uchiha's eyes were filled with endless emotion. Having seen the Uchiha Secret Stone Tablet, he naturally knew that the Sage of Six Paths had a younger brother.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Hyuga clan is actually a descendant of this person, and the Byakugan, like the Sharingan, has an upgrade path.

"Lord Madara, I overheard their conversation that the Tenseigan still exists in the world, and I've even found out where it's located, although there's a group of people guarding it..."

Black Zetsu did not intend to reveal the information about the Tenseigan inside the moon to Madara Uchiha. He only intended to trick Madara into going to the Earth-Moon passage, trick him into believing that the Tenseigan was at the seal of Kaguya Otsutsuki, and trick him into using his last bit of power to break the seal.

However, to its surprise, Madara Uchiha was not as excited as Black Zetsu had imagined when faced with this news.

"The Tenseigan? So what if it's the eye of the Sage of Six Paths' brother? I already have the Rinnegan, and the plan is proceeding smoothly. Why bother with this?"

Madara Uchiha smiled proudly, and the familiar arrogance of the past finally reappeared on his aged face.

"Besides, the Sharingan is superior to the Byakugan, and by extension, the Rinnegan is superior to the Tenseigan. We haven't even found the Uchiha Swordsman yet, so why should I risk my life for something even less valuable than the Rinnegan?"

madness!

arrogant!

Short-sighted!

Upon hearing this reply, Black Zetsu's anger was practically overflowing.

How could it forget that these damned Uchiha are all blind on their own heads?

The reason why the "Eye of the Moon" has failed to succeed over the past thousand years is not only because it lacks a host with a complicated relationship like that of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, but also because of the damned pride in the hearts of the Uchiha.

Every time the plan was about to see a glimmer of hope, Uchiha's arrogant pride always ruined Black Zetsu's grand scheme.

Do you think you're a Saiyan who can transform?

After his sudden outburst of anger, Black Zetsu immediately realized how foolish it was to have revealed the Tenseigan to Madara Uchiha.

The fact that he had previously used the Uchiha inheritance stone tablet to deceive him gave Black a strange confidence in controlling Uchiha Madara.

However, it forgot that it was able to manipulate Madara Uchiha by means of information asymmetry and by means of the tiger skin on the stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

In Madara Uchiha's eyes, it is nothing more than a creature he unintentionally created using the Rinnegan, merely his slave. What credibility does such a status hold?

Furthermore, Madara Uchiha is extremely arrogant. Unless he is truly defeated like Hashirama Senju, he wouldn't attempt to use Wood Release. Or he would only believe in something like the stone tablet, which has the backing of the Sage of Six Paths and the thousand-year history of the Uchiha clan.

Now that Black Zetsu has suddenly stepped forward without any prior example, and is asking him to risk his life to steal something from an unknown place that may or may not be as powerful as the Rinnegan, he naturally has no intention of doing it.

Having figured this out, Black Zetsu simply shut his mouth and did not respond to Madara Uchiha's arrogance.

"Since it's not working with Madara Uchiha, then we'll have no choice but to go find Shingetsu Hozuki."

Black Zetsu felt a sharp pain in his liver whenever he thought of Hozuki Shingetsu.

Although it is still uncertain whether it has a liver, given that it is a creation of the Divine Tree, this behavior is enough to show its fear of Hozuki Shingetsu.

There was no way around it; he had gotten so used to being bossed around by Hozuki Shingetsu over the past few years that those phrases like "What do you know about scholarly matters?", "I'm doing it, I'm doing it!", "Please, planetary will, we're out of money again!", and "I'll definitely do it next time" subconsciously triggered a stress response in Black Zetsu, this humanoid being.

If it weren't for having absolutely no other choice, it really wouldn't want to go looking for Hozuki Shingetsu.

It wasn't just because he suffered from Hozuki Shingetsu PTSD syndrome, but also because compared to Uchiha Madara, Hozuki Shingetsu was far too shrewd. He was a man of the mind, and not easily fooled.

Even Black Zetsu couldn't help but tremble for the Uchiha clan and Konoha when he thought of all the schemes Hozuki Shingetsu had carried out in the ninja world since his debut.

Throughout the thousand-year history of the ninja world, Black Zetsu would call Hozuki Shingetsu the number one villain!

However, there's nothing we can do about it. There are only a handful of people in the ninja world who know of its existence, and only Madara Uchiha and Shingetsu Hozuki have the ability to defeat the Otsutsuki clan and break the seal.

Now, no matter how unwilling he was, Black Zetsu had no choice but to go to Kirigakure and try to persuade Hozuki Shingetsu, since it involved his mother.

"Keep a close eye on Obito Uchiha. Since the Fourth Shinobi World War is currently raging, that kid will likely be leaving the village on a mission. Find a quiet time when there are few people around and devise a plan to bring him to my side!"

Madara Uchiha saw Black Zetsu remain silent but didn't take it seriously.

In his view, Black Zetsu was nothing more than a dog he had created. All it needed to do was to complete the tasks he assigned it. As for caring about its feelings...

Does it even deserve it?

It can only be said that the Uchiha clan's rise and fall were both due to their arrogance.

-

Hidden Mist Village, Water Shadow Building

"...Lady New Moon, that's the current offensive posture of the other three ninja villages. As for our Hidden Mist Village, the first batch of troops sent to Konoha have arrived at the front lines and are currently fighting against the Konoha ninja army along the Land of Waves, the Land of Tea, the Land of Whirlpools, and the Land of Commerce."

Akiba Masanobu, holding a red pen, was sketching on the ninja world map in the Mizukage's office, explaining the situation at the front lines to Hozuki Shingetsu.

"Commander Munenori reports that he is confident of breaking through the Konoha Ninja Army's defense line within three days and entering the Land of Vegetables. However, the Land of Fire's mainland lies behind the Land of Vegetables, so Commander Munenori predicts that we will likely encounter fierce resistance from the enemy in the Land of Vegetables."

"He also sent back a message that the southeastern defense line of Konoha, led by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and his assistant Fugaku Uchiha, has requested support from headquarters as a precaution due to the lack of elite troops at the front."

Hozuki Shingetsu rested his hands on his chin, looking at the intricate map of the ninja world before him with a smile in his eyes.

"The Land of Whirlpools is the Uzumaki clan's stronghold. Although they abandoned it for over a decade, their foundation there is still unmatched by Konoha. Muneto's estimate of three days is probably a conservative estimate..."

"I assured Kushina that if we take over the Land of Whirlpools, we'll allow a branch of the Uzumaki clan to set up a protective territory there. Under these circumstances, the Uzumaki clan has no choice but to fight tooth and nail... Tell her I need the Mist Ninja army to appear in the Land of Vegetables within two days!"

Seeing Akiba Masanobu writing furiously, Hozuki Shingetsu added, "As for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fugaku Uchiha... don't worry about them, I'll deal with them myself!"

Upon hearing this, Akiba Masanobu was taken aback for a moment, then his whole body radiated a spirited glow, and he leaned down to add another sentence.

"Six years have passed, and finally we'll get to see Lord Crescent Moon make his move again..."

The last time Hozuki Shingetsu made a public appearance was six years ago during the Five Nations Peace Truce Talks, when he single-handedly stopped a fierce battle between many masters from the Four Ninja Villages, making him famous in the ninja world.

(The battle between Hozuki Shingetsu and Uchiha Madara was not made public.)

"Now that six years have passed, I really have no idea how much Lord Crescent Moon has grown..."

Although Akiba Masanobu initially stood up during the "Blood Mist Rebellion" out of a desire to gain attention, over the years, he has become a devoted fan of Hozuki Shingetsu.

Despite facing the renowned Third Hokage and the head of the Uchiha clan, he remained confident in Hozuki Shingetsu.

However, at that moment, Hozuki Shingetsu frowned, as if sensing something, and immediately made up an excuse to send Akiba Masanobu away.

"My Lord, it's been quite a while since you last visited... Perfect timing, I was just about to give you an update on the recent progress and difficulties of that chakra cannon..."

As he watched "himself" slowly rise from the floor, Hozuki Shingetsu beamed with a smile, practically screaming "I'm such a sucker!"

Black Zetsu shuddered involuntarily as it looked at Hozuki Shingetsu's familiar smile. This slight movement prevented it from noticing the movement Hozuki Shingetsu made under the table.

"I'm not here today to rush your chakra cannon project... I'm here to tell you about a crisis that could destroy the Earth!"

Facing Hozuki Shingetsu, a master of intrigue, Black Zetsu dared not be careless and immediately revealed the reason he had been pondering for a long time.

"The reason my original form, the Sage of Six Paths, was sealed on the moon was to purify the negative energy constantly generated in the ninja world... But perhaps due to the recurrence of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the aggregate of negative energy on the moon has changed, and it has somehow opened a passage between the Earth and the moon, attempting to pollute the Earth!"

(Please refer back to chapters 164 and 165 to see how Black Zetsu initially deceived people.)

"If we let this continue, the Earth will soon be overwhelmed by the negative emotions that have accumulated over thousands of years, and the ninja world will truly face annihilation!"

Black Zetsu, recalling Hozuki Shingetsu's past actions, began to exaggerate the dangerous consequences of allowing the Earth-Moon Passage to exist.

"However, new life is born from crisis. The appearance of this Earth-Moon passage not only gave that negative energy aggregate the opportunity to infect the Earth, but also gave us the opportunity to counterattack the Moon and liberate my original body."

"We no longer need that chakra cannon. All you need to do is lead the Hidden Mist Village's elite troops through the Earth-Moon Portal to the moon and release my true form!"

Facing Hozuki Shingetsu's scrutinizing gaze, Black Zetsu forced himself to maintain his composure and spoke eloquently, unaware that Hozuki Shingetsu had already seen through his thoughts.

"Black Zetsu actually discovered the Earth-Moon passage... No wonder it had such thoughts. However, the Otsutsuki branch should still exist on the moon at this time, so Black Zetsu probably couldn't save Kaguya Otsutsuki, which is why it acted this way."

Hozuki Shingetsu would never do as Black Zetsu intended. Before he had become a Six Paths level shinobi, releasing Kaguya Uchiha would be tantamount to suicide.

This isn't some kind of hentai anime style, so he certainly can't just roam the world with a big gun.

However, if Black Zetsu's request isn't accepted, given his nature, he'll definitely try to trick others into going to the moon...

So after much deliberation, Hozuki Shingetsu had no choice but to make an extremely painful decision.

"Sigh, what a useful tool! What a waste..."

Hozuki Shingetsu's gaze toward Black Zetsu held a hint of regret, and this undisguised look made Black Zetsu's heart skip a beat.

"What do you want to do...?"

Before Black Zetsu could finish speaking, Hozuki Shingetsu gently smashed the teacup beside him.

Snapped!

With a soft sound, several elderly Vortex Clan elders appeared here.

"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Sealing!"

"Sealing Technique: Five Elements Sealing!"

"Sealing Technique: Eight Trigrams Sealing!"

……

Just as the elders released their sealing spells, a brilliant sealing array suddenly lit up on the floor.

In an instant, the spacious Mizukage's office was enveloped in multicolored chakra light. Before Black Zetsu could react, he was struck by the overwhelming seal, instantly turning into a puddle of mud and being sealed inside a sphere.

Hozuki Shingetsu bent down, fondling the sphere with obvious delight, the faint, almost inaudible curses of Black Zetsu echoing in his ears, and chuckled softly.

"Since ancient times, armies have always offered sacrifices before going to war. With this as a sacrifice, the Sage of Six Paths will surely bless us with a successful journey!"

(End of this chapter)