I had never felt such intense emotion in a long time—or, more accurately, hated anything so clearly.

This extreme emotion mobilized the energy of my whole body. As a "thought" body, I am a physical form composed of spiritual power, a very special existence.

So, my extreme emotions will eventually be reflected in my body.

In the reflection of the water, I could see my fiery red eyes. It wasn't the blood-like color of the Sharingan, but more like a burning, living red.

It's obvious that I'm angry.

I buried myself in the waterfall, prolonged the duration of my single breath, and continued to calm myself. Now, no matter what kind of emotions I had, it would be useless.

Be calm, calm down.

Only when you calm down can you think clearly about how to deal with the next step.

That thing is slippery and not so easy to catch.

I showered here for a while - I didn't have a timer, so I didn't know exactly how long I stayed here. Anyway, when I stepped out of the clear water, it was already dusk.

It was getting dark.

Only then did I think of Hashirama and Madara. It seemed that I had left them both out in the clan's secret room because of a disagreement, which seemed a bit impolite.

I turned over and climbed onto the stone statue that was as big as a waterfall. I don't know who built it back then, but it should have been only Hashirama, right?

After all, after the Battle of the Valley of the End, Madara had already rebelled against Konoha. Once he left, the position of the Uchiha clan would become somewhat delicate.

At that time, apart from Hashirama, there was no one else in Konoha who had the position and ability to build the scenery of the Valley of the End.

Oh my god - even after all this, you tell me you're just friends.

The friendship of Konoha is so terrifying.

I stepped on Madara's head and climbed over the waterfall, through the forest, and returned to the Uchiha clan along the route.

I felt sorry for thinking that Madara and Hashirama would be offended by my leaving them here, because they had already set up a grill in front of the Uchiha clan's territory, grilling something and chatting in the moonlight that had just risen.

...I won't talk about Madara who is born through reincarnation, but Hashirama, you have a body that is reincarnated through the Earthly Truth. Can you really eat?

Is Tobirama's forbidden technique so powerful?

Even the eating function is so perfect - wasn't this developed as a combat ninjutsu? How come it also has this function?

With some doubt, I instantly sat down in front of the campfire, facing Hashirama and Madara who were sitting together.

They are the kind of people who, even if they have irreconcilable conflicts in ideals and interests, can still sit together and talk about everything after putting them aside.

This kind of open-mindedness is something that many people cannot achieve.

As soon as I sat down, I felt that the way Hashirama looked at me was obviously different from before. It must be because Madara told him my identity.

He finally stopped looking at me with eyes that should have been used to look at Obito.

"Zero, you're back!" Hashirama was very familiar. He called my name as soon as he came up and handed me a bunch of roasted tiger peppers.

I took it subconsciously, looking at the roasted tiger peppers that were a little crispy, and asked, "Wood Release?"

"Yes, it's very convenient. I used to use this as a snack when I was on a mission before." Hashirama said and gave me a thumbs up.

...There's nothing wrong with making the best use of everything.

I smiled at him and took a bite of the barbecue.

The food created by Wood Release tastes pretty good, but the seasoning is a bit monotonous. It feels like only salt was added. I miss the taste of cumin.

At least put some chili on it, right?

I looked at Madara who was eating happily beside me. Most Uchiha people like sweet food, so it’s normal that they don’t like spicy food - no, I like sweet food too, but I also like spicy food.

I looked at the bonfire in front of me. I had already gotten salt from Konoha, so could I not get some other seasonings?

I still have some inexplicable obsession with barbecue.

The three of us tacitly did not mention my sudden departure and sat around talking about other things.

"What's the plan next?" I asked Ban. Now that the problem with the stone tablet has been confirmed, the next arrangements should be logical.

Sure enough, when this was mentioned, Ban's brows were tightly furrowed. When he thought of what I said before, that there was something living in his body for dozens or hundreds of years, he felt a wave of disgust.

"How dare you do anything to me? I will make him regret living in this world." Ban unconsciously used some force with his fingers, and the wooden stick in his hand made a crisp sound and was broken into two pieces by him.

You can see that he is very angry.

"According to Madara, this Zetsu is the one who has been stirring up hatred between ethnic groups and causing wars?" Hashirama continued. It was obvious that he had already heard about this from Madara.

I nodded. "But these are just means. The real purpose is..."

Before I could finish my words, my eyes drifted towards Madara.

Black Zetsu lives in Madara's body, naturally in order to attack him.

"It is to guide my behavior." Ban pressed his finger between his eyebrows. He thought carefully and still felt that every decision he made came from his own heart and could not be judged by others.

But the more this happens, the more frightening it is.

He has been able to keep his true colors hidden for so many years that it is hard to tell whether what he did was out of his own will or he was manipulated by others.

This terrifying feeling of uneasiness was like a chill that ran from the soles of the feet to the back of the head. Even someone with a strong will like Madara could not help but feel a little overwhelmed.

"You don't have to think too much. Wasn't I also played in his hands?" I smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Missing" is actually different from the original body. "Missing" is just a certain obsession left by the original body. It is originally single in emotion and does not have "humanity".

But I have existed for too long, and it was only through the mental stimulation brought about by multiple Mangekyō Sharingan that I became who I am now.

"And - if we take seniority into account, I should call him uncle, let alone you." This was the first time I mentioned Hei Zetsu's identity.

"Uncle?" Madara's eyes turned, "So he is the younger brother of the Six Paths Sage?"

"The Sage of Six Paths actually has a brother." Hashirama sighed. However, the Sage of Six Paths is already so famous that he has become a part of the mythical story in the ninja world, so how come this younger brother has never appeared?

I then explained to them, "Not only that, the Sage of Six Paths didn't even know he had such a brother."

This dark and powerful concealment method could even fool the Six Paths Sage's Samsara Eye and Otsutsuki Hamura's Byakugan...

It really forces people to face up to this last resort left by Kaguya Otsutsuki.

"Otsutsuki Hamura, the ancestor of the current Hyuga clan, is actually the Six Paths Sage, the younger brother of Otsutsuki Hagoromo. The Black Zetsu ranked third, and the two brothers didn't know about their existence. Even I..." Thinking of this, I paused, and for a moment I felt that my memory was a little fuzzy, "I also learned the truth by chance later."

Afterwards, I used the simplest words to explain to them in detail the troubles of the Otsutsuki family, the feud between mother and son, and the separation of brothers - of course, the separation here was positive, not the type of separation between "me" and Ashura, it was just that the younger brother chose to stay by the side of the sealed mother.

Then came the affairs of the Ninja Clan, which inevitably involved "me" and Ashura. I was a little depressed. It seemed that most of the grudges in those years were caused by a third party or an outsider.

I don't want to consider Hei Zetsu as a member of the family. To everyone, he is an outsider.

After I had finished talking about all these past events, I moved on to another topic.

"At that time, the Six Paths Sage himself was the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, and he actually sealed the Ten-Tails into his own body. That was the incarnation of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's power, and no one except him could suppress it. In order to prevent the Ten-Tails from changing in the future, he chose to split this power, which became the current nine-tailed beasts," I took a sip of water from the wooden cup to moisten my throat, "A few days ago, I learned another thing from the Nine-Tails - the Six Paths Sage left him a safety device to prevent the Ten-Tails from merging."

Hashirama glanced at Madara with a little worry, only to see the flickering light of the bonfire reflected in the pupils of his close friend, making it hard to tell for a moment whether this was due to the principles of optics or the anger in his heart.

"If I use the Outer Path Demon Statue to eventually create the Ten Tails, what will happen?" Madara suddenly asked, "If the Six Paths Sage was once the Ten Tails Jinchūriki, it means that this thing itself should be feasible."

I shook my head. "The power of the Ten Tails is not something that ordinary people can control. Even the Six Paths Sage died soon after separating the nine tailed beasts. And - you should also be very clear that in order to become a Jinchūriki, the quality of the body takes precedence over factors such as chakra and mental power. So you let Kurama become your summoning beast at that time, but you are not actually his Jinchūriki. The Uchiha clan is the descendant of Indra. They only have the "spirit of the sage" but not the "body" of the sage. If they use the Ten Tails to summon the sacred tree and absorb it into their bodies, the power of the Six Paths Chakra and the bloodline network will prevail in their bodies - and what follows is the spiritual power of Kaguya Otsutsuki..."

Before I finished speaking, Hashirama's expression turned visibly ugly.

"That is to say, if Madara's plan is implemented smoothly, then in the end it will not be Madara who controls the Ten-Tails, but the power of the Ten-Tails will occupy Madara's body!"

...That's true, but why does it sound so strange when you say it?

Is it my illusion?

It must be my illusion.