[The combination of both factors and the numerous variables made it impossible for Black Zetsu to form a pair.]
[Until Black Zetsu set his sights on Indra's descendant and Indra's reincarnation, Uchiha Madara. (I give birth to myself? Ha!)]
[In order to make Madara his pawn, Black Zetsu even went so far as to rewrite the contents of the stone tablet left by Hagoromo, making Madara believe that only by opening the Infinite Tsukuyomi could he save the Shinobi World and the Uchiha clan.]
[However, Madara was defeated at the Valley of the End by Hashirama, the reincarnation of Ashura, leaving Black Zetsu overwhelmed and submerged in water.]
[Fortunately, Madara sacrificed his right eye and used Izanagi to rewrite reality. After faking his death, he secretly followed the instructions on the stone tablet, "The union of the two will bring about the infinite world," and spent years carefully cultivating Hashirama's cells, which he obtained during their battle, eventually successfully transplanting them into his own body.]
"Madara, that battle, did you intentionally lose to me in order to obtain my cells?"
"Intentionally? You think I intentionally lost to you?"
Madara laughed loudly.
It was clear that he was genuinely enjoying himself.
"Big Brother, even if Madara fought seriously, he still wouldn't be able to defeat you."
Tobirama, being Tobirama, said one sentence that made Madara stop laughing.
"Madara, is that true?"
Hashirama looked at Madara with a confused expression, seeking an answer from him.
"You're talking nonsense, Hashirama."
Madara glared at Tobirama with an annoyed face before continuing, "That battle, I didn't hold back at all."
"But, if you had beaten me, how would you have faked your death afterward?"
"If I had truly defeated you, why would I need to fake my death? I would have just killed you, then killed Tobirama, causing chaos in Konoha. When Konoha is too busy to care for itself, they naturally wouldn't have the energy to focus on me."
Hashirama scratched his head, feeling like Madara's reasoning made sense, but something about it felt off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
It was frustrating.
Fortunately, it wasn't just him and Madara.
After hearing Madara's words, Izuna frowned and said, "Without these two brothers in Konoha, Big Brother, aren't you worried about Konoha being divided by the other four great nations?"
In the original story, after the battle at the Valley of the End, Hashirama stayed in Konoha for several years before he died.
When he died, the First Great Ninja War immediately broke out.
It was only because of Tobirama's powerful strength that Konoha was able to force the Hidden Cloud Village to sign a peace treaty.
After Tobirama's death, his disciples like Hiruzen grew up smoothly, which allowed them to win the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
So, if Hashirama and Tobirama had died a few years earlier, and Hiruzen and the others hadn't grown up yet, it's highly likely they wouldn't have been able to stop the Hidden Cloud Village's attacks.
If Konoha fell or was destroyed, where would Madara find a successor who could carry out his plan?
This uncertainty is too big.
Looking at it from this perspective, Izuna feels that it's better for his older brother to fake his death and hide in the shadows, watching the situation unfold.
Clearly, Madara also realized where the problem lay.
But he didn't explain it.
After all, those who understand, understand. For those who don't, even an explanation would be useless.
Hashirama: ???
I see you're deliberately targeting me!
[Having already sacrificed his younger brother Izuna to gain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara then combined Hashirama's cells, enjoying the smooth flow of power, successfully merging the powers of Ashura and Indra, and advancing the Sharingan into the Rinnegan. He even summoned the Outer Path Golem.]
[The aged Madara used the Outer Path Golem to extend his life, and by accident, cultivated White Zetsu using Hashirama's cells.]
[However, White Zetsu was actually a trick by Black Zetsu, who secretly extracted people who had fallen under the Infinite Tsukuyomi from the Golem to show Madara.]
[These events made Madara fully believe the contents on the stone tablet.]
"Black Zetsu is indeed a bastard. Even the whole White Zetsu thing was a lie to me."
Madara gritted his teeth, glaring at Black Zetsu on the light screen, wishing he could tear it apart and drink its blood.
"Was White Zetsu ever human?"
Tobirama's focus is different from Madara's.
He had been researching White Zetsu for almost a year, so he naturally knew that White Zetsu wasn't even human.
Now the screen was telling him that White Zetsu was actually once a human after being trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
This left him completely stunned.
Izuna: "This shows that Black Zetsu, in order to save its mother Kaguya, didn't care at all about the lives of the people in the ninja world."
Hashirama: "If it really succeeded, doesn't that mean everyone in the ninja world would've died?"
Tobirama: "Not exactly death. Strictly speaking, they'd just become a different type of being."
Madara pointed to White Zetsu on the screen and asked, "You call that just becoming another being?"
"At least, it's not death, right?"
"If it turns me into that thing, I'd rather die."
At this point, Izuna sighed and said, "No memories, lost self-identity, living in another hideous form... this is basically death."
"So, we mustn't let Black Zetsu succeed. It has to die."
"Yes, Black Zetsu must die."
[As Black Zetsu's favorite actor, Madara also got a little creative and took on the role of director.]
[He picked Uchiha Obito to be the main actor.]
[Thus, for Madara and Obito, "Everything returns to one" became the ultimate ideal of "No more barriers or conflict in the world, achieving ultimate unity."]
[Black Zetsu tearfully thanked Madara for investing in the project.]
[To make this drama within a drama successful, it arranged a role for itself, making Madara believe that it was the embodiment of his will, a product of Yin-Yang Release, and Madara passed it down to Obito as a servant.]
[In the following decades, with the help of the Akatsuki, Obito continued capturing the Tailed Beasts. The key elements in Black Zetsu's main plot, the God Tree and the Rinnegan, were progressing smoothly thanks to Madara's birth. It was just a matter of time before success was achieved.]
"Black Zetsu's patience is truly remarkable. After waiting for thousands of years, he finally found someone who fits his requirements."
"However, his plan is doomed to fail."
"That's right. Based on the scattered information revealed through the light screen in various character review videos, even if he succeeds in resurrecting Kaguya, he will ultimately be defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, and the others."
"And now, with the existence of the light screen, we can't afford to give Black Zetsu any chances. Once we know there's danger, we must eliminate it at its roots."
In the Third Hokage's timeline, everyone was resolute in their determination to kill Black Zetsu.
They clearly understood that the ninja world in reality wasn't like the "Naruto" series written by some author.
In "Naruto," Naruto and Sasuke won.
But in reality, it's not so certain.
Moreover, in "Naruto," the Fourth Great Ninja War was set to begin about two and a half years later.
Currently, Naruto and Sasuke do not yet possess the strength they have in "Naruto."
Naruto only recently learned Sage Mode and is still not skilled at using it.
Sasuke's Sharingan is only a three-tomoe and isn't a Mangekyō yet.
At the same time, both of their bodies are still growing and haven't reached their peak.
As they are now, asking them to deal with Kaguya would be like sending them to their deaths.
So...
"Black Zetsu must die!"
*********
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 30 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume