Chapter 41: Akatsuki's Concern, Black Zetsu's Speculation

Chapter 41: Akatsuki’s Concern, Black Zetsu’s Speculation

As Izayoi and the sisters captured a joyful moment together, heavy rain poured over Amegakure. Within a towering steel structure, a lone figure conversed with a vibrant, spectral entity.

“Sasori, what’s the matter?” the figure asked.

“Leader, have you ever visited the Land of Rivers? Or do you have other bodies besides the six Paths of Pain?”

“Why ask?” Deva Path replied, his expression unchanging.

“Answer me first.”

“No.”

“Good. I believe you.”

Sasori of the Red Sand nodded grimly. “Deidara and I encountered someone in the Land of Rivers. This man could summon meteors and used techniques identical to yours—Shinra Tensei and Gravity Release.”

At this, Deva Path’s demeanor finally shifted. “Who is he?”

“We don’t know,” Sasori admitted. “He wore a black cloak, had long white hair, and a pure white mask with no eye holes. His perception skills were absurdly strong.”

“He confronted us first, stunned us with a meteor, then threatened to take my Puppet Technique and Human Puppet secrets—but never tried to kill us.”

“So you suspect me.” Deva Path’s voice was flat.

“It’s a possibility we can’t rule out.”

Sasori stared at Deva Path’s Rinnegan, letting out a low chuckle. “These abilities—rules of nature—I’ve only seen them in you. If it’s not you, then there’s another being in this world with eyes equal to or surpassing yours.”

“It seems the shinobi world isn’t as dull as we imagined.”

As his words faded, Sasori’s spectral form slowly dissolved. Deva Path stood in silence for a moment before extending his hand from his sleeve, the ring on his finger glowing faintly.

Minutes later, a grotesque, plant-like creature emerged from the ground—half its body black, the other white, cloaked in a dark coat.

“Leader, what are your orders?” Black Zetsu rasped.

“Dispatch your clones to investigate someone…”

Deva Path relayed all the details Sasori had provided.

“Nani?!” White Zetsu gasped. “Someone else in this world can use Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten’in?”

“It could be a secret technique mimicking Repulsive Force and Gravity Release,” Deva Path analyzed, “but that’s unlikely. The mask without eye holes suggests he’s hiding his eyes, not boasting perception. His goal was clear—targeting Sasori’s Puppet Technique and Human Puppet secrets. If his eyes match mine, he might be after Pain’s Six Paths.”

“Find him. If he truly has the Rinnegan, eliminate him before he challenges my control over the Ten-Tails’ Statue.”

“Understood.”

Black Zetsu nodded and vanished into the ground using the Mayfly Technique.

Half an hour later, Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha met in Kamui’s Dimension.

“A mysterious man using Shinra Tensei and Gravity Release?” Obito asked, eyeing Black Zetsu—the embodiment of Madara’s will. “Do you think other techniques besides the Rinnegan could replicate this?”

“Leader’s analysis makes sense,” Black Zetsu replied.

“So some lucky heir inherited a Rinnegan from a long-dead predecessor?” Obito grasped the implication instantly, though his masked face betrayed no emotion.

Black Zetsu remained silent, his thoughts heavy. He doubted the existence of a second Rinnegan outside of Nagato. To ensure its emergence, he’d spent a millennium manipulating Indra Otsutsuki and countless Indra reincarnations.

He was certain Hagoromo Otsutsuki hadn’t passed down his Rinnegan. If he had, someone would’ve surfaced by now.

But Repulsive Force and Gravity Release weren’t ordinary techniques. The moon itself was proof of Gravity Release’s cosmic power.

White hair. A mask without eye holes. Perception rivaling the Rinnegan…

Black Zetsu had his suspicions.

This mysterious figure likely hailed from the moon.

Could Hamura Otsutsuki’s lineage have inherited such power?

Black Zetsu mused bitterly. He’d been born too late—his mother sealed at his birth. The shinobi world had been peaceful since Hagoromo’s redemptive journey, while Hamura settled on the moon, building his clan in isolation.

Black Zetsu recalled the Spatial Gate connecting Earth and the moon—an artifact of Hamura’s Byakugan evolution, not Hagoromo’s. What other powers did that unknown dōjutsu hold?

Now, a lunar faction might be stirring again—a terrifying figure wielding meteor-summoning, space-bending abilities. Black Zetsu inwardly cursed.

Damn you, Hagoromo and Hamura. A thousand years later, you still have secrets beyond Asura and Indra’s reincarnations?

“Sasori’s Human Puppets preserve their victims’ kekkei genkai and jutsu,” he told Obito. “If this man has the Rinnegan, he’ll hunt powerful shinobi for his Six Paths. I’ll have White Zetsu’s clones monitor the world’s elites.”

“Agreed.” Obito nodded.

It was their only option. The mystery man was cautious, but he’d already become a threat. Flight, Gravity Release, and meteor-summoning alone made him dangerous. If he couldn’t be controlled, he had to be destroyed—before he shattered their plans.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end