{🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please support me.🥰 You can access upto 100+ advance chapter through Patreon by using the link: https://patreon.com/Oreski}
The place where Black Zetsu landed on the moon was unique because it was right in front of the tomb of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Judging by the size and preservation of the tomb, Ōtsutsuki Hamura had done a great job maintaining the moon.
When Black Zetsu was created, it was during the time when the two brothers sealed Kaguya-sama.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, who called himself the Sage of Six Paths, sealed the Ten Tails and then divided the chakra of the Ten Tails into the tailed beasts.
Later, he distributed chakra further, leading to the birth of ninjas and the ninja world.
Eventually, it became the history of the ninja world that people are familiar with today.
However, his younger brother, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, was different.
He did not awaken the Rinnegan like his older brother but possessed the Byakugan.
He lived in the ninja world for a while but eventually, feeling ashamed of sealing Kaguya, he left behind one bloodline while the other migrated to the moon.
The moon itself was the product of the Planetary Devastation technique used by the two brothers to imprison Kaguya.
Thus, the bloodline left by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo became the current Hyuga family, while the others moved to the moon.
Since the people of the moon were not as powerful as Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, they could not return to the ninja world and were forced to continue living on the moon.
But...
"The one who betrayed Kaguya-sama, even her own child, is dead after all..."
"But it also shows..."
"This unfilial son passed his power to others."
Black Zetsu gazed at the tombstone of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Normally, the Ten Tails did not die, so it was abnormal that both brothers had passed away.
It could only be said that the power they had obtained from Kaguya-sama had been given to others, leaving them without enough strength to sustain their lives.
Thus, they vanished.
Truly foolish.
As it pondered this, Black Zetsu suddenly realized it was surrounded.
"The thin line of chakra..."
"This doesn't seem simple."
With its vast knowledge and having roamed the ninja world, witnessing the birth of many ninjutsu such as the puppet techniques of Sand Shinobi Village, Black Zetsu could confirm that it was now encircled by puppets.
In terms of craftsmanship and driving force, these puppets were stronger and far superior.
It was a completely different mode from the puppet techniques of Sand Shinobi Village.
This was the power of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
"Who are you?"
"Are you from Earth?"
"Kill them one by one."
One of the puppets spoke, though the voice was harsh, unpleasant not only in tone but also in meaning.
Black Zetsu found it strange.
Were Earthlings going to be killed?
"Although I am weak..."
"But that is only compared to Hashirama, Madara, and Kitahara Hitoshi."
Black Zetsu, or rather Jue, showed an evil smile.
"Wood Style: Spore Technique."
In an instant, countless white spores appeared on the ground, attacking the puppets.
However, the puppets closed their hands and performed seals.
Wind Style was unleashed.
"Puppets that know ninjutsu..."
"This is much more interesting than the Third Kazekage controlled by Sasori."
Black Zetsu remained calm.
Yet, it was captured.
Black Zetsu was escorted towards the master of the puppets, and along the way, it noticed that the moon had changed.
Although Ōtsutsuki Hamura had migrated many people to the moon, the dwellings along the way were abandoned and deserted.
It was clear they had once been inhabited, but now dust covered everything, erasing traces of life.
The area had become desolate and lonely in an instant.
What had happened on the moon?
But the immediate priority was not these questions. It needed to gather information and see if it could deceive someone to obtain accurate data.
It wanted to confirm whether Lord Kaguya was still sealed within the moon.
During a previous test, using White Zetsu's body to attempt to enter the earth, stone, and even rock formations of the moon, it was repelled.
As if something forcibly bounced it back.
Black Zetsu knew it was because of the Six Paths seal imprisoning Lord Kaguya.
Thus, it confirmed it was in the right place.
For now, Black Zetsu's top priority was to collect information.
The first step was to find someone to talk to.
So, it obediently allowed itself to be led forward by the puppet.
In the ninja world, if one were captured, it often required passing through several transfer stations or facing numerous people before meeting the leader.
But for Black Zetsu...
It had already met the leader.
A boy with slightly curly hair.
He had pale skin and long blue-white hair.
His brows were slender, but what was terrifying was that he had neither eyelids nor eyeballs.
In other words, he had been born without eyes.
The boy was dressed in white with a tomoe-pattern around his neck, looking very thin and emanating a strange aura.
Black Zetsu sensed a temperament similar to what it had once seen in Obito.
But it also confirmed that this boy was a descendant of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, as he possessed the same chakra, or at least a portion of it.
Another Indra or Ashura.
The Ōtsutsuki brothers were truly troublesome, even in death their descendants continued causing problems.
With these thoughts in mind, Black Zetsu stared at the boy.
The boy was the first to speak.
"Yesterday, it was discovered that the moon was deflected. I thought it was due to my ability."
"But..."
"Turns out it was because of you."
"If possible, I want you to share the information you possess."
The boy added, "By the way, remember my name, Ōtsutsuki Shiren."
Black Zetsu fell silent.
What a foolish demand.
It wanted to obtain intelligence, not give it.
However, Black Zetsu caught a key point in Shiren's words: "The moon was deflected, I thought it was my ability."
What was this boy planning?
Was he trying to alter the trajectory of the moon to crash it into Earth?
Were all members of the Ōtsutsuki clan lunatics?
"My name is Jue, from the ninja world."
"Descendant of the Sage of Six Paths," Black Zetsu said.
Shiren remained silent for a moment.
"He regretted it," Black Zetsu continued.
"I see."
Shiren nodded. "It seems my ancestors were right."
"Since your lineage regrets it, then watch as I fulfill my ancestor's last wish."
Ōtsutsuki Shiren said.
Black Zetsu remained silent.
The rhetoric just now was just a casual fabrication Black Zetsu used to build a relationship, and unexpectedly, this Ōtsutsuki simply believed it.
Did this guy not understand the dangers of the ninja world?
However, Black Zetsu refrained from saying anything further and successfully extracted information from Shiren.
It turned out that, just as it had suspected, a lineage of Hamura remained on Earth, namely the Hyuga clan.
All the others had migrated to the moon, where the Hyuga population multiplied astonishingly.
However, they too eventually established main and branch families.
Among them, Hamura had passed away early, and the regrets he left behind were unclear.
The branch house on the moon became extremely powerful. They believed that what the Sage of Six Paths created in the ninja world was nothing but chaos, endless wars over a millennium, and a failure that ought to be erased.
Conversely, the main family hoped to resolve the matter through dialogue.
As a result, disagreements between the two factions escalated. The branch house created a massive Tenseigan as a tool and ultimately annihilated the original main family.
Whether it was karma or not, the number of branch house members began to decline rapidly afterward.
A few years ago, only Shiren and his father remained. Shiren had once returned to the ninja world with his father and interacted with the Hyuga clan on Earth, but three years ago, his father also passed away.
Black Zetsu fell into silence.
Three years ago…
Three years ago was an extraordinary time.
That was when Kitahara Hitoshi encountered and picked up the Ninja Rabbit, Little White Rabbit.
Could it be that because the Hamura lineage on the moon was severed, Kaguya-sama found an opportunity to break free from the seal placed on the moon, but due to excessive energy depletion, degenerated into a little white rabbit?
However, even though they were now on the moon, Black Zetsu felt uneasy not being able to confirm Kaguya-sama's status.
Only, Shiren could freely travel between the ninja world and the moon.
This was extremely convenient.
Thus, wasn't Shiren the perfect pawn?
Black Zetsu rediscovered its original mission.
Thus, it began manipulating Ōtsutsuki Shiren.
The two elder brothers were rebellious, so tricking their descendants was entirely justified.
After Black Zetsu set its plans in motion, Kitahara Hitoshi finally got to enjoy a vacation.
After dispatching Black Zetsu to the moon, Kitahara Hitoshi's mood improved considerably.
He decided to take the little ninja rabbit along and write in his diary.
Of course, this also served the purpose of sharing information with the little ninja rabbit.
Sheltered within the Heavenly Palace, Little Ninja Rabbit was unaware of many things.
Little Ninja Rabbit earnestly read the diary entry.
Gradually, it understood that Black Zetsu was indeed a fool soaring in the clouds.
However, its thoughts aligned with Kitahara Hitoshi's.
Whether it was the true Black Zetsu right now, or if in its current form it had been liberated from the seal of those two unfilial children, could now be verified.
"I got my vacation," Kitahara Hitoshi said as he put down his pen and stroked the rabbit's soft white fur.
"Tomorrow, we'll use the mission as a pretext and take another trip."
"Follow me when the time comes," Kitahara Hitoshi added.
Ninja Rabbit Little White Rabbit looked up silently.
It usually did not follow Kitahara Hitoshi on outings, but this time the moon was so near that Kitahara Hitoshi could easily protect it, making it feel reassured.
After thinking for a moment, Little White Rabbit grasped the pen Kitahara Hitoshi had put down and wrote "OK" neatly on the paper.
Kitahara Hitoshi nodded approvingly.
"There's something else I noticed yesterday," he said. "You buried your face into the quilt while sleeping. Didn't you find it hard to breathe?"
Kitahara Hitoshi asked.
Ninja Rabbit Little White Rabbit looked away awkwardly.
It was once Kaguya.
It was not a rabbit by nature, but having transformed into a ninja rabbit, some instincts were difficult to control.
Rabbits instinctively bury their faces when they sleep.
It had tried correcting this habit, but when it drifted off, the instinct always took over.
"Well, just getting used to it is fine," Kitahara Hitoshi said while gently touching its paws.
"Your nails are too long," he observed. "We should trim them."
Ninja Rabbit Little White Rabbit froze.
It was a rabbit now—how could it possibly trim its own nails?
Thinking about this helplessly, it found itself lifted up.
"Let's wash your paws too after trimming," Kitahara Hitoshi suggested cheerfully.
Even though he had used the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique to travel to Cloud Shinobi Village, on the return trip, he had relied on an octopus to carry him across.
Naturally, there was still some sweating.
A good wash afterward would be refreshing.
Flying Thunder God Technique was indeed practical, like a teleportation array. If enough markers were spread across the ninja world, it would be possible to travel anywhere instantly.
However, when Kitahara Hitoshi mentioned washing, the little ninja rabbit stiffened.
Its figure vanished from Kitahara Hitoshi's arms, reappearing on the dining table.
Kitahara Hitoshi sighed silently.
It seemed that the dream of cuddling the rabbit had to be postponed once again.
The next day, when Konoha's ninjas awoke, they discovered the number of ninjas had abruptly increased by 800.
Over 400 Jōnin and more than 300 Chūnin.
Even before the ninja wars, these would have been astonishing numbers. Now, with ninja forces severely diminished, it was truly incredible.
However, these were not precise statistics.
Konoha also welcomed back the Eight Tails, Gyūki.
With the Sand Shinobi Village branch established, One Tail had returned. Now, Eight Tails had rejoined Konoha as well.
For ordinary ninjas, alongside the strengthened village, new orders had been issued.
Starting immediately, for six months, all missions would be reduced, allowing more time for personal cultivation and skill improvement.
After half a year, there would be a comprehensive reassessment and adjustments to Jōnin and special Jōnin ranks.
Meanwhile, Anbu members would be selected and expanded.
This made even the laziest ninjas realize the changes.
The current Konoha was different.
They had to work harder than ever.
But none of this concerned Kitahara Hitoshi.
He was already beyond the standard system.
And now, it was time to invite Hinata on a vacation.
Early the next morning, Kitahara Hitoshi tucked the little ninja rabbit into the pocket of his jacket. As it showed a slightly dissatisfied expression, he handed it a carrot.
Hinata soon arrived.
She seemed a bit embarrassed.
Because today's Hinata was in her normal state.
Not the black Hinata.
Although Kitahara Hitoshi had helped before, today was just Hinata's unlucky day.
"This…" Hinata stammered awkwardly.
Kitahara Hitoshi looked over.
Goodness, the back courtyard was completely empty.
Because the entire Hyuga clan had shown up.
{ Enjoying the chapters? Please Support me on Patreon and unlock 100+ advanced chapters, with 3 new chapters released every two days!
patreon.com/Oreski}