Akihara Kagura...
Descendant of the Senju Clan.
Everyone present heard this matter.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama, and Orochimaru, the disciple of the Third Hokage, the most intelligent individuals in Konoha's history, were the first to uncover the secret behind the bark.
Tobirama kicked Orochimaru away, grabbed a kunai, and rushed towards Tsunade while revealing the truth he had deduced.
"Orochimaru's guess is correct."
"Akihara Kagura is indeed a descendant of the Senju Clan."
Tobirama had no goodwill towards Akihara Kagura, another member of the Senju Clan, and coldly stated, "In the thousand-year history of the Senju Clan, the ancestors of this branch learned the secrets of the Senju Clan, betrayed their kin, and secretly stole historical relics during the Warring States period, hoping to use Wood Release chakra to unlock their secrets..."
"Unfortunately."
"This branch never awakened the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, and could only guard the Senju Clan's treasures without uncovering their truths..."
"In other words..."
Orochimaru pulled out the kunai lodged in him and continued Tobirama's deduction: "After the First Hokage's death, when Konoha began researching his cells, Akihara Kagura and his kin discovered a chance to awaken Wood Release..."
Orochimaru even chuckled at this point: "They found out that I was researching the Wood Release bloodline..."
"If nothing went wrong..."
Orochimaru recalled Yakushi Kabuto mentioning the bark: "This branch of the Senju Clan eventually had only Akihara Kagura left, who, to enter Konoha legitimately, first went to the Konoha Orphanage..."
"Unfortunately."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gritted his teeth when talking about Akihara Kagura's scheme: "The Wood Release experiments were halted by the old man, and I was forced to defect after being caught conducting illegal human experiments..."
"To obtain the Wood Release bloodline, Akihara Kagura left Konoha, hid the Senju Clan's relics in the orphanage, and on my escape, he approached me, making himself my test subject, eventually succeeding in awakening the Wood Release bloodline after I transplanted the cells..."
"To reclaim the Senju Clan's relics, Akihara Kagura always sought to return to Konoha, even attempting to kill me on the day he gained the Wood Release bloodline..."
When Orochimaru reached this point, he remembered the attack on him by Akihara Kagura on the first day of awakening Wood Release and gritted his teeth: "At that time, Akihara Kagura pretended to lose control of the experiment, trying to kill me and return to Konoha..."
Fortunately.
At that time, Orochimaru had sealed Akihara Kagura's body with a curse mark, and recalling the subsequent events, he still felt a gnawing hatred towards Akihara Kagura.
"That brat also used my desire to make him a vessel, and the alliance between me and Danzo, to finally return to Konoha, and even used his identity as a Wood Release genius to escape Danzo's control, returning to the orphanage to retrieve the bark he had hidden..."
"It was then..."
"Akihara Kagura colluded with Uchiha Obito..."
"Not colluded."
"Akihara Kagura merely used."
Tobirama interrupted Orochimaru, solemnly adding: "Because the Uchiha Clan's stele also contains the secrets of the ninja world, and Uchiha Madara had long seen these recorded secrets, Uchiha Obito was merely a pawn of Madara..."
"But..."
"The Senju and the Uchiha have always been opposing existences. The historical secrets recorded on the Uchiha Clan's stele and the Senju Clan's relics should be the same..."
"Akihara Kagura realized that Uchiha Obito also knew some secrets of the ninja world, so he pretended to collude with Obito while hiding his own knowledge..."
"That brat intended to usurp the plan of Uchiha Madara and Obito for his own use..."
Tobirama patiently filled in the rest of the story.
With the tacit cooperation of Tobirama and Orochimaru, they believed their deduction of Akihara Kagura's story was close to the truth...
At least.
Everyone present knew the background of Akihara Kagura.
Even Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, seemingly unable to believe the depth and darkness of Akihara Kagura's identity and thoughts.
"..."
Black Zetsu listened in astonishment.
If Akihara Kagura was aware of the ninja world's history through the Senju Clan's relics, would his plan still succeed?
No!
If Akihara Kagura was indeed a knowledgeable insider...
Why would he still try to seize the Rinnegan and betray the ninja world?
Why wouldn't he worry about the revival of the Ten Tails and Kaguya?
This doesn't add up…
Because Akihara Kagura attacked Nagato and disrupted the process of reviving the Ten-Tails, this guy wants to control the Ten-Tails himself and has never hidden this intention!
That guy...
Does he want to become the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails?
No...
Something else doesn't seem right...
Black Zetsu felt like his head was about to explode!
"Never mind that..."
Black Zetsu shook his head and made a decision: "I must first find out what secrets are recorded on the Senju Clan's bark..."
"Moreover..."
"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be similar to the original content of the Uchiha Clan's stone stele, which I modified after that bastard Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki died..."
"However..."
"There will definitely be some subtle differences."
"After all, Hagoromo knew that his second son, Asura, was a fool. Hagoromo would definitely leave something special for Asura's descendants..."
"The most troublesome part would be Kaguya's secret."
"This is not a big problem; I can find a way to persuade Madara to be cautious of Kaguya or not to worry about her. Uchiha Madara already believes in me..."
"The Uchiha Clan's stone stele was originally meant to pass on history and warn Indra's descendants, and I just slightly altered it to lure Madara into merging Hashirama's power, collecting the Tailed Beasts, and initiating the Eye of the Moon Plan..."
"Based on the timeline, the original content left by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki on the stone stele wouldn't mention my name..."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Senju Clan's bark won't mention my name either..."
As long as my name isn't mentioned...
There is still room to maneuver!
Black Zetsu suddenly felt relieved. He had slowly figured out how to expose the true history on the bark and how to persuade Uchiha Madara.
"First, I can't hide this from Madara because Akihara Kagura, that descendant of the Senju Clan, must have already read the bark. He must already know the history of the ninja world from it. Even if I hide it from Madara, that descendant could still leak the secret..."
"Secondly, if Madara really doubts the historical truth, I'll use his favorite rhetoric to lure him. The Uchiha and Senju clans are inherently oppositional. This all needs to be considered after seeing the contents of the Senju Clan's bark..."
"As long as my identity remains a secret..."
"Everything is still within my control."
Black Zetsu, hidden underground, revealed a sinister smile: "To Madara, I am his will incarnate, and I won't deceive him..."
"Now..."
"First, find a way to get the bark..."
"Only by obtaining the Senju Clan's bark can I learn its secrets and figure out what that brat Akihara Kagura is thinking..."
Black Zetsu immediately formulated his plan. He also assessed the situation in Konoha: Akihara Kagura was controlling the reanimated Second Hokage and Fourth Hokage to compete for the Senju Clan's bark, and Konoha's ninjas were trying to protect it from being taken!
So...
Who would care about Nagato!
With a change of mind, Black Zetsu quietly shifted his focus towards Nagato, intending to control him to revive Uchiha Madara while Konoha Hospital was understaffed.
Meanwhile,
The battle for the Senju Clan's bark continued.
This bark likely contained great secrets of the ninja world, perhaps even a solution to the current crisis.
Otherwise...
Akihara Kagura would never have let two Hokage fight for it!
"Do you need my help?"
Kabuto looked at Tsunade, raised his finger proactively, and said: "I should be able to stop them..."
"Alright."
Tsunade nodded slowly.
Akihara Kagura's actions to destroy the ninja world and recreate it would inevitably anger many in the ninja world, so Kabuto's betrayal was not surprising...
"..."
Kabuto raised his eyebrows slightly.
Although he didn't know the full truth, he knew one thing for sure: Kagura would never harm him or Director Yakushi Nono.
Moreover...
Kagura definitely didn't really want to take that piece of bark.
Because that piece of so-called Senju clan bark was personally handed to me by Akihara Kagura, asking me to deliver it to the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
So...
This was a scheme.
Kaguya wanted everyone to know the bark's value.
"Can you use the Edo Tensei to summon Jōnin Dan Kato?"
Yakushi Kabuto asked Tsunade very politely.
"No need!"
Jiraiya interrupted Kabuto's words while still battling his disciple Minato: "I can handle Minato!"
"Teacher..."
Minato was somewhat helpless.
If he hadn't been holding back, he would have assassinated his teacher long ago! Now is not the time for sentimentality!
"Forget it."
Tsunade shook her head and said softly, "If possible, let Dan return to the underworld. Do not disturb the souls of the deceased..."
"Understood."
Kabuto complied readily.
Above Konoha's buildings.
Nagato raised his hand, intending to summon the Six Paths of Pain.
However, Konan, worried about Nagato's health, volunteered to go help: "Nagato, this is a crucial moment. You are needed to confront Akihara Kagura in the future. Now is not the time to recklessly use the Six Paths of Pain. I'll go down and help deal with the enemies..."
"Alright."
Nagato finally nodded in relief.
Konan's paper flew off her body as she leaped down, sending countless sheets towards the Second Hokage, Tobirama, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato!
The two Hokage were forced back instantly by her paper!
In addition to being used as paper shuriken, the paper could even serve as a sealing power. Once countless sheets of paper stuck to them, it would bind their movements!
With the addition of Konan and Kabuto, Konoha immediately fended off the attacks of the Second and Fourth Hokage!
The next moment.
The situation above Konoha's buildings shocked everyone!
A pitch-black figure fell from the ceiling, clinging to Nagato's body. Half of Nagato's body was his own, while the other half was covered by a layer of inky black substance—Black Zetsu had taken advantage of the situation to attach itself to Nagato!
"What is this!"
"Nagato, are you alright?"
"What happened!"
Tsunade was somewhat horrified, fearing that something might happen to Nagato!
If this piece of bark might unlock the secret of Akihara Kagura, then Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was their hope to eliminate Akihara Kagura!
The Second and Fourth Hokage seemed to notice the new situation atop Konoha Hospital and instantly moved away from the battlefield to investigate!
Other ninjas also jumped up, worried about Nagato and the Rinnegan, especially Konan, who had just rushed down to help. She almost immediately spread her paper wings and flew back up!
"Do not panic..."
Nagato calmed everyone down, though he himself was very nervous. He tried to reassure the startled ninjas protecting him: "This guy is a member of the Akatsuki, without much combat power. Don't worry..."
"Do not act rashly..."
Black Zetsu's hoarse voice laughed as it looked around at everyone present, warning them not to act rashly: "If you kill me, Nagato will die instantly too..."
"Zetsu..."
Konan questioned Black Zetsu coldly: "What do you want! Are you helping Akihara Kagura to take Nagato's Rinnegan?"
"Of course not..."
"These Rinnegan do not belong to Nagato..."
Black Zetsu sneered, half his face smirking as he spoke slowly: "Nagato, do you think you received divine favor to awaken these Sage eyes?"
"You all should know the origin of the Rinnegan comes from the Uchiha clan's Sharingan. How could a mere descendant of the Uzumaki clan like you obtain these eyes?"
"Nagato..."
"These eyes belong to Madara..."
"You are merely a tool to nurture the Rinnegan and execute the plan for Madara…"
~~~
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— Ending + Extra Chapters!
Read upto Chapter 348: End! + Extra Chapters of Sasuke's Rebirth where the world Akihara Kagura is not around. Thank you!