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The overall situation has been determined.
This was Uchiha Madara's thought.
No one present could stop him anymore.
Now, Uchiha Madara only wanted to see what secrets were recorded on the bark, taking it as a bit of amusement and letting his old friend, Hashirama, know the secrets of their clan.
There were still flaws.
This was Black Zetsu's thought.
Now Black Zetsu also wanted to see what was recorded on the bark. It intended to continue leading Uchiha Madara to disregard the history of the ninja world based on the content of the bark.
Besides them…
Everyone present wanted to see this piece of bark.
Because this bark, passed down by the Senju clan, must record astonishing secrets, a realm they had never touched, especially Tobirama, a member of the Senju clan.
"Hmph…"
Uchiha Madara picked up the piece of bark, and the first thing he did was touch its texture, feeling a strange familiarity. He chuckled lightly, "This texture is similar to that of our clan's flame fan... It seems that Uchiha and Senju are indeed opposites..."
"..."
Black Zetsu only sneered silently.
Isn't this obvious? The materials are of course the same! Because the Uchiha clan's flame fan is made from the bark of the Divine Tree, and this piece of bark is also from the Divine Tree, their materials are certainly connected!
"Madara, you don't have Wood Release chakra…"
Hashirama frowned, hesitatingly asking, "I'm also a bit curious about what is recorded on our clan's heirloom..."
"It should be similar to our clan's stone tablet records..."
Uchiha Madara chuckled, reaching out his hand with interest: "The combination of the yin and yang poles, the union of opposites can bring about all things..."
"Hashirama, at that time, I learned this secret from the stone tablet, then found a way to get your flesh, transplanted your cells, and awakened the Rinnegan..."
"Naturally..."
"I also awakened Wood Release."
A trace of Wood Release chakra appeared in Uchiha Madara's palm, falling onto the bark. He continued to smile lightly, "Back then, I shared the inscriptions on the Uchiha clan's stone tablet with you. Now let me admire the secrets of the Senju clan..."
"If there's no surprise..."
As Uchiha Madara lowered his head to look, he said, "The record here should be something like taking our clan's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, transplanting it into your Senju clan, and also awakening the Rinnegan, right..."
"Let me take a look..."
"The secrets of the Senju clan..."
Using Wood Release chakra, Uchiha Madara activated the bark, and the characters on it started to move. A hint of disdain appeared on his lips: "This way of uncovering secrets can only be opened with Wood Release. Is it intended to prevent even the Senju clan from discovering the secrets on it?"
Uchiha Madara knew a little about the issues with Wood Release.
Wood Release is not a hereditary bloodline of the Senju clan. Very few within the Senju clan have awakened Wood Release. Among those he knew, only Hashirama had done so.
It was only with the development of Konoha's technology that the method of transplanting Hashirama cells was born. Before the Warring States period, awakening Wood Release in the Senju clan was entirely based on luck...
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Madara frowned as he read the beginning on the bark: "Another history of the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, creating the world? But why does the Senju clan's secret record the planting of the Divine Tree by the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Hmm?"
Black Zetsu behind Uchiha Madara immediately perked up.
What kind of history is this?
When did Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo plant a tree?
"Thousands of years ago... Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo... planted a Divine Tree in the ninja world... received the blessings of the Divine Tree... he divided chakra among the people... created the ninja world..."
However, as Black Zetsu looked at the bark in Uchiha Madara's hand, its face became gloomy. This history had been tampered with!
This historical record is certainly wrong!
It was clearly Ōtsutsuki Kaguya who planted the Divine Tree! It was clearly Ōtsutsuki Kaguya who received the power of the Divine Tree! Why does it say Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo? Is Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo trying to hide Kaguya's existence by altering the past history on the bark?
"It seems that our clans' historical records have many similarities..."
As Uchiha Madara continued reading, he nodded slowly at the records about the Divine Tree and the Ten-Tails: "The origin of chakra from the Divine Tree and the Ten-Tails is the same..."
"Hmm?"
"There are still some slight differences..."
"But your Senju clan's bark records that the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, received the blessings of the Divine Tree and divided chakra among the people;"
"Our clan's stone tablet records that a woman named Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the Rabbit Goddess, ate the fruit of the Divine Tree, and since then the ninja world has had chakra. That woman angered the Divine Tree, which turned into the Ten-Tails to kill her..."
This was recorded on the Uchiha stone tablet.
Uchiha Madara had also told Uchiha Obito the secret of the Ten-Tails.
"..."
Black Zetsu suppressed its fury.
Because it knew the true origin of chakra. The so-called Sage of Six Paths receiving blessings was false. The records on the Uchiha stone tablet were correct!
The records on this bark are all false!
This bark...
What on earth is going on!
However, before Black Zetsu could get angry, Uchiha Madara saw the next section, and upon seeing it, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Wait a moment..."
When Uchiha Madara saw what was beneath the tree bark, he looked surprised at first, then suddenly understood and nodded hurriedly, saying, "I was always curious why there were so few records about Otsutsuki Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra in the ninja world, on our clan's stone tablet. It turns out her secret was recorded on the bark of your Senju clan's trees..."
[Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo founded the ninja world... He had three children... The eldest son, Indra... The second son, Asura... The youngest daughter, Otsutsuki Kaguya...]
"And moreover..."
"There is something even more interesting..."
Uchiha Madara chuckled and looked at the restrained Hashirama, "The ancestor of our Uchiha clan is named Indra, the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, who inherited his Sage's eyes; your Senju clan's ancestor is named Asura, the second son of the Sage of Six Paths, who inherited his Sage's body..."
"Hashirama."
"Our two clans' ancestors were actually blood brothers..."
When Uchiha Madara said this, he was somewhat excited, even smiling: "This piece of history is truly astonishing hidden..."
"How is this possible?"
Tobirama's face showed immediate doubt and uncertainty.
Who could have imagined that the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan, known to be eternal adversaries during the Warring States period, had ancestors who were actually blood brothers, children of the Sage of Six Paths!
What a joke!
The ancestor of the Senju Clan and the evil ancestor of the Uchiha Clan being blood brothers?
But...
This is a historical relic of the Senju clan.
If both the Senju and Uchiha clans are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, no wonder they both possess such formidable power, able to dominate before the Warring States period!
"Our ancestors were blood brothers?"
Hashirama showed a look of surprise but soon felt happy: "No wonder when I first met you..."
"Are Senju and Uchiha brothers?"
All the Konoha ninjas present were astonished.
Although many had forgotten the former glory of the Senju clan, they knew the story of the rivals and friends, Uchiha Madara and Hashirama...
Unexpectedly...
They were actually brothers.
"But that was a thousand years ago."
Uchiha Madara chuckled again, suddenly frowning in thought: "No wonder when I transplanted your cells, there was no rejection reaction, and I awakened the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan..."
No wonder!
No wonder it happened this way!
Everything can be explained!
The so-called forces of positive and negative are all powers of the Sage of Six Paths!
"No wonder..."
Tobirama frowned, pondering something: "No wonder Akihara Kagura, that kid, knew that transplanting my brother's cells into the Uchiha wouldn't cause experimental failure but would rather awaken both Wood Release and Sharingan Kekkei Genkai..."
It all makes sense.
Since the Senju and Uchiha clans once shared an ancestor, the powers of the Senju's Wood Release and the Uchiha's Sharingan can be merged into one!
This is also why Akihara Kagura wanted to save the Uchiha clan, knowing that once the Uchiha transplanted Hashirama's cells, they could awaken dual Kekkei Genkai, creating a batch of powerful subordinates!
"This is recorded on the Senju clan's bark."
Uchiha Madara raised the bark in his hand and mentioned another insignificant matter with a hint of disdain: "The bark also records the origin of the Hyuga clan. The ancestor of the Hyuga clan is named Otsutsuki Kaguya..."
"..."
Hearing this name, Black Zetsu's expression suddenly turned tense!
If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, Black Zetsu would have snatched the bark from Uchiha Madara's hand. It hadn't even gotten a good look at what was recorded about Otsutsuki Kaguya!
Otsutsuki Kaguya!
What exactly does this bark record about Otsutsuki Kaguya?
This was an especially tense moment for Black Zetsu. It needed to use the records to make Uchiha Madara lower his guard against Otsutsuki Kaguya!
"How interesting..."
"I've finally learned some secrets..."
Uchiha Madara chuckled again, mocking the ancestor of the Hyuga clan with interest: "This Otsutsuki Kaguya, who was merely mentioned in passing as the Rabbit Goddess on our Uchiha clan's stone tablet, turns out to be the youngest daughter of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths. No wonder her name always appears in these ancient historical secrets..."
"!!!"
Black Zetsu was struck as if by lightning.
Wait a minute...
What did Uchiha Madara just say?
What does he mean Otsutsuki Kaguya is the youngest daughter of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo?
What is this?
What is this bark?
What on earth is this damned bark recording!
Black Zetsu's expression turned grim and cold. Suppressing its anger, it forced itself to speak calmly, "Madara, could it be that you misread? Perhaps you misinterpreted it because you only used one eye?"
Uchiha Madara chuckled lightly and even continued, "It's a pity that Otsutsuki Kaguya, the younger daughter of the Sage of the Six Paths, did not inherit anything. That's probably why this ancestor of the Hyuga clan was never valued by her father, the Sage of the Six Paths, and there's hardly any notable record of her..."
"..."
Black Zetsu was genuinely furious!
What kind of nonsense history is this?
Who recorded this history? Can they show some respect for history? What on earth is this nonsense about the Senju clan's tree bark?
Historically, Otsutsuki Kaguya was the mother of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, so why does this record say that Otsutsuki Hagoromo is Kaguya's father?
Black Zetsu truly felt like killing someone!
What kind of behavior is this!
As Kaguya's will, Black Zetsu genuinely wanted to kill someone!
Black Zetsu couldn't tolerate anyone desecrating Otsutsuki Kaguya, especially when it clearly knew the hopes Kaguya placed on her children...
However...
Otsutsuki Hagoromo is here overturning the heavens!
If sealing Otsutsuki Kaguya could be justified by saving the ninja world, then altering history and even switching their identities is just going too far!
This piece of tree bark...
What kind of nonsense is recorded here!
Yet, Black Zetsu could not correct these errors, as it had been constantly erasing records of Otsutsuki Kaguya. It was merely Uchiha Madara's will and had no authority to explain these ancient histories, as that would expose its true nature...
Could it tell Uchiha Madara that Otsutsuki Kaguya was not an insignificant daughter but an omnipotent goddess?
Endure!
It must endure this for now!
"Senju, Hyuga, Uchiha..."
Uchiha Madara muttered the names of these noble ninja clans from the Warring States period, finding it quite interesting: "A thousand years ago, the ancestors of these three clans were all descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo. A thousand years later, the descendants of these three clans are all in Konoha..."
After speaking, Uchiha Madara continued reading. He looked at the tree bark, nodding slightly: "Hashirama, your clan recorded quite a few secrets..."
Uchiha Madara didn't notice that Black Zetsu's face was becoming increasingly sinister. He just continued reading the records with interest: "Your clan's tree bark even records Otsutsuki Kaguya consuming the fruit of the Divine Tree..."
"..."
Black Zetsu's expression grew even more tense!
Uchiha Madara slowly summarized the historical records: "Because the Sage of the Six Paths was considering giving the position of heir to his eldest son, Indra, or his second son, Asura, this displeased his younger daughter, Kaguya. So she consumed the fruit of the Divine Tree, and in her anger, transformed into the Ten-Tails, initiating the Infinite Tsukuyomi..."
"Hmph..."
"Interesting..."
Uchiha Madara chuckled lightly, finally finding what he wanted: "It seems that the Senju clan's tree bark also recorded the story of the Infinite Tsukuyomi..."
"No wonder..."
"No wonder that brat Akihara Kagura knew about my plan..."
Uchiha Madara sneered and shook his head, continuing to read with restored calmness. Although the historical records were somewhat inaccurate, the contents were indeed correct.
"The Sage of the Six Paths reclaimed the Ten-Tails, divided its chakra into the nine tailed beasts, and sealed his daughter, Otsutsuki Kaguya..."
Indeed.
The nine tailed beasts were the chakra divided from the Ten-Tails.
Uchiha Madara had long known this, but he hadn't expected the backstory of the Ten-Tails' division to be so peculiar: "So, the Ten-Tails' rampage a thousand years ago was due to a dispute over the succession of the ninja world..."
"However..."
"There's no mention of the effects of the Infinite Tsukuyomi here?"
Uchiha Madara shook his head and continued reading the contents recorded on the tree bark, as there were still many secrets of ancient times he wanted to explore.
"After sealing his younger daughter, Kaguya..."
Uchiha Madara was more interested in another matter. He looked at Hashirama with interest and asked, "I'm curious, who do you think was chosen as the successor of the ninja sect? Hashirama, who do you think it was?"
"I'm not interested in these things..."
Hashirama didn't care at all. He had never been interested in power or authority, just like his ancestor, Asura.
However, Uchiha Madara, like his ancestor, Indra, was very interested in potential competition and even recalled the former struggle for the position of Hokage.
"Our ancestors once competed just like us..."
Uchiha Madara shook his head and was about to continue reading when he saw not the successor of the ninja sect, but a record about the Sage of the Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, falling into darkness after sealing his daughter, Kaguya.
Black Zetsu was very interested in the secrets of the tree bark. It leaned closer to Uchiha Madara, inwardly grinding its teeth in anger, yet continued reading beside Uchiha Madara. It found that the records about Kaguya on this piece of tree bark didn't pose much trouble.
Although this tree bark recorded a lot about Kaguya, it wasn't a threat to Black Zetsu's plan, as it didn't mention Kaguya's resurrection...
This piece of tree bark only humiliated Otsutsuki Kaguya's history.
However...
As long as it didn't affect the plan, Black Zetsu believed it could tolerate this momentary hatred and anger, as long as the Eye of the Moon plan continued...
As long as Kaguya could be resurrected...
Everything in the future would be settled!
The crisis...
Seemed to have been averted.
Black Zetsu's mood gradually relaxed.
"Otsutsuki Hagoromo sealed his younger daughter..."
"A part of his will split into darkness..."
Uchiha Madara read the records on the tree bark, his brow furrowing in impatience until he saw the last line of text.
"This part of the dark will..."
"Is called Black Zetsu..."
Uchiha Madara muttered Black Zetsu's name, his body suddenly stiffening. His gaze slowly shifted, looking at the Black Zetsu beside him.
Black Zetsu's gaze also moved from the tree bark. It seemed to have finished reading that passage and involuntarily turned to look at the cold and eerie eyes of Uchiha Madara.