Chapter Thirty-One: Hei Jue, Do You Know How to Lie?
Within the Hidden Leaf Village.
Emiya Shirou cared little for anyone’s prying eyes.
He had long anticipated Senju Tobirama’s covert surveillance; given Tobirama’s nature, it was impossible for him to overlook any opportunity to strengthen Konoha.
Yet, over a thousand years ago, Emiya Shirou had positioned himself so cleverly that everyone believed he was truly harmless. This forced Tobirama to resort to indirect methods to gain his favor.
Everyone only believed one thing…
Emiya Shirou sought a better future for the world.
Even Black Zetsu, who constantly aimed to overturn the ninja world, never feared Shirou would harm it; it only worried that Shirou might ignore it.
Likewise,
this was Black Zetsu’s greatest challenge.
Black Zetsu fervently wished Shirou would turn a little darker, abandon his lofty morals, and wholeheartedly join in the dark mission to resurrect Kaguya.
Unfortunately…
when Black Zetsu quietly arrived in Konoha, it found Shirou reviewing and summarizing medical records of patients he had treated in the village hospital, which only deepened its headache.
Those ordinary people could die if they must…
Why waste energy saving them?
“Back already?”
Shirou’s brush never paused as he greeted Black Zetsu’s sudden appearance: “Zetsu, wait a moment—I’ll finish writing this first…”
“…”
Black Zetsu could only wait helplessly.
Only when Shirou finally put down his brush did it speak up to advise, “Shirou, what we must do is a far greater cause…”
“That doesn’t conflict,” Shirou said, carefully rolling up the scroll and explaining seriously, “These small matters won’t waste my time. I will continue doing them in the future…”
“Speaking of which…”
“What about that Uchiha Madara?”
Shirou had long predicted Black Zetsu would bring up Madara, so he cut straight to the point: “I’ve heard some news about him in Konoha. His reputation here isn’t good; many fear him…”
“Madara is like his ancestor Indra,” Black Zetsu immediately took over the topic, describing their future pawn: “Madara firmly believes that power alone brings rule and stability. Such a person, favoring strength and authority, naturally fails to win the hearts of the weak and often inspires fear.”
“By the way.”
After finishing his introduction of Madara, Black Zetsu continued, “Madara wants to meet you now because he seeks some information from you…”
“What information?”
“How to awaken the Rinnegan.”
Black Zetsu’s voice grew ominous as it spoke: “The Sage of Six Paths left behind a stone monument for his eldest son Indra’s descendants…”
While silently cursing the Sage of Six Paths, Black Zetsu used his name to continue deceiving Shirou: “The Sage foresaw that the path of the ninja clans might not be entirely correct. On the monument, he guided Indra’s descendants on a way to awaken the Rinnegan, hoping they could use this power to rebuild the ninja order after its collapse…”
“Of course…”
There was bitterness in Black Zetsu’s words, almost grinding its teeth as it continued, “At the end of the monument, he left the method for resurrecting the mother, Kaguya…”
“Perhaps the Sage felt that neither Ashura’s nor Indra’s paths could bring peace to the ninja world, and that ultimately, the world still needed the existence of the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya.”
Of course,
this was Black Zetsu’s lie.
The monument left by the Sage was never meant to resurrect Kaguya; rather, it was a warning for the Uchiha clan—descendants of Indra, who revered power—to beware of Kaguya’s revival!
That bastard!
Seeking to completely prevent Kaguya’s resurrection!
To revive Kaguya, the bloodline of the Uchiha was necessary. Black Zetsu had no choice but to use its abilities to alter the monument’s contents.
Because the monument’s message had been changed, Black Zetsu had to once again lie to deceive Shirou at this moment.
“I see.”
Shirou nodded thoughtfully.
He seemed to trust Black Zetsu’s words completely; he certainly wouldn’t defend the Sage of Six Paths but merely sighed in response.
“What does it really mean?”
“A child, growing up and crossing time, finally understands his mother’s greatness. When he spreads chakra and causes the world’s ruin beyond repair, he remembers the omnipotent mother he relied on since childhood?”
“…”
Black Zetsu felt a twinge of sadness.
If Kaguya, his mother, heard Shirou’s words, if the final message on the Sage’s monument was truly about resurrecting her, perhaps fragile Kaguya would forgive her rebellious son…
Alas…
This guy Shirou…
Even the warmest words could pierce one’s heart.
“Enough.”
Shirou’s casual remark stirred Black Zetsu’s emotions but he no longer dwelled on the Sage or Kaguya’s affairs: “Since the Sage left a way to revive the Rabbit Goddess, it seems we need not trouble ourselves much…”
“But…”
“Madara doesn’t know any of this.”
Black Zetsu finally came to the point, its voice growing serious, as if afraid Shirou might detect a flaw: “Because the Sage hid the secret of Kaguya’s resurrection on the monument, I suspect he might have…”
“The Sage truly understood his children…”
Shirou interrupted Black Zetsu, seemingly captivated by the fabricated story. He sighed softly, “I have met Indra, and I have met Madara. They carry a pride beyond most people’s reach…”
Shirou sighed again, helping Black Zetsu patch the lie: “If those proud children learned they would ultimately need their ancestor to clean up the mess, they would never agree unless the world truly reached its end.”
Black Zetsu was hopeless even at deception…
It needed the one it fooled to help fill in the gaps.
Shirou had already grasped Black Zetsu’s intention—it wanted him to deceive Madara and conceal the truth about Kaguya’s resurrection.
No…
With such a trick…
Don’t try to teach me how to deceive Madara.
Shirou sighed softly, “If we want Madara’s help to resurrect the Rabbit Goddess, we must hide the truth from him…”
“That’s right!”
Black Zetsu nodded excitedly and quickly urged Shirou not to cling to moral scruples: “Shirou, sometimes hiding the truth and telling kind lies to those who need help isn’t a bad thing…”
“How strange…”
Shirou’s expression turned wistful, as if puzzled by this era: “The shinobi of this age are teaching me to deceive and conceal. It seems that in this world full of lies, honesty has become a sin…”
“…”
Black Zetsu felt a pang of guilt.
“This is the absurdity of the world.”
It hurried to comfort Shirou, carefully guiding him into the depths of darkness: “Shirou, this is never your fault. Everything we do is to steer this world back on track…”
“When Kaguya truly revives…”
“In this world, you will no longer need to hide yourself.”
“At that time…”
“You will no longer need to touch lies and deceit.”
Black Zetsu’s heart grew lighter as it continued to deceive Shirou: “You can become your true self again. You can truly change this absurd world…”
“I understand.”
Shirou looked at Black Zetsu and sighed helplessly, seemingly nodding in reluctant agreement.