This is... Otsutsuki's power?

"This aura..."

"This repulsive force..."

A mass of viscous, pitch-black liquid, resembling asphalt, seeped out from the tree trunk and gradually coalesced into a hunched, humanoid shape.

[Writing this, I hope readers remember our domain: Taiwan Novel Network, ⓣⓦⓚⓐⓝ.ⓒⓞⓜ, super reliable.]

On that face, originally smooth and featureless, a look of anthropomorphic shock twisted into existence.

Following its gaze, one could see that the pristine white snow, which had previously covered everything, had been erased by an incomprehensible repulsive force, forming a massive elliptical crater over a hundred meters in diameter.

The crater walls were as smooth as a mirror, as if a giant spoon had forcibly scooped out a chunk of the earth.

Residual snow, shattered rocks, and withered wood had been pushed to the edge of the pit, piled up into a circular embankment several meters high.

"Is this... the power of the Rinnegan?!"

No, according to the description from White Zetsu, Hyuga Qinglan did not possess the Rinnegan.

But what exactly was this familiar power?

Could it be the Otsutsuki?!

Black Zetsu's mood at this moment could only be described with the words "extreme shock."

Originally, he had only wanted to sneak out to investigate the background of Hyuga Qinglan while Madara was in a deep sleep and Obito was being tightly watched by White Zetsu.

He never expected that, just after leaving the Mountain Graveyard, he would sense this aura that was both deeply familiar and extremely dangerous.

By the time he followed the aura to this location and fixed his gaze upon the scene, he was stunned.

In the sky, only that cyan-green figure remained.

Except for that unprecedented chakra mode, everything else was exactly as White Zetsu had described.

Hyuga Qinglan.

Black Zetsu silently shrank his body into the deepest part of the shadows, his thoughts churning violently like boiling magma.

This familiar aura... was it really the Otsutsuki after all...

Had those terrifying clansmen from the Otsutsuki Main Family finally tracked him down?

Or perhaps... was it that guy who had descended upon the ninja world alongside Mother all those years ago?

He observed Hyuga Qinglan in mid-air through the cracks in the shadows.

Although Black Zetsu was the biological son of Otsutsuki Kaguya, he had not inherited her chakra like the brothers of the Sage of Six Paths.

At best, he could only be considered a "premature baby" born in haste.

However, being a "premature baby" had its own unique advantages.

What Black Zetsu had inherited was the deepest memory and will of Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Therefore, compared to his two rebellious brothers who had become founders and ancestors in the ninja world, Black Zetsu understood his mother's past much more clearly.

For example, the pursuers from the distant Otsutsuki Main Family who would one day descend, and the Otsutsuki who had arrived on Earth alongside Kaguya.

Black Zetsu could not be certain whether Hyuga Qinglan was a pursuer from the Main Family or a clansman who had arrived on Earth with Otsutsuki Kaguya a thousand years ago.

But regardless of which it was, it posed a threat to his millennium-long plan to save his mother.

And just as Black Zetsu was caught in an internal struggle, a cold chill suddenly crept into the depths of his consciousness.

"!"

That proud, cyan-green figure tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing precisely on the shadow where he was hiding.

"Damn it... I've been discovered!"

Black Zetsu's instinct was to flee immediately.

He must never let this guy discover that he was the manifestation of Mother's will...

Otherwise, everything would be over!

Watching Black Zetsu merge into the ground in an instant, Hyuga Qinglan couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"As expected of the 'filial son' who has lived for a thousand years; truly cautious."

He withdrew his oppressive gaze and turned to look down at the Iwagakure formation in the distance.

The remaining Iwagakure troops were huddled together, trembling, tightly protected beneath two massive Rock Giants.

Yet, the aura of Ōnoki had long since vanished.

Hyuga Qinglan narrowed his eyes, just about to raise his hand to deliver another strike and completely cripple these Iwagakure forces.

"Sss, hum--"

Suddenly, the layer of chakra cloak on his body began to flicker violently, like a faulty lightbulb, emitting a faint sound of energy dissipation as the light gradually dimmed.

"Reached the limit, have I."

Hyuga Qinglan's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of regret in his heart.

Although he really wanted to take this opportunity to teach Iwagakure a lesson they would never forget.

But his reason told him he had to stop.

After all, setting aside the terrifying bonuses this body gained from the Tenseigan, his own base strength only hovered in the range of a Jonin, barely touching the threshold of the Kage level.

The reason he was able to display such god-like destructive power today was entirely thanks to the Rainbow Squad hidden in the rear, who had formed a formation to assist him.

Acting as a relay station, they used chakra to resonate with the moon, allowing Hyuga Qinglan to cross space and directly siphon the massive chakra from the Giant Tenseigan on the moon.

Forcibly borrowing chakra that didn't belong to him was one thing, and it was difficult to control.

The gaze of those old immortals on the moon was another matter entirely.

Not to mention, Orochimaru was still on the battlefield.

"I'll leave the rest for Orochimaru to worry about."

Hyuga Qinglan pulled back his thoughts, casting one last glance at the writhing giant summoning snakes at the edge of the Konoha front, as well as the direction in which Black Zetsu had fled.

Following this, his figure flashed, transforming into a streak of cyan light that descended into the center of the ruins.

He had to clear away all traces before Konoha and Iwagakure could react.

Especially the four Impure World Reincarnation bodies of the Rainbow Squad.

The moon, inside the desolate and cold Hamura Temple.

"Finally... it's been taken back!"

The Great Elder looked at the Giant Tenseigan, which was gradually calming down, but his furrowed brows did not relax; instead, they tightened even further.

Why was the control of the Tenseigan suddenly seized?

Why did he sense the chakra of Aoshiki?

What on earth had happened?

The Great Elder's thoughts surged uncontrollably; he was both afraid that Aoshiki was truly alive and secretly hoping that he was.

If the chakra signatures he sensed were indeed Aoshiki and the Rainbow Squad, then the situation was still manageable.

After all, the Giant Tenseigan was still in their hands. Even if Aoshiki could live another life, the Great Elder believed that with the power of the Tenseigan, he would not be a match for them.

But if it wasn't that, then it was truly terrifying.

The Great Elder immediately thought of the guy who had stolen the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path back then.

There had been no news of him to this day.

Even sending people to search on Earth had yielded nothing.

If it was that guy again, it would be even worse than Aoshiki being resurrected.

"Yuku..."

"I am here."

"Guard the Giant Tenseigan day and night, and keep a close watch on the movements on Earth."

"At the same time, dispatch clansmen down there to investigate and see if it's the guy who stole the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path... or someone else!"

"Yes!"

At the same time, in a hidden underground cave several kilometers away.

"Is he gone..."

Black Zetsu once again cautiously poked half of his flat head out from the rock wall, not even daring to release his sensory abilities, scanning the outside world carefully with just his eyes.

Not in the sky.

Not in that charred, deep crater.

And not in any corner within his field of vision.

Could that guy have really retreated?

No...!

Without any warning, a flippant, mischievous voice, carrying a hint of pure stupidity and an annoying, punchable smile, rang out directly behind the back of Black Zetsu's head.

"Black Zetsu, what are you doing~?"

"!"

Black Zetsu's body jolted. The moment he heard the source of the voice, he almost instinctively struck back.

"You idiot! You moron!! Are you trying to scare me to death?!"

Black Zetsu lowered his voice, his tone filled with anger and suppressed lingering fear.

"Why are you calling me a moron? My entrance was clearly very cool."

White Zetsu poked half of his pale body out from a thick tree trunk nearby, hands on his hips, his yellow eyes blinking innocently, looking both dull and righteous.

"..."

Looking at this stupid face, Black Zetsu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to stuff the other back into the God Tree.

His mind was a mess right now, and he didn't want to talk to this guy whose head was full of nothing but excrement.

He only wanted to retreat to the Mountain Graveyard immediately and reorganize his entire plan.

"Shut up. Leave here with me immediately; the situation has changed."