From Now On, Live and Work for Me.

Black Zetsu was sealed on the ground, twisted like a shadow, a streak of ink pinned in place.

The mastermind who had once manipulated the Ninja World for thousands of years and fueled countless conflicts could now only utter a faint, hoarse whisper.

"White Zetsu... the visitors from beyond the heavens..."

"You... don't understand... Mother's will... That is... the only true destination..."

His voice mingled despair and obsession, like the last flicker of a candle before it went out.

Uchiha Yoru looked down at him, his gaze so calm it was almost cold, as if he were studying an inscription on a monument that had long since lost its meaning.

"You shouldn't have tried to make the entire world bear the burden of your mother's dying wish."

Uchiha Yoru's voice was low and cold, devoid of emotion.

"True will never needs to be brought back to life in someone else's body."

Dust slowly settled, and deathly silence fell all around them, as if the world could finally breathe again.

In the distance, Orochimaru stood in the shadows, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly.

He had watched Uchiha Yoru seal Black Zetsu, effortlessly subdue Hashirama and the Hokage of past generations, and even persuade Uchiha Madara to cooperate. His gaze held both scrutiny and a kind of perverse excitement.

"Heh... truly impressive, Uchiha Yoru."

He licked his cracked lips, unable to hide the infatuation and fervor in his voice.

"This kind of control... is what I've always dreamed of."

He walked forward slowly, exuding a hint of danger.

His gaze swept across the ruined battlefield and the half-destroyed Reanimated Bodies, as though assessing an unfinished experiment.

"I've waited a long time for this era."

His voice was hoarse but clear, carrying his usual confidence and amusement. "At last, someone capable of truly lifting the Ninja World out of the mire has appeared."

He stopped, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he sized up Uchiha Yoru like a scientist selecting test subjects. "You want to unite the Ninja World."

"And I... happen to be good at turning chaos into something controllable."

"Chakra research, medical technology, cell regeneration, robotics... I can offer more than just ninjutsu. I can give you the fundamental means to restructure the world."

His tone grew more solemn, his eyes sharp as blades. "I can build you a framework that won't collapse, and give that 'will' of yours soil in which it can truly take root."

"So..." He paused, a nearly deranged smile curling his lips. "Uchiha Yoru, do you need a partner willing to venture into the darkest corners, yet able to shine a light on the tools there?"

After Orochimaru finished speaking, the air fell still for a brief moment.

Uchiha Yoru said nothing. He only watched him coldly, his gaze so deep it seemed capable of dismantling a person's soul.

His silence was the heaviest form of pressure.

Orochimaru's lips curved faintly, as though he were used to maintaining an elegant, humble demeanor before the powerful. "I don't need power, and I'm not after a title."

"I only want a place where I can conduct research freely—the nature of ninjutsu, the limits of life, the balance between nature and chakra..."

His eyes glinted, his voice low but clear. "Only under the unified order you build could any of this become possible."

"And I... will use my knowledge to lay the technological foundations for your New World."

Uchiha Yoru finally spoke, his voice cold and steady. "You should understand where you stand."

Not far away, Senju Hashirama knelt amid the shattered ruins. His Reanimated Body was already broken to pieces, and his chakra was faint, yet he still held his back straight. Slowly, he raised his head and looked toward the familiar figure, his voice low and sorrowful.

"Madara... are you really going to go this far?"

Uchiha Madara stood motionless, his back as solid as a mountain. His voice was calm, yet tinged with an unfamiliar chill.

"I haven't changed anything. I've only finally... seen clearly."

Hashirama trembled slightly at his words. He stopped, his gaze heavy with grief.

"You once said there was no one in this world worth trusting. What about now? Are you willing to trust him?"

Madara finally turned around, his gaze keen as a blade as he stared straight at Hashirama. There wasn't a trace of hesitation in his voice.

"Because he's not like you."

"You always think that if you're sincere enough and persistent enough, people will understand you and follow you."

"But you're wrong. This world has never understood sincerity."

He took a step forward, his voice low and firm.

"The peace you speak of is an illusion built on hope and compromise... one you couldn't even preserve yourself."

He looked into the distance, pausing briefly.

"And I... once tried to create a world without pain through the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but even that kind of eternity was nothing more than a dream in the end."

Madara's gaze returned to Hashirama, a trace of complexity and weariness in his eyes. "Now, he's taking a different path—perhaps cruel, perhaps extreme, but at least it's real. Only an order that makes everyone fear it and leaves them unable to resist can bring true stability."

Hashirama fell silent and lowered his eyes, as if facing an ending he had long anticipated but never accepted.

"Madara... in the end, you still chose power."

He sighed softly, his sorrowful gaze resting on Uchiha Yoru's still, unyielding figure.

"Perhaps... we stopped belonging to this era a long time ago."

Uchiha Madara's expression remained unchanged. He didn't hesitate at all. Looking toward the figure standing at the center of the battlefield, whose presence was unfathomable, he asked in an even tone:

"Yoru, what now?"

Uchiha Yoru glanced at Black Zetsu on the ground, a cold smile curling his lips.

"This guy... still has some value to squeeze out of him."

As he spoke, his Rinnegan flashed.

Black Zetsu's expression changed drastically. "You—no! You can't—"

Before he could finish, a wave of agony swept through his entire body.

"AAAAAAAH—!!!"

His body began to shrink rapidly as clumps of black matter were stripped away and converted into energy, swirling around Uchiha Yoru's right palm.

Uchiha Yoru reached out with his left hand and made a grabbing motion in the air, forcibly pulling out a wisp of spirit.

It was Nagato.

His expression was calm, his eyes holding no resentment, only the stillness of death.

Uchiha Yoru raised both hands, gathering Black Zetsu's remaining power in one and drawing in the soul with the other. He spoke calmly.

"If you've pledged yourself to me, you shouldn't have died so easily."

As he finished speaking, light gathered in his palms.

A flash of light passed, and Nagato's body rapidly healed and reformed among the shattered remains.

A few seconds later, his eyes flew open. His whole body convulsed, and he coughed violently.

"Cough... I..."

Uchiha Yoru looked down at him, his tone calm.

"From now on, live and work for me."

Nagato's body stiffened slightly. While in spirit form, he had already sensed everything around him.

Once he confirmed that Konan was merely unconscious and unharmed, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

"...Understood."

He lowered his head and touched his eyes. The Rinnegan was gone.

In its place was a pair of ordinary eyes, yet his perception had become even keener and more powerful.

The effect of Black Zetsu's Yin-Yang Release was remarkable. Nagato's body and soul had fused once more, restoring the presence he had once possessed.

Resurrection wasn't merely a return from death. It was more like... complete submission.