"Yes... there's still a way... there's still a way." Black Zetsu was intensely anxious, his thoughts descending into confusion. With one Rinnegan missing, his mother's plan would be severely affected.
"As long as we successfully revive Uchiha Madara, we can still turn everything around. With his supreme strength, which once dominated the Ninja World, Uchiha Madara would never allow an outsider to steal the Rinnegan.
"Even if Hyuga Tianyi successfully transplants the Rinnegan, the power and will deep within it will inevitably turn on him and take control.
"Then Uchiha Madara will only need to intervene to eliminate Hyuga Tianyi, this grave threat, once and for all, and reclaim the Rinnegan and all the tailed beasts."
Just then, White Zetsu began to writhe over Nagato's body.
The pale membrane seeped into his skin, muscles, and bones as though alive, activating the Spore Technique at full power.
Nagato's body jolted. His pupil widened slightly, and his chest began to rise and fall more rapidly.
He could feel the vitality the Rinnegan had drained from him over the years returning at an unbelievable speed.
His dried-up chakra pathways filled once more. His depleted chakra surged from deep within his body like a gushing spring, filling the hollows.
His legs-those legs that Explosive Tags had destroyed and that had withered for years-filled out again beneath White Zetsu's covering.
Muscle fibers regrew, his bones hardened once more, and blood began flowing beneath his skin again.
His toes curled slightly. The instant the soles of his feet touched the ground, a long-forgotten sensation traveled from them to his brain.
His fingers clenched tightly. The sensation in his palm was clear and real, like grasping a lost treasure again after many years.
With the faint sounds of muscles and joints stretching, Nagato slowly straightened his hunched