Target: Complete Hashirama Sage Body!

Crack! Kamui separated Black Zetsu from White Zetsu and transferred it into the Space-Time Dimension. Whoosh! Riu immediately transferred himself into the Space-Time Dimension as well.

Within the Space-Time Dimension, Black Zetsu lay sprawled across a cube, staring at Riu with alarm and fury in its brown eyes. "Why are you doing this?! I am Madara's will!"

Riu smiled. "No, you are not Madara's will. You are Kaguya's will. You altered the Uchiha stone tablet and guided Madara into carrying out the Moon's Eye Plan, all to resurrect your mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya!"

Black Zetsu felt as though thunder had struck it five times over. "Y-you, how do you know all this? You are definitely not some ordinary brat. Who exactly are you?!"

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that you will die here!" Riu formed the hand seals for Fire Release while activating Kamui.

Fire Release: Wild Dance!

Roar! Roar! Roar! Twisted by Kamui, the flames surged to several times their original power and swept toward Black Zetsu!

Black Zetsu's ability was to burrow into the earth and draw upon its power to unleash Wood Release, but within this Kamui Dimension, its abilities were utterly useless.

"Ah!! Damn it!!"

The flames struck it directly, drawing out a painful scream.

But it was, after all, the consciousness of Kaguya. It would not be so easily killed. It shouted at Tobi, who was wrapped around Riu's body, "White Zetsu! Why aren't you stopping this bastard?!"

"..." Tobi did not act rashly, seeming to weigh his options.

Riu stopped and said to Tobi, "Curlyhead, it is time for you to choose a side. Once you make the wrong choice, you should think carefully about the consequences..."

The standoff continued. After a long silence, Tobi's half-playful voice rang out. "Well, I only care about the urge to poop. What does the urge to poop feel like, Obito? If you can tell me..."

Riu smiled. "Sure~ Not only will I tell you what the urge to poop feels like, I will also tell you how poop is made..."

"Deal..." And just like that, tempted by poop, Tobi chose a side.

"You bastards!!" Black Zetsu roared in fury.

"Let's go, Curlyhead!"

Crack! Crack! Crack! Branches burst from the Hashirama Clone on Riu's right shoulder. With a violent swing of his arm, Riu sent a mass of wooden branches flying at Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu hurriedly dodged, but several branches still struck it.

"This stuff..." Black Zetsu gritted its teeth and tried to pull out the branches embedded in its body.

"Don't even think about it!" Riu raised his hands and formed seals.

Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs!

Crackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrack!!

"Ah!!!"

Barbs grew wildly from the branches, piercing Black Zetsu until it was riddled with holes!

Riu changed his hand seals again and, with Kamui's assistance, unleashed an even more powerful Fire Release than before!

Roar! Roar! Roar!!

"Ah!! My nearly thousand years of planning, destroyed by a novice Uchiha brat..." With that unwilling roar, Black Zetsu—the great schemer who had threaded through the history of the ninja world—was destroyed by Riu, a transmigrator who had only just arrived!

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Riu panted. Thanks to the Hashirama Cells, he possessed abundant Chakra, but he had come from another world and was still unfamiliar with forming hand seals and using ninjutsu like he had just done. He therefore consumed more Chakra than normal when casting techniques. As he grew more accustomed to hand seals and Chakra, that expenditure would decrease.

Leaving the Kamui Dimension, he returned to the cave. The earlier disturbance had alerted all the White Zetsu. They had left the Demonic Statue and gathered around him.

Riu remained on guard. If anything went wrong, he was ready at any moment to retreat into the Kamui Dimension.

At that moment, Tobi said, "Don't worry. The White Zetsu share the same thoughts. Besides, we never liked Madara to begin with. He called us inferior artificial humans and used us as pawns however he pleased. But we artificial humans have feelings too..."

"Tobi, you truly are a good boy..." Riu sighed, relaxing inwardly.

For the following period, Riu did not leave the cave. Under the White Zetsu's guidance, he practiced using Chakra, learning basic techniques such as gathering Chakra beneath his feet to cling to water and ceilings, as well as the use of some basic ninjutsu.

Uchiha Obito's Chakra nature was exceptionally comprehensive: fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, and yin. Only yang was absent.

Deep within the cave, Riu found the vessel Madara had used to store living bodies. He preserved Rin's corpse within it.

He also found the ninja tools and scrolls Madara had collected during his life.

Half a year passed like this. Riu had gained a foundation in every basic aspect, and with the power of Kamui in both eyes, he was confident that he would not fear even a Kage Level opponent.

But... if it were someone at the Six Paths level, he would lack confidence.

Leaving Ōtsutsuki Kaguya aside.

Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki, and Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, who would appear in the future, as well as Jigen—Ōtsutsuki Isshiki—of Boruto's era, were all incomparably troublesome enemies.

To contend against them... his current setup was far from enough!

Therefore, the Ten-Tails was essential, and reviving the Ten-Tails required the power of the Rinnegan.

Nagato had a ready-made pair of Rinnegan, but their original owner was Madara. They would place an enormous burden on him, and he could only transplant one. Doing so would be equivalent to giving up Kamui in one eye, and Riu did not want to pay such a price.

The Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan and could also use the original Mangekyo Sharingan's powers. Rather than resorting to the quick and short-sighted method of transplantation, Riu would rather evolve his own...

And to evolve the Rinnegan, he had to combine the powers of both the Senju Clan and the Uchiha!

Riu now possessed Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes, but... the Senju Clan's power was still incomplete. The Hashirama Clone covering the left half of his body was merely an ordinary White Zetsu. It was far too inferior!

"The most urgent task is to obtain a complete Hashirama Sage Body!"

Riu raised his head and looked at the Hashirama Clone on the Demonic Statue. According to the White Zetsu, that clone possessed no consciousness, yet it had the highest degree of restoration and was already infinitely close to Hashirama's original body.

But Riu did not know how to merge with this Hashirama Clone. Madara had once transplanted a piece of Hashirama's flesh onto his wound, thereby gaining part of Hashirama's power. Only in his old age had he awakened the Rinnegan. Riu's appetite was much greater—he did not want merely a part, but all of it!

That meant he needed the right method. After all, Hashirama's power was extremely difficult to control.

That person should be able to help...

The person Riu thought of was the one who possessed the core technology of the Naruto World, one of the legendary Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru!

"White Zetsu, where is Orochimaru?" Riu asked.

Gurglegurgle! A White Zetsu emerged from the Demonic Statue. "Orochimaru is in a secret base within the southern forest of the Land of Fire, though it seems he intends to relocate..."

"Then let's hurry and meet him..."

Whoosh! Riu pulled a black cloak from the wall and draped it over himself before striding out of the base.