Black Zetsu's Lies

In the dark chamber, Black Zetsu continued in a voice steeped in sorrow and persuasion:

"You probably never saw what society was like before Ninja appeared. Back then, its capacity for violence was still quite limited."

"People fought much like the swordsmen of the Land of Iron, only with far less destructive power. Even a large-scale battle might have killed only a hundred people or so."

"We, on the other hand, possessed power those ordinary people could not imagine."

"I watched them repeat the same wars, slaughter, and disasters across this land, driven by their weakness, ignorance, and greed."

"It filled me with profound sorrow—and a sense of responsibility."

His voice rose with emotion. "I proposed to my brothers that the three of us become this world's true 'gods'!"

"We would establish an age of absolute order! We would control everything, distribute resources, judge right and wrong, and eliminate all war and injustice! Peace and order would reign forever!"

"It was the fastest, most effective, and most fundamental solution! Only supreme, unquestionable power could end this foolish tragedy that had repeated itself for a thousand years!"

Then his tone abruptly turned bitter and furious:

"But my brother, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, refused!"

"He was foolishly swayed by those mortals' fleeting lives and fragile emotions!"

"He stubbornly believed the right path was to share his power with them and let them find their own answers!"

"He called my vision 'dictatorship,' a tyranny that 'robbed humanity of its potential'!"

"He even... even joined forces with Hamura, deciding that my ideas were dangerous heresy that strayed from the proper path!"

Black Zetsu's voice grew sharp with hatred. "All because I saw a more efficient path to a lasting truth!"

"All because I was willing to shoulder the responsibility of a 'god' instead of letting everything run its course!"

"My dear brothers saw me as a threat for that!"

"They ambushed me together and used a powerful Sealing Technique to strip away most of my power."

"They divided that power into nine parts—the nine great Tailed Beasts, as you later came to call them."

"In the end, I became this wretched thing, neither human nor spirit! Yet Hagoromo became the Savior who spread love, praised by mortals for a thousand years!"

Black Zetsu's words were deeply persuasive. He cast himself as a farsighted, tragic prophet betrayed by his brothers' jealousy and shortsightedness.

Then he slowly swept his gaze over everyone again, lingering especially on Obito and Pain.

"I was sealed away for countless years, my power diminished and my form hideous."

"But my will never died. I waited in the darkness for an opportunity—for a 'partner' who could understand my vision."

"At last, one day, I found him—Madara Uchiha."

The name made Obito tremble slightly. Even Pain's Rinnegan seemed to waver.

"Madara was a man who truly saw the emptiness and suffering at the heart of this world."

"He possessed immense power and an unbreakable will. By chance, he helped me undo that hateful seal, allowing me to exert more influence on the world."

Black Zetsu described his meeting with Madara Uchiha as though fate itself had arranged it.

"I spoke with him and explained the path to lasting peace I had seen: use supreme power to establish absolute order and end this endless cycle of war once and for all."

"To my relief, Madara understood! He saw that this path was right!"

"So we joined forces. With my wisdom and a thousand years of knowledge, alongside his power and standing and Hashirama Senju's, we nearly succeeded!"

"Together, we laid the foundation for the Shinobi Village System! We created the system of Ninja villages you know today."

"But Madara and I had intended to build a vast organization centered on overwhelming power, one that would unite all Ninja."

"It would serve as the prototype of a future government for the Shinobi World, gradually end feuds between clans, and ultimately bring about complete unity and peace!"

His voice brimmed with longing and fervor for that "unfinished work."

"Konoha's founding should have been the first step! The beginning of our grand design!"

"Madara, Hashirama Senju, and I could have become the three divine figures of a new world, leading humanity toward true order!"

His tone plunged into grief and anger:

"But Hashirama Senju! That man was poisoned to the core by Hagoromo's belief in scattering his power! That naive idealist!"

"He could never understand the grand vision we had laid out! He clung stubbornly to his fragile dream of reconciling clans through mutual understanding!"

"He feared our power. He feared the new order we were about to bring—an order he could not control!"

"He exploited the last shred of Madara's affection for him and launched a surprise attack at the Valley of the End! He stopped us through treachery! With his own hands, he snuffed out the lasting peace that was about to dawn!"

Black Zetsu's voice sounded raw with anguish as he twisted a clash of ideals into a tragedy in which a noble ambition had been treacherously crushed.

"Madara was killed in Hashirama Senju's surprise attack, and our plan fell apart on the brink of success."

"The Shinobi Village System was established, but it strayed from the course Madara and I had set. It became a tool for the great nations to balance and oppose one another, even sparking Shinobi World Wars on a larger scale!"

"But that only proves Madara and I were right! Hashirama Senju's naivety brought even greater disaster to the Shinobi World!"

"Look at the Shinobi World now! Has any Shinobi World War ended without more than a hundred thousand casualties?"

"If Hagoromo had agreed with my decision back then, none of these tragedies could ever have happened."

Black Zetsu paused, then turned his "earnest" gaze on Pain.

"But hope never died. Through long years of waiting and watching, I found a new successor."

"I found the Child of Prophecy, one who understood this world's suffering just as deeply and possessed the legendary Rinnegan—you, Pain."

"When I found you, you were enduring suffering beyond measure. That was the foundation that let you see the truth of this world."

"I watched you grow, establish the Akatsuki Organization, recruit members, and move step by step toward your goal."

"Because I knew the dream you had for the Akatsuki Organization at the start was doomed to fail."

"Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hashirama Senju had already proved that beyond a doubt."

"But now you wish to force the world into peace through extreme suffering."

"At its core, that is the same as the 'absolute order' Madara and I once tried to establish! Both rely on overwhelming, unquestionable power to impose rules on the world and end the chaos!"

"Pain, you are not fighting alone. You carry more than the Rinnegan. You carry our unfinished dream!"

"We found you and helped you because we hope you can accomplish the great work that Madara, Hashirama Senju, and I could not!"

"Use your suffering to achieve the peace Madara and I failed to bring through order! Set this broken world right!"