At the edge of the cliff, Indra remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, Indra raised his eyes to Black Zetsu, his gaze grave and his voice low and hoarse. "What exactly do you know? Tell me everything."
Seeing Indra finally waver and ask for the truth himself, Black Zetsu knew his scheme was already more than halfway to success. On the surface, however, he remained unruffled, wearing a faint, mocking smile.
"What? You were so wary of me just now, refusing to believe a word. Now you're willing to listen?"
Those words instantly brought Indra back to his senses. He had not lost himself completely; he still retained the last of his clarity and composure.
He shook his head slightly, his eyes still cold and piercing as they fixed on Black Zetsu. In a low voice, he said each word distinctly. "I still doubt you, and I have never trusted you."
"I know nothing of your origins. You must have some ulterior motive for approaching me."
"But I can distinguish truth from lies. What you've told me happens to answer every doubt I've harbored, and it fits everything that has happened."
He was extraordinarily gifted and meticulous in his thinking, not a fool who could be easily led astray.
Even now, he did not fully trust Black Zetsu. He had merely accepted the other's perspective for the moment, seeking a deeper truth that could resolve his years of confusion.
Black Zetsu was neither annoyed nor angry. Instead, he grew even more certain.
He understood the temperament of prodigies like Indra all too well: aloof, conceited, rational, most receptive to an analysis of facts, and most resentful of being deceived.
A direct confrontation would only provoke his resistance. Only by following his doubts, drawing on his experiences,