[Senju Tobirama]: If we let him be Hokage for two more years, Konoha will be finished!
Tobirama's emotions flared up again.
The reason was obvious. At first glance, the Third Hokage's reasoning sounded normal, but in reality, it had a major flaw.
Look, even if Konoha's strength seems a little lacking right now, aren't Iwagakure and Kirigakure standing on our side?
Even if a full-scale war were to break out—
Wouldn't it be better if the three great villages just charged at Sunagakure and carved it up among themselves?
Konoha's always saying it lacks resources—well, doesn't Sunagakure have resources?
So there's no need to be afraid. Just fight!
And it'd also be a good opportunity to use Mei Terumi and Ōnoki to deal with the rogue ninja Orochimaru.
That would be killing two birds with one stone.
And yet…
Hiruzen retreated.
They practically spelled it out—that they were coming to attack—and still… you chose to go on the defensive.
"..."
[Senju Tobirama]: I do not acknowledge Sarutobi as my student.
In the end, the enraged Second Hokage said that.
And at that moment, everyone noticed that the live broadcast was over.
The screen had already gone dark.
[Beep!]
[Today's broadcast quota has ended.]
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-) will now close. Please join us again tomorrow.]
[Beep!]
With the sound of the system, the group chat returned to silence.
And Tobirama's fury vanished along with it.
"..." — Kakashi.
At that moment, Kakashi's consciousness fully returned to his physical body.
He was still inside the Hokage's office, reporting the situation to the Third Hokage.
Meanwhile—
In the Land of Grass, inside a hidden cave.
This cave used to be Uchiha Madara's secret hideout. But times had changed, and now it had become Obito's base.
Obito had two identities—one as Madara's lackey, inheriting Madara's legacy and carrying out his plans.
To enact those plans, he joined Nagato's Akatsuki organization and acted under the alias "Tobi."
Nagato believed he was the real Madara, so he didn't question him much. Obito, during his calm moments, liked returning to this hideout.
Here, he wasn't alone—Black Zetsu was also present.
Back when Black Zetsu was manipulating Madara, it had discovered Madara had the potential to awaken the Rinnegan.
What it hadn't expected was that Madara would only awaken it when he was on the verge of dying of old age.
Still, luck was on their side.
Madara had successfully roped in a new pawn—Uchiha Obito.
Now that Madara was dead, Obito remained.
Obito would continue carrying out Madara's plan.
So long as the plan progressed—whether by Obito or Madara—it made no difference to Black Zetsu.
As long as they gathered chakra and used the Rinnegan to initiate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, then their mother, Kaguya, would be revived.
But now, their mother… had already been revived—and in the form of a rabbit.
Her original form.
But those white eyes—there's no mistaking them.
They weren't like the disgraceful white eyes of the Hyūga clan. These were the genuine Byakugan of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
So yes… this had to be Mother.
"..."
"Hey, I asked you a question just now, Black Zetsu. Why are you so distracted?" came a voice.
Possessing White Zetsu's body, appearing half black and half white, Black Zetsu responded, "I was a bit lost in thought."
"Is that so…"
Obito didn't seem to care.
"I was saying, Nagato's Moon's Eye Plan is progressing too slowly."
"Should we intervene?" Obito said.
Black Zetsu manipulated Madara, Madara manipulated Obito, and Obito manipulated Nagato.
And each one believed they were the true mastermind.
"..."
"..." — Black Zetsu.
Obito, what the hell do you know.
Madara's corpse is already rotting, and you haven't even gotten far in the Moon's Eye Plan.
So what's the point of you saying that?
Still…
Obito's heart was full of hatred and darkness. Given time, he would carry out the plan.
So Obito was fine for now—what mattered was… Black Zetsu needed to personally go to Konoha.
It had to confirm whether that ninja rabbit belonging to Kitahara Kaede was really its mother.
Elsewhere—
Kitahara Kaede returned home.
"Phew…"
"As expected, time passes so slowly when you're studying." Kaede was petting his ninja rabbit.
For some reason, ever since they returned from the illusion world, the rabbit's attitude had softened quite a bit.
Or rather… it didn't resist him as much anymore.
And this time, Kaede had brought back more than just cabbage—he had a stack of books.
He piled six books together, then brought the rabbit over to the table.
Kaede said,
"Come on, you like this stuff, don't you?"
"In the illusion world, you were reading books together with Naruto and the others."
"Even though you usually just look at whatever's on my desk, you were especially attentive when reading about the history of the ninja world. You even stopped me from turning the page."
"So, you like the history of the ninja world, right?"
Saying that, Kaede pushed a book in front of the rabbit.
The rabbit glanced at the cover, which read:
[A Chronicle of Ninja World History: From the First to the Third Ninja War]
"..."
But the rabbit only glanced at it briefly before turning away.
"Not interested in that one, huh? Then how about this?" Kaede offered.
The rabbit looked over.
[The Sage of Six Paths and the Gift of Chakra to Humanity]
The rabbit reacted.
It jumped onto the book.
But then—
"Wham! Wham! Wham!"
It started stomping on the book with its paws, tearing it apart.
"..."
Well then.
It looked absolutely furious.
[The Death of the Sage of Six Paths]
Kaede pulled out a new book.
This time, although the rabbit stepped on the book again, it seemed hesitant.
Then Kaede brought out another one:
[Only Mother Is Good in This World]
"..." The little rabbit fell silent.
It definitely had preferences when it came to books about ninja world history.
It also clearly liked books about mothers.
"..."
"..."
Kaede proceeded to show the rabbit other books.
And he found that the rabbit accepted anything related to mothers and history but rejected anything about disobedience or the Sage of Six Paths.
It was also particularly interested in how to cultivate chakra and how to collect chakra.
What a unique personality.
It disliked sharing chakra, loved collecting it—wasn't that just like the Ōtsutsuki clan?
Kaede chuckled. His ninja rabbit had the air of an Ōtsutsuki.
"..."?
Wait a second.
Could it be…
Kaede suddenly had a thought.
Could this ninja rabbit actually be connected to Ōtsutsuki Kaguya…?
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Chapter 075+ in patreon.com/dzeref887