"Zetsu, you tell Obito."
Zetsu's eyes darted back and forth. He glanced at Obito, then at Rengoku, and pretended to stay calm as he said, "Fake. It was all just coincidence!"
Zetsu was gambling, gambling that Rengoku wouldn't dare damage the Rinnegan.
Rengoku laughed, a terrifying laugh, "Lie."
Pop!
One of Rengoku's fingers drove straight through Nagato's left Rinnegan, bursting it.
Nagato grunted in pain, but there was a look of vengeful satisfaction on his face.
Obito and Zetsu were stunned, Rengoku had actually destroyed a Rinnegan.
'That is the Rinnegan!'
'How could Rengoku dare!'
'How could Nagato bear it!'
But Rengoku and Nagato had done it without hesitation.
"Zetsu, you can keep lying."
As he said that, Rengoku pressed his finger down again, this time on the last remaining Rinnegan.
"It's true! It's true!"
Zetsu's voice broke into a hysterical scream.
"It was Madara's plot! The Kirigakure kidnapping Rin was all orchestrated by him! He just wanted Obito to fall into darkness!"
"AAAHHH!", Obito's face twisted grotesquely.
At that moment, the pain in him was unbearable. His entire heart felt like it was being torn apart, his whole life had been manipulated by Madara.
"DIE, ZETSU!"
Obito reached out, lunging to grab him.
"STOP!", Rengoku roared. He had no interest in watching them tear each other apart. He wanted to destroy Obito completely.
"Obito, move again, and I'll destroy the other Sharingan right now."
Obito clenched his teeth so hard they creaked, but he stopped, his bloodshot eyes locked on Zetsu.
Zetsu's face turned dark as iron as he glanced at Obito, then asked Rengoku, "How do you know all this? What are you trying to do?"
Rengoku raised his other hand and waved it lightly.
"I'm not trying to do anything. My target is Obito."
"Obito, I told you last time, because you caused the Nine-Tails' attack, my sister was crippled. I won't forgive you."
"So? Do you like this little gift?"
Obito turned his head and glared at the last remaining Rinnegan. Madara was already dead, he couldn't change the past.
But only the Infinite Tsukuyomi…
As if knowing Obito was about to put all his hope into that dream, Rengoku spoke again.
"You don't actually think the so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi can grant your wish, do you?"
Obito's heart gave a violent jolt, sinking instantly, "What do you mean?"
Rengoku smiled cruelly, that smile like a demon's hand dragging Obito into an endless abyss.
"Zetsu, tell him what the Infinite Tsukuyomi really is."
Zetsu glared at Rengoku but said nothing.
"Not talking, huh? If you don't, you won't have a mother anymore, got it?"
Rengoku pressed his finger harder into the final Rinnegan.
The eye visibly strained, the pressure sinking in.
"Stop! Rengoku, what are you doing?"
Zetsu was nearly going mad, 'How does Rengoku know everything?'
That line was clearly meant to force him to reveal the Infinite Tsukuyomi's true purpose.
Rengoku sneered, "If you won't tell Obito the truth about the Infinite Tsukuyomi, then I'll just destroy this precious tool myself."
"Of course, if you do tell him, I might consider giving you this last Rinnegan."
"Well? Are you going to talk?", Rengoku's eyes narrowed, his finger pressing down harder.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!", Black Zetsu wailed in despair.
Obito's whole body went cold. Even this final dream of his seemed to be unraveling.
"I'll tell Obito the truth! Then you'll give me the Rinnegan!"
Rengoku slightly loosened his finger, "Relax. I, Uchiha Rengoku, keep my word."
Without the Rinnegan, Kaguya couldn't possibly be resurrected.
Zetsu now clung to that single, desperate hope.
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi gathers everyone's chakra, to resurrect Kaguya."
Obito stumbled backward, his legs nearly giving out.
His face went pale as he stammered, "What do you mean? What Kaguya? Why resurrect Kaguya?"
Rengoku's smile twisted again, like that of a devil, "Kaguya, of course, means Otsutsuki Kaguya."
"And why? Because Zetsu is her son."
Obito's face froze in shock. He never imagined this creature wasn't Madara's creation at all.
"As for the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it just lets you dream for two days, then your chakra gets sucked dry and you die! Hahahaha!"
"Zetsu! Is that true?", Obito screamed hysterically, grabbing him by the throat.
Zetsu shoved Obito away, "So what if it is? You were just too stupid."
Obito staggered back two steps, staring at Zetsu in disbelief.
His life, his dream, the thing he had fought for half his life, was all a lie.
Rengoku laughed madly, "Obito! Do you like my gift?"
"No! No! No! RIIIIN!"
Obito's cries turned into an unhinged wail.
"This isn't true!"
He broke down completely. Everything was gone. It was all a conspiracy.
He had no life, no Rin, not even a dream left.
At that moment, Zetsu crept toward Rengoku, "Rengoku, you promised to give me the last Rinnegan!"
A spark of realization flashed in Obito's mind, the Rinnegan can revive the dead.
"The Rinnegan is mine!"
Both Obito and Zetsu lunged toward Rengoku.
Rengoku didn't move. His finger still rested on Nagato's final Rinnegan.
Nagato's lips curved into a cruel smile.
He jerked his head forward—
Pop!
The world seemed to freeze.
Even the roaring wind went silent.
The last Rinnegan burst, no, more precisely, Nagato had used Rengoku's hand to burst it himself.
"NOOOO!"
"NOOOO!"
Both Obito and Zetsu screamed in agony.
But in the end, the Rinnegan was only a pair of eyes.
With their chakra exhausted, if Nagato didn't care about them, they were nothing more than ordinary eyeballs.
"Oh my," Rengoku said with feigned innocence, "Sorry. I was planning to hand you the Rinnegan, but it seems Nagato disagreed."
Though blind, Nagato's face was filled with a vengeful smile. He wasn't one for words, but Rengoku was a fine speaker in his place.
"Well then, Zetsu, didn't you enjoy manipulating other people's lives?"
"Ever think there'd be something you couldn't control?"
"Let's see how you resurrect Kaguya now."
Zetsu's face twisted violently, his whole body like a snarling demon.
"Rengoku! You did this on purpose!"
Rengoku flicked the sticky fluid off his hand, "Smart boy. Of course I did."
"You schemers can only fool idiots like Obito."
Zetsu's face darkened. He wished this were a nightmare, but it wasn't. It was the cruelest reality.
A thousand years of plotting, gone.
He had never lost so completely before.
But even so, Zetsu forced himself to calm down. As long as he lived, no matter how many years it took, he would find a way to resurrect his mother.
He looked toward Obito.
Obito sat on the ground, eyes hollow, spirit utterly crushed by Rengoku.
"Come with me, Obito. I can find a way to bring Rin back," Zetsu coaxed.
In Obito's empty eyes, a faint light flickered again.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.