Compared to the White Snake Sage, whose method of monitoring intelligence across the entire shinobi world was utterly unclear, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu's intelligence capabilities were slightly inferior.
However, once they had locked onto the enemy's movements and appearance, finding Ōtsutsuki Shinya, who had not paid particular attention to guarding against this strange intelligence network, was not actually difficult.
And when White Zetsu delivered the intelligence he had gathered to Obito Uchiha, mixed together with information about Ōtsutsuki Hamura that Black Zetsu had intentionally or unintentionally inserted, even Obito, who had already received one round of worldview cleansing from Madara Uchiha, was still fiercely shocked by that vast amount of information.
"The Sage of Six Paths' brother? The Ōtsutsuki clan overlooking the shinobi world from the moon…?"
Putting down the intelligence in his hand, Obito Uchiha took a deep breath, then stood up and looked toward the Gedo Statue standing motionless inside the cave. He muttered to himself, "So the Gedo Statue was originally sealed on the moon? No wonder. Even a shinobi like Madara, who possessed bottomless, massive chakra, could only summon the Gedo Statue according to the records on the Uchiha Stone Tablet after awakening the Rinnegan… Without the power of the Rinnegan, one does not even have the qualification to touch the Gedo Statue?"
"What do you plan to do next, Obito? Continue tracking that Ōtsutsuki clan member's whereabouts? Or… find a way to make a move against Nagato and retrieve the Rinnegan that belongs to me?"
Black Zetsu, who was likewise conflicted over the appearance of Hamura's descendants, gave Obito two lines of thought.
After Obito turned his gaze toward him, Black Zetsu seriously analyzed and explained them.
"If we continue tracking the Ōtsutsuki clan member, then perhaps we can make contact with another group of Six Paths descendants who have remained independent from the shinobi world. And if we can use the special ability of your Mangekyo Sharingan to catch them off guard, we might be able to obtain treasures and power sufficient to change the current situation…"
"But as the side that stole the Gedo Statue from the seal on the moon, their attitude toward us, bearing as they do the destiny of guarding that seal, will absolutely not contain the slightest friendliness. Once the sneak attack fails, we will be exposed to their sight, creating a troublesome enemy for no reason. They might even temporarily join forces with that man Rei Kaguya."
"As for finding a way to ambush Nagato, the benefit is that we can retrieve my Rinnegan early. Whether we use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive me afterward, or use the Rinnegan to increase your strength, we can flexibly choose based on changes in the shinobi world's situation…
"But Nagato, who can already freely use the Rinnegan's ocular power, is not weak. Having been invested in by Rei Kaguya for so long, he also will not lack ways to bring Rei Kaguya onto the battlefield. If we cannot take Nagato down immediately, then after Rei Kaguya repels us, he will definitely further increase his protection over Nagato. Once things reach that stage, thinking of retrieving the Rinnegan again will be nothing but nonsense."
In Obito Uchiha's eyes, Black Zetsu was the incarnation of part of Madara Uchiha's will, an existence that could represent Madara himself and communicate with him.
After Obito inherited Madara Uchiha's name, Black Zetsu had rarely interfered with his thoughts, and almost never spoke this clearly about the advantages and disadvantages of a plan.
But now, not only had it impatiently done so, it had also seriously offered suggestions on how to execute the mission. It had even extremely urgently demanded that Obito make a choice as soon as possible…
"Even you can no longer endure this situation that is increasingly exceeding your control, Madara?"
Obito silently muttered to himself in his heart.
Only then did his expression shift unpredictably as he answered, "You want me to choose between advancing and retreating, is that right?"
"No matter which choice you make, the appearance of this Ōtsutsuki clan member will attract many people's attention. For us, who are currently on the disadvantaged side, this is an incident capable of briefly breaking the current deadlock."
Black Zetsu's tone was serious. On that black face with only eyes, a grave emotion also appeared.
"The head of the Hyūga clan's main family was heavily injured and had his eyes stolen. This kind of news cannot possibly be hidden for too long. Once this news spreads, Rei Kaguya, who has replaced his own eyes with Byakugan, has no small chance of paying attention to this matter as well. If that man interferes, it will become very difficult for us to use this matter."
"Then have White Zetsu send out clones. Find a way to infiltrate the base those Ōtsutsuki left in the shinobi world and gather as much intelligence as possible for our next infiltration operation."
Obito Uchiha took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and gave his decision.
"The reason?" Black Zetsu imitated Madara Uchiha's tone and asked coldly, with a hint of condescension.
"If we choose to advance and investigate the unknown-filled Ōtsutsuki clan, then there is a chance we can obtain two opportunities to reverse the situation and defeat Rei Kaguya. Your Rinnegan is one. These Ōtsutsuki, who have never broken their inheritance, are another."
Obito Uchiha took a deep breath and answered calmly, "But if we choose to retreat and retrieve the Rinnegan, whose origin from you is temporarily still unknown, then we will have used up one of the backup plans we originally held in our hands."
"When facing an enemy as dangerous as Rei Kaguya, staking everything on a single choice that leaves no path back…
"I am not saying doing so will definitely fail, but without question, it is a reckless, shortsighted, and riskier choice."
"So it is… advance and gain two, retreat and gain one?"
Thinking over Obito Uchiha's words, Black Zetsu, who had originally leaned more toward having Obito ambush Nagato, try to retrieve the Rinnegan originally belonging to Madara Uchiha, then revive Madara and rely on his strength to recover the Tailed Beasts and resurrect the Ten-Tails, could not help feeling shaken.
Finally, after a long silence and inner struggle, Black Zetsu said in a muffled tone full of conflict and unwillingness, "You are right. We cannot expose the last trump card remaining in our hands so early… You have grown somewhat, Obito."
"I just do not want to keep feeling disgusted when crossing swords with that man Rei Kaguya because he suddenly pulls out another extra trump card from who knows where. That is all."
Obito Uchiha shook his head and gave a self-mocking bitter smile.
Chapter 257: Advance and Gain Two, Retreat and Gain One Join my Patreon to read public release chapters and get 1 chapter ahead for free. Paid members can read more advanced chapters.
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