Jokichi looked at Nagato's pair of Contact Lenses; they were indeed Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan.
However, he didn't know why it failed to forge a crystal that grants Sage Eyes.
Judging from forging the Sage's Garment from the curse mark on Anko, since this pair of Rinnegan currently belonged to Nagato, it should have been able to forge a crystal granting Sage Eyes as well.
If it couldn't be forged, that meant this pair of Rinnegan hadn't yet been fully mastered by Nagato and didn't completely belong to him.
"So he really left a failsafe, huh!"
Jokichi smiled lightly, paying it no mind.
It was just the crystal of a pair of Rinnegan; to him now, it was nothing.
However—
If he wanted to open the traversal gate, Jokichi's visual prowess needed to increase by at least two levels.
So, he still needed to find time to summon Madara using Impure World Reincarnation.
For Jokichi, the fastest way to increase his visual prowess was by consuming Rinnegan Sage Crystals and Divine Tree Crystals.
Therefore, he absolutely had to obtain the forged items from Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
Moreover, these two also had many memes; perhaps they could forge some unexpected things.
Storing all the items in the system space, Jokichi washed up and went to sleep.
...
A night passed without incident. The second day, early morning.
The sky was a hazy gray, mingled with the biting chill of the wind.
It was now December. The weather was getting colder, though in some places cherry blossoms had already bloomed.
Jokichi woke up early to wash, eat, and then train.
Since he had found something meaningful to do, he couldn't continue living a leisurely life like a retired old man; he had to work harder.
With the realm of Creation of All Things and motivation...
His progress in training was naturally a thousand miles a day.
Time slipped by, and February arrived. The weather grew colder and colder.
On this day, snow drifted down from the sky, covering the earth in a thick layer of white.
The forest outside the courtyard gate...
It was originally an ocean of green, but under this continuous heavy snow, it had now turned into a world carved from ice crystals. It was dead silent, with only the occasional sound of a small animal passing by.
In the center of the ice crystal world...
Jokichi sat cross-legged here, merging his mind into the entirety of nature, taking in the scenery of the entire forest into his mind, letting it surface in his heart.
"Although such scenery is beautiful, it is too ruthless. Let it pass!"
With a sigh, the heavy snow stopped, and the temperature suddenly rose.
Centered on him, the original ice crystal world receded at a visible rate. Tender green grass and flowers sprouted, and the large trees grew new buds and green leaves once again.
Animals that slumbered in winter gradually awoke, marveling at this scene.
—The Revival of All Things.
Jokichi slowly opened his eyes. The concentric rings in his pupils undulated like ripples, then returned to calm, making anyone who saw it think it was an illusion.
He stood up, looked around, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Mastering Yin and Yang, reversing life and death. The ultimate visual prowess of the Rinnegan can now be used at will. This means my power is fully mastered. Then next..."
As he muttered to himself, the space in front of him opened a pitch-black, distorted portal, sucking Jokichi inside.
The next second, he appeared in front of the portable house's courtyard gate.
Looking at the tall courtyard gate, Jokichi smiled again. "It's time to go find Orochimaru."
Just as he was about to pack up the portable house, he frowned.
He reached out his hand, and the Cage of Fate flew out from the Myriad Phenomena Fish Basket.
The next second, red light bloomed, and Black Zetsu was released.
He looked around his surroundings, his face full of bewilderment.
"Wh-where is this..."
Looking at Black Zetsu like this, Jokichi's frown deepened.
Did he sleep himself stupid?
Since falling into a deep sleep, Black Zetsu had never woken up, for about four months.
If the Cage of Fate couldn't reflect his vital signs, Jokichi would have thought he was dead.
At this moment, Black Zetsu noticed Jokichi in front of him and quickly knelt down before him. "Lord Jokichi, didn't we agree that you would help me rescue Mother?"
"Huh?"
Jokichi looked completely confused.
Did he really sleep himself stupid in the end?
The actual situation was like this.
In the endless cycle of reincarnation, Black Zetsu never gave up the idea of rescuing Kaguya.
However, no matter what choice he made, he always ended up falling before Jokichi.
He didn't know how many times he had restarted, what kind of twists and turns he took, but he could never break through Jokichi's hurdle.
Jokichi was like a destined calamity for him, impossible to bypass and impossible to break through.
Finally, he had a thought.
To rescue his mother, he needed the Rinnegan, and Jokichi had the Rinnegan.
Then why bypass him, why try to break through him, instead of cooperating with him and having him help rescue his mother?
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu changed his strategic approach.
However, at first, he tried to deceive Jokichi like he deceived Uchiha Madara, but this guy seemed to know more than he did.
No matter what method he used, no matter what lies he spun, he couldn't deceive him...
He would either have his lies exposed on the spot and be killed, or his own scheme would be turned against him. Even if he really rescued his mother, he merely became a stepping stone for the other party.
After dozens of reincarnations, Black Zetsu no longer dared to deceive. Instead, he sincerely offered benefits to cooperate with Jokichi.
Finally, he achieved his long-cherished wish and rescued his mother.
Then, just as Black Zetsu reverted to arrogance, preparing to restore ancient rule alongside Kaguya, Jokichi killed them both again.
Another reincarnation.
Black Zetsu realized that this might be a dreamscape, not an ability left by his mother.
Because if his mother had this power, why didn't she reincarnate?
Recalling that before reincarnating, he had been locked inside a peculiar birdcage, he suddenly had a rough understanding.
Perhaps this was his trial to determine whether he could leave the cage!
Therefore, in this reincarnation, Black Zetsu continued to choose to cooperate with Jokichi. When rescuing his mother, he persuaded her, and together they cooperated with Jokichi.
Then, just as he made the decision and acted halfway through, the Cage of Fate released him.
This was the only destiny among countless destinies where he could leave the cage.
Only, tens of thousands of reincarnations left him somewhat unable to distinguish the boundary between reality and virtuality.
Having just come out, he still thought he was in the reincarnation, leading to the scene earlier.
Jokichi was a bit confused.
Without wasting words, he directly used the Human Path's ability to extract Black Zetsu's soul, and simultaneously learned of his experience through tens of thousands of reincarnations.
He was instantly both amused and exasperated.
"So the so-called 'finding the destiny to escape the cage' turns out to be like this."
After lamenting, Jokichi returned the Cage of Fate to the system space, then stuffed Black Zetsu's corpse into the Myriad Phenomena Fish Basket.
He wasn't entirely certain of victory in a battle against Kaguya.
Black Zetsu's corpse could be utilized.
Next, Jokichi also packed up the portable house and left using space-time visual jutsu.
Not to find Orochimaru, but to find Madara's remains.
Orochimaru's tracks hadn't been discovered yet, but Madara's remains were known through Black Zetsu's memories.