"Impossible!"
Black Zetsu couldn't believe what was happening before its eyes.
"Answer me..."
Shigen ignored Black Zetsu's shouting, calmly repeating his question:
"When, exactly, did you think I was the type to surrender or accept fate?"
"How did you..."
Black Zetsu looked at Shigen in confusion and fear, then clenched its metaphorical teeth and growled,
"Even if you did break free of Mother's Rabbit Hair Needle, in the world of Amenominaka, there's no way you can defeat her!"
"You've already lost!"
It tried to scare him—desperately seeking to reinforce its confidence and that of Kaguya:
"In this world, no one can defeat Mother!"
"I asked you..."
Shigen still held Black Zetsu by the throat, his voice calm as ever:
"From the ancient era to now—when have you ever seen me surrender?"
"..."
Black Zetsu's mind exploded with a flood of curses.
This situation—was now really the time for this conversation?
And besides…
Hadn't Shigen already surrendered before?
Didn't he give up on peace and accept the Shinobi world's fate when he was revived by Edo Tensei?
"That first time you were brought back with Edo Tensei..."
Black Zetsu sneered, trying to provoke him:
"Have you forgotten how pathetic you looked back then, groveling in despair?"
"Is that so..."
Shigen nodded slowly—then released Black Zetsu.
"???"
Black Zetsu froze mid-thought.
Why would he let it go?
Still, it didn't matter—Black Zetsu immediately tried to flee back to Kaguya.
Only by her side was it safe.
But—
Shigen's next words froze it in its tracks.
"Actually..."
"That Edo Tensei revival… was part of my plan."
"!!!"
Black Zetsu stopped cold, spinning around.
What the hell did that mean?!
He planned to die and be revived?
"Black Zetsu," Shigen sighed.
His voice, strangely light:
"From the moment I received chakra, I was already planning for both my death—and resurrection. You should understand what that implies..."
"!!!"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened in horror.
"You've kept saying I was born in the wrong era..."
"But you forgot something—"
"The war between the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya didn't just leave behind scars on the world. It also left behind fragments of the God Tree."
"And the very first chakra I received... came from one such fragment."
"I wasn't 'blessed' by the God Tree."
"I consumed it."
As Black Zetsu stood paralyzed, Shigen calmly continued:
"Had you paid attention to my achievements in bioengineering, you'd realize what secrets I could uncover from those fragments..."
"..."
Black Zetsu's expression finally turned to terror.
If Shigen had been experimenting on remnants of the God Tree…
What had he discovered?
"What did you find out…?"
"The God Tree," Shigen began, "doesn't die."
"Even a dead God Tree continues to grow—"
"Which means the Ten Tails, being the God Tree, cannot die either. Just like the tailed beasts that sprang from it—they are immortal."
"And the so-called Goddess Kaguya, who fused with it, naturally cannot die either."
"So back then... you already knew Mother was alive..."
"More or less."
Shigen raised his hand, forming a hand seal with practiced ease.
"Once I used the fragments to create a new Ten Tails, I confirmed it."
"WHAT?!"
Black Zetsu's mind reeled.
Even Kaguya was shaken by that statement.
He made another Ten Tails?
Without anyone knowing?
Where?
How had he hidden it?!
The Ten Tails was immortal.
Even Shigen couldn't erase its presence completely!
"Summoning Jutsu."
Shigen's hand slapped down through the air.
A tiny white slug emerged through the space-time gate and landed on his shoulder.
"A slug!" Naruto gasped.
"Sakura's summon," Sasuke added grimly.
"But I heard… in the ancient era, it was Shigen who raised the slugs."
"Lord Shigen..."
The little slug clung to his shoulder, speaking shyly:
"Why only summon my clone with such a tiny bit of chakra? You could've summoned my main body to help in battle..."
"This is enough," Shigen replied.
"Give me my eyes."
He held out his hand.
He knew the slug had them.
"You always bring my eyes when I summon you..."
"..."
The slug nodded, spitting out a small vial.
Inside—
Were a pair of pristine, preserved eyes.
"Those are—!"
Black Zetsu immediately recognized them.
"The Rinnegan of the Sage! You've been hiding them all along!"
"They're not his."
Shigen calmly pressed them into his eye sockets.
"I destroyed the Sage's Rinnegan with his corpse long ago."
"These are mine. They just happen to have the same powers..."
"For example—"
"Kamui."
Shigen's eyes turned red—Mangekyō Sharingan.
Three tomoe spun into a complex pattern.
Suddenly—
The air twisted violently.
A brown, massive tail slowly slid out of the distortion.
"That chakra..."
Black Zetsu and Kaguya both stiffened.
Another Ten Tails!
He wasn't lying.
It was all true.
And now—
They understood why they never found it.
"Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan..."
"If that eye is yours—"
"You developed it in the ancient era, unlocked Kamui, and kept the Ten Tails hidden in your personal dimension..."
"Exactly."
Shigen continued summoning the beast.
"To hide its presence, that was the one time I used these eyes."
A gargantuan Ten Tails emerged, its roar shaking the dimension.
But—
When it saw Kaguya—
It howled in rage.
It remembered her.
"!!!"
Kaguya instinctively stepped back.
"Settle down."
Shigen's eyes shifted—
Mangekyō turning into Rinnegan.
The Ten Tails obeyed.
It dove straight into Shigen's body.
He absorbed it.
Black Zetsu was too stunned to react.
Compared to this…
Shigen having both Mangekyō and Rinnegan seemed… trivial.
Because chakra itself—
Was the Ten Tails' essence.
For someone like Shigen…
Creating new power from that source was inevitable.
"An immortal Ten Tails..."
"An immortal Jinchūriki..."
Shigen felt the power welling inside him.
Finally, he looked directly at Kaguya.
"And an immortal Kaguya."
Then—
He turned his gaze to Black Zetsu.
"And the will she created..."
"Back in the ancient days, I noticed your existence."
"I attacked Indra... just to lure you out."
"Because only you could lead me to her."
"Kaguya..."
"She is the greatest threat to peace in this world."