While Izayoi and the Hyuga sisters captured precious moments, a very different scene unfolded elsewhere.
In the rain-soaked Hidden Rain Village, inside a steel structure, a figure conversed with a vibrant, multicolored thought projection.
"Sasori, what's the matter?"
"Leader, have you been to the Land of Rivers? Or, aside from the other five Paths, do you have another clone?"
"Why do you ask?" The Heavenly Path of Pain said, his face expressionless.
"Answer me."
"No."
"Fine, I believe you."
Sasori nodded, his voice grave. "Deidara and I ran into someone in the Land of Rivers. He could summon a meteorite and used the same repulsive and attractive forces as you."
At that, the Heavenly Path's expression shifted slightly. "Who was he?"
"No idea," Sasori said, shaking his head. "The guy wore a black robe, had white hair, and a pure white mask with no eyeholes. His sensory abilities were off the charts."
"He came out of nowhere, used a meteorite to intimidate us, then demanded my Puppet Technique and the method for making human puppets. But he didn't seem interested in killing us."
"So you suspected it was me," the Heavenly Path said coolly.
"I couldn't rule it out."
Sasori fixed his gaze on the Heavenly Path's Rinnegan, letting out a low chuckle. "That kind of rule-based power—I've only seen it from you. If it's not you, then there's someone else out there with eyes like yours, or at least on your level."
"Looks like this shinobi world isn't as boring as I thought."
With that, Sasori's thought projection slowly shrank and vanished.
The Heavenly Path stood still for a few seconds before extending a hand from his sleeve, the ring on his finger glinting.
The next moment, the "Zero" symbol on the ring flickered faintly.
Minutes later, a creature resembling a Venus flytrap draped in a black cloak, its face and body split into black and white halves, emerged from the floor.
"Leader, what's the order?" Black Zetsu rasped.
"Have your clones investigate someone…"
The Heavenly Path relayed everything Sasori had shared.
"What?!"
White Zetsu exclaimed. "Someone besides the Leader can use Shinra Tensei and Vansei Tenyin?"
"It's possible it's a secret technique controlling repulsion and attraction, but that's unlikely," the Heavenly Path said, offering his analysis. "He wore a mask with no eyeholes, likely not to flaunt his sensory skills but to hide his eyes. He targeted Sasori specifically for his Puppet Technique and human puppet methods. If his eyes are Rinnegan like mine, he might be aiming to create a Six Paths of Pain."
"Find this person. If he does have the Rinnegan, we need to track him down and eliminate him before he can challenge my control over the Gedo Statue."
"Understood."
Black and White Zetsu nodded, then sank into the ground with the Mayfly Technique, disappearing.
Half an hour later, Black and White Zetsu met with Obito Uchiha in the Kamui dimension.
"A mystery man using Shinra Tensei and Vansei Tenyin?"
Obito stared at Black Zetsu, embodiment of Madara Uchiha's will. "Do you think it's possible for anything other than the Rinnegan to control gravity?"
"I think Nagato's analysis makes sense," Black Zetsu replied.
"So, some lucky bastard got hold of a Rinnegan from a past era, passed down after its owner died, along with the Six Paths techniques?" Obito caught Black Zetsu's meaning instantly, his expression unreadable beneath his mask.
Black Zetsu stayed silent, his mood heavy.
He didn't believe anyone besides Nagato had the Rinnegan.
After all, he'd spent a millennium—openly and covertly—manipulating Indra Otsutsuki and his reincarnations to bring about a second Rinnegan.
He was certain Hagoromo Otsutsuki hadn't passed down his Rinnegan.
If he had, someone in the past thousand years would've inherited it and used its power.
And if anyone had wielded the Rinnegan, Black Zetsu wouldn't have waited until Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju's era.
But controlling repulsion and attraction wasn't something just any secret technique could achieve.
The moon itself was formed through gravity.
White hair, a mask with no eyeholes, perception strong enough to replace sight…
Black Zetsu had a hunch.
Barring any surprises, this mystery man came from… the moon.
Could Hamura's eyes have that kind of power?
Black Zetsu wondered.
He'd been born too late, arriving just as his mother was sealed.
In the peaceful shinobi world, Hagoromo Otsutsuki had only acted during his atonement journey, while Hamura married, took concubines, and built a clan.
Wary of them, Black Zetsu hadn't dared get too close.
He only knew that after Hagoromo ceased being the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, Hamura took part of their clan to live on the moon.
At first, the two branches stayed in contact.
This let Black Zetsu learn one thing: somewhere in the shinobi world was a spatial passage linking Earth and the moon.
That passage wasn't Hagoromo's creation—it was Hamura's.
Hamura's Byakugan could evolve too, but not into the Rinnegan.
Beyond creating the passage, Black Zetsu had no clue what powers that unknown dojutsu held.
The thought that the moon's branch might be reconnecting with Earth, producing a terrifying figure who could wield repulsion, attraction, and summon meteorites, made Black Zetsu curse inwardly.
Damn you, Hagoromo and Hamura. A thousand years later, you unfilial sons still have tricks up your sleeves beyond Asura and Indra's reincarnations.
"Sasori's human puppets can preserve a puppet's Kekkei Genkai and ninjutsu from life. If this guy has the Rinnegan and wants to create a Six Paths of Pain, he'll likely hunt down people with powerful Kekkei Genkai."
After mentally cursing the brothers, Black Zetsu turned to Obito. "I'll have White Zetsu's clones monitor the shinobi world's powerhouses. The moment we spot him, I'll notify you and Nagato."
"Good."
Obito nodded.
They had no other options.
The mystery man was too cautious.
That's exactly why they needed to eliminate him quickly.
Flight, repulsion, attraction, meteorite summoning—even without the Rinnegan, he was a massive threat.
A danger like that, if it couldn't be controlled, had to be dealt with early, or it might derail their plans entirely.
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