Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?

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Although Black Zetsu had never possessed a Rinnegan—Madara, before his death, explained that the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's power wouldn't vanish even after evolving into the Rinnegan.

The two were linked by an invisible bond; it wasn't a complete metamorphosis, a severing of all connection.

In other words—the Mangekyō's unique abilities, including the Susanoo—still remained.

What were the specific abilities of Madara's eyes?

Even Black Zetsu didn't know. Since Madara himself hadn't used them—Nagato, his successor, also assumed they were inaccessible.

If they were inaccessible, so be it.

The Rinnegan was the product of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan combined with Indra and Asura's chakra. It made no sense that mastering the Rinnegan would erase the knowledge of Susanoo.

Therefore, Black Zetsu believed that the darkness within Nagato's heart simply wasn't potent enough.

Nagato needed to experience another intense emotional trauma, to truly awaken the Susanoo – the ultimate expression of extreme emotional power.

The treasure had always been within those eyes, lacking only the key to unlock it. And now, Black Zetsu held that key.

The chains of Nagato's bonds were threefold: his parents in childhood, his friendship in adolescence, and—romantic love in adulthood.

Now, all three chains were severed.

A Nagato freed from these bonds would undoubtedly inherit Madara's Perfect Susanoo.

Though his body, nearly drained of vitality, might only manifest Susanoo a few times, unlike ordinary Mangekyō users, once Nagato mastered it, it would be the Perfect Susanoo. And even a single use of the Perfect Susanoo would leave an indelible mark on the Shinobi World.

Pain—wielding the Perfect Susanoo, would surpass even the Five Kage.

Having obtained the key he sought, and having manipulated the balance of power between Akatsuki and the Shinobi World, Black Zetsu sank into the earth, traveling at an alarming speed towards Konoha's cemetery.

Konoha held the treasures he sought.

The first law of the hidden village era: in every generation, exceptional Konoha ninja would emerge. Konoha always boasted the largest number of powerful shinobi in any given era.

....

....

After an indeterminate amount of time.

Black Zetsu emerged from beneath Konoha's cemetery, his voice – uncharacteristically devoid of its usual playful tone – filled with seething frustration. "How can this be?! Empty tombs! Nothing but ashes! Where are the bodies?!"

"Reduced to ashes—even their own people?" Black Zetsu's voice dripped with disbelief, his metaphorical heart bleeding.

He'd never heard of cremation after death. At least, in Black Zetsu's vast experience, this was utterly unheard of.

Konoha's ninja were far too extreme—Perhaps, after developing the Edo Tensei, they'd burned all the bodies to prevent their resurrection, seizing the opportunity while he was distracted.

"Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Sakumo Hatake, Might Duy…"

"Damned Konoha! They show no respect for the dead! Burned so thoroughly, not even bones remain!"

"Such a lack of filial piety! Konoha scum!"

The thought of these powerful Konoha ninja, meticulously recorded, reduced to mere ashes, filled Black Zetsu with despair. He genuinely lamented their undignified fate.

Since Black Zetsu had first gained awareness, since the time of the Ancestral Country, the Shinobi World had adhered to burial.

Burial was meant to appease returning souls. Elaborate funerals and ancestral worship – these concepts traced back to the Ancestral Country.

Back then, people believed in the soul's immortality and placed great importance on the afterlife. Nobles often had slaves buried alive with them – the ancient practice of human sacrifice. If living people were buried, other funerary objects were naturally abundant, varying in extravagance with the deceased's status.

This continued until Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's arrival.

With chakra emerging in the Shinobi World, more and more slaves awakened their power and began resisting. Human sacrifice gradually declined, and society became more civilized.

Furthermore, burial embodied the hope for immortality—as long as the body wasn't completely destroyed, even if only bones remained, resurrection and rebirth were theoretically possible.

This hope remained unfulfilled for ages. First came the Earth Release Resurrection Technique: Corpse Soil, then—Tobirama Senju developed Edo Tensei.

Truly... humanity's most fundamental desire – immortality, a better life – the eternal driving force of ninja.

Not burying the dead with proper rites was unfilial.

The emphasis on elaborate funerals stemmed from filial piety's importance. The Shinobi World valued filial piety above all—And what had Konoha's ninja done?

They'd shown no respect for the dead, treating them like mere carcasses, burning them so completely that not even bones remained. They'd likely pulverized the bones beforehand, and pierced the bodies to ensure complete incineration…

Black Zetsu was genuinely enraged.

Not simply because he couldn't obtain the bodies, but because of their utter lack of filial piety.

They were truly despicable!

With only ashes remaining, even the Rinne Rebirth was useless. They were truly, irrevocably dead.

Black Zetsu, a paragon of filial piety, couldn't tolerate such behavior.

"Such practices should have been met with widespread opposition. What methods did the Hokage Tower use to make everyone accept this?"

"Konoha's ninja, they have no spine! Simply accepting the Hokage's oppression!"

But Black Zetsu quickly recovered. "Hmph! The Shinobi World will continue turning, with or without them! Even without Konoha's powerful dead, other villages' corpses can be utilized!"

"Kumogakure has the Third Raikage, the Gold and Silver Brothers, and the recently deceased Elder Advisor. Kirigakure has the Third Mizukage. Iwagakure has the Second Tsuchikage. Sunagakure has the Fourth Kazekage—That's at least fifteen Kage-level ninja. Such power—is enough to crush Konoha, even the entire Shinobi World!"

Black Zetsu didn't linger, sinking into the earth once more, heading towards Sunagakure, the closest village to Konoha.

....

The Shinobi World never adhered to a single timeline.

While Gojo Kaigetsu met with the daimyo envoys, and Black Zetsu busied himself with grave robbing, the leaders of the other four major villages, in an unprecedented move—held a clandestine Kage Summit.

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