Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 80: Nagato, Obito, Madara—What Kind of Pawns Are These?

Crack.

A beaker fell to the ground and shattered.

Yakushi Nono.

That name... It was almost forgotten.

Kabuto had never imagined he would hear news about his orphanage director again—let alone news from the underworld itself.

The woman who had raised him with kindness... Even in death, she still thought about him. Her attachment to him had kept her soul from passing on, turning his very name into the obsession that trapped her.

Of course...

That made sense.

Because when that gentle woman died, she didn't know the truth. She didn't even recognize her own child. The only thing she held onto was a fake photograph, and her last wish was built on a fabricated illusion...

"What's wrong?"

Shigen seemed somewhat surprised by Kabuto's reaction.

"No, it's nothing..."

Kabuto felt that he must have looked a little pathetic.

For the living...

A soul unable to move on was a painful thing.

If Yakushi Nono's spirit had remained trapped between life and death because of her attachment to him, then how could he ignore it?

Ever since her death, Kabuto had believed his heart had gone numb. Yet at this moment, that heart beat once more—faintly, painfully, as if something had cracked open what had long been sealed away.

A chill ran through him, like a storm raging against his closed-off heart.

The silver-haired young man hurriedly crouched down to clean up the broken glass, his hands trembling as he instinctively wanted to ask more.

"Lord Shigen..."

"Did Director Nono say anything?"

Kabuto didn't doubt Shigen's words.

He knew there was no way Shigen and Yakushi Nono had ever met in this life. They could only have encountered each other after death.

He wanted to believe Shigen was lying to him.

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But he also knew...

A man like Shigen would never deceive him.

"She said quite a lot."

"After all, I'm curious about the stories of the living."

"For example, about Danzo..."

"For example, that you were a sensible but disobedient child..."

"In the end, the only thing she truly cared about was a child named Yakushi Kabuto—hoping he would leave the darkness of Root. Her obsession was wanting to see you one last time."

"...Is that so?"

Kabuto's grip on the shards of glass tightened.

"But..."

"She won't have the chance anymore."

Shigen's next words made Kabuto's heart clench.

"...What!?"

Kabuto abruptly looked up.

"There was no other choice."

Shigen let out a small sigh, sounding almost helpless. "Her soul wanted to linger in that desolate place, waiting for you to join her in death... But to prevent her spirit from losing itself completely—and to keep the wandering Shinigami from devouring her—I had to send her to the Pure Land for release."

"..."

"...Your hand."

Shigen noticed the blood on the ground. His palm glowed with faint green chakra as he healed Kabuto's wound.

"You cared for her a lot."

Shigen seemed to see right through Kabuto's heart and calmly said, "Maybe I shouldn't interfere. Perhaps, when you die, you'll be able to ease her obsession yourself."

"...No."

Kabuto forced a bitter smile, shaking his head as he looked at Shigen tending to his injury. "I should be the one thanking you, Lord Shigen."

"The director was a kind woman her entire life."

"Letting her soul move on peacefully is the best outcome."

"It doesn't matter."

Shigen dismissed Kabuto's gratitude, checking his hand to ensure the wound had fully healed before speaking coldly, "To me, it was just something I did in passing. She stood out because our lives happened to overlap, and that made me remember her name."

"But to us..."

Kabuto instinctively wanted to express his gratitude.

"That's enough."

Shigen cut him off. He had no interest in dwelling on the topic and smoothly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, has there been any progress in medical research?"

"..."

Kabuto felt a slight sense of shame.

Fortunately...

Shigen had long been used to seeing medical shinobi react this way.

In the following days, Kabuto's respect for Shigen grew. He followed Orochimaru's orders and brought Hashirama's cells to him.

"Hashirama's cells are the pinnacle of Yang Release chakra. You need powerful Yin Release to balance them. It's no wonder your experiments failed."

Shigen didn't hesitate to educate Kabuto.

At the same time, he took advantage of the situation—without Kabuto realizing it—to use Hashirama's cells to strengthen his reanimated body. This way, he could restore enough power to stand firmly in this era.

Kabuto was deeply satisfied with what he learned from Shigen. His medical knowledge advanced rapidly, and combined with Shigen's gentle guidance, he felt as if he had returned to his childhood—back to when the orphanage director had taught him.

But while Kabuto flourished...

Orochimaru grew impatient.

For someone obsessed with knowledge and power, nothing was more tempting than an untapped treasure trove of secrets.

If not for Akatsuki's abundant funding and his desire to obtain the Rinnegan, Orochimaru would have abandoned the organization already to follow Shigen and unearth his knowledge.

One thing in particular...

Shigen's expertise in souls was real.

Orochimaru had secretly ordered Kabuto to probe Shigen's understanding of souls.

The results were terrifying.

Shigen had never studied the Immortality Jutsu that Tobirama left behind—yet he deduced its structure on his own. In a short time, he had already developed a theoretical framework for it.

This...

This was far too enticing!

But...

Orochimaru had no idea.

His actions were being closely watched.

And within Akatsuki, there was someone even more impatient than him.

Someone who had been waiting for Shigen's return.

Deep within a dark cave.

A strange creature, half black and half white, lurked underground. It wore a black cloak adorned with red clouds—Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, fused together.

Uchiha Madara had ultimately succumbed to old age. Before his death, he merged Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, making it easier for them to guide his chosen pawns.

"I just received a report from one of my clones."

White Zetsu sounded confused as he informed Black Zetsu. "One of the clones we assigned to monitor Lord Shigen sent word... Orochimaru secretly used Edo Tensei to resurrect him. What should we do now?"

"Shigen is back?"

For a brief moment, a flicker of excitement appeared on Black Zetsu's face.

To Black Zetsu...

Nothing was more important than Shigen's return!

Not Madara.

Not his pawns—Nagato, Obito...

None of them compared to Shigen!

Especially since Shigen had returned from the Pure Land with knowledge about its greatest enemy—the Sage of Six Paths!

For this reason...

Black Zetsu had been watching over Shigen's body.

When he learned that Orochimaru had it and was studying Edo Tensei, he had made sure Akatsuki kept funding Orochimaru's experiments. He had helped push Orochimaru toward reviving Shigen.

But...

That bastard Orochimaru had secretly embezzled funding for his own immortality research, expanding his experiments instead!

His greed infuriated Black Zetsu.

Sometimes, he thought Orochimaru's intelligence might rival Shigen's knowledge of human experimentation.

Other times...

He felt Orochimaru's petty ambitions and lack of morals were nothing compared to even a fraction of Shigen's worth.

But now...

Shigen was back!

No more patience was needed.

"Let's go see him!"

Black Zetsu couldn't wait.

He needed to extract information about the Sage of Six Paths from Shigen.

And he needed to convince him to take over the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.

Obito was an idiot.

Nagato and his Rinnegan? Wasted.

In front of Shigen, they were all disposable pawns.

Now was the time...

To bring him back into the fold.

"...Long time no see, Black Zetsu."

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