Chapter 430: You Were Only the Backdrop

Black Zetsu “looked” at Indra, its tone carrying a strange quality, almost as though it were speaking of fate.

“In that regard… you and your father truly are alike.”

“And what does that change?”

Indra forced a cold, self-mocking smile. The three tomoe in his newly awakened Sharingan slowly rotated, reflecting the twilight beyond the window—and the resentment buried deep within his heart.

“In the end… he still chose Asura. I still lost, and I lost completely.”

The newfound power brought him no joy. Instead, it only made the bitterness of his defeat all the more apparent.

“No. You didn’t lose.”

Black Zetsu’s voice suddenly became incomparably calm, carrying an absolute certainty as it rejected that conclusion.

Indra raised an eyebrow and looked at it.

Black Zetsu slowly shook its head, its body swaying faintly within the shadows. Its tone was like someone unveiling a truth that had long been concealed.

“The one you lost to… was never Asura.”

“Nor was it this so-called ‘competition.'”

“What you lost to was your father’s deeply rooted prejudice—and his selfish motives, which had long since strayed from the principle of strength above all else.”

“Is that really true?” Indra frowned deeply. A flicker of uncertainty passed through his eyes, though confusion and indignation still outweighed it.

“But… the results of the competition are right there for everyone to see! The fate of that village is beyond dispute!”

“If that isn’t losing, then what was the point of this competition—a competition that lasted an entire year and drew the attention of the whole Ninshū?!”

He needed logic. He needed a reason that could convince himself, not mere consolation or provocation.

He wanted to continue questioning Black Zetsu and demand a more concrete explanation.

However—

Black Zetsu cut him off directly.

It glided closer, lowering its voice. Yet its words carried an earth-shattering force that brooked no doubt, as it hurled out revelations capable of completely overturning everything Indra believed like a series of devastating bombs.

“The point?”

“Heh…”

“Indra, do you truly believe your father arranged this competition to ‘fairly’ select the ‘most suitable’ successor?”

“Do you really believe that the village Asura helped was able to continue thriving solely because of his ‘sincerity’ and his willingness to ‘live alongside them’?”

“Let me tell you…”

Black Zetsu’s voice seemed to rise from the depths of hell itself, cold and merciless.

“Your father, the Sage of Six Paths, is no longer the pure ‘guide’ he once was!”

“What he truly cares about has never been the unity of the Ninshū, nor which of you brothers possesses the greater ‘compassion’!”

“There is only one thing he cares about—ensuring that more and more people come to possess Chakra!”

“Everything Asura did—his methods of ‘winning people’s hearts’ and ‘building together’…”

“Those methods are precisely what make ordinary people willing to trust and join him. They are the fastest and most effective way to… plant the seeds of Chakra in more hearts and bodies!”

“And you, Indra—your methods may be efficient, but they only inspire fear and distance. You cannot truly draw more people to your side!”

“So, in your father’s eyes, Asura is merely the tool better suited to helping him achieve his ultimate goal: spreading Chakra throughout the world!”

It paused, allowing the shocking accusation to sink in before delivering its most devastating blow.

“And even… that village’s later prosperity and continued flourishing…”

“Do you really think it was entirely the work of Asura and those villagers?”

There was a trace of malicious mockery in Black Zetsu’s voice.

“Your father had long since secretly dispatched disciples of the Ninshū to provide that village with continuous support—seeds, tools, and even the discreet removal of dangers Asura himself had failed to notice!”

“He used the Ninshū’s hidden resources to ensure Asura’s ‘success’ from behind the scenes!”

“Otherwise, how do you think Asura and those impoverished villagers managed to persevere for half a year?”

“This was nothing more than a carefully staged performance by your father to prove that his choice was ‘correct’ and to promote his own ideology!”

“And you, Indra—you and the village where you wiped out the bandits and dug those wells were exactly the same… You were merely part of the scenery in this performance, a backdrop and foil meant to highlight the ‘protagonist,’ Asura, and the ideals he represented!”

“What…?!”

Indra froze instantly!

It was as though a bolt of heavenly lightning had struck him, leaving his entire being—from body to soul—completely rigid!

His face was filled with disbelief. His pupils shrank to pinpoints from overwhelming shock, and even the three tomoe of his newly awakened Sharingan stopped turning!

His lips moved, yet no sound came out. He seemed unable to believe what he had just heard!

His father… had been manipulating things from behind the scenes?

The competition… had been a performance?

Asura’s success… had been built upon resources and secret support?

And he… from beginning to end, had merely been used as a tool and stepping stone to make his younger brother shine?!

This supposed truth was a hundred times crueler and a thousand times darker than simply losing. It was more devastating than every suspicion he had harbored before.

His trust completely collapsed.

His worldview shattered.

Familial bonds had become calculations, and ideals had become tools.

The last trace of expectation Indra held toward his father—and his final illusion of fairness—was utterly torn apart by Black Zetsu’s revelation, whose truth was impossible to distinguish from falsehood.

Black Zetsu’s astonishing accusations—that the competition had been a staged performance and that Asura’s success had been built upon hidden resources—

Did not merely leave the Indra within the Heavenly Curtain standing frozen as though struck by lightning.

They also set off a storm of unprecedented proportions among the people of the shinobi world watching it!

“No way! Black Zetsu is obviously trying to slander the Sage of Six Paths!”

A shinobi abruptly stood up and pointed at the Heavenly Curtain, his voice agitated.

“Asura worked with his own hands! He spent half a year in that village, working alongside everyone, and in the end, the village genuinely became better. That’s a result everyone can see!”

“And Indra? He dug the wells, killed the bandits, and immediately left! He didn’t care about what happened afterward at all!”

“The difference in their attitudes and methods is obvious!”

“That’s true,”

said an older shinobi beside him, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“But I’ve suddenly thought of something. It’s actually a very important question.”

“The Sage of Six Paths was choosing the leader of the Ninshū.”

“What kind of ability does that position truly require? The ability to work among the people, personally handle every task, and unite people’s hearts—the ability to get things done?”

“Or does it require overwhelming strength, foresight, and the ability to formulate strategy and oversee the bigger picture—the qualities of a leader?”

The question left many people deep in thought.

“Exactly. The requirements for being a leader and being the one who carries out the work aren’t the same.”

“If the leader of the Ninshū has to personally handle everything, then what are all those disciples for?”