Chapter 5: Otsutsuki Kaguya, the Guardian of the Ninja World?
The moment the name Otsutsuki Kaguya was uttered, everyone in the Akatsuki organization, except for Black Zetsu, were left bewildered.
Everyone was thinking: 'Who is that?'
Black Zetsu, however, was the most confused of all.
'Who are you?'
Black Zetsu had been meticulously planning to resurrect Kaguya for over a thousand years, never truly seeking any allies. His interactions with Indra and his reincarnations had been purely for exploitation.
This was because Black Zetsu knew he possessed endless life, but no power. He could wait, but he could not afford to lose.
He was his mother's only hope for escape.
And so, Black Zetsu had never considered, let alone trusted anyone else with his mother's resurrection.
But now, someone else had uttered the very words that had been part of Black Zetsu's own plan for centuries.
So, who was this person?
As though hearing Black Zetsu's inner thoughts, Shiromo didn't immediately explain the details of the plan or introduce Otsutsuki Kaguya. Instead, he began by introducing himself.
"Let me reintroduce myself," Shiromo said casually. "I'm the leader of Amegakure from twenty years in the future, and also an archaeologist."
"What?! Twenty years in the future?" someone exclaimed.
"You can ask Rei and Byaku for confirmation. I've already proven it to them," Shiromo shrugged.
Faced with the astonished expressions of the Akatsuki members, Pain spoke calmly, confirming the statement. "That's right, I've verified its authenticity. There's no doubt about it."
While they could have used the Naraka Path's lie detector or even the Human Path to read memories to determine the truth, Nagato had instead used the simplest method to verify that Shiromo was indeed an ally.
It was perhaps because he was a little naive. Shiromo had never lied to him, after all.
"Alright, that's the introduction. I hope everyone understands that what I'm about to say is about future events and the results of my archaeological research."
Shiromo paused, glancing around the room. "The name Otsutsuki Kaguya might be unfamiliar to you, but what about the name 'Sage of the Six Paths'?"
At this, everyone turned their gaze toward Pain, more specifically, his Rinnegan.
"Otsutsuki Kaguya was the Sage of the Six Paths' mother. She was sealed away by him and his brothers," Shiromo continued.
"Sealed? Why? Could it be that Otsutsuki Kaguya wanted to destroy the world?" Deidara asked, stroking his chin.
"More or less," Shiromo nodded.
"Huh? How do you know that, Deidara?" Hidan asked, looking at Deidara in surprise.
"What else? Because Mom wouldn't buy me toys, the Sage of the Six Paths angrily sealed her away?" Deidara rolled his eyes.
"To be precise, Otsutsuki Kaguya planned to transform everyone into a formless entity, making them her soldiers..." Shiromo added.
"Huh? Isn't that the work of a great demon? Why would we want to revive her?" Hidan exclaimed in astonishment.
It was hard to believe someone who worshiped Jashin would say something like that.
"Don't rush me, let me finish." Shiromo raised his hand to calm everyone down.
"Based on my archaeological speculation, the Sage of the Six Paths was probably in a hurry, just like you. That's why he caused a calamity that lasted for a thousand years. Actually, anyone with a brain should be asking now: why does she need soldiers? If everyone in the world is transformed into her unconscious soldiers, who would she be fighting?"
Shiromo's words instantly cleared up the confusion in the room. "Right, if everyone's gone, what's the point of having soldiers?"
"The reason is simple," Shiromo continued. "She created soldiers for her own safety... or, you could say, to protect the world."
"Huh?" Konan asked, confused.
"Otsutsuki Kaguya's enemies were her own clan, the Otsutsuki clan from beyond this planet. To fight them, Kaguya needed soldiers."
Shiromo paused to let the information sink in. "Of course, these soldiers were only about the level of an ordinary Chunin. Due to their lack of initiative and their inability to use ninjutsu, they were even weaker. But that was unavoidable."
He glanced around at the group. "Let me explain something important. Ninjutsu was created by Indra, the son of the Sage of the Six Paths. Chakra itself was brought to the world by Otsutsuki Kaguya. The Sage of the Six Paths only taught ordinary people how to refine it after Kaguya's sealing."
"In other words, during Kaguya's time, there were no ninjas, only ordinary villagers. Under those circumstances, being able to transform these defenseless villagers into Chunin-level combatants was a massive improvement in terms of combat power."
"So, how should we view the current ninja world from Otsutsuki Kaguya's perspective?"
Shiromo asked, the room silent in thought, "While there are still countless ordinary people, the history of ninjas has progressed, and now there are Kage-level and elite Jonin-level masters everywhere. And here, everyone, each one of you, is worth hundreds or even thousands of Chunin."
A few Akatsuki members nodded.
"So, in this situation," Shiromo continued, "what's the point of turning top-tier ninjas into blank, ordinary Chunin as soldiers?"
At this point, everyone finally began to understand.
"The logic makes sense."
"Otsutsuki Kaguya isn't stupid. Why would she randomly turn an SSR (super-rare) into an R (common)? Is that a problem?"
Only Black Zetsu sneered.
After listening to all this, Black Zetsu thought Shiromo had some profound theory, but is this all it amounts to?
"The issue now isn't whether Mother's resurrection will turn everyone into White Zetsu," Black Zetsu muttered, "but rather that for Mother to be resurrected, she must activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, absorbing chakra from the entire ninja world and unifying everything!"
"So Akatsuki's goal has now changed to resurrecting the Sage of Six Paths' mother?" Deidara asked, analyzing the situation.
"Hiss, according to you, that sounds more intimidating than collecting the nine Tailed Beasts," Deidara continued, agreeing with Shiromo.
"The Tailed Beasts are already difficult to control. Let alone someone like her. Are you sure she'll really help us once we resurrect her?" Konan frowned deeply, skeptical.
"Don't worry," Shiromo replied. "According to my research, Otsutsuki Kaguya was quite naive and innocent. If you speak to someone of similar strength and reason with them, she's easy to persuade."
"...Alright then, how do you revive someone like that? It must be quite complicated, right?" Konan's lips twitched.
Naive and innocent? Is that how Shiromo describes the progenitor of the ninja world?
Konan ignored that part, deciding to focus on the specifics of the revival process. The word 'revive' was far too sensitive, especially with Nagato's ability to bring people back to life.
"Indeed, it's not simple," Shiromo said, looking serious. "There are two ways to revive Kaguya. The first method requires collecting all nine Tailed Beasts..."
"Isn't that the same as before?" Hidan interrupted.
"?!"
Black Zetsu, who had been plotting how to use Shiromo as a pawn in his scheme to resurrect his mother, froze upon hearing this.
'He knows how to resurrect Mother?'
'But what does he mean there are two ways?'
Black Zetsu had lived for over a thousand years and hadn't discovered a second method!
(End of this chapter)