No one understood better than Zetsu that Otsutsuki Hamura's descendants on the moon had done nothing to interfere with the Ninja World for hundreds of years. Even after the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path on the moon was stolen, they had made no significant moves.
Thus, neither he nor Uchiha Madara had ever regarded the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon as a threat.
Yet over the past decade or so, the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon had suddenly become active. Not only had they begun actively involving themselves in the affairs of the Ninja World, they had even formed an organization called "God."
"This really was our mistake!"
After a long while, Zetsu sighed.
Obito said, "We should stop Nagato from taking this risk!"
"Nagato is extremely determined this time. I'm afraid we won't be able to persuade him." After a pause, Zetsu continued, "Besides, you know Nagato's current strength. It far exceeds our expectations. If we let him participate in the backup plan, then once the plan succeeds, we'll have no means of restraining him in the future."
From beginning to end, Nagato had been nothing more than a "tool" chosen by Uchiha Madara to nurture the Rinnegan in the eyes of Obito and Zetsu.
It was only because of pressure from the God Organization that they had been forced to grant Nagato access to Uchiha Madara's First Hokage Cell transplantation technique in order to strengthen the Akatsuki's combat power.
They had assumed that, after receiving the First Hokage Cells, Nagato would at most recover the vitality he had previously overdrawn and escape his disabled state.
But no one had expected that, with the aid of the Rinnegan and the Uzumaki Clan's Sage Body, Nagato would deeply fuse with the First Hokage Cells and undergo a transformation in