Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Guardian of the Shinobi World?

As soon as the name Kaguya Otsutsuki was spoken, everyone in the Akatsuki Organization except for Black Zetsu fell into confusion.

They were all puzzled.

--Who is this?

Black Zetsu, however, was the most bewildered of all.

--Wait, brother, who are you?

Black Zetsu had spent over a millennium deeply entrenched in the plan to resurrect Kaguya, never once seeking a true partner; it had merely used Indra and his reincarnations.

This was because Black Zetsu knew that while it possessed an endless lifespan, it lacked any real power.

It could afford to wait, but it absolutely could not afford to lose.

Because it was the only hope for its mother's liberation.

Therefore, Black Zetsu would never engage in any act of "gambling."

Just like when Madara Uchiha was killed by Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, it had chosen to give up immediately.

It had never thought of, let alone attempted, passing on the concept of resurrecting its mother to anyone else; it did not trust others.

Yet today, someone had actually spoken those words.

These words represented the plan that Black Zetsu had been tirelessly carrying out for over a thousand years.

So, who exactly was this person?

As if hearing Black Zetsu's inner thoughts, Shirozumi did not immediately explain the details of the plan, nor did he introduce Kaguya Otsutsuki right away; instead, he began by introducing himself.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am the leader of Amegakure from twenty years in the future, and also an archaeologist."

"What is this nonsense? Twenty years in the future?"

"You can verify this with Zero and White Tiger; I have already provided them with proof."

Facing the group's suspicion, Shirozumi shrugged.

"That is correct. I have already verified the truth of the matter, so there is no need for doubt."

Pain spoke calmly.

Though he said that, in reality, to truly determine the truth, he should have used the Naraka Path to detect lies or the Human Path to read memories from the start.

But Nagato still used the most primitive method of identification and confirmed that Shirozumi was an ally.

Perhaps this was also why he had been chosen by Madara Uchiha, and why he would later be persuaded by Naruto's Talk no Jutsu.

He was a bit naive.

Of course, Shirozumi hadn't actually lied to him about anything.

"Alright, the introductions are over. I hope everyone understands that what I am about to say is based on future events and the results of my archaeological research. You may be unfamiliar with the name Kaguya Otsutsuki, but what about the name Sage of Six Paths?"

As Shirozumi said this, the eyes of the group turned toward Pain.

To be precise, they turned toward Pain's Rinnegan.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki is the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, and she was sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths and his own brother."

Shirozumi continued his account.

"Sealed? Why? Could it be that this Kaguya Otsutsuki wanted to destroy the world?"

Deidara asked, rubbing his chin.

"More or less."

Shirozumi nodded.

"Huh? Deidara, how did you know that?"

Hidan looked at Deidara in surprise.

"What else could it be? Did the Sage of Six Paths seal his mother in a fit of rage because she wouldn't buy him toys?"

Deidara rolled his eyes.

"To be precise, Kaguya Otsutsuki intended to transform everyone into mindless products to serve as her soldiers..."

Shirozumi continued.

"Ah? Isn't that just a big villain? Why would we want to resurrect her?"

Hidan exclaimed in surprise.

It was ironic, considering he was someone who worshipped Jashin, yet he had the nerve to say such a thing.

"Don't be impatient, let me finish first."

Shirozumi raised his hand, signaling them to calm down.

"According to my archaeological deductions, the Sage of Six Paths likely caused a millennium of disaster precisely because he was as impatient as you are."

Actually, anyone with a brain at this moment should be asking—why does she need soldiers?

If everyone in the world were transformed into her mindless soldiers, who would she even use them to fight?

Shirozumi's words instantly cleared the fog for those still in confusion: "That's right, if all the people are gone, what does she need soldiers for?"

"The reason is simple. She created soldiers for her own safety, or one could say, to protect this world."

"Huh?"

"Kaguya Otsutsuki has to face enemies who are her own kin, the Otsutsuki Clan from beyond the heavens.

To resist them, Kaguya Otsutsuki had to create soldiers.

Of course, the strength of these soldiers is only around that of an average Chunin, and due to their lack of subjective initiative and ability to use ninjutsu, they might be even worse.

But there was no other way.

Let me enlighten you all: ninjutsu was created by the Sage of Six Paths' son, Indra.

Chakra was brought by Kaguya Otsutsuki, and the Sage of Six Paths only taught ordinary people how to refine it after he sealed her away.

In other words, during Kaguya's era, there were no ninjas; everyone was just an ordinary villager.

Under those circumstances, being able to transform these helpless villagers into Chunin-level combat strength was indeed a benefit to her overall power."

"So, how should we rationally view the current shinobi world from Kaguya Otsutsuki's perspective?

Although there are still countless ordinary people, the history of ninjas has developed to the point where countless Kage-level and elite Jonin-level experts have emerged.

And all of you here, true top-tier ninjas, where one can equal hundreds or thousands of Chunin.

In such a situation, what is the point of turning top-tier ninjas into blank-slate, average Chunin as combat strength?"

As soon as Shirozumi said this, everyone suddenly had a realization.

The logic was indeed sound.

Kaguya Otsutsuki wasn't an idiot; why would she waste time washing an SSR down to an R? Was she sick in the head?

Only Black Zetsu sneered from the side.

It had listened for a long time, expecting some profound insight from Shirozumi, but this was it?

The issue wasn't whether Mother would turn everyone into White Zetsu after her resurrection; it was that if Mother wanted to be resurrected, she had to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi to absorb the chakra of the entire shinobi world, returning all things to one!

"So, the goal of our Akatsuki has now changed to resurrecting the Sage of Six Paths' mother?"

"Hiss, according to your theory, this does sound more intimidating than collecting the Nine Tailed Beasts. Hmm."

Deidara analyzed, expressing his agreement with Shirozumi.

"The Tailed Beasts are already hard to control, let alone an existence like her. Are you sure that after we resurrect her, she will actually help us?"

Konan frowned deeply.

"Rest assured, according to archaeological records, Kaguya Otsutsuki is quite the naive airhead. As long as you have comparable strength to speak on equal footing and talk to her properly, it's very easy to persuade her."

"...Alright then. So, how does one resurrect such an existence? It surely can't be simple, right?"

Konan's mouth twitched.

A naive airhead?

Is that a word used to describe the progenitor of the shinobi world?

Konan chose to ignore it.

She decided to ask about the specific situation first.

The word "resurrection" was simply too sensitive.

After all, Nagato possessed the ability to resurrect the dead.

"It is indeed not simple. There are two ways to resurrect Kaguya. The first condition for the first method is to collect the Nine Tailed Beasts..."

"Isn't that the same as before?"

Hidan interrupted again.

"?!"

Black Zetsu was just thinking about how to trick Shirozumi into becoming a pawn for its plan to resurrect Mother, but it froze upon hearing this.

Shirozumi... he knows how to resurrect Mother?

But what did he mean by "there are two ways"?

It, Black Zetsu, had lived for over a thousand years and had never discovered a second way.