Black Zetsu: I Want to Become an Ally of Justice

Upon hearing the first method Shirozumi described, Hidan began to clamor.

The others with a bit more sense felt a flicker of doubt.

Especially Pain and Konan.

One of the ways to resurrect Kaguya Otsutsuki was to collect the Tailed Beasts, which was exactly the same mission "Madara Uchiha" had entrusted to them.

Could it be that the ultimate goal of "Madara Uchiha" was to resurrect Kaguya all along?

"Before I speak of the second plan, I must first tell a little-known story. Kaguya Otsutsuki did not come here alone; she had a companion. The goal of the Otsutsuki Clan is to 'plant trees' on countless planets. The most crucial step in this process is for one member of the Otsutsuki Clan to sacrifice themselves and be devoured by the Ten-Tails, allowing it to evolve into the God Tree and bear fruit. Kaguya Otsutsuki ambushed her companion, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, and had the Ten-Tails devour half of his body. The rest of the story is what I told you before: she fought the Sage of Six Paths and was eventually sealed away. As for that Isshiki, after being gravely wounded, he hid within the Shinobi World, intending to use the unique methods of the Otsutsuki Clan to reincarnate and resurrect. To find a vessel capable of withstanding his power, he has been lurking for thousands of years. Once he truly resurrects, the entire Shinobi World will be completely destroyed. Conversely, if we find this Isshiki and feed his remaining half-body to the Ten-Tails, there would be no need to collect the nine Tailed Beasts at all; Kaguya would regain her power and be resurrected."

As Shirozumi finished explaining the story and the method, the cave fell into a dead silence.

Black Zetsu was completely stunned.

Why did it know nothing of these stories?

Oh right, these were events that occurred before its birth; it was normal for it to be unaware.

But how did Shirozumi know?

Was it just through that so-called "archaeology"?

If all of this were true, then what did its thousands of years of effort amount to?

It turned out it never had to be an enemy of the world, nor did it need to scheme to trick people into initiating the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

It could have even used the guise of protecting the world to mobilize the power of the entire Shinobi World to find and deal with that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!

Black Zetsu was bewildered, yet it still held a certain degree of skepticism regarding the truth of Shirozumi's claims.

Compared to Black Zetsu, Pain and Konan trusted Shirozumi completely.

"So that is the origin of the Ten-Tails..."

Pain muttered to himself.

"Is that Otsutsuki whatever-it-is really that strong? Do we really have to go through all this trouble to resurrect some old woman? Can't we just work hard ourselves?"

After regaining his composure, Deidara asked with an awkward expression.

"Almost every member of the Otsutsuki Clan can absorb ninjutsu."

"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki appeared in the future, and at that time, the two strongest people in the entire Shinobi World were kicked around by him like balls. In the end, they could only burn their life force to stall for time, and that was the only way they managed to finish him off."

Shirozumi's single sentence left Deidara speechless.

Everyone can absorb ninjutsu?

Then never mind.

If you can absorb ninjutsu, what are we even supposed to play with?

"The strongest in the future Shinobi World? How do those two compare to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?"

It was Kakuzu who spoke up.

As the person who ranked second in his fondness for bringing up Hashirama Senju, it was only natural for Kakuzu to pose such a question.

(The first, naturally, is Madara Uchiha.)

But upon hearing Kakuzu's question, it was Shirozumi's turn to fall silent.

Shirozumi naturally knew the standard answer to this question in his heart.

It was just that this answer could not be used to reply to Kakuzu.

Kakuzu had fought Hashirama Senju—it wasn't quite the "throwing a shuriken from eight hundred miles away" that netizens joked about, but it wasn't much better either.

Based on the strength Kakuzu had displayed, if Hashirama Senju summoned a Wood Dragon on the spot, Kakuzu would be kneeling in seconds, let alone anything else.

In other words, the Hashirama Senju in Kakuzu's impression likely had a certain gap in strength compared to the real Hashirama Senju.

Hashirama Senju's True Several Thousand Hands was a giant-armed strike reinforced by Sage Mode Chakra, which was pure physical damage.

This meant that Hashirama Senju, as the person closest to the Six Paths, was capable of inflicting damage on those at or above the Six Paths level who could absorb ninjutsu attacks.

In such a scenario, even Naruto and Sasuke, without using their strongest killing moves like Shinra Tensei, would be unable to face a double-digit number of Hashirama Senjus simultaneously.

This kind of leap in power was unimaginable.

It is perfectly normal for a Jonin to kill ten Chunin; after all, the Third Raikage once killed three thousand Iwagakure Ninja single-handedly.

But could he say that to Kakuzu?

In Kakuzu's eyes, Hashirama Senju's strength was likely only a cut above Tobirama Senju's.

If Shirozumi said it that way, Kakuzu would surely conclude that the Otsutsuki Clan wasn't all that impressive, and that they could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

If Kakuzu thought that, and the rest of the Akatsuki Organization followed suit, they would be finished.

"...One of them can instantly suppress all Nine Tailed Beasts."

Shirozumi thought for a moment; that was a better way to make them understand.

At the very least, everyone had witnessed the power of the Tailed Beasts.

Kakuzu hailed from Takigakure, which possessed the Seven-Tails.

"In that case... we truly must change our plans."

Pain, and Nagato who was controlling him, both furrowed their brows.

Their original plan was to collect the Tailed Beasts to deter the Shinobi World and achieve peace.

But now, they learned that the Ten-Tails wasn't even qualified to act as a "deterrent"—they couldn't solve the external threat, nor could they intimidate those within.

"Boring. Your so-called new plan is to pin all our hopes on a woman from the heavens. What if even she cannot hold them back?"

Sasori suddenly spoke up.

"No, I never thought that way."

Shirozumi shook his head. "I know that among you, some don't believe me, and those who do will only feel powerless and desperate..."

"I once asked myself the same thing: suppose there is an iron room without windows, nearly impossible to destroy, filled with people fast asleep who are about to suffocate to death. If I shout loudly and wake a few of the more clear-headed ones, they will have to endure the pain of facing reality and their impending end—is that really for the best?"

"But later, I realized that as long as those few people can wake up, one can never say there is no hope of breaking open that iron room."

"Damn, kid, that was quite philosophical. Do you moonlight as a poet?"

Deidara savored the words for a moment before giving a thumbs-up in praise.

Konan listened to Shirozumi's words and nodded silently.

The speech had indeed bolstered everyone's spirits.

And if Kisame hadn't been absent because of Itachi, he surely would have been deeply moved by these words.

After learning the various truths, he might have even "betrayed" the Masked Man to follow Shirozumi, who possessed the real truth.

"The Otsutsuki are by no means invincible, unbeatable, or unkillable."

"The final straw that led to the complete death of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was actually a very simple jutsu—the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"The Karma that the Otsutsuki Clan uses for reincarnation is, for the sole purpose of resurrection, not even as good as Orochimaru's techniques."

Shirozumi added more fuel to the fire.