At Ron's mention of the Moon Goddess, Katsuya Sage paused slightly. She was clearly surprised, though not unsettled. After all, such myths were not unheard of in the ninja world.
"To be more precise," Katsuya said calmly, "the so-called Moon Goddess was not a deity of this world. She was an alien called Kaguya Otsutsuki."
Even Raiya, who normally had little interest in ancient history, stiffened in surprise. Tsunade's eyes widened. "An… alien?"
Ron nodded. He had already pieced together much of the truth of this world, which was more complex and different than the Anime. "Yes. She was a lifeform from beyond this world, somewhere in the star-filled void. Definitely not from our solar system. I've already examined the planets around us. This is the only one with stable Natural Energy capable of sustaining life. The others are filled with chaotic or extreme energies far too hostile for life."
Ron knew that most people, especially ninjas, rarely care about anything beyond this planet. They understand the sun and the moon, but not the wider universe. Civilians, particularly scholars, often possess more knowledge about such matters. Even so, at this point in time, just after the Second Ninja World War, the world hasn't yet turned its attention outward. That only happens much later.
Ron lifted his gaze slightly. "The universe is vast. Every star you see in the night sky is a sun, separated by distances impossible to traverse within a single lifetime. A being capable of crossing that void… would naturally possess terrifying power."
Katsuya Sage nodded slowly. "When Kaguya Otsutsuki and her companion arrived on this planet, I was still a young summoning beast. The first thing they did was plant the Divine Tree."
Her tone grew heavier. "It was planted in what is now the Land of Wind. Its purpose is to drain the planet of its Natural Energy. Of its life force."
"But," she continued, "vast amounts of Natural Energy already existed here. Much of it had manifested into deities, and powerful creatures similar to tailed beasts formed from Natural energy among them, each representing aspects of nature itself. These beings were immortal."
"Kaguya and her companion began hunting these beings down. Killing them. But as long as the planet and life existed, Natural Energy would continue to flourish, and so would these beings who were immortal."
Her voice remained calm, yet the weight of history seemed to press down on the room. "So they escalated. They devastated ecosystems. Slaughtered life on a massive scale. Many deities were slain outright multiple times. Others were sealed, abandoned their origins, or were forced into hiding."
"When these deities and Natural Energy life forms died, they should have eventually been reborn. But the planet's Natural Energy had already been weakened by destruction and death. Their origins, their essence were absorbed by the Divine Tree instead, forcibly suppressed with Kaguya and her companion's aid."
"As a result, most deities perished completely. Some fundamental existences like the God of Death never interfered and were intangible even by these beings. Others, such as Susanoo, were injured, escaped, and hid, but even they were forced to abandon the Natural Energy that defined them."
She paused. "Most summoning beasts and human sages who mastered chakra and the power of natural energy tried to resist, because they were killed and hunted. Only a few weak summoning beasts and young ones like myself, the Toad Sage, and the Snake Sage survived by hiding deep beneath the earth. At the time, we were insignificant. We were ignored."
"Over the decades that followed, most unclaimed Natural Energy was absorbed by the Divine Tree. But before it could drain everything…"
"Something changed."
"Kaguya betrayed her companion."
She continued evenly, "She took the harvest, the fruit of the Divine Tree, for herself. That fruit transformed Natural Energy into a chakra essence."
"When Kaguya ate it, she became the owner of most of the energy on this planet, bound to her chakra. She also gained a form of immortality. Even if her body were destroyed, she would be reborn from the origin of the chakra fruit made from the natural energy of this planet itself."
"Later, Kaguya bore children. Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki."
"As she realized her power was tied to this world, she chose not to destroy it outright. Instead, she ruled it as a goddess. The Moon Goddess."
"But even then, the natural cycle was broken. Lifeforms, including humans, were absorbed as nutrients upon death. The planet slowly recovered its Natural Energy, only for Kaguya to harvest it again. After all, life itself is the most fundamental source of Natural Energy."
"The Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo Otsutsuki eventually learned the truth of his mother's actions. Though he inherited her chakra, he also mastered Sage Arts under our guidance, learning to wield Natural Energy directly."
"That was the only way to oppose her."
"Their battle shattered the world. The geography you know today was shaped by that conflict. Chaotic energy ravaged the land, life became scarce, and even the moon was destroyed."
"In the end, Hagoromo and his brother sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki… and created a new moon to imprison her."
"But the Divine Tree, now without a master, went berserk. It became the Ten-Tails."
"Hagoromo sealed it within himself and surpassed it."
"Before his death, he discovered the origins of the countless slain Natural Energy beings and other deities within the Ten-Tails. By trying to separate its power, the surviving essence and cores of those remnants formed nine new creatures, each born from fragments of those ancient origins."
"Thus, the nine-tailed beasts were created."
"Though they are beings of chakra, their roots lie in Natural Energy. Like Kaguya, they are immortal. They cannot truly die, only be sealed, divided, or suppressed."
Silence filled the room.
The weight of the past pressed heavily upon them all.
And for Tsunade, Raiya, they learned about the tailed beasts, which were no longer merely weapons of war but remnants of a young world that had once stood far closer to nature than the present ever dared to be.