Chapter 6: Black Zetsu: I Want to Be a Partner of Justice
Hidan shouted after hearing Shiromo's first method.
The others, with a bit of sense, began to have doubts.
Especially Pain and Konan.
One of the ways to revive Kaguya was to collect the Tailed Beasts, exactly the same task Uchiha Madara had given them.
Could it be that Uchiha Madara's ultimate goal all along had been to revive Kaguya?
Before anyone could dwell on that thought, Shiromo spoke again.
"Before we discuss the second plan, let me tell you a little-known story. Otsutsuki Kaguya didn't come here alone. She had a companion."
Shiromo paused, ensuring everyone was paying attention.
"The Otsutsuki clan's goal was to 'plant trees' on countless planets. The key to this process was the self-sacrifice of an Otsutsuki member, meaning being devoured by the Ten-Tails, allowing it to evolve into the Divine Tree and bear fruit. Otsutsuki Kaguya ambushed her companion, Otsutsuki Isshiki, causing the Ten-Tails to devour half of Isshiki's body."
He paused again, gauging the reaction of the room.
"The rest of the story is what I've previously told you before: Kaguya fought the Sage of Six Paths and was ultimately sealed away."
"Isshiki, severely injured, went into hiding in the ninja world, hoping to be resurrected using the Otsutsuki clan's unique method. He lay dormant for over a thousand years, waiting to find a body strong enough to withstand his power. If he was to be resurrected, the entire ninja world would be destroyed. However, if we find Isshiki and feed the remaining half of his body to the Ten-Tails, we wouldn't need to collect the nine Tailed Beasts. Kaguya could regain her power and be resurrected."
After Shiromo finished explaining the story and the plan, the cave fell silent.
Black Zetsu was completely dumbfounded.
Why didn't it know any of this?
Oh right, these events happened before it was born, so it's understandable that it didn't know. But how did Shiromo know all this? Was it really just "archaeology"?
If all of this was true, what had it been working toward all this time?
It could've used the idea of protecting the world to mobilize the entire ninja world to find and deal with Otsutsuki Isshiki. Why had it even bothered with its convoluted plans?
Black Zetsu was confused, but still, it harbored doubts about the truth of Shiromo's words.
Unlike Black Zetsu, Pain and Konan fully trusted Shiromo's story.
"So, that's how the Ten-Tails came to be..." Pain muttered to himself, still trying to process the information.
"Are those Otsutsuki really that powerful? Why do we have to go through all this trouble to revive an old woman? Can't we just work harder ourselves?" Deidara asked, regaining his senses, but awkwardly.
"Almost everyone in the Otsutsuki clan can absorb ninjutsu," Shiromo replied, his tone calm but serious.
"Otsutsuki Isshiki appeared in the future. The two strongest ninjas in the entire ninja world were used as punching bags by him, and in the end, they could only burn their life force to buy time, which eventually eliminated him."
Deidara was left speechless.
"Everyone can absorb ninjutsu?" Hidan asked, confused.
"Then it's none of your business," Shiromo quipped.
"If they can absorb ninjutsu, what are we supposed to do against them?" Deidara asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
"The strongest ninjas in the future? How do those two compare to the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama?" Kakuzu suddenly spoke up.
His question made perfect sense, and everyone turned to listen.
But when Shiromo heard Kakuzu's question, he fell silent.
Shiromo knew the standard answer to this question. However, this answer couldn't be used to reply to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu had fought Senju Hashirama. While some might claim that he only faced Hashirama's shuriken from 800 miles away, the outcome likely wouldn't have been much better.
Based on Kakuzu's demonstrated strength, Hashirama's Wood Dragon technique would've instantly defeated him, let alone anything else.
In other words, the Senju Hashirama that Kakuzu remembers might be significantly weaker from the real one.
Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands technique is a massive arm strike, enhanced with Sage Chakra, a pure physical attack. This means that Senju Hashirama, the strongest under the Six Paths level, could inflict damage on those above the Six Paths level who can absorb ninjutsu attacks.
This kind of power imbalance was unimaginable.
It's normal for a Jonin to kill ten Chunin; even the Third Raikage could kill three thousand Iwa ninja.
But could Kakuzu say that for Senju Hashirama?
In Kakuzu's eyes, Senju Hashirama's strength was probably only slightly stronger than Senju Tobirama's.
If Shiromo told him otherwise, Kakuzu would likely think the Otsutsuki clan's strength was nothing special, and they could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
If Kakuzu thought that way, then the rest of the Akatsuki would likely think the same. They'd all be doomed.
"...One of them can instantly control all nine Tailed Beasts," Shiromo finally said, after a long pause, choosing his words carefully.
This description was easier for everyone to understand.
After all, everyone had witnessed the power of the Tailed Beasts.
Kakuzu, coming from Takigakure, also had the Seven-Tails.
"Then... we definitely need to change our plans," Pain said grimly, his frown deepening. Nagato, who controlled Pain, shared the same concerns.
The original plan had been to collect the Tailed Beasts to intimidate the ninja world and achieve peace. However, now they had learned that the Ten-Tails wasn't meant for intimidation. External threats couldn't be solved, and internal threats couldn't be deterred either.
"Boring," Sasori suddenly spoke up. "Your so-called new plan is simply placing all your hopes on a woman from a different planet. What if she can't withstand it either?"
"No, I've never thought that way," Shiromo replied, shaking his head. "I know some of you either don't believe me, or you feel powerless and hopeless..."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I've asked myself the same question. Imagine there's an iron house, windowless and incredibly hard to destroy, filled with sleeping people on the verge of suffocation. If I were to shout loudly to wake the more alert ones, they would have to face the harsh reality and the pain of impending death. Would that really be good?"
He paused, letting the room absorb his words.
"But then I realized: since these people can wake up, we can't say there's no hope of breaking through the iron house."
"Wow, that's quite philosophical, buddy. Are you a poet?" Deidara remarked thoughtfully, giving a thumbs-up.
Konan nodded silently, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Her expression showed that Shiromo's words had resonated with her. They had given her, and the rest of the Akatsuki, a sense of hope.
If Kisame had been present, he might have been deeply moved by those words. He might have even "betrayed" the masked man and followed Shiromo, who had known the truth of Otsutsuki.
"The Otsutsuki aren't invincible, unbeatable, or unkillable. The final blow that led to Otsutsuki Isshiki's complete demise was a very simple ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone Technique. The Kāma seal used by the Otsutsuki clan for resurrection is even inferior to Orochimaru's technique."
Shiromo added the final piece to his argument, sending a ripple through the group.
(End of this chapter)