As soon as the name Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was uttered, everyone in the Akatsuki Organization except Black Zetsu was plunged into confusion. Everyone was wondering:
—Who is that?
And Black Zetsu was the most bewildered.
—Bro, who are you?
Black Zetsu had been working on the plan to revive Kaguya for over a thousand years and had never truly sought teammates, merely using Indra and his reincarnations. This was because Black Zetsu knew it had endless life but no power. It could afford to wait, but it absolutely could not afford to lose. Because it was its mother's only hope for freedom. Therefore, Black Zetsu would never engage in any form of [gambling]. Just like when Uchiha Madara was killed by Senju Hashirama in the Valley of the End, it immediately chose to give up. It had never thought, let alone done, of passing on its ideology of reviving its mother to anyone; it didn't trust others.
Yet today, someone actually uttered those words. These words were the core of the plan that Black Zetsu had been relentlessly pursuing for over a thousand years.
So, who exactly was this person?
As if hearing Black Zetsu's thoughts, Bai Mo didn't immediately delve into the details of the plan, nor did he introduce Ōtsutsuki Kaguya right away. Instead, he introduced himself first.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the leader of the Hidden Rain Village from twenty years in the future, and also an archaeologist."
"What are you talking about? Twenty years in the future?"
"You can verify with Pain and Konan; I've already proven it to them."
Facing everyone's surprise and doubt, Bai Mo shrugged.
"Indeed, I have confirmed its authenticity. There is no need to doubt this."
Pain spoke calmly. While he said this, to truly confirm authenticity, he should have used the Naraka Path for a lie detector test, or simply used the Human Path to read memories from the start. But Nagato still used the most primitive method of identification and confirmed that Bai Mo was an ally. Perhaps this was why he was chosen by Uchiha Madara and later persuaded by Naruto's Talk no Jutsu. He was somewhat naive. Of course, Bai Mo hadn't really lied to him about anything.
"Alright, now that introductions are done, I hope everyone understands that what I'm about to say is based on future events and archaeological findings. The name Ōtsutsuki Kaguya might be unfamiliar to you all, but what about the name Sage of Six Paths?"
As Bai Mo spoke, several gazes turned towards Pain. More precisely, towards Pain's Rinnegan.
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya is the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, and she was sealed by the Sage and his brother working together."
Bai Mo continued his narration.
"Sealed? Why? Could it be that this Ōtsutsuki Kaguya wanted to destroy the world?"
Deidara asked, stroking his chin.
"Something like that."
Bai Mo nodded.
"Huh? Deidara, how did you know?"
Hidan looked at Deidara in surprise.
"Otherwise, what? Because Mom wouldn't buy him toys, the Sage of Six Paths angrily sealed his mother?"
Deidara rolled his eyes.
"More precisely, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya intended to transform everyone into White Zetsu, beings without self-awareness, to become her soldiers..."
Bai Mo continued.
"Ah? Isn't that a great demon? Why would we revive her?"
Hidan exclaimed in surprise. It's hard to say how he, a worshipper of an evil god, had the nerve to say that.
"Don't rush, let me finish first."
Bai Mo raised a hand, signaling them to calm down.
"According to my archaeological speculation, the Sage of Six Paths likely rushed things just like you, which is why it caused trouble for a thousand years. At this point, anyone with a bit of a brain should be asking—why did she need soldiers? If everyone in the world was transformed into her unconscious soldiers, who would she use these soldiers to fight?"
Bai Mo's words instantly cleared the confusion for everyone: "Oh right, if everyone's gone, what does she need soldiers for?"
"The reason is simple: she created soldiers for her own safety, or rather, to protect this world."
"Ah?"
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's enemies were her own clan, the Ōtsutsuki Clan from outer space. To fight against them, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had to create soldiers. Of course, the strength of these soldiers would only be around that of an ordinary Chūnin, and due to their lack of subjective initiative and ninjutsu use, they might even be worse. But this couldn't be helped. To enlighten you all, Ninjutsu was created by Indra, the son of the Sage of Six Paths. Chakra was brought by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and the Sage only taught ordinary people how to refine it after sealing Kaguya. This means that during Kaguya's era, there were no ninja; everyone was just an ordinary villager. In such a situation, being able to transform these defenseless villagers into Chūnin-level combatants was indeed a boost to combat power."
"So, how should the current ninja world be rationally viewed by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya? Although there are still countless ordinary people, the history of ninja has developed to the point where countless Kage-level and elite Jōnin-level masters have emerged. And then there are you all, truly top-tier ninja, each capable of matching hundreds or thousands of Chūnin. So, in this situation, what's the point of transforming top-tier ninja into blank-slate ordinary Chūnin as combat power?"
As soon as Bai Mo said this, everyone suddenly understood. The logic was indeed sound. Ōtsutsuki Kaguya wasn't an idiot; would she turn an SSR into an R for no reason? Was she sick in the head?
Only Black Zetsu sneered. It had listened for a long time, expecting some profound insight from Bai Mo, but it was just this? Now, it wasn't about whether its mother would turn everyone into White Zetsu after her revival, but rather that for its mother to revive, she must activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, absorb all the chakra in the ninja world, and bring all things back to one!
"So our Akatsuki's goal has now changed to reviving the mother of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Hiss, according to your explanation, this indeed sounds more intimidating than collecting the nine Tailed Beasts. Hmm."
Deidara analyzed, expressing his agreement with Bai Mo.
"The Tailed Beasts are already difficult to control, let alone such an existence. Are you sure that after reviving her, she will really help us?"
Konan frowned deeply.
"Don't worry, according to archaeological records, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya is quite naive and sweet. If you have roughly equal strength to speak with her, and speak nicely, she's easily persuaded."
"...Alright then. So, how does one revive such an existence? It must not be simple, right?"
Konan's mouth twitched. Naive and sweet? Was that a word to describe the progenitor of the ninja world? Konan chose to ignore it. She decided to ask about the specifics first. The word 'revive' was simply too sensitive. After all, Nagato possessed the ability to revive.
"Indeed, it's not simple. There are two ways to revive Kaguya. The first condition for the first method is to collect all nine Tailed Beasts..."
"Isn't that the same as before?"
Hidan interrupted again.
"?!"
Black Zetsu was just thinking about how to trick Bai Mo into becoming another chess piece for its mother's revival when it suddenly froze upon hearing this. Bai Mo... he knew how to revive its mother? But what did he mean by "two ways"? It, Black Zetsu, had lived for over a thousand years and had never discovered a second way!