So that's how it was!
After listening to Katsuyu's words, he finally had a vague outline of what this planet looked like before the two Ōtsutsuki arrived.
Regardless of whether it was true or not, it at least made sense.
Especially when comparing the fragments of information from the anime he had watched in his previous life with the prehistoric 'truth' Katsuyu was telling him now, there didn't seem to be any logical flaws.
Based on this point alone, Katsuyu's credibility in his mind instantly rose a little.
After all...
It didn't know he was a transmigrator, nor did it know he had seen the original work in his past life. How could it just make up a story that happened to align so well with the information he already knew?
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Slug Sage, where do you stand?"
"If Mount Myōboku stands with Hagoromo and Ryūchi Cave is in the neutral camp, then where does Shikkotsu Forest stand?"
"Since you inherited the mantle of the gods and experts of the Old Era, have you never thought about passing that mantle on?"
Uchiha Jin spoke in a low, meaningful tone.
This was the thing he wanted to clarify most right now; he had to figure out which camp Katsuyu belonged to.
Firstly.
His own actions, especially 'unifying the Ninja World', definitely put him on the opposite side of Hagoromo.
Although he hadn't met the Six Paths Sage, he knew that despite how kind the man appeared, he essentially treated the Ninja World as his own personal nursery.
Ashura and Indra were merely pawns in his hands!
Using the banner of Ninshu as bait, he watched his two children slaughter each other, and finally, under the bullshit pretense of 'love', he openly chose to side with Ashura, ultimately infuriating Indra into swearing a poisonous oath...
That for all eternity, he would remain Ashura's enemy!
So...
Was Otsutsuki Hagoromo really that stupid?
Heh!
A man who could seal Kaguya, take control of the planet, establish Ninshu, and become the Master of the Pure Land—if anyone truly took Hagoromo for a fool, it only proved who the real fool was.
To put it bluntly...
It was nothing more than using the ideological struggle between Ashura and Indra to manipulate the entire Ninja World into joining two separate camps, then having them slaughter each other for eternity to accumulate as many powerful souls as possible to prepare for the arrival of subsequent new Ōtsutsuki.
When the new Ōtsutsuki arrived, it would be best if his sons' reincarnations could handle it; if they couldn't, he would harvest all the experts' Chakra and step in personally to deal with the descending Ōtsutsuki.
However, this plan seemed to run into a bit of trouble during Senju Hashirama's generation.
The reconciliation between the Senju and Uchiha caused his plan to fail.
Immediately following that.
Black Zetsu coincidentally appeared again and successfully fooled Uchiha Madara.
Heh, a coincidence?
Black Zetsu had been hidden in the Ninja World for thousands of years and couldn't trick Indra's reincarnations countless times, yet right after the Senju and Uchiha reconciled, he very coincidentally fooled Uchiha Madara and even managed to manifest the Rinnegan?
If Hagoromo didn't have a hand in that, Uchiha Jin certainly wasn't going to believe it.
And what happened next?
Senju Hashirama, who was in his prime, died just a few days after his battle with Uchiha Madara.
Ashura and Indra, the two pawns, were reset.
And Konoha, having lost Senju Hashirama, saw its strength return to a state of parity with the Other Ninja Villages.
Add to that the interference and provocation from the Daimyos Mansion, and the Ninjas fell into slaughter once again, leading to the succession of the three Great Ninja Wars.
The slaughter in the Ninja World might look chaotic, but in reality, they were all Hagoromo's pawns.
Because only through slaughter can experts be mass-produced; this logic was essentially no different from raising Gu.
And now?
His upcoming 'unify the Ninja World' operation would definitely smash Hagoromo's Gu-raising nursery, so he was definitely standing on the opposite side of Hagoromo.
Among the Three Great Sage Regions, Mount Myōboku stood with Hagoromo, so they were naturally his enemies.
Ryūchi Cave would likely remain neutral and watch the show; after all, they were hidden in a subspace, and unless the White Snake Sage allowed it, Hagoromo would never find the location of Ryūchi Cave.
So—what about Shikkotsu Forest?
Uchiha Jin was now very curious: which camp would this slug choose?
On the other side.
In response to Uchiha Jin's inquiry, Katsuyu's tone remained gentle.
"Jin-sama, you can rest assured."
"I will not take any side; at most, I am a recorder of history."
"I am not human, and I do not care about the Ninja World."
"Because I was born in Shikkotsu Forest, I cannot refine Chakra. So even if I wanted to, I could not join the Ōtsutsuki camp."
"Even if the Ninja World is truly occupied by new Ōtsutsuki and the God Tree sucks the entire planet dry, it actually has nothing to do with me."
"After all, Shikkotsu Forest is in a subspace. Without exact coordinates, the Ōtsutsuki cannot find it."
"I am simply too bored in Shikkotsu Forest, so I occasionally contract with a few humans to get a breath of fresh air in the Ninja World through their perspective."
"As for the inheritance of the Old Era, it actually has no meaning anymore."
"With the death of the Old Era gods and experts, the moment humans were not moved into Mount Myōboku in advance, they had effectively lost the qualification to learn and inherit."
"As the God Tree took root on this planet, the cells and genes within humans changed. From the moment they could refine Chakra, they were destined to be rejected by the techniques of the Old Era."
"The fact that you can stand on the soil of Shikkotsu Forest today is partly because I am suppressing the Chakra aura for you two, and partly because both of you are very powerful."
"If it were anyone else, even Lady Tsunade, even if I helped her mask her Chakra aura, she would feel severe chest tightness, shortness of breath, and palpitations staying here."
"Humans who have practiced Chakra can stay at Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, but it simply won't work here in Shikkotsu Forest."
"So, there is no way!"
"The inheritances of Shikkotsu Forest are destined never to find a successor."
"Because the humans of today's Ninja World have been completely remodeled by the God Tree. Even ordinary humans who haven't refined Chakra are essentially a different species from the humans of the Old Era; they just happen to look similar."
As Katsuyu explained everything in detail, Uchiha Jin understood instantly.
Katsuyu wouldn't meddle in the mess of the Ninja World.
It was just a lurker watching the show. It didn't matter if it was the gods and experts of the Old Era, the current Ōtsutsuki and Hagoromo camps, or his own side.
It had no friendship with anyone, and it didn't care who won or lost.
Holy crap!
Having figured this out, Uchiha Jin's eyes were filled with deep envy.
He really wanted to switch places with Katsuyu; he also wanted to hide behind the scenes as a lurker!
But, forget it.
To activate his Golden Finger, the Small Tower, he had to collect enough Providence, and unifying the Ninja World was something he absolutely had to do.
Therefore.
After a brief pause, he spoke with a solemn tone.
"So that's how it is. Thank you for clarifying, Slug Sage."
"I want to know, do you have contact with Gamamaru or the White Snake Sage?"
"Especially Mount Myōboku!"
"Have they contacted Hagoromo recently, and are they preparing to cause trouble for Konoha soon?"