Hiruzen persuaded me to die

After thinking about it, Hyuga Naraku decided to ask the Katsuyu fairy directly.

"People who have been caught by the Infinite Tsukuyomi will evolve over a long period of time and become strange creatures called White Zetsu."

"What I said earlier about being related to natural energy refers to White Zetsu."

The surprised voice of the slug echoed:

"White Zetsu?"

It too knew of this unique life form.

"When the Sage of Six Paths traveled through the Ninja World, I was still in the Shikkotsu Forest."

"I had a little exchange with him back then."

Slugs usually don't leave the Shikkotsu Forest actively.

Most of the time, they gather information through their summoners.

"Logically, after the Sage of Six Paths and his brother sealed Kaguya, they should have wiped out all the White Zetsu."

"Does White Zetsu still exist in the Ninja World now?"

Hyuga Naraku nodded and said:

"I've encountered them twice before."

"One was the scroll-using White Zetsu, Tobi."

"The other was a body of White Zetsu wrapped by Black Zetsu."

Where did these White Zetsu come from?

According to the commonly told version...

Black Zetsu claimed White Zetsu were the result of people who had been trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and gradually transformed over time.

But to Uchiha Madara, White Zetsu were cultivated using Hashirama cells and the Gedo Statue.

So which version is true?

"Maybe both are," Hyuga Naraku thought to himself.

Based on what Katsuyu said…

If White Zetsu had been left behind, the two Sage brothers would surely have eradicated them.

There was no merit in letting such war weapons remain.

However, Uchiha Madara personally saw White Zetsu being cultivated.

"Perhaps part of the White Zetsu from back then was sealed inside the Gedo Statue."

"And it was Uchiha Madara who activated them using Hashirama's cells!"

That could make sense.

Senju Hashirama's Wood Style originates from the Sacred Tree!

Injecting Hashirama cells into the Ten Tails—the Gedo Statue—could cause mutation!

White Zetsu, lying dormant inside the Gedo Statue, were 'awakened'!

To Uchiha Madara, it would've seemed like he had created them.

Just like with Black Zetsu.

Uchiha Madara believed he created the black substance.

Naturally, he trusted his own creation.

It's honestly tragic.

Hyuga Naraku gave Uchiha Madara a moment of silent respect.

By the time he created Black Zetsu, Madara was already in his nineties.

Black Zetsu truly is not human.

Teaming up with Tobi to deceive a ninety-six-year-old man?

"I still need confirmation," Hyuga Naraku thought to himself.

What he had now were just theories.

To verify the truth of White Zetsu's existence, he needed to investigate the one that appeared after mastering Sage Mode.

"White Zetsu still exists in the current Ninja World?!"

Tsunade finally reacted.

White Zetsu, according to Katsuyu and Hyuga Naraku, were people turned into monsters after being caught in Infinite Tsukuyomi!

Thinking about it, Tsunade shuddered.

To be slowly transformed into a strange, ghost-like creature after falling into an illusion—that was horrifying!

"Could it be that someone has recently cast Infinite Tsukuyomi again?"

Tsunade asked anxiously.

Hyuga Naraku almost rolled his eyes.

"Do you think Infinite Tsukuyomi is that easy to cast?"

"Kaguya, who originally cast it, was known as the progenitor of chakra!"

If it were so easy to cast, what did Black Zetsu spend the last thousand years doing?

He spent a millennium just trying to give Uchiha Madara a pair of Rinnegan!

"To activate Infinite Tsukuyomi that covers the entire Ninja World, you need to reflect the illusion off a celestial body, letting the light of the technique shine across the world!"

Tsunade looked a little stunned.

"Reflected off a celestial body?"

"A celestial body?!"

Instinctively, Tsunade found it hard to believe.

But upon thinking about it—

An illusion cast on a global scale might actually require something as enormous as a celestial reflection.

"How do you know all of this?" Tsunade asked, eyeing Hyuga Naraku like he was some kind of anomaly.

Katsuyu was over a thousand years old, so it made sense for her.

But what about him?

"After my Byakugan evolved, I gained new abilities and inherited a lot of information."

Hyuga Naraku touched his eyes, lying without hesitation.

Surprisingly, Tsunade nodded in belief.

"So the evolution of the Byakugan came with ancestral memory… I suppose that's possible."

Katsuyu also nodded seriously.

"Kaguya originally only had the Byakugan."

"The Sage of Six Paths' younger brother, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, also had Byakugan."

"Perhaps Lord Naraku's eyes have inherited information from Ōtsutsuki Hamura."

"What?" Tsunade's jaw nearly dropped.

Kaguya and her younger brother both had Byakugan?

"Then... does that mean the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan dates all the way back to them?"

Tsunade was speechless.

"Lady Tsunade, the Senju and Uchiha clans you belong to are also descended from the Sage of Six Paths."

Katsuyu added cheerfully.

It was rare for her to talk this much, usually being alone in the Shikkotsu Forest.

"The Sage of Six Paths had two sons: the elder one was Indra, and the younger one was Asura."

"They are the ancestors of the Uchiha and Senju clans, respectively."

Tsunade: "?"

Are you serious?

Senju and Uchiha… were not only from the same family but actual brothers?!

"Why didn't you ever tell me this before, Katsuyu?"

Tsunade looked dazed.

This revelation was more shocking than Kaguya or Infinite Tsukuyomi.

"You never asked me," Katsuyu replied plainly.

Tsunade: "..."

If she never imagined such a thing could exist, how could she have possibly asked?

Just then, Hyuga Naraku had a strange idea.

Hyuga clan descends from Ōtsutsuki Hamura, which makes it the uncle's line.

Senju and Uchiha come from Asura and Indra, the nephews.

In that case, doesn't the Hyuga clan technically have seniority?

He shook his head, dismissing the silly thought.

"Katsuyu, I have another question."

Hyuga Naraku asked seriously:

"How did the two Sage brothers come into existence?"

This point had always confused him—since the manga and anime versions gave conflicting answers.

Katsuyu's tentacles gently tapped as she answered:

"According to the records of that time, after Kaguya brought peace to the world, she received the blessings of the people and then gave birth to two children."

Hyuga Naraku: "..."

That sounds ridiculous.

"According to that version, were they created through Yin-Yang Release?"

He asked with a straight face.

"I would guess so."

Katsuyu answered softly.

With Kaguya's power, creating two humans from scratch wouldn't be a challenge.

Hyuga Naraku nodded.

That explanation made more sense.

After all, before eating the Chakra fruit, Kaguya had already lived for an unknown amount of time.

From her first arrival to plant the sacred tree, to her second descent when the fruit was ripe—there was likely a large time gap.

With that much experience and power, it was hard to believe she would fall for a suitor from the Ōtsutsuki homeland.

Kaguya was the type to sacrifice the entire Ninja World to make White Zetsu weapons.

Moreover, judging from the Sage brothers' power, the Yin-Yang Release theory tracks better.

Because if we go by the anime…

Kaguya was already pregnant and then ate the Chakra fruit only after being hunted by her clan.

So here's the issue:

If that version is correct, how could the Sage of Six Paths awaken Rinnegan?

According to that version, when Kaguya was pregnant, she only had the Byakugan!

Could it be the fruit she ate while pregnant infused the fetus with Rinnegan potential?

That's a stretch!

All things considered, Yin-Yang Release seems like a more reasonable origin story.