To continue evolving without end.
Until finally becoming a god who had comprehended the truth of all things.
That was the true goal of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, and the reason behind their endless pursuit of chakra.
In Kaguya's mind appeared an image of the ultimate form the Ōtsutsuki Clan sought to evolve into.
It was like a colossal god standing within a temple covered in countless eyes. It had comprehended the truths of all things in existence. There was nothing it did not know, nothing it did not understand. It was no longer merely infinitely close to godhood, but had become a true God of Order.
The colossal god's entire body resembled wood, with dense, vein-like branches spreading out from its back.
It had lost all human emotion. It could perceive the emotions of every living thing, yet was incapable of empathy.
At that point, it was difficult to say whether it was truly a god or simply some enormous wooden existence...
But had Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju been able to see the image of that supreme God of Order inside Kaguya's mind, they would certainly have noticed...
That wooden god bore a faint resemblance to Hashirama Senju's Wood Release.
And had they known the "concept" possessed by Six Paths Hashirama after obtaining the Rinnegan, they would also have realized...
The concept behind Six Paths Hashirama's Rinnegan was precisely the ability Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had described. The concept of "devouring" any other concept.
He had even devoured every member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan who later came to Earth, turning all of their abilities into his own power.
That included Ōtsutsuki Obito's ability to travel between parallel worlds. It included Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's ability to manipulate the size of all things, after Six Paths Hashirama dug him out from whatever forgotten corner he had been hiding in. It also included Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki's weapon-manipulation ability, along with the powers of Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and Urashiki Ōtsutsuki...
Even the properties of their Kāma were absorbed by him one after another.
...
Everyone was stunned by Kaguya's description of the "endpoint of evolution."
They could hardly imagine what kind of clan the Ōtsutsuki truly were. A clan capable of roaming the vast universe, freely devouring the life force of other planets to evolve themselves and pursue the truth.
Hamura Ōtsutsuki also remembered how he and his older brother had once asked their mother why she insisted on sacrificing human lives to the God Tree.
At the time, their mother had also mentioned those unknown enemies...
It had been obvious that she deeply feared those members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
But by then, a rift had already formed between his older brother and their mother.
Their mother had no intention of explaining further, while his older brother had no desire to keep asking.
Looking back on it now, however, Hamura found one thing strange.
If their mother was also an Ōtsutsuki, why had she feared them so much?
Logically, shouldn't members of the same clan help one another?
"I've been wanting to ask about that," Naruto said, apparently having thought of the same issue. "Are there a lot of other Ōtsutsuki like Great-Grandpa Six Paths' mom?"
Adult Obito said, "Come to think of it, that other version of me, Ōtsutsuki Obito, also mentioned that he reverted to his Ōtsutsuki ancestry because of a reward from one of those quiz questions. Since Indra, Ashura, and Hamura Ōtsutsuki were already around, I honestly didn't think much about it at the time."
Only after hearing Kaguya's explanation did everyone begin to seriously consider the matter.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan, feared even by Kaguya.
Six Paths Hashirama, who had terrified even Ōtsutsuki Obito.
And Six Paths Madara and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from the main storyline.
Beyond this Ninja World, there were still so many beings powerful enough to leave even them in disbelief.
Naruto remembered the dad and mom he had seen when his seal was undone.
Both of them had displayed characteristics associated with the Ōtsutsuki Clan and the Six Paths. It had all been so strange that even thinking about it made Naruto's thoughts turn into a complete mess.
He still hadn't told Kakashi-sensei or his dad about any of it.
He also remembered that those versions of his dad and mom had said they had sealed the full truth deep within his and the Nine-Tails' subconscious.
[The seal will automatically be released after all mission scrolls have been completed.]
"Don't think about it too much. Just let things take their natural course."
Seeing Naruto grow anxious, Minato Namikaze gently patted him on the head.
"Mm."
Naruto nodded, deciding he would tell his dad and Kakashi-sensei about everything once they finished dealing with Kaguya.
But just then, the mission scroll gave them another mission.
Minato told Naruto to open his mission scroll.
Everyone else immediately crowded around to look.
[Mission Rank: B-rank]
[Mission Details: Delay the growth of the God Tree.]
Mission rank...
B-rank.
The mission reward would probably be a piece of intelligence that was extremely important to them.
"Why not just cut the thing down?"
Madara Uchiha's first reaction was as blunt and straightforward as ever.
For once, however, both Indra and Sasuke agreed with him.
Sasuke Uchiha said, "Something that can affect the future this much would be better destroyed now."
Indra said nothing, but Ashura could tell that his older brother was already ready to act.
Kaguya's brows immediately knitted together when she heard Sasuke. Her beautiful face filled with vigilance.
"I will not allow you to destroy the God Tree."
The atmosphere grew tense.
Madara Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha both frowned as well.
Hamura Ōtsutsuki hurriedly tried to calm his mother down.
"Mother, the mission scroll only asks us to slow the God Tree's growth. Didn't you just say yourself that once the fruit ripens, those people will arrive very soon? You still haven't prepared yourself to face them, have you?"
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was at least willing to listen to her son.
Although the Emperor had disappointed her beyond measure, Aino had not died this time. She had even met her future son, Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
Kaguya had not yet fallen so deeply into despair that she lost all reason and wanted only to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi to reshape the world.
She truly was not yet prepared to fight the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
And an immortal army could not be created overnight either...
"Whether you believe it or not, every mission issued and every reward given by the mission scroll so far has ultimately benefited the development of this parallel world," the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, said. "So there must be a reason why it has assigned us a mission to slow the God Tree's growth."
Kaguya fell silent.
Aino, who was standing beside her, looked toward the white-haired man who seemed far more reliable than their Emperor and asked, "Excuse me, but what exactly is this mission scroll you've all been talking about? And who are you people? Young Master Hamura's friends? His attendants?"
Indra: "..."
Madara Uchiha: "..."
Sasuke Uchiha: "..."
What kind of suffering was this?
When had these three young masters ever served as someone else's attendants?
Hamura Ōtsutsuki didn't know how to explain it either, so he merely gave everyone an apologetic smile.
Tobirama Senju answered Aino, "We are descendants of Rikudō Sennin, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. But that is not important. Let me first answer your question about the mission scroll and its missions..."
Before Tobirama Senju could finish, the looks from Aino and Kaguya startled him into taking half a step backward.
"Wh-what is it? Is there something wrong?"
Aino's eyes widened, shining with delight.
"Are you all Kaguya-sama's great-grandsons? To be able to meet Kaguya-sama's children and grandchildren... Aino is truly, truly honored!"
"..."
Because their hair colors resembled Kaguya's, Tobirama Senju and Kakashi Hatake received especially intense scrutiny.
Under those circumstances, the Second Hokage decisively chose to sell out his teammates.
"I am not. These two are the children of Rikudō Sennin."
Indra and Ashura, whom Tobirama had just pointed at: "..."
How had the conversation ended up like this?
They still hadn't figured out how they were supposed to face their father's mother.
Naruto suddenly smacked one fist into his palm.
"Ah! So that means Indra-nii and Ashura-nii should call her Grandma Kaguya, right?"
"You're only realizing that now?"
Sasuke poked him on the head.
Naruto seriously pondered the issue.
"Then what should Uncle Hashirama, Uncle Madara, Sasuke, and I call her?"
Hashirama's train of thought was immediately dragged along with Naruto's, and he actually began thinking about it.
"Great-grandma? Wait, if that's how it works, then Madara and I are brothers too! Right, Madara?"
Madara Uchiha: "...Uh... I suppose that's technically true."
"Brother, stay away from Hashirama Senju. Nothing good will come of it."
"Izuna..."
Madara Uchiha could only look helplessly at his younger brother.
Minato gave an awkward laugh.
He had long since given up trying to understand Naruto's methods of calculating family relationships.
Kaguya looked at the likable blond boy in front of her, then turned toward Sasuke beside him, followed by Hashirama, Madara, Indra, and Ashura.
After staring at them for quite a while, she realized she was becoming genuinely confused.
Judging by their chakra alone, didn't they all seem like the same person?
That blank, almost adorably confused expression made Hamura Ōtsutsuki, Indra, Ashura, and all their reincarnations freeze for a moment.
This was the first time they had met someone who recognized people by their chakra instead of by their faces.
No wonder Kaguya had instantly accepted the twenty-something Hamura Ōtsutsuki as her son without needing any explanation...
Kaguya reached out with her beautiful, slender fingers and pinched Naruto's chubby little cheeks.
Then she rubbed Sasuke's cool, stern little face.
Still apparently not satisfied, she turned toward Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
The two men froze completely, staring blankly as their great-grandmother casually took liberties with them.
Indra and Ashura failed to escape afterward.
And naturally, neither did her actual son, Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
Only after Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had thoroughly enjoyed fussing over all of her children and descendants did she finally, albeit reluctantly, agree to let them slow the growth of the God Tree.
Then everyone looked at one another.
Each person was silently signaling for someone else to go deal with the God Tree.
Sasuke nudged Adult Obito with his foot.
"Aren't you the future Ten-Tails Jinchūriki? You go."
Oh, now you remember me?
You practically choked before when I tried making you call me Sensei in front of Mikoto-san!
"What does being the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki have to do with controlling the God Tree?! I can't control the God Tree! Besides, I've already turned over a new leaf! I'm definitely not becoming some Ten-Tails Jinchūriki!"
Adult Obito seemed completely used to arguing with this young master by now.
At this point, they simply took turns attacking each other.
Madara Uchiha raised his chin toward Hashirama Senju.
"Aren't you basically the God Tree itself? You should be able to do something."
Hashirama looked at the enormous tree in the distance, then looked down at his own body.
"How about I use the Top Transformed Buddha to communicate with it? Do you think it understands human speech?"
Madara Uchiha snapped, "How would I know whether it understands human speech?!"
Izuna cut in, "If that tree really can understand people, then there's no need for Hashirama Senju. Sending Naruto over would probably work better."
He poked Naruto Uzumaki.
"That kid's gift of gab is about as ridiculous as his luck."
Naruto blinked.
"Huh? I'm really bad with words, dattebayo."
Everyone else: "..."
They had the exact same question.
Was this what it meant to be powerful without even realizing it?
"But seriously, there's no way talking to the God Tree is enough to stop or slow its growth, right?" Sakura whispered as she discussed it with Rin.
Rin thought for a moment.
"Maybe I have something we could try?"