"Hey. Tobi, what are you doing?"
White Zetsu called out to Tobi. Although Tobi was also referred to as 'White Zetsu,' he wasn't one of those inferior, defective clones. His intelligence was functional, and he possessed an independent personality different from the main White Zetsu.
Therefore, even Zetsu couldn't fully control him, and they usually interacted in a relatively 'equal' manner.
"I'm watching this Jinchuriki. He doesn't seem that impressive, and he's almost dead anyway..."
Tobi turned his head to glance at Zetsu before narrowing his eyes back toward Killer B, appearing very curious.
Though he had a human form, he lacked even basic knowledge of life, speaking and acting like a child—just like White Zetsu used to.
"That's the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, you know. He was simply worn down too severely by Hidan and others earlier, which is why he's so weak now. Under normal circumstances, there's no way you'd be his match."
White Zetsu said playfully. The mission had gone surprisingly smoothly thanks to Hidan's involvement. That Cursed Attack technique of his, [Death Curse by Blood], was practically impossible to defend against—it was powerful enough to instill total despair in anyone facing it.
"Now that our target can't fight back anymore, let's finish him off completely and prepare to leave."
Black Zetsu looked at Killer B lying over there and uttered these words in a deep tone, clearly marking the conclusion of this mission.
The reason he wanted to leave quickly was that the plan was progressing exactly as expected, yet a growing unease stirred within him—a chilling sense that all his actions were being observed and laid bare, with no way to hide.
So even though he successfully acquired the Eight-Tails this time, he still couldn't feel any joy.
Upon his return, he planned to thoroughly review both future strategies and any past oversights to leave no stone unturned.
The millennia-spanning grand plan was unfolding right now—absolutely nothing could be allowed to jeopardize it.
Therefore, Black Zetsu believed the most important task at hand was identifying the source of his anxiety—perhaps Nagato, perhaps Saitama, or someone else he had overlooked.
And if Nagato and Saitama truly showed signs of breaking free from his control, he wouldn't hesitate either; the methods left behind by him and Madara weren't just for show.
"Alright, Senior!"
Tobi grinned widely while raising one hand directly at the fallen Killer B. Immediately after, Wood Release manifested itself into numerous roots extending rapidly from his arms, tightly wrapping around the unconscious latter.
"Kumogakure has detected the disturbance here. My clones are trying their best to slow down the enemy, but they won't last long. Let's hurry up and get away!"
White Zetsu nodded slightly. Earlier, he had thoroughly checked all nearby 'eyes.' Naturally, Kumogakure sensed something unusual and immediately dispatched a group of ninja heading straight here, where they encountered his clones.
Crack! Thump!
A sharp sound echoed first, followed by the landing of a figure not far from Zetsu—it was Sasori of Red Sand, who had been blasted away earlier by the shockwave.
He hadn't been badly affected by the previous Tailed Beast Ball explosion. Though looking somewhat dusty and disheveled, he'd managed to evade most of the damage.
"I didn't expect you had such a move up your sleeve, Zetsu."
Sasori, who had appeared, stared at Zetsu's yin-yang face and slowly uttered a few words, his eyes narrowing in intense scrutiny.
Although he'd long known that Zetsu could use Wood Release techniques, this was the first time he witnessed the opponent unleashing such an extensive scale of Wood Release ninjutsu. The displayed power was impressive indeed—completely absorbing the follow-up explosion damage from the Tailed Beast Ball without letting it spread outward.
If they'd known beforehand that Zetsu possessed such capabilities, perhaps this mission could've been completed much earlier, without dragging things out until now. It raised an old issue—trust among teammates.
Precisely because of this, a surge of anger was rising inside him, aimed straight at Zetsu.
When he first joined Akatsuki, he felt that Saitama and Zetsu were especially close, forming what seemed like a tight-knit inner circle; while the Leader and Konan—who had pulled him into the Organization—were very intimate, forming another faction.
Yet as mutual understanding deepened, he discovered that Zetsu wasn't merely Saitama's 'sidekick,' but clearly his own man. Beneath that strange face seemed hidden extremely deliberate intentions.
In truth, matters indeed stood that way. Recently, he gradually uncovered some vague relational chains existing within the Organization.
The Leader paid no mind to the mutual suspicions among members, yet Konan appeared quite wary of both Saitama and Zetsu, trusting them less than even himself, Kakuzu, and Hidan combined.
As for Saitama himself, aside from those initial days when he first joined the Organization—and during which he maintained great synergy with Zetsu—in recent years, he'd stopped maintaining such tight contact, even displaying something akin to avoidance.
And Zetsu?
Though appearing as someone who smiled at everyone, nobody could ever discern his true thoughts. He resembled a two-faced man—extremely contradictory and inauthentic.
Moreover, through Sasori's prolonged observation, he noticed that the Black Zetsu actually seemed the dominant entity of Zetsu. While the White Zetsu portion constantly spoke, the final decisions were almost always made by the rarely speaking Black Zetsu.
"Aww, Sasori, don't look at me like that! I didn't want to intervene so late either—you know? Truthfully, I myself wasn't confident enough. Fortunately, I had Tobi's help this time, otherwise resisting a Tailed Beast Ball wouldn't have been within my capabilities."
White Zetsu, noticing Sasori's gaze, immediately understood the reason and hurriedly explained.
His tone remained as playful as ever, making Sasori think this one was easy to underestimate.
"Tobi?"
Sasori shifted his gaze toward the pale figure over there, who had already bound Bee inside a wooden cocoon, slung him over his shoulder, and now emitted idiotic laughter.
He didn't continue pressing further with other questions, only maintaining a profound stare directed at the person whom White Zetsu had referred to as 'Tobi.'
Previously, he had assumed this was merely one of Zetsu's clones, but now he realized that this 'clone' was significantly more lifelike than any he'd seen before. It lacked that dullness typical of ordinary clones, seeming entirely like an independent being.
"Yes, that's Tobi—the assistant I recently acquired."
White Zetsu noticed Sasori's expression soften and quickly added, "Tobi, come meet Master Sasori!"
"Ah! Master Sasori, nice to meet you!"
At White Zetsu's shout, Tobi bounded over with Killer B slung over his shoulder. He moved with incredible agility between the trees and landed nearby, waving at Sasori with his free hand.
"Tobi's a good kid—he's actually a stronger fighter than me, though not just because of his clones."
White Zetsu smiled as he spoke, prompting Tobi to awkwardly scratch his head like an oblivious fool.
"I suppose," Sasori replied coolly. "Though you did show up far too late. Kakuzu and the others…"
With a flick of his wrist, Sasori summoned two puppets that had been damaged in the Tailed Beast Ball explosion. Fortunately, their injuries didn't appear severe.
Since things had already gone this far, Sasori decided not to dwell on it further. If Kakuzu and the rest were dead, it was simply because they were weak. He did feel some regret over Hidan's unusual physiology and Kakuzu's secret to longevity. Under the blast of the Tailed Beast Ball, they seemed to have left nothing behind at all.
Fragile indeed—mortal life never lasts. Only true art endures forever.
As he sealed the puppets into scrolls, Sasori mused silently.
"Sacrifice is part of the game. At least we got the job done, right?"
White Zetsu shrugged. Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to interfere earlier, but judging from the situation back then, if neither he nor Tobi had stepped in, Sasori and his team would certainly have perished.
Even if Sasori had survived, he'd likely be gravely wounded instead of standing calmly here casting cold looks.
"If none of you had come to pull me out, I probably would've died here too!"
Just then, a hand suddenly burst from the ground not far away. Soon after, many black threads emerged from below, gripping the surface as if trying to drag something out.
Perhaps due to Kakuzu's critical injuries, Earth Grudge Fear appeared unusually weak. It managed only to crack open part of the surface, revealing half of Kakuzu's head without successfully pulling his body free.
"I thought all of you had died," Sasori said, instantly noticing the voice behind him and feeling slightly surprised when realizing it was Kakuzu.
He hadn't sensed either Kakuzu or Hidan before, so he'd assumed both were destroyed by the Tailed Beast Ball, given how close they were to its epicenter. It was difficult to imagine anyone surviving that level of destruction.
"If you hadn't said that just now, perhaps we might've gone on sharing tea for a while longer."
Using chakra threads, Sasori grabbed Kakuzu's arm and slowly pulled him upward, listening with mild amusement to what the latter had to say.
"Seniors, is this Senior Hidan's ring?"
Suddenly, Tobi stomped the ground a few times with his foot, kicking something up from below.
It was a large ring marked with the character "Three" and adorned with a sizable gemstone. The design was identical to the rings held by the others. "Santai" (Third Seat), after all, was Hidan's codename.
This ring, symbolizing membership within the Akatsuki Organization, had been perfectly preserved despite the earlier explosion. This made Kakuzu and the others completely abandon any hope that Hidan might have survived.
"It seems Hidan truly has gone to meet his Lord Jashin," White Zetsu said somberly while picking up the ring. Black Zetsu remained silent, his single eye expressionless.
Hidan and his revered Jashin were still uniquely significant in his long existence. Now that the larger plan had mostly fallen into place, Hidan's usefulness had diminished significantly. Dying now wouldn't affect the subsequent phases.
"What about you, Kakuzu?"
Sasori asked, grabbing Kakuzu's shoulder for support. He realized Kakuzu's condition was much worse than he had imagined.
"Just surviving was good enough. Given enough time, I can recover everything else!"
Kakuzu wore a darkened expression. At the moment the Tailed Beast Ball had exploded, he had continuously unleashed ninjutsu defenses, finally resorting to using one of his hearts to perform a kinjutsu—an underground evasion technique—that saved his life at the cost of that heart. Without that heart, there was no way he could've made it out alive from that close.
As he stood staring into the crater left by the explosion, a flicker of fear flashed across his eyes—unconcealed and undeniable.
Before such an attack, he could do nothing but feel helpless. Clearly, this level of strength was beyond what ordinary ninja could achieve. Only the ancient so-called "Ninja God" ever made him feel such pressure.
"Now that things have turned out like this, let's retreat first. Reinforcements are on their way, my clones have already been eliminated. Tobi, you hold off those Kumo ninjas while we withdraw."
White Zetsu reached out to accept Killer B from Tobi before speaking to him.
Tobi's ability to restrain enemies was extremely useful. His large-scale Wood Release techniques could instantly scatter enemy formations.
"No problem!"
Tobi exclaimed enthusiastically. Ever since his consciousness awakened, he'd lived in darkness underground. Only recently had he gained the opportunity to act above ground, so he was eager to take on assignments like this.
"Just be careful. I don't want you dying just yet—we still need you!"
White Zetsu added lastly, watching the eager Tobi. Tobi indeed was somewhat unusual among the Zetsu clones; even Black Zetsu acknowledged him as possessing uniqueness rivaling that of White Zetsu himself.
Without responding, Tobi hopped away, vanishing swiftly.
"Let's go. This mission is over."
Sasori supported Kakuzu as they moved forward, though due to their height difference the sight looked somewhat awkward.
"Yeah," Kakuzu muttered, casting a brief glance toward the smirking Zetsu before slightly nodding toward Sasori. Though clearly unhappy with Zetu, he chose not to speak openly—at least not now.
Unbothered by Kakuzu's gaze, White Zetsu manipulated the wooden cocoon encasing Killer B and gradually sank beneath the surface.
[Eight-Tails (Hachibi) Capture: Completed!]
...
Whoosh!
Minato Namikaze materialized inside Konoha Village, then adjusted his direction and vanished once more.
At this moment, the entire Konoha had drastically changed. Fires raged in many places—it looked exactly like an invasion was underway.
Minato quickly noticed that despite the chaos, the village was still holding its order. Lower-ranked ninjas were evacuating civilians, while high-level Jonin dashed across rooftops, guarding positions and fighting off attackers.
*Whoosh!*
He reappeared—this time inside a house.
"Who's there!?"
Almost as soon as he arrived, numerous black-clad shadows flashed around him, surrounding him tightly.
"Teacher!"
Obito Uchiha smiled, while the Anbu guards nearby recognized their Hokage and lowered their weapons accordingly. They slowly faded back into the shadows.
"Obito, how is the situation here?"
Minato swept his gaze around the room. Although he didn't recognize anyone present, he sensed a familiar chakra signature resting in the bedroom nearby, which eased his expression.
"The Akatsuki launched a large-scale invasion, but we were already prepared, so this place isn't in danger yet. Kushina-sama and little Naruto are resting in the bedroom because they got tired."
Obito met Minato's gaze. The three spinning Tomoe in his Sharingan slowly stilled as he gave a quick summary of what had taken place.
"I see. That's good to know."
Minato nodded. Things in Konoha didn't seem too bad after all.
"Hmm? This chakra..."
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