Chapter 161: The Swirling-Faced White Zetsu!
"Wood Style! It has to be the legendary Wood Style!" After using a Water Clone to deceive Obito and Zetsu, Juzo Biwa didn't linger. He chose to turn and flee immediately.
A look of horror flashed in his eyes. The ability to control plants what else could that be but Wood Style?
This was the power of the legendary "God of Shinobi." An Akatsuki member had managed to get their hands on this power?
Juzo's mind raced, connecting the dots. Uchiha Obito was impersonating Uchiha Madara.
So, could that Venus flytrap-like creature be impersonating Hashirama Senju?
One a Sharingan user, the other a master of Wood Style they were a perfect mirror of the two legendary figures from the shinobi world's past.
"Hm?!"
Suddenly, Juzo's pupils contracted. He ducked low, rolling several times on the ground without a care for his appearance.
A white figure shot over his head, its sharp, white limbs narrowly missing his skin.
"Ah, you're quick! If you're that quick, do you poop quickly too? Speaking of which, why can't I ever poop? It's so frustrating!"
As those bizarre words rang out, Juzo caught a clear glimpse of the white figure.
"What is that...?"
"What kind of creature is that!?"
Juzo was stunned as he stared at the humanoid white figure. It looked vaguely like a person, but its body was unnaturally pale, as if molded from plaster.
And its featureless face was even more unsettling. He could vaguely make out a strange spiral pattern on its face, with the empty center of the spiral gathering around its right eye.
Juzo knew instantly that this was no human!
"Lord Madara wants me to kill you, you know! Will you be so scared you lose control of your bowels before you die?"
The strange, spiral-faced creature suddenly clapped its hands together.
With a "Pah!", a massive wooden golem erupted from behind it, appearing right before Juzo's shocked eyes!
The twenty-meter-tall golem wore an enraged expression, and one of its fists, clenched tight, came flying toward Juzo with a fierce roar!
"Wood Style again!!!"
Juzo was completely dumbfounded. Was the legendary Wood Style bloodline limit being sold in bulk in the shinobi world now?
Why did everyone seem to have it?!
"Damn it!" He hastily leaped to the side as the wooden golem's colossal fist swept past him, smashing into the ground with a thunderous crash.
BOOM!!!
A quick glance from the corner of his eye at the massive crater where he had just been standing made Juzo's eyelids twitch. He gritted his teeth and began to weave hand signs at blinding speed.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!!!"
Juzo exhaled a plume of mist from his mouth, causing the already dark environment to fill with a thick, swirling fog, concealing his body within its layers.
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!!!"
He quickly wove more hand signs. Two streams of water, now transformed into sharp fangs, shot forward like drills toward the spiral-faced White Zetsu.
"Heh, not bad..." The massive wooden golem behind the spiral-faced White Zetsu raised its hands to shield it. The two water streams slammed heavily into the back of the golem's hands, carving out two deep indentations and causing a network of cracks to appear.
But in less than a second...
The countless cracks were sealed back up with chakra, and the indentations left by the water streams were filled in, good as new.
Just as the spiral-faced White Zetsu was about to launch another attack...
It suddenly froze.
"He ran?"
Juzo had no intention of getting tangled up in a fight. He knew there were two more pursuers right behind him. Lingering for even a second longer would put him at a three-on-one disadvantage.
Both the Hidden Mist Jutsu and Water Fang Bullet were merely meant to stall the strange spiral-faced creature. Even his stance, which seemed to signal a fight to the death, was nothing but a feint.
And just as he'd expected, less than two seconds after he made his escape...
Obito and Zetsu arrived.
"Where is he?" Obito demanded, his voice tight, as he confronted the spiral-faced White Zetsu.
"Ah! He's a bit sneaky," the spiral-faced White Zetsu scratched its head awkwardly. "I thought he was going to fight me to the death, and I was all ready to see if he'd lose control of his bowels before he died, but who knew he'd just use two jutsu to distract me and then run off?"
"THEN! WHY! AREN'T! YOU! CHASING!"
Obito felt like he was about to pass out from sheer anger.
"What is... that?" Several kilometers outside the village, Neji was staring, wide-eyed, at the massive wooden golem in the distance.
The twenty-meter-tall golem stood out conspicuously, even within the dense forest outside Konoha.
It was several meters taller than the surrounding trees.
In the moonlight, its large head was particularly noticeable.
"That's the First Hokage's Wood Style jutsu," a deep, solemn voice suddenly spoke from behind Neji. "If I'm not mistaken, it's the legendary Wood Golem Jutsu. It's just a lot smaller than the one recorded for the First Hokage. I'd say it's only about twenty-three to twenty-four meters tall."
"Who?!"
Neji was so startled that he spun around instantly, pulling the kunai from his hip. His young face was etched with horror.
Someone had been following him the entire time without him noticing. He only became aware of their presence when they spoke.
Didn't that mean if this person had wanted to kill him, he could have been dead fifteen minutes ago?
Cold sweat beaded on Neji's forehead.
"Who?" Jiraiya, who had appeared behind Neji without a sound, immediately grinned and struck a pose. "Why, it's none other than the one and only Konoha Sannin, Jiraiya the Great Sage, unrivaled in all the shinobi world!"
"Dum-dum-dum!" Jiraiya even provided his own theme music for his grand entrance.
Neji: "..."
"Little Jiraiya, that kid is looking at you like you're an idiot," Sage Shima said.
Neji's gaze immediately shifted to Jiraiya's left shoulder, where he saw a talking green toad.
Then, Sage Fukasaku spoke. "Boy, you can't go any farther. If Little Jiraiya hadn't stopped you, you would have gotten yourself killed."
Neji's eyes widened. He suddenly realized something. "You've been following me from the start? The Konoha patrol ninjas didn't find me sneaking out of the village because you were interfering?"
"He's a sharp one."
Sage Fukasaku sighed in appreciation, then admitted honestly, "Yes, I used a genjutsu on those patrol ninjas. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made it two hundred meters before they caught you."
Neji gripped his kunai tighter. Even knowing that the person before him was likely a Konoha ninja, and probably an important figure in the village, he didn't let his guard down.
He gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"
"To observe you," Sage Shima explained. "My husband and I, along with Little Jiraiya, mean you no harm. We just wanted to see if you were the person we're looking for, nothing more."
Neji was skeptical.
"Ahem!" Seeing that his dramatic pose hadn't impressed the boy, Jiraiya straightened up, his demeanor becoming serious. "No matter what you think of me, you can't go any farther. Your life is in danger up ahead."
"The little boy should return to the village immediately and find the old man... I mean, find the Third Hokage, and tell him what happened. Because from here on out, it's the adults' turn."
"Sage Shima, please keep an eye on him," Jiraiya said to Sage Shima.
"Little Jiraiya, are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Sage Shima asked with concern.
Sage Fukasaku spoke up. "Don't worry, I'll be with Little Jiraiya."
"Alright then," Sage Shima said. "Husband, if your old bones run into something you can't handle, don't push yourself too hard."
With that, Sage Shima hopped onto Neji's shoulder without waiting for his consent. When Neji instinctively tried to swat it away in surprise, it spoke directly. "Youngster, you should show a little respect for an old person who's been around for over eight hundred years."
Neji froze.
Jiraiya had already moved past Neji and was now sprinting toward the wooden golem.
For Jiraiya, finding the Child of Prophecy was important, but an unknown threat that could potentially endanger Konoha...
...was just as important!
"Huff, huff..." Juzo Biwa was panting. He had given his all to flee as fast as possible. If he just had a little more time, he could reach Konoha village.
However...
The speed of his three pursuers was far beyond his imagination. Before he could even catch his breath, he felt a wave of intense heat rushing toward his back!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!!"
A giant fireball soared toward Juzo, forcing him to rapidly weave hand signs, turn around, and exhale.
"Water Style: Raging Wave!!!"
A torrent of water spewed from Juzo's mouth, colliding violently with the fireball. The clash of the two opposing chakra natures even caused an explosion, and the shockwave sent Juzo flying backward.
"You run so fast for someone with so much poop in your belly! If you just pooped it all out and lightened your load, would you run even faster?"
The absurdly goofy voice made Juzo's pupils contract the spiral-faced guy had caught up!
He caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the white figure's arm, which had transformed into a sharp wooden spike.
The spike was hurtling toward him with a speed that Juzo knew he couldn't dodge. He could only try to avoid the vital parts of his body to prevent a fatal blow.
"Meow, how lively!" Just then, a voice even stranger than the spiral-faced White Zetsu's suddenly rang out. "On such a lively night, can't you save a spot for me?!"
The words made everyone present freeze for a moment.
Juzo seized the opportunity, performing a desperate somersault to narrowly avoid the spiral-faced White Zetsu's attack. He quickly put some distance between them, his face beaded with cold sweat as he prepared for a fight.
"Someone's here?" Obito frowned and followed the sound. What he saw made him freeze. The voice wasn't coming from a person, but a cat.
A very fat ninja cat!
It was crouching on a tree branch, which was bent low under its weight, a testament to just how fat it was.
"That orange cat..."
Juzo's body stiffened. He instantly recognized the feline. "That's the cat Uchiha Ikeizumi owns, the one that dared to sass Jiraiya!"
"Lord Madara." At that moment, the black-and-white Zetsu also arrived. It narrowed its eyes and said to Obito, "That ninja cat is Uchiha Ikeizumi's summoning animal. That means Uchiha Ikeizumi is nearby, and he might have been watching this whole time."
Obito reacted, his brow furrowed. "He's using Juzo Biwa as bait to lure us in?! He knew we were going after Juzo?!"
"He probably guessed our intentions," Zetsu said coolly. "Remember when you met him a while back? You said he was looking at you with a killing intent. It seems he truly wants to kill you. As for why, who knows. Perhaps it's for his so-called 'Absolute Justice.'"
As it spoke, Zetsu suddenly felt... that perhaps the Uchiha Madara of the past should have made Uchiha Ikeizumi his successor.
And not this Uchiha Obito, who was prone to acting on a whim, impulsively, and causing all sorts of trouble.
"Lord Madara, we should retreat," Zetsu advised.
"Why?" Obito retorted coldly.
Zetsu explained, "If he knew we were coming, he's definitely prepared to keep us here. We weren't prepared to face him. We were here for his subordinate. This means we're at a disadvantage."
Just as Obito was about to argue, the faint sound of footsteps reached his ears, immediately putting him on high alert.
As everyone looked toward the sound, a figure wielding a ninja blade came into their sight.
"Uchiha..."
"Ikeizumi!!!"
Obito's face was grim. He spat out the name through gritted teeth, one syllable at a time. For this person who knew so many of his secrets, he had no affection, only killing intent.
"So that's Uchiha Ikeizumi!" The goofy spiral-faced White Zetsu was now standing beside Obito. It eyed Uchiha Ikeizumi, muttering as it stroked its chin. "Lord Madara, he's a lot better looking than you! Speaking of which, it takes Lord Madara over twenty minutes to take a dump, and since he's also an Uchiha, how long do you think it takes him?"
It was actually counting with its ten fingers.
This question seemed to be of utmost importance to it, and it didn't notice that Obito's face, hidden by his mask, had completely darkened.
Zetsu was also staring intently at Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Did this Uchiha brat, who knew so many secrets, also know his secret as "Black Zetsu"? And did he know anything about the Sage of Six Paths or his Mother, Kaguya?
"Uchiha Obito." At that moment, Uchiha Ikeizumi's cold voice slowly rang out. "It's been a while. Every time I see a beast like you, it's hard to suppress my killing intent."
With that, Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at the other two strange-looking individuals.
"Finding one beast and getting two more for free is this a lucky day for Absolute Justice?"
Zetsu and "Tobi" showed no reaction, but a vein bulged on Obito's forehead.
Obito had faced plenty of vile enemies, but none of them had ever called him a "beast." Only Uchiha Ikeizumi would use such a foul word against him!
"A lucky day, huh..."
Despite knowing that the other person might already know his true identity, Obito spoke with a raspy voice. "Youngster of the Uchiha clan, is it possible that today isn't your lucky day? Today is the day you die. I think those who believe in justice will miss you dearly in the future."
Zetsu, beside him, froze. It immediately realized that Obito wasn't willing to retreat. It looked at Obito. "Lord Madara..."
"Shut up."
Obito glared at it. "I have my own considerations."
Zetsu: "..."
............
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