Chapter 198: Envy — White Zetsu
Within a single day, Matsushita Taichi had ranged back and forth across more than a hundred kilometers, sweeping the battlefield several times. Yet, perhaps his luck had run dry—his gains were minimal.
Sometimes, by the time he arrived, the enemy had already withdrawn. Other times, Konoha squads had beaten him to the fight.
By dusk, he gave up on chasing skirmishes altogether. Changing direction, he headed straight south—toward the Land of Wind.
At around seven in the evening, Taichi casually picked a large tree, buried a Flying Thunder God kunai at its roots, and vanished in a flash.
When he reappeared, he was already inside his tent at the Konoha camp.
Laughter and playful chatter filled the air. Looking over, he saw Yōhei and Kakashi's group. Clearly, they had returned safely from their mission—otherwise they wouldn't be in such high spirits.
"Taichi… what's going on?"
Yōhei was the first to notice something off. Just moments ago, he'd seen Taichi busy in the medical camp. Why would he suddenly use the Flying Thunder God to return?
Then Yōhei took a closer look.
Dust-covered clothes. Bloodstains. No white medical coat.
His eyes sharpened.
"This is your real body… The one at the medical camp is a shadow clone, right? You went out on a mission?"
Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.
As expected of Yōhei—sharp as ever. From just a few details, he'd pieced everything together.
Taichi gave him a thumbs-up with a grin. "Impressive. You got it exactly right."
Yōhei's eyes reddened—not from activating any dojutsu, but from pure envy.
"Taichi, your setup is just too convenient. Flying Thunder God plus Shadow Clones… doesn't that mean you can go anywhere you want without ever worrying about being stretched thin?"
That realization hit everyone at once.
Before, Taichi had been tied to the camp. Now, he could go out on missions and keep the medical unit running at the same time.
The perfect balance.
"Taichi… do you think we could learn the Flying Thunder God?" Obito Uchiha blurted out, unable to hold back.
Taichi looked at their eager faces. He didn't want to crush their hopes—but he still answered honestly.
"The chances are… extremely low."
"…Huh?!" Obito's face instantly fell. "You learned it—why can't we?!"
Taichi didn't take offense. Instead, he calmly listed the requirements.
"First, you need enough merit to even qualify to learn it."
"That's fine!" Obito said immediately. "I'll just take more missions. If I can't do it in a year, then two years!"
Taichi didn't bother pointing out the reality. For most people, maybe. But for the Uchiha—at least under the current leadership—access to techniques like the Flying Thunder God was practically impossible.
"Second, you need advanced knowledge of sealing techniques. Otherwise, you won't even be able to understand the formula."
Obito's confidence wavered.
Sealing techniques… those incomprehensible symbols that looked like scribbles from another world?
Still, he forced himself to respond, "Th-that's fine too! I can learn!"
Taichi nodded slightly.
"And finally… the most important condition. The real reason why, even now, only Minato-senpai and I have mastered it."
Everyone leaned in, eyes shining.
If the first two conditions were achievable, then everything hinged on this last one.
Taichi spoke plainly.
"You need spatial talent."
He paused, then added:
"Without it… you'll never learn the Flying Thunder God."
Everyone fell silent, completely baffled.
Spatial talent? What kind of thing was that? None of them had ever even heard of it.
"How are we supposed to know if we have spatial talent?" Kakashi Hatake asked, clearly intrigued.
Now it was Taichi's turn to scratch his head. How do you even explain something like that?
In the end, he could only repeat what Minato Namikaze had once told him—about the deep sea, about distant lights, that abstract, almost poetic explanation.
Which only made things worse.
Everyone understood each word individually… but put together, it made absolutely no sense.
Taichi spread his hands helplessly. "That's how I was taught. If you get it, you get it. If you don't… then you probably don't have the talent."
That finally killed their hopes completely.
Their moods sank instantly.
But just as quickly, they bounced back. Before long, the group was chatting again—this time about yesterday's battle at the camp.
"What a pity I wasn't there," Obito Uchiha bragged loudly. "Otherwise I'd definitely have racked up a few kills myself!"
He was clearly trying to impress Rin.
Unfortunately for him, he'd forgotten where he was.
Before Kakashi could even respond, Yōhei stepped in directly—grabbing Obito's head and grinding his fists into his temples.
Obito instantly howled in pain, begging for mercy.
"Still talking big? Still acting tough?" Yōhei snapped. "Have you already forgotten what happened on this mission? You nearly died fighting a genin! If Kakashi hadn't arrived in time, you'd be a corpse right now!"
"Aaaah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"
The truth was brutal.
During the mission, Obito had chased two "retreating" Sand shinobi. Seeing they were only genin and seemingly in disarray, his eagerness for merit got the better of him.
Without checking his surroundings, he ran straight into a trap.
Four against one.
Even if they were all genin, they had the advantage of surprise. Obito barely held on—within moments, he was already wounded.
If Kakashi hadn't used Body Flicker to arrive in time, Obito would have died there.
Ever since Yōhei learned about it, Obito's life had become miserable. His training had doubled, and any mistake earned him a harsh lecture.
Physical punishment and mental pressure.
The entire team had reached a consensus—this bad habit of his had to be corrected completely. Otherwise, one day it would cost him his life.
Taichi understood their approach completely. But Obito's flaws weren't new—they'd been there for years. Fixing them wouldn't be easy.
"You'll need patience," Taichi said. "This won't change overnight."
Obito looked like the world had ended.
But then he remembered—this time, his recklessness had nearly gotten him killed. And if something like that ever put Rin in danger…
His expression hardened.
"Fine! Let it come! I'll fix myself—no matter what! I won't let everyone down!"
Seeing that determination, the others felt relieved. After all, it was far worse when someone refused to accept help.
The mood lightened again, laughter returning to the tent.
Around ten o'clock, Kakashi's team took their leave. Everyone needed rest—tomorrow's missions awaited.
Lying in his sleeping bag, Matsushita Taichi dismissed all his shadow clones. As their memories flowed back, he quickly reviewed everything they had experienced that day.
The medical camp, in particular, reassured him.
With just two clones, the current workload was manageable. And if something urgent arose, they could alert him—he could return instantly with Flying Thunder God.
Satisfied, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Taichi woke early. After completing his routine training, he greeted the others—and vanished in a flash.
Only envy remained behind.
They knew they couldn't learn it—but they couldn't help feeling jealous.
Strangely, when Minato used Flying Thunder God, they never felt this way…
Meanwhile, Taichi reappeared beside the tree where he had left his marker. He quickly scanned his surroundings, then expanded his chakra perception.
At first, it was just routine.
But then—
Something stood out.
Amid the uniform flow of chakra, a strange fluctuation appeared—like a drop of ink on blank paper. Impossible to miss.
The moment Taichi focused on it, recognition hit instantly.
White Zetsu.
And not just one—two of them.
One of them was in a… rather peculiar posture.
Taichi's expression turned strange.
Is that… what I think it is?
Suppressing the urge to react, he carefully controlled his chakra output. White Zetsu were highly sensitive—any spike might alert them.
Gradually increasing the intensity, he finally picked up their conversation.
"Why isn't this working? You said digging a hole would let us experience… that feeling!"
"Be patient! I'm experimenting! Something this profound won't succeed instantly!"
"Damn it! If we get caught slacking off, Lord Madara will have us recycled!"
"For the sake of experiencing it… even death is worth it!"
Taichi froze.
A black line practically formed across his face.
He knew White Zetsu were weird—but this was on another level.
Are they seriously trying to experience what it's like to be human…?
He shook his head, clearing the absurd thoughts.
Weird or not—these things were rare.
And valuable.
Extremely valuable.
Especially their connection to Wood Release.
Taichi's eyes lit up.
Carefully, he began to close in.
White Zetsu's perception—and their Mayfly Technique—made them notoriously hard to capture. If they decided to escape, even Taichi would struggle to stop them.
So he moved slowly. Quietly.
When he got close enough to see them, he even began withdrawing his chakra perception.
Luckily, the two Zetsu were still arguing about "the sensation," completely oblivious.
At less than ten meters—
Taichi moved.
In a flash, he crossed the distance, appearing between them.
His blade swept out.
Clean.
One head fell.
Without pause, he twisted his body, driving the blade into the second Zetsu's back—pinning it to the ground.
At the same time, his left hand formed a seal.
Five elemental chakra flames ignited on his fingers.
He pressed them into the Zetsu's back.
A complex array of sealing symbols spread instantly—
Five Elements Seal.
He wasn't killing this one.
He was capturing it.
The seal shut down its chakra completely, reducing it to something no more dangerous than an ordinary organism.
"Aaah! I'm going to die! I almost got to experience it!" the pinned Zetsu wailed—still full of energy, as if nothing had happened.
Taichi blinked.
He wasn't even sure how their bodies worked—but clearly, vital points didn't mean much to them.
Releasing his blade, he began layering additional seals, one after another, ensuring it couldn't move or use chakra at all.
Only then did he relax.
Caution was necessary—this was his first time dealing with such creatures.
Finally, he examined them closely.
The dead one didn't bleed red.
Instead, a milky white substance seeped from its severed neck.
As for the living one—
Only its mouth could still move.
And yet, it showed zero concern for its situation.
It was still obsessed with… that question.
Yeah… definitely not normal.
Taichi smiled.
This was a great start.
He sealed the corpse into a storage scroll, then created a shadow clone, handing it a Flying Thunder God kunai.
"Take it somewhere hidden."
The clone nodded, carrying the captured Zetsu away.
Taichi stayed behind, carefully erasing all traces.
The disappearance of two White Zetsu would definitely attract attention—especially from Madara Uchiha.
But with the right misdirection…
He could easily mislead any investigation.
When he finished, the scene looked like a chaotic battlefield—traces of Wind Release and Fire Release everywhere, along with a few charred remains.
An hour later—
A half-black, half-white figure emerged silently from the ground.
Black Zetsu.
It said nothing.
It simply examined the area—touching the scorched earth, tracing the cuts on trees.
Finally, it uncovered a burnt fragment of a White Zetsu arm.
It paused.
Then—
Slowly sank back into the earth.
Vanishing without a trace.