At the sa ti, in an underground base far away in the Land of Rice Fields, the air carried a very different sll.
dicine, blood, mildew, damp earth and stone were mixed together, along with a faintly sweet, fishy odor of rotting plants.
On a long stone table lay three dissected White Zetsu corpses. Their skin was peeled back, their muscles and vessels exposed under the cold white light. Yet unlike normal human flesh, they weren't red. Instead, they had a damp, gray-white color, like soaked wood.
Yakushi Kabuto wore gloves, his glasses reflecting the light, as he carefully used an extrely thin blade to peel tissue from the chest cavity of one of the White Zetsu.
On the tal tray beside him were already seven or eight long, thin tubes soaked in dicinal fluid. Those tubes were still wriggling ever so slightly.
Jūgo stood a short distance away, arms crossed as he watched for a long ti before finally being unable to hold back.
"Don't you think this thing gets more disgusting the longer you look at it?"
Kabuto didn't look up. "Disgusting and valuable have never been mutually exclusive."
"They look like trees, but also like people. And when you cut them open, the inside looks like waterlogged fungal threads."
"Mm."
"Isn't your reaction a little too calm?"
"That's because I've been looking at them for many days already."
Kabuto gently moved aside a pale-green vein-like structure inside the White Zetsu's chest cavity, clear interest in his eyes.
"And the more I look, the more I feel these things aren't simple experintal materials."
Jūgo frowned. "Then what are they?"
"Sothing close to a 'basic lifeform.'"
Jūgo looked completely lost. "Speak normally."
Only then did Kabuto glance up at him and smile.
"What I an is that White Zetsu are much more receptive than normal humans to foreign cells, chakra, and even wills."
Jūgo still didn't understand. "And what does that have to do with you locking yourself in here these past few days?"
"A great deal."
Kabuto removed his gloves and put on a fresh pair. "For example, if a normal human body forcibly receives too many foreign cells, it easily collapses. Lord Orochimaru perford many experints like that in the past, and the success rate was never high. But White Zetsu are different. Hashirama cells aren't 'foreign matter' inside their bodies. They're more like a natural component."
Jūgo stepped closer and lowered his head to look at the corpse on the stone table.
"You're saying they were originally connected to Hashirama cells?"
"Not connected. Highly homologous."
Kabuto picked up a thin needle and gently inserted it into the pale-green tissue. Liquid was drawn into the needle tube, and there were even tiny wood-like fibers floating inside it.
"My current suspicion is that White Zetsu are essentially stable products of Hashirama cells created through so thod. Or rather, they are containers for Hashirama cells that have been 'humanized.'"
Jūgo was silent for a while before saying, "So you're thinking of using them as a culture dium?"
Kabuto smiled. "As expected of Jūgo. Occasionally, you do catch the key point."
Jūgo's face darkened. "What do you an, occasionally?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Kabuto dripped the extracted liquid into a nearby petri dish. The tiny piece of white tissue inside, which had been still, suddenly twitched as if stimulated.
The gaze behind Kabuto's lenses instantly brightened.
"As expected."
Jūgo leaned closer. "What happened?"
"Their acceptance of tissue fluid from their own kind is extrely high. There is almost no rejection." Kabuto's voice lowered slightly, as if he were speaking to himself. "If that trait can be amplified further, perhaps it will be possible to mass-cultivate more stable White Zetsu individuals… or even modify special containers suitable for use as sacrifices."
Jūgo's expression changed slightly. "You're thinking about Impure World Reincarnation again."
"Isn't that only natural?"
Kabuto spoke while taking notes. "Ordinary sacrifices die. Death leaves traces, and traces attract trouble. But White Zetsu are different. They aren't humans in the normal sense to begin with. Using them as sacrifices is not only suitable, it can also reduce my own burden."
Watching Kabuto beco smoother and smoother as he spoke, Jūgo inexplicably felt a familiar sense of unease.
It was similar to the feeling he used to have watching Orochimaru conduct experints.
Not that Kabuto had gone completely mad like Orochimaru. It was just that whenever Kabuto beca interested in sothing, his tone would grow lighter and lighter, while his eyes would grow brighter and brighter.
"Kabuto."
"Mm?"
"You're becoming more and more like Orochimaru lately."
Kabuto's hands paused for a mont, then he laughed.
"Is that a complint?"
"No."
"Then I'll take it as a reminder."
Kabuto placed the syringe back on the tray and turned toward the culture tank on the other side.
What floated inside wasn't White Zetsu, but a small piece of gray-white tissue that had just been cut off. Its surface was wrapped in dense chakra lines.
"But there is one thing that makes different from Lord Orochimaru."
Jūgo walked over. "What?"
"He did experints mostly out of curiosity and a desire for control."
Kabuto pressed his hand against the glass of the culture tank and watched the tissue inside tremble faintly.
"I do these things because I need results."
Jūgo fell silent.
Kabuto didn't continue. He only raised a hand and adjusted the infusion line above the culture tank.
On the other side, a faint movent ca from the bed near the wall.
Kimimaro slowly sat up. His face was still pale, but his breathing was much steadier than it had been a few days ago.
The eyes in his sockets now were not his original Byakugan, but an ordinary-looking new pair. The pupils were grayish and held no special fluctuations, but at least they allowed him to see his surroundings again.
"You're awake?"
Jūgo imdiately walked over.
"Mm."
Kimimaro's voice was very soft, but stronger than it had been over the past two days.
Kabuto looked back as well. "How do you feel?"
"No rejection."
Kimimaro raised a hand and touched the corner of his eye. His movent was slow.
"My vision is still adjusting, but I can move normally now."
"That's good."
Kabuto walked to the bedside and looked down at him. "You're recovering faster than I expected."
Kimimaro lowered his head slightly. "Sorry for causing trouble."
Jūgo couldn't help frowning at the side. "Why are you still saying things like that? It was clearly Black Zetsu and that Uchiha—"
"I know."
Kimimaro interrupted him, his tone still calm. "But there's no point talking about that now."
Kabuto looked at him and suddenly smiled.
"You're still the sa as before. So quiet no one can tell what you're thinking."
Kimimaro raised his head. "I just think that since my eyes have already been given away, we should look forward."
"And what do you see when you look forward?"
Kimimaro was silent for a mont.
"I see that they won't just let this end here."
Jūgo froze. "What do you an?"
"I don't know much about that person called Toneri. But Black Zetsu and Obito aren't the type to trust others easily."
Kimimaro spoke slowly. "Since they gave him my eyes, that ans they want to get more from him. But that person called Toneri doesn't seem like soone who will truly let them manipulate him either."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "So?"
"So sooner or later, sothing will go wrong between them."
The smile on Kabuto's face deepened.
"I think so too."
Jūgo looked at the two of them and suddenly felt like he was the only one who hadn't kept up.
"So what are we doing now?"
Kabuto turned and walked back to the stone table, gently tapping the tal tray on top.
"Continue researching White Zetsu. And wait."
"Wait for what?"
"For Black Zetsu to co find , or for to go find him."
Jūgo frowned. "Didn't you say there was no rush?"
"What I said was that there was no rush to turn on each other."
Kabuto picked up his notebook and flipped to the later pages. They were densely filled with data about White Zetsu cell activity, chakra compatibility, and suitability for Impure World Reincarnation.
"But debts must be settled eventually."
Jūgo looked at him. "Are you confident now?"
"Not completely."
"Then why—"
"But I have more and more bargaining chips."
Kabuto looked up at the faintly wriggling tissue inside the culture tank. His voice was soft, like snake scales scraping across the ground.
"And Black Zetsu's side may not be any more composed than I am."
The days passed one by one.
Just as Chizumi had said, the rhythm of life in Konoha did not seem to be greatly disrupted by the news of the allied army.
In the morning, the Ninja Academy bell still rang as usual.
Iruka stood in front of the blackboard, smacking it to make the noisy students below quiet down.
Naruto sat by the window. Though he was physically in the classroom, his gaze had long drifted off sowhere else.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
A vein jumped at Iruka's temple.
Naruto sprang to his feet. "Here!"
The whole classroom imdiately burst into laughter.
Iruka kept a stern face. "Where did I just leave off?"
Naruto scratched his hair and laughed awkwardly. "Y-you were talking about chakra nature transformation…"
"The second half."
"Uh…"
Sasuke, sitting in front of him, didn't even turn his head. He coldly threw out a line.
"The basic countering relationships between chakra natures."
Naruto imdiately followed up. "Right! That!"
Iruka's face darkened. "Sit down. Also, Uchiha Sasuke, don't answer for him."
Sasuke said flatly, "I just thought he was too noisy."
Naruto bristled. "Who's noisy?!"
Karin sat on the other side, listening to the two bicker, the corner of her mouth twitching involuntarily.
She had only recently arrived in Konoha, and although she had begun adapting to life here, every ti she saw this classroom atmosphere, she still felt a little unfamiliar with it.
In the Grass Country, she had seen too much filth, chaos, and fighting. She had seen adults kick people into mud pits for half a bag of grain, and children steal and lie just to live a few more days.
But here, the classroom was noisy. The teacher got angry, knocked on the table, and punished people by making them stand and answer questions, but there was none of that suffocating malice.
She was still lost in thought when Iruka's voice suddenly called on her.
"Karin, you answer. Between Wind and Lightning natures, which one has the advantage in the conventional affinity relationship?"
Karin imdiately stood up. Her voice still carried a trace of tension that hadn't fully faded since she first arrived.
"Wind nature counters Lightning nature."
"Correct. Sit down."
Iruka nodded, then swept his gaze across the students.
"You've all heard at least a little about the allied army. But I want to remind you that the most important thing for you right now is not to let your thoughts run wild, but to learn what you need to learn and practice what you need to practice. If the ti truly cos when the village needs you, it will not forget any one of you. But before that, build your foundations properly."
The classroom was quiet for a few seconds.
Naruto suddenly raised his hand. "Iruka-sensei, what if soone wants to get stronger right now?"
Iruka glanced at him. "Then start with today's Clone Technique and first stop turning into smoke every ti you try."
The classroom burst into laughter again.
After class, Naruto was the first to rush out.
"Sasuke! Co to the training ground and fight !"
Sasuke didn't even turn around. "No ti."
"Are you scared?"
"Idiot."
Karin stood at the door, watching the two run out one after the other, and couldn't help curling her lip.
Beside her, Hinata said softly, "Aren't you going?"
Karin looked back at her. "Are you going?"
Hinata's face reddened, and she said quietly, "I-I'm going to the Hyūga training ground later."
Karin looked at her and suddenly realized Hinata seed more distracted than usual these past few days.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Ah? N-nothing."
Hinata instinctively waved her hands.
Karin stared at her suspiciously for two seconds and was just about to ask more when Naruto's shout ca from the distance.
"Hinata! Are you coming or not?"
Hinata's face turned even redder. She hurriedly answered, hugged her books, and quickly ran out.
Karin stood where she was, narrowing her eyes.
"That girl… sothing's off."
At another training ground on Konoha's eastern side, Kakashi was lazily crouched on a wooden post, holding a book in his hand, though his eye wasn't really on the page.
Below, Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin had just finished a round of basic sparring.
Naruto gasped for air. "Why can even Karin use as a target now?!"
Karin put her hands on her hips. "Because you charge in too straight. I can see through you at a glance."
Sasuke said coldly, "She has strong sensory abilities. Of course those little moves of yours can't fool her."
Naruto imdiately bristled. "Don't get cocky! Didn't she tie you up from behind earlier too?!"
Sasuke's face darkened. "That was because I wasn't serious."
Karin snorted. "Stubborn."
Kakashi watched the three of them bickering below, his eye curving slightly. Then he suddenly jumped down from the wooden post.
"You three."
All three looked at him at the sa ti.
"Starting today, extra training."
Naruto froze. "Why?"
"Because you're still too weak."
"…That reason is way too direct!"
Kakashi scratched his head. "Can't be helped. The situation hasn't been good lately. Though it still isn't your turn to go to the battlefield directly, extra practice never hurts."
Sasuke looked at him. "Because of the allied army?"
Kakashi was silent for half a second, then closed his book. "More or less."
Naruto imdiately clenched his fist. "Then let's do it! I'm definitely going to get stronger!"
Karin looked at him, then at Sasuke, and finally turned her gaze toward the village in the distance.
From here, she could see the Hokage Monunt, and the rolling forest beyond it.
Suddenly, she thought of the filthy alleys in the towns of the Grass Country. She thought of the fearful, complicated looks people had when they saw Uchiha Chizumi.
Then she looked at the village before her.
She suddenly understood a little why, even though the allied army was coming for Uchiha Chizumi, Konoha still chose to stand on his side.
Because this place, at least, truly felt like sowhere people could live.
And in the underground base, ti was also ticking by.
Yakushi Kabuto placed a fresh White Zetsu tissue slice under the microscope and observed it for a while. Then he suddenly frowned.
"Strange."
Jūgo raised his head from the corner. "What is it this ti?"
"The activity in this batch is declining too quickly."
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