Wood Release? (Please Read On!)

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

The White Zetsu burst from the ground like crazed beasts, turning into a white tide as they charged at the Uchiha.

Relying on their numerical advantage, they forced their way through the Fire Release defense line the Uchiha had formed.

"This..."

The Uchiha's scalps tingled as they were once again dragged into close combat with these monsters.

If they were not Uchiha.

If they did not possess the Three Tomoe.

Any other clan in the Ninja World would have long since died beneath wave after wave of White Zetsu's fearless charges, sustained by their abundant vitality.

Ingetsu took out the Green Medicine from his Storage Space.

It was a test tube.

A wooden stopper sealed its opening.

It contained a dark green liquid. Through the glass, tiny bubbles could be seen rolling within it, as though it held immense, vigorous life.

"What is that?"

Nonō leaned forward. Behind her round-framed glasses, her large eyes stared fixedly at the test tube in Ingetsu's hand. Her brows furrowed, then gradually relaxed.

Her nose wrinkled, and her eyes suddenly lit up. She seemed to have caught the scent of something extraordinary!

Pop—

Ingetsu shook his head, pulled out the stopper, and held it before Nonō. "Help me check it. Can it be drunk?"

A crisp, faint fragrance rushed toward them. It was like air purified to the extreme, carrying the flourishing vitality of spring.

Nonō's hands trembled as she carefully held the hand Ingetsu was using to hold the Green Medicine. Her beautiful eyes widened as she brought it beneath her nose and sniffed.

It felt as though Nonō had been immersed in the source of life itself. Her spirits soared, her mind instantly cleared, and she nearly suffered oxygen intoxication.

At that very moment.

The nearby White Zetsu seemed to smell the life force spreading through the air. It appeared to share the same origin as their essence.

"That's mine..."

"That's mine!!"

One White Zetsu after another had green light flare in their eyes, their expressions filled with extreme greed and desire.

It was as though absorbing the Green Medicine in Ingetsu's hand would allow them to evolve, transform, and become higher forms of life.

In that instant.

Every White Zetsu was drawn to Ingetsu once more, rushing toward him in a swarm.

As they ran, they even attacked their companions without hesitation, kicking them away and grabbing their ankles to hold them back.

The Uchiha watched the monsters fighting them suddenly leave, then start fighting among themselves, and were completely baffled.

"It... should be drinkable..."

Reluctantly, Nonō released Ingetsu's hand. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the handsome young man.

Mikoto, meanwhile, was shocked by how Ingetsu had conjured the Green Medicine out of thin air. That strange Black Blade had appeared the same way before.

Seeing the White Zetsu closing in, Ingetsu did not hesitate. He put away the Green Medicine. He could already vaguely sense its effects, though he was not entirely certain.

Holding the Green Medicine.

Ingetsu saw that the White Zetsu around him were still increasing in number. Obito had clearly gone all out this time.

Sweeping his gaze over the White Zetsu.

Ingetsu raised his head and, amid their terrified, furious, uneasy faces and outstretched hands trying to stop him, poured the Green Medicine into his mouth and swallowed it.

"No, no, no!"

The White Zetsu roared.

Ingetsu casually tossed the test tube, now containing only a few drops of Green Medicine, onto the ground.

In an instant.

His throat felt cool and comfortable, while his nasal passages filled with the purest life force.

The medicine entered his body and instantly permeated his cell membranes, vaporizing and activating within the cell nuclei.

It carried immense vitality.

Green eyeshadow appeared around Ingetsu's eyes, then vanished. At that moment, he seemed to merge with nature itself.

All exhaustion and fatigue vanished.

The Chakra he had expended earlier.

His physical strength.

His mental energy.

Even the irreversible hidden damage caused by the Red Pill was rapidly recovering, and his body's strength was also enhanced to a certain extent.

Ingetsu was astonished by the medicine's powerful effects and lack of side effects.

At that moment, he could even clearly sense the Natural Energy within the plants five hundred meters around him. They were withering, gathering, and transforming into vitality that flowed into his body.

Therefore.

One effect of the Green Medicine was to absorb the Natural Energy of plants within five hundred meters, convert it into the energy he needed, and instantly restore his condition and heal his injuries, whether internal or external.

Smack—

The test tube fell to the ground and shattered, its final drops of Green Medicine seeping into the cracks between the rocks.

A White Zetsu had already reached Ingetsu. It dropped to its knees and frantically licked the shattered test tube fragments, trying to draw out the vitality contained in the Green Medicine.

Suddenly, in the area where those final drops had fallen, rocks were pushed aside by an unseen force, and a vine burst from the earth, growing wildly.

It was emerald green all over, with lush branches and leaves.

At first, the vine was only as thick as a thumb. Moments later, it was like a giant, savage python, taking root, sprouting, and splitting into countless branches.

Ingetsu furrowed his brows.

A realization shocked him.

By injecting both Earth Attribute and Water Attribute Chakra into the ground, he could control this mutated vine born from the Green Medicine, as well as every plant within five hundred meters of himself.

This was the Green Medicine's second effect.

An alternative version of Wood Release?

Like Sasuke, the Chakra nature transformations he possessed were fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, and yin. He lacked yang.

Therefore, he met the requirements.

"Bind!!"

After injecting the two Chakra nature transformations into the ground and gaining control of the vine, Ingetsu raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and made a grabbing motion toward the White Zetsu fighting over the test tube.

Whoosh—

Driven by the natures of Water and Earth Chakra, the vine on the ground seemed to come alive.

Branches as thick as an adult's wrist moved like agile giant pythons, wrapping around the White Zetsu's waists, ankles, and thighs, lifting them into the air before tightening to crush them.

Crack, crack, crack—

Like a python hunting prey, the vines constricted tighter and tighter.

The White Zetsu wore terrified expressions as they tried to break free, only to discover that sharp barbs had grown from the vines after they wrapped around them, embedding firmly into their bodies.

In an instant, one White Zetsu after another was pierced all over by the vines' barbs, strangled in midair, and drained of life.

The Uchiha stared blankly upward at the enormous vine that resembled a tree demon. Their mouths hung open, and their hearts trembled with fear.

In the distance.

Within the forest.

"Wood Release!!!"

"Why is it another medicine that instantly restores mental energy and Chakra!"

"How much medicine do you have on you?"

Obito could no longer suppress the shock and disbelief in his heart. His single eye stared fixedly at Ingetsu as he spat out the words bitterly.

How could Uchiha Ingetsu possibly use Wood Release?

How was that possible!

Obito's scalp went numb. He froze atop the tree for a moment, at a complete loss. When he finally came back to his senses.

He was surprised to find rustling sounds coming from beneath the tree. Obito looked down and saw that the White Zetsu he had sent out had returned nearby, except the Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope imprint had appeared in their pupils.

Some of the White Zetsu were already poised to strike, pouncing at Obito as though possessed.

"..." Obito frowned deeply. Without another thought, he immediately activated Kamui and vanished from where he stood.

His interception had completely failed this time.

Before he figured out Ingetsu's trump cards, Obito did not want to face him directly. He could only follow him for now and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Ingetsu's trump cards seemed endless, one after another!

As for the White Zetsu...

Forget it.

Having witnessed what had just happened, Obito naturally understood that no matter how many White Zetsu he sent over now, they would only become cannon fodder used as weapons by the other side.

As Obito fled with Kamui.

Ingetsu finally let out a slight sigh of relief. Under the shocked and disbelieving gazes of the Uchiha, he entered the wooden house.

For the moment, he had no more trump cards.

Ingetsu came before Asuma and Chiriku's corpses, tossed their waistcloths onto the ground, then stored the bodies in his Storage Space.

The Storage Space could not hold living creatures, but it could preserve corpses. It was very convenient.

Both men had black market bounties on their heads.

One was worth thirty-five million ryō.

The other was worth thirty million ryō.

Ingetsu believed in making full use of everything and not wasting resources. With so many mouths to feed around him now, he would need a great deal of money after escaping Leaf Village.

Leaving the wooden house.

"Bring everyone who has fainted with us. Leave this place immediately and continue fleeing!"

Ingetsu gave the order in a calm tone.

"Yes, Captain!"

The Uchiha's voices trembled with excitement. After steadying their emotions slightly, they immediately began moving.

"You should leave with us first."

Ingetsu came before Nonō and looked at the dazed nun wearing round-framed glasses.