In the Land of Fire, in a jungle hidden beneath dense treetops at the center of the continent.
A young ninja staggered toward the deeper reaches, where human presence was scarce.
He looked only fourteen or fifteen. His clothes were tattered, and bright-red blood stained both his chest and back. His steps were unsteady, and every bit of movement carried a sluggishness that made him look as though he could collapse at any moment.
Fortunately, he had temporarily escaped his enemies.
His name was Hagane Zhen, and he came from a small ninja clan called the Hagane Clan. He was the nephew of the former Clan Leader. A month ago, the old Clan Leader had died in battle, and a week ago, the new Clan Leader—his cousin—had also fallen in battle. That had made him the new new Clan Leader.
Three days earlier, during a battle, Hagane Zhen had volunteered to act as bait to protect the other clan members and let them withdraw safely. After luring away the enemies and barely shaking off his pursuers, he was making his way toward the agreed meeting point.
That was the basic situation. Oh, and there was one more extremely important detail: besides everything described above, he was also a transmigrator.
A year ago, for reasons unknown, his soul had crossed over into the body of this youth named Hagane Zhen, replacing the boy's consciousness.
After arriving in the Naruto World, he had initially thought he would follow the System Genre route and become a major figure who stirred up the entire world. However, he soon discovered that he had no system at all.
Next, he had figured that with his knowledge of the Naruto World's historical developments and landmark events, the Prodigy Genre might let him sail smoothly through life. In the end, his strength had stalled at the Chunin level, and he could not see any hope for the road ahead.
Finally, he realized that he might have to follow the long-outdated Underdog Genre.
Yet that had also been an illusion. In truth, only now did he become certain that he had been following the Cannon Fodder Genre all along. Born ordinary, he was destined to become an honorable piece of cannon fodder. His transmigration career had only just begun, and it seemed it was about to end.
Although he could not determine the exact time, Hagane Zhen was fairly certain that he was living in the era of warring ninja clans before the establishment of the Ninja Village system. This period was a time of seething chaos, primitive and bloody, and nearly all the minor ninja clans would lose every last bit of room to survive.
As he walked, Hagane Zhen suddenly felt something catch his foot. Then his entire body pitched forward and slammed into the ground.
He had gone three whole days and nights without sleep or rest. Hunger and exhaustion had made it difficult for him to take even a single step...
No matter what, he needed to eat something to replenish his energy, but he had long since run out of supplies.
However, Heaven never blocked every path. Hagane Zhen struggled to raise his head and forced his eyes open. In a daze, he saw something apparently growing on the ground not far ahead.
"Mushrooms..."
Mushrooms were still better than tree bark. At that moment, he could not worry about anything else. He crawled forward several steps on all fours, then reached out and plucked the thing that looked like a king oyster mushroom as quickly as he could. He stuffed it into his mouth in a few bites and swallowed it.
Only after he had eaten it did he realize that the place where the "mushroom" had grown seemed rather unusual.
The cluster of "mushrooms" had grown on a "tree stump" half-buried in the soil. The stump was surrounded by ghostly white pitcher plants, while lush green aloe-like leaves, as though coated in lacquer, grew above it. Thinking back to the "mushroom" he had just eaten, it seemed to be unusually rich in oil...
"..."
Hagane Zhen's eyes grew somewhat vacant. For some reason, he suddenly experienced a strange sense of déjà vu, as though he had seen something familiar.
He carefully examined the stump and only then discovered that a twisted human face had grown on it.
"Hmm... Hm? Hm!"
After arriving in the Naruto World, Hagane Zhen had complained many times in his heart that he lived too lowly a life. He had never met any familiar characters or encountered any important events. Now, he had finally gotten his wish. He had encountered an important character from the original work—a White Zetsu. A dead one, at that.
The "mushroom" he had just eaten had grown from the White Zetsu's eye socket.
Hagane Zhen instantly felt terrible. In theory, he had just eaten the dirtiest, most unsanitary thing in the entire ninja world.
No, it was more than merely unsanitary. This thing had side effects. It might even kill him.
Without warning, intense pain erupted throughout Hagane Zhen's body. His limbs began convulsing violently beyond his control. He felt as though his entire body were being twisted into a braid. Even though he clenched his teeth tightly, muffled groans continued escaping his throat uncontrollably... The unbearable agony gradually pulled his consciousness away.
"I should've at least blanched it first..."
That was the last thought that crossed Hagane Zhen's mind before he completely lost consciousness.
More than ten minutes later, Hagane Zhen, who had lost consciousness, finally stopped convulsing.
The forest fell silent again. His body curled into a ball, and at some point, a ghastly pale color began spreading across his skin.
Clearly, he was undergoing some kind of transformation.
Another three hours passed. The ghastly pallor faded little by little, and he returned to his original appearance.
A heavy, suffocating sensation jolted Hagane Zhen awake. He opened his eyes, sprang up, then dropped to his knees and braced himself with both arms as he began coughing violently.
As the coughing continued, a pale liquid resembling tree sap poured from his mouth. By the time the coughing stopped and his breathing settled, the "tree sap" he had vomited had nearly covered the ground in front of him.
"Whew..."
After letting out a long breath, Hagane Zhen used a nearby tree to slowly pull himself upright. His face was filled with an indescribable gravity and undisguisable bewilderment.
Although he still had no idea what had happened to him, after waking up, he felt that his physical condition had become extraordinarily good. His body felt light, his mind was clear, all the wounds on his body had healed, and he even felt that his combat ability had risen by an entire tier... It was as though his "constitution +10" and "chakra +10."
Before this, he had merely been an ordinary Chunin, and ninjas like him were as numerous as dust in the ninja world. Now, he had the illusion that he could touch the Karmen Line by standing on tiptoe—yes, Karmen as in Kakashi.
Some information had also appeared in Hagane Zhen's mind out of nowhere. More precisely, he had gained a certain instinct. That instinct could not be described concretely, but it let him know that he had obtained some new abilities.
He raised his left arm. With a thought, the entire arm instantly turned ghastly white, its skin taking on the texture of a stripped tree trunk. As his thoughts changed, the pallor quickly spread across his entire body. In a sense, he had already become a White Zetsu.
"White Zetsu..."
Hagane Zhen found it difficult to believe.
Everyone knew that when a person was bitten by a spider, he became Spider-Man. After eating the "mushroom" that had grown from a White Zetsu, Hagane Zhen's body had undergone changes like those of a White Zetsu. This could probably be called White Zetsu-Man.
"However you put it, isn't this just poor people relying on mutation?"
Because he had eaten the mushroom recklessly, Hagane Zhen felt that he might have undergone a degree of assimilation with the White Zetsu. This assimilation had not only granted him a considerable enhancement, but also given him some abilities that originally belonged to White Zetsu.
The changes in his body were worth studying, but this was not the right time to think about them.
The sound of cloth brushing against branches reached Hagane Zhen's ears, instantly putting him on guard. Judging from the sound, a ninja team of more than ten was moving this way.
He immediately concealed himself. About fifteen minutes later, the ninjas happened to stop nearby. No, it was not a coincidence. After seeing their faces clearly, Hagane Zhen immediately chose to reveal himself—the ninjas were his clansmen.
It turned out that before losing consciousness, he had unknowingly reached the meeting point he had arranged with his clansmen.
"Clan Leader!"
Hagane Zhen's appearance made the ninjas wary for an instant, but after seeing his face clearly, they immediately relaxed.
"Are you the only ones left?" Hagane Zhen asked.
Sixteen ninjas had arrived. Most of them were young men. As for those who could not make it, their fate was obvious.
"Clan Leader, we..." One of the ninjas wore a look of guilt.
Hagane Zhen raised a hand to stop him. His expression was calm, and his voice held no ripples. "It isn't your fault. It seems my attempt to lure away the enemy wasn't successful."
"Clan Leader, the enemy's forces far outnumber ours. We... were powerless." The deep sense of helplessness made the ninja lower his head.
The enemy had crushed them in both numbers and average combat strength.
"What about the pursuers? Did you shake them off?" Hagane Zhen asked again.
"No. At most four or five hours, and they'll catch up... The enemy has scout ninjas. We can't escape them."
Whether or not anyone would bear witness to it, the moment of life or death for a ninja clan would always arrive sooner or later.
After everything, back to the starting point, gathering our spirits and setting out again. (^~^)