Supplies Were No Good

Tobirama Senju's chakra was naturally powerful. Its high energy density gave it a rich, potent quality far beyond what an ordinary person like Yuzhen could imagine.

The strongest enemy Yuzhen had encountered before was the captain of the Tsugawa Pursuit Squad, who had unfortunately fallen victim to an assassination. The chakra of a jōnin had left a deep impression on him, but...

It might sound unpleasant, but when people were compared, someone was bound to come off worse, and when goods were compared, the inferior one was fit for the trash.

To put it simply, if an ordinary ninja's chakra were ordinary beer, then the "high-quality" chakra Yuzhen had imagined should at least be the level of erguotou. But Tobirama Senju's chakra? That wasn't even liquor anymore. It was solid alcohol.

His second brother was already this powerful. It was impossible to imagine what level his elder brother had reached.

Incidentally, if he were to use such an eccentric system of comparison, Yuzhen's chakra was currently equivalent to erguotou. Going from thirty proof to seventy proof, from erguotou to yiguotou, was his goal.

Tobirama Senju's chakra was excellent, but it wasn't something Yuzhen could gorge himself on. He merely wanted to experience what the chakra of a future powerhouse was like. That was all.

In any case, it was impossible for him to truly make someone else's chakra his own. That simply couldn't be done. Tobirama Senju wasn't a White Zetsu. Since he could only borrow it, Yuzhen naturally had no objections.

As for controlling Tobirama Senju indefinitely, that was simply overthinking things.

In fact, Yuzhen had now realized a very important fact: what he could use wasn't the complete version of the Spore Technique.

When White Zetsu used the Spore Technique, it could silently implant spores in its target beforehand, then remotely and precisely control when the spores matured. In other words, White Zetsu could deprive its target of chakra at the most opportune moment, achieving a lethal strike.

In White Zetsu's hands, the Spore Technique was both flexible and deadly.

But in Yuzhen's hands? He could only use the Spore Technique when he was in direct contact with his target.

Strictly speaking, the Spore Technique was merely a technique for absorbing and distributing chakra in his hands. The only thing he could absorb was pure chakra. He couldn't absorb ninjutsu or elemental techniques, and therefore had no defensive capabilities.

The reason for this defect was probably that Yuzhen wasn't a genuine, pure White Zetsu. The human part of him prevented some of White Zetsu's abilities from functioning... Yuzhen couldn't split apart like White Zetsu, nor could he produce spores. How could he use spores for remote parasitism and control?

Precisely because of this, Yuzhen wasn't depressed that this ability had lost a considerable amount of its power. Instead, he gained some psychological comfort... It proved that he was different from White Zetsu. At his core, he was human, not White Zetsu.

In any case, this was a good thing.

After waking up, Tobirama Senju retained the basic vigilance of a ninja, but he no longer had any intention of attacking. When he had been completely powerless to resist, the person before him hadn't harmed him. Instead, he had treated him in time.

As for why he had lost the ability to resist? Don't ask. Don't pry.

"Please allow me to reiterate: there's been a misunderstanding between us. Whoever you're looking for, he isn't in our camp."

As he spoke, Yuzhen sat down on a nearby section of log.

This time, Tobirama Senju didn't argue. He was no longer stubbornly insisting on his own view and merely nodded lightly.

It wasn't that he believed Yuzhen's words. It was simply that there was no point in dwelling on the matter anymore. Even if the person he had been pursuing had once hidden in this camp, they had certainly fled while he was unconscious.

"How long was I unconscious?" Tobirama Senju asked.

"More than ten hours, I'd say." As he spoke, Yuzhen placed the scroll he had been carrying on his back in front of Tobirama Senju. "Given how much blood you lost yesterday, and the fact that you insisted on fighting at full strength, losing consciousness was only natural."

Tobirama Senju nodded again.

Of course he knew he hadn't passed out from blood loss. He had clearly collapsed because his chakra had been taken. However, he was a mature person and knew that some things didn't need to be exposed... If you didn't mention it and I didn't mention it, then they could pretend the earlier unpleasantness had never happened and avoid awkwardness.

Since Tobirama Senju didn't mention having his chakra drained, Yuzhen wouldn't bring up how the other man had barged into the camp and made unreasonable demands.

"My name is Yuzhen. May I ask yours?"

"Tobirama Senju."

After exchanging names, the two could be considered acquainted.

"Then, Tobirama, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Yuzhen seemed remarkably familiar with him already. He unrolled the supply scroll, revealing the Sealing Technique inside.

"I want to take out the supplies sealed in this scroll, but I can't read this specialized Sealing Technique."

When Yuzhen had carried out the robbery, he hadn't thought too much about it. His plan had simply been to snatch the goods and run. But after bringing the scroll back, he discovered that he didn't know how to remove the seal.

Tobirama Senju only glanced at it before saying, "The Sealing Technique on this kind of scroll isn't complicated. It probably only contains ordinary supplies. I know how to undo the seal, but... I need to know how you obtained this scroll, and what connection you or your group has to the Sarutobi Clan."

This was indeed merely a Sealing Scroll for transporting ordinary supplies, and its technique wasn't complicated to anyone familiar with such things.

Tobirama Senju came from a great shinobi clan with a long history and an inherited tradition of knowledge, so he was naturally familiar with all kinds of Sealing Techniques. Besides, the Senju Clan maintained close ties with the Sarutobi Clan. Tobirama Senju had seen and even used the Sarutobi Clan's supply scrolls before.

"We have nothing to do with the Sarutobi Clan. I found this scroll on the battlefield." To make his story more convincing, Yuzhen added a more specific detail. "The two sides fighting at the time were the Sarutobi Clan and the Ishiwa Clan..."

Tobirama Senju gave him a skeptical look. Found it? It would be more accurate to say he had taken advantage of the chaos and stolen it.

An ordinary scroll wouldn't harm the Sarutobi Clan's core interests. Moreover, Tobirama Senju understood the ways most minor shinobi clans and wandering ninja survived, so he decided to help with this small favor.

Just as Yuzhen wouldn't harm him while he was completely unable to resist, Yuzhen also wouldn't kill a Sarutobi Clan ninja outright. After all, attracting the attention of a great shinobi clan could be fatal... Forget it. He would just treat the scroll as something Yuzhen had found.

Tobirama Senju laboriously raised both hands and slowly formed hand seals before slapping his palm onto the Sealing Technique on the scroll.

With a soft pop, the Space Seal was undone, and a large quantity of supplies appeared out of thin air before Yuzhen.

He was delighted.

He began inspecting them.

The smile vanished from his face.

In the span of just a few minutes, Yuzhen's emotions went through the classic three-stage transformation because the supplies sealed inside the scroll did not match his expectations.

There was grain, but only three sacks—at most three hundred kilograms. It would at least relieve the camp's immediate shortage.

There were also more than twenty Ninja Tool Bags, a box of medicine, and...

More than fifty baskets of tea leaves.

Without realizing it, Yuzhen's resentment toward the Sarutobi Clan began to grow rapidly.

There was so much tea. Were they planning to eat it as their meals?

Were you going to war? Or were you going to drink tea?