Analysis

If tonight's events were fortunate enough to be recorded in the history of the shinobi world, they would surely have an appropriate title...

Something like, "A Speech on Disbanding the Hagane Clan and Founding the Ashes Organization."

Afterward, the final sixteen Hagane shinobi burned their forehead protectors together. From that moment on, the Hagane Clan ceased to exist in the shinobi world.

But as Yuzhen had said, who would care whether there was such a minor shinobi clan in the world?

The clan members all obeyed Yuzhen's orders, even when those orders meant erasing their surnames.

That did not mean they had no objections to the order, nor that they supported it one hundred percent. They simply had not voiced any strong opposition.

Or perhaps they were unable to voice such opposition. But that was enough.

A few shinobi had interpreted Yuzhen's decision in a more positive way. The Clan Leader... Well, he would no longer be the Clan Leader. He was merely the captain now.

Going from Clan Leader to captain seemed like a demotion, but the word "captain" might conceal even more possibilities. Those were matters for the future.

Could it really work? Who knew? Even if it was only a good dream, that was enough.

The shinobi felt a deep attachment to the Hagane name, their former village, and their dead clansmen.

No one could completely abandon their past. But for now, they had to set all of that aside and strive to look ahead.

They could only look ahead. At least the Clan Leader was pointing them in some direction. That direction might be right or wrong, but it was better than standing still, and better still than being trapped in the past.

Yuzhen had placed survival as his first priority, but that did not mean he had given up on avenging the Tsugawa Ninja who had annihilated the Hagane Clan.

Revenge required certain prerequisites. They had to preserve themselves, slowly build up their strength, and only then wait for an opportunity to act.

In short, after Yuzhen clarified their next course of action and unified everyone's thoughts, the more or less palpable sense of confusion weighing on them vanished. They temporarily settled down in this makeshift camp.

The next day, he returned alone to the place where they had previously fought the Tsugawa Ninja.

As expected, someone had already dealt with all three battlefields. Without a doubt, the Tsugawa Ninja had returned here.

Erasing the traces of battle himself would have been the safest option, but there was nothing he could do. Yuzhen had first needed to lead his clansmen away, leaving the enemy with the chance to organize the information at the battlefields.

Next, Yuzhen could only locate the spot where the "swallowing mushrooms" accident had occurred and burn that White Zetsu corpse to ashes.

After dealing with the loose ends here, he let out a long breath. Only after returning to camp did he finally have the chance to carefully study the changes that had occurred within him.

Why could Yuzhen use White Zetsu's techniques, and why could his body undergo White Zetsu Transformation to a certain extent?

He thought he had most likely been subjected to some sort of parasitism. That White Zetsu might not have been completely dead, but it had been close. Its vitality had been so weak as to be practically nonexistent, and perhaps it had sprouted mushrooms in search of new life.

Yet while it was growing, it had instead been eaten alive. In that situation, the White Zetsu had instinctively attempted to parasitize him, but because it was too weak, the parasitism failed. Instead, it ended up being assimilated in reverse.

That raised the question: Why could Yuzhen's body "assimilate" White Zetsu?

No matter how he thought about it, he could not come up with a reasonable guess. Could it be related to the fact that his spirit had originally been parasitizing this body, making him an outsider who had usurped another's nest?

That still made no sense.

Ordinary White Zetsu were not known for their physical prowess. So after absorbing White Zetsu's abilities, why had Yuzhen's physique and chakra been strengthened accordingly?

He could not figure out the "principles" behind it, nor study them thoroughly. With no other choice, Yuzhen could only focus on the "applications."

Besides being able to use White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique, Spore Technique, and Substitute Technique, Yuzhen had already discovered that his body had undergone several other changes.

When he transformed parts of his body into White Zetsu, it could be considered a certain degree of fibrous transformation, or "plantification."

Although this change could not increase his body's defensive power, it could greatly dull his sense of pain. At the same time, when an injured part remained in its White Zetsu-transformed state, it could recover more quickly.

For example, the wound on his shoulder had stopped affecting his movements after only three days and had completely healed after seven, without leaving behind the slightest scar.

This life force and regenerative ability unique to "plants" reminded him of freshly cut chives and rapidly growing bamboo shoots.

This recovery ability could not compare with the freakish shinobi who could instantly recover from fatal injuries in battle, but it was still enough to delight Yuzhen.

Besides that, while Yuzhen maintained White Zetsu Transformation, he did not know whether it was merely his imagination, but he felt that whenever he was in an environment with abundant sunlight, every cell in his body seemed to leap for joy, leaving him with greater energy and stamina.

It seemed he could directly absorb some energy from solar radiation. He suspected that after becoming a "plant person," he had begun to master photosynthesis.

Finally, there was one even more important matter.

When Yuzhen transformed his entire body into White Zetsu, he seemed to be able to receive some sort of information from somewhere deep within his mind. He suspected that this information came either from the White Zetsu progenitor, Black Zetsu, or the collective consciousness of the White Zetsu.

The information contained no specific content that he could decipher, nor could he use its transmission channel for long-distance two-way communication. But without a doubt, it displayed some sort of presence.

This "presence" released a feeling that made people calm, joyful, and aware of a certain warmth.

At first, Yuzhen could not figure out what was happening. Soon, however, inspiration struck...

This damn thing is broadcasting "There Is Only One Good Mother in the World" nonstop through the White Zetsu brainwaves, isn't it?

Only through persistent brainwashing could tens of millions of White Zetsu strive for over a thousand years toward a false and nebulous goal.

After realizing this, Yuzhen immediately exited the state of full-body White Zetsu Transformation. He decided that, unless necessary, he would transform his head into White Zetsu even less in the future.

If he were brainwashed without realizing it and joined the Split Moon Save Mother plan, things would stop being fun.

After basically figuring out the changes that had occurred within him, Yuzhen began thinking along more divergent lines, and in a direction that was extremely beneficial to himself...

One White Zetsu could stretch his muscles, invigorate his blood, strengthen his body, and let him release six ninjutsu in one breath without tiring. So what if he had more White Zetsu?

There were many ways to cook, after all. Besides sashimi, there were steaming, braising, stir-frying, deep-frying, and countless others.

So was there perhaps a possibility...

Could White Zetsu become Yuzhen's exclusive "Experience Pack"?