Wood Release? (Seeking Reads!)

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

The White Zetsu burst from the ground like mindless beasts, surging toward the Uchiha in a white tide.

Relying on their numerical advantage, they forcibly charged through the Uchiha's Fire Release defenses.

"This..."

The Uchiha's scalps went numb as they once again entered close combat with these monsters.

If they were not Uchiha.

If they did not have the Three Tomoe.

Any other clan in the shinobi world would have long since died beneath wave after wave of fearless charges from the White Zetsu, with their vigorous life force.

Ingetsu took out the Green Medicine from his Storage Space.

It was a test tube.

Sealed with a wooden stopper.

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

"What is that?"

Nonō leaned forward. Her large eyes behind round-framed glasses were fixed on the test tube in Ingetsu's hand. Her brows furrowed, then gradually relaxed.

Her nose twitched, 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 clear, faint fragrance wafted into her nose. It was like air purified to the utmost degree, containing spring's most exuberant vitality.

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

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

At that very moment.

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

"That's mine..."

"That's mine!!"

The White Zetsu's eyes glowed green, revealing boundless greed and desire.

It was as though absorbing the Green Medicine in Ingetsu's hand would let them 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 and start infighting, and they were somewhat 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 Ingetsu's ability to conjure the Green Medicine from thin air. That strange black blade from before had appeared the same way.

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

Holding the Green Medicine.

Ingetsu found that White Zetsu were still continuously gathering around them. It was clear that Obito had spared no expense this time.

Sweeping his gaze over the White Zetsu.

Ingetsu raised his head and, amid their terrified, furious, and uneasy faces as they reached out to stop him, poured the Green Medicine into his mouth and swallowed it.

"No, no, no!"

The White Zetsu let out furious roars.

Ingetsu casually tossed the test tube, with only a few drops of Green Medicine left inside, onto the ground.

In an instant.

His throat felt cool and comfortable, while his nasal cavity filled with the purest aura of life.

The medicine entered his body, instantly seeping through his cell membranes and evaporating within the nuclei, activating them.

It carried immense vitality.

Green eyeshadow appeared around Ingetsu's eyes before vanishing. At that moment, he seemed to become one with nature.

All weariness and exhaustion vanished.

The Chakra he had previously expended within his body.

Stamina.

Mental energy.

Even the irreversible hidden damage caused by the Red Pill was rapidly recovering, and his physical strength had also increased to some 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 contained within the plants in a five-hundred-meter radius. They were withering, gathering, and transforming into vitality that flowed into his body.

So.

One of Green Medicine's effects was to absorb the Natural Energy from 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 last few drops of Green Medicine seeping into the cracks between the stones.

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

Suddenly, the stones where the last drops of Green Medicine had fallen were pushed aside by an inexplicable force, and a vine burst from the ground, 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 resembled a giant serpent, taking root, sprouting, and splitting into countless branches.

Ingetsu furrowed his brow.

A realization struck him.

By injecting earth-nature and water-nature 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 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.

So, he met the requirements.

"Bind!!"

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

Whoosh—

Driven by the water and earth Chakra natures, the vine on the ground seemed to come alive.

Branches as thick as an adult's wrist moved like agile giant snakes, wrapping around the White Zetsus' waists, ankles, and thighs, hoisting them into the air before tightening to strangle them.

Crack, crack, crack—

Like a python hunting its prey, the vine constricted ever tighter.

Terror appeared on the White Zetsus' faces. They tried to break free from the vine's grasp, only to discover that sharp barbs had grown from the vines after wrapping around them, embedding deeply into their bodies.

In an instant, one White Zetsu after another was pierced through by the vine's barbs, strangled in midair, and drained of life.

The Uchiha stared blankly upward at the enormous vine, which looked like some monstrous tree demon. Their mouths hung open, their hearts trembling with fear.

In the distance.

Within the forest.

"Wood Release!!!"

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

"How many medicines do you still have on you?"

Obito could no longer suppress his shock and disbelief. His single eye stared fixedly at Ingetsu as he spat out the words through gritted teeth.

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 startled to find rustling sounds coming from below the tree. Looking down, he saw that the White Zetsu he had sent out had returned to his vicinity, except Yachihoko Mangekyo imprints had appeared in their pupils.

Some of the White Zetsu had already tensed to strike, pouncing at Obito like they were possessed.

"..." Obito furrowed his brow. Without overthinking it, he immediately activated Kamui and vanished from the spot.

His interception had failed completely this time.

Before figuring out Ingetsu's trump cards, Obito had no desire to confront him directly. For now, he could only follow him and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

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

As for the White Zetsu...

Forget it.

Having witnessed that scene, Obito naturally understood that no matter how many White Zetsu he sent over now, they would only become cannon fodder for the other side to use as weapons.

As Obito fled using Kamui.

Ingetsu finally breathed a slight sigh of relief and, under the shocked and incredulous gazes of the Uchiha, stepped into the wooden house.

For the time being, he had no more trump cards.

Ingetsu walked over to Asuma and Jiriku's corpses, tossed their waistcloths onto the ground, then stored the bodies in his Storage Space.

The Storage Space could not hold living things, but it could preserve corpses. Very convenient.

Both of them had bounties on the black market.

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. He now had so many mouths to feed, and after escaping Konoha, they would need a great deal of money.

Leaving the wooden house.

"Bring everyone who has fainted. We're leaving this place immediately and continuing our escape!"

Ingetsu gave the order in an even tone.

"Yes, Captain!"

The Uchiha's voices trembled with excitement. After calming themselves slightly, they immediately got to work.

"You should leave this place with us first."

Ingetsu came before Nonō and looked at the nun wearing round-framed glasses, staring blankly into space.