The Wraith of Uchiha - Madara Uchiha

Silence stretched for a long moment before Tsunade spoke. "Jiraiya, once we're back in the village, I'm planning to resign and travel the lands."

Jiraiya was startled. "Tsunade, why?"

Tsunade stared at Liao Wu's grave marker. "Back at the Ninja Academy, my clan always told me to stay away from the Uchiha. Later, when I learned Liao Wu was different from those Uchiha, I let my guard down."

"But when I tried to reach out to him, he stood me up. Now I finally understand—it was the old man and my clan meddling behind the scenes."

Jiraiya understood. Tsunade was far too proud—the universally acknowledged Leaf Princess of the shinobi world. How could she tolerate others interfering in her affairs?

"Tsunade, the old man was also afraid the Uchiha would..."

Tsunade nodded. "Liao Wu himself admitted he was acting on Uchiha orders. But at that Jonin Meeting, only Liao Wu burst in to strongly support me. You and Orochimaru both stayed silent."

"..."

Jiraiya fell silent.

What Tsunade referred to was after Nawaki's death, when she proposed medical reform at the Jonin Council—that every mission squad should be assigned a Medical Ninja.

At the time, Tsunade's proposal was somewhat unrealistic.

That was during the Second Shinobi War. Every Medical Ninja in the village was treasured like a gem. The bar was high, their numbers few. How could every ninja squad possibly have a Medical Ninja?

Everyone rejected Tsunade, including their own comrades. But Liao Wu, dragging his kidney-deficient body, ran in to strongly support her.

Jiraiya spoke again. "Tsunade, the war isn't over yet. If you, the Medical Saint, leave now—"

Tsunade cut him off. "No. Right now, the village only has active conflict with the Mist Village. Sand, Cloud, and Stone are mostly on defense."

"And judging by the Mist Village's posture, they can't hold out much longer. Otherwise, the three Sannin and Minato wouldn't be here."

Jiraiya and Minato had no reply. If the war situation were truly dire, they wouldn't be this idle.

In the end, every village was exhausted from the fighting.

Tsunade continued. "I expect the village will elect the Fourth Hokage soon. And the Fourth Hokage..."

She looked at Minato.

Minato was startled, then humbly said, "Lord Tsunade, you overestimate me. You, the old man, and Senior Orochimaru all have greater achievements than I do. You're more suited to be Hokage."

Tsunade shook her head. "No, Minato. You are the protagonist of this war."

If anyone was a born Hokage, it was Minato. The Third Shinobi World War was his stage.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "With Jiraiya's personality, he'll probably travel after the war ends. He has no interest in the Hokage seat."

"Tsunade, you really know me!"

Jiraiya rubbed his head with an awkward laugh, then teased, "How about this—when the time comes, we can travel together—"

Tsunade cut him off—literally. A Monstrous Strength punch was about to break Jiraiya's bones.

Jiraiya quickly shouted, "Tsunade, don't be rash! Don't destroy Liao Wu's grave!"

Tsunade stopped.

Minato asked in confusion, "What about Senior Orochimaru? Why do you say I'll be the Hokage, Senior Tsunade?"

Tsunade gave a cold laugh. "Orochimaru? The old man called me and Jiraiya back from the front lines specifically to keep an eye on him."

"You both saw it earlier. How frantic Orochimaru was in front of Liao Wu's Forbidden Technique!"

"Speaking of which, he's still fishing for Liao Wu's Forbidden Technique, isn't he? Even though it's already exploded into fragments!"

At the mention of Orochimaru, Jiraiya grew unusually serious. Together with Tsunade, he looked down at the cliff beneath Shen Wubi Bridge. "Orochimaru... he's become harder and harder to read!"

Tsunade said, "Jiraiya, once we're back in the village, investigate Orochimaru thoroughly. I think Liao Wu was right—that guy might be secretly researching some kind of Human Body Forbidden Technique!"

Jiraiya nodded.

"Alright, I'm leaving. You two can wait for Orochimaru if you want."

With that, Tsunade's body blurred into an afterimage and vanished.

Jiraiya watched her retreating back and sighed. His earlier offer to travel with Tsunade hadn't been a joke. She had rejected him again.

Jiraiya patted Minato's shoulder. "Minato, the truth is... if Tsunade wanted to become the Fourth Hokage, you couldn't compete with her."

Minato nodded. He admitted Tsunade's absolute advantage.

The Young Lady of the Senju Clan. Granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage. One of the Three Sannin. The Slug Princess. The Medical Saint...

If the Leaf Village had lost Tsunade during this shinobi war, Minato didn't know how much harder the fighting would have been. The village was abuzz with talk of Tsunade becoming Hokage.

"But don't sell yourself short. Tsunade was right—you're the protagonist of this war."

Jiraichi's tone shifted to encouragement. "And the old man entrusted you with the secret mission to deal with Liao Wu. That proves he's already made his choice. Remember, he's been keeping Orochimaru at arm's length."

"Minato, when you get back, have Kushina secretly sew a Hokage Robe and hide it at home. Wait for the right moment!"

"Teacher, stop joking!"

"Hahaha..."

Minato watched Jiraiya laugh, a hint of tears glistening in his eyes. Was he laughing or crying?

The teacher was also heartbroken, yet he had to calm down and comfort them.

Because Jiraiya might not have been the strongest, but he was the most reassuring ninja to have around.

Everyone who had worked with him was willing to entrust their backs to him.

Ryobu wasn't the same—he would stab people, and Hiruko was one example.

Beneath Shen Wubi Bridge, Orochimaru burst out of the raging currents and leaped onto the bank, holding a white, wood-like piece of cortex fragment in his hand.

Orochimaru stared at the fragment, which seemed like wood yet felt like some creature's keratin layer, utterly baffled: "What is this? How could Ryobu's body have something like this? Is it because of the forbidden technique?"

They thought they knew Ryobu well, but they still knew too little. Everyone knew Ryobu had researched the Immortality Forbidden Technique.

But the Chimera Technique and Creation Rebirth Technique derived from it—Orochimaru had only heard of their principles.

If it weren't for Ryobu's forbidden technique research being inexplicably exposed, Orochimaru wouldn't have known that this classmate of his was just like him.

Toys with life!

But one thing Orochimaru could confirm was that Ryobu was very much like him—someone who would stop at nothing for immortality and power.

"Ryobu, don't think that just because nothing's left, you can do anything to me. Your vision, like Hiruko's, is ultimately beneath notice."

"Though I haven't fully mastered the Second Hokage's forbidden technique, I'll have to take some risks for immortality. Wait for me, Ryobu—I'll revive you."

Orochimaru used a Body Flicker and vanished from the bank.

After he left, a Pitcher Plant emerged from where he had just stood.

"I didn't expect Orochimaru to pursue so relentlessly. I need to report to Lord Madara immediately—he's discovered my Spore Fragment."

In the Underground Base not far from Shen Wubi Bridge.

A white-haired old man sat with eyes closed, holding a staff, silently and solemnly seated on a wooden throne.

Behind the old man loomed a massive Senra Statue, with several Wooden Conduits extending from his back, tightly connected to the statue. Clearly, his life depended entirely on the statue's continuous supply of nutrients.

And lying in front of the old man was... Ryobu!

Ryobu hadn't exploded into pieces, nor had he died, but his current state was poor—his hair and beard were white, and he looked on the verge of death, almost like a brother to the old man with closed eyes.

White Zetsu Tobi poked at Ryobu's body on the ground, as if trying to see what difference this new human had from Obito.

The old man slowly opened one eye: "Get up! Stop pretending—you've been asleep for almost a day."

Tobi, taking the hint, picked up a stick and poked Ryobu's body.

Ryobu kept pretending to sleep, so Tobi jabbed the stick right at Ryobu's rear.

Ryobu quickly rolled over to protect himself and stood up shakily.

That's the downside of being old—touch and you fall asleep, help up and you get scammed.

Minato's kunai had indeed pierced Ryobu's heart, and he had been on the verge of death at that moment.

The mistake was that Minato hadn't stabbed his head!

The instant Ryobu's heart was pierced, he used the Chimera Technique to suppress the wound. As for the explosion afterward, that wasn't his doing.

Just as Orochimaru had guessed, his Explosive Tags were fakes he'd made himself—what he swallowed was just a wad of paper.

At the time, a White Zetsu spore had attached itself to Ryobu. The moment he jumped down, the White Zetsu Clone detonated in his place, and Ryobu was rescued by the White Zetsu and transferred to Madara Uchiha's base.

As for his current appearance?

Because his heart had indeed been pierced by Minato, Ryobu used Creation Rebirth to divert all his active cells to repair the heart, thus sustaining his life.

The principle of the Creation Rebirth Technique was using Chakra to stimulate cell division, achieving organ regeneration.

This technique required the Yin Seal to use, but Ryobu didn't have the Yin Seal, so he overdrew his own cells to produce Chakra.

It was equivalent to using all the cells in his body to regenerate his heart. With his cells overdrawn, his youthful appearance naturally aged.

Ryobu sneaked a glance at the old man before him—white hair like frost, a face crisscrossed with ravines, looking as if he might breathe his last at any moment.

If nothing unexpected happened, this person was the Wraith of the Uchiha, Ryobu's ancestor—Madara Uchiha!

Judging by the look of things, with a bit more nurturing, he could be killed and absorbed for a century's worth of Soul Ring.

Ryobu noticed the conduit behind Madara—this was Madara's oxygen tube. Without it, Madara would kick the bucket.

Ryobu coughed twice, thinking about how to play his part.

By the time Ryobu was born, Madara had already left the Leaf Village.

To the Uchiha, Madara was both a pride and a taboo.

He was essentially the Leaf's first rogue ninja! But his seniority was too high for the Leaf Village officials to dare treat him as one.

The Uchiha couldn't exactly promote Madara as a heroic spirit either—the juniors had only heard of him, never seen him.

Before Ryobu could figure it out, he heard a loud commotion.

"Old man, that's Madara Uchiha—a very evil person. Don't let him deceive you."

Ryobu turned to look.

A humanoid creature with bandages wrapped around its head, half its body intact and the other half stitched together with some gray-white substance, lay on the bed, casting a look of concern for the elderly at Ryobu.

Uchiha Ryobu was startled: "Obito?"

Obito was startled: "Old man, you know me!"

Uchiha Ryobu laughed heartily: "Obito, you little brat, you're not dead! When you died, your uncle cried so sadly, that very night I only ate one bowl of rice."

"I was even planning to hold a funeral for you and collect gift money, but that bastard Fugaku came straight in with his people to wreck the place."

"Uncle?"

The Underground Base was too dark; Obito couldn't make out Ryobu's face at first, and once he did, he still didn't recognize him because he was too old.

"Who are you? Why do you talk so much like that guy Ryobu?"

Ryobu snapped angrily: "You damn Obito, 'Ryobu' is what you call me? I'm your Uncle Ryobu."

"Ryobu, you're really Ryobu!"

Obito jumped off the bed and bounded over to Ryobu: "Ryobu, how did you get so old?"

"Could it be that I've been stuck in this damn place for decades?"

Obito clutched his head in disbelief, thinking that bastard Kakashi had probably already married Rin and had kids by now.

Ryobu looked around, snatched the cane from Madara's hand, and whacked Obito on the head: "Obito, has your uncle been bad to you? When you were born, I gave you two big red envelopes, and behind my back you just call me by my name like that?"

Obito held his head: "Uncle, stop hitting me, uncle! My grandma said those red envelopes you gave were Explosive Tags, and you almost blew me up."

Ryobu chased Obito, swinging: "You ungrateful brat! What else would a ninja's red envelope be but Explosive Tags? Do you know how much one Explosive Tag costs?"

Madara: "(☉д⊙)."

Were these two treating this like a reunion of fellow countrymen?

"Enough! Obito, go play somewhere else!"

Madara lit up his Sharingan, and Obito instantly lost control, pinned to a wooden bed nearby like a ghost pressing down on him.

With Ryobu around, Obito was basically useless; Madara didn't bother keeping up the "Salt No Salt Anymore" act in front of him.

Seeing Obito so easily hard-controlled, Ryobu swallowed his saliva, turned to look at the somewhat imposing Madara Uchiha, and put on an act: "Old man, what is this place? Who are you?"

Madara snorted: "Stop pretending. You're not that naive kid Obito. How many good people study Human Body Forbidden Techniques!"

Obito was only restrained, but his mind was still working.

Hearing that Ryobu studied Human Body Forbidden Techniques, he was shocked: "Uncle, you actually studied Human Body Forbidden Techniques? Is this true? You're not tricking me, are you!"

"Wait, uncle, the forehead protector on your head—you defected!"

Ryobu adjusted the somewhat thuggish Rogue Ninja Forehead Protector on his head and stopped pretending in front of Obito: "That's right, Obito. I'm now a rogue ninja of the Uchiha. My bounty out there has already reached 100 Million Ryo."

Obito was stunned: "Uncle, what exactly did you do?"

Ryobu sneered: "What did I do? I went to the Orphanage to hand out milk to the kids, but they needed a parent's signature to claim it."

That was truly evil!

Obito never imagined Ryobu could be such a cruel person.

(╬☉д⊙).

Madara had been holding in his anger; he was already very old, usually sleeping, and pulling out the tubes behind him would mean kicking the bucket. With Ryobu stirring things up, he felt like he was about to kick the bucket.

He quickly shot a look at Tobi, who immediately went to cover Obito's mouth, and suddenly the whole world was quiet.

"Mmph—"

Ryobu didn't dare cause any more trouble either. He quickly crawled in front of Madara to show submission: "Junior Uchiha Ryobu pays respects to the Ancestor!"

Madara was from Ryobu's grandfather's generation, but with his strength and prestige, calling him an Ancestor of the clan was more than enough.

Still, Ryobu felt that with all the beastly things Madara had done, calling him Madara Old Demon was more fitting.

Ancestor?

Madara slowly calmed down, a bit moved by the title. In a blink of an eye, he was already of the Ancestor generation!

Hashirama, so many years have passed just like that!

Remembering back then at Niaohe Bank...

Ryobu changed his posture, rushed forward, hugged Madara's thigh, and wailed: "Ancestor, do you know how much prejudice your descendants have suffered in the Leaf Village?"

"Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō—none of them are good people. They're trying to crush the Uchiha to death!"

Madara sneered inwardly: Serves them right!

When Madara left the Leaf Village back then, he thought about taking the Clan Members with him, but the Uchiha people were enamored with the peace of the Leaf. Every single one refused to keep following Madara. They betrayed him.

Madara's later years were lonely...

"And what about me? I just killed a few people and studied a few forbidden techniques, that's all!"

"That old scoundrel Danzō, that old viper Orochimaru—the evil deeds they've done are Too Numerous To Mention. If I killed them, I'd become a saint."

"Ancestor, you be the judge!"

Liao Wu spoke as his hand slowly reached behind Madara, touching his oxygen tube.

Madara calmly stared at Liao Wu: "Junior, go ahead and pull it!"

"..."

Liao Wu gave an awkward smile, lowered his hand, and crawled back down.

Even if Madara Uchiha was too old to walk, he wasn't someone Liao Wu could scheme against.

Moreover, even if he pulled Madara's oxygen tube, with so many White Zetsu here, could Liao Wu actually escape?

And on top of that, Liao Wu couldn't even be sure if he was caught in a genjutsu.

From earlier until now, Liao Wu hadn't met Madara's eyes even once, but in front of someone like Madara, the Number One Under Six Paths, he could control Liao Wu without needing eye contact.

Madara tossed a scroll to Liao Wu, who caught it and immediately widened his eyes in shock, because this was Liao Wu's forbidden technique scroll.

Researching forbidden techniques always required written records; no one had that good a memory, so Liao Wu wrote them down on scrolls.

He had been wondering who stole it, but it was Madara. That meant his own affairs had also been exposed by Madara.

Fine, you old undying! Watch me pull your oxygen tube!

Facing a black-hearted person like Liao Wu, Madara had no need for pretense.

Madara snatched the cane from Liao Wu's hand and tapped his head with it: "What kind of nonsense is this? Who was your language teacher? Bring him to me!"

Liao Wu kept his head down, letting Madara tap him with the cane, but joy welled up in his heart.

Liao Wu usually recorded his scrolls in Han language. Although Japanese derived from Han, many parts were incompatible.

He guessed Madara had the White Zetsu steal it but couldn't understand it, so he set up a scheme to force Liao Wu to defect.

"Alright, Liao Wu, I won't waste words. I engineered your escape. I need your forbidden technique to restore myself to my prime."

When Madara heard about Liao Wu's forbidden technique, he changed all his plans.

Originally, according to his plan, he would wait for Nagato to grow up, have him use the Rinnegan to cast the Reanimation Technique to revive Madara, and then Madara would complete the Moon Eye Plan himself.

Madara had also considered the possibility of accidents. If Nagato didn't revive him, who would oversee the Moon Eye Plan?

Madara set his sights on naive Obito.

He schemed against Obito, making him utterly despair of the world and place all his hope in the World of Illusion.

After Madara's death, Obito would take over the Moon Eye Plan, ready to revive him at any time.

But even that could have accidents. Nothing was more reassuring than doing things himself.

Now, as long as he obtained Liao Wu's forbidden technique, Madara could Restore Youth and return to his peak.

Ask yourself, in the current ninja world without Hashirama, who could stop him?

Moreover, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had just finished the Ninja World War and were exhausted.

With time, place, and people all in his favor, what was Madara Uchiha waiting for?

Madara even halted his plan to plunge Obito into blackening, using all the White Zetsu to seize Liao Wu's forbidden technique.

For someone of Liao Wu's strength to escape the Uchiha Police Force, the Anbu, and the Root's pursuit was pure wishful thinking.

And even Orochimaru's attacks—Madara had been helping him.

When Orochimaru was about to catch Liao Wu, Madara used the Transfiguration Technique to switch into a White Zetsu body and used genjutsu to help Liao Wu escape.

What Madara least expected was that for Liao Wu's sake, the Third Hokage had even sent Minato Namikaze.

He came straight in, digging out hearts and lungs.

Madara thought his ambitions were about to shatter, but that Liao Wu Kid still managed to survive.

Back to the main topic, Madara's one Sharingan stared at Liao Wu, exuding an overwhelming pressure.

Dealing with someone like Liao Wu couldn't be like with Obito—slowly laying out a plan, gradually making him despair of the world, then converting him to the Moon Eye Plan.

Would an immortal person pursue living in a dream? Such a person was often a worldly person, not caring what the world became.

As long as they had a good time, that was enough.

Madara looked down on Such Person, considering them all driven by greed.

But Such Person was the easiest to handle—just use threats and bribes.

Liao Wu quickly lowered his head and replied: "Ancestor, I've always admired you, but my forbidden technique is too troublesome. It involves Quantum Mechanics, calculus, General Relativity..."

"Even if I gave it to you, you wouldn't learn it."

Quantum Mechanics, calculus? What the hell?

Madara immediately recognized this as a blind spot in his knowledge. He felt a bit behind the times and decided it was time to have the White Zetsu collect Ninja Academy textbooks for him to study.

He didn't want to be abandoned by the era.

Madara tapped his cane, pressuring Liao Wu: "Then tell me, Liao Wu, how do I Restore Youth?"

Liao Wu quickly said: "Ancestor, my forbidden technique can be used on others besides myself. How about this: first find me a living person, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

Liao Wu glanced around and saw Obito being pinned down by Tobi. He immediately pointed at Obito: "Him! He's a living person."

Liao Wu, I fuck your &%&&

If not for Obito holding him back, he would have jumped up to fight Liao Wu to the death.

Madara ignored Liao Wu's choice, tapped his cane, and a white humanoid figure emerged from the ground, slowly revealing its form—a White Zetsu clone.

Madara's White Zetsu consisted of two parts. One type was inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path; these were the original White Zetsu, prototypes of puppet weapons controlled by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki to fight against the Ōtsutsuki clan.

The other type was cultivated by Madara using Hashirama's cells.

The original White Zetsu were the main body White Zetsu, like White Zetsu Obito, infused with Hashirama's cells and possessing Wood Release power.

The remaining White Zetsu were clones Madara cultivated using Hashirama's cells and the energy of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Madara pointed at the White Zetsu clone and said, "This is a White Zetsu clone, an artificial human I cultivated with Hashirama's cells. Its vitality is far higher than an ordinary person's."

"Use it to demonstrate for me!"

Liao Wu nodded, slowly walked over to the White Zetsu clone, and looked at its vacant, mindless expression.

To be honest, Uchiha Madara wasn't the type to care for his juniors. He was an old demon.

He had to plant a curse mark on a fool like Obito before he felt at ease. Someone as dark-hearted as Liao Wu was probably already filled with curse marks inside his body.

If he helped Madara regain his youth, wouldn't Madara no longer need him?

Unneeded people would be disposed of.

But if he didn't help Madara regain his youth, Liao Wu would still be disposed of, even faster.

And most importantly, Liao Wu was lying to Uchiha Madara. His technique simply didn't have the option to use it on others.

Liao Wu's technique stole others' lives to extend his own. To extend Madara's life, he would have to give his own life.

How could Liao Wu develop such a self-sacrificing technique?

He didn't have that kind of time or goodwill.

But for the sake of his own life, Liao Wu had to show Madara something worth valuing.

Yet what if Madara discovered the truth later? Liao Wu was a bit troubled.

However, Madara's power now wasn't absolute—it was at its weakest. Old Madara's Rinnegan was on Nagato.

In his eye socket was just one Sharingan, and it was transplanted.

In the manga, Madara had White Zetsu bring Obito to him and then fell into a deep sleep, proving his condition couldn't stay awake for long.

If Liao Wu could boost his strength a bit more, he could still escape.

But boosting strength wasn't something that happened overnight; it had to be done step by step.

If Liao Wu had time, he could reach the level of the Three Sannin.

Unfortunately, he had already boarded Uchiha Madara's pirate ship, and there was no getting off.

He had solved his body's problems and cut off the shackles of the Leaf Village, but now Madara had become another shackle around his neck.

How could he quickly increase his strength?

Liao Wu thought of the Kekkei Genkai theft from the Gyonin no Jutsu.

Speaking of this Gyonin no Jutsu, one had to mention Nonō Yakushi.

Back then, Liao Wu was quite confident, thinking he could solve his own Kekkei Genkai disease on his own. But after gradually falling behind the Three Sannin, he became desperate.

One person's power was limited.

Besides, Liao Wu wasn't a genius. His medical ninjutsu came from his past life as an old Chinese doctor, and his Rasengan came from reading the manga and knowing how to train it.

Liao Wu didn't dare approach Orochimaru, afraid that this poisonous snake would devour him completely, so he sought out Nonō Yakushi.

In the original story, Nonō Yakushi was a contemporary of the Three Sannin. Due to his mediocre talent, he secretly researched the Gyonin no Jutsu to compensate for his lack of ability.

Later, he was discovered by the Third Hokage and expelled.

In the Shippūden era, Nonō Yakushi used the Gyonin no Jutsu to reach a level comparable to, or even surpassing, the Three Sannin. The technique's ability to perfectly steal others' Kekkei Genkai was stunning.

Liao Wu sought out Nonō Yakushi, and Nonō Yakushi needed Liao Wu's experience in medical ninjutsu.

The two hit it off, a perfect partnership of rogues.

On the day the technique was completed, Nonō Yakushi had just rejoiced when Liao Wu stabbed him in the back.

Although the technique was completed, it was only an early version. It could only steal one Kekkei Genkai and couldn't exceed the body's limit.

No help for it. Even in the original, Nonō Yakushi needed over a decade to perfect the Gyonin no Jutsu after researching it.

At this stage, how many Kekkei Genkai could Liao Wu steal in Uchiha Madara's base?

First was Uchiha Madara himself, but his Rinnegan was on Nagato, and the Sharingan in his eye socket was transplanted.

Also, he had transplanted Hashirama's cells and had Wood Release inside him.

This was undoubtedly the best target for Kekkei Genkai theft, but Liao Wu never dared to set his sights on him.

Second was Obito, who had a two-tomoe Sharingan on him.

If it were the Mangekyō Kamui, that would be one thing. But two-tomoe? Liao Wu, though he hadn't awakened his own eyes, had a mysterious confidence that made him look down on two-tomoe.

The last bloodline left was White Zetsu Cells.

Are White Zetsu Cells considered a bloodline?

They are! White Zetsu's combat power isn't strong, but they excel in intelligence, infiltration, and support.

They have the Spore Technique, which can attach to a person's body—even strong people like the Five Kage can't sense it.

The spores can monitor the target and also absorb chakra.

White Zetsu can also perfectly transform. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, White Zetsu could not only mimic appearances but also replicate the target's chakra and voice.

Even the Byakugan couldn't see through it.

The Ninja Alliance suffered quite a bit from this. Only Golden Body Naruto could sense disguised White Zetsu through his Malice Perception.

There's also the Mayfly Technique, which allows movement underground, and a simple Wood Style Power.

Simply put, White Zetsu Cells are a variant of Hashirama Cells, possessing special abilities superior to Hashirama Cells.

They are Hashirama Cells that mutated toward stealth, reconnaissance, and infiltration.

Ryobu's Body, at its current stage, can't devour complete Hashirama Cells. Besides, to get Hashirama Cells now, he'd have to ask Madara, and Madara would surely grow suspicious.

So first, he'll plunder White Zetsu Power, obtain White Zetsu Cells for support, and leave the complete Hashirama Cells for later, to be handled step by step.