"How could this kind of power... be possible?"
The more Samui imagined that horrifying scene, the paler her face became.
It was no wonder Atsui and the other two had mistaken this place. The area was simply too vast; as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but barren, level ground.
But viewed from God's perspective, the entire region resembled the inside of a meat grinder. The ground was stained a shocking dark red, as though "livestock" had recently been ground into bloody pulp and mangled flesh.
Everything within a radius of several thousand meters had been swept away.
The entire area within a radius of several thousand meters had become a wasteland where not a blade of grass grew.
Even the surface of the earth had been plowed into depressions several meters deep.
How could humans possibly possess such power?
How could humans possibly accomplish something like this?
Samui could not imagine how it had been done.
She had seen plenty of things even crueler and bloodier before.
But she had never seen a scene like this, where the lingering terror and bloodshed hung in the air without dissipating.
It was as if she could smell the stench of blood spilling from bodies torn apart by a hurricane, and hear the wails and terror of those Kumogakure ninja before their deaths.
This terrifying power, enough to reshape the terrain, simply did not seem like something humans could possess.
Even the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release did not have such a terrifying attack range.
How could someone with such terrifying strength have been unknown until now?
Samui looked toward the deep, pitch-black hollow in the distance, and a bold guess gradually formed in her mind.
Unless that person had appeared out of nowhere.
"Sis, what... what do we do?"
Atsui beside her asked helplessly, while the other two Chunin were equally at a loss.
The three had found many Kumogakure forehead protectors, and even one or two Konoha forehead protectors.
But there were no corpses. There were no corpses at all, neither Kumogakure ninja corpses nor Konoha ninja corpses.
Only that overpowering, choking stench continued to fill the air, impossible to disperse. The soil beneath their feet was a vivid blood-red.
No matter how foolish the three were, faced with this situation, they knew where those corpses had gone.
"..."
Staring at the bottomless hollow in the distance, Samui fell silent for a moment before withdrawing her gaze. She let out a breath and said calmly, "Don't do anything unnecessary. Go back and report to Lord Raikage."
Although her instincts told her that the truth was right there, she calmed herself and made the most rational decision.
If that "monster" with such terrifying power was still there, it was not something the four of them could provoke.
The four vanished into the night. Even after they left, no living creature approached the area.
It was like a traveler walking through a forest who saw prey torn apart by a ferocious beast, a carcass gnawed clean before him.
Even if the predator had long since eaten its fill and left satisfied, the traveler would still be intimidated by the lingering violence in the air—enough to make even greedy wild dogs and wolves steer clear.
Only when everything around them had fallen into deathly silence did something shaped like a pitcher plant emerge halfway from the blood-red soil.
The enormous pitcher plant slowly opened, revealing a half-black, half-white face.
White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu attached to White Zetsu's body.
"What a terrifying human," White Zetsu remarked. "Good thing I pulled you back in time and you didn't rush out. Otherwise, we'd have become fertilizer too."
Black Zetsu said nothing. Looking at everything before it, it could not help falling silent.
That person's appearance had, it could be said, exceeded its expectations.
Even hiding deep underground from afar with the Mayfly Technique, it could still sense the terrifying aura of that strike.
Although that attack should still have been inferior to the Super Shinra Tensei, Black Zetsu could sense that person was likely in a weakened state.
If that person could recover to their peak, they might truly be enough to rival Madara when he was alive.
And those eyes...
Remembering those blue eyes it had glimpsed from afar, Black Zetsu grew even more agitated, even fearful.
For something like it, without much real strength and able only to play tricks, the most terrifying thing was the unexpected.
In its thousand-year memories, the Rinnegan should have been the pinnacle these inferior humans could reach. Even that bastard Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo had been no more than that while alive. The even stronger Rinne Sharingan had belonged only to its mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
But now, why had eyes appeared that were no inferior to the Rinnegan, yet completely unheard of?
There seemed to be only one possibility.
"Outsider..."
Thinking of that final possibility, ripples spread across Black Zetsu's body. Its body was trembling in fear.
Could one of the "same race," the "Outsiders" from its mother's memories, have appeared in the Ninja World?
That was right. Even eyes its mother had never possessed could only belong to an "Outsider"!
"No! This is the chance I waited a thousand years for. No matter who it is, no one will stop me from helping Mother regain her freedom!" Black Zetsu's hollow eyes narrowed slightly. "I must make Obito and Nagato begin collecting the Tailed Beasts immediately!"
If this Rinnegan were not the one it had waited a thousand years to obtain, then with Black Zetsu's cautious nature, it would probably have hidden away by now—at the very least, it would have waited until it confirmed the Outsider's identity before appearing.
Unfortunately, it could not. This was the best chance, and also the last.
With that thought, Black Zetsu gave the hollow in the distance one last look, then controlled White Zetsu to merge into the earth and travel toward the Land of Rain, making the same rational choice as Samui.
Even knowing secrets were hidden there, it could not risk itself.
Letting others scout the way, then reaping the benefits at the critical moment—that was its nature.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside Konoha Hospital was extremely oppressive.
"Blue-eyed monster, robes formed from azure chakra, the Ninja Sect, hurricanes cast without hand seals, an Abyss that sealed the monster..." After hearing Hyuga Yunchuan's account, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
If these words had not come from Yunchuan, such a good child, and if Akamichi Chodo beside him had not confirmed them, he would likely have taken it all for an utterly absurd legend.
As though suddenly recalling something, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the boy before him and asked, "You said that inside that Abyss, you saw a 'building'?"
"Yes, I'm certain!" Some color had returned to Hyuga Yunchuan's pale face. "But I couldn't see inside the building. Something was blocking my Byakugan."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his beard thoughtfully, his eyes flickering.
Could the place sealing a monster that had likely survived from the era of ancient legends contain some hidden secrets, forbidden techniques, or something similar?
If it was true, if he could obtain them...
[Ding!] [Your lie has been judged as [Turning Fiction into Reality] [Cicada Shedding Its Shell] [A Leaf Blinds the Eye] [Luring the Enemy into the Trap]. Samui, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, Akamichi Chodo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and others experienced intense emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [Half-Believing, Half-Doubting]. You have obtained 6000 Reality Points.] [Remaining Reality Points: 16694]
Hearing the notification in his mind, Hyuga Yunchuan's heart stirred slightly, and a smile rose within him.
The fish had taken the bait.
Black Zetsu had actually been there too. That was quite an unexpected delight.
Before you continue