Three bucket-sized holes had appeared in the salamander's front.
On the giant salamander's back, meanwhile, a huge crater as wide as a water tank had been blasted open.
The coin had exploded on impact, unleashing a rolling blast.
The salamander's splattering poisonous blood corroded seven or eight Land of Rain ninjas.
Only when Doshin ordered the giant salamander again did he realize that the beast beneath his feet was no longer responding.
The summoning beast spat blood, its eyes unfocused and its limbs twitching. It looked like it was about to die.
"What kind of jutsu has such incredible power?"
As a veteran elite jonin from the Land of Rain, Salamander Doshin had seen plenty. But he had never seen Lightning Release that crackled with sparks and lightning all the way through!
The electromagnetic cannon didn't look all that powerful. But when it hit a large summoning beast, it left a small hole in the front and a huge crater of torn flesh in the back.
"Everyone, retreat!" Having lost his summoning beast, Salamander Doshin reluctantly abandoned the dying salamander.
The salamander, wracked with pain, let out a childlike wail.
As the Rain Ninja retreated, they also set up a "Ninja Beast Self-Destruct Trap" around the giant salamander to spread its poison.
Their sinister trick nearly cost the Uchiha ninjas dearly.
Fortunately, Uchiha Yashiro was a cautious man.
He stopped the others and first burned the giant salamander's corpse from a distance with Fire Release.
If Yashiro hadn't been so alert, the salamander's poison would have covered an area nearly a kilometer wide, soaking into every inch of land.
The remaining Land of Rain ninjas could also retreat from the town more easily by using the salamander's poison to hold their pursuers back.
But every move they made had already been seen clearly by Misaka Sister 0007, who had been following them underground.
Misaka Sister 007 was a very distinctive one.
She almost never smiled and usually had a cool, aloof air about her.
Because her number was 007, Fucheng had nicknamed her "Agent Sister."
This time, 007 hadn't taken part in the weakened version of the electromagnetic cannon attack.
She had conserved her chakra and traveled underground the whole way, intending to follow the Rain Ninja.
Once she found their hideout, she would call Mikoto and hit them with a "big one."
While Misaka Sister 007 was following the Rain Ninja, Misaka Sister 0007 was being tailed by a special enemy.
[Black and White]
The black-and-white pitcher plant had a fashionable look, making the little black man fused with White Zetsu easy to recognize.
Ever since the war began, Kaguya's younger son, who had been lying low in Konoha, had suddenly realized there was no point in staying there to gather intelligence.
Danzo, the Uchiha, and the Konoha ninjas had all gone to the Land of Rain.
Furious over the loss of White Zetsu, Black Zetsu had searched Konoha for three days in a frenzy.
When he found no clues, he had no choice but to head to the Land of Rain.
Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara had long since established observation posts there.
Madara had implanted the Rinnegan in a child named Nagato.
In Black Zetsu's mind, Uchiha Madara wasn't even necessarily as important as that pair of Rinnegan anymore.
To monitor the Land of Rain and protect Nagato, the bearer of the Rinnegan, more than twenty White Zetsu had been stationed there.
And Black Zetsu, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's devoted son, had finally escaped the sorry state of being all alone in the Land of Rain.
"It's strange not having a few White Zetsu underlings around."
That feeling that "everyone's out to get Zetsu" still clung to Black Zetsu like a burr.
Just then, Black Zetsu spotted Misaka Sister 007 behind Salamander Doshin.
"Something's not right. What the hell is that thing?"
Black Zetsu looked her over from every angle, sensing Misaka Sister 007 again and again.
No matter how he sensed her, she seemed to be a special White Zetsu in disguise.
But why did this special White Zetsu have neither the scent of the Spore Technique nor that strange quality of White Zetsu, "like a person, but not quite"?
A flash of inspiration struck Black Zetsu.
It was as if someone had just smacked him on the head. Damn it! Could this be the White Zetsu I lost?
He pointed at the "suspected White Zetsu" in the distance, then gave an order toward the southern part of town.
"Go alert the ten White Zetsu nearby. The other three, keep on its tail. There's a strange one traveling underground."
At his command, the four White Zetsu beside Black Zetsu sprang into action as if a program had started, carrying out their tasks in order.
One White Zetsu headed south.
The other three spread out along the flanks and began following Misaka Sister 007.
Black Zetsu's flurry of activity made Mikoto, who hadn't noticed him before, sense that something was amiss.
Agent Sister 007 simultaneously sent Mikoto a report:
"Abnormal vibrations underground near 007."
Based on the area where the vibrations originated, Mikoto activated full-power electromagnetic-wave detection.
Four White Zetsu were moving quickly in different directions!
Meanwhile, the White Zetsu fused with Black Zetsu, who had remained where he was, temporarily evaded Mikoto's motion detection!
Surprised and delighted, Mikoto felt as if she had found a treasure. "Fucheng, it looks like more White Zetsu have shown up. There are four in total!"
Uchiha Fucheng's eyes lit up. "Perfect timing. They're practically delivering themselves to us."
Fucheng reminded Mikoto, "Keep scanning the surrounding area. Black Zetsu could still be hiding nearby, or there could be other forces affiliated with Uchiha Madara."
Mikoto and several Misaka Sisters, along with four Uchiha jonin, went to capture the White Zetsu who had run south.
Fucheng himself set off with Uchiha Wubo, Uchiha Kaen, Uchiha Zanghu, and the others to pursue the remnants of the Rain Ninja.
The fierce battles of the past few days had helped more than a dozen Uchiha chunin awaken the Three-Tomoe.
Uchiha Kaen, Uchiha Wubo, and Uchiha Zanghu were among the best of them.
Kaen was a familiar face. He had once been one of Fugaku's more trusted bodyguards.
After Kaen was promoted to jonin, Fugaku reassigned him to Fucheng's side.
He was to serve as a member of the Uchiha Clan Head's guard.
In Uchiha Fucheng's eyes:
Uchiha Kaen and his brothers were loyal retainers of the clan head's branch, much like "born into the household" servants.
As for Uchiha Zanghu, he was even more interesting.
This square-faced, small-eyed Uchiha ninja was one of the rare burly members of the Uchiha Clan.
His looks, build, and bearing were all a far cry from the Uchiha's usual handsome men and beautiful women.
He was not only a Taijutsu expert but also "born with superhuman strength"!
He wielded a huge, all-metal nunchaku with a fearsome whoosh.
He could also summon a "Water Monkey" that spat acid.
It made Uchiha Fucheng wonder whether the young Zanghu had some Sarutobi genes among his relatives.
This up-and-coming Uchiha ninja, whose name was "Zanghu," was the first in the Uchiha Clan to start the trend of naming people after animals.
As his name caught on, many Uchiha parents began giving their children animal names.
Names like Uchiha Zhanying, Uchiha Kun, Uchiha Li, and Uchiha Itachi.
Perhaps they had all borrowed the animal-naming style of "Zanghu Xiaoliang"...
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