Soul Space, Cell No. 3.
??? Wasn't I dead?
White Zetsu was full of questions.
It remembered following a boy, then vaguely seeing a fox-like summon pierce straight through its body.
Then it had ended up here.
"How strange."
"Could that thing piercing my body just now have been some kind of medium for a jutsu?"
Unable to figure it out, White Zetsu used the Mayfly Technique, trying to leave the cell.
Unfortunately, although the technique had clearly worked, it couldn't merge with its surroundings here...
"This place is so mysterious." White Zetsu looked astonished.
Just then,
Sasuke's consciousness entered Cell No. 3.
Noticing the newcomer, White Zetsu asked curiously, "Did you lock me up in here? That's really impressive. I can't even escape."
As it spoke, it felt around, left and right, like a curious child.
"..." As expected, White Zetsu's thought process was on another level.
Strange, why isn't he saying anything?... Seeing Sasuke remain silent, White Zetsu rubbed its chin, then curled its right hand into a fist and tapped it against its left palm, as if it had figured something out. "You must be the mute assigned to keep an eye on me!"
"..." There was no way to respond to that.
Sasuke spoke up. "I did lock you in here."
"Oh my god, you're not mute?" White Zetsu was shocked.
!!! Was that really the point?
A vein bulged on Sasuke's forehead.
Not noticing Sasuke's expression, White Zetsu looked around the cell again and rubbed its chin. "Strange. There's not even a toilet in here. What are people locked up here supposed to do if they need to poop? On the floor?"
!!! Only White Zetsu could be this incredible!
Sasuke took a deep breath, then forced a smile. "Want to know?"
"You can tell me?" White Zetsu looked at him expectantly.
"Of course!" Sasuke nodded. "The principle here is equivalent exchange. Give me your abilities, and I'll tell you."
Fair enough!
White Zetsu didn't seem to mind. Instead, it asked in confusion, "What do I have to do to give them to you?"
"It's simple. Just think to yourself that you want to give me all your abilities."
At that, White Zetsu thought it over, and a voice rang out in its mind:
'Ding!'
'Would you like to give all your abilities to the Lord of Souls?'
"How amazing!" White Zetsu looked astonished, then thought 'yes.'
'Ding!'
'Congratulations, host. You have obtained: White Zetsu Constitution and all the ninjutsu mastered by White Zetsu!'
??? That was all it took?
Sasuke was dumbfounded too!
He knew White Zetsu was simple-minded, but he hadn't known it was this simple!
'Ding!'
'The host has obtained all of White Zetsu's abilities. Would you like to release it?'
'Note: White Zetsu does not possess a true soul. If released, its consciousness will disappear from the Ninja World.'
This was one of the Soul Prison's mechanisms.
The ten cells didn't mean that only ten souls could be held there at a time.
As long as Sasuke wished, he could release any soul imprisoned in Soul Space.
Released souls would return to the Pure Land.
Of course, there was no need to worry about information leaking out. Soul Space had a special mechanism that prevented any soul that had entered from revealing its secrets.
"Huh? I really gave them to you?" White Zetsu vaguely realized that it had truly given its abilities to the so-called Lord of Souls. The mysterious feeling left it stunned.
It had only been trying it out, never expecting such an incredible ability to actually exist.
But it had already given them away. It seemed there was no point regretting it now, so it could only look up at Sasuke and ask, "I gave them to you. Can you tell me now?"
"Sure!" Sasuke, who believed in "equivalent" exchange, naturally didn't go back on his word. "Everyone who comes here is a soul, so they don't need to poop."
??? That's it?
White Zetsu was dumbfounded.
"All right, the deal's done. See you!" Sasuke didn't bother with the bewildered White Zetsu. Now that the equivalent exchange was complete, he naturally wouldn't keep it around.
'Release White Zetsu.'
'Ding!'
'White Zetsu successfully released!'
Watching White Zetsu vanish from Cell No. 3, Sasuke shook his head with a wry smile.
'Good thing this White Zetsu isn't very smart. With a thought process like that, it'd probably be hard to make them feel any strong emotions...'
Putting the thought aside, Sasuke's consciousness returned to the real world.
"By the way, it's April tomorrow, so I'll be starting at the Ninja Academy. Itachi will too, right?"
"Right."
"Maybe we'll be in the same class."
"Maybe."
Holding Sasuke, Izumi had come over to Itachi's house.
The two of them sat on the garden path, making small talk.
Itachi was clearly distracted, though. Every so often, he gave Izumi a strange look, making her feel a little uneasy. She could only hope that Sasuke, who was still clutching her clothes tightly, would wake up soon.
Perhaps the heavens had heard her prayer?
Sasuke's eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Oh, Sasuke, you're awake?" Izumi looked delighted.
"Ahem." Itachi cleared his throat. "Sasuke, come here. Big sister Izumi's going home, so your big brother will hold you."
As he spoke, he reached out to take Sasuke. Seeing this, Sasuke immediately shrank back and buried his head against Izumi's chest, his small hands gripping her clothes tightly.
Itachi froze mid-motion... Was he seriously shrinking away from him like that?
Seeing Sasuke's strong reaction, Izumi hesitated. "Itachi, did you... um, scare Sasuke?"
I scared Sasuke? Am I scary?... Itachi turned to stone.
"Um~" Izumi hurriedly waved her hands. "I don't mean it like that. I mean... well..."
All right, she had no idea how to explain herself either. In the end, she looked embarrassed and fell silent.
"Maybe." Itachi seemed to understand what Izumi meant. His expression fell. "Sasuke was fine until last night. Maybe I didn't take good enough care of him when I brought him to the shelter..."
"That's..." Izumi tried to comfort him. "Things were dangerous yesterday, and Sasuke is still little. It's normal that he got scared. He'll forget about it soon."
Itachi shook his head, looking dejected. "But that doesn't change the fact that I didn't take good care of Sasuke, does it?"
Izumi patted Itachi on the shoulder. "You've done really well. You took care of your little brother and saved me..."
Stare!
Itachi stared at Uchiha Izumi.
He actually suspected that the house collapsing when he'd rescued Izumi was what had frightened Sasuke.
He knew he shouldn't blame Uchiha Izumi, but he couldn't help thinking that way...
"Or maybe he wasn't scared?" Unaware of what Itachi was thinking, Izumi still tried to comfort him. "Maybe Sasuke just likes girls? Before this, besides Aunt Mikoto, no other girls had ever taken care of him, right?"
Itachi replied expressionlessly, "He cries whenever other women hold him."
"Um~" Izumi was at a loss for words. At last, she managed, "Maybe she likes people closer to her own age?"
Seeing that Itachi didn't disagree and instead seemed to consider it, Izumi breathed a sigh of relief. "Itachi, maybe Sasuke isn't acting this way because you didn't take good care of him. Maybe he naturally likes girls closer to his own age. He just hadn't met any before, so you never noticed?"
Stare!
Itachi once again stared expressionlessly at Uchiha Izumi. "Why would Sasuke like a girl close to his age whom he doesn't even know?"
Oh my god!
Just destroy the world already!
Why was he asking that question as if it were perfectly reasonable?
A three-month-old baby hadn't even fully developed mentally. Why did his behavior need to have so many explanations?
Uchiha Izumi had no idea how to answer Itachi anymore!
Thankfully, Uchiha Mikoto returned home just then. "Oh, Izumi, you're here."
"Hello, Aunt Mikoto." Izumi stood up and greeted her politely.
Uchiha Mikoto glanced at Sasuke in her arms and smiled. "Looks like our little Sasuke is bothering you again?"
"No, he isn't bothering me at all. Little Sasuke's very well-behaved." Izumi hurriedly waved her hands.
Mikoto smiled as she walked over to Sasuke. Bending down, she gently tapped his nose with her finger and teased, "Little Sasuke, you like clinging to Izumi so much. How about making her your childhood bride when you grow up?"
Childhood bride?
Uchiha Izumi's eyes widened!
Then it felt as if her cheeks were on fire, the heat spreading all the way to her ears.
Her face, caught between shyness and embarrassment, looked even more bright and lovely.
No wonder Sasuke likes her... Itachi blinked, as if he'd found the answer.
Before you continue