Traces of White Zetsu

Konoha Year 48, early October.

The forest was silent late at night, with only the occasional chirp of insects.

Three meters underground.

Several pale humanoid creatures were shuttling through the soil. Their body structure was somewhere between plant and human, allowing them to swim freely through rocks and tree roots like fish through water.

White Zetsu clones.

"The Uchiha have really been quiet lately."

One of the White Zetsu clones complained over their mental network, "Aside from eating, drinking, and having fun every day, it's just ordinary patrols. That clan leader Fugaku even went to buy new tea sets yesterday. He doesn't look like he's planning a rebellion at all."

"Don't get careless," another voice said. "Lord Madara (Obito) said the quieter it is, the more suspicious it is. We need to confirm the Nine-Tails jinchuriki's guard situation, and we also need to figure out whether the Uchiha really have gone soft."

"Hey, look over there!"

The first White Zetsu suddenly stopped.

Its sensory tendrils had detected an anomaly up ahead.

It was the barrier at the southeastern corner of the Uchiha Clan Compound. The originally strict sensory net had actually shown an extremely faint fluctuation here, like a crack splitting open in a wall.

"Looks like the Barrier Squad got careless with maintenance." The White Zetsu grew excited. "This is a good chance! If we follow this opening inside, maybe we can go straight under Naka River Shrine and see what secrets they're hiding."

"Go! Let's take a look!"

Greed overcame caution.

Like sharks that had smelled blood, several White Zetsu clones followed the gap left by that "oversight" and slipped silently into the Uchiha Clan Compound.

However, the instant all of them entered.

Buzz—!!!

The originally transparent, formless barrier suddenly erupted with a blinding blood-red light.

That so-called "gap" instantly turned into a closing maw.

"Damn it! It's a trap!"

The White Zetsu clones reacted extremely quickly and immediately tried to activate the "Mayfly Technique" to dive deep underground and escape.

But to their horror, they discovered that the soil around them had changed.

The originally soft earth had now become harder than steel. Every inch of soil was filled with high-density earth-style chakra, completely sealing off their retreat.

"Welcome, underground rats."

A cold voice came from above.

Xuan Shi stood atop the branches of a towering tree, looking down from above at the area sealed by the barrier.

Beside him, Fugaku maintained a posture with both hands pressed to the ground, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Earth Release: Heavenly Lid!"

Rumble!

A massive stone dome descended from the sky, dropping down like a pot lid and completely covering the area within a fifty-meter radius, forming a sealed jar.

"Damn it! We've been found!"

The White Zetsu clones screamed, trying to find a breakthrough point in the stone wall.

But before they could get close to the wall, a green afterimage had already flashed in front of them.

"Body Flicker Shisui!"

Shisui's figure was as fast as a bolt of lightning. He did not draw his blade, instead directly activating Susanoo's ribcage form.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A huge green chakra arm swept across.

Three White Zetsu clones did not even have time to scream before they were slapped straight into mush, smeared across the stone wall like rotten tomatoes.

Seeing this, the remaining two White Zetsu immediately tried to split their bodies and release spores.

This was their last resort—even if their main bodies died, they had to scatter the spores and send the intelligence back to Obito.

"Trying to send a message?"

The three tomoe in Xuan Shi's eyes spun sharply.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

Swish swish swish swish swish!

Dozens of shuriken fell like a downpour, carrying lightning-style chakra.

Every shuriken precisely severed the chakra pathways through which the White Zetsu were releasing their spores. The tiny spores that had just drifted out instantly lost activity under the paralysis of the lightning style and fell to the ground like dust.

"Damn... Uchiha..."

The last surviving White Zetsu clone was pinned to the ground, all four limbs pierced through by shuriken. It raised that pale, eerie face and glared fixedly at Xuan Shi.

"You discovered us long ago?"

Xuan Shi jumped down from the tree and walked up to it.

He had no intention of interrogating it. Creatures like White Zetsu were essentially plant-men. They had no sense of pain and were not afraid to die; interrogation would be a pure waste of time.

"Did Obito send you?"

Xuan Shi asked flatly, not expecting it to answer.

White Zetsu split its mouth open, revealing a mocking smile. "You think killing us will help? Lord Madara's eyes are watching everything. None of you can escape!"

"Is that so?"

The corner of Xuan Shi's mouth lifted slightly.

"Then let him watch. Watch as his eyes get gouged blind, one by one."

Whoosh—

Xuan Shi took a deep breath, his chest swelling high.

Although his Mangekyo had not fully recovered yet and he could not freely use Amaterasu, ordinary Fire Release was already enough to deal with this kind of plant-natured enemy.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Boom!!!

A towering sea of fire surged from Xuan Shi's mouth.

Golden flames instantly swallowed that White Zetsu clone, along with all the surrounding remains and spores.

The sealed space instantly turned into purgatory.

Under the extreme heat, not even ash remained of White Zetsu. It completely vaporized and disappeared.

A few minutes later.

Fugaku released the earth-style barrier.

Only a charred patch remained on the ground, giving off faint wisps of blue smoke.

"It's clean."

Fugaku wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Five clones in total. Looks like Obito is keeping a close eye on us."

"This is only the first batch."

Xuan Shi looked at the scorch marks on the ground, then turned toward the dark forest in the distance.

"His intelligence network has been cut off. The current Obito is like a gambler with his eyes covered."

"He has lost his view inside Konoha. He doesn't know the Nine-Tails jinchuriki's exact location, and he doesn't know our true combat strength either."

"He's certain to get anxious. He'll panic."

Xuan Shi raised his head and looked at the moon in the night sky, half-hidden by dark clouds.

"When a gambler gets anxious, he won't be able to stop himself from stepping onto the stage in person."

"And that..."

A cold gleam flashed through Xuan Shi's eyes.

"Is the second feast we've prepared for him."