The stench of earth mixed with the dampness of underground water veins, spreading through the sunless depths of the strata.
A pale, spore-like mass moved through the cracks in the rock in an extremely bizarre manner. White Zetsu's half-faced visage, twisted into a grin, occasionally surfaced from the soil as he greedily inhaled the scent drifting down from above.
"This is wonderful..." White Zetsu muttered in a nervous whisper. The closer he got to the underground foundation of the Senju Divine Palace, the more intoxicated he became by that life force, so dense it was nearly tangible.
As a byproduct of the Divine Tree, he possessed an almost instinctive sense for the origin of Wood Release. Senju Hashirama's Wood Release had once been immense, but it carried a peaceful quality that flowed with nature. The aura emanating from the Divine Palace above, however, was an aggressively domineering, utterly exclusive, predatory vitality.
The surrounding dirt, rocks, and even the underground water veins were being forcibly catalyzed by that power into nourishment for the Divine Palace.
"Lord Madara will definitely be pleased with this prey." White Zetsu split his lips into a grin, his body turning semi-fluid as he prepared to pass through the final thirty meters of rock and infiltrate the network beneath the Divine Palace's main hall, stealing bloodline samples from the newborn and Senju Sosuke.
Just as his tendrils touched the ironwood roots at the bottom of the Divine Palace—
A sudden change occurred.
Without warning, a blinding emerald light suddenly flared within the once-silent underground rock layers. A chakra thread as fine as a hair, yet containing terrifying Yang Release principles, sprang like a long-dormant venomous snake and instantly wrapped around White Zetsu's extended tendril.
"What is this?!" White Zetsu was horrified.
His prized Mayfly Technique was said