White Zetsu Attacks

"My lord!" x2

Before long, the Left Minister Sada Hidemasa, who had been the first to pledge loyalty to Feng, arrived together with Grand Minister Shimizu Takeshi, who had recently shamelessly and stubbornly declared his loyalty to Feng on his own.

"Mm, sit down. Let's talk."

Feng responded calmly, still deep in thought.

After the two sat down across from him, Feng sorted through his thoughts before continuing.

"Shimizu Takeshi, you should have some connections in Sea Country, right?"

"Uh, in reply to my lord, I do have some business friends there."

Grand Minister Shimizu Takeshi was taken aback, but he quickly answered honestly.

He might have been an old hand in officialdom, but precisely because of that, he understood even better that loyalty in politics was never absolute—and absolute loyalty did not exist.

"Mm. Starting now, have your friends in Sea Country keep an eye on when Kirigakure in the neighboring Land of Water will revive the Bloody Mist Village."

"The Bloody Mist Village? I heard that Kirigakure's newly appointed Fourth Mizukage had already abolished that bloody policy.

Could it be...? My lord, do you think they'll do it again?!"

Shimizu Takeshi could not understand. Kirigakure's Bloody Mist Village was infamous throughout the ninja world. That idiotic policy had finally been abolished—were there really fools who wanted to bring it back?

Did Kirigakure want to disband itself?

"You don't need to worry about that. Just arrange for people to watch them. Once the Bloody Mist Village rises again in Kirigakure, report back."

Naturally, Feng did not explain.

What, was he supposed to say that Kirigakure's newly appointed Mizukage would soon be controlled by genjutsu and turned into a puppet, while the person secretly controlling him hated Kirigakure to the bone?

If he said that, people would most likely also figure out the truth about Feng controlling Tea Country's former daimyo.

He was not foolish enough to expose his own secrets.

"Hidemasa, I have two matters for you to handle."

Ignoring the puzzled Shimizu Takeshi, Feng turned to Sada Hidemasa.

"Please give your orders, my lord."

Sada Hidemasa lowered his head and waited for Feng's instructions.

"The first matter is to post a job at the Underground Marketplace. Find the whereabouts of a large flying ninja beast or wild beast.

There are no requirements for its strength or appearance. As long as they can provide an accurate location, that will be enough."

Feng paused, allowing Sada Hidemasa to take it in.

After reviewing his own abilities, Feng had discovered a minor weakness: he lacked regular air superiority.

Susanoo could fly, but using it for everyday flight consumed too much chakra and attracted far too much attention. It was not conducive to lying low.

Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique could also allow flight, but it was too difficult. He had not learned it yet, and even the day he would learn it remained far in the future.

Therefore, he needed to first find a summoning beast that could carry people through the air in daily life.

"The second matter is to secretly search for a vanished country—the Land of Neck.

This will be troublesome, because I'm not even sure whether the Land of Neck ever existed.

So, Hidemasa, be prepared for a long search that may ultimately yield nothing.

But if you can find it, the reward definitely won't disappoint you."

Feng gave his second instruction.

The Land of Neck was a destroyed country that had only appeared in the original anime, never in the manga.

Therefore, Feng did not know whether this Naruto world he had transmigrated into had ever contained such a country.

But Feng was extremely tempted by the summoning beast of Kubisaki Gōza, the last daimyo of the Land of Neck, from the anime.

It was not because he liked the chameleon summoning beast's appearance or strength. He had Susanoo and did not care about those things.

What he wanted was the chameleon's ability to transform into a castle.

Not only could it become a castle, but the castle it transformed into could be used like a normal castle. Furthermore, changing back and forth between chameleon and castle did not affect the castle's normal use.

That ability seemed useless at first glance, but on closer thought, it was quite absurd.

In the original anime, over several decades, everything necessary for human life inside the castle transformed from that chameleon had remained clean, orderly, and perfectly preserved.

Imagine it from another perspective: a luxurious castle with fully automated housekeeping, one that could move freely and be placed anywhere, while also being extremely safe.

Who would not be tempted? Who would not want it? Feng certainly did.

Moreover, Feng had another extremely important use in mind for that chameleon.

"Please rest assured, my lord. I will handle both matters properly."

Sada Hidemasa nodded respectfully and readily accepted Feng's orders.

As Feng completely took control of Tea Country, more and more people had pledged loyalty to him, and quite a few of them were no less capable than Sada Hidemasa.

Even though he knew that he currently held the highest position in Feng's heart,

a ruler's thoughts were impossible to fathom. He still desperately wanted to prove himself more often, lest someone else take his lofty place in his lord's heart.

"Mm. I trust you to handle things. Go get busy."

Feng patted Sada Hidemasa on the shoulder, his words filled with encouragement and trust.

This was a method for manipulating subordinates that he had seen in short videos in his previous life. Now was as good a time as any to try it.

After watching Grand Minister Shimizu Takeshi and Sada Hidemasa leave, Feng resumed his training.

In a world with supernatural power, strength was far more important than authority or status. The ninja world was naturally the same. Once one's strength reached a certain level, everything else would come naturally.

After another day of grueling training, Feng put away his sword and was about to sit down for a rest.

"Watch out!! Enemy!!"

Inside Feng's mental space, the Nine-Tails suddenly cried out in warning.

After several months together, the man and fox had formed a fairly good relationship. Upon hearing this, Feng almost immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his original position.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

In the instant after Feng left, three thick branches burst from the ground, trying to bind something.

It was Wood Release: Silent Killing Bind Technique!

However, having lost Feng as its target, the branches of the Silent Killing Bind Technique spun around twice on the spot without finding anything, then retreated back into the ground and vanished.

As the branches disappeared, a figure slowly rose from the ground.

White Zetsu!

Feng recognized the figure at a glance, and his heart jolted with alarm.

Encountering White Zetsu at a time like this was not a good thing. Moreover, it was obvious that the other party had come specifically for him.

That meant he had most likely been exposed. He just did not know how much had been revealed.

What should he do?

Once White Zetsu had set his sights on him—with its ability to merge its body with earth or plants and travel freely through them—he would not be able to hide anymore even if he wanted to.

Either kill him instantly! Or fool him?

Information about White Zetsu flashed through Feng's mind, and he nearly immediately came up with those two options.

But then he remembered that White Zetsu seemed rather unintelligent. His eyes lit up at once as an idea formed.

"Heh, White Zetsu, why are you in such a hurry to attack?

We have no grudges between us. How about we talk first?"

Feng intended to fool him and see whether he could extract some information from White Zetsu before deciding whether to kill him.

As for whether he could kill him, that had never crossed his mind.

With the Flying Thunder God and Susanoo he had obtained through cheats, combined with the Nine-Tails as a living charger,

as long as Obito and Black Zetsu did not come personally, even if one hundred thousand White Zetsu did not run, the question would be whether there were enough to kill—not whether they could be killed.