Talking White Zetsu into Leaving

"Oh? Uchiha Feng, you know me?"

White Zetsu, whom Feng had recognized at a glance, was also stunned for a moment. He withdrew his killing intent and asked curiously.

Uchiha Feng! Damn it, this is bad. Even my true identity has been exposed. It looks like Black Zetsu most likely knows about me too.

Hearing White Zetsu call out his real name, Feng felt even more uneasy.

Haa... haa...

To keep it from affecting his thoughts, he took a deep breath and deliberately relaxed his mind.

Only after pondering for a moment did he continue.

"Heh, not only do I know you're called White Zetsu, I also know about Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu behind you."

"Hmm?? You even know that!! Then can you tell me what taking a dump feels like?"

White Zetsu was initially surprised, but what he said next made Feng's face darken.

"...You should ask Madara about that feeling. He is your partner, after all."

Suppressing the urge to complain, Feng answered in the calmest tone he could manage.

"That's true, but I asked Madara and he wouldn't tell me. Sometimes he even hits me."

White Zetsu looked deeply regretful and annoyed.

"Stop! Let's not discuss that anymore. Can you tell me why you came here??"

Afraid that if this continued, he really would be unable to stop himself from attacking, Feng hurriedly changed the subject and asked what had been bothering him.

"Oh, it's nothing. Madara discovered an Uchiha who defected from Konoha—you. He thought you might get in the way, so he sent me to kill you."

White Zetsu spoke with an unconcerned expression.

Because they had investigated Uchiha Feng in detail, neither he nor Madara, who had sent him, believed that a single White Zetsu would be unable to deal with Feng.

Therefore, White Zetsu did not mind chatting with Feng a little longer.

After all, being hung from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path without speaking for years was stifling. It was rare for him to get some air—go on a mission—so naturally, he wanted to talk as much as he could.

"Madara... Does Black Zetsu know I exist?"

Feng did not care much about the current "Madara," who was really Obito. What concerned him more was Black Zetsu, hidden even further in the shadows.

That ancient schemer who had lurked for a thousand years—even hardcore Naruto fans who had finished the series did not know much about him.

Feng, who had only casually followed Naruto, knew even less. He had no choice but to treat him cautiously.

However, he did not reveal "Madara's" true identity, lest he bring himself even greater trouble.

"Black Zetsu? I don't know."

White Zetsu replied casually.

"?? You don't know? Do you mean he doesn't know I exist, or that you don't know whether he knows about me?"

Feng wiped at nonexistent cold sweat on his forehead and pressed on.

The methods for dealing with "Madara" and Black Zetsu were completely different. He had to get this straight.

"Oh, Black Zetsu knows about you, but he doesn't care. He happened to be away when Madara sent me to kill you, so he doesn't know about this."

White Zetsu still looked utterly unconcerned.

"If that's the case, why don't you help me pass a few words to Black Zetsu? Let him decide whether we fight or leave each other alone. After all, the true leader of you White Zetsus is him, not Madara."

The instant Feng finished speaking, White Zetsu's brows tightened. His careless attitude vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

Though the White Zetsus were foolish, they knew what mattered when something serious happened.

"Where did you learn that!!"

White Zetsu stared at Feng, his killing intent completely enveloping him.

"Heh, that is something I cannot tell you."

Ignoring the other party's killing intent, Feng spoke as he hurled a kunai at White Zetsu.

White Zetsu continued staring at Feng. He raised a hand, flung out several branches to knock the kunai aside, and charged at Feng.

"And I don't think you can handle me. On the contrary, killing you would be as easy as turning my hand!"

Suddenly, White Zetsu discovered that Feng, whom he had been watching closely, had vanished. Then Feng's killing intent-filled voice sounded beside his ear.

A razor-sharp long blade coated in chakra was already pressed against his neck.

White Zetsu was not human. Faced with a blade that could take his life at any moment, he simply ignored it and unleashed Wood Release: Cutting Technique toward the source of the voice.

The blade swiftly slashed past. Its owner did not harm White Zetsu's neck, merely cutting a gash across his shoulder before vanishing again.

White Zetsu's Wood Release: Cutting Technique missed once more.

Then Feng's voice came from the distance again.

"Flying Thunder God, a ninjutsu that allows spatial teleportation. With this, neither you nor Madara can keep me here. Now, can you help me pass my words to Black Zetsu?"

White Zetsu turned toward the voice and saw Feng, who had just disappeared, standing not far away with a smile. In his hand, he casually tossed and caught a kunai engraved with markings.

"I didn't expect us to have missed such important intelligence. Heh, fine. What do you need me to tell Zetsu? Go ahead."

White Zetsu knew of the famed Flying Thunder God and understood that Feng was right.

If they fought, he did not know what the outcome would be. But if Feng ran, White Zetsu definitely had no way to stop him.

Madara's space-time ninjutsu might be able to stop him, but White Zetsu would first have to return and find Madara.

Since he had to go back anyway, there was no harm in hearing what Feng had to say.

Watching White Zetsu sink into the ground and vanish, Feng murmured softly.

"Kurama, I'll have to trouble you to keep watch and warn me from now on. Aside from you, it will be difficult for anyone else to detect White Zetsu's methods of hiding and infiltration."

At this, the Nine-Tails' lips curled slightly, and a flash of delight passed through his eyes.

Yet when he spoke, his tone was still unfriendly.

"Hmph, I'm not some despicable human. Since I agreed to cooperate with you for now, I won't stand by when it's time for me to contribute."

"Heh, thank you, Kurama."

Feng did not mind his attitude at all and even thanked him.

"Hey, human, who asked for your thanks? Don't flatter yourself. I'm not helping you. I just don't want Black Zetsu to get his way."

The Nine-Tails' lips curled even higher, but he acted like his fur was standing on end, his voice filled with anger.

"Yes, yes. How could the great Kurama possibly care about a mere human..."

Feng used the methods he had learned from videos in his previous life for dealing with cats on the Nine-Tails.

Kurama was a giant fox, after all. He was not all that different from a cat that treated humans as its litter box attendants.

"Lord Zetsu, there is important intelligence."

Inside a secret underground base, a White Zetsu spoke to Black Zetsu.

It was the same White Zetsu who had failed to assassinate Feng and hurried back without stopping to find Black Zetsu.

"What is so urgent?"

Black Zetsu stared sternly at the White Zetsu before him and asked in a grave voice.

Because White Zetsu had used the channel reserved for emergency reports of major incidents, Black Zetsu had rushed back the moment he received the message.

"Is Lord Madara not here?"

Yet White Zetsu did not report immediately. Instead, he asked about "Madara's" whereabouts.

"Hmm!!??"

Black Zetsu scrutinized the White Zetsu before him with an icy gaze.

As tools created for a purpose, White Zetsus only needed to follow orders. Those with thoughts of their own were not qualified tools!

"Lord Zetsu, we've been exposed. I was afraid Madara might notice, so I needed to confirm whether he was here first."

Unaffected, White Zetsu explained carelessly and without a care in the world.

"?? We've been exposed?? Exposed what? And what does that have to do with Madara?"

Black Zetsu was utterly confused by White Zetsu's words.

As someone who had lurked in the ninja world for a thousand years, he had hidden countless secrets.

That abrupt statement that they had been exposed...

He had no idea what exactly had been exposed.

"Lord Zetsu, your plan to rescue someone from the moon has been exposed. You've always kept this hidden. Wasn't it because you wanted to hide it from Lord Madara?!"

"What! How could that be possible!!"

White Zetsu opened with a bombshell. Black Zetsu slammed his hand onto the table and sprang to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

A secret he had kept buried in his heart for a thousand years, one he had never even told the White Zetsus, had suddenly been exposed by someone else. How could he not be shocked?

Only after a long while did Black Zetsu finally regain his senses.

"Speak. What happened? How was it exposed?"

His voice was icy, his killing intent overwhelming.

This was the deepest secret in his heart. After a thousand years of planning, hope had finally arrived. He would not allow anyone to destroy that hope.

"Oh, I don't know how it was exposed. A while ago, didn't we discover an Uchiha who defected from Konoha? Madara thought he might interfere with our plans, so he sent me to deal with him. But I never expected that guy to know the Flying Thunder God. I was no match for him at all. Then not only did he not kill me, he even let me come back. And he asked me to bring you a few words. The secret you have, Lord Zetsu, was what he mentioned in those words."

White Zetsu still explained casually and without a care.

He was not human, so he did not possess many things humans had, such as eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, fear, or dread of death.

"Stop rambling. Tell me exactly what he asked you to say."

Hearing this, Black Zetsu instantly and meticulously reviewed all the intelligence on Uchiha Feng in his mind. Yet he could not find the slightest possibility that Feng might know anything about him. Greatly puzzled, he could only continue questioning the White Zetsu before him.

"Oh... oh... He said: Black Zetsu, I know your true goal is the woman inside the moon. My goal does not conflict or overlap with yours. So, you can take your broad road while I cross my narrow bridge. Of course, if you insist on causing trouble, then be prepared for mutual destruction."

White Zetsu gathered his emotions, pointed one hand toward the sky, and slowly spoke while imitating Feng's tone and movements.

"That's all? There were no other words?"

After White Zetsu finished, Black Zetsu asked calmly.

"Oh, that's all. Nothing else."

White Zetsu nodded and confirmed it.

"Then did you tell anyone else these words?" Black Zetsu asked.

"I'm the White Zetsu with the tightest lips. How could I possibly tell anyone else?"

White Zetsu looked as though he had been falsely accused and was deeply hurt.

"Very good. Very good."

Having received White Zetsu's confirmation, Black Zetsu suddenly moved without warning.

Yin–Yang Release: Spirit Possession!

In an instant, he attached himself to White Zetsu's body, destroyed it, and absorbed it.

After erasing all traces of the White Zetsu before him, Black Zetsu closed his eyes and sensed for a while before summoning a new White Zetsu skilled in combat from outside.

He used Yin–Yang Release: Spirit Possession once more, but this time he merely possessed the new White Zetsu without harming it.

"Let's go. To the capital of the Tea Country."

After possessing it, Black Zetsu issued the order coldly.

He intended to meet Uchiha Feng personally. If possible, he would preferably kill him and bury the secret forever.

No one could interfere with Otsutsuki "Chenxiang" saving his mother!

No one!