The samurai held a piece of bloodstained silk in his hands.
The writing on it was crooked and uneven, with the musty smell of old ink.
I picked it up between two fingers and leaned away in disgust.
A snaky stench wafted from the cloth into my nose, foul enough to make me sneeze.
"Lord Sen, that fellow said he left you a big gift deep in the forest."
"He also said... if you don't go take a look, Konoha's toilets will get very lively later."
I spat, threw the rag straight into the muddy water, and ground it beneath my foot.
"It's first thing in the damn morning, and he's already pulling this useless crap."
"That small fry Kabuto must have a death wish, daring to play these games with me."
Kakashi leaned over for a look, and his face immediately darkened.
"This is probably a trap. We'd better rendezvous with the Allied Forces first to be safe."
I gave him a sidelong look and irritably pulled my coat pockets shut.
"Safe? I've never known the meaning of that word."
"The coordinates on this rag point deep into the forest. That place is full of cold, sinister chakra."
"Ten to one, it's those White Zetsu's underground nest."
Before I'd even finished speaking, a strange pulse suddenly traveled through the earth beneath my feet.
It felt like a huge swarm of earthworms rolling around underground.
I closed my eyes and abruptly spread out my Photosynthesis perception.
Well, damn. The ground for several kilometers around was absolutely swarming.
There were tens of thousands of White Zetsu, like maggots crawling out of a mud pit.
They were packed together, one beside another, filling the underground space.
"Perfect. I was just worrying about fertilizer for this year's flowers, and now it's all been