White Zetsu Detected Again

It was late at night when the Mist Village troops arrived at the border of Konoha.

Five thousand elite Mist Village ninja maintained astonishing discipline during an eighteen-hour forced march. They crossed the strait by boat, traversed the dense forests along the border of the Land of Fire, and finally, at midnight, spotted Konoha's triple-layered barrier wall, gleaming faintly in the night. There were no torches, no conversations, only the uniform sound of footsteps and the subtle rustling of ninja tools against armor, like a silent, ghostly army.

Mei Terumi walked at the head of the group. She had changed out of her usual Mizukage robes and into a dark blue combat ninja outfit, covered with light armor, and had two specially made Kunai slung across her back. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her face no longer had her usual charming smile, but only the solemnity of a warrior.

But she was not at peace inside.

From the moment she left the Mist Village, a nameless unease, like an undercurrent, simmered within her heart. It wasn't fear of war—she had lived through the "Blood Mist Village" era and witnessed things far more brutal than war. Rather, it was a wariness of the unknown, a wariness of the variables lurking in the shadows that could change everything.

"Mizukage, the Konoha's defensive line is just ahead." Ao approached from the side and reported in a low voice. This most outstanding sensory ninja of Mist Village had his right eyepatch slightly bulging—that was his Byakugan, a trophy from the Hyuga Main House, which was now operating at full power, analyzing the structure and strength of the Konoha Village's barrier.

Mei Terumi nodded and raised her hand to signal the troops to stop.

Almost the instant she raised her hand, a crack opened in Konoha's barrier wall. It wasn't a gate, but merely a temporary passage for a few people. Two figures emerged from the passage—no, to be precise, one figure and a... source of light.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Even in the dead of night, even from a distance of a hundred meters, Mei Terumi could clearly see the golden Chakra Cloak the boy. The light was warm and powerful, like a small sun at the edge of the dark forest, gilding everything around him with a pale gold. He stood there, hands in his pockets, in a casual posture, but his azure eyes, illuminated by the golden light, were so sharp that one dared not look directly at them.

Following behind him was Kakashi Hatake. The Copy Ninja still had that lazy look, his Forehead Protector tilted to one side, covering his left eye, and his only exposed right eye was half-closed, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"Gentlemen of Mist Village, you must be tired from your journey." Kakashi raised his hand and greeted them casually. "I am Kakashi Hatake, here to greet you on the orders of the Lord Hokage."

His tone was polite, but Mei Terumi could detect the distance and wariness beneath it. This wasn't the tone of welcoming an ally; it was the tone of receiving someone "who needs to be scrutinized."

Ao's face darkened. As Mei Terumi's captain of guards, he could sense the undisguised suspicion among the Konoha Ninja. Was this the attitude they were showing towards their allies who had just traveled a long way to provide support?

"Lord Kakashi." Mei Terumi stepped forward, her voice calm yet carrying the authority of the Mizukage, "The five thousand elite troops of Kirigakure have arrived on time as ordered by the ultimatum. Please inform the Lord Hokage that we need to allow the troops to rest and coordinate tactics as soon as possible."

"Of course," Kakashi nodded, "But before entering Konoha, a necessary procedure needs to be completed."

He stepped aside, gesturing for Naruto to come forward.

Naruto walked to the entrance of the barrier passage, his golden Chakra Cloak rippled slightly. He looked around at the Mist Village troops, his gaze sweeping over their tired but vigilant faces, and then took a deep breath.

"I apologize, friends from Mist Village." Naruto's voice was clear and carried far in the quiet night. "Because the enemy possesses a special disguise ability that Sharingan struggles to detect, everyone entering Konoha must undergo my inspection."

"An inspection?" Qing finally couldn't hold back any longer, her voice filled with suppressed anger. "What inspection? We're allies here to provide support, not prisoners to be interrogated!"

His voice caused a murmur among the Mist Village troops. Many ninjas showed discontent on their faces—they had abandoned their village's defenses and traveled a long distance to provide support, only to be stopped at the gate and subjected to "inspection" like prisoners?

Mei Terumi raised her hand, stopping the commotion behind her. She looked at Naruto, at the boy who appeared exceptionally young in the golden light, and quickly analyzed the situation in her mind.

There must be a reason why Konoha did this. And that reason might be related to the success or failure of the war.

"Excuse me," Mei Terumi asked calmly, "What kind of examination is it? How long will it take?"

"I can sense malice," Naruto replied. "In Nine-Tails Mode, my sense of malice becomes exceptionally acute. If there's an enemy spy disguised as an enemy infiltrated our team, I can sense it."

This explanation silenced the Mist Village Force for a moment.

Detecting malice? Using this mystical ability to screen spies?

Beneath Ao's right eyepatch, his Byakugan was operating at full power. He could see the immense, warm, yet slightly wild Chakra surrounding Naruto —the power of the Nine-Tails. But he couldn't understand how this power could be used to "sensitize malice."

"Lord Mizukage, this is absurd," Ao whispered to Mei Terumi. "Our Mist Village ninjas undergo rigorous screening; everyone's identity was verified before departure. And even if there were spies infiltrated, we should have used more reliable methods—"

He suddenly stopped talking.

Because Naruto moved.

It wasn't an attack, nor Hand Seals; he simply raised his right hand. Golden Chakra extended from his palm, transforming into dozens of slender Chakra arms that reached out like tentacles towards the Mist Village troops. Those arms moved nimbly through the air, precisely targeting twelve positions within the formation.

Twelve Kirigakure Ninja.

They were scattered across different parts of the group, including middle-aged Jonin, young Chunin, and female ninjas from the medical corps. They appeared normal, their uniforms were neat, their expressions were natural, and they carried the fatigue of a long march, just like everyone else.

But Naruto's Chakra arm stopped right in front of them, his fingertips only an inch from their foreheads.

"These twelve people," Naruto's voice was exceptionally clear in the silence, "Are problematic."

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The twelve Kirigakure Ninja who were pointed out were stunned, and their companions around them instinctively stepped back to create distance between them. Ao's right hand was already on his Kunai, Byakugan was fixed on the twelve people, trying to find an opening.

But he couldn't see any problem.

His Chakra fluctuations were normal, his appearance showed no signs of disguise, and even the doubt and anger in his eyes were so genuine—how could a spy act so perfectly?

"Lord Kakashi." Mei Terumi turned to Kakashi, her voice still calm, but with a hint of coldness in it. "I need an explanation. Isn't Konoha being too arbitrary in accusing me based solely on 'sensing malice'?"

Kakashi sighed. He had experienced this scene once before—last time with the remaining elites of Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and the Land of Iron. Each time, it was the same doubt, the same anger, and the same... embarrassment of being proven wrong in the end.

"Mizukage, I understand how you feel," Kakashi said, "but please believe me, this isn't arbitrary. The troops from Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and the Land of Iron underwent the same checks upon arrival. The result—"

He paused, then looked at Naruto.

Naruto bit his lip and said, "Eight of them infiltrated. They were all White Zetsu in disguise. We initially tried to verify them using other methods, but we eventually discovered... that only by killing them would their true forms be revealed."

"Kill?" Mei Terumi's pupils contracted slightly.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded, his voice low. "White Zetsu's disguise is Kekkei Mōra- level ability. Ordinary Ninjutsu cannot see through it, the Sharingan cannot detect any flaws, and even sensory ninjas cannot detect anything unusual. The only effective method is Naruto's Malice Sensing. But even if he senses it, he cannot confirm it without killing the enemy."

This explanation left Mei Terumi silent.

She looked at the twelve ninjas who had been identified. They stood there, some pale-faced, some glaring angrily, and some trying to explain but being deterred by the wary gazes of their companions. From any angle, they were all living, breathing Kirigakure Ninja, people with flesh and blood, feelings, and memories.

But if what Kakashi said is true...

"Mizukage!" A middle-aged Jonin who had been identified finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice filled with humiliation and anger. "I served in Mist Village for twenty years, participated in two Shinobi World Wars, and have seventeen scars on my body, all for the village! Now, just because of a single sentence from a Konoha brat, I'm being treated as a spy?!"

His words resonated with others. The other ninjas who had been identified also began to protest, and although their companions remained vigilant, a wavering appeared in their eyes.

Ao looked at Mei Terumi, awaiting her command.

Mei Terumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Five seconds later, she opened her eyes and looked at Kakashi.

"How did you deal with those suspected in Cloud Village and Iwagakure?"

Kakashi paused for a moment, then answered truthfully, "They all kill directly. After killing, the corpses revert to their White Zetsu form."

Kill them outright.

Three words, yet they carry the weight of a thousand pounds.

Mei Terumi could sense the commotion within the troops behind her. Killing an unconfirmed comrade, even if it was just "suspicion," crossed the most basic line for a ninja. But if she didn't act, and it turned out to be a spy who had infiltrated, the consequences...

She looked at Naruto. The blond boy had his head down, his golden Chakra Cloak trembling slightly. He clearly disliked this job, disliked the feeling of suspecting his comrades and potentially killing innocent people. But he was doing it anyway, because someone had to do it.

Because war is such a cruel thing.

Mei Terumi made her decision.

She turned to Qing, her voice eerily calm. "Qing, dispose of it."

Ao froze. He stared at Mei Terumi in disbelief. "Mizukage- sama, but—"

"Execute orders." Mei Terumi interrupted him, her gaze sweeping over the twelve identified ninjas. "If they truly are Mist Village ninjas, I will personally apologize to their families. But if they are spies..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Ao gritted his teeth, moved his right hand away from the Kunai, and began to form Hand Seals. As an excellent sensory ninja and assassination expert, he had no fewer than ten ways to kill twelve people instantly without causing a large-scale commotion.

But just as he was about to make his move, Naruto suddenly spoke up.

"Etc!"

Everyone looked at him.

Naruto raised his head, and a complex light shone in his azure eyes—reluctance, hesitation, but ultimately, resolute determination.

"Let me do it," he said. "I named him, I will take responsibility."

Before he finished speaking, he had already moved.

It wasn't Hand Seals, nor was it Body Flicker Technique; it was an extension of the Nine-Tails Chakra. Twelve golden Chakra arms shot out simultaneously from his back, as fast as lightning, piercing the hearts of the twelve ninjas with pinpoint accuracy.

Pfft--

Twelve faint sounds of flesh being pierced rang out almost simultaneously.

Time seemed to stand still.

The Mist Village ninjas were stunned. They stared at their twelve comrades pierced by the golden arms, watching their expressions shift from anger to astonishment to pain, finally freezing into a blank stare before death.

Then, change began.

The piercing wounds didn't bleed; instead, they began to glow with a ghastly white light. The skin lost its color, turning a deathly white, like bleached paper. Facial contours became distorted and blurred, features gradually disappearing until they became smooth, faceless surfaces. Uniforms and armor merged into the body, the entire person shrank and deformed, ultimately transforming into genderless, featureless, deathly white bodies.

White Zetsu.

Twelve White Zetsu corpses lay on the ground with dull thuds.

The Mist Village Force fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared at the corpses, at their "comrades" who, just minutes before, had been talking, angry, and defending themselves, now transformed into completely unfamiliar monsters. A chill ran down their spines, quickly spreading throughout their bodies.

If... if these White Zetsu hadn't been discovered, if they had infiltrated Konoha, infiltrated the Allied Forces command, infiltrated the core defensive perimeter...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

Beneath Ao's right eyepatch, his Byakugan was operating wildly. He could see the internal structure of those White Zetsu corpses—not human internal organs, not Chakra pathways, but a strange tissue resembling plant fibers, purely composed of Chakra. This disguise truly surpassed the recognition limits of the ordinary Sharingan.

He turned to look at Mei Terumi, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing.

Mei Terumi stood rooted to the spot, her face expressionless. But her fingers trembled slightly at her sides—not from fear, but from lingering dread. Twelve White Zetsu had infiltrated her elite force, following her all the way from Mist Village to Konoha. If it weren't for Naruto's senses, if it weren't for this inspection...

"I'm sorry." Naruto dispelled his Chakra arm, his voice slightly hoarse, "I... this is the only way I can confirm it."

Mei Terumi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She walked up to Naruto, looking at the boy who was about her height, and at his eyes, which were slightly red with self-reproach.

"No, we're the ones who should apologize." Mei Terumi's voice was soft but sincere. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto. You saved so many people."

She turned and looked at her troops.

"Everyone, line up for inspection. Do not resist, do not question. This is for our safety."

This time, there was no dissent.

The Kirigakure Ninja silently formed a line and walked past Naruto one by one. Naruto focused intently on sensing them; he simply nodded to indicate that they should pass.

The inspection lasted a full hour.

No more White Zetsu were found.

By the time the last Kirigakure Ninja passed through the checkpoint, dawn was breaking. Konoha's barrier was fully opened, and the passage was widened enough for the entire force to pass through.

Mei Terumi, leading the elite Mist Village, finally entered Konoha.

The moment she entered the barrier, she glanced back in the direction of the forest.

Thick fog still shrouded the distant trees, but the morning light had begun to pierce through the mist, casting dappled shadows on the ground. That direction was where the battlefield was about to unfold.

However, her understanding of this war has undergone a fundamental change.

An enemy capable of such deception, and an ally capable of sensing such deception...

This war is destined to be anything but simple.