Capturing White Zetsu

Aoba had been preparing for White Zetsu's surveillance for a long time. As his reputation gradually rose, one White Zetsu seemed to have been specifically assigned to watch him.

But as a transmigrator, Aoba had long since made all kinds of preparations against White Zetsu.

It was simply too cautious and never came close. Aoba pretended not to know until today, when that White Zetsu finally seemed unable to suppress its curiosity.

After all, according to its surveillance, Aoba's movements had been utterly normal. He was no different from an ordinary genius civilian ninja.

But there was one place it had never been able to investigate: the laboratory beneath Aoba's home. Various Sealing Jutsu formulas had been placed there, and it did not dare approach recklessly.

Yet that only proved that Aoba definitely had secrets. Even Konoha's higher-ups did not know about that place. So after observing for many days, White Zetsu finally found a tiny flaw in the defensive formulas around it.

Though the flaw was extremely slight, the White Zetsu assigned to surveillance were all skilled in various Sealing Jutsu formulas. After all, their missions required them to get close to such hidden places.

So, after confirming that no one was home, it began secretly breaking through the defensive formulas.

After spending considerable effort, it finally opened a passage and entered that hidden laboratory.

Once inside, it indeed made a major discovery. First, there were actually cells from the First Hokage here.

White Zetsu was very familiar with the First Hokage's cells. After all, their current master, Obito Uchiha, had transplanted the First Hokage's cells. There were plenty of them in their base.

More importantly, this White Zetsu discovered that the other party's research into the First Hokage's cells had already reached a very advanced level. Aoba had even proposed several methods to assist fusion.

White Zetsu did not understand these things very well. But it knew that this should be highly valuable intelligence. At the same time, something else in the laboratory caught White Zetsu's attention.

It was the Life Potion. More than a dozen completed Life Potions sat in the laboratory. The enormous and pure life force within them was almost unbelievable to White Zetsu.

This was another super healing method, distinct from Hashirama Cells. And its effects were clearly even better than Hashirama Cells.

That civilian ninja named Aoba Kamikawa was definitely no ordinary civilian. What he displayed to the outside world was an ordinary Nintaijutsu ninja. But what he did in secret far exceeded imagination.

White Zetsu quickly gathered all the intelligence, then prepared to leave without making a sound.

But at that moment, it suddenly discovered an utterly terrifying problem. The flaw in the Sealing Jutsu formulas through which it had entered had somehow been sealed.

Of course, what White Zetsu did not know was that there had never been any flaw in the defensive formulas. That flaw itself had been prepared specifically for it.

After all, it hid dozens of meters underground all day long, and Aoba truly had no way to deal with it.

But it had actually dared to sneak into the laboratory. If Aoba still did not make a move, he would have felt almost embarrassed.

In truth, Aoba had not originally envisioned this situation. He had imagined encountering White Zetsu outside, when it was on the surface or near it. He would suddenly attack, use specially made sealing Shuriken and Kunai to restrict its chakra flow, then capture it alive.

He had not expected it to be interested in his laboratory. So he simply settled on this plan to lure the snake from its hole.

He had deliberately left the flaw in the defensive formulas there. It was meant to draw it closer, even lure it inside.

Perhaps because they had never been discovered during all their time infiltrating, these White Zetsu were extremely confident in their concealment and infiltration methods. It had actually come straight in.

That was how this current situation of closing the door to beat the dog came about.

The instant White Zetsu sensed that something was wrong, more than a dozen Kunai and Shuriken suddenly shot out from around the laboratory.

White Zetsu wanted to dodge. But the laboratory was only so large, and faced with sudden attacks from every direction, there was no way it could evade them.

Moreover, it was not a combat-type White Zetsu. In its haste, at least four Kunai struck it.

The damage from Kunai meant nothing to White Zetsu. They had no so-called vital points; even if their heads were hit, they could still run.

So in the next second, White Zetsu prepared to forcibly break through the surrounding defensive formulas and escape. The intelligence was already in hand, so it did not matter even if it alerted others.

But only then did it notice that the Kunai embedded in its body seemed unusual. It was actually unable to gather chakra immediately.

And in that fleeting instant, a figure had already appeared behind it.

A right hand pressed against White Zetsu's back. Countless tadpole-like sealing runes traveled down Aoba's arm and onto White Zetsu's body.

The sealing was successful.

The plan to capture White Zetsu had been underway for nearly a year. Only today had it finally truly succeeded, capturing a living White Zetsu.

This thing was crucial to Aoba's plans. Because Aoba knew one thing: White Zetsu's cells could effectively neutralize the corrosiveness of Hashirama Cells and increase the success rate of transplanting Hashirama Cells.

Aoba had conducted so many experiments, yet he had never dared to try them on himself. It was because he had not mastered this key factor.

And now, he had gathered the final piece of the puzzle.

From today onward, his Hashirama Cell transplantation plan would enter a new stage.