What Was Danzo Researching?

"Enemy attack!" The moment Uchiha Yi charged out, the samurai reacted, drawing their weapons and scanning their surroundings.

"Oh dear, you found me." Forced out of hiding, White Zetsu showed no panic. He just grinned.

So it is White Zetsu. Is Black Zetsu watching this area too? What about Madara Uchiha?

Who is White Zetsu following?

Those nobles? Impossible. They aren't important enough to draw his attention.

Hyuga Rinka? She's a Hyuga, not an Ōtsutsuki. Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu probably don't give the Hyuga Clan a second thought. Even the Hyuga Main Family wouldn't matter to them.

Tsunade? Unlikely. She's no ordinary ninja, and she used to take missions outside Konoha all the time. If Madara Uchiha wanted to go after her, he would've done it long ago.

Me? A bad feeling crept over Uchiha Yi. Don't tell me he's really here for me.

Did awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age catch Madara Uchiha's and Black Zetsu's attention? Or did Black Zetsu notice Indra's Chakra in me?

But the likeliest target was Kushina Uzumaki. She was likely to become the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Madara Uchiha couldn't possibly ignore her.

Then another possibility struck Uchiha Yi. Could Madara Uchiha have killed Kagami Uchiha?

The Mangekyō Sharingan didn't make its wielder invincible, but an Uchiha who awakened it would rank among the strongest in the Shinobi World. Even against a powerful enemy, he should at least be able to escape.

Yet Kagami Uchiha had been killed with ease. Only a handful of people in the Shinobi World could have done that.

Maybe someone close to him betrayed him. Uchiha Yi had previously suspected Shimura Danzō, or perhaps the Uchiha Clan Head had set him up. But now, that old bastard Madara Uchiha seemed just as likely!

Killing intent flashed through Uchiha Yi's eyes. He hadn't been close to Kagami Uchiha, but the man was still his father.

If Madara Uchiha had killed Kagami Uchiha, then Uchiha Yi would have to kill Madara Uchiha in turn.

Faintly, Uchiha Yi felt his Eye Power begin to rise.

Szzzt! In an instant, the Sword of the Thunder God in Uchiha Yi's hand pierced White Zetsu's chest.

"Oh... I've been stabbed through? Does that mean I'm supposed to die now?" White Zetsu poked the sword in his chest with a finger, then tilted his head and collapsed.

"What exactly is this thing?" Tsunade quietly stepped beside Uchiha Yi, staring grimly at White Zetsu on the ground. "He doesn't seem afraid of death at all. And there's no blood. Could this be a substitute?"

The Shinobi World had all kinds of bizarre Ninjutsu, so Tsunade's guess was possible.

"When he was hiding, my Byakugan couldn't see him," Hyuga Rinka said. Her expression darkened.

As a member of the Hyuga Main Family, Hyuga Rinka had always been confident in her Byakugan.

The Byakugan was considered one of the Shinobi World's three great Dōjutsu. It had earned its reputation.

The Rinnegan was another matter. Hyuga Rinka had never seen those legendary eyes, so she had no idea how powerful they really were.

The Sharingan, however, was clearly far stronger than an ordinary Byakugan once it reached the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Of course, the Byakugan had its own trump card. But if they used it, the backlash was more than they could withstand.

The Byakugan was renowned for reconnaissance, yet this time it hadn't detected someone hiding right beside them. Hyuga Rinka couldn't help feeling discouraged.

"Even the Byakugan couldn't detect him?" Tsunade's expression turned grave.

If there were more of these creatures, and no one could detect them, they could infiltrate anywhere.

"Mm." Hyuga Rinka nodded grimly.

"Kushina, are there any more?" Tsunade turned to Kushina Uzumaki.

"Yep. Here, here, over there, and over there." Kushina Uzumaki closed her eyes and sensed her surroundings for a moment, then pointed in several directions.

Before Uchiha Yi could react, more White Zetsu figures slowly emerged.

"Oh no, they found us? Can the Uzumaki Clan's Sensory Ninjutsu detect us?"

"That makes no sense. Nobody found us when we infiltrated Uzushio Village!"

"It's the Nine-Tails' power! That girl is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

The White Zetsu chattered over one another as they appeared, then fled in every direction.

"Don't let them escape!" Tsunade shouted. She led the charge, rushing at one of the White Zetsu.

Uchiha Yi, Kushina Uzumaki, and Hyuga Rinka hurried after her, attacking the White Zetsu around them.

Even Kushina Uzumaki, who could be rather oblivious, understood that these White Zetsu were up to no good.

She could be a little scatterbrained, but she wasn't stupid. She could clearly feel the malice they held toward her. There was no way she would let them go.

Fortunately, Black Zetsu and Madara Uchiha seemed to have assumed that Uchiha Yi's group couldn't detect White Zetsu, so they hadn't sent many. Working together, the four easily captured or killed every last one.

"What are these things? They don't bleed, and it looks like they don't have organs." Kushina Uzumaki stared in disbelief at the White Zetsu she had killed.

Kushina Uzumaki had learned plenty since joining Tsunade Squad. Tsunade was raising her to be a younger version of herself.

That meant Kushina Uzumaki had studied some Medical Ninjutsu too. But looking at a creature like White Zetsu left her utterly baffled. Is this really a person?

"These things..." Tsunade's face darkened. If she hadn't been mistaken, they carried traces of Wood Release. One White Zetsu had even tried to attack her with a wooden spike.

Could they all be Wood Release Experiment Subjects?

Tsunade knew something about Hiruzen Sarutobi's and Shimura Danzō's research, but she had never intervened. Her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, had turned a blind eye to it. Besides, the first person in Konoha to conduct Wood Release Experiments had been the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju.

Even Tsunade couldn't easily object to that.

What kind of monsters has that bastard Danzo been creating?