That "fly."
Inside the hollow tree, the Wood Clone stood as silent as stone.
Through its "perception," the entire world became a painting woven from countless streams of life energy. The movement of wind, the seepage of water, the growth of trees, the breeding of insects... everything was perfectly clear.
Then, in this harmonious symphony of nature, a discordant note abruptly appeared.
Beneath the shadow of a thicket roughly eight hundred meters southeast, it picked up a chakra signature. It was exceedingly faint, perfectly mimicking the life signs of the surrounding plants, almost blending into the environment. Yet its essence was entirely different. It was a cold, inorganic energy with the traits of spores and parasites, utterly alien to every form of life on this land.
Found you.
The Wood Clone made no unnecessary movements. Through the underground root network, it silently transmitted a command.
"Wood Release: Silent Killing Binding Technique."
The next instant, beneath that seemingly ordinary thicket, dozens of roots that had long lain in wait suddenly awakened like sleeping pythons!
They burst from the soil, their surfaces shimmering with eerie chakra-absorbing patterns. Without making a sound, yet with overwhelming force, they lashed out from every direction, precisely coiling around the target hidden in the shadows-a White Zetsu Clone that had blended into the shrubs.
"!"
The White Zetsu Clone sensed mortal danger the instant the roots broke through the ground. Before it could even react, those animated roots had wrapped tightly around its "body" like living shackles.
A terrifying suction surged from the roots, draining the chakra inside it like floodwater through an opened dam. Even more horrifying, the roots were not merely absorbing its chakra-they were devouring its very existence! Its body was being assimilated and broken down by the roots, reduced to the purest nutrients.