The bait was set.
Now, it was time to see how many big fish would bite.
Underground, in the Land of Rain.
Inside a dark, damp cavern, the enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood silently, like a lifeless god. A peculiar smell of earth mingled with decaying organic matter filled the air.
A black-and-white figure seeped out of the rock wall, like a drop of ink dissolving into water.
"It actually... got caught." The usual frivolity and playful grin had vanished from White Zetsu's half of the face, replaced by almost contorted horror. His shrill voice shattered the underground silence. "Right in Konoha! At the Naka River! The connection was forcibly severed. It wasn't killed-it was... 'swallowed'!"
The final cry that had traveled through their mental network was more than a signal of death. It carried an instinctive terror, the fear of being preyed upon by a higher order of life.
Black Zetsu's half of the body, however, remained extraordinarily calm. Spiral patterns slowly revolved in his deep-set single eye, as though he were analyzing that distant, fragmentary feedback.
"Calm down." His voice was low and hoarse, like sandpaper scraping rock. "Panic won't solve anything."
"How am I supposed to calm down? The Mayfly Technique is perfect! It's a divine technique that uses Lord First Hokage's cells to merge with nature! How could anyone detect it? Unless..." White Zetsu's voice abruptly cut off.
"Unless they possess a secret technique far beyond ours, or... some special kekkei genkai." Black Zetsu finished the thought. Rather than panic, a strange excitement crept into his voice. "This might... be good news."
"Good news?" White Zetsu struggled to follow his reasoning. "One of our 'eyes' was plucked out. How is that good news?"
"One 'eye' in exchange for a vital piece of intelligence.