Outside Daimyō Castle.
A boy and a girl were holding back the White Zetsu forces. They were none other than Haku, wielder of the Ice Release kekkei genkai, and Karin, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.
They had originally stayed behind at the base, but after Karin sensed a large number of White Zetsu, they left to support Daimyō Castle.
Haku had made that decision after careful consideration. They had to divert the White Zetsu's attention to reduce the risk of exposing the base and complete the mission Lord Zou had entrusted to them.
Yet only after reaching Daimyō Castle did they discover that the enemy was nowhere near as powerful as they had imagined.
The White Zetsu fell like stalks of wheat in the blizzard. Once the reanimated bodies mixed among them were frozen into ice sculptures, Karin, proficient in Sealing Jutsu, easily finished them off as well.
What they had expected to be a desperate defense turned into an effortless rout.
Had Lord Zou's instruction made them too strong, or were these White Zetsu all show and actually quite fragile?
Resting his chin on one hand, Haku sank into thought. In the end, he could only credit Lord Zou. After all, whenever he set foot on the ground, he could feel an endless stream of chakra beneath it.
Before leaving, Lord Zou seemed to have granted him partial access to the network...
Strolling through the blizzard, Haku and Karin made their way toward the city walls. After dealing with the enemies outside, they had no targets left, so they decided to meet another of their lord's subordinates.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded ahead, drawing toward them.
Haku raised his brows warily and asked Karin beside him, "Karin, are they enemies?"
"They aren't enemies," Karin answered after using her Mind's Eye