Inside a cave over a hundred kilometers away from Amegakure in the Land of Rain.
Kei Yamanaka sat by a campfire, sealing a White Zetsu he had just finished reading into a storage scroll.
He glanced at the three corpses of Xie Shen Jiao Cult members lying around the cave.
Slightly narrowing his eyebrows, Kei observed them.
The three men from the Xie Shen Jiao Cult in the Hot Water Country were all quite old.
Their decades of memories were immense. He only skimmed through the last two months—the period around Madara Uchiha's death.
As lower-tier but crucial grassroots members of the cult, these men knew nothing about Black Zetsu's existence.
They had simply followed their leader's orders stating that "the god desires" they carry out a ritual at Amegakure.
And the grotesque creatures inhabiting their bodies—used to aid infiltration while enhancing their strength—were described as divine blessings from the god himself.
The three White Zetsu fused with these hosts also had severely limited knowledge.
Activated only half a month ago by Black Zetsu underground, they merely obeyed orders to support the trio.
"Truly cautious."
Kei pulled out a separate sealing scroll from within his robe.
Forming hand seals with both hands, he slammed his palm onto the scroll.
Facing the White Zetsu disguised as an Amegakure ninja before him,
he placed a hand on its head, still caught in his genjutsu, and activated the [Memory Reading Jutsu] again.
Unlike the previous three White Zetsu,
this one had been activated even before Madara Uchiha's passing.
Ignoring a bizarre scene where multiple White Zetsu crouched together trying to figure out how to open an eye on their own butt—
Kei painstakingly sifted through the memories for useful information!
"Today, 'Dark' Madara seems to have taken many diggers with him."
"Aw, I can't dig, so Madara won't pick me either."
"Lose the 'dark' part, or Madara'll get mad—even though he *is* pretty dark-skinned."
"He's only slightly darker than us! Why's he the boss?"
"Idiots! Madara clearly said we were digging to unseal something... Something like an Uchiha weapon!"
"Hey digger guy, wanna help us dig a toilet?"
"Can you even fit...?"
"..."
Ignoring wave after wave of useless chatter.
Kei nearly missed a heartbeat when he heard the words "sealing" and "Uchiha weapon."
That Uchiha folding war fan? That's just a weapon.
Throughout Uchiha history, only one person has ever been called a weapon!
Hikaku Uchiha!
Black Zetsu, having lived almost a thousand years, was essentially a living archive of ninja world history.
There was no way he didn't know about Hikaku Uchiha—the one sealed during the Warring States era due to his overwhelming power, jointly contained by the Senju and Sarutobi Clans.
No longer needing to impersonate Madara's will...
That Black Zetsu fellow...
This is bad.
This memory was already twenty days old!
Kei's expression shifted dramatically.
He'd considered the Rinnegan problem, the Impure World Reincarnation, even threats from movie-exclusive factions.
But he really didn't expect *this* Uchiha weapon!
Could Black Zetsu's meddling actually trigger a time paradox?
That thing came from the Age of Non-Combustible Beings. Didn't it ultimately travel back in time to save everything in the end...
"Could it be that my mere existence altered the original future of the ninja world? Because of me, Future Boruto never returned to change Hikaku Uchiha's fate—leading to her being unearthed in the present..."
After thinking himself in circles for quite some time, Kei Yamanaka facepalmed.
Never mind how timelines are supposed to work—it's come full circle and boomeranged straight back at him!
He'd barely managed to take down Old Madara,
And now they're throwing another Kagutsuchi at him!
This one's got him shaken!
Capable of ignoring distance entirely by using marked seals to control someone's spirit and chakra at will—this Kagutsuchi means business.
If those markings were placed on White Zetsus...
Even setting aside those special variants, normal White Zetsus already have chakra reserves exceeding those of an average Chunin.
Ten thousand White Zetsus… Damn it! That's cheating!
"You're the lightning, the light, the one and only myth… (Shockwave)~"
Kei Yamanaka scratched his head, looking constipated.
Glancing at the System Interface, he still had one Keyword Detach left and one Skill Reset remaining.
Seeing as this White Zetsu's mind had little useful information left—even unable to pinpoint Black Zetsu's exact current location—
He took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and resealed it back into the scroll.
Once fully matured, Kagutsuchi would definitely be hard to handle.
But with his current strength, maybe it wasn't an impossible fight!
Especially with system support backing him up.
And if anything unexpected happened, he could always rely on the system's abilities to cover his ass.
Still…
Uchiha Hikaku!
Recalling the story from Ultimate Storm: Bonds, Kei's expression remained grim.
From a personal standpoint,
He actually held quite a soft spot for this 'little girl.'
Too bad…
He wondered if there'd ever be another chance to pull her over to his side.
Standing up and walking out of the cave,
Kei watched the sky gradually brighten as he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Following the Flying Thunder God Kunai he'd previously scattered along the route while riding Bi Diao, he quickly returned toward the Land of Fire.
An hour earlier,
The Shadow Clone assigned to transport the five Sanshouo had already returned to Konoha.
Including Ibuse, all five massive salamanders were temporarily housed inside one of Root's half-abandoned research facilities.
The Shadow Clone disguised as Danzo had already assigned four Root operatives to guard them.
With those four Root specialists who wielded the Tsuchigumo clan's unique barrier technique, Dreamlike Mirage,
Things should be fine.
"Did I forget something?"
Between rapid returns to Konoha, Kei smacked his slightly foggy forehead.
Ever since entering Root headquarters four days ago to outsmart Danzo,
He'd been running Shadow Clones non-stop at peak intensity.
One pretended to be Danzo, while the other played as himself, and two more constantly shifted the control of the Tongue-Cutting Seal among Root's core members.
The Original Body not only had to replace shadow clones periodically to avoid sudden exhaustion buildup, but also had to continuously access decades' worth of Danzo's memories!
On top of all that, everything since last night—
First came a fight with ninja from Amegakure, while his shadow clone transported summoned beasts the entire night. The Original Body also absorbed memories—first from a Cult of Xie Shen Jiao follower, then from a White Zetsu.
Even with mental fortitude dozens of times stronger than an average person's, he rarely showed signs of exhaustion.
"It must be the system?"
Kei Yamanaka glanced at his System Interface.
Perhaps it was because Hanzo of the Salamander's influence over the timeline had drastically weakened after the Second Great Ninja World War, the system reward wasn't very generous—aside from a single [Keyword Detach opportunity].
In the original storyline, this character only appeared three times afterward.
Once when briefly helping Danzo and Obito scheme against the Akatsuki organization.
Another time when killed in revenge by Nagato.
And finally during the Fourth Great Ninja World War.
Such a reward, though slightly underwhelming for someone known as the Semi-God of the Ninja World, was just acceptable.
Add to that the Keyword Draw opportunity earned from defeating a minor character like Sanshouo no Kamatake, and now he had accumulated two Keyword Draw opportunities.
"System, just use them already."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>