Chapter 4: The Stronghold
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, making a soft rustling sound.
Near a large canyon within the Land of Fire.
A swift river surged past, with large red rocks scattered along both banks. Su Xiao sat on one of these red rocks, a contemplative expression on his face.
This expanse of red rock was once a stronghold of the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Fire, near Konoha. This stronghold had been abandoned, and moreover, destroyed from the inside.
Judging by the current traces, this wasn't the result of an enemy attack, but likely destroyed by the Akatsuki members themselves.
Su Xiao took out the 'Ring of Emptiness' from his storage space. This item had been confiscated after he left the Naruto World previously, but now he had regained the right to use it.
The 'Heavenly Projection Technique' attached to the Ring of Emptiness could no longer be used. This might be related to Nagato's death, as Nagato was the master of the Heavenly Projection Technique, a jutsu that required the Rinnegan to use.
The inability to use the Heavenly Projection Technique posed a significant obstacle to communication within the Akatsuki. Previously, as long as he was in the Naruto World, Su Xiao could contact other Akatsuki members while holding the Ring of Emptiness. That was no longer possible.
Su Xiao stood up, planning to search other strongholds. If he still couldn't find anything, he would have to resort to fishing.
So-called fishing meant causing a disturbance. The name 'Bai Ye' carried considerable notoriety in the Naruto World, of course, a bad reputation, as one of the Akatsuki's villains.
Once Su Xiao made a major move, the Akatsuki would surely receive word and take the initiative to contact him.
It was a crude method, but unfortunately, the Akatsuki was an organization of the shadows, and its members all possessed strong stealth abilities.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave, his footsteps halted.
"Oh? This aura."
Su Xiao's gaze fixed on the forest not far away. Moments later, it was as if a landmine had detonated beneath his feet, sending red rock fragments flying.
Clang!
Blade aura swept out, and large swaths of trees were sliced into sections of wood, green leaves flying everywhere.
Su Xiao stood within the forest. Within ten meters around him, there were no intact trees. This wasn't the result of him going all out; if he had unleashed his full blade aura, all trees within a hundred meters would have been shredded.
"Come out."
Su Xiao's eyes scanned his surroundings. He stomped his foot on the ground, and a large amount of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged into the earth.
With a crackling sound, the soil not far away burst open, and white liquid splattered.
This white liquid seemed fluid but also had solid properties. It coalesced into an irregular shape, writhing on the ground like a large insect.
Seeing this white creature, Su Xiao's eyes lit up. He knew what this was—a White Zetsu cell clone, also known as the Spore Technique.
Finding a White Zetsu clone meant finding the Akatsuki wasn't far off, was it?
White Zetsu's stealth ability was formidable; even sensory-type ninjas couldn't detect him. However, Su Xiao's instinct had sensed White Zetsu's presence. White Zetsu's aura existed somewhere between life and energy, which allowed it to evade most sensory perceptions.
Su Xiao walked over and directly pulled the irregularly shaped White Zetsu clone out of the dirt.
This White Zetsu cell clone had no subjective consciousness. It was likely a coordinate and monitoring point left by White Zetsu to see if anyone visited this abandoned stronghold.
The cell clone began to climb up Su Xiao's arm, attempting to absorb his Cyan Steel Shadow Energy. Su Xiao immediately shook off the White Zetsu cell clone. If the clone absorbed Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, it would be the clone itself that suffered.
As soon as Su Xiao shook off the clone, Amu stepped forward, grabbed one of the clone's legs with one hand, and swung his thick arm wildly, slamming the clone hard against the ground.
Thump, thump, thump...
Dust flew, mud surged, and pits appeared one after another.
Initially, the cell clone tried to climb onto Amu, but after being slammed for a full minute, it became much more docile, twitching unconsciously, with large patches of ice crystals forming on its surface—Amu's Frost ability.
Amu glared with his bull-like eyes, and only after confirming the clone was docile enough did he throw it in front of Su Xiao.
The White Zetsu cell clone was indeed subdued. Aside from occasional twitching, it barely moved.
Su Xiao didn't stop Amu. He had been considering how to use this cell clone to contact White Zetsu. Amu's slamming might very well attract White Zetsu's attention.
Half an hour passed quickly. The ice crystals on the cell clone had melted, and it was becoming active again, trying to burrow into the soil.
"Amu, continue."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, Amu strode forward. Familiar with the routine, he grabbed one of the clone's legs...
Soon, the cell clone lay on the ground playing dead, occasional twitching indicating it still had life force.
External force didn't seem to attract White Zetsu's attention. Either White Zetsu had abandoned this cell clone, or he was focused on other matters.
Seeing this, Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, then produced a metal syringe.
The syringe pierced the cell clone's neck, and the pale green liquid inside was injected into its body.
Su Xiao immediately stepped back. Seeing this, Bubu Wang also retreated. Amu hesitated only briefly before moving to stand in front of Su Xiao and Bubu Wang, showing his tank's awareness. Bubu Wang, meanwhile, scanned the surroundings; he was skilled in stealth and equally adept at reconnaissance.
The cell clone on the ground twitched, and its White Zetsu face began to swell.
Crack, crack, crack...
The cell clone rapidly proliferated, soon growing into a massive creature.
At that moment, in the forest near Konoha Village, White Zetsu, who was monitoring Konoha's movements, stiffened. First confused, then his face filled with disbelief.
"Original Hashirama cells?"
White Zetsu sensed that one of his cell clones had been injected with original Hashirama cells.
So-called original Hashirama cells were the cells from Hashirama's body while he was alive. The Hashirama cells studied by Orochimaru, Danzo, and others were obtained from Hashirama's corpse after his death. Needless to say, there was a vast difference between the two; the former was worth countless times more than the latter.
Those who possessed original Hashirama cells in the Naruto World could be counted on one hand. The Senju clan had them, since Hashirama was once the Senju clan leader. Apart from the Senju clan, only Obito and Uchiha Madara possessed original Hashirama cells.
Uchiha Madara was dead, and Obito wouldn't inject original Hashirama cells into a White Zetsu clone. Moreover, White Zetsu vaguely sensed that the original Hashirama cells injected into his clone had been optimized and modified multiple times, greatly reducing the risk of treeification.
White Zetsu was very puzzled, but he couldn't ignore this matter. After hesitating for a few seconds, he abandoned monitoring Konoha's movements and began contacting Obito.
Not long after, White Zetsu received Obito's reply. The result was strange: he was told to go welcome an Akatsuki member who had been missing for nearly a month.
Obito guessed that the one who did this was Su Xiao. It wasn't because Obito was a master strategist, but because the original Hashirama cells in Su Xiao's possession were obtained from Obito himself.
Such a precious item, Obito naturally wouldn't give it to Su Xiao easily. However, the bargaining chip Su Xiao offered was something Obito couldn't refuse—Kakashi's Sharingan, the very eye Obito had 'lost.' How could Obito refuse?
White Zetsu submerged into the ground and began moving at super-high speed. He and Su Xiao were both within the Land of Fire, and not too far apart.
...
An hour later, in the forest where Su Xiao was.
A pitcher plant sprouted from a tree. Not only White Zetsu arrived, but Black Zetsu came as well. Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were two separate individuals, but within the Akatsuki, they disguised themselves as one.
"Ara ara, so it's Bai Ye. I thought he died when he and Nagato attacked Konoha."
White Zetsu spoke.
"Silence. Bai Ye's temper isn't good. It's not impossible that he'll cut you down in a fit of anger."
Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse and low. His personality was completely different from White Zetsu's. White Zetsu was more like an innocent youth, curious about everything, occasionally surprised. Black Zetsu was calm, experienced, like an old man who had lived for a long time. In fact, that was exactly the case; he was a 'person' from the era of Kaguya, or rather, he should be called a consciousness.