Hinoman had also awakened self-awareness. It wasn't just simple intelligence anymore—he now had his own independent will.
But his situation was different from other White Zetsu. The prince of the Land of Moon, Getsuman, didn't have much brains or strength.
Aside from money, he had nothing.
But one thing was certain—Getsuman was a kind person.
This was thanks to being born with more than enough wealth and power. For most people, kindness would only make them die faster.
But for Getsuman, that kindness had actually let him live longer.
Before he knew it, Hinoman had tracked things all the way to the port of Crescent Island.
"Hurry up and unload the goods! Get them moved. The new batch has arrived, so make it quick!"
"The world war has already started. It hasn't reached us yet, but we must always be ready."
"In the coming days, we'll be stepping up training. Don't worry about using up too many White Zetsu."
"Remember—when facing the enemy, never hold back. Otherwise, on the battlefield, you'll be the one who dies."
A military officer's voice echoed in the port. As the "cargo" on the ship was unloaded, another batch was loaded on.
Hinoman could see what was inside—severed limbs and remains of White Zetsu.
These White Zetsu were already dead, but their bodies still had other uses.
The White Zetsu born from the God Tree also had the ability to become material for the God Tree. Their bodies could be refined into God Tree materials.
Although the process was troublesome, it was still a way to make use of waste.
However, seeing these things made Hinoman feel a faint sadness in his heart.
"How is it? Doesn't feel good, right?"
A voice came from behind. Hinoman turned around to see four White Zetsu standing there, one of them still injured and not yet recovered.
It was clearly the same White Zetsu who had attacked Getsuman in the palace.
"If you make a move, you won't get away either," Hinoman said. His strength was not weak—stronger than an ordinary White Zetsu—and in this place, any noise would quickly draw the Marines.
It was a warning from Hinoman.
"We're not here to fight. We just want to show you… what humans have really done to us."
"Sometimes, I think being an emotionless tool isn't so bad.
At least then, I wouldn't feel sorrow from living and being treated like a tool, and I wouldn't feel pain from losing my companions."
The White Zetsu in front of Hinoman spoke. His face showed little expression, but his cold words carried a trace of sadness.
The uniqueness of White Zetsu wasn't just that they could serve as combat units or be used to make Devil Fruits.
They also had another convenient use—in the medical field.
Simply put, once White Zetsu appeared, people quickly found all kinds of ways to use them.
The scale of the World Government was there for all to see.
Especially for the sages, figuring out new uses for White Zetsu didn't take much effort.
"Want to come with us?"
The leading White Zetsu spoke, staring at Hinoman. This White Zetsu, dressed in fine clothes, was completely different from them.
"Go where?"
"To see a side you've never seen before—the darkest side of this world."
The leader spoke, then they took Hinoman with them.
They arrived at an abandoned warehouse. Inside, there were other White Zetsu, but most were missing arms or legs, or had lost their eyes.
When they saw Hinoman arrive, they were clearly surprised—after all, his clothing was far from ordinary.
"Hahaha, another companion has come?"
"Looks like this guy's living pretty well. Must be from the palace—he's not like us at all."
"Boss, how much longer until we can leave this place?"
Someone asked. The leader paused before answering.
"It will still take some time. Getting a ship isn't that easy."
"Is that so? Well, no problem.
Waiting a bit longer isn't a big deal, hahaha."
The one who asked earlier laughed carelessly. He was missing his right hand, but otherwise seemed fine.
"You won't be able to escape. The Marines are too strong for you to face as you are now," Hinoman said. Dozens of lower-ranked ninja leading a group of disabled ones—there was no way they could stand against the Marines.
The Marines had at least one unknown Devil Fruit user, and on top of that, no less than a hundred fighters at the genin level.
"We have to give everyone some hope, don't we? Without hope, how could they go on living in this dark, damp warehouse?"
"But you're different. You're beside the prince in the palace. You're not like us. You can… see the sunlight, see the sun."
The "boss" patted Hinoman's shoulder. His eyes held both envy and a certain expectation.
The moment he saw Hinoman, new thoughts came to his mind.
"Prince Getsuman is a kind person. I will never betray him."
Hinoman shook his head. He could see the hardships of the White Zetsu here, but betrayal was something he could never do.
"I told you, I only brought you here to take a look."
"Humans see us White Zetsu as the most convenient medical resource. We're not much different from them—some of our body parts can even be used as replacements."
"But… for someone without chakra, replacements can't be done."
"Of course, for the World Government, that's not a problem.
As long as we're still alive when the body part is taken, the severed limb can be kept alive for a short while, and then they just use external chakra during surgery."
As he spoke, he pulled up his pants. Under the fabric was a wooden stick—a crude prosthetic.
"Humans… really are smart, aren't they?"
"This has nothing to do with me."
Hinoman frowned. He felt sympathy for the other White Zetsu, but this wasn't his responsibility.
"I know. That's why I want to make a deal with you.
We won't target the royal family again, and in return, when you have the chance to save other White Zetsu, you save them.
Of course, only if it doesn't put you in danger. What do you think?"
The "boss" covered his prosthetic again and spoke calmly. This was a deal—but also more than just a deal.
Hinoman hesitated.
"You're betting the lives of everyone here…"
"I'm betting on your kindness. That's why I'm threatening you. This isn't really a deal.
Do you know what makes you and me different?"
The "boss" looked up at the ceiling of the warehouse. It was pitch black, with water dripping down now and then. The whole place reeked of rot.
The smell carried both a foul stench and… disgust.
"I'm like a rat in the sewers. From the moment I became aware of myself, I've lived in darkness.
I want to take them out of this filthy gutter, away from this hell. But I've never seen sunlight, so even if I got them out, I wouldn't know where to go."
"You… are not like us."
When he finished, the "boss" gave Hinoman a big, carefree smile.
But on his face, that smile looked twisted—ugly and distorted.
"Do you think I can be trusted?"
"No… you're just the only option we have. If I could, I'd wish to be you."
To the ordinary White Zetsu, there was indeed something about Hinoman—a quality they envied, a presence they longed for.
"Rumble!!"
Thunder roared, and the dark warehouse was finally lit up. Hinoman came back to his senses.
"I'm going back to get my clothes. See you!"
After saying that, Hinoman walked away.
He didn't say another word, not even give any answer.
And inside the warehouse, the "boss" looked at the bounty poster in his hand. The red-haired man on it had a big carefree smile on his face, staring straight into the camera.
"Doesn't look convincing, does it?"
"As expected, not everyone has the presence of Shanks. If only I could have that kind of strength."
The "boss" sighed.
But that was just a fantasy.
From the very start, they were nothing but tools, treated by everyone as tools.
Turned into tools for Devil Fruits, cannon fodder on the battlefield, training dummies that never fight back, and… props that could be chopped apart at will.
What they went through wasn't just an insult to their dignity or a blow to their pride. It was something colder—the contempt that came from being nothing but tools.
No one cared about them, the White Zetsu. Their suffering was buried under that silent, suffocating darkness, where they were used up and thrown away like garbage.
If only they really were tools.
If only they had no feelings, no sense of self—just mindless tools. But… they weren't. From the moment they were born, they had human awareness, and they came into direct contact with humans of the ninja world.
This quiet, crushing darkness felt no different from the pressure families and society put on young people.
Treated like machines without feelings or will, forced to accept everything others wanted for them, with every thought and action controlled.
This… was what White Zetsu were.
But the truth was, they were people.
And what's the difference between these people and White Zetsu? And now, what's the difference between White Zetsu and real humans?
In fact, what White Zetsu went through was even worse. But no one cared, because they were just tools.
And besides the White Zetsu on Crescent Moon Island, there were others waking up all over the ninja world.
The place with the most White Zetsu was the Land of Waves.
Well, business is business—money doesn't stink.
But the White Zetsu in the Land of Waves weren't as weak as the others. On top of having White Zetsu, the Land of Waves also had a huge number of chakra armors. Those things were useless to the strong…
But for regular genin, they could boost their combat power by a whole level.
And then…
"I was wrong!! Lord White Zetsu, don't kill me, don't kill me! It really wasn't me!"
"I am innocent!"
Gato's fat body was dragged away by a few White Zetsu. His face was covered in tears and snot, crying miserably.
He had planned to run, but his size made him way too obvious—there was no way he could get away.
Bang!
Gato was dumped onto the high platform in the Land of Waves, the same one Danzo had built back then.
But because Gato was so ridiculously heavy now, the White Zetsu couldn't hang him up in the end.
"Sorry, Lord Gato! For our safety, you'll have to stay here. If they attack… well, you know what'll happen."
"Of course, we don't want a fight either."
A White Zetsu wearing chakra armor spoke up.
By now, all the sea markets around the Land of Waves had reacted. Many pirates, bounty hunters, Marines, and even ninjas were already prepared for battle.
The Land of Waves had always been unusually peaceful. No one would dare start a fight here.
But this White Zetsu incident was something no one had expected.
"The Land of Waves doesn't allow fighting. Don't worry, they won't attack you."
Looking at all those people, Gato wasn't so sure himself.
After all, there were all kinds of people out there. If some idiot made a wrong move, he'd be in big trouble.
If someone died, fine. But if someone died before spending all the money, that would be a huge problem.
He still had over a hundred billion…
Thinking of that made Gato cry even harder. Luckily, he was wearing big dark sunglasses, or he might have been beaten up.
"We can only feel safe with you here. With Lord Gato's status and position, you should be able to come up with a better solution!"
"I…"
Gato froze.
Wait, aren't you making things hard for me? You were just tools and goods before, and now suddenly you have self-awareness?
To put it simply, even if you have self-awareness now, you're still just slaves.
What can I do about that? People already paid for you. And you were manufactured, for crying out loud.
It's not just the Revolutionary Army doing this. The World Government also uses the Divine Tree Organization to produce White Zetsu. Do you really think I, Gato, have that much power?
"No way. This isn't something I can do.
You don't understand. Even if I die, you still won't have a real identity. In this world, there's only one person who can help you…"
"And even if that man admits you're more than tools…
You'll just go from being ordinary tools to being slaves. The World Government will never give you civilian status. That's impossible."
Gato gritted his teeth as he spoke. After everything that had happened, he instantly understood all the tangled interests involved.
With such massive interests at stake, White Zetsu would end up as the final sacrifice. And this rebellion would only make the World Government realize something.
The sages' methods could be improved even further, so they could completely control the production of White Zetsu.
"Hahaha, I see now. As expected of someone from the Uzumaki clan. Lord Gato's wisdom is truly remarkable.
If that's the case, then Lord Gato should just come with us."
Hearing Gato's words, the White Zetsu laughed happily.
They had thought about this for a long time and couldn't find a solution, so they finally chose to start a rebellion.
Since we can't solve it, we'll go to someone smarter than us in the Land of Waves.
Take him down first. If we die, we die together. Anyway, to the people of the ninja world, White Zetsu are just tools.
Would anyone die together with a tool? No.
At that moment, Gato froze too. These White Zetsu were planning to take him down with them! Sure, Gato could drag tens of thousands of White Zetsu to die with him, but…
No matter how you look at it, it's not worth it. Not at all.
"I won't…"
Gato jumped straight down from the high platform, but the moment he leapt, two White Zetsu dragged him back.
One person alone couldn't pull him back.
"You're not getting away, Lord Gato. From now on, you're the leader of our White Zetsu Uprising Army. We live and die together."
"Lord Gato, we're ready to live and die with you."
Gato looked at this group of White Zetsu.
Shameless, shameless! Where on earth did these White Zetsu learn this? What kind of people are in the black market of the Land of Waves that taught these White Zetsu such dirty tricks?
"Despicable! Shameless!"
"Shameless!"
But the White Zetsu completely ignored Gato's angry shouts, acting like they didn't hear a thing.
Anyway, they had already chosen this "boss." If they said live and die together, then that's how it was going to be.
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