"What?!"
Upon hearing this, the Akatsuki members were all shocked. Although they didn't know what a Spore Clone was, the name definitely didn't sound like anything benevolent. The most crucial point was that Naruto said these things were 'on' them.
Everyone looked at Zetsu in unison.
As the 'Eyes' of Akatsuki, Zetsu mostly appeared when delivering intelligence. Furthermore, he didn't look like he had much combat ability himself, which resulted in his presence always being rather weak.
But now it was different. If what Naruto said was true, then he had been monitoring the organization's members. No one liked being monitored, especially since the members of Akatsuki were practically all S-rank missing-nin. This was a huge taboo.
White Zetsu stubbornly refused to admit it. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He was gambling that Naruto was just bluffing. He believed in the concealment of the Spore Technique, ordinary people couldn't detect it at all unless they possessed extremely strong sensory abilities. It was a rare moment of cleverness for him.
As for Black Zetsu, he was already thinking about how to escape.
"You really don't know, Zetsu-senpai?" Naruto grinned at White Zetsu. "That's the smell of a lie."
"Look." As he spoke, Naruto pressed his hand against his right shoulder, then pulled hard. A White Zetsu clone was immediately ripped out from his body.
The White Zetsu that had been suddenly extracted fell to the ground, then hurriedly scrambled up with panic, having never imagined that someone could actually discover him and physically separate him from their body. He tried to burrow into the ground, but Naruto stomped on him with one foot.
The White Zetsu clone only had the strength of a chunin, there was no way him could escape from Naruto's grasp.
"This guy looks a lot like you, Zetsu-senpai. You couldn't possibly not recognize him, right?"
The tangible appearance of the White Zetsu clone immediately caused an uproar among the Akatsuki members.
"Zetsu! You bastard!" Deidara was the first who couldn't hold back, and he pulled out a Clay Bomb. "Want to taste the power of art?"
The Hiruko puppet controlled by Sasori emanated astonishing killing intent. Puppet masters cared most about their real bodies being discovered. Kakuzu looked at Zetsu's body with malicious intent, calculating how much money Zetsu could be sold for. Even Kisame, who had been tricked by Obito into joining Akatsuki, turned somber.
No one wanted their secrets probed by others, not even a mole. If a clone could be planted silently and without a trace, did that mean an assassination could also be carried out just as silently?
It was also the first time the Akatsuki members took this usually inconspicuous intelligence agent, who ran the fastest at the slightest trouble, seriously.
"Zetsu!" Just as everyone was about to attack, Pain spoke up to ease the tension. "Remove your clones from everyone and don't do this again. I said before, you can do whatever you want, but you absolutely cannot strike at your own comrades."
"Otherwise, I will personally deal with the matter."
It seemed like a threat, but it was actually protecting Zetsu.
Pain naturally knew Zetsu was on Obito's side, he didn't plan on breaking with Obito yet.
Pain used his authority: "For me, this once let this go."
"Sorry, Leader. I only wanted to be able to notify nearby people for support if something happened." Seeing that things were turning around, the Black Zetsu half of his body hurriedly spoke, telling a lie that even he himself didn't believe.
"It won't happen again."
"What a shame, Zetsu-senpai. I thought I could replace you and become the eyes of Akatsuki," Naruto said with a face full of regret. "Look, do my sensory abilities pass the test? Can I go on missions with you?"
"Fine!" The word was practically squeezed out through gritted teeth. White Zetsu's beady eyes fixed a deadly glare on Naruto. If not for him, he could've continued being a small, invisible presence that no one noticed. But now, all of Akatsuki was wary of him.
White Zetsu obediently followed Pain's orders and dispelled the Spore Technique. Large clumps of cotton-like white spores fell from everyone's bodies.
Sasori had three clones, Kakuzu had five clones on him, Kisame had six, and Hidan and Deidara were impressive with a full ten clones each. The only one who had none at all was Pain, and even Konan had one clone attached to her.
"Make sure you get them all clean, Zetsu-senpai." While watching those clusters of White Zetsu clones being removed, Naruto made a sniffing gesture. "Otherwise, you won't be able to fool my senses."
"I! Got! It!"
At this moment, White Zetsu found that snickering Nine-Tails brat before him utterly detestable. He really wanted to punch him flat.
The Akatsuki's rare gathering was successfully concluded at this point, with everyone dispersing and waiting for Pain's next summons. If nothing unexpected happened, the next one would be three years later.
But with the number one unpredictable ninja Naruto around, unexpected developments were bound to occur.
"Shark Face-senpai." At the moment of leaving, Naruto called out to Kisame. "My two companions will be your partners from now on, senpai. Why don't we find a place to bond?"
"Oh?" Kisame stared at Naruto for a moment with beady eyes, seemingly not expecting Naruto to take the initiative to invite him. Then, he grinned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Sure."
Upon closer thought, there were actually three 'Beady Eyes' members in Akatsuki: Kakuzu, Kisame, and Zetsu. It seemed beady eyes were the mainstream trend.
Indeed, following them, Naruto planned to win over Kisame as well.
Even though Kisame was a Kirigakure ninja, Naruto greatly admired him. Kisame truly had admirable qualities, he could commit suicide without hesitation to protect his comrades intelligence and ensure the mission's success.
At the same time, he was the only 'Honest Man' and 'Real Man' in the later stages of Akatsuki.
Moreover, his reason for joining Obito's Eye of the Moon Plan was simple, he was filled with disappointment toward a shinobi world full of falsehoods, hoping to find truth and achieve eternal peace.
Fundamentally, he was similar to Nagato.
"We must get Obito to find an opportunity to kill that Nine-Tails brat."
"I want to see the Nine-Tails extracted from his body with my own eyes!"
"His abilities counter us way too hard."
After leaving the gathering place, White Zetsu's main body was cursing non-stop, while Black Zetsu's eyes spun round, uncertain of his thoughts.
If they could win over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki...
"Contact Obito."
Black Zetsu spoke up, interrupting White Zetsu's rambling.
"Let's hope this guy hasn't gone far."
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the Land of Fire's famous gambling city, Tanzaku Quarters.
Two of the Legendary Sannin met at this moment.
It was Orochimaru, whose hands were sealed during the 'Konoha Crush', finding the Legendary Sucker, Konoha's princess Tsunade.
The long-unseen Karin stood respectfully beside Orochimaru, acting as an assistant and replacing Kabuto's original position.
"I know, Tsunade." Orochimaru's magnetic voice was like the devil's whisper. "You really want to see Dan and Nawaki again, don't you?"
"As long as you heal my hands, I will summon them from the Pure Land to meet you."
"You know I never lie. I can do it, and I have the ability to do it."
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