"What… is that?"
Already several kilometers away from the village, Neji stared wide-eyed at the enormous wooden figure looming in the distance.
Over 20 meters tall, the giant was impossible to miss even within the dense forests outside Konoha.
It stood taller than many of the surrounding trees, its massive head glaringly conspicuous under the moonlight.
"That is the First Hokage's Wood Release."
A heavy, solemn voice suddenly rang out behind Neji. "If my eyes aren't mistaken, that should be the legendary Wood Golem Technique. Only, it's much smaller than the one recorded of the First Hokage. From what I can gauge, only about 23 to 24 meters tall."
"Who?!"
Startled, Neji spun around and drew the kunai from his waist, his face full of shock.
Someone had been tailing him all this time, and he hadn't even noticed until the man spoke.
Did that not mean—if this person had wanted to kill him, he could've been dead over ten minutes ago?
Cold sweat began to trickle down Neji's back.
"Who?"
Standing behind him, Jiraiya tilted the corners of his mouth into a grin and struck a dramatic pose.
"Of course—it is none other than the unmatched Toad Sage of the Sannin, Jiraiya the Great!"
[Ta-da-da-dum!]
Jiraiya even supplied his own entrance fanfare.
Neji: "…"
"Little Jiraiya, this kid is looking at you like you're an idiot," Shima commented dryly.
Neji's eyes darted to Jiraiya's left shoulder, where he spotted the green-skinned talking toad.
At that moment, Fukasaku added, "Listen, lad—where you're heading isn't a place you can handle. If Little Jiraiya hadn't stepped in to stop you, you might very well be marching straight to your death."
Neji stiffened. Suddenly, a realization struck him.
"You've been following me from the very beginning? The reason the Konoha patrols never caught me sneaking out of the village… was because you interfered?"
"Sharp, aren't you?"
Fukasaku sighed, then admitted frankly, "That's right. I cast a genjutsu on those patrol shinobi. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made it 200 meters before they spotted you."
Neji tightened his grip on the kunai. Even though he knew the other party might be a Konoha shinobi, perhaps even a high-ranking figure in the village, he didn't lower his guard.
He bit down hard and demanded, "What is your purpose?"
"To observe you," Shima explained. "We and Little Jiraiya bear you no ill will. We simply want to see if you are the one we've been searching for, nothing more."
Neji wasn't convinced.
"Ahem!"
Realizing his dramatic pose had failed to intimidate the boy, Jiraiya straightened up again. His expression grew serious. "No matter how you see me, you can't go any further. Ahead lies mortal danger."
"As a child, you should return to the village immediately. Go find the old man—cough, I mean, go find the Third Hokage—and tell him what's happening. Because what comes next… is the domain of adults."
"Shima, I'll trouble you to look after him," Jiraiya said.
"Little Jiraiya, are you sure you can handle this alone?" Shima asked with concern.
Fukasaku spoke up. "Don't worry. I'll be with him."
"Alright then." Shima's tone softened. "But old man, with those brittle bones of yours—if you face something you can't handle, don't push yourself too far."
With that, she ignored Neji's protests and leapt onto his shoulder in a single bound. When Neji instinctively flinched, ready to swat her away, she said at once, "Young one, show a little respect to someone who's lived more than 800 years."
Neji froze.
By then, Jiraiya had already rushed past him, sprinting toward the direction of the wooden giant.
For Jiraiya, finding the Child of Prophecy was indeed important.
But an unknown entity capable of threatening Konoha…
That was just as important!
…
"Huff… huff…" Jūzō's breath came heavy. He had pushed himself to his fastest speed, sprinting with everything he had. Just a little more, and he could reach Konoha.
But—
The three pursuers behind him were far faster than he imagined. Before he could even catch his breath, heat surged against his back!
A massive ball of flame roared toward Jūzō, forcing him to snap through hand seals, spin around, and spew forth water in response.
A torrent of water burst from his mouth and clashed violently with the fireball. The collision of opposing chakra natures triggered a thunderous explosion, the shockwave blasting Jūzō backward through the air.
"Wow, with that much poop in your belly, you still run so fast! If you just let it all out, lighten the load a little, wouldn't you run even faster?"
That ridiculous, sing-song voice made Jūzō's pupils shrink—the vortex-faced creature had caught up!
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a white figure's arm morphing into a razor-sharp wooden spike.
It lunged at him with such speed that Jūzō realized he couldn't dodge in time. All he could do was twist desperately, barely avoiding a fatal strike to his vitals, sparing himself from instant death.
"Meow, what a lively scene!"
And just then, an even stranger voice than that of the vortex-faced White Zetsu rang out suddenly.
"Such a lively night—why not add me to the mix?!"
For a moment, everyone froze.
Taking advantage of the opening, Jūzō rolled across the ground in a desperate scramble, narrowly dodging the vortex-faced White Zetsu's attack. He immediately pulled back to widen the distance, cold sweat streaming down his face as he stood on guard.
"Someone's here?" Obito frowned and followed the sound. What he saw made even him pause—because the speaker wasn't a person at all, but a cat.
A very fat ninja cat.
It was perched on a tree branch, the branch bent low under its weight, showing just how heavy it was.
"That orange cat…"
Jūzō's body jolted as he recognized it at once. "That's Tachibana Jirō—the cat kept by Uchiha Keizumi, the one who even dared talk back to Jiraiya!"
"Madara-sama."
At that moment, Zetsu's black-and-white body emerged, narrowing its eyes as it spoke to Obito. "That ninja cat is Uchiha Keizumi's summoning beast. Which means Uchiha Keizumi himself must be nearby—likely watching all of this unfold."
Obito's eyes narrowed behind his mask, his brow furrowing tight. "He's using Biwa Jūzō as bait to lure us in? He already knew we'd come for Biwa Jūzō?"
"Most likely he guessed our objective," Zetsu murmured darkly. "Remember the last time you encountered him? You said he looked at you with eyes filled with the intent to kill. Seems he truly wants you dead. As for the reason, who knows? Perhaps it's tied to his so-called Absolute Justice."
At this thought, Zetsu couldn't help but feel… back then, Uchiha Madara should have chosen Uchiha Keizumi as his successor.
Not this Uchiha Obito—who acted on impulse, in fits of reckless passion, always leaving disasters in his wake.
"Madara-sama, we should withdraw," Zetsu advised.
"Why?" Obito's tone was cold.
Zetsu explained, "Since he anticipated our move, it means he's prepared to keep us here. And we aren't ready for a direct confrontation with him. Our original target was his subordinate. Like this, we're the ones at a disadvantage."
Just as Obito opened his mouth to reply, faint footsteps reached his ears. At once, his whole body went on alert.
Following the sound, everyone's eyes turned—and a figure appeared, a shinobi holding a blade.
"Uchiha…"
"Keizumi!!!"
Obito spat the name out through gritted teeth, face dark as night. This man knew too many of his secrets. For him, there was no goodwill—only the urge to kill.
"So this is Uchiha Keizumi, huh?"
The grotesque, vortex-faced White Zetsu stood at Obito's side, staring at Keizumi with open curiosity. Stroking its chin, it muttered, "Madara-sama, he actually looks better than you! By the way—since Madara-sama spends over twenty minutes squatting when he poops, and this guy's also from the Uchiha clan, I wonder how long he squats?"
It even started counting seriously on its ten fingers.
To it, the question seemed of vital importance—completely oblivious to the fact that Obito's face beneath the mask had already turned black with rage.
Zetsu was also staring intently at Uchiha Keizumi.
This Uchiha brat who knew so many secrets—could he know the truth of "Black Zetsu"? Could he even know about the Sage of Six Paths… and about Mother herself?
"Uchiha Obito."
At that moment, Uchiha Keizumi's cold voice rang out slowly. "It's been a while. Every time I see a beast like you with my own eyes, I can never suppress the urge to kill."
After speaking, Keizumi glanced at the two other bizarre creatures nearby.
"Finding one beast, and getting two more thrown in as a bonus… wouldn't you say this counts as a lucky day for Absolute Justice?"
Before Zetsu or White Zetsu could react, veins bulged on Obito's forehead.
He had faced vicious enemies before—but none had ever spat the word "beast" at him. Only Uchiha Keizumi dared curse him so foully.
"A lucky day, hm… hehe…"
Even knowing the other might already have guessed his true identity, Obito still rasped out in that hoarse tone, "Little Uchiha—have you considered the possibility that today is not your lucky day? That today is your death day? I imagine those who worship justice will someday remember you fondly on this day."
Zetsu stiffened at his side, instantly realizing Obito no longer intended to retreat. It turned toward him. "Madara-sama…"
"Shut up."
Obito shot it a vicious glare. "I have my own considerations."
Zetsu: "…"
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