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Yūshin silently raised his evaluation of White Zetsu once again in his mind.
He'd always considered White Zetsu as Black Zetsu's expendable resource—Black Zetsu was the Shinobi World's greatest mastermind behind the scenes, while White Zetsu was merely Black Zetsu's cheap pawn.
But who could have imagined that a cheap pawn would play such an enormous role in unexpected ways?
Beyond providing three practical ninjutsu and serving as experience packages, White Zetsu actually possessed genjutsu resistance...
Regardless of which of Yūshin's two speculated scenarios was correct, "White Zetsu transformation" could definitely help him dispel genjutsu.
Having both rescued his clansman and made an unexpected discovery, Yūshin's mood relaxed slightly, no longer dwelling on the matter of hybrid summoning beasts.
For such things, he could only maintain an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.
A birdcall with a special rhythm suddenly reached Yūshin's ears. He deciphered the hidden information within and immediately rushed toward the sound's source.
After entering a forest, he quickly located Chihori Hagūgen concealed among the treetops.
"Clan Leader."
Chihori's condition appeared terrible—as if a single gust of wind could topple her.
"How are you? Can you hold on?"
Yūshin supported her with one hand, fearing she might accidentally fall from the tree.
"Nothing too serious, just that prolonged excessive chakra extraction has left my body somewhat frail and weak..."
She spoke lightly, yet "draining the pond to catch fish" could be fatal, especially for ordinary shinobi.
Chakra was indeed a shinobi's power source, but calling chakra a type of slow poison wouldn't be excessive either.
Chihori's body required proper recuperation.
This wasn't the time to be selective—Yūshin produced a bottle of soldier pills and handed them to Chihori.
After Chihori consumed one, her complexion changed from unhealthy pallor to unhealthy flush, but at least she felt some strength returning to her body.
Soldier pills were only suitable for healthy shinobi consumption—they were potent, and physically weak individuals could easily develop complications.
However, in this situation, Chihori having something to replenish her stamina was already fortunate. One couldn't expect Yūshin to produce some miraculous restorative pill.
"After the village was breached that day, we scattered to break through enemy lines. Unfortunately, we were captured by Tsugawa shinobi. Some who resisted were killed, and after exhausting our chakra, we were sold here as slaves... Seven of us came here; now only I remain."
Having recovered some strength, Chihori briefly explained her recent experiences.
Yūshin thought to himself that perhaps the hawk or lion summoning beasts he'd eliminated contained parts from his clansmen... There was no alternative—even if Yūshin had known those summoning beasts' true nature beforehand, he would still have had to act.
Regarding these clansmen's fate, he could only remain silent.
"Clan Leader, what about the other clansmen?" Chihori asked again, her expression somewhat tense.
"Including you and me, eighteen remain," Yūshin answered truthfully.
"Eighteen..."
The reality was too tragic—Chihori visibly sank into sorrow.
Suddenly, she remembered something else: "Beiji..."
"Yes, it excellently completed its mission."
Indeed, this statement was perfectly comprehensible—saying nothing while saying everything.
If people cannot be preserved, dogs cannot survive either. This represents the current survival status of small shinobi clans in the Shinobi World.
The forest momentarily fell silent. After learning about her clansmen's situation, Chihori needed time to process her emotions.
A small shinobi clan might require a hundred years to develop into a shinobi village, but after just one night, they could revert to their hundred-year-ago scale... like a factory reset.
Such cruel realities were indeed difficult for Shinobi World "natives" to accept.
Approximately an hour later, seeing Chihori had recovered some strength, Yūshin said:
"Let's go. Regardless, let's return to camp first... Everyone will definitely be especially happy to see you."
Yūshin protected Chihori as they returned to camp without incident.
The emotional exchanges among clansmen upon seeing her need not be elaborated.
During this period, someone explained to Chihori their decision to conceal the "Hagūgen" surname. Chihori understood this action's significance, but still requested preserving the clan's surname.
Yūshin naturally agreed. Mixing their clan's true surname among numerous other surnames wouldn't interfere with their original purpose.
Originally, they'd planned to leave camp, but because Chihori's body required recuperation, they were compelled to remain and rest for an extended period.
...
Meanwhile, three days after the town's burning, two shinobi arrived at this location.
Among these two shinobi, one appeared to be in his thirties, the other only eleven or twelve years old. Their foreheads were bare, seemingly lacking the habit of wearing forehead protectors.
Even so, others could immediately discern their origins at a glance.
These two wore long black outer garments, with a symbol resembling a ping-pong paddle printed on the back...
This symbol was called the "Fire Fan," representing the renowned Uchiha Clan.
"The lead was correct, but unfortunately we arrived a step too late," the older Uchiha shinobi said.
The younger shinobi said nothing, merely casually kicking iron railings nearby with his foot.
They'd already located the dungeon, which was filled with bloody and putrid odors. The ground was littered with numerous human and beast corpses, all burned black, making identification impossible.
Presumably, after Yūshin departed, those shinobi he'd released had not only dealt with Tsuchishi but also engaged in additional "matches" among themselves for certain reasons.
Seeing the older shinobi still patiently searching for clues, the younger shinobi finally said with slight impatience:
"Captain, shouldn't we withdraw soon? We've already wasted too much time on such trivial matters."
"Trivial?" The older shinobi ignored this urging. "This is for friendly relations between our two clans."
"But the person we're seeking is merely a waste."
"Precisely because the opponent is a waste, our relentless search demonstrates greater sincerity."
The younger shinobi wanted to argue but momentarily couldn't find suitable reasoning.
He felt the captain's words sounded somewhat reasonable initially, but upon careful consideration, something seemed wrong.
One could only say that a sycophantic mentality was undesirable.
They searched extensively here without finding anything valuable, fortunately others had made discoveries.
Thirty minutes later, another Uchiha shinobi approached them, carrying a half-dead person.
"Captain, I found this one nearby—don't know if he'll be useful."
Speaking thus, he threw the person he'd been carrying at the captain's feet.
This shinobi was precisely one of those Yūshin had released. For unknown reasons, he hadn't departed promptly but had been wandering around this area.
Consequently, having just escaped the wolf's den, he entered the tiger's mouth.
The captain lifted this person up—clearly the opponent had already suffered a round of beatings, now with a crooked mouth, slanted eyes, and vacant gaze.
The captain's pupils manifested a crimson tint as three pitch-black tomoe appeared against the red irises. In just an instant, he employed absolute ocular power to cast exquisite genjutsu, easily invading this unfortunate shinobi's consciousness.
Yūshin's actions that day were gradually "extracted."
After witnessing everything, the captain discarded this shinobi aside, his facial expression becoming peculiar.
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