According to the characteristics of the Uchiha Race, there are simply no perception-type ninja among them.
Therefore, eavesdropping on the Uchiha's information was, in his eyes, the easiest task.
It seemed that soon he would be able to report back to Lord Madara. This White Zetsu was in a very good mood.
Just as he was about to continue forward, a chilling sensation of being watched by some creature halted his white body from moving through the soil.
He turned his head and almost cried out in fright.
A pair of pitch-black eyes suddenly emerged from the soil beside him, staring at him without any warning.
What is this thing?
Just as this thought formed in White Zetsu's mind, the surrounding soil began to squirm, shrink, and soften like a swamp. White Zetsu felt a suffocating pressure and then lost consciousness.
Everything happened so suddenly that this White Zetsu couldn't even see what his enemy looked like.
——When he woke up, White Zetsu found himself sitting on a stone chair, bound with restraining tools all over his body.
It was a secret room, the dim yellowish light barely illuminating the room.
In front of him stood a young man and woman, both about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The girl wore a black tight-fitting ninja suit, her expression cold, exuding an intense oppressive feeling just by standing there.
The boy, wearing a white coat, looked at him with a strange gaze that left White Zetsu feeling cold.
Being stared at by such a strange gaze, White Zetsu couldn't help but shiver.
Although he felt the girl was stronger, for some reason, the boy's level of danger seemed even higher.
These two were Hakushi and Ruri.
"Hello, how are you?"
White Zetsu tried to use exaggerated comedic art to diffuse the icy atmosphere, while also trying to lessen his own inner tension.
Hakushi and Ruri paid no attention to White Zetsu's exaggerated and deliberately comedic actions.
As the atmosphere fell silent, Hakushi turned to Ruri and said:
"Since we have captured a live one this time, I plan to use the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to possess this guy's spiritual world and gather his information from within. I'll leave my body to you."
Seeing Ruri nod seriously, Hakushi immediately formed a seal with his hands, closed his eyes, and then his body emitted light, a phantom of a human identical to Hakushi appeared floating mid-air.
This phantom was Hakushi's soul.
Once his soul emerged, Hakushi, ignoring White Zetsu's struggling body, directly charged into White Zetsu's body, merging with it and connecting with White Zetsu's spiritual world.
Sitting on the stone chair, White Zetsu struggled more violently, cold sweat constantly flowing from his face.
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't shake off Hakushi's soul possession or prevent Hakushi from exploring his spiritual world, all were futile struggles.
Wandering in White Zetsu's spiritual world, Hakushi found his soul entering a completely blank space, revealing a look of astonishment.
Previously, when using the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to explore others' spiritual worlds, the scene before him was never like this.
There would always be some memories present.
But... this utterly empty spiritual world, could it be that nothing was stored in this guy's mind?
How could there be such a strange creature?
"Could it be that his memories are stored elsewhere..."
Though a bit incredible, this seemed to be the only answer.
Even mindless animals have their own spiritual world, where it wouldn't be completely blank.
Therefore, Hakushi could conclude that the memory leading to the roots of such a white creature was sealed elsewhere.
Just as Hakushi was about to leave, in the empty spiritual world, a gigantic scarlet pupil suddenly appeared.
A strong chakra that Hakushi had never sensed before rushed towards him.
Cold, dark.
He seemed to become a lone boat in a tsunami, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
"Sharingan... how is it possible!?"
Hakushi was taken aback in horror.
This enormous scarlet pupil, with its iconic three black magatama, was clearly an enlarged Sharingan.
The sinister pupil power filled with a cursed aura was far more oppressive than what Ruri brought him.
——Outside, White Zetsu suddenly shouted loudly, his face contorted in ferocity, countless blood streaks cracking in his eyeballs, seemingly on the verge of exploding.
Hakushi's phantom quickly exited White Zetsu's body, returning to his own.
Upon returning, his face was covered in cold sweat, looking at the madly shouting White Zetsu, his face pale, standing there speechless.
The last shout abruptly stopped, White Zetsu remained in his position with his mouth wide open, motionless on the stone chair, his eyes rolling upwards, dead.
"What happened?"
Ruri, not knowing what Hakushi had just experienced, asked with concern, helping him to sit down beside her.
After sitting down, Hakushi's fingers on the armrest trembled slightly, displaying his lingering fear.
After a long time, with a hoarse voice, he managed to utter a sentence:
"Sharingan..."
"Sharingan?"
"A Sharingan stronger than yours... truly a monster..."
As he said this, Hakushi slowly closed his eyes, seemingly still not recovered from the prior shock.
Hearing these crucial pieces of information from Hakushi, Ruri furrowed her brows tightly.
"Are you saying that you encountered a Sharingan illusion in this guy's spiritual world?"
"Yes, the opponent's Sharingan illusion was very strong. At least, I've never seen such a frightening Sharingan before..."
Hakushi reopened his eyes, glanced at Ruri, nodded, and said.
This statement naturally included Ruri.
The opponent's use of the Sharingan was far superior to Ruri's.
"I'm very clear about those people's strength. I dare not claim that my Donjutsu is the strongest in today's Uchiha, but the Sharingan that could match me would not exceed two pairs."
"But this is the reality, the person who set up the Sharingan illusion in this guy's spiritual world has Donjutsu far superior to yours."
Hakushi didn't want to shatter Ruri's confidence, but this was the truth.
Hearing Hakushi repeatedly confirm this, Ruri knew she was unreasonably arguing and calmed her mind to think.
However, no matter how she pondered, she couldn't deduce who in today's Uchiha clan possessed a Sharingan that could surpass hers.
"Looks like I guessed wrong from the beginning. Such a level of protective measure involves not only Wood Style and Tailed Beasts but also the Sharingan. This guy's appearance might have nothing to do with the village's senior officials... there's another mastermind behind the scenes."
Hakushi sighed, his gaze heavy with seriousness.
They would need to tread more carefully in future actions.
The Land of Rain should temporarily be marked as a forbidden zone to avoid further contact with members of Akatsuki.
He certainly didn't wish to be watched by an unknown enemy because of this.
◎
"Lord Madara, the White Zetsu probing the Uchiha Clan Land has gone missing."
In the dim vast cave, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground to immediately report to the old man sitting on a wooden chair.
"I know, the illusion I set in his mind was triggered; he was clearly captured."
The old man's eyes flickered, contemplating something unknown.
"Will our information be leaked?"
White Zetsu was somewhat worried.
"No, once the illusion was triggered, it would chain react with another self-destruct curse; that White Zetsu is already dead."
The old man spoke unhurriedly.
"Worthy of Lord Madara, though it's a pity for that White Zetsu."
White Zetsu chuckled, showing no sorrow for the fallen counterpart.
For their very existence was merely to serve as tools for their master's ambitions.
"Withdraw the forces from Konoha; I didn't expect that after my departure, there would be such outstanding ninja in the clan, so don't act recklessly."
The old man's face full of regret.
"Are you going to give up monitoring the Uchiha?"
"Not giving up. Once the heat dies down, send White Zetsu again. Or wait until the Ninja Realm War reignites; that would be a good opportunity."
After all, among his clansmen, someone already could detect White Zetsu's traces. Regardless of the means used, it signified that he couldn't easily obtain all of the current Uchiha's information, and carefully select a suitable 'representative' according to his preference.
Seeing the old man's bad mood, White Zetsu sensibly burrowed into the ground, disappearing from the old man's sight.