Chapter 386: Extra: Massacre at the Grass Vige! Sasuke meets ck Zetzu
The Land of Grass.
A ck-and-white creature moves through here.
It is none other than Zetsu, the intelligence officer of the Akatsuki, who had once operated under the guise of a Grass Ninja. On its head are two halves of a face, known respectively as White Zetsu and ck Zetsu.
"Have you found any trace of Kisame?"
ck Zetsu''s voice is eerie and hoarse.
"Yes, I have..."
White Zetsu''s voice is more lively, responding cheerfully, "Not only did I find Kisame''s whereabouts, but we also discovered where Itachi went. That traitor Itachi and his brother, Uchiha Sasuke, injured Kisame and returned to Konoha."
"As for Kisame..."
"To escape the pursuit of Konoha''s ninjas, he''s hiding in the Grass Vige. We only found him by following the signals he left behind...""First, let''s find out what really happened..."
ck Zetsu''s tone seemed to grow even more ominous, clearly displeased, "If that traitor, Uchiha Itachi, has leaked the Akatsuki''s ns to Konoha..."
The n...
Might have to be expedited!
However, if the n must be rushed, they cannot afford to lose manpower. Kisame''s strength is ideal for capturing the tailed beasts!
The Land of Grass.
This is a small nation in the ninja world.
These small nations in the ninja world often cannot maintain long periods of peace like therger ones, frequently erupting into wars over minor disputes. The only military force here is the Grass Vige.
Recently, the Grass Vige has been struggling, as they recently lost all their members who were sent to participate in the Chunin Exams in Konoha, including the leading Jonin. For a small ninja vige, such a loss is devastating...
However...
Konoha exined it as suicide.
The leading Jonin of Grass Vige had offended Konoha''s ninjas and chose tomit suicide within Konoha as a form of atonement. All Konoha could do was express their apologies.
"Konoha went too far..."
"Is this how they think they can exin it to us..."
"They even forcibly kept Karin, that little kid, in Konoha..."
A group of Grass Ninjas voiced their discontent, filled with anger toward therge ninja vige of Konoha, some even hoping to sever the alliance with them immediately.
But...
The leader of Grass Vige didn''t dare to do so.
The only thing he could do was calm the people in the vige.
After all, Grass Vige often goes to war with neighboring countries and even faces conflicts with powerful rogue ninjas. They can''t afford to offend Konoha at this time.
Moreover, since the ninja world is not currently engulfed in war, the geographic location of Grass Vige holds no strategic value for otherrge ninja viges.
"Leader."
As the Grass Ninjas were still expressing their anger, one of them hurriedly came forward to report an important matter: "Konoha''s ninjas have arrived again! They appear to be members of Konoha''s Anbu, and they''re carrying Karin with them, as if they''re returning her to us!"
"They dare toe here!"
"Let''s kill them right now!"
"Silence!"
The leader of Grass Vige immediately silenced everyone and spoke in a deep voice: "Do not say such things in front of Konoha''s ninjas! We must maintain our alliance with Konoha, at least until our war with the neighboring countries is over!"
"Alright."
"I will personally go to meet them."
"Konoha''s willingness to return Karin to us is beneficial..."
The leader of Grass Vige personally led a team of guards to wee Konoha''s emissaries. He believed they were Konoha''s emissaries, which is why he came in person.
However...
This time...
He was not weing Konoha''s emissaries...
But a messenger from hell.
Outside Grass Vige.
Uchiha Sasuke stood at the entrance with a trembling Karin.
Karin hid behind Uchiha Sasuke, looking at the fierce-looking Grass Ninjas in front of her, feeling an urge to retreat.
"Don''t be afraid."
Uchiha Sasuke turned around and ced his hand on her head.
This ck-haired boy, though seemingly not much different in age or height from her,forted his peer like a little adult.
"From today on..."
Uchiha Sasuke ruffled Karin''s red hair, letting out a long sigh in his heart as he looked at her hesitant expression, "Your nightmare is over."
"Sasuke..."
Karin still stubbornly clung to his side.
"This is a revenge for you."
Uchiha Sasuke slowly raised his hand as he watched a group of ninjas emerge from the gates of Grass Vige, "It''s also a grand performance for others to see..."
"..."
Karin didn''t quite understand what Uchiha Sasuke meant.
"Wee, emissaries from Konoha..."
The leader of Grass Vige stepped out with a smile on his face. His eyes showed a hint of shock at the sight of the emissary''s appearance, but he quickly suppressed it.
This little guy...
The one rumored to have forced the Grass Vige''s leading Jonin tomit suicide!
"So, it''s you..."
The leader of Grass Vige couldn''t help but grit his teeth, his heart filled with rage. After a moment of intense internal conflict, he forced himself to maintain hisposure as a leader: "Thank you for bringing our little one back..."
"I''m not here to return her."
Uchiha Sasuke''s expression remained calm as he looked at the leader of Grass Vige: "I''m here to help her kill... to kill everyone here..."
"..."
The leader of Grass Vige''s eyelid twitched.
Is this some kind of joke?
A little kid from Konoha dares to be so insolent?
The next moment!
A sh of lightning surged from Uchiha Sasuke''s palm!
The lightning came so quickly that it pierced through the leader''s chest in an instant. The leader of Grass Vige stared in disbelief as arge hole appeared in his chest!
"Leader!"
"How dare you, Konoha''s ninja!"
The other Grass Ninjas were instantly horrified, furiously surrounding Uchiha Sasuke and Karin, weapons in hand, ready to kill Uchiha Sasuke on the spot!
However...
A purple Susanoo rose up!
The majestic purple Susanoo descended upon the vige, which had been filled with tragedy and bloodshed. The giant de in its hand was unsheathed in an instant, and in the terrified eyes of the Grass Ninjas, a sharp, massive de beam split the entire Grass Vige in half!
Blood...
Immediately stained the streets of this small vige.
At the same time.
In a narrow house within the Grass Vige.
A tall figure sat wearily in a corner, his face concealed beneath a bamboo hat, tightly gripping arge sword.
It was Hoshigaki Kisame.
Zetsu emerged from the ground.
White Zetsu cautiously called out to Kisame, "Hey, Kisame, how''s your injury? What exactly happened?"
"No problem."
Kisame''s voice was cold as he lowered his head slightly, hiding his face beneath the bamboo hat: "Aren''t you supposed to be able to gather all the intelligence in the ninja world?"
"We don''t know about events that have already transpired."
ck Zetsu''s voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction as he hoarsely questioned, "Tell us, what trouble did you encounter? Did that traitor, Uchiha Itachi, defect to Konoha again for the sake of his brother?"
"Are you sure you''re alright?"
White Zetsu seemed a bit concerned about Kisame''s injury, but also indifferent: "I''ve gathered new intel. It''s said that Uchiha Sasuke, that kid, has also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and can use Susanoo. With both him and Uchiha Itachi capable of using Susanoo, how could you have escaped unscathed if they both fought against you..."
"..."
Kisame''s voice was raspy, as if he wasn''t quite used to speaking. He slowly reached up to remove his bamboo hat: "Your intelligence is wrong. Uchiha Sasuke is not a Mangekyo Sharingan user..."
"Impossible!"
White Zetsu immediately retorted loudly, even citing evidence: "I sent clones to Konoha and gathered plenty of intel. That kid was able to use Susanoo during the Chunin Exams. Only Mangekyo Sharingan users can use Susanoo!"
"No..."
"There''s another type of person who can use Susanoo, isn''t there?"
Kisame gently shook his head, his broad hand slowly lifting the bamboo hat from his head, revealing the eerie appearance and strange eyes hidden beneath it to both White Zetsu and ck Zetsu.
"!!!"
White Zetsu and ck Zetsu shuddered in unison!
Because Kisame''s appearance was horrifying!
The man, who already resembled a menacing shark, now had a face devoid of color, with rows of ck spots arranged in order, as if ck nails had been driven into his face as decorations!
However...
Both White Zetsu and ck Zetsu knew…
Those ck spots are not nails, nor are they facial decorations. They are all chakra receivers, just like the ck Rods used in Yin-Yang Release!
These chakra receivers...
can only be used by someone with the Rinnegan!
On Hoshigaki Kisame''s body…
How could such things exist!
In this world, only Pain should possess such things!
And yet, Pain''s movements have always been within their surveince!
"Are you..."
"A puppet of the Rinnegan!"
White Zetsu and ck Zetsu were shocked to their core!
"Indeed."
Hoshigaki Kisame''s eyes began to change. One eye was a crimson Mangekyō Sharingan, while the other slowly transformed into a purple Rinnegan.
"!!!"
ck Zetsu was filled with overwhelming terror!
This is absurd!
How could the Ninja World produce another Rinnegan?
Only descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, the Uchiha n, could possibly awaken the Rinnegan, and only when the chakras of Indra and Asura, the Sage''s sons, merge together, along with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, could the Rinnegan be born!
However...
Anyone capable of awakening the Rinnegan should be under ck Zetsu''s surveince, yet it had never imagined there could be another Rinnegan in the Ninja World!
No...
Something''s wrong...
"Who on earth are you?"
ck Zetsu''s heart was filled with infinite dread!
"You''ll find out soon enough."
Hoshigaki Kisame''s voice was chillingly cold.
Boom!
The entire Grass Vige began to quake violently!
It was as if an earthquake had struck the vige, causing all the buildings to copse in an instant. Wails and cries echoed throughout this small vige!
"What is that?"
"Is that a demon?"
"Everyone, hurry and run!"
"Everyone, get out as fast as you can!"
The ninjas of Grass Vige shouted loudly, looking at the rampaging Susanoo in itsplete form, while urging the vigers to flee immediately.
Crash!
The small house was also affected by the shockwaves of Susanoo''s strikes!
White Zetsu and ck Zetsu instinctively looked up, and immediately saw the towering purple Susanoo rampaging through Grass Vige like a giant mountain!
"Uchiha Sasuke…"
White Zetsu immediately recognized the name of the Susanoo''s master.
"How is this possible…"
ck Zetsu couldn''t believe its eyes as it gazed at the young boy with ck hair and the girl with red hair inside the crystalline structure of the fully formed Susanoo, its heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer!
"Just wait a little longer…"
Hoshigaki Kisame''s voice echoed in ck Zetsu and White Zetsu''s ears, though it was Uchiha Sasuke''s words that emerged from his mouth: "It will be over soon…"
"..."
White Zetsu and ck Zetsu were left speechless.
Indeed.
This devastation would soon be over.
After all, even the Five Great Ninja Viges were powerless before the fully-formed Susanoo, let alone a small and insignificant vige like Grass Vige…
When the entire Grass Vige was utterly destroyed, it no longer even resembled a vige. Deep fissures appeared in the ground, filled with blood and dismembered limbs, the only evidence that people had once died here…
This vige.
There were only two ces left to stand.
One was the small house where Hoshigaki Kisame and Zetsu were, and the other was the vige cemetery.
Uchiha Sasuke dispersed his Susanoo with a wave, and with the still-terrified Karin, he walked towards the small house, ignoring all the mutted bodies along the way.
"..."
Karin''s body trembled with fear.
Even she hadn''t imagined that one day this vige, which had once brought her nightmares, would be so easily destroyed. Those Grass ninjas who once bullied, beat, and tormented her and her mother were ughtered like weeds…
"..."
ck Zetsu''s heart was heavy.
Because…
It couldn''t understand why Uchiha Sasuke had a Rinnegan!
No…
Not just the Rinnegan…
Even the fully-formed Susanoo shouldn''t be something that someone of Uchiha Sasuke''s age could use, as even the most talented Uchiha, Madara, couldn''t achieve that!
"Do you want to visit your mother?"
Uchiha Sasuke softly asked Karin.
"Okay…"
Karin lowered her head slightly.
This matter…
should indeed be told to her mother…
But her mother''s grave should have been destroyed as well, right?
Unexpectedly, the cemetery of Grass Vige had remainedrgely untouched, perhaps because there were no living people here, or perhaps because someone deliberately spared this ce.
After dismissing Karin, Uchiha Sasuke walked step by step towards Zetsu, a mocking, arrogant smile appearing on his lips.
"..."
ck Zetsu''s heart tightened.
Because that smile was full of Uchiha arrogance, it even vaguely felt that Uchiha Sasuke''s smile resembled Madara Uchiha''s!
"Hmph…"
"A thousand years…"
"And you''re still here…"
Uchiha Sasuke''s first words made ck Zetsu''s heart pound wildly.
"!!!"
ck Zetsu was filled with infinite fear.
This kid…
Those words…
What do they mean!
What does he mean by saying that I, someone over a thousand years old, am still here? How could Uchiha Sasuke, this kid, know that I''ve lived for over a thousand years!
This is ck Zetsu''s deepest secret…
Yet in this moment, it was exposed by Uchiha Sasuke''s words!
"You… just who…"
ck Zetsu''s body began to tremble.
Its mind spun in circles, listing all the people it had encountered over the past thousand years, one by one!
"Are you… Indra?"
ck Zetsu could only think of this possibility, stammering out the name of the first descendant of the Sage of Six Paths it had ever manipted, its first action since its creation.
"Just his chakra…"
Uchiha Sasuke''s lips curled into a cold smile, seemingly mocking ck Zetsu''s naivety: "You should''ve known this long ago."
"..."
ck Zetsu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like it had narrowly escaped death.
No…
Wait…
This is absurd!
How could Indra''s reincarnation know these things, know who I am, and understand what a reincarnation is!
Unless Indra secretly did something, allowing his reincarnations to ess his memories, ck Zetsu''s heart couldn''t help but tremble with fear!
It shouldn''t…
Be possible…
No matter how exceptional Indra was, he was ultimately not a true member of the ōtsutsuki n. His chakra was only a portion of the Sage of Six Paths'' chakra…
"Are you wondering how I have his memories?"
Uchiha Sasuke''s lips curled into a mocking smile, as if he wereughing at ck Zetsu: "Because the previous reincarnation was exceptional, after obtaining a portion of Asura''s chakra, he could sense Indra''s lingering will, which allowed Asura''s chakra and Indra''s chakra to reincarnate together in me…"
"Oh…"
"By the way…"
Uchiha Sasuke''s mocking smile deepened, as if he wereughing at both ck Zetsu and someone else: "Are you Indra''s helper, left for us reincarnations?"
"..."
ck Zetsu''s eye twitched.
Wait…
Does this mean…
No!
It seems like I''ve been deceived!
When Uchiha Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he also awakened Indra''s will and learned some of Indra''s memories!
This means…
Uchiha Madara knew I was a thousand-year-old ck Zetsu!
But when I pretended to be Madara''s will, that man didn''t expose me. Instead, he used me, this thousand-year-old monster, making me obediently serve as his dog to help him resurrect!