As the ominous presence surfaced in his perception, clinging to him like a parasitic leech, Logan's nerves instinctively tensed.
This wasn't just some minor nuisance, as this time, a true expert had set their sights on him.
Keeping his expression unreadable, Logan flicked a glance toward the left rear, quietly gathering his Chakra.
'Two or three hundred meters...'
After estimating the relatively short distance, Logan remained cautious yet puzzled. Since it's a sudden disruption the moment he left town, that meant the other party had been watching him for quite some time.
But he hadn't provoked anyone… well, aside from the two petty thieves.
And if they were skilled enough to remain undetected at such close range, why choose to reveal themselves now? The deliberate nature of it was glaringly obvious.
As he moved through the dense trees, the only sounds accompanying him were the rustling of leaves beneath his steps. The growing daylight gradually brightened the forest, yet the eerie stalemate persisted for five whole minutes. Logan decided he'd had enough.
He wasn't interested in playing along. In worst case scenario, there will be a fight. And before the Ninja World escalated into alien vs alien battles later on, there was no one he truly feared.
Landing on a thick tree branch, he stomped down hard, the sudden force splintering the bark with a sharp crack. His forward momentum abruptly reversed, and Logan flipped backward in a controlled retreat.
The moment he moved, the unknown entity also withdrew. Logan's sudden acceleration whipped up leaves in his wake, and that's when he finally caught a glimpse of the flickering shadow.
A few seconds later, Logan's expression turned strange, as the other party stopped, 'They gave up on running already?'
'That was fast… almost like they had only retreated for the sake of appearances.'
Whoosh…
Like a lightning bolt, Logan streaked through the trees and arrived at a clearing. When he landed, his eyes scanned the surroundings warily.
The scenery remained unchanged, just an ordinary forest.
'Their concealment techniques were impressive.'
"Come out."
His voice echoed in the dust-speckled morning light, but no one responded.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Logan was just about to stir up some chaos to force them out when…
A chuckle, slow and deliberately mocking, drifted through the air, "Raiden Hattori… long time no see."
'This voice seems familiar?' Raising his eyebrows, Logan was about to ask something, but the moment he saw the figure emerging from the trunk of a tree, he fell silent.
Pale, unnervingly so. A plant-like, half-opened maw resembling a pitcher plant… White Zetsu
The organization he had once superficially served… Akatsuki had come knocking.
Logan's heart sank. His mind spun at high speed, 'When did they start tracking me? White Zetsu being here meant that after all this time, both Nagato and Obito…'
Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Logan maintained his composure.
Seeing his silence, White Zetsu casually extracted an arm from the tree and leaned against it leisurely, "I didn't expect to find you here. Hehehe..."
That overly 'friendly' laughter grated on the ears. White Zetsu's curious, scrutinizing gaze practically drilled into Logan, as if attempting to see straight through him.
"'We' have been looking for you for a long, long time. I can confidently say we put in one of our greatest efforts ever… yet, we couldn't find you at all."
"So, where exactly have you been hiding, Raiden Hattori? You've been missing for so long… The organization has been very concerned."
White Zetsu leaned forward slightly, with eyes gleaming with an unsettling thirst for information.
Logan remained silent. Only an idiot would answer that. Instead, he calmly brushed past the topic, "What do you want?"
'This guy is probably just one of White Zetsu's many clones. That spore-based scouting technique was beyond broken.' Logan sighed inwardly.
It wasn't surprising that the moment he resurfaced in the Land of Fire, Akatsuki had learned about it immediately. But for them to close in so fast… that was unsettling.
"Isn't tracking down deserters part of my job?" White Zetsu replied lazily, as if enjoying the exchange.
Logan paused briefly, then said, "Losing contact with the organization was never my intention."
At that time, he had just escaped Konoha's pursuit, lying in a tent with Itachi and Kisame stationed outside. Who would've thought that after leaving, he'd never return? He really didn't do it on purpose.
"Oh?" White Zetsu grinned, "Then please tell me in detail."
Logan knew the other party didn't believe him. Honestly, no one would. But more importantly, his role in Akatsuki had always been more of a drifter than a dedicated member. He didn't have the shamelessness to spout something like, 'I bled for the organization'.
"It's a long story, maybe next time."
"Huh?"
White Zetsu was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head, and saw a kunai was inserted into his chest.
His expression wasn't one of shock or fear, just pure confusion as he weakly raised a hand to point at Logan.
"You..."
"You what?" Logan interrupted. "What's the point of pretending? I'm already on Akatsuki's blacklist, right?"
White Zetsu, who had been stabbed in the chest, instinctively nodded.
"Then why waste time talking?" Logan rolled his eyes and shot him a look that screamed, 'See? I was right.'
"Let's wrap this up. I've got things to do."
"But..." White Zetsu's eyes widened as his body twitched in pain, sending a sorrowful message, 'Seriously? Does your tone even match my current state?'
Logan, unfazed, remained relaxed, "You're mass-produced. I know that. No one's gonna mourn for one of you."
White Zetsu had a whole list of curses ready to unleash, but before he could say anything, his life force drained away.
Logan watched as White Zetsu's presence faded until nothing remained. The white body slumped, then crumbled mid-fall, disintegrating into dust like rotting wood caught in the wind.
'Sure enough, it was such a silent death, and no useful information could be obtained.'
After disappearing for three years, Akatsuki would never welcome him back. Not Nagato, not Obito, as both too invested in their grand schemes. Logan knew that much.
This entire conversation was meaningless. Neither of them would have pried anything valuable out of the other. Ending it early was the best move.
As for being exposed… White Zetsu's memories would undoubtedly return to Akatsuki.
Logan exhaled slowly. Akatsuki discovering his return would be troublesome in the future, but there was no point in avoiding it. If trouble came, he'd deal with it. After all, he wasn't the same as before.
After tidying up the traces left behind, Logan continued his journey.
…
Deep underground, the dim corridors stretched endlessly, their lighting forever shrouded in shadows.
Winding like a serpent, the narrow hallways twisted and turned. The flickering candlelight swayed violently but brought no warmth.
Through a wooden door, inside a chamber where the walls were swallowed by darkness, a man sat.
Orochimaru slowly read the intelligence report in his hand, and a cold smile crept across his lips.
"So, that guy has finally resurfaced."
His pale fingers clenched, and the paper crumbled into dust.
Memories stirred within him, and his reptilian yellow eyes glowed with a restrained yet unyielding hatred.
"Inform Sasuke." Orochimaru chuckled darkly.