Black Zetsu seemed to blend into the stone tablet, but in reality, he had already slipped away. Having lost his "cat tree," Black Zetsu knew he could no longer afford to linger here.
It was indeed difficult to eliminate, but it still knew when to feel fear. Burdened with the sacred mission of rescuing its mother, it refused to allow itself to face any actual danger. Risking a brief encounter with Genma was already an act of immense audacity.
Genma was still putting up a front, pretending his only motive for targeting White Zetsu was revenge. He did not want to expose the fact that he could obtain abilities from White Zetsu's body to Black Zetsu. Little did he know, both sides were merely putting on their own acts.
He anticipated even less that, purely for the sake of the performance, Black Zetsu would directly cause the death of the original White Zetsu without the slightest hesitation. To Black Zetsu, even though it was called the "original body," it was not irreplaceable at all.
It was just a cat tree; it could easily be replaced with another.
Genma had no idea that the very first scene played out before his eyes was actually a silent betrayal. Heaven knows how Black Zetsu had fooled the original White Zetsu, but right up until its heart was ripped out, the original White Zetsu never once suspected that it had been abandoned by Black Zetsu.
One had to admit that Black Zetsu was incredibly ruthless. Just because the original White Zetsu had criticized it with some hard facts and reasoning, it had sent the original straight to the afterlife.
Genma tried his best to keep a straight face. He had no choice; the show had to go on, even if it was just a one-man play.
Genma did not recognize a single character inscribed on the stone tablet. However, after a brief search of the cavern, he discovered a journal written under the pseudonym of an "archaeologist." The journal documented this "archaeologist's" research and translation of the ancient text on the tablet.
In short, the general gist of the tablet claimed that the Sage of Six Paths had created the world. Afterward, he traveled the land, establishing Ninshu, spreading chakra, and connecting humanity together.
To prevent the world from falling back into chaos after his passing, this great Sage supposedly left behind certain "divine creations" to monitor the shinobi world. These divine creations were deathly pale, resembling tree-men, and possessed little power. Their sole purpose was to reclaim the elements or shinobi causing chaos whenever the world fell into turmoil.
For a thousand years, these pitiful and pathetic creatures had supposedly been maintaining the balance of the shinobi world. Even if they achieved no great exploits, their tireless, unrewarded efforts deserved recognition...
"So basically, the White Zetsu are all beneficial insects, and I'm not supposed to hunt them casually? What kind of bullshit legend is this? The writing is completely half-assed, nowhere near as compelling as the lies fed to Uchiha Madara... Is this really all the effort I'm worth?"
Genma could not stop lampooning in his mind. He felt like Black Zetsu was treating him like an absolute fool.
The short story fabricated by Black Zetsu was indeed full of holes, but it still emphasized their origins, their benevolent nature, and the reasons why they should not be targeted.
This was somewhat understandable, though. In such a rush, how could it find the time to craft a flawless narrative? It had to budget time for carving the stone, forging the archaeological records, and setting up the cavern's environment. While the written content mattered, the atmosphere was equally crucial. To enhance the credibility, Black Zetsu had gone so far as to make this cavern look exactly like an ancient ruin.
Overall, while Black Zetsu had not intentionally used such a simplistic story to mock Genma, Genma's importance could never be compared to that of Uchiha Madara. The purpose of tricking Uchiha Madara was to plunge him into absolute despair regarding the world while simultaneously offering him a path forward; tricking Genma was merely to stop him from hunting White Zetsu out of sheer boredom.
This was an era of war, after all. Charging onto the battlefield and dying there—wasn't that the proper destiny for a shinobi?
Genma pondered carefully. Facing Black Zetsu's low-IQ, low-effort performance, it seemed best for him to pretend to believe it. This way, after his current act of retaliation, the conflict between both sides could be temporarily laid to rest, returning to a state of mutual non-interference where minding one's own business was paramount.
White Zetsu were widely distributed, and Genma could not completely "drain the pond to catch all the fish" anyway. Black Zetsu's short essay proved that it just wanted to shake Genma off like a piece of foul garbage. If that could be achieved, Black Zetsu would not hatch any more plots against Genma or his organization until it had absolute certainty of success.
When he thought about it, both sides actually shared a mutual consensus.
"Right, right. Black Zetsu, as expected of you. Your brain is truly filled with nothing but mush."
Genma continued his one-man show. After a brief silence, he shattered the stone tablet, signaling his willingness to keep the secret of the pitiful creatures left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
Next, he transcribed a copy of the archaeological data before burning the original. The translated text could potentially be real. Out of the mindset that "it might come in handy later," Genma wanted to keep it, but he worried that Black Zetsu's original manuscript might contain some hidden traps, forcing him to copy it manually.
Well, a performance required full commitment, so he burned the original White Zetsu body as well. With everything wrapped up, Genma finally left the cavern.
Two days later, another cat tree brought Black Zetsu back to the site. Looking at the destroyed tablet, the burned books, and the charred remains of White Zetsu left behind, Black Zetsu wore a satisfied smile.
It truly was a peerless strategist; this was the staggering wisdom accumulated over a millennium.
Yet, this complacency was utterly baseless. Frankly speaking, if Black Zetsu were capable of defecating, a millennium's worth of manure would be far more valuable than the wisdom it had accumulated.
After its bout of smugness, Black Zetsu felt a surge of discontent. To deceive that shinobi, it had actually praised Otsutsuki Hagoromo against its own will, which made it highly displeased.
Forget it, the bigger picture takes precedence. A small emotional sacrifice amounts to nothing. Indeed, if the "sacrifice" of the original White Zetsu meant nothing, what did a little internal disgust on Black Zetsu's part matter?
Genma left the Land of Rain and ducked into a secluded, out-of-the-way corner before finally beginning to carefully inspect the changes brought about by the original White Zetsu's chakra.
The original White Zetsu was not so pathetic as to be a mere "recharging pack," yet it had not granted Genma any elemental chakra natures either. Genma felt as though he had simply acquired a "physique experience pack"—except this particular experience pack seemed rather unusual.
"Spores?"
Genma spread his palm, channeling his chakra according to a certain sensation. He watched as his palm swelled slightly, looking somewhat like the flesh sprouts of the Earth Grudge Fear technique, but much less disgusting.
As the spore swelled, Genma felt his Water and Fire natures—or more accurately, his ability to use Futsuton, his Kekkei Genkai—being stripped from his body and condensing into this single spore. This sent a jolt of shock through his heart, prompting him to instantly halt the spore's creation.
"Separating my own power, and then... transplanting it into someone else?"
Genma's mind was full of question marks because he could sense that this ability was not a "copy-paste," but a "cut-and-paste."
"An impressive ability... Well, impressive in every aspect except actual utility."
If he could plant the spore on someone else and extract their Kekkei Genkai, this ability would be broken. However, since Genma could only separate his own Kekkei Genkai, wouldn't this ability be a complete white elephant? He had always believed his own strength was insufficient and was desperately trying every means to increase it; there was absolutely no reason to weaken himself.
Well, so much for high expectations. No wonder the original White Zetsu had died so easily—turns out it was because it was completely useless.
After a round of revulsion toward the original White Zetsu, Genma calmed his emotions slightly, preparing to initiate the operation he had long desired. Now that Earth and the surplus Water natures were assembled, he could finally attempt to synthesize Mokuton.
"Wait, no! It's useful—incredibly useful!"
Immediately after, Genma discovered that when he fused the two elemental chakra natures this time, the process was remarkably smooth and seamless. After carefully sensing it, he realized that it was actually the lingering chakra from the original White Zetsu at work.
No, to be more precise, the original White Zetsu's chakra had enhanced his physical constitution, making the barrier between Kekkei Genkai significantly less pronounced. It was a total misunderstanding. He shouldn't have looked down on the original White Zetsu earlier; now, the misconception was cleared.
When he had previously fused Futsuton, it had been exceptionally difficult and utterly bottlenecked. But now? Genma felt as if he had used a classic laxative—with just a bit of effort, everything flowed like a torrential flood. Smooth—both his tracts and his chakra pathway system were perfectly unblocked.
Upon fusing the Water and Earth natures, Genma sensed three distinct paths of "evolution": Mokuton, Yoton, and Deiton.
Unlike Futsuton, which had a single Kekkei Genkai with two distinct applications, Genma had anticipated this. Once he selected a specific Kekkei Genkai, the fusion method for the Water and Earth chakra would become permanently locked, meaning he would lose the possibility of acquiring the other two Kekkei Genkai.
Considering his practical circumstances, Mokuton in his hands would likely yield less destructive power than Yoton. Yet, with almost zero hesitation, he still chose the path he had originally determined. Mokuton was tied to his regenerative capabilities, and as everyone knew, only the living had the right to deal damage.
Once the "path" was finalized, a certain "memory" and "mixing method" were instantly engraved into his chakra pathway system.
The next moment, Genma abruptly stood up. He quite literally "took root." A massive tree rapidly sprouted beneath his feet, shooting upward and soaring into the clouds.
"Excellent. While it can't compare to those absolute cheaters, executing the 'Three-Bedrooms, Two-Living-Rooms Technique' is no problem at all. It's more than enough for me."
In the future, when persuading other shinobi clans to surrender, Genma could also stab himself with a kunai—stabbing hard, leaving a few gaping holes would be completely fine. However, it would be best if this Mokuton ability was never seen by Senju Tobirama. Otherwise, what if he mistook Genma for his elder brother?
At this point, Genma still possessed an extra portion of Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning chakra each. It seemed he could potentially synthesize Hyoton and Ranton. But he felt Hyoton was utterly useless; he might as well save those attributes for later.
As for Ranton...
Biting off more than one can chew leads to poor digestion. It was better for Genma to adapt to Mokuton first. After all, having an ability was one thing, but actual combat effectiveness was another. Bridging the gap between an ability and combat power required a process of accumulating experience.
Genma had used clever diplomacy and strategic alliances to wipe out the stronghold of the Hagoromo Clan, and by a stroke of immense good fortune, he had picked up the Hagoromo Clan's secret technique scroll. Therefore, mastering Ranton would be perfectly logical, wouldn't it?
To claim all eight characters of 'gale-force lightning and swift water-like light' might seem a bit greedy, but if Genma split it in half and just took 'swift water-like light,' it wouldn't be asking too much.
Genma spent a day getting slightly accustomed to Mokuton before putting an end to his wandering and returning to Yinghuo Village. This trip had taken him about ten days back and forth. Unfortunately, when he returned to Yinghuo Village, the shinobi of the Uzumaki Clan had not yet departed.
Setting up a barrier was, after all, a highly intricate task. While Genma understood that this work required a massive investment of time, he still felt a bit disappointed... Cough, it went without saying that after this trip, certain auras lingering on his body had grown noticeably thicker.
The vast majority of shinobi were completely oblivious to such a change, but the Uzumaki Clan was different. Their sensory abilities were exceptionally potent, particularly when it came to matters regarding Tailed Beasts, Otsutsuki, or the Divine Tree. They were like bomb-sniffing dogs, picking up the scent with unerring accuracy every single time.
True, an ordinary Uzumaki shinobi could not sense an ordinary White Zetsu, but they could not withstand someone literally "stacking White Zetsus" on themselves.
What the hell? Genma's disguise could fool White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, yet it could not bypass the Uzumaki. Was that even logical? Well, actually, it was logical; it was just that he could not quite wrap his head around it yet.
After returning to Yinghuo Village, he had no choice but to actively avoid the Uzumaki shinobi for the time being.
Immediately upon his return, his subordinates handed him the first roster of Jonin candidates.
"Strength assessment and merit-based evaluation system?"
The method proposed by his subordinates to determine ninja rankings was straightforward, amounting to nothing more than evaluating the shinobi's performance on the battlefield... While it seemed basic, there was nothing wrong with it.
You could not exactly implement an examination system in this era—who had that kind of leisure? Furthermore, the battlefield was the truest and most persuasive examination hall. In comparison, the exams of future generations were mere child's play.
As for the issue of fairness, at least during this period, there was no need to worry about anyone committing nepotism or fraud using this selection. Battlefield performance spoke for itself; everyone knew everyone else's capabilities, so whose eyes could a fraud possibly deceive?
Genma had no objections to this, and his gaze shifted to the Jonin roster.
Lan, Akimichi Shin'yu, Nara Naoyuki, Nara Hideyuki, Yamanaka Tokuya, Yamanaka Yoshiya, Aburame Atsukazu...
Additionally, two Tokubetsu Jonin were tentatively designated: Fuma Tomo and Tachibana Wakamatsu.
The first batch of Jonin were all clan head-level figures. This certainly was not a case of his subordinates giving themselves extra spotlight. For one, clan heads were inherently among the top tier of power within their respective clans. Secondly, granting clan heads the status of Jonin allowed them to manage their clansmen more effectively. Otherwise, if a clansman became a Jonin while their clan head remained a Chunin, wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
"There's nothing wrong with the list, but all future evaluation results must be reviewed by me before they take effect... Furthermore, evaluations cannot rely solely on your subjective assumptions. I need persuasive, quantified results."
"Qu... Quantified?" Nara Naoyuki and the others scratched their heads in bewilderment.
Genma was just about to bring up the mission ranking system, but after spinning the thought around in his mind for a moment, he bit his tongue. He needed to give his subordinates an opportunity to exercise their own initiative; Genma could not do everything himself.
It was fortunate that everyone remained unaware of his thoughts, otherwise someone would surely resign on the spot. 'Do everything himself?' What exactly had Lord Genma ever 'done himself'?
"Let's set this matter aside for now. The village has stabilized for a while... That war which cost us immense losses has long since passed, and I think it is time we reclaim what we lost."
"What we lost? What would that be?"
Genma's face stiffened:
"The gold mine, of course! How could you lot completely forget about the gold mine?"
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