"A specimen doesn't need to ask so many questions. It's not like you're the original, anyway." Uchiha Nagi couldn't be bothered to chat. He sealed the Zetsu's mouth shut, tossed it into a storage scroll, and didn't worry about whether it could survive inside. White Zetsu spent most of its time underground, so it probably didn't need to breathe. It shouldn't suffocate. And if it did, it didn't matter, as long as the body remained intact.
He had done it on purpose. White Zetsu's stealth technique was practically a cheat code when it was in the soil; it was almost impossible to catch. Aside from the ocean, there was hardly a place it couldn't go. After unleashing that massive wave of energy with his Susanoo, Nagi had already been plotting how to eliminate the Zetsu that was monitoring him and, at the same time, capture it as a test subject. After thinking for a while, the crystallized terrain gave him the perfect opportunity. The ground had been fused into a crystalline state by the intense heat, so even if White Zetsu could move underground, its speed would be severely limited. Not to mention, Nagi had carved deep furrows across the landscape.
And so, with a combination of the Flying Thunder God and his sealing jutsu, he had successfully captured a White Zetsu. A cause for celebration.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the No. 1 White Zetsu he had caught. That one, the original, was the mother-lode, capable of endlessly producing more Zetsu clones.
Among the White Zetsu that Madara had created, besides the original, there was another special one: Tobi, the one who liked to play with poop and first appeared by attaching himself to Obito as a biological enhancement suit. The first White Zetsu could also use a Spore Technique, creating copies of itself and planting invisible seeds that could parasitize any ninja with chakra. Aside from those two, the other White Zetsu were nothing special.
Night fell.
A bonfire crackled in the vast desert. With the endless expanse of sand, there was no need to worry about a surprise attack; anyone approaching would be seen from miles away. Still, being cautious, Nagi had dug a pit to shield the firelight, preventing it from being seen from a distance.
"You should get some sleep, Kimimaro. Don't worry, I'll take the first watch," Uchiha Nagi said.
"Understood, Sensei. Wake me when it's time to switch." After a long day of travel, the desert climate was draining. Kimimaro was already exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down.
As for Yukihime, she had eaten and fallen asleep even earlier. Nagi shook his head. The princess was surprisingly resilient. Her feet were covered in blisters, but she remained as cheerful as ever. She was delicate, but not pampered. So far, getting along with her had been pleasant enough.
Nagi began to study the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, the jutsu that Naruto Uzumaki had worked so hard to complete.
This technique was a true superweapon. It struck its target with countless microscopic wind needles, formed from wind-nature chakra, that cut everything from the skin down to the cellular level. The resulting vortex would then expand, destroying the opponent's organs from the inside out and leaving them completely immobilized.
When Naruto had first succeeded, his arm was nearly crippled. During the release, his hand had come into contact with the jutsu, and the damage was unavoidable. Later, as he grew more proficient, he either used a shadow clone to launch it or developed enough control to keep it from getting too close to his own hand, thus avoiding crippling himself.
If he used this move on Muzan, he wouldn't have to worry about him splitting into 1,800 pieces to escape. The jutsu would destroy him at a cellular level; even if he split into ten thousand pieces, it would be useless. The real problem with a Buu-like opponent like Muzan wasn't his strength, but his cowardice and tendency to run. The creature had not a shred of a warrior's dignity, and that was what made him so difficult to deal with.
Whir... Whir... Whir—
Swoosh!
Uchiha Nagi threw the Rasenshuriken, sending it flying into the desert sand. The recoil felt manageable. With his left arm made of White Zetsu's cells, even if it sustained some minor damage from the wind-nature chakra, it could recover as long as he didn't use the jutsu constantly. Once his control and physical conditioning improved, he wouldn't have to worry about injuring himself.
Nagi clenched his right fist. He still lacked a powerful and effective body-conditioning technique. Relying on conventional training was too slow; it would take ages to reach the physical level of Tsunade or Guy.
"The Third Raikage..." Uchiha Nagi muttered to himself.
The pinnacle of physical conditioning for a ninja wasn't Guy, but the Third Raikage—a man who had tempered his body to the absolute limit. After being brought back by Edo Tensei, he had tanked Naruto's Rasenshuriken without any ninjutsu reinforcement and hadn't taken a scratch. Some might argue that his Edo Tensei body couldn't be destroyed, but it was a fact that not a single speck of dust had flaked off his body when the Rasenshuriken hit him.
"It seems that after the Land of Iron, I'll have to make a trip to the Land of Lightning."
The Flying Thunder God technique gave Nagi the confidence to escape any situation. Against the Fourth Raikage, with the enhanced dynamic vision of his Mangekyo Sharingan, he was confident his speed would not be inferior. If he was already unbeatable before a fight even began, why not be a little reckless?
Once he copied the Raikage clan's Lightning Release Chakra Mode body-conditioning technique and continued to strengthen his physique, he would probably soon be able to use the Monstrous Strength Fist with his right hand as well. Once his right hand could use it, so could his feet. Then, he could use Akaza's Destructive Death techniques as much as he wanted without restraint. It was a form of torture to possess so many powerful taijutsu techniques but not be able to use them frequently due to a lack of physical strength.
Hm?!
Suddenly, Uchiha Nagi sensed something strange. Someone was approaching.
Could it be another White Zetsu? No, a Zetsu's presence was plant-like, different from a human's.
"Beast Breathing, Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness."
In an instant, three chakra signatures entered Nagi's perception. One of them was particularly distinct—evil, cold, and powerful, like a concentration of all the world's negative emotions.
There was only one type of person who could possess such a powerful and malevolent chakra signature: a jinchuriki.
"Interesting." Uchiha Nagi stood up, left a Flying Thunder God kunai on the ground, and vanished with a Body Flicker.
On the vast, empty desert, a red-haired boy with dark circles around his eyes was walking with two other figures: Kankuro and Baki. On the Kazekage's orders, they had come to investigate the massive explosion. Although Gaara's skills at this time were still around the level of a genin, even the jonin Yashamaru had been unable to harm him. If provoked, the Shukaku within him would go on a rampage, and even a Kage-level expert wouldn't be guaranteed to win against it. Not everyone had the ability to block a Tailed Beast Ball.
(The Third Hokage: ...)
Before the Akatsuki came into the picture, the Tailed Beasts were terrifyingly powerful entities. Even the Kage of a village couldn't say with 100% certainty that they could take one on single-handedly. After all, their sheer size was a weapon in itself; a single stomp could crush any high-offense, low-defense ninja.
"Stay sharp, Gaara, Kankuro. The enemy might not be far. We'll observe first. Even if we find them, don't engage rashly," said the team's leader, Baki, who was the teacher of the Kazekage's children. He was also the one who would later support Gaara's rise to Kazekage and become his right-hand man.
"Enough of your lectures. It hasn't tasted blood in a long time. It craves it... I want to kill someone," Gaara said, his dark gaze unsettling even a jonin like Baki. The main reason was the evil Tailed Beast chakra emanating from his body, which was enough to make anyone's blood run cold. This was why Naruto had been ostracized as a child; the evil aura unconsciously released by a Tailed Beast, no matter how faint, was enough to make humans deeply uncomfortable.
"I understand, but you have to control it. Our mission is reconnaissance, not combat. Find the cause and retreat immediately," Baki said sternly.
Swoosh, swoosh—
Before Baki could finish, several kunai came flying toward them.
"Watch out! Evade!"
The kunai hit the ground. Just as Baki dodged, a ninja appeared before him in a flash, slashing at him with a sword.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
The one who had appeared so suddenly was, of course, Uchiha Nagi. One of the kunai he had thrown was a Flying Thunder God marker, allowing him to teleport to their side in an instant. Before they could react, he had unleashed his attack.
Huh?!
To Nagi's surprise, he hadn't managed to cut Baki in two. Weren't all ninja made of flesh and blood?
Then he saw the skin beneath Baki's clothes and understood. In addition to the standard-issue flak jacket, Baki had a layer of what looked like Earth-style armor on his skin. No wonder he wasn't dead. This must have been the same earth-style skin armor jutsu he would later use to ambush the master swordsman, Hayate Gekko.
"Heh... impressive swordsmanship. A pity your sword can't move now," Baki snarled. Though his shoulder was bleeding, he had managed to grab Uchiha Nagi's arm firmly. With his other hand, he drew a kunai and thrust it at him.
"Fool. I don't need a sword. I have my fists." Uchiha Nagi sneered. He gathered chakra in his bandaged left hand and met Baki's kunai head-on.
Baki: "...!?"
A fist met a kunai. The expected scene of his hand being pierced did not occur. The Monstrous Strength Fist was not just taijutsu; it was also ninjutsu. When used, chakra enveloped the arm, providing a layer of protection to the user's body. Otherwise, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; the force used to shatter the earth would also shatter the fist.
Baki's kunai was shattered by Nagi's punch. The force of the blow continued, breaking Baki's arm before landing heavily on his body.
Splat!
Baki coughed up a large mouthful of blood as he was sent flying dozens of meters through the air, mortally wounded.
"The Monstrous Strength Fist... it's as terrifying as they say," Nagi mused. No wonder no one ever wanted to take a punch from Tsunade. A single hit would leave you either dead or crippled.
Being on the receiving end of a Monstrous Strength Fist was decidedly unpleasant. But being the one to deliver it...
It felt good.
That feeling of a punch connecting with flesh, of being able to disable someone with a single blow, was exhilarating. No wonder Tsunade rarely bothered with the five basic nature transformations and just preferred to hammer people's chests with her "little" fists. It was just too satisfying.
Seeing Baki defeated in a single blow, Kankuro's face went pale. "Watch out, Gaara!" he shouted.
The panda-eyed Gaara didn't flinch or dodge. The kunai from before had already been blocked by his automatic sand defense.