White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were like two sides of a coin.
One was born without any sense of good or evil, learning everything postnatally.
The other existed solely to bring his mother back to life by any means necessary.
Compared with Black Zetsu's ruthlessness without limits, Shen preferred to trust White Zetsu at this moment.
He barely needed to think hard to understand Madara's plan—using enemies lured from unknown places to defeat or kill the weakened Team One.
As long as White Zetsu remained on watch, it was nearly certain that Shen's Mangekyō Sharingan would remain secure.
Yet Black Zetsu's appearance led the outcome toward uncertainty.
"Shen?"
"Uh, I'm fine."
Now Nayou could confidently conclude he must be hiding something from her.
Perhaps friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other.
But the faint sadness in Shen's eyes made it impossible for her to ask further.
"We came out together as a complete Team One, so we will return together," said Shen, whose determination gradually solidified as he gently removed Nayou's small hand resting on his shoulder.
When it came to gambling, with his extraordinary reflexes and acute hearing, perhaps no one in this world could beat him.
But when it came to gambling with lives, he lacked confidence to rival Konoha Scapegoat.
"This is my promise," Shen said without evasion, choosing to throw caution to the wind.
Truthfully, he had never been someone who hides away until peace returns to the shinobi world before coming out to breathe fresh air.
Even if he had to die, he'd make damn sure it shook the whole shinobi world before he went.
"I believe you," said Nayou naturally, though her hands hidden within her wide sleeves clenched tightly.
Even her slightly grown-out nails had slowly dug into her palms.
Her top-notch acting skills were totally wasted under Byakugan and eight years of knowing each other inside out.
"Tch, who needs your guarantee anyway," Nawaki muttered habitually before seriously pondering their earlier conversation.
"Even if it's—"
"You idiot, just lie down quietly. I alone am enough to deal with them." With half of his dojutsu restored and only thirty percent of chakra remaining, Shen opened the hatch of Hagoromo's Ship and jumped straight out.
Nawaki wasn't truly foolish; how couldn't he tell that his rival was trying to protect their teammates, both exhausted physically and drained of chakra?
Indeed, from his perspective, the reason behind this action was simply because they were both his teammates.
Any other motivations lay completely beyond his considerations.
"I believe you," Nayou whispered again, watching through the glass as the black silhouette continuously set barriers around Hagoromo's Ship.
At the moment Shen activated the final barrier, he also sensed approaching Rock-nins racing straight toward him via Sage Mode perception.
"Although this is the Land of Earth, why are these Rock-nin here?" he grumbled, then immediately activated his Sharingan.
Black Zetsu's intention was either to kill or intimidate.
If he performed poorly, there would no longer be fear—only contempt.
So he could only use his three DF missiles freely in life-threatening situations.
"Thirty-eight people? We really were underestimated!" Shen slammed his palms together, unleashing a small tornado.
Draining the enemy's chakra was definitely the best move.
When the Rock-nin were less than a kilometer away from him, that gradually expanding tornado had already grown to about one hundred meters high.
"Go disperse it!" The Rock-nin who appeared to be the squad leader ordered several others to deal with the giant tornado.
Then he led the remaining thirty men straight toward Shen, who was absorbing Natural Energy.
Elite shinobi weren't just better fighters—they knew how to handle chaos.
Fortunately, Shen wasn't an ordinary ninja either.
The battlefield where Rock-nin could maximally exert their strength was exactly the land beneath their feet.
"Well, whether I'm exposed or not, I never planned on staying hidden forever anyway." As Shen clapped his hands again, flames spread widely from under his feet.
Experienced Rock-nin immediately dispatched several of their own to counter with Water Release techniques.
"Hiss—hiss—" However, these Sage Art flames weren't something simple to put out.
Within the mist, eerie red eyes darted among the scattered Rock-nin, appearing and disappearing rapidly.
After flashes of crimson and silver light, another life faded away.
"Can't sense him?" Several Rock-nin assigned to sensory roles found themselves unable to locate Shen hiding within the mist, continuously reaping lives.
From White Zetsu's perspective, it seemed as though Shen was stepping on an invisible transparent barrier floating in midair while moving at high speed.
In Black Zetsu's eyes, that same transparent barrier looked like stationary wind blades. When Shen stepped onto them, they only became visible within the air.
"Sage Art's natural power combined with the enhanced cerebral processing speed granted by Sharingan," Black Zetsu said calmly, "now only two remaining elements remain."
Sage Art was a technique that anyone could learn with enough hard work and dedication.
Merely passively absorbing natural energy was just one characteristic trait among many possessed by those blessed with a Sage's Body.
Black Zetsu, who chronicled all histories of the ninja world, didn't believe Hashirama's ability was what truly constituted a Sage's Body.
At best, it was merely a special constitution like the Sharingan, one that might lead toward achieving true Sage status.
Unaware of this secret, Shen never let up even slightly on absorbing minute particles of natural energy from the air while carrying out covert assassinations.
The small barriers he created as footholds barely maintained the balance point between consumption and recovery.
Thirty seconds later, the Rock-nin who had dealt with the tornado unleashed Wind Release attacks at the misty area.
Shen's left hand covered entirely in flames, he pressed his palm against the ground.
A narrow line of fire shot across the mist, tracing a circle over fifty meters wide.
Then, bursting forth from that flaming perimeter, hellish flames roared up like they'd erupted from the battlefield itself, intercepting those Wind Release attacks.
[Uchiha Flame Formation] – capable of scorching even the Eight-Tails if sufficient chakra was available!
With his chakra almost drained, Shen increased his absorption of natural energy.
His precise calculations made him appear nearly tireless as he mowed them down, leaving fewer than twenty Rock-nin alive.
White Zetsu, internally reeling from shock, realized his plan was practically a failure.
As he quietly retreated, he began formulating a backup strategy.
Black Zetsu, seeing that the other still seemed full of energy despite fighting until now, scratched off one of his hypotheses.
The Sage's Eye and the Sage's Body—though often associated with the Uchiha's and Senju's respective powers—should not simply be viewed as equivalent.
The Sage's Eye is [Rinnegan]—the [Sharingan], on the other hand, only represents the potential to awaken it.
A Sage's Body (a legendary physical trait said to surpass all others) isn't simply defined by massive chakra reserves or strong self-healing abilities alone.
Only when even basic [Ninjutsu] can produce miraculous effects does someone truly show the potential to evolve into a Sage's Body.
Only when both traits—the [Sharingan] and the pseudo-Sage's Body—are combined in one person can they evolve into the [Rinnegan] and the Sage's Body.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>