Staring at White Zetsu's half-face with its grotesque split mouth and a yellow eye gleaming with a lecherous expression, Shigeo couldn't help but think: he's really ugly.
He looked at him calmly and said, "No."
"What? Hahaha, interesting. I wanted to be your friend, and you actually said no!"
"Yes." Shigeo didn't waste words. He turned and started walking away.
White Zetsu trailed behind him, his cracked mouth stretching wider as he said, "But I really like you. I think we'd definitely get along. Who would've thought Orochimaru actually knew you, and yet he hid it from us all this time? That guy really is sly!"
He grinned again, watching Shigeo intently, liking him more the longer he looked. Back in Byakko Mountain's cavern, he had watched Shigeo's battle against Orochimaru and Hiruko without missing a single detail.
Facing two powerful opponents, the boy barely moved his feet before killing Hiruko. And then there was the Susanoo—something White Zetsu hadn't seen since Uchiha Madara himself.
Even if it was only a half-body manifestation, given time, this child would surely grow into someone who could make the entire shinobi world tremble. To let such a person go without recruiting him into Akatsuki would be a waste.
Of course, Akatsuki had already decided to send him to recruit Shigeo—the only question was whether he would agree.
"Shigeo, join us. We'll make you stronger. We'll make your dreams come true. Come on!" White Zetsu flashed ahead, blocking his path.
Shigeo formed a quick seal. "Enough nonsense. Raiton: Raizō (Lightning Release: Lightning Walk)!"
A simple offensive jutsu—direct and precise. Lightning arced toward White Zetsu. He dodged, landing on a tree branch. But the moment his feet touched the wood, his whole body convulsed violently, collapsing to the ground.
"Your… lightning style…" His mouth trembled as he looked up at the boy suspended midair among the trees. No wonder Shigeo never touched the branches—this jutsu stored electricity through conductors, and the entire forest was his trap.
Shigeo knew White Zetsu could merge into nature itself. If his first strike missed, Zetsu would dodge and hide in trees or soil. That's why he had chosen Raizō, a jutsu that electrified the environment.
He glanced down at the unmoving body. Just a clone.
A sharp pain throbbed in his arm, reminding him of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven. Not lingering, Shigeo turned and left.
Instead of returning directly to Konoha, he headed east. But after a few shunshin, he stumbled out of a canyon, collapsing to the ground.
The curse mark flared—his body writhed in agony. This was the second-stage fusion. If he survived, he would gain the Cursed Seal transformation, multiplying his chakra and greatly boosting his strength and speed.
But it came at terrible costs: draining vitality, inducing mutation, risking loss of control to Orochimaru… or even death.
His body burned like fire. Clutching his arm, Shigeo leaned against a boulder, dizzy and weak. If only he had a Chilling Pill—then he could endure.
In this state, he couldn't allow the tailed beasts to remain inside him. If they were influenced by the curse mark and lost control, disaster would follow.
With effort, he released the five beasts he had already cloned and nurtured.
Two were still incomplete, unable to emerge yet.
The five tiny tailed beasts appeared for the first time, each looking at him with wide, startled eyes full of worry.
Kurama, the Nine-Tails, was the largest, about the size of a grown man's hand, acting like the eldest brother. Isobu, the Three-Tails, stared blankly and flopped over lazily. Son Gokū and Kokuō, the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, were lively, scrambling up onto his shoulders. Saiken, the Six-Tails, sat quietly aside, its cold gaze never leaving Shigeo.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," he said, lips dry, sweat soaking him.
Orochimaru—he would find a way to destroy him utterly.
"Arf…" Kurama gave a soft growl. Their concern was clear. After all, they were born from his own flesh and chakra. To them, he was their master.
"I'll be fine. Just an accident. I'll recover soon."
Shigeo lay in the valley for a long time, eyes closed, letting his body stabilize as the cursed seal spread deeper into him. He knew this wasn't like an Uzumaki sealing jutsu—it was something entirely different, harder to dispel.
Eventually, the burning lessened. The beasts relaxed, circling around him like anxious children.
Then came the rumble of wheels and harsh shouting from nearby:
"Shut your mouths! You've fallen into my hands—don't think of escaping. Anyone who cries again gets killed on the spot!"
Shigeo forced himself upright. Waving a hand, he signaled the little beasts to hide. In his unstable state, he couldn't draw them back into his body—it was too risky.
Dizzy, vision blurred, he saw a wagon rolling toward him. Rough hands grabbed him and tossed him into a wooden cage on the cart.
"Hahaha, who'd have thought we'd find a kid out here in the middle of nowhere? Not bad, not bad! Even if he's dull, as long as he fetches a price, he's good enough!"
The trafficker cracked his whip, heading north with his cargo.
Shigeo burned with fever, his body limp. Inside the cage, someone caught him as he fell. A soft voice whispered beside him:
"Are you okay? Hey, hey, what's wrong?"
Shigeo turned his head weakly. A little girl with twin braids and big watery eyes looked at him in worry. She held a small water skin, carefully tipping it to his lips.
"You have to hang on. You'll be okay!" she said, her voice full of trembling determination.
(End of Chapter)
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