Chapter 227: Black Zetsu Comes Calling! (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Votes)
The actions of the Tenshin Group were like poking two hornet's nests.
Silently abducting people from Iwagakure and Kumogakure was an incredibly arrogant act.
Even though the abducted individuals were found quickly, with no other injuries besides significant blood loss.
The note they left behind was also a form of provocation.
This was especially true for the Fourth Raikage.
In the past, they were the ones who took things from others; when had anyone ever dared to steal from Kumogakure!
Those detestable thieves had to be caught!
Although Dodai was rescued, the Fourth Raikage still led his forces in pursuit of the Tenshin Group.
Of course, while he had a fiery temper, he wasn't someone who only thought of revenge.
He believed that whoever this so-called Tenshin Group was, their act of kidnapping Kekkei Genkai users and taking their blood must have a purpose, and that purpose was clearly related to Kekkei Genkai.
He needed to get his hands on this secret!
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure.
Upon learning that Explosion Style User Kari had been rescued, Onoki immediately issued orders for the latest command to be delivered to Kitsuchi, who was in charge of the pursuit.
Capture them alive if possible!
They absolutely had to uncover the secret behind the Tenshin Group's collection of Kekkei Genkai users' blood.
Land of Rain.
After hearing the intelligence brought back by Zetsu, Deva Path Pain immediately decided, "They are indeed suitable for bringing into our ranks."
"However, further observation is needed."
"Notify Kakuzu, Sasori, and Orochimaru. If necessary, provide them with some assistance and extend an olive branch first."
White Zetsu smiled upon hearing this and said, "Understood!"
With that, its body slowly sank into the ground and disappeared.
Border of the Land of Earth.
Uka and Thunder God halted their movements, as they had finally been caught up to.
"By the way, should we give them a little time to rest?"
Uka said with a smile, looking at the Stone Ninja.
"There are so many of them, and only two of us. We're the ones at a disadvantage,"
Thunder God said, with arcs of electricity appearing around his body.
Of course, he wasn't using Lightning Style Chakra Mode.
On the ground, on stone mounds, and on rock pillars, Stone Ninja stood or crouched, glaring at Uka and the Thunder God.
Kitsuchi saw the electricity around Thunder God and immediately shouted, "Be careful, that guy is very likely skilled in Lightning Style."
"They received some intelligence about the Tenshin Group from Konoha yesterday, and they know that the six individuals from this organization each specialize in one area, and their skills are comparable to the top figures of the major ninja villages."
The battle yesterday had also proven this point.
"They're here!"
Suddenly, a Stone Ninja shouted.
Kitsuchi's gaze sharpened; those two guys were actually counter-attacking.
"Attack!"
Kitsuchi roared.
Rumble!
The earth shook and then cracked open.
Uka and Thunder God, who were charging at the Stone Ninja, were inevitably separated.
This was the Stone Ninja's specialty – altering the terrain to divide enemies and make effective coordination difficult.
With over 50 Stone Ninja, they spread out but maintained formation, and in a flash, the battlefield became fragmented.
Uka and Thunder God were separated, with various obstacles and attacks appearing on the ground.
But these were actually just auxiliary measures, limiting their speed and evasion space.
The real attacks came from the Stone Ninja standing on the rock pillars, who opened their mouths and spat out highly concentrated stone projectiles, resembling date pits, which then expanded in the air and shot towards the two of them with a whizzing sound.
This was an attack from above, and with the cooperation of other Stone Ninja, it was unavoidable.
Thunder God's body was surrounded by electric arcs, like a bolt of lightning, roaring continuously and ferociously charging forward, breaking through and piercing all obstacles in his path like a brute.
As for the stone projectiles, they either missed due to his extreme speed or were shattered by the occasional bursts of electricity from his body.
On the other side, Uka's movements were elusive, dodging attacks with uncanny speed and posture.
Thump!
Thump!
One by one, the Stone Ninjas suddenly collapsed, unable to stand.
"Watch out, he's skilled in Genjutsu!"
"Go in pairs, at least!"
A Jonin shouted. As soon as he finished speaking, his two companions not far from him stared blankly, controlled by Genjutsu.
He quickly moved forward and formed hand seals: "Release!"
However, the two showed no reaction.
"What's going on?"
This Stone Ninja Jonin was stunned. He couldn't break the Genjutsu affecting his comrades.
But immediately after, he felt his eyelids grow heavy, and then he fell face-first to the ground.
"Damn it!"
Kitsuchi's expression was grave. He had never encountered a ninja specializing in Genjutsu this terrifying.
Even Jonin were completely unable to resist.
Not only could he not break the Genjutsu himself, but outsiders couldn't either. This completely overturned his understanding of Genjutsu.
And that guy skilled in Lightning Style was also terrifyingly powerful, reminding him of the great battle with the Third Raikage several years ago.
"I'll hold off this guy. You guys go deal with the one skilled in Genjutsu!"
Kitsuchi made his decision.
Instantly, over a dozen Stone Ninjas rushed towards Uka.
"As expected of the Tsuchikage's son, so confident!"
Thunder God chuckled lightly. With a boom, two massive semicircular rocks closed behind him, falling just short of crushing him like a sandwich.
"Don't underestimate us Stone Ninjas!"
Kitsuchi snorted coldly and placed his large palm on the ground.
Zing zing zing!
Dense, sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground. He then rose and landed on a stone pillar, spitting out a torrent of clay that flowed like a great river towards Thunder God, who charged like a bolt of lightning.
"It's not over yet!"
Kitsuchi gritted his teeth and quickly formed hand seals. The sky above changed drastically, and clumps of clay rained down, smashing towards Thunder God.
Unfortunately, Thunder God's speed was too great, and he was too agile.
These projectiles were useless.
However, Thunder God couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The power of Earth Style, among those he had seen, was just slightly inferior to his own brother, Sarutobi Shinya.
This son of the Third Tsuchikage lived up to his reputation!
One minute later.
Kitsuchi knelt on one knee, panting heavily as he looked at Thunder God before him. Then, with unwilling indignation, he slumped to the ground with a thud, unable to get up.
He wasn't injured by Thunder God, but was completely drained of Chakra.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Uka had also dealt with the other Stone Ninjas, all of whom had fallen victim to his Genjutsu.
"Let's go!"
Uka spoke, and then the two of them leaped away quickly.
Less than 2 minutes later, the Stone Ninjas naturally began to awaken...
Land of Lightning.
Clone Mido and Fire God did not deliberately engage the Fourth Raikage and his group. After entering the Land of Hot Water, they disappeared completely, making it impossible for the Fourth Raikage and his group to track them.
Under the Sage Tree.
Sarutobi Asuma put away the crystal ball and nodded with great satisfaction.
The Tenshin Group's objective had been achieved.
This would surely shake the entire Ninja World next.
"However, we can't stop here. Besides the Fourth Kazekage, Sunagakure doesn't seem to have many Kekkei Genkai users left."
"Kirigakure is currently persecuting Kekkei Genkai users, so it's a good time."
Sarutobi Asuma pondered silently.
As expected.
After two days of brewing, the entire Ninja World was shaken.
Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure jointly issued a S-class warrant for the Tenshin Group.
Furthermore, they posted a massive bounty.
Each member of the Tenshin Group carried a bounty of 100 million Ryo!
For a time, it was as if the entire Ninja World's attention had converged on this mysterious organization that had suddenly appeared.
Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure began a close exchange of intelligence.
Meanwhile, at the experimental base beneath the Sage Tree in the Sage Domain, Sarutobi Asuma's shadow clone began gene analysis on the acquired blood.
Land of Birds.
Henmei and the Earth God stopped walking, their gazes fixed on the figure that suddenly emerged from the ground.
Zetsu!
Beneath his mask, Henmei's lips curved into a smile.
The Earth God spoke, "Do you want to capture us to claim the bounty?"
"Speaking of which, we won't hold back against people like you!"
White Zetsu chuckled, "You two misunderstand, we aren't those ordinary bounty hunters!"
"To be honest, we greatly admire your actions, so we wish to invite you to join us."
Henmei heard this and chuckled, "Join you?"
"Who are you people, to want us to join?"
White Zetsu replied, "We are from the Akatsuki Organization!"
"Oh?"
"I have heard of that."
The Earth God spoke, "It seems your ambitions are great."
"But unfortunately, we have no interest in your disputes!"
With that, the two continued forward, passing by Zetsu.
At that moment, both of them almost felt like making a move to capture Black Zetsu.
But they held back.
They were clones, after all, and did not possess the same means as their originals, making it impossible to guarantee no accidents.
Moreover, Black Zetsu was a cunning old schemer, and it was unknown if this one attached to White Zetsu's body was a complete version.
"What if cooperating with us could grant you more Kekkei Genkai?"
White Zetsu's voice was filled with temptation.
Henmei and the Earth God simultaneously stopped and then turned back.
Zetsu had also turned around, and White Zetsu smiled, "You two should know about the Tailed Beasts, right?"
Henmei nodded, "You aren't suggesting capturing Tailed Beasts, are you?"
"That is outside our scope of plans, and we don't truly want to be hunted by all the major ninja villages!"
Both White Zetsu and Black Zetsu believed this.
The Tenshin Group had shaken the entire Ninja World, offending three major villages in one go.
It was said that the Tenshin Group had not killed anyone during this process, which already made their stance clear.
The reason the major villages were focusing their attention on the Tenshin Group now was certainly not to save face, but rather to investigate the purpose behind the Tenshin Group abducting ninja with Kekkei Genkai.
There must be a secret hidden within this.
Of course, they didn't care what secrets were involved.
White Zetsu tempted them, "We can reveal a secret to you all: many of the current Kekkei Genkai in the Ninja World originated from the Tailed Beasts."
"For example, Sunagakure's Magnet Release was also researched from the One-Tail."
"Iwagakure's Lava Style came from the Four-Tails, and Boil Release from the Five-Tails."
The Earth God said calmly, "We naturally know this, but so what?"
"We don't want to be relentlessly pursued by the major ninja villages!"
White Zetsu chuckled lightly, "Don't rush!"
"This isn't much of a secret; the real secret is... the fusion of the Nine Tailed Beasts can form the more powerful Ten-Tails!"
"That is the existence with Kekkei Mōra!"
"And Kekkei Mōra surpasses Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta!"
"Don't you want to obtain it?"
Henmei and the Earth God stared intently at White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, exuding a dangerous aura.
"Ten-Tails?"
"We have never heard of this; are you trying to fabricate something non-existent and use us?"
"This is not a good idea. While we don't like killing, we detest being deceived the most."
"The consequences would be severe!"
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Machine Translation by: beta.randomtranslator.com
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