To be honest, Hajime didn't really hold any prejudice against the White Zetsu.
In truth, he didn't care much about the future of the ninja world at all.
By his reasoning, even if he lived out his natural lifespan in peace, by the time the so-called "Infinite Tsukuyomi Project" was launched, he would already have been long dead.
So what if a flood engulfed the world after that? What did any of it have to do with a corpse?
Even if disaster did come, that would be for future generations to solve—and besides, wasn't this a world where saviors existed?
Let the mess created by Black and White Zetsu be cleaned up by the destined hero. That sort of cosmic responsibility was far beyond what Hajime's small frame could bear.
He had always been self-aware enough never to imagine himself participating in that kind of grand, world-shaking conflict.
In a sense, he was still a prisoner of his own preconceptions—believing that the world would march unerringly along the path he remembered, unchanged and inevitable.
But that was one matter. The present was another.
He could ignore the future, but he couldn't ignore now.
So he struck the White Zetsu down without a trace of guilt.
After all—poison like this had to be purged.
And besides, he really wanted that experience pack.
"You… you're not… one of us…"
The White Zetsu could feel its chakra rapidly draining away.
The figure before it—the one who had launched this dishonorable sneak attack—was definitely not a "fellow."
"How… can you… disguise yourself… so…"
Why could this man disguise himself so perfectly?
It was beyond anything a Zetsu could comprehend.
"Why? Honestly, I don't know why either."
And truly, there was no disguise.
Because in a certain sense, Hajime was a White Zetsu.
For thousands of years, it had always been Zetsu infiltrating and mimicking others—never the other way around.
The dying creature didn't have time to ponder how this man could so flawlessly imitate its kind.
Instead, its final fragmented thoughts drifted elsewhere…
A ninja who could masquerade as one of them, undetected…
What sort of devastation could such an infiltrator bring to their kind—to their great project?
The answer was clear: possibly fatal devastation.
Unfortunately, the realization came too late.
By the time it understood the danger, it could no longer move.
Hajime continued to absorb the creature's chakra.
As the energy poured into him, the faint unease between his brows vanished.
The boost from the White Zetsu chakra was almost instantaneous—he could feel his overall strength rising, bit by bit.
It was real.
The White Zetsu really was an experience pack!
When Hajime used his Spore Technique to absorb chakra from other ninja, he would experience a temporary enhancement—borrowed power, like fuel for a short sprint.
But that chakra was like water without a source—once consumed, it was gone.
Ordinary ninja were nothing more than "refill packs."
But White Zetsu was different.
The chakra he absorbed from this one had permanently strengthened his foundation.
This was genuine progress—true, lasting growth.
In its own twisted way, this was an act of love and devotion.
A selfless sacrifice.
Hajime almost felt moved—he briefly entertained the thought of converting to the faith of the Rabbit Goddess herself, to become a spiritual brother to the Zetsu.
Once the last trace of chakra was drained, the White Zetsu finally went limp and died.
Hajime took a moment to feel out his body.
His physical strength, his chakra volume, even the density of his energy—all had improved dramatically.
The increase was staggering. Roughly estimated, he had grown twenty to thirty percent stronger overall.
If one White Zetsu could grant this much… then what about all 1,157 of them?
The thought filled him with giddy excitement.
For a brief, delusional moment, he imagined piloting a Gundam through the ninja world.
But reality quickly returned.
There was no way every "experience pack" would yield such gains.
His starting stats had simply been too low.
Just like in an RPG, the lower your level, the faster you level up; the higher you climb, the slower the progress.
Still, there was no denying it now—the "experience pack" theory was true.
Hajime had found his golden road.
He would continue hunting down lone White Zetsu.
He couldn't wait for the next "meeting."
But that could wait for later. For now, he needed to get out of here.
He released his White Zetsu form, and with a quick seal, spat a fire jutsu onto the corpse.
Flames roared to life, wrapping the body completely.
Fueled by the residual chakra, the orange fire burned hotter and hotter, shifting toward white.
The heat was so intense that nearby leaves curled and blackened, branches cracking into charcoal.
Within minutes, the White Zetsu was reduced to nothing.
Hajime could clearly feel the change—the fire jutsu, though identical in form, now produced far greater power.
The enhanced chakra output was undeniable.
Without further delay, he turned and fled the scene.
After running a good distance, he surfaced from underground, slowed his pace, and began to think.
Something felt different.
When he'd used that fire jutsu earlier, he'd sensed a new change in himself.
He plucked a leaf from a nearby branch, placed it flat on his palm, and let his chakra flow naturally outward.
Normally, his chakra would dry the leaf out instantly, setting it ablaze.
But this time, the leaf first became moist—then caught fire.
"Water affinity…?"
And not the faint, barely-detectable kind that showed up on chakra paper.
This was mature, usable—the kind of water-nature chakra that experienced Water Release users could wield in actual combat.
After absorbing the White Zetsu's chakra, Hajime had somehow gained a water-nature transformation.
"This is…"
But how?
White Zetsu weren't known for elemental ninjutsu. They had no reason to possess such skills.
He considered the possibilities.
Perhaps chakra nature transformation was a latent trait of the White Zetsu—something linked not to what they were now, but to what they used to be.
"Before becoming White Zetsu, they were ancient ninjas. Maybe that one used to be skilled in water-nature chakra."
A forgotten power, buried deep within the creature's being.
"No… that doesn't make sense."
It was a reasonable theory, but he quickly dismissed it.
The White Zetsu currently active in the world had all originated from the first Infinite Tsukuyomi—before the Sage of Six Paths had even founded Ninshū.
Back then, ninjutsu didn't exist.
There were no chakra natures, no elemental techniques.
So those people, before they became Zetsu, hadn't been ninja at all.
And once they became Zetsu, they had no need for ninjutsu.
Hajime frowned, puzzled.
"Maybe the ancient people did understand chakra nature transformation—just not how to use it in jutsu? Like a master archer born before guns were invented?"
For now, that was the only explanation that made sense to him.
What he didn't realize was that his understanding of history was flawed.
In truth, the ancient world described in legend had never been fully explained.
The first generation of White Zetsu had not been ninja at all—they were ordinary humans.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had eaten the Chakra Fruit and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi not to fight her two sons, but to annihilate the warring human nations.
Thus, the White Zetsu were born before the battle of Kaguya versus Hagoromo and Hamura.
After the brothers sealed their mother and released the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Hagoromo founded Ninshū and spread chakra across the world.
The age of the ninja began—and he became the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
In short, Hajime's long-held assumption that "White Zetsu were formed by hanging ninja on the God Tree" was simply wrong.
Their past lives hadn't been ninja, but ordinary humans.
So all his analysis—ultimately—was for nothing.
He thought he had uncovered the secret behind the White Zetsu's hidden chakra attributes,
but in truth, he was way off the mark.
Still, none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was that he now possessed water-nature chakra.
And of course, the first thing he wanted was to test its power.
Hajime brought his hands together in anticipation—
but after a moment of hesitation, he let them drop.
Understanding a nature change didn't mean knowing the techniques that used it.
He didn't know the hand signs for any Water Release at all.
He wanted to try it…
But there was nothing to try.