"How could this kind of power exist?"
The more Samui imagined that scene, the paler her face became. It was no wonder Atsui and the others had mistaken this place, because the area was simply too vast, with nothing but flat desolation as far as the eye could see. From where they stood, it looked empty and lifeless.
But if one looked down from above, the entire region resembled the inside of a meat grinder. The ground was soaked in dark red stains, as if "livestock" had been crushed into pulp not long ago. The sight alone was enough to make one's stomach turn.
Everything within dozens of kilometers had been wiped away. The same stretch of land had turned into a barren waste where nothing could grow. Even the surface of the earth had been plowed into depressions several meters deep.
How could such power belong to a human? How could something like this be done by human hands? Samui could not imagine how anyone could achieve it.
She had seen scenes far more brutal and bloody in the past. Yet she had never encountered anything like this, where the lingering fear and stench of blood seemed to hang in the air and refuse to fade. It was as if she could smell the blood torn from bodies by the hurricane, and hear the screams and panic of those Kumogakure Ninja just before they died.
This terrifying power that reshaped the terrain did not seem like something a human could possess. Even the Third Tsuchikage Onoki's Dust Release had never reached such a dreadful range. How could someone with such strength have been completely unknown before?
Samui looked toward a deep, pitch-black hollow in the distance, and a bold guess slowly formed in her mind. Unless that person had appeared suddenly, without warning. Only that could explain it.
"Sis, what should we do?"
Atsui asked beside her, his voice unsteady, while the other two chunin were just as lost. The three of them had found many Kumogakure Forehead Protector, and even one or two Konoha Forehead Protector. But there were no bodies at all.
There were no corpses, neither from Kumogakure Ninja nor from Konoha Ninja. Only an overwhelming, choking stench filled the air, impossible to disperse, and the soil beneath their feet was stained red. Faced with this, even fools would understand where the bodies had gone.
Samui stared at the bottomless hollow for a moment, then withdrew her gaze and let out a slow breath. "Do nothing unnecessary. Go back and report to Raikage," she said calmly. Though her instincts told her the truth lay right there, she chose the most rational option.
If that "monster" with such power was still nearby, it was not something the four of them could provoke. Their figures soon vanished into the night, and even after they left, no living creature dared approach the area.
It was like a traveler in the forest coming across the remains of prey torn apart by a beast. Even if the predator had already eaten its fill and left, the violent aura lingering in the air was enough to drive away greedy wild dogs and wolves. The land itself seemed to warn them off.
Only when everything fell into complete silence did something shaped like a pitcher plant push halfway out of the blood-red soil. The huge plant slowly opened, revealing a half-black, half-white face. It was White Zetsu, with Black Zetsu attached to its body.
"What a terrifying human," White Zetsu said with a sigh. "Good thing I stopped you earlier and we did not rush out, or we would have become fertilizer too."
Black Zetsu said nothing, staring at the scene in front of him as he fell into silence. That person's appearance had truly exceeded his expectations. Even hiding deep underground with the Mayfly technique, he could still feel the dreadful presence of that attack.
That strike was probably still weaker than a super Shinra Tensei, but Black Zetsu could tell that the person had been in a weakened state. If he recovered to his peak, he might truly rival Madara in his prime. And those eyes were even more unsettling.
Recalling the distant glimpse of those blue eyes made Black Zetsu feel restless, even afraid. For a being like him, who lacked direct power and relied on schemes, the most frightening thing was the unexpected. In his millennia of memories, Rinnegan should have been the pinnacle these inferior humans could reach.
Even Otsutsuki Hagoromo had only been so strong in life, and the stronger Rinne Sharingan had belonged solely to his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki. So why had an unfamiliar eye, no weaker than Rinnegan, appeared now? There seemed to be only one possibility.
"Someone from beyond the sky."
At this thought, ripples spread across Black Zetsu's body as it trembled with fear. In the Ninja World, had one of the "same kind" from his mother's memories truly appeared? An eye even his mother never possessed could only belong to such a being.
"No, this is the chance I waited a thousand years for. No one will stop me from freeing Mother," Black Zetsu narrowed his hollow eyes. "I must make Obito and Nagato begin collecting the tailed beasts immediately."
If this Rinnegan had not been the one he waited for all these centuries, Black Zetsu would have hidden away long ago. At the very least, he would have waited until the outsider's identity was confirmed. But now there was no choice, because this was the best and final opportunity.
With that decision made, Black Zetsu took one last look at the distant hollow and guided White Zetsu back into the earth, heading toward the Land of Rain. Like Samui, he chose the rational path. Even knowing secrets lay there, he would not risk himself.
Let others scout the danger, then reap the benefits at the end. That had always been his way.
At the same time, inside Konoha Hospital, the atmosphere was heavy. "A blue-eyed monster, Ao's blue Chakra forming a cloak, Ninshu, hurricanes without hand seals, a abyss sealing the monster," Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes after hearing Ryuji Hyuga's account. If this had not come from such a good child, and without Tangdong Akimichi's confirmation, he would have dismissed it as an absurd legend.
As if recalling something, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the boy and asked, "You said you saw a 'structure' inside that abyss?" Ryuji Hyuga nodded firmly, some color returning to his pale face. "Yes, I am sure, but I could not see inside it. Something was blocking my Byakugan."
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard thoughtfully, his eyes flickering. If a monster from ancient legends had truly survived to this day, would the place sealing it contain hidden secrets or forbidden techniques? If that were true, and if they could obtain them, the consequences would be enormous.
A chime suddenly echoed in Ryuji Hyuga's mind. His lies had been judged as becoming reality through misdirection and deception, causing Samui, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, Tangdong Akimichi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and others to experience strong emotional fluctuations and reach a state of doubt, granting him 6000 Reality Points. His Remaining Reality Points now stood at 16694.
Hearing the notification, Ryuji Hyuga felt his heart stir, a smile rising within. The fish had taken the bait. And Black Zetsu being there too was an unexpected bonus.