"Forget it…"
"I should just go back and report to the main body. That little brat isn't simple."
The white figure observed for a while.
Staring at the child ahead of him, who looked no more than eight or nine years old.
Then he began slowly sinking down along the tree trunk.
"Heh, why are you leaving in such a hurry?"
A light chuckle suddenly came from below.
"Body Flicker Technique?!"
The White Zetsu clone was startled.
"You can actually detect me?!"
He stared in disbelief at the small figure that had suddenly appeared beneath the tree.
It was unbelievable.
His infiltration ability was top-tier.
Even ordinary sensory-type ninjas wouldn't be able to detect him easily.
When sneaking into Konoha earlier, he had deliberately absorbed the chakra of a Konoha ninja, perfectly replicating that person's chakra fluctuations.
Even Konoha's barrier, which could identify unfamiliar chakra and prevent infiltrators, hadn't been able to detect him.
"You talk too much."
Under White Zetsu's shocked gaze—
Ren's right arm suddenly plunged straight into the tree trunk.
"Ah—what did you do?!"
White Zetsu, who had been about to escape, screamed in terror.
To his horror, he realized that although he was hidden inside the tree, he suddenly couldn't move at all.
Moreover, a terrifying force was devouring his chakra.
But before he could say anything else—
The white figure vanished directly from the tree.
"This little bit of nourishment isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth…"
Ren pulled his right hand back out of the tree trunk.
As if he had just done something completely trivial.
He didn't even bother glancing at the masked figure lying unconscious nearby after being trapped in his Genjutsu.
With his hands in his pockets, he slowly walked away.
"Hm?"
Suddenly—
He stopped walking.
A surprised expression appeared on Ren's face.
"The Mayfly Technique? The Impersonation Technique?"
"This really is an unexpected bonus."
He thought for a moment, then couldn't help but smile.
"Is it because White Zetsu itself is a product of the Divine Tree—a special plant lifeform—so its abilities were absorbed by me as well?"
Just when he needed something, someone had delivered it right to his doorstep.
Although White Zetsu's combat strength was rather mediocre,
its infiltration abilities were first-rate, unmatched across the ninja world.
Even Konoha's strict barrier system hadn't been able to identify his disguise, allowing him to slip in easily.
The Mayfly Technique allowed the user to merge their body with the earth and vegetation to move at extremely high speed.
By becoming one with the ground and traveling through the organic network of plant roots and underground water flows within the soil, the user could move rapidly to almost any location.
During the technique's activation, all presence and aura could also be completely concealed.
The Impersonation Technique was even more astonishing.
Unlike ordinary Transformation Techniques, it worked by absorbing someone else's chakra and perfectly replicating that chakra signature.
Even the closest companions or sensory-type ninjas would be unable to detect the difference.
During the future Fourth Great Ninja War, White Zetsu clones once absorbed people's chakra and transformed into them, infiltrating the Allied Shinobi Forces and causing internal chaos that led to considerable casualties.
If it hadn't been for Naruto—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—who had mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode after training at the Waterfall of Truth and could sense White Zetsu's malicious intent…
Things would have been far more troublesome.
These were abilities unique to White Zetsu.
Even if someone captured one and forced these techniques out of it,
ordinary ninjas simply wouldn't be able to learn them.
But for Ren—
A user of the Logia-type Mori Mori no Mi—
these types of abilities were practically tailor-made for him.
"I was just worrying about how to quietly infiltrate the Uchiha Clan…"
He hadn't expected that devouring a single ordinary White Zetsu clone would grant him its abilities.
Ren couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
Based on his estimates,
the destruction of the Uchiha Clan would likely occur within the next few days.
Originally, he had been wondering how he could get a share of the spoils during the upcoming Night of the Uchiha Massacre.
There were so many Sharingan.
He couldn't possibly let all of them fall into the hands of Shimura Danzo and Uchiha Obito.
But at this stage, he was still just an eight-year-old child.
Before he fully grew stronger, it wasn't yet the time to act without restraint.
He had no intention of exposing himself too early and putting himself in danger.
It was impossible to just barge in openly.
After all, even with the Transformation Technique, one couldn't change their chakra signature, making it easy to expose one's identity.
Whether it was Konoha's leadership, the hidden Uchiha Obito, or the so-called filial son Uchiha Itachi—
none of them were easy opponents.
"Even if ordinary physical attacks don't affect me, that doesn't mean I'm truly invincible…"
Looking toward the distant sky, Ren thought to himself:
"Although only senjutsu infused with natural energy can damage my true body, as a Mori Mori no Mi user I can basically ignore normal taijutsu and ninjutsu."
"But Obito's unpredictable space-time dōjutsu, Kamui, and those endless sealing techniques and barrier techniques still pose a serious threat to me."
After mastering Perfect Sage Mode, Ren had already tested things on himself.
The elementalization of the Mori Mori no Mi wasn't truly invincible.
Senjutsu chakra could indeed harm his real body.
Even more importantly—
If he were accidentally transported to another dimension, or trapped inside a barrier like the Four Violet Flames Formation, or sealed entirely…
That would become a huge problem.
For now,
he still needed to stay low-profile.
And the abilities of White Zetsu had arrived at exactly the right time.
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