Seeing two identical figures suddenly appear before him, the middle-aged man's face showed shock, and he couldn't help but stumble back several steps before plopping down on the ground.
"Is it some kind of jutsu... the Clone Jutsu from the rumors?"
However, the middle-aged man quickly regained his senses. As if realizing something, he let out a light sigh and muttered to himself.
Since this middle-aged man was not a shinobi, he had no way of knowing that the two identical figures of Uchiha Obito before him were not the so-called Clone Jutsu at all.
Moreover, the Chakra auras emanating from both Uchiha Obitos were completely identical.
"Jeez, it's finally starting. My butt's gone numb from sitting."
"You're not just ordinary-looking, you're also a coward. Want me to teach you how to grow a spine?"
The White Zetsu disguised as Uchiha Obito twisted his waist and grumbled at the middle-aged man, whose face was full of fear.
Seeing White Zetsu making a ridiculous face using his appearance, Uchiha Obito fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and gave the order.
"Now, proceed according to the original plan!"
Seemingly sensing the hostility in Uchiha Obito's tone, White Zetsu quickly dropped the goofy act. Without hesitation, the entire body swiftly sank back into the ground.
White Zetsu's constitution was inherently special. Combined with the Mayfly technique, he could merge his body with the earth's vegetation to achieve high-speed movement.
While the jutsu was active, White Zetsu could tap into the root systems of plants existing underground, and even organic networks like underground rivers, allowing him to move at high speed to any location. During the jutsu's activation, all traces of his presence were completely eliminated.
After leaving the house where Uchiha Obito was stationed, White Zetsu quickly moved in the opposite direction, putting distance between himself and Uchiha Obito.
"This distance should be about right."
White Zetsu sensed the area, pondered for a moment, then stopped underground.
This distance should give them enough time.
With that thought, a smirk crept across White Zetsu's face. His figure paused for a moment before swiftly emerging from underground.
After leaving the conference room, Grandma Chiyo had returned directly here.
Using the Kazekage's office as the center, she issued orders to the shinobi throughout Sunagakure, coordinating all sides.
Although Grandma Chiyo's rank was that of an elder, her current position was acting Kazekage. Therefore, stationing herself in the Kazekage's office was not a problem at all.
Grandma Chiyo's face showed signs of weariness. At her age, handling the village's numerous affairs was an incredibly draining task.
On top of that, what truly worried Grandma Chiyo was not the trio of Uchiha Obito, Kakuzu, and Sasuke who had come to cause trouble.
At this moment, the instant White Zetsu appeared from underground in Uchiha Obito's form.
Inside the Kazekage's office, the sensor-type shinobi who had been standing respectfully beside Grandma Chiyo's eyes lit up. He quickly raised his head toward Grandma Chiyo.
"The target has appeared! Position at the four o'clock direction, and still moving, but the speed isn't fast."
This sensor-type shinobi quickly analyzed and consolidated the information he had perceived.
"Good. Dispatch shinobi immediately."
"The target possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu. We need to seal off their movements quickly and take them out at top speed, otherwise this will become very troublesome."
Grandma Chiyo nodded calmly, her tone flat as she spoke. However, her voice carried a hint of unconcealed killing intent.
Dozens of figures burst from the Kazekage's office, leaping across rooftops toward White Zetsu's position.
At the same time, the sensor-type shinobi from earlier followed the group out.
Based on the current intelligence, there was only one intruder in Sunagakure. Therefore, once the target had been located, Grandma Chiyo no longer needed him there.
Moreover, having a sensor-type shinobi accompany the squad was also out of concern that the target might escape again using Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Since it was intentional, White Zetsu was still moving, but at a slow pace. At the same time, he kept making his presence flicker — disappearing for a moment before reappearing — to simulate the signs of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Even so, with the assistance of the sensor-type shinobi, the large number of Sand Shinobi still didn't take long to reach White Zetsu's position.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Sand Shinobi had completely surrounded White Zetsu. Their gazes, brimming with killing intent, locked onto White Zetsu standing at the center.
"Oh my, I've been found out?"
White Zetsu put on a surprised expression, scratching his head as he spoke in an exaggerated tone.
Since White Zetsu was disguised as Uchiha Obito, he naturally wore a mask as well. Therefore, the assembled Sand Shinobi couldn't see White Zetsu's terrible acting.
However, from White Zetsu's words alone, everyone could still tell that his current demeanor was clearly an act.
A Sunagakure jonin, crouching on a stone pillar, raised his arm and swept it toward White Zetsu's direction. With an expressionless face, he gave the order.
In an instant, a massive barrage of kunai and shinobi tools rained down from all directions, sealing off every route of escape around White Zetsu.
Not only that, but several puppeteers manipulated large numbers of puppets, closing in from both the sky and the ground in a coordinated encirclement.
Meanwhile, in that ordinary house near the center of Sunagakure, Uchiha Obito had essentially watched with his own eyes as the Sand Shinobi left to pursue White Zetsu.
Uchiha Obito let out a low chuckle. A spiraling space-time vortex appeared before his eyes, and in the next moment, Uchiha Obito vanished from the room entirely.
At this time, outside Sunagakure, Kakuzu and Sasuke had already engaged the village's defensive shinobi. Terrifying Chakra erupted violently from Kakuzu's body.
Wind Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release, Water Release, Fire Release!
All manner of ninjutsu poured from Kakuzu's hands as if they cost nothing. The overwhelming techniques interwove and detonated, producing deafening roars one after another.
At this moment, Kakuzu was like a weapon of war, single-handedly suppressing the Sand Shinobi who had come to attack them.
As for Sasuke, while his display wasn't as flashy as Kakuzu's, he leveraged the advantage of his Sharingan to easily detect the Chakra threads hidden around them, finding and severing them one by one.
For a time, the commotion created by Kakuzu and Sasuke on their battlefield directly drew the attention of most of the shinobi!
Coupled with White Zetsu disguised as Uchiha Obito drawing another portion of attention, a gap had appeared in Sunagakure's defenses.
And exploiting this breach in defense, Uchiha Obito found things going even more smoothly than planned!
Dim candlelight illuminated the surroundings.
The entire room was bare of any furnishings. Only a single figure sat cross-legged at the very center.
This figure made no movements, merely keeping its head slightly lowered. Yet its entire body faintly radiated a violent and oppressive Chakra aura.
"Just how much longer do I have to stay here!"
Suddenly, the figure raised its head, letting out a rough breath. Seemingly suppressing something, the voice was hoarse as it spoke.
As that voice rang out, in the dimly lit room, a blurry figure leaning against the corner of the wall slowly stepped forward.
It was none other than Sunagakure's jonin, Baki!
"My apologies, Gaara. Until Lady Chiyo gives a specific order, I'm afraid you'll need to remain here a while longer."
Baki's expression was calm, his tone unchanged as he spoke.
"Understood." Gaara looked up at Baki for a moment, then lowered his head again.
Seeing Gaara accept this so calmly, a flash of surprise crossed Baki's eyes.
No one noticed that, at this moment, Baki — known for his cold and serious demeanor — rarely revealed a faint smile on his face.
Gaara had truly begun to grow up!
After all, if this same situation had occurred in the past, Gaara would have gone on a rampage long ago!
[
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