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"You guys are so literal-minded! I said to starve him for three to five days, but you actually hung him up here and left him for months! Look at this! Just look! He's shriveled into jerky! How could you be so cruel? At least give him some water! Even sugar water would've been fine. Why haven't you taken him down yet? Doesn't seeing this every day creep you out?"
Jinghang shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the shriveled White Zetsu, who now resembled a piece of "dried meat" inside the skin cocoon.
Meanwhile, Tsunade appeared completely indifferent. Her eyes occasionally darted toward the surgical tools, clearly itching to dissect White Zetsu into pieces the moment Jinghang gave the word. She harbored no goodwill toward him.
"You can't blame us for this!"
The young assistant in the lab was on the verge of tears.
"You and Minister Rasa pulled so many medical staff for this exercise, leaving only a few interns in this massive lab. That guy was so aggressive—always swearing and even trying to bite anyone who got close. Who would dare to feed him or give him water?"
...
Jinghang was left speechless, while Tsunade was laughing so hard on the side that her stomach hurt.
It was true. In order to test new combat strategies, Jinghang had assembled four-person squads, each including a medical ninja, and concentrated personnel to form a field hospital. This essentially emptied Sunagakure of its medical ninjas.
The results were remarkable. The large-scale military operation achieved "zero fatalities," with the most serious injuries sustained by Shuki of the Red Sand and her team.
But the side effects were just as evident...
"Alright, alright, stop crying. It was my oversight. Go ahead and take him down. He looks like a ghost hanging there—it's terrifying."
Jinghang sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Sir, we can't take him down. The skin cocoon has seals on it, and I don't know how to undo them."
Great. He had forgotten about that. Jinghang waved her aside.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Biting his finger, Jinghang performed the Summoning Jutsu.
"Poof!"
A puff of white smoke cleared to reveal Bak, the one-eyed weasel.
"What the hell! You guys are twisted! Using my skin cocoon for some kind of air-drying torture! And you even made it look so artistic."
"No, no, it's not like that. We've just been busy lately and accidentally forgot about him. Can you please deactivate the jutsu and get him down? Pretty please?"
Jinghang quickly explained.
"Hmm."
Without further ado, Bak approached the cocoon, placing a small paw on it. Suddenly, he looked startled. Raising a finger to his lips, he gestured for everyone to stay quiet. Then, he leaned in, pressing his ear against the cocoon.
"Hiss... This is freaky... This thing is still alive!"
"You're saying White Zetsu has my grandfather's cells?"
Tsunade's expression was a mix of disbelief and anger.
"That's right. Otherwise, why didn't Nawaki experience any rejection reactions? And I have another piece of evidence. You might already know it."
"What evidence?"
"The Battle of the Valley of the End. Madara bit off a piece of your grandfather's arm—right about here. That piece became the foundation for all Hashirama cells."
Jinghang pointed to his own arm.
"That's true! My grandfather did have a scar on his arm. I used to touch it all the time at the card table when I was a kid. In my mind, my grandfather was like a god, and I always wondered who could've left such a wound on him. If it was Madara, that explains everything!"
It was as if a light bulb went off in Tsunade's head.
"So, the plant-like traits I observed in the blood sample you brought earlier are..."
"Wood Release genes!"
They both spoke in unison.
"Then this White Zetsu must be some kind of creature fused with my grandfather's cells! He's an artificial human!"
As Tsunade spoke, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Exactly! And a very special artificial human at that. You've been studying the cellular structure of White Zetsu spores for some time now. This one appears to be the original experimental subject. Its data is on a completely different level from the spore bodies."
Hearing this, Tsunade became visibly excited. Countless hypotheses and experimental plans swirled in her mind.
"I want... to keep him!"
Jinghang looked at Tsunade, his expression serious.
"How?"
"Like this..."
Jinghang leaned in and whispered into Tsunade's ear, conspiring on some unknown scheme.
"What smells so good?"
Still unconscious, White Zetsu sniffed the air, catching a peculiar and enticing aroma.
"Brother White, you're awake!"
"It's you!"
Opening his eyes, White Zetsu saw the blue-haired man holding a bowl filled with skewered food—the source of the delicious smell. Looking around, he realized he was in a white hospital room, with an IV drip attached to his arm.
"Here, eat it while it's hot."
Jinghang handed the bowl over, and White Zetsu, almost instinctively, accepted it.
"What is this?"
"Oh, it's Sunagakure's specialty snack—spicy hot pot!"
Normally, White Zetsu didn't need to eat. When he was with Madara, he'd simply absorb chakra from the Gedo Statue when he was tired. But now, faced with this fragrant dish, he felt an inexplicable urge to eat.
He tentatively picked up a skewer of tofu skin, placed it in his mouth, and began chewing. The combination of spicy, numbing, savory, and aromatic flavors awakened long-dormant taste buds, flooding him with an indescribable sense of bliss.
"Amazing!"
One skewer quickly disappeared, followed by another, and then another...
Before long, the entire bowl of spicy hot pot was gone.
"Ah, that was heavenly."
White Zetsu burped contentedly, a look of happiness on his face.
"Looks like he's recovering well. We've replenished his fluids with twelve IV bags."
Tsunade, now dressed in a white lab coat, entered the room.
"It's you... you wicked woman!"
White Zetsu glared at her, as if ready to jump out of bed and fight. But Tsunade remained unfazed, smiling calmly.
"Relax, relax, Brother White. It's all a misunderstanding. We're on the same side now."
Jinghang quickly restrained White Zetsu, soothing him with kind words.
"The same side?"
White Zetsu was utterly confused. He remembered being sent by Madara to infiltrate Sunagakure and gather intel. Somehow, he had ended up in what seemed like the most heavily guarded underground lab.
He recalled seeing a child in a cultivation tank, organs from his spore bodies transplanted onto them. The lab was also filled with spore body specimens.
"No, she destroyed my spore bodies!"
"She didn't know who you were back then—it was a misunderstanding."
"She attacked me with a weasel!"
"Also a misunderstanding."
"They hung me up and starved me!"
"All misunderstandings, all misunderstandings."
"And she..."
"She's your sister-in-law."
"Huh?"
Jinghang held up his left hand, where a faint scar was visible.
"Forgotten already? I'm your sworn brother."
White Zetsu scratched his head. It did seem vaguely familiar.
"The wicked woman is your wife?"
"Girlfriend."
Jinghang smirked inwardly. This guy was strong but dim-witted—easy to manipulate.
"You came to Sunagakure to gather intel, right? Well, you don't need to anymore. We're all part of the same organization now. If you want to know something, just ask me directly."
Jinghang continued.
White Zetsu was once again at a loss.
"So... can I go back now?"
"Not yet. You have a new mission."
"A new mission?"
White Zetsu looked puzzled.
"I've met Lord Madara."
Jinghang dropped another bombshell. Seeing White Zetsu's confusion, he pulled out a small notebook.
"Look, isn't this Lord Madara's handwriting?"
White Zetsu took the notebook. Sure enough, it bore Madara's signature. He recognized the handwriting immediately. As a simple-minded being, his logical chain was now complete.
"What's the mission?"
"Stay here and help me."
"Help you with what?"
"No specific tasks for now. Just follow her orders."
Jinghang pointed to Tsunade.
"Follow the wicked woman's orders?"
"From now on, call her Director."
Tsunade smiled.
White Zetsu stared blankly at Jinghang, then at Tsunade.
"D-Director."
Jinghang and Tsunade exchanged a knowing glance, smiling in triumph. They had him.
"Here, take this. Your mission is secret, so you can't let anyone see your face."
Jinghang handed over a silver spiral mask.
White Zetsu put it on, finding it cool and comfortable. He liked it.
"Hmm, you'll need an alias. From now on, you're Bai Fei."
"Bai... Fei."
"Yes. From now on, you'll work under Director Tsunade. You'll be treated as a researcher."
"You mean... I'll get paid?"
"Of course. Over 8,000 ryo a month."
Jinghang smiled.
"8,000 ryo? How much is that?"
Jinghang pointed to the empty bowl.
"About 4,000 bowls of spicy hot pot."
"Wow!"
White Zetsu jumped up in excitement.
"Lie down, lie down—you're still on an IV!"
Tsunade quickly helped him back into bed.
From that day on, Sunagakure's Medical Research Institute (now upgraded) gained a new researcher—a comical, diligent figure who always wore a silver spiral mask.
Two years later, Sunagakure became home to a major pharmaceutical company known as Silver Sand Pharmaceuticals. Ten years later, it grew into the largest pharmaceutical enterprise in the ninja world.
Meanwhile, in a hidden cave in the Land of Bears:
"It's been so long. Still no word from White Zetsu?"
"None."
"He's probably dead by now. What a pity. Sunagakure is still untouchable."
"No matter. There's plenty more where that came from."
"True. But each new one talks more and gets dumber!"