060 Reborn as the Third Kazekage

"You guys really take things too literally! I told you to starve him for three to five days, but you just hung him up here and left him for months! Look at him—he's dried up like jerky! How could you be this cruel? You could've at least given him some water! A little sugar water would've worked too! Why haven't you taken him down yet? Doesn't seeing this every day creep you out?"

Arashi shook his head as he looked at White Zetsu, who was now nothing more than shriveled-up skin and bones.

Tsunade, on the other hand, didn't seem to care in the slightest. Her eyes kept drifting toward the surgical instruments, clearly itching to dissect the creature into pieces the moment Arashi gave the word. She had no sympathy for White Zetsu whatsoever.

"You can't blame us, Lord Arashi!"

A young female assistant in the lab looked like she was about to cry.

"You and Lord Rasa took most of the Medical Corps for this exercise. There are only a handful of us interns left in this huge lab. That thing was terrifying! It kept shouting insults at us, and if we got too close, it even tried to bite! Who would dare feed it?"

…

Arashi was at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was clutching her stomach, trying to hold back laughter.

It was true. For this recent military exercise, Arashi had taken an entire squad composed of four-man teams, each including a medical-nin. He had even gathered enough personnel to establish a full-scale field hospital. Essentially, he had swept Sunagakure clean of medical-nin.

The results were remarkable—the mission, despite its scale, had achieved zero casualties. The worst injuries were sustained by Daichi and his team.

However, there were… unintended side effects.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. It was my oversight. Go ahead and take him down. He looks like some kind of ghost hanging there—it's creepy."

Arashi sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Uh… Lord Arashi, we can't take him down. The wrapping around him has a sealing jutsu. I… I can't break it."

Oh. Right. He had completely forgotten about that.

Arashi waved her aside and took action himself.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With a bite to his finger, he performed the hand seals.

"Poof!"

A burst of white smoke cleared, revealing a one-eyed weasel.

"Good grief! You guys are insane! Using my wrapping jutsu to mummify someone? That's some medieval torture right there!"

"Look, it wasn't on purpose. We got busy and… forgot about him. Can you please dispel it? Pretty please?"

Arashi quickly explained.

"Hmph."

He didn't waste time. He padded over to the mummified White Zetsu and placed a tiny paw on him. But then—his expression shifted into one of utter shock.

Raising a finger to his lips, he signaled everyone to be quiet before leaning in, pressing his ear against the wrappings.

A long silence.

Then—

"Whoa… this thing is still alive!"

"You're saying White Zetsu has my grandfather's cells in him?"

Tsunade's expression was a mix of shock and fury.

"That's right. Otherwise, why wouldn't Nawaki's body have rejected the transplant? I also have another piece of evidence. You might know about it."

"What evidence?"

"The battle at the Valley of the End—Madara bit off a chunk of your grandfather's arm. That was the original source of all Hashirama cells."

Arashi pointed to his own arm as he explained.

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Yes! Grandpa did have a scar on his arm! I used to play with it all the time at the card table when I was a kid! To me, he was like a god, and I always wondered—who could possibly wound him like that? If it was Madara… then everything makes sense!"

It was like something inside her had suddenly clicked.

"So the plant-like characteristics in the blood samples you showed me before—"

"Are from the Wood Release gene!"

They spoke in unison.

"That means White Zetsu is some kind of hybrid—a fusion of another organism and my grandfather's cells! He's a man-made being!"

Tsunade's excitement grew as she spoke, her eyes shining with realization.

"Exactly. And not just any artificial being. You've been studying the cellular data from the Zetsu spores for a while now, but this one is different—this one is the original prototype. His data far surpasses those of the spore clones."

Hearing this, Tsunade's scientific curiosity ignited. A thousand theories and experiments raced through her mind.

"I want… to keep him!"

Arashi met Tsunade's gaze and spoke seriously.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Like this…"

Arashi leaned in, whispering something to Tsunade.

A conspiracy was brewing.

"What is that amazing smell…?"

In the fog of unconsciousness, White Zetsu picked up a tantalizing aroma.

"White Zetsu, you're awake!"

His eyes snapped open.

It was him—that blue-haired man. Arashi.

Arashi held a bowl filled with skewered food, the source of the mouthwatering scent.

White Zetsu blinked and looked around. He was in a white hospital room, hooked up to an IV.

"Here, eat while it's hot."

Arashi handed over the bowl. Without thinking, White Zetsu accepted it.

"What is this?"

"Oh, just a Sunagakure specialty—mala tang."

Normally, White Zetsu didn't need to eat. When he was with Madara, he would simply absorb chakra from the Gedo Statue whenever he got low. But now—

Now, as he gazed at the steaming, fragrant bowl, an unfamiliar sensation stirred within him.

Hunger.

He hesitated, then picked up a skewer of tofu and took a tentative bite.

A burst of sensations overwhelmed him—numbing, spicy, savory, aromatic—all flavors he had never experienced before. His long-dormant taste buds came alive.

For the first time in his existence, White Zetsu felt joy.

"Incredible…"

A skewer of tofu skin disappeared into his mouth in an instant. Then he picked up another, and another...

Before long, the entire bowl was empty.

"Ugh... That was amazing."

White Zetsu let out a satisfied burp, his expression filled with pure bliss.

"Looks like he's recovering well. We had to pump twelve IV drips into him just to replenish his fluids." Tsunade entered the room in a white lab coat.

"It's you... you damn hag!"

White Zetsu's face twisted into a scowl, his body tensing as if ready to jump out of bed and fight. Tsunade, however, remained unfazed, smiling as she glanced at him.

"Relax, relax! It's all a misunderstanding. We're on the same side!" Arashi quickly pressed White Zetsu back down onto the bed, his tone placating.

"Same side?"

White Zetsu was utterly confused. Last he remembered, he had infiltrated Sunagakure on Madara's orders, scouting for information. He had sneaked into what looked like a top-secret underground lab, only to find a child floating in a cultivation tank, its body implanted with what appeared to be spore-based organs—his own kind.

And not just that—there were shelves filled with specimen jars. His brethren had been dissected and studied.

"Wait, no—she killed my spore clones!"

"She didn't know who you were at the time. Honest mistake."

"She and that damn ferret attacked me together!"

"Big misunderstanding!"

"They strung me up and starved me for months!"

"Total misunderstanding."

"They—"

"She's your sister-in-law."

"Huh?"

Arashi raised his left hand, revealing a faint scar on his palm.

"Forget already? We're sworn brothers."

White Zetsu scratched his head, trying to recall. It did sound vaguely familiar...

"That hag is your wife?"

"Girlfriend."

Arashi chuckled inwardly. This guy was strong, sure, but thankfully, he wasn't the brightest. If White Zetsu had a sharper mind, persuading him would've been much harder.

"You came to Sunagakure to gather intel, right? Well, no need for that anymore. We're on the same team now. You want information? Just ask me directly."

White Zetsu's head spun. Nothing was making sense.

"So… can I leave now?"

"Not yet. You've got a new mission."

"New mission?" White Zetsu looked completely lost.

"I've met Lord Madara."

Arashi threw out another bombshell.

Seeing the doubt in White Zetsu's eyes, Arashi pulled out a small notebook.

"Here, recognize this? Madara's handwriting."

White Zetsu flipped through the pages, immediately recognizing Madara's signature. There was no mistaking it. He knew Madara's writing better than anyone.

With that, the last of his doubts faded.

"What's the mission?"

"Stay here and help me."

"Help with what?"

"No specific tasks for now. Just follow her instructions."

Arashi pointed at Tsunade.

"Follow... the hag's instructions?"

"Call her Director from now on."

Tsunade's smile remained unchanged.

White Zetsu stared at her, then back at Arashi.

"Direc...tor."

Arashi and Tsunade exchanged a glance and grinned. Got him.

"Here, this is for you. Your mission is classified, so you can't let anyone see your face."

Arashi handed White Zetsu a silver, spiral-patterned mask.

White Zetsu slipped it on immediately. It felt cool and snug against his skin—surprisingly comfortable. He liked it.

"Hmm… you should have a codename. From now on, you're Pale Lotus."

"Pale... Lotus."

"That's right. From now on, you work under Director Tsunade. We'll give you the rank of Researcher."

"Wait... you mean I get paid?"

"Of course! Monthly salary of over 8,000 ryo."

Arashi grinned.

"8,000 ryo? How much is that?"

Arashi pointed at the empty bowl.

"Enough for about 4,000 bowls of spicy hot pot."

"Whoa!"

White Zetsu practically jumped with excitement.

"Lie down, lie down! You're still on an IV!" Tsunade rushed forward to steady him.

And so, the Sunagakure Medical Research Institute (recently upgraded) gained a new researcher—an oddball who was hardworking yet humorous, always wearing a silver spiral-patterned mask.

...

Two years later,

Sunagakure saw the rise of a massive pharmaceutical company: Silver Sand Pharmaceuticals. A decade after that, it became the largest pharmaceutical enterprise in the ninja world.

...

Meanwhile, in a hidden cave deep—

"It's been so long. Still no sign of White Zetsu?"

"No."

"He must've been eliminated. Damn, we were too late. Sunagakure is still too dangerous to mess with."

"No big deal. We can always make more."

"True. But each generation of these things gets chattier... and dumber."

And so, White Zetsu—a creature engineered for deception and survival—found himself in the least expected role: a loyal researcher in the service of Sunagakure. Little did he know, his journey was only just beginning...