It was clear that everyone present was "one of their own"... White Zetsu themselves. There was no room for suspicion between them.
Over the long course of history, if the White Zetsu are considered a non-reproducing species, then by now, the majority of the population has already been lost.
And if you ask how they died, most were wiped out by unidentified AOE attacks.
The deaths of White Zetsu were often vague and meaningless, and the casters of such techniques typically had no idea they had scored an extra kill.
Therefore, the reason Yujin gave for his condition was entirely reasonable and trustworthy. Some of the other Zetsu might even empathize with his experience.
One White Zetsu can naturally discern the essence of another. In their eyes, Yujin was no different from themselves.
They were all Zetsu. Suspicion? What for?
For thousands of years, it had always been White Zetsu disguising themselves as others to sow discord. The idea of a ninja disguising as White Zetsu without being detected was beyond their comprehension.
White Zetsu were deeply entrenched in a thousand-year-old inertia of thought. The concept of someone infiltrating them never even crossed their minds. That was how Yujin easily infiltrated the heart of the "experience pack."
The cave was dry and spacious. After Yujin arrived, the Zetsu quieted down again. About a day later, all the White Zetsu in the surrounding area had gathered.
"Twenty-two... twenty-three..." Yujin silently counted. At that moment, twenty-three White Zetsu were packed into the small cave.
"Everyone's here," one Zetsu stepped forward, facing the others.
"Is this gathering for the same reason as before?" another Zetsu asked.
"As usual. You report any valuable intel to me, and I'll pass it along to the main body."
"There's nothing worth mentioning. A few small ninja clans were wiped out—does that even count as major news?"
"Yeah, I've got nothing valuable either."
"Our surveillance areas are all low-value zones. It's just minor clans fighting messy little wars."
"…"
The White Zetsu exchanged reports while complaining. When it was Yujin's turn, he simply replied, "Nothing," and ended his report.
After everyone had finished reporting, the lead Zetsu said:
"Things do seem a bit too peaceful lately. Looks like we need to provoke the major clans more and further intensify their internal conflicts…"
"Peaceful, huh…"
Yujin mused silently. It seemed that, in the eyes of White Zetsu, ninjas like him didn't even count as people.
If they didn't see it, it didn't exist. If it didn't exist, it caused no ripples. No ripples meant no impact—and thus no significance. Even if small and medium clans fought to the death, how much would it really affect the ninja world or its history?
"Send two to Area 037 to enhance surveillance. More importantly, we have further actions planned, and those we send will be useful," the lead Zetsu continued.
"Area 037 is…?"
"That's the Uchiha clan's village."
Upon hearing that the next mission involved the Uchiha, one White Zetsu quickly said, "I'll go. It's too boring here."
At that moment, Yujin's mind stirred. He said, "Count me in."
Yujin couldn't attack here—not unless he wanted word to spread that "a ninja disguised as White Zetsu is hunting White Zetsu." That would be disastrous. He had no way of instantly killing 23 White Zetsu, especially ones capable of using the Mayfly technique.
So, he needed to isolate one, and the best way to do that without raising suspicion was to join a mission together. Nothing created better cover than working as a team.
"Alright. You two will be reassigned to surveillance in Area 037," the lead Zetsu agreed. There was no distinction between Zetsu, so it didn't matter who was chosen.
After a moment's thought, the leader added:
"Everyone, for the sake of that great plan, we must remain vigilant while monitoring the ninja world.
Over thousands of years, we've lost too many. We can't afford to lose more… 1,157—that's how many of us are left. If our numbers drop further, we'll no longer be able to maintain surveillance across the entire ninja world."
"1,157… so many experience packs," Yujin thought.
If his "experience pack" theory was correct, how many levels could he gain from all that? Well, he was getting ahead of himself—there was no way he could kill all the White Zetsu.
They were like a mountain of gold—Yujin couldn't carry it all. All he could do was sneak a few nuggets from the base.
After the brief meeting, the Zetsu dispersed in different directions.
Yujin followed his mission partner toward Area 037. He had no choice but to stick close—he didn't even know where the Uchiha village was.
One Day Later
Both Yujin and the White Zetsu were traveling via the Mayfly technique, so they moved extremely fast. By this point, they were completely separated from the others. There was no trace of a third White Zetsu nearby.
Yujin, who had been silently tailing the other, finally spoke—hoping to gently knock on the door of a mind that had been sealed shut for over a millennium.
"Hey... do you really think we can complete that plan?" he asked abruptly.
"What do you mean?" The White Zetsu sounded baffled.
White Zetsu's brains were literally incapable of such doubt. Their biology, their very neural structure, made questioning the plan impossible. They were born to save "Mom." If you couldn't think that way, you simply couldn't be born as White Zetsu.
"We've already devoted over a thousand years to this plan. But what have we achieved? Almost nothing. Is it really worth wasting our long lives on such an intangible goal?"
"There are clearly more meaningful, worthwhile things in life we could be pursuing instead. Why cling to an unrealistic dream? By the way, are you male or female? Ever thought about helping cultivate female Zetsu?"
"…What are you talking about?" The Zetsu's brain was practically crashing.
"Me? I'm just someone trying to help."
Yujin suddenly reached out both arms. His hands slipped behind the Zetsu and pressed firmly against both sides of its head—palms resting on its temples.
With a sharp twist and a crisp crack, the White Zetsu's neck rotated a full one-and-a-half turns.
"You look tired. I just wanted to help you get some rest."
"Abandon collective thought. Embrace individualism. You may have lost your life, but you've gained eternal liberation. So? Doesn't the world seem a little brighter now that you've given up on saving Mom?"
What could anyone say? Yujin had always been the considerate type.
He understood others' needs and always acted with empathy. After even the briefest encounter, most people tended to agree—"He's actually… kinda nice."