As the battlefield filled with gunpowder smoke, a giant pitcher plant appeared, and Lin Nan's figure emerged within it.
Upon seeing the scene before him, Lin Nan gasped, taking a sharp breath.
This was Lin Nan's wood clone, which had arrived at the location of his main body.
But where was his main body?
The battlefield could only be described as tragic.
The Five Kage were all heavily wounded, in extremely poor condition, and their morale was at an all-time low.
The battlefield resembled the one against Uchiha Madara, with thick trees spiraling and enveloping the entire area.
In the distance, atop a colossal Buddha statue as large as a mountain peak, stood a figure entirely black, resembling a being made of venom.
Was that my main body?
Lin Nan broke out in a cold sweat, unable to sense even a trace of his own chakra. He dared not believe it.
He went out for a bit, and upon returning, his home had been raided.
He hadn't expected to be ravaged to this extent, even at this late hour.
Black Zetsu.
This thing truly lived up to its reputation as the key player, only engaging in high-stakes matches.
Picking and choosing here and there.
More skilled at manipulation than the second brother from Africa.
And Black Zetsu, Lin Nan had no idea what kind of substance it was. It seemed there was no way to kill it in the original story, only seal it.
And has anyone ever been freed from Black Zetsu's control?
The answer was no.
Obito, with his willpower fueled by love, managed to suppress Black Zetsu's control, but did he break free?
No!
It was like a maggot clinging to the bone, impossible to shake off.
Lin Nan watched from afar, sighing softly.
What a pity that my handsome face is smeared with sesame paste!
Looking at the situation on the field, his main body, possessed by Black Zetsu, could only unleash wood-style jutsu and skills it already knew. Abilities like Susanoo or the giant Buddha, which required the system, were clearly beyond Black Zetsu's grasp.
However, it was still quite troublesome that it could unleash all the wood-style techniques.
Compared to the Susanoo Complete Body, the smaller Buddha statue was relatively easier to deal with.
Therefore, the initial battle between the Five Kage and Black Zetsu was back and forth, with neither side gaining an advantage.
But the battle couldn't remain in such a stalemate. A victor had to emerge.
Black Zetsu, like a seasoned player with a god-tier account, began executing a series of high-difficulty maneuvers after familiarizing himself with the controls.
Since it wasn't his own account, Black Zetsu didn't care about overheating the graphics card or blowing out the engine; he just kept spamming close-range skills.
Thus, the Five Kage were subjected to Black Zetsu's onslaught, leading to the current predicament.
The Five Kage were at their wit's end, their chakra depleted. Even Tsunade, who had stored chakra for so long, would be nearly out after activating her Yin Seal and Hundred Healings Jutsu.
"This is boring!"
Standing on the head of the Buddha, Black Zetsu let out his hideous, hoarse voice. "The Five Kage? How laughable!"
The next moment, Black Zetsu manipulated the giant Buddha, and chakra began to gather in the mouths of the several miniature Buddha heads on its forehead.
"Shine!"
This was a built-in move of the Buddha statue. Each of the five Buddha heads on its forehead spewed out chakra of a different attribute. After accumulating a certain amount of power, they were all released at once.
"Boom!"
Instantly, five attributes—Fire, Lightning, Water, Wind, and Earth—converged and surged towards the Five Kage.
Could the Five Kage resist at this point?
The answer was no.
Their strength was too depleted. Merely clearing the surrounding trees had pushed them to their limits.
"Lin Nan!"
Tsunade's eyes widened, and at the critical moment, she shouted, as if trying to awaken Lin Nan's reason.
But Lin Nan was like a person caught in the river of Jianghu, unable to control himself.
Lin Nan didn't possess Obito's willpower for love.
But Lin Nan was controlled, so what did that have to do with his clone?
Thus, Lin Nan's wood clone stepped forward.
Fighting myself, how can that be?
"Five Release, Great Spiritual Ball Technique!"
As the ninjutsu of five different chakra attributes was unleashed, the two attacks collided and canceled each other out.
Of course, this Great Spiritual Ball Technique was not the genuine one, but rather a makeshift combination of five elemental jutsu temporarily assembled by Lin Nan.
Despite this, it achieved its objective of neutralizing the attack.
"Lin Nan!"
Upon seeing the figure standing before them, the Five Kage were simultaneously astonished and relieved.
The Lin Nan before them was clearly a clone. They didn't understand why Lin Nan's main body was controlled while his clone remained unaffected, but judging by the current situation, they seemed to have been saved.
Why was this said? Because they could also tell that the controlled Lin Nan wasn't using his full strength, only resorting to the same few moves repeatedly.
Black Zetsu, who was controlling Lin Nan's main body, also appeared confused upon seeing Lin Nan's clone. "I didn't expect you to have a backup plan! I couldn't detect the connection between you and your clone; this is quite interesting."
"Madara was right. You indeed have many secrets. It's a pity you have to die here!"
Lin Nan's hearing was shared, so he naturally heard Black Zetsu's voice and immediately shouted, "Zetsu, I'll give you one chance. Leave my body, or do you believe I'll burn you to ashes with a single flame?"
Black Zetsu's smile was unpleasant and grating. "I certainly believe it!"
The next second, Black Zetsu's figure retreated into the head of the Buddha statue, as if afraid Lin Nan would set him ablaze.
Lin Nan curled his lips; this old schemer.
The next second, Lin Nan's body was enveloped in a brilliant blue light, his bones began to be covered, followed by muscle tissue and armor, activating Susanoo's fourth form.
The fourth form was still quite a distance from the complete body in terms of size and power.
But unfortunately, Lin Nan was currently just a wood clone and couldn't temporarily activate the complete Susanoo.
"You all stay here and don't move. I'm going to buy an orange and I'll be right back!"
Lin Nan yelled at the Five Kage and then, wielding two light blades, charged towards his own Buddha statue.
What kind of situation was this? After fighting for so long, he ultimately had to fight himself.
This Buddha statue had very poor overall defense. Without the Susanoo armor, it was quickly felled by Lin Nan in just a few blows.
However, the dense and widespread fist attacks made Lin Nan quite disheveled, making it difficult to create an opening with Susanoo, unless it was the complete form.
Immediately, Lin Nan could only use "Amaterasu!"
If it burned himself, so be it. After all, he was only an Edo Tensei body.
As black flames ignited on the Buddha statue, it seemed to give up attacking and sat there, waiting for death.
And Lin Nan still hadn't discovered the appearance of his main body.
"Lin Nan!"
Suddenly, a cry came from behind him.
Lin Nan was startled by the sound and turned back. He saw himself, completely black as if he had crawled out of a kitchen stove, standing before the Five Kage.
"Hehehe!"
Lin Nan watched as his own body cackled and extended a hand, a long black staff appearing. Then, he twisted his head strangely and looked at him.
Lin Nan broke out in a cold sweat.