In the central region of the Ninja World, beneath the dense canopy of a sprawling forest…
A young ninja staggered forward, venturing deeper into the uncharted wilderness.
He looked about fourteen or fifteen, his clothes tattered, stained with fresh crimson blood on both his chest and back. His steps were unsteady, his every movement sluggish as if burdened by an unseen weight. At any moment, he seemed likely to collapse.
Yet, luck had not completely abandoned him—he had managed to temporarily shake off his pursuers.
His name was Yael Miyagami, a member of a small ninja clan called the Miyagami Clan and the nephew of the former clan leader. A month ago, the old leader had perished in battle. Just a week prior, his cousin—the new clan leader—had also met his demise. And so, the responsibility fell upon him.
Three days ago, in a desperate battle, Yael volunteered to act as bait to protect the remaining members of his clan and ensure their safe retreat. He had lured away the enemy forces and barely managed to escape. Now, he was making his way to the predetermined rendezvous point.
That was his situation. Well… there was one more crucial detail—beyond all of this, he was a transmigrator.
A year ago, for reasons unknown, his soul had been transported into this young boy named Yael Miyagami, completely replacing his original consciousness.
Upon arriving in this world, he initially thought he was destined for the classic "system protagonist" route, rising to power with an overpowered ability that would shake the entire ninja world. But he quickly realized—he had no system.
Then, he figured that with his knowledge of Naruto's history and key events, he could dominate through sheer intelligence as a "genius strategist". Yet, here he was, stuck at the level of a mere Chūnin, with no sign of further progress.
Finally, he resigned himself to the fate of a "tragic underdog protagonist"—except even that was wishful thinking.
At this moment, Yael finally understood the bitter truth—he had been walking the "cannon fodder" path all along. Born with no special talent, he was fated to become just another casualty in the endless cycle of war. His journey had only just begun, and yet, it already seemed close to ending.
Although he couldn't pinpoint the exact year, Yael was fairly certain that he had transmigrated into the Warring Clans Era, a time of unrelenting bloodshed long before the formation of the Hidden Villages. This was an age of chaos, where small, weak clans had almost no chance of survival.
As he walked, he suddenly felt his foot snag on something, and the next moment—he fell forward, crashing onto the ground.
He had gone three full days and nights without sleep or rest. Hunger and exhaustion had completely drained his strength…
He needed food. Any food. But he had long since run out of supplies.
Just then, as if fate had finally shown him mercy, Yael spotted something growing not too far ahead.
"Mushrooms…?"
Mushrooms were certainly better than eating tree bark. At this moment, he didn't care about anything else. He immediately crawled forward, reaching out to pluck a large mushroom that resembled king oyster mushrooms. Without hesitation, he shoved it into his mouth and swallowed.
Only after devouring it did he finally take a closer look at where it had been growing.
The mushrooms had sprouted from a half-buried tree stump—a stump surrounded by ghostly white pitcher plants, with unnaturally glossy, emerald-green aloe-like leaves sprouting from its base. And the mushroom he just ate… was disturbingly rich in oil.
"..."
Yael's expression went blank. For some reason, he felt a chilling sense of familiarity.
He focused on the tree stump—only to find that it bore a twisted human face.
"Huh…? HUH?! HUH!?"
From the moment he arrived in this world, Yael had often lamented his lack of connections to important people or major historical events. But now, he had finally stumbled upon a key figure from the original story—a White Zetsu. A dead one.
And the "mushroom" he had just eaten? It had been growing right out of the White Zetsu's empty eye socket.
An intense sense of unease washed over him. Theoretically speaking, he had just consumed the single most unsanitary and biologically hazardous thing in the entire ninja world.
No… it wasn't just unsanitary. This thing probably had side effects. Deadly ones.
Suddenly, agony exploded throughout Yael's body.
His limbs convulsed violently, twisting in unnatural directions. A bone-deep pain wracked his entire being, as if he were being forcibly reshaped from the inside out. Even clenching his teeth with all his might, he couldn't suppress the muffled cries of pain escaping his throat.
His consciousness rapidly faded.
"I should've at least boiled it first…"
That was the last thought in his mind before he blacked out.
—
After about ten minutes, Yael's convulsions finally ceased.
The forest fell silent once more. His body curled in on itself, his skin turning an unnatural shade of chalk-white.
Clearly, something was happening to him.
Three hours later, that pale coloration slowly faded, restoring him to his original appearance.
A heavy, suffocating sensation jolted Yael awake. He gasped, eyes flying open, and immediately pushed himself off the ground, coughing violently.
A pale, milky liquid—something like tree sap—poured from his mouth, forming a puddle beneath him.
"What… the hell just happened?"
Despite his confusion, one thing was clear—his body felt incredible.
His exhaustion was gone. His mind was sharp. His wounds had completely healed. And most importantly… he felt stronger.
It was as if his physical stats had been boosted by a solid +10 across the board.
Previously, he had been an average Chūnin—one of countless expendable ninja. But now, he felt as though he could almost reach the level of an elite warrior—just a little more and he could touch Kakashi's level… maybe.
What's more, new instincts had awakened within him. It was hard to describe, but he could feel that he had gained abilities similar to White Zetsu.
Experimentally, he raised his left arm. The moment he focused on it, his skin turned chalk-white and took on a texture reminiscent of peeled tree bark. With just a thought, the whiteness spread over his entire body.
He had, in some twisted way, become a White Zetsu.
"White Zetsu…"
Yael could hardly believe it.
Everyone knew that if a person got bitten by a spider, they might turn into Spider-Man.
And now, after eating a mushroom from a White Zetsu's rotting corpse, he had transformed into… White Zetsu-Man.
"So at the end of the day… it's just another case of a broke man relying on mutations to survive, huh?"
Clearly, his reckless eating habits had caused him to undergo some form of assimilation. He had partially become a White Zetsu.
There was much to investigate about his new abilities, but now was not the time.
Rustling sounds in the foliage alerted Yael—more than ten ninja were approaching.
He immediately concealed himself. After a few minutes, the group arrived at the clearing.
Noticing who they were, Yael abandoned his hiding spot and stepped forward.
"Clan leader!"
The tense ninjas instantly relaxed upon recognizing him.
"Only this many of you left…?" Yael asked.
The sixteen remaining ninja stood before him—mostly young men. As for the others… it wasn't hard to guess their fate.
"Clan leader, we…" One of them lowered his head in shame.
Yael simply raised a hand to silence him, his expression calm. "It's not your fault. Looks like my distraction didn't work as planned."
"Clan leader… their forces outnumber us. We can't win…"
Yael's gaze sharpened.
"How long until they catch up?"
"Four, maybe five hours… they have tracking ninja. We can't escape."
The moment of reckoning had arrived. The fate of their clan would be decided soon.