White Zetsu Army
White Zetsu Army (白ゼツの10万, Shiro-Zetsu no Jūman; Literally meaning "The One Hundred Thousand White Zetsu")
Debut
Manga	Chapter #512
Anime	Naruto Shippūden Episode #254
Appears in	Anime and Manga
Team Info
Members	Spiral Zetsu (Manga only) Zetsu
Affiliations	Akatsuki
Team Jutsu Mayfly Parasite Clone Substitute Technique White Zetsu Merging Technique

The White Zetsu Army consists of 100,000 copies of White Zetsu, which serve as Akatsuki's main military strength during the Fourth Shinobi World War.^[1]

Background

According to Sakura and Shizune's research, the White Zetsu Army soldiers are clones of Hashirama Senju. More precisely, they are the hybridized result of the First Hokage's cultivated cells infused within certain plants that serve as mediums.^[2] Tobi created the White Zetsu Army clones using the chakra of the first seven tailed beasts he had sealed within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, along with a living clone of Hashirama. The resulting White Zetsu Army clones are created and stored beneath the Mountains' Graveyard. ^[3] After Kabuto Yakushi captured Yamato, he used his studies of Hashirama's DNA and Yamato to enhance the army's strength.^[4]

Personality

These clones have shown some level of intelligence, similar to other clones. Although they were seemingly fighting mindlessly against allied shinobi during the daytime, the clone who had transformed into Neji Hyūga using his Substitute Technique, was noticeably scared by Sakura Haruno when she threatened to beat him and showed shock when she deduced how his technique worked as well as the tactics of the Zetsu army's night assault.^[5] They were also visibly angered when they realised that Sasuke Uchiha had killed White Zetsu, whom they refer to as their original.^[6]

Appearance

Unlike the original White Zetsu, and the clones he produces, which possess incomplete bodies, they have complete faces, as well as properly defined right arms and legs. After Kabuto used Yamato to further enhance their abilities, the Zetsu clones gain small spikes that protrude from their shoulders and back. These Zetsu, however, lack the Venus fly trap-like extensions that the original had, and have what seems to be cracks all over their bodies. They also have a zig-zag pattern running from their diaphragms down to their groin, and also down each leg reminiscent of the originals' fly trap-like extensions. These serrations are later shown to be able to open in a similar manner. When the Zetsu are first depicted in coloured manga illustrations, they appear not white, but light-green.^[7] In later depictions they appear even more green in colour.^[8]

Abilities

As the main force of Akatsuki's army, the White Zetsu clones are presumably more suited for combat. With Kabuto's use of Yamato to increase their strength, they are presumably even stronger than before. Like the original Zetsu, they are able to use Mayfly to travel underground. They are also extremely durable, able to survive two attacks from Sakura, as well as Neji's Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body, and seem to have limited regenerative abilities. They can open their bodies in a Venus flytrap-like manner to trap their opponent and absorb their chakra. Like the original White Zetsu, they are also able to use the Substitute Technique. In the anime, it was shown that they can also extend the points of their flytrap-like openings and use them to impale enemies.

Their capacity to absorb chakra serves a more sinister purpose: to use the Substitute Technique to take on the appearance and chakra signature of the person they latched onto. With this ability, they can gain the trust of the copied person's acquaintances, deceiving even the best sensors. Such an ability is perfect for espionage and covert assassination. These Zetsu are also able to merge together with each other to form large, deformed versions of themselves that resemble fly-traps even more, which seems to make them somewhat more resilient.^[9] Due to the fact that they were created through cultivation of Hashirama Senju's cells, Sakura states that they can also use Wood Release, albeit on a weaker scale.^[2] A downside to their genetics is that, once they come into contact with a powerful concentration of Yang-natured chakra, it affects them directly, causing them to turn into trees.

They also seem to be capable of breathing under water, as seen from their début, when Tobi kept them in storage underwater in an underground cavern.^[10] Furthermore, they have been shown to have vital points where attacks are fatal, at around the same place of a living human, though none seem to be capable of bleeding, except when in a transformed state.^[11][12]

Part II

Confining the Jinchuriki Arc

After creating an alliance with Kabuto, Tobi leads him underground and shows Kabuto his army of 100,000 White Zetsu clones in an underwater cavern beneath the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Shinobi World War Arc

Once Tobi finished his preparations for the Fourth Shinobi World War, he had the Zetsu army mobilise to fight the Allied Shinobi Forces' 80,000-person strong army. Because of the size of their forces, Tobi has the Zetsu travel below ground, to be led from above by himself to hide their numbers. This was discovered by Muta Aburame and is reported to the various commanders. The Second Division, led by Kitsuchi, as well as elements from the Fifth Division, unearth and attack a detachment of 20,000 White Zetsu Army clones travelling directly underneath them. While fighting the Allied Shinobi forces, they began to overwhelm them, allowing several thousand White Zetsu to pass through underground.

Then, off the coast of the Land of Lightning, several thousand White Zetsu Army clones appeared along with Kakuzu, Hizashi Hyūga, Asuma Sarutobi, Dan, Kinkaku and Ginkaku to attack Darui's First Division, forcing the Allied Shinobi Forces to change their strategy to meet this threat. By the end of first day of battles, the army had already lost 50,000 out of its 100,000 Zetsu,^[13] leaving Tobi's army at half strength.

During the night, the White Zetsus used the Substitute Technique to sneak behind enemy lines disguised as allied shinobi in order to kill various members of the Allied Shinobi Forces and cause conflict among the opposition. However, assuming the identity of Neji Hyūga to go after medical ninja, one of the clones was found out and stopped by Sakura Haruno. Soon after, along with Sakura and her group learning their enemy's true nature as hybrid clones of Hashirama, the White Zetsu clones' technique was deduced and reported to HQ.

While he and Killer B confronted several of the White Zetsu Army clones, due to his Yang chakra and the creatures' relation to the First Hokage, Naruto's attacks while in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode resonated with the White Zetsu Army clones and instantly turned those he made a direct hit on into trees.^[14] Even after some of the surviving White Zetsus merged to become more resilient to the youth's attack, Naruto merely cut them in two and crushed them beneath Gamahiro. Naruto eventually sent his clones out to the different battlefields and, using his ability to sense negative emotions, was able to locate the remainder of the disguised White Zetsu Army clones.

After the second day of war, thanks to the addition of Naruto's efforts and his new-found ability, the majority of the White Zetsu clones were eradicated. However, small factions survived and were ordered to seize B and Naruto before their comrades could reach their location. When Sasuke escaped the Mountains' Graveyard, he encountered one of these factions, who demanded to know why he left the hideout. Upon coming to the realisation that he had killed the original White Zetsu, they attacked him. Choosing this time to test his new powers further, he slaughters most of the Zetsu before using a genjutsu on a surviving clone to discover that Tobi has waged war and that the Allied Shinobi Forces were moving to aid Naruto in his battle. He then killed the clone, as well as another that was attempting to escape, before heading toward the battlefield to kill Naruto himself.

References

1. ↑ Naruto chapter 512, page 13
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Naruto chapter 545, page 3
3. ↑ Naruto chapter 512, page 12
4. ↑ Naruto chapter 515, page 10
5. ↑ Naruto chapter 540, page 10
6. ↑ Naruto chapter 574, page 9
7. ↑ Naruto chapter 520, page 2
8. ↑ Naruto chapter 531, page 2
9. ↑ Naruto chapter 545, page 14
10. ↑ Naruto chapter 512, pages 13-15
11. ↑ Naruto chapter 521, page 11
12. ↑ Naruto chapter 540, pages 8-9
13. ↑ Naruto chapter 537, page 16
14. ↑ Naruto chapter 545, page 13