White Zetsu (白ゼツ, Shiro Zetsu) was half of the Akatsukimember Zetsu (ゼツ, Zetsu), the other being Black Zetsu. He was one of the first victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and eventually was pulled from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path by Black Zetsu,[4] and infused with the DNA of Hashirama Senju by Madara Uchiha

Personality

Unlike Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, nicknamed "Chatterbox" (饒舌,Jōzetsu), was carefree and playful with a habit of teasing others, traits shared by his clone siblings.[3] In the Japanese version of the manga, White Zetsu used kanjiand kana regularly. This was often conveyed in the anime through a higher-pitched voice. While he and Black Zetsu sometimes had differing opinions, the two halves were still able to function as a single entity.White Zetsu appeared to be extremely trustworthy, obedient and loyal, being entrusted with Akatsuki's secrets and knowledge of Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan, which he believed to be beneficial to mankind.[12] Because of his ties to Madara, White Zetsu worked with Obito for a long time, originally helping him find and convince Nagato to join them. He was shown to be quite friendly to most Akatsuki members, indicated by how he was saddened that so many had died in a conversation about them with Tobi; in the anime, one of his clones freed a captured Deidara, saying he was a fun guy to be around in Akatsuki. Though he annoyed Obito at first, White Zetsu eventually won the boy's friendship.[7] Like Tobi, White Zetsu believed Madara was a good man at heart and saw no harm in helping Obito without Madara's permission.[13]Zetsu's main role within Akatsuki was to function as a spy, with other duties that were similar to those of a hunter-nin. He was able to control his body and take part in the tailed beast sealing ritual simultaneously, which, in addition to being unique to him, allowed him to act as a lookout while the sealing took place.[14] When an agent of Akatsuki, or possibly even a member, died, Zetsu was sent to devour their bodies so as to not have their secrets revealed, further adding to his nature as a half-plant creature.[15] Zetsu was also the one sent to retrieve the rings of dead Akatsuki members.[16] Due to the role he played, Zetsu was the only member of Akatsuki to act without a partner on a regular basis. He operated on his own, often moving between the different locations where the other Akatsuki members were located. This resulted in other members reporting directly to him, rather than the figurehead leader, Pain. Zetsu would in turn report directly to Pain as well as Obito, the organisation's benefactor and eventual leader.[

Appearance

When together, the two Zetsu were easily distinguished by the two Venus flytrap-like extensions that emerged from their sides, enveloping their head and upper body as a shell, which they were able to open and close. Beneath these extensions, White Zetsu had short green hair and a single yellow eye. The right half of his body was covered by Black Zetsu, whose leg was originally White Zetsu's own right leg. Under their Akatsuki cloak, they wore blue pants and sandals, and had both legs wrapped in bandages. Zetsu's green Akatsuki ring, which bore the kanji for "sign of the boar" (亥, gai), was worn on Black Zetsu's little finger. In the anime, Zetsu's fingernails were painted pink and his toenails, as seen in his début, were blue.Unlike Black Zetsu, White Zetsu had human-like facial features and a proper eye, as well as unusually rounded teeth. When he was first created, his Venus flytrap-like protrusions were not fully formed, being white in colour as well as sticking out all along the right side of his body. When the two halves split apart, their plant-like extensions would separate and hang from the waists of both. Any clothing they were wearing, including their Akatsuki mantle, would split along with them, usually causing them to discard their torn clothing. When either of the halves emergedfrom the ground while split, their plant-like extensions would surround them in a circular formation. The two also demonstrated the ability to grow an additional leg, though deformed, from their white body mass to substitute for their missing half while split.

Background

White Zetsu was originally one of the victims of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Infinite Tsukuyomi, who was transformed after being tetheredto the God Tree for a certain period of time and ultimately stored within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. After Madara Uchiha summoned the statue and cultivated Hashirama Senju's DNA into a large flowering tree, Black Zetsu removed White Zetsu and the other victims from inside the husk, leading Madara to believe they were artificial humans created by the statue's chakraand Hashirama's DNA.[6][4] White Zetsu and other mutated humans were then tasked with intelligence gathering before he and a spiral-patterned Zetsu were entrusted with looking after the rehabilitating Obito Uchiha. Over time, the duo became friends with the young Uchiha.[7]When Obito's rehabilitation was near completion, White Zetsu returned to the base and informed Obito that Kakashi Hatake andRin Nohara were being attacked by Kirigakure shinobi. When the spiral-patterned Zetsu offered to help Obito by encasing himself around the young Uchiha in order to enable him to leave the cave, White Zetsu served to guide Obito telepathically with the information he received from other Zetsu stationed outside.[7][8]When they returned to Madara, White Zetsu assured him that no one had seen them and relayed information on what had happened after the arrival of Konoha reinforcements, noting that Obito didn't kill Kakashi.[9]Black Zetsu imbuing itself onto White Zetsu.When Madara was on the verge of death, he imbued Black Zetsu into White Zetsu's right half, believing the former was a manifestation of his will.[10] Zetsu later accompanied Obito toAmegakure to locate Nagato, who had unknowingly been given Madara's Rinnegan as a child, and watched as Obito introduced himself using Madara's identity.