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"Ye Zi, Ye Zi, Ye Zi…"
In the midst of darkness, a familiar voice seemed to call his name repeatedly. It sounded like Rui…
Hearing that voice, Ye Zi felt an overwhelming joy and turned desperately towards the direction of the sound. However, his eyelids were too heavy to open, and he could only see endless darkness.
He wanted to shout, but his lips were sealed. He wanted to move, but his limbs felt as heavy as lead. Then, he hopelessly realized that the voice was growing weaker and more distant, until he sank deeper into the abyss-like darkness.
"Ye Zi, Ye Zi…"
Kushina held Ye Zi's bloodied hand, tears streaming down her face. If he hadn't come to rescue her, she wouldn't have been so badly injured. If only she could perform medical ninjutsu.
Minato, who had been examining Ye Zi's condition, felt his heart sink to the bottom. The initial joy at finding him with a faint pulse quickly vanished.
"Although the bleeding has slowed, the injuries are too severe. The only option is to get him back to the village for treatment as soon as possible…"
Minato's expression grew somber. They were near the border, and there was no way to get back to Konoha in time for treatment without someone skilled in medical ninjutsu.
"There must be a way, right? There has to be!" Kushina's voice faltered, looking at Minato with a glimmer of hope.
Minato met Kushina's despondent gaze, biting his lip. The only hope was that one of the pursuing Konoha ninjas might be a medical ninja, but the chances were slim. Even if there was a medical ninja, saving Ye Zi's life wouldn't be easy. They couldn't afford to miss any opportunity.
He turned his gaze to a large tree, having made up his mind.
Most people in Konoha were unaware that Kushina was the new host of the Nine-Tails. Therefore, when she was kidnapped, the Third Hokage didn't mobilize the entire village but instead sent several elite ninjas.
Ninjas leaping through the forest at night heard a great commotion coming from the southwest.
Among them was a white-haired youth who, upon hearing the sound, leaped to the treetops. Under the pale moonlight, he saw countless leaves swirling in the sky from the direction of the commotion and narrowed his eyes.
Although the grandiose noise resembled a signal akin to a beacon, he didn't let his guard down and hurried toward the source, maintaining vigilance.
Konoha ninjas who were closer to the commotion quickly made their way toward it.
When the white-haired ninja arrived, he first smelled the strong scent of blood and then saw his student.
"Minato." Jiraiya called out to Minato and then turned his gaze to Ye Zi, who was leaning against a tree trunk. His expression changed at the sight of the bloodied condition.
"Sensei."
Seeing that Jiraiya was the one who arrived, Minato's disappointment briefly surfaced, and Kushina felt the same. They hadn't expected the first arrival to be one of the Three Ninjas, but not Tsunade.
Jiraiya, noticing the fleeting disappointment in their eyes, gave a wry smile. Seeing Ye Zi's weak condition, he felt helpless.
What kind of opponent did this child face?
With this thought, Jiraiya examined Ye Zi's injuries and noticed that despite the large wound, the bleeding was relatively minimal. His brow furrowed.
This phenomenon suggested the worst outcome: severe blood loss. He hadn't expected that his body was actively clotting.
Touching his chin, Jiraiya looked at the child who resembled Orochimaru in his youth, and sighed regretfully, "Even if Tsunade were here, she might not be able to save him."
This statement was like a thunderclap to Kushina and Minato.
"How could this be…" Kushina's eyes trembled.
Minato looked away, clenching his fists. If he had stayed behind… they might not have caught up with Kushina so quickly, but they could have fought together to kill the enemy and then pursued Kushina.
Their grief was short-lived when they heard a crisp shout.
"Get away!"
Then, they saw Jiraiya being kicked away, screaming, and crashing into a large tree, breaking it before finally coming to a stop.
"Idiot." Glancing at Jiraiya who had been sent flying, Tsunade ignored Minato and Kushina and immediately began treating the severely wounded Ye Zi.
She sensed that he still had some active life force and, upon hearing Jiraiya pronounce his death sentence, she kicked him away without hesitation.
"Kid, don't you dare die so easily."
Tsunade's expression was grave as she grit her teeth, focusing on treating him.
Minato and Kushina were both thrilled by Tsunade's unexpected arrival but dared not interrupt. They could only watch quietly, their hearts filled with hope.
"This familiar feeling…"
Jiraiya, shaking his dazed head after being kicked, got up and saw Tsunade treating Ye Zi. He stopped himself from cursing, recognizing that Tsunade was trying to save him.
"Does that child have a chance?" Jiraiya asked, rubbing his head, walking over. He didn't know Ye Zi's special physique, but Tsunade did.
Soon after, another person arrived at the scene.
"Orochimaru." Jiraiya looked at the newcomer, surprised to see his old teammates gathered in this way.
Orochimaru jumped down from the tree and nodded at Jiraiya, then looked at the bloodied Ye Zi. His cold snake-like eyes flashed with a hint of intrigue.
His gaze suddenly shifted to the nearby corpse, and his eyes grew colder.
"Cloud Ninja Kyocho."
Upon hearing the name, Jiraiya was taken aback. He had been focused on Ye Zi and hadn't paid much attention to the dead body. Seeing that it was indeed Kyocho, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"This child actually managed to kill Kyocho." Jiraiya said, astonished.
"Hmph." Orochimaru snorted, equally surprised, and turned his gaze from Kyocho's corpse back to the injured Ye Zi, who was being treated by Tsunade.
Jiraiya clearly saw the fleeting anger in Orochimaru's eyes. Even the cold-hearted man was moved by someone's fate.
"Sensei, was Kyocho really that formidable?" Minato asked quietly.
Jiraiya nodded and said, "Kyocho was a special jonin from the Cloud Village, skilled with a blade, and his physical skills and speed were exceptional. He was quite a challenge. Even a jonin could be killed by him if they weren't careful."
After explaining, Jiraiya looked at Ye Zi, deep in thought. He didn't believe that a mere chunin could deal with such a formidable opponent. Even a genius would struggle because Kyocho's use of lightning-based techniques to enhance his body's vitality made his blade nearly impossible to track. How did Ye Zi manage to defeat such a person?
He glanced at Orochimaru, who remained indifferent.
Minato, after hearing Jiraiya's explanation, now understood how terrifying Ye Zi's opponent had been.
At that moment, Tsunade let out a sigh of relief, withdrawing her hands from Ye Zi's wounds as the green glow slowly faded.
"Lady Tsunade, how is he…" Kushina asked, hopeful, as the treatment concluded.
"There is no immediate danger to his life, but he needs to be taken back to the village for further care." Tsunade responded, her eyes showing a hint of concern as she looked at the large wound on Ye Zi's left arm.
"That's great, really great…" Hearing that he was not in immediate danger, Kushina's tense body relaxed, and she looked at Tsunade's profile, her mind racing with plans.
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