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The girl, covered in blood, stubbornly refused to step back, protecting her comrades with her life.
Seeing Kushina, who was on the brink of collapse and drenched in blood, made Ye Zi furrow his brow deeply. He felt a pang of pain and even anger, despite knowing that the girl's appearance resembled his sister by a few points, it shouldn't have affected him so much.
He had decided to remain detached, but this scene made him waver.
Was it because the bonds had already taken root… or was it the girl's bloodied figure that triggered a hidden memory?
Ye Zi didn't know at that moment. He truly didn't.
Kushina ultimately couldn't withstand the pressure from the Iwa ninjas. After exhausting her last bit of chakra and strength, she was kicked violently by one of the Iwa ninjas and sent flying, while another ninja charged toward her with a kunai.
The ninja's eyes were filled with cold light as the dark kunai sliced through the air, aiming straight at Kushina's heart. He hadn't intended to kill the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki but was just putting on a show. At the last moment, he still intended to hold back.
Kushina, on the ground, looked at the approaching Iwa ninja, raised her arm to defend, but it fell weakly, her eyes showing despair.
At that moment, Minato, summoning the last of his strength, flashed in front of Kushina, opening his arms resolutely.
"Minato."
Kushina looked at the figure in front of her, her eyes trembling.
The Iwa ninja saw the unexpected interference and his eyes flashed with killing intent.
"Why are all of you so stupid?"
Ye Zi drew his blade with lightning speed, chakra flowing through his veins and forming crackling currents on his surface. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Minato, slashing forward.
The speed was so fast that it left only a streak of lightning in everyone's eyes. The Iwa ninja only barely sensed the approach of chakra before a blinding flash of lightning swept past his vision, and he felt a coldness in his neck as all his strength drained away.
"Ugh…"
A torrent of warm blood spurted from the Iwa ninja's neck. He clutched his throat, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked at Ye Zi, collapsing and dying.
"Get back."
After killing the Iwa ninja, Ye Zi coldly ordered without looking at the two behind him.
Minato, who had just narrowly escaped death, breathed a sigh of relief. Both he and Kushina were now drained of chakra and strength, and staying would only be a hindrance. Thus, he promptly helped the dazed Kushina back to where the others were.
Seeing that Kushina and Minato were safe, Shikaku also sighed in relief. He then looked at Ye Zi, who was enveloped in lightning, and thought apologetically, "Looks like I need to revise my previous assumptions."
"Kushina, are you okay?" Minato asked as he helped Kushina sit against a tree, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine." Kushina shook her head and then looked at Ye Zi's back, offering a beautiful smile as she said, "Minato, he's still himself."
Minato felt a pang of disappointment but nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Kato Dan also arrived beside Ye Zi. It could be said that only he and Ye Zi remained with any fighting strength among the Konoha forces.
The remaining ten or so Iwa ninjas were grim-faced, confident in their mission, but the situation kept changing. First, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had exploded with power, not only resisting their attacks but also causing them to lose over ten comrades. Just as they were about to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, two Konoha ninjas had emerged.
Seeing Ye Zi's appearance, hair color, and distinctive Lightning Blade and Lightning Release techniques, the Iwa ninjas quickly identified him.
"It's the target. Kill him first!" ordered the leader, an eye-patched Iwa ninja coldly.
"Understood!"
The remaining Iwa ninjas responded and charged at Ye Zi.
"Cover me." Ye Zi felt the increasing pressure from the approaching Iwa ninjas and shouted to Kato Dan, before rushing into the group of Iwa ninjas alone.
"Got it."
Kato Dan, with a grave expression, agreed. Just as he finished speaking, he felt a slight disturbance at his feet. Startled, he quickly blocked downward with his kunai.
At the same time, a figure burst out of the ground with a fierce killing intent and threw a powerful punch at Kato Dan. It was the leader of the Iwa ninjas.
Clang!
The heavily wrapped punch struck Kato Dan's kunai, the immense force driving Kato Dan's arm aside.
"When…"
Kato Dan's expression changed dramatically, but he had no time to respond to the leader's second attack.
Thud!
The leader's foot struck Kato Dan's abdomen solidly, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and fly backward, crashing heavily near Shikaku and the others.
"Dan-sensei!"
The injured Konoha ninjas cried out in alarm, feeling that their hope was dwindling.
Minato, dragging his exhausted body, reached Dan's side, gripping his kunai tightly, his gaze fixed on the eye-patched Iwa ninja.
The sudden turn of events took the Konoha side by surprise. Ye Zi, who had been rushing forward, sensed something wrong when the eye-patched Iwa ninja turned into a puddle of mud. He hadn't expected the enemy's target to be Kato Dan and realized it was too late to assist.
Watching Dan being kicked away and his life uncertain, Ye Zi decisively stopped his charge and turned to attack the eye-patched Iwa ninja. With Kushina and the others incapacitated, it would be easy for the enemy to eliminate them.
"You're Ye Zi?"
The eye-patched Iwa ninja stared coldly at Ye Zi. The chakra from the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had been too terrifying, and despite the significant losses, they had finally subdued the Jinchūriki. However, a speed-type ninja who was proficient in Lightning Release was not as challenging to deal with. The main issue was that he didn't believe such a young Ye Zi could still have much chakra left after multiple battles.
Ye Zi didn't respond. Lightning Blade streaked towards the eye-patched Iwa ninja with even greater speed than before.
"So fast, I can't avoid it."
The thought flashed through the eye-patched Iwa ninja's mind as he realized he had overestimated himself.
Since he couldn't dodge…
The eye-patched Iwa ninja's eyes gleamed with madness as he spread his massive hand and reached for Ye Zi!
Ye Zi's expression changed. Even at high speed, he couldn't change direction, and the Lightning Blade followed its intended path, slashing towards the eye-patched Iwa ninja.
Sizzle!
An arm was severed and spun into the air.
"Die!"
Despite having his right arm severed, the eye-patched Iwa ninja didn't care. With his other hand, he punched solidly into Ye Zi's ribs.
A cracking sound was heard.
Ye Zi grunted, his wrist twisting as he was sent flying by the powerful blow.
Sizzle.
As he was thrown, the Lightning Blade left a deep wound on the eye-patched Iwa ninja's chest.
The eye-patched Iwa ninja frowned, looking at the darkened wound on his chest in silence. He seemed to understand why his superior wanted to take the opportunity to kill Ye Zi during this war. His gaze shifted to Ye Zi, who had skidded along the ground, taking a step forward before feeling a numbness in his body and collapsing to one knee, breathing heavily.
"Two ribs are broken, chakra… not looking good."
Ye Zi didn't bother looking at the eye-patched Iwa ninja but focused on his own injuries, frowning deeply.
Broken ribs were nothing compared to the lack of chakra, which was the biggest problem. Without chakra, he would lose his greatest asset.
"What to do, escape?"
He thought silently. With Dan also incapacitated and the remaining people similarly exhausted, how could he possibly handle the remaining Iwa ninjas with his limited chakra?
However…
He couldn't bring himself to execute his inner thoughts.
"Ha…"
He slowly stood up, facing the advancing Iwa ninjas.
He didn't know why he chose to stay in this situation, but a voice inside him kept telling him.
If Kushina died here, the regret would be unbearable.
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