Two of his ribs were broken—this wasn't a minor injury.
Even though he hadn't gathered any information about Kanyoru, Ye Zi was forced to retreat. He needed to find his teammates as quickly as possible and recover from his injuries with haste.
In this turbulent place, this was the best opportunity to kill or capture Kanyoru, and he didn't want to miss it.
As Ye Zi walked through the rain, he thought about the girl he encountered in the small town and the boy with the strange eyes.
Born in a war-torn land, it seemed that they had a strong yearning for peace, something Ye Zi could discern even from their brief exchange.
"Perhaps you knew them before, but that person is dead," Ye Zi thought, glancing back at the silhouette of the small town shrouded in rain before moving forward.
Soon after, he found a cave to shelter from the rain. Inside, he found Kotoe and the others.
When they saw Ye Zi in his disheveled state, the three of them were shocked. Kotoe immediately stepped forward and, seeing where Ye Zi was holding his side, frowned and asked, "What happened?"
"I was discovered," Ye Zi shook his head slightly, not wanting to explain further, and walked past Kotoe, heading deeper into the cave.
Kotoe turned around, watching his back with a furrowed brow, saying nothing.
Ninashi also looked at Ye Zi and asked, "Are you injured?"
Ye Zi paused and, looking at him calmly, nodded, "Two ribs are broken."
Ninashi was surprised that Ye Zi had gotten injured. Considering the difficulty of their mission, he knew they had no chance of success while Ye Zi was hurt, so he suggested, "We should suspend the mission."
Ye Zi understood Ninashi's concerns, but with his body's resilience, two broken ribs were not a big deal.
"No, we'll continue. Just give me some time."
With that, he walked deeper into the cave, found a stone platform, and sat down. He then removed his shirt, revealing a body covered in scars.
Seeing those scars, the three of them were visibly shaken. They even saw several wounds that could have been fatal. These scars were evidence of countless life-and-death battles. At that moment, they understood why, despite being of a similar age, Ye Zi was so much stronger—it was strength forged through the fires of deadly combat.
"I'll help you," Kotoe offered, stepping forward.
Ye Zi waved her off. "No need."
She bit her lip, then sat down silently. The Uchiha siblings did the same, occasionally glancing at Ye Zi's scars.
As members of the Uchiha clan, they had always carried the pride of being geniuses, believing there were few people their age stronger than them. But meeting Ye Zi had changed everything.
They realized that excessive pride could blind them, leading to their demise. They also realized that the pride they held so dear meant nothing to some people. At this moment, they understood that pride could breed dangerous complacency.
Ye Zi gently probed the area of his broken ribs, gritting his teeth against the pain. Frowning, he used soft pressure to align the broken bones, then pulled out a scroll, drew a sealing formula, and summoned a stockpile of high-energy raw meat.
A pile of raw meat suddenly appeared, causing the atmosphere in the cave to tense.
Ignoring their gazes, Ye Zi grabbed the meat and began devouring it ravenously.
Compared to cooked meat, raw meat allowed him to absorb more nutrients, speeding up his recovery.
The Uchiha siblings watched silently for a while before finally turning away, reminded of the scene where Ye Zi had torn off an Iwa ninja's arm and eaten it.
Before long, Ye Zi had finished the pile of raw meat and closed his eyes to rest.
Half an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes, reaching out to feel the area where his ribs had broken. Satisfied that they had healed, he stood up.
"Let's go."
He glanced at the three of them and then led the way out of the cave.
Although surprised, the three followed Ye Zi obediently.
"Does eating raw meat speed up healing?" Ninashi wondered silently as he watched Ye Zi's back, having never seen such a terrifying ability before.
The group disappeared into the rain, heading toward Akatsuki's town.
After leaving for over an hour, Ye Zi wasn't sure if Kanyoru would still be in the small town. It was possible that, like him, he had been discovered and had fled.
As they reached the outskirts of the town, perhaps by fate, they encountered several Amegakure ninja and a shinobi wearing a Konoha headband.
From the beginning, when Ye Zi and Kanyoru entered the town, Nagato had already noticed them. However, he held back from acting until he confirmed Kanyoru's motives. Once he had, Nagato attacked. Because of this, when Ye Zi and his team arrived, they happened to cross paths with the fleeing Kanyoru and his group, who had been defeated by Nagato.
Wearing black raincoats and with the rain falling heavily, Kanyoru noticed Ye Zi's group and became wary, though he didn't immediately recognize them.
Kanyoru and the Amegakure ninja assumed a combat stance, neither side uttering a word.
Ye Zi slightly raised his head, then drew his Thunder Fang sword, saying to the others, "I'll take care of him. The other three are yours."
The three of them nodded silently.
At that moment, as Ye Zi raised his head, Kanyoru finally saw his face. His expression changed slightly, and he sneered, "So it's Konoha's little White Fang."
Despite his words, Kanyoru was already considering whether to advance or retreat. If he weren't injured, he wouldn't mind taking down the increasingly famous Little White Fang. However, his left shoulder was hurt, his teammates were reduced to just three, all lightly or seriously injured, and most importantly, Akatsuki was still behind them.
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