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Ordinary, unremarkable, and parentless—these qualities made the boy's identity perfect for Ye Zi's needs. As he extracted the boy's final memories, the light of his soul flickered out, like a candle extinguishing in the wind, leaving nothing behind.
Once someone's lifeline was controlled by another, life became fragile, with no power to resist.
The boy's soul, representing his entire existence, dissipated, leaving no chance for reincarnation.
After personally erasing the soul of this young boy, Ye Zi remained unmoved. His expression was as cold as eternal ice. To avoid burdening his own soul, he selectively kept the useful memories and discarded the irrelevant ones.
Ye Zi's spirit returned to his body as the boy's corpse at his feet grew colder. Without a soul, the body was nothing more than an empty shell.
Ye Zi wasn't a member of the Yamanaka clan, who could directly invade the mind and read memories. His method was far more brutal—forcefully merging the target's memories into his own. The integration of two sets of memories could cause confusion, so he only absorbed a limited amount.
He closed his eyes, furrowing his brow slightly as he pushed the newly absorbed memories to the corner of his mind before opening his eyes again.
The scene was grim: a narrow, dirty alley, a young man in a fox mask, and the lifeless corpse at his feet.
Inquiring about information could be done in many ways, whether through the Yamanaka clan's abilities, hypnosis, or torture. However, such methods often resulted in incomplete intelligence.
Ye Zi's plan required him to steal the boy's identity and infiltrate Iwagakure directly, which is why he used such a forceful method.
"The Five-Tails Jinchūriki Squad, huh?" Ye Zi muttered to himself as the boy's memories surfaced in his mind.
His parents weren't killed by enemies in the war but by their own village's Jinchūriki. During one of the Jinchūriki's rampages, a mere aftershock of their power had easily killed the boy's parents. This wasn't recorded in any official reports, and it was only later that the boy learned the truth from his parents' friends.
From that moment, the seed of hatred was quietly planted in his heart. But because of his limited abilities, that seed never had a chance to grow.
Indeed, due to his lack of talent, his presence was weak. That weakness led to rebellion, pushing him to recklessly leave the village and wander far, which ultimately gave Ye Zi the opportunity he needed.
Though he had pushed the absorbed memories aside, they still affected him a little. The memories from his time in the Land of Rain had merged naturally with his body without causing discomfort. This time, however, the forced integration of memories didn't feel right.
"The Five-Tails Jinchūriki?" Shokui suddenly appeared from the shadows, his large, single eye gleaming with greed.
Based on what Ye Zi had said, Kushina Uzumaki in Konoha housed the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and now there was another—this time with the Five-Tails. From the sound of it, there were likely other Jinchūriki with different numbers of tails. All of them possessed immense energy, which was great news for Shokui. One day, if he could devour these beings, his power would be restored, and he could tear through space to reach another resource-rich world.
Ye Zi glanced briefly at the boy on the ground, then turned to Shokui. "Yes, just like Kushina. If we ever need to resort to that method, we'll need to start gathering information on the Jinchūriki now."
"Haha," Shokui laughed sinisterly. "To avoid wasting time, I suggest you start now. I may have underestimated the humans of this world, but as long as I devour one Jinchūriki, the rest will fall into my grasp."
Ye Zi shot Shokui a silent look. If he had no other choice, this might be his last resort. When the time came, he might really have to follow Shokui's advice. Whether Shokui would then help him return to Earth, however, was uncertain. And if Shokui followed him to Earth, it would be a disaster.
"Eat him," Ye Zi said, not wanting to continue the conversation. He pointed at the boy's corpse.
"Tch," Shokui clicked his browless forehead, then opened his massive mouth, his long tongue wrapping around the boy's body and pulling it in. With a gulp, the corpse disappeared.
After watching Shokui devour the body, Ye Zi made a hand seal. With a puff of white smoke, he transformed into the short-haired boy. The boy's name was Ishigō.
"If I have the chance, I'll avenge you," Ye Zi thought silently. Learning about the Jinchūriki was an unexpected bonus, and if he ever encountered one, at least he wouldn't be caught off guard.
After sending Shokui back, Ye Zi stepped out of the alley. It was already nighttime, and the square windows on the surrounding buildings were dotted with lights. He looked up at the moon, squinting slightly, and after a brief moment of silence, he headed toward the city gate.
Leaving the small town where he had stayed for a day, Ye Zi traveled through the night toward Iwagakure.
Now that he had secured an identity, the next step was to infiltrate Iwagakure and, under the cover of night, steal the scroll containing the village's defense and supply routes.
To reach Iwagakure as quickly as possible, Ye Zi followed the route Danzo had provided, avoiding cities and people, advancing through the mountainous terrain to arrive at Iwagakure with minimal delay.
As for the intelligence regarding the location of the scroll, Ye Zi wasn't entirely confident. Generally speaking, the accuracy of such high-level intelligence was low. Even though Danzo believed the information he had was reliable, it could easily be a smokescreen planted by Iwagakure.
In other words, following Danzo's directions carried a risk. Ye Zi had no other choice, though—his transformation jutsu could be detected if he stayed too long. His plan was to infiltrate Iwagakure and steal the scroll detailing the defenses and supply routes on the same night he arrived.
After traveling for several days, Ye Zi finally reached Iwagakure.
The village, which was located in the most defensible position among all the ninja villages, slowly came into view.
It was less a village and more a city built into the mountains. At first glance, it exuded a sense of coldness, resilience, and thickness. Without the clear waterfalls cascading from the mountains, Iwagakure would feel like a stubborn boulder.
Ye Zi didn't enter the village immediately. Instead, he found a hidden place to rest, waiting until the next day to enter Iwagakure openly.
The identity he had taken on, while weak, was known to the gatekeepers due to his frequent trips outside the village. When they saw Ye Zi enter, they didn't stop him.
Having successfully entered Iwagakure, half of Ye Zi's plan was complete.
As he walked through the village, Ye Zi observed the layout of the buildings while heading toward the boy's home.
He would stay at the house until nightfall, then make his move.
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