Thanks The_8th_king for the review, here are the 5 extra chapters!!!
IMPORTANT: For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!
With a clear goal in mind, Ye Zi focused his attention on isolating an Iwa-nin to absorb chakra. He needed to act quickly and discreetly to avoid detection.
As he wandered aimlessly through the alleys, a sharp, familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Ishigō, there you are!"
Ye Zi paused for a moment, then let out a silent, cold smile. That voice—it was the same one from earlier in the day, the girl who had banged on the door. Fate had brought them to him at just the right time.
He stood at the mouth of the alley and slowly turned around, looking in the direction the voice had come from.
There stood two figures, a boy and a girl, both of them Ishigō's teammates. During their time in the ninja academy, they had excelled and, after graduating, had been placed on the same team. Due to their impressive skills, Ishigō, who was weaker, had been assigned to balance the team. Both of these young ninja had the potential to grow into jōnin. Judging by their chakra levels, they were fairly strong for genin.
The girl was named Ranrei. She was tall for her age and had a good appearance, though her thick eyebrows gave her a somewhat androgynous look.
The boy was named Kabi, a pudgy kid with eyes that were perpetually squinted. His nose and mouth seemed small in comparison to his large, round face.
In Ishigō's memories, these two teammates were awful to him.
Half of Ye Zi's body was shrouded in darkness as his emotionless eyes quietly observed his "teammates."
Completely unaware of the danger, Ranrei and Kabi casually walked toward him.
"So you've been hiding here? Were you scared to death?" Ranrei teased with her signature sharp voice.
Kabi chuckled, opening his eyes slightly and said, "I heard that a Konoha ninja infiltrated the village. Even Lord Tsuchikage and Lord Han went out to pursue the enemy. The invader must be really strong. Ranrei and I rushed out to see what was going on. So what's your excuse for being out here?"
Ye Zi stared at them in silence.
"Come on, admit it. You were scared out of your mind and ran off to hide, didn't you?" Ranrei jeered, her eyes narrowing.
"Well, isn't that obvious?" Kabi chimed in.
"Hahaha, good point," Ranrei giggled as she stepped in front of Ye Zi, giving him a sideways glance. "Listen, the teacher already revoked your genin status. You'll get the official notice tomorrow. Weaklings like you don't deserve to be ninjas."
Kabi added, "I think you should just give up being a ninja. Maybe as a regular person, you'll live a few more years."
Ye Zi suddenly smiled faintly.
Ranrei and Kabi both paused, confused by the smile.
"Tell me," Ye Zi said in a cold, detached tone. "Why do you two target me like this?" He was asking the question as if he were Ishigang himself.
The pair was momentarily stunned by Ye Zi's calm voice and the uncharacteristic words.
"But actually," Ye Zi continued, "I don't really care about the reason."
A cold gleam flashed in Ye Zi's eyes as he reached out and grabbed Ranrei by the throat. At the same time, two spirit tendrils shot from his shoulders and burrowed into Kabi's head before he could react.
"Mmph… mmph!" Ranrei's eyes widened in terror as she stared into Ye Zi's icy, indifferent gaze, struggling violently.
"If you had just stayed home, you wouldn't have had to die," Ye Zi said calmly, glancing at Kabi, whose face had turned blank as his chakra was slowly drained. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Upon hearing the word "die," Ranrei's struggles became more frantic, but it was futile. Ye Zi's grip was like a vice, locking her in place.
As time passed, Ranrei began to run out of air. Her face flushed red as blood rushed to her head, and her frantic movements grew weaker.
With a soft thud, Kabi's lifeless body collapsed to the ground as the spirit tendrils returned to Ye Zi, bringing back some of the chakra they had stolen.
Ye Zi loosened his grip on Ranrei's throat slightly, but even so, she was already half-unconscious from the lack of oxygen.
Without hesitation, the spirit tendrils dove into Ranrei's head, beginning to extract her chakra.
Moments later, the alley was left with two lifeless bodies.
Ye Zi moved on to find his next target.
The chakra from the two genin wasn't nearly enough to satisfy his needs.
Not long after, Ye Zi found an Iwa-nin stationed in a secluded area, with chakra reserves between that of a chūnin and a jōnin.
Silently executing the Body Flicker Jutsu, Ye Zi approached from behind. The spirit tendrils penetrated the Iwa-nin's mind as Ye Zi dragged him into the shadows.
"Time is limited, but this will have to do."
After leaving another corpse behind, Ye Zi headed toward the Tsuchikage's residence.
Before long, Ye Zi reached the outskirts of the large residence. He sensed ten chakra signatures within the building. One of them was quite strong, likely a jōnin. In the same room as the jōnin were two other chakra signatures: one with the level of a chūnin, and another, much weaker presence—likely a baby.
Ye Zi's eyes flickered as he quickly made a decision.
The weaker presence had to be a family member of the Tsuchikage. As long as he could eliminate the jōnin quietly, the other guards wouldn't be alerted. Then he could take the baby as a hostage to extract information.
With the plan set, Ye Zi sneaked past the guards using his sensing ability, arriving outside one of the rooms.
Inside, a black-haired, black-eyed woman in a kimono was holding a baby wrapped in a swaddle. She turned to a middle-aged man beside her and asked, "Has the situation outside calmed down?"
The flickering candlelight cast the man's shadow onto the paper walls.
"The intruder fled. The Tsuchikage has gone to pursue them," the man replied with a respectful bow.
The woman gently rocked the sleeping infant, her voice calm. "What about Kitsuchi? Did he join the pursuit?"
"Kitsuchi-sama stayed behind to manage the troops," the man replied.
The woman nodded and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. You may leave now."
"Yes, ma'am." The man bowed again and turned to open the door.
At that moment, a blade flashed through the air, brighter than the candlelight, and sliced through the man's throat.
His eyes widened in shock as he saw the expressionless boy in front of him. Blood gushed from the wound, and he tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Ye Zi stepped forward, grabbing the man's face with one hand and shoving him inside the room. He kicked the man's body, swiftly placing it on the tatami mat.
Blood pooled beneath the lifeless body. The black-haired woman's eyes widened in shock, her throat tightening as she prepared to scream.
"If you scream, she dies," Ye Zi said coldly, his figure flashing forward. In an instant, the tip of his blade was pressed against the baby's soft forehead.
The scream that had been building in the woman's throat was swallowed back down as her eyes trembled violently.
"I don't have much time. Answer my questions honestly, and I'll spare her life." Ye Zi pressed the blade a little deeper, leaving a small cut on the baby's forehead. Blood trickled down, running over the baby's nose and mouth before soaking into the swaddle.
The baby, feeling the pain, woke up and began to cry, but Ye Zi quickly used a sliver of chakra to knock the infant unconscious again.
The roughness of his actions caused the woman to tremble all over.
"Now, I'll ask, and you'll answer. If I catch you lying, I won't hesitate," Ye Zi said coldly.
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Currently on Chapter 196: The Closer You Get, The Further It Seems...