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!
No one would have imagined that Ye Zi, who had fled so miserably, would return to the village, much less that his return would lead to the successful theft of a scroll.
When Ōnoki returned to the village, he was met with cold, harsh news.
Most of the ninja had been sent out to pursue the enemy, but he chose to return home instead.
A faint scent of blood greeted him as he approached the door, his heart heavy.
Inside the once-cozy room, two lifeless bodies lay on the tatami, soaked in blood. His son, Kitsuchi, held his wailing daughter in his arms, his face expressionless in dead silence. But despite his stoic expression, tears streamed down his thick face, dripping into the blood-soaked floor and sending ripples through the puddles of blood. The soft sound of the drops echoed in the room, like a quiet accusation against the cruelty of this world.
Ōnoki leaned on the doorframe, staring at the scene inside. His eyes were filled with overwhelming rage, but he forced himself to remain calm. One wrong move, and the entire house would be reduced to rubble—but his granddaughter was still inside.
It seemed that Ye Zi had shown some humanity by sparing his granddaughter, but even so, by killing his daughter-in-law, the enmity between them had been cemented forever.
"Ye Zi!"
Ōnoki ground his teeth, growling the name with a voice full of hatred, as if every word dripped with the desire to tear Ye Zi apart.
Since the days of the Ash Country, Ye Zi had been a sworn enemy of Iwagakure. First, he killed two of their most promising young talents. Then, during the war with Konoha, he single-handedly destroyed Iwagakure's plans. The loss in that war could be attributed to Ye Zi—if not for him killing those two prodigies, if not for him holding off Iwagakure's elite forces, the tide of the battle wouldn't have turned so drastically against them.
One day, he had planned to settle this grudge. Tonight, he thought he had his chance—he had believed that the rising star, Konoha's "Little White Fang," would finally be eliminated from the shinobi world. But now, things had taken a different turn.
For a moment, Ōnoki regretted his decision. If he had just used Dust Release to obliterate the entire stone building earlier, none of this would have happened.
"Ye Zi, you must die!"
Ōnoki didn't offer any words of comfort to Kitsuchi. He knew his son well, and he knew that the only thing left to do was to claim Ye Zi's head as an offering for the lives lost tonight.
Humans aren't machines—they get tired.
Although Ye Zi had regained some chakra in Iwagakure, the continuous fighting and stress were taking their toll on his body and mind.
He was exhausted, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward. This was like a race for survival.
What he had done in Iwagakure had stirred up a whirlwind of anger. The Iwa-nin were coming after him in waves, one after another, each one burning with the desire to tear him apart. In the darkness of the night, they pursued Ye Zi with relentless fury.
Normally, Ye Zi wouldn't be worried about such a pursuit, but his body was beginning to betray him.
He had always placed absolute confidence in his physical abilities, but as his legs began to ache and weaken, he realized that his body wasn't made of steel. Like any other person, his body could be overworked, and now he was paying the price.
Even though his speed had decreased, it still wasn't enough for the pursuing Iwa-nin to easily catch up. Ōnoki and Han, having been left behind at the start, wouldn't be able to reach him in a short amount of time. The only way to stop Ye Zi now would be to surround him. However, with the Iwa-nin left far behind, no one could block his path forward.
Many of the Iwa-nin were still pushing themselves as hard as they could, but they had to admit that the chance of capturing someone as fast as Ye Zi tonight was slim.
But sometimes, fate has a way of playing cruel jokes.
You might see a pile of dog dung ahead of you and feel proud of avoiding it, only for a sudden gust of wind to blow your raised foot right into it.
Such coincidences, crafted by fate, often happen at the worst possible times. Tonight, fate decided to intervene against Ye Zi.
By sheer coincidence, a squad of Iwa-nin led by a Jōnin appeared right in Ye Zi's path.
Ye Zi's heart skipped a beat as he saw the squad in the distance. His expression grew serious.
Meeting an Iwa-nin squad at this moment was a terrible stroke of luck. Not only would they slow him down, but the squad also appeared strong. It was likely a mission-based unit, which meant there was probably at least one Jōnin among them.
The Iwa-nin squad was equally surprised when they saw Ye Zi with his missing arm, but they quickly prepared for battle.
With his black-and-white hair blowing in the wind, his lightning-patterned fox mask, and his two-foot-long short sword with a jet-black hilt—along with the thick scent of blood in the air—it only took a moment for the leading Jōnin to recognize who he was dealing with.
The Little White Fang of Konoha. His blade was so fast, so similar to that of the original White Fang, that he had earned the title of "Little White Fang" due to his youth.
"Earth Release: Stone Piercer!" x3
At the Jōnin's command, three of the Iwa-nin immediately used the same Earth Release jutsu in perfect synchronization.
Rumble!
The ground trembled, and in the next second, massive stone spikes erupted in all directions, covering a wide area, including Ye Zi's entire path forward and backward.
The three Iwa-nin had coordinated the jutsu so seamlessly that it appeared as if a single person had created an enormous stone forest.
Left with no other choice, Ye Zi leapt into the air to avoid the wide area attack.
At that moment, the Iwa-nin Jōnin used the Body Flicker Technique to appear right in front of Ye Zi, swinging a massive stone-encased fist toward him mid-air.
Crackle!
Lightning chakra crackled across Ye Zi's body. Lightning surged from the blade of his short sword, Raiga.
He swung his blade at the massive stone fist.
Even though lightning naturally overcomes earth, the Jōnin didn't pull back his punch. He faced Ye Zi's blade head-on.
This decision was undoubtedly foolish.
One clean strike would be enough to sever the Jōnin's arm.
Ye Zi briefly hesitated, perplexed by the Jōnin's choice, but he didn't slow down.
Slash!
The stone fist was easily sliced open, followed by the arm, shoulder, and even the head.
Poof!
But instead of blood, the Jōnin vanished in a puff of smoke.
Ye Zi's expression changed.
In the next instant, a barrage of stone shuriken flew toward him.
Unable to stay airborne, Ye Zi descended toward the ground. As the projectiles rained down, he swung Raiga in wide arcs, deflecting most of them. But with no solid footing and his body drained of energy, he couldn't block them all. Several of the stone shuriken struck him, leaving deep cuts across his body.
Blood splattered in the air, landing on the jagged stone spikes below.
Crackle!
Lightning surged from Ye Zi's body, shattering a few of the stone spikes, allowing him to land safely.
Though he had managed to block most of the attacks, his body was now bloodied. His weakened state, combined with the strength of the Iwa-nin, had taken its toll.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears!"
There was no time for rest. As soon as Ye Zi touched the ground, a cold voice called out.
The earth beneath his feet shifted, and the surrounding rock shot upward from four directions, forming a large rectangular pillar that trapped Ye Zi inside.
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Currently on Chapter 196: The Closer You Get, The Further It Seems...