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Anger causes people to lose their reasoning, and the two Iwa-nin made the most foolish decision.
In terms of combat ability, these two Iwa-nin were quite skilled in close combat, but they were facing Ye Zi, a ninja specializing in close-range combat enhanced by Lightning Release.
Charging at him recklessly was nothing short of suicide.
With his blade in hand, Ye Zi met the two head-on. In their eyes, the flash of lightning was brief, and before they could react, the blade was already upon them.
Slash! Slash!
Two quick strikes.
Both Iwa-nin collapsed to the ground.
Tekiren could barely contain his anger, but he was forced to watch as Ye Zi carved out and consumed his comrades' flesh. He realized that this horrific act was Ye Zi's way of restoring his strength, and although it was brutal, it was undeniably effective in battle.
"We can't win."
The speed of Ye Zi's lightning-fast blade made Tekiren realize this bitter truth. Now, he was faced with a difficult decision.
Should he let Ye Zi escape? No. He was determined to stop Ye Zi, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
That was Tekiren's path.
With only one Iwa-nin left, Ye Zi didn't think the remaining enemy could stop him. He was ready to leave, but then he saw the strongest Iwa-nin charging at him recklessly.
Ye Zi raised an eyebrow. If it came down to close combat, he was confident he could defeat this opponent in an instant. Since the enemy was rushing to his death, Ye Zi didn't mind spending a little more time to restore his chakra.
Tekiren was indeed rushing to his death—but he planned to drag Ye Zi down with him.
He was about to reveal his most feared trump card.
As Tekiren charged forward, he channeled all his chakra to a specific spot on his chest.
Ye Zi, not having the Byakugan to notice this, saw Tekiren rushing at him without any defense. He raised Raiga and took a few steps forward, preparing to end Tekiren with one strike.
Tekiren's trump card was a self-destructive jutsu, a technique where all the user's chakra is focused into a pre-set seal on their chest, creating a massive explosion. It was a last-resort technique, typically used in situations of desperation—and now, he would use it to take Ye Zi down with him.
As white light gathered in his chest, Tekiren gritted his teeth against the pain but continued his determined charge.
Ye Zi suddenly sensed something was wrong and immediately retreated, but by then, Tekiren's body had already started to swell, like it was being inflated by an enormous amount of energy. The white light became blinding.
Ye Zi's face turned pale with shock as he sensed the danger. He quickly prepared to defend himself.
Boom!
The white light erupted, engulfing everything around Ye Zi in an instant. The blast spread rapidly, consuming everything in its path.
A wave of heat and violent wind swept out in all directions, accompanied by fire and thick smoke. The explosion echoed with a deafening roar, creating a massive mushroom cloud.
Several nearby mountain peaks were obliterated, their tops blown off by the force of the explosion, which affected an area spanning several kilometers.
Iwa-nin who had been chasing Ye Zi stopped in their tracks, stunned by the sight of the distant mushroom cloud. Only a few who knew Tekiren realized what had happened.
Among them was Tsuchikage Onoki, who immediately recognized the source of the explosion. The only one capable of causing such a massive blast was Tekiren.
Their squad had been on a mission, so could they have encountered Ye Zi on their way back? Forced into a corner, had Tekiren used his final trump card?
All sorts of thoughts ran through Onoki's mind, his face twitching slightly. Without wasting any time, he flew toward the site of the explosion. The other Iwa-nin followed suit.
Whether they understood the situation or not, they all instinctively moved toward the center of the blast.
The smoke from the explosion lingered for a long time, and the area closest to the center had been completely leveled. The one who triggered the explosion was nowhere to be found, likely blown to pieces.
A thousand meters away from the center, a figure lay on the ground, its body scorched in multiple places—it was Ye Zi.
The sudden explosion had caught Ye Zi off guard, leaving him stunned. Already missing an arm, the blast had also taken his right leg. His body was riddled with injuries from the explosion.
If not for his quick reaction, the self-destructive blast would have killed him.
Lying on the ground for a while, a briefly unconscious Ye Zi shook his head, his vision blurry from the shockwaves of the explosion. His entire body throbbed with pain, and he could barely muster any strength.
"Damn it..."
Ye Zi struggled to stand. First his left arm, now his right leg—he had been turned into a complete cripple. Worse, he was still being hunted, and the explosion had pushed him to the brink of death.
He didn't have time to waste. Despite the pain, he gritted his teeth, hopping on one leg with all his remaining strength, heading toward the border.
He had never expected that the Iwa-nin would use such a powerful self-destructive technique, leaving him in such dire straits.
Not long after Ye Zi left, Onoki arrived at the site of the explosion. Surveying the devastation, there were no clear clues of what had happened. If this explosion had indeed been caused by Diliánzhao, then his squad had likely perished.
But what about the Konoha's Little White Fang?
Onoki's cold gaze swept over the ground below. He flew forward, eventually spotting some blood splattered on a nearby rock. This confirmed that Ye Zi had been seriously injured, as well as the direction of his escape.
Leaving a marker to indicate the direction, Onoki resumed his pursuit.
As Ye Zi moved away from the center of the Earth Country, he approached the border where vegetation started to reappear. However, the terrain that should have been advantageous for him now worked against him, as he struggled with the loss of his leg.
His entire body was in pain, and his vision blurred, but his will to survive kept him going. Clinging to one direction, he forced himself forward.
If he remembered correctly, there was a bridge not far ahead. Once he crossed the bridge, he would be close to the border. If he could just make it to Grass Ninja Village, he still had a chance to survive.
Driven by this thought and his strong will to live, Ye Zi continued, even though his severe injuries should have brought him down. Instead, they fueled his determination.
But Onoki's speed was greater, and he eventually caught up, spotting Ye Zi's figure in the distance.
No words could describe the satisfaction Onoki felt as he saw the broken figure of Ye Zi ahead.
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Currently on Chapter 201: Severing of Bonds...