IMPORTANT: For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!
-----------------
All along, White Zetsu's clones had been sent to various places, gathering any useful information, including intelligence on the talented individuals in different villages. While they couldn't cover everything, someone like Minato was definitely on their radar. Because of this, as White Zetsu looked at Minato in front of him, he thought to himself that agreeing to Ye Zi's request had been a huge loss.
"How about we make a deal? I'll give up the scroll, how does that sound?" Zetsu offered as he looked at Minato.
Black Zetsu, who had been silently observing with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, unable to tolerate White Zetsu's foolishness any longer. Taking control of the conversation, he coldly said, "If you can't win, then run."
Minato observed the peculiar black-and-white figure in front of him, who seemed to be having a conversation with itself, and without much thought, his eyes flashed with a cold intent. Without saying a word, he threw a kunai at White Zetsu.
The Flying Thunder God Technique had been fully mastered by Minato, and now was the perfect opportunity to test it against this intruder.
"Hey, hey, is this just a simple kunai?" White Zetsu nonchalantly caught the strange-looking kunai. Since Minato hadn't used the technique publicly before, Zetsu had no idea what it was capable of, and in his overconfidence, he made the mistake of catching the marked kunai.
The moment he spoke, Minato teleported right in front of him without any warning, thrusting the kunai toward Zetsu's forehead.
It was too sudden—almost as if time had been skipped—and White Zetsu didn't have time to react. The kunai was mere inches away from his forehead.
At the last moment, Black Zetsu took control of their body, leaning back just in time to avoid the fatal strike. His arm transformed into a sharp spike, thrusting toward Minato's abdomen in a counterattack.
However, Minato disappeared again, making Black Zetsu's attack miss.
"Hm?" Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes.
Before he could fully process what had happened, Minato reappeared once more, moving with eerie speed. This time, not even Black Zetsu could react in time. Minato kicked him into the air and snatched the Forbidden Scroll from his hands in one swift motion.
Zetsu's body was sent flying, crashing into a tree and melting into a liquid form that slowly seeped into the tree bark. At the same time, the kunai marked with the teleportation seal embedded itself into the tree trunk.
This time, Minato didn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique again. The target had fled, and since Minato wasn't a sensory ninja, he couldn't track Zetsu's movements.
"Did he escape?" Minato muttered coldly, his eyes fixed on the tree. It was his first time encountering a ninja like this—one with such a strange appearance and unusual abilities. The black-cloaked figure with red clouds on their attire was also unfamiliar to him.
"Who exactly is this? A new organization?" Minato wondered, a frown forming as he pondered the mysterious enemy.
With these thoughts in mind, he vanished from the scene, returning to the top of the Hokage's office where Hiruzen and two ANBU members were already waiting for him.
Seeing Minato return with the scroll, Hiruzen nodded slightly, then immediately ordered a high-alert lockdown for the village. Konoha was placed in a state of emergency as they began searching for the intruder.
"Do you know who it was?" Hiruzen asked as he gazed out at the dark village, his eyes glinting with a cold intensity.
"I'm not sure," Minato replied, furrowing his brow. "They weren't wearing a forehead protector, and their techniques were unusual. They could turn into liquid and merge with the trees. Once they did that, their presence completely vanished. I've never seen anyone like that before. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds."
"I see..." Hiruzen's expression darkened. During wartime, Konoha's security was tighter than ever, yet this intruder had managed to infiltrate undetected. If they hadn't crossed paths with Minato, the Forbidden Scroll might have already been stolen.
"Where did we go wrong?" Hiruzen muttered gravely. Having an intruder sneak in like this was a serious concern for the village.
What he didn't know was that the person who had infiltrated the village was none other than Ye Zi, who had been presumed dead for half a year. Konoha's defenses were formidable, but to someone like Ye Zi, who had spent years within the Root, they were nothing but an open door.
Zetsu had fled without hesitation, not even stopping to inform Ye Zi. Given Konoha's state of heightened alert, Zetsu knew he had to escape the village first before reassessing the situation.
Fortunately for Ye Zi, after being discovered by Orochimaru, he had fled immediately, without hesitation. As Konoha shifted into high alert, Ye Zi had already reached the outskirts of the village, preparing to make his exit.
But, of course, someone would try to stop him.
Several kunai flew toward him, embedding themselves in the ground in front of him.
A few figures appeared, with a young man with pale blue hair at the front. He had handsome features and a calm, gentle demeanor. This was someone Ye Zi knew—Kato Dan.
"Konoha isn't a place where you can come and go as you please," Dan said, his eyes lingering briefly on Ye Zi's black cloak with red clouds.
Ye Zi turned his head slightly, looking at Dan through the eyehole of his mask for a moment before leaping forward, fleeing from the village.
"You two, go get reinforcements," Dan ordered his companions before immediately giving chase.
Outside Konoha, the two figures dashed through the trees, the sound of their movements piercing the quiet of the night, drowning out the chirping of insects.
Ye Zi wasn't using his lightning release, so his speed was slightly lacking, and Dan was able to stay hot on his trail.
After some distance, Ye Zi finally stopped on a tree branch, turning to face Dan, who had also come to a halt.
Beneath the mask, Ye Zi's expression was slightly troubled. Looking at Dan, who was now in a combat stance, Ye Zi spoke in a muffled voice due to the mask, "I advise you to stop chasing me. Otherwise, I promise you'll regret it."
Ye Zi had no desire to tangle with Dan. After all, despite not being a close ally, Dan was still someone he knew. He wanted to avoid a fight if possible. Had it not been for the fact that his lightning release was a signature of his, he would have used it to shake Dan off long ago.
Hearing such confident words, Dan chuckled softly, replying, "Don't worry, your warning is unnecessary. I'm quite confident in a one-on-one fight."
If Dan knew the man in front of him was Ye Zi, he might not have said that.
The Spirit Transformation Technique was one of the strongest in single combat. In a one-on-one situation, where his spirit was immune to both physical and ninjutsu damage, Ye Zi could easily defeat anyone.
Dan was confident, certain that when his target stopped running, it was only a matter of time before he captured him.
He formed a seal with his hands, preparing for combat.
A sigh suddenly escaped from beneath Ye Zi's mask.
"Although this isn't what I intended…"
Ye Zi raised his hand from beneath his cloak. His pale wrist and hand, exposed by his short sleeves, grasped the hilt of his crimson-handled blade, Chijin.
"...if this is your choice… then I have no other option."
Check out the patreon and get 49 chapters in advance -> SaintXI
Currently on Chapter 218 - Movements on a Chessboard