[On!]
A tremendous force sent Juzo flying, but thanks to the protection of the Cleaver Sword, he only suffered a minor impact and remained completely unharmed.
[Water Release - Water Dragon Bullet Technique!]
A massive water dragon surged from the moat toward Ye Liang.
[Water Release - Water Clone Technique!]
Three figures leapt onto the water dragon.
[Water Release - Hiding in Mist Technique!]
A thick fog instantly enveloped the surroundings.
Ye Liang narrowed his eyes.
Thick mist suddenly clouded his sight. Meanwhile, the three water clones astride the water dragon charged head-on.
"Darn, that water dragon's fast!" Ye Liang quickly flung a shuriken sideways.
Water Dragon Bullet Technique is an A-rank Ninjutsu. The advantage of this dragon-shaped technique was that it could chase its target relentlessly until the chakra maintaining its form ran out.
Ye Liang had no intention of taking it head-on. The power of the Water Dragon Blast was extremely formidable. He didn't have any defense jutsu ready — his only option was to dodge.
[Flying Thunder God!]
Ye Liang's body instantly vanished from where he stood.
Meanwhile, the shuriken previously disappeared into the mist suddenly found itself grabbed by someone.
Ye Liang stayed alert, scanning all directions.
The water dragon had already disappeared hundreds of meters away, but given Biwa Juzo's tracking skills, locating him would only take moments.
Sure enough, deep within the fog, three shadowy human figures were charging straight toward him.
[Fire Release - Great Fireball Technique!]
He unleashed a fresh Fire Release blast at those shadows.
The thick mist significantly reduced the power of Fire Release jutsu. However, since the strength of water clones was merely one-tenth of their creator's, this attack still easily dispelled the three figures.
[Pf!]
A bayonet pierced Ye Liang's lower back.
[Water Release - Silent Killing Technique!]
Juzo's voice coldly sounded beside Ye Liang's neck, and the bayonet plunged fully into Ye Liang's body.
"Sorry, no one can escape my Hiding in Mist Technique!"
But just as Juzo believed he had succeeded in his attack, suddenly from the ground stretched out a pair of pale white arms.
[Earth Release - Underground Decapitation Technique!]
It's an Earth Release jutsu!
When Ye Liang realized his vision was impaired by the mist, he had already activated this technique. Right now, the figure standing aboveground was merely a clone projection.
Sure enough! Just as these hands pulled Juzo underground, the Ye Liang who appeared injured on the surface instantly turned into white mist!
"How is this possible? When did you use Earth Release? I never took my eyes off you once!"
Juzo exclaimed in shock.
As the father of assassins, Juzo had total confidence in his own eyesight.
"When I pushed you away," Ye Liang said coldly, rising suddenly from the ground.
"Pushed me away?"
Juzo showed a trace of confusion but then immediately thought about the earlier Shinra Tensei technique.
"That powerful Shinra Tensei... It was just a feint?! Impossible! You didn't even know me — why waste so much strength just to trick me?!"
"That's right. I didn't know you. But since the moment we clashed, I was fully prepared for this!" Ye Liang said calmly.
He didn't know Biwa Juzo all that well, but he'd read the original story!
The First Generation of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist...
There was no way Ye Liang could afford to be careless!
In no time at all, Juzo's body was yanked into the ground, leaving only his head above the surface.
[Decapitation Technique] was a move that dragged opponents directly into the earth. By increasing the thickness of the current ground, once someone was pulled underground, it became extremely difficult to climb back out.
Though it was a low-rank jutsu, all of Ye Liang's basic jutsu had been strengthened by daily tasks.
After all, any skill granting repetitive rewards would keep strengthening infinitely...
"Damn you! You bastard! Where did you get so many powerful jutsu?!" Juzo glared furiously at Ye Liang, trying desperately to dig himself out. Despite using all his strength, he couldn't budge an inch.
This [Decapitation Technique] should've been a mere low-rank technique!
"Stop struggling, or I'll kill you right now!"
Ye Liang picked up the dropped Cleaver Sword and placed it against Juzo's neck.
"I'll ask you questions now—whatever I ask, you answer truthfully. If I catch you lying, I'll end your life immediately!" Ye Liang said coldly.
"First! That old man who ordered my assassination—what exactly did he look like?"
"Second! Why did you obey an old man's orders?"
"Third! Why is your Hidden Mist Village appearing in the Land of Waves? If I'm not mistaken, the village is still under Yagura's rule. Leaving without permission is a serious crime!"
Ye Liang fired off three consecutive questions. Though seemingly ordinary, each concerned matters deeply tied to himself.
He needed to find out who wanted him dead—after all, it's never good news when someone's after your head!
"If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"If your answers satisfy me, I might consider sparing you."
Hearing that, Juzo swallowed hard.
"Fine, just don't go back on your word."
"That old man was unfamiliar to me beforehand. I came out specifically this time to search for a new jinchuriki for the Three-Tails. As everyone knows, Isobu has always been hiding in the lake within our Hidden Mist Village, but recently the Three-Tails' power has become unstable, barely controllable anymore. Yagura ordered us to look for a high-level ninja outside the village to restart the jinchuriki experiments."
"The Three-Tails jinchuriki?"
Ye Liang thought briefly.
The first jinchuriki of Isobu seemed to be none other than Rin Nohara from their squad. Originally, during the Kannabi Bridge incident, Rin had been forcibly turned into the Three-Tails jinchuriki by shinobi from the Land of Earth.
"Wait a minute—Land of Earth shinobi? A jinchuriki? Wasn't the Three-Tails supposed to belong to Kiri?"
Suddenly puzzled, Ye Liang wondered why the Three-Tails belonging to Kiri would get involved with the Land of Earth. He suddenly realized there seemed to be some inexplicable contradictions in the original storyline!
The Nine Tailed Beasts were each controlled by various hidden villages. Yet clearly, the Three-Tails belonged to Kiri—why was it controlled by the Land of Earth in the original plot?
This was definitely a plot hole—a major one!
Could something unusual have happened behind the scenes?
Ye Liang sensed something was wrong. The original plot at Kannabi Bridge had already changed—originally ending tragically, Rin had been saved by him. Naturally, everything afterward was going to change as well.
"Then what happened?" Ye Liang pressed.
Juzo had only talked about the mission so far, but not yet mentioned the old man's issue.
"Then, I came face to face with that powerfully terrifying old man!" A flicker of fear suddenly appeared in Juzo's eyes.
He was a super Jonin on the verge of Kage-level — how could someone of his caliber show such fear!
Ye Liang's face darkened with seriousness.
"I'll never forget the sight of that man! He had incredibly thick, long straight hair, a bare chest, and eyes like glowing crimson moons!"
"One single glance — and I was pulled into an endless, suffocating world!"
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