Endless winds and sands swept across the land.
It had already been two full months since Ye Liang departed. During these two months, White Zetsu's army seemed to vanish without a trace—they were nowhere to be found.
Ye Liang arrived at a hilltop, holding an old map in his hand.
"Is this the ruins of the Land of Craftsmen?" He glanced around, then handed the map to Itachi Uchiha.
"This must be it, but why have you come here?" asked Uchiha curiously.
"Because the master of the White Zetsu has been here."
"The master of the White Zetsu?"
Uchiha furrowed his brow slightly.
During their earlier battle with the masked White Zetsu, he had indeed heard mention of this figure, yet he had never seen him or known what kind of person he was.
"And how strong is he compared to you, Lord Ye Liang?"
"Cloud and mud cannot compare!" Ye Liang said, suddenly standing upright with his hands behind his back. "I once encountered him in the Sword Cemetery in the Land of Snow. His strength is on an entirely different level—compared to you all, he might as well be a god among mortals!"
At this, he suddenly coughed dryly. "But he can't beat me."
"He can't defeat you?" Uchiha's eyes widened slightly in shock.
That made sense. Even if he himself seemed like a godlike figure, facing Lord Ye Liang there was simply no chance of victory. If this master of the White Zetsu was a deity, then Lord Ye Liang would be nothing short of an immortal!
Beyond worldly matters, transcending all existence!
Uchiha nodded thoughtfully, half-understanding.
"Glad you see my point, but if any of you ever meet him, remember to run immediately," replied Ye Liang.
At this moment, he quietly walked to the very top of the hill, brushed away some dirt and sand, revealing a square-shaped keyhole.
From within his robes, Ye Liang pulled out a square key and pressed it directly onto the hole.
This was something he had retrieved from Fake Ye Liang before. At the time, he felt it must hold great significance, and sure enough, today it finally proved useful.
Suddenly, the huge hill began trembling violently, like a sea splitting open from the center, revealing a descending staircase below.
Looking down, one could only see endless deep trenches!
"I never imagined the Land of Craftsmen actually concealed such a place."
Ye Liang stepped forward, walking downward.
Inside, countless tiny insects fluttered about. Ye Liang activated some Chakra, enveloping his body lightly as a protective barrier.
They continued walking for a long time.
Eventually, the pair reached the bottom.
About a hundred meters down, they came upon a massive horizontal pit.
He looked around, discovering that the entire area was covered in footprints—dense and numerous, easily reaching into the tens of thousands.
"It seems the White Zetsus have already passed through here!"
Ye Liang deduced.
Although this was the ruins of the Land of Craftsmen, countless years had passed. Now, suddenly seeing so many footprints appeared here—it must mean the involvement of the White Zetsu, the only group large enough to leave such marks.
"Then Lord, what purpose would bring the White Zetsu here?"
Ye Liang shook his head.
He didn't know either, but he did understand that the current White Zetsus were created by Fake Ye Liang infecting normal humans using the Zero-Tails.
The Zero-Tails was itself a creation of the Land of Craftsmen.
Since this was the ruins of that ancient nation, perhaps there was something here worth uncovering.
The two continued walking deeper into the darkness.
The passages on both sides were narrowing rapidly.
"Lord Ye Liang, it seems there's no path forward," said Itachi Uchiha.
They had moved eastward from the initial deep pit, but as they ventured deeper, the passage kept shrinking. Now it was about the width of a corridor.
"There shouldn't be no way forward. Search around and see if you can find any mechanisms or traps," Ye Liang judged.
Since this was a ruin belonging to the Land of Craftsmen, it made perfect sense that there would be hidden mechanisms. After all, the Land of Craftsmen was known for its mechanical engineering.
They started rummaging around the area.
The light was dim since they were underground with no sunlight. They relied only on the weak illumination from their torches, making it difficult to see clearly.
Ye Liang ran his hands along the wall — and then suddenly felt something shaped like a face!
"What the hell is this? Could it be a corpse?" Ye Liang shuddered.
He poured chakra into the torch, intensifying its glow.
It was the face of a red mechanical puppet!
Its eyes were tightly closed, standing silently alone.
"Lord Ye Liang, what is that?" Itachi saw the stronger glow and came over curiously.
"This appears to be a Mechanical Puppet," Ye Liang concluded.
This red mechanical dummy looked exactly like the ones they encountered before at the Sword Cemetery, though compared to those, this puppet was more refined, with a slightly smaller frame.
The two examined it carefully.
Suddenly!
The puppet opened its eyes!
Without a sound, it lunged straight toward Itachi's face!
Its speed was terrifyingly fast!
Startled, Itachi hadn't even managed to defend himself before he received a heavy slap across the face!
*Peng!*
Dazed and reeling!
"Eliminate intruders!"
The Mechanical Puppet sprang into action!
Seeing Itachi collapse, it immediately attacked Ye Liang, this time even more fiercely!
From a previously empty hand, five hard fingernails suddenly appeared.
Shining brightly—
Five sharp blades!
"That's one biased attack!" Ye Liang complained, kicking the puppet straight in the face. He used the kickback to push himself back, creating space.
[Ninjutsu – Fire Dragon Bullet!]
A huge fire dragon illuminated the pitch-black cave, completely engulfing the mechanical puppet without giving it a chance to speak its last words.
But Ye Liang frowned.
In the brief moment the fire dragon lit up the cave, Ye Liang clearly saw how the distant walls were packed with these red mechanical puppets—rows and rows of them, numbering no fewer than several thousand!
"Were all of these manufactured by the Land of Craftsmen?" Ye Liang became puzzled.
Each of these mechanical puppets possessed power close to an average Jonin.
Thousands of such puppets combined would have surpassed the strength of a typical ninja village.
If the Land of Craftsmen truly had such might, how could it possibly have been destroyed by the Land of Iron?
Ye Liang couldn't understand.
Right then, all the other puppets which had originally remained motionless slowly opened their eyes. Declaring "eliminate intruders," they started slowly walking toward Ye Liang and Itachi.
Clearly, that earlier Fire Dragon Bullet had awakened them all!
"Oh no, with such a massive swarm of mechanical puppets, we're in serious trouble!"
Ye Liang immediately pulled Itachi Uchiha back the way they had come.
Although he wasn't afraid of these puppets, this place was deep underground in the desert. If he recklessly released ninjutsu techniques here, it could potentially cause widespread collapse.
As for himself, he could use Earth Release to escape from the sand.
But Itachi Uchiha might not survive the crushing weight of all that sand.
"Lord Ye Liang, I'm almost recovered, you can let go of me now."
Itachi Uchiha had regained consciousness.
He'd only been hit once before being knocked out by one of the puppets, which showed exactly how terrifying the power of these mechanical puppets truly was.
"Mm, let's fall back to where we started," Ye Liang said.
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