Yagura is dead!
With the demise of the jinchuriki, the tailed beast sealed within was destined to reappear in the world.
Ye Liang slowly landed on the ground, and the earth of the Land of Rivers began trembling violently.
"It's coming out, huh?"
The ground shook violently all around, like a monster quake had erupted. Even Naizi Fujiwara felt it from miles away.
"Roar!"
A furious roar echoed.
The earth beneath their feet cracked wide open, revealing a massive, mountain-sized beast—Isobu! His eyes burned red as he lunged straight at Ye Liang with his jaws wide open.
His mouth was huge too—like a gaping cave!
Ye Liang's expression turned icy cold.
Who cared about some old tailed beast anyway? He had already slain Yagura, the jinchuriki—how could he fear another mere power source?
He flashed his pearly whites, blinding Isobu for a moment. Using this instant flash of distraction, Ye Liang activated Shifting Body Technique and disappeared.
Boom!
The beast missed!
The ground shattered beneath the impact, opening a massive fissure.
Ye Liang successfully jumped onto Isobu's forehead.
Shaking his head violently, Isobu tried to shake off Ye Liang, but the latter clung like a mosquito stuck fast to skin. No matter how much Isobu thrashed around, he couldn't shake Ye Liang off.
Ye Liang launched another attack.
[Earth Release - Add Weight Rock]!
[Wind Release - Gale Palm]!
[Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms]!
Blow after blow rained down on Isobu's monstrous body.
Enraged, Isobu started thrashing wildly, trying to escape its shell.
Earlier, it had attacked recklessly without fully emerging from underground. Now, it was paying dearly for that mistake.
Feeling as though its skull would shatter, Isobu charged upward, carrying Ye Liang along with it.
[Earth Release: Palm of the Shattered Earth]!
Ye Liang struck once again atop Isobu's head. This time, real damage was done—bone and sinew cracked under the force.
A stream of thick red blood burst from Isobu's head, followed by a faint surge of light-blue chakra slowly flowing toward Ye Liang's body.
"What's going on here?"
Ye Liang naturally noticed this strange phenomenon.
However, he didn't feel any restoration of his own chakra.
At that moment, his System interface suddenly flashed onscreen.
His pupils slightly dilated.
Ye Liang suddenly noticed the time-space turtle he had stored inside his system backpack was glowing softly.
"This chakra is being absorbed by the time-space turtle!"
Understanding dawned on him immediately.
He took the turtle out of his System's storage space and cradled it in his arms. As expected, the absorption effect became more noticeable—the chakra from Isobu flowed into Ye Liang's chest in torrents.
"Roar!"
Below him, Isobu began to panic.
As the victim, it naturally sensed its power slipping away, so it ran aimlessly with Ye Liang still clinging onto it.
Indeed, no matter how strong a beast might be, it remained just an animal—lacking the cunning mind of humans. The more furiously Isobu thrashed, the faster the chakra flowed into him.
Before long, Isobu collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.
"Time-space turtle, is the energy full yet?"
Ye Liang first took the time-space turtle out of his bag and placed it in the palm of his hand, asking curiously.
"Reporting to you, master! The energy required for spatial travel has been fully charged and can currently be used three times!"
Three times, huh?
That makes sense!
With the full power of an entire Three-Tails, having enough energy for three uses is understandable.
He gently returned the time-space turtle to his pack. With more tasks yet to complete, there was no rush to return to his original world.
Slowly descending to the ground, he casually used Earth Release to tidy up the surrounding environment.
We mustn't hesitate or leave destruction behind us—we don't do unnecessary harm to the land!
After making the hand seals again, Ye Liang reappeared beside Naizi.
"You're back?"
"Mm, I've already handled everything for you. It's time to fulfill your promise."
Naizi Fujiwara's face revealed a trace of reluctance.
She naturally knew exactly what Ye Liang was referring to.
The secret treasure of the River Country—the legendary item said to equal all assets of the Five Great Nations combined!
Really give it away just like that?!
A vague sense of loss quietly crept into Naizi's heart.
"Don't drag your feet. If I could help you eliminate Yagura, I could certainly destroy your entire country alone too. I don't think I need to explain this to you, right?"
Grumbling all the way, the two finally reached the hidden chamber inside the cellar.
It was a box.
An absolutely incomparable, peerless box!
If one were to describe it with words, no language could capture the exquisite beauty of this box!
Ye Liang picked it up in astonishment.
"This is your national treasure?"
"Of course. In this world, besides our secret treasure from River Country, what else would deserve such a magnificent box?"
"It definitely deserves nothing less... it's just that this box of yours is really..."
Ye Liang was speechless.
It wasn't that he looked down on the box—it was just made from metal alloys!
Metal alloys?
In Konoha, a village known for its wooden architecture, where did such advanced alloys even come from?
And when he opened the box, he was even more stunned—it had a fingerprint-activated lock!
Where exactly was he supposed to find the matching fingerprint?!
Sighing helplessly, Ye Liang stuffed the metal alloy box into his pack after collecting his things and preparing to leave. He had tried every technique available—there was simply no way to force the box open, not even with a Tailed Beast Ball...
"If you can find the Ruins of the Land of Craftsmen, you might be able to open it. Our ancestors mentioned this before," Naizi offered a useful piece of information before Ye Liang left.
"The Land of Craftsmen, huh?"
...
The next day.
Sleeping in Konoha always felt incredibly refreshing.
In peaceful times, there was no need to fear death at any moment or search endlessly for safe shelters.
On this particular day, Ye Liang received an invitation.
It came from the Hyuga clan.
My beloved younger brother, receiving this letter is as good as seeing me in person!
Ever since our parting that day, I have longed for your company.
Therefore, I cordially invite my esteemed younger brother to dine with our family—please do not decline.
Your older brother - Hiashi Hyuga
"A letter from Hiashi Hyuga?"
Ye Liang familiarly slipped the letter into his pocket, then sat by the front door, deep in thought. When he previously escorted Hinata Hyuga home, they indeed shared a few drinks together with Hiashi.
At that time, there hadn't been any sense of danger.
So maybe... possibly! He seemed to have gotten completely drunk and blacked out after seeing Hinata off with Hiashi Hyuga!
"What exactly did I do back then to gain Hiashi Hyuga's favor?"
Bring back my brothers?
Unless something happened, Ye Liang honestly wouldn't believe Hiashi Hyuga could act this friendly!
In the original novel, the head of the Hyuga clan was supposed to be serious, rigid, and bad at conversation—a stickler for discipline with zero flexibility!
Inviting him?
Just getting to say a few words to Ye Liang would've been enough!
"Whatever, since Hiashi Hyuga has sincerely invited me, I'll just go along with it for fun."
Who knows, maybe he'd run into Hinata again!
The memory of their last encounter still lingered in Ye Liang's mind—the softness of her hands, the charm of her face. Most importantly, the setting!
That "turning-a-corner-and-finding-love" moment was one he'd never forget!
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