Chapter 100: The Daughter of the Third Tsuchikage
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Soaring 4,000 meters above ground, Li Yao—who dreamed of becoming the "patriot" of the Naruto world—was now controlling his Black Iron Giant Eagle to flee from the Land of Earth at full speed.
He had no choice. He didn't yet have the strength to be a true "patriot" and do whatever he wanted. For now, he had to lie low.
Just wait.
If everything went well and his chakra grew strong over the next four years, then he'd have the power to do as he pleased.
Half an hour after Li Yao's departure—
A four-man Iwagakure ninja team arrived in the small city.
"This is… a child from the Tutai clan!"
Kneeling beside the rubble, a twenty-something Iwa ninja lifted a slab of stone and discovered a child's corpse. On the back of the brown flak jacket was a clan symbol—a circle intersected by a square. The young man's expression changed instantly.
The Tutai clan was one of Iwagakure's major families, equivalent in status to Konoha's Hyuga clan. They held immense sway over the village.
Every ninja born into the clan was talented, many wielding the Kekkei Genkai Explosion Release. The clan founded and led Iwa's elite demolition unit, which remained under their tight control.
Now, one of their rising stars had been brutally slain—on their own homeland.
This wasn't just tragic—it was a direct insult to Iwagakure.
Rage surged within the young ninja.
"There's more…"
Following the blood trail, he lifted another stone. Another corpse—heart pierced—was revealed. Also an Iwa ninja, a freshly graduated genin.
His face darkened. He rolled the body over and saw a white triangular flower emblem, now stained red.
"That's a child from the Santō clan!"
His voice trembled. The Santō clan specialized in Earth Release sensory techniques. Most of Iwagakure's sensory division hailed from them.
The Santō, Tutai, and Ōnoki families were the so-called Three Great Clans of Iwagakure—foundational to the village's creation.
Without them, Iwagakure would not exist.
Any jonin assigned to lead genin from two of these clans had to be someone of considerable rank—especially now that all top-tier ninja were at the front lines. A bad feeling crept into the young ninja's chest.
That feeling was quickly confirmed.
"It's confirmed—the instructor of these three children was none other than Lady Haitsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage's youngest daughter."
All four members of the Iwa squad now stood in front of the three genin corpses. Their captain spoke grimly.
"Lady Haitsuchi?!"
The young ninja froze. He had feared as much, but hearing it aloud still shocked him. Haitsuchi was the Tsuchikage's favorite daughter.
Even though they hadn't found her body, that wasn't reassuring—her fate might be worse than death.
Especially since she was a stunning beauty.
The other two ninja also looked sick.
Their captain shook his head. "There's no mistake. I probed the client's memory and confirmed—this was Lady Haitsuchi."
That was the final blow. The young ninja clenched his fists. "Damn it! It must've been Kumogakure! They used our war with Konoha as cover and snuck in to kidnap her!"
Iwa and Kumo had always been bitter enemies. The moment they heard the Tsuchikage's daughter was taken, they pointed fingers at Kumo.
"Yeah! No doubt it's Kumo. They invaded our territory and abducted Lady Haitsuchi. This is an act of war!"
"We've got to retaliate."
"Agreed. They can't get away with this."
All three younger ninja were fired up. They had been tasked with defending the border against Kumo, and now the Tsuchikage's own daughter had been taken under their watch.
But their captain remained calm. "It may not be Kumo."
"Then who? Surely not Konoha."
"Not necessarily…" the captain mused.
In his memory-probing jutsu, aside from confirming Haitsuchi's identity, he also saw a vague recollection from a store owner who had been up early that morning.
He described a large, bird-like silhouette flying skyward—unmistakably unnatural. It resembled a giant eagle, possibly a summon beast.
Few ninja used eagles for summoning. Kumo and Konoha both had shinobi with such beasts.
By that logic, Kumo seemed the more likely suspect.
But the captain remembered recent reports from the underground bounty network. He had a growing suspicion.
Unfortunately, his chakra-based mental probe couldn't read anything from the deceased genin—too much time had passed, their spiritual residue had faded.
They would have to wait for ANBU to retrieve the bodies and probe the brains directly to confirm the killer's identity.
The heads hadn't been destroyed—likely meaning it wasn't Kumo or Konoha.
It might have been Li Yao.
That was the captain's suspicion.
He turned to the younger ninja. "Wrap up the corpses. Report everything to the Tsuchikage. Wait for ANBU to take over."
"To the rest of you—follow me. We're going after the one who flew off."
The team split up, and the captain led two others in pursuit of the "eagle."
…
Next morning.
The edge of the Sea of Storms.
Sarutobi Tenchū and Ayase flew out of the inner region, abandoning their search. They planned to head back toward the Land of Earth's coast, rest on an island, and eventually return to the smaller countries near the Land of Frost to continue tracking Li Yao.
That evening—
Ayase, using the Ink Bird's eyes, spotted Li Yao high in the sky—eight kilometers ahead.
"It's Li Yao! He's reappeared!"
The sudden excitement jolted them from their fatigue.
Tenchū, who had been resting cross-legged, sprang up. "Fly wide. Keep at least a seven-kilometer distance."
Li Yao's range of perception wasn't as far as the Ink Bird's vision—but he had precise chakra-sensing.
If they didn't act fast, and he got close, he might detect their residual chakra the way he had last time.
"Understood."
Ayase immediately turned the Ink Bird away, adjusting their path to keep pace while maintaining distance.
A short while later, Li Yao flew overhead—3,000 meters above where they had just been.
Seeing this, Tenchū—flying 7 km to Li Yao's left—sighed in relief.
At 4,000 meters, Li Yao was flying far too high to pick up lingering chakra traces.
Ayase increased their altitude to match and slightly reduced speed, positioning them precisely 7 km to his side.
Because of his range limitations, Li Yao had no idea he had once again been spotted by Konoha's ninja.
This time, it was pure bad luck—their paths had simply overlapped again.
(END CHAPTER)
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