Chapter 113: Sarutobi Tenchu's Resolve
"Lord Tsuchikage, look over there."
A nearby Iwagakure shinobi pointed to the lower left of the forest, where the edge of a massive wing was faintly visible.
Ōnoki turned to look and instantly narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go."
The four descended to the location of the exposed wing and saw the full form of the giant summoning eagle: grayish-brown feathers and sharp claws—exactly the eagle Li Yao had killed.
Because it was too large, the Third Raikage hadn't been able to take the body with him, leaving it behind.
"Lord Tsuchikage, this is one of the summoning beasts bred by the Daruma clan of Kumogakure," a nearby Iwa ANBU quietly remarked.
As Kumogakure's long-time enemy, the Iwagakure ANBU were familiar with the Daruma clan's summoning eagles. One glance was enough to confirm this was one of theirs.
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed further. He turned to the Iwagakure jōnin who had rescued his youngest daughter. "Iwagashi, is this the eagle the Third Raikage was riding?"
Iwagashi had been the captain of the border patrol team that first arrived in the small town where Ōnoki's daughter had been taken.
He stepped forward, carefully examined the eagle, and nodded. "Yes, Lord Tsuchikage. This was the eagle the Third Raikage and his team used."
"Then this forest…"
Ōnoki's heart sank. He knew who the Raikage had been pursuing—and it was because of that pursuit his beloved daughter had nearly died.
Had Iwagashi not happened to spot the battle between Li Yao and the Raikage through a telescope and saved the girl from the ocean, she would have perished.
"Can you sense Li Yao's chakra?"
Pulling himself back to the present, Ōnoki turned to the ANBU beside him.
So what if Li Yao had Wood Release? Ōnoki was no longer the terrified boy frozen before Madara Uchiha long ago.
Whether it was the Raikage or Li Yao—anyone who hurt his daughter would face his wrath.
"Lord Tsuchikage, we can't sense Li Yao's chakra. However, we did find traces of the Third Raikage heading in a particular direction."
An Iwa ANBU approached from the right. He had been scouting the area. He didn't recognize Li Yao's chakra signature, and since Li Yao could fly, it was hard to track him by chakra traces.
But the Raikage hadn't even bothered to hide his trail—he left a clear lightning chakra path heading toward the Sea of War.
"Pursue him," Ōnoki said immediately, rising into the air to follow the Raikage's trail.
By his logic, the Raikage must have still been chasing Li Yao. If they caught up to the Raikage, they would naturally find the one responsible—Li Yao.
At that moment...
The so-called culprit, Li Yao, had flown to a mountainous region in the Land of Earth. Finally, he could no longer suppress the pressure in his acupoint space.
He dismissed his last shadow clone and retracted the Black Iron Eagle. Landing in the mountains, he quickly found a cave, sat down, and focused entirely on controlling the acupoint chakra to seal the leaking energy from the Gate of Death.
Seven kilometers above, an Ink Bird hovered silently, watching.
"Should we really act now?"
Sarutobi Ayase looked at her husband with concern. "Maybe we should wait for Father's backup plan."
"You saw it too."
Sarutobi Tenchu turned toward her, his voice trembling as he recalled the moment an entire forest had erupted from the ground. "Li Yao's Wood Release... That monster's Wood Release... This body is only twelve years old. If we wait any longer, we won't be facing 'Li Yao'—we'll be facing the God of Shinobi."
Ayase fell silent, recalling the display in the valley.
Still, she felt acting now was too risky.
If Li Yao's soul escaped and took over another body, their plan to seal him would become nearly impossible—unless they could find him again.
But how could anyone locate a possessed Li Yao?
Even the Third Hokage had failed to uncover Li Yao's true identity before he took over Kimura Yao.
If not for Minato's unique chakra-sensing abilities, Konoha wouldn't have even noticed Kimura Yao had been possessed.
The safest move was to wait for the Hokage's contingency plan.
Trying to dissuade her husband, she added, "Maybe that power only appears when he uses a secret technique. Maybe his Wood Release isn't that strong after all."
"No, you're wrong."
Tenchu shook his head. "If he can use a secret technique to unleash that level of Wood Release, it means one day his Wood Release will reach that level permanently."
"But…"
"No 'but.' We must seal Li Yao now. Even if we fail to seal him, we have to force him to abandon this body."
Tenchu's eyes were resolute. He couldn't allow Li Yao to keep a body with such terrifying Wood Release potential.
Nor could he let the Raikage obtain it.
That was why he hadn't informed the Raikage of Li Yao's whereabouts.
The Wood Release potential of Li Yao's body was too great.
Tenchu still couldn't forget the shock of watching a two-kilometer forest erupt in seconds.
The Raikage had no idea what Li Yao truly was. He assumed Li Yao had spent years being infused with Hashirama's cells.
But as an ANBU who had been involved in the Wood Release revival program, Tenchu knew better.
Li Yao had developed such powerful Wood Release in just two or three years—that meant his body had an incredibly high compatibility with Hashirama's cells.
And it was all Danzo's fault.
Tenchu cursed that old man for slowing down his father's efforts.
Of all things, Danzo had used unweakened, pure First Hokage cell fluid in the experiment.
Now look what happened.
Li Yao's body had fused with Wood Release cells too quickly.
If they waited any longer, even the strongest contingency plan wouldn't be enough.
The First Hokage had once pacified the chaotic ninja world with Wood Release. Who could challenge him?
Against a large-scale jutsu like Deep Forest Emergence, even top-tier shinobi like the Raikage were helpless—unable to get near Li Yao.
If they waited until Li Yao developed techniques like Wood Golem or Wood Dragon…
The God of Shinobi would be reborn.
And the entire ninja world could fall.
Because at that point, no one could stop him.
Such was the terrifying potential of peak-level Wood Release—the power to sweep the world.
Sarutobi Tenchu would never allow that future to come true.
"But... Li Yao..."
Ayase understood the logic, but she still hesitated. Li Yao might have unknown tricks—they were taking a huge risk.
Yet Tenchu had already made up his mind. He was prepared to die.
(END CHAPTER)
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