Chapter 21: Escape
Chapter 21: Escape
"Chidori."
Hayato Xuan Yue grabbed Kakashi Hatake's wrist, his eyes filled with amusement as he looked at the familiar face before him. "I've already shown a deeper transformation. What now? Is this still the extent of your abilities?"
"You..." Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise and suspicion.
But before he could question further, Hayato exerted force on his palm, sending Kakashi flying backward. Hayato then spread his arms horizontally.
The next second—
"Burning my youth! Leaf Great Gale Palm!"
Accompanied by a passionate roar, a green figure carrying an ear-piercing sonic boom delivered a powerful kick.
Boom!
The air blast rolled swiftly.
Instead of resisting forcefully, Hayato used the momentum of the kick to propel himself backward, rocketing even faster toward the outskirts of Konoha.
"I'm done playing with you."
"With the time you have left, I suggest you go check on the Hokage."
After giving this warning to the two behind him, Hayato twisted his body in mid-air, accelerated a few times, and disappeared from sight.
Might Guy wanted to give chase, but Kakashi stopped him. "The Hokage and the village take priority."
With Orochimaru's escape, they didn't know what the situation was with the Third Hokage.
The battle within the village continued to rage on.
The two of them couldn't afford to waste time on someone who was determined to leave and wouldn't be taken down easily in a short period.
Guy listened to Kakashi's words, but as he turned back, he asked, "Kakashi, do you know who that person was?"
Kakashi thought of how Hayato had spoken to him earlier, and how he had casually grabbed his wrist, dispelling the Chidori with ease. A flash of realization crossed his eyes.
As an elite jonin of Konoha, even a Hokage-level figure shouldn't have been able to dispel his signature jutsu so effortlessly.
Unless that person was even more familiar with Chidori, or the Thousand Birds, than he was. (Chidori and Thousand Birds are the same jutsu. Kakashi had once used Chidori to cut through lightning in the sky, hence the name change.)
Kakashi suddenly recalled an incident from his youth.
When he was a teenager, he had discovered that he couldn't infuse his lightning-style chakra into the Rasengan and decided to develop a new lightning-style jutsu. During this process, he had consulted his teacher, Minato, about lightning-style chakra.
Minato had mentioned that decades ago, a powerful ninja had developed a lightning-style jutsu that perfectly fit what Kakashi was looking for.
Although the jutsu itself was not passed down, there were plenty of descriptions and records about the ninja, which gave Kakashi great inspiration.
"Could it be...?"
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat as he recalled Hayato's playful smile after saying, "Showing off your skills before a master."
Facing Guy's expectant gaze, Kakashi took a deep breath and replied, "If I'm not mistaken, it's a very troublesome senior."
"That green spandex is truly blinding."
Hayato Xuan Yue, who had just encountered Kakashi and Guy, recalled the scene and his first impression was always of the man with the green bodysuit, gleaming white teeth, and watermelon hair.
Viewing from a screen didn't leave as deep an impression as facing him directly.
Hayato shook his head.
He had to admit that Might Guy and Rock Lee indeed had immense courage.
Boom! Boom!
Occasional intense battles and explosions still reverberated throughout Konoha.
Without the hindrance of Kakashi and Guy's combination, Hayato, moving with ease in the higher altitudes, discovered several familiar figures as he navigated through the village.
For instance, Choji Akimichi's giant-like body, which had been enlarged further by the Multiple Size Technique, towered over even the large summoned beasts.
With these stalwarts joining the fray, the Leaf Village's counterattack gained momentum, and the voices of the Sand and Sound ninja infiltrators grew fainter.
Especially when the news spread that Orochimaru had replaced the Fourth Kazekage.
The Sand ninja lost their sense of unity and direction.
It wouldn't be long before this meticulously planned operation, which had inflicted significant losses on the Leaf Village, ended in failure.
Withdrawing his gaze from the familiar figures, Yuyi Xuan Yue seized the opportunity to accelerate his escape.
Not far away, Jiraiya, standing on Gamaken's head, turned back to glance at Yuyi Xuan Yue, who was now just a black dot in his peripheral vision. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly, and with a flash, he disappeared, heading towards the Chunin Exam arena.
When he arrived, he found that quite a few people had already gathered there.
Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Homura Mitokado, Kurenai Yuhi, and others were present.
In the center of their circle lay the cold, motionless body of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya fell silent.
Some were in pain, while others rejoiced.
As he took that final step out of the Leaf Village, Yuyi Xuan Yue looked ahead at the boundless expanse of lush forests.
Knowing that his path forward was now unobstructed, a smirk formed on his face, and the curve of his lips gradually widened.
Finally, he couldn't contain his laughter any longer.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahaha~~~~~~"
Reflecting on the past, he was glad that he had intentionally left behind his blood and flesh during his battle with Hashirama Senju.
With the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, a technique akin to a grand dream-fulfilling stage, and his fame during his lifetime, he had no doubt that he would be summoned from the underworld.
Initially, Yuyi Xuan Yue's worst-case scenario was to be summoned during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
He never expected that Orochimaru would summon him early, right at the Chunin Exam arena.
With such a heaven-sent opportunity, how could he let it slip by?
"Next, the Leaf Village is leaderless and has no energy to spare for external affairs. Take this chance to retrieve the physical body I sealed before my death."
Yuyi Xuan Yue glanced at his palms, which were covered in cracks.
Although the Impure World Reincarnation body could be likened to a chakra perpetual motion machine, capable of effortlessly healing even fatal wounds, it still paled in comparison to his true body.
Especially since the quality of this Impure World body severely diminished his strength.
Moreover, the existence of the Impure World body was not infinite.
Yuyi Xuan Yue noticed fine grains of sand leaking from within his body, signaling the limited time he had left.
Without further delay, he set off towards his destination, guided by his memories.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dark shadow swiftly navigated through the endless sea of trees.
Along the way, Yuyi Xuan Yue faintly heard the crisp ringing of a bell.
He couldn't be bothered to pay it any mind and simply passed through.
At the same time.
Not far away, two figures dressed in black uniforms with red clouds emblazoned on them came to a halt.
One of them lifted his Wind Chime Hat, revealing a shark-like face, and grinned sinisterly as he asked,
"Itachi, should we go and take care of it?"
"No need."
The other person raised his head, and from within the prominent tear troughs, a pair of blood-red Sharingan eyes, marked with three tomoe, gazed towards the direction of the Leaf Village. His voice was indifferent as he replied,
"Let's not divert our focus."
"Our target is the Nine-Tails."
(End of Chapter)
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