Perilous Situation

In Year 29 of Konoha, Ye Zi was discovered by Orochimaru in an uninhabited village in the Land of Water and brought back to Konoha. That same year, Ye Zi entered Konoha's Ninja Academy.

In Year 32 of Konoha, Ye Zi graduated from the Ninja Academy and became Orochimaru's student.

In Year 33 of Konoha, tonight, Ye Zi, who had followed Orochimaru on numerous B-rank missions, encountered the strongest enemy he had ever faced. Life was distant; death was near.

The night was deep and still. The cry of an owl approached from afar, resembling the plaintive shriek of a woman and tugging at the heartstrings.

Under the moonlight, the forest was dim, but bright enough to reveal a sliver of sharpness descending from the sky, appearing and vanishing in an instant.

Clang!

The violent clash of metal rang throughout the forest.

Sparks flew. A glimmer flashed in Ye Zi's pitch-black eyes. Though the hand gripping his Kunai trembled slightly, it stood firm as a rock and yielded not an inch. If he retreated, that gleaming blade would mercilessly slice open his throat.

"You can see my blade. Very good, but it's still not enough."

Deep in Jiu Xiao's eyes lurked an unknown wariness, yet he seemed intoxicated by the thrill of soon killing a genius. While constantly suppressing his strength, he would always say a few words after Ye Zi blocked his blade, completely unlike his usual cold demeanor.

In response to every word Jiu Xiao spoke, Ye Zi remained silent—or rather, he had no strength left to speak. As Jiu Xiao had said, he could see Jiu Xiao's blade moving like thunder and could even see the trajectory of its descent from the air. However, years of grueling training had only made his physical abilities far superior to those of his peers. He still could not match a grown man who likewise relied primarily on physical strength.

Thus, even though Ye Zi could see Jiu Xiao's attacks, his body could not support a counterattack. He could only struggle to withstand Jiu Xiao's overwhelming strength and thunderous speed.

He had thought that victory was not entirely impossible, only highly unlikely.

Yet from the moment they crossed blades, he realized how naive he had been.

His physical abilities, which he prided himself on, were being crushed by his opponent. His rather impressive Chakra control was completely useless. Faced with the enemy's unceasing assault, he could not even use a technique. He could only rely on his Kunai to block Jiu Xiao's blade again and again. Instead, the eyes he had never paid much attention to had become the key to saving his life.

Clang, clang, clang...

Sparks flashed from time to time in the dim forest.

"This brat!"

Watching his repeatedly cunning and vicious attacks get defused by Ye Zi, the wariness deep in Jiu Xiao's eyes suddenly surfaced. Although he considered Ye Zi a rare genius, the difference in their strength had caused him to underestimate Ye Zi slightly. He had not used his full strength at the beginning. Though he could still suppress Ye Zi until he suffered terribly, he had been unable to injure him effectively.

After their blades clashed again, Jiu Xiao used his endless strength to suppress Ye Zi. Staring intently at his opponent, he slightly furrowed his brow and said coldly, "I still underestimated you."

Suddenly, under Ye Zi's astonished gaze, flickering arcs of lightning appeared all over Jiu Xiao's body.

He withdrew his blade, then swung it!

As the lightning flashed, the blade concealed a cold, murderous intent.

Ye Zi's pupils contracted sharply. He instantly sensed that Jiu Xiao's speed had increased dramatically.

"Die, brat!"

The short blade, likewise flickering with arcs of lightning, pierced through the Kunai's defense and stabbed straight at Ye Zi's throat.

In his field of vision, there seemed to be nothing but dancing lightning. A familiar sensation, etched deep into his soul, swept through his entire body in an instant.

When had he encountered this unbearable sensation?

Time seemed to stop at that moment. The only other time—the one time—he had experienced death had brought this same unbearable feeling.

"No!!!"

The Kunai could not block the suddenly accelerated blade in time, but there was still some distance between the blade and his body. It was enough for him to react.

Pssh!

At the critical moment, Ye Zi shifted a short distance to the right. Jiu Xiao's certain-to-hit strike only pierced through Ye Zi's collarbone.

Enduring the pain, Ye Zi threw the Kunai in his hand at Jiu Xiao while kicking toward his abdomen.

Jiu Xiao had not expected Ye Zi to react at such a critical moment and evade the fatal strike. Before he could even be surprised, he saw the Kunai flying toward his face. He did not choose to withdraw the blade in his hand. Knowing how sharp it was, he intended to turn the hilt and sever the bone, then slice off Ye Zi's head. So he merely tilted his head to evade the Kunai, then twisted his wrist, preparing to take Ye Zi's head with one slash. Before he could carry it out, however, he felt a force strike his abdomen.

Boom!

Jiu Xiao was sent flying by Ye Zi's kick, the blade that had pierced Ye Zi's collarbone flying away with him.

Ye Zi clutched the wound that would not stop bleeding. His eyes became terrifyingly fierce, like those of a lone wolf that had starved for a long time and finally spotted food.

"Lightning... Lightning Release...!"

Reflected in his cold, ruthless eyes was Jiu Xiao, lying on the ground while arcs of lightning still coiled around his body.

"Can it be used like this...?"

Along with his low murmur, Ye Zi slowly lowered his head. As a thought arose, he seemed to be able to clearly feel every cell in his body leaping.

"So that's how it can be used..."

Jiu Xiao rose quickly from the ground, his face filled with cold intent. Although he had failed to kill Ye Zi with one strike, with his collarbone pierced, Ye Zi certainly could not withstand his next attack.

Thinking of this, a killing intent flashed through Jiu Xiao's eyes. He looked toward Ye Zi, who had lowered his head, but his cold expression suddenly froze.

"Wh-what?!!"

He saw an unbelievable sight.

The brat whose collarbone he had pierced was actually surrounded by lightning!

Zzzzz...

The sound was so faint it could barely be heard, yet now it rang beside his ears like spring thunder.

"How is this possible?!"

After forcing out those words with difficulty, Jiu Xiao's face was filled with disbelief.