Mutual Destruction

Squeak, squeak…

Like the chirping of a thousand birds, from low to high, silk-like lightning transformed from thin threads into finger-thick strands, raging and shooting through the air around Ye Zi. Moments later, a faint smell of burning wafted through the air.

A stinging sensation all over his body made Ye Zi frown slightly. He immediately realized that the lightning, transformed from chakra, was too powerful, even burning his cells and skin. He consciously began to reduce the chakra output, and the finger-thick lightning slowly returned to its silk-like thinness, continuously stimulating his body's cells without causing damage due to excessive energy.

The smell of burning in the air made Jiu Xiao realize something. He looked at the lightning threads wrapped around Ye Zi's body, identical to his own, and his eyes were filled with shock, and nothing but shock.

Using chakra's nature transformation to turn it into lightning to stimulate cell division and thus achieve an activated body was a skill not everyone could master. Even some Cloud ninjas skilled in Lightning Release could only proficiently use such a technique, with the Raikage of Kumogakure being the most outstanding among them.

Yet, this brat from Konohagakure, after merely glancing at the general template, could immediately learn and apply it. Such a reality was too incredible, but the lingering smell of burning in the air forced Jiu Xiao to accept it.

In just about ten breaths of time, he had attempted and applied the technique, even immediately identifying and correcting errors, reaching near-perfect execution. It was terrifying.

Thinking this, Jiu Xiao's killing intent surged instantly. Such a junior was too terrifying; he would undoubtedly become a formidable enemy in the future. And now, this might be the only chance to kill him easily.

"Stimulating cell division can indeed increase speed, but it consumes a large amount of chakra. At best, he's just a kid ninja, his chakra reserves are bound to be limited. Even if a quick attack can't kill him, as long as I suppress him, his chakra will be depleted."

Jiu Xiao thought to himself. At this moment, he truly regarded Ye Zi as an opponent of equal standing and became relatively serious in all aspects.

He knew more Konoha ninjas would be arriving soon and couldn't afford to delay any longer. Jiu Xiao flashed and appeared directly in front of Ye Zi, his short sword, wrapped in lightning, thrusting straight at his face.

Ye Zi could see the blade, and his body reacted instantly, dodging the thrust with a sidestep.

Jiu Xiao seemed to have expected Ye Zi to dodge the thrust. The moment it missed, he rotated the hilt, the blade facing Ye Zi's neck, and swept across horizontally.

Before the blade arrived, its sharp wind stimulated his neck.

His peripheral vision filled with a cold glint. Ye Zi abruptly lowered his head, dodging the blade aimed at his neck. Then, with a movement of his arm, a kunai slashed directly towards Jiu Xiao's wrist. Jiu Xiao's eyes sharpened, and he quickly raised his leg, kicking away Ye Zi's wrist. He then spun, using the momentum from twisting his waist, and slashed at Ye Zi's side with his sword, seemingly intending to cleave Ye Zi in half diagonally from the shoulder.

This strike was fierce and powerful.

Ye Zi, reacting quickly, hastily adjusted his posture, retracted his arm, and used his kunai to precisely block the strike. However, the immense force transmitted from the sword instantly caused his wrist to ache.

Ye Zi frowned, realizing for the first time the difference between a kunai and a standard weapon. If he had a sword like Jiu Xiao's, even if his swordsmanship was unfamiliar and his offense weak, he could have defended well against a skilled swordsman with his excellent reaction speed and body coordination.

But now, despite blocking all of the opponent's attacks, the strain on his wrist was accumulating.

"Even if my body can keep up with my reactions, I still can't win against him?"

The unwillingness in his heart vanished in an instant. Ye Zi forcefully pushed Jiu Xiao's sword away, but as soon as the short sword was parried, it shot towards Ye Zi's face with even greater speed.

Ye Zi's expression changed. He stomped on the ground, tilted his head back, and quickly leaped backward.

Screech!

Blood splattered!

A deep wound appeared on Ye Zi's body, stretching from his chest to his abdomen.

Despite his timely reaction and evasion, he couldn't dodge this blow.

The smell of blood permeated the silent night. Ye Zi endured the pain and stumbled backward. The damage from this strike was enough to completely overwhelm him in the subsequent attacks.

"How do I win? How can I win?"

A crazed glint flashed in his eyes as Ye Zi's gaze focused on Jiu Xiao and his blood-stained short sword. Facing an enemy who completely outclassed him in every aspect, how could he possibly win?

No, there was no chance of victory, none!

The only advantage he could gain… was to use his body for a mutual destruction.

"Is this the only way… is this the only way?"

A pale smile flickered across Ye Zi's lips, the madness in his eyes intensifying. Beneath the madness lay a strong sense of unwillingness.

"I've won."

Jiu Xiao looked coldly at the deep, long gash across Ye Zi's chest and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then, his eyes trembled slightly. It was only then that he realized he had let out a small sigh of relief for a decisive blow, for a mere brat…

He tilted his head slightly and took a deep breath. With only a short sword, he had stepped over the corpses of many powerful enemies to reach this point, yet he had never felt like this before. For a fleeting moment, a fleeting palpitation passed by, as if it were an illusion.

"No matter what, I just need to kill him."

Jiu Xiao paused for a moment, his body crackling with lightning, the lightning threads on his short sword becoming even thicker.

Hiss!

A faint hissing sound echoed in the air.

Jiu Xiao vanished in an instant. The next second, he appeared before Ye Zi. It was the speed he had unleashed with all his remaining chakra. He didn't believe that the heavily injured Ye Zi could still dodge this time. However, he didn't know that this time, Ye Zi had no intention of dodging at all.

The blue electric light shone as brightly as daylight, deeply reflecting in Ye Zi's eyes, which were filled with madness. The lightning-wrapped short sword easily pierced his left chest, where his heart was.

The feeling of the blade easily penetrating his body was transmitted to his palm. Jiu Xiao was almost pressed against Ye Zi's body, a cruel smile forming on his lips.

"Go to hell."

The cold whisper slowly entered Ye Zi's ears. His expression twisted slightly, and the corner of his lips twitched.

You're the one going to hell…

Gurgle!

Jiu Xiao's face, which had been filled with pleasure, suddenly froze. The pain in his heart filled him with a moment of fear and disbelief.

Without time to ponder the questions swirling in his mind, he let out a roar and, with the remaining strength he had, kicked Ye Zi.

Ye Zi was sent flying backward. The blade that had pierced his body was pulled out, causing secondary damage. The intense pain made him cry out in mid-air. Even so, he never let go of the kunai that had slid out of Jiu Xiao's heart.

Bang!

His battered body slammed into a tree trunk, lingered for a second, and then slowly slid to the ground, leaving a thick, bright red bloodstain on the bark.

"You... how is this possible?!"

All his strength rapidly receded like a receding tide. Jiu Xiao glanced at the blood gushing from his left chest, and then, in the last moment before darkness consumed his vision, he looked at Ye Zi, who was holding a kunai, head bowed, leaning against the tree trunk.

"I... in a sure-win situation, was dragged to hell by a brat together?"

The confusion in his eyes instantly froze. His robust body crashed heavily onto the grass, and scarlet blood dyed the lush green blades within seconds.

Ye Zi lowered his head and looked forward, just in time to see the unwillingness and confusion filling Jiu Xiao's face before his death. He couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle.

"My heart isn't on the left... I won."

Blood continued to pour from his wounds. With such injuries, even with a strong physique, he would die cleanly and swiftly before long.

Even though he had won in the end, he would still have to face death.

Feeling his strength gradually fade, and the weakness that clung to his limbs like a persistent leech, he could clearly sense the despair of the cells within his body and the ebbing of his life force.

A deep sorrow appeared on Ye Zi's face...

"I don't want to die, I can't die, I can't die..."

The aura of death drew closer, as if pressing down on the surrounding air, making breathing increasingly difficult.

A frantic will to survive occupied every corner of his mind.

"Can't die, can't die, can't die...!"

Ye Zi slowly raised the blood-stained kunai, suddenly looking at his own arm, the only remaining hope flickering in his eyes.

Cut off flesh and eat it.

This was a thought born of instinct under the encroaching presence of death, a thought that was the only plank Ye Zi could cling to in the vast ocean of despair.

With his remaining strength, Ye Zi sliced off a large piece of flesh. He brought his slightly trembling face closer, and without chewing, swallowed the large piece of meat stuck to his arm. Immediately after, he lost all his strength, and darkness consumed everything.

Minato, carrying Kushina, arrived and from afar, they saw Ye Zi leaning against the tree trunk, his head suddenly tilting.

That movement instantly struck a chord in both their hearts.