Saved

"Ye Zi, Ye Zi, Ye Zi..."

Somewhere in the darkness, a familiar voice kept calling his name. It sounded like Ye Rui...

Hearing that voice, Ye Zi was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly looked toward it. However, his eyelids were so heavy that he could not open them no matter how hard he tried. All he saw was endless darkness.

He wanted to call out, but his lips were sealed shut. He wanted to move, but his limbs felt heavier than ten thousand jin. Then, to his despair, he discovered that the voice was growing weaker and more distant. Finally, he sank into darkness as deep as an abyss.

"Ye Zi, Ye Zi..."

Kushina held Ye Zi's blood-covered hand, tears streaming down her face. If Ye Zi had not come to save her, he would not have been so badly injured. If only she knew medical ninjutsu...

Minato's heart sank to the bottom after he carefully examined Ye Zi's condition. The joy he had felt upon discovering that Ye Zi still had a faint breath vanished in an instant.

"Although the bleeding from his wounds is slowing, his injuries are too severe. Other than getting him back to the village for treatment as soon as possible..."

At this point, Minato's expression turned sorrowful. They were already close to the border, and it was impossible to get Ye Zi back to Konoha in time for treatment. If only one of the two of them knew medical ninjutsu.

"No, that can't be. There has to be a way, right? There has to be!" Kushina's heart tightened. She looked at Minato and murmured as though her soul had left her body.

Meeting Kushina's despondent gaze, Minato bit his lip. If there was still any hope, they could only rely on one of the pursuing Konoha ninja knowing medical ninjutsu. But the chances were slim. Moreover, even if there was a medical ninja among them, saving Ye Zi's life would not be easy. In any case, they could not let any opportunity slip by.

His gaze shifted toward a large tree, and he made up his mind.

Most people in Konoha did not know that Kushina was the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Therefore, after she was abducted, the Third Hokage had not mobilized the entire village, but had instead dispatched many elites.

A ninja leaping through the forest at night twitched his ears slightly and heard the tremendous commotion coming from the southwest.

The closest person to the disturbance was a white-haired young man. The instant he heard the sound, he leaped onto the treetop. Under the bright moonlight, he saw countless leaves spiraling into the sky in the distance to the southwest, and his eyes narrowed.

Although the flashy display seemed more like a signal resembling a smoke beacon, he did not let down his guard. Maintaining his vigilance without slowing down, he hurried toward that direction.

The nearby Konoha ninja noticed the commotion one after another and all headed that way.

When the white-haired ninja arrived, the first thing he smelled was the overpowering stench of blood. Then he saw his student.

"Minato." Jiraiya called out to Minato, then looked toward Ye Zi, who was leaning against the tree trunk. His expression changed at once. Ye Zi's blood-soaked condition was truly horrific.

"Teacher."

When Minato saw that the newcomer was Jiraiya, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. Kushina was the same. Neither of them had expected the first person to arrive to be one of the Sannin—but it was not Tsunade.

Jiraiya keenly noticed the fleeting disappointment in their eyes. He gave a bitter smile and looked at Ye Zi, whose breathing was faint, his face helpless.

What kind of opponent had this child encountered?

With that thought in mind, Jiraiya examined Ye Zi's injuries. When he saw that so little blood was flowing from such a massive wound, his brow furrowed.

The phenomenon made him think of the worst possible outcome: Ye Zi had lost too much blood. He never imagined that Ye Zi's body was stopping the bleeding on its own.

Rubbing his chin, Jiraiya looked at the child before him, whose bearing resembled Orochimaru's in his youth, and sighed regretfully. "Even if Tsunade came, I'm afraid there'd be no saving him."

Those words struck Kushina and Minato like a thunderclap.

"How could this be..." Kushina's eyes trembled.

Minato turned his head away and clenched his fists. If only they had chosen to stay back then... They might not have caught up with Kushina so quickly, but at least the two of them could have killed their opponent before catching up to her.

Their sorrow did not last long before a sharp shout rang out.

"Get out of my way!"

The two of them then watched as a figure kicked Jiraiya flying. After letting out a scream, he crashed through a large tree and finally came to a stop.

"Idiot." Tsunade glanced at the Jiraiya who had flown away, ignored Minato and Kushina, and immediately began treating the gravely wounded Ye Zi.

She could sense the still-active life force within Ye Zi. The moment she arrived, she had heard Jiraiya pronounce Ye Zi dead, so she had unceremoniously kicked him away.

"Kid, don't you dare die so easily."

Tsunade's expression was solemn. She gritted her teeth slightly and focused on treating Ye Zi.

Minato and Kushina were overjoyed by Tsunade's sudden arrival, but they did not dare disturb her. They could only watch quietly from the side, with a little more hope in their hearts.

"This familiar feeling..."

Jiraiya, who had been kicked away, shook his dizzy head. After standing up, he saw Tsunade and was about to angrily curse her, but abruptly stopped when he noticed that she was treating Ye Zi.

"Can that child still be saved?" Jiraiya rubbed his head and walked over slowly. He did not know about Ye Zi's special constitution, but Tsunade did.

After a while, another person arrived.

"Orochimaru." Jiraiya looked at the newcomer, surprised that the three Sannin had gathered in such a manner.

Orochimaru leaped down from the tree and nodded at Jiraiya. He then looked toward Ye Zi, whose entire body was covered in blood, and a trace of viciousness flashed through his cold, serpentine eyes.

His gaze suddenly shifted to the corpse lying nearby. The viciousness in his eyes instantly deepened.

"Cloud ninja Jiu Xiao."

Hearing that name, Jiraiya was startled. Ye Zi had immediately seized his attention when he arrived, so he had not had time to pay much attention to the completely dead body. Now he looked over and, upon realizing it truly was Jiu Xiao, raised his brows in surprise.

"That child actually killed Jiu Xiao." Jiraiya's face was filled with astonishment.

"Hmph." Orochimaru snorted coldly, also rather surprised. He withdrew his cold, knife-sharp gaze from Jiu Xiao's corpse and turned it toward Ye Zi, whom Tsunade was treating.

Jiraiya clearly saw the flash of anger in Orochimaru's eyes. Could that cold and indifferent man actually become angry for someone?

"Teacher, is Jiu Xiao very strong?" Minato asked softly from the side.

Jiraiya nodded. "Jiu Xiao is a special Jonin from Kumogakure. He's skilled with a blade, and both his taijutsu and speed are formidable. He's extremely troublesome. Even a Jonin could be killed by him with a single slash if they let their guard down."

After speaking, Jiraiya looked at Ye Zi pensively. He did not believe that a mere Genin could deal with such a troublesome opponent. Even a genius would have found it impossible. Jiu Xiao used Lightning Release to stimulate his body's vitality, making his blade so fast that it was difficult to see with the naked eye. How, then, had Ye Zi defeated someone like that?

He looked toward Orochimaru, but the latter's expression remained cold.

Only after hearing Jiraiya's explanation did Minato realize how terrifying the opponent Ye Zi had faced was.

At that moment, Tsunade suddenly let out a sigh of relief and withdrew the hand she had pressed against Ye Zi's wound. The shimmering green light slowly faded away.

"Tsunade-sama, Ye Zi..." Kushina looked at Tsunade expectantly when the treatment ended.

"He's no longer in danger of losing his life, but he still needs to be taken back to the village for recuperation as soon as possible." Tsunade answered casually, a faint trace of puzzlement in her eyes as she glanced at the large section missing from Ye Zi's left arm.

"That's wonderful, truly wonderful..." Hearing that Ye Zi's life was no longer in danger, Kushina's tense body relaxed. She looked at Tsunade's profile, and a plan formed in her heart.