Stay

Once the smoke from the explosion cleared, all that remained was a stretch of scorched earth.

Had the ambush failed?

Tsuchiya Sanzo coldly stared at the vast courtyard, raising an arm to signal the surrounding ninja to stay alert. His nose twitched slightly, and he faintly caught the mixed scents of charred earth and blood. A cold glint immediately flashed through his eyes.

"Attack!"

With that command, he had no intention of giving Orochimaru and the others any chance to catch their breath.

At his order, numerous enemy ninja turned into streaks of black shadow in the night and vaulted over the high wall.

On the street outside the wall, Bei Xingye clutched his mangled right leg, his face twisted with pain. Just as Kushina thought of treating him, she saw the enemy ninja leaping down from the wall, and her expression changed at once.

In this planned ambush, Ye Zi, Kushina, Kotoha, and Orochimaru had relied on their reactions to evade it. Bei Xingye and Miki, however, had not been so lucky. Both had suffered devastating injuries to their legs. It had nothing to do with their physical abilities—only that their reactions had not been fast enough.

Orochimaru swept his cold gaze over the pursuing enemies and immediately realized that their ambush might have been prompted by leaked intelligence. But there was no time to think too much. He glanced at Miki and Bei Xingye, who had lost the ability to move, and furrowed his brow deeply.

This was the worst possible situation for an assassination mission deep in enemy territory: they were surrounded, and some of their teammates were injured. Generally speaking, abandoning the wounded and leaving was the best choice. At this moment, he had the same thought.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The pursuing enemies immediately spotted the injured Miki and Bei Xingye and threw Kunai at them without the slightest hesitation.

"Stay together."

Orochimaru barked the order and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

A thick Earth Wall burst through the stone pavement and rose from the ground. In an instant, it formed a semicircular barrier that enclosed Ye Zi and the others. Numerous hidden weapons struck the wall with a series of metallic clangs.

"Go! Leave us behind." Miki gritted his teeth as he looked at them. They had truly been done in this time. The enemy clearly knew of their existence and had prepared an unexpected ambush. Yomi Marsh combined with Explosive Tags—the purpose had not been to kill them, but to cripple their legs. The enemy had succeeded, so he was already prepared to stay behind.

Bei Xingye, whose head was covered in cold sweat from the pain, trembled slightly at those words. He lowered his head to hide the flash of panic in his eyes. He did not want to stay, because staying meant death. His mouth opened and closed, but only soundless movements emerged.

The moment he spoke, he might implicate the others as well.

He did not possess Miki's decisive resolve, and he was terrified of death. But because he did not want to implicate the others, the words remained stuck in his throat.

Bei Xingye's silence and Miki's initiative formed a stark contrast.

However...

"No!" Kushina and Kotoha shouted in unison.

Kotoha could never abandon her father, and Kushina could never abandon Bei Xingye.

Orochimaru stared at the Earth Wall and said coldly, "Do you want to stay behind and die together?"

The moment he finished speaking, the Earth Wall protecting them suddenly let out a thunderous boom. After shaking violently, it split cleanly in two.

Orochimaru's pupils narrowed slightly. Looking at the Stone ninja leading the group directly ahead, he said indifferently, "Tsuchiya Sanzo."

"Orochimaru." Tsuchiya Sanzo looked at him coldly, then at the injured Miki and Bei Xingye. The corners of his mouth lifted as he said icily, "I have no confidence in keeping you here, but they are dead for sure."

Orochimaru fell silent. If Tsuchiya Sanzo had not been among the enemies, perhaps he could still have fought his way out. But after seeing Tsuchiya Sanzo, he felt that their chances were slim.

The intersections on both sides of the street were now packed with soldiers holding weapons, while numerous ninja had gathered atop the wall ahead and the rooftops behind them. At this moment, they were like turtles trapped in a jar.

Bzzzt...

A sound like a sparrow's cry suddenly rang out in the deep night.

Ye Zi, lightning surging all over his body, silently drew the blade hanging from his waist and pointed it ahead. "Stay or go?"

He was asking Orochimaru.

If Orochimaru said to go, then they had to go, because staying meant death.

If Orochimaru said to stay, then they would stay, because they might not necessarily die.

If they could only leave, Ye Zi would abandon Bei Xingye without hesitation. He would feel guilty, but compared with death, guilt was merely an empty hole missing a corner. It had never mattered much to him.

Orochimaru did not want the mission to fail either. He glanced at Ye Zi, his thoughts turning as he said hoarsely, "Stay. Kushina and Kotoha, stay behind to protect them. I'll hold off Tsuchiya Sanzo. Ye Zi, assassinate Haihara."

After a pause, he continued, "Don't force yourself."

A trace of hesitation passed through Ye Zi's eyes, but it quickly vanished. He tightened his grip on Raiya, and his figure became like lightning in the night sky, piercing through the darkness as he charged inside the wall.

"Don't even think about it!" Tsuchiya Sanzo's eyes widened. Just as he was about to stop Ye Zi, he saw Orochimaru bite his thumb, and his expression immediately changed. He ordered the other ninja to stop Ye Zi, then bit his own thumb as well.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Two voices rang out one after the other.

A huge cloud of white smoke suddenly erupted on the street. Two enormous black shadows loomed indistinctly within it.

Whoosh!

A fierce gust easily dispersed the white smoke. The remaining force nearly blew out the torches around them. It had been caused by a giant snake whipping its tail.

That was Orochimaru's summoned beast—Manda.

On the other side, Tsuchiya Sanzo's summoned beast was a gigantic lizard covered in rocky growths.

The two men stood atop the heads of their respective summoned beasts, standing out like cranes among chickens.

The soldiers holding weapons on both sides of the street stared at the two enormous monsters, too terrified to move.

"Orochimaru, it looks like you're in a very bad situation." Manda's cold eyes swept across the scene as he greedily flicked his forked tongue. He said coldly, "Don't forget our agreement. This time, I want double."

Orochimaru said indifferently, "If you have what it takes."

"Tch." Manda snorted coldly and looked toward the giant lizard.

Neither side attacked immediately. The summoned beasts were enormous, and any movement would be like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting. It would be easy to injure their own allies by mistake.

Standing atop the lizard's head with his arms folded, Tsuchiya Sanzo watched Orochimaru coldly and said in a frigid voice, "Haihara still has three of my students protecting him. Are you sending that brat in alone to die?"

"Heh heh..."

The corner of his eye fixed on Ye Zi charging inside the wall, Orochimaru said with anticipation, "Wait and see."

"Earth Style: Rock Tomb!"

Just as Ye Zi charged inside the wall, a cold shout rang out. The ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.

Ye Zi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately leaped into the air. With a boom, several stone walls burst from the ground where he had been standing and tightly intertwined. If his reaction had been even a moment slower, he would already have been crushed into minced meat by the rocks.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

While Ye Zi was still in midair, the Stone ninja who had received Tsuchiya Sanzo's order rushed over one after another. Seeing Ye Zi leap into the air to avoid the Rock Tomb, they immediately attacked him without hesitation.

Seven or eight dragon heads formed from earth and mud tore through the air and snapped at Ye Zi.

Ye Zi sheathed his blade with one hand and calmly formed hand seals.

Boom!

The earth dragons bit down on Ye Zi in unison, erupting into a shower of mud in midair.

"Did we get him?" Several ninja who had launched the Earth Dragon attack stared fixedly at the mud raining through the air. The moment they finished speaking, a buzzing sound rang beside their ears.

"Careful!"

One ninja saw lightning raging at the corner of his eye. He only had time to shout a warning before Ye Zi cut his throat in a spray of blood.

After killing one enemy with a single slash, lightning seemed to leap through Ye Zi's eyes. Once he got into close combat, it became his domain.

"Spread out." After witnessing Ye Zi's terrifying speed, the leading ninja gave the correct order. But almost in the next instant, Ye Zi flashed before him.

"You..." The ninja's eyes widened in terror.

Ye Zi expressionlessly drove Raiya into his heart.

Only before he died did the ninja realize that this youth was incredibly strong—so strong that they had no way to deal with him.