First Cooperation with Nagato (Part 2)

"So this is ninjutsu." Ye Wuji watched the Water Clone Technique performed by the Kirigakure ninja. It was truly miraculous; this was indeed a magical world. However, regarding the clone of the one called Caobu, the current Ye Wuji could not distinguish the real from the fake. He recalled the plot he had watched before, where it seemed very few people could identify a true clone. Perhaps the Byakugan could see through it, or perhaps not; Ye Wuji did not know, as the Naruto manga he had read previously never seemed to address this.

Ye Wuji busied himself with his hands while keeping a close eye on what was happening with Nagato. The current Ye Wuji was no longer the person sitting by a computer watching Naruto, able to constantly track the development of the plot and the various ninjutsu being unleashed. He was truly living in this world, so he could not just stand by and watch their progress from the sidelines.

In fact, from the moment Ye Wuji arrived and saw Nagato at a disadvantage, he remembered when he first started watching Naruto. From the moment Nagato appeared, sitting on the high tower in Amegakure, leisurely issuing missions to Kakuzu, he had felt that the leader of the Akatsuki had finally made his entrance. The scene was incredibly cool. Although he didn't know how powerful Nagato was at the time, that entrance made one feel that Nagato was formidable. Coupled with his identity, for a time, the calls for him to be the final boss of Naruto reached their peak. But as the plot progressed, one realized that Nagato was also a tragic hero, just like Yahiko, both striving to end war. Mentioning this, one could not help but recall Nagato's words when he destroyed Konoha. However, this did not stop Ye Wuji from liking the character of Nagato.

"Let the world know pain." Only by letting the world know pain could it grow through that pain and bring about peace. This was Nagato's wish. Ye Wuji did not agree with his methods, but his wish was noble. Perhaps only those with similar experiences could easily resonate; Ye Wuji had lived two lives, both as an orphan, and could better understand Nagato and his companions.

It was a pity that Nagato's life was almost entirely under the manipulation and influence of others. From the moment Uchiha Madara gave him the Rinnegan, perhaps even the death of Nagato's parents had been orchestrated by Uchiha Madara. Only in this way could the mark of hatred toward Konoha be imprinted on Nagato's young heart.

Unfortunately, plans often failed to keep up with changes. Uchiha Madara's plan was excellent, but who could have predicted that Konoha would produce a Naruto? A person capable of changing others through his own existence.

But since he had encountered Nagato and the others here, he had to do something. Although he could silently leave now—after all, according to the Naruto story, Nagato and the others could not die here—that was just a manga, after all. How much influence could it have on the real world? If, by some chance, Nagato and the others really died here, Ye Wuji would never forgive himself.

Moreover, since he had come, even if he couldn't change the world or become its savior, there were some people who truly shouldn't die. If he were powerless, that would be one thing, but if he had the ability, it was better to change the fate of a few people, if only to make up for the regrets he felt while watching Naruto back then.

Although Ye Wuji knew he was currently very weak, he could still manage to design a few traps. He took out all the dozen or so wooden kunai he had made, even taking out the one Minato had given him. Now was not the time for hiding; if he didn't fight with his life on the line, he would lose it, and keeping things would be useless.

Ye Wuji's first target was Caobu, who was currently using ninjutsu, so the few automatic kunai-launching traps were aimed at him. Not to mention anything else, the timed traps in this world were truly easy to make. In his previous life, he would have needed to coordinate various mechanisms or parts, but here, most traps only required calculating chakra.

Minato had once taught him this. For example, with a kunai-launching trap, one would set targets on several trees, put the mechanism in a triggered state, and then use chakra to block that state. After all, for inanimate objects, chakra would slowly dissipate. Once the chakra vanished, the trap would trigger. Of course, there were also those that could be fired at any time, which only required leaving one's chakra behind and triggering it when needed. However, Minato had only explained it simply, and it was only by combining it with various timing devices from his previous life that Ye Wuji had made some discoveries.

Due to the time constraints and the limited number of hidden weapons in his hands, Ye Wuji had only set up three traps, all of which required him to use chakra to trigger them. Once these were set, Caobu had already made his move.

Watching the four figures rushing toward Nagato, plus the one remaining in place, Ye Wuji was unsure which was the real body of Caobu. Since there were only three traps, he could only rely on Nagato himself now. However, this Caobu seemed to have taken some kind of forbidden drug. Usually, such things either had a time limit or could only unleash one attack before the user was finished.

By comparison, that Hétián was the most dangerous. Although he looked like he was at the end of his rope, for a guy at the Jōnin level, as long as he hadn't completely collapsed, who knew what kind of accidents might happen?

Ye Wuji's gaze was also fixed on Hétián. As for the remaining Kirigakure ninjas, although they looked like they could still walk, Ye Wuji had observed that they had no combat power left. Moreover, they were huddled together, and Ye Wuji had already aimed one of his traps at them. Ye Wuji also knew his own current ability; if he pushed all his chakra into it, he could manage at most one strike, as his body was still too young.

It's a shame I can't control those traps. I should learn Puppet Technique when I have the chance. If nothing else, I need to learn how to use those chakra threads. Learning more things is never a bad idea.

It took a long time to say, but in reality, only a moment had passed. By now, those four figures were almost upon Nagato, and from the look in Nagato's eyes, it was clear he was about to act.

But just then, all four figures suddenly dissipated, turning entirely into water. These four figures were actually all Water Clones. At this very moment, Ye Wuji heard Caobu's voice: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" As the words fell, the water from the four clones hadn't even hit the ground before it combined in the blink of an eye into a dragon shape, roaring toward the sky. Then, with a roar, it charged toward Nagato. Caobu shouted again, "Now! Senior Hétián, it's all up to you! Everything for Kirigakure!"

At this moment, a figure appeared behind the water dragon, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed the Jōnin Hétián. What surprised Ye Wuji, however, was that this Jōnin named Hétián actually dove straight into the water dragon, looking as if he intended to charge at Nagato alongside it.

Nagato, seeing the incoming water dragon and Hétián following closely behind, had no choice but to charge toward the water dragon because Konan and Yahiko were behind him. He met the impact of the water dragon with both hands. The force of the water dragon's charge looked as if it could shatter a mountain, but upon touching Nagato's hands, it slowly turned into droplets of water and fell. At this moment, Hétián was about to reach Nagato.

So that's it. Seeing this scene, Ye Wuji finally understood why Caobu had used the Water Dragon Bullet Technique at the end. It seemed they knew Nagato had the ability to absorb ninjutsu, or perhaps the ability to absorb chakra, so they had come up with this method to coordinate. Now, unless Nagato gave up on absorbing the Water Dragon Bullet, he would definitely be attacked by Hétián. And for the sake of Yahiko and Konan behind him, Nagato would never give up; otherwise, if Yahiko and Konan were hit by the Water Dragon Bullet, they would be in danger.

Additionally, in this Naruto world, Genin generally used taijutsu when fighting. Unless they had a Kekkei Genkai, very few could use offensive ninjutsu as Genin. Only upon reaching Chūnin could they use some offensive ninjutsu, but those were just simple attack and defense techniques. As for Jōnin, Ye Wuji wasn't sure about that either. He had wanted Minato to teach him some hand seals for ninjutsu so he could use them once his chakra levels increased. That was what Minato had said, though there were always exceptions. Clearly, however, Minato didn't think Ye Wuji would be that exception.

But after hearing Minato say this, Ye Wuji had dispelled some of his previous doubts. When he watched Naruto, he had always wondered why, when they could clearly finish off enemies with ninjutsu, they would start by rushing at them with kunai or swords, trading a few blows of taijutsu or martial arts, and only then start using ninjutsu. It wasn't just low-level characters; even the Sannin, Hokage, Raikage, and Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage Senju Hashirama did this.

This question was only answered as Ye Wuji gradually grew up. Low-level ninjas couldn't use ninjutsu, while high-level ninjas, like those at the Jōnin level, had to first determine intelligence. Otherwise, if you used a ninjutsu, the opponent might just happen to counter it. Furthermore, for characters at the Jōnin level, to hit the opponent with ninjutsu, one had to wait for an opportunity, otherwise, it was just a waste of chakra. And for figures like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, ordinary ninjutsu wouldn't cause any damage even if it hit, unless it was an S-rank or higher. And just like the situation earlier, you had to be able to hit them, so ninjutsu was generally only used at critical moments. However, this also depended on the situation, and the specifics were still unknown to the current Ye Wuji.

However, there was an exception in Naruto: Naruto himself. He was the only one who, regardless of the occasion, would start with Shadow Clone Technique. Even though that was an A-rank ninjutsu, he would use it whether fighting ordinary bandits or Kage-level powerhouses like Orochimaru or the masked man. He would use it all the way to the end. But then again, he had a massive amount of chakra and the Nine-Tails to provide an infinite supply. That was something others couldn't compare to. Before he transmigrated, when Ye Wuji watched Naruto, he sometimes thought Naruto was stupid, but now that he was truly in this world, every time he thought of Naruto doing that, he almost drooled. If possible, he would want to do that too. If nothing else, it was safe, wasn't it? With so many shadow clones, even if he couldn't win, he could run, and ordinary people wouldn't be able to catch him. Although Naruto never ran.

Seeing Nagato fall into danger, Ye Wuji couldn't care about anything else. If this continued, Nagato might really die. Although even if Nagato died, the impact on the Naruto world might not be too great—after all, for Uchiha Madara, it was just a matter of finding someone else to give the Rinnegan to. But for a character he liked so much, Ye Wuji could never let him die in front of him, so in an instant, Ye Wuji triggered the traps he had set earlier.