All that could be heard was a flurry of whooshes—the sound of kunai cutting through the air. Most of them were aimed at Caobu, who was performing the ninjutsu, while a few were aimed at his subordinates. The last two, thrown by Ye Wuji, were aimed at Hétián, who was charging toward Nagato.
After throwing the kunai, Ye Wuji had no time to see whether they had hit their targets. He pushed off a branch and lunged straight at Hétián. The kunai in his hand glinted with a black light; it was the result of pouring as much chakra into it as he could. Now he could only hope Nagato would create an opening for him to hit Hétián. If he did, they would win. If he didn't, Ye Wuji might lose his life here. But he had already made his move. There was no turning back.
A man had to stand up for what he believed in and refuse what he would not accept. In his previous life, Ye Wuji had been suppressed for far too long. The world around him had felt oppressive. Maybe it was because he was different for reasons beyond his control. All he had was white hair, but everyone treated him like a monster. Even the rebellious types who liked dyeing their hair all kinds of colors gave him strange looks. Sometimes, Ye Wuji had wanted to kill every last person who mocked him.
But the fact that Ye Wuji had made it this far without anything terrible happening was largely thanks to the old director. He had taught Ye Wuji how to be a decent person. When Ye Wuji was young, he had gotten into a fight with a boy who loved to make fun of him. Ye Wuji had beaten him badly enough to put him in the hospital. If someone hadn't intervened in time, Ye Wuji might have killed him. The old director had to apologize, beg people for help, and even hand over the money he had saved—possibly his funeral fund—to settle things.
Ye Wuji didn't regret the fight itself. But after seeing the old director running around, pleading with one person after another on his behalf, he began to regret it. From then on, Ye Wuji never caused trouble. Even when people picked fights with him, he never talked back or fought back. He was afraid of making more trouble for the old director.
After keeping himself bottled up for so long, Ye Wuji didn't know when he might finally snap. Even after he had crossed over to the Naruto World, he had woken up to find that the body's parents had died protecting their child. That only deepened the anger in his heart. Why could other parents risk their lives to save their children, while his own had abandoned him simply because his hair was different? Any possible reasons they might have had were the last thing on Ye Wuji's mind now.
So this strike wasn't just an attack on an enemy. It also broke a chain inside him. After this, Ye Wuji would never again be the person who compromised on everything. Even if he died, he would be the one to decide his own fate.
From where Ye Wuji stood, he could see that the two kunai he had thrown at Hétián had surprised him a little. But Hétián's figure flickered, and he dodged both of them.
Then came a chorus of screams. Hétián realized that something had gone wrong—another enemy had appeared. But with Nagato right in front of him, he couldn't decide whether to give up his attack or keep going. Then he noticed that the Water Dragon Bullet Technique seemed to be weakening. The dragon no longer had the force it had at the start, and it was slowly turning back into water and dripping away. Someone else was also charging at him from behind. The Water Dragon Bullet Technique had vanished, an enemy was rushing at him from behind, and the Rinnegan freak in front of him seemed about to change his move. Hétián decided he should get out of there first.
Nagato watched the water dragon slowly dissolve and saw a figure lunging at Hétián. He didn't know who the newcomer was or whether they were friend or foe, but he knew he had to take a chance. And if the newcomer was an enemy, there was no point in playing tricks.
Nagato was about to change his move and deal with the jōnin in front of him. He could tell the man was thinking of retreating. But the Rinnegan was still the Rinnegan. Though he had only caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, Minato had seen that the figure charging in was a child—a child even younger than him.
A child, and such a young one at that, wouldn't have much impact on the battle. If Hétián got away, it would all be over. Nagato had no choice but to take a gamble.
At last, Hétián made up his mind to retreat. The Rinnegan freak in front of him was no longer restrained, and who knew what strange tricks he might have up his sleeve? Hétián could sense the attack coming from behind, but it was just a forward-driving charge. If he dodged it, dealing with the attacker afterward would be much easier.
Just as Hétián was about to dodge to the side, he heard Nagato call out, "Shinra Tensei!" A tremendous force pulled him toward the Rinnegan freak. Realizing he couldn't get away, Hétián steeled himself and thrust his kunai at Nagato. He would gamble on who could strike first. There was a soft thud as the kunai found its mark, and Hétián was elated. He had done it! But when he looked closer, he saw that the kunai in his hand had pierced Nagato's palm. Nagato used that pierced hand to seize Hétián's, and with the pull of Shinra Tensei, Hétián couldn't move. Then Ye Wuji's kunai finally reached his back and stabbed straight into his heart.
I hit him. Ye Wuji realized what had happened and immediately let go of the kunai, then leaped backward. Sure enough, a shadow flashed past right in front of him. Even so, the gust of wind knocked him to the ground. When he got back up, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had reacted just in time; otherwise, Hétián's counterattack would have hit him. That shadow had been Hétián's leg swinging at him, and even so, the force of the kick had left his forehead aching.
"Those jōnin-level guys really are dangerous as long as they're not completely dead." Ye Wuji slowly backed away.
Meanwhile, Nagato was a few meters in front of Hétián, struggling to get back on his feet. It took a great deal of effort, but at last he managed to stand.
"Another freak..." Hétián stood where he had been. The kunai from Ye Wuji's side had pierced his body, its tip visible from the front.
"I never thought it would end like this. First I got outplayed by a freak, then another freak killed me. What a bitter end." Hétián said no more.
Ye Wuji was still on guard, ready to hear what Hétián might say next, when Nagato looked at him and said, "He's already dead." As soon as Nagato finished speaking, Hétián fell to the ground with a thump and lay still.
He's dead? Ye Wuji was completely dumbfounded. Fine, he was dead—but there hadn't been any warning at all. He'd just been talking, and then he died. Couldn't he at least finish what he was saying? Influenced by the TV shows he'd watched in his previous life, Ye Wuji had thought that whether someone was good or evil, they'd keep going until they finished speaking. Even if they were about to die, they'd at least finish their line. Anyone who died halfway through a sentence clearly wasn't cut out to be a leader.
Only after confirming that Hétián was truly dead did Ye Wuji finally drop to the ground and gasp for breath. Though he had only made one attack, it had taken every ounce of his energy and concentration. He had been able to keep going while he still wasn't sure the enemy was dead. Once he knew for certain, the fear finally caught up with him.
If Nagato hadn't helped with Shinra Tensei, and Hétián had dodged, everyone there might have died. As he caught his breath, Ye Wuji was also amazed at what he had done. He couldn't believe he had killed a jōnin in his first real fight, even if luck had played the biggest part. Still, the man had been a jōnin—and not some fake one, but a genuine jōnin from Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Nations.
When Ye Wuji started feeling a little better, he realized there might still be enemies left. He hurried to his feet and looked around, only to find that all the enemies who had been alive a moment ago had fallen. Kunai were stuck in their bodies. Caobu, who had been performing the ninjutsu, had the most—five. The others had one or two each.
Only then did Ye Wuji have time to look over at Nagato and the others. Perhaps because all the enemies were dead, Nagato was no longer paying much attention to Ye Wuji. He was tending to Yahiko and Konan's wounds. From the way he moved, he seemed to know some Medical Ninjutsu and was administering first aid.
Ye Wuji watched for a while, then went over to Hétián's body and pulled out the kunai. Blood poured from the wound, but, strangely, Ye Wuji only felt a little uneasy. He didn't feel the slightest urge to vomit.
This was the first time Ye Wuji had ever killed someone in either of his two lives. He had seen the corpses of some Mist Ninja before, but he hadn't killed them himself, so he hadn't felt much.
As for Hétián lying in front of him, Ye Wuji didn't know what to feel. But a living person had died right before his eyes—and Ye Wuji had been the one to kill him. All in all, he didn't feel happy. Yet that was precisely what made Ye Wuji understand his situation more deeply. This wasn't the world of his previous life, where people cared about laws. This was a world where people could kill freely. If he wanted to stay alive, he would have to work even harder.
Looking at Hétián's body, Ye Wuji suddenly remembered that he might be able to find some ninjutsu on him. With that thought, he prepared to search the corpse.
"Stop!" A voice rang out just as Ye Wuji was about to begin. It was Nagato. "Do you want to get yourself killed? You can't just go poking around a ninja's corpse."
Hearing that, Ye Wuji remembered that the Naruto series from his previous life had mentioned something like this. He had gotten excited and forgotten all about it.
Ye Wuji looked up toward Nagato. Three people were walking toward him. They all looked battered, and their steps were uneven and unsteady, but they were walking.
Ye Wuji couldn't help twisting his mouth to one side. That was way too fast. A moment ago, they'd looked half dead and unable to move at all, but now they were walking. Barely, sure, but they could still walk. Did all ninjas recover this quickly, or were the three founders of Akatsuki especially gifted, unlike ordinary background characters?
It wasn't until later that Ye Wuji learned it was the effect of Nagato's Medical Ninjutsu. Medical Ninjutsu could treat wounds very well. In fact, their main problem had only been blood loss. Once the wounds were treated, the bleeding stopped. After a little more Medical Ninjutsu, all that remained was to recover on their own.
"Medical Ninjutsu is really that incredible?" Ye Wuji lowered his head and thought it over. Now he understood why Tsunade had been counted among the Sannin for her Medical Ninjutsu, and why she had later become the Fifth Hokage. At the time, Ye Wuji had assumed it was mainly because Tsunade was the First Hokage's granddaughter. Now it seemed she had contributed a great deal, too. You could even say that Tsunade had built Konoha's medical system. With its medical teams, Konoha was truly powerful. No wonder Konoha could rank among the Five Great Nations despite being surrounded by enemies. The other nations couldn't afford the losses from their wars, while Konoha managed to hold on—and it was all thanks to Medical Ninjutsu.
I underestimated how important Medical Ninjutsu is. I should work harder at it from now on.
While Ye Wuji was thinking, Nagato and the other two reached him. To them, Ye Wuji looked like a child with disheveled clothes and white hair. His face was dusty, but his expression was resolute.
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