Chapter Twenty-Five: A Display

Shen Ye silently released his Chakra Perception, yet he still could not find a trace of that guy, Jiraiya.

"Trying to leave me here as bait, he really has a good plan."

Although Shen Ye sneered at such behavior, he remained motionless on the tree trunk.

The surrounding sounds grew louder, gradually closing in on Ye Xuan.

Suddenly, two shuriken flew out from between the leaves, heading straight for Shen Ye's face.

Shen Ye let out a cold snort and twisted his body slightly; the shuriken tore through the air, grazing Shen Ye's face with a gale.

"That actually hurts. Just how much immense power is this guy using?"

Rubbing his slightly burning cheek, Shen Ye locked his gaze on a direction in the woods, able to tell that the guy was hiding behind it.

"Come out, you guy who only knows how to sneak around and pull little tricks."

"Have you already discovered me? It's just a pity the other guy ran away; otherwise, cutting down two ninjas from Konoha in a row would have been enough to go back and report the mission."

A sturdy-looking guy slowly revealed his figure, wearing an Amegakure forehead protector.

Shen Ye furrowed his brows. With Kumogakure guys appearing one after another recently, could it be that a war is about to break out between these two villages?

However, according to his knowledge of the original story, this was a time when all ninja villages were gathering strength, and no one wanted to be the first to break the rules.

"The other guy is right here. Letting you run away would be the biggest pity."

Jiraiya leaped and landed behind that guy, the two of them surrounding the Kumogakure ninja from front and back.

"We only need to stall him for a while. I have already spread the message, and reinforcements from the village will appear soon."

Shen Ye nodded; he also knew that Jiraiya's words were just for the Kumogakure ninja to hear.

In this wilderness, with Jiraiya's current abilities, he had no way to transmit messages over a distance.

The Kumogakure ninja curled his lips coldly, as if he had heard a massive joke.

He naturally understood Jiraiya's identity; as one of the Sannin, he possessed very powerful strength.

However, he was also confident in himself; even if he couldn't defeat Jiraiya, he could escape safely. As for Shen Ye, this guy didn't even take him seriously.

"Out of the greatest respect for a ninja, I would like to know your name."

"Me? I don't change my name when I walk, and I don't change my surname when I sit. I am Bu Liuye, a Chunin of Kumogakure."

Shen Ye looked at this guy with a strange expression. The name Bu Liuye left no impression in his mind; this person was never mentioned in the original story.

He was just an ordinary Chunin, yet his style was more arrogant than that of a Kage-level figure.

"Water Release, Water Bullet Technique!"

Bu Liuye moved his body rapidly to the side, while his hands formed seals, condensing the chakra within his body and gathering it bit by bit in his mouth.

Before this guy could finish the sealing motion, Shen Ye took a step forward, jumped to Bu Liuye's side, and swung his fist into his stomach.

The moving body combined with the hand seals caused Bu Liuye to lose his ability to dodge for a moment, and he took Shen Ye's fist squarely.

He had expected Shen Ye's punch to have no power, but he didn't expect a burst of Strength of a Hundred to emerge.

A mouthful of bitter water churned in Bu Liuye's mouth, and his body was pushed back a great distance.

"Well done, Shen Ye. Take his life with the next attack."

"Heh, I really underestimated you two. Even the kids from Konoha can be this fierce."

Bu Liuye wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, steadied himself against a nearby tree trunk, and stood up, his eyes showing a hint of madness.

Shen Ye frowned. The punch just now had unleashed all the power he could gather in his body, yet it hadn't caused him any damage.

"Shen Ye, take a rest. Leave the rest to me."

Jiraiya dropped down from the tree trunk, and at the same time, two shuriken appeared in his hands, heading straight for Bu Liuye's head.

Bu Liuye slapped the ground with one hand and stood straight in an extremely irregular posture.

"With just that bit of ability, you want to ambush me? Go back to the village and train for a few more years. Water Release, Water Bullet Technique!"

The ninjutsu that hadn't been finished earlier appeared in Bu Liuye's mouth, and a water pillar shot straight into the sky, with Jiraiya happening to be in the path of the water pillar.

"This guy's reaction is actually this fast?"

Caught off guard, Jiraiya hurriedly adjusted his body, but the water pillar grazed his shoulder, piercing through his clothes.

Shen Ye, who had been observing the battle between the two, flashed and appeared behind Jiraiya.

"Strength of a Hundred!"

His palm landed on Jiraiya, the force pushing Jiraiya even faster toward Bu Liuye.

With a clang, the shuriken collided; Bu Liuye was somehow holding a long blade, and sparks flew everywhere.

Shen Ye shook his head helplessly. It seemed he couldn't take this guy down in an instant; he needed a little help.

"Jiraiya, I'll help you!"

Shen Ye avoided Bu Liuye's line of sight, placed his palm gently on him, and silently recited Steal Skill in his heart.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully stealing Bu Liuye's skill: Water Release, Water Bullet Technique! Skill cooldown: 3 hours."

"Finally, a decent offensive ninjutsu. Let's see how you defend against your own technique now."

The moment Shen Ye learned the Water Release, he mastered its highest form, even increasing his hand-seal speed significantly.

With his hands simply pressed together, a water dragon materialized in the air behind Shen Ye, roaring madly toward Bu Liuye.

Bu Liuye stood frozen in place, stunned that after over a decade of practicing Water Release, he was far inferior to the child before him.

Having lived in the ninja world for so long, this was the first time he had ever witnessed a ninjutsu of this caliber.

"How is this possible? You are just a child, how could you possibly use a technique like this?"

"There is much you have yet to see. From now on, you can ponder it slowly within the cages of Konoha."

Taking advantage of Bu Liuye's shock, Shen Ye and Jiraiya lunged at him almost simultaneously, throwing two ropes that bound him tightly.

Caught off guard, Bu Liuye had no time to think; he tried to circulate the chakra within his body, only to find it completely ineffective.

The ropes binding him seemed to possess some mysterious power, blocking the connections between his pressure points and preventing the formation of chakra.

Shen Ye clapped his hands together and nodded toward Jiraiya.