The Yotsuki Clan 2

Yotsuki Hayate had stopped moving. He stood perfectly still, as if time itself had come to a halt.

A trace of weariness and sorrow showed in his eyes,

but above all, they were filled with anger and hatred for his enemy.

He had seen his three subordinates lying on the ground, no longer breathing. Though he was accustomed to life and death, it still filled Yotsuki Hayate with unbearable pain and guilt.

However, Yotsuki Hayate did not let his anger cloud his judgment. As an experienced ninja, he knew how much emotions could affect a fight. If he gave in to his anger now, he would not only fail to avenge his subordinates, but put himself in danger as well.

So he had to calm down. Yotsuki Hayate took a deep breath and steadied himself.

And with Konoha producing such bizarre Fire Style techniques and Kekkei Genkai, he had to take this intelligence back to his village.

So, at that moment, Yotsuki Hayate had already decided to leave.

Though he could not do anything to Li Yi right now, it would not be easy for Li Yi to kill him, either. He would not give Li Yi the chance.

"Not just anyone can learn Lightning Style: Chakra Mode. So, what is your relationship to the Third Raikage?" Li Yi asked calmly.

Yotsuki Hayate gave Li Yi a long look. Then pale blue light flickered over his body as he sped away into the distance.

Seeing Yotsuki Hayate take off without a word, Li Yi was momentarily taken aback. Then he chuckled. He wanted to leave? He had finally found a big fish. How could Li Yi let him get away so easily?

But after chasing for a while, Li Yi had to admit that the man was incredibly fast. With every cell in his body activated, he was simply too fast for Li Yi to catch.

But running wasn't all Li Yi could do. Flames burst from his feet, and he took off after him through the air. This made him much faster, and before long he had caught up with Yotsuki Hayate.

"Blaze Release: Great Flame Ball Technique!" Li Yi formed Hand Seals in midair, took a deep breath, and unleashed the attack.

A huge black-and-red fireball plummeted from the sky, hurtling toward Yotsuki Hayate at incredible speed.

Feeling the terrifying heat, the blue lightning around Yotsuki Hayate intensified, crackling and leaping even more fiercely.

At the last moment, Yotsuki Hayate narrowly dodged the fireball. He looked up, wariness filling his eyes. He had already thought Li Yi was troublesome, but he hadn't expected him to be able to fly, too. Ninja who could fly were always a headache.

"Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" Li Yi formed Hand Seals rapidly, and the space around them instantly plunged into darkness.

In truth, it was a Genjutsu that robbed its target of sight. Yotsuki Hayate clearly sensed something was wrong and began disrupting his own chakra to break free of it. But by then, Li Yi had already swooped down, his long blade wreathed in black-and-red flames as he slashed directly at Yotsuki Hayate.

Blue sparks burst everywhere. Brighter blue arcs of lightning flared across Yotsuki Hayate's body.

Li Yi had no choice but to retreat. After leaping back some distance, he looked at Yotsuki Hayate.

By then, Yotsuki Hayate had broken free of Li Yi's Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. His hair stood on end, and bright blue arcs of lightning coiled around his entire body. A long, charred gash marked his chest.

Yotsuki Hayate touched his chest. "You're strong. Unfortunately, my Lightning Style Armor is stronger. If that's all you've got, you won't be able to stop me."

Li Yi looked at Yotsuki Hayate. "Kumogakure's Lightning Style Armor is certainly impressive. But how long can you keep it up?"

Yotsuki Hayate scoffed and quickly ran off in another direction. He had no intention of fighting Li Yi. He had to take the information about him back to the village.

Seeing that Yotsuki Hayate was focused entirely on escaping, Li Yi felt helpless. He had thought that after developing the Mera Mera no Mi and Chakra Nature Transformation, he would be able to travel through the Shinobi World with ease. Instead, he had run into some mysterious ninja from Kumogakure—and couldn't even kill him.

That fight had revealed Li Yi's shortcomings. His ninjutsu was enough to crush most ninja, but against opponents with exceptionally strong defenses, he lacked a finishing blow.

His Blaze Release was strong, too, but he couldn't land a hit. Against fast ninja like those from Kumogakure, it was difficult to hit them with ninjutsu.

But he still had to pursue him. Li Yi took off again and chased after Yotsuki Hayate.

Yotsuki Hayate glanced overhead and kept running at full speed, wary of Li Yi attacking him from above. Sure enough, Li Yi stretched out a finger and fired a barrage of flames.

Yotsuki Hayate sensed that these flames weren't black and red, so he stopped dodging. He let them strike his body and kept running.

Li Yi lowered his hand, utterly exasperated. That guy was getting farther and farther away. If he ran into a large Kumogakure force, Li Yi would be in trouble.

He could only fly lower. Then he began forming Hand Seals with both hands. He was going to use a large-scale ninjutsu. But after this attack, he would have almost no chakra left. After that, it would be a real fight to the death.

"Blaze Release: Great Flame Destruction!" Li Yi took a deep breath, then opened his mouth and spat out a huge black-and-red fireball. With its scorching heat, it hurtled straight toward Yotsuki Hayate below.

Yotsuki Hayate thought Li Yi was using the Great Fireball Technique again. The two attacks looked so similar. So he increased the lightning surging around his body once more, sped up by another notch, and narrowly dodged the fireball again.

But this time, it was different. The moment the fireball hit the ground, it burst into a sea of flames. Black-and-red fire spread instantly from the impact point, radiating in every direction.

Yotsuki Hayate was clearly caught in it. He had never imagined that this Fire Style technique could transform like that. He had thought it was the same Great Fireball as before.

The result was clear: Yotsuki Hayate was swallowed by the flames, the black-and-red fire scorching him.

Though a layer of blue lightning covered Yotsuki Hayate's body, the flames seeped through every gap. The black-and-red fire was more than ten times stronger than ordinary flames.

Since he hadn't escaped immediately, it was no longer easy for Yotsuki Hayate to run.

Li Yi swooped down and landed on the flames, then brought his blade down in a slash. All he had to do now was keep Yotsuki Hayate tied up.

Li Yi was in his elemental form, so the flames did not harm him at all. If anything, they even gave him a boost.

Yotsuki Hayate was burned until his face twisted in agony. His body was red all over, and some parts had even turned charred black.

He tried to run, but Li Yi kept him firmly pinned down. As the flames burned hotter and hotter, the smell of roasting flesh began to rise from Yotsuki Hayate.