Battle Against the Two-Tails (1)

This time, the young man was completely stunned. This was a secret technique passed down by the Jashin Sect. Ordinary people knew nothing about it, and most of those who did know were already dead. Yet this Konoha Ninja in front of him actually knew.

What made their sect strong? Their methods were bizarre. Once their secrets were exposed, they became nothing special.

"You... how do you know?" the young man stammered. He might have an Immortal Body now, but since the other man knew his secrets, taking him down would be easy.

"Does it matter how I know? Besides, you're pretty interesting. You still have some kindness left for your own people, yet you chose to join the Jashin Sect. Can I ask why?" Li Yi asked curiously.

The young man fell silent for a moment, then said, "Because I want revenge. My parents were both killed by the Cloud Ninja. Joining the Jashin Sect was the only way I could get revenge."

Li Yi nodded. That made sense. People from small countries had few ways to get revenge on a Great Ninja Village. Things like this were hardly unusual.

When the Great Ninja Villages went to war, they never considered whether the smaller countries would survive. That was also why Pain later chose to come to Konoha and carry rice.

"Then come with me. I'm hunting Cloud Ninja!" Li Yi said bluntly.

The young man froze, then hesitated. "But I'm bad at everything else. Won't I just hold you back?"

Li Yi smiled. "If things go south, I'll have no choice but to leave you behind and save myself. I hope you won't blame me when that happens."

The young man stared at him, surprised by that answer. But he quickly said, "All right. I won't blame you!"

Li Yi nodded. "My name is Li Yi. What's yours?"

The young man repeated the name to himself. Li Yi—what a strange name. Still, he said, "I'm Kato Taka!"

Li Yi nodded, then his eyes widened. "What did you say your name was?"

Kato Taka looked confused. "Kato Taka. What's wrong?"

Li Yi chuckled. "Then can you use the Divine Hand technique?"

Kato Taka looked utterly bewildered. The Divine Hand? What kind of technique was that? He couldn't use it.

Li Yi laughed it off and said nothing more. Instead, he remarked, "Kato is a rare surname."

Kato Taka pursed his lips. "We're a branch of the nobles of the Land of Fire. We've just fallen on hard times. There are still members of the Kato clan in the Daimyo Palace of the Land of Fire!"

Li Yi nodded in understanding. "Do you need to say goodbye to your clan?"

Kato Taka shook his head, looking a little dejected. "They even wanted to beat me to death. I'd rather not."

Li Yi said nothing about that. "Come with me."

After that, the two traveled through the Land of Hot Water together. Along the way, Li Yi taught Kato Taka a few basic ninjutsu techniques. Kato Taka's fundamentals were simply too poor, so Li Yi had no choice but to spend some of his time training him.

Although they kept a low profile, the two were still discovered by Kumogakure. But Li Yi easily killed every pursuer they sent after them.

Just as Li Yi was grumbling about Kumogakure sending one person after another to their deaths, a surge of violent chakra came rushing toward him.

Li Yi was horrified. A Tailed Beast Bomb!

He had no time to think. He grabbed Kato Taka and shot into the sky. As the Tailed Beast Bomb roared past, Li Yi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Damn, if that had hit him head-on, he would have been dead for sure.

Only then did Li Yi have time to look down. A tall woman with two tails behind her slowly emerged.

"The Two-Tails' Jinchuriki!" Li Yi frowned. Kumogakure had actually sent a Jinchuriki after him. Seriously, what had he done to deserve this?

Suddenly, Li Yi glanced at Kato Taka, whom he had pulled up with him. A member of the Jashin Sect... Heh, what a coincidence. If he remembered correctly, Akatsuki's Immortal Duo would later go after the Two-Tails. Now he had a weaker version of Hidan right beside him.

Normally, Li Yi would have flown straight away. There was no point worrying about exposing that he could fly. After all, the Two-Tails' Jinchuriki looked like a Perfect Jinchuriki. There was no way he could fight her.

But now, he had to give it a try!

"Kato, I'll find a way to get her blood. Once you have it, kill her. Got it?" Li Yi whispered.

Kato Taka nodded. Li Yi accelerated and flew into the distance. Takahashi watched him fly away, frowning. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't fly, and fighting a ninja who could was a real nuisance.

Just as she was about to return and report Li Yi's whereabouts to the village, he flew back.

Watching Li Yi return, Takahashi raised an eyebrow. What was he up to?

Right—the kid who'd been with him was gone. He must have moved the kid somewhere else so he could fight her.

Was this Konoha Ninja a little too confident?

"Blaze Release: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Li Yi formed Hand Seals, took a deep breath, and spat a huge fireball down at Takahashi.

But the Two-Tails' Jinchuriki excelled at speed. Li Yi's ninjutsu was powerful, but hitting her was another matter entirely.

Takahashi accelerated once and dodged Li Yi's Great Fireball Technique.

"Kid, are you only brave enough to fight from the sky?" Takahashi taunted.

After all, although she was fast, she couldn't fly. As long as he stayed up there, there was nothing she could do.

Li Yi slowly descended and smiled. "The Two-Tails' Jinchuriki. The Third Raikage really is cautious."

As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, Takahashi appeared beside him. Her tail lashed out, but Li Yi had already turned into a cloud of smoke.

Takahashi frowned. This Konoha Ninja was careful. He had only sent a Shadow Clone.

Li Yi was hiding in the distance, clicking his tongue in amazement. She was too fast. Even with his Sharingan activated, he had only caught a glimpse of her before she destroyed his Shadow Clone.

Getting Takahashi's blood would not be easy. After all, she had a layer of Tailed Beast Cloak covering her body.

As he considered his strategy, an idea suddenly struck him. His Mangekyō Sharingan had a special ocular technique: substitution, forced substitution.

With that thought, Li Yi had a plan. It was risky, but he had no choice but to try.

Takahashi was on guard too. After all, Yotsuki Hayate and Kujokawa, the wielder of Storm Style, had both died at Li Yi's hands. That was proof enough that his strength was no ordinary thing.

Takahashi also believed Li Yi wanted to kill her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come back. He could have just flown away. Coming back would have been pointless, wouldn't it?