Battle Two-Tails 1

The young man was completely shocked. This was a secret technique of the Jashin Sect; ordinary people knew nothing of it, and most who did were already dead. Yet, this Konoha ninja before him actually knew.

What was the strength of their lineage? It was their unpredictability. Once their intelligence was compromised, they became quite ordinary.

"You, you, how do you know?" the young man stammered. Despite his current immortality, he knew that once his secrets were exposed, it would be effortless for someone like this to dispose of him.

"Does it matter how I know? Besides, you are quite interesting. You still hold kindness for your clansmen, yet you chose to join the Jashin Sect. May I ask why?" Li Yi asked curiously.

The young man fell silent for a moment before saying, "Because I want revenge. My parents both died at the hands of the Cloud ninjas. Only by joining the Jashin Sect could I hope to take my revenge."

Li Yi nodded. It was true; for people from small nations, conventional methods were useless when seeking vengeance against the Great Hidden Villages. Such stories were all too common.

When the Great Hidden Villages went to war, they never considered the survival of smaller nations. This was precisely why Pain would later choose to come to Konoha to "carry rice."

"Then come with me. I am currently hunting Cloud ninjas," Li Yi said directly.

The young man was stunned, then hesitated. "But I am very poor in other areas. Won't I just drag you down?"

Li Yi laughed. "If the situation becomes impossible, I will have to abandon you and flee alone. I hope you won't blame me when that time comes."

The young man was taken aback, not expecting such an answer, but he quickly replied, "Fine, I won't blame you!"

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

The young man muttered the name twice—Li Yi, what a strange name—before saying, "My name is Kato Taka!"

Li Yi nodded, then his eyes widened. "You said your name is what?"

Kato Taka asked, looking confused, "Kato Taka, is something wrong?"

Li Yi chuckled. "Then, do you possess the legendary 'Hand of God' technique?"

Kato Taka looked blank. The Hand of God? What kind of technique was that? He didn't know it.

Li Yi laughed it off, not explaining, and instead said, "Kato, that is a rare surname."

Kato Taka curled his lip. "We are a branch of the nobility from the Land of Fire, just a fallen one. Even now, there are still members of the Kato clan at the Daimyo Palace in the Land of Fire!"

Li Yi nodded in realization. "Then do you need to say goodbye to your clansmen?"

Kato Taka shook his head, looking dejected. "They even wanted to beat me to death, so forget it."

Li Yi said nothing more and simply commanded, "Follow me!"

Afterward, the two traveled through the Land of Hot Water. During this time, Li Yi taught Kato Taka some basic ninjutsu. There was no helping it; Kato Taka's foundation was too poor, and Li Yi had to spare some time to instruct him.

Even though they were very discreet, they were eventually discovered by people from Kumogakure. However, those who came to hunt them down were easily slaughtered by Li Yi.

Just as Li Yi was complaining about the Cloud ninjas throwing their lives away one by one, a violent surge of chakra rushed toward him.

Li Yi was horrified. That was a Tailed Beast Bomb!

Li Yi didn't have time to think; he grabbed Kato Taka and soared into the sky. Watching the Tailed Beast Bomb whistle past, Li Yi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Damn it, if he had taken that head-on, he would have died in a very rhythmic fashion.

Only then did Li Yi have the chance to look below, where a tall woman with two tails behind her was slowly walking out.

"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki!" Li Yi frowned. The Cloud ninjas had actually deployed a Jinchuriki just to kill him. Good grief, what had he done to deserve this?

Suddenly, Li Yi glanced at Kato Taka, whom he was still holding. A member of the Jashin Sect—heh, what a coincidence. He remembered that later on, the Akatsuki's "Immortal Duo" would be the ones to capture the Two-Tails. Now, he had a weakened version of Hidan by his side.

Under normal circumstances, Li Yi would have flown away immediately. Even if it exposed the fact that he could fly, it couldn't be helped; the Two-Tails Jinchuriki looked like a perfect Jinchuriki, and she was impossible to fight.

But now, Li Yi had to try!

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

Kato Taka nodded, and Li Yi accelerated, flying into the distance. Takahashi frowned as she watched Li Yi fly away. There was no helping it; she couldn't fly, and dealing with a flying ninja was a massive headache.

Just as she prepared to return and report Li Yi's intelligence to the village, Li Yi actually flew back.

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

Wait, the brat he had with him was gone. Did he move the kid away so he could fight her one-on-one?

Was this Konoha ninja being too confident?

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Li Yi performed hand seals, took a deep breath, and spat out a massive fireball from high above, crashing it toward Takahashi.

However, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki's greatest strength was her speed. Li Yi's ninjutsu had decent power, but hitting her was incredibly difficult.

With a simple burst of speed, Takahashi dodged the Great Fireball Technique.

"Kid, do you only dare to stay in the sky?" Takahashi taunted.

After all, while she was fast, she couldn't fly. As long as he stayed in the air, there was nothing she could do.

Li Yi slowly descended and smiled. "Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the Third Raikage is truly cautious."

Before Li Yi's voice had even faded, Takahashi appeared beside him. She swept her tail out, but Li Yi had already turned into a puff of smoke.

Takahashi frowned. This Konoha ninja was truly cautious; he had only sent a Shadow Clone.

Li Yi, currently hiding in the distance, clicked his tongue in secret. That speed was too fast. Even with his Sharingan active, he had only seen a blur before his Shadow Clone was obliterated.

Getting Takahashi's blood would not be easy, especially since she had a layer of Tailed Beast Cloak protecting her body.

As he contemplated his tactics, a thought suddenly struck Li Yi. His Mangekyō Sharingan had a special ocular technique: substitution—a forced substitution.

With that thought, Li Yi had a plan. It was risky, but he had to try.

Takahashi was also on high alert. There was no choice; Yotsuki Hayate and the Storm Style user Kujokawa had both died at Li Yi's hands. This proved that Li Yi's strength was definitely not simple.

Furthermore, Takahashi believed that Li Yi definitely wanted to kill her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have returned after flying away. Coming back would have been a completely pointless gesture.