Battle Two-Tails 3

At this moment, the fireball finally dissipated. Li Yi stood exactly where the flames had vanished. Takahashi's eyes widened as she stared at the unscathed Li Yi, falling into deep contemplation.

She knew that she had unleashed not only physical attacks but also ninjutsu. Yet, her opponent remained completely unharmed; it was simply absurd.

Is the Sharingan really this powerful? No, that's absolutely impossible. Could it be a Kekkei Genkai? Takahashi immediately considered this possibility.

After all, if the Sharingan were truly this formidable, Uchiha Kagami would not have died; he could have simply used the Sharingan to nullify the Third Raikage's ninjutsu and taijutsu.

Is it something similar to the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique? Takahashi had already formed a theory in her mind. Since the Hozuki Clan possessed a water-based Kekkei Genkai, this Li Yi before her must be capable of transforming into flames.

Thinking of how most of Matatabi's attacks were fire-attributed, Takahashi felt a wave of frustration. If that were the case, she couldn't inflict any damage on Li Yi, let alone kill him.

Having gathered this intelligence, Takahashi decided against continuing the stalemate. Since she couldn't kill him, she would need to find a water-style ninja to counter his fire-based abilities.

However, obtaining this information about Li Yi was already a victory in itself.

With that thought, Takahashi turned and fled.

Li Yi was stunned for a moment, then realized that the jinchuriki must have figured out his secret and chosen to retreat.

Yet, Li Yi was truly helpless at the moment; he couldn't break through her defenses, just as Takahashi couldn't do anything about him.

However, this was all part of Li Yi's plan. Originally, he had intended to leave after throwing out a few harsh words, but he hadn't expected Takahashi to run away first.

Li Yi soared into the air, grabbed Kato Taka, and followed far behind Matatabi. He refused to believe she would run all the way back to the Cloud Village base like this.

Sure enough, after running for a while, Takahashi checked her surroundings. Finding nothing unusual, she finally relaxed, sitting on a tree branch and taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Just then, Li Yi suddenly descended from the sky. The three tomoe in his eyes shifted into the shape of a Four-Point Pinwheel—the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Takahashi was startled and prepared to enter her Tailed Beast form, but she found herself unable to move. Then, in a daze, she suddenly swapped positions with Li Yi.

The original Li Yi was falling toward the ground, where he had already planted several kunai upside down, leaving only the sharp, deadly tips exposed.

At that exact moment, Li Yi and Takahashi swapped places. Takahashi appeared where Li Yi was about to land, while Li Yi appeared on the branch where she had been sitting.

This was the plan Li Yi had intended to execute. If not for the distance limitation of this ocular jutsu, it would be a divine technique. Imagine Li Yi in mid-air, swapping places with a non-flying ninja—the sight would be so beautiful that even Senju Hashirama would fall to his death.

The moment she landed, Takahashi saw the kunai on the ground and sneered in disdain. Did he think this could kill her?

Yes, she would be injured, but as long as she entered her Tailed Beast state, she would heal quickly. What difference would it make?

However, as she landed, Takahashi still chose to avoid her vital points. Despite being pierced by the kunai, she instantly entered a partial Tailed Beast state the next second and charged forward.

Li Yi had no intention of chasing her. Instead, he picked up the blood-stained kunai and went to Kato Taka. "It's up to you!"

Kato Taka signaled that it was no problem. After touching the blood, his entire body turned black and white, and he began to draw a magic circle. Once the formation was complete, he plunged a kunai into his own heart.

Li Yi watched in shock. What a ruthless man. No wonder he can achieve an immortal body.

Takahashi, still running, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, where a bloody hole had appeared. Then, she slowly slipped out of her Tailed Beast state, her face filled with horror.

When? She had no idea when her heart had been pierced. This was completely beyond her comprehension.

She thought of Li Yi. Was it that Sharingan? There was no way to know; she had already been hit by that ocular jutsu earlier when she was inexplicably swapped. Unfortunately, she would never be able to pass this intelligence back.

Li Yi followed the direction of Takahashi's flight and soon found her collapsed on the ground. He walked over to check; she had indeed stopped breathing. The Matatabi inside her had likely died as well, for when a jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast dies with them—though it would eventually be reborn after some time.

Li Yi took out Ryujin Jakka to test if it could absorb souls now.

There was no reaction. Just as Li Yi was about to give up, a thick, glowing ribbon of spirit energy drifted out from the void. It was extraordinary, covered in blue-black spots, and most importantly, it was the thickest one Li Yi had ever seen.

"This must be Matatabi's! Hmph, blood like this shouldn't be left out in the open," Li Yi muttered. There was no helping it; look at how absurdly she had died.

He took out a sealing scroll, sealed Takahashi's body inside, and turned back.

At this moment, Kato Taka was lying inside his formation.

Li Yi didn't disturb him. After waiting a while, Kato Taka emerged, returning to his original color. "Is it done?"

Li Yi nodded. He hadn't had a complete corpse before, but this time he had the jinchuriki of the Two-Tails. Perhaps bringing her back would yield some valuable intelligence.

However, Li Yi suddenly paused. To whom should he give the body? Danzo? If he did, the village would certainly examine Takahashi's memories, and then they would discover his abilities. There was no way; the Konoha of the future was too corrupt and dark. There was no need to expose all his trump cards.

Likewise, he couldn't let the people of the Cloud Village find the body. After all, every village had its own secret arts. It seemed he hadn't been cautious enough before; he should have destroyed all the bodies.

With this in mind, Li Yi stopped thinking about returning to the village. He only needed to leave a signal so that Konoha's ninjas would know he had killed the Cloud Village's Two-Tails jinchuriki.

For the next few days, Li Yi wandered the border of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Moon with Kato Taka.

When the Cloud Village didn't see their jinchuriki return, they knew something had gone wrong.

When the Third Raikage found out, he was absolutely livid. She was a jinchuriki, not some stray dog! How could she have disappeared without a trace?

She was truly gone—neither seen alive nor found dead.

"Li Yi, has he grown to this extent?" The Third Raikage fell silent. Such a person operating in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Moon had caused the Cloud Village massive losses.

At this moment, the Third Raikage considered taking action himself. If he let this continue, he felt that Li Yi would inevitably become a grave threat.