Initial Release

At this moment, Li Yi was unaware that the Third Raikage had already developed a murderous intent toward him and planned to personally step in to wipe him out.

Li Yi was currently with Kato Taka, ambushing a squad of Cloud Village ninja. The group consisted of only three chunin and six genin, with not a single jonin among them. Even so, Li Yi did not intend to let them go; since they had crossed paths, he certainly couldn't leave them alive.

Li Yi took care of all three chunin, while leaving the remaining genin to Kato Taka.

To deal with these genin, Kato Taka naturally didn't use any complex techniques. Relying on his immortal body, he fought with a "life-for-damage" strategy and managed to take down all six of them.

Kato Taka was covered in blood from head to toe. Li Yi sighed; if not for that immortal body, he didn't know how many times the boy would have been killed by now.

"Kato, don't even think about ninjutsu. Your chakra is limited, but you can specialize in taijutsu. As long as your taijutsu is strong enough, the chances of even Kage-level powerhouses tripping up because of you will be quite high!" Li Yi suggested.

After spending this time with Kato Taka, Li Yi had given up on him mastering ninjutsu. How should he put it? The boy was essentially the future version of Rock Lee.

Therefore, Li Yi felt it was better to focus on taijutsu. As long as he used this "life-for-damage" style, most ninja would fall for it. If his taijutsu were powerful enough, he might even be able to obtain the blood of a Kage-level fighter, which would essentially be a death sentence for that Kage.

At the same time, Li Yi had an idea: if this guy Kato Taka were to cultivate the Eight Inner Gates, would he become a god?

There was no helping it; the guy had an immortal body. The side effects of the Eight Inner Gates didn't seem to affect him much, or perhaps they did—either way, he hadn't tried it yet. However, Li Yi didn't have the training method for the Eight Inner Gates right now, so he could only focus on improving Kato Taka's taijutsu.

When night fell, Li Yi leaned against a tree branch, while Kato Taka lay on the ground, snoring away, completely oblivious to the concept of vigilance.

Suddenly, Li Yi felt as if he had entered a strange world. This world was filled with flames; even the earth itself was burning. After stepping onto this land, he faintly heard a voice.

Li Yi was stunned, then overjoyed. Was this his inner world?

No, to be precise, was it the world of his Zanpakuto?

Li Yi sat cross-legged on the ground and began to listen intently. Gradually, he finally heard the voice clearly.

"My name is: Ryujin Jakka!"

Li Yi opened his eyes. A massive surge of energy gathered within his body and eventually merged with his chakra, causing his chakra reserves to nearly double.

Looking at the long blade in his hand, a flash of surprise crossed Li Yi's eyes. Ryujin Jakka—could he finally wield it?

He had been transmigrated for so long, and Li Yi had been looking forward to using Ryujin Jakka, even calling out its name countless times, but it had been useless.

Now, he had suddenly entered the world of the Zanpakuto and heard its name.

Li Yi suspected that his Zanpakuto had absorbed the soul energy of the Two-Tails and fed it back to him, causing his soul to grow stronger day by day, which was why he could finally hear the call of the blade.

In reality, that was exactly what was happening. Every time Li Yi killed an enemy, or if there were people who had recently died nearby, he would bring his Zanpakuto close, and the blade would absorb the soul energy that hadn't yet been reaped.

Of course, it was only a sliver, not the whole thing. Powerful individuals had stronger souls, and the feedback of soul energy was greater. For instance, the Tailed Beast had provided a very strong surge of soul energy. After these days of accumulation, Li Yi's soul had finally become strong enough to truly hear the voice of his Zanpakuto.

At this moment, Li Yi felt an urge to release his Zanpakuto; he wanted to see its power.

After all, once a Zanpakuto was released, one could use its abilities, and the Shikai of Ryujin Jakka had quite a few techniques.

Take Jokaku Enjo, for example—the flames released from the blade would wrap around the enemy like giant palms. If they tried to break out from the inside, they would be pursued by flames reaching six thousand degrees!

It could be said that this move was the ultimate method for trapping enemies.

Then there was Taimatsu, and Ennetsu Jigoku!

Not to mention Ennetsu Jigoku, a move that could destroy everything within a hundred-kilometer radius—that was a village-destroying technique.

Even Taimatsu alone was already incredibly strong. The moment the blade was drawn, a tornado-like wall of fire would envelop the enemy, spinning and burning until they were reduced to ash.

This was a continuous attack technique; without powerful defenses, one simply couldn't withstand it.

Just then, Li Yi suddenly jumped down from the tree, grabbed the snoring Kato Taka, and vanished from the spot.

The moment they disappeared, the place where they had been standing was peppered with shuriken and kunai.

"What's wrong?" Kato Taka, finally catching up to the situation, asked with a jolt.

Li Yi looked ahead and saw a tall figure appearing with several ninja.

Li Yi frowned slightly. The Third Raikage—good grief, he had arrived quickly.

Beside the Third Raikage were the Raikage Guard. Although only six had come, each was at the level of an elite jonin. It was clear that this time, the Third Raikage was truly determined to put Li Yi to death.

"Li Yi, you really have some nerve. You've killed so many of my Cloud ninja, and you still dare to bring a brat along with you?" the Third Raikage, Ai, said coldly.

Li Yi immediately shot into the sky without a word, dragging Kato Taka with him and disappearing.

The Third Raikage was left stunned. Maintaining his dignity as the Raikage, he hadn't chosen to ambush them, but instead had greeted them with shuriken. He hadn't expected this guy to be able to fly.

He had just flown away like that? At that moment, the Third Raikage felt like a fool. If he had known, he wouldn't have cared about his image and would have just used a Lightning Release: Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite to kill the guy.

As a result, after finally finding his target, he had let him slip away.

"Lord Raikage, shall we pursue?" one of the Raikage Guard asked.

The Third Raikage glanced at the guard. Isn't that a stupid question? Why else would we be here if not to pursue? Just to say that one line?

He had brought sensory ninja with him this time, after all.

Unless Li Yi hid back in the Land of Fire, he was determined to kill him this time.

After flying for a while, Li Yi finally stopped and said, "I didn't expect the Third Raikage to come out personally, and with the Raikage Guard in tow. If you stay with me, you're a dead man."

Even though Kato Taka had an immortal body, those elite jonin weren't so easily fooled. They might be caught off guard and lose a few men, but the survivors would certainly analyze Kato Taka's weaknesses. Once they did, he would likely end up being captured for research.

"Was that the Third Raikage?" Kato Taka asked, shocked.

Li Yi nodded, then frowned. "They're following us. They have sensory ninja."

"You run first, I'll find you later!" Li Yi said, then flew off in the direction he had come from.

This time, if he were lucky enough to obtain the Third Raikage's blood, he might be able to kill him, though the chances were slim; after all, the man's Lightning Style: Chakra Mode was far too powerful.

Known as the strongest shield, breaking through the Raikage's defense was no easy feat.

Standing in the sky, the Raikage and his men soon arrived. Looking at Li Yi in the air, the Third Raikage furrowed his brows deeply. This was going to be difficult; if the opponent refused to come down, it would be a real nuisance.

"Lord Raikage, there's another brat who ran off in that direction!" one of the sensory ninjas whispered.

The Third Raikage nodded, not paying much mind. It was just a brat; right now, the most important thing was to kill Li Yi.

"Li Yi, do you intend to stay in the sky forever? If you do, you'll never be able to kill me! Don't you want to avenge your teacher?" The Third Raikage resorted to provocation.

As long as Li Yi descended a little, he was confident he could finish him off in one strike.

"I will take your head. You Cloud ninjas should prepare to live in fear of me forever!" Li Yi said indifferently.

The Third Raikage sneered and said, "Brat, you don't even dare to face me head-on, and you talk about living in fear of you? How laughable."

"Scorch Style: Great Fire Destruction!" Without further ado, Li Yi formed hand seals and took a deep breath, exhaling a massive fireball. It was the Great Fire Destruction, one of the strongest Fire Style techniques Li Yi knew.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" Immediately, two members of the Raikage Guard stepped forward, formed hand seals, and spat out a torrent of water to shield the group.

As for the Third Raikage, he stood with his arms crossed, not moving an inch; a single Fire Style technique could not harm him.

However, Li Yi's technique was Scorch Style, especially enhanced by chakra nature transformation and the power of the Mera Mera no Mi. This flame was not something ordinary Water Style could withstand.

Sure enough, although the Water Style performed by the two jonin was strong, it paled in comparison to the Great Fire Destruction. Moreover, the Great Fire Destruction was not like the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique; it was a fire ninjutsu that could spread.

In an instant, the black-red flames dispersed, engulfing everyone. As for the water, it had been completely evaporated into steam, creating a thick white mist that obscured everyone's vision.

At this, the Third Raikage was moved. He had assumed it was just a slightly powerful Fire Style technique, but he had never expected it to be this formidable.