Chapter 40

The slap struck the Tailed Beast Ball, and the energy sphere, only half-formed, exploded at once.

The blast wave tore up the ground within a hundred meters.

The Nine-Tails was left half-numb by the explosion of its own Tailed Beast Ball, its head ringing.

Before it could recover, another kick struck its jaw, sending its entire body flying backward.

In midair, the man caught up to it, clasped his hands together, and slammed them viciously into the Nine-Tails' spine. Boom—

Like a cannonball, the Nine-Tails smashed into the ground, blasting out a crater dozens of meters wide.

At the bottom of the crater, the Nine-Tails lay sprawled there, every bone in its body creaking.

It struggled to rise, its four legs braced against the ground, but its body would not stop trembling.

The figure landed before it and looked down at it from above. "Not convinced?"

The Nine-Tails raised its head, its eyes filled with killing intent.

But the moment it looked up, another foot came down and stomped its head straight into the dirt. "Convinced or not, you'll just have to swallow it."

The man crouched down and patted the Nine-Tails on the head as though petting a dog. "From now on, you're my chakra battery. Behave yourself, and suffer less."

Lin Ye stared at the light screen, his pupils suddenly shrinking.

In the image, two figures were locked in combat.

They were absurdly fast.

But what truly sent a chill down his spine was one of their techniques.

That sword strike was unmistakably his own favored River-Cutting Style!

No.

Rather, it was his sword technique.

Yet the man in the image did not have his face.

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at that figure.

The man wore fitted black clothes and had a build similar to his, but his face was covered by a bronze mask.

Only a pair of eyes was visible.

Those eyes... were cold as ice.

Every thrust of his sword carried an indescribable sinister aura.

Nearby, someone whispered, "What technique is that?"

"Never seen it before..."

"It looks like... the Lin Clan's lost sword art?"

Lin Ye said nothing.

He was studying the masked man's angles when he struck.

Every sword landed in the most vicious possible spot.

He did not trade blows head-on. Instead, he specifically targeted his opponent's openings.

One strike to seal the throat.

Clean and decisive.

Another person could not help but gasp. "Isn't that too ruthless?"

Lin Ye still said nothing.

He was remembering.

He had practiced that technique.

But he had never used it in real combat.

Because the elders had said that move was too vicious and could easily harm both others and himself.

Yet the man in the image used it with effortless fluidity.

As if... he had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times.

Lin Ye's fingers slowly clenched.

The battle on the light screen continued.

The masked man suddenly changed moves and swept his sword sideways, the sword qi tearing straight through his opponent's protective true qi. Pfft—

A mouthful of blood sprayed out.

That man collapsed and did not rise again.

The entire place fell silent.

After a long while, someone finally asked in a trembling voice, "Th-this... who is that?"

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Lin Ye stared at the masked figure on the light screen, an indescribable irritation churning within him.

He kept feeling that he knew that person.

Yet he simply could not remember who it was.

The battle was over.

The image on the light screen began to fade.

But in the second before it vanished completely, the masked man suddenly turned his head.

Beneath the bronze mask, those eyes looked directly at Lin Ye.

As if... through the light screen, through time and space, he were staring right at him.

Lin Ye's entire body stiffened.

There was an emotion in that gaze that he could not understand.

Mockery.

Killing intent.

And... an inexplicable familiarity. Hiss—

Lin Ye drew in a cold breath, his mind buzzing.

Who exactly was that?

Why were his sword techniques so similar to his own?

And that final look... was it a warning?

Lin Ye stood there without moving for a long time.

The people around him were still talking over one another.

But he could not take in a single word.

All he knew was that this matter was far from simple.

Lin Ye was startled by his own thoughts.

He sat on the stone steps, his mind in complete chaos.

The scene from the light screen kept replaying before his eyes.

The man in the bronze mask, those eyes, those familiar sword techniques...

"Tch."

Lin Ye rubbed his temples.

He found himself growing more confused the longer he thought.

At first, he had come to investigate that missing person.

But as he investigated, he came across that light screen.

And in the light screen, he saw someone with sword techniques identical to his own.

What was any of this supposed to mean?

Lin Ye leaned against a pillar and closed his eyes. What exactly am I investigating?

Does that missing person have anything to do with me?

And who is that masked man?

The more he thought about it, the more his head swelled.

Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly heard someone call, "Lin Ye?"

Lin Ye opened his eyes and saw an old man in white robes standing not far away.

It was the Second Elder. "Why are you still here?" The Second Elder frowned. "Didn't I tell you to go to the library and look up information?"

Lin Ye froze for a moment.

Right.

He did have that task.

But he had been so preoccupied with the light screen that he had forgotten all about it. "I'll go right away." Lin Ye got to his feet.

The Second Elder looked him over and asked hesitantly, "Are you all right? You don't look too well."

"I'm fine." Lin Ye waved a hand. "Just a little tired."

The Second Elder did not ask further and turned to leave.

Lin Ye stood there, watching the Second Elder's retreating back, and suddenly found it a little amusing.

He really was tired.

Not physically.

Mentally.

Since he had begun cultivating, he had never encountered anything so utterly baffling.

First, there was the missing person named Zhang Mo.

Then there was that inexplicable light screen.

And inside it, there was a strange man with sword techniques identical to his own.

Now even he himself did not know what exactly he was investigating.

Lin Ye gave a bitter smile. Forget it.

I'll go check the library first.

He lifted a foot and headed out.

But after taking two steps, he stopped again.

A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind:

Could that masked man be connected to Zhang Mo's disappearance?

If he was...

Then if Lin Ye found out that man's identity, could he find Zhang Mo?

Lin Ye paused.

He suddenly felt as though his train of thought had become a little clearer.

But upon further thought, something felt wrong again.

If Zhang Mo's disappearance really was connected to that masked man...

Then why had that man left that scene behind in the light screen?

Had he deliberately let people see it?

Or had it... been recorded by accident?

The more Lin Ye thought, the worse his headache became.

In the end, he gritted his teeth. "Whatever. I'll investigate first."

He quickened his pace and headed toward the library.

The power of the Dragon Vein poured into Naruto's body like molten lava. He gritted his teeth, cold sweat covering his forehead.

The feeling was not pain. It was the swelling sensation of his entire body about to burst apart.

The chakra vortex inside him spun madly. The Nine-Tails' red aura seeped from his pores, and a layer of pale golden markings emerged across his skin. "Don't stop!"

A voice shouted from below. Naruto recognized it as the old Third Hokage's voice, aged yet carrying unquestionable authority.

But he had no strength left to answer.

The blinding pillar of light before him expanded wider and wider. The energy pouring from its fissures seemed alive as it crawled along the ground toward the surrounding stone walls.

Then, a figure suddenly appeared within the pillar of light.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, his heart abruptly tightening.

That figure's build... was exactly the same as his.

Blond hair, three whisker marks on his face, and a tattered orange jacket.

The other person raised his head, revealing the same blue eyes, except scarlet light churned within his pupils. "Who are you?"

Naruto asked through gritted teeth.

The man opposite him grinned, revealing pointed canine teeth. "I'm you."

Before his words had even faded, a Rasengan had formed in his hand. The blue-white chakra sphere buzzed, a full size larger than Naruto's own. "What kind of joke is this?!"

Naruto pushed off hard, throwing himself sideways. The Rasengan grazed his hair and blasted into the rock wall behind him, sending shattered stone flying everywhere. "Don't run. Isn't fighting yourself perfectly fair?"

The man laughed even more wildly. With a flip of both hands, he formed a Rasengan in each palm and charged forward.

Naruto's heart sank to the bottom. Not only did this guy look like him, he knew the same ninjutsu. Worse still, he did not even need to focus to form Rasengan—he could make two at once.

He had no time to think. He thrust out his right hand and formed a Rasengan of his own, charging straight at his opponent.

The moment the two spheres collided, chakra exploded, and the entire underground cavern shook.

Naruto was thrown back seven or eight meters, two black streaks ground into the floor by his shoes. His palm went numb, and the veins in his arm bulged.

The other Naruto stood firmly in place, a mocking smile still hanging on his lips. "That's all you've got?"

The guy tilted his head, and four chakra tails suddenly burst out behind him, dark crimson like burning pillars of oil.

Naruto's pupils shrank sharply.

Now this was trouble.

The ripples continued spreading, and the rocks beneath their feet began to crack.

The Third Hokage clenched his pipe between his teeth and rapidly formed hand seals. A transparent barrier rose before the ANBU ninjas behind him, and the energy overflowing from the Dragon Vein crashed against it, exploding into rings of light. "Kid, hold on. This thing can't be interrupted!"

Naruto took the Third Hokage's words to heart, but the opponent before him gave him no chance to catch his breath.

The impostor in the Four-Tails state had gone mad. Bracing himself on all fours, he let out a beastly growl. When he opened his mouth, a black-and-red chakra cannon began gathering in his throat.

Naruto's eyes hardened. Clasping his hands together, he created a Shadow Clone.

The original leaped left while the clone pounced right, both forming hand seals at the same time.

The impostor aimed the cannon at the original. With a boom, a thick beam tore through the air and blasted a three-meter-wide crater where Naruto had been standing.

Before the dust had even settled, the clone attacked from the side, a shuriken filled with the lingering force of the Rasengan stabbing toward the impostor's neck. "Clang—"

The metallic collision rang out as crisply as a struck bell.

The clone's attack hit a dark red shield and shattered to pieces. "Are you scratching an itch?"

With a sweep of his tail, the impostor viciously smacked the clone across the face. The Shadow Clone exploded into a cloud of white smoke.

Naruto adjusted his posture in midair, planted both feet against the rock wall, and kicked off hard. He shot forward like a cannonball, fist clenched, chakra wrapping around his knuckles as he drove a punch into the impostor's face.

The punch was brutal enough to knock the other man's head sideways and make him stagger back two steps.