The Late-Blooming "Protagonist"

Bang!

The arm guard caved in on the spot.

The Root captain staggered back, his chest tightening.

The gap in strength was too great.

His speed was completely suppressed as well.

Even more terrifying was Lie Yang's skill.

Every one of Lie Yang's attacks landed at the weakest point of his exertion. No matter how he changed his moves, his opponent seemed to see through everything in advance, always using the fewest movements to shut down any follow-up counterattack.

It wasn't just the Sharingan!

The Sharingan could see movements, but it could not conjure combat instincts of this level out of thin air.

The Root captain deliberately exposed an opening, leaving his entire left side unguarded.

Lie Yang thrust his blade forward.

Just as the blade was about to touch his ribs, the Root captain suddenly dropped low. Steel wire hidden in his sleeve snapped out instantly, winding toward Lie Yang's sword wrist.

On the other side of the mist, the two members who had long been prepared formed hand seals at the same time.

If Lie Yang continued his attack, the wire would restrict his wrist.

The two members' ninjutsu would arrive in the next instant.

This was Root's most commonly used baiting tactic.

One person willingly took an injury while the others delivered the killing blow!

Yet the short blade in Lie Yang's hand suddenly stopped.

Its edge was only half an inch from the Root captain's ribs.

The steel wire brushed past his wrist and missed.

"Your coordination is far too familiar."

Lie Yang's voice was calm.

"You deliberately expose an opening and let your comrades finish the attack."

"Root keeps using the same old tricks."

A chill ran through the Root captain's entire body.

In the next moment, Lie Yang had already completed his hand seals with his left hand.

Only two seals.

The Root captain did not even see the seals clearly before violent tremors came from beneath his feet.

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears!"

Squelch!

A sharp stone pillar erupted from the ground, instantly piercing through his waist.

The Root captain's body stiffened.

Blood flowed down the stone pillar.

He lowered his head to look at the rock protruding from his abdomen. Behind his mask, his eyes were still filled with incomprehensible shock.

After Water Style came Earth Style.

One-handed seals.

Simplified hand seals.

The ninjutsu had activated so quickly that it left no time to evade.

All their intelligence had been wrong.

"So... you already..."

"That's right."

Lie Yang pulled back his short blade.

"From the moment you deliberately retreated, I knew you were luring me in."

The Root captain's lips moved, but no more sound came out.

His head drooped.

His body remained nailed in place by the stone pillar.

Silence returned to the thick mist.

A moment later, a Root ninja appeared behind Lie Yang.

He first glanced at the captain who had already stopped breathing. He did not act rashly, nor did his comrade's death cloud his judgment.

"The captain was only a Shadow Clone."

A companion's voice came from the other side.

"The enemy did not disperse immediately, nor did he seize the chance to attack."

The third man had already circled around to Lie Yang's rear flank.

"Confirm the original body."

The three did not doubt the fallen Lie Yang.

During their earlier clash, the unblindfolded Lie Yang had used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique before personally closing in to kill the captain.

By normal judgment, the one responsible for fighting was more likely to be the original body.

As for the one who had remained blindfolded and unmoving, he was the Shadow Clone left in the rear to confuse them.

One Root member silently approached.

His kunai pressed against Lie Yang's neck.

"Don't move."

The sharp blade bit into flesh, cutting a small wound.

Blood ran down his neck and into his collar.

Lie Yang did not evade.

The Root ninja increased the pressure with one hand while reaching for Lie Yang's shoulder with the other, preparing to seal off his chakra.

"Release the ninjutsu and submit to arrest."

"Are you sure I'm the original body?"

Lie Yang suddenly asked.

The man's movements paused slightly.

In the next moment, Lie Yang ignored the kunai at his throat and spun around violently.

The blade sliced through his flesh.

Blood splattered.

But his short blade pierced through the other man's chest even faster.

Pfft!

The blade's tip protruded from the Root ninja's back.

"Now you are."

Lie Yang pulled out his blade.

The corpse hit the ground with a thud.

The remaining two Root ninja's pupils shrank sharply.

He could bleed.

He had not dispersed after being injured.

This really was the original body!

"Kill him!"

The two lunged at him simultaneously from either side.

One thrust his kunai straight at Lie Yang's heart while the other blocked off his path of retreat.

Lie Yang did not dodge.

He merely watched them rush close, then suddenly gave a soft laugh.

On the body of the Lie Yang whose chest had been pierced and who had already fallen to the ground, six explosive tags abruptly appeared.

The two Root ninja froze at the same time.

"A Shadow Clone?"

"Not good!"

Boom!

All six explosive tags detonated at once.

Flames instantly swallowed the three of them.

The violent shockwave spread outward, snapping the nearby trees in unison and hurling dirt and shattered stones into the air. The two Root ninja did not even have time to retreat before their bodies were torn apart by the explosion.

White smoke burst forth amid the flames as well.

The Lie Yang responsible for close combat disappeared with it.

From beginning to end, the one who had bled, been wounded, and swung his blade to kill had still only been a Shadow Clone.

At the other end of the thick mist.

Blindfolded Lie Yang sat cross-legged on the ground, his posture unchanged.

The memories of death brought back by the Shadow Clone, along with the pain of the blade wound and explosion, flooded into his mind at once.

His breathing paused for only an instant before returning to normal.

The tempering of his mind and will by the Genetic Lock had long allowed him to calmly endure pain of this degree.

After confirming that all four pursuers were dead, Lie Yang raised a hand and formed seals.

Bang!

A new Shadow Clone appeared beside him.

The two rose and left the blast area, walking side by side toward the depths of the forest.

The Shadow Clone rolled his shoulders.

"That fight was easier than expected."

"The intelligence they had is already outdated."

"More than outdated."

Counting on his fingers, the Shadow Clone said, "The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, the Hidden Mist Technique, Earth Rising Spears, and even the one-handed seals and simplified hand seals just now—none of it is in Konoha's intelligence."

"After releasing the Genetic Lock, your understanding of ninjutsu did not disappear. Whether high-level or low-level, as long as you learn it, you can quickly grasp its core."

Lie Yang nodded.

When the Genetic Lock was opened, his brain's control over chakra was elevated to its limit.

Ninjutsu that once required multiple hand seals could now discard many unnecessary steps as long as he grasped the key points of chakra circulation.

The same applied to one-handed seals.

For ordinary ninja, using both hands to form seals was meant to keep chakra flowing steadily.

But his control over his body and chakra had already far surpassed what it once was.

One hand was enough.

The Shadow Clone continued, "More importantly, there are your chakra natures."

"Fire and Wind were only the two natures you displayed before."

"After the first stage of the Genetic Lock completely released your body's potential, all five chakra natures have awakened."

"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning."

"If Konoha still prepares its tactics according to the old intelligence, no matter how many times they come, they will only suffer losses."

Lie Yang calmly said, "Your improvement is not small either."

"Ninjutsu, chakra control, hand seal speed—I can inherit all of those."

At that, the Shadow Clone shook his head again.

"But I cannot inherit the truly powerful parts of the Genetic Lock."

"Hyper Intuition is a life instinct belonging to the original body."

"The extreme muscle output unleashed after breaking through the body's protective limits also requires real flesh and genes."

"The near-instinctive judgments in battle, the ability to detect danger in advance, and even mental resistance to genjutsu—none of those belong to ordinary ninjutsu or memories."

Lie Yang was not surprised.

A Shadow Clone was made of chakra.

It could inherit ninjutsu knowledge, combat experience, and ways of thinking, but it did not possess real genes. Naturally, it could not open the Genetic Lock.

"That is enough."

Lie Yang said, "As long as you make use of your ninjutsu and chakra advantages, you can surpass the vast majority of special jonin."

"The original body will be responsible for close combat and truly powerful enemies."

The Shadow Clone thought for a moment, then smiled. "When you put it that way, the core of the Genetic Lock before the fourth stage is actually very simple."

"It amplifies the potential of the human body and chakra to the utmost limit."

"The greatest weakness in the past was taijutsu. Now, strength, speed, reaction, and skill have all surged. The body can truly keep up with the movements the Sharingan sees."

"On the ninjutsu side, there are three additional chakra natures, along with one-handed seals and simplified hand seals."

"Overall combat strength has at least doubled."

Lie Yang did not slow his steps.

"This is only the first stage."

"Yeah, only the first stage."

The Shadow Clone turned to look at him and suddenly laughed.

"The protagonists in other people's stories are invincible at ten and steamroll the ninja world at twelve."

"You only completed your transformation at twenty."

"This cheat talent of yours is a little unworthy of a protagonist."