Different Stances Make Enemies

The third man's corpse had yet to fall when Lie Yang turned around.

The blood on his short blade was scattered by arcs of lightning.

Only one Konoha ninja remained standing by the stream.

A Special Jōnin, Kirisaki Rei.

He gripped his ninja sword with both hands, his right leg slightly drawn back as his feet dug two deep pits into the ground. A long, narrow wound ran across his chest, blood soaking through his ninja vest, and his breathing was ragged.

Yet he did not retreat.

Behind him stood a heavily wounded companion.

The man knelt beneath a tree, his left hand pressed tightly over his abdomen while his right was covered in faint green Chakra. He could barely keep the wound from worsening.

Corpses littered the ground.

More than a dozen Konoha ninja, from Jōnin to Chunin—none had survived a second exchange beneath Lie Yang's blade.

Kirisaki Rei had watched Lie Yang break through their encirclement. He had watched that streak of lightning flash across the battlefield again and again, and he had watched familiar comrades fall one after another.

Too fast.

Ordinary ninja could not even see Lie Yang's position.

The barriers, coordination, and ninjutsu they had prepared in advance meant nothing before absolute speed.

Kirisaki Rei clenched his teeth.

He was no match for him.

He had known that from the beginning of the battle.

Yet he still raised his sword.

"I'll hold him back."

The wounded man beneath the tree suddenly looked up.

"Kirisaki, don't go!"

"You can't get away either."

Kirisaki Rei did not turn around, his gaze fixed on Lie Yang.

"Neither can I."

Lie Yang advanced with his blade in hand.

No Lightning Body Flicker.

No Genjutsu.

He simply walked forward, one step at a time.

Yet cold sweat continued to bead across Kirisaki Rei's forehead.

Three meters.

Two meters.

Lie Yang raised his blade.

A simple movement, without the slightest unnecessary variation.

Every muscle in Kirisaki Rei's body instantly tensed.

Here it comes!

He did not attack first.

Against that kind of speed, taking the initiative would only expose an opening. His only chance was to focus all his attention on receiving the first strike, then give his companion behind him a chance to escape.

In the next instant, lightning flared.

Clang!

The two ninja swords collided head-on!

The shrill ring of steel echoed through the forest.

The earth beneath Kirisaki Rei's feet exploded, and both legs sank half a foot into the ground. The force transmitted through the blade made his arms tremble violently, his wrists nearly going numb.

But he had blocked it!

Lie Yang's short blade stopped in midair.

For the first time in the entire battle, someone had truly blocked his frontal slash.

The wounded man beneath the tree caught his breath, disbelief spreading across his face.

Whether the others had been Chunin or Jōnin, they had either failed to see Lie Yang draw his blade or been paralyzed by Lightning Release during the first collision.

No one had been able to receive that strike steadily.

Kirisaki Rei had done it!

"Go!"

Kirisaki Rei roared.

Yet the wounded man did not move.

It was not that he did not want to flee.

Lie Yang's blade was still pressing downward.

Blue-white currents leaped wildly where the short blade met the ninja sword. Lightning-nature Chakra flowed through the metal and into Kirisaki Rei's arms, invading his muscles and disrupting his nerves.

Kirisaki Rei's fingers began to twitch.

His forearms gradually lost all feeling.

The two blades slowly descended toward his shoulder.

Lie Yang did not unleash any more force.

He maintained the most precise angle of exertion, driving every muscle in his body to its limit.

His feet gripped the ground.

His calves tightened.

His waist and abdomen twisted.

His shoulders sank.

His elbows and wrists remained in the ideal position for pressing down on the blade.

All his strength twisted into a single force and continued downward through the short blade.

Not a fraction was wasted.

Nor was there any loss of balance.

This was the perfect control granted by the First-Stage Gene Lock.

The fact that Kirisaki Rei could block the first strike already proved that his swordsmanship and strength far surpassed those of the previous pursuers.

But before that flawless force, it was still not enough!

"Argh!"

Kirisaki Rei let out a low roar, veins bulging across both arms.

He poured all his remaining Chakra into his body, forcibly raising his ninja sword half an inch.

Only half an inch.

The next moment, Lie Yang's wrist turned slightly.

The strength Kirisaki Rei had just gathered was immediately redirected to one side.

His body lost balance. His right foot slid back half a step, and his blade sank downward with it.

Lightning coursed deeper into his meridians.

Half of Kirisaki Rei's body began to go numb.

His strength was fading.

The ninja sword was pressed inch by inch toward his shoulder and neck.

One inch.

Two inches.

Three inches.

Kirisaki Rei gritted his teeth fiercely, blood already seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The wounded man beneath the tree felt his limbs turn cold at the sight.

Kirisaki Rei was a Special Jōnin.

In terms of close-quarters swordsmanship alone, he was even stronger than the Jōnin leading their team.

Yet Lie Yang was using only one hand.

No complicated techniques, nor any reliance on Sharingan Genjutsu.

It was simply the most direct suppression through strength!

Kirisaki Rei's knees gradually bent.

The earth beneath his feet continually cracked apart.

He looked up at Lie Yang.

That face remained calm.

There was no killing intent.

No anger.

Nor any excitement after slaughtering more than a dozen Konoha ninja.

It was as if those lying on the ground were not former comrades, but merely enemies blocking his path.

"Why?"

Kirisaki Rei forced the word through clenched teeth.

Lie Yang did not answer.

His blade continued pressing downward.

Kirisaki Rei's left arm completely lost sensation, and his fingers could no longer grip the hilt.

He could only struggle to hold on with his right hand.

"You were already a Special Jōnin in Konoha."

"The Uchiha Clan never treated you poorly, either."

"The village gave you status, missions, and resources."

Kirisaki Rei's voice grew increasingly urgent.

"Why did you defect?"

"And why did you kill these people?"

Lie Yang glanced at him.

"There was no special reason."

Kirisaki Rei froze.

He had considered many answers.

The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

Root's surveillance.

Pressure from within the clan.

Even recruitment by other ninja villages.

But he had never expected Lie Yang to give such an answer.

"No reason?"

Kirisaki Rei's eyes reddened.

"You killed so many comrades for no reason?"

“I simply refused to remain bound by Konoha's Rules.”

Lie Yang's tone was calm.

"Whether it was the Will of Fire or the clan, both demanded that I become what they wanted me to be."

"I refused."

Kirisaki Rei snapped, "Ninja belong to the village!"

“That is a Rules you accept.”

The short blade sank once more.

Its edge had already sliced open the ninja vest over Kirisaki Rei's shoulder.

"Not mine."

"So that means you can betray the village?"

"You followed Konoha's orders to hunt me down. I killed you."

Lie Yang said, "Different stances make enemies."

"That was all."

Kirisaki Rei wanted to speak again, but the lightning that had invaded his body erupted completely at that moment.

Crackle!

His right arm convulsed violently.

The last of his strength instantly collapsed.

Lie Yang's short blade pressed past the ninja sword and slashed down along the side of Kirisaki Rei's neck.