Different Stances Make Enemies

Before the third body had even fallen, Lie Yang had already turned around.

The blood on his short blade was scattered by lightning.

Only one Konoha ninja remained standing by the stream.

Special Jonin Kirisaki Rei.

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

But he did not retreat.

Behind him was a heavily wounded companion.

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

Corpses littered the ground.

More than a dozen Konoha ninja, from jonin to chunin—none had lasted beyond a second exchange beneath Lie Yang's blade.

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

Too fast.

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

The carefully prepared blockade, coordination, and ninjutsu meant nothing before absolute speed.

Kirisaki Rei clenched his teeth.

He was no match for him.

He had known that from the moment the battle began.

Yet he still raised his blade.

"I'll hold him back."

The wounded man beneath the tree abruptly looked up.

"Kirisaki, don't go!"

"You can't leave."

Kirisaki Rei did not look back. His eyes remained fixed on Lie Yang.

"Neither can I."

Lie Yang advanced with his blade in hand.

No Lightning Body Flicker.

No genjutsu.

He merely walked forward, one step at a time.

Yet more and more cold sweat beaded on Kirisaki Rei's forehead.

Three meters.

Two meters.

Lie Yang raised his blade.

It was a simple movement, without the slightest unnecessary flourish.

Every muscle in Kirisaki Rei's body instantly tightened.

Here it comes!

He did not attack first.

Against such speed, taking the initiative would only expose an opening. His only chance was to focus everything on receiving the first strike, then let his companion behind him seek a chance to escape.

The next instant, lightning flared.

Clang!

The two ninja blades collided head-on!

The piercing ring of metal echoed through the forest.

The earth beneath Kirisaki Rei's feet exploded, and his legs instantly sank half a foot into the ground. The force transmitted through the blade made both his arms shudder 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 held his breath, disbelief spreading across his face.

Whether chunin or jonin, those before him had either been unable to see Lie Yang draw his blade or had been paralyzed by Lightning Release upon the first clash.

No one had been able to receive this strike steadily.

Kirisaki Rei had done it!

"Go!"

Kirisaki Rei let out a furious roar.

But the wounded man did not move.

It was not that he did not want to.

Lie Yang's blade was still pressing downward.

Blue-white currents leaped wildly where the short blade met the ninja blade. Lightning-attribute chakra surged through the metal 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 further increase his strength.

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

His soles gripped the ground.

His calves tensed.

His waist and abdomen twisted.

His shoulders sank.

His elbows and wrists remained in the best position for pressing down with the blade.

All his strength twisted into one force, continuously flowing down through the short blade.

Not the slightest bit was wasted.

Nor was there any loss of balance.

This was the perfect control brought by the first stage of the Gene Lock.

Kirisaki Rei's ability to block the first strike had already proven that his swordsmanship and strength surpassed those of the earlier pursuers.

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

"Argh!"

Kirisaki Rei growled, veins bulging across both arms.

He poured all his remaining chakra into his body, forcibly raising his ninja blade 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 diverted to one side.

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

Lightning flooded further into his chakra pathways.

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

His strength was draining away.

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

One inch.

Two inches.

Three inches.

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

The wounded man beneath the tree watched with his limbs turning cold.

Kirisaki Rei was a Special Jonin.

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

Yet Lie Yang was using only one hand.

There were no complicated techniques, nor did he rely on Sharingan genjutsu.

It was simply the most direct suppression through strength!

Kirisaki Rei's knees gradually bent.

The earth beneath his feet continued to crack apart.

He raised his head and looked at Lie Yang.

That face remained calm.

There was no killing intent.

No anger.

Nor any excitement after cutting down more than a dozen Konoha ninja.

It was as though those who had fallen were not former comrades, but merely enemies blocking his path.

"Why?"

Kirisaki Rei forced the words through clenched teeth.

Lie Yang did not answer.

His blade continued to press down.

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

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

"You're already a Special Jonin in Konoha."

"The Uchiha Clan hasn't treated you unfairly either."

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

Kirisaki Rei's voice grew more 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 possible answers.

The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

Root's surveillance.

Pressure 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 rule you accept."

The short blade sank again.

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

"Not mine."

"So that means you can betray the village?"

"You pursued me under Konoha's orders. I kill you."

Lie Yang said, "Different stances make enemies."

"That is all."

Kirisaki Rei wanted to speak again, but the lightning invading 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 blade and slashed down along the side of Kirisaki Rei's neck.