Splat!
Blood sprayed out.
The blade sliced through his shoulder and neck, plunging diagonally into his chest.
Kirisaki Rei's body froze in place.
The ninja sword slipped from his hand and crashed into the dirt.
His mouth opened, and a great deal of blood poured from it. His legs could no longer support his body.
Lie Yang pulled out his blade.
The corpse crashed heavily to the ground.
The wounded man beneath the tree watched Kirisaki Rei fall silent, his hand pressed against his abdomen trembling violently.
The green medical Chakra flickered erratically.
He no longer had the strength to run.
Much less any chance of continuing to fight.
Lie Yang walked up to him.
The wounded man did not draw a kunai or attempt any hand seals.
His Chakra was nearly exhausted.
The wound in his abdomen was too deep, and his intestines and internal organs had been damaged. Had he not continuously forced his cells into activity with medical ninjutsu, he would have died long ago.
"Uchiha Lieyang."
The wounded man took several ragged breaths.
"Can you answer one question?"
Lie Yang stopped.
The ninja stared at his eyes.
"Three days ago, you kept your eyes covered."
"The intelligence said your Shadow Clone Technique fought for you, while your real body never opened its eyes."
"Why?"
This question had not only troubled Konoha's upper ranks.
None of the ninja pursuing Lie Yang could understand it.
The Sharingan was the Uchiha's greatest power.
Yet when facing his pursuers, Lie Yang had deliberately blocked off his own vision.
If his eyes were injured, then how had he just activated the Three-Tomoe Sharingan normally?
If he had been hiding his identity, his Shadow Clone Technique had already exposed the Sharingan.
No matter how they assessed it, they could not find a reasonable answer.
Lie Yang answered casually, "I just awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, so my eyes are a little uncomfortable."
The wounded man's pupils abruptly contracted.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
According to Konoha's latest intelligence, Lie Yang only possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
He opened his mouth, seemingly intending to ask more.
The short blade had already pierced his heart.
Splat!
The green medical Chakra went out with it.
The wounded man's body shuddered, and his head drooped limply.
Lie Yang withdrew the short blade and swept his gaze across the battlefield.
There were no survivors.
The seventh group of pursuers had been completely eliminated.
He stood where he was and closed his eyes.
The battle from moments earlier rapidly replayed in his mind.
From sensing the underground ambush to dodging the kunai, then consecutively killing the ninja hiding everywhere, every entry into the Gene Lock no longer required a genuine threat of death.
The rhythm of his heartbeat.
The way his mind struck at his survival instincts.
The changes between Chakra and physical energy.
He had completely mastered every detail.
Lie Yang could clearly sense that the shackles hidden deep within his genes still existed, yet they could no longer stop his consciousness.
Activate.
Deactivate.
Control it at will.
No desperate situation required.
No fear required.
And there was even less need to wait for an enemy's lethal attack.
He had completely mastered the First-Stage Gene Lock!
Lie Yang raised his right hand.
His five fingers slowly curled inward before suddenly clenching into a fist.
Thump!
His heart pounded heavily.
The muscles throughout his body abruptly tightened.
The sounds of wind, flowing water, and dripping blood all became clear at once.
The next moment, he deliberately relaxed his mind again.
The extreme calm swiftly receded.
His body did not immediately collapse.
The backlash still existed, but it was far less lethal than the first time.
Lie Yang had his answer.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof!
White smoke dispersed.
A Shadow Clone Technique appeared beside him.
"Carry me."
After saying that, Lie Yang voluntarily exited the Gene Lock.
Boom!
Intense pain instantly swept through his entire body.
The agony of torn muscle fibers erupted all at once. His limbs spasmed uncontrollably, and his heartbeat fell out of rhythm for a short time.
Lie Yang's legs gave out.
The Shadow Clone Technique had been prepared. It caught his body in one motion, turned around, and carried the original body on its back.
"It's much lighter than the first time."
"It lasted less time, and my body has adapted as well."
Lie Yang lay across the Shadow Clone Technique's back, his voice slightly strained.
He could feel the Chakra in his body rapidly flowing toward his damaged cells.
His physical energy was continuously being absorbed.
The torn muscles began to recover, while his erratic heartbeat gradually steadied under the buffering effect of Chakra.
Without Chakra, this degree of physical overexertion could still cause permanent damage.
But with a ninja's energy system, the most dangerous backlash had been greatly weakened.
The risks of using the First-Stage Gene Lock had fallen within an acceptable range.
The Shadow Clone Technique carried Lie Yang over the corpses strewn across the ground and quickly left the streamside.
Konoha.
Kakashi Hatake lay at home with a book in his hands.
He had no mission today.
Nor did he have any training scheduled.
The sunlight outside the window was just right, and occasional conversations from passersby drifted in from the street.
Kakashi turned a page.
His movement suddenly stopped.
An indescribable feeling rose from the depths of his heart.
He looked up at the window.
There was nothing unusual on the street.
There was no unfamiliar Chakra nearby, either.
Yet that feeling did not fade.
It was as though something connected to him was waiting far away.
Knock, knock, knock!
A sudden knocking sounded at the door.
"Kakashi Hatake."
A low voice came from outside.
"The Hokage has issued an emergency summons."
Kakashi closed his book, rose, and opened the door.
An ANBU ninja stood outside.
"What mission?"
"The Hokage will explain it personally."
The ANBU turned and leaped onto the roof.
Kakashi put away his book and followed.
The two quickly arrived at the Hokage Building.
When the office doors opened, quite a few people were already inside.
Might Guy stood with his arms folded across his chest, unusually silent.
Kurenai Yuhi stood by the window with a solemn expression.
A Hyūga ninja stood on the other side, his white eyes particularly striking.
Hinata Yota.
Besides the three of them, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzo were also present.
Kakashi was the last to arrive.
"Sorry, I was delayed on the way."
Might Guy looked at him.
"Kakashi, this isn't an ordinary mission."
Kurenai Yuhi lowered her voice as well.
"I heard a lot of people have already died."
Kakashi did not ask further and stepped to the front of the group.
"Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed a thick dossier to the edge of the desk.
"Everyone is here."
"I will now issue the mission."
"The target is Konoha's rogue ninja, Uchiha Lieyang."
No one in the office spoke.
Kakashi took the dossier and flipped directly to the first page.
Twenty years old.
Special Jōnin.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Since defecting, he had consecutively killed several pursuit squads.
He continued turning the pages.
Fire Release, Water Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release.
Five Chakra natures.
One-handed hand seals.
Streamlined hand seals.
Genjutsu.
Shadow Clone Technique.
Lightning Body Flicker.
Exceptional swordsmanship.
When he saw the final two entries, Kakashi slowed as he turned the page.
Lightning-nature Chakra stimulated the body, enabling extreme-speed movement far beyond ordinary Body Flicker Techniques.
The kill was completed the instant he closed in.
The attack was simple and direct, with almost no unnecessary movements.
Those few lines of description brought a long-buried memory back to the surface.
The same lightning.
The same short blade.
The same speed that left enemies without time to form hand seals.
Konoha's White Fang.
His father, Hatake Sakumo.
Kakashi stared fixedly at the battle analysis, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the paper.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him.
"You saw it."
"Yeah."
Kakashi's voice was low.
"His fighting style is very similar to Father's."
"It isn't merely similar."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Root reconstructed the course of the battle from the dead men's memories. Uchiha Lieyang's Lightning Body Flicker, swordsmanship, and combat rhythm already possess the traits White Fang had in his prime."
Might Guy put away his usual smile.
"How fast is he?"
Danzo answered coldly, "Ordinary Jōnin cannot see him clearly."
"Even if they rely on experience to block the first slash, Lightning Release will travel through their weapons and invade their bodies."
"So far, not a single person who fought him at close range has survived."
Kurenai looked over the documents.
"With a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and that kind of speed, ordinary shinobi truly have no way to deal with him."
Hinata Yota asked, "What about Shadow Clones?"
"His Shadow Clones possess the ability to kill Jōnin independently."
Danzo said, "The original body has mastered a special sensory ability. Even if his eyes are covered, he can detect enemies lying in wait underground or attacking from behind in advance."
Hinata Yota frowned deeply.
"The Byakugan can distinguish the Chakra of Shadow Clones, but if every Shadow Clone possesses Jōnin-level combat power, identifying the original body does not mean we can break through."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi.
"That is why you will serve as captain."
Kakashi continued reading through the documents.
The more he read, the heavier his heart became.
Uchiha Lieyang was only twenty years old this year.
Yet he had already awakened five Chakra natures.
Across all of Konoha, those who had truly developed all five natures were pitifully few.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin.
Beyond them, most Jōnin could only master two or three natures proficiently in their entire lives.
Even more terrifying was his record.
Multiple Jōnin.
Special Jōnin.
Large numbers of Chunin and Genin.
Not one of the pursuers had survived.
Lie Yang's combat characteristics were also extremely clear.
High speed, high explosive power.
He tore through formations in a short time, prioritized killing sensory shinobi and ninjutsu users, then relied on Lightning Body Flicker to harvest them one by one.
The only possible weakness was endurance.
Such high-intensity Lightning Body Flicker, massive numbers of Shadow Clones, and five-nature ninjutsu could not possibly come without consumption.
Yet until now, no one in Konoha had been able to drag a battle into an attrition phase.
Kakashi closed the documents.
"I understand."
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "Any problems?"
"No."
Kakashi put away the documents.
"I'll take this mission."
Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi did not hand over the official mission order right away.
His gaze swept over Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Hinata Yota in turn.
Judging by the lineup alone, this squad was already powerful enough.
The Sharingan could track the Lightning Body Flicker.
The Byakugan could identify the original body.
Genjutsu could restrict dōjutsu.
Might Guy would handle the direct confrontation.
But Lie Yang had caused far too many casualties.
Any mistaken judgment could result in all four Konoha elites dying within the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment before finally picking up the mission order.
"The mission rank will be raised to the highest S-rank."
"Kakashi will serve as captain."
"Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Hinata Yota will serve as the main combat members."
"Two additional Root squads will be assigned to scout along the route, block the escape paths, and provide coordinated support if necessary."
"A joint pursuit force will be formed to encircle and eliminate the rogue ninja Uchiha Lieyang."
Before you continue