Answers Beyond the Rules

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Firelight and smoke instantly engulfed the plain.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

A heavy earthen wall rose from the ground.

The blast struck the wall, and chunks of rock continuously crumbled away.

Kurenai Yuhi shielded the injured Might Guy and retreated behind the earthen wall.

Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to escape from the other side.

Kakashi was the last to withdraw from the blast zone.

He lowered his head to look at the Kunai in his hand, only a short fragment remaining.

During the earlier Chidori clash, he had used the Kunai to help block Lie Yang's blade.

Now, more than half of the Kunai had shattered.

Even the hand gripping it would not stop trembling.

It was not because he lacked chakra.

It was because the muscles in his arm had yet to recover after taking Lie Yang's power head-on.

Kurenai Yuhi looked at the wounded Might Guy, her voice low.

"Sorry."

"I still haven't been able to contribute."

She specialized in genjutsu.

But against the Mangekyō Sharingan, recklessly launching a mental attack would only result in backlash.

Kakashi did not blame her.

"It's not your fault."

The smoke gradually dispersed.

Lie Yang stood where he was, sword in hand.

His breathing had not changed.

Nor had his clothes suffered any new damage.

Kakashi's expression grew increasingly grave.

During their last encounter, Lie Yang had suppressed Guy in the Third Gate head-on, yet he had still needed to observe his attacks and adjust his movements.

Now, he could deal with the attacks of Guy, Shisui, and Kakashi all at once.

Might Guy, in the Third Gate, had been completely controlled from the very beginning of the fight.

That slash had not inflicted an ordinary wound.

It had severed the tendon in his right foot.

Guy could no longer move at high speed.

Even if he forcibly opened more gates, with one leg unable to support him, he would not be able to unleash his proper speed or strength.

The joint squad's strongest close-combat core had already been crippled by more than half.

Kakashi raised his eyes toward Lie Yang.

The other man had not even tried to press his advantage.

That high-speed exchange that had pushed them to the brink of death several times had seemed like nothing more than a warm-up to Lie Yang.

He was far too relaxed.

From beginning to end, Lie Yang had never truly been tense.

Kakashi tightened his grip on the broken Kunai.

After awakening Kamui, he had believed he possessed the power to turn the battle around.

But only after meeting him did he realize that Lie Yang had also grown stronger.

And he had grown stronger far faster than they had expected.

Might Guy, with four gates open, had been suppressed in every aspect of their direct clash.

Shisui's Body Flicker Technique could not create any speed advantage.

Kakashi's Chidori could only barely block a single slash.

Kurenai Yuhi did not even dare to casually use genjutsu.

This was no longer merely a gap in strength.

Their abilities, coordination, and tactics had all been suppressed by Lie Yang in the most direct manner possible.

Kakashi's nerves were stretched to their limit.

The more careless Lie Yang appeared, the more likely he was to reveal an opening.

But that ease was not arrogance.

It was absolute control over his own power.

Kakashi could find no opportunity.

Nor could he think of any way to drag Lie Yang into Kamui's attack range.

On the other side, Lie Yang was also observing them.

Might Guy had lost his mobility.

Kurenai Yuhi could not confront the Mangekyō Sharingan head-on.

Kakashi and Shisui had yet to truly use their ocular techniques.

This level of pressure was still not enough.

What he lacked to break open the second stage of the Gene Lock was a battle that pushed both mind and body to their limits.

Lie Yang had remained here not to easily kill them.

He needed Kakashi's Kamui.

He needed Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.

And he also needed Might Guy to bring out a higher level of the Eight Gates in a desperate situation.

Since they were still holding back, he would give them another push.

Lie Yang looked at Shisui.

"Do you know why Konoha insisted on sending you?"

Shisui's hand holding his sword paused for an instant.

"To capture you."

"Konoha let Orochimaru roam the ninja world for so long. When has it ever sent such a lineup to pursue someone without relent?"

Kakashi's right eye darkened slightly.

Lie Yang continued, "Ordinary ninja villages hunt rogue ninja to preserve their authority and prevent intelligence from leaking."

"But against a rogue ninja at the Kage level, continuing to send people to their deaths only expands the losses."

"Konoha's higher-ups cannot possibly fail to understand that."

Shisui asked in a low voice, "What are you trying to say?"

"They are not chasing me."

Lie Yang pointed his blade at Shisui.

"They are forcing you."

Shisui's breathing stalled for half a beat.

Kurenai Yuhi furrowed her brows.

Kakashi, however, said nothing.

He had considered the irregularity Lie Yang spoke of as well.

Konoha's pursuit of Orochimaru had never reached this extent.

Even though Orochimaru possessed countless forbidden techniques, human experimentation records, and Konoha secrets, the higher-ups had never continuously sent so many elites after him without letting up.

Yet because of Lie Yang, Konoha had already suffered casualties far beyond the normal scope.

Lie Yang looked at Shisui.

"After I defected, the Uchiha Clan gained a Mangekyō Sharingan beyond Konoha's control."

"And you are the other Mangekyō Sharingan remaining in the village."

"The higher-ups are not sure which side you will stand with."

"Nor are they sure whether the Uchiha Clan will develop thoughts it should not have because of my existence."

The trembling of Shisui's ninja sword gradually stopped.

Lie Yang's voice continued.

"Therefore, they had to make you personally hunt me down."

"If you kill me, it proves that you chose Konoha."

"If I kill you, the Uchiha Clan loses its most important trump card."

"If we both suffer, that would be even better for Konoha's higher-ups."

"An ordinary ninja village would never keep pursuing a rogue ninja at the Kage level to the death, just as Konoha had long since left Orochimaru alone. Their relentless pursuit of me this time is not to eliminate a rogue ninja at all. It is the higher-ups deliberately applying pressure, intending to force our two Mangekyō Sharingan into opposition and rupture, forcing the Uchiha Clan to openly choose a side."

"Forcing the Uchiha Clan to openly choose a side."

After Lie Yang's words fell, the plain was left with only the faint crackling of burned explosive tags.

Shisui held his ninja sword, blood still seeping from the web between his right thumb and forefinger.

He did not immediately refute him.

Because Fugaku had said almost the same thing before he left the village.

The higher-ups would never allow two Mangekyō Sharingan to stand on the same side.

No matter who won or lost in this pursuit, the Uchiha Clan would lose one top-tier powerhouse.

Kakashi silently watched Lie Yang.

He had initially thought Lie Yang was deliberately sowing discord merely to shake Shisui. But when he carefully recalled the pursuit over the past month, many things truly could not be explained.

Konoha had already lost several elite squads.

The higher-ups knew ordinary ninja were no match for him, yet they still sent people after him batch after batch.

Only after Kakashi's squad suffered a disastrous defeat and Lie Yang revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan was Shisui allowed to leave Konoha.

That was absolutely no coincidence.

Kurenai Yuhi did not speak either.

She did not wish to doubt the village, yet she could not deny what was happening before her eyes.

Might Guy knelt on one knee, one hand pressing against his severed tendon. The anger on his face had yet to fade, but his gaze had already shifted toward Shisui.

The four of them wore different expressions.

Lie Yang held his ninja sword and let them absorb his words.

A moment later, Kakashi was the first to break the silence.

"Since you saw through the higher-ups' intentions long ago, why did you remain in the Land of Fire?"

Lie Yang looked at him.

"What are you asking?"

"The reason you defected."

Kakashi's exposed right eye was particularly serious.

"You built businesses in Konoha, held the status of a special jonin, and possessed influence within the Uchiha Clan. Even if the higher-ups were wary of the Uchiha Clan, they had not directly acted against you."

"Yet you suddenly killed your mission companions, defected from the village, and then remained in the Land of Fire to kill every pursuer."

"Was it only because you were unwilling to be bound by the village's rules?"