Moving Forward Over the Pursuers

Lie Yang raised one hand and slowly clenched his fingers.

"If it were merely releasing the body's potential, then after opening the First-Stage Gene Lock, I couldn't possibly have unleashed several times my normal strength while severely injured."

"What it breaks isn't some simple layer of restriction."

"It is the shackles carved deep into one's genes by life itself in order to maintain stability."

The Shadow Clone Technique fell silent.

Lie Yang continued, "Life's instinct is to survive, to avoid danger, to preserve the status quo."

"But the path of the Gene Lock is the exact opposite."

"Every breakthrough requires actively touching the limits of life and excavating potential from deep within the genes that has never been used before."

"Retreat once, hesitate once, and life's instincts will regain the upper hand."

"On this path, if you don't advance, you fall behind."

The Shadow Clone Technique frowned deeply.

"So you intend to maintain that state through battle?"

"Not merely maintain it."

Lie Yang's voice was resolute.

"I want to completely change the mindset I had before."

"My former restraint was because I lacked sufficient strength. Building businesses, cultivating connections, and involving myself in Konoha Police Force affairs were all meant to accumulate fortune and give myself more choices before the clan massacre."

"Being cautious back then wasn't wrong."

"But now, I've opened the Gene Lock and obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"If I still cling to my old ways, I'll only be bound by my past self."

The Shadow Clone Technique looked at him.

"Power, connections, businesses—you're giving them all up?"

"Why would I give them up?"

Lie Yang asked in return.

"Strength is fortune. Power is fortune. Connections are fortune too."

"Everything I accumulated over three years has become my foundation. Leaving Konoha doesn't mean those things never existed."

"But fortune isn't something you gain by hiding."

"Konoha wants to hunt me down. Those pursuers themselves are new fortune."

"If I win, I'll step over them and continue growing stronger."

"If I lose, then I die. That's all."

The Shadow Clone Technique took a deep breath.

This wasn't impulsiveness.

The original body had already thought it through clearly.

And because he had thought it through clearly, he was even more insane.

"Looks like I can't talk you out of it."

"You are me."

"Precisely because I'm you, I understand how difficult the past three years were."

The Shadow Clone Technique shook his head.

"The original body suddenly changed so drastically. This clone really can't adapt for the moment."

Lie Yang raised his right hand.

"Then don't adapt."

The Shadow Clone Technique's expression changed.

"Wait."

Bang!

White smoke burst forth.

The Shadow Clone Technique vanished instantly.

A whole night's worth of memories, exhaustion, and mental strain returned to the original body all at once.

Lie Yang's body swayed slightly.

A distinct swelling pain spread through his temples, and his thoughts suddenly gained another layer of heaviness.

He did not resist it.

The exhaustion was real.

Forcibly suppressing it would only affect his judgment.

Lie Yang closed his eyes and sat for a while, sorting through all the memories brought back by the clone. Then he raised his hands and formed seals again.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Bang!

A new Shadow Clone Technique appeared in the room.

He lowered his head and moved his arms, then looked toward the original body on the bed.

"I know all the old clone's memories."

"Any objections?"

"No."

The new Shadow Clone Technique walked to the window.

"Since you've decided to stay, leave the trivial matters to me. You just focus on recovering and stabilizing the First-Stage Gene Lock."

Lie Yang nodded.

This was exactly what the Shadow Clone Technique was best suited for.

Gathering intelligence, arranging shelter, handling daily matters, and determining the scope of Konoha's search.

The original body, meanwhile, had to devote all his energy to this newly acquired power.

The first time he opened the Gene Lock, he had only forced his way through the shackles by relying on the pressure of death.

That state was powerful, but extremely unstable.

How to enter it voluntarily, how to exit in time, how long his body could endure it, and how the backlash would change as its duration increased—all of it needed to be mastered.

Over the following days, Lie Yang did not leave the room.

He repeatedly recalled the sensations from when he opened the Gene Lock.

His heartbeat.

Fear.

The pressure of death.

The instant his consciousness broke through the limits imposed by life's instincts.

Every detail was dissected again and again.

Until the morning of the third day, he once more touched the shackles hidden deep within his genes.

Thump!

His heart pounded heavily.

Every muscle in his body tensed in an instant.

Within the darkness behind his blindfold, everything around him abruptly became clear.

It was not vision.

The positions of the table and chairs, the direction of the window, the distance between the walls and his body—all of it appeared in his consciousness through another means.

Air flowed into the room through the crack in the window, curved around the corner of the table, and stirred the strip of cloth hanging beside the bed.

Someone passed outside.

The weight of their footsteps, the rhythm of their breathing, and the faint rustle of their clothes were all captured by Lie Yang.

He rose from the bed, his eyes still covered by cotton cloth.

One step.

Two steps.

Lie Yang walked straight toward the door.

A chair blocked the way ahead.

He did not pause. His toes skimmed past the outside of the chair leg, and his body naturally shifted half an inch aside.

The hem of his clothes did not touch the chair back.

The Shadow Clone Technique stood nearby and pushed the teacup on the table toward the edge.

The teacup fell.

Lie Yang turned and reached out.

Smack!

The teacup landed steadily in his palm.

Not a single drop spilled from the half cup of water remaining inside.

The Shadow Clone Technique took out a kunai and sharply flicked his wrist.

Whoosh!

The kunai shot toward Lie Yang from behind and to the side.

Lie Yang did not turn around.

He merely shifted half a step to the left. The kunai grazed past his shoulder and embedded itself in the wall ahead.

"This isn't the Sharingan."

The Shadow Clone Technique stared at the original body with his eyes covered.

"And it isn't ordinary perception either."

Lie Yang set the teacup back on the table.

"Hyperintuition."

"After entering the First-Stage Gene Lock, my perception of danger, the environment, and living auras underwent a qualitative change."

"Even without vision, my movements won't be affected."

The Shadow Clone Technique moved behind him and changed positions three times in succession.

Lie Yang always faced precisely in his direction.

"More direct than sensory ninjutsu."

The Shadow Clone Technique said softly, "There's no need for hand seals, and no chakra fluctuations. As long as someone poses a threat to you, you can detect it beforehand."

"The range still isn't large enough."

"It can be trained further."

Lie Yang did not remove the cotton cloth over his eyes.

The Mangekyō Sharingan needed time to adapt.

Hyperintuition likewise required continuous control.

Since Konoha's pursuers could appear at any moment, he would use this time to shore up his weakest areas.