Ye Liang Goes Mad

The core of this test was to see how examinees escaped from an illusion after falling into one.

But Ye Liang had a serious problem.

He simply could not be affected by Genjutsu. How was he supposed to escape from an illusion?

The White Snake Sage began questioning her life.

It was not that her Genjutsu was inadequate. She was simply running out of staff.

There was no helping it. This test used up far too many snake maidens!

You were taking a test, yet you killed an examiner every round. Then you took another test and killed another one!

Even if Ryūchi Cave had plenty of snake maidens, they could not withstand being slaughtered like this!

The White Snake Sage's heart ached. After countless internal deliberations, she decided to take the field herself!

No matter how strong Ye Liang was, he could not be a match for the White Snake Sage!

"Darling, don't you want me anymore?"

A deeply affectionate exotic woman reached out to caress Ye Liang.

Ye Liang was startled. Naturally, he knew this woman was still transformed from a white snake, but this time, he could no longer bring himself to strike.

Because she was actually the famous star from his previous life, Dilraba!

"How is this possible? How could these snake maidens know about my memories from my previous life?" he said in shock.

Those memories were Ye Liang's foundation, and the one thing he never wanted to tell anyone else. Faced with this, he felt nothing but horror.

"No. Even if she is Dilraba, I still have to chop her to death!"

Ye Liang's eyes turned red. After a fierce internal struggle, he still clenched his fists.

"Flying Thunder God—Shinra Tensei!"

It was a combo attack, and also Ye Liang's greatest specialty at present!

"How is that possible?!"

The White Snake Sage was stunned.

When she saw Ye Liang suddenly vanish from where he stood, she immediately realized something was wrong. She instantly enveloped herself in natural Chakra, only to be blasted out of the palace by Shinra Tensei!

"Die! You have to die!"

With the poison invading his body and rage consuming him, Ye Liang was beginning to lose control of himself.

"Body Flicker Technique—Tailed Beast Bomb!"

This was a follow-up attack. A Tailed Beast Bomb normally needed charging, but fueled by rage, Ye Liang did not even aim before firing it instantly!

Feeling another heavy blow strike her from behind, the White Snake Sage could no longer hold her ground.

"What are you all standing around for? Come help!"

At her command, all the surrounding snake maidens surged toward Ye Liang.

Although these women knew no Ninjutsu, they were all transformed from giant snakes. In an instant, countless white serpents packed Ryūchi Cave to the brim.

"I can't let anyone find out! Damn it!" Red-eyed Ye Liang hurriedly used the Chakra Scalpel!

Though this technique was weak, after being strengthened countless times, it was already comparable to a real blade!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The scalpel struck the giant snakes' scales with sharp, brittle rings, followed by sprays of blood!

"Good grief, it looks like he went mad because of the snake venom invading him! But this kid clearly only has the strength of a jonin. How can he use so many S-rank Ninjutsu? That shouldn't be possible, should it?" The White Snake Sage was puzzled.

Having gained a chance to catch her breath, she had recovered somewhat. Ye Liang's next attacks left her even more dumbfounded.

S-rank Ninjutsu were not classified as such merely because of their immense power. In truth, their difficulty of learning far surpassed that of other techniques.

Even an ordinary S-rank Ninjutsu required years, sometimes over a decade, to master. Take Minato's Flying Thunder God, for example—he had spent several years perfecting it based on the Second Hokage's original development.

And Minato had been a genius, even in Shippuden.

But a genius on Ye Liang's level was downright terrifying!

"It seems I need to cure his snake venom first. If he keeps killing like this, everyone in Ryūchi Cave will be dead." The White Snake Sage's gaze shifted as she made her decision.

A peerless genius like Ye Liang had naturally earned her approval.

What was more, he had seen through her Genjutsu earlier. Throughout Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage's Genjutsu was naturally the strongest. Seeing through her illusion meant he had passed the third trial!

The White Snake Sage spat a mouthful of green liquid into her hand, then swiftly approached Ye Liang.

"Sage Art—White Rage Technique!" A huge translucent red serpent appeared out of thin air beside Ye Liang's ear.

Sage Arts were the ultimate secret arts of Summoned Beasts. The ultimate ancestors of the three great sacred lands all possessed these Immortal Spirit techniques that surpassed ordinary Ninjutsu!

Boom!

Ye Liang immediately covered his ears.

The White Rage Technique used sound to vibrate the surrounding air, causing the bones throughout the opponent's body to resonate. In the original work, Kabuto Yakushi had used this move to restrain the heroine's movements!

Ye Liang could not move!

The White Snake Sage immediately moved closer. Her body was that of a snake, and her bones were all cartilage, so this Sage Art had no effect whatsoever on snake creatures.

She pressed a hand against Ye Liang's back and quickly forced the green liquid from her palm into his mouth.

Ye Liang completely lost consciousness and collapsed.

By then, Ryūchi Cave had been wrecked beyond recognition by Ye Liang. Countless Shinra Tensei attacks and countless Tailed Beast Bombs had ravaged it. Though the space was immense, it was now covered in scars.

Even the original palace no longer existed.

"Ancestor! This guy destroyed our Dragon Palace! Why save him?"

"That's right! Someone like him would be better off dead. He has no value at all!"

The surrounding snake maidens immediately cried out angrily.

"Enough! I have my own plans!"

The White Snake Sage dismissed the crowd and slowly laid Ye Liang's body atop the stone table where she had originally been resting.

"I really don't know where a brat like you learned all this Ninjutsu. You're such a freak." She looked coldly at Ye Liang, but her expression suddenly softened.

"I heard that Mount Myōboku recently took in a legendary Child of Destiny. I want to see whether his disciple is stronger, or mine is! Kid, you're lucky!"

The White Snake Sage slowly woke Ye Liang, then began teaching him Sage Arts!

Time flowed on.

This teaching lasted three years.

This year, Konoha had entered a state of war readiness. The Third Great Ninja War had only just ended, and Konoha should have taken some time to recover. Yet disaster after disaster had followed, leaving everyone overwhelmed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked over the report on the table.

"The Nine-Tails is about to enter the village? Damn it! Who exactly is controlling it? A Tailed Beast would never attack humans for no reason!"

Hiruzen was furious.

Too much had happened over the past three years. Ye Liang had suddenly vanished, then the war had immediately begun. After that, a man wearing a strange mask had attacked the village!

According to Minato Namikaze, who had fought him, the Masked Man was immensely powerful and possessed extremely formidable Fire Release Ninjutsu. If Minato had not improved his strength somewhat over the years, he would have been defeated back then!

Minato was now the Fourth Hokage. Even he believed he could not defeat the man, which showed just how terrifying the Masked Man's strength was!