Rescue

White Zetsu at the bottom of the pit actually had smiles in their eyes!

"So you're the outsider interfering with our master's plans!" These creatures spoke in unison as they leaped out of the pit. They were enormous, nearly three times Ye Liang's size!

"These White Zetsu are different! They're nothing like the ones from the original story!"

Ye Liang warily activated Krypton Eye Mode.

Ninjutsu: 4!

Taijutsu: 4!

Though they were weaker than Ye Liang, there were more than a dozen of them. They could not be underestimated!

"They're fucking disgusting!" Ye Liang clenched his fists.

The appearance of these White Zetsu made him nauseous.

Their bodies were long and naked, wrapped all over in countless clots of blood. One White Zetsu even had half an intestine hanging around its neck.

It obviously belonged to one of the students.

"Senjutsu—Tailed Beast Bomb!"

Ye Liang struck first!

A Tailed Beast Bomb wrapped in white light shot rapidly toward the center of the White Zetsu. In an instant, it blew several blocking White Zetsu to death.

"No, the intel on this guy was wrong!" The White Zetsu suddenly grew suspicious.

"Could Black Zetsu have betrayed our master?"

According to the clues they had received, Ye Liang was their master's most troublesome enemy, but at most he should have possessed Kage-level strength. He should not have been worth worrying about.

Yet in a single exchange, so many of their comrades had died. They had no choice but to reassess Ye Liang.

"Looks like we need to end this quickly!"

Having made up their minds, the White Zetsu immediately surrounded Ye Liang. They were furious and clearly intended to gang up on him, but he remained calm.

The White Zetsu gathering together was exactly the result Ye Liang wanted.

He began condensing another Tailed Beast Bomb!

He could not let such a good opportunity slip away!

The White Zetsu immediately formed hand seals. Since they had decided to attack together, there was no way they would let Ye Liang use another Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Wood Release—Deep Forest Emergence!"

In an instant!

Massive roots burst from cracks in the rocks, twisting and winding like endless centipedes as they coiled toward Ye Liang.

"Wood Release?"

Ye Liang was startled.

Then—

Countless trees rose from the ground. Thick old roots even relentlessly overturned his legs from beneath his feet!

Ye Liang's Tailed Beast Bomb was interrupted.

"These guys actually have Hashirama Cells?" Ye Liang grew curious.

In the original story, Uchiha Madara had given Hashirama Cells to the White Zetsu. But in this era, the aged Madara had already been dealt with by Ye Liang, so Madara definitely had not given them these cells.

Then their master was quite interesting, wasn't he?

Ye Liang smiled and quickly reminded Mei Terumi, "Take the other students and retreat first."

White Zetsu with Hashirama Cells could no longer be simply one-shot. Besides ordinary ninjutsu, they had also mastered the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's Kekkei Genkai.

Wood Release!

To prevent friendly fire, Ye Liang had no choice but to make Mei Terumi and the others leave quickly.

"Mm! Understood."

Mei Terumi nodded and immediately used Lava Release to burn open a path for all the students. When it came to clearing the way, her ninjutsu was quite effective.

The remaining White Zetsu began to panic.

Ye Liang's strength had far exceeded their expectations. Though they could stall him for a while, death was still waiting for them in the end!

They did not want to die!

They had been transformed from humans, so they also possessed the emotion of fear!

They had to stop those students!

"As long as we have hostages, maybe we can escape Ye Liang!"

Every White Zetsu had the same thought.

They frantically hurled their companions nearby, trying to use them to get close to the students. As long as they caught one, Ye Liang would be forced to hold back, and perhaps they could slip away!

Now that they had hope of survival, who the fuck would still want to die?

But things were not so simple.

Just as they made their move, an old man stepped in front of them.

"Dust Release—World Severance Technique!"

Crack! Three or four White Zetsu were torn into pieces by the surrounding air.

"With me here, you still want to lay hands on the students!"

Ōnoki shouted angrily, then gave Ye Liang a look that needed no explanation.

It seemed he intended to stay behind and cover their retreat.

Ye Liang nodded.

Since Ōnoki was willing to hold the rear for the students, Ye Liang naturally had no more reservations. After all, the power of a Tsuchikage was more than enough.

With that thought, Ye Liang immediately formed hand seals. To deal with a crowd tactic, he would use a crowd tactic!

"Ninja Art—Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

His Shadow Clones were nothing like ordinary Shadow Clones. Not only were they empowered by the Nine-Tails' strength, but daily mission bonuses had also strengthened them to a terrifying degree!

Other people's Shadow Clones could only inherit half their strength, but Ye Liang's inherited a full ninety percent!

With Senjutsu's enhancement, Ye Liang had already reached the Super Kage-level. That meant his Shadow Clones started at Kage level at the very least!

The White Zetsu were only Quasi-Kage level!

How could they possibly be his opponents?

A one-sided battle erupted at once!

"Is this guy a monster?!" The White Zetsu were miserable. Watching their comrades get blasted into dust one after another, they were completely helpless.

Though Quasi-Kage level also had the word "Kage" in it, it was separated from true Kage-level experts by an enormous gulf. No matter how desperately the White Zetsu resisted, they could not escape the fate of total annihilation.

At that moment, a dark-skinned man with his upper body bare suddenly emerged from the stone wall above. "Looks like there's a reason our master was so wary of you!"

The dark-skinned man stared at Ye Liang gloomily.

Because the top of the cave was so dark, Ye Liang had not noticed him.

Ye Liang was preparing to leave.

He took two steps back and let out a breath.

Since he had dealt with all the White Zetsu, there was no point in staying any longer.

Just then—

Clang!

A black, faceless mask suddenly fell down. The sound was crisp and echoed clearly through the quiet cave entrance.

"What was that?"

Ye Liang's attention shifted.

Outside the cave.

Mei Terumi had finally escaped.

She hurriedly led the students toward the village. Although Ye Liang had dealt with those White Zetsu, Mei Terumi was still uneasy!

Ye Liang had once told her that this enemy was definitely not so simple! They might encounter someone beyond Kage level!

But the White Zetsu they had encountered today were clearly not that powerful.

"What did I miss? Why does something keep feeling wrong?"

Mei Terumi paced back and forth over and over.

At that moment, the students in the distance looked behind Mei Terumi in terror, as if something horrifying stood there!

"Because you missed me!"

A sinister voice suddenly rang beside Mei Terumi's ear. Her hairs stood on end, and she instantly realized something!

It was Ōnoki!