Yashamaru

With Sage Mode activated, Xia Yan's strength had fully reached the level of an Elite Jonin.

Not only that, but his sensory abilities and basic capabilities had improved tremendously!

Although he had not reached the level of a near-Kage, Xia Yan felt he was not far off.

Still, reaching that level was fraught with difficulties, at least for Xia Yan as he was now. But he did not care all that much. After all, he still had his cheat to help him.

With his cheat's assistance, the time he needed to master his powers and develop them was greatly reduced.

What he needed to do was become proficient at using these powers and bring his combat instincts up to match his strength.

Although Xia Yan felt the Anbu really was no place for a human being, he had to admit that without its training, he could never have come this far.

Facing this Sunagakure Anbu, Xia Yan had pushed his strength almost to its current limit, but the Anbu still made him raise his eyebrows.

His reactions are fast, and his use of techniques is very sharp. Just what you'd expect from a Jonin. Especially...

Looking at the sand before him, Xia Yan seemed a little surprised. He had already recognized the technique.

If he was not mistaken, this should be the gold dust of Magnet Release!

In Xia Yan's memory, few people knew this technique. It was a kind of Kekkei Genkai.

The one who had developed this Kekkei Genkai to its fullest was Sunagakure's Third Kazekage, who had been killed by Sasori.

After him, there were people such as Fourth Kazekage Rasa and his wife, Karura, who could use it. Even Gaara's ability had actually been bestowed on him by Karura.

Who was this fellow, and why did he possess this Kekkei Genkai?

Also, as Xia Yan looked at the Anbu whose true face had been exposed by his slash, he suddenly found him particularly familiar.

The fellow was very young, with blond hair and a fairly handsome face.

And his gentle appearance, along with his slightly melancholy expression, kept making Xia Yan wonder whether he had seen him before.

Suddenly, Xia Yan seemed to recall the Anbu's intelligence reports. He thought he had figured something out.

"Magnet Release?" Xia Yan looked at him calmly. "Are you Yashamaru of Sunagakure's special pursuit unit?"

"..." Yashamaru said nothing, but suddenly pulled out several kunai while Xia Yan was speaking.

The next moment, the kunai rose into the air as though they had lives of their own.

Seeing this, Xia Yan was almost one hundred percent certain that the fellow before him was Gaara's maternal uncle, Yashamaru!

"Don't want to talk?"

Looking at the silent Yashamaru, Xia Yan could not help shaking his head slightly.

His voice remained gentle, as though he were facing an old friend, but his words made it impossible to remain calm.

"Then take your silence with you to hell."

As his words fell, Xia Yan's figure suddenly flickered, and he appeared beside Yashamaru as though he had teleported.

The Ninja Blade in his hand thrust eerily toward Yashamaru's neck. The entire motion was almost too fast to react to, yet exceptionally fluid.

Yashamaru clearly could not keep up with Xia Yan's speed, but he had no intention of surrendering without a fight.

He reacted extremely quickly, his body suddenly swaying gently to the left like a willow, barely avoiding Xia Yan's blade.

At the same time, the floating kunai shot out like lightning, stabbing viciously toward Xia Yan!

But these kunai had no chance of hitting Xia Yan. With a few simple evasive movements, he dodged them.

As for the rest, a series of clangs rang out as his Ninja Blade crossed the kunai, throwing off small, brilliant sprays of sparks.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Xia Yan frowned slightly. In Sage Mode, his exceptionally keen senses detected something unusual about his Ninja Blade.

However slight it was, no clue could escape such perception!

Interesting.

Xia Yan thought this to himself, but pretended he had noticed nothing and continued attacking Yashamaru.

Yashamaru truly had no way to fight back against Xia Yan's speed. All he could do was draw a kunai and keep blocking Xia Yan's Ninja Blade.

Kakashi arrived at the battlefield at this point as well. Before coming over, he had knocked out the two Sand Ninja to prevent them from escaping.

But he stayed hidden to one side without intervening. He was also very curious about Xia Yan's current state.

Through his Sharingan, he discovered that Xia Yan's chakra had now reached a terrifying level. Its quality was utterly beyond imagination!

On top of that, his speed made his movements extremely difficult to track.

In all honesty, Kakashi felt that even with his Sharingan, he would have absolutely no way to withstand such speed!

Xia Yan really was far too strong. Why had he not noticed him back at the academy?

But why were his chakra reserves so small?

Kakashi found this a little strange. He thought perhaps his age was the reason for it.

Watching the two figures constantly flickering across the battlefield, Kakashi could tell that although Xia Yan's chakra reserves were small, he had the advantage in quality as well as speed.

The fellow apparently named Yashamaru was no match for Xia Yan at all. His defeat was probably only a matter of time.

But had his captain noticed that Yashamaru had tampered with his Ninja Blade?

Just as Kakashi was pondering this, Yashamaru suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique to disengage, then formed a hand seal without waiting for Xia Yan to approach.

"You've lost," Yashamaru said evenly. "You may be strong, but this is as far as you go."

"Is that so?" Xia Yan smiled slightly. "I'm curious where you get your confidence."

"You'll find out." With that, Yashamaru formed hand seals, and the chakra within him surged out rapidly.

Xia Yan's expression suddenly changed, for at that moment, the Ninja Blade in his hand stopped obeying him entirely. Then it turned around and stabbed toward him!

Without the slightest resistance, as though he had failed to react at all, the Ninja Blade plunged hard into Xia Yan's abdomen.

Seeing this, Yashamaru's lips curved into a smile, while Kakashi wore a somewhat odd expression.

In Yashamaru's eyes, the Konoha Anbu before him was completely finished.

But through his Sharingan, Kakashi could clearly see that Xia Yan had discovered the abnormality long ago and had already used a Shadow Clone and the Substitution Technique to hide himself!

Clearly, the fellow was now waiting to launch a sneak attack.

"I told you, this is as far as you go." Yashamaru slowly lowered his hands from their seal and sighed softly. "Sorry. We each serve our own masters. Rest in peace."

"Thank you." Just as Yashamaru finished speaking, a gentle voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. "But aren't you saying that a little too soon?"

Yashamaru's pupils rapidly dilated. Almost instantly, he raised the kunai in his hand to defend himself.

But a kunai thrust viciously toward his chest like a phantom...