Just as Ye Chuan was getting carried away with the killing, feeling better and better-
Boom! Rumble!
Earth-shaking tremors came from the center of Konoha!
Ye Chuan paused and looked up.
He could sense a great many powerful sources of chakra clashing fiercely inside the village!
Konoha's ANBU and the experts from its major clans had clearly mobilized in full, launching a counterattack against the invading Sand and Sound ninja!
"Has Konoha started fighting back seriously? Looks like... this farce is almost over."
Then a thought struck him, and he turned his gaze toward the arena where the exams had been held.
A purple barrier had originally shrouded that place.
Now, the [Four Violet Flames Formation] that had sealed it off from the outside had quietly vanished.
"Is it over...?"
Ye Chuan understood.
The barrier's disappearance meant the battle inside had reached its conclusion.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had probably already...
Sure enough, before long, he sensed Orochimaru's cold, sinister presence rapidly moving away.
The ninja from Sunagakure and Otogakure also began retreating from the village like an ebbing tide.
The Konoha Crush Plan ended with the Third Hokage's sacrifice.
Watching the invaders flee in disarray, Ye Chuan did not pursue them.
He knew this battle was over.
Presumably, Naruto's battle with the One-Tail should have been drawing to a close as well.
He calmly sheathed Wado Ichimonji. The ominous black sheen on its blade slowly faded as well, restoring its original white color.
He sank his awareness into the system.
[Total inheritance experience gained: 1,420 points!] [Current inheritance progress: 61.1%]
A sharp gleam flashed through Ye Chuan's eyes at the number.
Sure enough, actual combat was the way to go.
This battle had yielded almost as much as over a year of grueling training.
A few days later, Konoha held a solemn funeral for the fallen Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A light rain pattered down, and a somber atmosphere enveloped the entire village.
Dressed in black, Ye Chuan stood among those who had come to mourn, gazing from afar at the kindly face in the memorial portrait before the Memorial Stone.
His feelings toward the Third Hokage were complicated.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had undoubtedly been a Hokage who could be called kind in certain respects. In the end, he had sacrificed his life to protect the village, and he deserved respect.
Yet his indecisiveness had also indirectly led to many of Konoha's later tragedies.
His death, though tragic and heroic, also marked the definitive end of an era.
Raindrops landed on his face, cold to the bone.
Ye Chuan raised his head and looked toward the overcast sky, his gaze deep.
A new era was about to begin.
After the Third Hokage's funeral, order gradually began returning to Konoha.
Early that morning, heavy fog shrouded all of Konoha in a haze.
Ye Chuan silently left his little house, moving along the mist-covered riverbank.
He was looking for an opportunity-an opportunity to test the limits of his current strength.
Killing Zabuza in the Land of Waves, along with the Sand and Sound ninja during the Konoha Crush Plan, had given him some understanding of his strength.
But that was not enough!
He needed a stronger opponent, someone who truly stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, as a reference to measure the gap between himself and this world's strongest fighters.
But where could he find such an opponent?
He could hardly challenge Jiraiya directly, could he?
He knew an excellent opportunity would come knocking today.
Uchiha Itachi!
Today, that man would sneak back into Konoha with his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki!
Fighting him was the most reasonable and relatively safe way Ye Chuan could currently think of to test himself.
Stopping a rogue ninja's intrusion was perfectly reasonable.
As for safety, Ye Chuan knew very well that although Uchiha Itachi bore the grave crime of slaughtering his clan, he had special feelings for Konoha.
His main purposes in returning this time were to confirm Sasuke's safety and warn Danzo not to touch him.
He would never readily go on a killing spree in Konoha, much less deal a fatal blow to one of its Genin.
In the original story, he had easily crushed Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, but had only injured them badly enough to require hospitalization. He had not killed them.
Otherwise, with his strength, those three would have died eight hundred times over.
As long as Ye Chuan showed no obvious hostility, Itachi would most likely only probe him rather than truly try to kill him.
That was exactly what he needed: a top-tier opponent against whom he could go all out without actually losing his life!
With that in mind, Ye Chuan relied on his vague memories of the plot and soon sensed several powerful presences at the edge of the village.
He quietly approached and hid behind the trees. Sure enough, he saw the scene he had expected.
Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi were confronting two mysterious figures wearing black cloaks patterned with red clouds, their expressions grave!
One carried the massive, bandage-wrapped sword Samehada on his shoulder.
The other had a pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The battle began in an instant.
Kisame Hoshigaki let out a savage grin and struck first, charging toward Kurenai Yuhi with Samehada on his shoulder.
"Not a chance!"
Asuma shouted, meeting him with the Flying Swallow blades in both hands, infused with wind-nature chakra. They slammed hard into Samehada!
Kurenai Yuhi seized the opportunity, rapidly forming hand seals and casting her best illusion technique on Uchiha Itachi nearby!
Yet before those eerie Sharingan, her illusion was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, having no effect whatsoever!
Instead, Uchiha Itachi easily saw through it and even turned her own technique against her!
"Illusion reversal!"
Kurenai Yuhi gave a muffled groan. Her mind reeled, as though she had fallen into the illusion she herself had woven. She hurriedly retreated, trying to shake off its effects.
Uchiha Itachi's eyes were cold. Seemingly unwilling to give her a chance, he flashed forward to attack!
Just then!
Swish-!
An incredibly swift silver-white flash of a blade seemed to appear out of thin air, instantly slicing through the dense fog!
Faced with such a sudden slash, even Uchiha Itachi only had time to shift his body slightly.
Slash!
The blade's light swept past, cutting Uchiha Itachi's figure straight in half. He dissolved into a skyful of crows.
Shadow Clone?!
"Who's there?!"
Kisame Hoshigaki and Asuma paused their fight as well, looking toward the source of the slash in surprise.
Holding Wado Ichimonji, Ye Chuan slowly emerged from the dense fog and calmly looked at Uchiha Itachi, who had reappeared a short distance away.
"Oh? A brat from Konoha?"
Uchiha Itachi looked at Ye Chuan, an almost imperceptible trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.
The speed of that slash was definitely beyond an ordinary Genin.
"Ye Chuan?!"
Kurenai Yuhi had also shaken off the backlash from her illusion. Seeing who had arrived, she was both surprised and delighted.
"Why are you here? Get away! It's dangerous here!"
"Sorry, Teacher Kurenai." Ye Chuan did not turn around.
"I can't stand by and do nothing when I encounter a rogue ninja from Konoha."
He had found himself a high-sounding excuse.
Before you continue