"Luck? A lucky encounter?" Tsunade scoffed.
"You could kill Zabuza in an instant and cut down dozens of Sand and Sound ninja like they were nothing. Luck can't explain that." She stared at Ye Chuan.
"When I was young, I saw plenty of so-called geniuses, including Orochimaru... all too often, they lost themselves in their own power and ended up going astray."
Although the boy before her looked calm, his ruthless decisiveness in killing left her faintly worried.
Ye Chuan, however, had no interest in human experimentation.
His talent and strength were assets to Konoha, but they could also become a source of disaster.
Tsunade did not want to see Ye Chuan become another Orochimaru.
She had to keep this genius away from the darkness within the village and give him a relatively stable environment in which to grow.
"From today onward, I'll be paying special attention to you."
"Your jonin instructor, Kurenai Yuhi, will continue to handle most of your affairs."
"But at the same time, I hope you'll remember where that power should be used."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Ye Chuan answered calmly.
Protection in name, but observation and control in practice? Understandable.
As it happens, I need more time to develop, too. Having someone fend off some trouble isn't bad.
"Go on, then. Train hard. Konoha's future needs young people like you."
Tsunade waved her hand.
Ye Chuan bowed and left the Hokage's office.
The days that followed seemed to return to normal.
As a member of Team 8, Ye Chuan carried out several more missions of varying difficulty under Kurenai Yuhi's leadership, steadily accumulating experience.
Until Tsunade urgently summoned Team 8.
The Sasuke defection incident was a minor climax in the first part of Naruto's story, as well as the beginning of Naruto's upgraded powers of persuasion.
The situation was urgent. There was no time to lose.
In the early hours before dawn, Team 8 appeared at Konoha's gates and raced in the direction Shikamaru's squad had taken.
Three people and a dog sped through the forest at tremendous speed.
"Found them! This way! Shikamaru and the others' scents are getting stronger!" Kiba Inuzuka suddenly called from up ahead.
Almost simultaneously, Ye Chuan's Observation Haki picked up three other powerful and familiar presences moving rapidly through the forest ahead, besides the chakra signatures of Shikamaru's squad.
They soon caught up with those three figures: Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.
"You? From Konoha..."
Startled by Team 8's sudden appearance, Kankuro instinctively stepped back, clear fear on his face.
Temari also watched Ye Chuan warily.
Only Gaara seemed to show an extremely faint flicker in his emotionless eyes when he saw Ye Chuan, his pupils contracting slightly.
He spoke first, his voice still hoarse. "It's you."
"Long time no see," Ye Chuan replied calmly.
Looks like getting kicked away by me last time, then getting an earful and a headbutt from Naruto, really changed this guy quite a bit. At least there's a lot less killing intent in his eyes.
"We came at the request of the Fifth Hokage to help Konoha retrieve Sasuke Uchiha," Temari volunteered, making their position clear.
"Sunagakure owed Konoha a favor after the Chunin Ninja Exams. Consider this a partial repayment."
Kankuro muttered beside her, "That Sasuke Uchiha is supposed to be pretty strong. He probably won't be easy to handle..."
"Strong?" Temari scoffed, glancing at Ye Chuan beside them.
"Compared to this guy, how much of a threat could Sasuke Uchiha possibly be?"
At that, Kankuro immediately nodded in wholehearted agreement and dared not say anything more.
In his mind, Ye Chuan's threat level was probably even higher than Gaara's when he went berserk.
After Team 8 joined up with the three siblings from Sunagakure, they continued without pausing.
Ye Chuan kept his Observation Haki spread out, sensing everything ahead.
"This way!" He suddenly changed direction, charging diagonally to the left, and the others immediately followed.
They soon burst out of the woods into a devastated clearing.
A huge crater lay there, the surrounding trees toppled in all directions, while Choji Akimichi lay covered in wounds at its edge.
"Kiba, you stay."
"But..." Kiba Inuzuka wanted to say more. He wanted to fight on the front lines.
Kiba Inuzuka met Ye Chuan's gaze, then looked at the gravely wounded, unconscious Choji. Finally, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
Ye Chuan said no more and continued onward with the others.
Before long, they found a second battlefield in another ravaged stretch of forest.
This time, Neji Hyuga was the one lying on the ground.
Neji was drenched in blood, with several Black Arrows embedded in his body.
"Neji!"
Seeing this, Hinata hurried over and checked his breathing. Only after finding that he was still breathing faintly did she sigh in relief.
"Hinata, stay and look after Neji," Ye Chuan immediately instructed.
Hinata immediately wiped away her tears, helped Neji up, and began carefully using Gentle Fist methods to treat his disordered chakra.
"Two battlefields left."
Ye Chuan closed his eyes, pushing his Observation Haki to its fullest.
Ultimately, he decided to send Temari to support Shikamaru, while Kankuro and Gaara would deal with Sakon and Ukon.
The battlefields were quickly divided among them.
Now, only the final target remained.
Ye Chuan took a deep breath, raised his speed to its limit, and charged toward the last battlefield!
Kimimaro!
Naruto Uzumaki panted as he dodged the bone spike attacks.
With every wave of his hand, his opponent could draw a sharp bone blade from his body.
He was the last descendant of the Kaguya Clan.
"Damn it! What kind of monster is this guy?!"
Naruto dodged desperately, feeling that none of his attacks could accomplish anything.
Just then, an even colder presence swept in from behind like a tsunami.
Kimimaro abruptly stopped moving, a grave expression appearing on his perpetually impassive face for the first time.
What powerful pressure!
This feeling... it's even more unsettling than facing Lord Orochimaru!
He instinctively stopped attacking Naruto and spun around to look toward the source of that presence.
A black-haired boy holding a white katana landed silently on a nearby branch, looking at him calmly.
Though it was only a fleeting glance, it felt as though a peerless, ferocious beast had fixed its eyes on him!
Kimimaro made his assessment in an instant.
The black-haired boy before him was far more dangerous than Naruto Uzumaki!
His mission was to bring Sasuke safely back to Lord Orochimaru. He would never let this person pass, even if it cost him his life.
"Naruto Uzumaki... I'll let you off for now."
Kimimaro glanced at Naruto, who was still panting nearby, and abandoned that target without hesitation.
He turned and focused all his attention on Ye Chuan.
The person before him was truly powerful, an opponent worthy of his full strength.
"Powerful warrior... of Konoha, state your name." Kimimaro's voice carried a trace of sickly hoarseness.
Ye Chuan dropped lightly from the branch, the tip of Wado Ichimonji angled toward the ground.
"Ye Chuanliu."
Before you continue