Chapter 318: A Slight Regret

It's only in battle that one can truly understand the strength of Ye Zi, a strength forged through countless fights, built up from moments where he even brushed close to death.

In the years spent with Root, Ye Zi sacrificed much that Konoha's shinobi rarely witnessed. The battles he faced were unknown to them.

That's the essence of Root, a life in the shadows, unlike those who walk in the light. Those who look only toward the light cannot see the sacrifices of those in the dark.

Perhaps now, as some of Konoha's elite witness Ye Zi's departure from Konoha firsthand, they might feel a tinge of regret for his absence.

Konoha's blades may be Minato, White Fang, or many others—and they could also have been Ye Zi. But now, this blade is pointed back at Konoha.

As Kōri, severely injured by the lightning trap, fell unconscious, flashes of memories with Ye Zi flickered through her mind. In her struggle, each punch and kick was an attempt to break through these memories, to shatter her own stubborn, lingering feelings.

Her final memory rested on Ye Zi's silhouette as he walked away…

In that moment, Kōri understood: she had always been chasing his shadow.

"But I've failed."

Closing her eyes, her consciousness sank into darkness, knowing that his attention would never turn to her.

So unwilling…

The proud Uchiha girl had once had her pride crushed by Ye Zi. Over the years, that shattered pride never truly healed.

"Kōri…"

Ninashi rushed to her side, kneeling and pressing his face to her chest to hear her faint heartbeat. Only then did his tension ease.

Looking around frantically, he searched for a medic. Noticing her condition, a medic ninja rushed over immediately.

"I'm counting on you," Ninashi said solemnly.

The medic ninja nodded seriously. "It's my duty; don't worry."

Ninashi gave a resolute nod, then stood and turned his fierce gaze, red Sharingan spinning, toward Ye Zi in the distance.

Hizashi, whose chest was fractured by Ye Zi's punch, was in better shape than Kōri, though he couldn't move without severe pain. The bone fragments had pierced his organs but, fortunately, not his heart.

Blood seeped from Hizashi's mouth as he leaned against a tree, his face pale and sweaty as he stared ahead, dazed.

This was essentially the same as being paralyzed; he could only wait for a medic.

"So this is Ye Zi's strength?"

Hizashi's face showed a mixture of pain and resignation. He'd heard the stories, but the firsthand experience of Ye Zi's overwhelming power left him feeling defeated.

And this was only… a shadow clone.

Such a powerful person had once been a Konoha shinobi but was now their enemy. The jarring contrast left a strong impression.

With both Kōri and Hizashi down, Ninashi, now filled with rage, re-entered the fray.

Shikuro continued his relentless insect assaults on Ye Zi, while Shiozumi repeatedly tried to trap him with shadows.

"If I could just get him once, damn it!"

Shiozumi thought bitterly. Not only did Ye Zi dodge each shadow without even glancing at it, but he seemed to be aware of every single one.

Despite Shikuro's insect assistance, creating plenty of openings, Shiozumi couldn't catch him once.

He didn't think himself weak; Ye Zi was simply too strong. And this was only a clone?

Back when Ye Zi had been an ally, Shiozumi hadn't felt the difference, but now that he was an enemy, he was an enormous threat.

Pushing aside his frustration, Shiozumi quickly repositioned himself after each failed shadow bind, searching for the next opportunity.

The few insects that Shikuro still had could swarm, but their power was greatly diminished. If not for reinforcements, Ye Zi would've wiped them all out by now.

This was Shikuro's first time facing such a difficult situation. Even during war, he had never felt this restrained.

Suppressing his frustration, Shikuro was determined. Even if most of his treasured, hard-to-breed poison insects were gone, he would make sure at least one bit him!

Concentrating intently, Shikuro commanded his remaining insects to swarm like a dark cloud over Ye Zi.

With most of the Rain ninja wiped out, two additional Konoha jonin joined the fight against Ye Zi's Wood Clone, along with Rentoku. Once again, Ye Zi was surrounded by five Konoha jonin.

Ye Zi stopped conserving chakra, having means of recovery if necessary.

Lightning Release: Twin Dragons Constriction!

Lightning surged from both hands, forming two dragons that crossed paths as they tore into the insect swarm. Lightning threads connected Ye Zi to the twin dragons, allowing him full control over them.

The dragons ripped through the swarm with incredible speed, taking down large numbers of insects.

Each time more insects fell, Shikuro's face twitched in pain.

After seeing both Kōri and Hizashi fall, the remaining Konoha shinobi were wary of engaging Ye Zi in close combat and instead attacked from afar with ninjutsu.

Massive wind blades and clusters of earth spikes converged on Ye Zi from different directions. He skillfully maneuvered the lightning dragons to intercept these attacks.

At that moment, Ninashi struck with a genjutsu, casting it on Ye Zi once again.

Rather than fully trapping him, the genjutsu was meant to destabilize his chakra flow to create an opening for his allies—and it worked.

Genjutsu's strength lay in its ability to disrupt chakra, and maintaining Twin Dragons Constriction required stable chakra flow for control.

For an instant, Ye Zi paused, causing the lightning dragons to explode into scattered energy, leaving him exposed to the incoming wind and earth attacks.

"It looks like I need to take down Ninashi first."

Making his decision after another chakra disruption, Ye Zi let the wind blade and earth spikes hit him.

Crackle…

His body shattered into lightning threads and vanished.

"Another lightning clone… so fast," Ninashi muttered, his face twisted with frustration. He glanced to his right, calling out, "Watch out!"

There, a Konoha shinobi using Wind Release heard Ninashi's warning and tensed.

A thread of lightning appeared in front of him, followed by Ye Zi's figure.

"So fast!"

The thought barely crossed his mind before Ye Zi grabbed his neck.

Ye Zi didn't kill him immediately; this was his chakra fuel.

Holding the Wind Release user in a chokehold, Ye Zi evaded the support attacks from other shinobi. After leaping onto a tree branch, Ye Zi's spirit emerged from his shoulders, entering the ninja's body and absorbing his chakra.

Ye Zi had always considered this technique useful, though, compared to Nagato's abilities, it felt limited. But in moments like this, the chakra-draining ability was invaluable.

With the Wind Release ninja's chakra drained, Ye Zi's reserves recovered by about 20%.

Discarding the lifeless body, Ye Zi turned to Ninashi with a cold, dangerous smile.

"The time isn't right yet… until then, I'll take care of the rest."

Meanwhile, Sasori arrived at the battleground where Ye Zi's main body was fighting White Fang.

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