148-149

*Chapter 168: Retreat*

"Don't let your guard down."

As if hearing Uchiha Itachi's inner thoughts, Hai Li doused the relaxed Yume Ryoma and the others with a bucket of cold water.

"Is the enemy still alive?"

They immediately tensed up, their slowed chakra surging back to life.

After the intense battle they’d just fought, Hai Li’s words carried undeniable weight. Though they questioned her, their bodies instinctively shifted into combat mode.

"Of course."

With her Byakugan fixed on the motionless figure underwater, Hai Li’s lips curled into a faint, chilling smirk.

Every detail about Uchiha Obito was laid bare before her.

The five-minute invincibility of his Kamui, the reality-altering Izanagi, the Wood Release inherited from Hashirama Senju, and the immortal body from White Zetsu—such a potent combination of abilities meant Uchiha Obito, no matter how weak, wouldn’t die so easily.

Whoosh!

Behind her, the misty rain twisted into a vortex, and a strange black rod suddenly shot out, aiming straight for Hai Li’s heart.

"Watch out!"

Die, standing across from Hai Li, widened her eyes, her voice sharp with panic. Itachi, always scanning for Madara’s position, spun his crimson Sharingan frantically.

Red and blue light danced across the water’s surface, dazzlingly bright.

Clang!

The eerie black rod struck Hai Li’s blue Lightning Release armor, her crimson cloak billowing wildly, producing a piercing metallic clash.

Under the dual protection, most attacks in the ninja world couldn’t touch her.

Hai Li didn’t budge, her Byakugan tilting slightly.

Her crimson cloak morphed abruptly, transforming into countless writhing tentacles that tightly ensnared the black rod.

With a fierce yank!

The tentacles dragged out the rod along with a pitch-black arm.

Buzz!

An invisible wind sliced through.

Crack!

The arm, along with the rod, was instantly severed by Wind Release.

Splat!

Blood sprayed from the crimson wound as the eerie vortex behind her vanished.

With the Byakugan, 99% of sneak attacks were meaningless. Under her godlike perspective, the cunningly angled black rod was no different from a frontal assault.

The wind threads shredded the airborne arm to pieces as Hai Li turned to face the group’s rear flank.

Uchiha Obito, wearing an orange mask and clutching his severed arm, slowly rose from the water, his strange Mangekyo Sharingan burning with hatred.

"That guy really didn’t die!"

Die sucked in a sharp breath. He’d seen the enemy’s head sliced in half, his body sinking into the water with even his chakra core dimming. How could he be back in the blink of an eye?

"How did he do it?"

"Could the enemy be immortal?" Lan muttered, disbelief coloring his voice as the enemy’s abilities pushed beyond his understanding.

"It’s Izanagi."

Watching Obito’s severed arm slowly regenerate, Hai Li revealed his secrets without hesitation.

"What’s that?"

Yume Ryoma found the term vaguely familiar, as if he’d heard it from Danzo—something about a forbidden Uchiha technique.

"A taboo Uchiha eye technique. At the cost of permanently losing one Sharingan, it turns any unfavorable situation into an illusion. The duration varies per person—some as short as a minute, others up to five."

Hai Li casually spilled the hidden knowledge, causing both Itachi and Obito to narrow their eyes coldly.

"How do you know that?"

Obito’s voice was as dark as the depths, his right eye flicking toward Itachi, who stood treading water in the distance, suspicion swirling in his mind.

With the Uchiha clan nearly wiped out, only a few remained. Sasuke was just a kid, so the only one likely to know about Izanagi was this Konoha spy.

“After the Uchiha massacre, all their records and forbidden techniques were archived by Root. It’s hardly some grand secret.”

Spreading her hands, Hai Li stood clad in her lightning armor, three illusory tails swaying behind her in the wind.

Her chakra had always been limited before, and this was her first time fighting so extravagantly at full power.

With dual status techniques stacked, her already formidable physical abilities multiplied several times over. Her taijutsu, already surpassing elite Jonin, now placed her firmly among the Kage-level elite.

She could summon more tails if needed.

But the overwhelming power of the Tailed Beast cloak would burn her skin, exposing raw, blood-red flesh and turning her into a monster. Her fragile shadow clone could only handle this much.

Damn it!

Obito gritted his teeth.

The Mangekyo’s powers were unpredictable, and no one knew what absurd abilities might emerge.

To execute the Moon’s Eye Plan without interference, he’d helped wipe out the Uchiha clan, only to find resistance from an unexpected source.

He felt the hand of fate at work.

“Who are you? Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is supposed to be a boy!” Having personally taken his master’s child, Obito knew the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki’s true identity better than anyone.

“That’s a long story.”

Hai Li stalled deliberately. Izanagi’s effect lasted five minutes at most, during which Obito was invincible. The longer she dragged this out, the better her odds.

“Then tell it in hell!”

Unable to extract more information, Obito refused to let Hai Li stall further.

Clatter!

Drawing a steel chain as thick as a grown man’s arm, Obito’s body blurred into an afterimage, charging at Hai Li.

In his intangible state, he was invincible—everyone knew it. Yume Ryoma and the others didn’t attack rashly, instead spreading out and leaving the enemy to Hai Li.

The chains clinked, producing a crisp metallic sound.

Invisible wind slashed at the chains but had no effect—they, like Obito, were projections from another dimension.

Clatter!

Intangible, Obito wove the chains around Hai Li’s body, shuttling back and forth. The moment he materialized, the illusory chains became real, binding her tightly.

Trapped by the massive chains, Hai Li paused briefly. Lightning surged along the steel, racing toward Obito.

Zzt!

Obito quickly released the chains, retreating.

Bang bang bang!

Fine Wind Release chakra erupted from her acupuncture points, sparking against the steel chains but failing to cut through their immense durability.

Unable to break the chains, Hai Li directed her wind threads toward Obito in the distance!

As long as he went intangible, she could repeat her earlier strategy—relentlessly slicing with Wind Release until his intangibility ended, leading to his death.

Obito’s Mangekyo spun wildly. Having learned from his earlier loss, he’d gathered intel on her eerie Wind Release.

Her Wind Release field had a 15-meter radius.

The closer to the center, the denser the wind chakra; the farther out, the sparser the attacks.

At the 15-meter limit, there were noticeable gaps.

Since the wind chakra emanated from her body rather than being pre-placed in the environment, the outer edges moved far slower than the inner ones.

By restraining her and keeping his distance, he could buy time to unleash ninjutsu!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

His Mangekyo slowed the incoming wind threads, and Obito rapidly formed hand signs, unleashing his once-favored technique.

His chest swelled.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A fireball larger than Itachi’s erupted from Obito’s mouth. The fine, scattered wind threads acted as perfect fuel, and the terrifying heat consumed them instantly.

The flames spread toward Hai Li.

Clatter!

The steel chains bound her tightly, preventing movement. The intense heat ignited her entire Wind Release field, turning the once-unstoppable domain into a raging sea of fire.

Flames shot into the sky, tinting the inky clouds red.

The lake boiled, bubbles roiling like thick soup.

The steam from the heat formed a misty cloud, engulfing the red-and-blue monster alongside the flames.

Mangekyo’s perception, parasitic insects, and chakra fluctuations probed the mist, all returning the same message.

“She’s fine,” Die relayed to the bewildered Lan and Pan Xiong, as Yume Ryoma’s parasitic insects trembled, transmitting pheromones.

Whoosh!

The steam dissipated.

Purple-red lightning crackled across her body. Unscathed, Hai Li gripped the red-hot chains, her three tails thrashing wildly behind her.

Obito’s eyes widened in shock.

Heat that could melt steel hadn’t even damaged her clothes! What kind of monster was she?

Whoosh!

Surrounded by scorching steam, Hai Li’s face, hidden beneath her mask, flushed faintly pink.

Using her lightning armor and Tailed Beast cloak at full power for the first time, the absolute defense gave her an intoxicating sense of security.

Even an amplified Great Fireball couldn’t breach her defenses.

But she hadn’t anticipated the flames burning so fiercely, consuming all the oxygen around her and leaving scalding steam that made breathing impossible.

I guess I do have weaknesses.

Her so-called Perfect Battle Body 1.0 couldn’t keep up with her combat intensity anymore. Once she dealt with the Ash Bone issue, she’d start developing Perfect Battle Body 2.0.

Holding her breath, Hai Li seized the chains wrapped around her.

Purple-red lightning surged, turning the chains into a thunderous dragon.

Creak!

The ear-piercing sound of twisting metal echoed as the chains snapped taut. Her pale hand gripped the scalding steel, her terrifying muscles contracting.

Crack!

With a sharp snap, the steel chains sparked and shattered inch by inch under everyone’s stunned gazes.

Boom!

Her lightning-fast figure shattered the rain curtain, the lake rippling as she charged at Obito like a colossal elephant, wielding Samehada.

Obito turned intangible, and Samehada passed through him, its absurd force shredding the rain into a vacuum.

His eye twitched.

He didn’t dare face her head-on.

Obito retreated frantically, but the crimson figure pursued relentlessly. The sheer speed gap made distance impossible to maintain.

The familiar scene repeated.

Her merciless Wind Release field began its slaughter again.

Unwilling to waste Izanagi’s time, Obito dropped his intangibility and was instantly shredded into countless pieces by the wind threads.

Reality rewrote itself, and Obito reappeared behind Hai Li, unscathed, not even his clothes damaged.

Kamui!

Space twisted slowly toward Hai Li.

“EAD “Too slow.”

Her lightning-fast figure dodged the distortion, and a ruthless red iron fist slammed into Obito’s abdomen!

“Urgh!”

Blood and organ fragments spewed from his mouth.

The dozens of tons of force obliterated his body, sending a rain of blood into the sky.

The blood vanished.

Obito reappeared, his eyes no longer defiant but gravely serious.

His Kamui’s weakness was exposed, ineffective against her, while her raw power was unstoppable.

That damn Kisame!

Not only was he useless, but he’d given the enemy so much chakra!

“You’re running out of time. Will you use Izanagi again with that Mangekyo?”

Hai Li, maintaining both techniques and feeling her chakra drain, gripped Samehada’s hilt to absorb energy.

Her near-invincible power came at a steep cost.

Samehada’s chakra was low-quality—she needed four or five portions to refine one high-quality purple chakra.

Powering both her Lightning Release armor and Tailed Beast cloak, her chakra consumption was over three times that of a single technique.

Lightning Release gave speed and reflexes; the Tailed Beast cloak gave strength and defense.

Her fragile shadow clone could only dominate Obito in this state.

“You’re running low on chakra too, aren’t you?”

Obito glared at Hai Li and Samehada, his Mangekyo clearly seeing her draining the blade’s power, leaving it listless.

She couldn’t sustain that high-cost state forever.

No matter her strange eye techniques or powerful taijutsu, the ninja world’s rule was clear: no chakra, no life.

It was a race to see who’d last longer.

As Izanagi’s time ticked down, her blazing purple-red lightning began to dim.

Boom!

The scene froze, both staring, waiting for the other’s time to run out.

The torrential rain slowed to a drizzle. Hai Li’s three tails faded from crimson to pale red, and Samehada twitched, shrinking and paling.

“Yato’s chakra is weakening,” Die said, hands clasped, worry in her eyes.

“That monster fish can absorb chakra,” Pan Xiong said, gathering chakra in his palms. “If we let her take ours—”

“No use,” Die interrupted, shaking her head.

“The gap’s too wide. Even if she drained all four of us, it wouldn’t last long.”

Her cold words silenced them. Their combined chakra—barely twice an elite Jonin’s—couldn’t sustain her.

As Root’s elite, they were used to being mission leaders, yet here they couldn’t even serve as batteries.

This mission was a disaster!

“Looks like time’s on my side.”

Obito smirked coldly. Two minutes of Izanagi remained—enough to kill a chakra-drained enemy a thousand times.

“No choice, then.”

Seeing Obito’s eagerness and her chakra nearly gone, ‘Yang Release Hai Li’ sighed and pressed her hand to her heart.

Thump!

Thump!

The air grew heavy, the booming heartbeat making Obito’s instincts scream, his advancing steps faltering.

Thump thump thump!

Her heartbeat intensified.

Her nearly depleted chakra core glowed, searing purple chakra surging through a DNA-like spiral chain.

“Gate of View opened. Use it sparingly.”

“I don’t want to, Main Body!”

Feeling the surging chakra of the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, her near-exhausted body refilled.

Zzt zzt zzt!

Her three tails solidified, dancing in the wind, blue-purple lightning roaring again.

Facing a stunned Obito, her chakra fully restored and stronger than before, Hai Li flashed a toothy grin:

“Round two.”

Whoosh!

Before she could finish, Obito, still under Izanagi’s effect, warped space, teleporting to Itachi, who carried Kisame.

With a single grab, Kamui’s vortex enveloped them. When the twisted rain cleared, the three were gone from the flooded Thunder Drum Peak.

Hai Li’s Byakugan scanned the mountain. A series of black hole warps marked Obito’s swift escape beyond her vision.

He runs fast!

*Chapter 169: Return to the Village*

The clouds parted, and the inky black sky revealed faint glimmers of light.

A petite figure, clad in purplish-red lightning armor, stood on the lake’s surface, gripping the Samehada blade. A slender beam of light pierced through the clouds, casting a golden sheen across the rippling water.

Four Kage-level ninjas had fled one after another, leaving her as the undisputed victor of this battle.

The purplish-red lightning crackling over her body faded with the wind, and the spiraling chakra extending into the air slowly came to a halt. Samehada retracted its barbs, collapsing exhausted onto the water’s surface, tongue lolling out like a dog stranded in a desert.

She squeezed a bit of chakra from her fingertip.

“Grrr~”

The previously listless Samehada sprang to life, its massive tongue eagerly lapping at the delicious purple energy, barbs dancing wildly.

Hui Li shook her head, a bit exasperated by this drama queen of a blade, always playing pitiful to snag a snack.

Eat if you want to eat!

Without Samehada’s help, forget fending off Uchiha Obito—Kisame Hoshigaki alone would’ve taken her down with ease.

This blade was, without a doubt, the MVP of this victory!

---

Boom! Boom!

The lake’s water level dropped.

Muddy streams cascaded down the cliffs, carving paths through the reddish-brown Thunder Drum Mountain.

The bloodstains on the ground had vanished, washed away. Scattered human remains rolled downstream, some getting caught in the jagged waterways, gleaming an eerie white under the sunlight.

The four-man team—Ryuuma Aburame and the others—waded through the mud, quickly reaching Hui Li’s side.

After surviving multiple brutal battles unscathed, Hui Li had even restored her chakra reserves in no time. The four stood speechless, awestruck.

In less than two hours, she had:

- Single-handedly obliterated the defenses of Mine No. 1, cutting down Cloud Village elite Jonin with ease.

- Teamed up with Orochimaru to take on a blue-skinned monster, forcing it to its knees with a single-handed strike. Had she not left it alive for Orochimaru’s experiments, it would’ve been reduced to fish paste.

- Fought a mysterious ninja skilled in space-time techniques, capable of revival and invincibility, killing them multiple times until they fled in defeat.

This terrifying track record, if made public, would earn her fame across the nations and a resounding title.

Even more shocking? She was just a child, barely seven years old.

The four surrounded Hui Li in silence, their gazes like they were sizing up an alien.

“What are you standing around for? Go blow up the mine!” she snapped.

“Yes, ma’am!”

At her command, Banxiong and the other two lowered their heads and scattered, not daring to meet her eyes.

Die closed her eyes, scanning for residual Thunder Stones. Lan swept the battlefield clean, while Banxiong used Earth Release to further collapse the already rain-soaked mine, ensuring its total destruction.

Their unusually respectful attitudes left Hui Li torn between amusement and exasperation.

She knew her situation might seem a bit over-the-top, but she wasn’t cheating—or at least, not by much.

Her strength was the result of relentless training and countless battles. From Mist Village to Leaf, Cloud, and the Root, she’d gathered the best resources from each, barely achieving elite Jonin-level power.

And this body had reached its limit. She likely wouldn’t see significant progress for years.

Who could’ve predicted she’d run into Kisame Hoshigaki this time and claim the Samehada blade, perfectly countering her weaknesses? Add to that Kisame’s freebie energy supply, and she’d managed the incredible feat of driving off Uchiha Obito single-handedly.

This wasn’t her true strength.

“Yedu, that arm…” Ryuuma began.

“I think there’s still something off about this arm. I’ll study it over the next few days and personally deliver it to Lord Danzo when we get to the Leaf,” Hui Li replied.

“Fair enough.”

Sensing her dismissive tone, Ryuuma nodded, dropping the topic of the arm.

Having awakened his past memories, Ryuuma no longer prioritized Danzo’s missions. His only goal now was to restore the fallen Danzo to his former self.

If that proved impossible… well…

He recalled the pact made with Itachi Uchiha in the Tsukuyomi space. His heart felt like the storm clouds above the mountain—churning, heavy, hard to articulate, yet tinged with a faint golden light.

“Ryuuma, got any bandages?” Hui Li asked.

“Yeah.”

Ryuuma pulled a large roll of white bandages from a sealing scroll and handed it to her. She crouched down, wrapping the barbed Samehada into a two-meter-long giant blade.

Ryuuma’s head ached.

The influence of Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami on her was unclear. If it came to confronting Danzo one day, how would they get past Hui Li?

She was already this formidable. In a few years, when her body matured, even he and Itachi combined might not stand a chance against her.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed from the distant mine. Mud and debris slid down the rock walls, further clouding the water below.

Banxiong, covered in brown-yellow mud, approached swiftly, sealing several intact heads into a scroll. Lan trailed closely behind.

“Captain, Mine No. 1 is destroyed.”

“Battlefield cleanup is complete.”

“Good,” Ryuuma nodded heavily, his mind racing to figure out how to prevent Hui Li from being fully brainwashed by Danzo.

The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal kept him from revealing Danzo’s Mangekyo Sharingan to her. He needed a plan to save the Leaf’s greatest prodigy from Danzo’s corruption before it was too late.

Otherwise, he and Itachi would surely be crushed by this absurdly powerful monster.

Splash! Splash!

Leaping across the water, Die picked up a few stray Thunder Stones, stuffed them into a sealing scroll, and shook her head as she joined Ryuuma.

“The Thunder Stones from Mine No. 1 seem to have been washed away by the flood. I only found a dozen or so.”

At her words, Ryuuma’s eyes flickered. Everyone’s gaze settled on Hui Li, who’d been the first to arrive at Mine No. 1.

Rip!

Tearing off a large strip of bandage to wrap Samehada’s barbs, Hui Li pressed her lips together, feigning ignorance.

“Maybe they got washed down the cliff.”

“That’d make them hard to find,” Die offered, licking her lips awkwardly. Lan nodded solemnly in support.

“Forget it, then,” Ryuuma said, withdrawing his gaze without pressing further.

No one here was naive. Everyone knew where the Thunder Stones had gone.

Hui Li had been in charge of Mine No. 1, slaughtering everyone before the others arrived. Given the compatibility between Thunder Stones and Lightning Release chakra mode, it was clear who’d taken the mysteriously missing stones.

Had Hui Li not stopped that masked man, everyone present would likely be dead. A few Thunder Stones? They’d turn a blind eye.

Mentioning the stones was just a way to make Hui Li owe them a favor.

“Anyone injured?” Hui Li asked, finishing wrapping Samehada and offering the remaining bandages as a gesture of goodwill.

The group exchanged glances, still reeling from her combat prowess. They’d almost forgotten she was also a medical ninja.

“Banxiong’s hurt pretty bad,” Die said, pointing to the soil-covered ninja.

The Mud Healing Technique only temporarily replaced flesh with earth to keep injuries from hindering combat, not actually healing them.

Hui Li slung the two-meter-long Samehada across her back, her palms glowing with green light. Banxiong, stone-faced, dispelled his technique, revealing charred wounds from lightning strikes.

“No anesthetic on hand, so bear with it,” she warned.

“Got it,” Banxiong replied, maintaining his stoic demeanor.

A moment later—

“Arghhh!!”

The expected pain didn’t come. Instead, a maddening itch crawled through his nerves and skin. Hui Li held down the trembling Banxiong with one hand, her Palm Sage Technique rapidly healing his wounds.

The other three winced, silently bandaging their own minor injuries. No need to waste Hui Li’s chakra on scratches.

Once Banxiong’s wounds were healed, the group descended the mountain. Ryuuma fired a red signal flare into the sky—boom!

Thunderous rumbles echoed across Thunder Drum Mountain as the ground shook. Countless rocks and mud, mixed with rivers from the peaks, buried the foothills.

Eleven Special Jonin, stationed at various mines, leaped down to regroup with Hui Li’s team, handing Ryuuma four scrolls filled with Thunder Stones.

This absurd mission had miraculously resulted in minimal losses.

The emotionless Root members had executed Ryuuma’s orders to the letter, guarding their assigned mines despite the chaos of the Kage-level battle at the summit. This discipline saved them from becoming collateral damage.

Only one, nicknamed “Blast Phosphorus,” had been unlucky, running into Itachi Uchiha and self-destructing. His body shattered, leaving only mask fragments for his teammates to recover.

Ryuuma surveyed the drenched Thunder Drum Mountain. Setting it ablaze was no longer feasible. The mission would end here.

“Back to the village!”

---

Two days later, at the edge of the Leaf Village’s primeval forest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A dozen figures leaped through the trees. A muffled thunderclap sounded from behind—no trees fell this time, as they were retracing their steps along the path Hui Li had cleared on the way in.

Legend had it that in regions with elephant herds, their migrations toppled trees, forming natural paths called “elephant trails.”

If Hui Li frequently traveled between the Thunder and Fire Countries, she might just carve out a highway with her own body, maybe even boosting trade between the nations.

Boom!

The ground trembled.

Hui Li, lightning crackling over her body and Samehada slung across her back, dashed through the forest. The blade was massive—even fully retracted, it was two meters long. At barely 1.4 meters tall, carrying it diagonally dragged its tip on the ground. After Samehada’s complaints, she’d resorted to carrying it horizontally, making her look like a speeding division symbol as she moved.

“Main body, you won’t believe how much I gained this time,” the illusory chakra core chirped, as “Yang Release Hui Li” spoke with her main body back in the Leaf Village.

“If your so-called gains don’t match the life force I burned opening the Gate of View, don’t bother talking,” came the reply.

“Just wait for the memory transfer.”

Beaming with confidence, “Yang Release Hui Li” sent all her recent memories through the chakra spiral, her steps quickening.

She could already picture her main body’s shocked expression.

Even reviewing her own haul left her stunned.

Nearly 400 Thunder Stones, plus three Ink Thunder Crystals.

Not just the small piece from Yeyue Yi—two more crystals, hidden somewhere, had been swept up by the flood and collected by Die with the regular Thunder Stones.

When Ryuuma sorted the stones, Hui Li had claimed them for “research” and had no intention of returning them.

In a few days, she’d hand over a couple of regular Thunder Stones as “Ink Thunder Crystals,” claiming the black crystals were just impure stones she’d purified. Ryuuma wouldn’t press her on it.

Beyond the stones, she’d acquired the Black Thunder Secret Technique from Yeyue Yi, capable of attacking the soul and mind, elevating her combat versatility. It also included notes on fusing two chakra natures, giving her a starting point for mastering the Bloodline Net of seven attributes.

Those gains were already substantial, but they paled compared to what came next.

The top prize was Samehada, a blade that devoured enemy chakra and fed it to its wielder, perfectly suited to her. With it, she no longer feared group battles or chakra-heavy opponents, putting her half a step into Kage-level territory.

Her endurance had received an epic boost.

The second was Uchiha Nobu’s arm, transplanted with Hashirama cells and a Sharingan, immune to rejection. After studying it, she found it useless—no cellular fusion, no Sage Body. It was just Hashirama cells grafted onto a normal arm, essentially a Wood Release add-on.

Far from her goal of achieving a Sage Body, the arm’s only value was its cells and Sharingan as research materials. Finding nothing else worthwhile, she’d returned it to Ryuuma.

Lastly, there was that strange orb.

“Is this the Six Paths Treasure from Uchiha Obito Kai?” her main body finally responded.

Though no voice carried, Hui Li sensed the mix of exhaustion and excitement. She had no idea how shadow clone information transfer worked.

“Probably, but I don’t know how to use it,” she replied, dashing while toying with the grayish-white orb.

Two days of study had yielded nothing. Neither metal nor jade, its material was unclear. Small enough to hold in one hand, it was deceptively heavy—denser than steel of the same size. Its warm, unnaturally smooth surface resisted crushing or chakra infusion, unshaken by her grip, which could pulverize steel.

“When you get back, I’ll test it with Ash Bones,” her main body said.

“No way!” Yang Release Hui Li shot back. “I went through hell to get this thing. It might hold a big secret. Destroying it with Ash Bones would be a waste. Plus, you haven’t solved the life-draining issue with Ash Bones—don’t use it lightly!”

“Relax, I’ve found a way to suppress Ash Bones’ side effects.”

Crash!

Countless trees toppled, kicking up dust.

Yang Release Hui Li skidded to a halt, stunned by her main body’s words.

“You solved Ash Bones?”

“It’s complicated. While you were out, I wasn’t idle either. My gains aren’t much less than yours. I won’t transfer the memories now—it’d be too much for your mental state. We’ll talk when you’re back.”

“I hate riddle-droppers!” Yang Release Hui Li snapped, “hanging up” the chakra call. Hoisting Samehada, she sprinted faster than ever, her heart set on returning.

In less than a week away from the Leaf, her main body had solved the Ash Bones problem?

She was practically racing home!