"Chakra..."
Uchiha Fangyuan murmured as he surveyed the blocked Hanawan Town. The sight of gamblers huddled under tables caught his eye.
The method used by Putian Yilang to control the iron puppet seemed to involve soul possession. But how could he amass such a vast amount of chakra?
Bending down, Uchiha Fangyuan picked up a Fire Country banknote from the ground. His eyes lit up as he examined it closely.
"There's indeed a problem!"
A detailed investigation revealed that the banknote was absorbing chakra from his body slowly. This method was not only highly subtle but also went unnoticed by most people.
"Although ordinary people cannot become ninjas, everyone has a trace amount of chakra in their bodies from birth," Fangyuan thought.
His gaze shifted to the group of gamblers hiding under the table. In the chaos, they scrambled for money, some clutching handfuls of banknotes, others hiding under tables with sacks of money. Fights broke out due to the uneven distribution of spoils.
"Human nature is always greedy," Fangyuan mused. "Without realizing it, these people have become a cornerstone for Putian Yilang to control this place."
"If we want to break this barrier easily, we must eliminate all of them," he concluded.
Watching indifferently, Uchiha Fangyuan found himself intrigued by the mastermind behind the incident.
"Putian Yilang is truly talented," Fangyuan admitted. "I want to defeat that technique."
He resolved to wait for the moment when Putian Yilang and Konoha were in a desperate situation. That would be his chance to strike a deal with the parties involved.
Questions raced through his mind: Why did Putian Yilang choose Hanawan Town? How did he manage to control it so quickly? Where were his accomplices and spies?
Fangyuan speculated that Putian Yilang had to be nearby since the barrier required a huge amount of chakra, suggesting that Yilang was still hiding in Hanawan Town.
Determined, Uchiha Fangyuan vanished in an instant, reappearing on the second floor of Hanawan Town. He began checking each room, finding survivors and some charming women, leaving behind scenes of blood and tragedy.
"Hatake Kakashi, there are two choices before you: mission or companionship. Choose one!"
Kakashi leaped through the alley, facing a wall with Putian Yilang's stern face appearing before him.
"I've walked more than ten kilometers south of Tance Street. If you hurry, you might still complete the mission!"
"Your companions can't survive. I've buried 30,000 detonating tags in Hanawan Town. If you rush back now, you'll die with them! Why save these dead burdens?"
"Hahaha! Have you forgotten how your father died?"
Putian Yilang's laughter echoed, reflected on the walls, road signs, and ground, as if countless faces were speaking at once. The seductive music drove Kakashi to anger.
"Shut up!!!"
Mentioning his father finally broke Kakashi's calm demeanor. He slapped the wall next to him, and thunder roared, shattering many of Putian Yilang's faces. The wall collapsed as well.
Breathing heavily, Kakashi's right eye bulged, and his Sharingan activated, revealing three black interlaced sickles.
"Why lie to yourself?" Yilang taunted.
"You know very well that the ignorant villagers killed your father! And the hypocritical Konoha officials!"
"Hatake Sakumo was too strong, a threat to the Sandaime, Root, and even the Fourth Hokage. That's why he had to die!"
Putian Yilang's face twisted with excitement as he continued to break Kakashi's psychological defenses.
"The Will of Fire, such high-sounding rhetoric. You can't hate the enemies who killed your father, and you must fight for those instigators. This is Konoha! This is reality! But why? Why are they so high and mighty? Why can't the injustice be redressed?"
"As the son of a hero, you don't want your father to die with a bad name, right?"
"Kakashi! I need your strength! Let us take revenge on Konoha together! Nail those villains on the monument of shame! Let them go to hell and repent for your father. Clear his name and let his soul rest in peace. In the end, the rain of peace will favor the land under our feet..."
Putian Yilang's enthusiasm and excitement reached a fever pitch as he spoke.
Kakashi's eyes grew obsessed, seemingly entranced by Yilang's words, envisioning a magnificent new world.
"Yes, that's it. You..."
Putian Yilang's laughter faded abruptly. Kakashi, once obsessed, had suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared, leaving silence and confusion in his wake.
Yilang's face twisted with frustration. He recalled Kakashi's earlier action of shattering a wall with lightning. Amidst the chaos, something had been thrown, but Yilang hadn't noticed the subtlety of Kakashi's escape.
"He used lightning to cover his actions, leaving behind a shadow clone while his real body turned into thousands of clones to escape. Such an impressive shadow clone technique! At this distance, I didn't even detect it!"
"Impressive, indeed, son of Konoha White Fang," Yilang thought coldly. "Since you've chosen the same path as your father, there's no need to win you over. Let you and those useless Konoha ninjas die together!"