Chapter 154: The Third Raikage's Suspicion
Boom boom boom!
The three shadow clones attacking the Third Hokage didn't last more than a few seconds before being blown apart by Sarutobi Getsuishi.
Getsuishi, now in the Eight Gates Formation, was simply too fast.
Li Yao's plan to use his shadow clones to pin down the Third and prevent Getsuishi from launching ranged Evening Elephant strikes had failed.
The key was that Getsuishi, in the state of the Eight Gates Formation, was completely immune to genjutsu—his violent chakra instantly destroyed Li Yao's illusion chakra.
With the threat of genjutsu gone and the shadow clones slower than Getsuishi, they were quickly eliminated.
"Getsuishi, I'll leave Li Yao to you and Ayase."
The Third Hokage finally accepted reality. He could no longer keep up with the other four Kage, and in this siege against Li Yao, his continued involvement would only drag them down.
"I… un…derstood."
Getsuishi nodded with difficulty, veins glowing with heat across his body—he was near his limit.
The Third dared not waste another second of Getsuishi's time and said to Dan Katō, "Dan, possess Ayase next. Protect her from Li Yao's genjutsu. Find his real body—and kill him."
"Ah!!!" Dan hesitated nervously in the Third's consciousness. "Isn't that… inappropriate? Ayase-senpai is…"
A spirit possession allows one to fully sense the host's body. If he possessed Ayase, he would experience her body intimately.
This was the Hokage's daughter-in-law. Dan didn't dare, nor did he feel it appropriate. He instinctively wanted to refuse.
"This isn't the time to care about that," the Third said angrily. Ayase hadn't come here expecting to survive. She certainly wasn't concerned about her body being seen.
Besides, Li Yao had already touched and beaten that body who knows how many times. What was there left to see?
Deep down, the Third still held some resentment toward his daughter-in-law.
"I understand," Dan finally replied, realizing the seriousness. Killing Li Yao was more important.
The Third had clearly been countered by Li Yao—continuing to fight could easily make him a weak point.
Dan immediately shifted his spirit and possessed Ayase.
"We must kill Li Yao," the Third said, eyes filled with murderous intent as he looked at his daughter-in-law.
"Understood." Ayase responded coldly, formed an ink bird, and flew toward Li Yao's true body.
Getsuishi, aided by Dan's awareness, was the first to sprint toward Li Yao.
The Third turned and ran toward one corner of the barrier.
Now without Dan's spiritual possession, he was very vulnerable. If he encountered another of Li Yao's shadow clones, he likely wouldn't be able to resist the genjutsu.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu."
High above, Ōnoki clapped his hands together and fired a cylindrical Dust Release beam through his Black Earth Wall, aiming at Li Yao's clone.
Whoosh!
Szzz!
Li Yao's clone dodged just in time.
Hiss... The beam struck the ground and exploded silently, leaving behind a massive, perfectly smooth crater over a hundred meters wide.
Li Yao's clone was already over a hundred meters away.
"What powerful Dust Release!"
The clone assessed the damage and confirmed he couldn't withstand a hit from it.
"Damn it!"
"So slippery—just like that Raikage!"
In the sky, the Third Kazekage cursed under his breath while fending off another clone's Lightning Style attack with Wind Style. The way Li Yao's clones evaded his Dust Release was identical to the Third Raikage's methods—sharp perception and high speed to dodge before the attack landed.
To defeat Li Yao's clones, he'd need an extremely wide-area Dust Release.
But if he did that, he'd burn through his chakra, leaving him unable to use Dust Release again.
It was still too early—he needed to save his strength until the barrier wore off.
Having made his decision, Ōnoki started conserving chakra, defending while gradually moving closer to Li Yao's real body.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Storm!"
Seeing that standard iron sand attacks weren't enough to hit Li Yao's swift clones or pierce through the ink defenses, the Third Kazekage changed tactics. Forming seals and channeling a massive amount of chakra, he unleashed a sandstorm of iron sand that swept across a full kilometer—Li Yao had nowhere to run.
"Ink Mimicry: Giant Sphere!"
A ten-meter-wide ink sphere enveloped the clone, preventing the iron sand from getting close. At the same time, he sent a black iron chain underground to attack the Third Kazekage from below.
"Iron Sand Binding!"
The Kazekage nimbly dodged the underground attack mid-air and wrapped the ink sphere with his iron sand, increasing the pressure to crush it.
But he failed—Li Yao had reinforced the ink with large amounts of chakra.
The Kazekage frowned and stopped pumping chakra into the attack. Instead, he solidified the sand around the sphere and flew toward Li Yao's real body.
"Water Style: Vapor Explosion Jutsu!"
On the Mizukage's side, facing Li Yao's agile clone, he sent part of his black water underground. In seconds, black bubbles the size of human heads surfaced across a kilometer-wide area.
Pop pop… These bubbles exploded like explosive tags when the clone got near.
Li Yao's clone weaved between the bubbles, focused on sensing the Mizukage's water-based attacks.
His Lightning Chakra Armor and Black Iron Cloak rendered the explosions harmless.
The real danger came from the black water attacks that followed, slowed but aided by the shockwaves of the bubbles.
If that black water caught him—it would pin him down with tremendous pressure. And since it resisted Fire Style, even the lightning armor and iron cloak wouldn't prevent him from being immobilized.
But thankfully, the clone was fast and had enough chakra to stall the Mizukage for a few more minutes.
With the Hokage retreating, the Earth and Water Kage stalled, and the Wind Kage pulling away, the Third Raikage had already reached Li Yao's position.
Clang clang clang...
Countless black iron chains extended from Li Yao's body, who had activated Lightning Chakra Mode and donned the Black Iron Cloak. He now looked like a spiked hedgehog. The sight made the Raikage pause mid-charge.
Li Yao wasn't willing to gamble on whether the Raikage's clearly superior attacks could pierce his defense.
And the Raikage didn't dare gamble on whether he could break free from the iron chains.
His Kongōken was powerful and could slice the chains, but his Lightning Chakra Armor couldn't cut them.
If he got tangled in those chains, it might mean death.
"If you're not going, then I will!"
With a forceful leap, Li Yao launched himself from the ink eagle, thrusting a Kongōken at the Raikage.
Whoosh!
The Raikage dodged—he didn't meet the attack head-on but instead veered off, flying to the side.
Li Yao, startled, landed on the ground and looked at him in confusion. The Raikage seemed to be contemplating something—like a suspicion had been confirmed.
If it was true… then what was the condition for Li Yao to instantly learn a jutsu?
Was it contact?
Chakra contact? Physical contact?
The Third Raikage pondered this, watching Li Yao from a distance, no longer attacking.
"…Did he notice something?"
Li Yao frowned slightly. He hadn't expected the Raikage to avoid a direct clash.
If the Raikage really had figured something out, then this was going to be trouble.
(END CHAPTER)
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