Chapter 329: Minato's Reaction
This was Minato, after all!
Even he was so on guard, not daring to act rashly—this alone showed just how terrifyingly strong that mysterious man in the distance was.
The two accompanying ninjas tensed up instinctively as well.
"You're from the future too!"
Minato spoke in a firm tone, his eyes locked tightly on Li Yao, not missing a single detail. He wanted to read the truth of Li Yao's identity from his reaction.
Whether or not Li Yao was from the future was critical.
If he was, then killing Mukade wouldn't be such a big issue.
But if he wasn't… then they would have to retrieve Mukade.
"You guess," Li Yao replied with a smile, turning away as he retracted the ink gel that had been covering the ten meters of ground around him.
Whoosh, whoosh… eight tendrils of black ink gel rose like aquatic plants, surrounding and guarding him.
Seeing this, Minato immediately understood without needing further confirmation.
"You really are from the future!"
He had already experienced the terrifying adhesive properties of the ink gel earlier. Now, this man not only covered the ground around himself with it but also raised eight defensive pillars of ink around him.
Whether it was the gel on the ground or the rising tendrils, both were clearly prepared to counter his Flying Thunder God Technique.
If Minato tried to teleport next to this man using Flying Thunder God, he'd be entangled before he could even launch an attack.
The ground-level ink also served to restrict his mobility.
And coupled with that ink-based sealing jutsu—if he were caught off guard, his chakra could be sealed instantly, leaving him unable to use Flying Thunder God and ensuring his defeat.
In that brief moment, just from observing Li Yao's strategic use of ink gel, Minato had already analyzed most of his plan.
If Li Yao had been just a regular genius ninja, then Minato's deduction would be spot-on.
To deal with someone like Minato, with his freakishly fast reflexes and Flying Thunder God, a strategy like Li Yao's was necessary to prevent being taken out in a flash.
Unfortunately for Minato, Li Yao wasn't just any genius ninja. He had far more tricks than Minato could have anticipated.
After all, no one in the ninja world was known to master so many kekkei genkai jutsu while also excelling in the complex art of sealing.
What Li Yao had revealed so far was only what he had deliberately shown Minato.
But due to the information gap, Minato had no way of knowing that.
"Be careful of his ink jutsu. It can seal chakra. Do not let it entangle you," Minato warned his companions grimly, then added, "He might not only have this technique. Stay alert."
"Understood," the other two nodded.
"Relax, will you?" Li Yao said with a grin, walking toward Minato—or rather, toward the tower where the Ryūmyaku was located. As he walked, he continued, "The Ryūmyaku will naturally vanish in about a month. My goal is to study its chakra in that time, not destroy it."
"When the chakra disappears a month from now, I'll leave too. So, we're not enemies."
He repeated the line—"we're not enemies"—one more time.
Minato and his team backed away cautiously as he responded, "No. The Ryūmyaku must be sealed immediately, and you people from the future must leave this world as soon as possible."
Minato couldn't risk letting Li Yao spend a whole month studying the Ryūmyaku chakra. He knew far too little about this man—there was no telling what his true intentions were.
And the claim that he merely wanted to study it? Minato didn't believe that for a second.
How could he know the Ryūmyaku would vanish in about a month just from some casual observation?
Impossible. This man clearly understood the Ryūmyaku chakra very well.
That only made him more dangerous. Allowing him to continue his research was out of the question.
He could use Shadow Clones, knew too much about both him and Naruto, and clearly wasn't on the same side as Konoha. That made his presence here all the more suspicious.
Since that was the case, Minato had to delay him here—long enough to prevent him from assisting his Shadow Clone.
"Looks like we're done talking," Li Yao sighed. As expected, someone like Minato couldn't be easily fooled. If that was the case, then they'd have to settle it with a fight.
"Go!"
Li Yao clapped his hands, and countless bladed tendrils of ink gel shot out from beneath his feet, aimed at Minato and his team.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Prepared for this, Minato's team easily leapt backward, dodging the first wave of ink tendrils. While airborne, Minato formed seals rapidly and exhaled.
"Fire Style – Fire Dragon Technique!"
A massive flame shaped like a dragon surged toward Li Yao's ink tendrils.
Boom!
The fiery dragon dissipated. The ink tendrils shimmered with a metallic sheen as they continued their assault on Minato's team, though now moving more slowly.
"That…"
Minato narrowed his eyes, noticing the momentary metallic gleam on the tendrils. A thought struck him—considering the watery nature of the ink and its previous sticky form, he now suspected that Li Yao's ink jutsu could take on various material properties.
So far, it had shown water-like behavior, adhesive properties, and now a resistance to Fire Style, indicating a hard metallic nature.
And earlier, a sealing property.
Incredible!
Minato was once again astonished. Li Yao had clearly developed the ink jutsu into a full set of offensive and defensive techniques, with no obvious weaknesses to exploit.
Squelch, squelch!
While Minato was analyzing, Li Yao charged forward. The ink gel spread rapidly along the ground, engulfing even the Flying Thunder God kunai Minato had planted earlier.
Boom!
As he retreated, Minato created a Shadow Clone, which used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the location of one of those kunai—now covered by ink gel—right as Li Yao passed overhead.
The Shadow Clone appeared behind Li Yao, slashing with a kunai aimed at his back.
Rip!
The ink tendrils that had been circling Li Yao responded instantly upon contact with the Shadow Clone. Before the kunai could even reach Li Yao, the tendrils entangled the clone and tore it apart, dispersing it into white smoke.
Seeing this, Minato's expression hardened. As expected, this man knew exactly how to counter his Flying Thunder God Technique.
From this point on, their battle would come down to one thing: surprise and speed.
Although the last attack failed, it allowed Minato to gauge the reaction time of both Li Yao and his ink tendrils.
If he could get closer… he could land a fatal blow.
With that in mind, Minato shouted, "Shibi!"
"Understood," replied Aburame Shibi.
After years of working together, the three had developed flawless coordination. No sooner had Minato shouted than Shibi began forming rapid hand seals.
"Ninja Art – Insect Clone Technique!"
Countless black insects swarmed forward, instantly overwhelming the battlefield. They even covered the ink, threatening to completely engulf Li Yao.
(END CHAPTER)
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