Chapter 182: Falling Short at the Last Moment
"Come on!"
Naruto didn't hesitate for a second. He rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm to Li Jie Xuan. For Sakura's sake, forget drawing blood—even if it meant cutting out a kidney, he wouldn't frown.
"Ashura's bloodline!"
Li Jie Xuan wasn't the protagonist. Even though he possessed both Ashura's and Indra's bloodlines, he hadn't immediately become the Sage of Six Paths. Without some kind of special opportunity, those Six Paths bloodlines would remain dormant for the rest of his life…
Li Jie Xuan didn't know how to awaken that bloodline, but he had a simple, crude method: accumulate bit by bit until it formed a tower. He refused to believe that if he drew the blood of dozens of Narutos and Sasukes, he still wouldn't be able to turn himself into a Six Paths body!
The sharp needle pierced down. Just as Li Jie Xuan was about to draw Naruto's Ashura bloodline, a blood-soaked hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Naruto's arm.
"Sakura!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Haruno Sakura—who should have been unconscious and on the verge of death—had actually awakened.
Seeing this, Li Jie Xuan couldn't help but frown deeply. The longer things dragged on, the more variables there would be. They couldn't delay any longer.
"Sakura is just having a final burst of life before death. Naruto, we have to hurry. Draw the blood quickly!"
Hearing that, Naruto hurriedly stretched out his arm again…
But under everyone's gaze, Sakura shakily stood up. Dark curse marks had somehow spread all over her body, and the chest that had been pierced by a blade had already stopped bleeding.
"Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal!"
Li Jie Xuan frowned tightly. He never expected that Tsunade had already taught Sakura the Strength of a Hundred Seal this early. However, her training clearly wasn't complete—she could barely stand, and her body hadn't recovered any further.
"There's still a chance!"
Just as Li Jie Xuan was about to act, Sakura suddenly bared her teeth in a grim, tragic smile. Though she couldn't speak, she viciously pointed a finger at Li Jie Xuan—then drove a kunai straight through her own heart.
Using death to declare her resolve!
Sakura used her death to prove who the real mastermind was.
"The will of this world is really shameless." Li Jie Xuan shook his head helplessly. Throughout the entire anime, when had Haruno Sakura ever been this resolute? Clearly, the will of the world had sensed the danger and pushed Sakura into making this decision…
But regardless of the truth, this time the plan had fallen apart at the last moment!
"Roar!"
Naruto had already unleashed his cheat ability. The moment he appeared, he was in Nine-Tails form. He opened his mouth and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb without the slightest hesitation.
Li Jie Xuan sighed helplessly and shook his head. Right now, his strength was only slightly above the Five Kage. Asking him to fight the Nine-Tails head-on was simply beyond him.
Back then, the Nine-Tails had nearly leveled half of Konoha by itself. The Third Hokage, together with dozens of elite jonin, couldn't subdue it. In the end, it took the Fourth Hokage sacrificing his own life just to barely seal it away…
"Next time, I definitely won't make this mistake again!"
The terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb slowly swallowed Li Jie Xuan whole. If there was a next time, he would smash all four of Sakura's limbs into powder first…
When Li Jie Xuan regained consciousness, he had already returned to Might Guy's small wooden hut. It was here that he had torn open the Trial Scroll.
Opening his character panel, Li Jie Xuan began tallying the rewards from this trip.
There were three forbidden techniques in total: the Magic Lantern Body Technique, the Elephant Turn Technique, and the Samsara: Heavenly Life Technique!
Every single one of them was extremely valuable…
The Magic Lantern Body Technique was almost the most efficient communication method in the entire Naruto series. It even allowed ninjutsu to be cast across vast distances through the lantern projection—extremely powerful.
The Elephant Turn Technique could also be handed over to Orochimaru. In his hands, it would surely demonstrate remarkable potential.
As for the Samsara: Heavenly Life Technique, it was an invincible forbidden technique capable of reviving the dead. As long as one possessed the Sage of Six Paths' Yin–Yang Release and the Rinnegan, they could control life and death!
Speaking of controlling life and death, Li Jie Xuan had no choice but to take out Gaara's corpse…