Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

With that one sentence, Ye Zi drew a clear line, responding to Kushina's naive question.

Why did he try to kill Kakashi?

Why had he become like this?

Because, simply put, they were enemies now. That was all.

"Enemies..."

Kushina's eyes trembled. It was a relationship she didn't want to admit. Shaking her head, she said, "This must be a misunderstanding, right? Why didn't you come back to the village when you were still alive?"

Most of Konoha's reinforcements had already arrived. The gathered shinobi shifted their glances between Kushina and Ye Zi, feeling the urgency. The mission was to pursue Orochimaru, but he had already escaped some time ago.

Ye Zi was a rogue ninja of the village, and now that he had appeared here to aid Orochimaru, many connections could be inferred.

"See those three bodies?" Ye Zi's eyes flashed with deep weariness. If it weren't for the need to buy more time, he would have preferred not to face Kushina, who bore such a striking resemblance to Rui. Pointing at the three corpses, he smiled darkly and coldly asked, "Who do you think killed them?"

Kushina's heart skipped a beat. Conflicting emotions surged within her, blurring the lines of right and wrong, joy and sorrow. The happiness and excitement she'd felt moments ago were quickly swallowed by the cold reality.

For so long, she'd refused to admit it. She'd held onto the hope that Ye Zi had left the village for some unspeakable reason. After all, he had saved her at a critical moment, making her believe he hadn't entirely severed ties with Konoha.

"Did you... do this?" Kushina asked, her voice strained.

"Who else?" Ye Zi replied, his tone icy.

"Why... why did it come to this?" she whispered.

There it was again...

Ye Zi felt a sudden surge of irritation. His gaze swept over everyone present, and he sneered, "You're asking why? Do you seriously think I would feel any loyalty to a village that tried to kill me? Do you think I'd feel any sense of belonging to a place like that?"

"Kushina, let go of your foolish naivety. Get this through your head: I am a rogue ninja of Konoha. I am an enemy of Konoha."

He had no desire to explain how the village had treated him, or how much he had sacrificed without receiving any recognition. At that moment, he abandoned the idea of stalling with conversation. The lightning coursing over his body intensified, spreading out beyond a meter around him, even further.

This was no longer simple Lightning Release armor. The lightning surrounding him had power comparable to Chidori itself.

Lightning Prison...

This was a technique Ye Zi had developed over the past six months. By continuously outputting chakra, he could manipulate the nature of the lightning around him, shaping it into sharp spears or other deadly forms at will. At the same time, it functioned as an armor, just like the Lightning Release Armor technique.

In theory, as long as his chakra reserves were sufficient, the range could expand, and the attack power would increase.

Kakashi, for his part, could focus a massive amount of chakra into his hand to create a powerful technique without injuring himself, which was a testament to his control. He could also use lightning to stimulate his cells and enhance his speed. In this sense, Kakashi was undoubtedly a genius.

However, Ye Zi's Lightning Prison technique was far more difficult to master. It wasn't limited to his hands but enveloped his entire body. Without exceptional control, the user would harm themselves before even touching the enemy.

It was a technique that combined offense and defense, but the downside was its high chakra cost. Even a skilled Jonin wouldn't be able to maintain it for long before running out of chakra.

This showcased both Ye Zi's impressive chakra reserves and his extraordinary control.

Seeing the powerful chakra fluctuations and the technique in action, the Konoha Jonin's faces grew serious. Though they couldn't fully comprehend the difficulty of using such a jutsu, the sheer amount of chakra it required was clear.

"Kushina, Orochimaru has been gone for quite some time now. If you hesitate any longer, the mission will fail," a Jonin close to her reminded.

"I understand," Kushina gritted her teeth. She had so many questions, but there was no time, and the situation didn't allow it. She had no choice but to try and stop Ye Zi.

Even though he had made his intentions clear, she refused to accept it.

In that moment, she fell into the same trap of naïveté that Jiraiya once had.

Had Ye Zi not had a reason to spare her, her hesitation would have only put her in danger.

Whoosh!

A streak of lightning flashed.

"Hm?"

The shinobi were stunned. There was no sign of the lightning anywhere.

In the next instant, Ye Zi reappeared in the midst of four Jonin on the right.

The lightning that had disappeared returned, materializing among the four Jonin.

The price for such a high-speed movement was the consumption of a large amount of chakra. But the result was a speed so fast that even the seasoned Jonin couldn't react in time. And with that speed came...

...devastation.

Shink! Shink! Shink! Shink! Four quick thrusts.

The lightning around Ye Zi extended into sharp spears, piercing three of the Jonin through vital spots. The last one was only struck in the abdomen, Ye Zi had deliberately left him alive as a source of chakra.

Before the fourth Jonin could even process what had happened, Ye Zi's spirit emerged, entering the wounded Jonin's body and drawing out his chakra.

In the very next second, the remaining Konoha shinobi launched their strongest jutsu, sending a barrage of elemental attacks that swallowed Ye Zi whole.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have attacked recklessly and risked destroying their fallen comrades' bodies, but with Ye Zi as their opponent, they couldn't afford such considerations.

"Did we get him?" one of the Jonin muttered, unsure.

"No!" Kushina's expression changed. Nine golden chains shot out toward their comrades at the four o'clock position. Just as they arrived, Ye Zi's lightning-clad figure reappeared.

This was the essence of the Lightning Body Flicker technique, it only emitted lightning when the user reappeared. However, Kushina had already sensed his approach and sent the chains ahead, attempting to bind him while protecting her comrades.

As the chains neared, Ye Zi frowned and vanished again, evading the chains and reappearing a hundred meters away.

The Jonin who had narrowly escaped death looked shaken. "Are we even fighting someone on the same level?" one of them muttered.

If not for Kushina's intervention, they wouldn't have survived.

Even the Byakugan couldn't keep up with that kind of speed.

"He's too strong… At this speed, he's almost as fast as the Fourth's Flying Thunder God technique. Are we really fighting someone on par with the Fourth Hokage?" one shinobi thought, feeling a sense of hopelessness.

In reality, the downside of Ye Zi's technique was its high chakra consumption, far greater than the Flying Thunder God technique. But its offensive power was far more devastating.

If they spread out, they'd be picked off one by one. But if they gathered together, they risked being wiped out all at once.

"Create an opening for me!" Kushina's gaze locked onto Ye Zi. She had to find an opportunity to restrain him. All she needed was to bind him.

This wasn't a time for discussion—only direct action would work.

"Kushina, it seems your attention is too focused on me," Ye Zi said, suddenly glancing in a certain direction where five Konoha Jonin stood.

A green shadow passed over them, leaping past the five shinobi and landing beside Ye Zi. All five Jonin fell silently to the ground, green senbon needles embedded in each of their bodies.

It wasn't just Kushina whose attention had been too focused on Ye Zi; the others had made the same mistake. In their fixation on him, they had left themselves open, allowing Kotoe to strike.

"You… you're Kotoe!"

Five Jonin had died without a sound. The Konoha shinobi, upon recognizing the figure, were filled with fury.

Standing beside Ye Zi, Kotoe calmly held several senbon needles between her fingers.

Kushina's heart trembled once more, her gaze on Kotoe filled with unspoken complexity.

"This is my choice."

Whether it was spoken to herself, to the Konoha shinobi, or to Kushina, the green-haired woman's words were calm and resolute.

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Currently on Chapter 289 - 'I'll Have No Regrets, Even If I Die'