Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

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Some people are the most dangerous because they are fearless in the face of death.

Even if their limbs are severed, one must beware of their desperate attempts to strike, for they would bite through your throat if that's all they could manage.

The girl before them, with her smile faded, carried such a resolute attitude.

Thus, despite having the upper hand, Mei and Ao dared not be careless.

That invisible poison capable of snatching lives was no minor threat.

Kotoe's hands hung naturally at her sides as senbon slid down her sleeves, landing between her fingers.

Silently and without emotion, her beautiful face radiated an almost otherworldly charm.

Following the command to support his comrades, the summoned Manda returned to the battlefield, faithfully obeying Ye Zi's orders.

However, rather than aiding Kotoe, who was facing six Mist Anbu alone, Manda set his sights on Kisame.

Vindictive to a fault, this was simply Manda's nature.

Shin, who was struggling against Kisame and two other Mist ninja, found himself fortunate to receive Manda's support.

Manda's enormous mouth suddenly lunged forward, biting into Kisame's side and crushing trees as he charged forward.

The sudden change left the two Mist ninja and Uchiha Jin stunned.

"You were a big help."

Shin's crimson eyes settled on the two remaining Mist ninja.

With the key figure Kisame taken by Manda, he finally saw a glimmer of hope for victory.

As he stopped moving, Manda bit down hard, ripping Kisame in half.

Splash.

Kisame dissolved into a splash of water in Manda's mouth.

"Huh?" Manda was taken aback, and suddenly, a sharp pain struck his head.

Kisame clung to Manda's purple head with both hands gripping his large sword, which was buried a quarter of the way into Manda's skull.

"Tch, tough scales."

The exposed mouth beneath Kisame's mask grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

With his head attacked, Manda violently shook, forcing Kisame to withdraw his blade and sending him flying.

"Damn human!"

Manda glared hatefully at the small figure before him.

In response, another massive wave surged toward him.

Isobu's three flat, spiked tails whipped through the air, creating a fierce gust. In full tailed beast form, Isobu was now a true Tailed Beast, though controlled by Yagura.

With the added advantage of a Jinchūriki, Isobu had grown even stronger.

Ye Zi looked up calmly at Isobu's massive form and extended his right hand to the side. A branch holding "Blood" spiraled over, placing the hilt precisely into his outstretched hand.

Sheathing his sword, Chijin, Ye Zi knew it would be ineffective against Isobu in full transformation.

Ye Zi made no move, but Yagura's Isobu eagerly gathered energy, forming a bubbling black sphere in its mouth.

Unlike the smaller sphere from his second transformation, this fully transformed Tailed Beast Ball was much larger.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave burst from Isobu's mouth, heading straight for Ye Zi.

This was no ordinary Tailed Beast Ball; in full tailed beast form, it had become a Tailed Beast Cannon.

Ye Zi's figure was instantly engulfed by the incoming shockwave.

The shockwave carved a deep trench into the ground, leaving not a blade of grass in its path and no sign of Ye Zi.

Although he couldn't see Ye Zi's body, Yagura didn't believe the Tailed Beast Cannon would obliterate his opponent without resistance.

Whoosh!

Ye Zi suddenly reappeared several hundred meters in front of Yagura, just as a barrage of powerful water bullets hurtled toward him.

To evade them, Ye Zi had no choice but to abandon the seals he was forming and dodge the loud, whistling water bullets.

In his fully transformed state, Yagura unleashed water bullets like a machine gun, expending chakra with reckless abandon.

Ye Zi was forced to dodge bullet after bullet, running to close the distance while keeping his hands together.

Sign of the Serpent!

Fixing his gaze on Isobu, Ye Zi's hands clasped tightly. After Yagura's full transformation, his only hope to capture him lay in one move.

Secret Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

The ground within a hundred-meter radius began to surge violently.

In full tailed beast form, Yagura's expression shifted, and he halted his water bullets. His gaze fell on the trembling ground, feeling the vibrations beneath his feet.

Countless thick tree roots burst through the surface, growing rapidly. From beneath his feet, roots emerged, wrapping around him, followed by more and more breaking through the ground.

The twisting roots spread across the plain, stretching into countless branches that grew into a dense forest.

Isobu's massive form was quickly entangled by the branches, lifting him into the air. Though he lashed out with his sharp tails and claws, cutting down the roots, more continued to grow toward him.

After a brief struggle, Isobu was overwhelmed, entangled by the roots and bound tightly, forming a towering tree on the plain.

As chakra continuously poured in, dense foliage sprouted along the branches, swiftly creating a sprawling forest across the open plain.

Isobu, restrained by the multitude of roots, continued to struggle but couldn't break free from the Wood Release technique.

Deep Forest Emergence

This move, taught to him by Madara, was one of the more powerful Wood Release techniques.

However, it consumed considerable chakra and was typically effective in large-scale attacks, though it also worked well for restraining a Jinchūriki or Tailed Beast.

Feeling his chakra rapidly draining, Ye Zi estimated it wouldn't be long before he was entirely depleted, but Isobu was successfully subdued.

"To speed things up…"

Tree Bind Flourishing Burial!

He couldn't afford a prolonged battle, so Ye Zi intensified the roots' grip, squeezing Isobu tightly.

Roar!

Isobu let out a painful cry as layer upon layer of roots wrapped around him, sealing him entirely.

"Hah."

Ye Zi narrowed his eyes, exerting additional force.

In an instant, the roots surrounding Isobu collapsed inward.

"Has he reverted from tailed beast form?"

After the intense battle and the recent World of Trees technique, Ye Zi's chakra was nearly exhausted. This final move should have been enough to knock Yagura unconscious.

Peeling away the roots layer by layer, like peeling an onion, Yagura's tightly shut eyes finally became visible.

"Capture complete."

Ye Zi let out a slight sigh of relief, leaping over to pick up the unconscious Yagura.

"I wonder how Kotoe and Shin are doing."

Carrying Yagura, Ye Zi glanced in the direction he'd come from. Throughout the battle, no reinforcements had arrived, indicating that Kotoba and Jin had successfully carried out his orders.

With this thought, he started toward their location.

Unnoticed by him, a rat was observing him from afar.

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Currently on Chapter 321 - Two Against One