Ye Liang scanned his surroundings.
A massive crater, trees devoured beyond recognition—the place was unmistakably near where he had encountered the insects earlier!
"So they're still here after all!"
Ye Liang spotted two White Zetsu clones dragging along a young unconscious student. Judging from the uniform, it was someone from Kirigakure.
"Do you know this person?"
"No idea. Probably one of Yagura's lot."
"You mean Kirigakure has factions too?"
"The old families support Yagura, but the new generation of Mist ninja are all mine!" Terumi Mei suddenly boasted with pride.
From her expression, she clearly felt quite pleased with herself.
"Hmm," Ye Liang remained indifferent as always. He looked at the two White Zetsus ahead. "Let's see where they're hiding him."
Ye Liang and Terumi Mei immediately followed them.
Tracking them silently, the pair swiftly arrived at a cluster of caves.
By now, dozens of White Zetsus were visible along the path, returning into the cave one after another—some even dragged other students behind them. Ye Liang even recognized a few familiar Konoha faces among them!
Like Asuma...
"If that old monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi saw his son coming here, I wonder what he'd think?" Ye Liang quipped.
Still, he didn't let his guard down.
Since both Onoki and Yagura had been attacked, the enemy must not be underestimated. Ye Liang heightened his focus accordingly.
"Mr. Ye, there sure are a lot of White Zetsus here. Are we really okay going in alone like this?" Mei voiced her concern. After all, she was merely an average Mizukage candidate without Ye Liang's sense of ease.
"Hmph. I don't fear their numbers; I only fear if there aren't enough of them!" Ye Liang wasn't the least bit intimidated.
Seeing so many Zetsus actually pleased him—he wanted to utterly shock them.
"Get ready to move!"
At the cave entrance, White Zetsus continued dragging students when suddenly several on the outer perimeter vanished without a trace.
"Who's there?!"
The two nearest sensed danger instantly, but as soon as they turned around, their companions disappeared too!
"It's your daddy!"
A cold voice whispered sharply in his ear. The Zetsu broke into a cold sweat, but before he could resist, his head had already rolled off.
"Never show mercy to those threatening your life—that's an ironclad rule!" Ye Liang stated coldly while looking at the fallen bodies, unfazed by the killing.
They proceeded further into the cave.
Yet the deeper they went, the more surprised Ye Liang became.
This rocky cave—it was the very spot where Ye Liang had first stepped into Konoha, deep inside Orochimaru's lab!
"Could this incident possibly relate to Orochimaru?"
Pondering quietly, Ye Liang moved forward cautiously.
Further ahead, more White Zetsus wandered about—likely patrolling—but none could spot Ye Liang and Mei, thanks to the C-rank Ninjutsu technique Shadow Camouflage that Ye Liang had activated.
This was a basic ninja technique allowing complete environmental blending.
Of course, for anyone else, achieving such an effect would be impossible. But Ye Liang was different—he could obtain random daily missions—two or three every day!
And those daily missions helped him strengthen his C-ranked ninjutsu!
Ye Liang's Shadow Camouflage had already been enhanced to the level of an S-ranked ninjutsu!
Behind him, Terumi Mei followed closely. The deeper they went, the stronger her admiration for Ye Liang became.
"What kind of person is he exactly? He actually improved such a basic technique to this terrifying degree!"
In the ninja world, there were indeed people who had improved C-ranked ninjutsu before, but no one had ever elevated a C-ranked technique to the level of S-ranked like Ye Liang had!
Because it was utterly impossible!
"Perhaps Master Ye Liang really is a god!" Terumi Mei became even more certain of Ye Liang's standing. She recalled their casual chat with Ye Liang that night.
That night, after engaging in a long academic discussion with Ye Liang, Terumi Mei achieved a sudden breakthrough the very next day!
"It seems I must discuss things with Master Ye more often from now on."
Before long, the two finally reached the bottom of the cave.
The deepest part was a massive pit—once used by Orochimaru for secret experiments. Ye Liang glanced around inside.
A towering abyss filled with unknown liquid. Surrounding it were countless White Zetsu steadily feeding ingredients into the pit. They worked in a highly organized and methodical manner. Ye Liang couldn't clearly see what lay within the pit itself, but he clearly spotted the bound academy students along the cave's edge.
"Even Onoki is there."
Just then, a White Zetsu dragged a student toward the deep pit.
"What are you doing! You can do whatever you want with me, but please don't harm these children!" Onoki immediately roared in fury.
Ye Liang calmly observed from a distance.
So this was human experimentation!
He edged forward a few more steps and finally got a clear view of the pit's interior.
Inside the mysterious liquid sat over a dozen gigantic White Zetsus, motionless. The surrounding liquid slowly flowed into their bodies as if being absorbed.
Ye Liang's eyes narrowed sharply!
Scattered around the gigantic White Zetsu were the remains of several human skeletons!
[Some students have already been killed!] Ye Liang immediately understood.
He signaled to Mei and quickly rushed toward the White Zetsu dragging the hostage.
By now, they were nearly at the corner of the pit.
"Begin!" Ye Liang coldly snorted and immediately launched an attack against these ordinary White Zetsu.
After infiltrating the location earlier, he had already studied everyone present. Other than their large numbers, all these enemies only possessed the strength of regular jonin.
"Who's there!"
The group of White Zetsu reacted instantly. However, within half a second, the White Zetsu dragging the student was sent flying into the endless depths by Ye Liang with a single slap.
"Damn it! We're under attack!" A group of White Zetsu immediately surged toward Ye Liang.
Although Ye Liang despised their abilities, they were still jonin-level ninja, after all—capable enough to react within a few seconds.
At this moment, Mei also unleashed her techniques.
She took a quick deep breath, then exhaled a jet of earth-scented flame that formed a barrier around the students.
That was Ye Liang's plan.
He'd draw the White Zetsu's attention first, then Terumi Mei would unleash her Lava Release to shield the students.
[Shinra Tensei!]
Ye Liang coldly uttered as the White Zetsu closed in.
Since Terumi Mei had already shielded all the students, he wasn't worried about his Shinra Tensei harming those ordinary students.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosive blasts erupted as Ye Liang unleashed his power. The shockwave hurled all the White Zetsu backward, crashing them into the walls, scattering their lifeless bodies across the ground — a clear display of the might behind his Shinra Tensei!
[Invincible!]
Now, Ye Liang stared coldly down into the crater.
The weaklings were gone. Time for the real fight!
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