Chapter 102: Turning Back
The next morning, just as the sun rose over the sea, its light dyed the water a deep crimson.
High in the sky, Damaokelisi and his giant eagle remained alert and full of energy after two days and nights, scanning the surroundings vigilantly.
Suddenly, the giant eagle, which had been turning its head to observe all directions, abruptly stopped and locked its gaze toward the west, letting out a faint cry.
Standing on the eagle's back, Damaokelisi immediately formed hand seals. His eyes transformed into hawk eyes as he turned to look.
Twelve kilometers away, a twelve-year-old boy standing on the back of a black giant eagle was flying in their direction.
"It's Li Yao. He's back."
The voice of Damaokelisi came through the earpiece. Hiding among the rocks beside the wooden cabin, the Third Raikage remained motionless, but mentally, he braced himself.
The other three who were in hiding also received Damaokelisi's alert from above.
The giant eagles raised by the Dama Clan could be contracted as summoning beasts. Not only were they formidable in combat, but their vision used for reconnaissance was terrifyingly powerful.
They could clearly see a person's face and figure from twelve kilometers away.
Thanks to this terrifying reconnaissance ability, the Dama Clan had earned their place in Kumogakure, responsible for border patrol and scouting across the Land of Lightning, guarding the village.
At this moment, Li Yao had no idea he had already been detected, and that his base had been ambushed—just waiting for him to fall into the trap.
Likewise, the Sarutobi couple, Sarutobi Tenchu and Ayase, had no idea they had been discovered.
Right after spotting Li Yao, Damaokelisi had also noticed them. But since their ink bird was focused in Li Yao's direction, their field of vision was partially obstructed, and they failed to spot Damaokelisi and his eagle.
"So it's true—Konoha has been deliberately leaking intel about Li Yao!"
On the island, the Third Raikage, hearing that Li Yao was being followed by ANBU from Konoha, immediately had one of his long-standing doubts resolved.
That was—how had the underground bounty offices gotten such accurate, real-time information on Li Yao?
Li Yao could fly, and his movements shouldn't have been easy to track.
Now that it was clear a Konoha ANBU, who controlled an ink bird, was following Li Yao, it all made sense.
The intel about Li Yao had always been coming from Konoha.
However...
"Why?"
A question flashed through the Third Raikage's mind. He couldn't understand why Konoha would leak information about such a precious experimental subject who had successfully awakened Wood Release—and even use the promise of immortality to lure others into targeting Li Yao.
Weren't they afraid Li Yao might be captured and the secret of Wood Release fall into another village's hands?
The Third Raikage couldn't figure out the logic behind this.
But what he did know was this—Li Yao definitely had more secrets.
As long as he could capture Li Yao, all would eventually be revealed.
"Boss, I think Li Yao noticed us."
After a while, Damaokelisi's surprised voice came through the earpiece, leaving the Third Raikage stunned.
He knew the surveillance range of the eagles trained by the Dama Clan.
Only about a minute had passed since Damaokelisi reported Li Yao's return. Even at top speed, Li Yao could have covered seven to eight kilometers at most.
Right now, Li Yao should still be four or five kilometers away.
And yet he already sensed something was wrong?
Could he have an abnormally wide sensory range?
Before the Third Raikage could make sense of how Li Yao noticed them, Damaokelisi's urgent voice came through the earpiece again.
"Boss, Li Yao just turned around and is flying back."
"Damn it!"
The Third Raikage cursed under his breath. Realizing they had been discovered, he immediately broke out from underground. The three elite jōnin who had been hiding with him emerged as well.
Now, the Third Raikage was sure—Li Yao had sensed their ambush from four or five kilometers away.
Whether it was chakra sensory, vision-based detection, or some other type, it showed one thing: ambushing Li Yao would be far more difficult than anticipated.
In the sky, Damaokelisi dove down on his eagle.
The Third Raikage and his team leapt up, landing on the eagle's back. The five of them and the eagle charged at top speed in Li Yao's direction.
Since a sneak attack had failed, their only option was direct confrontation.
"I didn't expect three more to be hidden on the island!"
On the back of the black steel eagle, Li Yao was startled as he sensed three individuals leap out from the rocks near the cabin.
They were too far—his chakra sensory hadn't picked up the ones hiding in the rocks.
He had only sensed the giant eagle and the people aboard it high in the sky, as well as the one hidden in the sea.
Fortunately, upon detecting someone guarding the island's airspace, he immediately turned back without attempting to probe further.
Clearly, they had come for him. To locate Viper Island, they must have had intel and made preparations.
Li Yao wasn't about to risk his life testing whether those preparations were enough to kill him.
Turning back was the best option.
And indeed, his choice was correct.
Among the three who had been lying in ambush, one of them had chakra so powerful it shocked Li Yao—even more than the Third Hokage's.
That person was undoubtedly a Kage-level shinobi—one of the top tier at that.
Given Li Yao's current strength, without the ability to forcibly explode his chakra points, he couldn't match a Kage-level enemy, especially not a group.
Escaping was clearly the wisest choice.
Once again—give him four more years, and in this same situation, he wouldn't need to flee. He'd turn around and eliminate them instead.
But unfortunately, that time hadn't come yet.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Li Yao immediately created two shadow clones, then dove into the black steel eagle along with them and the vegetative, naked Ash Earth.
This prevented anyone from identifying which one was the real him.
Then, the two clones each summoned their own black steel eagle from within the current eagle's belly. Li Yao himself and Ash Earth hid inside one of the summoned eagles.
Thus, the one black steel eagle became three, and each had a "Li Yao" on its back. But only the one flying southwest carried the real Li Yao and Ash Earth inside.
"Boss, Li Yao created clones and is heading in three different directions with three chakra black eagles."
From behind, Damaokelisi, riding his eagle, reported Li Yao's troop split to the Third Raikage.
"Clones..." The Third Raikage frowned and looked toward one of his subordinates. "Kafu, can you tell which one's the real body?"
The Kumo shinobi named Kafu formed hand seals, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "No. They're too far. I can't sense it."
This time, the team the Third Raikage brought included the hyper-visual Damaokelisi and his summoning eagle, Kafu—an elite jōnin proficient in chakra sensing—and others skilled in memory investigation techniques.
It was a team composed of Kumogakure's top-tier fighters, all with special sensory abilities.
But they hadn't expected Li Yao to have such terrifying sensory powers of his own.
"Which direction is the Konoha ANBU?" the Third Raikage suddenly asked.
"To Li Yao's right," Damaokelisi replied.
"Alright, we'll check the Li Yao on the left and the one in the middle. One of them must be the real body," the Third Raikage said.
They would leave the one on the right to the Konoha ANBU. He believed that after observing their actions, the ANBU would know which direction to pursue.
And sure enough, things played out exactly as the Third Raikage expected.
Seeing them go after the Li Yao on the left and center, the Sarutobi couple, acting in perfect sync, went after the one heading northwest—on the right.
By now, the couple had realized they had been discovered—only the Third Raikage had chosen to ignore them.
This came as a huge relief.
They were facing the Third Raikage. If he had set his sights on them, given their current condition, they likely wouldn't have survived.
Fortunately, he was more eager to get his hands on Li Yao.
(END CHAPTER)
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