Ye Liang made his decision in an instant and immediately ran toward the distance, piggybacking Anko Mitarashi.
Since she was already in his arms, why not keep her? Though Ye Liang wasn't close with Anko, he still decided to take her along.
"Freak! Where do you think you're running off to? Freeze!"
"Go to hell," Ye Liang snapped back. He had never been a well-behaved kid who listened. Otherwise, in his previous life, he wouldn't have ignored his parents' advice and died suddenly while gaming...
"Damn it!"
Orochimaru's rage boiled over. Betrayed—how could he not be furious? He immediately pursued Ye Bufan at full speed.
[Ninjutsu! Hidden Shadow Multi-Snake Hands!]
A series of snakes shot from Orochimaru's sleeves toward Ye Liang's back.
Learning from experience, Orochimaru no longer dared to engage in close combat...
[Shinra Tensei!]
Another familiar move. Before the snakes even touched Ye Liang, they were instantly torn apart by the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei, leaving not even a trace of blood or flesh behind.
[Shinra Tensei!] Ye Liang, startled, shouted again!
To his amazement, the technique activated once more!
"What the hell!"
Ye Liang was stunned.
In the original story, Shinra Tensei had clear cooldown periods.
Yet now, his version of Shinra Tensei had no cooldown at all!
No cooldown at all!
As long as sufficient chakra was poured in, it could be used endlessly!
This unexpected advantage was truly a pleasant surprise.
Still, Ye Liang didn't notice something important.
Originally, Shinra Tensei was Nagato's kekkei genkai. For Ye Liang to activate it without possessing that bloodline limit shouldn't have even been possible.
Of course, considering this was a skill forcibly added by the system, the explanation wasn't complicated.
Ye Liang shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
Behind him, Orochimaru continued chasing. Both raced forward at full speed, bounding from tree branch to tree branch.
"What the hell! Are you one of those monkey-counting maniacs? We've run this far already, yet you're still following me! Don't you ever get full?"
"Put down Anko or I'll turn you into a specimen!" Orochimaru threatened menacingly from behind.
"Put her down? You're so ancient. Still got it in you? She's just a young girl, at the prime age when passion runs wild. Don't get me wrong—you're definitely not up for it."
Ye Liang mocked as he desperately kept running, giving Orochimaru the middle finger behind his back.
Once a rookie gains power, they act like they own the world...
Funny thing is, flipping someone off works the same in every world. Originally just some mockery, Orochimaru hadn't reacted much to the taunts, but once that noble gesture appeared, Orochimaru completely lost his temper!
"Cheating little punk! I'll erase you from this world!"
[Cursed Seal of Heaven! Activation!]
With a furious roar, Orochimaru's muscles suddenly changed.
His skin gradually turned grayish-white, and unexpectedly, a pair of wing-like appendages resembling hands sprouted from his back. With one flap, he shot forward over ten meters!
Within moments, he was already catching up to Ye Liang!
"What the hell! This is Sasuke's cursed seal! You've got to be kidding me!" Ye Liang exclaimed in shock.
Thinking about it again, it made sense—Sasuke's cursed seal was originally developed by Orochimaru himself, so it was natural for him to possess it too.
"Darn it, I overdid it..."
Ye Liang felt doomed. After knocking Orochimaru away again, he finally realized—his chakra was nearly depleted.
After all, he only possessed chakra reserves at the Jonin level.
Jonin—they're a bit of a mystery. They can be considered strong, and rightfully so—but precisely how powerful they are is anyone's guess. During Naruto Shippuden alone, Konoha had countless Jonin, yet very few were truly capable fighters.
Ye Liang suddenly sensed his "Jonin" level chakra was nearly used up...
He estimated maybe ten uses or so remained.
"Hey hey, Miss Beauty, you've been pretending to be dead for long enough—shouldn't you speak up now? Where's the Hidden Leaf Village? We'd probably survive if we went there." Ye Liang suddenly called out to Anko Mitarashi, who was on his back.
These were desperate times; naturally, he had to unite every possible force!
This was something Comrade Lu Xun had said!
"Tsk! Bastard who groped my ass! Hope you die sooner!"
"Hey hey! What are you even saying? Wasn't it because I saved you that I ended up being chased by Orochimaru in the first place! As the one involved, shouldn't you take some responsibility?"
"You groped my ass!"
"..."
Well, women sure hold grudges...
Ye Liang kept silent for a while.
But before long, Orochimaru caught up again!
"At least tell me where the Hidden Leaf Village is! If not for me, then for your own sake!" Ye Liang panicked—he wasn't ready to die yet, especially after obtaining his "golden opportunity"!
"You groped my ass!"
"..."
MMP!
Ye Liang was going crazy!
The ancients spoke truly when they said: 'Dealing with women and petty men is no easy task.'
Ye Liang truly wasn't being chauvinistic, really!
Looking ahead at the cliff, Ye Liang gradually calmed his restless heart.
No more fooling around now—life and death hung in the balance; he needed to get serious.
Besides, by this point, without Anko even reminding him, Ye Liang already figured out where the Hidden Leaf Village was.
He ran around aimlessly and somehow ended up right at the Hokage Rock!
That's right, ahead at the massive cliffside, the four handsome and dignified Hokage lords were vividly carved into the stone face.
From far away, Ye Liang saw the First Hokage's statue smiling at him!
"Looks like a kid!"
He blurted out, then glanced back at the approaching Orochimaru. He finally regained his composure.
[Shinra Tensei!]
Forcing Orochimaru back once again, Ye Liang leaped off the cliff without hesitation.
Below lay the Hidden Leaf Village. Although Orochimaru hadn't officially defected yet, with Anko—the foolish girl—as proof, his secret research on forbidden techniques would definitely come to light.
At that point, no matter what excuses Orochimaru tried to offer, he wouldn't be able to talk his way out.
Ye Liang figured out why Orochimaru had pursued him relentlessly—it was all because of Anko.
"All right! Run into the village—I'd like to see what you can do to me then!" Ye Liang laughed.
He already planned out how to explain his identity.
A hero seeing injustice and leaping to action—one bold shout and the fair maiden is saved!
He would be the model youth embodying selfless bravery!
"Embodying the time-honored values of our homeland, I shall bring the warmth of our people to the Hidden Leaf Village!" Ye Liang murmured to himself.
"Who goes there!"
Two figures in green suddenly appeared ahead. Wearing Konoha forehead protectors, they were clearly guardian Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village.
It was perfectly normal for Jonin to guard the area directly below the Hokage Rock, where the Hokage conducted official business.
Ye Liang stayed calm. He quietly landed on a rooftop and gently set Anko down beside him.
Anko was already able to walk by now, after all, since Orochimaru had only used her as an experimental subject, so he hadn't put her through too much.
"Hey, can you two help us out for a second? We're being chased by one of your village's [Rogue Ninjas]—can you cover us?"
"[Rogue Ninja] from Konoha?" The two guarding Jonin hesitated in confusion, then looked past Ye Liang and gasped in shock.
"It's Lord Orochimaru! How did he end up like this?"
"Your village's Orochimaru has been studying living-body Kinjutsu (forbidden techniques using live subjects). If you don't believe me, ask the girl next to me—Anko. She's one of his test subjects too."
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