One year after Ye Liang's departure.
Three bolts of lightning struck the Hokage Rock. The First Hokage's smiling face, once full of joy, was now shattered—only half remained!
Ye Liang sat stunned atop the First Hokage's head, scanning the Hidden Leaf Village below.
Damn it all! It was way too quiet!
This wasn't just normal silence—not even a single chirp from a sparrow. This was springtime—it should've been bursting with blooming flowers and teeming with life!
"Damn it all! Where did everyone go?" Ye Liang leapt down from the Hokage Rock.
He quietly walked along the paths of Konoha.
He clearly remembered relocating Anko and the others, and also moving familiar faces like Ichiraku to Otogakure. They should currently be in the Land of Snow.
But then—
Why was the Hokage village completely empty?
He scanned the area again. The chairs and tables were all neatly arranged—clearly no signs of battle. Dust covered the tabletops, meaning no one had been here for a long time.
He stepped into the Hokage office, then silently walked into the residential buildings—still no one. As he walked a bit further, Ye Liang suddenly spotted a figure emerging from a raised manhole cover!
"Brother! Wait up!"
Ye Liang hurried after the figure. At the sound of his shout, the person slammed the manhole cover shut and vanished below.
Ye Liang ran over and lifted the cover.
It was a sewer tunnel. The figure had hidden inside here.
"Strange! Why not walk above ground instead of hiding in sewers?"
Ye Liang jumped down curiously.
The underground tunnel was deep and wide. The moment he entered, a foul stench hit him. He wrinkled his nose, forcing himself to adapt, and slowly moved forward to search.
The place was filled with filthy, smelly water, completely blocking Ye Liang's ability to sense any living beings.
He moved deeper, finally spotting a figure at the farthest end.
Actually, there were several ninja wearing forehead protectors.
"Who are you! Don't you know this is our territory!" When the ninja saw Ye Liang approaching, they immediately shouted loudly.
Ye Liang froze.
This was Konoha!
How did it become your territory, and even more so, in a sewer!
He was just about to get angry when he saw them widen their eyes in fear, then immediately turn and run!
Everyone fled!
Just at the sight of Ye Liang.
"What are you all doing?" Ye Liang was stunned. He quickly chased after them, only to find these people avoiding him like the plague. Some even shouted while running.
"Ye Liang is here!"
Ye Liang rubbed his head in confusion.
What the hell was going on!
He kept chasing. The deeper he went, the more people he found in the sewers!
Most were civilians, with some ninja among them. But the only thing they all had in common was fear toward him—none of them even wanted to speak to him.
After failing to get any answers, Ye Liang finally grabbed a fleeing ninja.
"Hayate! Why are you running!"
This person was Hayate Gekko, a Tokubetsu Jonin of Konoha. Back then, since Hayate wasn't very close to Ye Liang, he hadn't been among those Ye Liang relocated. Still, they definitely knew each other.
"You know me?"
"Who are you looking at, Ye Liang?" Hayate Gekko shouted, immediately drawing the katana at his waist.
"Die, demon! I won't let you harm the villagers any longer!"
Hayate swiftly swung his katana toward Ye Liang. His eyes showed absolutely no hesitation, only a trace of anger!
"What the hell was going on here!" Ye Liang exclaimed in shock.
He was certain he'd never wronged Hayate Gekko in any way. Yet the killing intent Hayate displayed was utterly merciless—as if he had personally slaughtered Hayate's ancestors for eighteen generations back.
"What are you doing?! I don't want to hurt you!" Ye Liang caught the blade with one hand.
At this point, he had long become fearless toward ordinary Tokubetsu Jonin. Let alone the fact that his opponent wielded only a regular small katana.
"Hmph! Don't act so innocent, devil! Haven't you captured enough people already!"
"Capturing people? Me? Kid, are you confused? I just returned here, and I haven't even seen you guys in quite some time!"
"Just returned here? Haha, you only attacked Konoha yesterday, not even sparing Baki who went out to investigate! Are you even human!"
What the hell was this about!
Ye Liang was totally clueless.
At this point, he could be one hundred percent certain—the person Hayate spoke of definitely wasn't himself.
"Look carefully, I'm Ye Liang, the authentic Ye Liang! Who exactly are you talking about?"
"Of course I know you're Ye Liang! You've turned everyone into White Zetsu over this past year! Isn't that reason enough to kill you!"
White Zetsu!
Ye Liang was immediately stunned.
It's as expected!
The Fake Ye Liang wasn't dead yet!
Back then, when evading Heavenly Lightning, he'd already suspected that Fake Ye Liang had survived. Now it was confirmed, and a bit of tension crept in.
From the current situation, he seemed to have returned exactly one year after his departure!
One full year—nothing much for an ordinary person, but for Fake Ye Liang, who also had his "cheat ability," what kind of development had he undergone!
Ye Liang struck a vital nerve point on Hayate Gekko with Gentle Fist.
"Believe it or not, I'm not the Ye Liang you think I am. I mean no harm. If you believe me, I can even help you."
Hayate glared angrily, but after locking eyes with Ye Liang, he slowly became puzzled.
"How strange. Your eyes are clear and calm, completely lacking that madman's insanity."
"I told you, I'm not that guy!"
Ye Liang explained.
After asking Hayate a few casual questions, Ye Liang roughly understood the current situation.
After his departure, Fake Ye Liang had immediately made a comeback.
He hadn't abandoned his plan. He was still determined to turn the entire world's population into White Zetsu to resist the Otsutsuki Clan.
Without Ye Liang's intervention, things had gone much smoother for him.
He conquered both Kumo Village and Sunagakure! And just a month ago, he finally conquered Konoha—the toughest target of all. Now, the entire world was overrun by White Zetsu.
The few remaining survivors hid everywhere, with Konoha's people taking refuge in the sewers, hoping to escape Fake Ye Liang's purges.
"What about Otogakure? How are they doing?" Ye Liang urgently asked the question he cared most about.
"Not sure!"
We're too far from the Land of Snow. Aside from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, we have no intelligence on the distant countries, and the situation is extremely urgent right now.
When we can barely take care of ourselves, how can we possibly worry about others?
Hayate Gekko's words sent a chill down Ye Liang's spine. Seeing no one familiar around, he immediately activated [Kujaku] and flew out of the sewers.
"Damn you, Fake Ye Liang! Just you wait!"
He flew toward the Land of Snow at full speed.
Hundreds of kilometers away, a major conflict was about to erupt at the edge of the Land of Snow!
Thousands upon thousands of White Zetsu launched an attack on the Land of Snow!
The Uchiha district and the Hyuga district struggled to hold their defenses. Since Ye Liang left, Otogakure has become the last stronghold of the Naruto world!
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