"Damn it! That guy got away!" A ninja angrily kicked over a large bed.
At this moment, Ye Liang was standing on the rooftop, watching everything unfold. He wasn't stupid — with all the commotion, how could he not know something was going on? That's why he prepared the Substitution Jutsu in advance.
"What the hell is going on here! Are all these people from Kiri insane? Why are they after me?" He observed the scene briefly when suddenly, he noticed Yagura's eyes — the Mizukage — glancing in this direction.
Startled, he quickly retreated to hide himself. Yagura didn't notice anything unusual on the rooftop and lowered his head again.
At this point, all the ninja inside the room walked out. "Lord Yagura! That guy escaped!"
"I'm sorry, Lord Yagura! It's my fault! Please punish me!" Chang Jiulang suddenly knelt down.
Yagura's face showed anger. "What's the point of punishing you now! Elder Fukasaku is already dead!"
"But..." Chang Jiulang wanted to say something else but stopped himself after thinking it over.
Ye Liang shook his head — the Kiri ninja actually suspected him of being a bounty ninja!
Sure, Ye Liang wasn't a saint, but he looked every bit the handsome rogue — how dare they think he was some lowlife bounty ninja? If someone had said that to his face, he'd have punched them to the moon and back!
After Yagura left, Ye Liang transformed into an unremarkable ninja from Kiri and quietly infiltrated the crowd.
Evening came.
He crouched near the Kiri Secret Prison once again.
Kiri was no longer a place he could stay. Finding Black Zetsu had become extremely difficult, so if he could capture the bounty ninja now, it might turn the situation around and regain Yagura's trust.
After secretly lying in wait for several nights, security around the Secret Prison remained tight following the recent deaths.
During the day, Ye Liang hid in the bustling areas, and at night, he stayed in residences. After several uneasy days, tonight was finally the night when he could catch that bounty ninja who frequently came for assassinations.
He hid by the Deep Well and swallowed hard.
The bounty hunter didn't come alone tonight; he brought an accomplice. After luring away the additional Kiri guards, he sneaked into the Secret Prison!
"Hmph, dare to double-cross me! Tonight, I'll take it out on you!" Ye Liang immediately followed inside.
This time, he didn't lose track.
Having previous experience entering the Secret Prison, Ye Liang was now quite familiar with the route.
He reached the deepest level, and sure enough, the bounty ninja hadn't managed to strike yet!
He was confronting the Old Man with completely white hair.
"Hmph! Old man, since you know everything now, I can't let you live."
"No wonder all the bounty ninja's targets are older generation rogue ninja! So the murderer is you!"
"Haha! Old man, you're indeed clever! Now I'll take your life!"
After exchanging words for a while, the bounty ninja finally made his move. He raised his hand toward the Old Man but, perhaps worried about the noise from Ninjutsu, went straight for hand-to-hand combat instead!
His speed was extremely fast. Ye Liang estimated that the bounty hunter was probably half a step ahead of his current abilities!
He watched from the shadows, waiting for his moment.
The old man had initially managed to fight back using his rich experience against the bounty ninja, but as his energy slowly drained away, his speed began to decrease, and gradually, more wounds appeared on his body.
Ye Liang crept closer.
Just as he was about to reach out and ambush the bounty ninja, he happened to see the ninja's veil being hooked off by the old man's little finger!
A childlike face was revealed.
Yagura Karatachi!
"Damn! How could it be him!"
Ye Liang was shocked.
Seeing the change in situation, he quickly used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as a stone at the entrance and hid himself.
At this moment, the battle between the old man and Yagura also reached its conclusion. Yagura effortlessly removed the old man's head using Kiri's assassination technique.
Exactly as Ye Liang had seen that night.
Just then, the subordinate who had been assigned to distract people outside walked in. He didn't even bother hiding his identity—he was clearly Chang Jiulang, the one who had greeted Ye Liang!
Chang Jiulang looked at Elder Fukasaku's severed head in Yagura's hand, his expression shifting slightly.
"Lord Yagura, Elder Fukasaku was a highly respected man in the village. Won't killing him provoke public outrage?"
"As long as you keep your mouth shut, who will know?" Yagura replied indifferently. The killing intent in his gaze startled Chang Jiulang, who had begun to waver. "This old bastard had already denounced me! If I hadn't killed him, my position would definitely be in jeopardy!
And those other old fools too!
Don't think you're untouchable just because you're in the Mist! I'll drive them all into becoming rogue ninja one by one, and then kill them off one at a time in the dungeons! Hmph! Wanting to oppose me is pure fantasy!"
Looking nearly frenzied, Yagura stared hatefully at Elder Fukasaku's severed head. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he abruptly lifted his head to glare at Chang Jiulang. "That's right! Have you captured that wandering swordsman you used as a scapegoat earlier? Since the Elder died this time, we can just pin it on him."
"Lord!"
Chang Jiulang suddenly knelt down on one knee.
"That rogue swordsman is indeed formidable. We've searched the entire village but haven't been able to find him. In my estimation, he should have already left."
Yagura's pupils shifted slightly.
"Perfect! Then tomorrow, you will publicly announce that he is the murderer and place a bounty on him at the Assassination Tavern. I believe this matter will soon blow over."
"Indeed, your wisdom is unparalleled, my lord! This subordinate will go prepare immediately!"
Once Chojuro had reported this, he left the room directly.
A long time passed.
Yagura stepped out from the cottage.
Ye Liang followed him without hesitation. He never expected the real murderer to be Yagura Karatachi. This guy must have disguised himself as a bounty hunter specifically to eliminate political rivals. That way, he could escape the Mist Village's justice system and commit murder with impunity!
Such a blatant breach of protocol—executing someone personally instead of leaving it to the proper authorities—was known as taking the law into his own hands.
Such actions are strictly frowned upon in modern governance.
Ye Liang exhaled sharply and began following Yagura to find where he'd hidden the body. Instead of directly exposing him, Ye Liang chose to continue trailing him.
A long silence passed.
After burying Elder Fukasaku's head beneath a grove of large willow trees, Yagura walked straight toward a more distant location. He didn't return to the village; it seemed he had something even more important to do.
Ye Liang took note of this detail.
Soon, he came across a cave where Yagura vanished the moment he entered.
Ye Liang's heart tightened.
A powerful aura pulsed through this place!
He couldn't explain why he could sense the killing intent—maybe it was something he had before he lost his memory. Ye Liang didn't go inside. Instead, he started lingering right outside.
At that moment,
a completely black man emerged from the soil behind him.
Black Zetsu!
"Tsk tsk tsk! Would you look at that—this little white rat actually found the cave where Madara is hiding. Looks like this place won't be safe anymore." As soon as he finished speaking, he started to sink back into the ground.
Just then, an immense pressure crashed down on his head.
"I found you!"
Ye Liang shouted excitedly.
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