Chapter 57: That's Enough, Child...
Uchiha Clan District.
Inside the Great Elder's estate, the elder's face lit up with surprise and delight as he finished listening to a report. His eyebrows arched high.
"Heaven truly favors the Uchiha!"
As the ones tasked with monitoring the Kumo delegation, the Uchiha were in an awkward position. They couldn't explain why someone from Kumo had suddenly gone missing, nor why the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Kushina, had been abducted.
No matter how they tried to explain, they would still have to bear responsibility for dereliction of duty.
But now—perfect!
Outside Konoha, someone had escaped from what seemed to be a Root base.
And this person had caused a massive disturbance.
Now, they had the perfect excuse for Kumo's actions, and also a reason why they hadn't stopped the Kumo delegation.
They could even turn the blame on the Third Hokage and Danzo, accusing them of performing forbidden experiments inside the village, endangering Konoha—an utterly irresponsible act.
With that thought, the Great Elder immediately ordered, "Go! Send someone to—"
RUMBLE!
At that moment, the ground shook.
The elder's expression changed slightly. He leapt to the rooftop.
In the southeastern direction of Konoha, countless golden chakra chains rose into the sky, piercing the night and shooting toward the heavens.
The elder's pupils instantly contracted to their limit, and a tremor ran through his body.
"That's Lady Mito's Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
He recognized it at once—it was Uzumaki Mito's power.
However... this kind of apocalyptic scale reminded him of when the legendary Shinobi God, Hashirama Senju, had unleashed his Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
He hadn't expected that Lady Mito still possessed such terrifying strength!
Not even in the last Great Ninja War had she displayed anything remotely close to this power.
"Is it the Nine-Tails?"
A trace of doubt crossed the elder's face. The only thing that could force Lady Mito to use such overwhelming sealing chains must be the Nine-Tails, right?
"Could it be…"
Suddenly, a look of joy overtook him. Perhaps Lady Mito could no longer suppress the Nine-Tails and had gone outside the village to deal with it?
He immediately considered summoning the clan and rushing to her location to seize the freed beast.
But before he could act—
RUMBLE!
Another deafening quake shook the earth.
From the horizon, a single massive, pitch-black chakra chain burst from the ground—followed by countless more. They wrapped around the golden chains.
"Lady Mito is fighting someone?"
"Who could force her to use the full power of her Adamantine Sealing Chains?"
At the sight of the black chakra chains, the elder realized this wasn't about the Nine-Tails escaping. It was an enemy—someone in battle with Uzumaki Mito.
"An enemy…?"
"This is bad—it's an enemy!"
His expression changed sharply, and he immediately ordered the clan to assist Lady Mito.
No matter what the Uchiha might be plotting—
When it came to Uzumaki Mito, the Uchiha held sincere respect.
Besides, the village was under attack. The Uchiha couldn't sit by and pretend nothing was happening.
Protecting Konoha was the duty of the Uchiha Police Force.
This wasn't the same as letting Kumo take Kushina.
Kushina, after all, was an outsider.
Even if she was abducted, the villagers wouldn't bear much resentment toward the Uchiha.
But this situation was different. The enemy was already at their doorstep. The Uchiha had to act.
"The enemy fighting Lady Mito must not be spared!"
"Hurry! Go support Lady Mito!"
"Hurry!"
As the wife of the Shinobi God and a member of the Uzumaki clan, long allied with Konoha, Uzumaki Mito's status in the village was second only to the First and Second Hokage.
All the elite clans who saw the intertwining golden and black chakra chains instantly realized someone was fighting Lady Mito. Their faces changed, and they began rallying ninja from their clans to support her.
"Damn it, I need to get out now."
With no sealing barrier left to suppress his chakra, Li Yao's sensory ability extended far and wide.
He could feel the ninja from all the major clans closing in fast.
At the same time—
Back at the Four Violet Flames Formation, the Third—who had been calmly waiting for Li Yao's chakra to run out—realized something was wrong when the massive black iron chains appeared.
He immediately concluded that the one trapped inside might only be a shadow clone.
With that, he ordered the barrier maintainers to open a gap and led four ANBU toward the area where the massive chakra reaction originated, leaving four others to keep the formation sealed around the clone.
After all, even he wasn't 100% sure it was just a clone.
But right now, Uzumaki Mito's safety took precedence.
Li Yao, meanwhile, sensed the Third's approach.
"Shit…"
Smoke was already rising from his scorched, reddened face. His skin was rapidly dehydrating and burning to a crisp. He was using everything he had to control the black iron chains.
But he still couldn't stop the Adamantine chains from drawing together—only delay it.
If this kept up, he'd burn out.
"That's enough, child. Stop."
Whoosh!
At that moment, Uzumaki Mito arrived behind him. She saw Li Yao's entire body spraying blood and steam, his skin carbonized and cracking—and her eyes flashed with a trace of sorrow.
Poof!
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, Li Yao's shadow clone suddenly dispersed into a puff of white smoke.
The instant the clone exploded, its chakra returned from the sky and surged into Li Yao's real body.
The chakra that had been split off now reintegrated with him, replenishing his chakra points and alleviating some of the damage to his body.
Now empowered with that extra chakra, Li Yao had some fight left in him.
And at this point—Uzumaki Mito telling him to stop?
How could he possibly stop?
But Uzumaki Mito was no ordinary person. Her chakra sensing was incredibly sharp.
Even before the returning chakra fully entered Li Yao's body, she sensed his intent to fight on.
No hand seals were needed—just a thought.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Before Li Yao could react—or perhaps even if he could, his focus on compressing the black iron chains left him with no room to move—
Eight Adamantine Sealing Chains suddenly shot from the ground and pierced his body.
In an instant, his chakra was sealed. He couldn't move it at all. The chains even began absorbing it.
But only for a moment—the absorption stopped quickly.
Uzumaki Mito had actively halted the process. She didn't want to accidentally kill him by draining too much.
If possible, she hoped to keep this talented child in Konoha.
"Child…"
Mito smiled gently, her voice soft and kind, doing her best to convey that she meant no harm. She wanted to persuade Li Yao to stop pushing his body.
But at that moment, a strange look crossed Li Yao's face, making her heart tense with unease—as if something bad was about to happen.
But… hadn't she already sealed his chakra completely?
Wait—!
Uzumaki Mito suddenly looked up. In the distance, the black iron chains were still forcefully wrapping around her Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Which meant—he was still controlling chakra!
"He hasn't been sealed!"
Her expression changed drastically as she instantly realized the reason.
And then she saw the smile creeping across Li Yao's charred, battered face.
(END CHAPTER)
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