Chapter 70: A Decision
"Mm…"
Within the borders of the Land of Fire, inside a cavern behind a waterfall, Li Yao slowly sat up, rubbing his temples to ease the throbbing pain in his head.
While he'd been sleeping, the chakra and memories from a shadow clone that had just dispersed suddenly rushed back into his mind, startling him awake.
Thankfully, with his absolute control over chakra, he was able to filter out most of the irrelevant memories and retain only the battle data between the clone and the Konoha pursuit squad.
Even so, the sudden influx of memory gave him a headache.
He massaged his forehead for a while before finally returning to normal.
Whew… Li Yao exhaled deeply.
Although the memory backlash had woken him, the seven to eight hours of sleep had significantly improved his mental state.
At the very least, the bone-deep exhaustion—like having stayed awake for five days and nights straight—had mostly faded.
"The clones in the northern and eastern directions are still active. Looks like only the one to the east was discovered."
Sensing the status of his remaining shadow clones, Li Yao grinned.
While traveling earlier that day, he had crossed a river and suddenly realized something: people leave tracks on land, but not on water. And he didn't need to walk—he could just lie on the water and let the current carry him.
Better yet, this method wouldn't leave behind chakra traces either.
So he had split off three clones, sending them in three different directions, while his real body drifted downstream to a waterfall, where he discovered this small cavern hidden behind it—about the size of a kitchen, but enough for him to rest in.
He had cut off mental links to the clones and slept until the eastward one dispersed and triggered the chakra memory feedback.
Now that the eastern clone had died but the other two were still safe, Li Yao deduced that Konoha had likely only dispatched one tracking team after him.
"Could it be because of the war?"
Li Yao wondered.
His understanding that the Second Shinobi World War was happening came mostly from the fact that Danzo hadn't checked on him in two years.
But he wasn't certain.
However, if the other two clones continued unhindered—or if the same team had tracked and killed the eastward one—it would confirm that Konoha didn't have the manpower to send more.
That would mean the Second Great Ninja War truly was ongoing.
"If that's the case… then maybe I don't need to rush out of the Land of Fire just yet."
He tilted his head in thought. If war really was underway, then the country would be in a ring-shaped state: tight along the borders and at Konoha's center, but loose in between.
The borders and Konoha would be heavily guarded, making escape difficult.
Outside those borders, things might be even more chaotic than within.
Ironically, the inner zones—between Konoha and the border—were likely the safest right now.
"Then I won't rush to leave."
Recalling the memory returned by his clone, Li Yao made his decision.
He would stay for now, using this period of relative calm to attempt copying the chakra signature of that female ninja's Super Beast Imitating Drawing technique.
Li Yao now remembered—it was the same jutsu used by Sai in the original timeline, where ink drawings came to life.
He hadn't expected to encounter a flying jutsu this early, apart from the Dust Release used by the Third Tsuchikage.
Whether it was Deidara's explosive clay birds or Sai's ink creatures, both were from future generations—or so he thought.
He'd been too narrow-minded.
Most techniques in the shinobi world were passed down. Very few were invented by individuals.
Kekkei genkai and special techniques were often inherited. They just had high learning thresholds, so only a few could master them—making them seem exclusive to certain individuals.
But in truth, such jutsu could appear in any generation.
So it made sense he'd encounter one now.
His own bias as a transmigrator had led him to focus solely on how to copy Dust Release from the Tsuchikage.
But now he had a better, more immediate opportunity.
If he could replicate the Super Beast Imitating Drawing's chakra nature, he would have a way to fly.
With flight, he'd have unmatched mobility—an open sky meant more escape paths and fewer ways to be cornered.
And since flying jutsu were so rare, most ninja couldn't counter it.
Flight would represent true freedom—and real survival.
"...Shame though."
Just as he was pondering the benefits of flight, Li Yao sighed.
His shadow clones' souls were only simulations.
Even if they emitted the same chakra fluctuations as his real soul, they lacked his ability to instantly perceive chakra nature and transformation upon contact.
He had discovered that his ability to read chakra types was closely tied to his soul.
He hadn't been able to sense anything at all before merging his soul with chakra.
That showed just how critical the soul was to his sensing ability.
The closer a foreign jutsu's chakra came to his soul, the clearer he could sense it.
If it physically touched his body—where his soul resided—he could instantly analyze the chakra nature and form.
If it came close but didn't touch, he could still understand it with time.
But his soul couldn't leave his body. That meant his black iron chains and shadow clones didn't carry the soul's sensing ability once they left him.
That severely limited his ability to copy techniques.
"If only the real body had been there… no, forget it."
He shook his head.
That was a dangerous thought.
If he'd sent his real body to the eastern zone instead of a clone, he'd be dead now.
Once again, it proved how crucial intelligence was in a shinobi's battle.
Like the Immortal Duo from the original series—those who didn't know their abilities ended up dead, including the Two-Tails jinchūriki and the monk Chiriku.
Even Asuma died because of them.
But once their powers were understood, they were countered and defeated.
Once intelligence is gathered, a strategy can be devised—and if it works, the outcome is lethal.
Hidan's ability was even used against him by Shikamaru, who nearly took down Kakuzu as well.
Unfortunately, Shikamaru hadn't known Kakuzu had multiple hearts, or the fight might have ended sooner.
So yes, intelligence is everything.
Once Li Yao revealed his black iron chains, Konoha immediately devised a countermeasure.
Knowing the chains had both high physical and ninjutsu resistance, they switched tactics—using ink to bypass both defenses and target his real body while binding his chains.
Li Yao could sense it: even if he'd escaped that ink trap, they likely had more countermeasures ready.
If his real body had been present last night, his journey would've ended then and there.
Thank goodness for shadow clones.
He owed a lot to Kimura Yao's father for teaching him that jutsu.
Without clones, he'd have never escaped Konoha in the first place.
Now that his clones, Fire Release, and black iron chains had been exposed, he still had two trump cards hidden: Adamantine Sealing Chains and the Darkness Illusion Technique.
Those needed to be kept secret until absolutely necessary.
"I need to confirm how many teams are tracking me."
"Then use my clones to draw out their full capabilities."
Until he had absolute certainty of victory, Li Yao wouldn't send his real body into combat.
The risk was too great.
His experience as a shinobi was still lacking.
Some jutsu in this world looked weak but could become lethal in specific circumstances.
He didn't know enough yet.
His clones would help him learn his enemies' strengths—then he could go collect that female ninja's ink-style chakra.
…
One day later.
Along the river where Li Yao had dispatched a clone, Sarutobi Tenchu's squad arrived and began their search.
Before long, Ayase and Hyūga Shika returned from their sweep.
The four regrouped along the riverbank.
"This is it?" Tenchu asked, frowning.
To avoid being tricked again, they had retraced the entire path, expanding their search zone—but it had still taken a full day.
That meant Li Yao had split from his clone long ago, fooling them for seven or eight hours.
It was a bitter humiliation for Tenchu.
His eyes burned with quiet fury.
He swore: next time, he would kill Li Yao with his own hands.
Ayase landed beside him from her ink bird. "One kilometer north, we found traces of black chakra chains embedded in the ground. He must've gone north."
Konoha ninja were excellent trackers.
They had already analyzed the kinds of marks left by Li Yao's movement technique.
When Ayase saw the cross-shaped holes in the earth, she instantly recognized them as the work of Li Yao's black iron chains.
(END CHAPTER)
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