Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 177 Mortal Body, Heroic Water!

In the jungle surrounding Yangyan Village, the figures were indistinct and unclear.

"Lord Yahiko, wake up. Those guys from Takigakure are acting strangely again," a "demon" with sensory abilities whispered.

"Hmm? Oh, here we go again? Haha~"

Yahiko mumbled a response, opened his eyes somewhat dazedly, and yawned wearily.

He is now proficient in "total concentration," and can maintain full concentration on his breathing even when he is asleep.

However, he is still too young and his body is not fully developed. After persisting for a day, he still felt very tired and could only take a short rest to recover when the opponent slowed down their attack.

"Huh? That's not right."

As if suddenly remembering something, Yahiko turned to look at the "demon" beside him, and said with some trouble and helplessness, "Asa-nii, how many times have I told you, just call me Yahiko. Calling me 'sir' or something feels so awkward."

"Please don't make things difficult for me, Lord Yahiko."

The "demon" named "Asa" quickly shook his head and explained, "You can call me whatever you want in private, but Lord Nagato said that at times like this, we must follow the rules, maintain order, and keep to our proper places."

It's that red-haired, gloomy, expressionless brat again.

The image of that expressionless face flashed through his mind, and Yahiko looked somewhat annoyed, muttering, "What a hassle. Being that guy's subordinate is really putting you guys through a lot."

Anyone with a brain would know that, given that guy's personality, he must be very rigid normally.

Making friends with his subordinates is simply impossible for him.

No, in fact, Yahiko even doubted whether he had any friends.

However, although he always disliked that kid, he admired those who were willing to become "ghosts".

Not everyone has the courage to become a "ghost".

Although becoming a "ghost" grants terrifying vitality, and the body can slowly recover as long as the brain is not destroyed, it also means losing the right to stand in the sunlight.

Even when going out normally, one needs to wear a robe that covers the whole body, otherwise one will be scorched by the not-so-hot sun of the Land of Rain. One can only go out normally when the clouds are completely dark or at night.

Fortunately, sunny days are almost never seen in the Land of Rain.

But what Yahiko doesn't know is that the self-healing ability that "Oni" currently possesses is actually a weakened version.

The true "demon" can be said to be an immortal being. As long as it is not beheaded by a special "Nichirin Blade" or exposed to sunlight, even if its head is destroyed, it can completely heal itself within seconds.

However, you have to give up something to gain something.

It is precisely because of the weakening of their self-healing ability that they can eat human food like normal people, instead of craving flesh and blood like real "ghosts" and completely becoming a humanoid species that survives by eating people.

At least in Yun Chuan's view, this change is neither good nor bad.

"Haha, it's not difficult at all."

Hearing Yahiko directly criticize Nagato, Asa just chuckled twice and said seriously, "Actually, we all know that Lord Nagato is just cold on the outside but warm on the inside. There can be no order without rules, and he is usually quite nice to us."

"You can tell if someone's cold-hearted, but as for their warm nature..."

Upon hearing this, Yahiko scratched his cheek, not knowing what else to say.

He had too little contact with Nagato; what impressed him most was Nagato's terrible personality.

However, he was also learning to put aside his prejudices. Since his subordinate Asa said so, he would believe him to some extent for the time being.

After all, these "ghosts" were still that guy's subordinates; he was just temporarily given command by his boss.

Although he disliked this hierarchical system of rank and status, he understood that it was necessary for the time being.

"call!"

Yahiko propped himself up on his thighs, exhaling mist as he gazed in the direction of Takigakure in the distance.

The night wind rustled the branches and leaves, revealing a corner of the moon and casting a pitying moonlight.

Previously, when he was leaning against the tree, the light was too dim to see clearly, but now, under the sliver of moonlight, Yahiko's somewhat disheveled appearance was clearly visible.

Although he wasn't seriously injured, his arms and chest were wrapped in bandages, and his clothes and face were charred black from the flames of the exploding detonators.

The wounds on his body were inflicted by that black-haired ninja during the cover retreat.

That guy was, after all, an elite among the Jonin of Takigakure. Perhaps he wasn't as prestigious as the elite Jonin of Konoha, but he was still far superior to most Jonin.

In his rage, he attacked with all his might without restraint, and with his current strength, he was somewhat unable to cope.

Of course, that guy was also badly injured when he went straight into the minefield. If it weren't for the blue-haired Takigakure's timely reaction to rescue him, he might have died in the surrounding explosive tag traps.

"Alas, what a pity."

Thinking of this, Yahiko couldn't help but sigh again.

Asa looked at the sighing boy beside him, a hint of gentleness appearing in his scarlet vertical pupils.

The same goes for the "demons" around him; no matter how disheveled Yahiko is now, he has already won their approval.

It's not because he's particularly strong, nor because he's a great commander.

Instead, it was the other side that dared to personally go to the battlefield with their "mortal bodies" to cover the retreat of these "ghosts" with their companions.

As the interim commander who made the decision to rotate players, he was the only one who did not participate in the rotation.

Within a single day, he had killed no fewer than fifty of his enemies.

It can be said that he undertook the most dangerous rearguard missions, and each time he survived thanks to his keen intuition.

Tactics are a commander's best control over the battlefield, but Yahiko is still very inexperienced, so he only used one tactic.

Suicide attacks, a fight to the death, and standing with them.

"It seems that Takigakure and the others are determined to fight to the death."

Yahiko took a deep breath, looked up at the moon in the night sky, and smiled, "But now it's our home turf."

The reason they haven't taken the initiative and have always stuck to defense is that they can't be exposed to the light of day.

Although he knew that this flaw would be discovered sooner or later, Yahiko still hoped to delay its exposure.

After all, once this flaw becomes known, it can easily be targeted by enemies.

"Go and get everyone ready for battle. Those guys from Takigakure will push forward relentlessly, regardless of the losses."

Yahiko turned to look at the tall, imposing figure behind him and smiled, "Uncle Ye, I'll have to trouble you to give them a surprise then."

"..." Night scratched his head, the words "Upper Moon" and "Land" etched in his eyes gleaming, and replied softly, "Okay."

--------

Just as Yahiko and the others had predicted.

As night fell, the Takigakure forces, led by the black-haired Takigakure ninja, launched their attack.

Furthermore, in order to minimize the damage caused by the explosive tag traps in Yangyan Village, they still attacked in groups of three.

Even Yahiko didn't have any good countermeasures, since this was essentially using human lives to pave the way, and whether or not they would survive, and how many would survive, depended entirely on luck.

Almost simultaneously, several teams from Takigakure Village encountered the same number of enemies, and like them, they were all in teams of three.

However, the difference is that the Kagerou Village side has a "demon" along with two Kagerou Village ninjas.

Snapped!

Upon encountering the Takigakure ninja squad, the two Kagerou ninjas didn't hesitate to attach explosive tags to "Demon's" arm, then retreated in unison, shouting, "Quick! They're done! Get him there!"

Under the watchful eyes of the Takigakure ninjas, filled with fear, anger, and despair, they watched helplessly as the howling monster charged toward them in an instant, the explosive tags on their arms igniting and emitting blue smoke.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted throughout the jungle in an instant, accompanied by howls, curses, screams, and sounds of battle.

Under the pale moonlight, above the heads of the two Takigakure ninja, a lithe and agile figure pounced down with a fierce killing intent!

Amidst the violent sonic boom of the explosion, Yahiko concealed the sound of his descent, kneeling down on the shoulders of the Takigakure ninja who was momentarily stunned by the explosion. As the ninja regained his senses, a look of astonishment and fear appeared on his face.

"You dare to daydream in a place like this?" Yahiko sneered, then suddenly pushed off with his legs.

Click!

After the horrifying sound of bones cracking rang out, he did a backflip to dodge the kunai swung by another Takigakure ninja, and kicked the limp corpse into his arms in the process!

"Water Release: Water Fang Cannon!"

An angry voice rang out, and a spiral of water with terrifying force shot towards Yahiko, who was still in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage.

However, reflected in Yahiko's unchanging pupils.

Bang! !

The water cannon exploded less than half a meter away, looking like a blooming blue and white flower, with water vapor drifting and spreading like smoke and mist as it fell.

At the same time, the Takigakure ninja who was still holding his companion's corpse in his arms had half of his body explode into a bloody mist along with the corpse.

Yahiko landed lightly and steadily, patted the burly figure in front of him, and said with a smile, "Thanks, Uncle Ye."

puff.

"Night" slowly withdrew its blood-soaked arms from the two pierced corpses, ripped off its tattered black robe, and exposed its incredibly burly body to the night.

Moonlight shone on Yahiko's face, his cheeks still stained with blood from the corpse. He turned to look at the furious black-haired Takigakure and the indifferent blue-haired Takigakure in the distance.

"Oh ho." Yahiko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and chuckle, "You caught up with the scent so quickly."

Surprisingly, the black-haired and blue-haired Takishinobu ignored his trash talk.

After exchanging a glance, the two reached into their ninja tool pouches and pulled out a vial of unidentified blue liquid. They stared intently at Yahiko and Yoru, who stood silently in front of him, with eyes that seemed ready to die for him.

Without hesitation, he drank the tube of unidentified blue liquid.

"What is it?"

The unexpected behavior made Yahiko frown. He squinted at the glass container that the two had thrown to the ground and immediately thought of something like medicine.

But then, the strange changes that occurred to the blue-haired and black-haired Takigakure instantly overturned his guess, causing his expression to change.

Boom! Boom!

The liquid, far more dangerous and several times more effective than the Akimichi clan's secret medicine "Three-Colored Pill," entered their bodies in one go, making them feel as if flames were igniting within them, burning fiercely to every corner.

The next moment, an incredibly terrifying chakra aura erupted from their bodies, almost turning into a visible pale blue mist that surrounded them. A fierce wind raged around them, their outer garments were whipped up and fluttered wildly, and the ground beneath their feet collapsed into two circular craters centered on them.

The surrounding trees were cleared away, revealing a huge vacuum area.

Upon seeing this, Yahiko immediately realized what they had drunk.

—Heroic Water!

This unexpected change gave Yahiko a headache for a while.

His original plan was to keep the blue-haired Takigakure ninja occupied while Uncle Ye dealt with the stronger black-haired Takigakure ninja.

I never expected that these two people would actually be carrying "Hero's Water," and I never expected that they would have the courage and determination to drink it directly.

The entire Takigakure village is built around a giant tree, which is said to produce "holy water," but only enough to fill one bottle can be accumulated every hundred years.

After drinking the so-called "Hero's Water", one can instantly possess ten times the amount of chakra they originally had!

It can be said that the power of most ninjutsu, especially water-style ninjutsu, is determined by the amount of chakra consumed.

Ten times the chakra can increase the power and range of their ninjutsu by at least ten times, granting them power surpassing that of elite Jonin.

The price to gain this power is the burning of the user's life.

In other words, when the two drank the so-called "hero's water," their lives had already begun their countdown.

"I see, you were together. It's a bit unexpected, but..."

Looking at the two figures in the distance, who had clearly stepped onto a path of certain death, the blue-haired Takishinobu's tone was unusually calm, as if stating a fact, and he said indifferently: "Kid, and that big guy, today, you will die."

His thoughts were interrupted, but Yahiko's lips curled into a smile, and his eyes gradually hardened as he said, "Why think so much? Let's see who dies here today!"

Bang! !

As soon as he finished speaking, a deafening explosion, far louder than those on other battlefields, rang out, causing the ground in the surrounding area to tremble.

Five hundred meters away, Kakuzu casually smashed his fist into the head of a Takigakure ninja, piercing through the back of his skull and spraying out red and white matter.

"Hmph, utterly meaningless garbage. This damn thing is now called 'Hero's Water'?"

Looking down at the empty glass container on the ground, Kakuzu snorted coldly, his tone somewhat disdainful: "A bunch of pigs who can't even beat people. Even if you add water to make them heavier, they'll only become a bunch of water-injected pigs. Apart from being given the nice-sounding name of 'heroes,' your deaths have no value whatsoever."

A pig is a pig, and a bear is a bear; neither can ever become a hero.

As he pondered, as if receiving some message, Kakuzu suddenly looked up at the dark shadow above him, then looked in the distance and whispered, "There? Looks like that stupid bird is still somewhat useful."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished instantly, heading towards the direction of Yahiko and the other three.

(End of this chapter)