Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 101 Wood Release Exposed

"Huh...that...looks like the Third Tsuchikage's daughter, Haitsuchi!"

After observing from a distance for a while, Sarutobi Ayase noticed that the motionless, naked woman lying next to Li Yao's feet looked somewhat familiar.

As an ANBU member, she naturally knew about the direct relatives of the Third Tsuchikage, or at least had seen their photos.

As the third Tsuchikage's most beloved youngest daughter, Haitsuchi held a status in Iwagakure comparable to that of Princess Tsunade.

At the same time, she was a stunningly beautiful woman with a hot figure, making her very memorable. Sarutobi Ayase had a very clear memory of her appearance.

"Are you sure?" Sarutobi Tensuke asked.

"Confirmed," Sarutobi Ayase nodded.

She formed a hand seal, strengthening the connection between her tightly closed left eye and the eyes of the ink-wash bird.

The naked woman at Li Yao's feet did indeed look exactly like the photo of Hui Tu she had seen. It was certain that it was Hui Tu.

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Tenjuro suddenly realized, "That guy went to the Land of Earth before. No wonder we couldn't find him anywhere on the islands in this sea."

"However..." Sarutobi Tensuke asked疑惑地, "How come that guy captured the Third Tsuchikage's daughter, Haitsuchi?"

Li Yao was unaware that if he captured Haitsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage would absolutely go mad and would definitely send a powerful ninja squad to find him.

Knowing Li Yao's cautious nature, he shouldn't do something that would cause him trouble.

Strange... Sarutobi Tensuke couldn't quite figure it out.

"Perhaps... he doesn't know Haido," Sarutobi Ayase guessed.

"Impossible, right?" Sarutobi Tenjuro said uncertainly.

Li Yao's identity before possessing Kimura Yao was very mysterious. Long ago, the Third Hokage had been collecting information on powerful individuals in the ninja world who used the Spirit Transformation Technique, but there had never been any clues.

But whether it was the Third Generation or Sarutobi Tenjuro who heard about Li Yao from the Third Generation, both father and son believed that Li Yao must have lived for a very long time.

Living a long time means knowing a lot of information, but it doesn't necessarily mean knowing everything.

Haito's status is indeed very high, and she is very important to the Third Tsuchikage, but according to the report, her strength is only at the level of an ordinary Jonin.

Moreover, Li Yao had been staying in Konoha for the previous six years, so it's understandable that he didn't know Hai Tu's identity.

At this point, Sarutobi Tenjuro was already inclined to believe that Li Yao did not know Haito's identity and that capturing Haito was not due to any deal with Iwagakure.

So, Li Yao caught Hui Tu... Considering that Hui Tu was a great beauty, Sarutobi Tenjuro glanced at his wife, thought for a moment, and didn't voice his guess.

He thought Li Yao was probably thinking about women.

Otherwise, there's no need to bring such a big trouble upon yourself.

……

"Hmm... Is he going to enter the Storm Sea?"

late at night.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Sarutobi Tensuke and his wife, who had been following Li Yao all the way, were surprised to see that Li Yao's flight path had not changed and that he was flying straight into the Storm Sea.

They had previously guessed that Li Yao had been in the Land of Earth, but now it seems that's not the case.

Otherwise, it wouldn't explain why Li Yao, after leaving the Land of Earth, flew straight towards the Sea of ​​Storms with a clear objective.

"Could it be that he was actually in the Stormy Sea before?" Sarutobi Ayase frowned in thought.

"It should be," Sarutobi Tenjuro nodded.

"Should we continue?" Sarutobi Ayase asked worriedly. "We're running low on rations. If we venture deeper into the Stormy Sea and get lost, we..."

Don't worry.

Sarutobi Tenjuro laughed, "Even if we don't have many ration pills left, we still have more than Li Yao. He's not afraid, so we can definitely outlast him, and besides..."

Sarutobi Tenjuro's eyes flashed, and he said confidently, "There should be an island in the Storm Sea, otherwise Li Yao wouldn't have entered the Storm Sea with such a clear objective."

Once they find the island where Li Yao is staying, they can determine the location of the island within the Stormy Sea using a map. Then, by knowing the island's location within the Stormy Sea, they can determine their direction and won't have to worry about getting lost.

Then they can withdraw first.

Judging from the fact that Li Yao headed straight for the Storm Sea after capturing the Third Tsuchikage's daughter, it seems that Li Yao was preparing to live in seclusion in the Storm Sea for a period of time.

So there's no need to worry about Li Yao disappearing while you're away temporarily.

Instead, they used this time to leak information about Li Yao's location, allowing the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village, who knew the information, to launch a sneak attack. They observed from the sidelines, looking for an opportunity to seal Li Yao.

"Understood." Sarutobi Ayase and her husband were very in sync; as soon as her husband said that, she knew how to respond.

The ink-wash bird flew parallel to Li Yao for seven kilometers as it headed towards the depths of the storm sea.

at this time.

Snake Island.

Five thousand meters above the ground, a huge gray-brown eagle hovers with its wings flapping, its sharp eyes observing the surroundings as its head moves.

On the back of the giant eagle, a middle-aged Cloud Village ninja with thick white hair formed hand seals, his eagle eyes observing the surroundings as his head swayed.

This person was none other than the Third Raikage and his group who had come to capture Li Yao.

The ninjas of the Daruma family were responsible for aerial surveillance.

The Third Raikage and three other Jonin guards were responsible for the area below.

At this moment, in the shallow sea below Snake Island, a Cloud Villager was using Water Release: Invisibility Technique to lurk in the seawater.

Around the mountaintop cabin, the Third Raikage and two other elite Jonin guards used Earth Release ninjutsu to lurk among the rocks.

All four of them were prepared to launch a surprise attack on Li Yao as soon as he returned.

They found Snake Island last night, but Li Yao wasn't on the island.

However, judging from the wooden houses on the island and the bed boards and chairs inside, the group guessed that Li Yao probably intended to stay here permanently.

He's not here now; he's probably out buying supplies. He'll be back sooner or later.

At the same time, the Third Raikage also made a surprising guess from his observation of the wood in the wooden house.

Li Yao not only possesses powerful sealing techniques, but also Wood Release.

The island is small and rocky inside, making it impossible for large trees to grow to build a wooden house.

It's impossible for Li Yao to transport timber from elsewhere to build a wooden house here.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

This wooden house was built using wood-based techniques.

Of course, the main reason was that the Third Raikage sensed a familiar aura from the wooden house, the vitality brought by Wood Release.

He was someone who had experienced the First Hokage Hashirama's rise to power in the ninja world, and had also witnessed the final battle at the Valley of the End from afar.

He had a deep memory of the power of Wood Release and the scent of trees created by it.

When others see the wooden house built by Li Yao, they may not associate it with Wood Release, but the Third Raikage immediately associates it with the Wood Release of the First Hokage, Hashirama.

As the ninja village most enthusiastic about researching and replicating various bloodline limits, the Third Raikage dreamed of getting his hands on Wood Release.

He also believed that Konoha longed to revive the Wood Release technique used by the First Hokage, Hashirama, to quell the chaos of the world.

Seeing Li Yao's wooden hut now, the Third Raikage is certain that Konoha must have conducted an experiment on the Wood Release: Recreation Plan.

Li Yao was the lucky one who successfully inherited the First Hokage's Wood Release technique in the experiment.

However, it is clear that Li Yao's Wood Release is not powerful enough.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been chased all the way by Konoha.

But just because we're not strong enough now doesn't mean we won't be strong enough in the future.

"We must catch Li Yao before he grows up."

"otherwise……"

The Third Raikage was both excited and subtly uneasy.

The information that Li Yao knew Wood Release certainly surprised him, because once Li Yao was captured, it meant that their Cloud Village also had a high chance of replicating the Wood Release of the First Hokage, Hashirama.

However, Li Yao's mastery of Wood Release also means that Konoha's Wood Release reproduction experiment was a success.

No one knows how many "Li Yaos" will emerge in Konoha in the future.

Just imagining the future war against Konoha, with a group of Wood Release ninjas using Wood Release to bind their Tailed Beasts while Konoha's Nine-Tails could launch Tailed Beast Balls with impunity, made the Third Raikage's scalp tingle.

He absolutely cannot allow that scenario to occur.

Therefore... Li Yao must seize the opportunity as soon as possible, research the Wood Release technique belonging to the Hidden Cloud Village, and make the Hidden Cloud Village dominate the ninja world.

(End of this chapter)