Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 51 Battle: Instantly Annihilating the Root Squad

PS: This is chapters 51-52.

"Let's do it!"

Despite being shocked by the power represented by the chakra cloak on Li Yao, the three members of the Root team remained calm.

At this moment, the fighting skills of ninjas were fully demonstrated in them.

The instant Li Yao stepped out of the laboratory, the Root ninja who had been hiding in the left corridor instantly formed hand seals and unleashed a ninjutsu.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

This person is actually Nara Egawa, a ninja from the Nara clan of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. His Root codename is "Kurokage," and he is proficient in the clan's secret technique, Shadow Imitation Technique.

Three shadows shot out from beneath his feet, rapidly striking the shadows cast by the wall lamps on the left and right walls and the ground, giving Li Yao no room to dodge.

The speed was so fast that even Li Yao, who was prepared, did not have time to react and dodge. His body was controlled in an instant.

This clearly shows that although Li Yao developed the Black Iron Chains sealing technique, which is both offensive and defensive, his own combat experience is still too poor.

They are unable to effectively utilize their abilities.

However, Li Yao did not panic.

call out!

The moment the Nara clan's ninjas made their move.

In the right passageway, the invisible squad leader also appeared, using a teleportation technique to quickly appear beside Li Yao.

At this moment, Li Yao's body was controlled by the Shadow Imitation Technique and he was unable to move. The two cooperated very well and trusted each other. The timing was just right.

The captain raised his hand and cast a sealing spell on Li Yao's head, intending to seal and immobilize him.

The first choice for experimental subjects in Lab Zero is, of course, to capture them alive.

However, by this time, Li Yao had already realized what was happening.

If Li Yao couldn't react in time, he would be doing a disservice to his abnormally powerful chakra perception ability.

Just as the squad leader was about to press his palm onto Li Yao's head, the thought of "take him down" flashed through his mind.

A loud clanging sound suddenly arose.

Just where the squad leader's palm was facing, Li Yao turned his head to the side and suddenly shot out a black iron chain, which changed from solid to ethereal and pierced through the squad leader's palm and entered the squad leader's body.

Then, the moment it touched the chakra within the squad leader's meridians and dantian, it imprisoned and bound all the chakra within the squad leader's body.

Without the ability to manipulate chakra, one would think that they could not unleash any ninjutsu, including taijutsu.

So even though the squad leader's physical strength was many times greater than that of an ordinary person, he couldn't withstand Li Yao's black iron chains binding him.

Li Yao's black iron chains were like vines, and from this main black iron chain, seven thinner black iron chains extended, binding the squad leader's entire body tightly along his arms.

"not good."

On the other side, the Nara clan ninja felt a sudden shock as Li Yao's black iron chain pierced his captain's palm. He realized that Li Yao's Shadow Imitation Technique had not been able to restrict the enemy's use of ninjutsu.

In an instant, he made a response.

He immediately changed the hand seals, trying to turn the illusory shadow into a physical one, and used the Shadow Head-Strangling Technique to shatter Li Yao's black iron chains.

Unfortunately, it was too late by then.

The instant he formed a hand seal, Li Yao's black iron chains suddenly appeared beneath his feet from underground.

bang bang bang!

Three black iron chains shot out from the ground instantly. One pierced into Nara Egawa's body, instantly imprisoning and binding his chakra. The other two bound him tightly like a rice dumpling.

"How could this be... No, damn it!"

The moment he was bound, Nara Egawa was first incredulous, then annoyed and regretful.

He assumed that the ground of the Root base was sealed with a sealing technique, and that unless a Root ninja knew the secrets of the technique, it would be impossible to perform ninjutsu such as Earth Release: Mind Decapitation Technique underground.

But he clearly saw Li Yao emerge from the laboratory door, which was also sealed by a sealing technique, without breaking the sealing spell.

In that instant, he should have realized that the sealing techniques on the ground were also unable to prevent the experimental subject's ninjutsu from passing through.

Unfortunately, the battle lasted too short.

From the moment Li Yao emerged, to the launch of the attack, and then to the moment they were bound by Li Yao's black iron chains, the entire process took less than a second.

In that short time, their actions were completely controlled by the cognitive combat instincts in their minds.

They launched attacks once, and then reacted instantly to use the Shadow Headhunting Technique.

In addition, for the brief moment Li Yao appeared, their attention was focused on the chakra cloak he had woven with terrifying chakra control.

Attention was spent on these nodes.

Therefore, there was no time to delve into the significance of Li Yao emerging from the sealing technique's confinement without causing any damage.

This ultimately led to Nara Egawa being completely unprepared for Li Yao's underground attack with black iron chains, and being subdued instantly.

Unable to mobilize chakra, Nara Egawa also lost control of his ninjutsu, and his Shadow Imitation Technique vanished instantly.

Li Yao's body also regained its mobility.

"Oh no, Earthly Netherworld!"

At that moment, the captain, who had been hoping for the other team member, Jimei, who was hiding underground, turned pale the instant he saw Li Yao's black chakra chains emerge from the ground and bind the shadowy figure (Nara Egawa).

Sure enough, in the next instant.

bump!

"Um?"

Suddenly, Li Yao, standing in front of the laboratory door, exploded and dissipated into a cloud of white smoke.

The Root squad leader and Nara Egawa were instantly stunned.

Boom!

Suddenly, the laboratory door exploded open, revealing a large hole.

Amidst the dust, Li Yao, clad in a black iron chain-like feather robe, stepped out of the laboratory, his feet crunching on rubble.

bump……!

Behind Li Yao, a black iron chain pulled a Root ninja wearing a black and white mask from the ground where he had been standing, just like pulling up a radish.

It was another squad member that the Root squad leader hoped would make a difference – Jimei, a ninja skilled in earth-style stealth.

"I see!"

The Root Squad Leader and Nara Egawa looked somber and bitter.

At this point, they finally understood that what they had been fighting earlier was just a shadow clone of Li Yao.

They couldn't even defeat a single shadow clone, and were instantly bound and sealed away.

They were three Root Jonin who worked together perfectly!

And so he was defeated by the shadow clone of a mere experimental subject.

Thinking of this, the three members of the Root Squad felt very sad.

Compared to the discomfort of these three people, Li Yao felt much better.

Knowing that the laboratory door, walls, and floor had been reinforced with sealing techniques, Li Yao realized that he might have triggered the corresponding alarm the moment he stepped out of the glass chamber.

In addition, the fact that he removed the sealing technique that Danzo had left in his heart must have alerted Danzo.

There might already be someone lying in ambush outside.

So Li Yao used the Shadow Clone Technique developed by his predecessor, Kimura Yao's father, to create a shadow clone and let it pass through the laboratory door.

He remained in the laboratory, where his senses were blocked by the sealing technique. The three members of the Root team could not sense his presence and naturally did not suspect the identity of his shadow clone.

Even if you have doubts, it's useless.

The Shadow Clone Technique truly lives up to its reputation as a clone technique that even a Six Paths level expert cannot detect.

The shadow clone Li Yao also possessed the chakra nature transformation perception ability that only the original Li Yao had.

The moment the shadow clone stepped out of the laboratory door...

Shadow Clone Li Yao had already made contact with the ground through chakra, instantly analyzing all the nature and form changes of the sealing technique chakra on the ground outside, and successfully replicating it.

Therefore, the sealing spells on the corridor floor and surrounding walls could not stop his black iron chains.

Meanwhile, Jimei, a Root ninja who was hiding underground preparing to launch a sneak attack, naturally could not escape Li Yao's chakra perception.

The instant he attacked the two Root ninjas in the corridor, Jimei, who was hiding underground, also had his chakra sealed by Li Yao's black iron chains, and his body was firmly bound.

"hehe!"

Li Yao smiled and walked to the middle of the corridor, manipulating the black iron chains to bring the three Root ninjas in front of him.

From that moment on, three Root ninjas with Jonin-level strength were defeated by him in an instant.

This not only proves that his black iron chains are indeed very powerful, but also illustrates a fact.

In battles between ninjas, intelligence is truly crucial.

The three experienced Jonin were defeated by Li Yao without any chance of resistance, mainly because they were completely unaware of Li Yao's various abilities.

If Nara Egawa had known that the Black Iron Chains possessed the powerful ability to seal and imprison chakra, and could be released at will without hand seals, then his initial choice would not have been the Shadow Imitation Technique, but rather the Shadow Strangle Technique to bind Li Yao while simultaneously crippling him.

In this way, Li Yao's shadow clone will inevitably explode.

The three of them would also… Li Yao suddenly shook his head, not continuing with the "what if".

There are no "what ifs" in reality.

A defeat is a defeat.

Pulling himself back to reality, Li Yao looked at the three people in mid-air in front of him.

"Where is the exit?" Li Yao asked.

"Give up, you can't escape." The Root squad leader didn't give up the fight, continuing his persuasive rhetoric: "This is Konoha, I've already notified the Hokage, you can't escape no matter what..."

Puff puff!

In an instant, the squad leader and his two teammates burst like water-filled balloons, their blood and flesh splattering all over the walls of the corridor, and also splashing onto Li Yao's body.

Li Yao was too lazy to listen to the squad leader's ramblings, so he directly used the black iron chains to crush the bodies of the three people.

"Phew...that familiar taste!"

Li Yao suddenly sighed.

"Three generations, and your wife and son—I wonder if your flesh and blood smell so delicious too!"

"No hurry, no rush!"

Suddenly, Li Yao stopped the frenzied expression on his face, regained his calm and smiling demeanor, and suppressed his longing for the Third Generation.

He'd better go out first.

Li Yao glanced at the passageways to the left and right, extending his chakra perception ability, and then frowned slightly.

The entire base seemed to be encased in layers of shielding barriers, preventing his chakra perception from extending outwards.

There were no other ninjas within the range of their senses.

This prevented him from judging the size of the base, let alone finding the exit.

Since that's the case... Li Yao looked up.

At least the sky must be right above his head!

With a thought, the four black iron chains behind Li Yao shot upwards.

……

"What dangerous things did that bastard Danzo leave in the lab?"

On the way to the Root base, the Third Hokage asked the Root squad member codenamed Wind Hawk, who was reporting to him, with a gloomy expression.

The Third Hokage knew Danzo well, and for that guy to instruct him to notify his experimental subjects if anything unexpected happened, he must be someone extraordinary.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama, we don't know either."

Feng Ying shook his head. Only Lord Danzo knew what was inside Laboratory Zero; they didn't know what was inside.

However, Danzo instructed them that if anything happened at Lab Zero, they should seek help from the Third Hokage and make sure nothing escaped from Lab Zero.

So when the squad leader saw that there was a problem with Lab Zero, he immediately sent him to inform the Third Hokage.

"Could it be that guy?!"

Seeing that he couldn't get any information from Feng Ying, the Third Generation inexplicably had the image of a child in his mind.

"Danzo, you better not take my words lightly, or I'll make you regret it."

The thought that the things in Lab Zero might belong to Li Yao weighed heavily on the Third Generation's heart.

He never underestimated Li Yao.

A man who can endure his torment for half a year without showing the slightest weakness must be fully prepared once he takes the initiative to break free.

But he knew absolutely nothing about that man.

Aside from immunity to illusions and the improved spiritification technique, he had no idea what other abilities the man possessed.

But he was certain that if the man was still alive, he must be in great danger.

"I hope it's not that guy!"

Now that things have come to this, the third generation can only console themselves with this thought.

However, the closer he got to the Root base, the more serious his unease became, and a heavy look appeared between the Third Hokage's brows.

Boom!

Suddenly, when the Third Hokage and the others were still 500 meters away from the entrance to the Root base, they saw four black chakra chains, resembling giant pillars supporting the sky, burst through the ground and soar into the sky.

"Hmm... is that the Adamantine Lockdown?"

Upon seeing the thick, black chakra chains, the Third Hokage's gaze suddenly froze, then his face filled with horror. He was not someone who knew nothing.

Although the chakra chains that broke through the ground of the Root base were black, not the gold he was familiar with.

However, as a ninja who was also proficient in sealing techniques, Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly sensed the traces of sealing techniques on the black chakra chains.

Who in the entire ninja world can use sealing techniques like this?

Only the Uzumaki clan, only the Uzumaki clan that has studied sealing techniques for generations, can keep the chakra within their bodies in a state of the Adamantine Sealing Technique chakra.

"How dare Danzo?"

"Is Lady Mito still alive and well?!"

After the initial shock, the Third Generation's pupils dilated instantly, filled with fear and anger.

His muscles tensed rapidly at that moment, and his face, which had been dull from years of smoking, turned visibly red, like a piece of charcoal that had been burning bright red again.

The Uzumaki clan was only wiped out a few years ago.

The entire Hidden Leaf Village is helping to gather the remnants of the Uzumaki clan.

As a result, even though the entire Hidden Leaf Village couldn't gather a single remnant of the Uzumaki clan, Danzo actually hid possibly more than one Uzumaki clan member in his laboratory.

What do you expect from the still-living Mito Uzumaki?

Anyone who didn't know better would think that it was the Hokage who authorized this treatment of the Uzumaki clan.

It's possible that even the blame for the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools will be placed on him, the Third Hokage, and on Konoha itself.

When Lord Mito goes berserk, who can withstand his wrath?

Did Danzo not realize how much harm this would cause to him and Konoha if it were exposed?

The Third Hokage did not understand Danzo's actions.

Clearly, the Third Generation mistook Li Yao's black iron chains for the Vajra Lock, which only the Uzumaki clan could use, and thus concluded that Li Yao in Laboratory Zero was a member of the Uzumaki clan.

This then sparked a series of unpleasant speculations across three generations.

"That damned Danzo! We absolutely cannot let Lady Mito find out about this... Hmm!"

Just as the Third Generation was determined to quickly deal with the Uzumaki Clan test subjects who had escaped from the Root base, the situation took a new turn.

Of the four black chakra chains that burst from the ground, two were bent like two hands and braced on either side of the hole, as if trying to pull something out from inside.

call out!

Not like.

Instead, two black chakra chains actually pulled a person out of the hole.

Coincidentally, the person pulled out was dressed in a black suit and flew in mid-air, facing the group of three generations who were rushing over from 400 meters away.

"Three generations!"

"Li Yao!"

Upon seeing each other, Li Yao and the third generation both focused their gazes.

Then Li Yao turned around and manipulated two black iron chains to shoot into the distance, fixing them to the ground and pulling himself away quickly from the Third Hokage, showing no intention of turning back to fight the Third Hokage he had been longing for.

The third generation reacted quickly. After that momentary shock, he immediately bit his thumb and imprinted it in the air as he moved. Instantly, the black runes of the summoning technique appeared in the air.

Then... a "bang" sounded.

A burly figure appeared; it was a robust old monkey, none other than the Third Hokage's contracted summoning beast, Enma.

"Who is our enemy this time? Hiruzen."

As soon as the Ape Demon appeared, he asked the Third Hokage with a solemn expression, not paying attention to Li Yao who was still in the sky.

However, he knew the Third Hokage's strength, and the enemy that could make the Third Hokage summon him to fight must be no ordinary person.

(End of this chapter)