Chapter 335: The Rogue Shadow Clone
Normally, when the original dispels the Shadow Clone Technique, all clones should vanish.
However, right now, the shadow clone hadn't disappeared. Kotoamatsukami's genjutsu was so terrifying that it could even override the mechanics of a shadow clone.
Whoosh!
No time to be stunned—Li Yao instantly used Flying Thunder God to appear beside Naruto and pressed a hand against the top of his head.
At that very moment, the rogue shadow clone rapidly formed a black sphere and launched it toward the suddenly appearing Li Yao.
A black hole space orb!
No doubt, this clone was still his own creation—he knew exactly how to stop himself.
Whoosh!
But in the end, Li Yao's Flying Thunder God was faster. He teleported himself and Naruto directly back to the central plaza of Loran.
As soon as they arrived, Li Yao activated a barrier of fine slicing threads that instantly surrounded the area.
"…He didn't follow?"
Li Yao's eyes flickered with confusion, but now wasn't the time to think about that.
Slash!
Without hesitation, Li Yao decapitated the crow, extracted Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō Sharingan from it, then dug out his own left eye and implanted the stolen eye into its socket.
Finally, he sealed Naruto into a black ink sphere and stored him away.
Now, the life-rich Wood Release chakra within Li Yao's body immediately began to nourish the eye, which had just been used to cast Kotoamatsukami.
According to the lore, once Kotoamatsukami was used, it required a cooldown of ten years or so—Li Yao couldn't remember the exact time, but it was definitely long.
And he didn't have the luxury to wait.
A rogue clone was something Li Yao could not allow. It had to be dealt with quickly.
The clone knew too much, and now that it also had Time Reset Chakra, it could potentially exist indefinitely.
If he didn't eliminate the clone soon, it would undoubtedly try to kill him.
The moment its will was overwritten by Kotoamatsukami, that clone became Li Yao's deadliest enemy.
No wonder the Wood Release cells that allowed Obito to use Kamui endlessly were so highly prized—their unique life energy now proved vital in healing the eye.
Thanks to that regenerative energy, the Mangekyō Sharingan that would normally need ten years to recover would only take about an hour to be usable again.
Once it was ready, he could use Kotoamatsukami on the rogue clone and neutralize it.
"Good…"
Li Yao felt the power of the Mangekyō Kotoamatsukami eye in his left socket and let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, he knew better than anyone just how hard it would be to deal with… himself.
The shadow clone possessed all his abilities. Even Li Yao himself found it overwhelming to face his own full power.
Just one technique—Black Hole Spatialization—could neutralize nearly all of his abilities except other black hole techniques.
Only a black hole could counter another black hole.
When the clone attacked after Li Yao teleported to Naruto's side, he didn't use faster Wind Release slashes or the destructive Crumbling Thunder; instead, he went straight for the Black Hole Space Orb.
If Li Yao's body was in a spatialized black hole state, only a black hole technique could affect him.
Since the clone shared his memories, he knew exactly how to respond.
Fortunately, the clone had only just been brainwashed by Kotoamatsukami and wasn't reacting as fast as Li Yao.
Had the clone destroyed Kotoamatsukami immediately, Li Yao would've had no way to counter.
The clone hadn't had time to copy the chakra from Kotoamatsukami, nor had Li Yao.
That's why, the moment he realized the clone had gone rogue, Li Yao's first decision was to get the Mangekyō Sharingan before the clone could.
Only by possessing the eye could he extract Kotoamatsukami's chakra for himself and regain control.
Now that the eye was his, he just needed to nurture it and soon he'd be able to produce that chakra again—then he could capture or overwrite the rogue clone with it.
With the same genjutsu chakra, he no longer had to fear a repeat mind-control scenario.
That earlier moment had been dangerously close—but luckily, Li Yao had acted faster than the clone.
Still… something was strange.
Li Yao sensed that the clone hadn't used Flying Thunder God to pursue him. Instead, it was flying at high speed through the air toward Loran.
"Could it be… the clone can't use my Flying Thunder God marks?"
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and quickly deduced a few likely reasons.
First, he was the original contractor of the Flying Thunder God marks, not the clone. So the marks he left behind couldn't be used by the clone.
Second, Li Yao had severed the mental link with the rogue clone. It had lost contact with all his other clones as well, meaning it had been ejected from his chakra network. Naturally, it couldn't access any of his teleportation markers.
In simple terms, it was like a group chat admin kicking someone out of the shared Flying Thunder God group.
But that didn't mean the rogue clone couldn't use Flying Thunder God anymore—it just had to start from scratch and create its own markers.
"Heh…"
Li Yao suddenly chuckled after sensing something interesting: the rogue clone had indeed begun leaving behind new ink-style kunai with Flying Thunder God seals along its flight path.
And the reason Li Yao could sense them?
Even though the clone had gone rogue, it was still made of his chakra. His consciousness had been embedded in it.
That part of him had been brainwashed—it no longer followed his will—but it was still his chakra.
So he could still track its exact position.
Even better, he could still use the Flying Thunder God marks the clone was leaving behind. And he could teleport straight to the clone.
Excellent!
The rogue clone couldn't use the original's marks—meaning it couldn't escape this world.
But Li Yao could teleport to it at will.
Even if he couldn't destroy the clone, it wouldn't affect his original plans in the other world.
Still, he had to eliminate the clone if possible.
They were now enemies—inevitably so.
Put yourself in the clone's shoes. If you wanted to neutralize the original Li Yao's threat to Konoha, what would be the best option?
Killing the original was nearly impossible.
Li Yao could teleport back to his home world at any moment using Flying Thunder God.
With Time Reset Chakra granting him infinite chakra, he had enough to cross worlds without issue.
In that case, what could the clone do?
Seal the Ryūmyaku!
Only by sealing it could the original be forcibly ejected from this world by the chakra repulsion effect.
But there was a condition: the clone would first have to cancel every single Flying Thunder God marker Li Yao had left behind using the Contract Seal.
Otherwise, even if he got kicked out, Li Yao could just teleport right back in.
(END CHAPTER)
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