Chapter 336: Battle Against the Shadow Clone
"So the rogue shadow clone's plan is quite simple."
Li Yao smiled. After putting himself in the clone's shoes, he roughly understood its intentions.
First, seal the Ryūmyaku.
Then, at the moment the original Li Yao is forcibly ejected from this world, the clone would destroy all the Flying Thunder God markers left behind—Naruto's included, and finally its own.
For the sake of Konoha, the rogue clone was willing to sacrifice everything. That was the will embedded in Kotoamatsukami—placing the village's safety above all else.
Without those markers, Li Yao wouldn't be able to return to this world, and the crisis to Konoha would be averted.
As for the Konoha in Li Yao's original world?
The rogue clone didn't care. It was protecting the Konoha of Naruto's world—not the one Li Yao came from.
"In that case, I can't let you near the Ryūmyaku."
With that thought, a sharp glint flashed in Li Yao's eyes. He sensed the rogue clone's current position and used Flying Thunder God to intercept it.
Now that he knew the clone's strategy, he wasn't going to let it get anywhere near Loran.
What if the clone failed to seal the Ryūmyaku and instead destroyed it prematurely? That would still eject Li Yao from the world.
Better to deal with the clone far away from Loran.
High in the sky, hundreds of meters up—
The rogue clone flew forward, surrounded by distorted light, as if wrapped in steam.
Wind Release Slashes—fine enough to cut through molecules.
The air two meters around the rogue clone was filled with countless microscopic slashes, packed together like spiraling Rasengans. It looked like the clone was encased in a transparent shell, warping the space around him.
The moment Li Yao teleported in using Flying Thunder God, he faced this deadly field of slashes.
Just as he expected, the rogue clone had prepared for his sudden arrival—waiting to ambush him.
Had Li Yao come unprepared, he would've been reduced to dust instantly.
But of course, they were both thinking on the same level. If the rogue clone had thought of it, Li Yao had too.
The moment he appeared, Li Yao's body was already in black hole spatial mode. The countless slashes had no effect.
Instead, he countered by forming a Black Hole Space Orb in his right hand and attacking the rogue clone.
Whoosh!
The clone instantly teleported to a mark it had previously set—a Flying Thunder God ink kunai below and behind him.
"As expected, not that easy."
The clone vanished from Li Yao's sight in an instant, but even though he anticipated it, there was little he could do.
Whoosh!
Li Yao instinctively used Flying Thunder God to follow.
Buzz!
The moment he reappeared, a black hole blade thrust toward him.
Just as Li Yao could switch perspectives, so could the clone. It had anticipated that Li Yao would instinctively follow—and was ready.
As soon as Li Yao materialized, the clone attacked with both hands wielding black hole blades.
Both could spatialize their bodies. Normal attacks were useless—only black hole chakra-based jutsu could do real damage.
The clone knew this well—and aimed to kill.
"Holy—!!"
Li Yao was startled, but thankfully, teleportation using Flying Thunder God wasn't pinpoint accurate, which gave him just enough time.
Whoosh!
He teleported again to another marker left behind by the clone.
"So the original can still use my markers…"
"That makes things complicated. I have to get back to Loran before he figures that out."
The rogue clone glanced back, then accelerated toward Loran.
Though his soul-sensing range wasn't as large as Li Yao's, he still had a radius of over fifty kilometers—enough to locate Loran.
His goal: seal the Ryūmyaku. Once the original was ejected, he'd have just enough time—while Li Yao gathered chakra to return via Flying Thunder God—to destroy the remaining markers in Loran.
Without those markers, Li Yao would pose no further threat.
The rogue clone's thoughts mirrored Li Yao's, but with surprising variation.
Once the clone went rogue, they were no longer one. They had different logic, different instincts—they could no longer perfectly understand each other.
Just like earlier, when the clone used the black hole blade to ambush Li Yao—factoring in Li Yao's expected reaction. That move had caught Li Yao off guard.
The clone hadn't used the black hole blade earlier because it was waiting for Li Yao to follow without thinking.
It almost worked.
Now that Li Yao was prepared, the clone no longer used the dense field of Wind Slashes. Instead, it carried two black hole blades, one in each hand, ready to strike the moment Li Yao teleported close again.
"Damn… he really is my clone."
Just thinking about it made Li Yao's scalp tingle. One misstep and he would've been erased. Luckily, his reflexes had saved him.
Teleporting in again would be too dangerous.
Time to switch to taijutsu.
With a thought, he activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode—armor of crackling energy enveloped his body.
But he didn't stop there. He added Earth Release: Mass Alteration Technique to lighten his body by ten kilograms, making him move like a feather.
Whoosh!
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky—Li Yao, now moving so fast he caught up with the rogue clone in just two breaths.
Zzzzt!
The gray Destructive Lightning pierced straight through the clone—but caused no harm.
Li Yao clicked his tongue. Fighting himself really was a pain.
The clone had his black hole spatialization active at all times. Sneak attacks were useless—only black hole jutsu would work.
Buzz!
Ripples appeared in space as the rogue clone attacked with a black hole blade.
Li Yao twisted his body to dodge and struck back with a blade of his own, aiming for the clone's chest.
Whoosh!
The clone teleported again.
Watching from a distance, Li Yao's eyes narrowed.
Just now… something felt off.
If his suspicion was correct, then he might be able to kill the clone within the hour—without even waiting for Kotoamatsukami to recover.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, he charged again, combining Lightning Release and Mass Alteration to maximize speed.
Crackle! At that moment, the clone's body pulsed with violet-blue chakra—the Time Reset Ryūmyaku chakra.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof poof poof…! Using the reset chakra to generate vast reserves of chakra instantly, the rogue clone created over a hundred shadow clones.
Each one immediately extended its hands—dozens of basketball-sized black hole orbs materialized.
Seeing this, Li Yao froze mid-charge. His expression darkened.
"Shit… he figured it out!"
(END CHAPTER)
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