584. Rescuing Everyone / 585. Tracking the Rabbit

Seeing the giant die, Izayoi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At last, he was free! Izayoi slowly walked into the distance. He had rescued the missing Hokage.

After bringing him back, he took him to find the other Hokages. Once he had rescued them as well, everyone embraced and cheered in joy.

Rescuing Everyone

Izayoi looked at the Hokages. He did not want to say much to them; what had just happened was already enough to exhaust him. "You’re too weak. You’ll only get in the way here, so you should go back."

The Hokages were deeply unconvinced. "How are we getting in the way?!" They were extremely dissatisfied with Izayoi’s words, believing that he was insulting them.

Even if you weren’t getting in the way, I still wouldn’t feel at ease with you here.

The Hokages were all stunned by his words. None of them had expected him to say that, and they were all unhappy.

"We’re not going back!" the Hokages shouted in unison.

"Can you stop acting like children?" Izayoi said.

"That’s just how we are." The Hokages refused to accept it. We’ll never admit that we’re getting in the way.

However, Izayoi’s attitude was firm. "No. You have to go back. No matter what method you use, you must leave. I’m enough on my own here."

"What right do you have to make us leave? Who do you think you are?!" The Hokages had already forgotten why they had come. Blinded by anger, they had forgotten what they were here for.

"Because you aren’t qualified to stay here," Izayoi said coldly.

The Hokages’ expressions changed. They knew he was telling the truth. They really were too weak and were not suited to remain here. They began to hesitate.

But they were unwilling to leave just like that. If they left, they would lose such a rare chance to train themselves.

Izayoi sneered. "Have you decided? Are you leaving, or are you staying?"

It would be better if these guys left. They’re useless here, and they’ll only hinder me. They’re nothing but dead weight.

"Hmph!" The Hokages gritted their teeth. "Fine, we’ll leave. Is that good enough for you?"

Their expressions were ugly, and they were extremely unwilling, but they had no choice. After all, they were simply too weak.

Izayoi nodded. "That’s for the best. But you’d better remember what I said."

"We’ll remember."

"Good. Now get lost. Remember your promise, and don’t you dare go back on it."

"Hmph!" The Hokages snorted coldly and quickly left.

Just as Izayoi was about to leave, he heard the Hokages crying for help. This is bad. Did they run into trouble?

No matter what, saving them came first.

So he quickened his pace and ran toward the Hokages.

The moment he arrived, he saw the Hokages being held captive by a group of men in black, blades pressed against their throats.

Izayoi frowned. "Who are you? Why have you captured them?"

In truth, he had already guessed the answer. He merely wanted to confirm it.

The men in black did not answer. They only watched the Hokages closely to prevent them from escaping.

Izayoi continued, "Everyone, we can talk this out. Why hurt them?"

He wanted to negotiate and make them release the hostages, but the men in black paid no attention to him. They merely stared at him with cold eyes, as though they were looking at a dead man.

That look enraged Izayoi. "Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Believe me, I’ll kill you right now."

"Kill us?" one of the men in black asked with a laugh. His face was full of disbelief, and he looked utterly arrogant.

Izayoi frowned. He had no idea where the man got the confidence to challenge him like this.

"Yes. I’ll kill you right now," Izayoi said coldly.

"Oh? Then I’d like to see how you plan to kill us," one of the men in black said with a laugh.

The man in black tightened his grip on his blade. "Your companions are in our hands. If you dare make a move, they’ll die beneath our blades."

Hearing that, Izayoi’s heart skipped a beat as he looked toward the Hokages.

These men in black had seized Izayoi’s weak spot.

He could not gamble with the Hokages’ lives. He had to stay calm.

He stared coldly at the man in black. "What exactly do you want?"

"Nothing much. We just want you to come with us," the man in black said with a mocking smile in his eyes.

Izayoi had no choice but to compromise. He could not put the Hokages’ lives at risk.

"Fine, I’ll go with you. But you must guarantee their safety. Otherwise, don’t even think about taking them from me."

"Hehe, fine. We absolutely won’t harm your companions. But you need to throw away your weapon first," the man in black said with a smile.

Izayoi glanced toward the Hokages and could only throw down his sword. "Is this enough now?"

Seeing Izayoi discard his sword, the man in black nodded in satisfaction, then gestured for several of the men beside him to take Izayoi away.

Having received the order, the men in black approached Izayoi step by step. None of them noticed that Izayoi had both hands behind his back, as though he was preparing to do something.

Tracking the Rabbit

When the men in black saw Izayoi throw away the sword in his hand, they all relaxed their guard. "Kid, just obediently come with us!"

This kid has no weapon now. Isn’t he at our mercy?

They believed they had complete control of the situation and had no reason to fear Izayoi any longer. None of them knew that Izayoi still had a sword hidden in his hands. He silently waited for an opportunity, preparing to deal the enemy a fatal blow. A sinister smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly!

His body turned into a gust of wind as he lunged straight at the nearest man in black. Just as that man tried to resist, he discovered that he could not move at all.

The other men in black sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly turned around, only to see Izayoi standing before them with a sword in hand, his eyes filled with icy coldness.

"Y-You, what are you doing?" the leader of the men in black asked.

"Die!" Izayoi spat coldly. His sword pierced straight through the man’s chest. Blood gushed from his mouth, staining the floor red.

With a flash, the sword in his hand swept across another man in black’s throat.

Another spray of blood splattered everywhere.

The remaining men in black were dumbfounded by the sight before them.

"Run!" they cried in alarm, trying to flee, but how could Izayoi possibly let them escape?

With a whoosh, one of the men in black vanished, while the other two saw their companion disappear.

Fear appeared on their faces as well. They turned to run, but it was already too late.

Izayoi appeared before them like a ghost, raised his sword, and drove it into their throats. Then, like lightning, his body vanished once more.

The remaining men in black discovered in shock that Izayoi was actually this powerful. They had no way to escape. They screamed in terror, "Don’t kill us! Please, don’t kill us!"

They fell to their knees and begged Izayoi for mercy, hoping he would spare their lives.

"Are you worthy?" Izayoi’s voice held no emotion. Then his body vanished once again.

The next second, they felt agonizing pain at their necks, and their pupils slowly dilated.

The group of men in black did not even have time to groan before collapsing to the ground. Their eyes were wide open, filled with shock and disbelief. It seemed that they had never expected to die at Izayoi’s hands.

They had never imagined that they would die at the hands of a youth who looked so frail.

Izayoi pulled out his longsword. Looking at it, he gave it a light shake, and the sword flew up before falling back into his hand.

The last few men in black were still struggling. "Kid, you can’t kill us. There’s someone behind us. If you dare touch us, you’ll be doomed beyond redemption!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

A smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "Then tell me his name. I might consider it. Your words really are quite tempting!"

Izayoi stepped on the man’s chest and pressed down hard, breaking several of his ribs. "I hate it most when people threaten me!"

The man painfully opened his mouth. "Kill me! Even if you kill me, you won’t live much longer!"

"Hehe…" Izayoi sneered. "I’d like to see just who this person you speak of is, daring to threaten me like this…"

As Izayoi spoke, he slashed the man across the stomach. The man felt as if his belly were about to be split open.

"You’d better speak. Otherwise, I’ll make you beg for death."

"I… I don’t know!" the man in black said.

"You don’t know?" A teasing smile appeared on Izayoi’s lips. "Since you don’t know, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

The next moment, Izayoi’s right leg slammed into the man in black’s stomach, kicking him five meters away. He crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Aah!!!"

The man in black wailed in agony.

At that moment, his body felt as though it were about to break apart. Pain wracked every inch of him, but there was nothing he could do.

Izayoi looked at him. "You should talk now, right?"

Yet the man in black still refused to speak.

With a bang, Izayoi kicked the man in black directly in the chest, making him cough up blood before he crashed heavily to the ground without another sound.

Izayoi looked at the corpse on the ground and said coldly, "This is what happens when you provoke me!"

Then Izayoi untied the ropes around the Hokages and rescued them. Having regained their freedom, the Hokages all cheered.

They looked at Izayoi. "Thank you for saving us. We’ll definitely listen to you from now on." Izayoi nodded.

"You’re still not strong enough, which is why you were helpless against enemies like them. Let me escort you down the mountain. If you run into trouble again, it’ll be difficult to deal with."

With that, Izayoi led everyone down the mountain.

The Rabbit Was Eaten by the Wolf

As Izayoi walked, he spoke to everyone. "From now on, you must train your skills seriously. Don’t always think about relying on others to protect you. You must understand that only when you are strong will others not dare bully you." As he spoke, he demonstrated his strength. Everyone agreed deeply after hearing him.

"Yes!" everyone answered. They all felt that being captured by those men in black had been an immense humiliation. If Izayoi had not rescued them, they had no idea what state they would be in now.

Izayoi was very satisfied. "All right, I’ll escort you down the mountain first. By the next time we meet, your skills should have improved considerably, so I hope you’ll work even harder."

"Strive to raise your strength to a higher level. That way, no one will be able to bully you."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They also knew that if their strength remained at its previous level, they would be nothing more than fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of others.

Izayoi led everyone away through the air, continuously explaining cultivation methods along the way.

Everyone held their breath and listened carefully to Izayoi’s explanations, memorizing every sentence he said and attentively taking in every word.

Izayoi’s explanations were thorough and comprehensive, and everyone listened with great care. We must become stronger.

We must raise our strength to a higher level. Only then can we survive in this world.

The group continued down the mountain and soon reached its foot. Izayoi said to everyone,

"I’ll send you off here. After you return, you must train your bodies well and strive to improve your skills as soon as possible."

"Yes, don’t worry. We’ll definitely train harder," everyone replied respectfully in unison.

Izayoi nodded, then continued to instruct them.

"You must go back quickly. Don’t go wandering around elsewhere. Wasting time will do you no good. If you encounter danger, don’t try to fight head-on. Run farther away."

"Mm." Everyone agreed, then headed down the mountain together.

Watching their departing backs, Izayoi revealed a faint smile.

"You must quickly sharpen your skills and become strong as soon as possible. Only then can you secure a place for yourselves in this world."

As he turned around, everyone looked at Izayoi’s back, their eyes lighting up.

At that moment, their hearts were filled with confidence and hope for their futures.