Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

Three groups stood still on the plain, facing each other in a triangular formation with Ye Zi's group caught in the middle. Kushina gazed at Ye Zi, her expression complicated, while Mei's team refrained from attacking immediately due to Kushina and her team's arrival.

"Of all people, it had to be her," Ye Zi muttered, his cold gaze settling on Kushina. If it had been just the Mist shinobi, it would've been manageable, but Kushina complicated things.

In his current state, and with Kotoe injured, escaping from Kushina would be challenging. The golden chains she wielded were the main concern.

"What should we do now, Ye Zi…" Shin asked with a dark expression. He knew he couldn't hold off so many powerful opponents, not even with his Sharingan.

Ye Zi remained silent, assessing the situation. Given the circumstances, escaping with Kotoba seemed unlikely. Abandoning Kotoe and Shin would almost certainly allow him to escape, but…

Could he really just abandon them?

Gritting his teeth, Ye Zi clenched his fists. He knew full well that if he left Kotoe behind, he could get away without a problem. But this choice, one that would have once been so easy, now seemed impossible to make.

If survival meant giving up his own arms, so be it.

Years of deeply ingrained values were being forcibly suppressed in that moment.

Ye Zi looked down at Kotoe, unconscious and worn, her face marked by a pained expression, her brow lightly furrowed as if she could find no comfort.

He knelt, letting her lean against him, and gently brushed her stray hair behind her ear.

"You Konoha traitor, where have you hidden Lord Mizukage?" Ao's voice, brimming with anger, cut through the tense silence as he glared at Ye Zi's crouched figure, no longer even acknowledging the presence of the Konoha shinobi. At that moment, the Mizukage's whereabouts were all that mattered.

Mei drew a kunai, her expression cold and prepared to strike, while Kisame, though unarmed, looked ready to attack at any moment.

Ye Zi had no intention of answering.

Kushina and her team's expressions shifted slightly at Ao's words.

"The Mizukage? What did Ye Zi do to him?" Kushina's complex expression grew more so.

The implication in Ao's words suggested that Ye Zi had acted against the current Mizukage of the Hidden Mist and succeeded in some way, leaving the Mizukage's fate unknown.

Clang!

Kakashi drew his short sword, understanding that regardless of how things played out, a fight was inevitable.

Truthfully, he disliked his teacher's hesitation. No matter how much the village might have wronged Ye Zi in the past, he was now a traitor... A rogue ninja of Konoha. And for a rogue, the only fate was execution.

His skills had improved drastically thanks to his father's training, and he had become proficient in the sword techniques of the Hatake clan. Even so, he had no confidence in defeating Ye Zi alone. But with Kushina-sensei and his teammates, he felt certain they could succeed.

This was a rare opportunity, one that might not come again.

Seeing Kakashi draw his sword, Obito also pulled out a kunai, his hand slightly tense. Although he had never faced Ye Zi directly, he had heard enough to know that Ye Zi was a formidable opponent who could not be taken lightly.

Rin, the medical ninja, quietly stepped back behind Kakashi and Obito, following the rule that medical ninjas should stay out of direct confrontation.

"What did you do?" Kushina asked Ye Zi.

"It's none of your concern," Ye Zi replied without looking up, his focus still on Kotoe. Despite being surrounded, he didn't see the situation as hopeless.

A flash of icy determination crossed his gaze, like a starving lone wolf prepared to pounce on any prey that came within reach.

Kushina's arrival wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Grinding her teeth, Kushina said, "I… I'm taking you back."

Ye Zi let out a derisive laugh. "Take me back? You mean my corpse?"

"No, I won't kill you. But I will bring you back," Kushina replied stubbornly.

"Foolish," Ye Zi muttered softly as he glanced back at Shin. "Jin, take care of Kotoe."

Shin blinked in surprise but quickly understood, taking the unconscious Kotoe from Ye Zi.

When handing her over, Ye Zi tapped Shin's hand twice, once hard and once softly. Jin understood the signal, though he didn't know exactly what Ye Zi intended. But if it was Ye Zi's plan…

With Kotoe now in Shin's care, Ye Zi rose to his feet.

Ao, having listened to the exchange between Ye Zi and the Konoha shinobi, now understood the relationship between the two sides and spoke up coldly. "Konoha ninja, your rogue Ye Zi abducted our Mizukage, so we can't let you take him."

Kushina shot a hard look at Ao and responded firmly, "As you said, Ye Zi is a rogue ninja of Konoha, and Konoha will handle this. As for the Mizukage's situation, Konoha will provide you with a satisfactory answer afterward."

Ao and Mei's expressions darkened at Kushina's words.

They recognized Kushina as Konoha's Jinchūriki and knew she was powerful. Even though the three kids with her didn't matter as much, taking Ye Zi from Konoha in their current state would be challenging.

Still, they couldn't give up, not when the Mizukage's whereabouts were at stake.

"No way. We won't release Ye Zi until we know where Lord Mizukage is!" Ao snapped. This was the situation he dreaded most, and now that they were so close to capturing Ye Zi, a Konoha team—especially the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—had shown up.

Ye Zi smirked slightly, almost amused. It was as if they all saw him as some helpless prey in a cage, unable to fight back.

"I'm taking him back to Konoha, so I'm not handing him over to you," Kushina responded coldly.

Kakashi's gaze never wavered from Ye Zi. Seeing Kushina's determination to take Ye Zi back alive, he urged her, "Kushina-sensei, Ye Zi isn't just any rogue ninja. The best thing for the village would be to execute him. This is a perfect opportunity, and we could work with the Mist shinobi."

"No," Kushina replied firmly.

Kakashi frowned, keeping his eyes fixed on Ye Zi. "A lot of our comrades have died by his hand."

Kushina's heart skipped a beat, and she fell silent.

Ao, sensing a chance for cooperation, quickly proposed, "Konoha ninja, we can work together. We only need to find out the Mizukage's whereabouts from Ye Zi. You can take him afterward if that's acceptable?"

Do they really think I can't put up any resistance?

Ye Zi's smirk turned colder.

"Kushina-sensei, Ye Zi is no longer a Konoha ninja," Kakashi said, his gaze unwavering on Ye Zi.

"You're absolutely right."

The quiet, chilling voice came from behind them—not Kushina's.

Kakashi's eyes widened as the Ye Zi he'd been watching seemed to vanish, disappearing in a way reminiscent of Minato-sensei's technique.

"When…?" Kushina gasped, spinning around, followed closely by Kakashi and Obito, who reacted in shock.

Their expressions changed drastically as they saw Ye Zi standing behind Rin, who was now held captive. She looked dazed, not fully aware of what had just happened until she felt Ye Zi's arm around her neck.

"I'm no longer a Konoha ninja," Ye Zi said, his hand resting lightly on Rin's pale neck as he looked at Kushina's team, his expression icy.

Meanwhile, Shin's Sharingan slowly reverted to normal. He had used it to briefly distract Kushina's team, a split-second visual interference.

In that blink of an eye, Ye Zi used his Body Flicker jutsu to circle around and position himself behind them, taking Rin hostage.

This was the opportunity he'd been waiting for in the midst of their predicament…

"So it wouldn't be surprising for me to do something to you Konoha shinobi. Like, perhaps… break her neck?"

The words came out slowly as Ye Zi's grip tightened.

His hand, resting against Rin's slender neck, applied a hint of pressure, making her gasp, unable to speak, her breathing strained.

As a medical ninja, Rin's instinct had placed her three steps behind Kakashi and Obito. Three steps wasn't far, but at that moment, it felt like an insurmountable distance. For now, neither Kakashi nor the others could close that gap.

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Currently on Chapter 327 - Preparations in Advance