Chapter 68: Living

Why is my blood black?

A moment of bewilderment flashed in Jiaodu's eyes, but he quickly recovered.

No, the blade is poisoned!

He looked at the boy standing before him with the sword in disbelief, and saw the boy now staring at him with a half‑smile.

"Oh? It seems the gap between us has narrowed,"

"You... you are despicable!" Jiaodu shouted in fury.

Jiaodu boasts himself a prodigy of Longyin Village Village, having fought countless battles, faced innumerable foes, and employed a myriad of techniques.

It's the first time I've seen someone coat a blade with poison!

Even the Sunagakure KuoLei Shi, renowned across the Ninja World for their poison expertise, aren't this wicked!

Normally, a KuoLei Shi uses poisons like Poison Needle or Poison Mist, which are obvious to the opponent, allowing them to guard.

When a ninja fights a KuoLei Shi, they instinctively take precautions.

Who could have thought that the seemingly dignified boy before them would resort to such a low‑level attack?

The blade of that cold‑glinting Tachi was actually poisoned!

And the boy is a member of the Uchiha Clan!

Aren't the Uchiha famously proud?

Shouldn't they disdain using such a method?

"Despicable?" Lian Ye sneered, "Do you think a ninja is some lofty profession?"

In Lian Ye's view, a ninja is a deceitful profession, where mission success and personal survival are the primary goals.

To defeat a ninja stronger than oneself, one must resort to deceitful tactics.

Using ambushes, poison, and other underhanded moves to kill an opponent,

why bother fighting honorably?

He is not as fearless as Senju Hashirama.

Moreover, even with great strength, death remains a risk.

Take Six Paths Ban, for example—wasn't he taken away by Heijue's Black Tiger Heart Extraction?

In the end, a ninja's physical durability is too low.

Lian Ye has spent years studying body‑strengthening techniques from his past life, but they haven't helped...

A ninja's physical limit is modest; even Third Raikage's strength is already at the Ninja World's ceiling.

Hearing Lian Ye's words, Jiaodu's face turned ashen.

Whether from the lethal poison in his veins or from Lian Ye's words, he was enraged.

He certainly knows that a ninja's fighting style is often unsavory.

But the boy before him is a Uchiha!

One must know that even the strongest ninja clans in the Ninja World disdain such actions.

Thus, in his fight with Lian Ye, Jiaodu presumptively regarded the boy as a "gentleman", not one who would use those disgusting techniques.

He didn't expect to be mistaken; the moment the battle began, he fell victim.

"Damn brat, you hardly seem like a Uchiha!" Jiaodu shouted angrily.

He had faced Uchiha opponents before, but none had ever used such a low‑level technique.

Before he could finish speaking, darkness flashed before his eyes and his body collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.

Watching the boy walk slowly toward him, Jiaodu realized he was doomed today.

"Damn higher‑ups, if there is an afterlife, I will never let you go!" Jiaodu clenched his fist in resentment.

But he was now riddled with lethal poison, lacking the strength even to clench his fist.

Between life and death lies great terror; when facing death, a person can hardly remain calm.

Perhaps he was once loyal to Longyin Village Village, even willing to give his life for it.

Yet, before death, he inevitably resented the village's higher‑ups.

If the village's leaders hadn't sent him to assassinate Senju Hashirama, how could he have fallen to such an end?

Had he known, he would have been better off killing those leaders...

While he was lost in thought, Lian Ye had already arrived before Jiaodu.

This future immortal of the Ninja World twitched now like a beached fish.

It was a sign of the toxin taking effect.

Lian Ye looked down from his height, gazing at the distorted, convulsing Jiaodu whose pupils were poisoned; the crimson Sharingan showed no hint of mercy.

"Letting you die quickly is already a gift from me,"

As he said so, he twisted his wrist, aligning the blade with Jiaodu's carotid artery.

A single slash would certainly separate head from body.

Jiaodu trembled, trying to raise his arm to block, but couldn't move a fraction; his eyes were full of despair.

He suddenly recalled the lives he had ended with his own hands.

It turned out that at the instant death arrives, every strong one's pride shatters into the same despair.

Lian Ye did not hesitate a moment and swung his blade at Jiaodu.

At that moment, Lian Ye's wrist was firmly seized by a massive, powerful hand.

He looked bewildered at the suddenly appearing Senju Hashirama and asked,

"Uncle Hashirama, what are you doing?"

Hashirama's solemn expression shook his head, "Xiao Lian Ye, give him a chance to live."

"But…" Lian Ye was about to speak again, but was cut off by Hashirama, "Did you forget our ideal?"

Lian Ye's mouth twitched, and he ranted furiously in his mind.

Goddamn it, our ideal?!

Haven't you been the one nagging all along?

"Xiao Lian Ye, only when everyone is full of love…"

Seeing Senju Hashirama about to launch into a long‑winded speech again, Lian Ye hurriedly said:

"Uncle Hashirama, I think you're right, I'll release him right now."

Although he didn't want to let Jiaodu go, he hated hearing Hashirama's nagging even more.

"Hmm, it's good that you understand," Hashirama said, nodding appreciatively.

He knew that this kid Lian Ye had perfectly inherited his philosophy.

At that moment, Lian Ye's words interrupted his thoughts.

"Uncle Hashirama, he seems to be dying…"

Hearing that, Hashirama instinctively looked at Jiaodu on the ground.

At this point, Jiaodu's eyes had rolled white and foam froth from his mouth; it was clear he wouldn't live much longer.

"Xiao Lian Ye, don't you have an Antidote?" Hashirama urged, "Give it to him quickly."

Lian Ye pulled a small vial from the Ninja Tool Bag, "Uncle Hashirama, in his condition, I don't know if the Antidote will still work."

"It's okay, we just need to have tried to rescue him." Hashirama seized the bottle and dumped the Antidote straight into Jiaodu's mouth.

Lian Ye watched from the side, also curious whether Jiaodu could be saved.

All we can say is that Jiaodu is lucky; he miraculously woke up.

Jiaodu groggily opened his eyes, staring blankly at the sky.

"Am I dead?"

He seemed to have just seen his great‑grandmother…

"Haha, you're awake!"

At that moment, Hashirama's huge face suddenly appeared in Jiaodu's line of sight, nearly scaring him to death.

Seeing this, Hashirama quickly comforted, "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you."

Jiaodu: "…"

He struggled to sit up from the ground, looking bewildered at Senju Hashirama, "Lord Hashirama, why didn't you kill me?"

Hashirama bent down to pick up the Kunai Jiaodu dropped, "A ninja's blade shouldn't exist solely to cut down enemies."

He handed the Kunai to Jiaodu, "I want you to live, to see how the world changes; perhaps one day you'll understand something worth protecting more than killing."

Jiaodu gazed up at Senju Hashirama's silhouette, and at that moment he finally understood why he was called the God of Ninja!

From a distance, the crisp sound of Lian Ye sheathing his blade echoed, and the two figures gradually drifted apart.

Only a battlefield littered with blood and poison remained, and a "dead" one whose fate had been forcibly rewritten.

"Alive?" Jiaodu whispered softly.