Chapter 150: Weren't You Going to Kill Me?

After gathering the ashes of the hundred warriors, Ye Tian walked straight out of the Forty-Nine Courtyards.

He had always dealt with dogs by hitting the master first. Since the three grand preceptors of the Forty-Nine Courtyards had already been eliminated, the small fry beneath them could simply be left to fend for themselves.

Now, it was time for him to return.

Truth be told, he was worried too!

He was afraid that if he lingered any longer in Tokyo and refused to leave, the Ye family would be turned completely upside down.

However, despite his inward anxiety, Ye Tian did not dare to stupidly buy a plane ticket back home like he did before. The lesson learned in the Peninsula Country could not be repeated a second time.

He estimated that at this moment, the name 'Ye Tian' was undoubtedly sitting firmly at the very top of every wanted list across the entirety of Japan, with countless people wishing nothing more than to kill him.

Therefore, if he wanted a safe return, he had to take special channels.

For instance, the Ito family.

Given Ye Xiaomei's current status, she was practically the sovereign of the Ito family today!

As long as he could reach the Ito family and use their connections to contact Ye Xiaomei, smuggling himself back home would become a simple matter.

The most direct method was to have them purchase a private jet to fly him straight to the coast of the Dragon Kingdom!

"Very well, let's do it this way."

Just as Ye Tian was thinking this, he had actually already arrived at the outer perimeter of the Ito family's stronghold.

The Ito family was originally a branch that split off from the Iga style. Not only were their ninjutsu techniques largely similar, but the two factions also shared a much deeper historical origin.

None of that mattered.

What mattered most to Ye Tian was that the Ito residence was located very close to the Forty-Nine Courtyards.

At this moment, the Ito family compound wore a listless and dispirited look. Having lost their core pillar, Ito Junren, they lacked the confidence and foundation of the prominent clans of the past.

The young ninjas wandering back and forth in the courtyard drifted aimlessly, not even bothering to go through their daily training.

Without Ito Junren to hold the fort, they could not even accept bounty missions and could only rot at home.

Fortunately, the family still owned profitable enterprises, and their funds were sufficient to maintain internal operations, preventing them from falling apart in the short term.

"Sigh, another boring day."

Ito Ze squatted idly on a wooden dummy, basking in the sun while staring blankly at the distant hills.

"It would be a miracle if it weren't boring. Ever since the clan head died, we can't even take on the lowest-level bounties. It's no different from being unemployed."

Ito Koji pouted as he dried clothes nearby, speaking with an air of utter indifference:

"Still, it's not so bad. We used to always take those dangerous bounties for assassinations and stealing classified documents. Now we just collect our basic monthly salary and don't have to do anything. How relaxing!"

"You have no ambition!"

Ito Ze slanted his eyes upon hearing this and immediately looked displeased.

Are you kidding me? From childhood to adulthood, he had endured countless demonic training sessions—eating nauseating dirty muddy water, sleeping hanging upside down from roof beams, and stepping barefooted on caltrops!

He had finally managed to complete his apprenticeship and take on the cool job of being a ninja!

And you're telling me the clan head is dead and we're unemployed?

For anyone, that was simply unacceptable!

The more Ito Ze thought about it, the angrier he grew, and he muttered, "It's all the fault of the clan head for being so weak that he actually got killed by a little girl. How disgraceful!"

"Watch your tongue!"

Frightened out of his wits, Ito Koji rushed over to cover his mouth.

You had to know that talking back or slandering the clan head behind his back, if found out, was punishable by severe torture!

"What is there to fear? The clan head is dead now, and they might not even be able to bring his ashes back. What can he possibly do to me?" Ito Ze declared that he was not panicking in the slightest.

"If he were actually strong enough to come back alive, maybe we could have followed him to take on the bounty for hunting down Ye Tian!"

The mere mention of the bounty on Ye Tian sent a surge of excitement through Ito Ze.

Goodness, anyone capable of slaying a Shadow-tier powerhouse must undoubtedly be the strongest among the strong!

He had watched today's livestream as well, and he had to admit, even through secondhand glimpses, the battles between such high-ranking powerhouses were enough to make anyone's blood boil!

Especially for a hot-blooded youth like Ito Ze, the prospect of hunting a powerhouse held a fatal temptation!

"I say, Koji, why don't we secretly take on the bounty? Just as individuals."

"Go ahead and get yourself punished if you want to, but I'm certainly not going." Koji finished hanging the laundry, shot the other a look of disdain, and turned to walk away.

"Don't be like that! That's a hundred billion! Even though it's not Federation currency, a hundred billion yen is enough for someone to live comfortably without a single worry for the rest of their life."

"Besides, capturing or killing Ye Tian would make someone utterly famous throughout all of Japan, and even the entirety of Asia!"

A hundred billion! A hundred billion that you could never spend in a lifetime!

"You really are an idiot. I can't be bothered to talk to you."

Koji glanced sideways at this overconfident fellow. He initially wanted to ignore him completely, but he feared the guy would actually sneak off to join the hunt for Ye Tian and lose his life in the process.

With a solemn expression, Koji warned him, "Senior Sister Mei has already issued a strict order forbidding anyone from interfering in this matter."

"Otherwise, when she returns, she will settle accounts personally!"

Hearing this, Ito Ze's face fell into a bitter expression: "How could she? Senior Sister is the person I admire most; how could even she have become so cowardly!"

Ito Ze had secretly crushed on Ito Mei since childhood, much like the other junior and senior brothers.

However, the latter was far too dazzling. Coupled with the fact that she had grown up surrounded by men, she was somewhat dull when it came to romantic matters and had never once responded to the eager expectations of her peers.

"Oh, come off it. Senior Sister isn't being cowardly, she's being wise. And you aren't being brave, you're just being foolish!"

"Hah, acting like you understand Senior Sister so well, yet at the end of the day, you haven't even held her hand." Ito Ze mocked with dissatisfaction.

"You!"

"I can't be bothered with you. Go play by yourself."

Ito Koji walked away in a huff.

"Hmph, Ye Tian, what is Ye Tian anyway!"

Seeing that the other person did not understand him, Ito Ze angrily muttered to himself: "I'm going to sign up for the subjugation tonight, and then, I'll bring Ye Tian's head and present it right in front of Senior Sister!"

"I'll prove my strength to her!"

"You certainly have courage."

An abrupt voice suddenly sounded right behind Ito Ze's head.

The vigilance ingrained in him as a ninja instantly made every hair on his body stand on end. With a single bound, he vaulted a dozen meters away, flipped over, and landed prone on the ground, staring at the man with utter shock.

The person stood at least one meter eighty-five, nearly approaching one meter ninety. His slender yet athletic frame was clad in tight martial arts attire that clearly outlined his full-muscled physique.

A young and handsome face—one that even men couldn't help lingering their gaze upon—wore a faint smile.

Yet on that face, Ito Ze could not detect any other emotion.

Dangerous. This man was exceedingly strong!

"Who are you? Why did you suddenly break into the Ito compound?!"

"If you can't give a good reason, I can kill you at any moment!"

"Oh?"

Ye Tian slowly stood up from the wooden dummy, smiling as he looked at the young man: "Didn't you just say you were going to join the hunt to eliminate me?"

As soon as these words fell, Ito Ze's eyes widened to their absolute limit.

He suddenly realized that this exact face was none other than the protagonist of this morning's livestream—the man who slaughtered the Three Shadows, Ye Tian!