Chapter 52: When a Mage Masters Ninjutsu

“Eight Sake Cups!”

Yang Xin immediately activated the Mangekyō ability of his left eye, freezing the attack that hurtled toward him. Then, with his mechanical intuition, he began to observe the chaos around him.

The once peaceful and serene Kamar-Taj was now shrouded in smoke and engulfed in war. The chubby Wang had transformed into a giant, wielding two golden chakrams and mowing down foes in all directions—a clear sign he was using the Akimichi clan’s secret Expansion Jutsu.

Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange, was being chased all over like a frantic husky, running whenever he could, dodging when he couldn’t, and only using substitution jutsu as a last resort to escape enemy attacks.

The apprentices of the Sorcerer Supreme fought in much the same way, combining spells and ninjutsu in their battles. Yet the battlefield was a tangled mess, with each mage fighting solo, the lines between friend and foe blurred in the chaos. Yang Xin, stunned, couldn’t tell at a glance who was enemy and who was ally.

“Xin! You’re finally back!” Wang shouted loudly.

“How long was I gone?” Yang Xin leaped onto Wang’s shoulder, asking as he landed.

At this moment, with the Akimichi clan’s secret technique augmenting him, Wang was a veritable mountain of muscle, the kind whose arms were broad enough for a horse to gallop across. Yang Xin settled comfortably on his shoulder without crowding at all.

“You’ve been gone for a whole year,” Wang replied as he fought.

“What the—! The flow of time here is actually different from reality? But why, in the original story, did Doctor Strange’s battle with Dormammu, which lasted for hundreds of rounds, seem to take no time at all, while I’ve been gone for so long?” Yang Xin was baffled, but time was always the most mysterious of matters, and he didn’t dwell on it.

“How did you all learn ninjutsu?” Yang Xin asked, curious.

“The Sorcerer Supreme taught us herself, hand by hand. She said our old combat methods were too monotonous, so she personally taught us the more versatile ninjutsu.”

Yang Xin nodded in understanding. If he could teach others chakra cultivation like the Sage of Six Paths, then of course the Sorcerer Supreme could do the same.

“Where’s Master?” Yang Xin asked.

“The Sorcerer Supreme…” Wang kicked aside a sneak attacker, then said gravely, “She was ambushed by Kaecilius and perished.”

“How could that be?” Yang Xin’s first reaction was disbelief—absolute disbelief. How could the Sorcerer Supreme, the mighty Ancient One, be killed by Kaecilius? Not even by ambush! At this point, she was not the frail mage from the original story but truly the supreme one of this world.

Even in the original, why did the Sorcerer Supreme die by ambush? Because she wanted to! Drawing power from the Dark Dimension, she was constantly corroded by its darkness and grew weary. With the emergence of Doctor Strange as a worthy successor, she chose to let go.

But now, Yang Xin had perfectly solved the problem of the Ancient One’s corruption by dark power. He simply couldn’t believe she’d been killed by a traitor like Kaecilius.

Yang Xin closed his eyes and began to sense the Divine Tree sapling within him—a seed the Sorcerer Supreme had gifted to absorb power from the Dark Dimension, which grew in resonance with the Ancient One’s own sapling. In a way, hers could be called the mother to his.

So, through the connection between the saplings, Yang Xin tried to sense if the Ancient One was still alive.

He could clearly feel the Sorcerer Supreme’s sapling thriving within her. That meant she was alive; she’d only faked her death and slipped away—very likely watching from the shadows even now.

Yang Xin surmised that the Ancient One was using her “death” to prompt Doctor Strange’s growth, and by letting Kaecilius and the other dark sorcerers invade, she was training her disciples in crisis response and real combat.

“Xin, could you stop posing like The Thinker and deal with the enemy before you start pondering?” Wang shouted anxiously upon seeing Yang Xin deep in thought.

“And before she died, the Sorcerer Supreme instructed you to hand over the Eye of Agamotto to Stephen Strange and let him inherit her title,” Wang said suddenly, all his muscles tensed in high alert.

Wang was well aware of the Eye’s mystical power and feared Yang Xin might covet it and become the next Kaecilius.

“Stephen Strange? If I’m not mistaken, he’s a doctor, right? Is he Master’s new disciple—the one being chased all over by Kaecilius?” Yang Xin pointed at Doctor Strange.

“That’s right!” Wang answered, then nervously eyed Yang Xin, worried he might run off with the Eye.

In a flash, Yang Xin used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Doctor Stephen Strange, kicked Kaecilius away, shoved the Eye of Agamotto into Strange’s arms, and then instantly returned to Wang’s shoulder.

“I’ve given the Eye of Agamotto to Stephen Strange,” Yang Xin said with a shrug.

“What the— You just gave it to him?” Wang exclaimed.

“You said Master instructed it, didn’t you? Of course I gave it to him. Or would you rather defy Master’s orders and keep the Eye from Stephen Strange? Oh, I get it now—you want to be the Sorcerer Supreme yourself! Wang, oh Wang, I never thought you, with your honest face, would betray the cause…” Yang Xin teased.

“That’s not what I meant!” Wang was so flustered by Yang Xin’s banter he could barely contain his exasperation.

“Then what do you mean?” Yang Xin asked, unhurried.

“I meant Stephen Strange was being chased by Kaecilius. Couldn’t you have defeated the enemy first and then given him the Eye?” Wang shouted.

“Oh, so you wanted me to take care of the enemy first! Why didn’t you say so…” Yang Xin feigned sudden realization, his act so over-the-top Wang wanted nothing more than to bite him.

“Wang, these dark sorcerers haven’t learned ninjutsu, right? Only our people have?” Yang Xin suddenly asked.

“Why do you ask?” Wang replied, puzzled, but seeing Yang Xin’s “If you don’t answer, I won’t act” look, he hastily said, “Yes.”

“Then allow me to demonstrate…” A sly smile spread across Yang Xin’s face as he looked at the dark sorcerers.

With a leap, he landed on the highest point nearby, his hands forming seals with lightning speed: “Water Style—Who Built This Dam~”

A sudden splash.

“A winding river descends from the sky, surging into a sea of blooming colors…”

As the waterfall cascaded from above, everyone present couldn’t help but have that peculiar song echo in their minds…