The three genin saw their teacher suddenly stop and halted as well.
One of them was about to speak when he suddenly noticed the ground rising beneath his feet.
Looking down, he saw three lizard-shaped puppets emerging.
Their teacher's puppets.
A terrifying whistling sound filled the air as earthen spears burst from the sand, thrusting upward toward them.
Shield plates extended from the sides of the lizard puppets, protecting the three genin.
Tade leapt high into the air, avoiding the earthen spikes.
His eyes widened when he looked back.
The side plates of the three lizard puppets had been completely pierced by Earth Release: Earth Spear Uplift. The three Sand genin were wounded in various places, though the puppets had prevented fatal injuries.
Who possessed such powerful Earth Release?
Iwa shinobi?
Still airborne, Tade opened a scroll and unsealed three different puppets.
A bulky puppet holding a shield, a thin puppet with circular saw blades for hands, and a two-headed puppet with four arms.
A figure charged forward from the distance.
With little cover in the desert, Tade had ample time to react.
The three puppets attacked from different directions.
Yako thought calmly: controlling three powerful puppets simultaneously — impressive.
The spinning saw blade struck his throat precisely. Tade felt a surge of delight.
The blade spun faster, ready to cut —
Then shattered instantly.
A copper-red sheen glowed at Yako's throat.
"Copper Fox!"
Tade felt bitter.
During the Second Shinobi War, the greatest nightmare of Sand puppet masters had been Konoha's White Fang — his blade could destroy any puppet.
The second nightmare was Konoha ANBU's Copper Fox.
If physical attacks were ineffective, puppets became useless.
Tade quickly withdrew the bulky and thin puppets.
The two-headed puppet advanced, releasing two streams of poisonous smoke from its mouths.
Red and purple fumes spread heavily through the night air.
If physical attacks failed, poison would do.
But Copper Fox vanished underground.
Tade froze — the poison lost its target.
He jumped as the bulky puppet rushed beneath him, slamming its shield into the ground.
Boom.
The heavy shield shattered.
Copper Fox's palm shone copper-red — impossibly hard. The iron shield was no match.
He crashed straight into the bulky puppet's body.
Hidden weapons erupted from within the puppet — poisoned needles and kunai — but they failed to penetrate his defense, barely tearing his clothing.
Tade watched in disbelief as Copper Fox tore the puppet apart with his bare hands.
Parts scattered across the sand.
The thin puppet rushed in to assist.
But Copper Fox repeated the same act — grabbing the spinning saw blade with one hand, stopping it completely. The rapidly rotating weapon was meaningless against his iron grip.
Yako ripped off the puppet's arm, kicked it away, and charged directly toward Tade.
His fist slammed into Tade's chest — and Yako's eyes shifted.
That feeling…
Tade's chest shattered — but inside wasn't flesh. It was mechanisms.
Poison needles and hidden weapons were useless, but a steel cable shot out from his chest.
It wrapped tightly around Yako's arm and shoulder.
More cables followed, binding him firmly.
At that moment, Yako noticed something strange.
Inside Tade's chest was a heart — but the lungs, liver, and other organs were replaced by mechanisms.
Had he modified himself? Or replaced damaged organs after injury?
An exquisite puppet technique. Truly worthy of an elite puppet master — approaching peak mastery.
The two-headed puppet appeared behind Yako, slamming both heads into his shoulders.
Poisonous smoke erupted.
Tade froze.
Copper Fox… was inhaling the poison?
He died… just like that?
[Host death detected. Arc of the Waning Moon system activating…]
Yako's vision shifted.
He returned to the previous full moon.
Test complete. Tade was indeed strong — elite jōnin level.
Ordinary shinobi would be worn down by his endless methods.
This time, he had to kill Tade. No loose ends.
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated!
Host receives one resurrection per month. Upon death, revival occurs at the previous full moon.
Reward: One draw opportunity…]
Yako selected elite jōnin-level chakra reserves.
His chakra surged to 3.4 times elite jōnin level.
The sensation of increased chakra… intoxicating.
Following the timeline again, he and Nara Meika returned outside the Wind Country capital.
"I'll set the ambush. Stay back and don't move," Yako said.
Meika watched as Fox disappeared, using Earth Release to conceal himself beneath the sand.
Then—
For an entire night, the sand remained completely still.
She found it difficult to imagine that ANBU's top operative would remain buried underground for hours without moving just to complete a mission.
Hours of wind swept over the desert, reshaping the sand until no trace remained. No one could possibly detect a Konoha ANBU hidden beneath.
Tade departed the capital with three genin.
He walked ahead, the genin following behind through the desert.
"When traveling at night, always watch the stars. You can navigate by them."
He pointed at the sky, explaining different constellations.
Navigating by starlight was essential training for Sand shinobi.
Suddenly, a massive earth wall erupted from underground.
Over ten meters high and dozens of meters long, it separated Tade from the three genin.
Who would imagine a shinobi hiding beneath the ground?
Yako burst from the sand, activating the Self-Binding Curse Mark.
The curse seal spread upward from Tade's feet.
Tade's heart jolted — but before his hands were fully bound, his fingers twitched.
Yako rushed forward.
He focused on Tade's right chest — the lung was gone, replaced by mechanisms.
Tade remained calm. His weaknesses were few — only his head and heart. Even ambushed, he wouldn't die easily.
The slight movement of his fingers triggered the mechanism in his chest.
As Yako approached, steel cables shot outward.
But shock filled Tade's eyes.
The enemy moved as if he knew everything.
Yako shifted his shoulder smoothly, avoiding the cable.
A kunai pierced directly into Tade's heart.
Why did the enemy know his abilities?
This was Yako's second battle against him. Everything unfolded exactly as expected.
Once Tade died completely, Yako lifted the body onto his shoulder and ran north.
Nara Meika quickly followed.
Glancing back at the three genin chasing them, she asked, "Should we eliminate the witnesses?"
"No need," Yako replied. "I used only one Earth Release and a kunai strike. Who could identify Konoha's Copper Fox from that?
Leave the genin alive. Lead them toward the Land of Earth so they assume an Iwa shinobi committed the kill.
To avoid Sunagakure's retaliatory escalation against Konoha, these three genin are useful."
Nara Meika's eyes flickered.
As expected… ANBU's Copper Fox didn't spare them out of mercy.