Yagami reached the north bank of the Yoshimizu River and followed the coded markers until he found Captain Yellow Dog.
"Captain," Yagami said, "I captured a Sand-nin at Teigoku Town and extracted their intel."
Captain Yellow Dog's eyes brightened. "Fox, you never disappoint."
Purple Cat stood beside them, looking vexed.
It should have been her job to handle the interrogation, but because her captain was too capable—and she had slept far too deeply—he'd done everything himself.
Then she suddenly remembered, she'd slept that deeply because her captain had been too capable the night before.
Yagami continued,
"Captain, the Sand-nin are being led by the elite jōnin, Mache.
He's discovered several underground caverns within the Kichikō Mountains and has connected them together, forming a network that runs through the entire range.
"They plan to destroy the riverbank north of Teigoku Town, divert the Yoshimizu River into the caverns, and let the water emerge on the southern side of the range—creating fertile land across the desert plains of the Wind Country.
"The Sand-nin will launch their operation tomorrow morning."
At Yagami's cue, Purple Cat unfolded a waterproof map before the captain.
Yellow Dog studied it intently.
"The Yoshimizu River isn't only the great river of the Land of Rain—it's also a vital tributary in western River Country, flowing through their capital itself."
"If the Sand Village severs the flow here, River Country's capital will suffer immense consequences."
"Whether for the sake of weakening the Wind Country or protecting the Kyoto of River Country—one of the Fire Country's client states—we cannot allow this."
"A prosperous Wind Country means a richer Sand Village. That's bad for Konoha.
"River Country is one of our key sources of missions and contracts.
Even if Hanzo hadn't asked, we'd still have to stop them."
He looked up. "Fox, assemble the Hippo and Yak squads. Tomorrow, we'll crush the Sand's operation."
That night, the entire Yellow Dog Division crossed the river.
Before long, the sensory-nin reported,
"Captain, there's a Sand-nin squad near the small cabin by the levee!"
Yagami glanced over—
It was the cabin of the old river warden.
Since the man had been captured, there was no one left to sound an alarm.
Yagami and Captain Yak moved quietly, striking like shadows—four Sand-nin died before they even knew they were attacked.
Their squad leader's corpse was brought before Captain Yellow Dog, and Purple Cat extracted the remaining intel.
"Besides the information Yagami already obtained," she said, "Mache's force includes two full battalions of Earth Style users."
"Two battalions…" Yellow Dog muttered, then nodded.
"Good. Manageable.
Fire beats Wind. I'll take Mache myself.
Fox Squad and Hippo Squad—you'll each stall one Sand-nin battalion.
Yak Squad has the most Earth users. Your task is to collapse the caverns and block the flow.
Once the caverns are sealed, each squad will withdraw in order. Maintain discipline."
Yagami inwardly sighed. Captain really doesn't care if his subordinates live or die.
One squad holding off an entire battalion? That meant his unit would take heavy losses again.
And that last part—'withdraw in order'—always meant someone was going to be left behind.
Rear-guard duty was the most dangerous of all missions—"nine deaths out of ten" would be an understatement.
The division advanced, skirting the silent Teigoku Town.
Yagami glanced toward the dark rooftops. This time, he thought, you won't die so miserably. None of you should have died that way.
Soon, the division spotted Sand-nin digging trenches with Earth Style techniques.
Two Sand battalions stood on either side of the channel.
Yagami charged first.
Gathering nearly all his chakra, he formed seals and slammed both palms to the ground.
Earth Style: Rising Spear Forest.
Before him, over fifty meters of ground erupted into dense spikes of hardened earth—like a field of giant thorns.
Nearly ten Sand-nin were impaled before they could even react.
From the flank, Mache spotted the Fox-masked ANBU and snarled.
He swept his arm—Wind Style: Wind Slash!
But Yagami had already anticipated it.
He leapt into the air—head down, waist arched, legs curled back—
and slipped perfectly between the three razor-edged wind blades.
Good thing he'd learned Mache's patterns from his previous life; otherwise, those strikes would have torn him apart.
Captain Yellow Dog saw the scale of Yagami's jutsu and couldn't hide his astonishment.
With that kind of power, he's already at jōnin level, he thought. His growth is incredible.
"Mache!" Yellow Dog roared. "Your opponent is me!"
A massive fireball burst through the rain, lighting the night and streaking toward Mache.
Purple Cat's squad formed a perimeter, protecting Yagami while he recovered his chakra.
White Sheep and Deer squads held the advancing Sand-nin at bay.
Once his reserves had returned slightly, Yagami knelt again, hands on the mud.
Earth Style: Rising Spear Forest!
Another explosion of earthen spikes tore through the enemy ranks—seven or eight more Sand-nin fell.
Two large-scale techniques in a row—
and the sixty-man Sand battalion had already lost nearly twenty.
Drawing his ninjatō, Yagami sprinted straight toward the enemy commander.
White Sheep was barely holding against the man, forced back again and again, his uniform already slashed in two places.
"White Sheep! I'll take him!"
White Sheep exhaled in relief. He was outmatched.
The Sand-nin commander formed seals.
Earth Style: Stone Barrage!
He slammed his hands to the ground. The earth split open, launching a storm of massive boulders.
Yagami weaved through them, slashing aside the ones he couldn't dodge.
The commander had expected the Fox ANBU to be a ninjutsu specialist—but his taijutsu was formidable as well.
He poured more chakra into his technique—
the stones rained down like meteors.
Soon, the battlefield was littered with rubble, the terrain a chaos of jagged stone.
Yagami studied the terrain, the disorder of the wider battle, and thought: This is my chance. End it fast.
He darted through another volley of rocks and charged the Sand commander.
As he neared, Yagami formed seals again.
Earth Style: Rising Spear Forest!
The Sand commander leapt instinctively.
But this time, the spikes erupted in a ring around them, enclosing both men inside.
When the commander landed, he realized too late that the boulders surrounding them had been lifted by the spikes—trapping the two in a narrow circle.
No one could see them now.
Captain Yellow Dog was locked in deadly combat with Mache, no one else had eyes on this part of the field.
Yagami formed a single hand sign.
His voice was low—
"Curse Seal of Retribution!"
This was Yagami's true art—his most proficient technique.
Ever since inheriting the Uzumaki bloodline, his sealing skills had soared in strength.
It was the only jutsu in his arsenal rated as Mastered.
The ground beneath them flared with crimson seal script, racing upward across the Sand commander's legs, waist, shoulders, and head.
The man's mouth hung open—unable to even close it.
Terror filled his eyes as he struggled to form a single sign—
but his hands refused to move.
He thought.
The Uzumaki clan may have perished, but Leaf village had reaped the greatest reward.
How else could an ANBU squad leader wield such a devastating seal?
In the rain-soaked night, the flash of steel gleamed.
Yagami's blade came down, cleaving the Sand commander's brow—splitting his skull until even the brain matter spilled free.
The origin of his sealing arts had to remain secret—utter secrecy.
That meant destroying the target's brain beyond recovery.
With the enemy dead, Yagami vaulted over the shattered earth barrier and looked immediately toward Captain Yellow Dog.
The captain was still locked in a fierce duel with Mache.
Even with Fire trumping Wind, Yellow Dog couldn't gain the upper hand.
Mache's mastery of Wind Style was simply too deep.
Seeing that the captain hadn't noticed what had happened here, Yagami let out a silent breath.
There were no Hyūga in this division—no Byakugan to see through the smoke and terrain.
With the line of sight broken, his secret would remain safe.
He needed to finish up and support the rest of his squad quickly.
He refused to let them die for the sake of Teigoku Town's civilians.
If the cost of saving those people was the annihilation of his own men, that would be a loss too steep to bear.
Yagami leapt down from the barrier like a predator unleashed—
and tore through the remaining Sand-nin like a tiger among sheep.
***
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