Surrounded by five Hidden Leaf Jonin, including two Uchiha and the ANBU Copper Fox, Hozuki Muratsuki felt his scalp tingle. He immediately began forming hand signs.
The Steam Impelling Blast rushed southward, rapidly expanding to its maximum size. Standing dozens of meters tall, the clone emitted the audible sound of boiling water and churning steam from within.
"Burst!"
A terrifying explosion shattered the encirclement of the five Leaf Jonin. Yagami, being closer to the blast, was forced to retreat. Having created an opening, Hozuki Muratsuki didn't look back as he leaped toward the ocean. Seeing the Leaf shinobi in hot pursuit, he formed another seal, and a second Steam Impelling Blast clone blocked their path.
At that moment, a figure suddenly erupted from the ground. Yagami emerged and formed a seal. The Self-Curse Binding Seal spread across the ground like a spiderweb, crawling up from Hozuki Muratsuki's feet to cover his entire body.
"Now's our chance!"
Uchiha Tohka seized the moment, and a Great Fireball surged forward. Yagami immediately dove back into the earth to avoid the flames. Muratsuki was instantly engulfed by the Great Fireball, his screams echoing from within the blaze.
Yamashiro Tera saw Copper Fox emerge nearby and hurriedly asked, "Jonin Fox, did we get him?"
Yagami shook his head. "Muratsuki was hit by the Great Fireball, but at the last second, he risked heavy injury to use the Hydrification Jutsu. He slipped out of my sealing formula and seeped into the ground. His whereabouts are unknown."
Hozuki Muratsuki was a ruthless man, escaping by braving the danger of being boiled alive. However, Yagami knew more than he let on. He had tampered with the ground; when he dove beneath Muratsuki's feet, he had secretively deployed a dose of venom. Once Muratsuki liquified, the poison would dissolve into his fluid form. With that toxin in his system, the effectiveness of his Hydrification Healing Jutsu would be severely compromised.
The Leaf shinobi felt it was a pity he had escaped. Just then, the appearance of the Steam Impelling Blast confirmed that Muratsuki was indeed still alive. The clone rushed toward them, expanding once more before the steam and oil turned into a high-temperature shockwave that exploded outward.
Meanwhile, Yellow Dog had failed to take down Fuguki Suikazan in a short time. Fuguki had also managed to flee.
Uchiha Tohka said with regret, "What a shame. Two elite Jonin both got away."
Yellow Dog remarked, "Fuguki Suikazan's chakra reserve is immense. Both his Water Style and his Needle Secret Technique made it very difficult for me to handle."
Seeing that the others didn't intend to pursue the leaders, Yamashiro Tera and Moonlight Sō charged toward the ordinary Mist ninja. Killing more Mist now would expand their battle achievements. Yagami followed suit to clean up the remaining forces.
The primary goal of this ambush was to achieve a significant victory to secure Yellow Dog's promotion to Deputy Minister. With several Leaf Jonin joining the fray, the three Mist brigades collapsed quickly.
As the battle ended, Yellow Dog, Yagami, and the other Jonin stood at the summit, watching Butterfly tabulate the results below. Shortly after, Butterfly ascended the hill.
"Brigade Commander! In this battle, we killed four Mist Jonin and over 330 Mist ninja!"
Yellow Dog's breathing was heavy. *Excellent.* This was a major victory—the kind that would silence all critics and secure his promotion. He ordered, "Butterfly, record the results in detail, tally our casualties, and draft a battle report as soon as possible."
"Wait!"
Yellow Dog turned in confusion at Fox's voice. Yagami leaned close to Yellow Dog's ear and whispered:
"Brigade Commander, while interrogating a Mist ninja, I heard that Fuguki Suikazan covets Hozuki Muratsuki's Great Sword Samehada. Why don't we wait? Muratsuki was besieged by the five of us and heavily wounded. There might be a surprise."
Yellow Dog asked, "Is the internal strife in the Mist Village even worse than ours? Would two elite Jonin really turn on each other?"
Yagami nodded, believing it was highly likely. Conflicts are hard to eliminate, but physical bodies are easy to eliminate. Ninja from any village tended to prefer the physical elimination of their rivals. Among the Five Great Villages, only the Cloud Village, after the Gold and Silver Brothers' rebellion, had the best internal order and the least infighting, making them the strongest. The other four were all equally matched in their talent for internal strife. When it came to a fight, who wanted to lecture someone about the Will of Fire?
Fugaku Uchiha stood at the foot of the hill, looking up at the six Jonin at the summit, wondering when he would finally become a Leaf Jonin. After clearing the battlefield, the unit headed back to the front-line camp.
...
On a certain coast of the Land of Whirlpools, Fuguki Suikazan shouldered the Great Sword Samehada. A mangled corpse lay on the jagged rocks.
"Devoured by five Walrus summoning beasts—this was a trump card I prepared specifically for you. Even with your Hydrification, once you're sucked into the bellies of different walruses, you can't exactly resurrect, can you?"
Fuguki Suikazan felt the weight of Samehada and smiled with satisfaction. "Hozuki Muratsuki was killed by the Leaf, and I reclaimed Samehada from them, preventing a loss for the village. If those Leaf Jonin aren't fools, they'll play along with that explanation. Muratsuki's head is a massive achievement, far more useful than killing a few hundred ninja."
The walruses tore the corpse apart, swallowing every bit. Moments later, the walruses died of poisoning. Fuguki was momentarily stunned. No wonder it had been so smooth; Muratsuki had been poisoned and was struggling just to keep up appearances. Nonō Yakushi hadn't lied to him too much, creating the perfect opening to seize Samehada.
Shortly after Yellow Dog returned to the camp, news spread that set the Hidden Leaf camp ablaze with excitement. Hozuki Muratsuki, the strongest of the Hozuki clan and master of the Steam Impelling Blast, had died in the Leaf's ambush.
Inside the headquarters tent, Uchiha Murakumo excitedly handed a scroll to Danzo. "Consultant, Hozuki Muratsuki is truly dead! Many saw the Great Sword Samehada change owners; Fuguki Suikazan is now carrying it! Yellow Dog's ambush was incredibly successful, killing the commander of the sword recovery unit and dealing a heavy blow to the Hozuki clan and the Mist Village!"
Danzo glanced sideways at the scroll, giving a non-committal grunt. Uchiha Murakumo's joyful expression froze and then immediately shifted to a blank stare. After spending enough time with Danzo, one couldn't help but become expressionless. Murakumo knew Danzo detested him and all Uchiha, despite Murakumo never having offended him. This baseless hatred had troubled Murakumo for years.
Uchiha Murakumo said to an aide, "Please have Brigade Commander Yellow Dog come to the command tent immediately."
The tent flap opened, and B of Root walked in. B shook his head at Danzo and put down a scroll. Danzo looked at it; the two Root ninja sent to contact Nonō Yakushi and Fuguki Suikazan had died near the coast. The bodies had been hidden, but B used parasitic insects to find them and destroy their brains. Danzo found the character for "woman" in the scroll and pointed it out to B.
B nodded, knowing Lord Danzo wanted him to contact the "Walking Miko." Root's cooperation with Fuguki Suikazan had always been mediated by her. Since Yellow Dog had won big, the Walking Miko must know something.
As B left the tent, he happened to pass Yellow Dog and his group entering. Yagami, who was trailing at the back of the Jonin, felt his heart sink when he saw B's retreating figure. Was B going to investigate the death of the two Root ninja?
Ram had not returned with the main force; he had gone to retrieve the two Root bodies. Yagami wondered if he would make it back safely.
In a bush by the sea, Ram's squad found the two corpses. However, the bodies had already been sabotaged—specifically, their brains were ruined. A storage scroll would destroy the final activity of a brain; to preserve evidence, they hadn't used sealing methods previously. Ram realized things were bad; he hadn't hidden the key evidence well enough.
Without those two bodies, how could they prove Lord Danzo had intentionally leaked the intelligence? Without evidence, accusing a Consultant like Danzo was equivalent to a false report, and there would never be a good outcome.
***
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