Purple Cat and the others hadn't undertaken many missions and were all still alive, which relieved Yōkō.
Soon, Yōkō met the new members assigned to the squad.
The most important new member was Antelope, a reconnaissance ninja.
Antelope, an Aburame clan ninja, is skilled in insect reconnaissance.
Reconnaissance range is about 1 kilometer.
Yōkō felt somewhat disappointed inside. The old Antelope's Byakugan could scout 3 kilometers; the new Antelope's insects only reached 1 kilometer. The reconnaissance capability was much worse.
Insect reconnaissance had a lag; the scattered Parasitic Destruction Insects could only relay information when they flew back.
Antelope spoke up: "Captain, we've had no prior interaction, but my insects tell me you seem somewhat dissatisfied with me?"
He hadn't expected Antelope's Parasitic Destruction Insects to sense emotions.
Yōkō said:
"It's not dissatisfaction, but remembering the previous Antelope. He sacrificed himself on the last mission, just feeling a bit sentimental.
Return to the team, Antelope. Get familiar with your teammates, and let your teammates get familiar with you."
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog issued the assembly order.
At the camp entrance, Yōkō saw Danzo and two Root ninja.
Another mission following Danzo.
The Anbu advanced in silence.
Leaving the Land of Grass and entering the basin of the Land of Rain, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and soon it began to rain.
From a drizzling rain, it turned into a downpour.
This country was always weeping.
The rain greatly affected daily life; this country didn't produce much grain.
The vast majority of crops couldn't survive here. The food consisted of aquatic plants like water caltrop and water shield.
Scout teams on the periphery came and went continuously, reporting intelligence to Danzo.
These scout teams were responsible for collecting intelligence for Danzo.
There were benefits to following Danzo, too: timely intelligence, and Danzo valued his life highly, never placing himself in danger.
Soon, Danzo stopped at a location three kilometers outside the capital city of the Land of Rain.
According to intelligence, Hanzo was inside the capital city of the Land of Rain.
The capital city of the Land of Rain was a gray mass in the rain curtain.
All the Anbu guarded around Danzo, motionless, letting the rain pour down their cloaks.
An hour later, a group of people emerged from the capital.
Danzo nodded. The Anbu squad quickly moved, intercepting the group.
When they were 50 meters apart, Yōkō saw Hanzo.
Hanzo wore a mask, a cloak, and held a scythe.
He looked to the left into the distance, then to the right, his tone filled with confusion:
"Danzo, my Amegakure has already declared war on your Konoha. How dare you come here? Are you here to die?"
Hanzo spoke with strong confidence.
The Demigod of the Ninja World, in this war-torn Land of Rain, was taken seriously by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and the Third Kazekage. His strength was unfathomable.
But Danzo said:
"Hanzo, shame on you for bearing the Demigod title, yet being led around by the nose by Ōnoki.
Kumogakure has already declared war on Iwagakure. The Third Raikage is personally leading a team into the Land of Waterfalls, attacking from the north of the Land of Earth.
And our Konoha is also pressuring the Iwa-nin in the Land of Grass. If you hadn't caused trouble, we would have already broken into the southern part of the Land of Earth by now.
I heard Ōnoki promised you mission shares from the Land of Birds and a quota for the Land of Birds Daimyō's Guardian Ninja.
If you hadn't been deceived by Ōnoki and launched an attack on the Land of Birds now, with Iwagakure fighting on three fronts, wouldn't the mission share of the Land of Birds still be yours?
Ōnoki gives you things he can't hold onto anyway, making you fight for him. What a great deal.
Your strength is decent, but you, a leader raised in a small village, have terrible strategic vision.
Why not cooperate with Konoha? Let me teach you what the correct approach is."
It was rare for Danzo to speak at such length, and his analysis was logical.
Everything he said was correct. The problem was, it was a bit too correct.
Hanzo was somewhat infuriated and ashamed into anger.
Hanzo's political skills were terrible; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed so many opposition organizations to emerge in the future Land of Rain.
The early Akatsuki, led by Yahiko, was a moderate reformist group, but was eventually forced to become the violent revolutionary group led by Nagato.
The angry Hanzo directly formed hand signs.
"Summoning Technique!"
Disagree? Resort to force.
When Yōkō saw the giant summoned, the Salamander, he immediately jumped sideways.
A cloud of aged poison mist sprayed from the Salamander's mouth.
Purple mist billowed, and rain falling into the purple mist made sizzling corrosion sounds.
Salamanders are a species living around Amegakure, very adapted to rainy weather.
This summon was the strongest salamander in the clan.
When rainwater entered the poison mist, the mist reacted with the rain, boiling even more frighteningly.
Several Anbu joined hands to use Wind Release, but couldn't stop the poison mist.
It was Danzo who personally acted, spewing a fierce wind from his mouth, dispersing the poison mist.
Yōkō cursed inwardly, that old bastard Danzo! I just jumped sideways to avoid the poison mist, and you blow it towards the side?
The Fox Squad hurriedly dodged again.
However, Hanzo's subordinates were already waiting on the side.
Hanzo's men seized the moment when the Anbu ninja were still in the air after jumping and unable to change direction, launching their attacks one after another.
Kunai, poisoned needles, and various attacks came in succession.
Yōkō formed hand signs: "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The Water Release blocked most of the attacks.
A Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique shot out, scattering Hanzo's subordinates.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog shouted, "Everyone attack Hanzo! Create an opportunity for Lord Danzo to strike!"
Danzo stood motionless in the rear.
This was always his style: subordinates probe for intelligence, he secretly formulates a plan, delivers the final blow, or executes the final escape.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog was too desperate, leading the charge directly towards Hanzo, starting with a fireball dozens of meters in diameter.
Half of Hanzo's body was illuminated by the great fireball.
However, Hanzo was a master of Water Release.
A Water Formation Wall dozens of times larger than Yōkō's easily blocked the great fireball.
Yōkō circled to the side of the Water Formation Wall and was almost hit by the Salamander's thick, large tail.
Fortunately, his reaction speed was fast; otherwise, he would have been smashed into pulp.
Even if he had to die, he couldn't die by the Salamander's hand; he had to die by Hanzo's hand.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rising Spears!"
Yōkō's chakra reserve wasn't small. Dense Earth-Style Rising Spears, each over ten meters high, stabbed towards the Salamander.
The Salamander's skin was slippery, sticky, and very tough; the Earth-Style Rising Spears couldn't pierce it.
However, the Earth-Style Rising Spears also acted like pillars, briefly restraining the Salamander's left forelimb and left hind limb.
"Well done!"
After praising Fox, Yellow Dog immediately used a second Fire Release.
Everyone had their own good at ninjutsu. Knowing many ninjutsu was useless; the ninjutsu you could use in actual combat were the ones truly yours.
Since Yōkō first met Battalion Commander Yellow Dog, he had only used one ninjutsu: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
This technique combines chakra nature transformation and shape transformation, strong in both attack range and speed.
Three consecutive Fire Release: Dragon Fire Techniques surged towards Hanzo like a tidal wave.
Simultaneously, the Anbu ninja on the other side also used Fire Release.
Pincered from both sides, Hanzo had no escape.
At that moment, Hanzo raised his hand and formed a single hand seal.
"Water Body Flicker!"
Hanzo and the Salamander disappeared together.
Yōkō only felt a chill behind him; the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.
The cold-blooded Salamander appeared behind him.
Hanzo's Water Body Flicker could actually teleport away with such a massive summon like the Salamander, escaping the Fire Release encirclement.
The scythe swept across; Yōkō's head flew off.
[Host death detected. Mochizuki's Arc system starting up...]
Such a powerful Water Body Flicker... he really wanted to possess it.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)