Blood spilled once more from Yashamaru's chest.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and executed a proper evasive maneuver, that strike would have killed him outright.
But Natsuhiko had no intention of letting him go.
The moment Yashamaru dodged the kunai, Natsuhiko followed up with a kick.
Enhanced by chakra, the kick landed solidly in Yashamaru's abdomen.
"—Gah!"
Yashamaru couldn't endure it.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward, crashing violently into a tree behind him.
Boom!
The tree couldn't withstand the impact.
With a loud crack, it snapped and collapsed.
Yashamaru slumped against the broken trunk, struggled weakly for a moment—
Then lost consciousness.
After completing the series of attacks, Natsuhiko let out a faint sigh of relief.
Beneath his mask, the reddish eye shadow of Sage Mode faded away.
His perception confirmed that Yashamaru had truly fallen unconscious.
There had been no opportunity for him to use a Substitution Technique.
Although Natsuhiko hadn't used any ninjutsu while in Sage Mode, in real combat taijutsu was often the primary method of engagement.
Ninjutsu frequently served a supporting role.
Unless it was a decisive, finishing technique—
It was better not to waste chakra recklessly.
This was experience Natsuhiko had accumulated over years in ANBU.
Especially since his chakra reserves were limited.
Using ninjutsu carelessly would only worsen his situation.
"Captain."
Seeing that the battle had ended, Kakashi jumped down from hiding.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
Natsuhiko smiled slightly.
There was no way he would be in trouble.
In truth, he had known all along that Kakashi was concealed nearby and had no immediate intention of intervening.
And that was perfectly normal.
Sometimes acting produced less effect than holding back.
In Natsuhiko's previous life, there was a famous saying:
"A nuclear weapon is most powerful when it's still on the launch pad—not after it's launched."
A clenched fist worked the same way.
The psychological pressure of a fist poised to strike was far greater than after it had already been thrown.
Kakashi's silent presence nearby had exerted invisible pressure on Yashamaru—
More effective than actually attacking.
Besides, Natsuhiko hadn't needed assistance.
He had long since noticed Yashamaru's trick.
The repeated collisions of kunai against his blade were no accident.
Yashamaru had been using Magnet Release to leave traces of chakra on the weapon—
So he could control it later and turn it against him.
And in fact, he had succeeded.
But Natsuhiko had already seen through his intentions.
Although Yashamaru had once been discovered by him earlier, he likely believed that had been coincidence—
Or that Natsuhiko had set up some prior preparation.
Combined with the overwhelming pressure Natsuhiko had placed on him—
Yashamaru had felt forced to counterattack.
What Yashamaru didn't know was that once the amount of Magnet Release chakra on the blade had reached a sufficient level, Natsuhiko had quietly used a Shadow Clone and the Substitution Technique.
His real body had already slipped away and hidden to the side—
Calmly watching as Yashamaru activated the chakra on the ninja blade.
Only then had he launched his ambush.
"Looks like we've caught a big fish," Kakashi said, glancing at Yashamaru. "This guy is Yashamaru? The younger brother of the Fourth Kazekage's wife?"
"If the intelligence is correct," Natsuhiko nodded with a faint smile. "And he's ANBU. The information he holds is far more valuable than that of those two Suna ninja. It's just that…"
Just that—
ANBU operatives always carried the means to destroy themselves.
Natsuhiko suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Capturing this big fish would absolutely be a major achievement.
After all, this was Rasa's brother-in-law.
In ninja missions, living captives were usually far more valuable than corpses.
Whether for intelligence extraction or as leverage in negotiations—
They were excellent assets.
But the very nature of ANBU made things troublesome.
Natsuhiko had only just begun studying sealing techniques.
He had no way to seal this man's chakra yet.
"Captain… should we use some poison on him?" Kakashi hesitated after thinking for a while. "Keep him unconscious the whole time. That way, we can bring him back safely."
"You have something like that?" Natsuhiko blinked, surprised.
"No," Kakashi shook his head. "But… shouldn't ANBU normally carry something like that during missions?"
"I'm not sure if you have a misunderstanding about ANBU…" Natsuhiko sighed helplessly. "Yes, some people use such methods. But I don't carry that sort of thing."
Some ANBU did indeed use poison.
But Natsuhiko never had.
For him, encounters with enemy ANBU usually ended one of two ways—
Either he killed them.
Or he disengaged quickly.
There were rarely situations where he captured someone intact.
This time was an exception.
If not for the fact that this man was Yashamaru—brother-in-law of the Fourth Kazekage—
If not for the value of that identity—
He would already have been sent to the Pure Land like the other ANBU Natsuhiko had dealt with before.
Letting out another sigh, Natsuhiko sat down against a nearby tree, thinking about what to do.
But what he never expected—
The moment his back touched the tree, the system in his mind suddenly activated.
"Special attribute plant detected. Analyzing."
Natsuhiko froze.
He was very familiar with that mechanical voice.
Over the years, he had heard it countless times.
And whenever it appeared, it usually meant only one thing—
He had encountered a seed he had never collected before.
Or a higher-level one.
His "cheat" was actually quite user-friendly.
If he had already collected a type of seed, it wouldn't notify him again—
Unless it was a more advanced version.
Unless he himself had a specific intention, the system wouldn't give extra prompts.
And at the moment, he hadn't been thinking about anything in particular.
"Analysis complete. Beginner-level Wind Release seed."
Not long after, the mechanical voice sounded again in his mind.
Natsuhiko's eyebrow twitched.
Wind Release?
Now that was something he had never obtained before.
Up until now, he had only discovered two chakra nature seeds—
Earth Release and Water Release.
The rest had mostly been basic attribute seeds or chakra capacity seeds.
At his luckiest, he had obtained a Sage Technique seed.
But Fire Release, Lightning Release, and Wind Release—
He had never encountered them.
And today, it seemed fortune was on his side.
He had just obtained a Wind Release chakra seed.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Natsuhiko's lips.