The southern coast of the Land of Whirlpools possessed beautiful sandy beaches and emerald waters. However, the northern coast where Yagami stood was dominated by dark, jagged reefs. The terrain was rugged, making every step a challenge.
Yagami carried the twin blades on his back, the Hiramekarei thick with layers of sealing bandages. He stood atop the highest reef, gazing out across the sea.
'Come on, Mist ninja. Take a look.'
'Doesn't the silhouette beneath these bandages look exactly like your lost Twinsword?'
He was bait—conspicuous, undeniable bait.
Suddenly, a black streak shot through the air. Yagami felt a surge of excitement. *Finally.*
A kunai with an explosive tag flew toward him. A roar followed as the explosion swallowed both Yagami and the reef in thick smoke. The Mist ninja knew the intelligence on Copper Fox; this wasn't an attempt to kill him, but a signal and a marker. The scout who first spotted him used the blast to alert the rest of the Mist force: Copper Fox is here.
As the smoke cleared, Yagami's silhouette reappeared. The kunai had done no damage, though the concussive force of the explosion was a bit of a nuisance, leaving his head ringing slightly.
Then, he saw the tsunami.
The sea churned as massive amounts of chakra gathered. A wave dozens of meters high lunged toward the shore. Three ninjas stood atop the crest. Yagami noted that all three had sharp, shark-like teeth. Many Mist ninjas possessed these fangs; he wondered what lineage it stemmed from.
Under the shadow of the towering wave, Yagami's mind briefly wandered to a joke from his past life. He shook his head. *Shark-toothed female ninja... definitely not a good match. At least Terumi Mei doesn't have those fangs; she's much more pleasant by comparison.* Mei was a few years older than Kakashi, so she was likely still in the Academy.
Atop the wave, the three Mist Jonin saw the Fox shaking his head. They couldn't tell if he was mocking them or just distracted. Seeing that Hiramekarei was sealed, they knew the Fox couldn't utilize the power of the blade.
The wave crashed down, flooding the coast for hundreds of meters and turning the area into a playground for Water Style users. Yagami turned and fled inland. He needed to lure the pursuers away from the shore, or it would be far too easy for them to escape back into the ocean.
The surge shattered the reefs and snapped the palm trees lining the shore as it chased him. Yagami's speed was sufficient to keep him ahead of the water. Following closely behind the wave was a dense, heavy mist. Behind the three Jonin were three full companies of Mist ninja.
The good news was that he had hooked big fish—three Jonin. The bad news was that the fish were so large they might snap the rod.
Once he had led the three Mist companies deep onto land, Yagami continued his flight. The Mist ninja were stubborn; even knowing it was a likely trap, they pressed on. The already dark night became even more treacherous as the mist choked out all visibility.
Yagami couldn't just run at full speed. He had to periodically slow down to ensure the Mist ninja stayed on his tail. Suddenly, a blade appeared directly in front of him, slashing at his abdomen. In the mist, where visibility was less than two meters, he hadn't noticed someone sneaking so close.
Without his Copper Light secret art, that strike would have been fatal. The blade was sharp but brittle; it shattered into three pieces against Yagami's stomach. While it didn't wound him, it succeeded in halting his momentum.
Two Mist ninja lunged from the fog beside him. Yagami saw their hand signs and immediately went on high alert. What he feared most wasn't a direct physical clash, but capture-type ninjutsu. His data had been circulated by the Sand, and the Mist had surely prepared countermeasures for Copper Fox.
The two ninjas were weaving the signs for the Water Prison Jutsu. If he was trapped in a sphere of water, his Absolute Defense would be rendered useless.
"Earth Style: Earth Spike Spear!"
After three signs, the ground around Yagami erupted in stone thorns, forcing the two Mist ninja back. At that moment, over a dozen flares of light appeared in the palm forest. Every Fire Style user in the Yellow Dog Unit unleashed their jutsu simultaneously.
Commander Yellow Dog, in particular, made the air itself sizzle with heat the moment he acted.
[Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]!
A massive fire dragon, dozens of meters long, charged into the heart of the mist. Over twenty Leaf ninja followed suit, firing Flame Bullets and Great Fireballs at the blurred figures in the fog. Yagami used an Earth Clone to substitute himself, vanishing beneath the earth.
When he reappeared, he was dozens of meters away. Under the intense heat of the Fire Style, the mist finally evaporated. The nearest Hozuki Jonin spotted the Fox carrying the Twinsword.
"Catch him!"
The Hozuki Jonin wove signs, sending another massive wave crashing forward. If Yagami was submerged, he would be vulnerable to a Water Prison the moment the wave receded, rendering his defense moot. If Yagami's Water Instantaneous technique could be used in public, these Mist ninja would never touch him.
[Water Style: Water Severing Wave]!
A thin line of high-pressure water shot out, physically carving through the Hozuki Jonin's surging wave. Behind the wave, the Hozuki Jonin was sliced clean in half. Had it been any other Jonin, Yagami would have secured the kill. However, the Hozuki's body collapsed into two puddles of liquid before merging back together in the spray.
The Hozuki Jonin felt a chill of terror. If not for the Hydrification Jutsu, he would be dead. He had heard the Fox excelled at defense, but who knew he possessed such powerful Water Style?
Knowing the Water Severing Wave couldn't kill him, Yagami continued to spam the technique anyway, pinning the Hozuki Jonin down and forcing him to stay in his liquid state.
Suddenly, a figure appeared from the side. Taking advantage of the moment the Hozuki Jonin was reduced to a puddle, a fire dragon roared in. Yellow Dog had found the opening, his timing impeccable. The massive dragon swallowed the Hozuki Jonin instantly.
A long, agonizing scream echoed from within the flames. Whether it was the timing, the scale, or the speed, the attack was perfect. Yellow Dog was the most proficient Fire Style user Yagami had ever seen. Fire Style was usually slow and easy to dodge, but Yellow Dog's dragons were incredibly fast and so large that average ninja had no room to maneuver.
With one Hozuki Jonin dead, the tide turned. Yellow Dog and Yagami joined forces in the counterattack. They pushed the battle from the palm grove back to the shore, leaving dozens of Mist corpses in their wake. By the time Yagami reached the beach, he saw one Hozuki Jonin escaping into the sea.
Yellow Dog was disappointed they hadn't wiped them all out, but killing two Mist Jonin in one ambush was a massive victory.
In the distance, standing on the water, was Kushimaru Kuriarare. He toyed with his wires and sneered. "Haha! I thought I'd see a proper wielder for the Twinsword again. Instead, I got three pieces of trash. The Hozuki are trash, and Elder Genji's picks are trash too. Two died to the Leaf Anbu, and one crawled back half-dead."
The surviving Hozuki Jonin slowly reformed from the seawater, gasping for air as he stood. "We must inform the Clan Head. There is a Sarutobi Jonin with the Fox. His Fire Style is the strongest I've ever seen—stronger even than the Uchiha."
"Shut up," Kushimaru snapped. "You're as weak as a crushed jellyfish. How could there be a Fire Style user stronger than an Uchiha? You're just making excuses for your failure."
***
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