Yellow Dog found Yagami.
"Fox, the Deputy Commander has asked for your assistance. Go see him," Yellow Dog said. "During the tactical discussion, I mentioned you could use the Water Pistol jutsu to leave trails and lure the Mist Ninja into a pursuit. Deputy Commander Uchiha Murakumo heard you mastered the Water Pistol and wants you to give the Uchiha young clan head some special training. I agreed to it."
Yagami understood Yellow Dog's intent. There were two Uchiha brigades in the ambush force; gaining the Deputy Commander's support would make the mission go much smoother.
When Yagami arrived at the designated training ground, he saw four Uchiha.
There was the Jonin Uchiha Tohka and his three Uchiha disciples, one of whom was the young clan head, Fugaku Uchiha. Fugaku stood to the side of Uchiha Tohka, looking curiously at the ANBU wearing the fox mask.
Uchiha Tohka said, "Jonin Fox, thank you for coming to help me train my three disciples."
"Lord Uchiha Murakumo is so supportive of Captain Yellow Dog's operational plan; this is the least I can do."
Uchiha Tohka stepped aside, and Yagami walked up to the three Uchiha Genin.
Yagami said, "Next, I will attack you using the methods of the Mist Ninja, specifically those of the Hozuki clan. The Hozuki clan has many unique abilities. The Hydrification Jutsu allows them to ignore all physical attacks. When a Hozuki ninja liquefies, Fire Style can have a miraculous effect. Once you force them to use the Hydrification secret technique, you must follow up with Fire Style or Lightning Style. Then there is the Water Pistol Jutsu, a hand-signless ninjutsu rare in the shinobi world. You must be extremely careful of Water Pistol sneak attacks. Finally, there are the ninja swords and Water Style; members of the Hozuki clan are all masters of swordsmanship, and the Seven Ninja Swords are masterpieces of the Hozuki. Now, let the practice begin. Stay sharp, you frail Genin."
Just as Yagami called the three of them frail Genin, Fugaku Uchiha activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Looking at the rotating three tomoe in the crimson pupils, Yagami couldn't help but turn to look at Uchiha Tohka.
Uchiha Tohka nodded, signaling that what he saw was real.
The young clan head Fugaku was a genius of ocular jutsu. After several months on the battlefield, stimulated by war and death, he had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Yagami formed hand signs and released the first Water Style, simulating the Mist Ninja's Water Style: Water Trumpet. A massive stream of water, like a giant wave over ten meters high, spanned dozens of meters as it crashed toward the three Uchiha.
"Mist Ninja near the coast excel at combination ninjutsu. The scale of their techniques is roughly at this level."
Fugaku Uchiha took out shuriken tied with steel wire and quickly threw them diagonally backward. The shuriken carried the wire and wrapped around a tree trunk, pulling Fugaku Uchiha off the ground.
"A terrible choice. The tree you're taking refuge in would be knocked down by the Mist Ninja's coordinated Water Style."
Fugaku looked in shock at the Fox who had appeared beside him with a Body Flicker. After dropping that critique, Fox vanished again with another Body Flicker.
The tree he was hanging from was indeed knocked down by the Water Style. He had to throw another wire shuriken to move to a different tree.
While in mid-air, Fugaku saw Fox appear beside a teammate, commenting that the teammate's Earth Style Wall was garbage. He marveled in his heart—is this the ANBU Jonin that both his father and teacher value so highly?
The next instant, he saw Fox standing horizontally on the nearest tree trunk.
"You are at your most vulnerable when moving through the air. A Mist Ninja might attack while you're unable to find leverage in mid-jump."
Yagami raised his hand, and a Water Pistol appeared at his fingertip. The water droplet shot out like a bullet, severing the wire under the shuriken.
Fugaku was startled. Is this a hand-signless jutsu? Even if his eyes captured it, he couldn't react in time. If that Water Pistol had been aimed at his heart, he might have died.
As Fugaku fell, he found the ANBU Fox using another Water Trumpet. He hurriedly formed hand signs and used the Great Fireball Jutsu.
A decent-sized fireball collided with the Water Trumpet. However, Water Style counters Fire Style, and the Great Fireball was quickly at a disadvantage, being crushed by the water. The surrounding area was filled with thick mist created by the clashing of water and fire.
"Mist with visibility of less than two meters reduces the advantage of your ocular jutsu."
Fugaku Uchiha vaguely saw a dark figure. He formed signs to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and the clone rushed forward to use Taijutsu. The original body held a Fire Style sign, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
However, he heard the sound of two shadow clones popping. The dark figure he had defeated with the shadow clone tactic was also a clone.
The ANBU Fox appeared behind Fugaku, and a Water Pistol severed a strand of Fugaku's hair.
"Do not look down on basic ninjutsu like Clone Jutsu and Substitution. In thick fog, these basics can be used to design many highly effective tactics."
In the first practice session, the three Uchiha Genin were utterly defeated.
While the three Genin rested, Yagami went to Uchiha Tohka and said, "Jonin Tohka, why are Young Master Fugaku's tactics so conservative? Time and again he chooses to dodge or use shadow clones. He didn't even use the insight of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to engage me in Taijutsu."
Uchiha Tohka looked at the tense Fugaku and said, "Fugaku was much more flamboyant when he was at the Academy. He and Nawaki Senju were seen as well-matched rivals—both young clan heads, both possessing great talent. After hearing the news of Nawaki Senju's death, Fugaku came to talk to me. He always thought he and Nawaki would become dazzling stars; he never expected Nawaki to die so suddenly on the front lines. Since then, Fugaku has become exceptionally cautious. He finally understands that even if he is the Uchiha young master, he could die at any moment."
Yagami turned and saw Fugaku staring at him warily, as if Fox might suddenly attack him in the middle of a conversation.
If Nawaki Senju had even half of Fugaku Uchiha's caution and hadn't always talked about becoming Hokage, perhaps he wouldn't have died. His death influenced Orochimaru, Tsunade, and even Fugaku.
After the break, Yagami practiced with Fugaku and the other two Genin again. This time, Yagami acted even more fiercely, with stronger Water Trumpets, faster Body Flickers, and more piercing Water Pistol techniques.
Under Yagami's continuous Water Style attacks, the three Genin were in a sorry state. Fugaku Uchiha's last wire shuriken was snapped by a Water Pistol, forcing him to face the Water Trumpet head-on.
His Fire Style was no match for the Water Trumpet. A great wave struck, and Fugaku Uchiha was submerged. The wave slammed against his chest, making it feel as if he had been hit by a rock.
By the time he struggled to stand up from the water, he found a fingertip pointed at the space between his eyebrows.
"Constantly retreating will only make your situation worse. You must have the resolve to sacrifice your life for your teammates, or the ruthlessness to let your teammates die for the mission. If you have neither resolve nor ruthlessness, then no matter how strong your Sharingan is, you're just a waste."
Yagami stared into Fugaku Uchiha's eyes, hoping to see some fighting spirit. However, just like in the original story, Fugaku Uchiha was soft by nature and never drew his blade against the Hidden Leaf high-ranking officials in the end.
Nodding to Uchiha Tohka, Yagami left, ending the practice session with the young clan head.
Fugaku went to his teacher, asking breathlessly, "Teacher, does a shinobi really need resolve or ruthlessness?"
Tohka nodded and said, "The one you practiced with is an ANBU elite; he has both ruthlessness and resolve. He keenly saw your problem—you have more than enough caution, but not enough ruthlessness. Caution is correct; I would rather see you grow up safely than die as a teenager. But ruthlessness is also necessary, because your enemies are all as ruthless as Fox, or even more so."