On a coastline somewhere in the eastern part of the Land of Whirlpools.
Hozuki Muratsuki, the wielder of the Great Sword Samehada, was looking down, inspecting a corpse. Standing behind him was a giant, 2.5 meters tall.
Fuguki Suikazan ground his mouthful of sharp teeth, staring at Hozuki Muratsuki and the Great Sword Samehada slung across his back. The Second Mizukage had been dead for many years, yet the Hozuki clan still monopolized four of the Seven Ninja Swords. Samehada, in particular, the strongest of them all, made Fuguki Suikazan burn with envy.
Hozuki Muratsuki pointed to a reef the height of two men across from them and said, "Fuguki Suikazan, you've discovered critical intelligence. Someone stood on that reef and used the Water Pistol Jutsu to pierce this Mist Ninja's skull. The Water Pistol didn't lose its momentum; it pierced through the reef behind the ninja and finally struck the ground. It's confirmed. The target, Copper Fox, was here. That Copper Fox, who stole the twin swords and tortured our people to get the Hozuki secret techniques, must die!"
Fuguki Suikazan's eyes were filled with disdain. The Hozuki clan had truly declined; they couldn't even keep hold of their ninja swords, let alone their secret techniques, allowing them to be taken through interrogation. Many secret techniques were considered "secret" because they required a specific physical constitution; even if others took them, they shouldn't be able to use them. The hand-signless Water Style that the Hozuki clan had proudly brandished for decades was apparently something others could use once they had it. Hozuki Ryigetsu was a total disgrace to the Mist Hidden Village.
Fuguki Suikazan thought to himself that the Walking Priestess hadn't lied to him; the Twin Swords Hiramekarei were indeed nearby.
Hozuki Muratsuki turned and said, "Suikazan, give it up. The Twin Swords Hiramekarei belong to the Hozuki clan and will inevitably be reclaimed by us. You have no chance of getting your hands on them."
Fuguki Suikazan said nothing, but sneered inwardly. He wasn't interested in Hiramekarei at all; what he wanted was the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swords, the Great Sword Samehada. Hiramekarei was decent, but it couldn't compare to Samehada.
Five Jonin arrived from across the sea and landed nearby. Three were Jonin from the Hozuki clan, three were Jonin appointed by Genbu, and there was also Kushimaru Kuriarare. Aside from Hozuki Muratsuki and Kushimaru Kuriarare, the rest were there to seize the ninja swords. Along the vast coastline, the Hidden Leaf and Mist Ninja were engaged in a brutal, meat-grinder of a battle. Dispatching seven Jonin at this time showed just how much importance the Mist Hidden Village placed on the Twin Swords Hiramekarei.
As the commander of this mission, Hozuki Muratsuki spoke, "The body has been dead for about 20 hours. Using this spot as the center, search for tracks and determine Copper Fox's location!"
The squad commanders vanished with Body Flicker, scattering in all directions.
About a dozen kilometers from the shore, Yagami came to a halt. The encirclement set up by Yellow Dog was still more than ten kilometers away; there shouldn't be any Hyuga ninja nearby. He dismissed the Antelope squad that was following him, sending them to the perimeter to stand guard, and then Yagami formed hand signs to perform the Summoning Jutsu.
Back at the frontline camp, he hadn't dared to use the Summoning Jutsu for fear that a Hyuga ninja might see Sakumo Hatake's ninken. After a puff of white smoke, Pakkun appeared.
"It's you, Fox. What do you need me for?"
Yagami said, "Please ask Lord Sakumo if Hayama Shirakumo is a firm follower, and who else among the followers is on the Land of Whirlpools front lines. I will lend a hand at the appropriate time."
"Oh, got it. I'll go ask right now."
Three minutes later, Yagami used the Summoning Jutsu again.
Pakkun said, "Fox, Sakumo says that among the ninja on the Land of Whirlpools front, some have always been his followers, while others are people he is currently observing. I'll tell you the names, you remember them."
Yagami memorized the list. The two Jonin, Yamashiro Tera and Moonlight Sō, were former teammates of Sakumo Hatake and now firmly supported him. Hayama Shirakumo, Shinma, and others were among the Special Jonin who were willing to align themselves with Sakumo Hatake.
"Good, I've got it. I'll keep an eye on these people," Yagami said. "I've seen Hayama Shirakumo with Lord White Fang before and saved him once a few days ago. It seems I made the right call."
After Pakkun left, Yagami summoned the Spear Heron. The Uzumaki remnants were hidden in a remote part of the Land of Rain; if there was any news from Yuka Uzumaki, she would tie a letter to the Spear Egret's leg. This time, when he summoned the Spear Egret, Yagami found not only a letter but also a scroll tied to its leg. He quickly opened the letter and learned that Yuka had found a unique group of summoning beasts.
The Stone Panda tribe. Their bodies could turn into a hard outer shell like white porcelain, blocking attacks just like an Earth Style Wall.
The Stone Panda had appeared in the original series; they later became one of the summoning beasts for Pain's Animal Path. Now, Yuka had found them first. More importantly, the Stone Panda tribe had very high intelligence; their five fingers could perform simple hand signs, making them among the extremely rare summoning beasts capable of using ninjutsu. This meant that if Yuka Uzumaki needed, she could first summon a Stone Panda and then perform a Reverse Summoning on Yagami, allowing him to appear in the Land of Rain instantly.
Opening the contract scroll, Yagami saw that there was only one name on it: Yuka Uzumaki. This was a brand-new tribe of summoning beasts. It seemed Yuka was working hard in the Land of Rain, constantly strengthening the power of the Uzumaki remnants.
Yagami bit his finger, pressed a bloody thumbprint onto the contract scroll, and wrote his name. After forming the hand signs, a fat panda as tall as two men appeared before him.
"You are...?"
Its intelligence was indeed high; any summoning beast that could speak was a smart one.
"I am Fox. Yuka gave me the contract scroll..."
Before he could finish, the Stone Panda swung its massive, fan-like palm at Yagami. Yagami raised his arm to block. When the palm collided with his forearm, a crisp, clear sound rang out.
The Stone Panda was stunned. "Why is your arm so hard?"
Yagami said, "I also master hardening abilities. Now is not the time for a sparring match; otherwise, you would see that my abilities are not inferior to the special powers of your Stone Panda tribe."
The Stone Panda nodded and pulled back its palm, giving it a shake. It acknowledged Fox's strength. During that brief clash, it had felt a powerful contract chakra. This contract chakra was no weaker than that of Yuka Uzumaki, who had carved the contract seal onto the Stone Panda tribe.
"It hurts. Your ability is quite good. My name is White Porcelain, and I acknowledge you."
Yagami nodded and said, "If there's a chance, I will have you fight alongside me. Help me tell Yuka that if she encounters fatal danger, she can Reverse Summon me. I will also make time to meet with her as soon as possible."
White Porcelain nodded and released the Summoning Jutsu.
Returning to the bamboo forest in the southwest of the Land of Rain, White Porcelain grabbed a stalk of bamboo, snapped it over his head, and began to chew. Originally, their Stone Panda tribe lived perfectly fine in the bamboo forest until a woman came in and contracted them with powerful sealing jutsu. That was one thing, but then he was given by that woman to a masked man. That masked man was strong, even stronger than the woman.
Signing a contract with a ninja wasn't all bad. If he encountered danger in the future, he would just Reverse Summon that man called Fox and have him fight for him. The hundreds of Stone Pandas in the bamboo forest also needed a powerful ninja as a partner.
Yagami waited for the white smoke from the Summoning Jutsu to dissipate before continuing toward the pre-arranged battlefield.
***
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