Yagami had walked for over ten kilometers when a sense of unease began to stir in his heart. The large force of pursuing Mist Ninja completely ignored whether the corpses they found were traps; they were in hot pursuit, moving at an incredibly fast pace.
Perhaps he had been a bit too overconfident; he should increase his speed and put more distance between himself and the sword recovery unit behind him. Yagami no longer restrained his speed and sprinted toward the pre-arranged battlefield without looking back.
Yellow Dog had selected a mountainous area as the ambush site. The slopes were long and steep; the Mist Ninja's Water Style wouldn't be able to climb very high.
At the foot of the slope, the bushes were suddenly burst through, sending broken leaves and branches flying everywhere. Yagami and the Deer squad appeared. Yagami raised his hand, signaling the squad to stop. Something was different from the plan—why were there no guiding ninja at the top of the hill? By all accounts, there should have been ninja there to receive them.
Yagami and the Deer squad suddenly looked to the side in unison as a dull thundering sound echoed. That was... the explosion of an explosive tag in the distance. Judging by the sound, it was at least five hundred meters away.
Fallow Deer asked uneasily, "Captain..."
Yagami said, "There should have been an ambush on both sides of the slope, but it seems they've vanished. While we were luring the enemy, something changed at the battlefield! Be careful, let's head to high ground and take a look!"
They rushed up the mountain, their pace shifting from a fast run to a jog, and then from a jog to a walk. Finally, Yagami ascended the mountain backward, staring at the forest below.
Mist Ninja appeared in the woods! The sword recovery unit had caught up. The Mist Ninja did not rashly charge out of the shrubbery; they stayed hidden in the trees, revealing only dark silhouettes. Every one of those shadows had their heads turned toward Yagami, a sight that was unnervingly eerie. The Twin Swords Hiramekarei, wrapped in bandages, rested quietly on Yagami's back.
Judging by the number of dark shadows, why were there only two Mist Ninja brigades at the foot of the hill? Yagami was standing quite high and should have been able to see far, but the fog in the surrounding mountains was growing denser, turning into thick, heavy patches. The thick fog spread rapidly, swallowing Yagami and the Deer squad. The world became a vast expanse of white.
Deer asked from behind, "Captain, what happened?"
The Hidden Mist Jutsu covered the mountains for several kilometers around. Yagami frowned and said, "Originally, our five brigades planned an ambush here. Now it seems the intelligence leaked. The Mist Ninja surrounded us from further away; instead, we are the ones who have been ambushed. The five brigades are fighting while retreating and have left the pre-arranged battlefield, which proves all five units are at a disadvantage."
Deer looked at the surrounding thick fog in disbelief. Had the operational plan formulated by Brigade Commander Yellow Dog been intercepted by a spy? Dull explosions continued to ring out from the surroundings, interspersed with the sounds of Fire Style. There seemed to be some screams as well, though they weren't very clear.
Yagami said, "The leakage of the ambush site is one thing. What I fear is that the personnel intelligence of the five brigades was leaked, allowing the enemy to deploy their forces specifically against us..."
Yagami turned to look toward the mountain peak. Brigade Commander Yellow Dog had not appeared yet. Before he and the Deer squad reached the ambush site, Yellow Dog had already been driven away. Seeing that the thick fog had enveloped the entire mountain and their home-field advantage was established, the Mist Ninja brigades below began slowly making their way up the slope. They moved in an arc-shaped semi-encirclement, gradually ascending the mountain.
Yagami felt some concern, wondering how the Antelope squad, the Ram squad, and Purple Cat were doing. The situation was grim. The prospects for Yellow Dog's promotion to Deputy Minister looked bleak. Likewise, Yagami's own promotion to Brigade Commander was in jeopardy.
Suddenly, three kunai flew out of the thick fog. Yagami swiped them away casually; the kunai struck Yagami's copper-colored hand and bounced off into the distance. These three kunai proved that the Mist Ninja knew Yagami's location. The Mist Ninja could infuse chakra into the thick fog, using water-attribute chakra to scout for enemies.
Next came a dense, bird-like whistling sound of weapons cutting through the air. After blocking the kunai with Water Style: Water Wall, Yagami quickly shouted, "Retreat! Find the main force!"
Following the ambush plan, Yagami prepared to check the mountain peak. That was where the Yellow Dog Brigade was supposed to be lying in wait. The sounds of rapid jumping echoed from all around; many ninja were circling from Yagami's left and right toward his front. The constant barrage of kunai and explosive tags slowed Yagami's speed. While Yagami could block these attacks by consuming some chakra, it was a different story for the Deer squad.
At least two Mist Ninja brigades were using kunai and explosive tags for continuous harassment. After a Water Wall blocked half of the enemy's attacks, Yagami heard a muffled groan from his side and turned to see one of his subordinates hit by four or five kunai.
Yagami could not see the enemy. He formed hand signs and used Water Style: Water Severing Wave toward the depths of the fog. A thin line of water shot out, sweeping across the thick mist. Several screams rang out from within the fog.
Half a person crawled out from the mist. Yagami was about to use a kunai to finish him off, but his palm suddenly tightened, catching the kunai before it flew out. The person wore a Hidden Leaf forehead protector. If it were just the protector, Yagami might have thought it was a Mist Ninja in disguise. However, in his eyes was a Two-Tomoe Sharingan!
Had his Water Severing Wave just cut off the legs of an Uchiha ninja in the fog? What was going on? The Mist Ninja had actually driven an Uchiha ninja into Yagami's vicinity?
The Uchiha ninja saw the ANBU Fox and cried out miserably, "Jonin Copper Fox! We've been targeted! The enemy knows all our intelligence! They are striking our weaknesses with precision!"
After blocking an explosive tag kunai for the Uchiha ninja, Yagami said to Deer, "Use long-range attacks with caution! The Mist Ninja have cut off and driven an Uchiha brigade in different directions; the personnel around us are mixed."
Deer quickly complied, then went to stop the Uchiha ninja's bleeding, taking him along as they continued their way.
"Wind Style: Breakthrough!"
Yagami used Wind Style, blowing open the path up the mountain. In an area over ten meters wide and dozens of meters long, the thick fog dissipated, revealing the ground. While dodging the enemy's long-range harassment and using Wind Style to clear the way, Yagami finally brought the Deer squad to the mountain peak.
He looked up; the fog was heavy and nearly a hundred meters thick, obscuring the sky. By rights, the Yellow Dog Brigade should have been hidden on the reverse slope behind the peak.
Yagami used another Wind Style: Breakthrough. On the reverse slope, kunai and ninja swords were scattered alongside the corpses of ANBU and Mist Ninja. Many ANBU ninja had died lying face down, looking as though they had been ambushed.
The Mist Ninja had actually managed to sneak up and ambush the Yellow Dog Brigade while they were in a state of concealment. How did they do it?
Deer was sharp-eyed and immediately said, "Captain! It's Gorilla! And Bull!"
Not far from them, an ANBU corpse wore the Gorilla mask. After a brief inspection, Deer found that the limbs of all the corpses had been severed by sharp steel wires.
"Captain, these wounds are from Kushimaru Kuriarare's Longsword Nuibari!"
It was easy to imagine that the Mist Ninja knew exactly where Yellow Dog had chosen the ambush site. Kushimaru Kuriarare had set up steel wire traps in advance, ambushing the Yellow Dog Brigade the moment they were in position.
Yagami watched the fog gathering around them again and said to Deer, "With fog all around, it's hard to distinguish friend from foe, and visibility is less than two meters. We cannot use long-range ninjutsu in the coming battle. I will act alone. Fallow Deer, take the squad to rescue the wounded and then go into hiding."
Deer nodded quickly; their squad couldn't help the captain under these circumstances. "Please rest assured, Captain, I will make sure our squad plays its part!"
Yagami nodded, turned, and vanished into the thick fog.
***
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