Moonlight Sō departed with his brigade to support Yamashiro Tera's brigade on the other flank.
"Water Style: Snake Mouth!"
Seeing the movement, the Mist brigade commander immediately used Water Style to intercept. If he allowed these Leaf ninja to escape, the other Mist commanders would surely lodge a fierce complaint upon their return. A massive serpent made of water, several meters thick, lunged toward Moonlight Sō.
Moonlight Sō recognized the jutsu; it enhanced the crushing force of the water serpent's bite. If caught, a person's spine could be snapped instantly.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
Just as Moonlight Sō was about to form signs, Copper Fox acted. A high-speed water beam sliced through the air, decapitating the water snake. The entire structure lost its integrity and collapsed into a splash of harmless water.
Yagami blocked the Mist Jonin's path. "Your opponent is me."
The Mist Jonin's expression darkened. Hidden Leaf ANBU Copper Fox—a ninja who had earned a title was undoubtedly stronger than himself.
"Water Style: Snake Mouth!"
Another water serpent surged forward. Gorilla and two other ANBU members lunged out, utilizing the modified Earth Style Wall. Three walls rose—trapezoidal in shape and reinforced with several buttresses at the back. They held firm, absorbing the impact of the Water Style.
The Mist Jonin was stunned. His Water Style had actually been halted by three simple Earth Style Walls. Were these ordinary ANBU so skilled in Earth Style? Their strength exceeded his estimates.
Losing sight of Copper Fox, the Mist Jonin frantically gestured for his subordinates to charge, hoping they would entangle the ANBU and buy him time to relocate the fox.
Seconds later, a sound of soil breaking erupted behind him. Copper Fox emerged from the earth at his rear!
The Mist Jonin whipped his arm around, reversing his grip on his kunai to stab violently backward. However, his blade stopped mere centimeters from Copper Fox's throat. He hadn't even managed to force out the legendary absolute defense technique.
Every one of his joints was locked by crawling sealing formulas. He couldn't move an inch.
Self-Curse Binding Seal!
Yagami reached out, snatched the Mist Jonin's kunai, and drove it into the man's throat in one fluid motion.
"Your Water Style is decent. Unfortunately, you lack Earth-attribute chakra, so you couldn't even detect my sub-surface movement."
Five-attribute ninja were powerful because they lacked weaknesses. In a ninja duel, offensive capability was one thing, but having fewer gaps in one's defense was more important. Most ninja were glass cannons; they died the moment they were approached.
With the Mist brigade commander dead, the remaining Mist ninja quickly lost their organization. Yagami glided through the ranks, utilizing his powerful taijutsu to shrug off kunai and swords, striking back with lethal precision.
The last three Mist ninja huddled back-to-back, shivering. They held explosive tags, looking as if they intended to take the ANBU down with them. A Water Severing Wave swept through, bisecting all three. Six halves of corpses flew apart. Ninja war was always thus—cruel and efficient.
Yagami scanned the area; among the numerous Mist corpses were several of his own subordinates. Even on the winning side, the hidden trump cards of a dying Mist ninja could still drag an ANBU to the grave.
The battle here finished, Yagami led his squad to the next battlefield. A hundred meters away, the Yamashiro Tera brigade was locked in a fierce struggle with another Mist brigade. Shrouded in fog, only the sounds of clashing steel and explosions could be heard.
Yagami ordered, "All Wind Style ninja to the front! Use Wind Style: Great Breakthrough together!"
Announcing reinforcements with a coordinated jutsu was far more effective than simply rushing in. Seven ANBU, including Yagami, unleashed the wind. The howling gale pushed the thick fog aside, exposing the combatants within. The Mist ninja on the periphery suddenly found themselves without cover, feeling as if they were standing naked in the open. Many of the Mist's silent killing techniques relied on the fog to obscure vision.
As the mist cleared, Yamashiro Tera saw the ANBU squad and felt a surge of relief. Initially, his brigade had slammed into two Mist brigades, suffering immediate casualties. Then Moonlight Sō's brigade arrived to hold off one, but his own was still struggling. Now that a legendary ANBU Jonin was here, the tide would turn.
The battle inverted almost instantly upon the fox's entry. The squad formed a wedge with Yagami at the tip, using Water Severing Wave to clear groups of enemies and Earth Style Walls to block coordinated Water Style attacks. Since applying structural engineering to his Earth Style, Yagami found it far more useful than the Water Array Wall; it didn't vanish and provided a solid tactical anchor.
While busy, Yagami spotted a petite figure on the battlefield. The female ninja who had raided Sand Wave Port with him in the Land of Rivers. She was currently struggling against a Mist ninja. The ground was a sludge of mud from Water Style; the Mist ninja was skilled at sliding across it, while the mud only slowed her down.
Just as she reached her limit, a line of water sliced through her vision. The difficult enemy was cut in half before he could move. Kurumi had seen this jutsu before! Back at Sand Wave Port, Fujikita—no, the ANBU Fox, later known as Copper Fox—had used it. She turned and indeed saw the fox-masked ANBU.
After giving her a brief nod, Yagami hurried to the next skirmish. The fox squad quickly bifurcated the battlefield. Once Yamashiro Tera killed the Mist commander, the remaining enemies collapsed.
Yagami said to Yamashiro Tera, "Jonin Yamashiro, finish things here quickly. We need to help Brigade Commander Yellow Dog and Uchiha Tohka!"
Yamashiro Tera nodded. That was the main battlefield.
Ten minutes later, Yagami and Yamashiro helped Moonlight Sō defeat the last of his opposition. The three units then converged on the mountain terrain to the south.
The southern area was also fog-bound. Collecting all the Wind Style ninja, they unleashed a Great Breakthrough comparable to a typhoon. The fog vanished, revealing the battlefield.
Uchiha Tohka, Uchiha Murakumo, and eight Special Jonin were locked in combat with Hozuki Muratsuki. Brigade Commander Yellow Dog was entangled with Fuguki Suikazan.
Yamashiro Tera asked, "Should we help the Brigade Commander?"
The Uchiha clan controlled the Leaf Police Force and operated like a kingdom within a kingdom. Outside of this war, most Leaf ninja preferred not to deal with the Uchiha's enforcers.
However, Yagami said, "No! We go for Hozuki Muratsuki! He is the overall commander of the recovery unit. His value is higher."
Yamashiro and Moonlight Sō exchanged looks, realizing they had been biased by old habits. Yagami's judgment was more pragmatic.
Yagami ordered, "Have all squads find their own targets; we must annihilate these three Mist brigades. The three of us will handle Hozuki Muratsuki!"
The three Jonin broke from the group and flickered into positions around Hozuki Muratsuki. Uchiha Tohka's heart surged at the sight of strong reinforcements. Muratsuki's abilities were a nightmare for the Uchiha; the fight had been draining.
Yagami glanced at Fuguki Suikazan. In the future, the Great Sword Samehada would belong to him, and he would even be called its first true master by the Mist, who refused to admit it once belonged to the Hozuki.
Yagami knew that with Hydrification and the Hydrification Healing Jutsu, Muratsuki would be hard to kill. But if he was wounded enough, Fuguki Suikazan might just "help" the Hidden Leaf deal with his own commander.
Seeing three more Leaf Jonin arrive, Hozuki Muratsuki roared, "Fall back! Retreat!"
Yagami blocked his path. "You're not going anywhere. Today, the only way you're leaving is horizontally."
***
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