D closed his scroll. Before the large force of Cloud Ninja could complete their encirclement, he charged toward the battlefield where Hatake Sakumo and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Ryujin, were clashing.
He formed a seal and unleashed Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.
To earn the codename "D" within Root, this Shimura ninja's Wind Style proficiency was clearly high. Under the pressure of the powerful gale, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki was forced back a step before firmly anchoring her limbs to the sea's surface.
Sakumo shouted, "D! I don't need your help!" He was one step away from yelling at him to stop making a mess of things.
However, D continued to provoke Ryujin. This time, after weaving five signs, he took a deep breath and exhaled a long, sharp blade of wind.
Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!
This was one of the Shimura clan's top-tier Wind Style techniques, with destructive power second to none in its category. Similar to a Water Severing Wave, the long wind blade sliced toward Ryujin. Yet, her Tailed Beast cloak was incredibly resilient; the Vacuum Wave failed to penetrate her defenses or leave even a scratch.
Leveraging Sakumo's pressure on the target, D continuously formed seals, alternating between Vacuum Bullets and Vacuum Great Bullets.
Yagami saw exactly what D was doing and recorded it:
[D has entered the fray to test the destructive power of Wind Style against a Tailed Beast cloak. Great Breakthrough, Vacuum Wave, and Vacuum Bullets are all unable to wound the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.]
[ The only effective move was Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves. Under the sustained pressure of five or six consecutive wind blades, the Tailed Beast cloak was briefly breached, exposing the Jinchuriki's skin. However, it was only a momentary opening; Ryujin herself remained unharmed beneath the cloak.]
Yagami hadn't expected D's Wind Style mastery to be so high—he had essentially inherited Danzo's entire ninjutsu system. Danzo was truly ambitious, already simulating how he would perform should he encounter a Perfect Jinchuriki himself.
Yagami felt a surge of interest. 'Should I try to pull a Wind Style ability from him?'
Watching Ryujin's state, Yagami continued writing:
[The Two-Tails Jinchuriki appears provoked; Tailed Beast Bombs are being fired in rapid succession. Following the death of her guards, Ryujin has become reckless. She has seized the direction of the port, using the bombs to force Sakumo's team further out to sea.]
What happened next left a deep and shocking impression on the pursuing Cloud Ninja. The pinnacle of Cloud's offensive power—the Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Bombs—were being sliced apart one by one by brilliant white flashes of light.
Hatake Sakumo had found his rhythm; he had gained the experience and the momentum. This was his first time facing Tailed Beast Bombs, and he found that these head-sized spheres of energy were, after all, manageable.
The sea was a series of rising explosions, throwing up mushroom clouds of water and steam.
Watching Sakumo and his team retreat in a calm and orderly fashion, Yagami looked down at himself in shock. 'What's going on? Am I being left behind?'
He couldn't leave yet. Crucial intelligence remained to be recorded: the Jinchuriki's mental state post-battle, and whether a large force of ninjas was required to suppress the Tailed Beast chakra.
He could only watch as Sakumo's group faded into the distance. Even D, who had disrupted Sakumo's attacking rhythm, followed them out.
To evaluate his own combat effectiveness against a Jinchuriki, Danzo had sent a member of the Shimura clan to force a test of their Wind Style effects, regardless of whether the mission succeeded. It had to be said—Danzo's commitment to his own grand designs was unparalleled.
From afar, Yagami watched the Cloud Ninja. They stood dumbfounded, unable to believe that a Tailed Beast Bomb could be cut in half or that the White Fang remained unharmed by the shockwaves.
When the battle ended, the Cloud Ninja formed a wide semicircle, terrified to approach Ryujin. The terrifying legends of Jinchuriki kept them at bay. With the four guards who knew her dead, no one else dared step forward.
However, once Sakumo was gone, Ryujin slowly raised her front limbs and stood upright. The Tailed Beast chakra seeped back into her body, vanishing with incredible smoothness. Her two tails turned from brownish-red to translucent, then disappeared entirely.
Yagami recorded:
[After high-intensity combat and firing over a dozen Tailed Beast Bombs, Ryujin can autonomously retract the chakra. Unlike the Jinchuriki of the First Great Ninja War, where the victors had to suppress a berserk beast, Ryujin possesses total control. She remained rational throughout.]
[Judging by the Cloud Ninjas' attitude, they possess a level of confidence in her; she is no longer viewed with simple loathing and fear.]
After a moment's thought, Yagami added:
[Hatake Sakumo's White Fang Tanto possesses power comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb, capable of directly neutralizing blasts ranging from the size of a fist to the size of a human head.]
The village mission was over. Yagami closed his scroll. He planned to actively market the feat of White Fang cutting through Tailed Beast Bombs once they returned, building further momentum and prestige for Sakumo.
...
In the distance, Sakumo's team sprinted across the sea. Three Cloud scouting squads followed at a distance, not daring to close in but refusing to lose them. If they couldn't shake these scouts, a massive Cloud pursuit force would eventually catch them.
For the Leaf to send operatives deep into the Land of Lightning to target their Jinchuriki was a slap in the face and a threat to their foundation—Cloud would not let this go easily.
Yamashiro-Ji said, "I'll do it!"
D thought to himself: 'Is he going to leave Yamashiro-Ji to cover the rear? Sakumo doesn't seem to value his comrades as much as the legends say.'
However, after Yamashiro-Ji formed signs, a massive torrent of water rose from the sea, enveloping everyone. When the waves subsided, they had all vanished beneath the surface. D found himself caught in an underwater current, being carried along. He made a mental note: New intel—Yamashiro-Ji can transport multiple people while submersed.
They disappeared under the water, surfaced far away, and vanished into the mountains. Sakumo had Gekko Munen leave constant signals along the way, hoping Fox would catch up. They moved rapidly along the southern coast of the Land of Lightning, not daring to stop.
Several days later, a figure flickered into existence near the group. Seeing it was Fox, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Yagami glanced at D—this guy was insufferable. 'I'll let it slide this time. Next time we face Root, you're going in first.'
The group resumed their formation: the Sakumo five in front, with Fox and D trailing behind. During a rest, D said, "Give me your scroll. What happened on the coast after I left?"
Yagami paused and said, "Does the Shimura clan have no manners at all, reaching out to demand things from others? Do you look at everything as if it belongs to you?"
D's hand lowered slowly, but his chakra began to surge. "Lord Danzo is the Commander of the ANBU. Root is a direct internal agency under his command. What right do you have to refuse coordination?"
Yagami felt a surge of genuine anger. But knowing that if D died now, neither Sakumo nor himself could easily explain it, he suppressed his rage. It wasn't that D couldn't die—he just couldn't die *during this mission*. Once Yakushi Nono gave him D's schedule, the next time D left the Leaf would be his last.
"I refuse."
D started to form a sign but slowly lowered his hands. He said, "Fox, this mission has exposed many issues in the coordination between ANBU and Root. The ANBU will soon issue new regulations—Root is an agency that stands above the four ANBU squads. I hope you remain this 'tough' during our next mission."