Rain pattered against Yōkō's hood with a low, dull rhythm.
Yōkō had returned to the night of the previous full moon, though the moon itself was hidden behind dark clouds.
He was in the Land of Rain, aimlessly searching for Uchiha Madara.
Madara had White Zetsu under his command, possessing top-tier reconnaissance abilities. If Yōkō didn't search seriously and just relied on the Leaf Monkey Squad to run around randomly, finding Uchiha Madara would be impossible.
After the battle with Uchiha Mahiru, Danzo, who loathed Yōkō, had assigned him to the Land of Rain.
Yōkō almost felt sorry for Danzo.
The esteemed "Darkness of the Shinobi," when faced with a single troublemaker within Konoha, had virtually no effective means to deal with him. The best he could do within his authority was to send him away on external assignments, out of sight, out of mind.
In two days, Hatake Sakumo would lead a team to the Land of Grass.
Yōkō had a rough understanding of Danzo's plan.
He had to admit, Danzo's scheme was meticulously crafted. Hatake Sakumo was undoubtedly doomed.
Sakumo's heart was entirely for Konoha, yet he had suffered many grievances these past few years.
He wasn't considered an "insider" by Konoha's higher-ups. Despite possessing Kage-level strength, he lived in the village like a high-level enforcer.
Wherever an enforcer was needed, Hatake Sakumo was sent.
With a few simple maneuvers, Danzo could make Sakumo's life unbearable.
It was also because Sakumo's heart was entirely for Konoha that, after his beliefs crumbled, he chose to commit suicide to prove his resolve.
This time, Yōkō had to help Hatake Sakumo complete his mission and help him overcome this calamity.
Furthermore, he needed to find a way to permanently resolve Sakumo's predicament.
If this mission succeeded, Hatake Sakumo should rightfully join the higher echelons.
If the current leadership was unwilling to make room, then he would use death to persuade one of them to agree.
The best option would be to simply kill Danzo.
However, Danzo was now as timid as a mouse, more cautious and hidden than ever. He had completely withdrawn from the village's daily affairs, vanishing into the darkness, leaving no good opportunities.
Yōkō thought of Mitokado Homura, who was currently lobbying in several countries. "Danzo," he mused, "are you determined to get Homura killed?"
After sending the Leaf Monkey Squad away on a separate task, Yōkō used Reverse Summoning to arrive at the Uzumaki clan's territory.
"Yuka, head towards the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth. Once you receive my signal, use Reverse Summoning to bring me to your location," Yōkō instructed.
Yuka agreed and left the Uzumaki territory.
She traveled north for two days. On the evening of the second day, she received a notification via their contract's chakra.
She summoned the Stone Panda, Hakuji, who then used Reverse Summoning to bring forth Fox.
Yōkō had already sent the Leaf Monkey Squad away. "Yuka, continue north," he said. "I need to make some preparations here."
After Yuka had gone far enough, Yōkō activated the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye.
Mangekyō: Yono Shima!
Not far away, an island of absolute darkness appeared on the ground.
A tree over twenty meters tall instantly collapsed and compressed into a thin, yellow-and-green sheet of paper.
The Leaf Monkey Squad could be trusted absolutely, but it was better to be safe. He needed to create some clues to explain his reasonable appearance on the Land of Grass border.
He was here to investigate Uchiha Madara and Tobi. If he discovered traces of Yono Shima and was drawn to the Land of Grass border by a Mangekyō Dōjutsu, it would all be plausible.
Intercepting the Five-Tails Jinchūriki at the Land of Grass border—this way, Hatake Sakumo's mission would undoubtedly succeed, and all the subsequent troubles could be avoided.
Several days later, Yōkō led the Leaf Monkey Squad to the location where Yono Shima had been unleashed.
"Sir! It's a Mangekyō Dōjutsu!" Leaf Monkey crouched down to examine the sheet of paper.
A large tree, from its trunk to its canopy, had been compressed into a single sheet of paper.
The trunk and other columnar structures were easily damaged by lateral shear forces, but they were highly resistant to compression. Flattening them like this was incredibly difficult, incredibly difficult.
What kind of power was this?
"Leaf Monkey, seal this sheet of paper. Take it back to the Anbu for thorough research," Yōkō ordered. "Let's go. We continue our search for intel on Tobi."
Along the way, the Leaf Monkey Squad encountered three more of these paper-thin remnants left by the Mangekyō Dōjutsu.
Beside the third one, Yōkō remarked, "It seems Tobi is on his way to a specific location, practicing his Mangekyō Dōjutsu as he travels."
Leaf Monkey nodded repeatedly, recording the captain's analysis on a scroll.
Yōkō blinked.
The Senju and Uchiha clans were a perfect match. Wood Release chakra had a nourishing effect on the Mangekyō.
Or perhaps it was that the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths was simply more effective when combined.
His Eternal Mangekyō had no side effects.
Leaving the Land of Rain, the several Anbu members traveled north along the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.
Leaf Monkey grew increasingly anxious inside.
The thought of facing the legendary Mangekyō Dōjutsu in combat filled him with trepidation.
He glanced at Lord Fox. Fortunately, Lord Fox was here. Lord Fox would surely have a way to deal with the Mangekyō Dōjutsu.
At the same time, a group from the Land of Earth was heading towards the Land of Grass.
The Steam Ninja, Han, leading two elite battalions, was about to enter the Land of Grass to launch a surprise attack on the Evergreen Sacred Mountain.
They had received the most accurate intelligence from their spy: how many people Konoha had deployed, and what each person's abilities were. Everything was clear.
The Shimura clan's Guardian Ninja were all incompetents who couldn't even protect themselves, let alone the Daimyō of the Land of Grass.
The Daimyō had suffered greatly from this. With three consecutive Guardian Ninja captains meeting gruesome ends, the Daimyō was terrified.
Destroying the ceremony at the Evergreen Sacred Mountain and delivering a shock to the Land of Grass's nobility would demonstrate to them that Konoha was utterly incapable of protecting their safety.
Only Iwagakure could protect the Daimyō of the Land of Grass.
As they marched, Han suddenly stopped.
The two Iwa-nin Battalion Commanders turned to look at him.
Han looked towards the south.
In the short grass to the south, five hooded figures appeared.
The one in the middle wore a white robe.
What made the two Battalion Commanders tense up was the fox mask beneath the middle figure's hood!
Throughout the entire shinobi world, there was only one Anbu famous for wearing a fox mask: Konoha's Copper Fox.
Yōkō signaled for the Leaf Monkey Squad to stay put and remain on alert, not to rashly approach the main battlefield.
He alone walked towards the Iwa-nin.
"You must be Iwagakure's Steam Ninja, Han. I am tracking Tobi, a subordinate of the Konoha missing-nin, Uchiha Madara," Yōkō's tone was full of provocation. "Tobi is heading in the direction of the Land of Earth. Has Iwagakure secretly taken in a subordinate of a Konoha missing-nin? Hand him over, and I'll let you return to the Land of Earth."
One Battalion Commander shouted, "Copper Fox! You're looking for someone all the way in the Land of Earth? And you want us to hand someone over? Are Anbu these days all so arrogant!"
Yōkō said, "Judging by your attitude, you must be hiding Tobi!"
Yōkō formed hand signs. Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!
From the grassland at his feet, countless tree trunks burst forth from the earth.
The Iwa-nin scattered in panic, all the while feeling utterly bewildered.
Why had a Konoha Anbu suddenly appeared, starting a fight after just a few words?
Was the detailed intelligence their spy provided a trap?
The Battalion Commanders, who knew more, understood the intelligence came from Danzo's elite spy within Konoha. Was Danzo joining forces with Fox to deliberately set them up?
Truly worthy of the "Darkness of the Shinobi," his schemes were so sinister from the very start, specifically sending a Wood Release user to deal with a Jinchūriki.
Seeing Lord Fox take action, Leaf Monkey quickly leaped backward.
The scale of Lord Fox's Wood Release was immense. Leaf Monkey and the others were powerless to intervene in their captain's battle.
A forest of crimson maple trees rapidly enveloped all the Iwa-nin.
The two Battalion Commanders shouted, "Break through! This is the Wood Release user's home!"
After hearing that Konoha had regained control of Wood Release, the Iwa-nin Jōnin Platoon had organized its Jōnin to study it.
The Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was the opening move of Wood Release, used to create a battlefield dominated by tree trunks everywhere.
Just like now, tree trunks surrounded the Iwa-nin—under their feet, at their sides, above their heads.
A gust of wind blew, and vines drooped from the tree trunks.
An Iwa-nin Battalion Commander yelled a warning: "Watch out for the vines!"
In the distance, Yōkō slammed his palm onto the tree trunk beneath his feet.
The entire maple forest came alive!
Countless vines squirmed simultaneously, as if possessing life, slithering like poisonous snakes towards the nearby Iwa-nin.
The Iwa-nin were leaping between tree trunks, trying to escape the area of the Wood Release.
Suddenly, vines wrapped around their ankles, coiled around their necks, and locked onto their wrists.
Chakra!
These vines could absorb chakra!
These were special Iron Vines Yōkō had developed based on the Wood Dragon Technique. They were not only exceptionally tough, capable of restraining enemies, but they also absorbed the enemy's chakra.
Of the two battalions—120 men—over 80 were unable to escape the Wood Release in time and remained trapped within.
The 30-plus who had made it outside called out their comrades' names.
However, they watched as their comrades were ensnared by the wooden vines, instantly becoming weak.
After their chakra was absorbed, it became nourishment for the Wood Release, making the vines thicker and more resilient.
Yōkō arrived at the center of the Wood Release and saw the Steam Ninja Han, entangled in the Iron Vines amidst the devastation.
Han had initially shattered many tree trunks and vines, but there were simply too many. In the end, he was caught by the omnipresent Iron Vines.
Han stared intently at Konoha's Copper Fox, secretly gathering his strength, preparing to draw upon the Five-Tails' chakra.
The Five-Tails inside him seemed to recall some unpleasant memories and was highly resistant to fighting Wood Release.
The next second, Han's eyes widened in fury!
Copper Fox wasn't targeting him. Instead, he was charging towards the other Iwa-nin.
Wood Release: Wood Spikes!
Yōkō slapped a tree trunk, and dense clusters of wooden spikes, over two meters long, grew from it.
The spikes shot out violently, piercing the Iwa-nin who were suspended in the air by the Iron Vines.
The wooden spikes impaled the Iwa-nin's bodies, bursting out from their backs like porcupine quills!
These Iwa-nin had their chakra drained and couldn't move.
In just a single volley, Han saw over 20 Iwa-nin die mid-air!
Blood flowed from the gaps between the wooden spikes and torn flesh, converging to form intermittent crimson lines in the air.
The wind blew through, creating a curtain of bloody rain.
Tailed Beast chakra began to seep out from the Steam Ninja Han's body.
Han was enraged.
Good, Yōkō thought. This was exactly what he wanted—for Han to lose control.
But your efficiency is too low. With this meager amount of chakra, you can't even break free from the Iron Vines. How are you supposed to go on a rampage?
Yōkō charged towards the next group of Iwa-nin.
Another volley of Wood Spikes shot out. The wooden spears burst from the Iwa-nin's backs, the thorny spikes killing more than ten more.
A bestial roar erupted from behind him, sounding partly like a horse and partly like a whale.
Yōkō turned and saw the Steam Ninja Han, now with four tails erupted.
The Steam Ninja Han could maintain his sanity in his four-tailed state. It was only after erupting five tails that he would lose control.
This is somewhat insulting, Yōkō thought. I, Konoha's Copper Fox, have some reputation. Do you really think erupting four tails is enough to deal with me?
Han immediately threw his head back, condensing a Tailed Beast Ball the size of a fist.
Only the size of a fist? Yōkō mused. So you really do look down on me.
***
->Support me with power stone
->for every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter
***
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!