Moonlight Kento took his unit and moved out to support Yamashiro's squad.
"Water Release: Serpent Fang!"
The Mist squad commander reacted immediately, forming a counter jutsu to block their retreat.
If Konoha's forces managed to slip away now, he'd be the one catching heat from the other Mist commanders.
A giant snake, made of surging water, slithered toward Moonlight Kento.
He recognized the technique—Serpent Fang enhanced the biting force of the water serpent. If it clamped down, even a spine could be snapped in half.
But before he could react—
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
Kento lowered his arm.
There was no need. Copper Fox had already acted.
A high-pressure stream of water sliced through the serpent's head, instantly disrupting the jutsu and causing it to collapse.
Yako stepped forward, blocking the path of the Mist commander.
"Your opponent is me."
The Mist jōnin's face darkened.
Konoha ANBU—Copper Fox.
Any shinobi with a title was dangerous.
And this one… was clearly above him.
"Water Release: Serpent Fang!"
Another serpent surged forward—
But this time, three ANBU, including Black Ape, leapt out.
They raised their hands—three modified Earth-Style Walls shot up in formation.
Each wall was trapezoidal in cross-section, reinforced with vertical support pillars—just as Yako had trained them.
The serpent struck—
And shattered.
The Mist jōnin froze.
His jutsu had been completely blocked…
By three ordinary ANBU.
Since when was Earth Release this strong?!
He frantically signaled his troops forward to pin down the ANBU and buy him time.
But then—
Crack.
The ground behind him erupted.
Yako emerged.
The Mist jōnin whipped around, kunai in a reverse grip—thrusting toward Yako's throat.
The blade stopped mid-air.
He couldn't move.
Not a single joint responded.
He never even triggered Copper Fox's Absolute Defense.
Every limb was locked in place by black curse marks.
Yako plucked the kunai from his frozen fingers and buried it in the man's neck.
"Your Water Release was decent. But without Earth affinity, you never even sensed my approach."
This was the strength of a five-nature shinobi.
In a real fight, it wasn't just about offense.
It was about not having weaknesses.
Most ninja were glass cannons.
Caught off guard, they died.
With their commander dead, the Mist unit collapsed.
Yako danced among them, his taijutsu overwhelming, his body tanking blades and kunai before counterstriking with lethal force.
The last three Mist ninja huddled together, trembling, clutching explosive tags.
Desperate.
Water Severing Wave flashed—
Three bodies, six halves, flew apart.
This was the Shinobi World War.
It had always been this cruel.
Yako scanned the corpses. Among the Mist lay a few of his own men.
Even in victory, a single hidden jutsu from a dying enemy could take allies down with them.
He turned.
Another battlefield called.
Roughly 100 meters away
Yamashiro's forces were locked in close combat. The fog was so thick, they couldn't see past their noses.
Only the clash of steel and explosions echoed through the mist.
Yako called out:
"All Wind Release users—step forward! Use Great Breakthrough, now!"
A joint Wind Release would announce their arrival and disperse the fog.
Including Yako, seven ANBU formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A hurricane-force gale blasted forward—
clearing the fog in seconds.
A group of Mist ninja near the perimeter blinked in shock.
The mist was gone—
They were exposed.
Mist combat relied on the fog. Without it, their Silent Killing Techniques were useless.
In the sudden clarity, Yamashiro spotted the ANBU squad flanking the Mist.
Relief washed over him.
At first, his squad had walked straight into two Mist squads. The results were bloody.
Then Moonlight Kento arrived and engaged one side.
But they were still struggling.
Now, Copper Fox had come.
And that changed everything.
With a vanguard formation, Yako's squad surged forward—
He led the charge, slicing through Mist ranks with Water Severing Wave, erecting Earth-Style Walls to deflect counterattacks.
'Ever since I reinforced the Earth Walls using real-world fortification principles… they're better than any Water Wall.'
They didn't vanish like water. They obscured sightlines. They were tactical tools as much as shields.
Suddenly—
Yako spotted a familiar figure.
Jenri.
The kunoichi he'd once fought beside at Sabaku Port during the River War.
She was struggling against a Mist ninja who skated effortlessly over the mud created by Water Release.
Jenri couldn't move properly—
But the enemy glided through it.
Then—
A flash of water.
SLASH.
The Mist shinobi was sliced in half.
Jenri froze.
She knew that technique.
She turned—
and there he was.
Fox mask.
ANBU.
Copper Fox.
He nodded.
Then vanished back into the fray.
Her heart skipped.
So it really was him.
With the battlefield now segmented, momentum shifted hard.
Yamashiro killed the enemy commander—
And the Mist line broke.
Yako gave him a quick briefing:
"Yamashiro-san, we secure this area and move to support Commander Yellow Dog and the Uchiha immediately."
"Understood," Yamashiro nodded.
That was where the final battle raged.
Ten minutes later, Yako and Yamashiro assisted Moonlight Kento in finishing off another Mist squad.
Now three units moved as one—
heading south, toward the last remaining front.
Mist blanketed the southern hillside.
"Wind Release units—dispel it!"
Another Great Breakthrough thundered across the battlefield.
The fog ripped away—revealing the chaos within.
Uchiha Tōka, Uchiha Higane, and eight Tokubetsu Jōnin were battling Hōzuki Muratsuki.
Elsewhere, Commander Yellow Dog was locked in combat with Fuguki Suikazan.
"Should we help Yellow Dog?" Yamashiro asked.
Normally, most Konoha shinobi avoided entanglements with the Uchiha. They were the law enforcers of Konoha—the military police, practically a kingdom of their own.
But Yako shook his head.
"No. We go after Muratsuki.
He's the commander of the Sword Retrieval Unit. He's the real threat."
Yamashiro and Moonlight Kento exchanged glances.
He was right.
They'd let bias cloud their judgment.
Yako's call was the correct one.
"Have each squad pick targets," Yako said. "Our goal is total annihilation. All three Mist squads must fall.
We three—
Go for Muratsuki."
All three disappeared in a coordinated flicker, reappearing in a triangle formation around the Mist jōnin.
Uchiha Tōka looked up in surprise.
Three elite reinforcements? Relief surged through him.
Muratsuki's abilities were a perfect counter to Uchiha tactics. They'd been struggling.
Yako's eyes flicked toward Fuguki Suikazan.
Samehada would eventually become his.
The Mist would one day claim Fuguki as the first "true" wielder—
conveniently erasing its history with the Hōzuki Clan.
'Muratsuki's Water Body techniques, plus his healing jutsu… hard to kill.
But if I injure him—maybe Fuguki will finish the job himself, to claim Samehada.'
Muratsuki saw them surround him and panicked.
"Fall back! Retreat!"
Yako blocked his path.
"You're not going anywhere.
Today, the only way you're leaving…
… is flat on your back."