Yoru arrived at the northern bank of the Yosui River and followed the signal codes to locate Captain Yellow Dog.
"Captain, I captured a Sand ninja in Teigu Town and extracted intel from him."
Captain Yellow Dog's eyes lit up.
"Fox, you're as reliable as ever."
Purple Cat, standing nearby, looked frustrated.
It should have been her job to extract information, but because the captain was too capable, and because she slept like a rock, he handled everything alone. Then she remembered: the reason she slept so deeply was also because the captain was too capable.
Yoru said:
"Captain, the Sand squad is led by Elite Jonin Macher. Macher found several limestone caverns in the Jikō Mountain Range. They connected these caverns together, forming a tunnel system running through the entire mountain range.
The Sand plan to blow up the northern embankment of Teigu Town, diverting river water into the caverns. The water would then burst out from the south side of the mountains and create an oasis on the southern desert plains.
They plan to act tomorrow morning."
At Fox Squad Captain's signal, Purple Cat unfolded the waterproof map for Yellow Dog.
Yellow Dog studied the map:
"The Yosui River isn't only the main river of the Land of Rain, it's also a major river for the western Land of Rivers, flowing through their capital. If the Sand Village cuts the Yosui River here, the capital of the Land of Rivers will be heavily affected.
Whether it's to weaken the Land of Wind or to protect River Country, our ally under the Land of Fire, we cannot sit idle.
If the Land of Wind becomes prosperous, the Sand Village's income will rise, which is bad for us. The Land of Rivers is one of Konoha's major mission clients.
Even without Hanzō's request, we must crush their plan. Fox, summon Hippo Squad and Yak Squad.
Tomorrow, we destroy the Sand's operation!"
After assembling the three squads, Yellow Dog's battalion crossed the river under night cover.
A sensory ninja reported:
"A Sand squad is near the hut by the embankment!"
Yoru recognized the place, it was the small, isolated house where the river patrol old man lived.
He had been captured, leaving no one to warn them.
Yoru and Yak Squad's captain silently eliminated the four Sand ninjas.
The Sand squad leader's body was brought before Yellow Dog, and Purple Cat extracted intel.
Beyond Yoru's earlier report, she added:
"Macher brought two full battalions of Earth Release specialists."
"Two battalions…" Yellow Dog muttered.
"Good. It's doable. Fire Release counters Wind Release. I'll handle Macher. Fox Squad, Hippo Squad, each of you stall one Sand battalion.
Yak Squad has the most Earth users, your job is to destroy and collapse the caverns to block the water flow.
Once the caverns collapse, squads will retreat in order, covering each other."
Yoru thought bitterly:
Captain Yellow Dog doesn't care about casualties at all.
One squad stalling one battalion? His squad would take massive losses again.
And that last line, "retreat in order, each covering the other". It made his throat itch.
It felt like a death sentence.
Rear-guard duty was the most dangerous job of all. Calling it "nine deaths, one life" would be optimistic.
The battalion moved on, skirting the peaceful Teigu Town.
Yoru looked at it and thought:
This time, you won't die so horribly. You shouldn't have died so horribly.
Soon they found Sand ninjas digging trenches with Earth Release.
There were two Sand battalions, one on each side of the trench.
Yoru dashed forward. He poured nearly all his chakra into his hands, formed seals, slammed his palms onto the ground:
"Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!"
Before him, a fifty-meter-long, five-meter-wide strip of ground erupted with countless sharp earth spikes, like monstrous thorns.
Nearly ten Sand ninjas failed to dodge and were skewered instantly.
From the flank, Macher saw the Fox ANBU appear and roared, firing Wind Scythes.
But Yoru had studied Macher's intel in his past life, he leapt into the air, head down, waist up, legs back, gracefully avoiding all three wind blades. If he hadn't known about Macher's style, those blades would've torn him apart.
Yellow Dog witnessed the scale of Fox's jutsu and was stunned.
With power like this, calling him Jonin wasn't an exaggeration. He hadn't expected Fox's growth to be this rapid.
"MACHER! I'll be your opponent!"
A massive Fireball lit the rainy night, blasting toward Macher.
Purple Cat Squad guarded Yoru so he could recover chakra.
White Ram Squad and Yak Squad intercepted the charging Sand ninjas.
After regaining some chakra, Yoru unleashed another massive Falling Earth Spears, killing seven or eight more.
After two large-scale jutsu, the 60-man battalion had already lost about 20.
Yoru drew his sword and charged toward the Sand battalion commander.
White Ram was barely holding on, covered in wounds.
"White Ram! I'll take over!"
White Ram exhaled in relief, he wasn't the commander's match; after only a few seconds of fighting, he had suffered two injuries.
"Earth Release: Flying Gravel!"
The commander slammed his hands into the earth, boulders erupted and shot toward Yoru.
Yoru weaved between them, slicing the unavoidable ones with his blade.
The commander had assumed the Fox ANBU was purely a jutsu-type ninja, he didn't expect his taijutsu to be this strong.
He increased the volume of stone barrages, smashing the battlefield into rubble.
Soon, boulders piled around them.
Yoru scanned the terrain and the chaos around them.
This is a perfect chance for a quick kill…
He dodged another volley and rushed in.
At close range he formed seals:
"Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!"
The commander jumped.
But this time the spikes erupted in a perfect ring, trapping both him and Yoru inside, with the earlier rubble forming a sealed wall.
No one could see inside, not even Captain Yellow Dog, who was locked in a deadly duel with Macher.
Yoru used his strongest technique.
He formed a single seal:
"Seal Technique: Self-Cursing Seal!"
THIS was the art Yoru truly mastered.
After awakening the Uzumaki bloodline, his sealing abilities had skyrocketed, this was his only jutsu ranked as "Mastered."
Seal formulas spread across the ground, then crawled up the commander's legs, waist, shoulders, and head.
The Sand commander's jaw froze open, he couldn't even form a single hand seal.
He stared in horror.
With the Uzumaki clan destroyed, perhaps the greatest beneficiary had been Konoha, otherwise, how could an ANBU squad captain wield such a refined sealing technique?
In the dim rain, the flash of a blade gleamed.
Yoru's sword struck the commander's forehead, splitting it cleanly to ensure the seal's origin remained secret.
With the brain destroyed, nothing could be traced.
Yoru leapt out of the rubble circle and immediately checked Yellow Dog.
The captain was still fighting Macher fiercely. Even with elemental advantage, he couldn't suppress him, Macher's Wind Release mastery was exceptional.
Seeing Yellow Dog hadn't noticed anything, Yoru exhaled.
There were no Hyūga in the battalion, visual obstruction meant total secrecy.
He had to finish this fast, he refused to let his squad suffer heavy casualties for the sake of Teigu Town.
If saving the town meant losing his entire squad, the cost would be too high.
Yoru dropped from the rubble wall and plunged into the battlefield like a tiger among sheep.
Ordinary Sand ninjas weren't his match at all.