The Scorch Style fireball radiated intense heat and waves of warmth, distorting the light around it.
Scorch Style was a bloodline created by combining Wind Style and Fire Style chakra.
It was the right choice not to teach Pakura Earth Style; her chakra natures were wind and fire.
Pakura stared excitedly at the fireball, realizing she could control it freely. She directed the orb to descend slowly and hover just above the water's surface.
A massive amount of water vapor billowed up, only to be caught by the conical waterproof cloth.
"This is amazing! My efficiency in evaporating water has increased so much!"
Yagami suddenly asked, "Pakura, are you interested in coming to settle in the Land of Rain with me?"
Perhaps he could have her stay with Uzumaki Yuka first...
Pakura's eyes flickered with a moment of panic, then she looked over at the three young girls clumsily busy with dinner by the shore. Finally, she spoke:
"No, Mr. Mikome. I am a person of the Land of Wind. I hope to use my power to make their lives better."
Yagami felt a complex mix of emotions.
First was surprise; he hadn't expected Pakura to have such a grand ambition.
Thinking about it, it made sense. In the original story, Pakura eventually gave her life for the Hidden Sand Village.
Next was a slight sense of disappointment. She had rejected him so quickly.
She said she didn't want to go to the Hidden Sand Village because she wasn't used to such a drastic change in her life.
Coming near the front lines wasn't just to hide; she was curious. She wanted to know what ninja were actually like.
Deep down, Pakura had already accepted her identity as a ninja.
Lastly was understanding. Everyone has their own path, and he couldn't force his will on her.
Pakura's death wouldn't happen until the end of the Third Shinobi World War, which was still several years away.
The two studied the Scorch Style fireball together. Yagami taught her different hand signs representing different control methods.
Under the guidance of the signs, the chakra circulation became faster, and the fireball's flight speed increased as well.
Outside the oasis, a signal flare suddenly appeared.
Yagami glanced at the flare, recognizing it as a warning from Leaf Monkey.
He walked over to Pakura and pulled her into a tight embrace.
A sense of foreboding rose in Pakura's heart: "Mr. Mikome, what's wrong?"
On the opposite side of Crescent Lake, two people appeared via Body Flicker, followed by a platoon of Hidden Sand ninja.
Pakura recognized the man on the right; he was the Jonin who had discovered her in her hometown and offered to take her to the Hidden Sand Village.
Yagami looked at the man on the left.
The future Fourth Kazekage, Rasa!
Yagami whispered in Pakura's ear: "Watch out for Rasa! That man will be bad for you in the future!"
Rasa saw a strange man standing near the Land of Wind's precious bloodline ninja and raised his hand.
A massive wave of Gold Dust surged from the ground, lunging toward Yagami.
Yagami used Body Flicker to retreat, but the wave of Gold Dust pursued him relentlessly.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
After forming the seals, a jet of water shot out, slicing through the leading wave of Gold Dust and heading straight for Rasa.
A thick wall of Gold Dust instantly rose in front of Rasa.
The Water Severing Wave was actually blocked by the thick wall.
The Gold Dust wall was extremely heavy. The water line of the jutsu lost all its kinetic energy against the density of the sand, unable to advance an inch further.
Yagami thought to himself that Rasa was truly a worthy disciple of the Third Kazekage. His strongest offensive method was ineffective.
Rasa's Gold Dust mainly focused on capture and crushing, which were the abilities Yagami feared most right now.
If the enemy killed him, he could return to the previous full moon.
But if they didn't kill him and instead captured him, that would be trouble.
If he were imprisoned for several months, he would have no way out.
The system never said that suicide would allow him to return to the last full moon night.
Yagami did not intend to put himself in unnecessary danger. Rasa pursued him closely, and Yagami retreated step by step.
After several consecutive Water Severing Waves, Rasa gauged the strength of Yagami's Water Style, and the waves of Gold Dust he summoned grew even more solid.
Seeing Yagami being driven back, Pakura rushed forward to help him.
However, the Hidden Sand Jonin blocked her path:
"Miss Pakura, Lord Rasa has come personally to collect you. Please return to the Hidden Sand Village with us.
The village will provide you with the best teachers to help you master your Kekkei Genkai.
That man is merely a wandering ninja. Daring to come into contact with a bloodline of the Hidden Sand suggests he is likely a spy from another village.
Look at his skilled Water Style. A wandering ninja of the Land of Wind could never master such powerful Water Style.
This jutsu uses very little water, just a single line, so its power doesn't decrease even in the dry climate of the Land of Wind..."
"Get out of my way!"
Pakura was about to use her Scorch Style fireball when the Hidden Sand Jonin grabbed her wrist.
Seeing she was still struggling, the Jonin had no choice but to use a hand-sword strike to the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.
Pakura, who had been refining chakra for less than a week, was no match for a Hidden Sand Jonin.
Pakura was a bloodline ninja highly valued by the village; far from harming her, they would cultivate her talents seriously.
Yagami was chased by the Gold Dust waves all the way out of the oasis.
Two black dots appeared in the sky. Flower Deer and Teal Duck piloted their paragliders, picking up Yagami and Leaf Monkey from the ground.
Rasa attempted to reach them with his Gold Dust, but as it moved further away, the density decreased and its strength weakened, allowing it to be cut by Water Severing Wave.
Rasa did not pursue them further; his mission was to bring back the Scorch Style bloodline for the village.
Yagami looked back at Pakura on the ground and thought to himself: who says a wanderer doesn't feel heartache? Even a flirtatious man has a heart.
The shinobi world is vast; we will meet again in the future.
By the time Yagami returned to the border of the Land of Rivers, it was nearly the next full moon.
During the last full moon, he had been in the capital of the Land of Rivers, guarding Koi Chisa's back at 2:00 every morning.
It was now the 12th, only three days until the full moon.
He wondered if he could plan something—not a passive death, but a way to actively obtain certain abilities.
Seeing the Hidden Leaf camp in the distance, Yagami's eyes flickered with excitement.
Whom should he seek out? Should he find Tsunade to enhance his constitution, or Hatake Sakumo to acquire sword skills, or perhaps Nara Shikaku?
Forget it, best not to seek out Shikaku.
He would go after whoever he encountered first; he'd see whose luck was poor.
It was the middle of the night when he returned to camp. Yagami went to report his mission to Commander Yellow Dog.
Before he could speak, the Commander began praising him.
"Fox, the Hidden Sand camp has moved south. We took the opportunity to raid their headquarters and achieved a great victory," Yellow Dog said excitedly.
"The reason their headquarters moved during a stalemate was because their water supply became difficult. Reports from the front lines show you completed your mission perfectly.
You destroyed their largest water source.
Come, follow me. Commander Shikaku wants to see you in the command tent the moment you return."
Yagami was delighted. The large lake he had destroyed last—the oasis guarded by three or four Hidden Sand units—was actually a critical water source for the enemy headquarters.
Following Yellow Dog into the command tent, Yagami saw the two commanders: Commander-in-Chief Nara Shikaku and Vice Commander-in-Chief Hatake Sakumo.
Tsunade was likely at the medical department and didn't participate much in the command structure.
Glancing at Hatake Sakumo, Yagami thought: it's you.
Sakumo was currently presenting an award to a ninja.
"Hayama, you became a Chunin in the 34th year of the Leaf. You have completed two consecutive A-rank missions. According to the ninjutsu merit system established by the front-line headquarters, you are being rewarded with a ninjutsu.
This is the ninjutsu catalog; you may choose from it."
Yagami looked at the Chunin named Hayama, recalling that he appeared in the original story and was skilled in Wind Style.
Hayama browsed the catalog and said, "Lord Sakumo, my chakra nature is wind. I hope to learn Wind Style: Vacuum Sword!"
Sakumo nodded and said:
"Very well, that is a fine jutsu.
When mastered to its peak, it can even be developed into a special Nintaijutsu, a mature offensive and defensive system that combines taijutsu and sword skills.
I will have my assistant give you the scroll for Wind Style: Vacuum Sword immediately."
Hayama's eyes were filled with excitement and admiration.
The ninjutsu merit system, pushed strongly by Sakumo, was being trialed on the Land of Rivers battlefield.
Many ninja had obtained precious jutsu because of this system.
Many were also grateful to Sakumo.
Yagami thought to himself that Sakumo was on the right path.
After Hayama glanced back gratefully at Sakumo one last time and left the tent, Yellow Dog said to Shikaku:
"Lord Shikaku, Fox is the Anbu unit leader who executed the poisoning mission. He completed it brilliantly, destroying three oasis water sources."
Yagami felt a bit awkward. Hadn't they agreed that this was a somewhat unscrupulous task that ordinary Leaf ninja wouldn't want to do, which was why the Anbu handled it?
I wanted to leave a good impression in front of Hatake Sakumo. Yellow Dog, why did you sell me out?
And what about the Hidden Mist masks I wore during the mission? What was the point of all those secrecy measures?
Seeming to notice Yagami's confusion through his body language, Shikaku said:
"Fox, do not worry about your reputation or the command center knowing your mission details. You are an Anbu ninja. Every ninja in this tent understands that doing whatever it takes for victory is the norm."
Yagami thought to himself: I'm not afraid of your opinion of me; I'm worried about Hatake Sakumo.
Seeing Sakumo made no comment, Yagami felt that Sakumo should be able to understand him.
Shikaku continued:
"Fox, because you destroyed the water source for the Hidden Sand headquarters, they were forced to move.
We seized the opportunity and ambushed them mid-transit. While their formation was unstable, we annihilated over 400 Hidden Sand ninja in a single battle, dealing them a heavy blow.
Among those 400 were many medical ninja. The enemy's command functions have been impaired, giving us the advantage for the coming battles.
Commander Yellow Dog will apply for an S-rank mission reward for you.
The reward will be issued through the Anbu system and will not be recorded in the front-line command's public logs.
Now, tell me in detail about the execution of your mission."
Finally, a second S-rank mission.
Yagami's mission record was slowly filling up.
He had been a Special Jonin for less than six months, and having two S-rank missions put him at a high level among his peers.
The first was for the death of Kato Dan, which the Anbu rewarded as an S-rank internally, and the second was this poisoning mission.
"The process of the mission..."
As Yagami organized his words, he glanced at Hatake Sakumo.
He calculated in his head: for this month's resurrection draw, he would go for Hatake Sakumo.
The White Fang of the Leaf was legendary; he should be able to draw something excellent from him.
If he wanted to make a move on the White Fang, it couldn't be here.
There were too many people around. If he ended up dying at the hands of some random guard or fodder ninja, it would be far too embarrassing.
He had to find a way to create a one-on-one opportunity with Sakumo.
After a quick calculation, Yagami began to state the details of the mission. He spoke briefly about the poisoning but emphasized one thing:
"Commander, Vice Commander, the reason I was able to successfully poison the targets was because of a fine invention of mine. I am willing to offer it to the village to help us win the war."
"A fine invention?"
Shikaku and Sakumo both looked at Fox, wondering what he would produce.
Yagami said:
"In the desert, I saw a tent blown into the sky by a gale, and I suddenly had an inspiration.
Why not make a tent that can fly, taking full advantage of the winds in the Land of Wind to attack enemies from the sky?
It's difficult to explain clearly with words alone. I wonder if the two commanders and the unit leader would be willing to come with me to an open area to see it.
Please trust my judgment; this invention will definitely have a miraculous effect!"
Faced with the invitation of a capable subordinate, Yellow Dog nodded repeatedly: "Lord Shikaku, Lord Sakumo, Fox does not boast. His invention will surely create an advantage for us!"
Both Shikaku and Sakumo were extremely interested. They stood up and signaled for Yagami to lead the way.
After leaving the tent, Yagami gestured for the Flower Deer squad to follow.
The group left the camp and arrived at an open space outside.
After a quick glance at Sakumo, Yagami said to Flower Deer and Teal Duck, "Show the Lords our secret equipment!"
Flower Deer and Teal Duck opened two paragliders.
Under the influence of the strong wind, the canopies quickly expanded.
The two constantly adjusted the angle of the canopies. It was clear they were working hard to prevent themselves from being blown away.
Yagami explained:
"Lords, this is the equipment I invented: the paraglider.
The top is the canopy, composed of an upper and lower wing surface. The curvatures of the surfaces are different, providing lift through different air flow speeds.
Under the canopy are sets of lines that make up the harness and control system.
After training, an operator can control the direction of flight using the control system."
Shikaku and Sakumo stood beside the two ninja, watching with great interest.
Shikaku was full of praise. In a short time, he had already devised several ambush plans based on this equipment.
Flight was a rare ability in the shinobi world. With paragliders, Leaf units could bypass tight ground defenses and head straight for the enemy's rear.
Shikaku asked, "Fox, how high can this paraglider fly?"
Yagami said:
"Ideally, the paraglider should be manned by two ninja: one to pilot and the other to attack or defend from the air.
If a Wind Style ninja is involved, flying to an altitude of a thousand meters is no problem.
As stated in my mission scroll, during the final poisoning, I had the paraglider fly to a height of a thousand meters and dove from the sky to complete the task."
"A dive?" Shikaku thought of another new tactic.
He couldn't help but look at Fox again. This Anbu was very capable and clever; he might very well become the next Anbu Commander.
Yagami asked, "Do the two commanders have any interest in taking a flight tonight to feel the effects of this equipment?"
Shikaku smiled and said, "I'll pass. Nara secret techniques require being close to the ground to use shadows. Sakumo, if you are interested, you can give it a try."
Sakumo said:
"If I am to lead a team to raid the enemy's rear, I should be the one leading. In that case, I will give it a try tonight to fully understand the effects of this new equipment."
Yagami's eyes lit up.
Here it was.
He could be one-on-one with Sakumo in the air!
White Fang, your ability is mine!