The Hidden Sand ninja gathered in a circle, marveling at the fool who had come from nowhere and been taken down so easily.
Hit by so many kunai and three explosive tags, he was undoubtedly dead.
However, from within the thick smoke of the explosions, a voice rang out.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-speed jet of water shot out violently, slicing horizontally across the surrounding circle of Sand ninja.
The Water Severing Wave cut several ninja in half at the waist while simultaneously cleaving through the smoke.
As the wind blew the smoke away, Yagami remained standing. He had not fallen.
Leaf Monkey was stunned. The unit leader's clothes were shredded and he looked a bit disheveled, but there wasn't a single trace of blood on his body.
"What are you staring for! Throw the poison gourds!"
Hearing the unit leader's energetic reminder, Leaf Monkey hurriedly threw the poison gourds and followed up with a Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.
With the shore cleared of Sand guards, the poison gourds successfully crashed into the lake and burst, spreading venom everywhere.
Leaf Monkey fled for his life in the lead while Yagami brought up the rear to cover their escape.
High in the sky, Flower Deer, piloting the paraglider, witnessed the unit leader's formidable display.
The sharp, poisoned blade of a Sand puppet couldn't even pierce the Captain's skin?
The poisoned tip snapped off and went flying upon impact.
After pulling the unit leader up into the air, Flower Deer couldn't help but ask, "Unit Leader, what kind of ability is that?"
Yagami said casually, "I recently developed a new ninjutsu. It seems the results are quite good."
As his strength grew, Yagami had reached the level where he could create his own techniques.
The Anbu had no jurisdiction over a ninja creating a jutsu that had never appeared in the shinobi world before.
Water-natured chakra appeared in his hand, but the crystallization of the water nature was unsuccessful.
There was still a significant difference between a ninja's primary and secondary chakra natures. Extraction speed and control both varied.
Crystallizing earth-natured chakra had been achieved instantly with the system's help. He had no idea how much time it would take to develop the crystallization for his water nature on his own.
If he could crystallize two types of chakra—one for offense and one for defense—the resulting power would be unimaginable.
The first two oases had small lakes, so the poisoning was successful without much effort.
The third oasis had a very large lake surface and was guarded by three Hidden Sand battalions.
Yagami chose the paraglider dive tactic again, letting a Shadow Clone carry the poison gourd down from the sky.
This time, the Shadow Clone didn't use any fancy tricks. Unlike his previous life, there was no Sharingan or Wind Style dodging.
The Shadow Clone strapped the poison gourd to its back and activated Absolute Defense: Bronze Flash.
All of the Sand's attacks, whether explosive tags or puppets, failed to break the Shadow Clone's defense.
The durability of the Shadow Clone had increased by several levels.
Such powerful defensive capability caught the Sand ninja completely off guard.
A Sand battalion commander who had seen similar techniques asked in confusion, "Is that Earth Style: Earth Spear?"
The breakthrough happened in an instant. The Shadow Clone crashed into the lake water and completed the poisoning.
High in the sky, Yagami was in an excellent mood. Having an absolute defense felt great.
The only downside was that his clothes were easily ruined, making him look a bit ragged.
Lightning Style countered Earth Style. In the future, as long as he kept an eye out for Lightning Style ninja, he could ensure his survival.
If he were to die, it should be like when he challenged Hatake Sakumo—forcing out the enemy's trump cards and actively collecting special abilities.
After the mission ended, Yagami followed the strategy of his previous life and encountered the young Pakura by the Crescent Lake.
"This water isn't drinkable. It's clearly highly toxic. If you want a drink, leave this place and find another oasis."
The girl looked at Yagami's chapped lips and said, "Thank you for the warning, but don't worry. I have a way. I can get water to drink."
The exact same dialogue as his previous life left Yagami feeling a sense of trance.
The way Pakura looked at him, and the way he looked at Pakura, were two entirely different feelings.
This was a reunion for him, but a first meeting for her.
He had Pakura in his memories, but in her eyes, he was just a stranger.
Pakura's sense of detachment made Yagami feel slightly uncomfortable.
If he turned and left in this life, would he never cross paths with her again?
No matter how well Yagami knew Pakura, in this life, he had to act like a stranger and approach her slowly.
He helped Pakura build the water distillation device, and during the massive midnight sandstorm, he rescued the naked Pakura once more.
After reinforcing the children's tent with Earth Flow Spear, Pakura's impression of him grew better and better.
Yagami taught Pakura how to efficiently distill drinking water and how to refine chakra.
A few days later, Yagami looked at Pakura's smooth back and said, "Pakura, I'm not worried about the speed at which you learn ninjutsu, but I am concerned about your mindset."
"Mindset?" Pakura looked up in confusion and asked, "What kind of mindset?"
Yagami said.
"You hope to change the terrible conditions of the Land of Wind. I respect your ideals.
However, once you master ninjutsu, you will come into contact with many ninja.
You must remember: ninja are violence machines who practice killing techniques every day and execute killing missions every day.
You must be careful of ninja. Always assume the worst and stay on guard against those around you.
The moment you let your guard down, you might be harmed or killed by a ninja.
Pakura, if you ever meet a ninja named Rasa, be extremely careful."
Pakura grew more confused the more she listened, but she etched the name Rasa into her memory.
A few days later, Yagami saw Leaf Monkey's signal flare. He gave Pakura a hug and bid her farewell.
Rasa and a Jonin arrived across the Crescent Lake with a platoon.
Yagami didn't linger for a fight and left via Body Flicker.
Pakura was shocked to find that one of the Sand ninja introduced himself as Rasa!
The very Rasa that Yagami had emphasized she must be wary of just a few days ago!
This Rasa was a disciple of the Third Kazekage, a rising star of the Hidden Sand who mastered Magnet Style: Gold Dust.
Pakura suddenly felt very afraid. Joining the Hidden Sand Village didn't seem like a good thing anymore.
Watching Yagami disappear, Pakura cast aside her usual playfulness. Her entire demeanor changed completely.
He had said it: ninja are violence machines who practice killing techniques and execute killing missions every day.
She was no longer just a girl wandering the Land of Wind; she would soon be a ninja of the Hidden Sand.
Rasa said to Pakura, "Pakura, we will take you back to the village. Lord Third will carefully select a sensei for you to help you master your abilities."
Pakura asked, "I rescued three children on my journey. Can they come to the Hidden Sand with me?"
Rasa looked at the three shrinking children in the distance. Thinking they could be used to control Pakura, he said, "They can."
After reuniting with the scattered Flower Deer and Teal Duck in the desert, Yagami returned to the front-line camp in the Land of Rivers.
The eyes of the high command lit up when they saw Fox.
Just like the previous life, the poisoning was a success, the Sand camp moved, and the Leaf seized the chance to strike a heavy blow.
Yagami presented the paraglider and took Hatake Sakumo high into the sky.
Sakumo experienced tactics like banking, ascending, and diving. After landing, he was full of praise.
In this life, Yagami was feeling kind and didn't make a move against Hatake Sakumo. He spared his life and didn't try to drop him to his death.
In the middle of the night, Sakumo's assistant entered Yellow Dog's tent.
The assistant relayed Sakumo's request: regarding the paraglider, he still had some questions he didn't understand and needed to ask Fox again.
Yellow Dog was slightly suspicious, but he said, "I'll have Fox go over immediately."
After the assistant left, Yellow Dog summoned Fox.
"Vice Commander Hatake Sakumo wants you to go over," Yellow Dog said, acting as if it were nothing. "Fox, did you have any connection with Hatake Sakumo before joining the Anbu?"
Yagami was stunned. He quickly replied, "No, absolutely not. This is only the third time I've met Lord Sakumo."