At a certain point on the eastern coastline of the Land of Whirlpools.
Hōzuki Muragetsu, the owner of the Great Sword Samehada, was crouched inspecting a corpse.
Behind him stood a giant, 2.5 meters tall.
Hoshigaki Kisame ground his sharp teeth, staring at Hōzuki Muragetsu, and also at the Great Sword Samehada strapped to Muragetsu's back.
The Second Mizukage had been dead for many years, yet the Hōzuki clan still monopolized four of the Seven Ninja Swords.
Especially the strongest, Samehada, which made Hoshigaki Kisame green with envy.
Hōzuki Muragetsu pointed at a reef opposite them, twice a man's height, and said:
"Hoshigaki Kisame, you've discovered crucial intelligence.
Someone stood on that reef and used the Water Release: Water Gun Technique to shoot through this Kiri-nin's skull.
The Water Gun's force didn't diminish; it then shot through the reef behind the Kiri-nin and finally struck the ground.
Confirmed without error. The target, Copper Fox, appeared here.
That Copper Fox, who stole the Twin Swords and tortured Hōzuki secret techniques out of someone, must die!"
Hoshigaki Kisame's eyes held contempt.
The Hōzuki clan was in decline. Not only could they not protect their ninja swords, they couldn't even protect their secret techniques, actually having them tortured out of them.
The reason many techniques were secret was because they had specific physical requirements; others couldn't use them even if they obtained them.
The Hōzuki clan had proudly boasted for decades about their seal-less water release, but it turned out others could use it too.
Hōzuki Rinzuki was a disgrace to Kirigakure.
Hoshigaki Kisame thought to himself, the wandering Shrine Maiden hadn't lied to him; the Twin Swords Hiramekarei were indeed nearby.
Hōzuki Muragetsu turned his head and said, "Kisame, give it up. The Twin Swords Hiramekarei belong to the Hōzuki clan and will inevitably be reclaimed by the Hōzuki clan. There's no way you'll get the Twin Swords Hiramekarei."
Hoshigaki Kisame didn't say anything, but sneered inwardly. I'm not interested in the Twin Swords Hiramekarei at all. What I want is the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swords, the Great Sword Samehada.
The Twin Swords Hiramekarei are good, but they're not as good as Samehada.
Five Jōnin arrived from the sea surface, landing nearby.
Three Hōzuki clan Jōnin, three Jōnin designated by Elder Genji, and Kuriarare Kushimaru.
Aside from Hōzuki Muragetsu and Kuriarare Kushimaru, the rest were here to seize the Seven Ninja Swords.
Along the long coastline, Konoha and the Kiri-nin were engaged in brutal, meat-grinder-like battles. Pulling out seven Jōnin at this time showed just how much importance Kirigakure placed on the Twin Swords Hiramekarei.
Hōzuki Muragetsu, as the commander of this mission, said:
"The body has been dead for about 20 hours. Use this point as the center, search for traces, and determine Copper Fox's location!"
The squadron leaders vanished with Body Flickers, fanning out in all directions.
Several dozen kilometers from the shore, Yōkō stopped.
The encirclement set by Yellow Dog was still over ten kilometers away; there should be no Hyūga ninja nearby.
Sending away the Antelope Squad following him to stand guard on the perimeter, Yōkō formed hand signs and used the Summoning Technique.
He hadn't dared to use the Summoning Technique back at the frontline camp, afraid that Hyūga ninja might see White Fang's ninken.
After the white smoke cleared, Pakkun appeared.
"It's you, Fox. What do you need?"
Yōkō said: "Please ask Lord Sakumo if Hayama is a firm follower, and who his followers are on the Land of Whirlpools front. I will lend assistance at the appropriate time."
"Okay, got it. I'll go ask right away."
Three minutes later, Yōkō used the Summoning Technique again.
Pakkun said:
"Fox, Sakumo says that among the ninja on the Land of Whirlpools front, some have always been his followers, others are people he is observing. I'll tell you, make a note."
Yōkō memorized the names: The two Jōnin, Yamashiro-dera and Gekkō Sō, were former teammates of Hatake Sakumo and were now firm supporters.
Hayama, Shima, and others were among the Tokubetsu Jōnin willing to align themselves with Hatake Sakumo.
"Good, I understand. I'll keep an eye on these people," Yōkō said.
"I saw Hayama at Lord White Fang's place, and I saved him a few days ago. It seems I saved the right person."
After Pakkun left, Yōkō summoned Spear Egret.
The Uzumaki remnants were hiding in a remote part of the Land of Rain. If there was any news from Uzumaki Yuka, a message would be tied to Spear Egret's leg.
This time, when he summoned Spear Egret, Yōkō noticed there wasn't just a message on its leg, but also a scroll.
He quickly opened the letter and learned that Yuka had found a special summon clan.
The Stone Panda clan. Their bodies could transform into a hard shell like white porcelain, blocking attacks like an Earth-Style Wall.
Stone Pandas had appeared in the original story; later, they were one of the summons of Pain's Animal Path.
Yuka had found them first this time.
More crucially, the Stone Panda clan had very high intelligence. Their five-fingered paws could perform simple hand seals, making them extremely rare summons capable of using ninjutsu.
This meant that if Uzumaki Yuka needed to, she could first summon a Stone Panda, who could then use Reverse Summoning on Yōkō, allowing him to appear swiftly in the Land of Rain.
Opening the contract scroll, Yōkō saw only one name on it: Uzumaki Yuka.
This was a completely new summon clan.
It seemed Yuka was also working hard in the Land of Rain, continuously strengthening the Uzumaki remnants.
Yōkō bit his finger, pressed a bloody handprint onto the contract scroll, and wrote his name.
After forming hand signs, a fat panda, twice a man's height, appeared before him.
"You are...?"
Its intelligence was indeed high; summons that could talk were always smart ones.
"I am Fox. Yuka gave me the contract scroll..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Stone Panda swung its large, fan-like palm at Yōkō.
Yōkō raised his arm to block.
The palm and forearm collided, producing a clear, ringing sound.
The Stone Panda was stunned: "Why is your arm so hard?"
Yōkō said: "I also possess hardening abilities. Now isn't the time for sparring, otherwise you would witness my abilities, which are no worse than your Stone Panda clan's special traits."
The Stone Panda nodded, retracting its hand and shaking it slightly.
It acknowledged Fox's ability.
During the brief exchange, it had sensed powerful contract chakra.
This contract chakra was not inferior to that of Uzumaki Yuka, who had placed the contract seal on their Stone Panda clan.
"That hurt. Your ability is quite good. My name is White Porcelain. I acknowledge you."
Yōkō nodded and said:
"If there's an opportunity, I will have you fight alongside me. Please tell Yuka that if she encounters a life-threatening danger, she can use Reverse Summoning on me.
I will also free up time as soon as possible to meet with her."
White Porcelain nodded and dispelled the summoning.
Returning to the bamboo forest in the southwest of the Land of Rain, White Porcelain pulled over a bamboo stalk, broke it over its head, and began chewing.
Originally, their Stone Panda clan had been living peacefully in the bamboo forest. Then a woman entered and contracted them using powerful sealing jutsu.
That was bad enough, but then he was given by that woman to a masked man.
That masked man was strong, stronger than the woman.
Signing a contract with a shinobi wasn't all bad. If they encountered danger in the future, they could just use Reverse Summoning on that man called Fox and have him fight for them.
The hundreds of Stone Pandas in the bamboo forest also needed a powerful shinobi as a partner.
Yōkō waited for the white smoke of the summoning to dissipate, then continued towards the predetermined battlefield.
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(End of Chapter)