"If Kuriarare Kushimaru can wield one, you want to as well?"
Hearing such nonsense made Hōzuki Muragetsu even angrier.
Being forced to hand over three of the ninja swords under village pressure was already the Hōzuki clan's greatest pain.
Steaming Danger Tyranny charged straight towards Copper Fox.
The blade on Steaming Danger Tyranny's arm slashed fiercely towards Yōkō's chest.
Yōkō's arm turned copper-red, blocking the powerful blow, and immediately saw Steaming Danger Tyranny swell slightly.
This clone's own vigorous movement also caused the oil on its surface to expand, leading to an explosion.
Steaming Danger Tyranny was repelled by Yōkō's Copper Light, circled around, and continued charging at Yōkō.
Yōkō didn't want to engage in a meaningless fight with Steaming Danger Tyranny. He threw kunai at Hōzuki Muragetsu and Hoshigaki Kisame.
The two dodged the kunai, with Hoshigaki Kisame forming hand signs to counterattack using Water Release.
This was exactly what Yōkō wanted to see.
Since he planned to start over to change this terrible situation, there was no need to hide his trump cards anymore.
Now, what he needed to do was gather as much intelligence as possible to prepare for changing the plot in the next life.
The owners of the Great Sword Samehada, Hōzuki Muragetsu, and Hoshigaki Kisame were likely the highest commanders and the two strongest participants in this Kiri-nin operation.
A massive wave of water rushed towards Yōkō.
Hōzuki Muragetsu turned his head and said fiercely, "Hoshigaki Kisame! You idiot, stop causing trouble!"
Hōzuki Muragetsu knew that Hoshigaki Kisame coveted the Twin Swords Hiramekarei and was also Elder Genji's watchdog assigned to monitor him.
When you dislike someone, everything they do is wrong.
In Hōzuki Muragetsu's view, Hoshigaki Kisame's use of Water Release now was disrupting his rhythm.
The large amount of water reduced the explosive power of Steaming Danger Tyranny.
But Hoshigaki Kisame said:
"Hōzuki Muragetsu, you're too slow. We originally agreed to deal with Konoha's ambush force early and go recover the Twin Swords Hiramekarei.
You insisted on using Steaming Danger Tyranny to slowly blow up the Uchiha ninja wave by wave, dragging it out.
You dragged it out until Copper Fox actively found us. Don't you think you're incompetent?"
Hōzuki Muragetsu sneered:
"You're not foolish enough to think Uchiha ninja are easy to deal with, are you? Steaming Danger Tyranny ignores genjutsu. Who else could kill so many Uchiha ninja so easily?"
While the two were arguing, a figure suddenly appeared behind them.
Yōkō's fist, gleaming with copper light, slammed hard towards Hōzuki Muragetsu's back.
Hōzuki Muragetsu's scalp went numb, turning slightly at the last moment.
The punch aimed at his spine, due to his evasion, struck his shoulder instead.
Only after the bones in Hōzuki Muragetsu's shoulder shattered did he barely manage to use the Hydrification Technique.
His whole body turned into a puddle of water, dispersing under the water's surface.
Hoshigaki Kisame stared wide-eyed in shock and quickly jumped backwards.
"What kind of Body Flicker is this?!" Hoshigaki Kisame was inwardly astonished, immediately thinking of the legendary Water Body Flicker of Hanzo.
Only the Water Body Flicker had this effect.
But why would a Konoha Anbu know Hanzo's signature technique?
Yōkō stared at Hōzuki Muragetsu, who reappeared from the water's surface.
The bones in Hōzuki Muragetsu's shoulder were shattered, rendering one arm useless.
It seems if I'm fast enough to hit him before he uses the Hydrification Technique, I can seriously injure him too.
However, Hōzuki Muragetsu's severely injured arm turned into water. As the Hydrification Technique reconstituted him, the severe injury actually healed.
What is this?
The legendary medical secret technique of the Hōzuki clan, the Hydrification Healing Technique, is said to be much more effective than medical ninjutsu.
When the body suffers external injuries, it can use the Hydrification Healing Technique to reconstruct itself.
Yōkō was very intrigued. With this technique, wouldn't it increase my margin for error, making me unafraid of severe injuries?
Hoshigaki Kisame, seeing that Copper Fox wasn't looking at him, quickly formed hand signs.
Over a dozen strands of his orange hair elongated, stabbing towards Copper Fox from different angles.
He knew Copper Fox had an absolute defense ability, so he made his hair like hemp rope, binding Copper Fox.
The hair tightened, trapping Copper Fox firmly.
However, Hoshigaki Kisame's face showed no trace of triumph; he saw Copper Fox's hands form one last seal.
The hair instantly lost its target, only binding a puddle of water.
Yōkō's figure appeared behind Hoshigaki Kisame with a Body Flicker.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, what you want isn't the Twin Swords Hiramekarei, it's the Great Sword Samehada, right?"
Hoshigaki Kisame froze. Yōkō also froze.
Yōkō felt something was off, strange. After a moment's thought, he realized, 'Say Samehada' probably shouldn't be said like that.
Having his thoughts exposed, Hoshigaki Kisame's orange hair flew wildly, stabbing backwards fiercely.
Yōkō's figure had long since disappeared.
Yōkō Body Flickered again, appearing in front of Hoshigaki Kisame, and said, "If you want it, you have to say it. If you don't say it, how can I help you?"
Hoshigaki Kisame went from initial shock to breaking out in a cold sweat to calming down slightly.
"You're also one of Danzo's people? Did Danzo send you to help me seize the sword?"
Yōkō's eyes flickered.
Also?
'Also' one of Danzo's people?
So, after all this, Hoshigaki Kisame is one of Danzo's people?
Which means Danzo had a hand in this ambush?
"Yes, I'm also one of Lord Danzo's people," Yōkō said. "Stop fucking pretending. I'm here to help you seize the sword."
Hoshigaki Kisame, however, said, "There are Kiri-nin nearby using the mist for sensing. It's not convenient for me to directly attack Hōzuki Muragetsu. At most, I can slack off and not go all out."
"Oh? There are sensor ninja?"
Yōkō thought, In the next life, I must avoid using Water Body Flicker in front of Hōzuki Muragetsu if possible. Even if I use it, I must be very cautious.
Water mist cannot serve as a medium for Water Body Flicker; only connected bodies of water can.
"Then slack off."
Yōkō kicked Hoshigaki Kisame away.
Hoshigaki Kisame possessed a special skill, his body skipping across the water's surface like a stone, quickly retreating into the distance.
Yōkō was taken aback. This guy is really slippery. No wonder he was eventually killed by Kisame for betraying Kirigakure.
Hōzuki Muragetsu saw Copper Fox form hand signs again and instinctively swung the Great Sword Samehada backward in a horizontal block.
Clang!
The Great Sword Samehada collided with Yōkō's raised forearm.
The next instant, Yōkō's expression changed!
His chakra was being devoured by Samehada!
The Absolute Defense Copper Light actually developed cracks because the chakra was being consumed.
Hōzuki Muragetsu dragged Samehada back, its spikes scraping against Copper Fox's skin.
Yōkō retreated, looking in shock at his arm.
A few scratches appeared on the outside of his forearm, creating shallow wounds. This was the first time his absolute defense had been threatened.
Yōkō thought, Next life, I must never clash head-on with Samehada.
My absolute defense is based on the Earth attribute chakra crystallisation secret technique. If the chakra is devoured, my absolute defense cannot be maintained.
Hōzuki Muragetsu held the Great Sword Samehada, while Steaming Danger Tyranny prowled nearby.
Every time the Great Sword Samehada struck him, it caused his chakra to be sucked away. The copper-red glow of his Absolute Defense Copper Light showed patches of fragmentation.
Steaming Danger Tyranny occasionally sought opportunities to explode.
Yōkō fought Hōzuki Muragetsu for a long time. Not seeing many valuable additional tactics from Hōzuki Muragetsu, he pretended to run out of chakra and failed to dodge Steaming Danger Tyranny.
After the white steam explosion, Yōkō was killed by Steaming Danger Tyranny.
[Detected host death. Mochizuki's Arc system starting up...]
Yōkō's vision went black, then transformed.
In this life, I must use the advantage of knowing the plot to find a way to break the situation.
***
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(End of Chapter)