Yako flickered away from the mountain peak using the Body Flicker Technique, choosing a random direction in the fog.
He hadn't gone far when kunai and paper bombs began flying toward him—harassment fire.
Hidden in the thick mist around him was a Mist shinobi unit. Their orders were clear: don't engage directly, just keep him pinned. Pester, delay, distract. They stayed just far enough that Yako couldn't locate them.
Another volley of kunai sliced through the air from the left.
Yako swatted them aside and sprinted toward the source.
Within two meters of visibility, he caught sight of three huddled figures—back to back, close together.
His copper-colored fist shot forward—then stopped.
They were Konoha shinobi.
He'd halted just in time. His forward foot dug into the earth, carving a groove.
"What's happening out there?!"
Seeing an ANBU mask, the three Konoha shinobi quickly reported, "We moved into position as ordered by our captain, but the Mist ambushed us! Our unit got scattered!"
Yako issued his command coldly. "The ambush is over. Fall back inland. Don't linger."
"Yes, sir!"
They were visibly relieved. Without orders, retreating would be desertion. But with ANBU authorization, their conscience—and records—were clear.
Yako frowned inwardly.
'Just how many Mist shinobi are out here? Enough to scatter five full Konoha squads…?'
After watching the trio vanish into the fog, he turned and slipped back into the white.
He promptly collided with a Mist mid-squad.
'Finally, not Leaf.'
The enemy squad captain's eyes landed on the bundle on Yako's back—clearly outlined through the bandages.
One of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist—the Twin Blades.
There was no fear in the captain's eyes.
Only greed.
"Kill him!" he barked, waving his arm forward.
He wasn't foolish enough to charge in himself. Let his subordinates test the waters.
A single exchange—and three Mist shinobi were sent flying, backs caved in like broken drums.
The squad leader's eyes narrowed as he inspected the closest corpse. The chest was cratered inward, as if punched by a giant pestle.
'That taijutsu… monstrous.'
Now sure it was Copper Fox, he yelled, "Don't engage in close combat! Keep your distance—use ninjutsu only!"
The advantage of Water Release was that no matter how many shinobi cast a Water Collision Wave, all their jutsu could merge into one seamless torrent.
With a dozen water-style shinobi pooling their chakra, the resulting surge was like a localized tsunami.
As the wave roared toward him, Yako formed a single hand seal.
The wall of water slammed into him.
If it swallowed its target whole, Mist shinobi could strike with countless underwater tactics.
But the squad captain's eyes widened in frustration.
No body.
Only a collapsing mound of mud in the wave's wake.
Earth Substitution.
Standing atop a large rock a fair distance away, Yako eyed the churning flood below.
Should he use Water Flicker?
No—too risky. Too many eyes.
Instead, he channeled a massive burst of chakra and unleashed a long-distance Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
A razor-thin beam shot through the fog, traveling over fifty meters before punching clean through the Mist captain's chest.
The jutsu was powerful, but distance dulled its edge—that was water's nature. No workaround yet.
The captain had been too focused on controlling his summoned piranhas underwater—hundreds of palm-sized predators, difficult to track, harder to strike.
They were lethal in large numbers.
But now…
He stared down in disbelief.
A gaping hole had opened in his chest. The stream had pierced clean through his back.
In his final moments, he regretted everything.
He'd earned his fame by killing fellow Mist shinobi with his piranhas, not foreign enemies.
Now, a real fight had cost him his life.
As their leader fell, the rest of the Mist squad broke ranks and retreated.
Yako let them go.
He stood atop the stone, watching as the floodwater slowly receded.
Just a few minutes of rest.
Then the harassing fire returned—kunai and paper bombs, hissing through the fog.
That same annoying squad was back.
Yako flickered away again.
Searching.
Somewhere ahead, a cluster of explosions roared, close together—concentrated.
He recalled the terrain map. That direction led to a small hill on the southwestern flank.
He headed that way.
After a few minutes of moving, a distant rushing sound reached his ears—waves.
He couldn't see anything, but he could hear the water.
He formed hand seals and waited.
Stared toward the sound, counting seconds.
Then suddenly—a wall of white water, ten meters tall, surged out of the mist only three meters away.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A tall, sloped wall of hardened earth rose before him, giving him stable ground.
The wave crashed, then slowly receded. The water grew still.
In the distance, dozens of shadows took form through the fog.
They blocked his path—preventing him from heading southwest.
Clearly, they had orders.
This was a critical battlefront.
The more the enemy resisted, the more reason he had to go.
Yako smirked.
'Exactly why I'm going.'
The Mist squad captain began shaping signs with one hand, using the fog to track Copper Fox.
Chakra infused into the mist let him feel every disturbance.
"He's gone! Vanished beneath us—watch your footing!"
His orders were clear: monitor and harass Copper Fox. Do not engage seriously.
The Mist's elite jōnin were still handling other fronts. They would come later, to determine the rightful owner of the Twin Blades.
No one was allowed to take them early.
And this captain knew his place. He wasn't strong enough to claim them anyway.
He crouched, palms pressing to the water, sensing beneath.
And directly below him…
The ground broke open.
Yako burst out from underwater.
The Mist captain scrambled to react, forming hand seals for Water Prison Technique.
In a submerged environment like this, Water Prisons could form nearly anywhere.
A sphere of liquid engulfed Yako.
Got him!
But—
Puff.
White smoke exploded from the prison.
Shadow Clone.
The lakebed churned into murky mud. Underwater visibility vanished.
In that brief moment of chaos, Yako risked it.
Water Flicker.
Appearing behind the Mist captain, who still crouched at the surface—he didn't even hear him coming.
Yako held his blade low.
And whispered with grim amusement:
"Kenjutsu: One-Thousand-Year-Of-Pain."
The blade plunged upward from behind.
The captain's body went rigid.
Steel pierced him clean through—from rear to gut.
He never even screamed.