Yako and Hippo finished their discussion.
Nara Kyoichi and the other two jōnin were extremely tense, uncertain what Vice Commander Fox would decide to do.
Of the 500 reinforcement shinobi, only Nara Kyoichi and the other three jōnin remained, along with a little over 100 surviving ninja.
Of the twelve guardian-nin, only four were still left.
Yako turned to Kyoichi and said:
"As Vice Commander of the ANBU, I order all of you to stop fleeing.
Konoha does not accept defeat.
And it accepts even less the kind of defeat that leaves us without the courage to strike back.
No matter who the enemy is, we Konoha ninja must have the courage to draw our kunai.
Turn around.
Launch a counterattack against the Cloud.
The Cloud dared to join forces with the Stone to kill Lord Shinnosuke.
They dared to drive the guardian-nin out of the capital.
They must pay the price.
Their blood must be spilled before the corpses of our fallen Konoha shinobi!"
At first, Kyoichi felt his spirits surge.
But almost immediately, anxiety crept in again.
Lord Shikakaku had once said that the Nara clan excelled at thinking things through—
But that they often overthought, hesitated too much, and lacked decisiveness.
Hearing Fox's order, Kyoichi couldn't help but start doubting again.
Can we really deal with the five hundred-plus Cloud ninja… with just this many people?
Still—
Lord Shikakaku had also told him one thing very clearly:
Maintain a good relationship with Lord Fox.
No matter what happens, obey his orders.
Yako asked, "Jōnin Kyoichi, how are the Cloud's forces currently distributed?"
Kyoichi quickly answered:
"Lord Fox, the Cloud just fought us again in the capital.
We suffered another crushing defeat there.
According to our intelligence, Raikage Adviser Gomoi has taken 100 Cloud ninja and assumed responsibility for protecting the daimyō of the Land of Hot Water. He has occupied the capital.
As for the Two-Tails Jinchūriki and the Raikage's aide Tōtai, they're currently behind us, pursuing and trying to wipe us out."
"Two-Tails?" Yako scoffed.
"A beast with fewer tails than one hand fingers dares to swagger around like this?"
He turned sharply.
"Gather every squad captain here.
I'll formulate the battle plan.
We're going back to deal with them."
Kyoichi wanted to remind him that it wasn't just the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
Tōtai was there too.
But judging by Fox's tone…
Tōtai apparently wasn't even worth mentioning.
Soon, more than thirty squad captains gathered before Yako.
He addressed them in a clear, forceful voice:
"We just suffered a crushing defeat.
Because of ANBU secrecy protocols, I cannot tell you where I went.
I regret that I was unable to fight alongside you.
We may lose.
But we do not run.
You must trust Konoha.
Konoha has the power to defeat any enemy.
What happened on the front was nothing more than a temporary lapse in judgment.
Who could have predicted that the Cloud would stoop so low as to ally with the Stone just to deal with one man?
But now the Stone ninja have already withdrawn from the Land of Hot Water.
And if it's just the Cloud?
How could the Cloud alone possibly be Konoha's match?
In the first two Great Ninja Wars, when did we not fight the entire world?
One-on-one, Konoha has never feared any hidden village.
So stop hanging your heads.
Come back with me.
Counterattack.
Avenge Lord Shinnosuke.
Avenge our fallen Konoha comrades!"
The Konoha squad leaders, who had been chased all the way here by the Cloud, had been bottling up a burning frustration the entire time.
The moment they heard that Lord Fox intended to lead them back into battle, they were stirred—
But after the initial rush of emotion, they quickly began thinking rationally.
Lord Fox possessed Wood Release.
Other people feared tailed beasts.
But Lord Fox did not.
And Wood Release was the single greatest counter to a tailed beast.
If Lord Fox fought the Two-Tails Jinchūriki directly…
Then victory actually seemed possible.
Yako continued:
"Send two squads to escort the severely wounded back to the Land of Fire.
The remaining squads will come with me.
Nara Kyoichi, you'll act as field strategist and coordinate the units."
"Yes!"
Nara Kyoichi immediately turned to the others.
"Return to your squads and talk to your men.
We can't keep running.
If we run any farther, we'll be inside the Land of Fire."
The temporary chain of command was firm and decisive.
Very quickly, the battered retreating force unified their resolve.
The ordinary ninja, each carrying a determination to die if necessary, prepared themselves to turn and block the Cloud in the Land of Hot Water.
A little over one hundred Konoha shinobi advanced rapidly through the hills of the Land of Hot Water.
Before long, black dots appeared on the horizon.
Those were the Cloud ninja, moving swiftly through the ridgelines.
The Cloud forces halted.
They had thought they were chasing routed prey.
But now the routed prey had stopped running—
And was actually turning around to charge back at them.
For a brief moment, the Cloud ninja were visibly baffled.
But only for a very short moment.
Then they resumed advancing.
Because their advantage was simply too overwhelming.
The Cloud outnumbered the Konoha force by five to one.
And on top of that, they had a Jinchūriki, a living weapon of mass destruction.
Maybe these Konoha ninja were just afraid of the punishment they'd face when they got back to the village.
Their mission had failed.
The Third Hokage's eldest son had died.
Things wouldn't go well for them if they returned.
At least if they died here, it could be called sacrificing themselves for the village.
But if they crawled back home alive, only to be targeted by the Sarutobi clan—
That might be even worse than death.
When the two sides finally closed the distance, they faced off across several low hills.
The Konoha ninja covered the slope of a single hill.
Across the ravine, the Cloud ninja occupied the slopes of four separate hills.
Tōtai's eyes swept across the battlefield.
Very quickly, he spotted Fox standing atop the highest ridge.
No wonder the Konoha shinobi suddenly found the courage to turn around, he thought.
They've got another Kage-level fighter backing them now.
Tōtai sneered and called out:
"Fox, I admit you've got some skill.
But bringing all these Konoha ninja back here just to die…
Have you become just like Sarutobi Shinnosuke?
Unable to tell how much you actually weigh?"
He smirked.
"People who don't know their limits die.
And they die very miserably."
Yako's voice turned cold.
"Tōtai.
War has winners and losers.
Konoha can accept losing.
But I will never allow you to insult Lord Shinnosuke.
Lord Shinnosuke was a hero of Konoha.
A hero who died under your despicable joint ambush.
And today—
I'm going to avenge him."
He pointed straight at Tōtai.
"You'd better write a letter to Tsuchikage Ōnoki right now and beg him to come save you.
Because otherwise—
You're definitely dying here today."
Tōtai's expression darkened.
What the hell is with this Fox guy? Why is he so good at insulting people?
ANBU aren't supposed to be this mouthy, are they?
The way Fox talked, it was as if the only reason the Cloud had been able to defeat Konoha's forces in the Land of Hot Water…
Was because they'd needed the Stone's help.
That was downright insulting.
Too insulting.
Tōtai turned to Ryuuren and said:
"Ryuuren.
This is the final battle of the Land of Hot Water conflict.
Don't leave them a way out.
I want them dead."
Ryuuren nodded.
She closed her eyes briefly—
Then opened them again.
A violent surge of tailed beast chakra exploded around her body, wrapping her in a cloak of Bijū chakra.
She dropped to all fours like a sleek, predatory leopard-cat.
Tilting her head back, she began condensing tailed beast chakra in front of her mouth.
Soon, it formed into a Tailed Beast Bomb the size of a human head.
The Konoha ninja stared at it nervously.
Then, with desperate hope, they turned to look at Lord Fox on the hilltop.
Fox didn't move.
He simply stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
The Tailed Beast Bomb reached critical density.
Ryuuren snapped her head forward—
And the Bomb shot toward Yako like a black-red meteor.
The air itself was violently shoved aside by its speed and pressure.
Every Konoha shinobi watching felt their scalp go numb.
At last—
Fox moved.
He brought his palms together.
A giant wooden hand burst up from the earth.
And before the stunned eyes of both Konoha and the Cloud—
That terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb, which had always smashed through everything in its path…
Was caught by a single wooden hand.
The Bomb was only the size of a human head.
And the wooden hand wasn't especially huge either.
Yako even looked a little disappointed.
"Two-Tails…"
He stared at the trapped Bomb and said flatly:
"Is this your Tailed Beast Bomb?
Your Tailed Beast Bomb is as laughable as your tail."
Then, suddenly, Yako paused inwardly.
…What the hell?
Why am I getting this sharp-tongued too?
Could it be that the Uchiha bloodline is actually more compatible with me?
Mocking people, sneering, acting half-crazy…
Why does this weirdly suit me?