A few days later, a message flickered across the "Right" scroll in Yagami's possession. After securing the critical intelligence from Yakushi Nono, Yagami returned to the Leaf's main camp and sought out Hatake Sakumo.
"Lord Sakumo, during my patrol, I managed to extract the location of the Cloud's main camp through interrogation! I cannot verify the intel's absolute authenticity yet; it requires your judgment and that of the tactical advisors."
The conflict in the Land of Steam had dragged on for nearly two months. In that time, Sakumo had successfully cultivated a new wave of followers. Between Sakumo, Yamashiro Tera, and Gekko Sou, they had selectively mentored over fifty Special Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. Most of these men and women were now firmly in Sakumo's camp.
It was time to end this. Any further delay would start making the "White Fang" look incompetent.
Sakumo's eyes sharpened. "Good! This long stalemate has caused far too many casualties. It's high time we broke their back."
He spent hours hunched over maps with his strategists. The location Fox provided—a hidden valley deep in the Land of Moon—checked every box for a mobile command center.
"I'll lead a team to recon the area first," Yagami offered.
"Go," Sakumo replied. "Quick and quiet."
Yagami led the White Sheep squad into the night. Gorilla and the others were practically vibrating with excitement. They had their new "ace in the hole"—the Cross Seal—and they were dying to test the sensation on a real Cloud target.
As they crossed into the Land of Moon, the terrain grew vertical and treacherous. Navigating around several jagged peaks, Yagami located the valley. It was perpetually choked with low-hanging clouds and mist, making aerial reconnaissance via hawks or high-altitude scouting impossible.
Reaching the ridge overlooking the valley, Yagami signaled for the squad to halt. They watched through telescopes for an hour, but saw no movement entering or exiting the mist.
'Nono said the camp was in this general direction,' Yagami thought. He focused, silently activating his Byakugan.
His pupils dilated as the world turned to veins of chakra and gray outlines. To his surprise, the valley was incredibly long—even with his three-kilometer limit, he couldn't see the end of the gorge. No wonder no one was seen entering the mouth; the Cloud could drop into this trench from a dozen different points.
"Change of plans," Yagami whispered. "We climb the western ridge."
Avoiding the mist-filled floor, they scaled the white stone cliffs. The mountain was a barren wasteland of chalky, weathered rock. It was a nightmare to traverse; the stone was prone to crumbling, and every step threatened to send a shower of pebbles down the slope.
White Sheep winced at every *clack-clack* of falling stone, terrified the noise would give them away.
Suddenly, Yagami's Byakugan caught movement. A squad was descending from the peak above them, shrouded in the clouds. He signaled a hard stop.
The peak was swallowed by a dense, pure white fog that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. White Sheep and the others mimicked their Captain, staring intently into the white wall.
"Scatter!" Yagami roared.
He leaped upward instantly. The rest of the team dived left and right.
A searing beam of light pierced the fog. It was the distinct, shimmering glow of Storm Style—the fusion of Water and Lightning.
The members of White Sheep were veterans; they weren't caught flat-footed. Despite the suddenness of the attack, everyone cleared the kill zone.
Up in the mist, Garui looked down with mild surprise. It was one thing for the famous "Copper Fox" of the ANBU to dodge a Storm Style beam, but for four subordinates to react that perfectly?
They had moved the millisecond the order was given. No hesitation. No looking back to see if the threat was real. That level of synchronicity only came from absolute trust and iron-clad discipline.
The Storm Style laser missed its initial mark but curved mid-air, looping back like a guided missile toward the mid-air Fox. It retained the fluid properties of water while moving with the lethality of lightning.
In mid-air, Yagami had options. He could twist his body using Taijutsu, use Wind Style to create a lateral thrust, or simply tank it to test the power.
'A real man takes the hit,' he decided.
Yagami instantly condensed his chakra. A spiraling, serpent-like ring of water manifested around him. The Storm Style beam slammed into his Semi-Absolute Defense: Ringing Snake, meeting immense resistance. The spinning water acted as a Faraday cage, dissipating the electrical charge while the mass of the water absorbed the kinetic force.
Water sprayed everywhere. No one expected that thin "snake" to contain so much pressurized mass. The beam flickered out, and Yagami landed firmly on the white stone.
Garui stepped out of the mist, his subordinates flanking him. "So, you're the 'Copper Fox' who supposedly blocked a hit from the Third Raikage?"
Sakumo had wanted a raid to kill the commander, and here the commander was, serving himself up on a platter.
The battle exploded instantly.
Yagami's pupils contracted. 'Fast!'
Garui used a Body Flicker that was near-instant, appearing directly in front of Yagami. His chakra-infused blade swung for Yagami's throat. The Ringing Snake manifested again, intercepting the blade at the last possible second.
The sword met the pressurized water, sparks of lightning dancing across the surface. Garui's blade began to saw through the water ring, but Yagami had already flickered away to a safe distance.
'Let's see what we've got,' Yagami analyzed. 'Storm Style Kekkei Genkai, top-tier Body Flicker, and a fusion of Lightning and Kenjutsu similar to the Chidori-Katana. High-end abilities across the board.'
Yagami formed a single seal. "Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure jet of water sliced toward Garui's chest. But the Cloud commander blurred, dodging the line with a speed that left after-images. Yagami noticed the faint arcs of electricity dancing around Garui's calves.
Lightning Body Flicker?
Yagami smiled under his mask. 'Garui, you're a bit too flashy. I honestly don't know which of your toys I want to take first.'
He had seen enough. The Cloud HQ was definitely in this valley, and Garui was the one holding the line.
Garui, seeing the Fox's momentary pause, flickered in again. This time, Yagami didn't use the water snake. He used Copper Light.
The lightning-enhanced blade struck the crystallized earth armor with a resounding metallic *clang*. The sheer intensity of the lightning caused the earth chakra crystals to spiderweb with cracks.
'Lightning really does counter Earth,' Yagami noted. The internal structure of his "Absolute Defense" was being vibrated apart. Even so, the Copper Light held for two full strikes. He had found the limit.
On the third strike, Garui watched in shock as his blade sliced the Copper Fox clean in half. He followed through with the swing, his body stiffening as his sword buried itself in the white rock.
'Wait... no Shadow Clone? No Earth Replacement?'
According to the intel, the Copper Fox was a master of Earth Style and replacements. He shouldn't have been caught so easily.
[System: Death of Host detected. Arc of Moon System is initializing...]