The Scorch Release fireball emitted high temperatures and heat waves, distorting the light around it.
Scorch Release is a Kekkei Genkai born from the combination of Wind and Fire nature chakra.
Not teaching Pakura Earth Release was the right choice; her chakra natures were Wind and Fire.
Pakura stared excitedly at the fireball, discovering she could freely control it. So, she made the Scorch Release fireball slowly descend onto the water's surface.
Large amounts of water vapor were evaporated and then caught by the conical waterproof cloth.
"Great! My efficiency at evaporating water is much faster now!"
Yōkō suddenly asked, "Pakura, would you be interested in settling in the Land of Rain with me?"
Maybe Pakura could stay with Uzumaki Yuka for now...
Pakura's eyes showed a flicker of panic, then she looked at the three young girls clumsily preparing dinner on the shore and finally said:
"No, Mr. Kōji. I am from the Land of Wind. I want to use my ability to help them live better lives."
Yōkō felt mixed emotions.
First was surprise; he hadn't expected Pakura to harbor such a grand aspiration.
Thinking about it, it made sense. The Pakura from the original story had even given her life for Sunagakure in the end.
Second was a slight disappointment that Pakura had refused so quickly.
She said she was unwilling to go to Sunagakure because she was uncomfortable with the drastic change in her life.
Perhaps she came near the front lines not to hide, but out of curiosity, to see what ninjas were really like.
Deep down, Pakura had already accepted her identity as a ninja.
Finally came understanding. Everyone has their own path; he couldn't force his will upon Pakura.
Pakura's demise happened at the end of the Third Great Ninja War, which was several years away.
The two of them studied the Scorch Release fireball together. Yōkō taught her different hand seals representing different control methods.
Guided by the hand seals, the chakra flow sped up, and the fireball's flight speed also increased.
Suddenly, a signal flare appeared outside the oasis.
Yōkō looked at the flare and recognized it as Hamo's signal.
He walked over to Pakura and held her tightly.
A bad feeling rose in Pakura's heart: "Mr. Kōji, what's wrong?"
On the opposite side of Crescent Moon Lake, two people appeared using Body Flicker, followed by a squadron of Sand ninjas dropping down.
Pakura recognized the person on the right; he was the Jōnin from her hometown who had discovered her and said he would take her to Sunagakure.
Yōkō looked at the person on the left.
The future Fourth Kazekage, Rasa!
Yōkō whispered in Pakura's ear: "Be careful of Rasa! That man will harm you in the future!"
Rasa, seeing a strange man near the Land of Wind's precious Kekkei Genkai wielder, raised his hand.
A wave of gold dust surged from the ground, rushing fiercely towards Yōkō.
Yōkō used Body Flicker to retreat, but the gold dust wave pursued relentlessly.
"Water Release: Water Cutting Wave!"
After forming seals, a jet of water shot out, slicing through the incoming gold dust wave and heading straight for Rasa.
A thick wall of gold dust instantly rose before Rasa.
The Water Cutting Wave was actually blocked by the thick gold dust wall.
The gold dust wall was extremely heavy; the water jet of the Water Cutting Wave lost its momentum against the gold dust, unable to penetrate further.
Yōkō thought, worthy of being the disciple of the Third Kazekage, who is known as the strongest Kazekage, and the future Fourth Kazekage. His strongest offensive method was ineffective.
Rasa's Gold Dust's primary attack methods were capture and crushing, which were the abilities Yōkō feared most at the moment.
If they killed him, he could return to the previous full moon.
But if the enemy didn't kill him and captured him instead, that would be troublesome.
If they imprisoned him for several months, he would have no recourse.
The system never said suicide would return him to the previous full moon night.
Yōkō decided not to risk it. As Rasa pursued relentlessly, Yōkō retreated step by step.
After several consecutive Water Cutting Waves, Rasa gauged the strength of Yōkō's Water Release and made the ensuing gold dust waves increasingly solid.
Seeing Kōji being chased and attacked, Pakura rushed forward wanting to help him.
However, the Sand Jōnin stopped Pakura:
"Miss Pakura, Lord Rasa has come personally to retrieve you. Please return to Sunagakure with us.
The village will assign you the best teachers to help you master your Kekkei Genkai.
That man is just a rogue ninja. Daring to make contact with Sunagakure's Kekkei Genkai, he is highly likely to be a spy from another village.
Look at his proficient Water Release. A rogue ninja from the Land of Wind could never master such powerful Water Release.
This Water Release uses very little water, just a thin jet. Even in the dry climate of the Land of Wind, its power isn't reduced much..."
"Move aside!"
Just as Pakura was about to use her Scorch Release fireball, the Sand Jōnin grabbed her wrist.
Seeing Pakura still struggling, the Sand Jōnin had no choice but to raise a hand and chop the side of her neck, knocking her unconscious.
Pakura, who had only been extracting chakra for less than a week, was no match for a Sand Jōnin.
Pakura was a Kekkei Genkai ninja valued by Sunagakure. The village would not harm her; on the contrary, they would seriously train her.
Yōkō was chased all the way out of the oasis by the gold dust wave.
Two black dots appeared in the sky. Kanoe and Tano piloted gliders, picking up Yōkō and Hamo from the ground.
Rasa tried to use his Gold Dust to pursue them, but the gold dust wave flying far into the distance became less dense and weaker, being sliced apart by the Water Cutting Wave.
Rasa did not pursue deeply; his mission was to bring the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai back to the village.
Yōkō looked back at Pakura on the ground, thinking, Who says a wanderer can't feel heartache? Even a playboy has a heart.
The shinobi world is vast; we'll meet again another day.
By the time Yōkō returned to the border of the Land of Rivers, it was close to the next full moon.
During the previous full moon, he was in the capital of the Land of Rivers, guarding Koishi Chisa's back every night after 2 AM.
It was already the 12th; the full moon was in three days.
Perhaps he could plan something—not just die passively, but actively obtain some abilities.
Seeing the Konoha camp from afar, Yōkō's eyes gleamed with a bit of excitement.
Who should he target? Go for Tsunade to improve his physique, or go for Hatake Sakumo to acquire his sword skills, or perhaps Nara Rokaku?
Forget it, better not target Nara Rokaku.
He decided to target whoever he encountered next, see who was unlucky.
It was already midnight when he returned to camp. Yōkō went to report his mission to Battalion Commander Yellow Dog.
Before he could speak, he first heard Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's praise.
"Fox, the Sand ninja camp moved south, and we seized the opportunity to raid their headquarters, achieving a great victory." Battalion Commander Yellow Dog said excitedly:
"The reason the Sand ninja headquarters rashly moved during the stalemate was because their water supply became difficult. Frontline investigations confirmed that you excellently completed your mission.
You destroyed their largest water source.
Come with me. Commander Rokaku wants you to go to the command tent immediately upon your return."
Yōkō's heart leapt with joy. The last large lake he destroyed, the oasis guarded by three or four Sand ninja battalions, was actually a crucial water source for the Sand ninja headquarters.
Following Battalion Commander Yellow Dog into the command tent, Yōkō saw the two commanders: Commander-in-Chief Nara Rokaku and Deputy Commander Hatake Sakumo.
Tsunade was probably at the medical station and didn't participate much in the command structure.
Glancing at Hatake Sakumo, Yōkō thought, It's you.
Hatake Sakumo was awarding a ninja.
"Hayama, became a Chūnin in year 34 of Konoha, has consecutively completed 2 A-rank missions. According to the frontline headquarters' ninjutsu assessment system, you are rewarded with one ninjutsu.
Here is the ninjutsu catalog; you can choose from it."
Looking at the Chūnin named Hayama, Yōkō thought he seemed to have appeared in the original story, specializing in Wind Release.
Hayama browsed the ninjutsu catalog and said, "Lord Sakumo, my chakra nature is Wind. I wish to learn Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!"
Hatake Sakumo nodded and said:
"Good, that's an excellent ninjutsu.
When developed to its peak, it might even evolve into a special nin-taijutsu, a mature offensive and defensive system combining taijutsu and sword techniques.
I'll have my assistant give you the Wind Release: Vacuum Sword ninjutsu scroll now."
Hayama's eyes shone with excitement and admiration.
The ninjutsu assessment system, strongly promoted by Hatake Sakumo, was being trialed on the Land of Rivers battlefield.
Many ninjas had obtained precious ninjutsu through this system.
Many ninjas were grateful to Hatake Sakumo.
Yōkō thought Hatake Sakumo was on the right path.
After Hayama turned around, gave another grateful look at Hatake Sakumo, and left the tent, Yellow Dog said to Nara Rokaku:
"Lord Rokaku, Fox is the ANBU Squadron Leader who carried out the poisoning mission. He completed the mission excellently, destroying three oasis water sources."
Yōkō felt somewhat uncomfortable. Wasn't this mission supposed to be a bit morally questionable, something ordinary Konoha ninjas were unwilling to do, which was why ANBU handled it?
And he wanted to leave a good impression on Hatake Sakumo. Yellow Dog, you little... how could you sell me out like that?
What about all those secrecy measures, like wearing Kiri-nin masks during the mission?
Noticing Yōkō's confused turn of the head and other body language expressing bewilderment, Nara Rokaku said:
"Fox, don't worry about your reputation. Don't worry about the headquarters knowing your mission details. You are ANBU. Everyone in this tent understands that doing whatever it takes for victory is the norm."
Yōkō thought, I'm not afraid of your bad opinion of me; I'm worried about Hatake Sakumo.
Seeing Hatake Sakumo show no particular reaction, Yōkō felt he probably understood.
Nara Rokaku continued:
"Fox, because you destroyed the Sand ninja headquarters' water source, they were forced to relocate.
We seized the opportunity, ambushed them mid-move, and while their formation was unstable, wiped out over 400 Sand ninjas in one battle, dealing a heavy blow.
Among those 400+ Sand ninjas were many medical ninjas. The Sand headquarters' functions were impaired, gaining us an advantage for the subsequent war.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog will apply for an S-rank mission reward for you.
The reward will be issued through the ANBU system and won't be recorded in the frontline headquarters' mission logs.
Now, report the mission process to me in detail."
Finally, his second S-rank mission.
Yōkō's mission record was slowly filling out.
He had been a Tokubetsu Jōnin for less than half a year, with 2 S-rank missions. This could be considered above average even among Tokubetsu Jōnin.
The first was Kato Dan's death, for which ANBU internally gave an S-rank reward. The second was this poisoning mission.
"The mission process..."
While organizing his words, Yōkō glanced at Hatake Sakumo.
He calculated internally that this month's revival lottery target would be Hatake Sakumo.
Konoha's White Fang, renowned far and wide, should yield something good, right?
To make a move on Konoha's White Fang, he couldn't do it here.
There were too many people here. If he ended up dying at the hands of some guard ninja, that would be utterly humiliating.
He needed to find a way to create a one-on-one opportunity with Hatake Sakumo.
After a quick calculation, Yōkō began detailing the mission. He briefly mentioned the poisoning and emphasized one thing:
"Commander, Deputy Commander, the reason I succeeded in poisoning was because of a useful invention. I am willing to offer it to the village to help win the war."
"A useful invention?"
Both Nara Rokaku and Hatake Sakumo looked at Fox, curious about what he would present.
Yōkō said:
"I saw a tent blown sky-high by the wind in the desert and had an inspiration.
Why not make a tent that can fly, utilizing the strong winds of the Land of Wind to attack the enemy from the air?
It's hard to explain clearly with words. I wonder if the two commanders and the battalion leader could accompany me to an open area to see.
Please trust my judgment; this invention will definitely bring surprising results!"
Faced with the invitation from his capable subordinate, Yellow Dog nodded repeatedly: "Commander, Deputy Commander, Fox doesn't boast. His invention will surely give us an advantage!"
Both Nara Rokaku and Hatake Sakumo were very interested and stood up, signaling Yōkō to lead the way.
After leaving the tent, Yōkō waved for Kanoe Squad to follow.
The group left the camp and arrived at an open area outside.
Yōkō quickly glanced at Hatake Sakumo and then said to Kanoe and Tano: "Show the gentlemen our secret equipment!"
Kanoe and Tano unfolded two gliders.
Under the strong wind, the glider canopies rapidly deployed.
The two constantly adjusted the angle of the canopies, clearly striving not to be blown away.
Yōkō explained:
"Gentlemen, this is my invention, the glider.
The top part is the wing, composed of an upper surface and a lower surface. The curves are different, providing lift through differing airspeeds.
Below the wing are several sets of ropes forming the glider's harness and control system.
After training, the operator can control the flight direction using the control system."
Nara Rokaku and Hatake Sakumo stood beside Kanoe and Tano, full of interest.
Nara Rokaku praised continuously. In a very short time, he had already conceived several raid strategies based on this equipment.
Flight capability was rare in the shinobi world. Using gliders, Konoha forces could bypass tight ground defenses and strike directly at the enemy's rear.
Nara Rokaku asked: "Fox, how high can this glider fly?"
Yōkō said:
"The ideal setup for a glider is to have two ninjas: one pilots the glider, the other attacks or defends from the air.
If there's a Wind Release user, reaching altitudes over a thousand meters is possible.
As written in my mission report, during the last poisoning, I had the glider fly to a thousand meters and completed the poisoning with a dive from high altitude."
"A dive?" Nara Rokaku thought of another new tactic.
He couldn't help but take another look at Fox. This ANBU member was very capable and clever; perhaps he could become the next ANBU Battalion Commander.
Yōkō asked: "Commanders, would you be interested in taking a flight tonight to experience the equipment's effects?"
Nara Rokaku smiled and said: "I'll pass. The Nara secret techniques require using shadows on the ground. Sakumo, if you're interested, you can give it a try."
Hatake Sakumo said:
"If I'm to lead a team to raid the enemy's rear, it should be me. In that case, I'll try it tonight to fully understand the new equipment's capabilities."
Yōkō's eyes lit up.
Here it comes!
He could have a one-on-one with Hatake Sakumo in the air!
White Fang, your power is mine!
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(Chapter End)