Katsura fought and retreated, forced to the beach.
Captain Antelope considered him a mere Genin, unfit for the task.
After his death at the hands of Purple Cat, he had surpassed the captain's expectations.
Katsura arrived at the beach and engaged in a duel with the cloud ninja he had brought with him.
The two engaged in a physical duel, testing each other.
Katsura's eyes flicked to the side of the exploded cabin, taking in the full scope of the battlefield.
A cloud ninja squad burst out of the cabin, one of them wounded by a detonating tag, leaning against the stairs, panting.
Horned Ox's head was covered in filth; no wonder he was so angry.
A ninja must be well-rounded, and theoretical knowledge is equally important. Poor Horned Ox, suffering from a lack of understanding of building layouts.
Captain Antelope and Horned Ox, each taking on a cloud ninja.
In the distance, the village fishermen, startled by the explosion, rushed out, harpoons in hand.
These ordinary fishermen were powerless against the ninja.
They didn't dare to rush over, they could only hesitate from a distance, blocking their own houses or fishing boats to protect their wealth.
At this moment, two figures suddenly jumped out from behind the fishermen!
Oops, the cloud ninjas were hiding among the fishermen.
The sneak attack of another cloud ninja team instantly made the situation extremely unfavorable.
Katsura hid far enough away, so the newly appeared cloud ninjas went for Captain Antelope and Horned Ox.
Two against one, Captain Antelope and Horned Ox were in danger. If they died, he would not live either.
Katsura no longer hid, pretending to fall, turning his back to the cloud ninja, exposing a flaw.
The cloud ninja raised his ninja sword high and chopped at Katsura's head.
In fact, Katsura was secretly forming hand seals under his body.
The cloud ninja who was fighting with him was stiff, and was hit by the self-cursed seal.
In the darkness, the cursed seal climbed up the cloud ninja's joints and sealed him.
His ninja sword always stayed 30 centimeters away from Katsura's head.
Katsura's kunai pierced the vulnerable cloud ninja's abdomen.
After a few twists and turns, the cloud ninja fell.
He rushed towards Captain Antelope and Horned Ox. He was still too slow, and he watched helplessly as two ninja swords, one in front of the other, slashed off Captain Antelope's head.
Not only Katsura, but Horned Ox beside him also froze, having nearly been struck.
Is the captain dead?
The next moment, the captain's body and head disintegrated into white smoke.
It was a shadow clone!
Captain Antelope had been using shadow clones to test him.
It could even be said that Katsura and Horned Ox's infiltration was a test of the captain's.
The real Captain Antelope leaped from the coconut grove behind and threw a detonating kunai at the fishermen.
A team of three or four, and only two cloud ninja had just appeared, proving that there were others lurking among the fishermen.
Captain Antelope didn't even bother distinguishing between fishermen and cloud ninja, and simply used the detonating kunai.
Either both cloud ninja and fishermen would be killed, or the ones left alive would be the exposed cloud ninja.
The detonating talisman exploded among the fishermen, sending seven or eight of them flying due to their slow reaction.
Those seven or eight were either dead or crippled.
The detonating talisman was equivalent to a Chunin-level Fire Release, immensely powerful.
Katsura's gaze shifted from the explosion as the two cloud ninja, who had just slashed at Captain Bakugan's shadow clones, charged towards him.
Two against one?
Using the force of his ninja sword blocking the enemy's attack, Katsura rolled backward, feigning defeat.
Seeing the fox-masked ninja's weakness, the cloud ninja only had one pursuer, while the other dealt with Captain Antelope. Katsura breathed a sigh of relief.
That was right. Why bother with a mere cannon fodder? Captain Antelope was the key to the battle.
The two of them clashed from the beach into the water. To prevent the cloud ninja from unleashing Lightning Release in the water, Katsura formed hand seals underwater, using the Self-Cursing Binding Seal to briefly control the cloud ninja.
After killing the cloud ninja, Katsura writhed in the water, grasping the cloud ninja's wrists with both hands, tumbling with the cloud ninja's body, pretending to engage in a fight.
The battle was intense.
This duet was performed by Katsura and a corpse.
Only after the fighting on shore ceased did Katsura climb out of the water.
That night, he had killed two cloud ninja, exceeding his quota.
At Captain Antelope's feet lay the bodies of several cloud ninja.
He was wounded, stabbed through the abdomen, a penetrating wound, and seriously injured.
As for Horned Ox, he was already dead.
This filled Katsura with dread.
Without Horned Ox, would the captain keep a constant watch on him?
Would his skills be exposed?
If he had somehow learned ninjutsu, the Anbu would undoubtedly identify him as a spy, investigate him, and punish him. Ninjutsu was Konoha Village's second most valuable resource, second only to missions, and was extremely precious.
"Captain! Let's go! The fishermen are closing in!"
Katsura rushed to Captain Antelope's side and examined his injuries.
They were real injuries, not fake ones.
The fishermen saw one ninja clutching his abdomen, blood trickling from between his fingers, while another emerged from the sea, wet and in disarray.
Braving the situation, they rushed forward with harpoons in hand, seeking revenge for their loved ones who had just been killed.
Katsura took Captain Antelope's arm and leaped to his feet.
After several leaps and bounds, the two left the fishing village and disappeared into the depths of the coconut grove by the sea.
"Fox, you made the wrong choice. You should have killed all the armed fishermen instead of fleeing in panic,"
Katsura explained. "Captain, I'm afraid there are still cloud ninjas among the fishermen."
Between two coconut trees stood a large-leaved plant that Katsura didn't recognize.
The leaves were so dense that it was completely dark.
Katsura supported Captain Antelope and leaped towards the large-leaved plant.
Before he even touched the ground, Katsura whipped out his kunai and stabbed Captain Antelope's side!
Beneath his mask, Katsura's eyes gleamed.
Constantly guarding Captain Antelope wasn't a solution; every time he used the Self-Binding Seal, he had to hide it from him.
Sooner or later, Captain Antelope would discover his tricks, realizing he had learned ninjutsu through some source unknown to the Anbu.
The Anbu hated surprises and needed to be on top of everything.
Uzumaki Yuka would mistake him for a Senju clan spy because of a secret sealing technique, but wouldn't Captain Antelope do the same?
Kunai in hand, killing the captain, betraying Konoha!
If not now, when?
Even if you're an elite chunin, a kunai can kill you if you're seriously injured.
Captain Antelope groaned.
"Hmm?"
Katsura felt sticky, warm blood on his fingers.
However, the bleeding was less than he'd expected.
The captain's ribs were so tough.
His own kunai was so blunt.
Captain Antelope was a ruthless man, and he struck back immediately.
He bent his right arm, which had been resting on Fox's shoulders, back hard, locking the fox's neck. He raised his left hand and formed a seal with his right hand, which had been hooked back.
Fire Style: Flame Bullet!
A fireball erupted from Captain Antelope's mouth.
Katsura felt a burning sensation near his ear.
At such close range, it devoured Fox's head and Captain Antelope's own right arm.
Before Captain Antelope was seriously injured and on the verge of death, he sacrificed his right arm to save Fox's life. With Katsura trapped in Captain Antelope's arm, he didn't even have time to use the Self-Curse Binding Seal.
The kunai was caught in Captain Antelope's muscles and lodged in his ribs.
So cunning! All I knew about Captain Antelope was his Shadow Clone technique, but he never mentioned his Fire Style.
He hid it all so well from his own team!
Judging by the speed of his hand seals, Fire Style was definitely his trump card.
Katsura's head was engulfed by the flame bullet, and he felt a slight fever.
He died miserably with a fever of over a thousand degrees.