Upstream of the White Field River, a specialized Leaf battalion was struggling to break through the Sand's defenses to reach the riverbed. This unit was packed with Water Style users. Their goal was simple: reach the canyon, trigger a massive flood, and flush out the puppeteers hiding below.
A puppeteer's body is their weak point. Since puppets feel no pain and don't bleed, attacking the master is the optimal choice. The Sand knew this, which was why they had fortified the upstream canyon with a massive defensive line of over a hundred puppets.
The Leaf's Water Style battalion met fierce resistance. They couldn't break through the puppet wall with taijutsu, and a row of Sand ninja stood on the cliffs, using Wind and Earth Style to negate the Leaf's ninjutsu and protect their precious puppets. Mud Walls lined the banks, acting as both barriers against the Leaf and shields for the puppets against any stray water.
The battle was gridlocked. Cold sweat dripped from the chin of the Leaf Battalion Commander, Guyo. Half an hour had passed, and they still hadn't reached the river. Should they circle further upstream? The Sand would just follow. He was running out of ideas.
Suddenly, Guyo spotted a thin, high-pressure line of water.
The Sand ninja standing in a row on the cliffside were focused on the battalion in front of them. The water line shot up from deep within the canyon at a diagonal angle. With a single horizontal sweep, most of the Sand ninja on the cliff edge were sliced clean in half!
'Is that... Water Style: Severing Wave?' Guyo thought in shock. That was one of the Second Hokage's signature techniques. Even as a Jonin specializing in Water Style, he hadn't had the chance to learn it.
Guyo shouted, "Now's our chance! Use the water to wash away all obstacles!"
The Leaf ninja unleashed their jutsu, crashing through the unmanned Mud Walls and sweeping the puppets back into the river. The battalion finally reached the cliff edge, looking down at the puppeteers in the canyon floor.
The Sand didn't give up. Exposed, the puppeteers desperately manipulated their puppets to fly upward. But another water line swept through the air, bisecting twenty more puppets mid-flight.
Commander Guyo followed the trajectory of the water and saw an Anbu wearing a Fox mask standing on a rock at the bottom of the canyon. He was surrounded by puppets, yet he stood perfectly still. Poison needles, kunai, and various mechanical traps merely shredded the Anbu's clothes.
It was Copper Fox!
Guyo had heard the name but hadn't known the extent of his power. No wonder the Sand command was wary; Copper Fox was the natural predator of puppeteers. Puppets excel because they fear no damage, but their maximum offensive power was too low to pierce his defense. Copper Fox didn't even bother to dodge.
The Leaf Water Style ninja leaped into the canyon, performing a combined technique.
"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"
Over thirty ninja released the jutsu simultaneously, creating a thirty-meter-high tidal wave in the White Field River. The flood surged downstream, the roar of the water causing the Sand ninja below to freeze in terror. Some leaped for high ground; others were instantly swallowed by the torrent. Every puppeteer hidden in the canyon was losing their cover.
Mission successful. Guyo turned back to thank Copper Fox, but the rock was already empty. Having provided the critical assist, Copper Fox had moved on to the next battlefield. Truly the Hokage's elite.
Yagami's flak jacket had been reduced to rags again, leaving him practically exposed. Returning to his unit briefly, he donned a fresh one. His absolute defense was perfect in every way except for the fact that it couldn't protect his wardrobe.
With the upstream secured, wave after wave of flooding surged downstream. Forced out of the canyon, the puppeteers were now exposed to the Leaf ninja on the banks. The tide of war had turned heavily in the Leaf's favor.
Yagami turned his attention to the most vital clash: Hatake Sakumo versus Camel Thorn and his wife.
Sakumo was a blur of motion. His chakra saber moved so fast that the white blade-light seemed to hang in the air like ribbons of silk. The strikes were continuous; before the light of the first five swings could fade, a new arc was already carved. Sakumo looked as if he were standing at the center of a whirlwind made of crescent blades.
Puppets that so much as brushed against the white light were instantly split or shattered. Camel Thorn's original ten puppets were long gone; he was now using models Yagami hadn't seen before. The ground around them was a graveyard of puppet parts, poisoned needles, and spent traps.
Camel Thorn's own taijutsu was unexpectedly high; Sakumo had yet to land a direct hit on him.
The Leaf's advantage grew. Strike squads were breaking through Sand lines, reaching and killing the puppeteers. Purple Cat recorded it all—how many squads succeeded, which individuals excelled—it all went onto the scroll.
After surveying the entire field, Yagami said, "Stay here and keep recording. I'm going in one more time to crush the Sand's final struggle."
He flickered away, heading straight for the epicenter: the fight against the elite couple. Sakumo's adjutant saw an Anbu approaching and yelled:
"Don't be reckless! You're not strong enough! You'll only get in Lord Sakumo's way!"
In a fight between elite Jonin, an ordinary ninja was just a liability that Sakumo would have to protect. The adjutant moved to intercept, but seeing the Fox mask, he immediately stopped his hand signs.
'Copper Fox of the Anbu?'
If it was Copper Fox, he wouldn't stop him. The adjutant was privy to all front-line intel. Copper Fox had appeared in recent battle summaries so frequently that high-level command considered him a "special Jonin" equivalent. While perhaps not quite at the elite Jonin level, his deterrent power against enemies using swords, taijutsu, or puppetry was comparable.
A puppeteer's abilities were perfectly countered by Copper Fox.
Yagami entered the fray, lunging straight for Camel Thorn's wife. She was panting heavily; her hands, which originally controlled six puppets, now only had the strength for four. She manipulated one to strike at Sakumo's back, but the puppet's jagged blade was caught mid-air by a bare hand.
The puppet struggled, its blade grinding against the palm of the hand, producing a tooth-aching sound of metal on metal. Seeing the Fox mask, she suddenly remembered the warning from command: 'Be extremely cautious if you encounter Copper Fox.'
"Copper Fox?"
Before the words fully left her mouth, she saw him charging at her. She desperately manipulated a scorpion-shaped puppet, opening the hatches on its back. A dense swarm of kunai aimed right at him. They fired, but Yagami didn't flinch, letting the iron rain bounce off his body.
Seeing that physical weapons were useless, she formed a one-handed sign.
"Explode!"
Hidden among the kunai were several equipped with paper bombs. After a series of four or five explosions, she saw a figure emerge from the thick smoke. Even paper bombs were ineffective?
Every predator has its prey; Yagami's absolute defense was a nightmare for puppeteers. His internal organs felt a bit dull from the shockwaves, but it was a minor annoyance.
Camel Thorn's wife retreated immediately, pulling out a new scroll. She unsealed it, and three snake-like puppets burst forth in a cloud of white smoke.
Yagami paused. She was clever—if physical strikes failed, she was switching to a capture-based strategy, something his absolute defense might struggle with.
***
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