After resting in place for around ten minutes,
Yuu set out once again with Rin and the others, who had recovered some of their stamina.
Halfway there, a flock of black crows swept across the night sky.
Several of them noticed Yuu's group, separated from the main flock, and flapped down toward them, landing on Yuu's outstretched arm while making a series of croaking sounds.
Honestly, the crow summons raised and trained by the Uchiha clan were surprisingly convenient for intelligence gathering.
They were comparable to the Inuzuka clan's ninja hounds and the Aburame clan's insects.
Unfortunately, after the Uchiha were wiped out in the original story, no one was left to make use of them.
"…So the other forces are located in these directions?"
Yuu listened to the human-like speech coming from the crows and glanced around, roughly constructing a map in his mind.
The force led by Yagura Karatachi was the main body of Kirigakure's army, containing more than half of their total personnel.
However, their current position was somewhat far from here.
Based on Yuu's estimate, they were already close to reaching Shakuka Town.
Another force, however, was much closer—only a little over ten kilometers away.
Riding Black Wing, it would take only a few minutes to reach them.
"Then we'll intercept that group first before going after Yagura."
"With Shisui and the others at the stronghold, even if Yagura reaches it, they should be able to hold out for a while…"
After all, aside from Yagura Karatachi, this Kirigakure force didn't contain anyone at the Kage level.
And Yagura wasn't a jinchūriki yet.
Without a tailed beast, he was definitely weaker than the Fourth Mizukage from the original story.
In theory, Shisui could probably hard-control him with a single Kotoamatsukami.
Even if Shisui didn't want to reveal his Mangekyō, with the cooperation of the other Konoha jōnin, holding Yagura off until Yuu returned for a pincer attack shouldn't be much of a problem.
At once,
Yuu whistled and guided Black Wing into changing direction, flying toward a nearby river.
As they passed over a dense forest,
Yuu's gaze sharpened.
He had discovered a Kiri force moving below.
Black Wing immediately dove.
There wasn't much to say about what happened next.
This was merely a small Kirigakure force of fewer than a hundred ninja.
It was led by two jōnin from the Kaguya clan.
Their average strength was decent, but in front of Yuu, they simply weren't enough.
After all, Yuu had already killed even the head of the Kaguya clan.
Within only a few minutes, the Kiri force was routed.
They left corpses scattered across the ground before fleeing in all directions.
Yuu's group didn't linger.
They mounted Black Wing again, rose into the sky, and rushed toward Shakuka Town.
…
Inside the dense forest outside the Shakuka Town stronghold,
Yagura Karatachi stood at the front of the formation, his emerald-green eyes sweeping over Konoha's distant position.
He frowned slightly.
"Kushimaru and the others still haven't arrived?
"Based on their position and marching speed, they should have reached this place before us."
"Well…"
Ao and Mei Terumī exchanged glances.
Neither of them wanted to say it aloud,
but both had developed a bad feeling.
And that feeling was soon confirmed—
"What's happening over there?"
A disturbance suddenly came from deeper within the forest.
Before long, two wounded Kiri ninja stumbled and crawled toward them.
Their faces were deathly pale as they cried out to Yagura,
"L-Lord Yagura! Something terrible happened!
"Our force was ambushed by Konoha's 'White Reaper' while advancing!
"Lord Kushimaru and Lord Jinpachi… they…"
"They've both been killed!"
"?!"
The moment those words were spoken,
the surrounding Kiri ninja trembled.
They stared at one another in disbelief.
Among them, the veins on the back of Jinin Akebino's hand bulged as he tightened his grip on the Blunt Sword: Kabutowari.
His expression became complicated.
Jinpachi was one thing.
But Kushimaru ranked fairly highly among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Combined with the unpredictable Longsword: Nuibari, he had even killed several elite jōnin before.
And now…
he had been killed before even appearing on the battlefield?
Just how powerful was this "White Reaper"?!
"Lord Yagura… do we still proceed with the attack according to the original plan?"
A Kiri jōnin cautiously asked.
If they continued the offensive, setting aside the fact that Kushimaru's force had already been scattered and could no longer join them in time—
if the White Reaper arrived while they were focused on attacking Shakuka Town and stabbed them in the back…
the result probably wouldn't be pleasant.
"…The plan remains unchanged."
Yagura was silent for two seconds before speaking.
"Konoha's reinforcements are already on the way.
"If we withdraw now, everything we've done will have been for nothing.
"We can only gamble on this."
He paused.
"Ao, if Mikami Yuu appears later, Jinin and I will engage him.
"You'll take over command of the army and continue the offensive.
"Make sure we eliminate as much of Konoha's effective fighting strength as possible."
"Yes!"
Ao, with his eyepatch, solemnly accepted the order.
Then,
Yagura turned toward the Shakuka Town stronghold.
"There's no need to wait any longer.
"Pass down the order.
"Everyone, perform one final inspection of your ninja tools.
"Prepare to attack!"
Before long,
Kirigakure's assembled main force began advancing toward Shakuka Town.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Amid a series of shouted techniques, more than twenty Kiri ninja skilled in Water Release formed a line and simultaneously performed hand seals.
Surging chakra transformed into a massive torrent that rushed directly toward the front of Shakuka Town.
Many of the traps Konoha had prepared in advance—
explosive tags, ground spikes, tripwires—
were washed away by the flood.
The water showed no sign of weakening and slammed violently into the thick stone-and-earth walls of the stronghold, sending waves several meters high into the air.
Konoha had naturally prepared for this.
Under Kakashi's leadership, several Konoha ninja jointly used Earth-Style Wall to reinforce the defenses and redirect the incoming water.
Other ninja gathered chakra under their feet, stepped onto the flood, and rushed forward to meet the Kiri ninja doing the same.
In an instant,
kunai collided.
Ninjutsu exploded against ninjutsu.
Shouts and screams from both sides rose continuously.
At the same time, deafening battle cries erupted from the rear and both flanks of the stronghold.
Shisui, Honekawa Koo, and the others were leading Konoha ninja in defensive battles against Kiri forces attacking from those directions.
Even Gekkō Shigure, who had been injured earlier, had returned to the front lines.
The battle skipped any probing phase.
From the very beginning, it entered a white-hot state.
Just as the situation gradually became deadlocked and Kirigakure began considering an even fiercer assault to seize the stronghold in one push—
a clear eagle's cry suddenly tore through the night from the distance.
"Screech—!"
"He's here!"
At that instant, every Kiri ninja felt their heart tighten.
Yagura Karatachi, standing near the center of the army, abruptly raised his head.
An enormous eagle was diving beneath the clouds.
Several figures stood upright on its back, looking down over the battlefield.
At that moment, the clouds covering the moon shifted aside, brightening the night slightly.
The white-haired figure standing atop the eagle became especially conspicuous.
Their gazes met across several hundred meters.
It almost seemed as though sparks exploded between them.
"Mikami Yuu…"
Yagura whispered the name.
Blazing fighting spirit rose in his emerald eyes.
"I've been…
"waiting for you for a long time."
As he spoke,
Yagura grabbed his weapon and rapidly issued orders to Ao.
"Ao, I'm leaving this place to you.
"Continue attacking Konoha's camp.
"Jinin, Shingo, Shimotsuki—you three come with me!"
The ones called Shingo and Shimotsuki were ninja from the Kaguya and Hōzuki clans respectively.
The four instantly separated from the main formation and raced toward the rear of the army—
the direction from which Black Wing was approaching.
While running, Yagura formed hand seals and used Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
However, his version of the technique was different from the ordinary one.
After the enormous amount of water erupted, it didn't spread outward.
Instead, it spun upward, forming a rising platform beneath Yagura, Jinin Akebino, and the others and carrying them toward an altitude of one hundred meters.
At that moment, the ninja from the Hōzuki clan inhaled deeply, his chest swelling.
"Water Release: Water Iron Cannon!"
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Several highly compressed, metallic-looking spheres of water shot through the air like cannon shells.
Black Wing beat its wings violently and performed a series of difficult aerial turns, evading the incoming Water Iron Cannons.
However, the sudden maneuvers left Rin and Uchiha Tekka, both experiencing this kind of flight for the first time, pale-faced and nearly falling from the sky.
Only Yuu remained perfectly steady.
With one hand, he wrapped an arm around Rin's waist to stabilize her.
With the other, he casually waved.
Large numbers of kunai and shuriken shot outward.
Clusters of fireballs quickly caught up to them—
and ignited explosively!
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Across from him—
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
"Dead Bone Pulse: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Large masses of flame and water bullets collided in midair.
But Yuu's Fire Release was clearly superior in both scale and power.
And he kept creating even more fireballs.
Even enormous, roaring fire dragons began rushing toward the water platform opposite them.
The intense heat distorted the surrounding air, creating visible ripples like waves on water.
"…Hmph!"
Yagura snorted coldly and suddenly swung the long weapon in his hands.
"Wind Release: Typhoon Passing!"
A violent hurricane erupted from nowhere and crashed head-on into Yuu's fire dragon.
It actually tore the dragon apart and scattered it, transforming it into countless streams of flame spreading across the night sky.
For a moment, it created a magnificent scene resembling burning clouds.
"Hm?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow.
Yagura's strength was actually quite good.
He was already faintly approaching the Kage level.
That made sense.
After all, Yagura had become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki through his own ability.
Being capable of accomplishing that meant his own strength couldn't have been much weaker than the Kage level.
The tailed beast had merely pushed him another step further.
And an opponent like this…
was finally interesting enough to fight.
Only a few seconds passed.
The distance between Black Wing and the water platform had already become negligible.
Yuu tapped his toes and leapt from the eagle's back.
As his body descended, the White Fang short blade left its sheath.
With a wave of his arm, a series of pale-white sword lights poured downward like waterfalls, aimed directly at the four Kiri ninja on the platform!
"I'll take you on!"
Jinin Akebino roared.
He swung the enormous axe and hammer in his hands, smashing them toward the incoming sword lights.
The sight nearly broke Yuu's composure.
No, seriously…
You call that thing a sword?
No matter how bizarre the other Ninja Swords were, at least they still vaguely resembled blades.
Even the Explosive Blade: Shibuki was technically a sword with explosive tags attached to it.
But this guy was literally carrying an axe and a hammer and insisting it was a sword?
How had this thing even been classified among the Seven Ninja Swords?
Hatake Swordsmanship was equally speechless.
[Hatake Swordsmanship: …Just kill him, little white-haired brat. I really don't want to look at such an ugly "sword" any longer. It's offensive to the eyes!]
"Alright…"
Since Hatake Swordsmanship itself had spoken,
Yuu naturally wouldn't hold back.
Within only two or three seconds, he landed on the platform and immediately swung his blade toward the three opponents before him.
Jinin Akebino swung his axe.
Kaguya Shingo activated the Dead Bone Pulse.
Hōzuki Shimotsuki threw out a series of highly compressed water blades.
The three formed a pincer attack around Yuu.
At that moment,
Yagura, who had been standing back and observing for a while, seemed to have finished preparing.
He raised his weapon and drew it through empty space toward Yuu and Black Wing above.
"Water Release: Water Mirror Technique!"
In an instant,
an enormous mirror appeared in midair.
Another Yuu—
along with another Rin, Uchiha Inabi, Tekka, and even another Black Wing—
emerged from the mirror.
Each emitted a chakra presence almost identical to the original.
They turned toward their respective counterparts.
"Huh?!"
"W-What kind of ninjutsu is this?! It can directly create copies of us?!"
Rin and the others were stunned.
They had never expected to see something like this.
Yuu raised an eyebrow and was just about to warn them when the copied Black Wing flapped its wings and lunged toward Rin and the others.
The copied "Yuu," meanwhile, tightened his grip on the White Fang short blade and rushed directly toward Yuu.
Clang!
The two blades collided.
Sparks exploded outward.
A tremendous force traveled through the blade, causing Yuu's eyes to narrow slightly.
"Interesting…"
"The strength isn't bad."
Yuu glanced upward.
Seeing Black Wing already climbing higher, he relaxed slightly.
If the opponents facing Rin and the others weren't Yagura himself, but merely their individual copies, then they should be fine.
This could even serve as a useful combat exercise for them.
At once,
Yuu fought one against four—
three Kiri ninja plus another version of himself.
At the same time, he silently evaluated the copy.
"Its swordsmanship is almost identical to mine…"
"A mere copy can actually use Hatake Swordsmanship to this level?"
Right.
In the original story, Yagura had used this technique to create copies of Chakra Mode Naruto and Killer B.
Although the copies were certainly weaker than the originals at their upper limits, the fact that the technique could replicate opponents of that caliber already demonstrated how powerful the Water Mirror Technique was.
It was a good ninjutsu.
Yuu wanted it.