Three Heads and Six Arms

A few days later, Aragaki Yasushi and his group had stepped into the territory of the Land of Whirlpools, steadily making their way toward the Konoha camp located there.

This place was truly worthy of being near the sea; the air was so humid it could be wrung out like a wet towel, and their clothes clung stickily to their bodies—it was incredibly uncomfortable.

Moreover, the mornings were always prone to fog, with visibility being ridiculously low.

Aragaki Yasushi and the others had been deep within the Land of Whirlpools for two days and had grown somewhat accustomed to this damp, foggy environment, but today was exceptionally abnormal.

Calculating the time, it was nearly noon, yet the surrounding fog showed no signs of dissipating; instead, it grew thicker, completely obscuring the sun overhead and leaving the light dim.

Looking around, everything was shrouded in mist, so thick one couldn't see their own fingers, just a vast expanse of white.

Even with the group standing together, they had to crowd very close to see each other's faces.

Just then, Kakashi suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed, and he said in a serious tone, "Something's wrong."

Aragaki Yasushi nodded as well, reminding everyone, "Stay close, don't fall behind!"

"This must be the Hidden Mist Technique; there are definitely Kirigakure ninja nearby."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel worried.

His own sensory abilities weren't exactly outstanding, and encountering this fog that blotted out the sky was practically the same as being blind.

Although he had the Horse Talisman as a safety net to heal himself if injured, if someone were to sneak up and slit his throat, he would still perish, so he couldn't afford to be careless!

Thinking of this, Aragaki Yasushi didn't dare delay; his figure flickered, and he transformed directly into a Paper Person.

The advantage of the Paper Person state was that he had very few vital points; unless he was completely incinerated, even if someone cut off his head, he wouldn't die immediately. At most, he would suffer a serious injury, and with the Horse Talisman, he could recover in minutes.

After transforming into a Paper Person, Aragaki Yasushi wasn't satisfied yet; his paper body folded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he took on the form of Three Heads and Six Arms.

He flexed his six paper arms and twisted his three heads, feeling relieved.

Heh, let's see you try to ambush me now!

Three heads meant three perspectives, providing 360-degree observation without blind spots. Aside from lacking X-ray vision or long-range magnification, in terms of observation range, it was not much different from the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.

It was even better than those branch family ninja!

After all, the Byakugan of the branch family still had a one-degree visual blind spot, whereas his was truly zero blind spots!

Having solved the observation problem, Aragaki Yasushi turned to shout at Asuma, "Asuma, hurry and use Wind Release to try and blow this damn fog away!"

Although Asuma knew Fire Release, he was actually more proficient with Wind Release.

Hearing this, Asuma didn't dawdle; he immediately performed hand seals rapidly, took a deep breath, and blew out forcefully.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

A gust of violent wind erupted from his mouth, sweeping toward the thick fog surrounding them.

In an instant, the gale swept through, blowing away a large patch of the surrounding mist and making their vision much clearer.

A figure appeared abruptly before them.

It was a Kirigakure ninja, appearing to be a chunin based on his attire; as the fog dissipated, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and he was about to draw his blade to strike, but Aragaki Yasushi was faster. An Energy Scroll appeared before him, and without even needing to perform hand seals, he activated it directly.

Zero-frame startup, sending you to the afterlife!

A blinding green light flashed, moving with ridiculous speed. The Kirigakure chunin didn't even have time to react before he was swallowed by the green light, reduced to ashes without a trace left behind.

However, following the death of this ninja, the surrounding fog did not dissipate; instead, it grew even thicker.

The area that had just been cleared by Asuma's wind instantly gathered back together, becoming even denser than before.

Immediately after, a voice filled with hatred echoed from all directions, impossible to pinpoint, sounding eerie and cold:

"Despicable Konoha brats, daring to kill my companion—I will make each and every one of you pay with your lives!"

"Ah!"

No sooner had the words fallen than Obito let out a shrill, miserable scream that made everyone's heart tighten.

But the fog was too thick; even with their eyes wide open, they couldn't see Obito's figure, only hear his voice.

"Obito?!" Nohara Rin panicked instantly.

"I, I'm fine!"

Obito's voice came through intermittently.

"Someone ambushed me from behind and cut my arm."

Aragaki Yasushi immediately commanded in a deep voice, "Asuma, hurry over and stand back-to-back with Obito to protect him."

"If he gets ambushed again, he's likely done for!"

"Kurenai, you and Rin stand back-to-back as well, watch your backs, and don't let them find an opening!"

"It's useless!" that eerie voice rang out again, filled with mockery.

"Konoha brats, you can only watch helplessly as your companions are killed by me one by one; savor the despair!"

The next moment, the crisp sound of blades clashing echoed, only to vanish into the fog again, moving too fast for anyone to react.

Immediately following, Kakashi's voice pierced through the mist: "The enemy's strength is mediocre; I just severed one of their arms."

"But there are two enemies in total. One has remained silent, specializing in sneak attacks from the shadows. Everyone, pay close attention to your backs while fighting, and be careful..."

Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, the head on Aragaki Yasushi's left caught a glimpse of a gleaming broadsword silently emerging from the thick fog.

Aragaki Yasushi couldn't help but sneer.

Is this their idea of a sneak attack?

Do they even know who I am?

Three Heads and Six Arms, ever heard of it?

I have eyes and arms on my back too; that trick is completely useless.

Facing the incoming broadsword, Aragaki Yasushi didn't dodge or weave at all. Instead, he charged straight toward the blade, opting for a trade of wounds.

The broadsword slashed fiercely into his paper body, sending paper scraps flying everywhere.

But at the same time, the sharp paper blades formed by Aragaki Yasushi's other two paper arms stabbed viciously into the Mist Ninja's chest, piercing straight through his vitals.

"You, how could you..."

The Mist Ninja's face was filled with disbelief. Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the gap where Aragaki Yasushi had been slashed filling up with paper scraps at a speed visible to the naked eye, restoring him to his original state in the blink of an eye, without even a trace left behind.

Aragaki Yasushi let out a cold snort and yanked the paper blades out. He looked down at the Mist Ninja's corpse on the ground and chuckled softly.

How many lives do you have to dare to trade lives with me, when I possess the Horse Talisman?

However, Aragaki Yasushi had no time to dawdle with this corpse; he felt that even glancing at it for another second was a waste of time.

Looting the body was the real priority.

But before he could even crouch down, he sensed a slight disturbance.

Sure enough, the other Mist Ninja had seized the gap while Aragaki Yasushi was finishing off his companion to emerge from the mist on the other side, launching a sneak attack with no sense of honor.

Unfortunately, the direction this guy chose still fell under the gaze of one of Aragaki Yasushi's heads.

Aragaki Yasushi couldn't help but sneer.

Can't you see my Three Heads and Six Arms provide all-around, dead-angle-free coverage?

If you can't even pick the right spot for a sneak attack, why bother living?

Taking a closer look, this Mist Ninja was actually one-armed, clutching a kunai in his hand. He was likely the one whose arm had just been severed by Kakashi.

The one-armed Mist Ninja had just charged over when he caught sight of Aragaki Yasushi's eerie Three Heads and Six Arms form. His face turned pale with fright, his pupils constricted, and he screamed internally that he was done for, turning around to flee.