For two days, no one came looking for the Brown Bear Squad Commander. Not even the Uzumaki Ninja came to the shore.
Whenever he was bored, Yagami asked about some of the doubts in his heart. As long as they did not involve Konoha's secrets, the Brown Bear Squad Commander was willing to answer.
"Squad commander, isn't the Uzumaki Clan skilled in Sealing Jutsu? Why don't they seal up their supplies and carry them away in scrolls?"
Thinking of the terrible education at the Ninja Academy, Brown Bear knew that Fox understood nothing, so he said:
"What you're talking about is the Object Sealing Mark, a Sealing Jutsu used to seal objects.
"The Object Sealing Mark requires Chakra to be infused into the sealed object.
"Once the Chakra within the sealed object naturally dissipates, the seal disappears and breaks.
"In other words, sealing supplies requires a large number of people to prepare and maintain Sealing Scrolls.
"Unless necessary, no ninja would maintain an Object Sealing Mark for a long time.
"The Uzumaki Ninja we encountered could be killed any day. They had no energy to maintain Object Sealing Marks, so their supplies were piled up in warehouses."
Yagami nodded repeatedly. So that was how it worked.
The Object Sealing Mark required a continuous infusion of Chakra and constant maintenance by sealing ninja.
That made the Battle of Kannabi Bridge in the original story easier to understand.
Minato Namikaze's squad had blown up Kannabi Bridge, leaving the Stone Ninja unable to transport supplies to the front in large quantities, forcing them to retreat.
If the Object Sealing Mark had no cost, all supplies could have been sealed into a single scroll. There would have been no need for supply lines.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed, and a new month arrived.
Yagami looked at the Brown Bear Squad Commander's back, restless with anticipation.
Maybe he should die at the hands of the Brown Bear squad commander this month. The squad commander was at least an Elite Chunin, so he could draw something good.
The other squads occasionally reported their situations to the Brown Bear Squad Commander.
These squads had also suffered severe losses.
By now, among the squad's four teams, Fox had taken Captain Antelope's place. With the Azure Wolf Squad wiped out, they were effectively down one team. Of the remaining two teams, one had two people and the other had three.
In the three-person team, the squad leader refused to assign even one member to Fox.
One fewer person meant one less measure of combat strength.
Those squads were unbelievable. Yagami had gotten them Soldier Pills, yet they did not even know to say thank you.
"Fox! I have a mission for you."
After listening to reports from two squad leaders in succession, the squad commander gave Yagami an order:
"Capture a live prisoner, a Cloud Ninja squad leader. I want to interrogate him for intelligence.
"Mist Ninja nearby are normal. Kirigakure has always coveted the Land of Waves' share of mission contracts.
"But there are too many Cloud Ninja. I don't know what they're plotting."
"Capture a live prisoner? A Cloud Ninja squad leader?" Yagami swallowed hard. "All right, I understand."
The good news was that he had performed very well on the previous mission, so the squad commander trusted him.
The bad news was that he had performed too well on the previous mission, so the squad commander trusted him too much.
After leaving the shore, Yagami's mouth tasted bitter.
Capturing someone alive was much harder than killing them.
Especially ninja. Every one of them was a battle-crazed lunatic who did not fear death. How could he possibly capture one alive?
Yagami touched the short sword strapped to his back. Cloud Ninja were all highly skilled with the sword. He did not know swordsmanship and could only use his short sword like an elongated Kunai.
After obtaining intelligence on the Cloud Ninja from the other squad leaders, Yagami set out alone.
When he reached the area where the Cloud Ninja appeared, Yagami picked a road leading into town, planted an Exploding Tag trap, and hid.
Like Konoha Ninja, the Cloud Ninja had come from afar. Once their Soldier Pills ran out, they would need to replenish their food in towns or fishing villages.
Waiting outside the town made it easier to encounter enemies.
He lay patiently in the bushes.
Soldier Pills were small, so one ate little and relieved oneself little. As long as he endured the hollow hunger in his stomach, he could remain motionless for a day or two.
Until one dawn, when the Morning Star had just risen.
Three figures moved swiftly, racing toward the town.
At some instant, an explosion suddenly erupted beneath their feet.
Boom!
The three shadows were blasted in three different directions.
Yagami leaped up and threw Kunai in all three directions.
Two Kunai struck their targets, proving that those enemies had either been wounded or killed by the Exploding Tags.
One enemy dodged the Kunai and charged at Yagami.
Yagami saw his forehead protector: a Cloud Ninja forehead protector.
His luck was good. He had encountered a Cloud Ninja squad, and judging by this Cloud Ninja's strength, he was probably the squad leader.
Yagami held his Kunai in a reverse grip and entered close combat, preparing to find an opportunity to use Sealing Jutsu: Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.
The Cloud Ninja squad leader's swordsmanship was extremely refined. With a single sidestep, he made Yagami lose track of him.
As he sidestepped, he swung his ninja sword horizontally, nearly slicing open Yagami's side.
The two exchanged blows, Kunai clashing against ninja sword.
Yagami fought miserably. The Cloud Ninja's footwork, combined with his swordsmanship, made it impossible for Yagami to catch him.
At one moment, the Cloud Ninja squad leader suddenly bent low and dodged Yagami's Kunai.
By the time Yagami tried to evade, it was already too late.
The ninja sword had pierced through Yagami's abdomen.
At first, he felt nothing at the wound. Then it grew hot, followed by agonizing pain.
Just as the Cloud Ninja squad leader was about to pull out his sword, he suddenly saw an Exploding Tag!
Boom!
After the explosion, Yagami and the squad leader were both killed.
The Cloud Ninja squad leader's final thought was, Was this guy insane? Was he sick? He used an Exploding Tag to take us both down?
Could it be that an enemy from the village had tracked him here, all because he had cuckolded him?
His vision went black, then changed.
Yagami appeared on the previous full moon, before he had met the Brown Bear Squad Commander.
Arc of the Crescent Moon activated! The host has one resurrection opportunity each month. After death, he will resurrect on the previous night of the full moon. You have received one draw opportunity: 1—Lightning Release Chakra; 2—Muscle Healing Technique; 3—Swordsmanship (Beginner).
Lightning Release Chakra was not something he particularly needed.
The Muscle Healing Technique... he had not expected the Cloud Ninja squad leader to know Medical Ninjutsu.
He would pass on Medical Ninjutsu. Compared to healing himself, killing enemies as quickly as possible was more important.
Yagami focused his attention on the third option: swordsmanship.
To evade an enemy's ninja sword, he needed to be more skilled with the sword than his enemy.
Yagami did not understand the angles, speed, or force behind ninja swords, causing him to suffer everywhere in taijutsu combat.
Without hesitation, Yagami chose the third option, Swordsmanship (Beginner).
Beginner-level swordsmanship consisted of two major parts.
The first was basic techniques: chopping, slashing, thrusting, lifting, sweeping, blocking, picking, hooking, wiping, and parrying.
The second was basic footwork, used to coordinate the various sword techniques and find the most efficient way to exert force.
It was not merely knowledge. Yagami instantly gained a great deal of muscle memory, allowing him to naturally use these sword techniques.
Drawing his ninja sword, Yagami practiced the sword techniques over and over until every strike flowed smoothly.
After mastering swordsmanship, he would no longer be passive when facing Cloud Ninja.
No wonder the Cloud Ninja squad leader's swordsmanship had been so strong. Proper swordsmanship made the blade faster and its angles more treacherous.
As for where the swordsmanship came from, that was easy enough to explain.
He had slowly imitated and worked out swordsmanship during his battle with the Cloud Ninja.
Having strong comprehension was never a bad thing.
Before you continue