The events unfolded exactly as they had in his previous life.
"Fox! You cover our retreat!"
After breaking through the Cloud Ninja defenses, the Black Gorilla Squad Commander once again had Yagami cover the rear.
Yagami turned around, anticipated the movements of two Cloud Ninja, and cut them down before cautiously watching the Cloud Ninja Squad Leader in the distance.
The Cloud Ninja Squad Leader's attention was drawn to Yagami once again.
He charged forward, leaped up, and brought his blade down.
His sword form changed in midair, shifting from a downward chop to a horizontal slash.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Yagami's ninja blade blocked the Cloud Ninja's sword.
The Cloud Ninja's expression changed drastically. He practiced Cloud Style Swordsmanship every day; his attacks were strange and unpredictable. How had this Konoha ANBU blocked them so easily?
The horizontal sweep shifted into a downward thrust.
Clang!
The forward thrust changed into an upward slash.
Clang!
His ears were filled with the sound of clashing steel, and the Cloud Ninja was inexplicably enraged.
Had this Konoha ANBU specifically studied him? Why was he so familiar with his swordsmanship?
Being evenly matched and not at a disadvantage, Yagami felt greatly reassured.
Do you know what clang, clang, clang means?
It means... every one of your strikes has been seen through.
Yagami swept his gaze around, searching for somewhere secluded.
When the Cloud Ninja struck again, Yagami did not meet his blade. He feigned a retreat and jumped through the window of the house behind him.
The Cloud Ninja was delighted. In a cramped space, his Cloud Style Swordsmanship would be even deadlier.
His flexible joints and muscles were suited for dodging and maneuvering in tight quarters.
Without hesitation, the Cloud Ninja also jumped through the window into the house.
Once inside, he saw the Konoha Ninja forming Hand Seals.
Fast! I have to be fast! I have to be faster than the Konoha ANBU's ninjutsu!
His ninja blade thrust straight ahead.
Unfortunately, when it was three centimeters from Yagami's chest, it stopped.
Inside the house, where no one could see, curse markings crawled over the Cloud Ninja's legs, waist, and arms, locking all his joints.
The seal could not last long. Yagami rushed forward, pulled up the blade he had just planted in the ground, and drove it through the Cloud Ninja's heart.
Pulling out his ninja blade, Yagami casually picked up a handkerchief from the nearby table and wiped the blood from it.
The feel beneath the handkerchief was terrible. After clashing blades with the Cloud Ninja, several chips had appeared along the edge.
After this battle, he needed to replace his blade as soon as possible.
The main reason ninja were poor was weapon consumption. To stay alive, no one dared skimp on weapons.
A good ninja blade was expensive, costing tens of thousands of ryo.
Kunai were much cheaper. A single kunai only cost a few thousand ryo.
Ninja blades were weapons for rich ninja. Kunai were more suitable for poor ninja.
Cloud Ninja were richer than Konoha Ninja. That was too unfair.
Yagami sniffed and caught a very fragrant scent.
Only then did he turn to inspect the house.
There were two corpses inside, a mother and daughter.
Both had had their throats cut, and two large pools of blood had spread across the floor.
The fragrance came from the stove.
A chicken was still stewing there.
Yagami lifted the lid, and the aroma washed over him.
The broth had already dried up. The bottom of the chicken was somewhat charred, but the top was still fine.
He grabbed a drumstick and stuffed it into his mouth. What a pleasure.
Soldier Pills were garbage. Being able to eat hot chicken on the battlefield strengthened his confidence by several degrees.
After finishing half the chicken in the dark house, Yagami wiped the grease from his mouth before jumping back outside.
He had killed three people, exceeding his mission quota.
After coming out, Yagami jumped onto the roof and saw the situation with the main force.
The Yellow Dog Squad had pushed even deeper in and was fiercely battling the Mist Ninja outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Those Mist Ninja were using Water Release to drain the Four Violet Flames Formation's energy, raising vast amounts of water mist.
Yagami did not go over to the Mist Ninja. He honestly remained in the rear, clearing out the Black Gorilla Squad's stragglers.
Whenever he encountered a Cloud Ninja, Yagami would lure him into a house and use the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal to kill him inside.
After killing another three Cloud Ninja, Yagami felt that the Yellow Dog Squad was moving far too slowly. If the battle did not end soon, he was going to... eat himself to death.
Besides half a chicken, Yagami had already eaten a pot of pork ribs, three rice balls, and a basin of drunken shrimp.
Uzu Hidden Village's drunken shrimp was quite good, though the alcohol was a little strong.
On top of that, he had gathered more than five hundred thousand ryo and stuffed it into his Ninja Tool Pouch. He still needed money to enjoy himself at Tsurutsuki Izakaya after returning.
If they could clear out Uzu Hidden Village, he would instantly become enormously wealthy.
As Yagami let his thoughts wander, he turned to glance at the Yellow Dog Squad and noticed that only ordinary members were fighting. Neither the Captain Commander nor the Squad Commanders had joined the battle.
At this rate, when would they finish clearing out the Mist Ninja near the barrier?
Compared to the Konoha ANBU, the Mist Ninja were fighting with utter desperation. Their Mizukage had died, and these Mist Ninja had the air of an army determined to win after suffering a loss. Their combat strength was extremely high.
More than ten minutes later, Yagami killed another Cloud Ninja with swordsmanship and heard a thunderous boom behind him.
The Four Violet Flames Formation around the Uzumaki Clan's Ancestral Hall had broken!
The ceaseless Water Release attacks had finally exhausted the Four Violet Flames Formation's last reserves of energy.
The four Uzumaki Ninja guarding the blind spots collapsed, panting heavily with deathly pale faces.
The Mist Ninja rushed inside and began slaughtering the Uzumaki Clan's women.
Red-haired girls were cut down one after another.
Some were still in their nightclothes, while some little girls wore adorable pink dresses.
In the eyes of the Mist Ninja, every red-haired member of the Uzumaki Clan was the murderer of the Mizukage.
Uzumaki Yuka appeared. She summoned the White Spear Heron and tied the crying, screaming Uzumaki Kushina to its leg.
"Fly! Fly to Konoha!"
The White Spear Heron took off, flying swiftly toward the northwest.
The Yellow Dog Squad Leader did not immediately order anyone to pursue. Instead, he stood where he was, watching the Mist Ninja slaughter the Uzumaki Clan's women in the distance.
The other ninja in the squad also slowed their movements, allowing many Mist Ninja to enter the Ancestral Hall.
That attitude... it seemed one of the Yellow Dog Squad Leader's missions was to deal with those ordinary Uzumaki women.
Yagami blocked a Cloud Ninja's blade, then reversed his grip and used Cloud Style Swordsmanship to stab the Cloud Ninja to death.
He suddenly understood something.
For Konoha, what kind of Uzumaki Kushina would be easiest to control?
Naturally, the easiest to control would be the last Uzumaki in the ninja world, all alone.
If there were still many Uzumaki in the ninja world, Uzumaki Kushina would not remain wholeheartedly in Konoha. She would naturally favor the Uzumaki Clan.
The destruction of the Uzumaki Clan was not only something the Mist Ninja had to accomplish; it was also what the Cloud Ninja wanted. Now, it was even more aligned with Konoha's interests.
Konoha could not have a second Uzumaki. The ninja world should not have a second Uzumaki. Only then would Uzumaki Kushina have no second choice.
Only then could the Nine-Tails be safely entrusted to Uzumaki Kushina.
In the original story, Nagato and his parents were in the Land of Rain, while Karin and her parents were in the Land of Grass. It was possible that the Uzumaki orphans in the Land of Fire had long since been secretly executed by the Konoha ANBU.
The White Spear Heron carried Uzumaki Kushina far away, with an ANBU squad pursuing it.
Uzumaki Kushina had a huge scroll strapped to her back. It looked like Uzu Hidden Village's Forbidden Scroll.
A Konoha ANBU squad was the first to pursue Uzumaki Kushina.
When the Cloud Ninja saw Uzu Hidden Village's Forbidden Scroll, they also gave chase.
The Yellow Dog Squad did not move. It remained outside the Ancestral Hall, fighting the Mist Ninja in a battle that was neither intense nor easy.
The Mist Ninja ahead even rushed into the Ancestral Hall's main hall and slaughtered freely.
A group of Uzumaki female ninja formed a squad and fled toward the northwest as well. Uzumaki Yuka was among them.
Only after the Mist Ninja began pursuing the squad of Uzumaki female ninja did the Yellow Dog Squad follow after them.
Before you continue