Kill the Captain, Betray Konoha

Yagami fought as he retreated, forced all the way to the shore.

In Captain Antelope's eyes, he was merely someone with genin-level strength, incapable of handling major responsibilities.

Surviving after Purple Cat's death had already far exceeded the captain's expectations.

Yagami reached the shore and engaged the Cloud Ninja he had drawn over in a one-on-one battle.

The two tested each other through taijutsu.

Yagami's gaze occasionally swept toward the exploding wooden house, taking in the full battlefield.

A Cloud Ninja squad rushed out of the wooden house. One Cloud Ninja had been injured by an Exploding Tag and leaned against the stairs, gasping heavily.

Horned Bull's head was covered in filth. No wonder he was truly angry—he had indeed taken flight.

A ninja had to be well-rounded; theoretical knowledge was equally important. Poor Horned Bull had suffered from not understanding building layouts.

Captain Antelope and Horned Bull each faced a Cloud Ninja.

In the distance, the village fishermen were alarmed by the explosions and rushed out with fish spears in hand.

Before ninjas, these ordinary fishermen were weak.

They did not dare charge forward. They could only hesitate from afar, standing in front of their own homes or fishing boats to protect their property.

At that moment, two figures suddenly leaped up from behind the fishermen!

Damn it, Cloud Ninja had hidden among the fishermen.

The ambush by another Cloud Ninja squad instantly turned the situation extremely unfavorable.

Yagami had stayed far enough away, so the newly appeared Cloud Ninja headed straight for Captain Antelope and Horned Bull.

Two against one—Captain Antelope and Horned Bull were in danger. If they died, he would not survive either.

Yagami stopped hiding his strength. He pretended to fall, turned his back to the Cloud Ninja, and deliberately exposed an opening.

The Cloud Ninja raised his ninja blade high and swung it down at Yagami's head.

In truth, Yagami was secretly forming Hand Seals beneath himself.

The Cloud Ninja fighting him went rigid, struck by the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.

In the darkness, the curse seal crawled across the Cloud Ninja's joints and sealed him in place.

His ninja blade stopped forever thirty centimeters from Yagami's head.

Yagami spun around and stabbed.

His kunai plunged into the Cloud Ninja's vulnerable abdomen.

After twisting it, the Cloud Ninja collapsed.

He hurried toward Captain Antelope and Horned Bull.

He was still too slow. He watched helplessly as two ninja blades, one before and one behind, chopped off Captain Antelope's head.

Not only Yagami—even Horned Bull nearby stiffened, nearly taking a blade himself.

The captain was dead?

The next instant, both the captain's body and head turned into white smoke.

A Shadow Clone!

So Captain Antelope had been using a Shadow Clone to test them all along.

It could even be said that Yagami and Horned Bull's infiltration had been part of the captain's test.

The real Captain Antelope leaped out from the Coconut Grove behind them and threw kunai fitted with Exploding Tags at the fishermen.

A squad had three to four people. Only two Cloud Ninja had appeared just now, proving that other Cloud Ninja were still hiding among the fishermen.

Captain Antelope did not bother distinguishing fishermen from Cloud Ninja. He simply used Exploding Tags.

Either the Cloud Ninja and fishermen would all be blown to death together, or the survivors would be exposed as Cloud Ninja.

The Exploding Tags detonated among the fishermen. Seven or eight slow-reacting fishermen were blasted into the air on the spot.

Even if those seven or eight did not die, they were crippled.

An Exploding Tag was equivalent to a chunin-level Fire Style technique, and its power was immense.

Yagami withdrew his gaze from the explosion. The two Cloud Ninja who had just cut apart Captain Antelope's Shadow Clone charged toward him.

Two against one?

Borrowing the enemy's force as he blocked the ninja blade, Yagami rolled backward and pretended to be overwhelmed.

Seeing that the ninja wearing a Fox mask was so weak, one Cloud Ninja gave chase while the other went to deal with Captain Antelope.

Yagami sighed in relief.

That was more like it. Why waste time tangling with cannon fodder like him? Captain Antelope was the key to the battle.

The two fought from the beach into the water. To prevent the Cloud Ninja from using Lightning Style in the seawater, Yagami formed Hand Seals underwater and used the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal to briefly control him.

After killing the Cloud Ninja, Yagami thrashed about in the water. He gripped the Cloud Ninja's wrists with both hands and rolled around together with the corpse, pretending they were still fighting beneath the waves.

The battle had been incredibly intense.

That duet had been danced by Yagami and a corpse.

Only after the fighting onshore had stopped did Yagami crawl out of the seawater.

That night, he killed two Cloud Ninja, exceeding his quota.

Several Cloud Ninja corpses lay at Captain Antelope's feet.

Captain Antelope was injured, stabbed through the abdomen. It was a serious wound.

As for Horned Bull, he was already dead.

That left Yagami feeling terrible.

With Horned Bull gone, would the captain keep watching him from now on?

Would the little he had learned be exposed?

If he somehow learned ninjutsu for no reason, ANBU would surely identify him as a spy and investigate and deal with him. Ninjutsu was Konoha's second-greatest resource after missions, immensely valuable.

"Captain! We need to leave! The fishermen are closing in!"

Yagami rushed to Captain Antelope's side and checked his injuries.

They were real, not faked.

The fishermen saw one ninja clutching his abdomen, blood flowing through his fingers, while another emerged from the sea, drenched and equally bedraggled.

They gathered their courage and charged over with fishing spears, seeking revenge for the family members who had just been blown to death.

Yagami hooked Captain Antelope's arm over his shoulder and leaped away.

After several bounds, the two left the fishing village and vanished deep into the coconut grove by the sea.

"Fox, you made the wrong choice. You should have killed every armed fisherman instead of fleeing in panic."

Yagami explained, "Captain, I was afraid there were still Cloud Ninja among the fishermen."

Between two coconut trees grew a broad-leafed plant Yagami did not recognize.

Its leaves were so dense that the space beneath them was pitch-black.

Supporting Captain Antelope, Yagami leaped toward the broad-leafed plant.

Before they even landed, Yagami suddenly drew a kunai and viciously stabbed it toward Captain Antelope's side!

Beneath his mask, Yagami's eyes gleamed sharply.

Constantly guarding against Captain Antelope was no solution. Every time he used the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal, he had to do it behind someone's back.

Sooner or later, Captain Antelope would discover his little trick and realize that he had learned ninjutsu through channels unknown even to ANBU.

ANBU hated surprises. They had to control everything.

Uzumaki Yuka had mistaken him for a Senju Clan spy because of a sealing secret technique. Would Captain Antelope not do the same?

Kunai in hand—kill the captain, betray Konoha!

If he did not risk it now, then when would he?

So what if you were an Elite Chunin? After suffering such severe injuries, a kunai could still take your life.

Captain Antelope let out a muffled groan.

"Hmm?"

Yagami felt his fingers covered in thick, warm blood.

But there was less bleeding than he had expected.

The captain's ribs were so hard.

His kunai was so dull.

Captain Antelope was ruthless. He counterattacked immediately.

His right arm, which had been resting on Fox's shoulder, bent back forcefully and locked around Fox's neck.

He raised his left hand and formed Hand Seals together with his hooked-back right hand.

Fire Style: Flame Bullet!

A fiery projectile burst from Captain Antelope's mouth.

Yagami felt a scorching heat beside his ear.

At such close range, it directly swallowed Fox's head—and Captain Antelope's own right arm as well.

Before dying from his severe injuries, Captain Antelope traded his right arm for Fox's life.

Trapped in Captain Antelope's arm, Yagami did not even have time to use the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.

The kunai was clamped by Captain Antelope's muscles and caught against his ribs.

Too cunning. He had only known that Captain Antelope excelled at Shadow Clones; he had never said he could use Fire Style too.

He had hidden it so deeply even from his own teammate!

Judging by the speed of those Hand Seals, Fire Style was definitely his trump card.

Yagami's head was swallowed by the Flame Bullet, and he felt a little feverish.

A fever of over a thousand degrees—what a miserable way to die.