"I'm back!"
In the dead of night, three days before the New Year, Yagami returned to the Tsurugi Tavern.
Qiaoyi was in the middle of closing the main entrance when she spotted him. She ran over, her face lighting up with joy. "I heard the final campaign—the war in the Land of Whirlpools—is over!, are you back from that front?"
Yagami swept her up into his arms, kicking the door shut behind him with his heel. "Qiaoyi," he whispered, "you're not a spy anymore, so why are you still digging into where I've been and what missions I've performed? Your most urgent task right now is to receive my 'full-hearted' instruction."
"Haha!" Qiaoyi's eyes sparkled. The war was over—it was finally over. "Full-hearted? Is this 'heart' of yours the wholesome kind?"
"For you, I've been holding back for months..."
Yagami thought to himself: 'If I don't count the few times with Koi Chisa and Purple Cat, I really have been holding back for months.'
After "investigating" for a while, Yagami realized that Qiaoyi had resumed her training; her physical stamina was significantly better than before. This suited Yagami's appetite perfectly. Purple Cat was too focused on Yamanaka secret techniques; her physical endurance was still a bit lacking.
...
The next day, Yagami arrived early at the ANBU base in the Forest of Death.
He had learned from Yellow Dog that the ANBU downsizing would take place after the New Year. All the surviving ANBU ninja would be allowed to enjoy a comfortable holiday. Until then, there wouldn't be any major operations.
Yagami relaxed completely. He left the base and headed into the dense woods behind the Hokage Rock. After using shadow clones to scout the area and waiting for half an hour to ensure no one was watching, he performed the Summoning Jutsu.
Summoning both a large and a small Stone Panda, Yagami spoke to Shiroji. "Shiroji, you stay here. Tonight, summon me back. Shiro-yu, go back to the Land of Rain first and then reverse-summon me there."
Shiroji replied, "Are you going to our clan's bamboo grove? Wonderful! I've been wanting you to see our living conditions. If the Stone Panda clan encounters danger in the future, you can help us."
Yagami primarily wanted to see Yuka, but since the panda had brought it up, he agreed. "Fine, I'll take a look at your grove first."
Shiroji turned to Shiro-yu. "Shiro-yu, go and reverse-summon Fox. He is a Leaf Jonin ninja and very powerful."
Shiro-yu nodded. "I'll go back now and initiate the summon."
Not long after, Yagami felt the thrum of the contract—a summoning beast somewhere was pulling him. "Shiroji, make sure you stay hidden."
"Don't worry," Shiroji said. "I can go into deep petrification. I'll be just like a rock; I'm very hard to find."
Yagami relaxed his body and responded to the summon. With a puff of white smoke, he vanished from the forest.
In the next instant, Yagami appeared in the southwestern region of the Land of Rain. Before him lay a dense, emerald-green bamboo forest. A light drizzle was falling, and the air smelled of fresh bamboo leaves. It was a beautiful environment. Within the grove were many bamboo houses raised on stilts. Sensing an outsider, several Stone Pandas emerged onto their platforms, looking at Yagami with curiosity.
The Stone Pandas—the same species Nagato's Animal Path would one day contract with. In this grove, the population exceeded sixty.
Shiro-yu explained from the side, "Lord Fox, Lord Shiroji is our patriarch. We Stone Pandas hide deep in the forest and never wished to participate in ninja wars. But over a month ago, a young woman entered our grove. Using powerful sealing jutsu, she signed a contract with us. Lord Fox, you are the second ninja to contract with us. Patriarch Shiroji said we cannot hide forever; ninjas will eventually find us, so we might as well learn about them. Lady Yuka didn't ask much of us, she only taught us how to use Summoning and Reverse Summoning."
Yagami asked, "Shiroji mentioned you face dangers. Do you have any natural enemies?"
Shiro-yu went silent, simply staring at Yagami.
"Fine, I get it. Your number one enemy is ninjas. What about the second?"
"Yellow-throated Martens," Shiro-yu replied. "They are Ninja Beasts that are incredibly fast and skilled in clone techniques. We have high defense, but we're slow. Against them, we can't catch them and we can't outrun them. Their teeth are razor-sharp; they always find an opening to bite the inside of our joints, which we can't petrify."
Yagami lifted Shiro-yu's arm. The bicep and forearm were encased in a rock as hard as porcelain, but the elbow, wrist, and armpits were left exposed to allow for movement.
"Do you know any jutsu?" Yagami asked.
"We instinctively know hardening techniques—Body Hardening, Ground Hardening, and Bamboo Hardening. We use hardened bamboo as weapons," Shiro-yu said. "Patriarch Shiroji also knows the Bamboo Needle Jutsu, firing sharpened bamboo like senbon."
"Sounds like Shiroji is quite capable. Come, show me these martens that have him so worried."
A look of fear crossed Shiro-yu's face, but remembering the man beside him was a Jonin ninja, he led the way. Shortly after leaving the grove, Yagami snapped his head to the side. A dark shadow flickered through the nearby bushes.
"A marten has found us!"
Seeing Shiro-yu's fear, Yagami said, "Stay calm. It's just a ninja beast."
"It's not just one," Shiro-yu whispered. "It's a pack!"
Reaching a slightly more open area, Yagami stopped. He would deal with them here. At the edge of his vision, a meter-long yellow-throated marten slowly revealed its slender frame. Yagami thought Shiro-yu was overreacting; how strong could a beast of this size be?
Then, over twenty martens emerged from the brush. That changed things. The martens arched their backs, and to Yagami's surprise, each one performed a clone technique.
"Careful! Those clones are solid! They can snap bones easily!"
'Shadow Clones?'
These martens had mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Someone must have taught them. Aside from ninjas, the world was home to many beasts modified by chakra; powerful ones could even form their own civilizations.
Over fifty martens lunged toward Yagami and Shiro-yu. They swapped positions constantly, creating a dizzying blur that made it impossible to distinguish the originals from the clones. Shiro-yu gripped his bamboo staff nervously, praying the ninja could win.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
Yagami slammed his hands onto the ground. Thorns erupted from the earth as hundreds of stone spears thrust upward. The martens were unexpectedly agile. The spears pierced several clones, which vanished, but three or four martens were skewered through the gut, bleeding as they remained pinned.
With this kind of speed, no wonder Shiroji was troubled. The martens used their iron-hard incisors to bite through the spears in their way, continuing their charge.
"Step back."
Hearing the command, Shiro-yu scrambled away. A marten reached Yagami and lunged, biting down hard on his ankle. Shiro-yu watched in horror, only to see the marten's teeth shatter! That wasn't a clone; it was an original.
Yagami formed a single sign. Instantly, every marten in the vicinity was locked in place by the Self-Curse Binding Seal. The remaining martens saw this and immediately turned to flee.
The clones popped. Yagami had captured eleven martens in total. Seeing them incapacitated, Shiro-yu ran over and bashed one to death with his bamboo staff. He looked refreshed. "The young ones are most afraid of them! So many of our cubs have died to their fangs!"
Yagami nodded. "I see who your enemies are. Over the next few months, I can help train you in ways to counter them."
Shiro-yu's small black eyes brightened with hope.
"I have to see Yuka today," Yagami said. "Shiro-yu, go back to the grove. I'll find you later for the training."
***
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