Earth Release: Underground Fish Projection Technique!
Yorimitsu vanished and reappeared repeatedly, not moving along normal routes but diving through the earth using Doton.
When he reached the wooden walls surrounding the town, he created a shadow clone and sent it leaping over the wall.
"There! Someone's there! An assassin ninja!"
The Uzumaki shinobi and samurai immediately rushed after the clone, chasing it out of town.
Seeing his plan work, Yorimitsu once again sank into the ground and disappeared.
He surfaced in a secluded alley, breathing heavily as he slowly recovered his chakra.
The mission was to assassinate the noble town chief—but Yorimitsu felt that wasn't enough.
If he wanted to be promoted to full squad captain, he needed Captain Brown Bear's trust. He had to do more.
Killing the noble would only cut off the Uzumaki's supply line. That meant the town likely stored plenty of provisions.
If he destroyed those too, he'd exceed expectations.
After catching his breath, Yorimitsu re-entered the inner city.
A brief investigation told him the entire area was on high alert. Two locations were especially well-guarded:
One was the inner mansion district, where the noble's family lived—possibly the next heir.
The other was a building surrounded by three samurai squads and an Uzumaki ninja.
That had to be where the important supplies were kept.
Peeking from a corner, Yorimitsu quietly pulled his head back, calculated the distance, and began weaving hand seals.
His body slowly sank downward.
The ground rippled like water as he disappeared beneath it.
The Underground Fish Projection Technique consumed an enormous amount of chakra. By infusing chakra into the earth and altering its density, the user could swim through it like a fish.
To avoid leaving a hollow trail that could expose his movement, he had to use chakra to refill the soil behind him—
a complex, energy-draining process that made this technique slow.
Yorimitsu only knew the entry-level version; he wondered what the advanced form might feel like.
Emerging behind the Uzumaki ninja, Yorimitsu raised his blade.
"Ah!"
The Uzumaki felt a sharp pain in his ankle—his tendon had been sliced!
He stabbed downward with his kunai in reflex.
Yorimitsu caught his wrist with his left hand and drove his right-hand kunai into the ninja's abdomen.
Though he struck true, the Uzumaki's kunai also pierced Yorimitsu's left hand.
Ignoring the bleeding, Yorimitsu climbed out of the ground and dodged the enemy's dying counterattack.
The Uzumaki staggered forward two steps before realizing something. "Poison…?! Our village's poison—how…?"
Yes, Yorimitsu thought coldly. It is your village's poison.
He'd used the leftover toxin taken from Uzumaki Yuka.
The Uzumaki collapsed, powerless. The surrounding samurai charged in, and Yorimitsu engaged them.
Except for their captain, most samurai lacked chakra. Their swings felt sluggish, weak.
The captain, however, had infused chakra into his muscles—his strikes were powerful but clumsy.
After killing four samurai, the rest panicked and fled.
The Uzumaki lay on the ground, barely conscious.
Yorimitsu leaned against the wall and once more used Underground Fish Projection, sinking into the wall itself.
Inside, he found what he'd expected—a storehouse.
He opened the backpacks one by one. They were full of supplies.
He grabbed six kunai and stuffed them into his tool pouch.
He slung a large backpack onto his shoulders—packed full of soldier pills.
Another smaller bag contained ten explosive tags.
Jackpot.
Explosive tags were hard currency—extremely expensive, requiring skill in both sealing and Fire Release to make.
In Konoha, each tag cost 10,000 ryō.
ANBU were issued standard vests and weapons—but no tags. Those had to be purchased personally.
Risking your life for Konoha and still bringing your own gear—what a miserable job.
He tucked the tags into his pouch, satisfied.
The remaining supplies—tents, sleeping bags, medicine—were too bulky to take.
With a pained sigh, he pulled out one explosive tag, infused it with chakra, and attached it to the remaining stockpile.
Then he phased through the back wall and retreated far from the storehouse.
Once he was safely distant, he formed a seal and detonated the tag remotely.
BOOM!
The Uzumaki's supplies were blown sky-high.
Carrying a heavy pack of soldier pills, Yorimitsu slipped away in the chaos.
He didn't immediately report to Captain Brown Bear; instead, he hid for several days.
——
The full moon gleamed like silver; moonlight spread like frost.
Only after the full moon had passed did Yorimitsu finally approach the coastline and find his captain.
Caution upon caution—he couldn't be too careful.
Brown Bear was alone.
"Captain, I've completed the mission," Yorimitsu reported. "The noble supporting Uzushio has been assassinated. I also seized some of his supplies and destroyed what I couldn't carry."
He set down his backpack and opened it—revealing a large pack full of soldier pills.
And two explosive tags.
He had, in truth, hidden seven of the ten tags, keeping them for himself.
These two were offered only to make his report plausible; after all, he had to prove how he'd blown up the warehouse.
If you're going to lie, lie perfectly. Leave no trace.
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" Brown Bear said, eyes bright. "You've surpassed my expectations. Your speed was slow, but every move was cautious and precise. Honestly, I thought you were already—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
When he'd assigned Fox to assassinate the noble, he'd expected merely to pressure the Uzumaki into diverting more troops to protect their sponsors—
reducing the strain on Konoha's front lines.
Now, the noble was actually dead—and their supplies destroyed.
"What did you think I was, Captain?" Yorimitsu asked.
"Nothing. I'm very satisfied."
"There's one bad piece of news," Yorimitsu said.
"Oh? What is it?"
Brown Bear's gaze sharpened. Could the nobles have been harboring Uzushio's hidden forces?
"Matsutori… was killed in action."
Brown Bear immediately relaxed and exhaled. He'd scared himself for nothing.
"For the village," he said calmly, "a small sacrifice is necessary. We ANBU are the sharpest blade protecting Konoha from the shadows.
A blade that sharp is bound to break sometimes. That's inevitable."
Hearing his captain's words, Yorimitsu felt a strange sense of reassurance.
Every squad—Antelope, Blue Wolf, now Fox—had been wiped out except for him. He'd feared suspicion, but the captain didn't care at all.
If ANBU didn't suffer heavy casualties, he'd never have been promoted in the first place.
Brown Bear continued,
"Leave the soldier pills with me. They're critical right now; I'll distribute them among the others.
As for the explosive tags—one for you, one for me. Keep yours for emergencies.
You've grown into an elite ANBU—outstanding work, exceeding all expectations.
I hereby appoint you as Squad Captain.
Our division's losses are severe. I'll assign subordinates when possible, but if not—you'll operate alone."
"The division is struggling. I can handle solo missions," Yorimitsu replied.
Pleased, he tucked away his single explosive tag. Despite the captain's disregard for casualties, he was surprisingly generous.
That made eight tags in total—plenty to feel secure.
Nearly 40,000 words already, he thought with a smirk. When can I finally get a contract?