"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
Yamato pressed his hands to the ground, and a thick, high wall immediately rose in front of the wooden prison. The roaring wave crashed against the wall without being able to move it at all, only flowing around both sides.
Watching the river flow past them, Naruto and Sakura's hearts tightened even more.
Yamato turned back and instructed, "I will go out and fight Zabuza. You maintain the manji formation to protect Mr. Tazuna."
"Do you have a way to find the enemy after losing visibility?" Jokichi asked.
"No." Yamato shook his head slightly. "I can only stay alert and wait for the enemy to show a flaw when he strikes."
"Then I should be the one to go!"
"No..."
"I won't be in trouble even if I sustain a fatal injury," Jokichi interrupted Yamato. "Waiting for the enemy to show a flaw and then counterattacking—I'm clearly more suitable than you."
Yamato pondered for a moment. Jokichi's strength was not weaker than his own; he couldn't be treated like an ordinary rookie Genin. In this situation, letting Jokichi, who had a near-immortal body, go out and lure the enemy was indeed the best tactic.
After thinking a bit, Yamato nodded. "In that case, be careful. Don't go too far from the prison. I will support you with ninjutsu."
"Mhm!" Jokichi nodded.
Seeing this, Yamato opened an exit in the wooden prison and closed it after Jokichi stepped out.
After leaving the wooden prison, Jokichi jumped onto the earth wall. Standing at a height gave him a wider field of vision. However, under this thick fog, he could only see hazy objects nearby.
"Although I told Yamato I'm more suitable for luring the enemy into showing a flaw before counterattacking, as the saying goes, one should play to their strengths and avoid weaknesses. Why should I fight you in this environment?"
The corners of Jokichi's mouth curved into a confident smile. Then, he bit his finger, smeared the blood on his other palm, and formed seals.
"Summoning Technique!"
His right hand pressed against the wall, and a complex formula pattern expanded from his palm.
"Poof!"
Accompanied by a massive explosion of white smoke, a giant creature appeared on the field. It was orange all over, with an elephant's trunk and limbs like a tiger's. This was Danzo's summoning beast, the legendary Baku that devours nightmares. Now, it was Jokichi's summoning beast.
The Baku had bandages wrapped around its head. Its long trunk emitted white steam like exhaust as it appeared. It immediately raised its upper body and gave a high-pitched cry. A sound like an elephant's trumpeting echoed through the entire forest.
"What is this!?"
Inside the wooden prison, everyone couldn't help but cover their ears, yet they still felt their eardrums vibrate.
"Yamato-sensei, secure Naruto and the others!" Jokichi turned back to give a reminder.
Yamato didn't hear clearly and was about to ask. However, at that moment, the Baku opened its massive mouth toward the sky and sucked fiercely. The enormous suction was like a hurricane, forcing the large trees to bend.
The thick fog, along with broken branches, stones, and various other things, was sucked into the Baku's mouth together. In just a moment, all the fog was sucked into its mouth, and the forest became clear.
Jokichi saw Zabuza pressing himself tightly behind a large tree; the massive suction made it difficult for him to move. Jokichi smiled. Without hesitation, his hands formed seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves."
A massive breath was exhaled from his mouth, splitting into several intersecting blades like those of a kamaitachi, slashing toward Zabuza. Moreover, under the Baku's enormous suction, both sides of the blades were pulled backward, making them thinner and sharper.
Although this was a B-rank ninjutsu, its power was immense. Combined with the Baku's suction amplification, it was enough to tear through an armored Susanoo.
Zabuza also noticed the wind blades flying toward him and knew that the tree in front of him wouldn't be able to block them. However, under the massive suction, his movement was difficult. If he let go of the tree, he would only be sucked in by the enormous force, right into the wind blades.
"Damn it, is this great one's ambition limited to this?" Unwillingness showed in Zabuza's eyes.
"Stab!"
The wind blades reached him, cutting through the tree as if slicing tofu.
"How could this great one die here!" Zabuza roared unwillingly, his bloodshot eyes filled with madness. He fiercely drove the Executioner's Blade into the ground and gripped the hilt himself, pressing his entire body and shoulder against it.
"Clang!"
The massive wind blade struck the Executioner's Blade. The powerful push caused the sword and Zabuza to slide back five or six meters, and fine cracks seemed to appear on the blade. Then, before Zabuza could catch his breath, the second one hit, followed by the third and fourth.
There were five wind blades in total, each one stronger than the last. The second wind blade widened the cracks on the Executioner's Blade, the third shattered it, and Zabuza was also blown away by the airwave from the collision between the sword and the wind blade, then sucked back by the Baku's force.
Looking at the fourth wind blade getting bigger in front of him and the fifth one behind it, Zabuza closed his eyes.
Just as the wind blades were about to tear Zabuza's body apart, an ice mirror suddenly condensed to the side, reflecting a youth wearing a mask. The youth stepped out of the mirror, grabbed Zabuza's shoulder, and vanished with a "whoosh."
The next second, the wind blades tore through the sky, sweeping past. The ice mirror shattered, and large swaths of trees fell. Looking down from the sky, this part of the forest looked like a person with thick hair who had suddenly gone bald.
Jokichi had the Baku stop. He carefully observed the surroundings. Gradually, the dust cleared, and the forest was a mess, with broken trees and branches everywhere. The area directly ahead was completely cleared.
Jokichi searched around but didn't find Zabuza. Only on the ground not far away were there remnants of bright red blood and fragments of the large sword. After confirming Zabuza wasn't nearby, he quickly walked over to collect the blood that hadn't dried yet into a specially prepared container, then picked up the fragments of the Executioner's Blade.
At this time, Yamato dispelled the Wood Release prison and rushed over with Naruto and the others.
"Where is Zabuza?" Yamato asked while alertly scanning the surroundings.
"He was rescued by a companion," Jokichi took out the fragments of the Executioner's Blade and pointed to the dried blood on the ground.
"However, both of them were injured. They shouldn't show up again for a short while."
"I see." Yamato breathed a sigh of relief.
"In that case, let's continue on our way!"
"Mhm!"
Afterwards, the group continued to escort Tazuna home.