Not to mention the battle in Uzushiogakure, on the other side, at the former Mist Ninja forward operating base, the Cloud-nin were swallowing military ration pills to restore chakra reserves while also cleaning up the battlefield.
Tamura Hao and Yeyue Fukai remained together to examine Samehada. All three were highly intrigued by the living, sentient properties of this unique sword.
Samehada continued to twitch and struggle violently, trying to escape their grip and return to its original wielder.
"It's even showing loyalty to its master!"
Yeyue Ai was astonished. That the Hidden Mist Village had developed such a weapon defied conventional ninja tool design.
Fukai was similarly impressed. This was the first time he had seen a sword that could consume chakra and even drain chakra-enhanced elemental ninjutsu.
Tamura Hao was also observing intently when his expression suddenly changed. He kicked Yeyue Ai and Fukai away, simultaneously throwing out scrolls containing explosive tags. Each scroll had ten tags, and he threw ten in total—a hundred high-grade explosive tags at once.
At that same moment, a barrage of high-speed water bullets surged toward where the three had been standing, the attacks particularly focused on Yeyue Ai's position—clearly aiming to assassinate him.
"Boom boom boom..."
The detonating tags erupted in a chain of violent explosions, engulfing the area in a wall of flames.
Nearby Kumo-nin sensed the disturbance and quickly gathered around, alert and ready for engagement, recognizing an enemy presence.
As the smoke cleared, a battered figure emerged—none other than Guidon Hozuki, the acting commander of the Kirigakure forces.
"Damn it...!"
Seeing that Yeyue Ai had been kicked clear of the danger zone and survived, Guidon Hozuki gnashed his teeth at the masked boy, his killing intent obvious.
The Mist had suffered catastrophic losses. Hozuki had hoped to eliminate the Raikage's heir as a final act of vengeance, but to be blown out of the ground by so many explosive tags at the last second had thwarted his plan.
He glared venomously at the masked figure, then began liquefying his body using the Hydrification Technique, trying to sink into the ground and escape—but the delay caused by the blast cost him his opportunity.
A chakra-conducting sword laced with Lightning Release chakra flew toward him and pinned his liquid form to the earth, disrupting the hydration technique with an electric jolt.
Another ten explosive tags followed, detonating on impact before he could reconstitute.
And thus, Guidon Hozuki—gravely wounded in the previous battle and nearly depleted of chakra—was obliterated. His death was brutal, leaving not even a full corpse.
Ninjas are terrifying, but once their chakra is gone, they are terrifyingly fragile. Even Uchiha Madara could be pierced through the chest with a blade in such a state.
"It was him—the commander of Kirigakure's main assault force."
Fukai retrieved the ninja sword blown aside by the explosions and confirmed the enemy's identity.
When his student suddenly kicked him aside, Fukai had trusted the boy's instinct and activated his chakra reflexively. After identifying the enemy, he had infused the sword with Lightning Release and hurled it, knowing chakra-conducting metal would allow the current to persist even in midair and disable the enemy's escape.
"Brother, you just saved my life!"
Yeyue Ai stepped forward, his voice both shaken and sincere.
The ambush had been too sudden. Without time to activate his Lightning Armor, he wouldn't have survived those water bullets—his body would've been pierced through before he could react.
It was truly a life-saving favor.
Tamura Hao simply nodded at Yeyue Ai and Fukai, then walked into the crater caused by the explosions and began digging. Soon, he unearthed a narrow tunnel, about the thickness of a wrist.
"A rat tunnel..."
Tamura Hao frowned at the escape route left by the enemy's hydration technique.
He had only noticed the lurking foe thanks to his evil-intent sensing ability. The malice radiating from the intruder had been far too strong to ignore.
That was when he knew the enemy was preparing a sneak attack—and he had immediately kicked his allies away, using the recoil to propel himself back while throwing detonating tags to suppress further jutsu from the attacker.
"It really was Guidon Hozuki—the strongest of the Hozuki clan, once hailed as a candidate strong enough to rival the Mizukage."
Dodai, who had arrived with reinforcements, calmed the surrounding Cloud-nin, then picked up a burnt, fragmented piece of skull and verified the identity.
They had noticed the Mist commander was missing earlier and assumed he'd used a secret technique to escape. No one had expected him to remain behind for an assassination.
What madness—but effective madness. Had the strike succeeded, and the Raikage's son been killed, it could have destabilized the entire Cloud chain of command.
"Killing a figure on par with a Kage... you're bound to become famous."
Dodai looked at Tamura Hao with admiration.
Not only had he eliminated a dangerous enemy, but he'd also saved the Raikage's heir from an assassination that could've had catastrophic consequences for the village.
"I don't want fame—at least not yet."
Tamura Hao grumbled. What he needed most was time to grow stronger, not public attention. That was why he wore a mask on this mission.
His armor and twin blades were distinctive, but the mask helped conceal his youth. To most observers, he looked like a short adult rather than a child—just another eccentric fighter.
Once his strength reached a certain level, this wouldn't matter anymore.
"How did you sense him?"
Dodai was curious. None of the other elite jonin present had noticed Guidon's infiltration—yet this boy had.
"There's a perception ability I developed after refining and merging the chakra of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. It lets me sense hostile intent within a ten-meter radius—and it's particularly sensitive to negative emotions and malice."
Tamura Hao didn't hold back. He chose this moment to reveal the skill.
He still needed Cloud's support to collect more Nine-Tails chakra to enhance it. Judging from the timeline, Mito Uzumaki's life was nearing its end. When the Nine-Tails was transferred, massive amounts of chakra would leak—and that would be their opportunity.
If they could confirm the time and location of the transfer, triggering a Kyūbi Rebellion to seize the beast wasn't out of the question.
Of course, it couldn't be done alone. Hidden Cloud would have to act.
Moreover, they needed to raise the Third Raikage's power. At present, his strength barely matched that of Gyūki—the Eight-Tails. But against Kurama, the Nine-Tails? He was woefully outmatched.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War, even half of Kurama's power was enough to suppress multiple tailed beasts. They were simply not on the same scale.
"Does the Nine-Tails' chakra really have this kind of power?"
Yeyue Ai was amazed. He had read all the intelligence on Kinkaku and Ginkaku—none of it mentioned this ability.
"It's likely unique to the Nine-Tails. Those two devoured its flesh and chakra, and residual traces must have remained in their bodies. But the ability only awakened after A Hao refined and integrated that chakra."
Fukai speculated. As a former jinchūriki candidate, he was familiar with the nuances of tailed beast chakra.
"The Nine-Tails..."
Dodai's expression sharpened as thoughts began forming.
"How do you have the same power as my aunt?!"
Suddenly, a red-haired girl popped her head out from behind a rock, glaring at Hao like he was a vile thief.
"Why wasn't she tied up!?"
Tamura Hao's face darkened at the sight of the Uzumaki girl.
Such a valuable hostage should have been restrained like a festival offering. Instead, she was sneaking around freely, hiding in the shadows and eavesdropping on sensitive intel.