Shirakumo Hayama approached Yako.
"Thank you, Copper Fox-sama. If it weren't for you, my entire squad would be dead."
Yako nodded. "Your Wind-style blade technique is impressive. One seal, and you're firing off multiple blades.
Few seals. Fast release. High power.
Master it, and it could easily become your core jutsu as a jōnin."
Shirakumo Hayama bowed slightly. "It's called Vacuum Blade. Lord Sakumo rewarded me with it after I completed a set number of missions during the River Country campaign. I'm grateful. Without it, I don't know how long I would've wandered before finding a jutsu that fit me."
"Ah, so it was from Lord Sakumo," Yako said softly.
Of course, he already knew. He had personally witnessed Sakumo grant the technique to Shirakumo Hayama. He just wanted to hear how Shirakumo Hayama spoke of his mentor.
"Well then," Yako stood, dusting himself off. "Shirakumo Hayama, you handle things here. I have a prisoner to interrogate."
"Understood, Copper Fox-sama."
—
Yako returned to the rocky outcrop where Antelope's team was guarding Hōzuki Lingetsu. He gestured for them to clear the area—he would handle this interrogation personally.
Tossing the scorched, spine-shattered, paralyzed Mist jōnin behind the rocks, Yako sat calmly on a stone. A single droplet of water formed on his fingertip.
Lingetsu glared at him.
"You filthy lackey of the higher-ups! I won't say a word!"
Yako chuckled. "You're overthinking it."
Raising his finger, the droplet condensed—
Water Bullet: Iron Shot.
"I'm not here to interrogate you for answers," Yako said. "I just need an excuse. Something to tell people—so I can say I learned this technique from you.
Whether you talk or not… I already have your clan's jutsu.
Why waste breath?"
"You what?!"
Lingetsu's eyes widened in horror. His charred eyelids cracked open, oozing pus and blood, but he didn't even blink—just stared at the technique forming at Yako's fingertip.
"Where did you learn Water Bullet: Iron Shot?! That's a Hōzuki clan secret! Don't tell me... the village sold me out?!"
He screamed in agony and despair. His cries echoed across the shoreline.
'From a distance, Antelope raised an eyebrow.
What kind of interrogation technique was that?
Why had he never seen the captain use it before?
Did the captain always have such terrifying methods?'
Lingetsu, paralyzed, could only thrash his head about. He couldn't even see Yako's mask.
Yako ignored him.
He fired off round after round of Water Iron Bullets—each one punching through boulders with precision.
Speed, compression, chakra density—
This technique, though unsealed, consumed a lot of chakra.
Eventually, Lingetsu stopped screaming.
His gaze went blank.
"…Who sold me out?" he muttered hoarsely. "Was it Elder Genshō? Or those damn Tachibana...?"
Yako tilted his head. "I'm standing right here. I'm the one who took you down. Why blame others?"
Then it clicked.
Lingetsu had filled in the blanks himself.
"Heh… heh… hahaha…"
His voice was bitter.
"In that fight…
Every move of mine—you saw through.
My kenjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, even my clan's secret arts… you countered everything."
"Taijutsu? You brute-forced through Hiramekarei.
Suiton? You suppressed it with Lightning Release.
Hydrification? You burned through it with fire.
And now, you've even mastered my clan's technique."
"There's only one explanation…
The village betrayed me."
Yako just thought:
'Nope. This was round two. I already fought you once.'
In ninja combat, intel was everything.
If someone got ahold of Yako's secrets and used Lightning Release to counter his Copperlight Absolute Defense, even he would be in trouble.
Lingetsu growled.
"No… not just me. They sold out the entire Hōzuki clan!"
"Ever since Lord Gengetsu—the Second Mizukage—died, the Third Mizukage and his lackeys have suppressed our clan. We've been forced into the shadows."
"But after the Third's death, we began to rise again!
And what happened?
Those bastards—Genshō, the Tachibana, the Kaguya—they couldn't stand it!
They forced us to hand over three of the Seven Swords—Stitching Needle, Blunt Cleaver, and the Long Blade—to 'show our loyalty.'
We gave them the blades.
And they still want us dead!"
"They leaked my mission to Konoha's ANBU.
They leaked our clan's secret techniques.
How are we supposed to face Konoha now?!
We'll be outmatched at every turn!"
Yako listened with amusement.
So Mist was this divided internally, huh?
He played along, voice cold:
"Save your breath. I'm just a hired blade.
Your village paid me to kill you. Your life was the price.
The Water Iron Bullet and Hiramekarei are my reward."
"I'll say you gave up the technique under torture…
And then leak to your village that you exposed the clan's secrets."
"…Mission complete."
"You're a demon! A monster!"
"Monsters make the best ANBU," Yako said. "You should've known that.
Now rest. I'll send you to meet the Second Mizukage personally."
A faint whistle.
Water Bullet: Iron Shot.
The droplet pierced between Lingetsu's brows.
Clean. Final.
Yako emerged from behind the rocks, waved toward Antelope.
"Grab the body. We're moving."
—
Fox's unit wasted no time.
They regrouped with Yellow Dog.
Not far away, the Captain was waiting.
When he saw the strange blade on Yako's back, his eyes gleamed.
As expected…
'Fox gets results.'
"This is Hiramekarei," Yako reported. "We need to seal it immediately—before the Hōzuki clan summons it back."
The Seven Swords were all linked to a summoning scroll.
If not sealed, they could be recalled at any time.
Yellow Dog nodded at his assistant, Butterfly, who retrieved sealing bandages.
With careful chakra manipulation, the sword was bound tight, layer after layer.
It took five minutes, but the connection was finally severed.
Yellow Dog exhaled.
"This sword isn't exactly user-friendly.
Let's use it as bait.
We'll set a trap and draw out the Mist—
Hopefully drive a wedge deeper between the Hōzuki and the village.
As for Lingetsu's body, we'll seal it and hand it over to Root.
They'll want to dissect him."
Yako added, "Captain, I also extracted a new technique during the interrogation. It's now part of my personal arsenal."
"Oh?" Yellow Dog looked intrigued.
"You pulled a secret jutsu out of him?
Which one?"