Chapter 126 — Garrison Duty
Night fell at last.
A bright, flawless moon illuminated the land, while howling winds tore through the mountain pass, whipping up clouds of dust that rolled across the valley like mist.
Taichi and Yōhei lay in ambush behind the rocks lining both sides of the road, their breathing so faint it seemed to blend into the landscape itself.
Their patience was rewarded deep into the night.
From the direction of the mine, the distant boom of explosive tags and the thunder of clashing ninjutsu echoed clearly through the air. After a short while, the noise abruptly ceased.
Moments later—
Rapid, panicked footsteps rang out.
"They're coming."
Taichi completed his hand seals in silence, chakra surging through his pathways like a rising tide. Beside him, Yōhei's three-tomoe Sharingan glowed a blood-red hue in the shadows, his gaze locked onto the far end of the road.
Eight ninja burst into view, fleeing in disarray, as if something terrifying were chasing them from behind. The instant they stepped into the valley—
The ambush was sprung.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet.
Twin waves of fire erupted from both sides, swallowing the valley in a raging inferno. Caught completely off guard, the bounty ninja were engulfed at once, screams vanishing beneath the roar of flames.
To their credit, a few reacted quickly. Using their companions' bodies as momentary cover, a wall of water surged up, extinguishing the fire clinging to several of them. Immediately after, a thick earthen wall rose to block the advancing flames.
For an instant, they thought they'd survived.
Then Taichi poured chakra into the technique without restraint.
The orange flames flared—
then transformed into brilliant, molten gold.
Blinding light and crushing heat radiated outward. The firestorm flowed like a living river, washing over the earthen wall, boiling away the water curtain, and consuming everything in its path without mercy.
The bounty ninja who had been screaming only moments earlier vanished in silence.
The world was left with nothing but the sound of roaring fire.
When Taichi finally released the technique, the golden blaze faded back to orange-red. With nothing left to burn, the flames died down, leaving behind only dark crimson magma glowing faintly in the valley.
As for the eight bounty ninja—
Not even ash remained.
On the opposite side, Yōhei stared, utterly dumbfounded.
He'd thought the fight would turn into close combat once their fire techniques were blocked. Instead… Taichi had simply ended it.
Yōhei had always known Taichi's Fire Release was terrifying—but this was on another level entirely. Earth Release, Water Release—techniques meant to counter fire—had proven completely meaningless.
At that moment, Captain Yamaguchi finally stepped into the valley entrance. The earlier inferno had been so violent that even he'd been forced to wait for it to subside.
He took in the scene—and immediately abandoned any thought of cleaning up the battlefield.
There was nothing to clean.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before vanishing just as quickly. He gave the two a brief signal to return, then vanished with a poof—revealing that this, too, had only been a shadow clone.
Which meant—
Those eight bounty ninja had been driven into a fatal retreat…
by a single shadow clone.
If they'd known the truth, they probably would've died of rage a second time.
By the seventh day, the fact that eight ninja had failed to return overnight finally alarmed the opposing side.
Up to this point, fourteen enemy ninja had already been killed. Though they were mostly chūnin and genin, the losses were far from trivial.
As expected, the enemy became noticeably more cautious.
They began operating in larger groups, moving with greater discipline and flexibility. Taichi and Yōhei could no longer find opportunities like before to wipe them out in a single strike.
Even so, over the next three days, the two of them still managed to pick off seven more enemies.
Yet the Kawada family seemed utterly determined. They continued hiring ninja to harass the mine relentlessly—and this tactic struck directly at Team Eight's weakness.
The sustained pressure meant the team rarely had proper rest. Yōhei and Saori were the first to show obvious signs of fatigue.
"Damn it… these guys are like flies," Yōhei muttered, his eyes bloodshot—not from Sharingan use, but sheer exhaustion. "Just won't stop."
"If they've got so many people," Saori added, frowning, "why don't they just launch a full assault? They even have Sand Village ninja who haven't moved yet. Why drag things out like this?"
"Who knows," Taichi replied irritably, rubbing his temples. "Maybe they hate each other internally and can't cooperate."
"But if this keeps up," Saori said quietly, "we won't last."
Captain Yamaguchi studied the three of them, then made a decisive adjustment.
"From now on, one of you rests while the other two go out to hunt. I'll stay behind and guard the mine alone."
Yōhei frowned. "What about you, Captain?"
"When you return, I rest. Simple rotation."
"…That's probably the only way."
The stalemate dragged on until the tenth day.
That morning, after finishing his rest rotation, Taichi headed out to switch places with Saori. As he passed a miner, a sudden sense of alarm flashed through him.
He stopped the man and studied his complexion.
Pale—tinged with a sickly gray-blue. Lips faintly purple.
Poison.
Taichi's heart sank. He immediately brought the miner to Captain Yamaguchi and Tokugawa Saku, explaining what he'd found.
Within minutes, everyone in the mining area was gathered.
After a rapid examination, Taichi confirmed that six people—including Tokugawa Saku—had been poisoned. The symptoms were mild for now, but if untreated, mine operations would soon be affected.
After inspecting several vulnerable points, Taichi finally traced the source to the kitchen's water reservoir.
His conclusion came quickly.
"This is a neurotoxin extracted from sand lizards," Taichi said gravely. "They timed it perfectly. While we were fetching water from the river, they released the poison upstream. By controlling the dosage, they ensured the concentration stayed low—but effective."
"Sand lizards…" Captain Yamaguchi's expression darkened. "So Sand Village finally made their move."
He immediately ordered all water use suspended and had Saori and Yōhei explain the situation to the unpoisoned workers.
Only then did Tokugawa Saku ask in a trembling voice, "Captain… will we be alright?"
"You'll be fine," Yamaguchi replied steadily. "We have the best medical ninja right here."
Hearing that, Tokugawa finally remembered Taichi's miraculous detoxification earlier on the road. His heart settled at last.
Taichi wasted no time, combining his own herbs with the mine's medical supplies to prepare antidotes on the spot. Fortunately, this was a standard Sand Village poison, and exposure time had been short.
Less than half an hour later, six pills were ready.
Tokugawa didn't hesitate—he swallowed one immediately. The others followed suit.
Yōhei watched them with barely concealed schadenfreude.
Sure enough, the first dry retch sounded—then another.
At that moment, a voice like a sentence from hell drifted over:
"Don't throw it up. There's only enough material for this batch. If you vomit, you'll just have to eat another."
All six clamped their mouths shut, tears streaming as they stared at Taichi in despair.
Tokugawa finally understood why Yōhei had looked so haunted back then.
This stuff was vile.
Before the incident had fully settled, a sharp whistle cut through the air—the signal that a shadow clone had encountered the enemy.
The whistle came again… and again.
Taichi and Captain Yamaguchi exchanged a glance.
Together with Yōhei and Saori, they dashed out.
The deadlock was finally breaking.
When Team Eight arrived, Yōhei's and Yamaguchi's shadow clones had just been dispelled. Thankfully, they'd done their job—holding the enemy outside the mine.
From the returned memories, the enemy's lineup became clear:
One Sand Village wind-style jōnin.
One puppet-master jōnin.
Three chūnin.
"Well, well," Captain Yamaguchi said lightly, facing the two leaders. "Fang and Shakui, right? Looks like Sand Village finally decided to step in personally. Where are your bounty ninja friends?"
"Sand Village doesn't stoop to working with mercenaries," Fang sneered. "We're more than enough to deal with you—"
He didn't get to finish.
Taichi had already completed his hand seals.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb.
A raging dragon of brilliant golden fire surged forward. Even before it reached them, the scorching heat stole the Sand ninja's breath.
Immediately after—
Lightning Release: Lightning Net!
Saori's lightning sphere struck first, exploding into a massive web of electricity.
One chūnin reacted too slowly and was paralyzed on the spot.
"Despicable!" Fang roared, retreating as he formed seals. "Is ambush all Konoha ninja know?!"
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
A roaring gale burst forth—but the golden fire-dragon tore through it as if it didn't exist.
A single scream rang out.
Then silence.
Captain Yamaguchi flashed forward to engage Fang.
Taichi charged the puppet master, Shakui.
Yōhei and Saori split off to face the remaining chūnin.
Five versus four—instantly broken into single combat.
Before Taichi could even reach him, three puppets closed in, forming a triangular encirclement.
Unfazed, Taichi formed seals mid-stride.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire.
Golden fireballs erupted like machine-gun rounds, launching in disciplined clusters.
Shakui's face tightened. His puppets' fireproofing meant nothing against this heat. He frantically pulled chakra threads, dodging desperately.
He glanced toward Fang—hoping to switch opponents.
What he saw made his blood boil.
Fang was completely suppressed.
The chūnin weren't faring any better.
"Damn it… trusted that arrogant fool…"
Explosions rang out as phoenix fire battered the ground, breaking the encirclement.
Taichi vanished—then reappeared directly in front of Shakui.
The puppet master's momentary distraction proved fatal.
BOOM.
A monstrous punch slammed into Shakui's chest, sending him flying.
Taichi's expression instantly changed.
He vanished again.
A split second later—
BOOM!
An explosive tag detonated where he'd stood.
The "Shakui" blown apart mid-air scattered into parts.
A puppet decoy.
Landing safely, Taichi released chakra sensory perception.
Within a five-hundred-meter radius, everything unfolded in his mind.
Southwest—fifty meters.
A figure retreating through the forest.
"He's running."
The puppets surged again—but sluggish now, their master too far away.
Taichi closed in.
One punch per puppet.
They flew apart like scrap.
As the last puppet fell, the fleeing presence accelerated.
Taichi glanced over the battlefield.
Yōhei, Sharingan blazing, was utterly dominating his opponent—already at special jōnin level.
Saori, slightly weaker but vastly improved, fought evenly. Her sealing arrays triggered effortlessly, each brief delay becoming a lethal opening.
She finished first.
They exchanged a glance.
Taichi joined Captain Yamaguchi.
Saori went to support Yōhei.
Fang's regret was written across his face.
Too proud. Too arrogant.
No mercenaries. No backup.
And now—
With Taichi joining the fight, the Sand jōnin lasted less than a minute before Captain Yamaguchi drove a blade through his heart.
Regret filled his dying eyes.
Moments later, the last chūnin fell.
Team Eight regrouped.
"The puppet master escaped," Taichi admitted calmly. "I noticed too late."
Captain Yamaguchi nodded.
"No mistakes. This outcome was decisive enough."
The balance had finally shifted.
And the siege… was over.