The sky was slowly lightening.
Yako stood at the window of the second-floor room in the Tsurugetsu Izakaya, watching as the full moon was gradually swallowed by the rising sun.
If he died this month, he'd probably resurrect here.
After leaving Konoha Hospital, he hadn't returned to the ANBU compound. He was staying at the izakaya instead.
Earn it, spend it—better that than letting the captain profit from it.
Yako turned back toward the bed.
Qiao Yi was still fast asleep, one leg exposed outside the blanket—smooth, firm.
They'd spent half the night "interrogating," yet he'd found no evidence that she was a spy.
Maybe his investigation hadn't gone deep enough.
Maybe it hadn't been intense enough.
Or maybe she really wasn't a spy.
Even if she was, she was the kind that relied on brains, not strength. No real threat.
Without a word, he pulled up his pants and slipped out the window. Taking advantage of the early morning lull, he headed toward the Forest of Death.
Yako's ANBU unit had been assigned to the Land of Waves. Another unit was dispatched to the Land of Whirlpools.
Antelope Squad rendezvoused with a small Uzushio-nin team in a fishing village in the Land of Waves. Their mission: escort them back to Uzushiogakure.
Yako took up the rear, studying the three Uzumaki shinobi.
The original series didn't show much of Uzushiogakure—it had already been wiped out before the story began.
One woman, two men—all with red hair.
The kunoichi in front had the brightest red hair of all.
He wondered if hair color correlated with the potency of Uzumaki bloodline abilities.
Each of the Uzumaki was injured.
The cuts looked like they'd been made by ninjatō.
Kumo-nin were trained in sword techniques at their ninja academy. No surprise—they loved their blades.
Once they left the Land of Waves and entered the forests of the Fire Country, the Uzumaki shinobi finally relaxed.
The Land of Whirlpools was a narrow peninsula southeast of the Land of Fire. Circling through Fire Country was the safest route.
Trying to stall for time, Yako pointed at the blood on the kunoichi's leg. "I've got some salve. Maybe treat that before we move on?"
Captain Antelope was just about to scold him for wasting time when the kunoichi—Uzumaki Yuka—nodded and said, "Alright. If we don't treat it now, it might leave lasting damage."
Uzushiogakure was allied with the Senju Clan. Captain Antelope said nothing further.
Yako handed her his medical pouch.
Yuka didn't shy away from the group. She hiked up the slit of her skirt, revealing her wounded thigh.
Undoing the crude bandage, she used a kunai to scrape away the blackened old ointment.
When the blade touched raw flesh, she clenched her teeth hard against the pain.
Her right hand was also injured. Awkwardly, she worked with her left.
Yako squatted beside her. "Let me help."
"Thank you."
As he dressed her wound, she said, "You're different from the other ANBU. I appreciate the suggestion."
Yako didn't reply.
He just wanted to drag this out. Might get scolded later, but it was worth it.
It had taken seven days to reach the Land of Waves, one day from there into Fire Country. Fire Country was relatively safe—less risk of Kumo-nin ambushes.
The longer they stayed within Fire Country, the better.
If he could die one day before the next full moon, that would be ideal. Everything leading up to it, he'd remember. Like having a prophet's edge.
Yuka kept chatting:
"Cousin Tsunade once wrote to the Uzumaki Clan, saying every squad should have a medical-nin.
But Uzushiogakure couldn't manage it. All our medical ninjutsu was taught by the Senju. If the Senju couldn't do it, we had no chance either."
Yako didn't move, but under his mask, his gaze lifted slightly—evaluating her strength.
His eyes dropped briefly to her chest.
Tightly bound beneath her outfit, her chest still rose round and prominent. He could only imagine what kind of waves she'd make if unbound.
Tsunade's cousin indeed—slender limbs, bountiful fruit.
When he finished dressing her wound, Yako stood and silently stepped back.
Yuka looked slightly disappointed. ANBU from Konoha—utterly silent.
They resumed the journey.
After three more days, they reached the Land of Whirlpools, that long, narrow peninsula.
Yako watched the wheat fields flanking the road, seeing the shape of the wind ripple through them.
If the mission stayed this peaceful, stopping and starting, with time to watch the scenery…
Boom!
An explosion rocked the roadside field—an explosive tag trap!
The blast targeted the three red-haired Uzumaki in the middle.
From the surrounding wheat, two Kumo squads leapt out.
The gleam of their blades made Yako's scalp tingle.
Yuka was blown into a patch of wheat, her body forming a crater in the dirt.
She coughed up a mouthful of blood mid-air.
Two Kumo-nin dashed toward her—but then froze in place just before reaching her.
Starting from their ankles, intricate sealing formulas crawled up their bodies like vines. They were paralyzed—like statues.
Yako's eyes widened. That was the Jigyaku Fūin—the Self-Paralysis Sealing Technique! One of the sealing arts Danzō had used in the original story.
Captain Antelope barked: "Complete the mission!"
He ran off to intercept the Kumo team leader.
Purple Cat reached the nearest male Uzumaki and quickly assessed—too far gone.
Blade drawn, she finished him off.
Making sure the enemy didn't get their hands on Uzumaki sealing techniques was top priority. Escorting the Uzumaki was secondary.
The Second Shinobi War had devastated the Great Villages. Everyone was desperate for sealing techniques—especially for their Jinchūriki.
No intel could be allowed to fall into Kumo's hands.
Yako leapt to Yuka's side.
She lay amid the waist-high wheat, chest caved in, lungs collapsed.
No medic-nin—this was a death sentence.
The wheat obscured her vision. She hadn't seen Purple Cat finish off her comrade. When she saw Yako, gratitude lit her eyes.
Two Kumo-nin were still locked down by her jutsu. If he killed them, she might yet survive.
Yako raised his kunai—but didn't strike the immobilized Kumo-nin.
Instead, he drove it into Yuka's temple while she lay unaware.
Just like that, the sealing techniques were secure.
The light vanished from her eyes.
"Konoha… so you covet… too…"
She never finished the sentence.
A shinobi is a tool.
ANBU are tools among tools.
Yuka's injuries were too grave. Using two sealing jutsu had been her last flicker of life. There was no saving her.
Captain Antelope was close by. Yako's job was to complete the mission perfectly—make sure no sealing techniques fell into enemy hands.
With Yuka dead, Yako swiftly used the remnants of her jutsu to kill the Kumo-nin on the left.
The one on the right broke free, lunging with a ninjatō toward Yako's ribs.
Yako dove forward, rolling to evade.
Even while rolling, he tried to time it perfectly to cast Earth Release: Fish in the Earth. But suddenly, his leg went numb.
Shit. Lightning Release trap.
Lightning counters Earth.
His one Earth jutsu—completely useless now.
After a brief struggle, the ninjatō slashed into him.
As he died, Yako caught a final glimpse—Captain Antelope fleeing alone.
Purple Cat and Horned Ox—dead in the fields.
Damn it…
So we really were allowed to kill the Uzumaki to protect the jutsu.
But he hadn't expected… he'd be disposable too.
He thought the Uzumaki were expendable. Turns out—so was he.
[Arc of the Moonwatcher Activated!]
[Host is granted one resurrection per month. Upon death, you will return to the last full moon.]
[You have earned a reward spin!]