Two days passed without anyone coming to look for Squadron Captain Brown Bear. Even the Uzumaki ninjas stayed away from the beach.
When boredom set in, Yako took the opportunity to ask a few lingering questions. As long as they didn't touch upon the hidden secrets of the Hidden Leaf Village, Squadron Captain Brown Bear was willing to answer.
"Captain, isn't the Uzumaki clan famous for their Sealing Jutsu? Why don't they just seal their supplies into scrolls and carry them away?"
Brown Bear recalled the abysmal curriculum at the ninja academy. Knowing Fox was largely clueless, he explained:
"You're talking about Sealing Technique: Sealing Object—the jutsu used to store items.
"To use the Sealing Object technique, a ninja must inject chakra into the item being sealed.
"Once that infused chakra naturally dissipates, the seal vanishes and the storage breaks.
"In other words, sealing large amounts of supplies requires a massive dedicated workforce just to create and maintain those sealing scrolls.
"Unless absolutely necessary, no ninja will maintain the Sealing Object technique over a long period.
"The Uzumaki ninjas we've been running into face the threat of death every single day. They simply don't have the spare energy to maintain those seals. That's why their supplies are stockpiled in warehouses."Yako nodded repeatedly. So that was it.
The Sealing Technique: Sealing Object required a continuous infusion of chakra, demanding constant upkeep from a sealing ninja.
That explained the logic behind the Battle of Kannabi Bridge from the original story.
Namikaze Minato's squad destroyed the Kannabi Bridge, making it impossible for the Iwa Ninja to transport large quantities of supplies to the front lines, forcing them to retreat.
If the Sealing Object technique had no cost, armies would just seal all their supplies into a single scroll. Supply lines wouldn't even need to exist.
In the blink of an eye, over ten days passed. A new month arrived.
Yako stared at Squadron Captain Brown Bear's back, itching to make a move.
'Maybe I should just die by the captain's hand this month,' he thought. 'He's an Elite Chunin, at the very least. I could draw something good from him.'
The other squads checked in with Captain Brown Bear from time to time to report their status.
Those squads had also suffered severe casualties.
By this point in the fighting, out of the squadron's four original squads, Fox had taken over Captain Antelope's position. The total annihilation of the Blue Wolf Squadron meant they were permanently down one team. Of the remaining two squads, one was down to two members, and the other had only three.
The leader of the three-man squad flat-out refused to transfer a member over to Fox, no matter what was said.
Losing a single person meant a direct drop in combat power.
These squads were truly something else. Yako had gone out of his way to secure military ration pills for them, and they hadn't even offered a word of thanks.
"Fox! I have a mission for you."
After listening to the back-to-back reports from the two squad leaders, the captain issued his orders to Yako:
"Take a captive alive. Specifically, a Cloud Ninja squad leader. I need to interrogate him for intel.
"It makes sense for Mist Ninja to be operating nearby. The Hidden Mist Village has always coveted the Land of Waves' mission shares.
"But there are entirely too many Cloud Ninja here. I don't know what they're scheming."
"Capture one alive? And a Cloud Ninja squad leader at that?" Yako swallowed hard. "Understood. I'll get it done."
The good news was that his stellar performance on the last mission had earned the captain's trust.
The bad news was that his performance was a little too stellar. The captain trusted him too much.
Leaving the beach, a bitter taste filled Yako's mouth.
Capturing an enemy alive was vastly more difficult than simply killing them.
Especially ninjas. They were all combat-crazed lunatics who threw their lives away without a second thought. How was he supposed to take one alive?
Yako reached back and touched the short sword strapped to his back. The Cloud Ninja were renowned for their formidable sword skills, while he knew nothing about actual kenjutsu. He practically wielded his blade like an oversized kunai.
After gathering the latest intel on the Cloud Ninja's movements from the other squad leaders, Yako set out alone.
Arriving in the territory where the Cloud Ninja had been spotted, he selected a main path leading into the nearby town, planted a trap with Explosive Tags, and slipped into hiding.
Just like the Konoha ninjas, the Cloud Ninja had traveled a long way. Once their military ration pills ran out, they would have to head into a town or fishing village to restock their food supply.
Standing guard outside the town was the easiest way to catch them.
He lay prone in the brush, waiting patiently.
Military ration pills were small; you ate less and excreted less. As long as he could ignore the hollow hunger gnawing at his stomach, he could remain perfectly still for a day or two.
Until the early hours of a certain morning, just as the morning star breached the horizon.
Three silhouettes moved swiftly, sprinting toward the town.
In a split second, an explosion erupted directly beneath their feet.
Boom!
The blast sent the three dark figures flying in different directions.
Yako leaped from his hiding spot, hurling a kunai in each of the three directions.
Two of the kunai struck their targets, proving those enemies had been severely wounded or killed outright by the Explosive Tags.
But the third enemy dodged the kunai and charged straight at Yako.
Yako caught sight of the man's forehead protector. A Cloud Ninja.
His luck held out; he had indeed ambushed a Cloud Ninja squad. Judging by this man's sheer speed and strength, he had to be the squad leader.
Yako flipped his kunai into a reverse grip for close-quarters combat, biding his time for the perfect opening to cast the Sealing Technique: Self-Cursing Binding Seal.
The Cloud captain's kenjutsu was exquisite. With a single sidestep, he slipped entirely out of Yako's line of sight.
As he stepped, he brought his ninja sword around in a horizontal slash that nearly laid Yako's flank completely open.
They traded blows in a frantic flurry, kunai clashing against ninja sword.
The fight was agonizingly lopsided for Yako. The Cloud Ninja's precise footwork flawlessly complemented his sword strikes, making it impossible for Yako to pin him down.
In a flash, the Cloud captain ducked low, easily weaving past Yako's kunai.
By the time Yako tried to evade, it was already too late.
The ninja sword drove clean through his stomach.
At first, there was no feeling at the wound. Then came a searing heat, quickly chased by blinding agony.
Just as the Cloud squad leader moved to wrench his blade free, he caught sight of something—an Explosive Tag!
Boom!
The detonation ripped through the air, instantly killing both Yako and the captain in a gruesome mutual destruction.
The Cloud squad leader's final thought was pure disbelief: 'Is this guy completely insane? Who the hell just detonates an Explosive Tag to die together in a skirmish?'
'Could he be an enemy from back in the village who tracked me all the way out here... just because I cuckolded him?'
His vision went black, and the world shifted.
Yako reappeared on the night of the previous full moon, right before his scheduled meeting with Squadron Captain Brown Bear.
[Arc of the Full Moon activated!
The host has one resurrection opportunity per month. Upon death, the host will resurrect on the night of the previous full moon.
Awarding one lottery draw:
1 - Lightning-attribute chakra;
2 - Muscle Healing Jutsu;
3 - Sword Technique (Beginner).]
Lightning-attribute chakra... he didn't really need that.
Muscle Healing Jutsu. To think the Cloud squad leader actually knew a medical ninjutsu.
He'd pass on the medical ninjutsu for now. Compared to healing himself, killing the enemy as quickly as possible was far more crucial.
Yako focused his attention squarely on the third option: Sword Technique.
If he wanted to dodge an enemy's ninja sword, he needed to be better at kenjutsu than they were.
Because he didn't understand the angles, the speed, or the raw force behind the blade, he suffered heavily at every turn during their taijutsu exchange.
Without hesitation, Yako selected the third option—Sword Technique (Beginner).
Beginner-level kenjutsu was broken down into two main components.
The first was fundamental forms: chopping, cleaving, thrusting, upward slashing, sweeping, blocking, flicking, deflecting, slicing, and parrying.
The second was fundamental footwork. This was used to perfectly complement the various sword forms, allowing him to find the most optimal way to generate power with every strike.
It wasn't just raw knowledge; an influx of muscle memory instantly flooded Yako's body, enabling him to execute these sword techniques as naturally as breathing.
Drawing his ninja sword, Yako practiced the forms over and over again, drilling the techniques until every single strike flowed seamlessly.
Armed with this newfound mastery over the blade, he wouldn't be forced onto the defensive the next time he faced that Cloud Ninja.
No wonder the squad leader's kenjutsu was so devastating. Proper sword technique allowed the blade to move with terrifying speed and strike from the most viciously cunning angles.
As for explaining where he suddenly learned kenjutsu, that was easy.
He would just say he slowly picked it up by imitating and analyzing his enemies during his battles with the Cloud Ninja.
Having strong comprehension skills wasn't a crime, after all.