The sky gradually turned pale.
Yako stood before the window of his second-floor room in the Crane Moon Izakaya, watching the full moon in the sky slowly fade beneath the morning sun.
'If I die this month, I should resurrect right here,' he thought.
After leaving Konoha Hospital, he hadn't returned to the Anbu headquarters. Instead, he stayed at the izakaya.
He spent whatever he earned. If he didn't spend it, it would just end up benefiting the captain.
Yako turned and looked at the bed.
Kyoi was fast asleep. Her leg, exposed outside the blanket, was smooth and toned.
After interacting with her for half the night, he still hadn't found any proof that Kyoi was a spy.
Perhaps his investigation hadn't been deep enough.
Perhaps his investigation hadn't been intense enough.Or perhaps he was overthinking things, and Kyoi wasn't a spy at all.
Even if she was, she would be the type of sleeper agent who relied on her brains rather than combat strength. She posed little threat.
Without a word of goodbye, he pulled up his pants and left. Yako jumped out the window and headed toward the Forest of Death, taking advantage of the quiet early morning hours.
Yako's Anbu battalion had been dispatched to the Land of Waves, while another battalion was sent to the Land of Whirlpools.
In a fishing village in the Land of Waves, Antelope Squadron rendezvoused with a small squad of ninja from Uzushiogakure to escort them back to the Land of Whirlpools.
Taking up the rear, Yako observed the three Uzushiogakure ninja.
The original story hadn't described Uzushiogakure much; the village had been massacred long before the plot even began.
One woman and two men. All three had red hair.
The female ninja at the front had the most vibrant red hair of them all.
He wondered if the vibrancy of their hair represented the strength of their Uzumaki Bloodline Limit.
All three Uzushiogakure ninja were injured.
Judging by the cuts, the wounds were inflicted by ninja swords.
The ninja academy in the Hidden Cloud Village taught kenjutsu, so Cloud Ninja favored ninja swords.
Upon leaving the Land of Waves and entering the forests of the Land of Fire, the three Uzushiogakure ninja finally relaxed.
The Land of Whirlpools was located on a peninsula southeast of the Land of Fire. Detouring through the Land of Fire was the safest route.
Hoping to stall for time, Yako pointed at the blood on the Uzumaki woman's leg. "I have some medicine. Why don't we treat your injuries before moving on?"
Captain Antelope was just about to scold Yako for being meddlesome when the female ninja, Uzumaki Yuka, spoke up. "Alright. If we don't treat these wounds soon, they might leave lasting damage."
Since Uzushiogakure was allied with the Senju Clan, Captain Antelope kept his mouth shut.
Yako handed his medical kit to Uzumaki Yuka.
Without shying away from the men present, she lifted her slit skirt, revealing her injured thigh.
After undoing the makeshift bandage, Yuka used a kunai to scrape off the old, blackened medicine.
The metal edge scraped against raw flesh, making her clench her teeth in pain.
Her right hand was also injured, making it awkward to work with only her left.
Yako crouched down beside her. "Let me help."
"Thank you."
Watching the Anbu operative bandage her leg, Yuka said, "You're different from the other Anbu. Thanks for suggesting we stop."
Yako said nothing.
He only did it to buy time, and he would likely get an earful from the captain for it later.
It had taken seven days to reach the Land of Waves, and another day to cross into the Land of Fire. The Land of Fire was relatively safe; they shouldn't run into any Cloud Ninja here.
The longer they delayed in the Land of Fire, the better.
It would be absolutely perfect if he could die exactly one day before the next full moon. Since he retained all his memories up until the moment of his death, he essentially held a prophet-like advantage over the timeline.
Yuka struck up a conversation. "My cousin Tsunade once wrote to the Uzumaki clan, suggesting that every squad should have a medical ninja.
"Unfortunately, Uzushiogakure just can't make that happen. All of our medical ninjutsu was taught to us by the Senju Clan. If the Senju can't even manage it, there's no way we can."
Without moving his head, Yako shifted his gaze upward beneath his mask, evaluating the female ninja's strength.
His eyes swept across Yuka's chest.
Even bound tightly by her form-fitting clothes, her chest was full and round. He could only imagine the magnificent sight it would be once unleashed.
She was truly Tsunade's cousin—slender branches bearing heavy fruit.
Once the bandaging was done, Yako stood up and stepped back without a word.
Yuka looked a bit disappointed by the Konoha Anbu's stony silence.
The squad pressed on. Three days later, they crossed into the Land of Whirlpools, a long and narrow peninsular nation.
Yako watched the rolling waves of wheat along the road, feeling as if he could see the very shape of the wind.
If missions were always this simple—stopping to rest, taking in the scenery—it would be...
Boom!
An Explosive Tag trap detonated in the fields beside the road!
The target of the blast was the trio of red-haired Uzushiogakure ninja walking in the center of the formation.
Two full squads of Cloud Ninja sprang out from the surrounding wheat fields.
The cold gleam of their ninja swords made Yako's scalp prickle.
The explosion blasted Uzumaki Yuka into the adjacent field, leaving a crater in the crushed wheat.
While still airborne, she coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.
Two Cloud Ninja rushed her, only to suddenly freeze stiff just steps away.
Black sealing scripts slithered up from their ankles. The two Cloud Ninja stood immobilized, as if turned to stone.
Yako was genuinely shocked. It was the Self-Cursing Binding Seal from the original story! One of the very Sealing Jutsu Danzo had used.
"Complete the mission!" Captain Antelope roared.
With that command, the captain charged forward to intercept the Cloud Ninja leader.
Purple Cat darted to the nearest male Uzushiogakure ninja. With a single glance, she deemed him beyond saving.
She drew her blade and thrust it through the heavily wounded man, killing him instantly.
Ensuring the Cloud Ninja never got their hands on Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu was their primary objective. Escorting the Uzushiogakure ninja back to their village was merely a secondary bonus.
During the second great ninja war, every hidden village had suffered catastrophic casualties. They desperately needed Sealing Jutsu so they could deploy their jinchuriki to the battlefield.
Information regarding these seals absolutely could not fall into the hands of the Hidden Cloud.
Yako leapt over to Uzumaki Yuka's side.
She lay in the waist-high wheat stalks. Her chest was caved in, her lungs critically damaged.
Without a medical ninja on hand, a wound like that was a guaranteed death sentence.
Her line of sight had been blocked by the wheat, preventing her from witnessing Purple Cat executing her comrade. When she saw Yako arrive, a glimmer of gratitude lit up her eyes.
She had already restrained two Cloud Ninja. As long as Yako killed them, she would be saved.
Yako raised his kunai, but he didn't aim for the paralyzed enemies flanking her.
He struck downward. While Yuka was completely defenseless, he drove the kunai straight into her skull.
This way, the Cloud Ninja would never acquire the secrets of their Sealing Jutsu.
The light in Yuka's eyes instantly vanished.
"Konoha... Konoha covets it too..."
She would never speak another word.
Ninja were tools meant to execute missions.
Anbu were the truest tools of all.
Yuka's injuries had been far too severe. Managing to cast two Sealing Jutsu had merely been a final, dying surge of adrenaline. There was no point in trying to save her.
With Captain Antelope right there, Yako's only option was to execute the mission flawlessly and ensure the Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu didn't end up in enemy hands.
The moment Yuka died, Yako took advantage of the lingering effects of her seal to fatally stab the Cloud Ninja on the left.
However, the Cloud Ninja on the right broke free of the fading restraint and thrust his ninja sword at Yako's ribs.
Yako frantically dove forward, rolling out of the blade's path.
Mid-roll, Yako was still plotting the perfect moment to cast Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, but a sudden wave of numbness shot up his leg.
'Crap. They laid a lightning release trap on the ground.'
Lightning release countered Earth Release. His one and only Earth Release ninjutsu had been neutralized.
After a desperate struggle, Yako was hacked to death by ninja swords.
Just before he died, he saw Captain Antelope fleeing alone. Both Purple Cat and Kakugyu lay dead in the wheat field.
'Dammit...'
So to safeguard the secrets of their Sealing Jutsu, they were expected to murder the Uzushiogakure ninja if necessary.
He hadn't expected to die right along with them.
Yako had thought the Uzushiogakure ninja were the expendable ones, only to realize in the end that he was just as expendable.
[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.
Rewarding one lottery draw opportunity!]