The world went dark. His vision shifted.
Yako awoke on a small boat beneath the full moon—the night he first landed in the Land of Waves.
Adjusting his fox mask, he could still feel the lingering sensation of being burned alive in his previous life.
His face throbbed. His flesh had melted and charred.
"Fox, get off the boat already!"
Unlike last time, Yako hesitated for a moment instead of jumping off immediately, earning a push from the squad leader.
Yako distinctly remembered that in his last life, Captain Antelope never said those words.
After his revival, most events still played out according to the original sequence—but his own actions could cause deviations. And that was exactly what Yako wanted to avoid.
Until the moment he reached the time of his past death, he needed to tread carefully. Stick to the script. That was his advantage.
He glanced at Captain Antelope again, wary of the hidden Fire Release he was concealing.
So devious. Hiding a technique from even his own subordinates.
In a proper team, everyone should know each other's strengths and weaknesses to cooperate effectively.
If the squad didn't even know their captain's real capabilities, someone could make the wrong call—and that could get people killed.
The ANBU emphasized loyalty to an extreme degree. Every operative was monitored by others. Even Captain Antelope kept an eye on a few of his men.
Captain Antelope glanced back at Fox. What? He just rushed him a little—why did the guy look at him like that?
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated!]
The host has one resurrection opportunity per month. Upon death, they will revive at the previous full moon.
Reward: One random draw:
-Clone Technique (Basic)
-Fire-Nature Chakra
-Grappling Taijutsu (Basic)
Grappling Taijutsu… that was the move Captain Antelope used to lock him in a tight hold—strong and hard to break free from.
But Yako had his Mark of Self-Binding Curse, so he didn't really need grappling techniques.
Fire-nature Chakra? Also unnecessary.
He was only a pseudo-Chūnin. Just handling Earth Release well was already enough.
No need to worry about developing chakra natures until reaching the Elite Chūnin level.
Even if he did unlock Fire-nature Chakra, his chakra pool wasn't large enough to use it repeatedly anyway.
In the end, Yako chose the Clone Technique.
Unlike Transformation or Substitution, the Clone Technique created a tangible double—sometimes not even dōjutsu could see through it.
Captain Antelope was particularly skilled with it, often using clones—or the lives of subordinates—to scout for intel.
Its downside was splitting chakra evenly.
But that flaw only mattered for ninja with tons of chakra.
If you had a lot, splitting still left you with plenty.
If you had very little... well, you didn't have much to begin with. What's a little less?
For Yako right now, dividing his chakra wasn't a problem. Worst case, he'd just rely on taijutsu more.
As in his previous life, the plot progressed. Their squad arrived at a coastal fishing village.
While picking entry routes through the stilted houses, Oxhorn got a river to the face and, furious, triggered an Explosive Tag.
Yako fought while retreating to the side.
This time, though, he knew where Captain Antelope's real body was hiding, so he made sure to form seals discreetly while using Sealing Techniques—careful not to let the captain see.
A Cloud ninja hidden among the fishermen made a move.
In the chaos, Oxhorn was killed, and Captain Antelope was wounded.
Yako burst out of the water and carried the injured captain away.
Inside a natural cave among the coastal rocks, Captain Antelope clutched his ribs.
His scalp tingled. He thought Fox was about to finish him off.
He quickly looked down—only to see the Fox inject a hemostatic serum into his side.
Captain Antelope breathed a sigh of relief. Fox wasn't dumb enough to attack him now.
Even injured and bleeding, he could still kill the guy.
They hid inside the rocky cave.
Yako not only had no murderous intent, but even carefully treated the captain's wounds.
There were still ten days left until the full moon. Without Captain Antelope, he wouldn't survive.
Being ANBU was just too dangerous.
Captain Antelope felt the concern in Fox's actions. And with Fox now his only subordinate, his attitude softened considerably.
He even started analyzing the situation:
"Fox, there are two Cloud squads operating in our assigned area.
Looks like Kumo is making a major move in the Land of Waves.
This territory's always been a point of contention between Kirigakure and Uzushio.
To help Uzushio, we of Konoha have clashed with the Mist plenty of times. A lot of our comrades died for it.
Without us, how could Uzushio possibly stand against Kiri?
Lately, though, there's been growing discontent in the village—saying things like: Why are we helping another village? Why not just claim the mission territory for ourselves?
Now that Cloud's involved, things are getting complicated."
Yako thought for a moment, then asked:
"Captain Antelope, isn't Uzushio our ally?
That discontent... is it really natural, or is it—"
"Stop." The captain cut him off sternly.
"If you want to survive in the ANBU, don't ask about things you shouldn't know.
That grumbling about Uzushio? Of course it's natural. You think the ANBU is behind it?"
He denied it, but Yako didn't buy it. He was almost sure the ANBU had spread those rumors themselves.
Uzumaki Mito—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—was in a bad state. Yako had once been assigned to guard the Senju compound.
Mito had married into the Senju Clan but never changed her name. That old woman's power and status were unmatched.
But unfortunately, she was getting too old.
There was heavy disagreement in the village about the next Jinchūriki.
The Senju had always been the ones to liaise with the Uzumaki.
But this time, the higher-ups bypassed the Senju entirely—Danzo had gone to Uzushio himself.
That alone proved the rift between Konoha leadership and the Senju was widening.
It took Captain Antelope five days to heal. Then the mission resumed: track Cloud ninja within the designated region.
This time, they found three squads.
Luckily, Captain Antelope didn't send Yako out for recon.
Each time they found a squad, they simply observed from a distance, then quietly withdrew.
Days passed.
Finally—it was the full moon again.
The moon hung like silver in the sky. Its light blanketed everything like frost.
Yako crouched atop a reef.
The damp sea breeze blew against his mask.
In the distance, Captain Antelope was reporting something to the squad commander.
The sound of waves crashing drowned out their voices. Yako couldn't hear what the two captains were saying.
All he saw was Captain Antelope nodding repeatedly, agreeing to whatever it was.
Beneath the mask, Yako frowned.
This wasn't working.
Being an ANBU grunt, not even knowing the mission details—only blindly following orders?
It left him completely passive in every operation.
He needed to at least make it to squad leader—get into the mission distribution system.
Only then would he have access to real intel.
And intel… was everything.
Glaring at the captain's back, Yako calculated quietly.
Last time, he failed to kill him. The guy got lucky.
But he still had to die. And soon.
Yako opened his system panel.
[Host Status]
Chakra Capacity: Chūnin-level
Chakra Nature: Earth
Ninjutsu: Clone, Substitution, Transformation; Hidden Fish in Earth Technique; Clone Technique
Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu, Basic Kunai Throwing Technique
Sealing Techniques: Mark of Self-Binding Curse
Other: None
A good cook doesn't blame the ingredients.
A skilled shinobi doesn't blame the tools.
He'd use what he had—and climb to the top over Captain Antelope's corpse.
They were both ANBU.
Nobody gets to act like they've got a clean conscience.