"What's our next mission, Captain?"
"Don't ask what you're not supposed to know."
Just a simple question, and it was shot down. Damn ANBU rules.
Yako followed Captain Antelope as they waited at a small dock.
A few days later, their target arrived.
A squad of Uzushio ninja—led by a familiar face: Yuka.
Yuka relaxed slightly at the sight of the fox mask.
"Captain Antelope, Fox. Didn't expect it to be you two. Where's Oxhorn?"
"Oxhorn sacrificed himself while gathering intel on the Cloud ninja," said Antelope.
Guilt flickered across Yuka's face. "I'm sorry. A Konoha ninja died for us. Uzushio will remember this."
"Konoha and Uzushio Village are allies. This is what we're supposed to do."
Yako was surprised. Captain Antelope wasn't usually the sentimental type.
The two squads moved out together—Yuka's goal was to seal a powerful rogue ninja beast.
While the Uzushio team was out scouting, Captain Antelope turned to Yako.
"Fox, use Yuka's goodwill toward you and get close to her. Stay within two steps of her during the fight—no more."
"The objective is the Adamantine Sealing Chains scroll. If necessary, eliminate Yuka and pin it on the Cloud."
"Understood, Captain."
At a small lakeside clearing, Yuka directed three Uzushio shinobi to set up traps.
Each trap had an explosive tag buried at the bottom and a heavy wire net layered above it.
Looked like they were planning to blast the nets into the air.
Once the traps were set, everyone hid in the trees near the lake.
Yako lay flat in a bush, not far from Yuka's hiding spot.
To his surprise, Yuka approached him voluntarily.
The two lay side by side, bodies shielded by the shrubbery, eyes locked on the still lake surface.
A typical shinobi battle wasn't like the spectacular clashes of Kage-level fighters—more often, it was dull searching and quiet crouching in the grass.
Every ninja had their own survival instincts. The weak especially had to tread carefully.
Yuka whispered, "Fox… can you tell me your name?"
"Sorry. I can't."
There was a brief flicker of disappointment in her eyes, but she quickly added, "I get it. You're the Senju spy embedded in ANBU. You can't say. Too risky."
Yako gave no reply—neither confirming nor denying it. Playing the mystery card would only deepen Yuka's misunderstanding.
He searched his memory. He'd only ever seen a few Senju at the academy.
Ever since the death of the Second Hokage, the Senju had sworn to revive their clan's former glory.
The whole clan acted like they were on a permanent sugar high. Even their kids went around shouting about becoming Hokage.
Take Senju Nawaki from the original story—he'd been yelling about becoming Hokage since his academy days.
If Yako went around saying that now, no one would care. But if Nawaki said it, people took him seriously. People were just… different.
"Miss Yuka, what exactly are you trying to capture?"
"The Longspear Egret. A rare flying ninja beast," Yuka replied.
"Every Uzushio ninja can form a summoning contract with their own beast.
Sealing techniques aren't strong on their own, but paired with a summoned beast with unique abilities, it gives you a huge power boost."
Yako felt a stab of envy.
The legendary summons of the Sannin alone could crush most Chūnin and even Jōnin.
It wasn't just the Cloud or Mist who were jealous—even Konoha ninja were.
Yako turned slightly, peering through the gaps in the leaves to where Captain Antelope was hidden.
He sat perched in the treetop, his eyes behind the mask either closed or half-lidded.
Yuka was the strongest among her team, and Antelope kept a close eye on her.
Yako waited, but Captain Antelope never looked away. With no opening, he stayed put.
The ground was damp and warm. Insects crawled past from time to time.
Yuka, unaware of the captain's watchful gaze, shifted carefully beneath the shrubbery to avoid the bugs.
As she moved, more of her pale chest was exposed.
Yako didn't react. He adjusted his mask upward to cover his eyes and kept a close watch on Antelope instead.
He popped two soldier pills and stayed hidden from morning till dusk.
As the sun dipped low, the shadows beneath the bush deepened.
Suddenly, a black speck appeared in the distance, flying at incredible speed.
"It's here! The Longspear Egret is returning!"
It was a bird three meters long, with a needle-like beak over a meter in length. Its neck and body were long and slender.
Once it tucked in its wings, the bird could dive at terrifying speeds.
Seeing Antelope's focus shift to the egret, Yako whispered, "Yuka, got any poison needles?"
"Poison needles? Yeah!"
She pulled one from her tool pouch.
Yako didn't know how to make poison and had none on hand.
To deal with someone as dangerous as Antelope, poison was necessary.
He took out a hemostatic agent, coated a kunai with it, then quietly placed the poison inside his pouch.
To Yuka, Fox's actions were baffling.
'Coating kunai with medicine? Is he trying to… slash while staunching the bleeding?'
At that moment, the explosive traps went off.
Three iron nets were blasted into the sky—one snagged the egret's wing.
Yuka didn't have time to question Fox. She immediately leapt into action, charging the bird.
Once Yuka left, Antelope's attention was fully diverted. Yako finally pulled out the poison and mixed it into the hemostatic agent midair.
Everything was ready. All he needed now was an opening to strike.
Just as Captain ordered, he stayed close to Yuka and rushed out.
The egret struggled on the ground, its wing tangled in the wire netting.
Its beak was deadly—like a spear. One of the Uzushio shinobi was immediately skewered through the thigh.
That thing's beak could probably impale someone clean through on a dive.
The egret's long, powerful neck kept retracting and striking forward, forcing everyone to keep their distance.
"I'll handle it!"
Yuka jumped forward and formed hand seals, activating her Binding Curse Seal of Retribution.
The curse mark spread up the egret's legs, then along its wings and neck, locking it in place.
It kept twitching and struggling, but it was trapped.
Yuka turned to Fox. "Now comes the waiting game. This beast's too strong—we have to wear it down until it's exhausted before we can seal it."
Yako glanced over again. Captain Antelope hadn't moved, still hidden in the treetop.
The tug-of-war dragged on. Yuka finally subdued the egret, whose eyes now showed pleading.
The moment seemed right—Yuka reached under her skirt and pulled out the scroll strapped to her thigh.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains scroll!
Just then, everything changed.
While all attention was on the scroll—Yuka, Yako, and the three Uzushio ninja—two Cloud squads burst out from an ambush on the side.
The scroll!
The Cloud ninja had come to steal it—to unravel the secrets of Uzushio's sealing arts.
To fight back, Yuka had no choice but to release the Binding Curse Seal of Retribution.
The egret collapsed, its legs wobbling.
Yuka didn't fare much better—sweat drenched her tight outfit, soaking through her skirt.
Her clothes clung to her hips and waist like she'd just climbed out of a lake.
The Cloud ninja charged. Their squad leader instantly cut down one of the Uzushio.
Yako stepped in front of Yuka, blocking a slash from a ninja blade.
Captain Antelope finally dropped down from the treetops, clashing with the nearest Cloud shinobi.
With his skills, Antelope should've ended the fight in a second—but he held back, going blow for blow.
Yako understood immediately. The captain was slacking off.
And as a professional slacker himself, he saw it right away.
If the captain was slacking, then Yako had to slack even harder.
Forced back by a Cloud ninja, he narrowly avoided getting his side sliced open.
This left Yuka exposed.
She raised the scroll.
It was meant for sealing the egret—but now she had to use it against enemy ninja.
Suddenly, Antelope shouted, "Take it!"
That order was for Fox.
ANBU wanted that Adamantine Sealing Chains scroll—intact.
Yako turned and slashed his kunai into Yuka's abdomen!