After meeting with Captain Brown Bear, Yako was once again assigned to Blue Wolf Squad.
The team changed into Kumo-nin gear, preparing to openly snatch the Uzumaki sealing scroll.
This time, Yako felt far more confident—he had someone on the inside now.
Blue Wolf's captain was relentless, constantly urging Yako to use the Clone Technique to scout the nearby town.
His chakra reserve had doubled, so Yako pretended to complain about running low.
Secretly, he instructed the clone to lure the Uzumaki shinobi toward their location as quickly as possible.
The clone's returned memories confirmed that Uzumaki Yuka had already arrived in the town.
After sending out two clones, the Uzumaki shinobi came charging in.
Yako had plenty of chakra left and faced them with greater ease.
Seven Uzumaki shinobi closed in.
Yuka spotted the "Fox" at a glance—after their prior closeness, she knew his body frame too well.
Fox had been deployed by the Anbu, now undercover among Kumo-nin.
The clash between both sides immediately escalated into a fierce battle.
Yuka personally engaged Fox, and the more they fought, the farther they drifted from the others.
One of the Uzumaki shinobi, not knowing better, tried to assist Yuka.
Yako ended up taking a kunai to the leg. Taking advantage of a brief opening covered by Yuka, he escaped using the Hidden Fish in Earth Technique.
The male Uzumaki ninja who caught up to Yuka said regretfully, "That Kumo shinobi knows an Earth Release escape technique—it'll be tough to chase him now."
Yuka nodded, but her heart was filled with worry for Fox. With a kunai stuck in his leg, would it affect his ability to burrow?
The beginner-level Hidden Fish in Earth Technique, even with Yako's current chakra, could only cover about thirty meters.
He tunneled just far enough to a blind spot in the Uzumaki's field of view, surfaced quietly, and lay hidden in the shrubs without moving, patiently waiting.
When the battle died down and sounds of departure echoed in the distance, Yako waited for the Uzumaki to leave before using the earth technique again—vanishing without a trace.
Once he reached a safe spot, he carefully dealt with the kunai still embedded in his thigh.
The fabric around the wound was soaked in blood. Yuka had just cleaned that uniform—now it was stained again.
He hid in the crevice of a reef, and even after finishing his last military ration pill, he didn't move.
The full moon hung like a silver platter, its light falling like frost.
Only when moonlight finally shone into the cracks of the reef did Yako crawl out.
Out of rations and starving, he snuck into a fishing village and stole some food.
Salted fish and cold leftover rice—he devoured it like a starving beast.
Once full, he planned to wait another fifteen days before reconnecting with the main Anbu force.
The closer it got to the next full moon, the safer he would be.
In the meantime, he had to focus on sharpening his ninjutsu and taijutsu to strengthen himself as quickly as possible.
First up: hand seal speed.
If he had cast his jutsu faster, the kunai might never have hit his leg—he'd have been underground already.
Both Hidden Fish in Earth Technique and Self-Binding Curse Mark required three seals.
Uchiha Itachi could perform six seals in a second; it took Yako a full second and a half just to complete three. That was far too slow.
He needed to build muscle memory and get it down to three seals per second.
Practicing hand seals wasn't just about speed—it also meant syncing them with chakra movement inside the body. Only with coordination could the jutsu activate.
During training, Yako's hands felt stiff and clumsy. Others had pianist fingers—his were like plaster casts.
After five days of cramping fingers and relentless practice, he finally made progress, boosting his speed to three seals per second.
Next came the monotonous physical strength and speed drills.
With help from the system, and his own commitment, the effort was mutual.
Pity the poor fishing village nearby—they lost many salted fish and leftovers to him.
When the new month came and only fifteen days remained until the full moon, Yako began searching for the Anbu signal markings again.
He eventually found Captain Brown Bear stationed along the coast.
The captain was guarding the shore, preventing any Uzumaki shinobi from escaping to Uzushio Village across the sea.
The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki were something Konoha's Anbu were determined to obtain.
There were many captains like Brown Bear stationed in similar positions. Any Uzumaki who had made it into the Land of Waves would likely die here.
While squad captains held the coast, Uzushio had no idea any of this was happening.
Yako gave Captain Brown Bear a report on what Blue Wolf Squad had encountered.
"The Uzumaki shinobi you mentioned—other Anbu have run into them these past few days as well. They're definitely strong," the captain replied, glancing down at Fox's leg. The torn cloth and bloodstains confirmed that the wound was indeed from two weeks ago.
After a moment of thought, Captain Brown Bear said:
"Fox—real name Yako.
Your parents immigrated to the village in Konoha Year 18, right after the First Shinobi World War ended.
You were born in Year 23, lost your parents to a rogue ninja uprising five years later.
Graduated from the Ninja Academy in Year 33. This year—Year 38—you passed the downgraded Chūnin Exam and were recruited into the Anbu.
Your record is clean. Though your strength is mediocre, you've adapted to Anbu duties and even learned the Clone Technique from Antelope.
Stick with me, Fox.
In a few days, I'll assign you one or two Anbu members—you'll serve as an acting squad leader.
If you complete a few missions, I'll make your position official."
Yako immediately bowed. "Thank you, Captain!"
The promotion didn't matter—what mattered was that as a leader, he'd now receive direct orders and more intel.
For the next five days, he followed Captain Brown Bear, who spent time leaving coded messages nearby.
Twice, Uzumaki shinobi tried to break the blockade and flee the main island of the Land of Waves.
Captain Brown Bear dispatched both effortlessly.
The gap in power was massive—he didn't even use ninjutsu, only taijutsu.
After checking the bodies, they found no sealing scrolls.
Yako was itching with anticipation.
If he survived past the 14th this month, maybe he could take down the captain and walk away with some incredible loot.
Of course, he only let himself think that while staring at the ground. If he looked the captain in the eye while plotting, he feared one kunai would end him on the spot.
"Captain, aren't you worried that Uzushio Village will hold Konoha accountable for this?"
"Not at all," the captain replied, shooting Fox a glance.
"I know you're Konoha Anbu—but how would they know who you are?
Even if they gather some evidence, the village can always claim Kirigakure framed us.
Konoha and Uzushio are allies. Why would we kill our own allies?
Also, don't ask questions you're not supposed to."
"My apologies, Captain. I was overthinking it."
The Anbu handled Konoha's dirty work. Unless you died or Danzo permitted it, there was no leaving.
Yako's shinobi registration had been sealed. As far as the records showed, he was a Konoha ninja who had died on a mission.
One after another, scattered Anbu from disbanded units arrived at the captain's location.
Captain Brown Bear assigned Yako a new teammate—an Anbu wearing a pinebird mask.
Together, they formed a new squad, with Yako as acting squad leader.
After sending Pinebird away, the captain outlined their mission.
"Fox, the Land of Waves is crawling with all sorts now—Mist-nin, Cloud-nin, Uzumaki, and us Anbu.
Your mission is to assassinate a noble town head who supports Uzushio Village.
Watch out for the noble's samurai and bodyguard shinobi."
Taking the mission scroll, Yako replied, "Understood."
The scroll contained detailed intel on the noble target. Yako was no longer just a tool executing orders—he was now receiving information and making decisions for himself.