Yako sighed in relief—his life was spared.
Behind him came the cry of a Longspear Egret.
Yako quickly turned around and saw the beak of the Longspear Egret blocking a flying senbon needle for him.
"Don't get distracted! These are elite Mist-nin!"
Yuka Uzumaki landed beside Yako.
The high-slit of her skirt fluttered in the wind and mist.
Her toned legs were right in front of Yako's eyes.
In that moment, Yako thought Yuka Uzumaki looked breathtakingly beautiful.
"Sorry, the squad leader's death made me lose focus."
The Land of Waves' shinobi and the Uzumaki ninja made their move.
Countless chakra chains shot out, clashing with loud metallic clangs against Juzo Biwa's Executioner's Blade.
Juzo Biwa was forced back step by step.
More Mist-nin surged out from the fog.
Yuka Uzumaki whispered, "Let's go! Leave this to them! The two of us will protect Princess Kushina!"
Yako's eyes lit up. His mission was to cover the retreat. Now that the Land of Waves daimyo's guardian shinobi were handling that, he wasn't abandoning his duty.
Perfect. He could report the situation to Captain Yellow Dog.
Yako followed Yuka Uzumaki, dashing over two hundred meters before breaking free from the mist.
The view suddenly opened up.
Red Badger Unit was a hundred meters off to the side, locked in battle with a squad of Cloud-nin.
Captain Yellow Dog was pursuing Princess Kushina Uzumaki and her escort, preparing to intercept another group of Cloud-nin.
Seeing this, Yuka Uzumaki was about to charge into the fray, positioning herself behind Kushina.
Yako quickly did the math on his own strength—no good. Too many Cloud-nin. He'd die for sure. He needed a plan.
He called out to her:
"Yuka! Princess Kushina is only seven!
She's small and light! Your Longspear Egret should be able to carry her easily!
That's the best way to get her out of the encirclement fast!"
A classic diversion tactic: as long as Kushina wasn't here, neither the Mist-nin nor the Cloud-nin would stay.
If Kushina died, well... so be it. His own life came first.
Yuka Uzumaki realized he was right. Why risk clashing with the Cloud-nin when she had a flying summon? She could just take to the skies.
Flight was an extremely rare ability in the shinobi world—99% of ninja couldn't attack aerial targets.
Yuka summoned her massive Longspear Egret, which soared toward Princess Kushina.
"Sixth-Grandpa! I've just formed a new contract with a flying summoning beast! Let Princess Kushina go first!"
The leader of the Uzushio sealing team—and Yuka's sixth-grandfather—narrowed his eyes.
This was a solid plan.
Everyone else could die here, but Kushina must escape.
Her unique physique gave her a high potential to become a Jinchuriki—perhaps even a perfect one.
If she succeeded, Uzushio Village could rise to rival the Hidden Waterfall, who possessed the Seven-Tails.
Kushina was tossed into the air.
The three-meter-long Longspear Egret let out a sharp cry and grabbed her shoulders mid-air.
Kushina soared upward, her bright red hair blazing even redder than that of other Uzumaki.
Yako quickly turned to watch the Cloud-nin.
Just as he expected, the Cloud-nin noticed their target escaping and split a large portion of their forces to chase her.
The pressure on Captain Yellow Dog's unit suddenly eased.
After two months of fighting in the Land of Waves, only a fraction of the Yellow Dog Unit remained—over half were dead or injured.
"Captain! The daimyo's guardian shinobi have joined the fight and are holding off the Mist-nin! Captain Brown Bear was killed in action!"
Yellow Dog glanced back at the thick fog. "Understood."
Two of the four squads were wiped out. The remaining two were down to a handful of men. A 60-man unit now had just 19 left.
The Anbu's casualty rate was terrifying.
"Follow the summon! Princess Uzumaki is our top priority!"
Yako trailed at the very rear.
One piece of good news: with his squad leader dead, and unless Captain Yellow Dog gave him direct orders, he had complete freedom.
Thanks to Princess Kushina's small size, the Longspear Egret didn't lose speed and flew swiftly ahead.
The battlefield shifted. What was once Konoha's Anbu blocking the Cloud-nin had become a chase: Longspear Egret and Kushina in the lead, Cloud-nin in the middle, and Anbu in the rear.
The Cloud-nin were sprinting like mad, forced to leave units behind to delay the Konoha forces.
Yako kept his distance at the back of the squad, patiently watching for an opening.
A Cloud-nin was knocked back and staggered.
Yako seized the moment—he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the ninja, using the man's backward momentum to drive his blade into his chest.
He withdrew the blade and vanished behind the Anbu again.
Nearby, Captain Black Ape glanced sideways. That fox-masked Anbu's timing was impeccable.
His own squad had taken heavy losses. Once this battle was over, he'd try to recruit the newcomer.
Through constant combat, Yako was growing more and more proficient in both taijutsu and the Body Flicker Technique.
His movements were getting faster.
He even discovered a small trick:
By concentrating chakra in his lower legs and feet during the jump, he gained speed. But the same had to be done when landing.
That way, he could stop instantly upon impact and enter a combat stance.
The fight raged from the shores deep into the Land of Waves.
Under Yuka Uzumaki's control, the Longspear Egret flew through complex terrain.
Rocky beaches, marshes, steep mountains.
The pursuit grew harder and harder.
After wiping out three Cloud-nin squads, the enemy finally gave up.
Without Mist-nin support, the Cloud-nin alone couldn't stop both the Uzumaki and the Konoha Anbu.
After several more hours of marching, Captain Yellow Dog selected a hidden valley to rest the troops.
Yuka Uzumaki was basking in praise from the sealing unit leader. Her contract with a flying summon had been the turning point.
With such a summon, she had leapt past the level of a chunin and gained the strength of a special jonin.
She kept glancing back at the fox-masked shinobi who sat in the distance, pretending to nap with his blade across his lap.
Thank goodness he'd given the early warning. Without that, she wouldn't have brought the reinforcements in time.
Yuka had no intention of telling the sealing team leader about him.
The fox was a spy sent by the Senju Clan into the Konoha Anbu. The fewer who knew, the better.
Only someone at the level of the Senju clan head or elder could even begin to hint at such matters.
Sending spies into Anbu—Senju would never admit it. It was a capital offense.
Unconsciously, Yuka's impression of the fox had become one of mystery and reliability.
Every time they met, the fox would show a new ability. His Body Flicker Technique had truly shocked her.
That kind of mastery required at least two and a half years of training.
"Big Sis Yuka, this white bird is so pretty."
Princess Kushina had to stand on tiptoe just to reach the Longspear Egret's thin legs. She stroked its feathers lovingly.
"I wonder what kind of summon I'll have someday. Flying feels amazing."
Yuka replied, "Princess Kushina, you'll definitely have an incredibly powerful summoning beast. Maybe even a Tailed Beast."
After a short rest and some soldier pills, the unit moved again, circling around from the Land of Fire toward Uzushio Village.
Yako watched Kushina's back with deep concern. He wondered if, when the Uzumaki clan was eventually destroyed, he would survive the storm.