The story unfolded exactly as it had in his past life.
"Fox! Cover the rear!"
After breaking through the Kumogakure line, Captain Black Ape once again ordered Yako to cover the retreat.
Yako turned around, anticipating the movement of two Kumo shinobi. He cut both down and quickly locked his gaze onto the squad captain not far away.
The Kumo squad captain's attention was drawn back to Yako.
He charged forward, leapt, and slashed downward.
Mid-air, the slash shifted—changing from a downward cut to a horizontal sweep.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Yako's ninjato blocked the Kumo ninja's blade.
The Kumo ninja's face changed dramatically. He had trained tirelessly in Cloud-Style Kenjutsu, and his blade techniques were meant to be unpredictable. How had this Konoha Anbu managed to block them so easily?
Horizontal sweep turned into an upward stab.
Clang!
Forward thrust switched into an upward slash.
Clang!
It was all clanging and ringing in his ears—like a blacksmith pounding iron. The Kumo ninja's frustration grew bizarrely intense.
'Has this Konoha Anbu studied my every move? Why does he know my blade style so well?'
The two were evenly matched. Yako wasn't falling behind, which brought him a sense of calm.
'You know what clang clang clang means?'
'Clang clang clang means… I've already seen through every one of your moves.'
Yako scanned around for a concealed space.
The next time the Kumo ninja attacked, Yako didn't parry. He feigned a retreat and leapt through a nearby window into a building behind him.
The Kumo ninja was overjoyed. In tight quarters, his Cloud-Style Kenjutsu would be even deadlier.
His flexible joints and muscles made him perfect for maneuvering in small spaces.
Without hesitation, the Kumo ninja followed him through the window.
But once inside, he saw the Konoha ninja already forming hand seals.
'Faster! I have to be faster! I must finish before he completes that jutsu!'
He lunged, ninjatō aimed straight for Yako's chest.
Unfortunately, just 3 centimeters before impact, the blade froze mid-air.
Inside the house where no one could see, a curse mark had already climbed up the Kumo ninja's legs, waist, and arms, locking all his joints.
The sealing wouldn't last long. Yako dashed forward, grabbed his blade that had been stuck in the floor, and drove it straight through the Kumo ninja's heart.
He pulled the blade out and casually grabbed a hand towel from the nearby table to wipe off the blood.
The texture under the cloth was rough—after that clash, his blade had several chips.
'After this battle, I need to replace this thing.'
Ninja are poor for a reason: weapon upkeep is expensive. To survive, no one dares cut corners on gear.
A good Ninja Blade costs tens of thousands of ryō.
Kunai, on the other hand, are much cheaper—only a few thousand ryō each.
Ninja blades are for rich ninja. Kunai are for the broke.
Even Kumo shinobi are richer than Konoha's—ridiculous.
Yako sniffed and caught a whiff of something delicious.
That's when he took a proper look around the house.
Inside were two corpses—a mother and daughter.
Both had their throats slit. Blood pooled heavily across the floor.
The smell came from the stove.
A chicken was still being stewed.
Yako lifted the lid. The aroma hit him immediately.
The broth had mostly dried up. The bottom of the pot was slightly scorched, but the top part was still good.
He grabbed a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth. 'Now this is living.'
Soldier pills were garbage. On the battlefield, a hot bite of chicken boosted morale more than anything else.
In the dark house, after finishing half the chicken and wiping the grease from his mouth, Yako finally jumped back out.
Three kills—mission more than complete.
Outside, Yako leapt to a rooftop and assessed the situation.
The Yellow Dog Unit had pushed in deeper, locked in fierce combat with the Mist shinobi outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
The Mist shinobi were using Water Release to drain the formation's energy, creating thick mist in the process.
Yako didn't head toward them. He obediently stayed in the rear, clearing out stray enemies for Captain Black Ape's team.
Each time he encountered a Kumo ninja, he would lure them into a house and use the Self-Binding Curse Mark to kill them inside.
After slaying another three Kumo shinobi, Yako started getting annoyed with Yellow Dog Unit's slow pace. If this dragged on any longer, he might… die from overeating.
Besides half a chicken, he had already eaten a pot of pork ribs, three rice balls, and a full bowl of drunken shrimp.
The drunken shrimp from Uzushio Village was excellent—though the alcohol was a bit strong.
He had also collected over 500,000 ryō, stuffed into his ninja pouch. He'd need it for a fun night at the Tsurugetsu Izakaya later—no money, no fun.
If they managed to clean out Uzushio Village, he'd become a millionaire overnight.
As he let his thoughts wander, Yako glanced toward the Yellow Dog Unit. He noticed that only the regular members were fighting—neither the unit captain nor sub-captain had joined in.
'At this rate, when are they going to finish clearing the Mist around the barrier?'
Compared to Konoha's Anbu, the Mist shinobi were going all-in. After losing their Mizukage, they were like desperate soldiers fighting to the death—their strength was formidable.
Over ten minutes later, Yako killed another Kumo ninja with his sword—then heard a boom behind him.
The Four Violet Flames Formation protecting the Uzumaki Clan's ancestral hall—was broken!
A relentless wave of Water Release techniques had finally drained the last of the barrier's energy.
The four Uzumaki defenders at the blind spot collapsed, gasping for breath, faces pale.
The Mist ninja surged inside, slaughtering the remaining Uzumaki women.
One red-haired girl after another was cut down.
Some were still in pajamas, some little girls in cute pink dresses.
To the Mist shinobi, every red-haired Uzumaki was the one who had killed their Mizukage.
Yuka appeared, summoning Longspear Egret. She tied the crying Princess Kushina to its leg.
"Fly! Fly to Konoha!"
Longspear Egret took off fast, soaring northwest.
Yet the Yellow Dog captain didn't immediately order a pursuit. He simply stood and stared at the Mist ninja slaughtering the Uzumaki women.
The other Konoha shinobi slowed down too, letting more Mist ninja flood into the hall.
'This kind of attitude… looks like the Yellow Dog captain's mission includes those non-combatant Uzumaki women.'
Yako parried a Kumo sword, then used Cloud-Style Kenjutsu to counter and stab the enemy through the chest.
Suddenly, he understood.
For Konoha, what kind of Princess Kushina was easiest to control?
Of course—a lone girl. The last surviving Uzumaki in the entire ninja world would be the easiest to manipulate.
If others of her clan were still alive, Kushina wouldn't devote herself fully to Konoha. Her heart would always lean toward her people.
The extermination of the Uzumaki wasn't just the Mist's objective—it was what the Kumo wanted as well. And now, it served Konoha's interests too.
There mustn't be a second Uzumaki in Konoha. There shouldn't be a second Uzumaki in the ninja world. Only then would Kushina have no other choice.
Only then could the Nine-Tails be entrusted to her without worry.
In the original story, Nagato and his parents lived in the Land of Rain, Karin and hers in the Land of Grass. There's a chance that any remaining Uzumaki orphans in the Land of Fire were long ago silenced by Konoha's Anbu in secret.
Longspear Egret carried Princess Kushina far away, and an Anbu unit followed closely.
On her back was a massive scroll—likely Uzushio Village's Sealing Arts Tome.
A Konoha Anbu squad was the first to pursue.
Seeing the Sealing Tome, the Kumo shinobi gave chase too.
The Yellow Dog Unit, however, did not move. They remained just outside the hall, fighting the Mist—not too fiercely, not too lightly.
Some Mist shinobi even rushed into the main hall and continued their massacre.
A group of Uzumaki kunoichi formed a squad and escaped northwest—Yuka among them.
Only when the Mist began pursuing the kunoichi did the Yellow Dog Unit finally give chase.