After landing, Blossom Deer exclaimed excitedly:
"Captain! That glider you made is incredible! With flight in these desert winds, those Sand shinobi can't touch us—can't even keep up!"
Yako basked in the admiration and praise.
Knowledge from his past life… unexpectedly proving useful in the weirdest ways.
"Blossom Deer," he said, "you and Field Duck focus on training with the gliders. They're our lifeline on this mission."
The next night, Yako returned to the crescent lake to assess the poisoning.
The ANBU's special toxin had thoroughly contaminated the entire lake.
The Sand forces had already evacuated.
A shame. It was such a small, beautiful oasis—now ruined.
The water had turned a pale purple. Dead bugs and fish floated on the surface.
Who knew how long it would take for the underground aquifer to flush out the toxins—if life would ever return.
He located the second oasis on the map and used the same strategy: toss the poison gourd into the water source, escape via glider.
The third oasis wasn't so easy.
This one was larger, and guarded by a massive Sand presence.
A quick scan told him there were at least three full battalions stationed here.
During the day, transport squads came and went—collecting fresh water for the front lines.
After several days of observation, Yako confirmed: this oasis served as a rest and rotation point for the Sand troops.
Battalions would retreat here from the front, rest, regroup, replenish their numbers, then head back into battle.
At any time, the oasis held between three and four battalions.
He watched and waited for days—but found no opening.
That night, Yako lay buried far outside the oasis, watching from beneath a thin layer of sand.
This… was tricky.
He couldn't brute-force his way through three battalions.
No plan came to mind. He turned onto his back, staring at the sky.
The sand slid off his body.
Moonlight spilled across drifting clouds, casting them in shades of pale gray.
So high up. So carefree.
Unlike Yako—burning through his energy for this mission.
Then… something clicked.
'Screw it.'
He summoned the Blossom Deer Squad.
"Let's move. We're finishing this tonight!"
None of them knew what he had in mind, but they followed without hesitation.
They pulled far back from the oasis.
"Leaf Monkey," Yako said, "you're a Wind Release user. You pilot the glider and get me airborne."
Blossom Deer asked, "Captain, what about me and Field Duck?"
"You two provide backup. If this goes smoothly, Leaf Monkey and I can finish it ourselves."
The glider rose, catching the desert wind.
"Leaf Monkey—gain as much altitude as possible! We'll take turns casting Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to power the glider."
With repeated wind bursts, they soared higher and higher—until they reached the clouds themselves.
Over a thousand meters up.
From the ground, they looked like a massive bird in flight.
Yako recalled a story from his past life—some guy once flew a glider to over 8,000 meters and got spotted by a commercial jet. The pilot thought he was hallucinating.
Now, their glider drifted directly over the target oasis.
Yako turned his back to Leaf Monkey, closed his eyes… and reopened them with the Sharingan active.
Single tomoe or not, it was still the Sharingan.
He created a Shadow Clone, handed it the poison gourd.
The clone's eyes gleamed red as well.
Grabbing its shoulder, Yako hurled the clone downward.
Go, clone!
The Shadow Clone plummeted straight down, hugging the gourd tight.
Mid-air, it used gentle bursts of Wind Release to fine-tune its trajectory.
Down below, a Sand shinobi leaned against a post, dozing off.
He stared at the moon, thoughts drifting.
'When will this war end? When can I go home?'
Konoha shinobi were terrifying.
Their Fire Release crushed Wind Release outright. Giant fireballs turned the air into steam. Wind jutsu lost all effect.
Still distracted, he noticed a black dot falling from the sky.
At first, he thought it was some kind of bird diving with folded wings. Oddly… it was heading straight for him.
Seconds later, he jerked upright and shouted:
"Enemy attack!!"
The shout rang across the oasis.
Multiple patrol squads burst out from their tents and fanned out to the perimeter.
Squad leaders felt confident in their quick response—until they found no sign of intruders.
"Above us!"
One finally looked up—and saw it.
They'd assumed the enemy would be on the ground. They were wrong.
Three Sand battalion captains emerged from their tents just in time to see the black figure hurtling down.
"Stop him!"
Ninjutsu. Kunai. Shuriken. Puppets. Everything was launched into the sky.
But the clone—enhanced reflexes, active Sharingan—twisted mid-air, dodging it all.
Then the three commanders formed a combo technique.
Three tornados rose from the lake's surface, ready to sweep away anything above.
The clone flipped the gourd's lid, then punctured the base.
He pressed his lips to the hole.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure stream of water shot out—mixing with the poison inside.
The resulting toxic jet tore through the air like a purple laser beam.
It pierced the chaotic winds between the tornados.
The three Sand captains could only watch, powerless, as the poison struck the lake.
Under moonlight, that violet stream looked like a death-laced laser from the heavens.
"Kill him! Kill him now!!"
The clone continued falling, only disintegrating when the tornados finally reached him.
High above, Yako felt the feedback of a successful jutsu through the Shadow Clone connection.
When it came to high-risk missions, clones were invaluable.
Mission complete.
"Retreat. Stay high—don't descend!"
Leaf Monkey maneuvered them toward a patch of clouds.
From the ground, the Sand shinobi searched frantically, but the glider vanished into the night sky.
Yako stared at the glider wing.
Its design—an upper and lower surface with different curves—generated lift by manipulating airflow speed.
He'd built this from scratch. The results spoke for themselves.
They landed just before dawn.
But they'd lost track of Blossom Deer and Field Duck during the escape.
Yako said,
"That oasis was critical. Now, if we head straight for the Land of Rivers, we're bound to run into patrols out for blood. We lie low for a few days. Wait for the others."
Leaf Monkey asked, "Captain, where do we hide?"
"The most dangerous place," Yako replied, "is the safest place."
"We're heading back to the first oasis—the crescent lake. No way Suna would guess we'd hide beside a lake they already wrote off."
"Leave trail markers on the way. Maybe Blossom Deer will find them and catch up."
When they reached the crescent lake again, Yako's eyes narrowed.
Someone was there.
He tensed—then relaxed. Not Sand shinobi. Civilians.
A teenage girl and three children.
The girl's hair faded from green at the crown to gold at the tips—a soft gradient.
Yako's nerves spiked.
She and the kids were carrying jars and basins—walking toward the lake.
The lake was purple. Didn't they see it?!
"Leaf Monkey, keep watch outside the oasis. I'll go in."
Yako threw on his desert traveler's garb and rushed toward the lake.
"Wait! You can't drink that water!"