Yako untied the rope from Blossom Deer's harness and personally fastened it around Hatake Sakumo.
"This way, Lord Sakumo, you won't fall off," Yako said with care.
Sakumo rolled his shoulders — arms and legs still fully mobile.
He and Blossom Deer took to the sky.
Even with the weight of two full-grown men, the paraglider lifted smoothly and steadily into the night. Watching from the ground, Nara Shikakaku nodded in approval — this kind of equipment would be incredibly useful in the gusty deserts.
Yako and Field Duck launched next, following closely behind.
Once they reached mid-air, Yako shouted, "Blossom Deer! Show Lord Sakumo the glider's lateral maneuvering!"
Blossom Deer tugged the control cords, swaying left and right with the wind, executing agile shifts mid-flight.
Sakumo glanced down. The ground was over two hundred meters below them — and even at this height, the glider retained impressive mobility. Regular shinobi wouldn't be able to counter such gliders easily.
For a ninja, flight was an entirely new experience.
The wind tousled Sakumo's white hair, and everything on the ground shrank beneath his gaze.
Yako and Field Duck soon ascended to their altitude.
"Blossom Deer, take Lord Sakumo higher!" Yako ordered.
Blossom Deer adjusted the cords, catching an updraft. As they rose, he called out to the man before him:
"Lord Sakumo, if we carry a shinobi with Wind Release, flying to over a thousand meters is easy."
"See up there? Captain Fox has Wind Release. He's using it to control flight — that's why he's higher than us."
Blossom Deer soared upward, piercing through the clouds.
Sakumo's eyes gleamed. If we bring reconnaissance shinobi to these altitudes… our intel range would be unmatched.
No— even ordinary shinobi equipped with binoculars could scout vast distances from this height.
Above them, Yako and Field Duck climbed higher still, surpassing the thousand-meter mark. Peering down at Blossom Deer's position, Yako activated his Sharingan, waiting for the right moment.
There!
As Blossom Deer drifted directly beneath him, Yako pulled out a kunai and slashed through the ropes binding his armpits and waist.
Field Duck's eyes widened. "Captain! What are you doing?!"
Yako didn't answer. He dropped like a hawk.
The glider canopy blocked Blossom Deer and Sakumo's line of sight — they noticed nothing.
But Sakumo… raised his head.
That sound...
Wind slicing?
A clean rip echoed — the glider tore open.
Yako's figure plummeted through the breach, blade-first — straight toward Hatake Sakumo.
Seeing the ANBU Commander descending with a drawn blade, Blossom Deer panicked. An assassination?!
Without hesitation, he dropped the controls and grabbed Sakumo's arms, trying to keep him from moving.
Yako noted this. Good. Even in confusion, Blossom Deer backs his captain without question. Reliable.
Then—light.
A radiant white glow erupted before Yako's eyes.
The legends were true. Sakumo's chakra was white.
Despite Blossom Deer's interference, Sakumo drew his chakra short blade.
A brilliant white arc cleaved through the night — graceful and lethal.
Blossom Deer was bisected.
Yako's ninja blade split in two.
His shoulder was ripped open.
A surge of paralyzing pain struck him. White chakra… it's Lightning Release!
It felt solid — tangible. Razor-thin, unimaginably sharp.
The glowing blade stretched several meters — and in a single breath, Yako was split in half.
Too fast.
No probing. No second strike.
Yako died within the white flash.
But he'd achieved something — he'd forced Hatake Sakumo to reveal his trump card.
Maybe that would tilt the next draw in his favor.
High above, Field Duck screamed. He cut himself free and dove after his commander, heedless of his own life.
"Commander! I'm coming!"
[System Detection: Host has died. Activating Arc of the Waning Moon…]
The world shifted.
Yako awoke under the light of the previous full moon.
It was 2 a.m.
Before him, bathed in moonlight — Kojii Chisa.
His eyes wandered, unconsciously comparing her delicate back to Pakura's.
Have to admit… Pakura still has the edge. Those curves…
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated.
Host may resurrect once per month, returning to the night of the last full moon.
Reward: One random draw]
Jonin-level chakra reserves
Taijutsu: White Fang Blade Technique
Secret Art: Chakra Crystallization Technique
The first option? Immediately eliminated.
Last time he'd drawn from the system, Yako's chakra reserves had already reached 2.3 times jonin level. With his enhanced constitution kicking in over time, it had now naturally grown to 2.6 times.
His chakra was rising steadily. No need to waste a pick on that.
The second option — White Fang Blade Technique, Sakumo's fearsome kenjutsu. Far superior to the Cloud's famed Cloud-Style Swordplay.
With that, Yako's taijutsu would leap forward massively.
Had it not been for the third choice, he'd have taken it without hesitation.
But a secret art?
Chakra Crystallization Technique?
"Crystal" as in crystallized? It meant compressing chakra to the point of becoming physical matter.
No wonder Sakumo was so feared. Anyone who saw that blade… died.
Even enemy villages don't know how strong he really is. All they know is: if Hatake Sakumo appears on your mission—you're dead.
He never went all-out during sparring. Not even with comrades.
So this was his hidden ace.
Yako hesitated. Taijutsu… or secret art?
In the end, he chose the third.
Anything labeled "secret art" has to be good.
Once it registered, he froze.
Chisa turned slightly, sensing his change. "Something wrong?"
He quickly snapped out of it. "No, I just saw that document on your desk. Didn't expect your handwriting to be so forceful and refined."
Chisa glanced at her calligraphy. It was just her usual neat scrawl. Still, her ears flushed red.
Half an hour later, Yako left her chambers and went out into the wilderness beyond Kyoto.
He couldn't wait to try White Fang's secret art.
Chakra Crystallization Technique — deceptively simple on the surface.
Through intense cultivation, one could compress large quantities of chakra into solid crystalline form.
Yako recalled the moment of his death. That blinding blade of light…
It was Lightning Release, honed to its absolute limit.
That brilliant blade cleaved through Blossom Deer and him both. His own ninja blade. His flesh. His bones.
All of it sliced like paper.
It was similar in effect to Chidori Sharp Spear, used by Sasuke in the original timeline — which reshaped Chidori into a long-range piercing attack through lightning manipulation.
But this secret art?
It compressed Lightning chakra into a thin, physical blade spanning several meters — vastly superior in lethality and shape control.
Yako didn't have Lightning affinity.
So upon learning this secret art, the chakra he'd crystallize would be of a different nature.
His primary nature was Chakra Nature: Earth, and it was the fastest to refine — also the most abundant within his body.
What kind of edge would crystallized Earth chakra give him?
He couldn't wait to find out.