The latter half of the night.
Yako felt space twist around him as reverse summoning activated.
He landed in the Land of Grass.
Not the Rain Country tree hollow he shared with Yuka.
…Right. This was about slapping Danzo in the face. Not that kind of slapping. He'd been overthinking.
Recently, Yako had sent Yuka to the Land of Grass to continue hunting the Shimura clan's Guardian Ninja.
If she had summoned him now, it meant there was news.
Uzumaki Yuka and the other two stood masked, waiting.
When Fox appeared, Yuka spoke first.
"Fox. Three days ago, the capital of the Land of Grass broke camp and began migrating.
Their horse lines, cattle, sheep, and wagon caravans stretch for several kilometers.
It's the perfect opportunity."
Yako nodded.
"During migration is the ideal moment for assassination… no. For overt killing."
The previous Guardian Ninja captain, Shimura Kōhi, had died by Yako's hand.
After his death, Danzo had dispatched two more Shimura jōnin: Shimura Hyōya and Shimura Hyōhiko.
Hyōya now served as captain.
"If we eliminate both Shimura jōnin, it will further cripple Danzo.
Root — his left arm — is already damaged.
If the Shimura clan — his right arm — is struck hard…
Then within Konoha, I'll maneuver to remove his control over the Root as well.
Piece by piece.
Until he stands alone.
Until one day I kill him."
Yuka nodded eagerly — then added softly,
"Fox… be careful."
"I always am."
He paused, then added,
"Another piece of good news. Princess Kushina has graduated from the academy.
Princess Tsunade is her jōnin instructor.
If nothing unexpected happens, within two or three years, Kushina will stand on her own."
Yuka, Uzumaki Genchō, and Uzumaki Kaichō exchanged glances.
Hope flickered between them.
Once Kushina mastered the Nine-Tails…
The surviving Uzumaki would no longer need to hide deep within the rainforest.
Yuka prepared two horses and a flock of sheep for disguise.
Yako donned the mask and took on the appearance of a wandering shepherd.
After a kilometer of herding, he saw it.
A massive procession.
Horses. Cattle. Sheep. Endless wagons.
He quickly located the Daimyō's carriage.
Sixteen horses pulled a towering, two-story mobile structure.
Two mounted samurai rode out to drive away the approaching shepherd.
Yako adjusted his mask and fixed his gaze on the carriage rooftop.
Four Guardian Ninja stood visibly above.
Others were hidden.
As the samurai closed in, they saw the shepherd raise a mask—
A white spiral mask with dual eye holes.
When they reached him—
He vanished.
"So fast!"
Not a shepherd.
An assassin.
Within moments, two formations of samurai assembled around the carriage.
Over a dozen Guardian Ninja took positions.
Yako's goal wasn't mass slaughter.
He wanted chakra data.
He intended to die at a Shimura's hands — harvest their chakra — revive — and kill them permanently.
There were over three hundred samurai.
He couldn't kill them all.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
A colossal surge erupted from his mouth.
Like a tidal wave, water crashed forward in relentless layers, scattering the samurai formations.
The Guardian Ninja split immediately.
Shimura Hyōya led six to escort the Daimyō away.
Shimura Hyōhiko stayed behind with three to intercept.
Hyōhiko blocked Yako's path.
"Sarutobi Kanosuke!"
He shouted the name.
Kanosuke's slaughter of Root shinobi was known throughout the Shimura clan.
Yako ignored him.
His body sank into the earth.
One Guardian Ninja unleashed Lightning Release in an attempt to pin him down—
Too slow.
Yako had already vanished.
He resurfaced beside the Daimyō's carriage using the Mayfly Technique.
Shimura Hyōya stood prominently atop the carriage roof, directing movements confidently.
Yako emerged from the ground and leapt toward him at an unhurried pace.
The other Guardian Ninja rushed to intercept.
As he exchanged blows, Yako gathered data.
Wind Release. Predictable Shimura style.
Within a minute, he had what he needed.
All Guardian Ninja converged.
Yako deliberately lowered his guard—
And died beneath Shimura Hyōya's blade.
Hyōya froze.
He… killed Sarutobi Kanosuke?
The man Danzo considered a major threat?
Did that mean—
He might become the next clan head?
[Host death detected. Activating Crescent of the Full Moon System…]
—
Yako returned to the previous full moon.
He and Nara Meika were nearing Konoha after traveling across much of the shinobi world.
Meika had spent days "training" Fox.
She was quite pleased with his improvement.
She noticed him suddenly pause.
"Can't hold it in anymore?"
Yako felt grief surge within him.
Shimura Hyōya.
You're only a regular jōnin?!
He had died intentionally—
And gained only standard jōnin-level chakra.
Equivalent to 0.2 elite-jōnin tiers.
His reserves rose from 3.4 to 3.6 times elite-jōnin capacity.
Far less than expected.
Shimura Hyōya, you incompetent waste—
You dare cheat me of proper gains?
Elite jōnin were rare.
Each was widely recognized across the shinobi world.
Yako steadied himself.
"Not yet."
The timeline unfolded as before.
The migrating caravan of the Land of Grass.
This time, Yako did not use sheep for cover.
He directly infiltrated near the carriage with the Mayfly Technique.
Hyōya stood atop the carriage, staring at the plains.
Thinking about the clan.
Thinking about Root.
He had personally requested to join Root to assist Danzo.
Danzo had refused.
Until Sarutobi Kanosuke was dealt with, no Shimura would be recruited into Root again.
Let civilian shinobi absorb the hatred.
Lynx's role in Root was temporary.
He would not leave the village for Root missions.
As Hyōya pondered his future—
Five figures appeared at the side.
Masked.
White spiral masks.
Sarutobi Kanosuke.
Shadow Clones leapt precisely onto the carriage roof.
Rapid kicks sent three Guardian Ninja flying.
Hyōya's heart lurched.
The ones kicked off—
Were all Shimura.
He reached for a kunai—
A figure appeared behind him.
A single furious kick.
His body shot away like a cannonball, hurled far from the Daimyō's carriage.
The blow came from Yako's true body.
You useless fool.
You only yielded standard jōnin chakra.
Hyōya had no idea why Sarutobi Kanosuke seemed to hate him so intensely.
He had never even met him.
Among the Guardian Ninja, Hyūga Shinn felt a chill.
This scene…
It felt familiar.
The previous captain, Shimura Kōhi—
Had also been assassinated through infiltration.
Was the same fate about to repeat?