Yako used Reverse Summoning to return to the village.
He slipped into the front of the tavern in the dark, took a bottle of sake without lighting a lamp, and drank alone.
In the quiet of the night, he contemplated the path of his strength.
There was a problem with increasing his chakra reserves.
There were too few elite jonin.
Elite jonin—like Kakashi at the beginning of the original story, when he first led a team—were extremely rare in the shinobi world.
Ideally, he would harvest chakra from a single elite jonin, revive through the Arc of the Waning Moon, then eliminate that same elite jonin afterward. Only that would erase future risks—preventing the danger of dying twice to the same opponent and being erased for good.
Within Konoha, there were fewer than ten elite jonin. The number suitable for harvesting chakra—and ensuring they could be eliminated immediately afterward—was even narrower.
His growth required careful planning.
He could not afford stagnation.
Tomorrow, after reporting to ANBU, he would draft a list—elite jonin within Konoha, elite jonin from enemy villages.
From that list, he would select appropriate targets.
Either future allies…
Or those he could eliminate without leaving consequences.
If neither condition was met, then he would slowly accumulate jonin-level chakra through ANBU missions and underground bounty assignments.
Kage-level shinobi were even rarer.
For now, he could not afford to provoke them recklessly.
Kage-level chakra reserves would have to wait until he himself stepped into that realm.
He needed to be mentally prepared.
Once he reached Kage-level—and beyond—even then he might be forced to accumulate chakra from lower-ranked shinobi, bit by bit.
Without suitable elite jonin or Kage-level targets, his growth would slow drastically within a few years.
That was the fate of many shinobi.
After a period of rapid advancement came a long plateau.
The next morning, Yako went to ANBU and requested the roster of Konoha's shinobi.
ANBU maintained records and general intelligence on every ninja in the village.
He silently thanked his status as an ANBU division captain. The authority it granted was substantial.
Excluding the higher-ups and Kage-level shinobi, Konoha's elite jonin were few.
ANBU: Yellow Dog, Lynx, and himself — three.
Senju Clan: Senju Hanaki — one.
Uchiha Clan: Uchiha Kagen and Uchiha Gogo — two.
Hyuga Clan: Clan Head Hyuga Tengetsu — one.
Sarutobi Clan: the Third Hokage's younger brothers, Sarutobi Hiaki and Sarutobi Hiyuu — two.
Shimura Clan: aside from Lynx, only Shimura Kōhi — one.
Ino–Shika–Cho and the Aburame Clan: four clan heads, all elite jonin — four.
The Inuzuka clan head was only jonin level—not elite.
Among civilian shinobi, there were three elite jonin.
Sixteen in total.
Not counting himself.
At the next full moon cycle… who should he harvest from?
Who could be killed afterward?
The Land of Grass daimyo had been attacked—a major incident.
Yet Yako behaved as if nothing had happened.
He continued village surveillance.
From a distance, he shadowed Princess Kushina, monitoring the Jinchūriki.
Princess Kushina complained while carrying out a D-rank mission.
"Tsunade-nee! I'm going to become Hokage one day! How can I keep doing these silly missions like finding cats and dogs?"
"Kushina!" Tsunade snapped. "Every ninja starts with D-rank missions.
"You should be grateful. If this were wartime, you'd already be on the front lines.
"Out there, B-rank missions get people killed without warning.
"When Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and I first went to the battlefield, we nearly died more times than I can count.
"Those genin who died within two months of graduating would envy you—doing boring D-rank missions safely in the village.
"And another thing! I'm your teacher. In the team, you call me Tsunade-sensei!"
Kushina shot back stubbornly.
"Tsunade-sensei, you three became the Sannin because you went to the battlefield early and grew stronger fast, didn't you?"
Tsunade knocked her lightly on the head.
"You're the last survivor of the Uzumaki Clan. How could you possibly fight on the battlefield as a mere genin?"
"Why can't I? Why can't I take dangerous missions? If I'm stuck in the village because of who I am, then what about my teammates? Shouldn't they be barred too?"
Her two teammates—both from the Senju Clan—answered gently.
"Kushina, don't worry about us. We're studying medical ninjutsu under Lady Tsunade. Staying in the village suits us."
Kushina sighed, frustrated.
To protect her, even her teammates had become village-bound medics.
It seemed she wouldn't be leaving Konoha anytime soon.
But she still wanted to uncover the truth behind the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan.
Deep down, she felt something wasn't right.
Yako crouched behind a chimney, watching the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki from afar.
Even Tsunade hadn't noticed him.
Suddenly, both Yako and Tsunade looked up.
A strange layer of chakra spread across the sky.
It hung overhead like a dome.
A barrier.
Yako recognized it instantly.
Not the village's primary defensive barrier.
A second one. Smaller.
Blossom Deer appeared near the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Failing to find the Fox Division captain, he revealed himself so the Fox commander would notice.
Yako vanished in a blur of the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing beside Blossom Deer.
Blossom Deer thought to himself, The captain's strength is incredible.
"Captain, the barrier unit chief Yamanaka Inoen requests your presence."
"Understood."
Yako ordered Blossom Deer to replace him in monitoring the Jinchūriki and headed for the Barrier Unit.
The Barrier Unit occupied the top floor of a tall building, overseeing Konoha's protective barrier.
When he entered, he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen and Yellow Dog already present.
Yamanaka Inoen, clan head of the Yamanaka and leader of the Barrier Unit, waited until everyone important had gathered before speaking.
"This is the new barrier we've installed—designed specifically for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
"Her movements are now restricted within a three-kilometer radius centered on the Senju district.
"If she exits this area, the Barrier Unit will detect it immediately."
Yako examined the coverage area.
Poor Kushina.
Konoha was shaped like a semicircle, its diameter defined by the Hokage Monument mountain.
Inside that semicircle, a smaller circle had now been drawn.
Its diameter was roughly a quarter the length of the mountain face.
Kushina's world had shrunk to that circle.
Yamanaka Inoen continued:
"This barrier is called the Nine-Tails Barrier.
"The Barrier Unit will maintain three rotating squads dedicated to monitoring it.
"If the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki leaves the boundary, a Yamanaka shinobi will use a secret technique to enter Kushina's mind and warn her to return."
The Third Hokage turned to Yako.
"Fox. Your sealing techniques are exceptional. What do you think of this barrier?"