"Captain, what's our next mission?"
"Don't ask what you're not supposed to."
Even a simple request of his was shut down—damn these ANBU regulations.
Yako followed Captain Antelope to a small dock where they waited.
A few days later, their target arrived.
A squad of Uzumaki shinobi, led by a familiar face—Uzumaki Yuka.
Yuka's eyes relaxed when she spotted the fox mask.
"Captain Antelope, Fox, I didn't expect it to be you two. Where's Horned Ox?"
"Horned Ox died gathering intel on Kumo-nin."
A flash of guilt crossed Yuka's face. "I'm sorry. A Konoha ninja dying for our sake—we won't forget this."
"Konoha and Uzushiogakure are allies. It's our duty."
Yako was surprised. Warm words—from Captain Antelope?
The two squads moved together. Uzumaki Yuka's team was tasked with sealing a rogue, powerful ninja beast.
As the Uzumaki team scattered to scout, Antelope pulled Yako aside.
"Fox, use Yuka's affection toward you. Stay close—no more than two steps away from her during combat.
Our objective is the Adamantine Sealing Chains scroll. If necessary, kill her and frame Kumo."
"Understood, Captain."
Near a small lake, Yuka instructed her team of three to set three traps.
At the bottom of each trap lay explosive tags; above them, heavy wire nets.
It looked like the goal was to blast the nets into the sky.
Once the traps were set, everyone hid in the woods surrounding the lake.
Yako crouched in a bush, not far from Yuka's own hiding spot.
To his surprise, she crawled over to his side on her own.
They lay there together, forms hidden beneath the brush, eyes fixed on the still lake.
Fights between regular shinobi weren't like the earth-shaking battles of Kage-level ninja. Most of the time, it was quiet stalking, long stakeouts.
Every shinobi had their own survival wisdom. The weaker you were, the more cautious you had to be.
Yuka whispered, "Fox… can you tell me your name?"
"Sorry, I can't."
There was a flicker of disappointment in her gaze, but she quickly recovered. "I get it. You're a Senju plant in ANBU—you can't talk, can't take the risk."
Yako didn't answer. Neither confirming nor denying made him seem more mysterious—let the misunderstanding deepen.
He searched his memory. He'd only seen a few Senju kids back at the academy.
After the Second Hokage's death, the Senju clan had become obsessed with restoring their former glory. The whole clan was like it was on stimulants—even the kids yelled about becoming Hokage.
Take Senju Nawaki, for example—always shouting he'd be Hokage one day.
If Yako shouted that now, no one would care. If Nawaki said it, people took it seriously.
People weren't born equal.
"Lady Yuka, what exactly are we hunting?"
"Spear-billed Egret. A rare, flight-capable ninja beast," Yuka explained.
"Every Uzumaki can form a contract with their own summon.
Sealing techniques alone aren't that powerful, but paired with a summon's unique abilities, your strength improves drastically."
Yako felt a twinge of envy.
The Sannin had sacred summons—each could crush Chūnin or even Jōnin level enemies.
No wonder Kumo and Kiri were jealous. Hell, even Konoha shinobi were jealous.
Yako turned slightly, peering through a leaf gap in the bush—his eyes locked on Antelope's mask.
The captain was hidden high in the branches, mask tilted as if his eyes were closed or narrowed.
The strongest in the Uzumaki squad was Yuka. Antelope's gaze never left her.
Yako waited for ages but Antelope never looked away. So he held back, made no moves.
The damp ground steamed faintly. Bugs occasionally scuttled by.
Yuka, unaware of Antelope's scrutiny, kept shifting slightly under the bush, trying to avoid the insects.
As she shifted, her chest peeked out a bit more from her collar.
Yako was unmoved. He adjusted his mask to block his own line of sight—better to keep watching the captain.
He chewed two soldier pills and crouched in silence from morning until dusk.
The sun dipped westward, the brush now cloaked in shade.
Suddenly, a dark speck appeared in the sky, flying fast.
"It's here! The Spear-billed Egret's returning to roost!"
It was a three-meter-long egret with a one-meter needle-like beak. The rest of it—neck, body—was long and narrow.
Once it folded its wings, the thing could dive with terrifying speed.
Antelope's gaze followed it. Yako saw the moment of distraction and whispered to Yuka, "Do you have any poisoned needles?"
"Poisoned needles? Yes!"
She handed him one from her gear pouch.
Yako didn't know poisons, had no venom of his own.
To handle a powerhouse like Antelope, poison was essential.
He took out a hemostatic syringe and coated a kunai with the agent. Then he slipped the poison into his gear pouch.
Yuka's brow furrowed at the sight.
A kunai… dipped in medicine? Staunching the bleeding as he cut?
Just then—the trap exploded.
Three massive nets blasted skyward. One ensnared the egret's wing mid-flight.
Yuka bolted from hiding, rushing toward the trapped creature.
With her gone, Antelope's focus shifted fully. Yako quickly took out the poison and injected it into the airborne syringe.
Everything was ready. Now he just needed a chance to strike.
Following orders, Yako also leapt out—he couldn't stray from Yuka's side.
The Spear-billed Egret hit the ground, wings tangled in the wire. It flailed but couldn't fly.
Its beak was deadly. The first Uzumaki ninja to approach had their thigh pierced clean through—like getting stabbed by a spear.
Its neck coiled, snapping back and forth. No one dared get close.
"I'll do it!"
Yuka stepped in, forming seals—Self-Cursed Binding Seal.
The curse marks crept up the egret's long legs, across its wings, over its neck, locking it down.
Still it struggled, body twitching violently.
"This next phase is the long grind," she explained to Yako. "It's too big. We have to exhaust it before we can contract it."
Yako glanced toward the treetop. Antelope was still hiding, unmoved.
The power struggle dragged on. At last, Yuka subdued the beast. Its eyes showed a plea for mercy.
Seeing the moment was right, she reached beneath her skirt to her thigh—pulled out the scroll.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains Scroll!
Just then—chaos erupted.
While everyone focused on the scroll, two Kumo squads burst from a long-laid ambush at the flank.
The scroll.
The Kumo squads wanted it—wanted to steal the Uzumaki's sealing secrets.
Yuka had no choice. She released the egret from her seal to engage.
The beast collapsed, legs trembling.
Yuka wasn't doing much better—drenched in sweat, soaked to the bone. Her tight outfit clung to her like she'd just been pulled from water.
The Kumo-nin charged. Their squad leader sliced down an Uzumaki in an instant.
Yako moved in front of Yuka, blocking a sword strike with his kunai.
Captain Antelope finally dropped from the treetop, clashing with a nearby Kumo-nin.
With his strength, he could've ended it in seconds—but instead he fought back and forth.
Yako instantly understood—the captain was slacking off.
And Yako, being a natural at that too, knew the signs.
So he joined in.
He was driven back by a Kumo-nin, nearly slashed across the ribs.
That forced him to retreat—leaving Yuka exposed.
She raised the scroll.
Originally meant to seal a ninja beast—now it had to deal with Kumo-nin.
Then—Captain Antelope shouted: "Seize it!"
The order was for Fox.
ANBU wanted a pristine Adamantine Chain scroll for themselves.
Yako spun and slashed—his kunai stabbing into Yuka's abdomen.