Yako entered the park and was met with chaos among the Anbu.
More than a dozen Anbu were locked in a chaotic battle, with several corpses already lying on the ground.
Just as expected—there really was a Cloud spy among the new Anbu recruits!
During the fall of the Uzushio Village, Konoha had only dispatched Anbu. The casualties were severe—four full units were wiped out and had to be rebuilt.
But the newly rebuilt Anbu were a mixed bag—and a Cloud ninja had slipped in among them.
Avoiding the infighting, Yako burst from the trees and spotted Princess Kushina slung over a man's shoulder.
If Princess Kushina were taken to the Hidden Cloud Village, they'd definitely dissect her to study her sealing techniques.
Yako immediately gave chase.
Rescuing Princess Kushina would guarantee at least an A-rank mission. If things went well, he might even be granted an S-rank mission.
An S-rank reward meant a million ryo—enough for him to live it up in the izakayas for three whole months.
The Anbu traitor darted through the alleys, vanishing repeatedly into the shadows.
As expected of a spy—he knew Konoha like the back of his hand. Far better than Yako, who rarely visited the western district.
Yako had to stop frequently, wasting time searching the shadows for signs of the Cloud spy.
Playing it safe, he pulled out a kunai rigged with an explosive tag and hurled it into the sky.
The tag detonated mid-air.
Nearby shinobi and Anbu would recognize this as an emergency alert signal.
Soon after, the spy vanished into a hole beneath the outer wall of Konoha.
Yako suddenly came to a realization.
The park was right next to Senju territory, yet despite Princess Kushina being abducted, the Senju showed no reaction.
The village leadership had long been unhappy with the Senju clan taking charge of Princess Kushina. If her safety were compromised, this incident might give them an excuse to move against the Senju.
Some of what he'd seen tonight… it might have been allowed to happen.
The spy's performance was too smooth—suspiciously so.
They'd even dug a tunnel beneath the village wall.
Yako slipped into the tunnel and followed, leaving the village behind.
He had just passed through the outer wall when he heard a sound from the tunnel behind him.
Yako hid behind a large tree.
A blond boy emerged from the hole, clutching strands of red hair in his hand.
Namikaze Minato… sharp as ever. He'd already noticed the red hair that Princess Kushina had left as a trail.
Yako's thoughts stirred.
Minato was a speed-type ninja, famed for his reaction time.
Ninjutsu, chakra levels—those could all be improved with time.
But speed trumped everything. Reflexes were the ultimate advantage.
Initially, he had only planned to follow Princess Kushina to snag an A or S-rank mission and earn some spending money.
But now the situation had changed.
Minato didn't yet know many jutsu. If Yako struck now, he might gain a reaction-type ability.
As for protecting Princess Kushina… that was Konoha's problem, not his.
He tailed Minato out of the village. When Minato finally spotted Princess Kushina and focused entirely on her, Yako made his move.
He was dressed in civilian clothes tonight, without his ninja blade. He gripped a kunai tightly and leapt down from the treetops.
Both hands clutching the weapon, he aimed it straight at Minato's head.
Minato was hopping through the trees—close enough.
Midair, despair crept into Yako's eyes.
Minato had looked up.
His gaze was sharp and icy.
He had completely tracked Yako's movement.
Not only that—he glanced Yako up and down: mask, kunai, limbs… even the treetop where Yako had been hiding.
All those eye movements occurred in a single instant.
Such reflexes… even a fully awakened Sharingan couldn't do better.
Minato braced his foot and suddenly stopped on the branch.
Yako landed in front of him, his ambush a complete failure. He hurriedly swung his kunai.
Minato reacted even faster—he bent low to evade the slash.
One hand seized Yako's wrist. The other drove a kunai into Yako's abdomen.
Too fast!
He had read every one of Yako's moves and responded accordingly.
Whether it was observation, neural transmission, or muscular reaction—he was top-tier.
'So this is what a natural-born ninja looks like?'
'Is this the fate of a villain?'
'To be killed by an academy student… makes me look like a total clown.'
Before Naruto was even born, Minato was already this world's chosen one.
Messing with the chosen one… meant a swift death.
Darkness.
Yako's vision shifted.
He was back under the last full moon, standing in the backyard of the izakaya.
Kyoi was up above, drenched in sweat.
Yako closed his eyes, savoring… the system's reward.
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated!
The host may revive once per month after death, returning to the night of the previous full moon.
Reward: One lottery draw
1 – Wind-natured Chakra
2 – Chunin-level Chakra Capacity (stackable)
3 – Reflex Boost (Second Breakthrough)]
Wind-natured chakra—Minato's original nature was Wind, just like Naruto in the main story.
Not useful to Yako right now.
Maybe if he ended up in the Land of Hot Water and faced a lot of Cloud ninja, he could use Wind to counter Lightning Release.
Chunin-level chakra capacity—confirmed that Minato had far more chakra than a genin.
In the original story, Minato had an enormous chakra reserve, enough to teleport Tailed Beasts and Tailed Beast Bombs without issue.
Yako's eyes lit up at the third option.
A boost to reflexes!
Reflex Boost (Second Breakthrough)!
He picked the third reward without hesitation.
In an instant, his reflexes became sharper. Visual, spinal, and muscular nerves were all enhanced.
His original reaction time was 0.2 seconds. After the first breakthrough, it became 0.15 seconds.
Now, as he stared at Kyoi's chin, he noticed sweat glistening on it.
A droplet slipped down.
Yako reached to catch it mid-air.
Judging from the timing, his reaction time had improved to around 0.12 seconds.
The first boost gave him 0.05 seconds, and the second gave him another 0.03.
Boosting reaction time was clearly difficult—training alone would never shave off 0.03 seconds.
"You creep! What are you catching my sweat for? Are you mocking me for being too forward?"
"I just feel bad seeing you work so hard."
The next morning, Yako left the izakaya refreshed and energized.
He hoped to run into more speed-type ninjas.
If he kept boosting his reaction speed, one day, he could become a taijutsu master based on reflexes alone.