After his rebirth, Yako followed the events of his previous life—first visiting Captain Black Ape, then notifying Captain Yellow Dog that Black Ape would need over a month to recover his combat ability.
After finishing training the new recruits in his unit, Yako headed to Tsurugetsu Tavern that evening.
Inside, he saw Senju Kaba, now missing a leg, chatting at the counter with his friend Yachi.
Watching the two talk, Yako silently reflected on his own situation.
As a member of the ANBU, he didn't want to keep serving as a dog to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo.
If he wanted to retain any autonomy, he couldn't let Sarutobi and Danzo monopolize power.
In the original, the Senju Clan had been wiped out. The Uchiha Clan too. The Hyuga Clan was then under Sarutobi Hiruzen's boot—Hyuga Hiashi had nearly been handed over to Kumogakure. In Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen's word was law. If things continued like this, Yako would face more and more situations beyond his control.
Right now, the only person in Konoha who could still rein in Sarutobi Hiruzen was Princess Mito.
Yako believed he had to find a way to leverage her influence to preserve a diversity of voices in the village and prevent Sarutobi's total domination.
The Senju Clan was key. Even if he couldn't save the clan outright, he had to preserve the embers—like he did with Yuka—ensuring there were still Senju survivors left to give the village elders headaches.
The more chaos in the village, the greater his room to survive.
Yako walked up to the bar and joked with Kyoi, while eavesdropping on Senju Kaba and Yachi as they talked about Kaba's son.
The next day, Yachi arranged for Senju Kaba's son, Senju Haku, to visit.
Upon hearing Yachi mention his Uzushio mother, Haku's expression changed dramatically. He leaned in and whispered something to his teacher.
Yachi was visibly shocked and warned his student not to act rashly—he would investigate first.
After leaving the tavern, Yachi was deeply troubled.
Senju Haku had encountered a woman in the Land of Grass—a kunoichi from the Uzumaki Clan who possessed the Longspear Egret as her summoning beast.
She had revealed the true cause of the Uzumaki Clan's annihilation: not only Kirigakure and Kumogakure wanted the Uzumaki gone, even Konoha shared that goal.
Shocking. Horrifying.
Yachi had heard some rumors from the higher-ups. Head Clan Senju Rinju had always acted like half the master of Konoha, constantly criticizing the other elders' decisions.
Out of respect for Rinju's status, the others had refrained from confronting him directly.
But any clear-eyed observer could tell: the Hokage, the advisors—they had no interest in hearing more talk about honoring the legacy of the First and Second Hokage.
'So you inherited their will—but does that mean the rest of the Konoha leadership didn't?'
Yachi was bewildered. Had the rift within the upper echelons really grown this sharp?
Could a long-standing ally like Uzushio Village be abandoned so casually?
The Uzumaki were related to the Senju by marriage. How could this be acceptable?
He looked northeast, toward the Forest of Death. He knew the ANBU's base was in there—but had no idea how to even begin an investigation.
Late into the night, he paced endlessly through the village, rejecting plan after plan in his mind.
Investigating the ANBU from the shadows—if discovered, he would be branded a traitor.
Just then, as he passed a park, a white bird darted out from a tree on his left, cutting across the path into the forest on the right.
Yachi froze. 'That bird… it looked like a waterfowl?'
But Konoha didn't have such birds.
A piece of paper floated down from above. Yachi caught it.
On it was written: Senju Haku is in danger tonight.
Yachi jolted to alertness. That bird—it was clearly an egret.
His student had just said he'd met a kunoichi in the Land of Grass with a Longspear Egret summoning beast.
Was there a hidden force investigating the truth behind the Uzumaki Clan's destruction from within the village?
Yachi spun around and rushed back toward the tavern where he had parted ways with his student.
It was already past 2 AM. The tavern had just closed.
The pretty proprietress was closing the windows, stealing glances filled with affection toward the handsome young man leaning in the back doorway.
Yachi had no time to concern himself with their relationship. He hurried straight toward the Senju Clan compound.
Yako watched Yachi's back disappear into the distance, unsure if the man could save that young Senju.
He wrapped an arm around Kyoi's waist and disappeared into the back courtyard.
After this resurrection, he had to be extremely cautious. He could only revive once per month—only after the next full moon could he afford to relax even a little.
The next day, Yako returned to the ANBU.
He judged Leaf Monkey unfit for ANBU service and returned to Root, requesting they reassign or transfer in a rookie with squad leader-level ability.
While he waited in Root, another squad captain was also complaining.
"Does Root even live up to Lord Danzo's expectations anymore? The rookies you train are awful! They couldn't even handle a basic cleanup mission—someone escaped!"
Without the Self-Binding Curse Mark on the tongue, Danzo's grip on the ANBU and Root was far weaker than in the original timeline.
Danzo was in desperate need of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques Manual.
Yako's mind flashed back. 'Last night's cleanup mission… could it have targeted Senju Haku?'
Yako didn't receive a new squad leader and instead returned to his own squad to continue training the rookies.
In the depths of the Forest of Death's training grounds—
There were two rookies from the Fox Squad, three from the White Ram Squad, and three from the Leaf Monkey Squad. Eight total.
Purple Cat handed Yako a dull-edged training blade smeared with red pigment.
After inheriting the Senju bloodline, Yako felt itchy all over. He was eager for a proper fight.
He looked at the eight and said:
"Konoha's ANBU is getting worse with every generation. At this rate, does this village even have a future? All eight of you, come at me at once! Don't disappoint me, you fresh trash!"
Having passed the grueling Chunin Exams, they were the village's rising elites—each had some pride. How could they tolerate this kind of humiliation from a substitute squad leader?
They each drew weapons and attacked from several directions.
Yako felt like his body was overflowing with energy.
High stamina was a kind of talent too.
Only with stamina and a durable body can one persist in long battles.
After two Reflex breakthroughs, his reaction speed was excellent. He easily dodged two incoming blades and kicked another rookie away.
"Idiots! Can eight of you even fit around me? Why didn't three of you hang back to flank from range? Charging in all at once—is that your idea of tactics?"
His dull blade slammed into one rookie's arm, knocking the kunai from his hand.
Finally, a few of them fell back and started throwing kunai from a distance.
Two were okay, but one had the weakest toss Yako had ever seen.
He grabbed that kunai mid-air and threw it right back.
"Don't underestimate basic kunai throwing techniques! Your fundamentals are garbage! Is it because it's not a fancy jutsu that you ignored it?"
The returning kunai struck the rookie's throat.
Though it wasn't sharp, the impact hurt like hell, making the boy bend over reflexively.
Yako just kept shaking his head.
Konoha had weakened significantly between the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. Even the ANBU's quality had dropped this obviously—how much worse must the average ninja be?
Off to the side, Purple Cat watched with growing shock. 'Why is the Fox Captain this strong?'
ANBU combat normally revolved around taijutsu and explosive tags, but the captain's movements were fluid—utterly seamless. Like he'd gone through a second physical awakening.
Recalling the captain's performance in the locker room a few nights ago, Purple Cat's cheeks reddened. She quickly lowered her head and resumed logging each rookie's performance.
Just then, as the training hit its peak, an aide from Captain Yellow Dog's unit appeared via Body Flicker Technique.
"There are two Special Jōnin-level rogue ninja inside the village! One of them is a Senju Clan member. Captain Yellow Dog orders your unit to dispatch a team to pursue and eliminate them!"
"I understand. I'll lead the team personally."
Yako cursed inwardly. 'Damn it, I warned Yachi—and now the butterfly effect has started. The plot's changed.'
Senju Haku and Yachi had both been marked by ANBU as rogue ninjas.