Just like the last time he chose the Senju bloodline, Yako's entire body began to tremble at the cellular level.
He slowly sat down, leaning his back against the tree behind him.
Purple Cat noticed his arm twitching and stepped closer."Captain, are you alright?"
"It's nothing. Just a cramp. Don't make a fuss—it'll pass soon."
Purple Cat found it strange. With Captain Fox's strength, why would he get a cramp?
She didn't press further. Instead, she stepped in front of Yako, shielding him.
And that's when Yako discovered something surprising.
Last time, the ordinary-level Forest of the Senju bloodline had brought him more chakra and a stronger physique.
But now, this mid-high-level Forest of the Senju bloodline didn't just enhance chakra and physical endurance—it came with a new ability.
Self-Healing Recovery (Slow).
Many from the Senju Clan were naturally skilled in medical ninjutsu. Legends like Senju Hashirama and Tsunade had pushed regenerative techniques into the realm of battlefield mastery, turning recovery into a weapon—something that drove their enemies to despair.
If you fought Tsunade at her peak, she wouldn't die unless she ran out of chakra.
And Hashirama? He treated Tsunade's trump card, the Strength of a Hundred Seal, like a passive state.
Now that Yako's bloodline purity had increased, he too had gained a degree of self-healing.
Wounds clotted quickly, pain dulled, and his combat performance remained intact.
His cells began to regenerate on their own—even without a medic-nin, he could eventually recover.
And his chakra had surged—to 1.7x the level of an Tokubetsu Jōnin.
[HOST STATUS]Chakra Capacity: 1.7x Tokubetsu JōninChakra Nature: Earth, Water, YangBloodline: Forest of the Senju (Mid-High)Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Formation Wall, Earth Release: Earth Substitution Technique, etc.Taijutsu: Body Flicker Technique, Cloud-Style Kenjutsu, etc.Fūinjutsu: Self-Binding Curse Mark, etc.Special Traits: Stress Reflex (Double Breakthrough), Natural Chakra Growth, Self-Healing Recovery (Slow)
Yako let out a long breath. The transformation was finally complete.
He swallowed three soldier pills in a row and stood back up.
Clenching and unclenching his fists, his whole body buzzed with strength.
With his improved physique, even his digestion speed had increased. Warmth began to spread from his gut, chasing away the cold sweat clinging to his skin.
Yako turned to look in the direction of Yellow Dog's squad.
Now came the tricky part—what would he do if he met Senju Nawaki again?
According to Captain Yellow Dog's orders, Yako was supposed to die during the decoy mission, drawing Nawaki into a trap.
Nawaki's whereabouts had been arranged by Mitokado Homura, the front-line commander. The trap was laid by an ANBU commander, with backup plans prepared by the Third Hokage and Danzo.
Yako wanted to save Nawaki if he could, but more importantly—he needed to survive.
In the previous timeline, this is how it unfolded:
He had secretly tipped off Senju Haku. Haku wanted to see Nawaki, but that was a pipe dream. The only way was to cooperate with the surviving Uzumaki and leave a signal.
Haku used a special Senju distress technique to draw Senju ninja out of the front-line camp.
No one in Yellow Dog's unit realized the Uzumaki remnants had already placed the scroll outside the camp perimeter.
Yellow Dog assumed the mission was over and led the squad back to the village.
But this time, Yako made preparations in advance.
As they were leaving the Land of Grass, a Longspear Egret suddenly flew by in the distance—fast as lightning, disappearing behind the mountains toward the Land of Rain.
Yako paused, then immediately reported:
"Captain Yellow Dog! That's the Uzumaki summoning beast, the Longspear Egret!I'm sure of it. Back in the Land of Waves, I chased that kind of summon for days with Captain Black Ape."
Captain Yellow Dog responded:"The village is overwhelmed with missions. We're in a critical moment.Still, we can't ignore traces of the Uzumaki. Fox, take your squad and investigate.The Uzumaki remnants have learned Senju sensory techniques. They're hard to catch—be careful."
Yako nodded quickly. "Understood. I'll be cautious."
Reborn with all his memories, a few adjustments were all it took to steer clear of the danger ahead.
The plan went smoothly. He slipped out of Yellow Dog's grasp.
Now, when Yellow Dog received emergency orders from ANBU and rushed back to the front to trap Nawaki, he wouldn't have time to bring Yako along.
The "critical moment" Yellow Dog mentioned probably referred to Uzumaki Mito's failing health—there might be an imminent Nine-Tails sealing transfer.
Back during the battle on Mount Ushiga, Mito had not been as composed as she appeared.
She had forced herself to act fine, keeping enemies from catching wind of her weakness and interfering with the transfer.
Yellow Dog, a high-ranking ANBU officer, had already wasted too much time on Senju Haku, and now was desperate to return to the village.
Once the rest of the unit left, Yako and his squad set off to "track" the Longspear Egret.
Of course, it wasn't really tracking. Yako just pointed in a direction, and the squad followed. The bird was under his control anyway—he only needed to show it once or twice to fool the rookies.
He had already contacted Uzushio Yuka in secret during the summoning, and they had agreed on a rendezvous point.
Fox Squad kept moving until they crossed into the Land of Rain.
Nestled in a basin, the Land of Rain was covered year-round by thick clouds. Sunshine was rare. Rain was frequent.
This land birthed Naka River in the south of Fire Country, as well as over a dozen rivers flowing into the Land of Rivers.
Not long after entering, a sharp cry echoed above.
A three-legged Eight-Winged Crow dove from the clouds.
Its massive beak lunged straight for Fox Squad.
With one impact, it scattered all four of them.
Purple Cat and the others had never seen such a powerful summon. Kunai and shuriken bounced off its dense feathers.
To make things worse, the crow dropped explosive eggs—more powerful than ordinary tags—which suppressed the entire squad instantly.
Yako shouted,"This is a contract summon beast tied to Uzumaki sealing techniques! We can't let this clue escape!"
After a few rounds of skirmishing, he flung a shuriken with a steel wire, wrapping it around the crow's talons.
The Eight-Winged Crow dragged him into the sky.
"Captain! Captain!!"
Purple Cat chased after them, horrified, watching helplessly as her captain vanished beyond the mountains—hauled into the clouds in pursuit of the mission.
Yako heard her calls and sighed inwardly.'Sorry, can't bring you along this time. I've missed Yuka… and I need intel from her.'
'It's just… hard to justify bringing Purple Cat along. Technically speaking, Kyoi is the lover, Yuka is the mistress, and you, Purple Cat, is… just "another woman."'
'Seniority matters. When it comes to rank, I have to give priority to the ones who came first.'
The Eight-Winged Crow brought Yako down beside a lake, then vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Moments later, a large Longspear Egret glided in and landed at the shore.
From its back leapt a graceful figure—Uzumaki Yuka.
She hadn't changed. Still the same luscious fruit on a slender branch. She bounced with elasticity before settling into her heavy curves.
"Fox! Long time no see!"