Mache looked at Yako's attire and sneered."You—Konoha ANBU—aren't you supposed to be fighting Hanzo? What are you doing here in the Yoshigane Mountain Range?"
Dangling with one hand from a kunai embedded in the rock wall, Yako twisted his arm, swung in a wide arc, and planted his feet atop the kunai.
He said, voice sharp and cold:
"You didn't just drive the people of an entire town—ten villages—into the underground waterways of Yoshigane Mountain. You even dare ask questions. Why should you care what I'm doing here?"
Yako admitted it—he had no sense of belonging to this world. No sympathy for its people. He wasn't a man of kindness.
But Mache's actions… they were simply inhuman.
With Mache's strength, there were countless ways to avoid needless deaths. But he hadn't cared. His only thought was to achieve his goal. The lives of those in the Land of Rain never entered his calculations.
Mache actually laughed, infuriated."So… the youth of Konoha are all this reckless now? No fear of death at all?"
Two dozen Suna-nin landed behind him, arrayed against the masked fox-faced ANBU on the cliff wall.
Yako pressed his fingers against the wound Mache's Wind Release had carved into him. The cut hurt, but didn't hinder movement."I'm not afraid of dying right now. So—what will you do?"
In that instant, Mache froze. His eyes widened.
This wasn't a Konoha ANBU. This was a Rain Village ANBU!
But why wasn't he wearing the poison mask every Ame-nin carried?
The reason was clear: the fox-masked ANBU had just used one of Hanzo's signature techniques.
Water Release: Water Body Flicker.
With a single hand seal, Yako vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the Suna-nin.
Rain poured endlessly, pooling across the land. It was the perfect terrain for the Water Flicker.
He had no intention of surviving this battle anyway. Yako hurled every explosive tag he carried in one desperate sweep.
"—Aaah!"
The mountains echoed with screams.
Fifteen of the twenty Suna-nin were blasted into the air, their bodies broken by fire and steel.
Only then did Mache turn around.
Such speed. Just one seal, and it was as though the man had teleported.
Was this ANBU one of Hanzo's disciples?
The smoke from the tags was quickly pressed down by the rain. Cutting through the haze, the fox-faced ANBU charged forward.
Yako raced low to the ground, ninja blade slashing for Mache's leg.
But a whirlwind sprang up around Mache. Countless wind blades spun within it, shredding Yako to pieces.
Puff!
A cloud of white smoke dispersed—only a Shadow Clone.
Not far away, Yako crouched, watching the whirlwind diminish.
Defense by cyclone, attack by cutting gales. Mache's system of offense and defense was airtight. As expected of a Suna elite jōnin.
Yako touched his mask. He needed to go all out—force Mache to reveal more cards, more intel, anything that might give him the edge in his next life.
His eyes bled red. A single tomoe Sharingan spun into existence.
Never underestimate a single tomoe. It was still a Sharingan.
Mache faltered once again.
What was going on?
Why would Hanzo take in an Uchiha disciple—and even teach him the Water Flicker Technique, one of his most prized abilities?
Could it be that Rain and Konoha were entwined in secret? Or worse—that Hanzo meant to use the Uchiha to deal a crippling blow to Konoha?
The possibilities tangled in his mind.A conspiracy. A vast, terrible conspiracy!
But Yako gave him no time to think.
Another seal. Another blur. He was behind Mache again.
Mache reacted on instinct, unleashing another gale.
But the Sharingan caught it. Yako twisted mid-air into an impossible posture—shoulder down, waist up, legs thrown back—and slid between the blades of wind.
His ninja blade thrust forward, aiming for the back of Mache's skull.
Mache ducked low, the strike whistling past.
Yako pressed on, relentless. Each swing of his blade whined through the rain. Strike after strike—none finding flesh.
The longer it went, the more dread gripped him.
Mache hadn't moved a step. Yet he slipped past every strike with impossible precision.
Was the gap between them really so vast?
Then suddenly—Mache's hand shot up. His fingers clamped around Yako's throat.
Yako's mind jolted with clarity.
Before the grip closed, he had already felt the pressure of wind around his neck.
So that was it.
Mache's entire body was wrapped in a dense skin of air. That layer magnified every current stirred by incoming attacks.
Not a single raindrop touched him.
The moment Yako's blade came within twenty centimeters, Mache had already felt the air ripple and shifted in advance.
What kind of technique is this?
A Wind Release armor?
Mache tightened his grip, twisting sharply.
Crack.
Yako's neck snapped.
"No matter who you are—Hanzo's disciple, or some Uchiha prodigy—tonight you die."
[Monitoring host's death. Arc of the Waning Moon system activating…]
The scene shifted. Yako's vision cleared.
He was back—back at the last night of the full moon, in the inn at Teigu Town.
In his arms, Purple Cat slept soundly, her delicate face flushed, her slender white neck still touched with the heat of passion.
Outside, the rain was calm.
His strength was still far from an elite jōnin's.
Even throwing everything he had on the line—it wasn't enough.
Death was a constant, as natural as breath.
The shinobi world was merciless. Without clan or village shielding you, not even geniuses survived.
Namikaze Minato had Jiraiya's guidance. Kakashi had Minato's protection.
Even then, in the Great Ninja War, both Obito and Rin perished.
Most geniuses died nameless. Only survivors were hailed as heroes.
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated!]
The host is granted one revival per month, resurrecting at the night of the last full moon.
Reward: One draw:
-Wind-natured chakra.
-Tokubetsu jōnin–level chakra reserves.
-Bandage-style taijutsu (introductory).
Wind Release didn't fit Yako's current fighting style. At best, it would be an accessory. He left it aside.
The third—Bandage-style taijutsu. Likely Mache's secret art, born of the wrappings around his head. Too narrow to be useful now.
He chose the second. Tokubetsu jōnin–level chakra reserves.
Last draw, his chakra reserves had already reached 3.8 times the average tokubetsu jōnin's. Since then, his special constitution had steadily released more potential, pushing him up to 4.5 times.
Adding another full increment now brought him to 1.1 times the standard jōnin level.
At last, his chakra had reached the average jōnin's.
After this mission, he would apply to Captain Yellow Dog for tokubetsu jōnin certification.
Chūnin privileges were meager. As a tokubetsu jōnin, his standing in ANBU would rise. He would be authorized to access deeper layers of information.
Yako rose, dressed, and gave Purple Cat's pert backside a teasing shake.
"Hmm?" She stirred, eyes half-lidded, stretching like a kitten."Again? Then let me wash first…"
Yako tapped her cheek lightly."While you were sleeping, I left a Shadow Clone here to guard you and went scouting. Got intel. We need to move—we're meeting Captain Yellow Dog.
Want more? Are you Purple Cat, or a greedy cat?
There are only exhausted oxen, never broken fields. If you don't rest, at least let me rest."
Purple Cat stiffened inside. The captain went scouting? How had she not noticed? Had she really slept that deeply?