Upon his revival, Captain Brown Bear once again sent Yorimitsu on the same mission—to capture a Kumo squad captain alive.
In his previous life, Yorimitsu had used explosive tags to ambush the enemy. This time, he remembered exactly where the Kumo captain had landed after jumping and planted a second explosive trap there.
Having foreknowledge sure had its advantages.
As expected, the Kumo captain triggered the second trap. Coughing blood, he propped himself up with his sword, struggling to stand.
Yorimitsu charged forward for a one-on-one duel.
This time, he drew his short sword instead of a kunai.
He rarely used a blade before, but now it felt like an extension of his arm—smooth and natural to wield.
Clang!
The two swords collided with a crisp metallic sound.
The Kumo captain was startled—not because this masked ANBU was too strong, but because his movements mirrored his own exactly—same stance, same speed.
After three consecutive exchanges, every clash was evenly matched.
The Kumo captain felt as though every one of his moves was being read in advance.
Yorimitsu's heart secretly rejoiced—by erasing the gap in swordsmanship, they were now on equal footing.
A sword was far deadlier than a kunai—perfect for fighting a Kumo ninja who combined both power and speed.
As the fight went on, exchanging blow after blow, the Kumo captain grew weaker. The wounds from the explosions were taking their toll.
He felt like he was fighting an Uchiha—every swing of his sword was being anticipated.
Yorimitsu had completely replicated his opponent's style; the system's reward was, after all, tied to his previous death.
Two minutes later, the Kumo captain could no longer endure it—Yorimitsu's blade sliced across his wrist.
The enemy's sword fell to the ground.
Without hesitation, Yorimitsu severed the man's tendons and broke his arms and legs before hoisting him onto his shoulder to return to the shore.
It wasn't a smooth journey.
At first, the Kumo captain struggled wildly on his shoulder, thrashing like a shrimp. Yorimitsu had to stab a kunai into his lower back to quiet him.
Later, the man tried to bite his tongue and end his life, so Yorimitsu stuffed his mouth full to stop him.
While traveling, Yorimitsu looked up at the moon.
——
The full moon hung bright as silver, its light like frost upon the sea.
That meant—his resurrection ability had reset.
After a long and arduous trek, Yorimitsu finally brought the captive back to the coast.
Captain Brown Bear was clearly impressed upon seeing Fox return with a live prisoner.
A member of the ANBU who could repeatedly complete missions—was the best kind of ANBU.
Fox's performance had exceeded expectations. Capturing a live target placed him among the captain's most reliable subordinates.
"Wildcat, you and Fox interrogate this Kumo captain. Find out what they're doing in the Land of Waves."
"Yes, Captain."
Wildcat was the leader of another squad.
Yorimitsu followed him, curious to see how interrogation was done.
After only a few minutes, Yorimitsu turned slightly aside.
Compared to his own crude methods of crippling tendons, Captain Wildcat's torture techniques were downright professional.
The Kumo captain twitched and groaned under the pain, unable to scream with his mouth gagged.
His eyes turned bloodshot, veins bursting in the whites like a man struck with pinkeye.
As Wildcat worked, Yorimitsu tried to change the subject. "Captain Wildcat, you've got three team members, right? How about lending me one?"
"Captain Fox, I value my comrades. They're second only to the mission itself."
"Well, I value them too! Give me one, and I'll help you value him together."
The two haggled for a while, but Wildcat refused to give in. He wasn't about to share his men.
And so Yorimitsu remained a one-man squad—no one to scout, no one to draw enemy fire.
The interrogation stretched from noon to night, then from night to midnight.
By the latter half of the night, Wildcat, panting heavily, approached Captain Brown Bear to report the results.
"What?" Brown Bear's tone was full of shock. After a moment of thought, he barked, "Find the division commander immediately—this intel must be reported!"
It turned out all the nearby Kumo squads were just decoys.
The true mission of the Cloud forces was taking place on the opposite side of the Land of Waves—
A high-level meeting between Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
The Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Mist had formed an alliance!
In the middle of a Great Ninja War, any alliance between two villages spelled trouble for Konoha.
Captain Brown Bear didn't even wait for the other squads to regroup—he set off that very night to find the division commander.
The commander, wearing a yellow hound mask, listened carefully, then ordered the communications ninja to contact ANBU Headquarters immediately.
Yorimitsu stood far away; he couldn't tell what method they used to establish contact.
Moments later, several red signal flares shot into the sky—
the highest-level ANBU rally command.
All ANBU who saw the signal were to converge at once.
Two understrength ANBU divisions moved swiftly toward the northeast coast of the Land of Waves.
The atmosphere grew tense. Dropping all previous missions meant something serious had happened—something of the highest priority.
"Hurry! We must make it in time!"
Captain Brown Bear turned to his three squad leaders.
"The sealing of the Three-Tails in Uzushio Village failed—the operation was sabotaged by the Hidden Mist.
The Mist have now declared war on Uzushio.
Based on our intel, the Hidden Cloud might join them.
Princess Uzumaki Kushina is being hunted by Mist-nin right now.
We must protect her—under no circumstances can she fall into enemy hands!"
Konoha was in desperate need of a new jinchūriki for the Nine-Tails.
Danzō Shimura himself had gone to Uzushio, only to be turned away in humiliation.
Meanwhile, ANBU operatives secretly scoured the Land of Waves for Uzumaki sealing scrolls.
Now, with the new orders, the mission was clear—protect the Uzumaki princess at all costs.
She possessed the strongest sealing talent among her clan, a born jinchūriki, chosen to become the Second Nine-Tails Host.
On the eastern coast of the Land of Waves, the Konoha ANBU finally spotted the Uzumaki forces—
Over thirty Uzumaki ninjas, forming a protective circle around a small girl at the center.
The princess had bright red hair—tomato-colored—and was only about seven or eight years old.
She stared in terror as one of her cousins fell dead before her eyes.
Opposite the Uzumaki stood two enemy forces:
One was a group of over a hundred Mist-nin who had just landed ashore.
The other—a unit of Cloud-nin flanking from the side, ready to encircle them.
Captain Yellow Hound gave the order:
"At all costs—protect the Uzumaki Princess!"
His division charged the Mist-nin head-on, while the other ANBU division intercepted the Cloud forces.
One by one, masked ANBU operatives rushed into battle.
Yorimitsu realized he alone had no subordinates following behind.
Being both captain and squad member, it was only natural that his speed lagged a bit—those rocks slowing him down were a perfect excuse.
At the frontlines, the two division commanders—both likely jōnin-level—unleashed massive Fire Release jutsu that engulfed half the beach.
"Fire Release! It's Konoha ANBU!"
The Uzumaki shouted in relief and excitement.
Their allies from the Hidden Leaf had arrived!
The Mist-nin stood at the shoreline, surrounded by water—perfect conditions for Water Release.
Water dragons and fireballs collided, filling the air with steam and white mist.
Through the haze, Captain Yellow Hound roared:
"Uzumaki ninjas! Take Princess Kushina and retreat—now!"