Uzushiogakure was nestled among mountains, split into northern and southern parts by a large river.
What shocked Yōkō was behind Uzushiogakure – a moving mountain!
Looking closer, he realized it was a massive tortoise, as large as a small hill.
Uzumaki Yuka, on Yōkō's back, leaned close to his ear and explained:
"That is our village guardian summon, Lord Sacred Tortoise.
The Uzumaki clan excels at sealing techniques. During the Warring States period, we sealed monsters for various daimyō and nobles, thus accumulating many summoning contracts.
The large river in the middle also has many aquatic summoning creatures.
Our squad's mission this time was to go to the Land of Waves to seal a rampaging large ninja beast. We were targeted by Kumo-nin and failed."
A high-pitched bird cry reverberated overhead.
Yōkō looked up and saw a summoning beast he recognized from the original story – Nagato's three-legged, giant-beaked Yatagarasu.
So that's it. This is the correct application of sealing techniques.
Sealing powerful summoning beasts to aid in battle.
But why didn't the Uzumaki clan get themselves a Tailed Beast?
With powerful sealing techniques combined with a Tailed Beast, couldn't they create a perfect Jinchūriki?
Uzumaki ninja came to the village entrance and took Uzumaki Yuka to the hospital.
Uzumaki Yuka took one last, longing look at Fox.
A pity. She only remembered Fox's voice, not his name.
After returning, she needed to inquire about who the Senju clan's spy in the Anbu was.
If it were before, when the Anbu answered to Lord Tobirama, it wouldn't be so troublesome.
She heard that after Sarutobi Hiruzen took office, he first conducted a brutal purge of the Anbu, replenishing it with many new recruits and clearing out many of Lord Tobirama's subordinates.
The Antelope Squad went deep into Uzushiogakure, arriving at the Village Chief's building.
On the Village Chief's building was a large Uzumaki clan emblem, identical to the one on the back of Konoha ninja flak jackets.
After waiting for a long time, a group of people approached from the distance.
Leading them was Danzō, followed by his aides.
Danzō at this time was in his prime, with both eyes and arms intact, no abnormalities.
The crossed scar on his chin, paired with extremely small pupils and sclera-showing eyes, looked exceptionally sinister.
Those sclera-showing eyes scanned over, making people feel afraid.
Danzō went up the Village Chief's building. The battalion commander and advisory assistants followed. The company commanders, Captain Antelope, and other squad leaders waited below.
Ordinary Anbu like Yōkō disappeared into the woods behind the Village Chief's building.
Yōkō stood on a tree with Horned Ox, watching the back of the Village Chief's building, always on guard against anyone threatening Danzō.
Danzō was both a high-ranking advisor and the Anbu Director, holding an extremely high status.
Yōkō and Horned Ox didn't communicate. None of the Anbu communicated; each person was like a machine.
After an unknown length of time, Danzō came downstairs and headed out of Uzushiogakure with his aides.
It was unknown what Danzō discussed with the Uzumaki clan leader, but Danzō's expression was very unpleasant, as if it hadn't gone smoothly.
Danzō's gaze wandered, lost in thought.
The battalion commander assigned tasks to the company commanders, who then assigned tasks to the squad leaders.
Captain Antelope found Fox and Horned Ox and led them north.
Captain Antelope revealed they were heading to the Land of Waves.
Yōkō didn't know the mission details, guessing randomly. Perhaps they were to investigate the Kumo-nin appearing in the Land of Waves.
The main battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure was on the border in the Land of Hot Water to the north. Logically, there shouldn't be many Kumo-nin in the Land of Waves.
This was during the Second Great Ninja War. Every village was stretched thin, unlikely to send so many extra personnel unless it was for something major.
Captain Antelope acquired a boat by the shore. The three used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as fishermen and rowed towards the Land of Waves to the north.
Yōkō transformed into a dark-skinned youth.
Leaning over the side of the boat, he tried to see if his transformed self resembled his previous life's self using the water's reflection.
The boat's side churned up white spray; he couldn't see anything.
Rowing was tiring. The Antelope Squad gathered information from nearby fishing boats, searching for suspicious vessels at sea.
For Yōkō, rowing was fine; it was slow. Unconsciously, several days passed.
By the time they reached the coastline, over ten days had passed.
Yōkō welcomed another full moon, finally gaining a new resurrection chance.
He was almost unable to stomach the Military Ration Pills.
The captain forbade roasting sea fish, and Yōkō didn't know which sea fish could be eaten raw, so he had to keep eating Military Ration Pills.
The pills prevented starvation but offered no feeling of fullness. His stomach remained empty for long periods, aching and cramping.
After landing in the Land of Waves, the squad resumed their Anbu appearance and slipped into the coconut groves along the shore.
Yōkō estimated the Anbu was conducting a grid search; their squad kept circling within one area.
After 7 days, Captain Antelope found signs of a fight.
There were no bodies on the ground. The soil was blackish-red; judging from the blood-soaked earth, the fight occurred within the last two days.
Additionally, there were scattered kunai and ninja swords in the grass.
The ninja swords were the standard long swords used by Kumo-nin.
Captain Antelope said, "Everyone pick up a Kumo-nin long sword. It will be useful for disguising ourselves as Kumo-nin."
Yōkō picked up a sword and carefully wiped off the bloodstains.
Disguising themselves as Kumo-nin to do some dirty work made it convenient to frame them.
Centering on this fight site, the Antelope Squad began searching for the enemy.
During the search, Yōkō lamented, no wonder Kakashi made almost no progress during his ten years in the Anbu.
Executing Anbu missions took up all his time; there was simply no time for training.
Most missions involved traveling, searching, lurking – very time-consuming.
Just like in his previous life, leaders possessed a kind of obtuse resilience, disregarding the plight of their subordinates.
He had once thought about relying on his exceptional effort and comprehension to make a name for himself in this ninja world.
But they didn't give him the chance.
Captain Antelope, experienced, found many clues and tracked them to a fishing village.
In the fishing village at night, lights were on in most fishermen's homes.
Captain Antelope pointed at a dark, unlit house and waved his hand.
Yōkō and Horned Ox stealthily approached the wooden house from two directions.
To prevent dampness, seaside houses were built on stilts, making it very convenient to slip in underneath.
Horned Ox on the other side suddenly wiped his face.
Yōkō, having studied some architecture in his previous life, deduced the side with the small window might be the toilet, so he had chosen the other side with the large window early on.
Poor Horned Ox. I truly hope what landed on your face was just water.
If it was something else 'freely flying', you'll have to endure it; we're on a mission.
Yōkō lay underneath the floorboards, his ear pressed against the floor, listening for movement above.
A sword suddenly stabbed down through the floorboards!
Fortunately, Yōkō was alert enough and dodged the blade.
The sword grazed his scalp, cutting off a lock of his hair.
The ninja sword was long and exceptionally sharp, clearly a standard Kumo-nin issue sword.
Combat erupted instantly!
Thumping footsteps sounded on the wooden floor above.
Horned Ox was furious. He directly attached an explosive tag underneath the floorboards.
Yōkō cursed inwardly, Damn, the crawl space is low; it takes some time to crawl out!
In such a confined space, the explosion's shockwave would be more concentrated, making injuries more likely.
Could it be that Horned Ox really got 'sprayed' on the head?
Amid the explosion, Yōkō scrambled out, rolling and crawling.
The wooden house exploded from within. Several Kumo-nin rushed out of the house.
Instantly, the cold glint of ninja swords flashed on the beach.
(End of Chapter)