Golden Eagle broke out in a cold sweat.
The chill trickled down his face, seeping beneath his mask.
'Has ANBU discovered something? Why am I completely unaware?'
The Hyūga clan's Byakugan had a ridiculous scouting range—three kilometers.
From inside the clan compound alone, Hyūga ninja could secretly observe vast areas of the village, including ANBU operations.
Many of Konoha's secrets and filth… had been seen.
The Hyūga kept quiet. They never let the village know what they truly knew.
But if the higher-ups ever suspected that secrets were exposed—or even that a Hyūga had passed near a sensitive site—they'd demand the clan hand over that shinobi.
Some returned after interrogation. Others… never came back.
Humiliation. Hatred. The deepest emotions of the Hyūga were buried where no one would speak of them.
And yet… the Fox Squad Captain just blurted it out.
'Could it be… the higher-ups are trying to silence me now that I've learned too much?'
'No… that can't be. I've served ANBU faithfully for years. They trust me.'
Just then, the Fox raised a hand.
With a single hand seal, the Self-Binding Curse Mark glyphs erupted from the ground, piercing the desk and crawling up Golden Eagle's leg.
He froze.
'They really are silencing me?! But what secret did I stumble into?'
'Was it the secret execution of a Tokubetsu jōnin from the Senju clan?'
'Or the human experiments conducted by Orochimaru?'
'No… those were the only big things my squad's been involved in lately!'
Golden Eagle wasn't weak. Before the sealing formula reached his shoulder, he moved.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
As expected of an ANBU squad captain—his reaction speed was terrifying.
Yako tipped his chair and rolled to the side, narrowly evading the Vacuum Palm.
The wall behind him exploded, torn clean through.
Nearby ANBU were stunned.
'What the hell?!'
'Why is there a battle breaking out inside Captain Golden Eagle's office?!'
Yako heard rushed footsteps outside.
He had only seconds.
His skin shimmered into a copper hue. Then he charged straight at Golden Eagle.
"Rotation!"
Golden Eagle executed a hand seal.
The air around him bloomed with Earth Substitution Technique spears—Earth Rising Spears.
Yako wasn't watching for the rotation's technique itself—he was gauging its strength.
It was valuable intel.
The earth spears were stronger.
One after another, they pierced the Rotation, scattering the chakra dome.
Yako reached him.
Without hesitation, Golden Eagle struck, his palm flying straight at Fox's skull.
"Stop!"
Yellow Dog, the unit captain, appeared behind him.
But it was too late.
Yako canceled the Bronze Light protection on his forehead—and took the full-force blow.
His skull deformed with a sickening crunch.
Golden Eagle froze.
Fox's body crumpled.
And behind it… was Yellow Dog.
"No…"
'What…?'
'I just… killed the Fox Captain?'
'Am I being framed?'
'Someone please let me explain!'
Everything went black.
Yako's vision twisted.
And then—he was back. A few days earlier, under the full moon.
Beside him, Kyoi was still sleeping soundly. She had resumed her shinobi training lately, and her hips had grown even rounder.
Yako gently woke her, thoroughly evaluated her training progress, then slipped out of her room and made his way to the dense forest above the Hokage Rock.
After scanning the surroundings with Soil Pulse Barrier, and confirming no one was nearby, Yako activated the revival reward.
[Arc of the Waning Moon: Activated!]
Host gains one resurrection per month. Upon death, revival returns the host to the previous full moon.
Reward: One Lottery Draw
1 - Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm (Basic)
2 - Elite Jōnin-level Chakra Reserves (Stackable)
3 - Hyūga Clan Kekkei Genkai (Standard, Purifiable)
The first option—Vacuum Palm—was of little use to him.
It compressed chakra into air bursts through the body's tenketsu. Powerful, but unnecessary for someone like Yako.
He already had enough offensive secret arts.
Besides, it could easily be replaced by Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
He'd just find a wind-nature shinobi proficient in it and grind the technique from "Proficient" to "Expert." Way more practical.
Plus, Vacuum Palm couldn't be casually shown. Great Breakthrough? Freely usable.
The second option—Elite Jōnin Chakra Reserves.
He already had 1.1 times that, thanks to his gradually actualizing body constitution.
His reserves were still growing and hadn't hit their cap.
No need to choose that yet.
The third option—Hyūga Clan Kekkei Genkai.
That, he needed.
A strange chakra surged around his eyes.
He formed a hand seal—then activated the Byakugan.
One downside to Byakugan compared to the Sharingan was its complexity—requiring a hand seal to activate. The Sharingan came instantly.
"Byakugan!"
His vision shifted.
Everything turned translucent.
Above… floating over Konoha… was a massive chakra dome.
The village's Invisibility Barrier.
Chakra flow was visible in exquisite detail. The sensation was indescribable.
Looking outward, he measured his scouting range—around two kilometers.
Still short of a top Hyūga's three kilometers—but trainable.
Before he faced the Five Clans' Tokubetsu jōnin next month, he'd have to master Byakugan. Push the range to its max.
He didn't have the Caged Bird Curse Mark, so… no blind spot.
Wait a second.
The Mist had acquired a Byakugan from a Hyūga Main Family member.
If so—next time he met a Mist ninja, he'd show no mercy.
Digging out my people's eye? That's beyond unacceptable.
Yako pulled a small mirror from his ninja pouch—a souvenir borrowed from Kyoi.
He studied his eyes.
When he deactivated the Byakugan, his pupils returned to normal.
No side effects.
Perfect. He could keep this hidden.
He glanced down at his status panel:
[Host Status]
Chakra: 1.1x Elite Jōnin level
Chakra Nature: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Yang, Yin
Kekkei Genkai:
Senju Lineage (High-Mid)
Uzumaki Lineage (High-Mid)
Uchiha Lineage (High-Mid)
Hyūga Lineage (Standard)
Jutsu:
Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears (Expert)
Water Release: Water Severing Wave (Proficient)
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet (Basic)
Taijutsu:
Shattered Bone Bronze Light, Body Flicker Technique
Fūinjutsu:
Self-Binding Curse Mark (Expert)
Contract Seal
Summoning Jutsu (Longspear Egret, Eight-Winged Crow, Stone Panda)
Sealing Formula: Object Bind, Five Elements Seal, Tongue Curse: Severing Root, Seismic Dampening Sigil
Secret Arts:
Absolute Defense: Bronze Light
Semi-Absolute Defense: Ringed Snake
Hydration Healing Technique
Shadow Imitation Technique
Special Traits:
Stress Reflex (Double Breakthrough)
Passive Chakra Growth
Slow Regeneration
Fūinjutsu Specialty
Double Tomoe Sharingan
Byakugan
Of all the techniques he'd learned, only a few had reached "Expert." Most had been leveled up to "Proficient" through use.
The newly acquired Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was still stuck at "Basic"—it needed work.
Yako stared at the panel, already planning how to execute the assassination of the Five Special Jonin next month.