Under the cover of night, the daimyo's encampment stretched across the plains—hundreds of tents scattered beneath the stars.
Between them, samurai patrolled with torches in hand.
Yako said to Yuka and the others, "In the fight ahead, there'll be too many eyes. Some of our information is bound to be exposed.
"For example—our numbers, our builds, and other details.
"Revenge is never a smooth road. All of us must be prepared to pay a price."
Yuka replied, "Fox, you're the one infiltrating the daimyo's tent. You're in the greatest danger. We're only drawing attention on the perimeter. You have to be especially careful."
Yako smiled faintly. "It's fine. Twelve guardians of a mere daimyo aren't enough to stop me.
"Especially when four of them are from the Shimura Clan—and three of those are complete frauds.
"Only the captain of the guard, Shimura Kōhi, poses any real threat."
With the plan finalized, they split up.
In the stillness of the night, a disturbance suddenly erupted from one direction.
The explosion tags detonated in the southeast.
The guardians went on high alert.
Hyūga Shin formed hand seals and activated his Byakugan!
At the edge of the camp, he saw three masked figures fighting the samurai.
Guardian Captain Shimura Kōhi barked, "Who goes there?!"
Hyūga Shin answered, "I see three masked intruders. Those masks… they're covered in sealing techniques. I can't see their faces through them!"
A memory flashed through his mind.
Danzo—the right eye of the advisor always wrapped in bandages. Once, out of curiosity, he had scanned that eye with the Byakugan, only to find that his vision couldn't penetrate it.
It was some kind of seal—an anti-detection barrier.
At the very least, his Byakugan couldn't see through it.
Shimura Kōhi commanded, "Three of you—go investigate who dares to attack this camp!
"Three, follow me into the daimyo's tent.
"The remaining five—secure the perimeter outside the tent!"
As Hyūga Shin focused his gaze toward the southeast, Yako moved underground, slipping through the blind spot in Shin's field of vision and advancing at full speed.
With his Byakugan active, Yako monitored everything around the daimyo from beneath the earth.
The moment Shimura Kōhi departed, Yako burst from the ground behind Hyūga Shin—right in the Byakugan's blind spot.
A smoke bomb flew.
Before Shin could react, Yako's fist smashed into the back of his skull, knocking him unconscious.
The Hyūga had to go first. Otherwise, the coming battle—and the escape—would become far more troublesome.
Within the smoke, no one else could see.
But Yako, his Byakugan still active, locked onto his target with precision: the Shimura Clan's counterfeit jōnin—Shimura Ryō.
Ryō's first instinct wasn't to charge into the smoke.
He kicked off the ground and retreated, leaping into the air to escape the cloud.
But the enemy appeared in midair as well.
They nearly collided.
Ryō stared straight into the White Ghost mask just inches from his face. He raised his kunai—
—and found that he couldn't move.
They were too close. The smoke no longer mattered. He was staring directly into a pair of Sharingan.
An Uchiha…?
Then the one who had burned down the other Shimura clan members with Fire Release earlier—that was an Uchiha too?
No wonder the clan head hated the Uchiha so fiercely.
So it really was a plot… an Uchiha conspiracy against the Shimura Clan.
Genjutsu.
He had been caught by Genjutsu: Binding Illusion.
His body was no longer his own.
A kunai plunged deep into his temple.
In midair, a body was hurled out of the smoke.
The samurai rushed over.
It was the corpse of Guardian Jōnin Shimura Ryō.
A kunai was embedded in his temple, the diamond-shaped blade almost completely buried in his skull—only the cord-wrapped handle remained.
From within the smoke came several more muffled thuds.
When it finally cleared, the samurai saw the guardians lying on the ground.
Some were unconscious. Some were gravely injured.
And the two Shimura Clan Tokubetsu jōnin—each had a kunai embedded in their heads.
The samurai immediately turned toward the daimyo's tent.
An assassin.
What was happening inside?
Yako tunneled underground and entered the tent.
One of the guardians inside—a user of Earth Release—shouted, "There's someone underground!"
Before Yako even emerged, a smoke bomb appeared.
Inside the sealed tent, thick yellow smoke spread instantly.
Shimura Kōhi formed seals at once, using Wind Release to blow the smoke aside.
As the haze split open, he saw a figure cloaked in a black hooded robe, kunai in hand, charging straight for the daimyo of the Land of Grass.
The daimyo, choking on smoke, had no idea his life was in danger.
Shimura Kōhi activated the Body Flicker Technique, flashing after the assassin.
Behind the White Ghost mask, Yako was genuinely surprised.
That Body Flicker… it's something else.
No sound. No disturbance.
Shimura Kōhi appeared beside him in an instant.
According to the intelligence Yakushi Nonō had provided, Shimura Kōhi specialized in Wind Release secret techniques—particularly a silent Body Flicker.
Fast. No air-splitting noise. Completely undetectable.
Within the Shimura Clan, Kōhi was a jōnin of high standing. Otherwise, Danzo would never have sent him as captain of the guardian unit.
Body Flicker techniques were always valuable.
Yako had been worried that White Ghost's strength wasn't enough.
But seeing such a useful ability, he felt a surge of excitement.
Your technique… is mine.
Before delivering the killing blow, there was one more thing to do.
He had once received intelligence that the Grass Country daimyo had captured a member of the Uzumaki Clan—a medical-nin named Uzumaki Kan.
This was the perfect chance to find her.
Shimura Kōhi's kunai shot toward Yako's throat.
Yako activated Genjutsu: Binding Illusion again.
Kōhi froze.
Instantly subdued by the Sharingan's genjutsu.
The Sharingan's seal-less illusions were terrifyingly powerful. Against it, ordinary shinobi had virtually no means of resistance.
"Uchiha! You're an Uchiha!"
Yako turned and seized the daimyo by the throat.
The man's face turned a ghastly purple.
"Where is the Uzumaki you captured?"
Seeing his captain unable to move, the daimyo stammered, "I'll tell you… I'll tell you—just let me go!"
Yako released him.
The bearded daimyo gasped and hurriedly said, "At our clan's sacred site—beneath Evergreen Divine Mountain—there's a secret base.
"The person you're asking about is being held there. Please, don't kill me!"
Yako felt satisfied.
If he could rescue Uzumaki Kan, her abilities would be invaluable to the Uzumaki Clan.
Behind him, Shimura Kōhi finally broke free of the Binding Illusion.
Seizing the moment while the Uchiha shinobi was distracted, he drew a fresh kunai and thrust it toward the back of Yako's head—
[Host death detected. Arc of the Waning Moon system activating…]
——
The world shifted.
Yako found himself back on the previous full-moon night.
He was still in Konoha.
This time, in this rebirth, he was unexpectedly diligent.
No women beside him.
He was actually practicing Genjutsu: Binding Illusion.
Not investigating with Kyoi.
Not excavating with Purple Cat.
He truly was a gentleman.
And, apparently, a hardworking one at that.