Yako had spent several days patrolling the border of the Land of Hot Water when he stumbled upon a coded message from Nonō Yakushi.
The Seal of Tongue Eradication had proven effective.
His communication with Nonō had always been inefficient—he would never share a summoning contract with her. That woman was far too dangerous.
Following the code's trail, Yako arrived alone at the base of a cliff.
This time, Nonō Yakushi had taken on the form of a dark-skinned kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud. Her complexion was so deep it could've passed for an artificial tan in Yako's previous life.
"Fox," she greeted coolly, "what intel are you looking for this time?"
Yako answered plainly, "The only Root elders left are C and K. I want everything on them—especially whether either of them has been marked with the Seal of Tongue Eradication by Danzo. I also want details on Root's new recruits—names, abilities, specialties."
"Abilities?" Nonō raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you work as jonin instructor for Root? With your methods, shouldn't you already know what they're capable of?"
Yako gave a small nod. "So your intel's sharp enough to know that much, huh? Yes, I've trained some of them. But once they're under Danzo, they might be taught secret jutsu. And truthfully, being one of Danzo's subordinates is often more dangerous than being his enemy. You can't complete Root missions without real strength."
"I'll need some time to compile data on the new recruits," Nonō replied.
"No rush. Two or three months is fine."
Nonō tilted her head. "Would you like the location of the Hidden Cloud's main camp? I can provide it."
"I don't need it," Yako said flatly. "In fact, I need you to help prevent Konoha from acquiring that intel."
"This war can't go too smoothly. Lord Yellow Dog won't accept Hatake Sakumo walking away from this with too much prestige."
"…Huh?" Nonō's eyes narrowed, but then her expression shifted. "I understand."
Inwardly, she thought: So Yellow Dog's finally started learning from Danzo's playbook.
The full moon hung like a silver disc in the sky.
It was the ninth full moon of Year 40 in the Konoha calendar.
Hatake Sakumo had been eager to strike the Cloud's main base, but without intel, it remained out of reach.
The most critical enemy information was held tightly in Root's hands. And if Root didn't share it, Sakumo had no way of accessing it.
Shifting strategies, Sakumo began leading elite jonin teams on fast raids, scouring the border and eliminating any Cloud shinobi they encountered.
That month, Yako used the Arc of the Waning Moon system to draw Lightning Release—completing his fifth and final chakra nature.
Lightning Release chakra was slower to extract and circulate than the others, requiring long-term training to master. For now, he planned to use it as a tactical counter to Earth Release, or as a stepping stone toward unlocking a lightning-based kekkei genkai in the future.
During this period, Yako rarely fought himself, using the time to drill the four squads under his command.
The Hippo and Yak squads had originally belonged to Yellow Dog, and Yako still didn't fully trust their loyalty.
But White Ram and Blossom Deer squads were different—those shinobi, like Leaf Monkey, Field Duck, Black Ape, and Antelope, were all trained by Yako personally.
He trusted them.
In one battle, things were nearly wrapped up.
The valley floor was littered with Cloud corpses. Only two enemies remained, pinned beneath a cliff.
Captain Fox hadn't moved all fight—he stayed at the rear, overseeing formation.
One of the remaining Cloud shinobi screamed, "You're not leaving alive either!"
He turned and unleashed a Lightning Release technique on the cliff face.
The jutsu shattered the rock's foundation. The towering cliff—dozens of meters tall—collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Fall back!" White Ram shouted.
Everyone leapt clear—except Black Ape.
Exhausted from the prolonged fight, he lagged behind by half a step, breath ragged.
A boulder, ten meters long, hurtled toward him.
Black Ape stared upward in horror, frozen midair.
Captain Fox had always warned them: Never relax in combat. The enemy may hide a final card to take you down with them.
Black Ape had tried to dodge, but he'd run dry. His chakra was gone.
A razor-thin stream of water shot in from the flank.
That familiar screech—the sharp whistle of water cutting air—snapped Black Ape out of his fear.
With just a single hand seal, Fox had unleashed a powerful Water Severing Wave.
The attack sliced the falling boulder cleanly in two.
Black Ape tumbled to the ground, gasping, then staggered toward Fox.
"Sorry, Captain… I was drained. Couldn't react in time."
Yako said nothing.
Black Ape had always trained hard. His attitude was never the problem.
But… he'd hit his ceiling.
At twenty-three, his body was fully matured. His spirit had stabilized. And since chakra was the fusion of physical and spiritual energy, that meant no more natural growth.
For most civilian-born shinobi, this was reality. Limited talent meant hitting the wall early.
Black Ape would likely remain a highly capable tokubetsu jōnin. But no further.
Most people would say: Accept your mediocrity.
But Yako couldn't stand seeing him stuck like this.
It was easy to make new jonin acquaintances now—his name carried weight, even if his ANBU identity stayed hidden.
But someone like Black Ape—someone who had gone through life-or-death missions with him, who'd forged bonds through battle—was irreplaceable.
Even if Black Ape never surpassed his current level, Yako wanted him nearby.
Still… he had to find a way to help him break through this ceiling.
There were many ways to do it in the shinobi world—but all came with risks.
One option was Orochimaru's route: body modification. Reinforce the physical frame through experimentation.
But such bodies rarely held together long.
Even Orochimaru had to swap hosts every three years.
And Fox's squad didn't have the resources to walk that path.
Another path: plug-and-play dōjutsu.
Give Black Ape a Sharingan or a Hyūga branch-line Byakugan, and his power would soar.
But that too was out of reach. Yako himself dared not reveal his own ocular techniques—how could he risk exposing Black Ape?
Then there was the Eight Gates.
It might be possible to acquire the technique… but Black Ape probably didn't have the taijutsu talent of someone like Might Guy or Lee.
Yako's eyes gleamed.
He remembered another method—Tsunade's Yin Seal.
The Yin Seal stored chakra in the forehead's diamond-shaped mark, providing the foundation for powerful jutsu like the Strength of a Hundred Technique.
Yako didn't yet know the Yin Seal specifically—but he'd been researching the Dual Balance Sealing Style.
And just hearing the name "Yin Seal" confirmed it: it had to be a high-level technique within the Uzumaki clan's Yin-Yang sealing system.
Maybe he could invent his own seal—one with similar effects—to help Black Ape and others surpass their limits.
The boosts he got from the system were thrilling, sure.
But forging power through his own efforts mattered just as much.
After all, the Arc of the Waning Moon system's core mechanic was copying abilities from others.
One day, he'd run out of new things to draw from.
Depending solely on the system would, at best, make him a supercharged Kakashi—able to match top-tier fighters evenly.
But he didn't want even odds.
He had five chakra natures.
He had sealing arts.
It was time to carve out a new path—his own.