Between the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire stretched a narrow strait—narrow enough that a single bridge could span it.
Though geographically closer to the Land of Fire, the mission quota for the Land of Waves had always been handled by Uzushio.
After crossing the strait into the Land of Fire, Captain Yellow Dog had someone summon Yako.
He looked Yako up and down, then said, "You're the only one left from Brown Bear Squad. You're not strong enough to serve as a squad captain. I'm assigning you to Black Chimp Squad."
Yako nodded, then gave Black Chimp a once-over—tall, broad, powerful build. A pure taijutsu type. Interesting. What kind of ability could he draw from this one?
He'd gotten Shadow Clone from Captain Antelope. Body Flicker from Captain Brown Bear. ANBU captains were full of good loot.
Once in Black Chimp Squad, the captain told him to operate solo.
Yako was still technically a squad captain—it didn't make sense to embed him in other squads. The others, down to scraps, didn't want to hand over personnel either.
The unit continued forward.
And with every step, the mist thickened.
"Captain Black Chimp," Yako asked, "is this natural fog, or...?"
"We're in the Land of Fire. Even if Kiri shows up—we've got full confidence."
Yako glanced at the weary, bloodied remnants of the battalion around him.
And wondered where the hell that confidence came from.
Yuka summoned her giant Longspear Egret, ready to extract Kushina at any moment.
The tension was crushing.
Visibility dropped to two or three meters.
Yako adjusted his mask so the eyeholes didn't limit his sight.
He could just make out a tree two meters away—beyond that, pure white haze.
The moist air clung to him, uncomfortable and oppressive.
Then—he heard it.
The hiss of air being sliced open.
Every nerve behind his head screamed. He dove forward on reflex.
A kunai grazed his hair and embedded itself in a tree trunk ahead.
He twisted on the ground, ready, staring back into the fog.
But there was nothing to see.
Kiri hadn't closed in with Silent Killing this time.
They were harassing from a distance—with kunai.
In fog this dense, with a visual window of just two meters—there was no time to dodge after you saw it. Better to rely on hearing.
Screams echoed nearby—Uzumaki shinobi struck by kunai.
Compared to them, Konoha ANBU were more disciplined—silent, even when skewered like porcupines.
Boom!
Now it wasn't about stoicism. Kiri had broken out the Explosive Tags.
Mist-nin, known for Water Release, rarely used them—they must be desperate.
In the blast, one ANBU was thrown forward, crashing down in front of Yako, wreathed in smoke and fire.
He'd died horribly—everything below his thighs was gone, bone fragments jutting from torn flesh.
And then—Yako felt a chill.
Wind. Cold wind.
Followed by a terrifying pressure front.
He didn't hesitate—spun and plastered himself to the trunk of the thickest tree behind him.
The tree opposite him wasn't strong enough. It snapped under the gale—and began to fall.
He flew through hand signs—Earth Release: Subterranean Swimming—and dove beneath the soil.
By the time he surfaced again, the entire mist had vanished.
One Wind Release had cleared hundreds of meters of fog.
The thinner trees had all been leveled.
Far away, Yako saw him.
Shimura Danzō, his hand just dropping from a sign.
He had arrived—with two aides—here to support them.
Shimura Danzō had never made Yako feel so safe before.
His four pale eyes were narrow, scanning the distant Mist-nin.
Kuriarare Kushimaru and Jinin Akebino of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen turned the moment they recognized him—and fled without looking back.
Danzō didn't give chase. He scanned the two tattered ANBU battalions—each reduced to shreds.
ANBU rose from the devastation, regrouping behind him.
Captains Yellow Dog and Azure Sparrow stood silently at his back, awaiting orders.
The Uzumaki arrived shortly after.
The sealing corps commander looked relieved.
"Minister Danzō, we didn't expect you yourself to come. You're the only one in Konoha who could dispel a coordinated mist field set by Kiri."
Danzō nodded and looked at Princess Uzumaki Kushina.
"This… doesn't look like a jinchūriki. The sealing failed?"
The commander nodded.
"The wild Three-Tails had too many Mist-nin scouts. We lost too many trying—we couldn't complete the seal."
Yako knelt among the ANBU ranks, pretending to rest—half-crouched, watching from behind others.
Through the silhouettes, he saw Danzō's clenched fist—knuckles white.
On the surface, Danzō always wore a corpse's expression. You'd never guess his mood. But inside, he was seething.
Had Kushina succeeded in becoming Three-Tails' jinchūriki, all of Konoha's preparations for the Nine-Tails would've collapsed.
The Nine-Tails was a pillar of Konoha's power. This rogue operation by Uzushio had nearly blindsided them.
Danzō stood silent for several seconds.
No one dared speak.
Little Kushina hid behind Yuka. This dark, brooding man scared her too much.
Finally, Danzō spoke slowly.
"The remnants of both ANBU battalions will escort the Princess back to Uzushio."
He turned and left with his aides.
Yako frowned.
Konoha was desperate to secure Kushina—so why hadn't they taken her right here?
Were they waiting for her to come willingly?
The ANBU continued the journey—escorting the princess to the Uzushio Peninsula.
Along the way, Yuka kept glancing at the ANBU—always able to pick Fox out of the crowd.
Then she'd look away quickly—to avoid drawing suspicion.
Fox was deeply hidden—unremarkable among the black ops.
If not for the fact that both battalions were down to about forty people total, he would've been even harder to spot.
The Senju had chosen their spy well.
They reached the outskirts of Uzushiogakure. Yatagarasu—the giant three-legged crow—swooped overhead.
Its sheer presence made Yuka's egret shrink its neck in fear.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "That's our village's guardian summon—it won't hurt you."
At the village gate, the ANBU didn't enter. They offered a few brief farewells and departed.
Yako exhaled in relief.
This mission had dragged on too long. He wanted to go home—and stay there.
The outside world was terrifying.
He just wanted to go home.
But the direction felt off.
Captain Yellow Dog led the ANBU not back to Konoha—but up a tall mountain near Uzushio.
There, four ANBU captains activated a barrier technique.
A transparent invisibility barrier enclosed the peak.
From the outside, it looked like any other mountaintop—but the captains had vanished inside.
One by one, the ANBU passed through and disappeared.
Yako entered as well.
Inside, Yellow Dog began assigning tasks.
Captain Black Chimp gathered three squad leaders, including Yako.
"Three rotating shifts. Keep watch on Uzushio through the barrier—binoculars only."
Yako got the first shift.
He lay behind a rock, peering through binoculars at Uzushio below.
The full moon hung like silver, its light white as frost.
Yako had waited for this night.
Three days later, Danzō returned—with a full ANBU battalion—and entered the invisible barrier.
He sat on a stone for days, silent, patient, unmoving.
Calm. Unhurried.
But under his gaze, the tension in the barrier grew unbearable.
The catastrophe facing the Uzumaki Clan…
could no longer be avoided.