Yako exhaled in relief. His life was still intact.
Behind him came the shriek of an egret.
He turned just in time to see a Longspear Egret block a flying senbon needle with its sharp beak.
"Don't lose focus! These are Kiri elites we're dealing with!"
Uzumaki Yuka landed beside him.
The high-slitted sides of her dress billowed in the mist and wind.
Her toned legs were right in front of Yako's eyes.
In that moment, she looked beautiful to him—breathtaking.
"Sorry. The captain's death distracted me."
The daimyō's guards and the Uzumaki shinobi joined the battle.
Dozens of chakra chains flew forth, clanging against Kuriarare Kushimaru's Executioner's Blade, forcing him back.
From within the mist, more Mist-nin charged out.
Yuka shouted low, "Go! Leave this to them—we'll protect Princess Kushina!"
Yako's eyes lit up. His assignment was rear guard. Now that the daimyō's forces had taken over, he wasn't abandoning anything.
And this way, he could report the new situation to Captain Yellow Dog.
He followed Yuka, running over two hundred meters before bursting free of the fog.
Suddenly, everything opened up.
Azure Sparrow Battalion was around a hundred meters to the flank, locked in battle with part of the Kumo force.
Yellow Dog's battalion pursued Princess Kushina's group, trying to intercept another wave of Kumo-nin.
Seeing this, Yuka prepared to rush toward the enemy—to shield Kushina.
Yako did a quick mental inventory. No way. Too many Cloud-nin. Getting involved would be suicide. He needed another plan.
He said to her,
"Yuka! Princess Kushina is only seven!
She's small—your giant Longspear Egret could carry her!
That's the fastest way to get her out of the encirclement!"
A classic diversion tactic. If Kushina left the field, the Kumo and Kiri would follow her, not stay here.
And if she died… well, she died. Yako's own life came first.
Yuka realized it too—why clash head-on with Kumo? She had an aerial summon now.
Flying ability was rare in the shinobi world—99% of nin couldn't attack from below.
She summoned her giant Longspear Egret and directed it to fly toward Kushina.
"Grandpa Six! I've just signed a flying summon! Let's get Princess Kushina out of here first!"
The Uzumaki sealing corps commander, Yuka's grandfather, lit up.
It was a good plan.
Everyone else could die here—but Kushina must survive.
Her body was special. She had the potential not just to be a jinchūriki—but to be a perfect jinchūriki.
If Kushina succeeded, Uzugakure could rise just like Takigakure did with the Seven-Tails.
Kushina was launched into the air.
The egret shrieked and caught her by the shoulders.
She soared skyward—her crimson hair flaring brighter than any other Uzumaki.
Yako turned quickly toward the Kumo-nin.
As he predicted, they noticed the target flying away—and immediately diverted a large force in pursuit.
The pressure on Yellow Dog's battalion suddenly eased.
After two months of combat in the Land of Waves, his battalion had taken massive losses—more than half were dead or wounded.
"Captain! The daimyō's guards have joined the fight—they're holding off the Mist-nin! Captain Brown Bear… didn't make it."
Yellow Dog glanced back at the thick mist. "I see."
Two squads gone. The remaining two were reduced to scraps. From a force of over sixty ANBU, only nineteen remained.
ANBU casualty rates were brutal.
"Follow the summon! Protect the Uzumaki Princess at all costs!"
Yako trailed at the very back.
The good news? His captain was dead. Unless Yellow Dog gave him direct orders, he was effectively free.
Thanks to Kushina's small frame, the egret maintained speed—soaring fast.
The formation flipped: before, ANBU had blocked the Kumo-nin. Now the egret and Kushina led, Kumo in the middle, and Konoha ANBU behind.
Kumo desperately pushed forward, forced to divert forces just to delay ANBU.
Cloud squads were reassigned to rear guard duty one after another.
Yako stayed low and observant, waiting for an opening.
A Cloud-nin was blasted backward, stumbling.
Yako Body Flickered behind him, using the enemy's backward motion to drive his ninja blade into his chest.
He pulled it out and vanished back behind the ANBU.
Nearby, Captain Black Chimp caught the move out of the corner of his eye.
That fox-masked ANBU had struck at the perfect moment.
His own squad was down in numbers—after this fight, he'd request to have that one transferred.
As battles dragged on, Yako mastered Taijutsu Body Flicker further.
His movement became faster, sharper.
He also discovered a trick:
When jumping, focusing chakra in his lower legs increased speed—but when landing, he also had to direct chakra to the legs.
That way, he could instantly stop and shift into combat stance without tumbling.
The battle spilled from the shore into the interior of the Land of Waves.
Yuka, piloting her egret, deliberately chose difficult terrain.
Rocky plains. Swamps. Steep cliffs.
Pursuit became harder.
After three Cloud squads were eliminated, the Kumo finally gave up.
Without Mist support, they couldn't break through both Uzumaki and Konoha ANBU.
Several hours later, Captain Yellow Dog picked a hidden mountain hollow for rest.
Yuka was basking in praise from the sealing corps commander—her flying summon had turned the tide.
With such a summon, she'd already surpassed the level of a Chūnin—now she was on par with a Tokubetsu Jōnin.
She occasionally looked toward the fox-masked shinobi resting with his blade.
If it weren't for his early warning, she wouldn't have made it in time with reinforcements.
She wouldn't tell the sealing commander about him.
After all, Fox was a spy—planted by the Senju clan in Konoha's ANBU.
The fewer people who knew, the better.
Only the Senju clan head or elders had the rank to even hint at such things.
Sending a spy into ANBU? The Senju would never admit it. It was a grave offense.
Unknowingly, Yako had left a deep impression on her:
Mysterious, and reliable.
Every meeting, he revealed some new ability.
His Body Flicker was enough to shock her—it was at a level that usually took at least two and a half years of focused training to reach.
"Yuka-neesan, this bird is so pretty."
Kushina stood on tiptoe—barely as tall as the egret's leg—stroking its feathers in fascination.
"I wonder what kind of summon I'll have one day. Flying feels amazing."
Yuka smiled.
"Princess Kushina, you'll definitely have a powerful summon. Maybe even a Tailed Beast."
After some rest and food pills, the team moved again—looping through the Land of Fire to reach Uzushio.
Yako watched Kushina's small figure ahead.
A knot of worry tightened in his gut.
Would he survive the fall of the Uzumaki Clan?