NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: The Last Uzumaki in the Shinobi World
The events were unfolding exactly as they had in Yako's previous life.
"Fox! Cover the rear!"
Having broken through the Kumogakure line, Captain Black Ape once again assigned Yako to rear guard.
Yako spun around, predicted the movements of two Kumo shinobi, cut them down, and then focused intently on the Kumo squad captain in the distance.
Once again, the Kumo captain's attention locked onto Yako.
He charged forward, leapt, and came down with a vertical slash.
Mid-air, the blade's trajectory shifted from a downward cut to a sweeping slash.
Clang!
The sound of steel rang out—Yako's blade had blocked it.
The Kumo ninja's expression changed dramatically. He had trained tirelessly in Cloud-Style Kenjutsu, honing unpredictable angles and deceptive feints. Yet the Konoha ANBU before him had blocked it effortlessly?
The sweep transitioned into a thrust.
Clang!
The thrust flowed into an upward slash.
Clang!
The clash of blades echoed again and again—the Kumo ninja's anger boiled over.
Had this Leaf ANBU studied him specifically? Why was he so familiar with every movement of his blade?
An even match. Yako felt stable and calm now.
You know what clang clang clang means?
It means every one of your attacks—I saw it coming.
Yako's eyes swept left and right, searching for cover.
The Kumo ninja struck again, but this time Yako didn't meet the blade. He feigned retreat, diving backward through the window of a nearby house.
The Kumo captain was overjoyed. In a tight space, Cloud-Style Kenjutsu was even deadlier.
His flexible joints and agile body made him lethal in close quarters.
Without hesitation, he jumped through the same window.
Inside, he saw the Konoha ANBU already forming hand seals.
Faster! I have to be faster! I must kill him before he finishes the jutsu!
He lunged, thrusting his blade straight for Yako's chest.
But just three centimeters from impact—the blade froze.
Hidden in the shadows of the house, sealing marks slithered up his legs, waist, arms—locking every joint.
The Binding Curse Seal of Self-Restraint.
The seal wouldn't last long.
Yako surged forward, grabbed the blade he'd stabbed into the floor earlier, and drove it straight into the Kumo shinobi's heart.
He withdrew the blade and casually grabbed a handkerchief from a nearby table, wiping away the blood.
The cloth dragged awkwardly—his sword edge had notched in multiple places from that clash.
After this fight, I need a new blade.
This was why shinobi stayed broke—most of their earnings went into tools. No one dared skimp on weapons.
A proper sword cost tens of thousands of ryō.
Kunai, in comparison, were cheap—just a few thousand per piece.
Swords were for the rich ninja. Kunai were for the poor.
Even the Kumo shinobi were better funded than us. Damn it.
Yako sniffed—he caught a delicious scent.
He finally looked around the room.
Two corpses lay there—a mother and daughter.
Both had been throat-slit. Blood soaked the floor in two great puddles.
The scent came from the stove.
A pot was still simmering.
He lifted the lid—the aroma hit him hard.
The broth had long dried up, the chicken beneath slightly scorched, but the top was still good.
He grabbed a drumstick and tore into it.
Field rations were garbage. A hot chicken leg in the middle of a battlefield—his morale rose by five points.
In the darkness of the house, he devoured half the bird, wiped the grease from his lips, and leapt back out.
Three kills—mission overfulfilled.
Yako hopped onto the rooftop, scanning the battlefield.
Yellow Dog's squad had pushed further in, now locked in combat with the Kiri shinobi outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
The Mist ninja were using Water Release to drain the barrier's energy, generating thick clouds of mist.
Yako didn't head that way. He remained in the rear, clearing out stragglers for Black Ape's unit.
Each time he spotted a Kumo shinobi, he'd lure them into a building and kill them using Binding Curse Seal of Self-Restraint.
After dispatching three more, Yako thought Yellow Dog's squad was moving way too slowly. If they didn't wrap up soon…
He might actually die of overeating.
Beyond the half chicken, he'd already devoured a pot of ribs, three rice balls, and a full basin of drunken shrimp.
Uzushiogakure's drunken shrimp is actually amazing… though the alcohol is a bit strong.
He'd also looted over 500,000 ryō, stuffing it into his tool pouch. I still need to go blow it all at Tsurugetsu Izakaya—no way I'm dying broke.
If we wipe out Uzushiogakure, I'll be rich overnight.
His mind wandering, Yako glanced at Yellow Dog's unit.
Most of the fighting was being handled by regular troops. The squad captain and team leaders weren't even engaged.
At this rate, how long will it take to clear the Mist near the barrier?
In contrast, the Kiri shinobi were fighting with mad fury—desperate after their Mizukage's death. Their morale surged like a death march.
Ten minutes later, Yako cut down another Kumo ninja—just as a loud BOOM echoed behind him.
The Four Violet Flames Formation around the Uzumaki shrine—shattered!
The endless barrage of Water Release had finally depleted the last of its energy.
Four exhausted Uzumaki shinobi in the blind spot collapsed, pale and gasping.
The Kiri shinobi surged in, slaughtering the remaining women and children of the Uzumaki clan.
One red-haired girl after another was cut down.
Some were still in their pajamas. Little girls in pink dresses.
But to the Kiri shinobi, every redhead was guilty—accomplices in the Mizukage's death.
Uzumaki Yuka appeared, summoning the White Heron Longspear and strapping the screaming Uzumaki Kushina to its leg.
"Fly! Fly to Konoha!"
The heron took off—fast—soaring northwest.
Yellow Dog didn't immediately order a pursuit.
He stood there, watching the Kiri butchers tear through the Uzumaki women.
The rest of the squad also slowed—letting more Mist ninja flood into the shrine.
That attitude... So Yellow Dog's mission targets included the civilian Uzumaki women?
Yako blocked another Kumo blade, then used Cloud-Style Kenjutsu to finish the attacker.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
From Konoha's perspective, what kind of Uzumaki Kushina is easiest to control?
One who's alone.
The last Uzumaki in the entire shinobi world.
If more Uzumaki survived, Kushina would be loyal to them, not Konoha.
So their annihilation wasn't just Kiri's goal, or Kumo's—it aligned with Konoha's own interests.
Konoha couldn't tolerate a second Uzumaki.
The shinobi world couldn't tolerate a second Uzumaki.
Only then could Kushina have no second option.
Only then could they entrust the Nine-Tails to her with confidence.
In the original series, Nagato and his parents were in the Land of Rain. Karin and hers were in the Grass Village.
Maybe—just maybe—the Uzumaki orphans in the Land of Fire had long since been secretly executed by Konoha's ANBU.
The White Heron flew further and further away, carrying Kushina.
An ANBU squad took off in pursuit.
On Kushina's back was a massive scroll—likely the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Scroll.
One ANBU unit raced after her.
Kumo shinobi spotted it too—seeing the sealing scroll, they gave chase.
Yellow Dog's squad didn't move.
They remained at the shrine, locked in combat with Kiri—neither pressing nor yielding.
Some Mist ninja even stormed into the main hall of the shrine, slaughtering indiscriminately.
A squad of female Uzumaki shinobi fled northwest too, among them Uzumaki Yuka.
Only when the Mist shinobi pursued the fleeing women did Yellow Dog's unit finally begin to follow.