Naruto : I Got "Return by Death" Kind Of Cheat

The first to depart was Uzumaki Kushina, carried away by flying summoning beasts.

The Longspear White Heron, the Yatagarasu, a massive eagle—several powerful beasts took flight.

Then came the Kumogakure shinobi, chasing after the Uzushio Clan's Sealing Scroll.

Behind them followed two full Konoha ANBU squads.

Even Danzo himself followed.

Only Yellow Dog's unit remained behind to cover the rear.

Yako stood on the village wall and looked back at Uzushiogakure.

The Kirigakure shinobi were swarming the last Uzumaki kunoichi, trapping and killing them one by one.

Around fifty women remained, desperately trying to break through the encirclement.

The entire village was a field of corpses—only the northwest wall still echoed with scattered sounds of battle.

Jumping down from the wall, Yako slipped into the woods beyond.

There, Black Ape signaled for the squad to halt.

Only five remained—Black Ape, three squad leaders, and one lone member.

"Change into Kumo gear. We've got another mission."

The sole member had been carrying a large pack—when he'd managed to gather so many Kumo uniforms was unclear.

Yako discarded his ANBU iron vest, scarred with blade marks, and donned a one-shouldered Kumo flak jacket.

He threw away his half-ruined sword and picked up a nearly new long ninjato.

Lastly, he wrapped a bloodstained Kumo forehead protector around his head.

The mask completed the look.

Now, they were a five-man Kumo squad.

Black Ape gave the lone remaining member a glance. Seeing no need for secrecy, he said bluntly:

"Our mission is to ensure no surviving Uzumaki interferes with the Princess's arrival in Konoha."

No explanation was needed. They all understood what had to be done.

Any Uzumaki who approached the Princess must be killed.

The five Kumo shinobi burst from the woods.

The surviving Uzumaki had fled northwest toward Konoha.

But the narrow peninsula of the Land of Whirlpools left them little room to maneuver.

Most of the Mist-nin stayed in the village, ransacking every inch—searching for sealing notes, valuables, or corpses worth dissecting.

Only a few pressed the chase.

The fleeing Uzumaki split into three-man cells, sacrificing themselves to delay the pursuit.

Every woman had her eyes locked northwest—Konoha was their only hope.

But the sudden appearance of five Kumo shinobi made that hope flicker.

Tall, long-bladed shinobi, masks cold, pace even.

Black Ape didn't immediately charge. He ran parallel, slowly closing the gap to mount pressure.

Under that invisible weight, the Uzumaki began to falter—jumps missed, steps stumbled, posture broken.

When one of them landed wrong, Black Ape raised his hand—a volley of kunai flew.

The poor girl was pierced by a dozen blades before hitting the ground.

Now flanked by Mist from behind and Kumo from the side, the Uzumaki were crumbling into despair.

Yako frowned. The situation wasn't right. You don't chase a cornered beast too far.

The Uzumaki weren't helpless. They had sealing scrolls, forbidden techniques.

If pushed, they'd drag you to hell with them.

Dead Demon Consuming Seal was not something Yako could survive.

He saw several kunoichi with hollow eyes and resolved death in their faces, moving deliberately toward him.

It was the seventh day of the moon cycle. No full moon yet. No resurrection.

Trading lives here would be idiotic.

He looked to Black Ape—his commander's eyes were fixed only on completing the mission. Kill all remaining Uzumaki.

One kunoichi lunged.

A squad leader intercepted, but was immediately bound by chains from a sealing scroll.

She didn't hesitate—detonated an explosive tag at point blank.

Both perished in fire and shrapnel.

Yako gritted his teeth. So many of these women had lost their fathers, brothers, children tonight.

He couldn't fight madwomen like this. He couldn't let them reach Konoha either.

His eyes shifted to Uzumaki Yuka.

She was at the center of the group, heavily protected by the others.

She'd been lucky—chosen to summon the White Heron and evacuate Kushina.

If Yuka died, the summoning contract would break—and Kushina wouldn't make it.

But… how to reach her?

As he calculated, the last remaining squad member in Black Ape's team died.

Now only three remained—Black Ape, Fox, and Leaf Monkey.

Black Ape finally backed off, realizing how fierce the remnants were.

He'd led a full squad of sixteen out of the village—now there were only two survivors from his own team. Fox wasn't even originally one of his men.

Yako exhaled.

Finally... this is how it should be. Let the Mist and Uzumaki wipe each other out. Why are Konoha's ANBU even getting involved in this?

The pursuit continued.

Black Ape's squad became observers, just recording the remaining numbers.

During a lull, Yako grabbed a broken wooden sandal.

He held his kunai backward, as if ready to throw, but etched words onto the board instead.

The remaining Uzumaki had stopped caring about their own lives.

They charged the enemy like they had explosive tags strapped to their chests.

While Black Ape was tangled with a kunoichi, Yako tossed both the kunai and the wooden board.

No one noticed.

Uzumaki Yuka dodged the flying kunai. Then she noticed something odd—a small board tumbling beneath it.

She picked it up, read it, and went pale.

She immediately crushed it.

The board had a message:

"Do not go to the Land of Fire!"

Yuka looked toward the Kumo shinobi who threw it—and froze.

That figure… changed outfit, hair wrapped, face covered… but looked so much like Fox.

She had never linked Kumo to Fox before.

But now, it was clear.

Could that board have been Fox's warning?

But why? Why not go to the Land of Fire?

And why was Fox disguised as a Kumo shinobi?

Suddenly, Yuka remembered Danzo.

She remembered how Konoha still hadn't sent support. More importantly—why hadn't they warned Uzushiogakure of the coming invasion?

Konoha and Uzushiogakure shared intel.

This disaster had hit without any advance notice. All their intelligence shinobi had vanished tonight.

That shouldn't be possible.

During wartime, the Uzumaki had scouts all along the coasts of the Land of Whirlpools.

Unless…

Unless someone gave their positions to the enemy.

Only then could all recon squads be wiped out at once, leaving Uzushio blind.

And the Uzumaki wouldn't betray their own.

That leaves only one possibility.

Konoha.

Konoha had access to their defenses, their intel.

Yuka suddenly felt cold all over.

Could it be?

Had Konoha participated in the Uzumaki clan's extermination?