NOVEL WEB Chapter 30: Late Means Late
Yako had been given the task of reporting back, but he wasn't in a rush.
The pursuit ahead was complicated.
Uzumaki Kushina was at the front, followed by two ANBU squads from Konoha, and lastly the Cloud-nin, aiming to seize Uzushiogakure's Book of Seals.
About three full Cloud-nin squads.
If Yako moved too fast, he might run headfirst into a cluster of them and die without even knowing how.
Outside the capital of the Land of Whirlpools, Yako came across a battlefield.
Corpses were strewn across the ground—Cloud-nin, Konoha ANBU… and five highly distinctive bodies bearing both the Daimyō's emblem and the Uzumaki clan crest.
The Land of Whirlpools' guardian shinobi were dead.
These guardians had been powerful. No corpses lay within ten meters of them—Cloud-nin had killed them from a distance, exhausting them with ranged jutsu.
Yako created a shadow clone to loot the bodies.
Some of the clones died to traps rigged into their gear.
It took time, but Yako gathered 300,000 ryō and three explosive tags.
These shinobi never carried anything really valuable—so damn stingy.
Moving on, he passed over a dozen more battlefields, scavenging another 100,000 ryō.
Now carrying 1.1 million ryō, Yako felt flush. An S-rank mission barely paid 1 million—he was living the dream.
Once he neared the border of the Land of Fire, he grew cautious.
Cloud-nin wouldn't casually enter Fire's territory; Konoha had intelligence squads everywhere.
Climbing a high mountain, Yako scanned with a telescope.
Found them.
Below, on a distant slope, the Cloud-nin had half-surrounded the two Konoha ANBU squads.
Behind the ANBU, holding Uzumaki Kushina by the arm, was Shimura Danzo.
The Longspear White Heron, the Yatagarasu, the Giant Eagle—none of the summoning beasts were present.
Kushina, trembling like a terrified sparrow, clung to Danzo's grip.
No Uzumaki remained around her. No summoning beast by her side.
Even surrounded by Cloud-nin, Danzo seemed unconcerned. His other hand gripped the Book of Seals from Uzushiogakure.
That book held every secret sealing technique and forbidden art of the Uzumaki Clan. Just looking at it from afar made Yako's heart race.
Not just the Cloud-nin—everyone wanted that book.
Danzo's face was stone cold, his eyes glaring at Kushina with loathing.
But his hatred wasn't aimed at her.
It was for Kato Dan.
After obtaining the Book of Seals, Danzo had planned to study the techniques himself.
But Kato Dan had used his Spirit Transformation Technique to travel thousands of miles and possess Kushina's body.
Through her mouth, Kato Dan had warned: "I'm watching everything."
And standing beside him—Senju Rinmu, head of the Senju Clan.
With Kato Dan keeping watch, Danzo couldn't even open the book.
The Senju Clan was still powerful enough to make Konoha's higher-ups choke. They had numerous jōnin—and elite ones like Kato Dan, who had mastered forbidden arts.
Kato Dan was also Tsunade's lover and fiercely loyal to the Senju.
He had disrupted many of Danzo's moves.
The Spirit Transformation Technique was too broken—a single man could monitor half the shinobi world by possessing people across vast distances.
Just the thought of him made Danzo's gaze grow darker.
Yako sprinted down from the mountaintop.
Not because he wanted to join the battle—no, the forest behind him was filling with Konoha shinobi.
Reinforcements had arrived!
Konoha and Uzushiogakure were allies. How could Konoha stand idly by when its ally was under siege?
Yako darted downhill toward the edge of the battlefield.
From a distance, he saw Konoha's big shots in the support squad.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, had led the reinforcements in person.
Alongside him stood Mitokado Homura, another of the village's elders.
Yako spotted many Senju among them—their clan crest clearly visible on their flak jackets.
Even Senju Rinmu, the clan head, had come.
Senju Rinmu, son of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—father to Tsunade.
At this point in history, Tsunade hadn't yet earned the title of one of the Three Legendary Sannin. Her fame came mainly from being the Princess of the Senju and Hiruzen's disciple.
Standing nearest to Rinmu was his favored son-in-law—Kato Dan.
"Uncle!"
Kushina's voice trembled as she spotted Rinmu. She flailed her arms, trying to break free from Danzo's grip.
Danzo cast a look at Rinmu… then another at Kato Dan.
Rinmu frowned. What was that supposed to mean?
Danzo had no choice but to release Kushina's hand.
She ran straight into Rinmu's embrace, sobbing.
"Uncle! The Mist-nin and Cloud-nin ambushed the village! Grandpa the Clan Leader and the Third Mizukage killed each other! The whole village is gone!"
"What? The village is destroyed?"
"What? The Third Mizukage is dead?!"
Senju Rinmu and Mitokado Homura each shouted.
The news was too shocking.
Uzushiogakure wasn't some tiny shinobi village—it had thousands of Uzumaki, along with minor clans and trained civilian ninja.
Over three thousand shinobi. Among villages outside the Five Great Nations, it ranked second at worst.
With its massive summoning beasts and near-absolute sealing arts, no major village could take it down easily.
Hiruzen and Homura exchanged glances—part grief, part grim satisfaction.
The good: Konoha now had a successor jinchūriki. Danzo had brought back the princess and the Book of Seals.
And the Third Mizukage's death meant one less major threat on the eastern front.
The bad: An ally had been annihilated. And that… was still hard to stomach.
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his arm.
"All Konoha shinobi—advance! Crush the pursuing Cloud-nin!"
Then he stepped toward Kushina, voice heavy with sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Princess Uzumaki. The Mist and Cloud blocked all intel. Konoha mobilized two thousand shinobi to aid your village… but we were still too late."
What could Kushina even say?
Around her, hundreds of Konoha shinobi. The scale of the response was massive.
But late is late. Everything was already gone.
Senju Rinmu turned pale.
Many of his own relatives had lived in Uzushiogakure.
Kushina called him uncle—but he had called the Uzumaki clan head uncle too.
His mother, Uzumaki Mito, was the elder sister of the clan leader.
His nieces. His nephews. All gone.
Uzushiogakure wasn't just an ally. The Senju had married deep into the Uzumaki.
Intermarriage among shinobi clans helped preserve bloodline limits—but over generations, it bred illness.
The Uzumaki were the key—interbreeding with them actually prevented bloodline sickness.
Without them, what future did the Senju have?
Konoha's two thousand shinobi crushed the three Cloud squads mercilessly. The Cloud-nin didn't even have time to run—slaughtered at the border in minutes.
Senju Rinmu turned to Danzo.
"Advisor Danzo, hand over the Book of Seals. Kushina's still a child—I'll safeguard it for her."
Danzo looked at Kushina. Now was the critical moment for transferring the Nine-Tails.
He couldn't afford any emotional complications.
Reluctantly, he handed the Book of Seals to the Senju.
Yako located Captain Yellow Dog and delivered his report about what Black Ape's squad had encountered.
Captain Yellow Dog listened silently, then, instead of acting on his own, took Yako to see Advisor Danzo.
Matters involving the Uzumaki elder… only Danzo could make that call.
As Yako approached Konoha's top brass, he overheard Senju Rinmu and Mitokado Homura locked in a fierce argument.