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

Yako followed Captain Yellow Dog to a spot about twenty meters away from the higher-ups.

Yellow Dog's presence signaled that the ANBU had important intelligence to report to Minister Danzo.

Yako glanced at the village leaders, studying their expressions.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in armor, sat on a stone, puffing his pipe.

To one side of him sat Senju Rinmu, head of the Senju Clan, alongside the elite jōnin Kato Dan. On the other side were Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzo.

From the looks of it, the Third Hokage was acting as mediator between the two sides.

Senju Rinmu's face was dark as steel, yet proud, unwavering.

On the other side, Homura looked exhausted from the argument, sipping water to ease his throat.

As always, Danzo remained silent.

Among these top officials, it was usually Homura who spoke on behalf of others and laid down the official stance.

Clearly, there were significant disagreements between the Senju Clan and the village leadership—possibly over the placement of Uzumaki Kushina or the ownership of Uzushiogakure's Book of Seals.

Both the Senju and the village wanted control over the Uzumaki legacy.

Danzo, noticing Yellow Dog's approach, stepped forward.

Yellow Dog promptly reported:

"Lord Danzo, Black Ape's squad has acquired critical intelligence. Before her death, the Uzumaki elder selected eight members of her clan and summoned the Yatagarasu to fly them toward the Land of Waves.

Additionally, the elder produced a sealing scroll before she died. Black Ape is currently tracking the Yatagarasu."

Danzo's eyes grew sharper upon hearing this.

If the Book of Seals from Uzushiogakure couldn't be obtained, acquiring the elder's sealing techniques would be a suitable substitute.

Danzo gave his orders:

"Yellow Dog, your unit lost many during this mission. Regroup the survivors into a full-strength squad and begin pursuit of Black Ape.

You and Captain Hippo will screen the two thousand Konoha shinobi for new ANBU candidates. Form two complete squads as quickly as possible.

Once ready, you and Hippo will pursue the remaining Uzumaki and recover them—or at the very least, recover that scroll and bring it back to Konoha."

Yako noted to himself how deliberate Danzo's wording was—or. That little word spoke volumes.

If the Uzumaki survivors could be retrieved, great. If not, dissect them. But that scroll absolutely had to come back.

Yellow Dog nodded repeatedly and left with Yako.

Danzo turned his gaze toward Senju Rinmu.

The Senju were deeply rooted in the village; many policies couldn't be executed without their consent.

Take, for example, the current transfer of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. The Senju were aiming to control the new jinchūriki completely.

But the village's safety couldn't be placed in the hands of the Senju alone.

Yellow Dog and Yako returned to the unit.

"We're down to fewer than twenty men after this grueling mission," Yellow Dog said. "Yak, I now appoint you as squad captain. Form a full squad and head to the Land of Waves. Fox here has Black Ape's temporary cipher.

Your mission is to locate the Uzumaki survivors and the legacy scroll—engage and contain them.

Be cautious. The Uzumaki's secret techniques are formidable. They also have large summoning beasts. Captain Hippo and I will follow later with two full squads to begin the capture operation."

Yako departed with Captain Yak.

He waited for a long while, but no disguise gear for Cloud-nin arrived. Clearly, there was no more need to hide.

When the Uzumaki hadn't been wiped out, killing them required subterfuge—posing as Cloud-nin. Now that the clan was gone, they could be killed outright. ANBU never leak secrets; no one would know.

The full moon hung like a silver disc, its light like pale frost.

By the time they reached the sea, it was the night of the full moon.

That meant things would be a bit easier now—he had a revival opportunity.

Yako glanced at Captain Yak. What kind of reward would he receive after the next resurrection?

Upon entering the Land of Waves, the ANBU combed the terrain for marks left by Black Ape and questioned locals about a three-legged bird.

After several days, they found no sign of the Uzumaki survivors—but they did learn something new.

After the death of the Third Mizukage, no Fourth had yet been appointed. The Mist's elder, Master Genshō, had assumed interim leadership of Kirigakure.

Near the end of the month, the ANBU finally located one of Black Ape's encoded signals.

The cipher pointed toward the capital of the Land of Waves.

Captain Yak convened the squad leaders to divide tasks. He said:

"Now that Uzushiogakure is gone, the mission slots for both the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Waves have opened up.

Both of these daimyōs have always been vassals of the Fire Daimyō.

While we operate in the capital, we must avoid mass killings. It could affect the upcoming mission allocation negotiations.

There are still remnants of the Uzumaki here—some of the Land of Whirlpools' guardian shinobi were Uzumaki."

All ANBU disguised themselves as traveling merchants, each carrying only a single kunai as they entered the capital.

The Land of Waves sat between three great nations: to the northwest was the Land of Lightning, to the west the Land of Fire, and to the east the Land of Water. A complex place, almost like a second Amegakure.

Yako moved through alleys and streets, scouring every trash bin, every tree trunk.

He kept his kunai well hidden.

A kunai was the mark of a shinobi—if civilians spotted it, his cover would be blown.

Inside a shinobi village, life was easy. Outside, every civilian viewed shinobi with suspicion and hate.

The ninja world had seen too many massacres. Entire cities, nations wiped out. To commoners, shinobi were walking disasters.

Too fast. Too lethal. That had bred a deep hostility and a culture of nonviolent resistance.

After days of searching, Yako finally found Black Ape.

"Captain…"

Black Ape was holed up in a cramped warehouse. His left arm had been severed at the shoulder.

When he saw it was Fox, the tension drained from Black Ape's body, and he exhaled deeply.

"Not only did we see the Uzumaki elder produce a scroll—the Mist-nin saw it too. I followed the survivors here, and so did they.

Leaf Monkey is dead. I lost an arm.

Biwa Jūzō is too strong. I wasn't even close to matching him."

Yako's heart sank. One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had come to the capital of the Land of Waves?

"Captain, what about the Uzumaki survivors?"

"No idea. They're hiding with help from the guardian shinobi—I can't locate them."

Yako felt a flicker of hope. Uzumaki Yuuka might still be alive.

"Captain, I'll take you to see Captain Yak. Our first reinforcements were his squad. Two more squads are on the way."

Black Ape and Yako linked up with Captain Yak.

After conferring, the two squad leaders decided to split the ANBU into two-man teams to scour the capital for the surviving Uzumaki.

They had to find those kunoichi before the Mist did.

Black Ape teamed up with Yako.

Ever cautious, Black Ape always walked on Yako's right side.

He had lost his left arm—his right hand never left his weapon. Always ready.

Did Yako really look that much like a traitor? Or was Black Ape simply that paranoid?

The capital was massive.

After several days, Yako finally spotted a small bird—perched beside a pond in a city park.

A white heron. A white heron.