After meeting with Mid-Squad Leader Brown Bear, Yako was once again assigned to Blue Wolf's squad.
The squad donned gear from Kumo-nin, preparing to brazenly steal Uzumaki sealing scrolls.
But this time, Yako felt more confident. He had an insider now.
Captain Blue Wolf was as ruthless as ever, relentlessly pressing Yako to use Shadow Clones to infiltrate the town and gather intel.
With his chakra reserves doubled, Yako faked complaints about not having enough chakra.
He secretly ordered his clones to lure the Uzumaki shinobi toward their location.
The feedback from his shadow clone's memories confirmed that Uzumaki Yuka had already entered the town.
After just two shadow clones, the Uzumaki ninja arrived.
This time, Yako had more chakra left and was far more composed.
Seven Uzumaki shinobi charged in.
Yuka spotted Fox at a glance. After their intimacy, she knew his silhouette like the back of her hand.
So Fox was planted by ANBU to spy within the Kumo forces.
The clash immediately ignited into a fierce battle.
Yuka chose to fight Fox one-on-one, and the farther they fought, the farther they moved from the others.
One clueless Uzumaki tried to assist Yuka.
Yako took a kunai to the thigh, but with Yuka's cover, he seized the chance to escape using Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu.
The Uzumaki male ninja reached Yuka's side and said regretfully, "This Kumo-nin somehow knows Earth Release for retreat… hard to pursue."
Yuka nodded, but worry flooded her chest. Fox had taken a kunai to the leg—she wondered if it would affect his ability to tunnel underground.
With only beginner-level mastery of the technique, and just twice the chakra of a Chūnin, Yako could only burrow thirty meters or so.
Reaching a blind spot outside the Uzumaki squad's vision, he emerged silently and waited patiently beneath a bush.
When the sounds of battle faded and the Uzumaki moved out, Yako reactivated his Earth Style and vanished again.
Once he was truly safe, he carefully treated the wound in his thigh.
The fabric around the wound was soaked in blood. The clothes Yuka had just washed were stained again.
He hid in a crack between seaside rocks, surviving on his last soldier pills without moving an inch.
The full moon hung in the sky like a silver plate, its light as pale as frost.
Not until the moonlight shone through the crevices did Yako finally crawl out from his hiding spot.
Starving despite the pills, Yako snuck into a fishing village and stole food.
Salted fish and cold leftovers—he devoured them like a beast.
Once full, Yako planned to seek the main ANBU force again fifteen days later.
The closer it got to the next full moon, the safer he would be.
In the meantime, he would hone his ninjutsu and taijutsu and raise his combat capabilities.
First up: hand seal speed.
If his jutsu speed had been faster, he wouldn't have taken that kunai to the leg—he'd have burrowed underground already.
Both Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu and Self-Curse Binding Seal required three hand seals.
Uchiha Itachi could do six seals in a second.
Yako needed 1.5 seconds to make just three—far too slow.
He had to develop muscle memory and reach three seals per second, minimum.
Hand seal training wasn't just about speed. It had to sync with internal chakra flow. Coordination between both was essential for jutsu execution.
While practicing, Yako felt like his hands were made of plaster. Others had pianist fingers—his were statues.
After five days of relentless effort, his hands cramped constantly, but he made progress. He could now seal three signs per second.
Next came the dull grind of strength and speed training.
With the system's support and his own dedication, they worked together in harmony.
Too bad for the local fishing villages—they lost a lot of fish and rice.
At the start of a new month, with fifteen days left until the next full moon, Yako began searching for ANBU signal markers again.
Somewhere along the coast, he found Mid-Squad Leader Brown Bear.
Brown Bear was stationed at the shore to intercept any Uzumaki trying to escape back to Uzushiogakure.
The sealing arts of the Uzumaki Clan—ANBU was determined to seize them.
There were many mid-squad captains like Brown Bear. The Uzumaki ninja in the Land of Waves might all die here.
The mid- and upper-level ANBU captains guarded the coasts. Uzushio likely had no idea what was happening.
Yako reported everything about the Blue Wolf squad to Brown Bear.
"Those Uzumaki shinobi you encountered—other ANBU squads have crossed them too. They're definitely powerful."
Brown Bear glanced at Fox's leg. His uniform was torn and bloodstained—clearly a wound from over two weeks ago.
He thought for a moment and said:
"Fox, real name Yako.
Parents settled in Konoha in Year 18, after the First Great Ninja War.
Born in Year 23 of the Konoha calendar. Orphaned at age five in a rogue ninja uprising.
Graduated from the academy in Year 33. This year—Year 38—he passed the Chūnin Exams on a reduced-difficulty track and was recruited into ANBU.
Background is clean. Weak, but adaptable. Learned Shadow Clone Jutsu from Captain Antelope.
You'll stay with me now, Fox.
In a few days, I'll assign you one or two ANBU agents and make you acting squad captain.
Complete a few missions, and you'll be promoted officially."
Yako bowed deeply. "Thank you, Mid-Captain!"
Promotion wasn't the point. Being a captain meant direct mission orders—he'd finally access more intel.
For five days straight, Yako followed Brown Bear, helping place coded ANBU markers nearby.
Two Uzumaki ninja attempted to break through the perimeter and escape to the main island of the Land of Waves.
Brown Bear took them down with ease.
The power gap was staggering. He didn't even use ninjutsu—just pure taijutsu.
They searched the bodies. No sealing scrolls.
Yako's fingers itched.
If he was still alive on the 14th of this moon, maybe he'd try taking Brown Bear down. There might be a good loot drop.
He only dared think like that while staring at the ground. If he looked Brown Bear in the eye with those thoughts, the captain might kill him on the spot.
"Mid-Captain, aren't you worried Uzushio will hold Konoha accountable for this?"
"Of course not." Brown Bear gave Fox a sharp look.
"I know you're ANBU. But those Uzumaki? They have no clue who you are.
Even if they uncover something, Konoha can blame it all on Kirigakure.
Konoha and Uzushio are allies. Why would we kill our own allies?
Also—don't ask what you shouldn't."
"Understood. Apologies, Mid-Captain."
ANBU were Konoha's shadow—the ones who handled its dirtiest work. Unless dead or granted leave by Danzō himself, no one left ANBU.
Yako's ninja ID had been sealed. Officially, he was already listed as a Konoha shinobi killed in action.
Bit by bit, other scattered ANBU members reported in.
Brown Bear eventually assigned Yako a partner—a masked ANBU with a Pine Bird mask.
Together they formed a new squad, with Yako acting as squad captain.
Once Pine Bird left, Brown Bear handed Yako the mission:
"Fox, the Land of Waves is a mess right now—Kiri-nin, Kumo-nin, Uzumaki, and our ANBU all tangled up.
Your mission is to assassinate a noble town chief, a supporter of Uzushiogakure.
Beware his samurai bodyguards and guardian shinobi."
Accepting the mission scroll, Yako said, "Understood."
Inside were detailed dossiers on various noblemen.
For the first time, Yako wasn't just a tool—he was receiving real intelligence, with a degree of autonomy.