Yako stared at his hands.
In the shinobi world, chakra was a curse.
The stronger someone became, the more tragic their end.
The Senju clan, the Uzumaki clan, the Uchiha clan — none had met a good fate.
Kekkei genkai users were dissected. Ordinary shinobi bowed before strength.
Every ninja carried the curse of chakra. War after war brought endless death.
Ninja wielded violence — yet never truly controlled it.
Many of the shinobi world's greatest figures — Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama, even Naruto — had seen the darkness of the world.
All of them had tried to change it.
And all of them, without exception, had failed.
Chakra was a curse.
Great personal power became disaster for others — and a burden for oneself.
Unless chakra itself was abandoned, there was no answer. The curse would follow every shinobi.
Blossom Deer stepped forward.
"Captain, there are many rebellious miners. The Cloud ninja have deployed a full platoon.
"The noble of the Land of the Moon has also sent fifty samurai and several rogue ninja."
Yako waved his hand lightly.
"Let's go. Time to cross off the first target in the assassination manual."
He was the first to charge down the mountain.
He clashed directly with the Cloud jonin Takami.
Takami's Lightning Release: Thunder Lance was formidable — he had reduced the original four hand seals down to only two.
After confirming Takami's capabilities, Yako allowed himself to die by his hand.
[Host death detected. Arc of the Waning Moon system activating…]
He revived on the previous full moon night.
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated!
The host has only one revival opportunity per month.
Upon death, revival occurs at the previous full moon night.
Reward: One draw.]
This time, Yako selected Expert-level Lightning Release: Thunder Lance, granting White Ghost a new technique.
Standing once more atop the mountain in the Land of the Moon, Yako watched the miners being escorted below.
He led the Blossom Deer squad forward in a charge.
Takami looked up.
Several masked ANBU descended along the rays of sunlight.
He didn't know which village they belonged to, but he shouted,
"Enemy attack!"
Yako turned his head — one of the miner youths had taken advantage of the chaos to snatch a samurai's blade.
A faint sense of satisfaction rose within him.
In this cursed world, some people still resisted.
Some still fought back.
Whoever you are… I'll help you today.
Takami formed seals and spat out a massive spear of lightning.
The flash illuminated his face — but could not dispel the unease in his eyes.
ANBU bold enough to enter the Land of the Moon had to be extremely strong.
And when he saw the distinctive mask beneath the hood —
His unease turned into fear.
Konoha ANBU… Copper Fox!
The man who had survived a direct strike from the Third Raikage!
Fox vanished into the earth using the Hidden Fish in Earth Technique, avoiding Thunder Lance.
Takami felt a chill.
Copper Fox's strength was overwhelming — yet he refused direct confrontation, choosing stealth and ambush instead. His combat style was unnervingly elusive.
The lightning spear missed.
Takami formed another seal.
Lightning Release: Ground Flow.
Lightning chakra surged into the earth, targeting enemies underground.
Just as his palm struck the ground—
He heard air tearing behind him.
Abandoning the technique, Takami rolled sideways in panic.
Why was Copper Fox's Hidden Fish in Earth Technique so fast?!
Seeing Takami evade his horizontal kunai strike, Yako thought, 'As expected of a jonin — quick reactions.'
He shifted from a slashing motion into a throw.
The kunai struck Takami's lower back as he finished his roll.
Ignoring the pain, Takami turned—
But Copper Fox had already completed another seal.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
A high-speed line of water shot forward, piercing straight through Takami's heart.
Suppressed from start to finish…
A jonin, unable to fight back at all.
So this was Copper Fox's terror.
Takami hadn't even had the chance to use a Substitution or clone.
The reason for his defeat lay in the absurd speed of Fox's Hidden Fish in Earth Technique.
In an instant, Copper Fox had appeared behind him.
In truth, the earth technique was only a feint.
After diving underground, Yako switched to the Mayfly Technique — traveling through underground organic networks at extreme speed.
Hidden Fish in Earth altered soil density to swim through earth.
The difference in speed between the two was enormous.
The Mayfly Technique's overwhelming speed and unpredictability could serve as the core ability of an assassination-focused jonin.
As the water beam faded, blood poured endlessly from Takami's chest.
Thanks for the expert-level Lightning Release: Thunder Lance. Now the third element of Five Elements Great Barrage is complete.
Expert-level Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Lightning Release: Thunder Lance.
Now he only lacked impact-type expert-level Earth and Water techniques.
The Blossom Deer squad engaged the Cloud platoon.
All four members released the Ten Seal, using coordinated ninjutsu to suppress the enemy and seize the initiative.
Yako turned his gaze toward the valley — toward the unusual miner boy.
The youth's clothes were torn, his sword stance somewhat trained — but not fully refined.
The blade was too long for him, yet his eyes were steady.
Facing five charging samurai, he remained calm, carrying the desperate resolve of someone who had already accepted death.
He possessed real combat instinct.
Some people froze when facing danger — the "freeze response," like prey feigning death before predators.
Others surged forward, adrenaline igniting them.
This boy was the latter.
Facing heavily armored samurai, he charged.
Fast, but also reckless.
He thrust the blade precisely into a gap in the armor.
No formal swordsmanship — pure talent.
After killing one samurai, another charged, slashing toward the boy.
He tried to pull his sword free, but it was stuck in the armor, only halfway withdrawn.
The enemy was already within reach.
He could even smell the armor.
The blade came straight for his throat.
Cold steel reflected sunlight.
At that moment—
A kunai flew in.
It struck the samurai's wrist with perfect accuracy, blood spraying from the wound.
Unable to hold his sword, the samurai faltered.
The miner boy didn't bother retrieving his original weapon — instead, he seized the dropped blade and thrust it cleanly into another gap in the armor.
The remaining samurai hesitated.
They glanced toward the mountain — toward the terrifying battle between shinobi.
Exchanging looks, they turned and fled.
The Cloud platoon leader was already dead.
This mission was doomed.
The miner boy looked toward the mountaintop.
That kunai had come from the fox-masked ninja.
…So strong.
He turned and rushed toward his bound companions.