For two whole days, no one came looking for Captain Brown Bear—not even the Uzumaki ninjas appeared by the seaside.
During the lull, Yorimitsu took the opportunity to ask about some of his doubts. As long as they didn't involve Konoha's classified information, Captain Brown Bear was willing to answer.
"Captain, the Uzumaki clan are supposed to be experts in sealing techniques, right? Then why didn't they just seal their supplies into scrolls and take them along?"
Brown Bear thought for a moment. Remembering the poor education at the Ninja Academy, he realized Fox knew nothing about this topic and explained patiently:
"You're talking about the Storage Sealing Technique, the kind that seals objects into scrolls.
That technique requires chakra to be infused into the item being sealed.
Once the chakra stored inside dissipates naturally, the seal breaks and destroys itself.
In other words, maintaining sealed supplies requires a large number of ninja to prepare and constantly recharge those scrolls.
Unless it's absolutely necessary, no one would keep such seals active for long.
The Uzumaki we've been fighting could die at any moment—they don't have the energy to maintain those seals. That's why they just pile their supplies in warehouses."
Yorimitsu nodded repeatedly. So that's how it works.
It made sense—Storage Sealing required a continuous supply of chakra and constant upkeep from sealing specialists.
With that, even the original Kannabi Bridge Battle made sense now.
When Minato's squad destroyed Kannabi Bridge, the Iwagakure supply lines were cut off because they couldn't transport resources efficiently anymore, forcing them to retreat.
If sealing scrolls had no maintenance cost, every supply line could just be sealed into a few scrolls—there'd be no such thing as a logistics problem.
Time passed quickly—over ten days later, another month arrived.
Yorimitsu looked at Captain Brown Bear's back, eyes flickering with thought.
Maybe this month, I'll die fighting him. At least he's an elite jōnin—should drop something good.
Other squads occasionally came to report their situations to Brown Bear.
All of them had suffered heavy losses.
At this point, the captain's four squads were nearly gone. Fox had taken the place of the Antelope Squad captain, while the Blue Wolf Squad had been completely wiped out. That left only two squads—one with two people, the other with three.
The three-man squad's captain refused to assign anyone to Fox.
One less person means one less bit of fighting power, he'd said stubbornly.
Ungrateful bastards, Yorimitsu thought. I even got them more soldier pills, and they couldn't spare a single thank-you.
"Fox!"
After listening to two captains give their reports, Brown Bear finally turned toward him and issued an order.
"I have a mission for you. Capture a live prisoner—specifically, a Kumo squad captain. I want to interrogate him for intel.
There are Kirigakure shinobi in the area—that's normal. The Mist have always been after missions in the Land of Waves.
But there are too many Kumo-nin around. I want to know what they're up to."
"Capture one alive? A Kumo captain?" Yorimitsu swallowed hard. "Understood, sir."
The good news was that Brown Bear trusted him a lot now, thanks to his previous success.
The bad news was that—because of that same success—Brown Bear trusted him too much.
After leaving the shore, Yorimitsu's mouth twisted bitterly.
Capturing someone alive was much harder than killing them.
Especially a ninja—battle maniacs who fought to the death. How could you possibly take one alive?
He touched the short blade strapped to his back. Kumo-nin were known for their swordsmanship, while he could barely handle a short sword, treating it more like an oversized kunai.
After gathering intel from the other captains, Yorimitsu set out alone.
Reaching the area where Kumo-nin were active, he picked a road leading toward the town, planted explosive tag traps, and hid himself nearby.
Like Konoha shinobi, Kumo-nin came from afar. Once they ran out of soldier pills, they had to find food in nearby towns or fishing villages.
That made the outskirts perfect for an ambush.
He lay hidden in the bushes patiently.
Soldier pills took little space, and eating less meant fewer bodily needs. As long as he endured the hollow hunger in his stomach, he could stay motionless for a day or two.
Until, one dawn, just as the morning star rose—
Three figures darted rapidly toward the town.
Then, in an instant—
BOOM!
The explosive tag detonated beneath their feet, blasting the three shadows in different directions.
Yorimitsu leapt up and hurled kunai toward all three.
Two struck their targets—likely wounded or killed by the blast.
But one enemy dodged the kunai and charged straight at him.
He caught a glimpse of the forehead protector—Kumo-nin.
Lucky, Yorimitsu thought. Looks like a squad captain too.
He gripped his kunai in reverse, preparing for close combat and waiting for an opening to use his sealing technique—Curse of Retribution Seal.
The Kumo captain's swordsmanship was terrifyingly refined. A single sidestep caused Yorimitsu to lose track of him.
As he stepped sideways, he slashed horizontally—his sword nearly split Yorimitsu's side open.
The two exchanged blows—kunai clashing against blade.
Yorimitsu fought with difficulty. The Kumo-nin's coordinated footwork made it impossible to read his movements.
Then, suddenly, the Kumo captain ducked low, dodging Yorimitsu's kunai.
Before Yorimitsu could react, it was too late—
The blade pierced clean through his abdomen.
At first there was no pain—then heat, then searing agony.
Just as the Kumo captain tried to pull his sword free, he saw—
An explosive tag stuck to Yorimitsu's chest.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed them both.
The Kumo-nin's last thought before death: Is this guy insane? Using an explosive tag for mutual destruction?
Did some rival from the village track me down for sleeping with his wife or something?
——
Everything went black.
Then the world shifted.
Yorimitsu opened his eyes beneath the light of the last full moon—before he had ever met Captain Brown Bear again.
[Moonlit Arc Activated!]
The host is granted one resurrection per month. Upon death, you will revive under the full moon of the previous month.
Reward: One draw chance.
Lightning-nature Chakra
Muscle Regeneration Technique
Swordsmanship (Basic)
Lightning-nature chakra? Not that useful right now.
Muscle Regeneration? Surprising that the Kumo captain knew a medical technique.
But medical ninjutsu wasn't what he needed—better to kill the enemy quickly than heal slowly.
That left the third option—Swordsmanship (Basic).
To counter an enemy swordsman, you had to be better with the sword.
His ignorance of the angles, speed, and rhythm of real swordplay was exactly why he lost.
Without hesitation, Yorimitsu selected Swordsmanship (Basic).
It covered two core areas:
Fundamental strikes—slash, cut, stab, sweep, block, parry, deflect, hook, slice, guard.
Basic footwork—movements designed to maximize balance and attack flow for each technique.
Knowledge filled his mind—and muscle memory followed. His body remembered how to move, strike, and step.
Drawing his blade, Yorimitsu practiced the forms again and again until every motion flowed naturally.
Now that he'd mastered the basics, he'd no longer be helpless before a Kumo swordsman.
No wonder that Kumo captain's technique felt overwhelming, he thought. Proper swordsmanship—fast, precise, lethal.
As for how he gained it? Easy enough to explain—
He'd "learned it" through observation and imitation in combat.
Having a high learning aptitude isn't a crime, he told himself with a smirk.