Chaos erupted around the ceremonial platform.
Nobles, shielded by their samurai guards, fled in panic.
Every face was drawn tight with fear.
Iwagakure had gone too far. The Land of Rivers lacked coal, not because it refused to buy from the Land of Earth, but because war had consumed the trade routes. There was no way to transport it in safely.
Now the spies lurking in the Land of Rivers' capital had gone so far as to attempt the assassination of Kawachi-no-kami, the minister overseeing the hydroelectric project.
At first there had been four infiltrators. Now another four revealed themselves—eight in total—rushing from two sides straight toward Yako.
"Miqū! Run!" Chisa shouted. "I'll hold off the Iwa-nin!"
With samurai at her back, she threw herself into the rear guard.
Yako spun on his heel, driving directly toward the assassination target.
Craftsmen scattered in terror. In the chaos, White Ram lunged for the Commander of the Left Imperial Guard.
Confusion swept the commander's retinue. White Ram seized the moment, hurling three kunai wrapped in explosive tags instead of using the Aburame clan's secret techniques—he couldn't afford to expose his identity.
Three sharp detonations shook the air, smoke billowing to cover the commander.
From the haze, one of White Ram's men darted in to finish the kill.
Nearby, Lord of the Middle Palace's guards also faltered. An ANBU hurled an explosive-tagged kunai. A samurai tore free his heavy armor and hurled himself against it, shielding the noble.
The blast tore apart the armor but spared the Middle Palace lord.
The one who shed his armor was a Suna-nin in disguise.
Yako blurred forward with the Body Flicker Technique, aiming for the Middle Palace lord.
But in that split second, Chisa glanced back—worried for Miqū—and saw it all.
Miqū's blade swept down and severed the Middle Palace lord's head.
She stood there stunned, unable to breathe.
'Why?'
Why would Miqū kill him?
He wasn't some rogue shinobi. Was he another spy all along?
Then what of his tireless effort these past weeks? What of her trust? What of those nights they had shared beneath the moonlight?
Yako turned around and saw her.
He cast Chisa a fleeting, complicated look—then turned away.
"Don't you dare walk away!" Chisa abandoned the Iwa spies, running after him.
"Was the hydroelectric project real? Are you real? Who are you, really?"
Her voice broke, her eyes red, tears trembling in their corners.
Yako dared not answer. He would not answer. He was Anbu. Only the mission mattered.
At that moment, the maid beside Chisa suddenly drew a kunai and slashed at her brow.
Her frameless glasses shattered, falling to the ground—then were crushed beneath the maid's heel.
The maid… was an Iwa spy.
So the true target of the infiltrators was none other than Chisa Kojii, the minister leading the hydroelectric project?
Yako's heart stuttered at the sight of those broken lenses.
Chisa staggered, a kunai lodged in her brow. Even as she let out her last breath, she reached toward Yako, long fingers trembling.
Her pupils dulled, her once-fine features twisted in disarray, crimson blood blooming beneath her.
A pang of unwillingness stabbed Yako's chest.
'This month, just for her, I'll bring her back once more.'
He stepped slowly toward her body.
From the rear White Ram's voice bellowed: "Captain! Get out of here!"
Konoha's ANBU, Suna's guards, Iwa's spies—everything around the platform dissolved into chaos.
Yako fixed on the strongest Suna-nin he could find and threw himself into combat.
Forcing the man to reveal his ability, Yako feigned weakness and allowed himself to be run through.
Another deliberate death—his offering for the warmth Chisa had once given him.
[System detected host death. Arc of the Waning Moon activating…]
The world blurred.
When his vision cleared, Yako stood once again beneath the full moon of the previous month.
Inside Chisa Kojii's private chambers.
Bathed in moonlight, she stood before him with that stark contrast of delicate beauty and those incongruous glasses.
Unaware of the future, she reached for Yako's waist.
He felt the warmth of her body and thought: As long you're alive it's worth it.
[Arc of the Waning Moon activated.Host gains one resurrection per month, returning to the last full moon upon death.Reward: one lottery draw.
Options:1 – Earth Release: Antlion Jutsu (B-rank)2 – Red Fire Ant Venom Preparation3 – Wind-natured Chakra]
The Antlion Jutsu created a whirlpool of sand that swallowed enemies, but it was slow—not a killing strike. Yako dismissed it.
The second option, a desert-born poison technique, reeked of Suna's reliance on toxins. He set it aside as well.
The third: Wind Release chakra nature.
The coming war would be fought largely against wind-specialized Suna-nin. Mastering wind chakra meant mastering their strengths, learning their weaknesses.
Know your enemy, and know yourself.
He chose wind chakra.
Now his affinities included Earth, Water, Wind, Yin, and Yang.
Moonlight spilled across Chisa's glasses, across the blush on her cheeks, across the pale curve of her waist.
Half an hour later she lay panting, her head resting on his chest.
"Miqū… can't I take off these glasses yet?"
"No. I like the way you look with them on."
She smiled faintly, offering no resistance.
Yako slid an arm over her bare shoulder. "My dear minister, let's talk business for a moment."
Instantly serious, Chisa drew a shawl over her body and listened intently.
His hand roamed lightly across the cloth as he said, "Once the Land of Rivers develops hydroelectric power, the Land of Earth's coal exports will collapse. I fear Iwa will sabotage the plant's construction."
"But Iwagakure is already at war with Konoha and Amegakure. Do they even have men to spare?" she asked.
Yako's tone sharpened.
"Iwagakure has more shinobi than any other village—at least three times Konoha's number. They have spies everywhere.
The construction is one thing. Protecting it is another.
Now, my dear minister… take off your glasses and sleep. I'll go sniff out any Iwa infiltrators nearby."
"Now? But—" She kissed his chin. "I can't sleep yet. What then?"
"Then…" Yako sighed, "I'll have to help tire you out again."
Intellect and allure, wisdom and wildness—he threw himself into that contradiction until at last she collapsed into slumber.
He dressed quietly and left her chambers.
Outside, in the corridor, the maid awaited.
The same maid who had killed her in the last life.
"Lord Kawachi…"
"Come with me. I've something to leave for Lady Chisa. Give it to her when she wakes."
She signaled other attendants to stand guard, then followed.
Only when they reached an empty hall did she realize she could no longer speak.
Sealing marks bound every joint in her body.
Yako reached out and twisted her neck until it snapped.
"To think you reached the daimyo's sister's side… you were truly a fine spy."
"But you scared her face, and shattered her glasses."
Killing was one thing. But targeting the face! And even shattering those glasses he cherished?
That was the line.