The story unfolded exactly the same as in his previous life.
"Fox! Cover the rear!"
Breaking through the Cloud ninja's defense line, the Black Chimp Squad leader once again ordered Yoru to cover the rear.
Yoru turned, anticipated the movements of two Cloud ninja, and cut them down. Then he carefully watched the Cloud ninja squad leader not far ahead.
The squad leader's attention was immediately drawn to Yoru again.
He charged, jumped, and slashed downward.
In midair, the sword style changed, converting the downward strike into a horizontal slash.
Clang!
The sound of steel meeting steel rang out.
Yoru's ninja sword blocked the Cloud ninja's blade.
The Cloud ninja's face turned pale. He had been practicing Cloud Flow Sword Technique daily, a deceptive and unpredictable style—yet this Konoha Anbu blocked his attack with apparent ease?
The horizontal sweep became a thrust.
Clang!
The thrust became an upward slash.
Clang!
The sound of steel clashing filled the ears, mingled with the Cloud ninja's inexplicable fury.
Had this Konoha Anbu studied him specifically? How could he be so familiar with his sword style?
The battle was even; Yoru had no disadvantage, which calmed him.
Do you know what "clang clang clang" really means?
It means… I've read through every strike you make.
Yoru scanned the surroundings, looking for cover.
When the Cloud ninja attacked next, Yoru didn't meet the blade. He feigned retreat and jumped through the window of a nearby house.
The Cloud ninja was delighted—his Cloud Flow Sword Technique was more effective in confined spaces.
Flexible joints and muscles suited small-area dodging and maneuvering.
Without hesitation, the Cloud ninja jumped in after him.
Inside the house, he saw the Konoha ninja forming hand seals.
Quick! Must be faster! Faster than the Anbu's jutsu!
The ninja sword thrust forward.
But when it was just 3 cm from Yoru's chest, it stopped.
Unseen by anyone, hand seals crawled up the Cloud ninja's legs, waist, and arms, locking all his joints.
The seal couldn't last long. Yoru lunged forward, grabbed the sword he had just planted in the ground, and drove it through the Cloud ninja's heart.
Pulling the blade out, he grabbed a handkerchief from the nearby table and wiped the blood from the sword.
The texture under the handkerchief was unpleasant—after clashing blades with the Cloud ninja, several chips had formed along the edge.
After this fight, he would need to replace his sword quickly.
Ninjas were poor because weapons consumed the most resources. To survive, no one skimped on weapon quality.
A good ninja sword was expensive, costing tens of thousands of ryō.
Kunai were much cheaper—only a few thousand ryō each.
Ninja swords were for wealthy ninjas; kunai were for the poor.
Cloud ninja were even wealthier than Konoha ninja—outrageous.
Yoru sniffed the air and detected a pleasant aroma.
He finally turned to inspect the house.
Inside were two corpses—a mother and daughter.
Both had their throats slit, and two large pools of blood stained the floor.
The aroma came from the stove.
A chicken was still stewing there.
Yoru lifted the lid; the smell was intoxicating.
The broth had mostly evaporated, and the bottom of the chicken was slightly charred, but the top remained fine.
Grabbing a drumstick and biting into it, he felt pure satisfaction.
Rations were worthless; on the battlefield, a hot chicken restored morale significantly.
After finishing half the chicken in the dark house and wiping the grease from his mouth, Yoru jumped back outside.
He had killed three people—exceeding his assigned quota.
Jumping onto the rooftop, he surveyed the squad's situation.
Captain Yellow Dog's squad had advanced further, fiercely battling Mist ninja outside the Four Purple Flame Formation.
The Mist ninja were using water techniques to drain the formation's energy, creating thick mists.
Yoru didn't head toward them—he stayed behind to clean up minor threats for the Black Chimp Squad.
Every time he encountered Cloud ninja, he lured them into houses and used the Binding Seal of Karma to kill them.
After killing three more Cloud ninja, Yoru felt Captain Yellow Dog's squad was moving too slowly—if the battle didn't end soon, he would… starve.
Besides half a chicken, he had already eaten a pot of ribs, three rice balls, and a bowl of drunken shrimp.
The drunken shrimp in Uzumaki Village were well-cooked but quite strong with alcohol.
He had also collected over 500,000 ryō, stuffed into his ninja tool pouch. Back at Crane Moon Tavern, he'd need money to live in style.
If he could clear Uzumaki Village, he could become instantly rich.
As he pondered, he glanced at Captain Yellow Dog's squad and realized only ordinary members were fighting; neither the captain nor the squad leaders had joined.
At this pace, when would the Mist ninja around the barrier be cleared?
Compared to Konoha Anbu, the Mist ninja were fighting desperately. With the Mizukage dead, they fought with "vengeance or death" resolve, making them highly dangerous.
Over ten minutes later, Yoru killed another Cloud ninja. Then a loud rumble came from behind.
The Four Purple Flame Formation at the Uzumaki clan shrine—broken!
The continuous Water Techniques had finally drained the formation's last energy.
Four cornered Uzumaki ninja, exhausted and pale, collapsed.
Mist ninja surged in, massacring the female Uzumaki.
Red-haired girls were slaughtered—some in pajamas, others in cute pink dresses.
To the Mist ninja, all red-haired Uzumaki were the murderers of the Mizukage.
Uzumaki Yuka appeared, summoning her summoned spear, White Heron, and tied the crying Uzumaki Kushina to its leg.
"Fly! Fly to Konoha Village!"
White Heron took off at high speed, heading northwest.
Captain Yellow Dog did not immediately order a pursuit; he remained outside the shrine, watching Mist ninja slaughter the Uzumaki women.
Other squad members slowed down, letting many Mist ninja enter the shrine.
This attitude… it seemed one of Captain Yellow Dog's objectives was to secure the ordinary Uzumaki women.
Yoru blocked a Cloud ninja's strike and countered, stabbing the ninja with Cloud Flow Sword Technique.
Suddenly, he understood.
For Konoha, which Uzumaki Kushina is easiest to control?
Of course—alone, the last Uzumaki in the ninja world.
If other Uzumaki still existed, Kushina would not fully devote herself to Konoha; she would naturally favor her clan.
The extermination of the Uzumaki clan was not only desired by the Mist ninja but also by the Cloud ninja, aligning with Konoha's interests.
There could be no second Uzumaki—then Kushina would have no alternative choice.
Only then could the Nine-Tails be safely entrusted to her.
In the original story, Nagato and his parents were in the Land of Rain, Karin and her parents in the Land of Grass. Perhaps the Uzumaki orphans in the Land of Fire had already been secretly eliminated by Konoha Anbu.
White Heron carried Uzumaki Kushina far away, followed by an Anbu squad.
Kushina bore a large scroll on her back, presumably Uzumaki Village's sealing book.
A Konoha Anbu squad pursued her first.
The Cloud ninja, seeing the Uzumaki sealing book, also chased after her.
Captain Yellow Dog's squad did not move—they remained outside the shrine, fighting the Mist ninja neither fiercely nor leisurely.
Some Mist ninja even stormed the shrine's main hall, killing indiscriminately.
A group of female Uzumaki ninja also fled northwest, including Uzumaki Yuka.
Only when the Mist ninja chased this female squad did Captain Yellow Dog's squad follow.