The Hidden Whirlpool Village lay nestled deep among the mountains, split in half by a wide river that flowed through its heart.
What stunned Yagami most wasn't the river or the mountains—it was the moving mountain behind the village.
Looking closer, he realized it wasn't a mountain at all, but a colossal turtle—so huge that its shell could easily be mistaken for one.
Lying on Yagami's back, Uzumaki Yuka leaned close to his ear and whispered,
"That's our village's guardian summoning beast—Lord Spirit Turtle.
"The Uzumaki clan are masters of sealing techniques. Back during the Warring States period, they helped the various daimyō and nobles seal away monsters, and through that, they accumulated many summoning beasts.
"There are also quite a few aquatic ones living in the river that runs through the village.
"Our team's mission this time was to go to the Land of Waves to seal a rampaging giant beast. But we got targeted by shinobi from the Hidden Cloud Village and failed."
A sharp, piercing cry suddenly echoed above them.
Yagami looked up and saw a familiar sight from the original timeline—a massive three-legged bird with a hooked beak. The Yatagarasu, Nagato's summoning beast.
So that's it... he thought. This is the right way to use sealing jutsu.
Seal powerful summoning beasts—and let them fight for you.
But then... why hadn't the Uzumaki clan ever tried sealing a tailed beast for themselves?
With their mastery of sealing arts, if they combined that power with a tailed beast, couldn't they create the perfect Jinchūriki?
A few Uzumaki shinobi arrived at the village gate and escorted Uzumaki Yuka to the hospital.
Before leaving, she gave the fox one last reluctant glance.
What a shame... she'd only remembered his voice, not his name.
I'll have to find out who the Senju spy in the ANBU is when I get back, she thought.
In the old days, when the ANBU was still under Lord Tobirama's command, things wouldn't have been this complicated.
Rumor had it that after Hiruzen Sarutobi took power, the first thing he did was purge the ANBU—brutally. He replaced nearly everyone with new recruits, wiping out most of Tobirama's old subordinates.
Team Antelope moved deeper into the Hidden Whirlpool Village until they reached the main administrative building.
At the top of it hung a massive Uzumaki clan emblem—identical to the one on the back of a Hidden Leaf shinobi's flak jacket.
After a long wait, a group of people appeared in the distance.
Leading them was Danzo, followed by his aides.
At this time, Danzo was in his prime—his eyes and arms still whole, his body showing no signs of injury or decay.
The cross-shaped scar on his chin and his narrow, pale eyes gave him a sinister look.
When his cold, almost colorless gaze swept across them, a chill ran down Yagami's spine.
Danzo climbed the steps to the building, followed by the ANBU captain and his advisers. The squad captains, including Captain Antelope, remained below to stand guard.
Yagami, being an ordinary ANBU operative, vanished into the forest behind the building.
He stood on a branch beside Kakugyū, silently watching the rear of the administrative hall—ready to react if anyone made a move against Danzo.
Danzo held a dual role as both senior advisor and head of the ANBU, making his position extremely high.
There was no conversation between Yagami and Kakugyū. In fact, there was no conversation among any of the ANBU. Everyone moved like silent machines.
After an unknown amount of time, Danzo finally emerged, his expression sour. Whatever he had discussed with the Uzumaki clan leader clearly hadn't gone well.
He walked off toward the outskirts of the village with his assistant in tow, his eyes unfocused—deep in thought.
The ANBU captain began delegating orders to the squad leaders, who then passed them down to the smaller teams.
Captain Antelope found Fox and Kakugyū and ordered them to head north with him.
According to him, their next destination was the Land of Waves.
Yagami didn't know the details of the mission, but he guessed they were probably investigating the Cloud shinobi who had appeared there.
Normally, the main front between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud was on the border of the Land of Steam. The Land of Waves shouldn't have seen much Cloud activity at all.
It was the Second Great Ninja War, and every village was stretched thin. For Cloud to send troops that far south, it had to be something big.
Captain Antelope acquired a small boat at the coast. The three of them used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as fishermen and set off toward the north.
Yagami transformed into a tanned young man.
Leaning over the edge of the boat, he tried to catch his reflection in the rippling water, curious to see whether his transformed face resembled his former self.
But the churning white waves showed him nothing.
Rowing was tiring work. As they gathered information from passing fishermen and searched for suspicious vessels, days quietly slipped by.
For Yagami, the slow pace was almost relaxing. Before he knew it, more than ten days had passed.
By the time they reached the Land of Waves, another full moon hung overhead—a new chance for resurrection.
He was so sick of soldier pills he could barely stand them.
The captain forbade grilling fish, and Yagami didn't know which ones were safe to eat raw. So they kept surviving on soldier pills alone.
They wouldn't let you starve, but they didn't fill you either. His stomach ached constantly from being empty for so long.
Once they landed, the team dropped their disguises, returned to their ANBU uniforms, and slipped into the coastal coconut grove.
Yagami realized they were sweeping the area in a grid pattern—the ANBU were conducting a full-scale search.
Seven days later, Captain Antelope found signs of battle.
There were no bodies, but the ground was stained dark red. Judging by the blood, the fight had happened within the last two days.
In the grass nearby lay scattered kunai and a few long blades—standard Cloud Village ninja swords.
"Each of you take one," the captain ordered. "It'll help us blend in as Cloud shinobi."
Yagami picked up a blade and carefully wiped the blood off.
Pretending to be Cloud-nin and stirring up trouble—it was a convenient way to shift the blame.
Centering their search on the battle site, Team Antelope began tracking their enemies.
As they worked, Yagami couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Kakashi barely improved during his ten years in the ANBU.
These missions eat up all your time—traveling, searching, hiding. There's no room for real training.
Just like in my past life... leaders always have that same dull indifference to the people under them.
He had once dreamed of using his talent and insight to make a name for himself in this world.
But no one was giving him that chance.
Thanks to Captain Antelope's experience, they followed the trail all the way to a small fishing village.
Night had fallen, and most of the homes still glowed with warm light.
The captain pointed to one unlit hut and gestured silently.
Yagami and Kakugyū split up, sneaking toward the building from opposite directions.
To protect against humidity, the seaside huts were built on raised platforms—perfect for crawling underneath.
On the other side, Kakugyū suddenly wiped his face.
From his old-world knowledge of architecture, Yagami guessed the smaller window side was probably the toilet. Smartly, he chose the larger window side.
Poor Kakugyū... let's hope whatever hit your face was just water.
If it wasn't... well, you'll have to endure it. We're on a mission.
Pressing his ear to the floorboards, Yagami listened carefully.
Suddenly—steel flashed!
A blade stabbed straight through the floor!
Only his reflexes saved him; he twisted aside just in time.
The tip grazed his scalp, slicing off a strand of his hair.
The blade was long and razor-sharp—clearly a Cloud-standard ninja sword.
The fight erupted instantly.
Footsteps thundered above him.
With a roar of anger, Kakugyū slapped an explosive tag onto the underside of the floor.
"Damn it," Yagami cursed silently. "This crawlspace is too low! It'll take time to get out!"
In such a tight area, the blast would hit harder—dangerously so.
Don't tell me Kakugyū really got splattered and lost his mind...
The explosion went off, shaking the entire hut.
Yagami rolled and scrambled out as flames erupted behind him.
The wooden house blew apart from the inside, and several Cloud shinobi burst out, weapons drawn.
In an instant, the moonlit beach lit up with the glint of cold steel.