Yako fought while retreating, driven back to the sea's edge.
In Captain Antelope's mind, Yako was just a genin-level ninja—unfit for real responsibility.
That he had outlived Purple Cat already far exceeded the captain's expectations.
At the shoreline, Yako clashed with a Kumo-nin, locked in close-quarters taijutsu, testing each other.
His eyes darted to the ruined hut, scanning the battlefield.
One Kumo-nin who'd been blown up by explosive tags lay slumped against the stairs, gasping for air.
Horned Ox had filth all over his head—no wonder he was furious. He'd definitely been shat on.
A shinobi must be a jack-of-all-trades. Theory matters too. Poor Horned Ox—he paid the price for knowing nothing about architecture.
Captain Antelope and Horned Ox each fought a Kumo-nin.
Farther out, the villagers had been roused by the explosion. They came with fishing spears, shouting in fear.
But when faced with shinobi, these commoners were powerless.
They didn't dare charge in—only hovered behind boats and homes, shielding their meager wealth.
Then—suddenly—two silhouettes sprang up behind the villagers!
Shit. Kumo-nin had hidden among the villagers.
A surprise attack by a second Kumo squad flipped the entire situation.
Yako had kept his distance, so the new attackers targeted Captain Antelope and Horned Ox directly.
Two against one—both were in danger. If they died, Yako wouldn't survive either.
Yako stopped hiding. He faked a stumble, turning his back to the enemy and baited an opening.
The Kumo-nin raised his ninjatō high and slashed toward Yako's head.
In truth, Yako was secretly forming hand seals beneath him.
The Kumo-nin froze mid-strike—his joints bound by the Self-Cursed Binding Seal.
In the dark, sealing marks climbed his limbs, locking him in place.
His sword halted thirty centimeters above Yako's head—forever.
Yako spun and struck—his kunai plunging into the Kumo-nin's soft gut.
He twisted, tore, and the Kumo-nin crumpled.
Then Yako bolted toward Captain Antelope and Horned Ox.
But he was still too slow—he watched as two blades, front and back, sliced down and took Antelope's head.
Yako froze. Even Horned Ox stiffened in shock, nearly taking a blow himself.
The captain's dead?
Then—poof.
The body and severed head burst into white smoke.
A Shadow Clone!
So Captain Antelope had been testing them all along. Even Yako and Horned Ox's infiltration might've been part of the test.
The real Captain Antelope leapt from the palm trees at the back, flinging explosive tag-laced kunai into the crowd of villagers.
A shinobi squad had three to four members. Only two Kumo-nin had shown up—clearly more were hidden among the villagers.
The captain didn't bother separating civilians from Kumo-nin—he just tossed the tags in.
Either he'd blow up both, or whoever survived would reveal themselves.
The tags detonated in the middle of the crowd. Seven or eight villagers flew into the air—limbs, blood, fire.
Those who weren't dead were maimed.
An explosive tag was equivalent to a Chūnin-level Fire Release—devastating in power.
Yako tore his eyes from the carnage. The two Kumo-nin who'd just killed the clone now charged at him.
Two versus one?
He leveraged the force of their sword swings, rolled backward, faking a desperate defense.
Seeing that the fox-masked ninja was weak, only one Kumo-nin chased him. The other went for Captain Antelope.
Good, Yako exhaled. That's more like it. Don't waste time on cannon fodder like me. The captain's the threat.
The two of them fought from beach to surf.
To prevent the Kumo-nin from using Lightning Release in the water, Yako dove under and cast the Self-Cursed Binding Seal, paralyzing the enemy temporarily.
He killed him there, under the waves.
Then Yako tumbled in the sea, gripping the corpse's wrists, spinning, thrashing—pretending to be locked in an underwater battle.
A two-man dance, with one very dead partner.
Only when the fighting stopped ashore did Yako emerge from the sea, soaked.
Tonight he'd killed two Kumo-nin—exceeding his kill quota.
Captain Antelope stood amid the corpses of multiple enemies, but he was gravely injured—a deep, piercing stab to the abdomen.
As for Horned Ox—he was dead.
Yako felt dread sink in.
Without Horned Ox, would the captain start watching him more closely?
Would his secret techniques be exposed?
If he somehow learned a jutsu the ANBU hadn't authorized, they'd immediately suspect him of being a spy—and dispose of him.
Jutsu were Konoha's most closely guarded resource, second only to missions themselves.
"Captain! We need to go! The villagers are surrounding us!"
Yako rushed to Antelope's side, confirming the wound.
It was real—he wasn't faking.
The villagers, seeing one ninja clutching his stomach and another emerging drenched from the sea, built up their courage and advanced with spears.
They wanted revenge for their dead kin.
Yako hooked the captain's arm over his shoulders and leapt.
With a few bounds, they vanished into the depths of the coastal palms.
"You made the wrong choice, Fox," the captain muttered. "You should've killed every armed villager instead of fleeing."
Yako replied, "Captain, I was worried there were still Kumo-nin hiding among them."
Between two broad-leaf palms, in a patch of pitch darkness, Yako supported the captain toward the thick foliage.
Before they landed, Yako suddenly drew his kunai and stabbed it hard into the captain's ribs.
Beneath the mask, his eyes gleamed coldly.
He couldn't keep dancing around this man.
Every time he used the Self-Cursed Binding Seal, he had to do it in secret.
Sooner or later, Antelope would figure it out—that Yako had somehow learned a forbidden jutsu not sanctioned by ANBU.
And ANBU hated the unpredictable. Everything had to be controlled.
Yuka had mistaken him for a Senju agent over one sealing jutsu. Wouldn't the captain do the same?
Kunai in hand—kill the captain. Betray Konoha!
If not now, then when?
Even if Antelope was a Chūnin elite, a serious wound still made him vulnerable to a killing blow.
The captain grunted.
"Hngh?"
Yako felt the hot, sticky blood coating his fingers.
But there wasn't enough of it.
His ribs… so damn hard.
And this kunai… it's so dull!
Antelope was ruthless. He immediately countered.
His right arm, slung over Yako's shoulders, suddenly twisted back, locking around Yako's neck.
He raised his left hand and, joining it with the right, formed hand seals.
Fire Release: Flame Bullet!
A fireball erupted from Antelope's mouth.
At such close range, the flames scorched Yako's ears. The blast engulfed his head—and took Antelope's own right arm with it.
On the brink of death, the captain had traded his limb for Yako's life.
Yako, caught in his grip, couldn't even cast the Binding Seal.
His kunai was clamped by Antelope's muscle, trapped between unyielding ribs.
So devious… I thought Shadow Clones were all he had. Never guessed he had Fire Release too.
He hid that even from his own team!
From the speed of the seals, that fire jutsu was clearly his trump card.
Yako's head was swallowed in fire.
He felt… feverish.
A thousand degrees of flame.
He died, miserably.