By day, Yako trained the new recruits in his ANBU squad. By night, he tracked the movements of Senju Rinkoku.
Rinkoku never left the compound without his six personal guards. He was either cloistered deep within the Senju estate or heading to the Hokage Tower.
Since the battle at Mount Ushika, the date of Uzumaki Mito's death had become a mystery. The Nine-Tails transfer wasn't as urgent anymore, but the Senju clan still remained on high alert.
Yako had been unable to locate Tsunade. Ever since she performed surgery on Captain Black Ape, she had vanished without a trace.
That afternoon, Yako left ANBU early and made his way to the izakaya.
"Kyo'i, I need to borrow your property registration certificate."
"What do you need that for?"
"You seem to be recovering a little too well lately. Come on—backyard. I'll teach you a lesson."
An hour later, Kyo'i, legs trembling, crawled out of bed and fetched the deed from the drawer at the head of the bed.
"You're such a menace... Am I going to have to write you an authorization letter too?"
With deed and authorization in hand, Yako made his way to Konoha's only bank—Daimyō Bank.
The blood-earned money from ANBU missions had all been blown at the Tsurugetsu Izakaya. Using its deed for a loan didn't seem unreasonable now.
If he died on the night of the 14th, everything would reset with the next full moon.
No matter how much he borrowed, it would all be erased.
His cheat ability, the Arc of the Moonlit Watch, created what felt like a new parallel world each month.
In this one, he had Kyo'i's property deed.
In the next, after the full moon reset, it would be like he never took it.
Yako approached a bank manager.
"Manager, how much can I borrow using this property deed?"
"That depends on how many years you want to repay it over. The longer the loan term, the higher the interest, but also the higher the principal. How old are you?"
"I'm 18. Ideally, I want a 60-year loan."
"Hah! You're a funny one, kid—but not too funny," the manager chuckled. "The average lifespan in Konoha is 45 years. So at most, you can borrow for 26 years."
"That works too. Give me 26 years."
"Wait," the manager said. "Are you a shinobi?"
"I am."
"Then you can't borrow for 26 years. Average shinobi life expectancy is 31 years. That means you can only take out a 15-year loan at most."
"Fine, 15 years then."
Yako thought to himself: Not like I ever planned to pay it back.
The manager continued:
"Hold on, young man.
According to Daimyō Bank's statistical analysis, male Konoha shinobi have an average life expectancy of 27 years. Female shinobi—35.
If you're a medic-nin from the hospital, sure, you can take 15 years.
But if you're a frontline combat ninja, you're only eligible for an 11-year term."
This bank sure was full of data nerds.
"11 years?! Fine—just tell me how much I can get."
After calculating against the property's value, the manager said:
"You can borrow 8 million ryō. Payable over 11 years.
But young man—you'd better train hard. If you die next month, we'll seize your property immediately. Understood?"
Yako silently thought: You'd better move fast. I might not even be in this timeline next month.
Once I'm gone, let this parallel world drown for all I care.
After leaving the Daimyō Bank, Yako went to a ninja tools shop.
Explosive tags cost 10,000 ryō apiece. Buying too many at once would raise red flags, so he bought 40 each day, slowly stockpiling.
He now had 800 explosive tags—more than enough to waste extravagantly.
The original series said Konan had 600 billion explosive tags. Clearly, Kishimoto's math was taught by an art teacher in preschool.
Back at the izakaya, Kyo'i didn't even ask what he'd done with her deed.
Late that night, the sound of a cane echoed.
Senju Ka entered the izakaya, leaning on his crutch.
This time, he didn't sit at the bar. He chose a booth with a high-backed seat and sank into it silently.
Yako glanced over—Ka's face was ashen, his eyes hollow.
Soon after, Yachi entered, carrying a long fabric bundle.
He moved slowly, searching the room until he spotted Ka slouched in the booth.
He opened the bundle—it was a prosthetic limb.
At the sight of it, Ka understood.
"My son didn't die at the hands of enemy spies... You know something, don't you?!"
Ka stood on one leg, shaking his friend's shoulders, eyes bloodshot and wild.
Yako remembered the mission record he saw in ANBU earlier that day: a young Senju had died in an anti-spy operation.
Senju Haku had encountered remnants of the Uzumaki. ANBU had investigated—and one of the squads had carried out a cover-up mission.
"Shhh!"
Yachi silenced Ka's outburst.
Luckily, the izakaya was loud enough that few noticed.
Ka regained his composure and sat down, rolling up his pant leg to install the prosthetic.
At first, his hands trembled. Then they stilled, unnaturally calm.
Once he was done, both men bore the same look—grim, unwavering.
They raised their cups in silence, emptied them in one gulp, and left together.
Yako set down his glass and immediately followed.
Ka and Yachi walked slowly, heading toward the Senju compound.
Yachi asked, "You really gonna confront them?"
"What else? My son died without a word of truth. I could accept him dying in battle, on a mission—but not in some dark alley in our own village."
"If you do this, the Senju and the village might fully break. We could spark a brutal civil war."
"So be it. My son's dead. What else do I have to lose? What about you? If you're scared, go home. I'll face the clan head alone."
Yachi's face clouded with memories. "Me... I actually preferred your younger sister. Who doesn't like the younger ones? Your elder sister couldn't get married—I only went after her out of pity."
"You bastard!"
The two middle-aged men picked up their pace.
At a corner, Yako used Body Flicker to land ahead of them, cutting them off.
Ka and Yachi immediately tensed.
They recognized him as a regular at the izakaya.
They exchanged glances. Could this kid have figured it out?
Yako didn't waste time.
"You're planning to confront Senju Rinkoku and tell him Danzō and ANBU orchestrated the annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan, aren't you?"
In a flash, both men drew kunai and lunged from opposite sides.
Yachi was fast. Ka was far too slow.
Yako clapped his hands—"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a burst of smoke, a white egret with a long spear perched on Yako's shoulder.
Ka and Yachi halted instantly.
This summoning beast—Spear Egret—was unmistakable.
If they knew anything about the Uzumaki remnants, they'd recognize it as belonging to Uzumaki Yuka, leader of the survivors.
Yako glanced around.
"This isn't the place to talk."
Deep within a forest grove, Yako said:
"On the 14th next month, we go together to meet Lady Uzumaki Mito. I'm a mole placed inside by the Uzumaki. Spear Egret can vouch for me."
"Why wait till the 14th?"
"Classified. This goes too deep. If it leaks, Konoha will split—and the Senju could be wiped out.
Just trust me."
Yachi pulled Ka aside, whispering urgently.
He remembered Haku mentioning a member of the Uzumaki with a Spear Egret contract.
Eventually, Ka approached Yako.
"We believe you. We'll act on the 14th."
Yako had secured two powerful allies.
With Senju Ka as an inside man, finding Senju Rinkoku would be much easier.