Sensing the contract chakra pulse, White Porcelain clasped its short, thick paws together and performed the Reverse Summoning Technique.
"You've done enough. Go home, White Porcelain."
With that, Yako rushed back to regroup with his squads.
He immediately summoned his four captains and shared the intel he'd obtained.
"The Iwagakure fortress layouts are generally standardized.
Around 200 meters from the structure, they've installed a Soil Pulse Barrier. Any vibrations—on the ground or underground—will be relayed to the internal Barrier Team.
These fortresses are typically four stories tall:
Top floor: Commander's office and meeting room
Third floor: Barrier Squad and watchpoints
First & Second floors: Living quarters for the stationed battalion."
He continued:
"I've developed a sealing formula: the Seismic Dampening Sigil.
All Earth Release shinobi, pay attention. With this, you can safely approach the fortress undetected.
Remember: we're not here for a siege. All offensives are feints. Cause enough destruction to draw attention, then retreat immediately."
His squad leaders were stunned—Yako had created a seal specifically countering Iwagakure's defenses.
With it, they could sneak past the barrier and plant explosive tags beneath the walls, blowing holes into the fortress.
Younger ANBU members, when first recruited, rarely knew their mission objectives. They followed orders—so there was nothing to leak.
But over time, as bonds formed with captains and teammates, loyalty deepened. Even when they learned the truth, they wouldn't betray it.
Yako had fought beside these shinobi through multiple wars.
They'd learned ninjutsu from him, trained taijutsu under his guidance. His reputation was built on blood, sweat, and patience.
In particular, he'd come to trust the White Ram and Blossom Deer squads the most.
From White Ram's team: Field Duck, Antelope, Brown Bear.
From Blossom Deer's team: Leaf Monkey, Black Ape, Ironstag.
All had bled with him. All owed him. All would follow him to hell.
As for the Hippo and Yak squads—so long as Yako was Yellow Dog's man, they wouldn't betray him either.
After training the Earth Release shinobi in the new sigil, Yako took Purple Cat and slipped away toward their true target: Fortress Beta.
At the appointed hour, messenger birds arrived—just like before.
The four squads' diversion was working.
Two entire Iwa platoons evacuated the fortress, rushing to defend Fortress Alpha.
"Purple Cat. Wait here. Once I drag out a suitable corpse, use your Yamanaka techniques to extract intel."
Elite Iwa jōnin were difficult to capture alive. But with a corpse? Purple Cat's techniques were perfect for deep scanning.
Yako began his infiltration.
At the 200-meter perimeter, he formed hand seals, activating the Seismic Dampening Sigil.
It glowed faintly across his body.
He melted into the ground, casting Hidden Fish in Earth Technique, and slid toward the fortress.
Uzumaki Yuka's brilliance as a seal master shone—this sigil was flawless. The ground absorbed all trace of movement.
Yako tunneled beneath the outer wall, then slipped inside the building structure.
Thanks to the defense layout he'd memorized in the previous timeline, he knew exactly where to go.
With two platoons gone, internal defenses were lighter than ever.
He ascended via the stairs, pausing just long enough in the stairwell…
Five seconds later, two patrolling Iwa ninja walked past the hallway window, heading for their next watch post.
Yako timed it perfectly.
He moved to the third floor. At the stairwell landing, he cast Self-Binding Curse Mark, locking two unsuspecting guards in place. Their throats were crushed in silence.
Now at the hallway outside the Barrier Room, Yako pressed his back to the wall and listened.
Three Barrier shinobi were chatting inside.
"Who do you think attacked Alpha?"
"Kumogakure maybe? That truce always felt shady."
"Wouldn't be surprised. Meathead storm-types, all of them."
Then all three froze.
Their bodies were seized by Self-Binding Curse Mark.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Their windpipes snapped in rapid succession.
Yako entered, finding one of them masked—he quickly swapped uniforms, disguising himself as the Barrier Squad captain.
He glanced up at the ceiling.
Directly above was the commander's office.
Perfect.
The Iwa jōnin commander was no doubt busy dealing with the fallout from Alpha's attack.
—
Upstairs, the commander hunched over a scroll.
Something stirred beneath his desk.
A shadow lunged upward—fingers aimed at his throat!
Reacting on instinct, the commander pressed a thumb against the end of his pen—turning it into a stabbing weapon.
But the pen froze just centimeters from its target.
A sealing array had climbed his arm—paralyzing him.
'He's using some kind of powerful seal—how, when?!'
Yako grimaced.
The Self-Binding Curse Mark was already straining against the enemy's chakra. Holding it against someone this strong wouldn't last long.
But it only needed to last seconds.
His hand closed around the man's throat—
CRACK.
The commander collapsed, neck broken.
All without a sound.
No one in the fortress noticed a thing.
Yako pulled himself out from under the desk and began the cleanup.
He wrapped a bandage around the corpse's neck, slipped on dark glasses, and stood behind the body.
Then, for the first time ever—he used a Nara clan technique.
Shadow Imitation Technique.
He'd acquired it from Nara Meika long ago—only used it once, then never again… until now.
His shadow slithered out, linking with the dead commander's.
The corpse mimicked his every move.
Yako, now dressed as an Iwa jōnin, followed behind the puppet.
They opened the office door and walked into the hall.
A clerk approached.
"Commander! A new message from the courier birds!"
The corpse gestured, waving him off.
The assistant entered the office, confused.
Why is the Barrier Captain following the commander? Was there a breach?
On the way down, passing shinobi bowed in greeting.
The corpse just nodded silently—Yako copying it exactly from behind.
Down on the first floor…
"Open the gate," the commander gestured.
The guards opened it immediately.
Watching them leave, one whispered:
"Looks like something happened to the barrier… The commander seems tense."
"Yeah, but that barrier captain's a bootlicker. Did you see how he mimicked the commander's walk? Dead-on!"
"No wonder he got promoted. That's dedication."
A few minutes later…
A pair of guards turned to each other.
"Wait… Where are they going?"
"They just left the perimeter… They're heading toward the canyon?"
"Doesn't feel right…"
"Should we report it?"
"I mean, they're the commander and the captain—who are we to question—"
Suddenly—the commander's aide sprinted into the courtyard.
He saw the open gate.
"You idiots! Where's the commander?!"
"He and the Barrier captain left—maybe a field mission?"
"You two absolute morons!
The commander and the entire Barrier Team are dead!
Four shinobi have been assassinated inside the fortress!"
"Do you know what this means?! You two—
You'll be museum exhibits in Iwa's Hall of Shame!!"