Just like the last time he chose the Senju Bloodline, all the cells in Yōkō's body began to tremble.
He slowly sat down, leaning against the tree trunk behind him.
Purple Cat saw Yōkō's arm trembling and came closer to ask, "Captain, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a cramp. Don't make a fuss, it'll be over soon."
Purple Cat found it strange. With Captain Fox's strength, why would he get a cramp?
Without asking further, Purple Cat positioned herself in front of Yōkō.
Yōkō discovered a pleasant surprise!
The previous ordinary Senju of the Forest Bloodline had given him more chakra and a stronger physique.
This medium-high grade Senju of the Forest Bloodline, in addition to the increase in chakra and physique, came with a new ability!
Self-Healing Recovery (Slow)!
Many ninja of the Senju clan excelled in medical ninjutsu. Figures like Senju Hashirama and Tsunade could even apply self-healing abilities in combat, increasing their margin for error and fighting to the point of making others despair.
Fighting Tsunade at her peak, unless her chakra was completely drained, she would absolutely not die.
As for Senju Hashirama, he treated Tsunade's trump card, the Strength of a Hundred Seal, as a standard state.
After the purity of the Senju Bloodline increased, Yōkō also gained a certain degree of self-healing ability.
When injured, it would quickly stop bleeding, reduce pain perception, and allow him to maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness.
Moreover, the body's cells would slowly recover autonomously; even without a medical ninja, the injuries could heal.
His chakra reserve had also become 1.7 times that of a Special Jōnin level.
[Host Status:
Chakra Reserve: 1.7x Special Jōnin Level.
Chakra Affinities: Earth, Water, Yang.
Bloodline: Senju of the Forest (Medium-High).
Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Formation Wall, Earth Release: Earth Clone, etc.
Taijutsu: Body Flicker Technique, Cloud-Style Sword Technique, etc.
Sealing Techniques: Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal, etc.
Special Abilities: Stress Reflex (Twice Broken Through), Natural Chakra Growth, Self-Healing Recovery (Slow).]
Yōkō breathed a long sigh of relief; the improvement in his physique had finally ended.
After swallowing three Military Ration Pills in a row, Yōkō stood up.
Clenching and releasing his fist, his whole body felt full of strength.
After his physique became stronger, even digesting Military Ration Pills was faster. Warmth soon appeared in his abdomen, dispelling the icy chill from the sweat all over his body.
Yōkō looked in the direction of Battalion Commander Yellow Dog.
Now there was a tricky problem: if he encountered Senju Nawaki again, how could he survive?
According to Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's orders, Yōkō would die in the bait mission, thereby luring Senju Nawaki into the trap.
Nawaki's whereabouts were designed by the front-line commander-in-chief, Mitokado Homura; the trap was set by an Anbu Battalion Commander; and there were contingency plans prepared by the Third Hokage and Danzō.
Yōkō wanted to protect Nawaki as much as possible, but more importantly, protect his own life.
The plot developed as it did in his previous life.
His subtle hint to Senju Kashiwa – for Senju Kashiwa to think he could meet Senju Nawaki was nothing but a pipe dream. Coordinating with the Uzumaki remnants and leaving marks was the only feasible way.
Senju Kashiwa used the Senju clan's unique distress signal to draw all the Senju ninja out from the front-line camp.
No one in Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's force discovered that the Uzumaki remnants had already placed the scroll in the camp's periphery in advance.
Yellow Dog believed the mission was over and led the team back to the village.
The difference this time was that Yōkō had made arrangements ahead of time.
As they were leaving the Land of Grass, a Spear Egret suddenly flew past not far away, extremely fast, disappearing behind a distant hillside, flying towards the Land of Rain.
Yōkō's figure paused, and he immediately reported:
"Battalion Commander Yellow Dog! That's the summoning creature of the Uzumaki remnants, the Spear Egret!
I can't be mistaken. Back in the Land of Waves, Squadron Leader Black Gorilla and I pursued that kind of summoning creature for a long time."
Hearing this, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog said:
"There are many missions in the village; it's a critical time.
However, we can't ignore the discovery of Uzumaki remnants. Fox, take your squad to search for intelligence on the Uzumaki remnants.
The Uzumaki remnants have learned the Senju perception secret technique and are very difficult to capture. Be careful."
Yōkō quickly nodded and said, "I understand, I'll be careful."
Living a second life, with a little manipulation, he could stay away from the dangerous vortex.
The plan went very smoothly; he had extricated himself from Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's control.
This way, when Battalion Commander Yellow Dog received the urgent Anbu report and returned to the front lines to set up Nawaki, it would be too late to bring Yōkō along.
The 'critical time' Battalion Commander Yellow Dog mentioned was probably related to Uzumaki Mito's declining health; the transfer seal could happen at any time.
During the previous battle at Ushiga Mountain, Uzumaki Mito hadn't been as relaxed as she appeared.
To deter hostile forces from disrupting the Nine-Tails transfer seal, Uzumaki Mito had mustered her energy and pretended nothing was wrong.
Core Anbu figures like Battalion Commander Yellow Dog had wasted too much time on Senju Kashiwa and were now anxious to return to the village.
After the rest of the battalion left, Yōkō led his squad to track the Spear Egret.
The so-called tracking was just Yōkō pointing in a direction, and the rest of the squad following. After all, the Spear Egret was under Yōkō's control; occasionally showing itself was enough to fool the new team members.
Earlier, when summoning the Spear Egret, Yōkō had secretly contacted Uzumaki Yuka and arranged a meeting place.
The Fox Squad kept walking until they entered the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain was situated in a basin, perpetually covered by thick clouds, with no sunlight and frequent rain.
The Land of Rain was the origin of the Nakano River in the Land of Fire and also the source of over a dozen rivers in the Land of Rivers.
Shortly after entering the Land of Rain, a sharp cry sounded.
The three-legged Yatagarasu dove down from the clouds.
Its large beak headed straight for the Fox Squad.
With just one charge, it scattered the four squad members.
Purple Cat and the others had never seen such a powerful summoning creature. Kunai and shuriken couldn't break through the Yatagarasu's hard feathers.
Moreover, the Yatagarasu also laid Explosive Eggs; the power of these eggs was even stronger than explosive tags, instantly suppressing the Fox Squad.
Yōkō shouted: "This is a large summoning creature bound by the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques! We must not let this clue slip away!"
After several skirmishes, Yōkō threw a wire-guided shuriken, which tangled around the Yatagarasu's claw.
The Yatagarasu carried Yōkō into the sky.
"Captain! Captain!"
Purple Cat chased from behind, watching helplessly as Captain Fox, for the sake of the mission, was dragged into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds on a distant mountain peak.
Hearing the sorrow in Purple Cat's cries, Yōkō thought to himself that he couldn't bring you along this time. He hadn't seen Uzumaki Yuka for a long time and missed her a little. The key point was that he needed to get some information from her.
It wasn't convenient to bring Purple Cat. Strictly speaking, Kyōi was the lover, Yuka was the 'other woman', so you, Purple Cat, are actually the third in line.
With seniority established like this, based on order and rank, he still had to prioritize the feelings of the senior ones.
The Yatagarasu carried Yōkō and landed by a lake, then turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Not long after, a large Spear Egret flew to the lakeside, and Uzumaki Yuka's slender figure jumped down from its back.
Yuka was just like before, 'large fruits on a slender branch', bouncing elastically several times before settling back into their heavy appearance.
"Fox! Long time no see!"
(End of Chapter)