Just like the last time he chose a Senju bloodline, every cell in Yoru's body began to tremble violently.
He slowly sat down, leaning his back against a tree trunk.
Purple Cat, seeing his arm shaking, hurried over and whispered,
"Captain, what's wrong?"
"It's fine," Yoru said through clenched teeth. "Just a cramp. Don't make a fuss. It'll pass soon."
Purple Cat looked puzzled. With Captain Fox's strength, how could he possibly have a cramp?
But she didn't press him, instead, she moved to stand guard in front of him.
Then, Yoru felt a surge of delight.
Last time, when he gained the ordinary Senju bloodline, his chakra had grown and his physique had become sturdier.
Now, with the upper-mid grade Senju bloodline, in addition to the same boosts, a new ability emerged, Regenerative Healing (Slow)!
Many members of the Senju clan were skilled in medical ninjutsu. Legends like Senju Hashirama and Tsunade could even channel self-healing into battle itself, increasing their margin for error and pushing enemies to despair.
Against Tsunade in her prime, you could never kill her unless she ran completely out of chakra.
As for Hashirama, he had made Tsunade's ultimate trump card, the Creation Rebirth, a constant state of being.
Now that his own Senju bloodline had grown purer, Yoru too had developed a measure of self-healing.
When wounded, he could quickly stop bleeding, dull his pain, and maintain combat strength.
His body's cells would even regenerate on their own, slowly healing injuries without the aid of medical-ninja.
His chakra reserves had expanded yet again, now 1.7 times that of a Special Jōnin.
[Host Status]
Chakra: 1.7× Special Jōnin Level
Chakra Natures: Earth, Water, Yang
Bloodline: Forest Senju (Upper-Mid)
Ninjutsu: Water Release: Water Formation Wall; Earth Release: Earth Substitution, etc.
Taijutsu: Body Flicker Technique; Cloud Flow Sword Style, etc.
Fūinjutsu: Curse Seal of Karma, etc.
Special Abilities:
Reflex Enhancement (Twice Advanced)
Natural Chakra Growth
Regenerative Healing (Slow)
Yoru exhaled deeply, the transformation of his body was finally complete.
He swallowed three soldier pills in a row and stood up.
Clenching and releasing his fists, he felt power coursing through every muscle.
Even his metabolism had improved; the soldier pills digested faster, warmth spreading through his belly, melting away the cold sweat that had chilled his skin.
Then his gaze turned in the direction of Captain Yellow Dog.
Now came a troubling question,
When he met Senju Nawaki again, how was he supposed to survive?
According to Captain Yellow Dog's orders, Yoru was meant to die during a decoy mission, to lure Nawaki into a trap.
Nawaki's movements were orchestrated by Mitokado Homura, Konoha's front-line commander.
The trap had been set by an ANBU captain. Even the Third Hokage and Danzō had backup plans in place.
Yoru wanted to protect Nawaki if possible, but more importantly, he wanted to stay alive.
If events followed the previous timeline, he would secretly tip off Senju Hai, who longed to meet Nawaki, a hopeless dream under the current circumstances.
The only way was to cooperate with the Uzumaki survivors and leave behind hidden signals.
Hai used a Senju-specific distress pattern to lure all Senju ninja out from the front-line camp.
Yellow Dog's squad failed to notice that the Uzumaki remnants had already placed scrolls and seals around the camp's perimeter.
Believing the mission complete, Yellow Dog led his team back toward the village.
But this time, Yoru made his own preparations in advance.
As they left the Land of Grass, a Spear Heron suddenly streaked through the sky, flying swiftly toward the Land of Rain.
Yoru halted and immediately reported:
"Captain Yellow Dog! That's a summoning beast of the Uzumaki survivors, the Spear Heron!
I'm certain of it. Back in the Land of Waves, Captain Black Ape and I chased one just like it for days!"
Yellow Dog's expression turned grave.
"The village is burdened with critical missions right now. But even so, we can't ignore signs of the Uzumaki. Fox, take your squad and gather intel on their activity.
The Uzumaki survivors have mastered the Senju Sensory Secret Technique, they're exceptionally hard to catch. Be careful."
Yoru nodded quickly. "Understood, Captain. I'll be careful."
Reborn with foresight, he could now subtly steer himself away from danger.
Everything went perfectly, he'd slipped free of Yellow Dog's control.
That meant when the captain later received emergency orders to return to the front and lay the trap for Nawaki, there'd be no time to bring Yoru along.
Yellow Dog's earlier remark about a "critical time" likely referred to Uzumaki Mito's deteriorating health, the Nine-Tails' sealing could be transferred any day now.
During that battle, Mito had not been as unshaken as she appeared.
To prevent foreign spies from discovering her weakness, she had forced herself to remain composed and strong.
But for someone like Captain Yellow Dog, a core ANBU operative, Hai's delays had wasted too much time. He needed to hurry back to Konoha.
Once the rest of the team departed, Yoru led his own squad to "pursue" the Spear Heron.
Of course, "pursue" was mostly for show, he merely pointed a direction and let the others follow, since the heron was his own summoned creature. Occasionally revealing it was enough to fool his inexperienced teammates.
Earlier, when he summoned the heron, he had secretly contacted Uzumaki Yuka, agreeing on a rendezvous location.
The Fox Squad kept traveling, until they crossed into the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain was a vast basin shrouded year-round in thick clouds. The sun was almost never visible, and rain fell nearly every day.
It was the birthplace of the Nango River in the Fire Country's south, and of a dozen rivers feeding into the Land of Rivers.
Before long, a sharp screech split the air.
A three-legged Spear Heron plunged from the clouds.
Its massive beak tore through the air, scattering the Fox Squad with a single dive.
None of them had ever faced such a powerful summoning beast. Kunai and shuriken bounced harmlessly off its iron-feathered body.
Worse, it dropped explosive eggs, each one stronger than a standard explosive tag, forcing the squad into full retreat.
Yoru shouted,
"That's a large-scale summoning beast under the Uzumaki clan's sealing contracts!
We can't lose this lead!"
After several exchanges, Yoru hurled a shuriken attached to steel wire, looping it around one of Spear Heron's talons.
The massive bird beat its wings and soared skyward, dragging Yoru up with it.
"Captain! Captain!!"
Purple Cat cried out from below, watching helplessly as her leader was carried into the clouds, vanishing beyond the mountain peaks.
Yoru heard her voice fade, thinking wryly. Sorry, Purple Cat. I can't bring you this time.
It had been a long while since he'd seen Uzumaki Yuka, he missed her, and more importantly, he needed information from her.
Besides, bringing Purple Cat would be awkward.
Strictly speaking, Shokyo was his lover, Yuka was his mistress, and Purple Cat was, his side affair.
There was a hierarchy here, and decorum demanded he prioritize the "senior relationship."
The Spear Heron landed beside a quiet lake and vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Moments later, a large Spear Heron descended nearby.
From its back leapt a graceful woman, Uzumaki Yuka.
Just as he remembered, her slender figure carried all the curves of ripened fruit, softly bouncing before settling back into heavy perfection.
"Fox! It's been too long!" she said, smiling.