Yōkō's vision shifted, and he returned to the previous full moon night.
He was currently hidden in the canopy of a large tree, monitoring the Senju compound.
Damn it, the Anbu was too dangerous. He hadn't even witnessed the Nine-Tails sealing transfer scene and had already died in an intelligence reconnaissance mission.
He was cautious every month, yet not a single month passed peacefully until the next full moon. Since crossing over, he hadn't actively drawn a lottery prize yet.
[Mochizuki's Arc activated!
The host has only one resurrection chance per month. Upon death, they will resurrect on the previous full moon night.
Reward: One lottery draw opportunity:
1 - B-Rank Earth Release: Earth-Style Rising Spears (Beginner);
2 - Constitution: Giant Rock Body (Strength Enhancement);
3 - A-Rank Earth Release: Earth Clone (Beginner).]
His primary chakra nature was Earth. He never expected three such fitting rewards to appear. A difficult choice.
B-Rank Earth Release: Earth-Style Rising Spears, creating hard stone spikes to attack enemies.
Yōkō currently had one Earth Release jutsu for escape, Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique. Earth-Style Rising Spears was exactly the offensive ninjutsu Yōkō urgently lacked.
If he chose this jutsu, he could launch mid-range attacks, enriching his combat system.
The second option, Constitution: Giant Rock Body (Strength Enhancement), also seemed good.
Many Iwa-nin were tall and large, with bulging muscles and great strength, clearly indicating regular strength training.
If he chose this reward, his physique would improve.
The third option, A-Rank Earth Release: Earth Clone.
Recalling the battle just before he died in the previous timeline.
When he jumped towards the Iwa-nin Jonin, the Jonin was still maintaining the dense barrage of Earth-Style Rising Spears; it was definitely his real body, not a clone.
His ninjato swung towards the Iwa-nin Jonin, who raised his arm, blocking with the armor on his forearm.
The Iwa-nin Jonin had used the Earth Clone silently and undetectably. It felt somewhat mystical and unpredictable.
After slight hesitation, Yōkō chose the third option.
Staying alive enables output; defense is the best offense. Improving his survivability was more crucial.
Up to now, Yōkō had always died before the full moon.
He really wanted to die on the 14th, to decide his own manner of death.
If he safely passed a whole month, he could proactively provoke a target on the 14th to draw a reward.
The Senju Clan Head, the Uchiha Clan Head, the Third Hokage... which one couldn't yield a powerful ability?
Unfortunately, he died on missions every time.
Yōkō was very cautious. After dying each month, he would become even more careful, avoiding dangers, patiently waiting for the full moon.
A-Rank Earth Release: Earth Clone was a top-tier substitution technique among substitution jutsu.
After selecting this technique, Yōkō's eyelids grew heavy.
Information about the Earth Clone entered his mind.
Wow... hit the jackpot! A massive win!
The Earth Clone was actually this powerful!
Earth Clone: Send chakra into the ground beneath your feet. When encountering danger, swap places with the earth beneath you to evade damage and avoid attacks.
Among the substitution techniques, the Earth Clone was indeed a top-tier technique.
The D-Rank Substitution Technique required using the Transformation Technique on a log to make it look like oneself when the enemy wasn't paying attention, while the real body hid in the shadows.
The key to the D-Rank Substitution Technique was utilizing the brief window when the enemy lost sight of you.
The Earth Clone, however, required no complicated preparation. It was like flipping over; you could instantly swap positions with the soil beneath your feet at any time.
It only required half of the Boar Seal with one hand to perform the Earth Clone.
Concealed, fast, hard to predict, and low chakra consumption.
Paired with the Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique, it would allow Yōkō to easily execute a full set of lure-lurk-flank tactics.
As in the previous timeline, in the following days, Team Fox used the Senju kunoichi to leak the intelligence about Uzumaki Mito's funeral date.
Purple Cat had already developed secret feelings for Yōkō. Yōkō once again appreciated the maidenly shyness of Purple Cat, her face flushing pink.
Men were always so fickle. Yōkō lingered over Purple Cat's innocence these past few days and rarely went to the Tsurugetsu Izakaya to find the proprietress, Kyōi.
Team Fox was still dispatched to hunt down the Yamanaka rogue ninja. This time, Yōkō didn't use expensive explosive tags. After infiltrating with Earth Release, he killed the four naked Yamanaka ninja.
This time, Yōkō was prepared in advance. Black Bull did not die.
Being able to relive once a month was quite good; the survival rate of teammates would also increase.
On the night of the 4th, Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina left in a carriage late at night.
The Black Gorilla Squadron was dispatched for reconnaissance.
The difference was, this time, Yōkō knew many things in advance.
The Earth and Stone Dragon charged forth, splitting the Black Gorilla Squadron.
The Fox Squad and White Ram Squad were isolated on one side, the Black Gorilla Squadron Leader and Leaf Monkey Squad on the other.
White Ram exhausted himself with three Rotations, plus the life of one squad member, finally buying Fox one chance to strike.
Yōkō still used the Cloud-Style Sword Technique, striking the Iwa-nin Jonin's throat.
The Iwa-nin Jonin turned into mud, having used the Earth Clone.
Everything proceeded very smoothly, exactly the same.
Yōkō strained to arch his back, half-turning, using his exceptional reaction speed to dodge the Iwa-nin Jonin's kunai.
The Iwa-nin Jonin was very surprised; this Konoha Anbu was quite skilled.
However, an Earth-Style Rising Spear shot up from behind, piercing through Yōkō's lower back.
Two more Anbu members fearlessly charged at the Iwa-nin Jonin.
Hearing the sound of air tearing behind him, the Iwa-nin Jonin quickly turned to deal with them.
At that moment, Fox, who should have been dead, went limp and turned into mud.
His real self emerged from the soil behind the Iwa-nin Jonin, thrusting his blade into the Jonin's lower back.
The Iwa-nin Jonin was in the midst of forming hand seals, his eyes wide with shock and fear.
What was going on?
When he turned his head, he saw the mud on the Earth-Style Rising Spear and the Konoha Anbu member wearing the fox mask.
This Anbu actually mastered an A-rank jutsu like the Earth Clone?
Since when was Konoha's Earth Release this strong?
Even in Iwagakure, the Earth Clone was a rare substitution technique, difficult to master and extremely hard to obtain.
Yōkō succeeded with one strike. Just as he wanted to press his advantage, he saw the Iwa-nin Jonin finish his hand seals.
Earth-Style Rising Spears burst from the ground one after another!
If Yōkō delayed for even one more second, he would be turned into a pincushion.
Without hesitation, Yōkō formed half of the Boar Seal with one hand, and his real body swapped places with the soil beneath his feet once again.
After submerging into the earth, Yōkō traveled underground.
He had completed his task exceptionally well, severely wounding the Iwa-nin Jonin.
When he emerged from the earth again, he saw that aside from White Ram and Purple Cat supporting each other, everyone else had died amidst the dense forest of Earth-Style Rising Spears.
Five Earth-Style Rising Spears shot towards Purple Cat and White Ram from different directions.
Terrified looks filled their eyes behind their masks.
The Byakugan was already as frightening as pathological cataracts; now filled with terror, it was even more chilling.
Purple Cat felt sorrowful in her heart; she was going to die after all.
Back when Advisor Danzo came to the clan, demanding the Yamanaka clan provide personnel for Anbu service...
The village leadership and the various clan heads all knew about the Anbu's staggering casualty rate.
They didn't know exactly what missions the Anbu carried out, only that Chūnin sent there died in batches.
Yamanaka Ruri, as the eldest sister among the Yamanaka youth of her generation, stepped forward voluntarily, willing to enter the Anbu for the clan.
Her mother cried until her eyes were red.
After her father sacrificed himself for the village, her mother raised her and her younger sister.
For her sister's sake, Yamanaka Ruri also had to volunteer for the Anbu.
She never expected that less than half a year after joining the Anbu, she would die on a mission.
The Iwa-nin Jonin was too strong, unleashing jutsu one after another, his chakra seemingly endless.
Even with a ninjato stabbed into his abdomen, he could still kill her and White Ram.
Just when Purple Cat was at her most desperate, Captain Fox arrived in time!
Fox's back made Purple Cat feel like crying.
Were they not going to die?
Yōkō thought, White Ram's Byakugan is crucial; he's the squadron's important reconnaissance ninja.
With the Byakugan in the squadron, we can detect enemies early, greatly increasing survival rates. White Ram cannot die.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of water encircled Purple Cat and White Ram, smashing through the Earth-Style Rising Spears.
Yōkō raised an eyebrow slightly. The strength of the Earth-Style Rising Spears had weakened, proving that the Iwa-nin Jonin had weakened significantly after being stabbed.
...
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(End of Chapter)