Come If You're Not Afraid to Die

Yamanaka Karyu said he needed to make some arrangements, leaving Kurozaru outside Tenshu Castle to stay in contact with the Hippo Squad.

Yagami followed him into Tenshu Castle, helping Yamanaka Karyu make some secret preparations.

Yamanaka Karyu found an Uzumaki Guardian Ninja and drank with him, talking from the heart until the latter half of the night.

Once the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja had lowered his guard, Yamanaka Karyu used the Mind Body Switch Technique to take control of him.

Under Yamanaka Karyu's control, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja disappeared into the depths of Tenshu Castle.

Yagami remained by Yamanaka Karyu's side the entire time.

The Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique was incredibly powerful. It could actually completely control another jonin.

Half an hour later, Yamanaka Karyu regained consciousness.

"I'll go take a look first. It's inconvenient for you to wander around Tenshu Castle. Wait for me to come back and find you."

After Yamanaka Karyu disappeared, Yagami looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he took out the scroll Uzumaki Yuka had given him and began reading it.

He had been busy for so long that only now did he have the chance to examine the scroll.

The Contract Seal and Summoning Jutsu—one was used to form a contract, while the other was used to summon a Summoned Beast.

After memorizing the hand seals and the method of channeling Chakra, Yagami silently rehearsed them in his mind.

Then, he pressed his handprint onto the contract scroll.

Forming hand seals and using the Summoning Jutsu, he summoned a little egret before him.

After handing the scroll to the egret, Yagami released the summoning.

He hoped Uzumaki Yuka could escape the Land of Waves.

Half an hour later, Yamanaka Karyu returned.

"Let's go! I've completely taken control of Tenshu Castle. Time to close the net!"

Disguised as Yamanaka Karyu's subordinate, Yagami walked through the daimyo's Tenshu Castle.

Towering walls divided Tenshu Castle into separate sections.

There was the main hall district, the civil officials' district, the generals' district, the inner chambers, the gardens, and more.

Elegant two- and three-story wooden buildings stood everywhere. The daimyo's wealth was astounding.

Upon reaching the depths of Tenshu Castle, Yamanaka Karyu arrived outside a courtyard bearing the plaque of the Inner Treasury.

The daimyo's wealth was stored here, making it one of the most heavily guarded places in Tenshu Castle.

"Lord Karyu!"

Greetings from the samurai rang out around them.

Yamanaka Karyu nodded and continued inside.

At the entrance to the Underground Vault, Yamanaka Karyu inspected it before turning to leave.

Just as he half turned away, he suddenly looked back. "Hm? This is bad! Someone got into the Underground Vault!"

The surrounding samurai stared at Yamanaka Karyu in shock, then looked toward the entrance to the Underground Vault.

"Lord Karyu! We just changed shifts. We don't know anything!"

Yamanaka Karyu hurriedly asked, "Where's the key?"

The daimyo held one key, and the Key Guard held another. Only both keys together could open the vault.

The samurai hurried into a nearby room and found the Key Guard bound by Sealing Jutsu.

"Alarm! Sound the alarm! Someone has infiltrated the vault!"

A piercing alarm wailed over Tenshu Castle.

Everyone who heard it was seized by panic.

Yamanaka Karyu directly took out a large number of Exploding Tags and stuck them onto the vault door.

Yagami could not help feeling envious. He was so rich—there had to be at least fifteen Exploding Tags there.

The Exploding Tags detonated with a thunderous blast, shattering the vault door.

Amid the thick smoke, a figure tried to rush out.

Yamanaka Karyu and Yagami leaped up at the same time.

One on the left and one on the right, they killed the person charging out.

Yamanaka Karyu could not help giving Yagami another look. This ANBU was impressive; both his Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship were exceptional.

As the smoke dispersed, the thief's body came into view.

A kunai was lodged in his left side, while a ninja blade was embedded in his right.

More importantly, the Uzumaki Clan Crest was on his clothes!

The samurai captain shouted in shock, "What? An Uzumaki Guardian Ninja was stealing from the vault he guarded? He stole from the daimyo's treasury?"

The guardian ninja spat blood, staring at Yamanaka Karyu with shock in his eyes.

He raised a trembling hand and pointed at Yamanaka Karyu.

Before he could speak, Yagami moved again.

The kunai swept across, slicing open the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja's throat.

Using the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja's trust in him, Yamanaka Karyu had controlled him with the Mind Body Switch Technique.

Now, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja could not explain himself even if he tried.

After learning the village's true stance from Kurozaru, Yamanaka Karyu had mercilessly set up the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja.

Surrounded by Guardian Ninjas and samurai, the Daimyo arrived at the Treasure Vault Courtyard.

Seeing the blasted-open vault door and then the dead Uzumaki Guardian Ninja, the Daimyo could not help taking two steps toward the Konoha Guardian Ninja side.

Confusion and terror colored his voice as he asked, "What happened?!"

Yamanaka Karyu said, "Daimyo! The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja stole from your vault! I discovered him and killed him!"

The Daimyo stared blankly at the corpse, then immediately turned to the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain.

"I heard these past few days that you intend to rebuild Uzu Hidden Village. Were you planning to use my vault as funding for its reconstruction?"

"No!" the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain hurriedly said.

"I absolutely had no such intentions!

Completing missions is a ninja's foremost objective. If we do not uphold that principle, then after Uzu Hidden Village is rebuilt, who would entrust missions to us?"

No matter how the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain explained, the Daimyo no longer believed him.

The Daimyo said to the Konoha Guardian Ninjas, "Please, everyone from Konoha, take action! Capture the Uzumaki Guardian Ninjas!"

The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain knew that any further explanation would be futile. He could not die here.

Throwing down Smoke Bombs, several Uzumaki Guardian Ninjas swiftly fled.

Yamanaka Karyu made arrangements. "Three Guardian Ninjas will stay by the Daimyo's side and protect him at all times. I'll pursue them!"

Yagami hurriedly followed.

Yamanaka Karyu was not moving quickly. He trailed them from afar, intending to follow the Uzumaki Guardian Ninjas to the Uzumaki Remnants.

Soon, the Hippo Squad Captain led the Anbu after them as well.

Yagami vaguely felt that something was wrong. Why were the Uzumaki Guardian Ninjas constantly leaping across rooftops?

Shouldn't they have been sneaking away instead?

The two chased them all the way out of the city.

The moment they jumped down from the city wall, Yagami saw a large number of Mist Ninjas to the side.

The commotion had been too great. The Mist Ninjas had also noticed something unusual and pursued them out of the city.

A White Spear Heron flew over and dropped a scroll from the air.

The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain called out from afar, "Don't you want the elder's Sealing Scroll? Come, then! If you're not afraid of dying, come! I may die, but before I do, I'll make sure to take you down with me!"

There were far too many Mist Ninjas, vastly outnumbering Konoha's side. The Mist Ninjas had two battalions, while Konoha's side had only one squadron.

The Mist Ninjas replaced Konoha as the main force of the pursuit. The three sides raced across the wilderness.

There were not many large mountains throughout the Land of Waves to hold back the moisture-laden air from the sea. Rainfall was scarce, and apart from some green areas along the coast, there were vast stretches of Gobi Desert.

After leaving the Capital, the Uzumaki Ninjas turned around and charged into the uninhabited Gobi Desert.

Several Uzumaki Guardian Ninjas ran across the Gobi Desert as if their lives meant nothing.

The Mist Ninjas and Konoha were different. They had many people and had to consider supplies.

"Did we bring enough Soldier Pills?"

"Do we have enough water?"

The captains counted their supplies.

For the Konoha Anbu, the Mist Ninjas were the real problem now. The Uzumaki Elder's Sealing Scroll absolutely could not fall into the Mist Ninjas' hands.