Giant Donkey

"Summoning Technique!"

After a puff of white smoke, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain summoned... three donkeys?

These donkeys stood over three meters tall and were enormous. All the Uzumaki Ninja climbed onto their backs.

Half an hour later, Yagami wanted to slap himself. Why had he looked down on giant donkeys?

These Giant Donkeys could run far too well.

Their four hooves flew as they ran freely across the Gobi Desert.

More importantly, the Giant Donkeys showed no sign of slowing down. Their endurance was astonishing.

The Giant Donkeys never tired. Their massive bodies stored enough fat that, like camels, they could go without food or water for long periods.

The Mist Ninja chased after the donkeys, while Konoha's people chased after the Mist Ninja.

Yagami was responsible for leaving markers for the squad, so the two Anbu squads following behind could find them.

As he ran, Yagami suddenly spotted one of the markers he had left earlier.

Wait, how had they circled back?

In other words, these Giant Donkeys were leading the Mist Ninja and Konoha Anbu in circles.

The Gobi Desert stretched endlessly without boundaries. Who could outrun Giant Donkeys?

Even if the Mist Ninja desperately caught up, the Giant Donkeys could still accelerate.

Even if the Mist Ninja managed to outrun the Giant Donkeys for a short while, an Uzumaki Ninja would stay behind and trade his life for that of a Mist Ninja captain.

Days passed in this chase. During that time, Yagami saw several of the markers he had made.

Those markers pointed in different directions and became increasingly chaotic. Even he had to think carefully to connect them.

The Giant Donkeys could keep running, but after two or three hours, the Mist Ninja and Konoha Ninja had no choice but to rest and stop for water and Soldier Pills.

The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja were extremely familiar with the Gobi Desert, deliberately choosing routes with no water, no food, and no vegetation.

After the Mist Ninja killed two Uzumaki Ninja who had stayed behind, they could no longer catch up.

It looked like those Giant Donkeys could keep running for several more days and nights.

Another three days passed, and Yagami felt certain the Squad Leader would reprimand him.

He had followed the Giant Donkeys while setting up coded signals, only to keep circling around. As they went in circles, the signals became increasingly confusing.

Forget the two squads coming later—even Yagami himself could not possibly follow the signals out of the Gobi Desert.

The full moon hung like a silver disk, its light like white frost.

Before they knew it, another full-moon night had arrived.

From far off in the darkness came the faint braying of donkeys. The brays were long and powerful.

Yagami now understood that the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja were buying time for the other Uzumaki Clan members.

After listening to his advice, Uzumaki Yuka and the Uzumaki Remnants should have long since left the Land of Waves.

Several days later, Konoha's two squads finally caught up.

To Yagami's relief, the Yellow Dog Squad Leader did not scold him over his chaotic coded signals.

Yagami observed that both Konoha Anbu squads were at full strength, proving that the Yellow Dog Squad Leader had not split off forces to pursue Uzumaki Yuka. Perhaps Uzumaki Yuka had already left before the Anbu arrived in the Land of Waves.

Both the Mist Ninja and Konoha now had two squads each.

Konoha and Kumogakure were fighting in the Land of Hot Water.

Kirigakure was fighting Sunagakure and could not spare much strength.

There was a short stretch of coastline at the southeastern corner of the Land of Wind. Kirigakure and Sunagakure had suffered countless casualties over ownership of the only dock.

Upon seeing the Konoha Anbu, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain's gaze dimmed somewhat.

He said to the few Uzumaki Ninja around him, "Well? Are you prepared?"

One of them responded, "We were prepared long ago. Our Uzumaki Clan will be hunted by every ninja village, but as long as someone survives, there is hope."

The Guardian Ninja Captain nodded. "Time. We need more time."

With four squads surrounding and intercepting them, the Giant Donkeys had less room to flee.

One donkey, then two, until the last summoned donkey died at the hands of the Anbu from both sides.

The Mist Ninja and Konoha forces maneuvered around the Uzumaki Ninja from east and west with tacit coordination.

As soon as one side approached the Uzumaki Ninja, the other side swiftly followed.

All that awaited the Uzumaki Ninja was despair.

Whenever an Uzumaki Ninja was killed, both sides' Anbu frantically fought over the corpse.

The number of Uzumaki Ninja dwindled until only one remained.

The Guardian Ninja Captain watched as his final companion's corpse was placed into a body bag.

They had already done everything they could.

The Guardian Ninja Captain opened his Ninja Tool Pouch. Inside were the last Kunai and a Sealing Scroll.

Drawing the Kunai, the Guardian Ninja Captain slowly walked toward the Konoha Anbu.

The Mist Ninja on the other side instantly grew tense and hurried after him.

For the moment, the Yellow Dog Squad Leader gave no order.

The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja was nothing to worry about. It was the Mist Ninja behind him that gave them a headache.

The Guardian Ninja Captain fully understood what the Konoha Anbu feared. He slowed down, deliberately waiting for the Mist Ninja.

The distance between the three sides steadily shrank.

At the final instant, the Guardian Ninja Captain crouched completely, gathering all his Chakra into his legs.

He sprang up fiercely, leaping more than ten meters into the air and plunging straight into the center of the Konoha Anbu.

The Yellow Dog Squad Leader looked up as the Guardian Ninja Captain leaped over his head and landed behind him.

When the Mist Ninja on the opposite side saw how deeply the Guardian Ninja Captain had pushed in, they panicked. The scroll could not fall into Konoha's hands.

The Mist Ninja charged forward at once.

Yagami was in the middle-rear of the group when he suddenly found someone in front of him!

It was the Guardian Ninja Captain!

Without a second thought, he hurriedly raised his blade horizontally to block.

His luck was decent. The horizontal blade knocked the Kunai off course. It did not pierce his heart, instead stabbing only his shoulder after being deflected.

With Anbu all around him, he couldn't play dead now.

Yagami hurriedly reached for the Kunai, wanting to pin down one of the Guardian Ninja Captain's hands and put on a brave front.

The Guardian Ninja Captain did not want to waste time here. He raised a foot and kicked the Anbu wearing a fox mask flying.

His stomach churned violently. Fortunately, he had been living on Soldier Pills, so his stomach was empty. Otherwise, he would have vomited inside his mask, with the vomit caught by it.

After being kicked away, Yagami instead let out a sigh of relief.

Getting kicked away was good. Once he was kicked away, he wouldn't have to fight.

He tried to get up. He had only risen halfway when a steel wire suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Following the wire with a turn of his head, Yagami saw the wielder of Nuibari—Kushimaru Kuriarare!

When did this happen?

Had the Mist Ninja already circled around to the side?

Kushimaru Kuriarare gave the steel wire a light tug.

A long needle-like blade flew from behind Yagami and, before he noticed anything, pierced straight through his heart.

This was Nuibari's unique method of attack.

Yagami and two other Anbu were skewered together by Nuibari, like roasted dead grasshoppers on a stick.

He was dead. Kushimaru Kuriarare's attack had been too fast.

His vision went black, then shifted.

Yagami returned to the night of the full moon five days earlier.

Damn it. The full moon had passed only such a short time ago, and he had already died.

He was still in the Gobi Desert, being carried around in circles by the Giant Donkey.

Arc of the Crescent Moon activated!

The host has only one revival opportunity per month. After death, the host will revive on the previous night of the full moon.

Reward: one draw opportunity:

1—Reactive Reflex (one breakthrough);

2—Chunin-level Chakra (stackable);

3—Steel Wire Shurikenjutsu (beginner).

After his dejection passed, Yagami's eyes lit up.

The draw opportunity was here.