Naruto : I Got "Return by Death" Kind Of Cheat

Black Ape looked up at Yako. He instantly recognized the voice—Fox. His eyes lit up with surprise and joy.

"How'd you find me?" he asked, then his face darkened immediately.

"...Guess it wasn't hard. A retired Akimichi shinobi with no arms—only about a dozen in the whole compound. Wouldn't take long to go through each one."

"Yeah, I went door to door until I found you," Yako said, omitting the part about the intelligence aunties at the street corner. Searching one by one sounded more sincere.

"Why are you moving?" Yako asked.

Black Ape replied, "I've got no income now that I'm retired. My wife retired even earlier to take care of the house. We can't afford a place this nice for long. That damn woman said we should move early and save up for our daughter's future."

Yako sat beside him, watching a few young Akimichi loading up for the move.

"From your tone… sounds like your wife's been giving you a hard time since you retired?" Yako paused. "I can give you some money. I don't have kids to feed anyway. Treat it as your personal stash. You should start learning how to use your feet like hands, otherwise you won't even be able to hide secret cash."

He made a mental note—if things got tight, he'd just owe Jōi a few favors.

Black Ape scowled bitterly. "It's not that she treats me cold! She's been lying to me! For over ten years! All women are liars—can't trust a single one!"

Yako was about to ask why when Black Ape's wife walked out of the house.

Wait a minute.

He'd seen her before at the hospital—she had a bust even more impressive than Tsunade's.

Why did she look… flat now?

Black Ape was nearly in tears.

"She confessed everything! Said she snuck a peek at my secret stash of adult magazines when we were kids and figured out my preferences.

So from puberty on, she's been using Partial Expansion Jutsu to maintain that big-breast look!"

He trembled with rage. "If that's not a scam, what is it?! A massive fraud! She's been lying to me for over ten damn years!

Now that I've lost my arms, she says there's no point maintaining it, and just shrunk back to normal.

I never imagined the woman I sleep next to would lie to me for so long."

Yako stared, utterly dumbfounded.

The Yamanaka clan explored Mind-Body Switch techniques—I sleep with myself, that already broke his understanding of what was possible.

But this? The Akimichi were out here doing chakra-based micro-enhancements?

Could it be… all three Ino-Shika-Chō clans were freaks?

Yako suddenly wanted to know what kind of perversions the Nara clan harbored.

He offered his deepest sympathies.

"That's messed up! You just lost two arms—not your eyes. She's not even letting you see the big version anymore? That's just cruel.

But then again… she kept up Partial Expansion for over ten years. Isn't that a kind of love too?"

Black Ape's wife walked over, so Yako quickly shut up.

Black Ape pouted in silence, wounded.

She approached briskly, holding a plate of chopped watermelon. "The fridge is cleared out—this is the last piece. Eat it all."

She tried to feed him, but Black Ape turned his head away.

She leaned closer, whispering, "Don't be mad. I'll transform back for a little while tonight, okay?

And don't act innocent—I felt it. Your Partial Expansion jutsu? It was fluctuating. Sometimes big, sometimes small—I even thought you were a transformed impostor once or twice."

Black Ape flushed purple and quickly opened his mouth, no longer daring to speak.

Yako watched her patiently feed Black Ape watermelon, then set down the marinated beef and left with peace of mind.

Black Ape wasn't unlucky.

Even if he couldn't touch or see the big version anymore… at least he still had someone by his side.

After the New Year, Yako awaited the arrival of the next full moon.

During this time, he had been assigned to monitor the Senju compound.

In the dead of night, ANBU stood scattered around its perimeter.

There was no need to hide in tree branches or disguise themselves as chimney tops or rocks.

They stood openly—on rooftops, on walls—tensed and watching the depths of the Senju district.

There was no more secrecy because the Nine-Tails' chakra had already leaked out into the surrounding area.

It was manageable during the day when Uzumaki Mito was awake and suppressing the beast.

But at night, when she drifted between half-sleep and unconsciousness, the Nine-Tails stirred restlessly.

Sometimes, you could even see its ominous crimson chakra with the naked eye.

Yako held three scrolls and approached his three squads—Purple Cat Squad, White Ram Squad, and Leaf Monkey Squad.

His gaze lingered on Leaf Monkey.

Since he'd joined Black Ape's unit, Leaf Monkey Squad had been wiped out three times—rebuilt four.

He wondered how long this fourth iteration would last.

He naturally looked out for Purple Cat—after all, they shared enough history to write several billion words.

White Ram was a Hyūga, critical to the unit's sensory capabilities—his retreat took priority even over Purple Cat's.

Leaf Monkey… well, good luck.

Leaf Monkey was a newly promoted elite chūnin. Appointed as squad leader upon entering ANBU, he shivered slightly under Fox's gaze.

Was the Nine-Tails' chakra really that intense? Why did Captain Fox look at him so weird?

What did it mean? Why that look?

Was the darkness of ANBU about to fall on him?

No one knew when the war would end. Even Konoha couldn't bear this level of loss for much longer.

In the original timeline, the death of the Third Raikage cost Iwa over ten thousand shinobi.

The ninja wars were brutal.

Every battlefield was a meat grinder, and every wave of death lowered the average age of the front lines.

Yako distributed the scrolls. "The Senju compound spans over 300 meters. Our unit is responsible for maintaining the eastern section of the barrier to prevent chakra leaks from affecting the rest of the village."

Konoha's nights had turned icy.

The Hokage's office blamed it on a particularly harsh winter. Civilians believed it. Shinobi didn't.

This wasn't cold from weather—it was a sinister kind of chakra.

The three squad leaders had just received their scrolls when a Senju clan member leapt from the wall.

"ANBU! Lord Hokage has rescinded the order! You are not to seal off the Senju district with barrier techniques!

Encasing our district in barriers—it's like telling the entire village the Senju are a threat!"

The three ANBU squad leaders ignored him and continued setting up the seal.

Even if Senju Linmu himself had shown up, he had no authority to override basic ANBU operations.

The Senju shinobi looked furious. He was a jōnin after all, just trying to deliver the order early—and got completely ignored.

Seconds later, another ANBU ninja flickered into view beside Yako.

"Captain Fox! Abort the barrier setup mission! Report to Captain Yellow Dog immediately. There's a new assignment."

Yako clicked his tongue inwardly. ANBU being forced to withdraw a mission? That was rare.

Clearly, the conflict between the Senju and the higher-ups had escalated.

He moved to the southern end of the Senju compound.

There stood the upper brass of Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen in the center. To his left, Danzō. To his right, Senju Linmu.

The Senju Clan and the elders… were arguing again.