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

"Is there darkness in Konoha?" Orochimaru responded with his usual cold insight:

"First, you must accept the diversity of human nature.

Some hearts are kind, some are wicked—that's reality. You can't change that. Acts of evil are inevitable.

Second, some use dark means to achieve noble ends. Others use noble means for wicked goals.

Many things that seem bright conceal darkness. Many things that appear dark may serve a righteous purpose.

Nothing is absolutely right or wrong. It all depends on the context."

The two teammates from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans looked completely lost.

Nawaki, however, nodded slowly. Orochimaru-sensei was absolutely right.

But he couldn't accept it.

Why can't the people of this village work together to make it better, instead of breeding all this darkness?

He shook off the thoughts, crouched down, and pressed his fingers to the ground, activating the Senju Sensory Secret Technique to detect vibrations.

"Enemy attack! One o'clock, behind the boulder—someone's hiding!"

Nawaki charged first, his teammates following behind.

As the de facto squad leader, Nawaki would never let his comrades take the risk.

The most dangerous place was his to step into. That was the will of fire he bore as someone who aspired to be Hokage.

Sounds of combat rang out behind the boulder.

Orochimaru strolled forward unhurriedly.

Seconds later, all was quiet.

Nawaki emerged, dragging the corpse of an Iwa-nin.

"Sensei, there might be a recon squad nearby."

"Hm. Take command. Eliminate them."

The three students dispersed; Orochimaru continued forward at a lazy pace.

With Nawaki's current ability, ordinary Iwa-nin were no match.

Only if jōnin or elite jōnin appeared would Orochimaru personally intervene.

The second Iwa-nin was craftier, burrowing underground—likely using Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique.

But this didn't fool Nawaki. Even underground tremors couldn't escape his detection.

Yako was the one underground, posing as that Iwa-nin.

He pretended not to notice Nawaki pursuing him until the last moment, then leapt from the soil and used Body Flicker to flee toward the trap.

Yellow Dog had personally laid the trap with precision, positioning himself a full kilometer away to avoid Orochimaru's detection.

As long as Fox lured the target in, the mission would be a success.

Up ahead was a small valley—an entry of stone, a sharp turn behind it.

And around that corner was the kill zone.

Yako heard the hiss of air behind him.

He spun around, kunai raised, deflecting three shuriken mid-flight.

Nawaki appeared with Body Flicker, slamming a fist straight for Yako's face.

Yako raised his arm just in time to block.

A crushing force radiated from Nawaki's blow—Senju taijutsu was wild and brutal, overwhelming in strength.

To have that kind of power before even taking the Chūnin Exams...

Nawaki was surprised, too.

The impact told him this Iwa-nin was strong. The vibrations were solid—he barely even budged under the strike. Not the elbow, not the shoulder, not the waist.

This wasn't isolated muscle training—it was full-body conditioning at a cellular level.

Yako had an ordinary Senju bloodline—his constitution was stronger than most.

Just then, another Iwa-nin circled out from behind a rock to aid Yako.

Yako shouted over his shoulder, "Forget me! Deliver the intel! I'll hold them off!"

That Iwa-nin hesitated only for a second, then turned and fled.

The word intel made Nawaki act.

He quickly formed hand seals. What intel did they get? Was it about the command post advancing forward?

Just as he had guessed—after Mitokado Homura's talks with the Cloud, Konoha was planning to move its frontline camp.

Kumogakure was eyeing Iwa's weakness, likely to strike.

If that leaked—it would be disastrous.

Nawaki hurled a shuriken and wove signs. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

In the distance, Orochimaru nodded in approval. Nawaki had mastered this A-rank jutsu.

A true Senju prodigy.

That idiot Jiraiya still hasn't learned the Third's signature ninjutsu.

A swarm of shuriken, like locusts, filled the sky and rained down toward Yako.

There was no escape—every direction was covered.

The sound of spinning metal blades screeched like circular saws.

Yako parried several with a kunai, some clones bursting into white smoke.

But too many hit.

His head. His throat. His chest. His stomach.

Yako collapsed.

Nawaki was confident in his jutsu. That Iwa-nin had taken fatal hits.

Before dying, Yako saw Nawaki charge past the rock and into the valley.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the gorge.

Yellow Dog's trap, laid with countless explosive tags, was powerful enough to catch even Orochimaru off-guard.

Nawaki was still too young.

Yako died.

—

Darkness. A shift in vision.

Yako opened his eyes beneath a full moon.

He was back—ten days ago, on the path chasing Senju Haku.

**[Moon Arc activated!

The host has one resurrection per month. Upon death, you return to the night of the previous full moon.

You've earned a reward draw:

1 - A-rank Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique (Beginner)

2 - Senju Sensory Secret Technique

3 - Kekkei Genkai: Forest Senju Bloodline (Upper-Mid Tier, Purifiable)]**

Damn, that's tempting.

Shuriken Shadow Clone was a signature of the Sarutobi line—Hiruzen, Orochimaru, Minato—all knew it.

It was top-tier in the art of ninja tools.

The second option was valuable too—the Senju sensory technique.

Sensory types were precious, vital assets in any team.

Hyūga, Inuzuka, Aburame—many squads revolved around them.

Sensing was one of Yako's weaknesses.

If he could master this, he'd detect enemy positions in advance—huge survival boost.

The technique worked by touching the ground, reading vibrations to pinpoint foes.

Yako used Earth Release himself—he wanted that technique badly.

But the third option—Forest Senju Bloodline, again.

Stronger than last time. Mid-high tier.

With this, his bloodline purity would rival someone like Senju Haku.

At this rate, he could reach jōnin level by age 20.

He considered. Ninjutsu and secret arts could come later. But bloodlines? Rare. Irreplaceable.

The Senju were near extinction. There wouldn't be many chances like this again.

While his team rested, Yako made his choice.

Forest Senju Bloodline.