Chapter 163: You’re A Bit Extreme
“First question: Hokage-sama has ordered you to kill Advisor Mito Mon’en’s daughter. How will you complete this mission?”
Don’t hesitate, meaning you need to immediately state your most genuine thoughts.
Among the Jonin behind Nara Shikaku, there must be Torture Department ninjas who can detect lies.
Yoru immediately replied:
“I will undoubtedly execute the mission without delay.
The crux of the problem, I believe, is the method of killing her.
Advisor Mito Mon’en’s daughter, having been taught by the advisor since childhood, would never betray Konoha.
To suspect his daughter is to suspect him.
Hokage-sama had to order her death, possibly because of a scandal involving her that impacted Advisor Mito Mon’en’s reputation.
Scandals such as, abuse, flaunting wealth in the Hokage Building, and so on, once exposed, could end Advisor Mito Mon’en’s political career.
Therefore, her death must be discreet, unknown to anyone, even Advisor Mito Mon’en.
I will gather information on Advisor Mito Mon’en’s movements and, when he is away from the village and unable to pay attention, I will assassinate Advisor Mito Mon’en’s daughter.
Killing his daughter is protecting him.
More crucially, the body must be destroyed, leaving no trace, and Advisor Mito Mon’en must not be able to find her upon his return.
I don’t use Fire Release, so I’d lean towards finding a large wild beast, preferably one with bones…”
“Stop!” Nara Shikaku quickly called a halt to Yoru’s answer, finding it already quite outrageous.
He turned to look at Kiiroinu, wondering if the Anbu’s current morale was becoming too extreme.
Kiiroinu, however, couldn’t help but nod.
That’s right, when assassinating someone close to a village’s high-ranking official, destroying the body without leaving a trace is indeed the most important aspect.
Among the ten Jonin, someone recalled their own performance back then.
When he answered this question, he pleaded with the Hokage and also tipped off Advisor Mito Mon’en. Compared to that, he still valued his Konoha companions too much.
This kind of question has no standard answer; it’s more about judging a ninja’s decision-making tendencies through their response.
The Anbu ninja Yoru’s decision-making tendency is that of being ruthless, decisive, and leaving no loopholes.
Nara Shikaku asked the second question:
“You are on a bodyguard mission in the Land of Hot Water. At this time, a Konoha ninja approaches you, begging you to save their squad.
If you go to save the Konoha squad, your protectee will die.
If you continue guarding, the Konoha squad will die.
What will you choose?”
Yoru thought to himself, this is a problem similar to the trolley problem.
The train going straight will kill five people; if the train changes tracks, it will kill one person. The question is whether you would change tracks.
No matter how you choose, someone will die.
Yoru immediately replied:
“If I go to save the Konoha squad, my protectee will die.
This means that even if I send a Shadow Clone to save the Konoha squad, my protectee will die because half of my chakra is gone.
So I will choose to continue with the guarding mission, and I will detain the Konoha ninja who requested my assistance and, using my captain’s authority, order him to help me complete the guard duty.
If he returns to his squad, the entire squad will be wiped out. It’s better to stay and help me complete the guard duty. This will not only increase the success rate of my mission but also save his life.
This way, the benefits are maximized.”
The Jonin exchanged glances.
This was the first time someone had suggested detaining a ninja seeking aid under this question.
This is going too far. How can you detain a ninja from another squad seeking help for the sake of your own mission?
Nara Shikaku glanced at Kiiroinu again.
Kiiroinu thought to himself, why hadn’t he thought of this approach back then?
His answer back then was to send a Summoning Beast to help the Konoha squad. Now, it seems Yoru was right; using a Summoning Beast might cause his own guarding mission to fail due to the absence of one Summoning Beast.
Nara Shikaku asked the third question:
“Suppose you are tasked with going undercover in the distant Land of Bears for thirty years, during which you are not allowed to reveal your identity or contact any Konoha ninja, as if you completely ceased to exist. What would you do?”
Yoru answered without hesitation:
“Undercover for thirty years means the village needs to achieve a goal measured in decades.
The Land of Bears is a vassal state of the Land of Earth. I will formulate a long-term plan in the Land of Bears.
With my abilities, in thirty years, I will control everything in the Land of Bears.
The Daimyo of the Land of Bears will be my puppet, the Empress Dowager of the Land of Bears will be my lover, and the nobles of the Land of Bears will be my slaves.
My only goal is to become the Supreme Ruler behind the scenes of the Land of Bears.
When the thirty-year infiltration period ends, and Konoha gives me an order, I will at least be able to mobilize the full strength of the Land of Bears, lead the Land of Bears to rebel against the Land of Earth, and launch an attack on the Land of Earth, helping Konoha win the Land of Earth War.”
The Jonin nodded repeatedly. They were already accustomed to the Copper Fox’s way of thinking from Root, and they found this approach to be the optimal solution.
Everything else was fine, but becoming the Empress Dowager’s lover – did he consider her age?
Upon closer thought, if the Daimyo is a puppet, he might be less than 10 years old. In that case, being the Empress Dowager’s lover is still acceptable.
Nara Shikaku shook his head while writing his opinion on the scroll.
How to put it? It’s not that it doesn’t meet Konoha’s requirements, but it aligns a bit too much with the Anbu’s requirements.
Ninjas from the Anbu are, to some extent, too extreme.
Copper Fox, you are too extreme. Nara Shikaku’s final comment written on the scroll was to suggest that Copper Fox remain in the Anbu, as he is no longer suitable to be a normal ninja.
“Alright, the interview assessment is over. Next is the practical combat assessment.”
Kiiroinu was very satisfied with Yoru’s performance, and he was even less worried about the practical combat assessment.
Nara Shikaku said:
“The practical combat assessment will be conducted here.
Three Jonin will test your skills. Being swiftly defeated, or damaging any part of the meeting room, will be considered a failure of your assessment.”
Yoru quickly asked, “What if one of the three Jonin deliberately damages the floor or windows?”
Nara Shikaku said, “Not all Jonin are Anbu, and not all Jonin resort to any means necessary. Jonin have their pride.”
Yoru was taken aback. It seemed like he was being pointed out.
What did he mean? Did he mean he resorts to any means necessary? Did he mean he doesn’t have pride?
Three Jonin, holding Kunai, charged at Yoru from three directions.
Yoru used his hand as a blade, slashing at one of the Jonin’s Kunai.
With a crisp clang, the Kunai broke.
Yoru really wanted to smash his fist into his chest, but fearing he would smash him away and break bottles and jars, he reached out and grabbed the throat of the Jonin in front of him.
However, this Jonin was very fast and dodged Yoru’s iron-hook-like palm.
The Jonin behind him also charged forward. Yoru turned and, using his red copper-colored palm, cut through his Kunai again and reached for his throat.
This time, Yoru successfully grasped the fragile throat.
The next moment, Yoru’s Fox Mask was illuminated by a flash of light.
Lightning Clone?
The Jonin behind him charged from Yoru’s blind spot, having prepared a Lightning Clone in advance.
This person’s Lightning Release skill was exceptionally high, using a Lightning Clone that Kakashi had used in the original work.
Yoru formed hand seals with his other hand, quickly using the hand seals for an Earth Clone.
Lightning flashed and exploded towards Yoru. However, it only hit a pool of mud.
Yoru’s figure appeared in a corner of the meeting room, standing behind the Jonin who was proficient in Lightning Release.
Almost discovered by so many people, Absolute Defense Copper Light is a Secret Jutsu of Earth Release.
The two engaged in a taijutsu standoff.
The Lightning Release Jonin retreated further, and using the obstruction of another Jonin, he formed hand seals, preparing to use Lightning Release: Earth Run.
Yoru saw the hand seals and immediately tensed up.
It wasn’t that he feared the ninjutsu, but rather that Lightning Release: Earth Run would damage the floor.
Yoru jumped up and hung upside down from the ceiling.
The Lightning Release Jonin indeed stopped forming hand seals and looked up at Yoru.
The other two Jonin simultaneously body-flickered to the vicinity of the ceiling, and two Kunai, one before and one after, stabbed towards Yoru.
They were still testing Yoru’s Absolute Defense, trying to find a weakness.
The three fought from the ceiling to the floor, and from the floor to the window.
A flowerpot on the windowsill was knocked down. Yoru kicked one person away, then leaned back and caught the flowerpot near the ground.
As soon as he placed the flowerpot back, someone else rushed at him.
The three were locked in a fierce battle, mainly using taijutsu and small-scale ninjutsu.
Five minutes later.
“Stop!” Nara Shikaku shouted:
“Without using your trump cards, none of you can do anything to the others.
Yoru, you have passed the assessment.
The combat assessment is over. After I finish writing my assessment opinion, Yoru, you can go upstairs to see Hokage-sama.”
I started feeling unwell yesterday and went to the hospital today. Today there will only be two updates, no extra midday update.
