Chapter 117: I Will Guard Your Secret With My Life
After escaping with his life, Yoru had Xinming lie down in the sand.
He looked toward Sarutobi Senju’s direction.
That person could not be left alive; his and Sakumo Hatake’s private contact had to remain absolutely secret.
“Lie here and don’t move; my mission isn’t complete yet.”
In the distance, Sarutobi Senju was lying on a sand dune, carefully observing the situation in the oasis.
The last time he was promoted to Special Jonin, he had completed the mission using his teammate’s life.
This time was the same; he planned to write a perfect oasis investigation report based on the Sand Ninja’s reaction.
To his surprise, an Anbu Ninja appeared in Xinming’s direction; that Anbu was probably a Konoha Ninja passing by who had saved Xinming.
Sarutobi Senju turned to look at his other two subordinates.
Those two subordinates were not as lucky; no passing Anbu saved them, and they died one by one at the hands of Sand Ninja.
That was about enough; this intelligence was sufficient.
In this oasis, there were about 100 Sand Ninja, including about 10 Puppet Masters.
Sarutobi Senju cautiously crawled backward, disappearing into the sand pit.
His foot suddenly kicked against someone’s leg!
When he turned his head in terror, he saw a Fox Anbu!
Karma Seal of Retribution!
Sarutobi Senju could not move an inch; even his jaw was locked by the curse mark.
A kunai was thrust right into the center of Sarutobi Senju’s head.
This was a sand pit; no one could see Yoru taking action here.
Yoru returned and found Xinming, leading him into the Land of Rivers and standing by a river.
Deep in the river valley bottom was rushing river water.
Around them were the sounds of river water flowing and wind.
With his back to Xinming, Yoru asked, “Can you see it? You were sent to die by the squad leader.”
“Yes.” Xinming looked at the Anbu Ninja’s back and said:
“Sarutobi Senju has at most Chunin strength; his promotion to Special Jonin was largely due to his surname.
Unable to complete missions on his own ability, he used some vicious methods.”
Yoru said, “Sarutobi Senju has sacrificed teammates multiple times to complete missions; he has a good surname. If anyone investigated him, he would have been executed long ago.”
Xinming’s eyes were filled with sadness.
How many classmates and companions had died inexplicably.
After a moment of silence, Xinming said:
“In the Land of Grass war, the Sarutobi Clan, Shimura Clan, and Ino-Shika-Cho Clan saw a massive increase in the number of Special Jonin and Jonin.
Over 40% of Special Jonin came from those five Ninja Clans.
We suffered greatly; despite working harder and fighting more desperately than them, we could only watch them get promoted.
Ninja from those five clans grew increasingly arrogant, even rampant; they sacrificed their compatriots just for their own mission records.
Thank you for saving me; without you, I would be dead.”
Through Xinming’s response, Yoru basically confirmed that Xinming was very dissatisfied with the Ninja Clans and high-ranking officials and could cooperate.
To complete the overt and covert layout with Sakumo Hatake, preparation to bear risks was necessary.
Yoru said, “I saved you so you can help me deliver a piece of intelligence to Lord Sakumo.”
“What intelligence?”
“Konoha High Command has their eyes on Lord Sakumo’s group, including Sakumo Hatake followers like you. Tell Lord Sakumo to be careful, not to be careless, and to respond seriously.”
“Group?” Xinming said in confusion, “We’re not a group; we’re just some like-minded friends.”
“It’s not what you think, but what the high-ranking officials think.” Yoru said:
“When the high-ranking officials determine you are a group, no matter how you argue, you are already a group.
The reason I help you in secret is that I recognize Lord Sakumo’s ideal: the examination system should replace the recommendation system.
Otherwise, Ninja Clan Ninja will gradually dominate the village’s Special Jonin and Jonin positions.
It’s fine if they are strong, but if someone like Sarutobi Senju, who is weak yet promoted to Special Jonin, leads as captain, the ninja mortality rate will only get higher and higher.
Ninja battles are extremely dangerous; strength is paramount. A captain not up to the task will only let subordinates die in vain.”
Xinming understood; much of the confusion in his heart dissipated.
This Anbu also disliked the darkness in the village and secretly supported Lord Sakumo.
Yoru said:
“Don’t expose my identity; keep my secret. I will help you again at the right time.
Remember to remind Lord Sakumo to value and beware of Konoha’s darkness.
For you, I’m also taking great risks; don’t disappoint my expectations.”
Xinming nodded solemnly and said, “I will guard your secret with my life—not because you saved my life, but because you share our ideal.”
Yoru nodded; Xinming’s reliability was still good.
He knew Sarutobi Senju had sent him to die, yet for Konoha, he obediently acted as bait and faced death calmly.
At this moment, his promise to guard Yoru’s secret with his life meant he would not easily betray him.
Yoru said, “You’ve been a Chunin for years with rich experience; I think you know how to report the mission without any flaws.”
Xinming said:
“I won’t return to the village for now; I’ll pretend to be seriously injured and have to hide in a safe place until I recover before returning.
By then, Lord Sakumo will have left Konoha and established headquarters on the front line; I’ll report the mission directly to Lord Sakumo.”
Yoru vanished with Body Flicker Technique.
Xinming came back to his senses, found a hidden cave, took out a kunai, and thrust it forcefully into his abdomen.
He had dissected corpses and knew how to make the cut: the wound looked gruesome but was not fatal.
Xinming’s heart was in great pain; why was it so difficult to make Konoha better?
Yoru quickly returned to Konoha Village.
After returning to Anbu, Yoru found the Kiiroinu Captain and reported the mission.
“Captain, the target Xinming is just a Chunin and doesn’t seem to know the core secrets of Sakumo Hatake’s group.
He showed no abnormalities along the way.
During the reconnaissance mission of the Sand Ninja oasis supply base, Xinming was seriously injured and fled panic-stricken into the desert depths.
I didn’t pursue deeply and chose to return.”
The Kiiroinu Captain nodded and said:
“Xinming is a weaker Chunin in Sakumo Hatake’s group; it’s normal not to find anything.
Next, Anbu will monitor other members of Sakumo Hatake’s group.”
Yoru asked, “Do we need to send a spy into that group?”
If needed, Yoru was very willing to go.
As an Anbu undercover in Sakumo Hatake’s group, or as a Sakumo Hatake supporter undercover in Anbu—it would close the loop.
The Kiiroinu Captain thought for a moment and said, “Not for now; Sakumo Hatake is busy forming headquarters, so we won’t find much in this period.”
Yoru left the Kiiroinu Captain’s office and headed to Anbu’s archive room.
The archive room had the complete list of current Konoha Ninja.
Yoru looked at the promotion records for Special Jonin in the past year; as Xinming said, the Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino-Shika-Cho—the five Ninja Clans under the Hokage lineage—were extremely dominant.
Not the 40% Xinming estimated; about 50% of newly promoted Special Jonin came from the Hokage lineage’s five clans.
In contrast, the Senju Clan suffered heavy casualties, the Uchiha Clan was busy with D-rank missions in the Guard Department, and the Hyuga Clan handled combat-light reconnaissance missions; the number of Special Jonin in these three clans was decreasing.
Based on Yoru’s observations, there were not many Hyuga Ninja around the high-ranking officials.
When doing dirty deeds, the high-ranking officials didn’t want Byakugan watching them all the time.
In the original story, the Hyuga Clan was suppressed, probably because they accidentally uncovered many scandals with Byakugan.
The power balance among Konoha Village’s Ninja Clans was quietly changing.
Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Aburame, Inuzuka—these clans’ strength was gradually weakening.
Sarutobi, Shimura, Ino-Shika-Cho—these five clans’ strength was strengthening.
As for Civilian Ninja promoted to Special Jonin, the numbers were scarce.
The cake wasn’t even enough for the Ninja Clans, let alone Civilian Ninja.
In the past year, about 20% of newly promoted Special Jonin were Civilian Ninja.
Every Civilian Ninja Jonin had been promoted through lucky breaks, sudden rises after joining a Ninja Clan, or like Yoru, joining Anbu and exchanging life for a future.
From the promotion proportions for Special Jonin, the Hokage lineage’s five Ninja Clans took 50%, Konoha’s elder Ninja Clans took 30%, and Civilian Ninja took 20%.
The situation was very serious; if it continued, the Hokage lineage’s five Ninja Clans’ influence would grow larger and larger.
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