Chapter 74: Fox Squad
Carrying Kurozaru Squad Leader on his shoulder and grabbing his severed arm, Yoru sprinted across the grassland.
“Captain! You have to hold on!”
Yoru’s previous superiors—Antelope Captain, Brown Bear Squad Leader—all died by Yoru’s hand.
That Kurozaru had survived until now showed Yoru’s mercy and kindness.
He would not allow Kurozaru to die in someone else’s hands.
Kurozaru’s severed arm dangled down, severed about five centimeters above the elbow, with purple bruising near the stump, and even the blood tinged purple.
The limb severed by the Stone Ninja was completely blue-purple.
Kurozaru was barely conscious, only feeling constant jolting, nonstop jolting.
Kurozaru had used the red pepper pill, now turned skinny and light, so Yoru ran very fast.
Inside the Konoha Front Line Camp, Yoru carried Kurozaru and rushed toward the medical tent.
Tsunade looked numb, having just walked out of the medical tent.
After her brother Nawaki died, she consumed herself with massive amounts of work to avoid thinking about her brother’s death.
“Princess Tsunade! Please save the captain!”
Tsunade frowned at Kurozaru’s severed arm, especially the poisoned blood, and said:
“Salamander poison—due to excessively burning fat, the blood carried the toxin to every internal organ. The toxin accumulated at the severed arm; sever a section of the upper arm first and see if his life can be saved.”
Yoru lifted Kurozaru’s severed arm and asked, “Princess Tsunade, sever more? If we sever another section, can this limb still be reattached?”
Princess Tsunade did not take the blue-purple severed limb Yoru offered and turned to enter the surgery tent.
The medical ninja took Kurozaru and disappeared into the tent, leaving Yoru holding a severed limb, at a loss.
This severed limb did look rather unsightly, but was it really beyond saving?
Kurozaru had already lost one arm in the Land of Waves; losing another would truly make him disabled.
From the tent nearby came Purple Cat’s shout.
“Captain!”
Yoru entered the adjacent tent, where Fox Squad and Aries Squad members were all hooked to IV drips, undergoing detoxification.
“The prisoners?”
“The prisoners have been handed over; our mission is complete.”
Yoru felt no joy in his heart.
In the cold Anbu, Kurozaru had provided Yoru with one of the few sources of warmth.
If Kurozaru retired, he was very likely to be promoted to squad leader. Then, he would have to face Kiiroinu Captain directly.
Kiiroinu Captain was a true mission machine, emotionless, cruel, and suspicious.
Half an hour later, Kiiroinu Captain strode over quickly.
The fangs painted on Kiiroinu Captain’s mask looked even more ferocious now.
“Fox, come with me.”
Yoru hurried to follow and entered the main tent in the medical area.
Inside the tent, Kurozaru was already out of life-threatening danger. The surgery had been so urgent that he hadn’t even had time to remove his mask.
Kiiroinu asked the nearby medical ninja: “How long until my subordinate recovers? And what percentage of combat power will he have left?”
The medical ninja said:
“Both arms severed, unable to form hand seals. The toxin eroded the nerves; reactions will be slow afterward.
I can’t judge what percentage of combat power remains; it probably won’t exceed 20%.”
Kiiroinu did not hesitate and said to Kurozaru:
“Kurozaru, I’ll have someone bring you the retirement registration scroll right away. You’re retiring from Anbu, and Anbu will give you a large pension.”
Kiiroinu turned to Yoru and said:
“Fox, you’re officially taking over as squad leader. From now on, Kurozaru Squad becomes Fox Squad. Handle Kurozaru’s retirement quickly, as well as the squad’s rebuilding.”
With that, Kiiroinu turned and left.
Yoru felt secretly sad for Kurozaru.
Retirement was fine, but Kiiroinu Captain’s handling was too harsh.
Kiiroinu Captain had been under a lot of pressure lately; the matter with Senju Kashi hadn’t been handled cleanly, forcing Danzo to come to the front line to clean up for him.
Senju Nawaki was dead, and the front line’s Senju ninja had died one after another in just a few days.
Without Danzo’s personal arrangements, the Senju Clan would surely suspect why such coincidences kept happening.
Yoru reached out to remove Kurozaru’s mask.
“Wait, let me wear it a bit longer.”
Yoru’s hand froze in midair, then slowly withdrew.
He clearly saw tears streaming down the side of the mask.
Poor Kurozaru; he wouldn’t even be able to wipe his own tears anymore.
Certain other places he couldn’t wipe himself either—how inconvenient.
Kurozaru’s bitterness was something outsiders couldn’t express; he could only digest it himself.
After seeing the teardrop, Yoru turned and left; Kurozaru surely didn’t want others to see him like this.
He went to the side tent and inquired about the squad members’ conditions.
The medical ninja said it was ordinary salamander toxin, not from the giant summoning beast salamander; with three more days, they could be detoxified.
Yoru breathed a sigh of relief; the squad’s basic framework was still intact.
He went to Purple Cat, Antelope, and Black Bull and said:
“I’ve been appointed as the official squad leader. From now on, Purple Cat is your squad’s captain.
Purple Cat, after I left the squad, Kurozaru’s mask belongs to your squad from now on.”
Purple Cat asked: “What about Kurozaru Squad Leader? Did he sacrifice himself?”
“No, he retired.”
In Konoha Village’s system, elderly ninja unable to carry out missions had no income and lived very miserably.
This led many ninja to take pride in dying on missions.
Ninja clan ninja were better off, with their clans to support them; civilian ninja’s old age was unbearable.
Living long wasn’t a blessing; dying quickly was.
Yoru also pretended to have the medical ninja prescribe him some antidote, claiming he moved fast and inhaled only a tiny amount of poisonous fog.
Leaving the medical tent area, Yoru arrived at the Anbu Tent Area.
The other two squads in Kiiroinu Battalion, Hippopotamus Squad and Yak Squad, had been sent toward the Land of Rain.
Hidden Rain Village claimed to be the sixth great hidden village; their participation put Konoha on the defensive.
Fox Squad had not yet recovered its combat power, so there were no external missions for now.
During the time waiting for the team members to recover, he practiced taijutsu and ninjutsu every day.
Earth Spear’s power grew stronger and stronger.
Yoru discovered he could inject chakra into the earth in segments.
Earth Spear’s tip concentrated more chakra, making the tip harder.
Earth Spear’s latter half emphasized thrust and speed.
With this fine-tuning of chakra, Earth Spear’s attack power improved.
After perfecting one Earth Spear, Yoru also tried creating multiple Earth Spears at once.
Two, three, four, attacking the enemy from different directions.
If he had sufficient chakra, this B-rank ninjutsu could become a powerful technique that altered the terrain.
This feeling of slowly growing strength was gratifying.
Several days later, the squad members recovered, and Yoru received a mission—a relatively easy one.
Escort the corpses of sacrificed ninja like Senju Nawaki, the severely wounded, and others back to the village.
Heard that Hippopotamus Squad suffered heavy losses in the Land of Rain; Kiiroinu Battalion would return to the village in succession, recruit new recruits, and reorganize.
At the camp’s entrance, Tsunade stared haggardly at the body bags on the carriage.
Her brother Nawaki lay there.
“Please rest assured, Princess Tsunade; I will safely deliver the village heroes’ remains back to the village.”
Tsunade turned at the voice and saw Yoru wearing the fox mask, nodding.
She couldn’t return to the village yet; the village would send them into the Land of Rain to hold off Hidden Rain Village’s large army.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru waited nearby for Tsunade.
After Yoru walked far away, he glanced back at Tsunade and the other two; the battle with Hidden Rain Village would be the Sannin’s famous battle.
