Chapter 229: I, The Esteemed Anbu Squad Captain
Yakushi Nonou glanced at the Fox and said, “I’ve long admired your name, Copper Fox, possessor of absolute defense.”
“Not bad for the Walking Witch; your intelligence is very accurate,” Yoru said:
“Informing Hatake Sakumo’s squad about Ryuuha heading to the Land of Waves could save quite a bit of effort.”
Before Din could interrupt him, Yoru changed his statement:
“No, we can’t do that.
My and Din’s mission is to gather intelligence on Hatake Sakumo, including their reconnaissance capabilities and analytical abilities.
If it were any other mission, Anbu would have an obligation to assist Konoha squads.
But if it’s Hatake Sakumo’s squad, Anbu can’t help.
Since that’s the case, let’s wait a bit longer and see when Hatake Sakumo’s squad discovers this intelligence.”
Din heard the Fox’s choice and said nothing more.
Yakushi Nonou left the place.
Yoru noticed that when she turned around, her foot dragged slightly on the ground, leaving a mark pointing in a certain direction.
That night in the latter half, Yakushi Nonou waited at a certain location in the mountainous terrain.
She had left a code for the Fox, unsure if the Fox would understand it.
After waiting more than two hours, Yakushi Nonou saw the arrival.
Anbu’s Fox appeared with Body Flicker.
Yoru saw that Yakushi Nonou was different from when they met during the day; her facial features and skin tone had changed again.
Who could imagine that the skinny girl with black skin during the day was the same person as the slightly plump girl with white skin now.
What a miraculous secret jutsu.
After confirming it was the real person, Yakushi Nonou said:
“Fox, why did you donate to the orphanage and leave a letter?”
“Isn’t donating good? Relying on mission remuneration from you and Zhen Li and others couldn’t support that many children.”
Yakushi Nonou said, “What I’m emphasizing is leaving a letter!
If my contact with Anbu is exposed, Danzo Advisor will without hesitation grab all the children from the orphanage and send them to Kabuto’s laboratory.”
“Din also said you wander in enemy villages and don’t understand Konoha; looks like he’s wrong—you even know about Kabuto’s laboratory.” Seeing Yakushi Nonou didn’t respond, Yoru continued:
“Last time we met in the Land of Whirlpools, you feared Root mastering the Tongue-Cutting Curse, so you revealed Root’s Vortex experiment base to me.
You understand Danzo’s terror better than I do.
On the matter of dealing with Danzo, you and I share common interests.
On behalf of Lord Kiiroinu, I specially invite you to provide certain intelligence on Danzo.
You don’t want to be completely controlled by Danzo’s Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal, do you?
You don’t want the orphanage’s children to all be used by Danzo as cannon fodder and suicide soldiers, do you?
Believe in Lord Kiiroinu, believe in me—our bottom line may be low, but it’s slightly higher than Danzo’s.
We wouldn’t do something like capturing orphanage children.”
Yoru endorsed himself with Kabuto, letting Kiiroinu take responsibility for his actions.
Dealing with someone like Yakushi Nonou required a mix of truth and falsehood; if you cooperated with her sincerely, she would suspect a trick.
If you were eight parts true and two parts false, she would judge and assess it herself, increasing the chance of successful cooperation.
Kiiroinu becoming Anbu Vice Minister had taken much of Danzo’s power.
There must be a life-or-death struggle between the two.
The Fox representing Kiiroinu made his actions against Danzo understandable.
Yoru couldn’t tell Yakushi Nonou that dealing with Danzo was to avenge the Uzumaki Clan, for peace and justice in the Ninja World.
Yakushi Nonou pondered for a full minute before asking, “What intelligence do you want?”
Yoru said, “I want intelligence on all Root members.”
“That’s impossible, because I don’t know either.”
Yoru thought for a moment and said, “If Root ninjas leave the village, can you notify me?”
Assassinating Shimura Tan and Hiruzen Sarutobi—such things couldn’t be done too often, or they’d face frenzied investigation and retaliation from the Five Great Clans or even all of Konoha.
But targeting Root ninjas would mean much less pressure.
Root ninjas dying on missions was too common; every one of their tasks was life-risking.
When taking others’ lives, having their own taken was inevitable.
What Yoru needed to do wasn’t passively wait for the Five Great Clans’ investigations and revenge, but proactively strike like Hatake Sakumo, attacking to defend.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and others were so dominant now because of their overwhelming strength.
Continuously weaken them, teach them lessons with kunai and death, and when they’re weakened to a certain extent, perhaps they’ll listen to reason.
“You want intelligence on Root ninjas leaving the village?” Yakushi Nonou said, “I may not always get it in time.”
Hearing Yakushi Nonou didn’t completely refuse, Yoru said:
“Not certain? That means there’s some possibility?
Yakushi Nonou, you hold many secrets; Danzo will one day kill you to silence you.
Don’t harbor illusions—cooperating with me on Danzo matters isn’t necessarily your only way out, but at least it’s an extremely precious opportunity.
Besides Lord Kiiroinu behind me, who else has the ability to oppose Danzo? Who else has the motivation to oppose Danzo?
There are many ninjas retiring from Root each year; Lord Kiiroinu won’t silence anyone.
Lord Kiiroinu’s ambitions are not just a small Anbu, so he won’t do things like assassinating subordinates to silence them.
Ninjas who leave Anbu remain an important force for Lord Kiiroinu.
I hope you recognize the situation and seize this precious opportunity to cooperate with Lord Kiiroinu.”
Yakushi Nonou thought it over and tossed a scroll.
Yoru opened the scroll, and on it was… a menu?
The orphanage’s menu?
Yakushi Nonou said, “Pay attention to the daily menu posted at the orphanage; sometimes I’ll hide a code in the menu.”
Yoru thought to himself that although Yakushi Nonou wasn’t in Konoha Village, she must have some connection with the orphanage.
Similar to Yoru’s Reverse Summoning Jutsu, it could transmit intelligence regardless of distance.
Having him watch the orphanage’s recipes—if the children were eating particularly poorly, it wouldn’t seem right not to donate something.
After all, the Fox and Kiiroinu professed to have a bit more humanity than Danzo, with a slightly higher bottom line.
Yakushi Nonou asked, “Are you planning to kill Din this time? Din is a Shimura Clan ninja, skilled in Wind Release.”
Skilled in Wind Release?
Yoru thought to himself, wondering if he could gain a mastery-level Wind Release ninjutsu from him.
“Of course not killing Din this time,” Yoru said. “If Din dies, wouldn’t that obviously show I have a problem?”
Yakushi Nonou asked strangely, “Aren’t you planning to kill Din and frame Hatake Sakumo?”
Yoru thought to himself, of course he couldn’t frame Hatake Sakumo—that was his Hatake Zhaoda.
“Is there any need to frame Hatake Sakumo? Danzo Shimura already hates Hatake Sakumo thoroughly. Hatake Sakumo has designs on the Fourth Hokage position; he’s a public enemy among the high-ranking officials—no need for framing.”
Yakushi Nonou saw the Fox directly calling Danzo by name; from this detail, Kiiroinu and Danzo in Anbu were already irreconcilable.
Yoru returned to the hiding place.
Unsure when Din noticed his absence, he asked, “Fox, where did you go?”
Yoru glanced at Din and said:
“If Kabuto were here, maybe he’d have the qualification to ask about my whereabouts.
As an Anbu Squad Leader, do I need to report my whereabouts to you? You should think about how to replace Kabuto soon.”
“You!”
Din was extremely furious inside, but he had no way to deal with Kiiroinu’s favored Fox.
The next morning, Hatake Sakumo’s squad entered the dock.
It seemed they had discovered Ryuuha was no longer in Cloud House Port City but had left with a certain ship.
Gekko Shizuma’s reconnaissance ability was very strong; in the completely unfamiliar Cloud House Port, he figured out the target’s whereabouts in just one night.
Hatake Sakumo’s squad guarded outside the dock, waiting for the target.
Time passed day by day.
—
The full moon was like a silver plate; Yoru once again awaited the full moon night.
Over these full moon cycles, he had been using the System to bolster his strength.
The previous full moon lottery had granted mastery-level Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, enhancing his sub-account Shiroki’s strength.
Sub-account Shiroki was carrying out strikes against the Five Great Clans, Danzo, and other forces; Shiroki’s strength had to be powerful and show no similarity to the Fox’s identity.
This month, Yoru planned to continue strengthening.
Whether to complete Lightning Release, master a mastery-level Wind Release, or fill other abilities would depend on the situation.
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