Chapter 271: Leave No One Alive
In the Jonin Class assessment room.
Yoru stood behind Nara Shikaku, watching Aries undergo the assessment.
“Now conducting the interview assessment. Next, I will ask you three questions. Do not hesitate; directly state the first answer that comes to your mind. Hesitation will be considered assessment failure,” Nara Shikaku said:
“Suppose the village sends you to go undercover in the Land of Bears for thirty years. What would you do?”
Aries immediately said: “The Land of Bears has no important figures worth an Anbu undercover agent for thirty years, unless it is to completely control the Land of Bears.”
Nara Shikaku, upon hearing this, immediately turned his head to look at the Fox. He remembered that when the Fox answered this question back then, it was the same line of thinking.
Aries continued: “I would stage a cocoon puppet show inside the Daimyo’s Tenshu Castle in the Land of Bears.
Turn the important figures inside the Tenshu Castle in the Land of Bears into cocoons. Their skin is normal, but the flesh and blood beneath the skin has already been eaten and replaced by parasitic insects.
On the surface, the Tenshu Castle is full of people, but in reality, they are all walking cocoons.
When Konoha gives the order…”
“Stop!” Nara Shikaku felt that the Anbu were all too extreme.
This answer was second only to what the Fox had said back then about making the Empress Dowager of the Land of Bears his lover.
The other 9 jonin all looked sideways. Was this the decision-making tendency of the Konoha Anbu?
Yoru nodded repeatedly, extremely gratified.
As expected of Aries, who had followed him for a long time; their thinking was in sync, and the methods were outstanding.
For the next two questions, Nara Shikaku interrupted Aries’s answers.
If it were just extreme, that would be one thing, but Aries used insects to solve every mission. The scenes he described were somewhat nauseating.
In the subsequent combat assessment, Aries also passed easily.
Aries was 19 years old this year; these two years were precisely the high-speed period of strength growth.
After the review ended, Yoru and Kiiroinu brought Aries together into the Hokage’s Office.
The Third Hokage personally imparted the Will of Fire to Aries. Aries said he would spare no expense, staking even his last parasitic insect for the Anbu’s missions.
After finishing Aries’s jonin promotion, Yoru brought Hanashika into Root.
Root had a circular ceiling hall.
Below the hall was icy underground water, with a cross-shaped bridge surface on the water, leading to different places in Root.
One of the directions was Danzo’s office.
Yoru stood in the center of the bridge surface, waiting for Danzo.
Danzo slowly walked out from the darkness and came into the beam of light shining down from the top of the ceiling.
Yoru spoke first: “Lord Danzo, Hokage has decided to send me to the Land of Rain border to replace Lord Orochimaru.
I wonder if Lord Danzo has any instructions or arrangements for the investigation mission regarding the Uzumaki remnants.”
Danzo looked at the Fox, thinking to himself how he had not discovered the Fox’s talents back then. If he had recruited the Fox into Root early, he would not be short of manpower now.
Danzo said: “Fox, you are also a veteran of the Anbu.
In the Uzumaki Clan Annihilation and the Hidden Whirlpool Village battle, you followed the Kiiroinu Battalion throughout.
You should understand that once the Uzumaki remnants gain momentum, it will cause great harm to our Konoha.
This time going to the Land of Rain, you must find the Uzumaki Clan remnants, preserve their brains, and bring them or their brains back.
Leave not a single one alive.”
Yoru said: “I understand; there won’t be a single one alive.”
Yoru thought to himself, not sure which side won’t have a single one alive, but there certainly won’t be any alive.
Danzo said: “Ki is responsible for intelligence. Once you go to the Land of Rain, Ki will tell you all the current-stage intelligence. This is the mission scroll. Once Ki sees this scroll, he will naturally cooperate with you.”
Ki was in the Land of Rain? That was perfect.
Hi appeared from the darkness behind Danzo, throwing over a scroll.
Yoru caught the scroll, saluted Danzo, and then left the Root Base.
After the Fox left, Hi asked: “Lord Danzo, is it worth it to let Orochimaru return for the sake of the experiment?”
Danzo’s mind conjured the earth-shattering power of Wood Style and said: “It’s worth it. Next, fully cooperate with Orochimaru to advance the experiment.”
Hi said: “Lord, the 50 test subject children for the first injection experiment have been prepared.
These children all come from outside villages and simultaneously possess Earth Release and Water Style aptitudes.
Lord, Kou says the experiment mortality rate will be very high. Should we collect the next stage’s test subjects in advance?”
Danzo said: “First see the performance of this batch of test subjects. If they all die, then proceed to find test subjects with Senju bloodline.
Start with the women from the Senju Clan who married out. Their children also have half Senju bloodline. Those who married out change surnames; if they go missing, it won’t immediately cause chaos.
Now begin screening suitable targets. When needed, swiftly capture the test subjects in secret.”
“I will arrange it as soon as possible, Lord.”
Danzo asked again: “How is the effect of the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal? Is the seal stable?”
Hi couldn’t help swallowing saliva; he too had been branded with the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal by Danzo.
Before this, he hadn’t known that Danzo didn’t trust him.
He had thought he was Danzo Advisor’s absolute confidant, but in the end, he had thought too much.
Hi knew Danzo wasn’t asking about his own Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal. He said:
“Lord, the 4 newly added formal members of Root are completely controlled by the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal.
The 5 secretly sent into Anbu also have no issues with the seal now.”
Danzo said: “I suspect someone in Anbu has betrayed Konoha.”
Hi’s eyes showed unease: “A traitor in Anbu?”
Danzo said: “Shimura Clan, Root—the blows we suffered were too precise and ruthless.
Root intelligence is top secret; many Leaf Ninja don’t even know Konoha has Root.
Someone must have leaked Root intelligence to the Uzumaki remnants, allowing them to strike Root so precisely.”
Danzo paused, then said: “Kiiroinu is skilled in Fire Release and also masters Wind Release…”
Danzo didn’t continue. Hi didn’t dare listen further and hurriedly said: “Hiruzen Sarutobi of the Sarutobi Clan was also killed. It can’t be Kiiroinu, right?”
Danzo said nothing. Without a ruthless heart, one couldn’t be Anbu Vice Minister. Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi’s death was some kind of smokescreen.
—
The full moon was like a silver plate.
Another new full moon night had arrived.
In the latter half of the night, Yoru left the Anbu Base, wearing a mask and wandering in the village.
After confirming no one had discovered him, he entered the orphanage.
In the orphanage’s cramped director’s office, beside Yakushi Nonou was a basket of clothes. She was sewing patches on the children’s torn clothes.
She really liked the lively and active ones among the orphans; it was they who brought much laughter to the orphanage. Lively children’s clothes got torn easily; there was no way around it.
Yakushi Nonou suddenly looked up. She discovered someone had entered the barrier she had set.
A figure appeared behind her.
Yoru first poked his head to look, saw Yakushi Nonou’s ample chest, and said: “Good luck; you’re not using that super-tight corset.”
“I’m in the orphanage; no need for disguise.”
Yakushi Nonou set down the needle and thread, leaning forward to accommodate the Fox.
After enjoying the unique tightness, Yoru stroked Yakushi Nonou’s slender waist and asked: “Has Ki been branded with the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal?”
“Confirmed branded.”
“That’s good.”
