Chapter 295: Equally Deep
When Konoha was just established, Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara were the two strongest in the village.
Below them were Tobirama Senju, Sasuke Sarutobi, Hinata Ameno, and others.
Facing Uchiha Madara, no matter who among the high-ranking officials served as commander-in-chief, their aura would weaken somewhat.
With Orochimaru explicitly refusing, it seemed the only choice was Sakumo Hatake.
Yoru’s heart tightened; the situation was slightly out of control.
If Sakumo Hatake were to command a war against Uchiha Madara, just as Orochimaru said, regardless of victory or defeat, Sakumo Hatake would still suffer a small loss.
If he won, Sakumo Hatake would have solved a problem for the village high-ranking officials, but they wouldn’t change their view of him because of his performance.
If he lost, Sakumo Hatake’s future would be over.
Yoru assessed that although Sakumo Hatake was formidable, against Uchiha Madara, he would likely lose.
Just as Yoru was having a headache, he heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say, “The matter of appointing Sakumo Hatake as commander-in-chief will be discussed later.”
Either having Uchiha Madara as a Damocles’ sword hanging over their heads, or letting Sakumo Hatake become commander-in-chief—both choices were tricky for the high-ranking officials.
Yoru breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi was more afraid of Sakumo Hatake gaining even higher prestige by stepping on Uchiha Madara.
If Sakumo Hatake defeated Uchiha Madara and called himself a ninja demigod, that wouldn’t be excessive.
On the way back to Konoha Village, Yoru came behind Lord Kiiroinu and began to sow discord:
“Minister, what about the progress of the Assassination Manual?
Root has suffered heavy losses; code name members and new recruits have all been sacrificed, losing functionality.
Lord Danzo can’t personally connect with all those spy leaders, can he?
Should we take the opportunity, using the reason that the Assassination Manual cannot stop, to demand contact information for some spy leaders?
Intelligence is far more crucial than assassination. Mastering intelligence means Anbu masters influence!”
Lord Kiiroinu nodded repeatedly; the Fox’s judgment was extremely accurate.
Whoever masters intelligence masters the spy system, and Anbu would master influence.
He said, “Fox, your suggestion is excellent. Attempting to master the spy system is what we Anbu should do most.
No need to sympathize with Root. For Konoha, to continue weakening other ninja villages according to the Assassination Manual, we must control the intelligence system. Even controlling the spy system of one enemy village would be a huge gain for us.”
Yoru thought to himself that Lord Kiiroinu could now proficiently wield the narrative logic of “for Konoha.”
For Konoha—truly a universal excuse.
Everything the Fox was doing now, wasn’t it also for Konoha?
If they could do it for Konoha, couldn’t he?
Back in the village, Yoru followed to the Hokage’s Office.
Several high-ranking officials argued endlessly, still unable to reach a conclusion.
Finally, Lord Kiiroinu began an internal investigation within the Sarutobi Clan.
To Yoru’s regret, the Sarutobi Clan’s family scandal didn’t allow him to participate.
Really, he still had many arrangements in place.
When Lord Kiiroinu couldn’t find out who Heinosuke Sarutobi was, he would come to him.
Only he could find out who Heinosuke Sarutobi was.
In the middle of the night, White Crane carefully left Anbu and hurried back to the Yamanaka Clan Compound.
She was terrified all the way.
The intelligence she passed to Lord Danzo had actually caused Root heavy losses, killing 5 Root ninjas.
She was very afraid, not knowing if Root would come after her.
Root only had Lord Danzo left, and seemed to lack the spare capacity to confront her over intelligence.
Safely leaving the Death Forest, White Crane let out a long sigh of relief.
Entering the village, she felt her whole body warm up a bit.
In the middle of the night in Konoha Village, there weren’t many people around.
She somewhat regretted not leaving Anbu earlier today; it was a bit late now.
Passing by a park, a sudden crosswind blew.
“Who…”
Before the next word could come out, White Crane saw a Lynx mask!
White Crane was caught in the crosswind and slammed into a big tree.
When she looked up, a hand was throttling her throat.
Unexpectedly, it was the Lynx settling the intelligence accounts with her!
It was over; she was done for!
White Crane was left only with despair at this moment.
Danzo was the Anbu Minister, and the Lynx Squad was Minister Danzo’s direct subordinate squad.
A high-ranking official like Danzo was a colossal entity to her; even the Yamanaka Clan couldn’t resist Danzo’s orders.
Her throat was tightly gripped by the Lynx.
The Lynx said, “White Crane, what exactly was the intelligence you got from the Fox Squad!
You said there was Uchiha Madara’s base in the Valley of the End—where is the base?
We carefully searched underground in the Valley of the End, and except for a cave collapsed by an explosion, there was nothing!
Speak! What intelligence did the Fox obtain!”
The cave the Lynx found was a disguise Yoru had created in advance; there was nothing in it, just to close the logic loop of Yoru’s intelligence.
White Crane said in terror, “When I delivered the scroll for Purple Cat, I only had a very short time window. I opened the scroll and glanced at it, seeing the intelligence about the Valley of the End written by the Yak Squad Leader.
As for whether the intelligence was accurate, and whether there really was Uchiha Madara’s base under the Valley of the End, shouldn’t Root verify it first?
We learned this in the Ninja Academy: verify intelligence first upon obtaining it to avoid fake intelligence.”
The Lynx punched and shattered White Crane’s mask, staring at her mouth and saying:
“The lord engraved the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal on you; no need to waste words with you here.
Come with me to see the lord!
The lord will use the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal to determine if you’re telling the truth.”
White Crane’s eyes showed even more terror.
Hearing Danzo’s name made the surrounding wind feel a few degrees colder.
Especially at this time, Danzo was in a rage.
But White Crane couldn’t resist.
Originally, she was just an ordinary Yamanaka Clan ninja, who had just joined a fairly friendly Ino-Shika-Cho squad, and suddenly she was named by the high-ranking officials and had to enter Root training.
Now, she was dragged into this extremely terrifying incident involving Danzo and Uchiha Madara.
Who could come help me…
“You’re not coming, huh?”
The Lynx’s palm tightened, about to drag White Crane away.
At that moment, a figure body flickered down.
White Crane saw a Fox Mask!
Yoru grabbed the Lynx’s wrist and exerted force fiercely, making the Lynx’s wrist bones creak.
The Lynx’s hand had to let go, releasing White Crane’s throat.
Yoru flung his hand, throwing the Lynx far away.
After landing, the Lynx was secretly shocked; why was Yoru’s strength so great?
It was somewhat like those Senju Clan ninjas skilled in super strength.
“Lynx, White Crane is my subordinate. What’s this, has your hand reached into my squad?”
Under the Lynx mask, his brows furrowed deeply.
The Fox was very troublesome.
The Fox himself was very strong, and with the trust of Lord Kiiroinu and the Third Hokage, whether fighting directly or using authority to pressure him, it was hard to handle.
Seeing the Lynx say nothing and show no sign of leaving, Yoru said:
“White Crane is involved in an intelligence leak from the Fox Squad; she must come back with me for investigation.
It seems you, Lynx, are also involved in the Fox Squad’s intelligence leak.
Think about how to explain it to Lord Kiiroinu and Lord Hokage.”
White Crane was just about to speak up, to say that Danzo had her spy and gather intelligence from the Fox Squad—this thought had just arisen when the seal on her tongue activated, and she was already paralyzed all over, collapsing to the ground.
Yoru reached out and grabbed White Crane by the back of her collar.
Seeing this, the Lynx said, “Lord Danzo is furious; you should first think about how to explain to Lord Danzo why your intelligence hid such a big problem!”
“You’re the ones who stole my intelligence, and now you’re questioning me?”
The Lynx body flickered away.
Yoru frowned and left with White Crane.
Along the way, White Crane was completely paralyzed; she really wanted to tell the Fox Squad Leader that she was spying for Danzo.
However, whenever this thought arose in her mind, she would be paralyzed all over, her nervous system attacked by the seal.
Back at Anbu, Yoru found Lord Kiiroinu.
Lord Kiiroinu saw the Fox carrying White Crane into the office and was very confused.
Yoru said, “Lord Kiiroinu, I found an excuse to force the Danzo Advisor to give up the spy system!”
“What excuse?”
Yoru placed White Crane on a chair, and Lord Kiiroinu also came to the side of the chair.
Lord Kiiroinu looked at White Crane’s condition, extremely puzzled.
Yoru explained, “Lord Kiiroinu, unless I’m mistaken, White Crane has been hit with the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal!
I obtained intelligence and originally planned to assemble at least two squads to recon the Valley of the End.
But Root got there first because Root had planted a mole in our Anbu.
White Crane is one of the moles.
She was engraved with the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal and had to pass intelligence to Danzo.
Lord Kiiroinu, I suspect there are other moles in Anbu!”
Lord Kiiroinu’s eyes drooped, his expression under the mask unsightly.
He hadn’t expected Danzo to be so despicable, planting moles right in Anbu.
Yoru said quietly, “Lord Kiiroinu, if things go wrong, there might even be Danzo’s moles in the Kuroari Squad!”
The Kuroari Squad was the Third Hokage’s direct subordinate squad, also responsible for passing orders to the Third Hokage.
If the Kuroari Squad was infiltrated, what secrets would the Third Hokage have left?
Lord Kiiroinu’s eyes trembled, then he said, “Don’t publicize this for now. We’ll investigate secretly, identify all the moles clearly, then go together to Lord Hokage for an explanation.
If everyone acts like Danzo, how can Anbu function?
Just engrave the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal on all of Anbu and let Danzo have total control!”
Just from what Yoru knew, there were already 5 Anbu engraved with the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal: besides White Crane, 3 in the Kuroari Squad and 1 in the Golden Eagle Squad.
If the Hokage knew the Kuroari Squad were all Danzo’s moles, who knows if he’d fly into a rage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a temper too; being monitored by Danzo would certainly annoy him.
Yoru said, “Lord Kiiroinu, do you know where to get the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal? I want to try undo the seal; otherwise, White Crane can’t cooperate with us.”
Lord Kiiroinu said, “After Princess Tsunade handed the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal to Danzo, Lord Hokage recorded this sealing jutsu in the village’s Scroll of Seals.
This matter is of great importance. I know you have sealing jutsu talent. Wait half an hour for me; I’ll get you this sealing jutsu.”
As expected of the Hokage’s eldest son; a jutsu from the Scroll of Seals could be fetched at will.
Half an hour later, Lord Kiiroinu brought a scroll and handed it to Yoru.
“This is the ninjutsu scroll for the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal. Start researching this jutsu immediately and find all the moles Danzo planted in Anbu!”
“Yes! Lord Kiiroinu!”
Bringing White Crane back to the Fox Squad, the squad was empty at this time.
Yoru laid White Crane horizontally on his desk.
White Crane pursed her lips, sobbing continuously.
Being threatened by the Lynx, being carried by the Fox and placed in front of Lord Kiiroinu, hearing them talk about making Danzo give up the spy system—she felt she had no dignity left.
Yoru deliberately drew out his tone, saying slowly:
“You know nothing about the darkness.
White Crane, welcome to the shadows of Konoha Village.
This is the cruel side of Konoha you’ve just begun to touch.
Konoha Village doesn’t only have the deep bonds of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans being like brothers; it also has countless darkness.”
After White Crane accepted the truth, Yoru continued:
“Don’t be sad. You’re Purple Cat’s sister; from now on, you won’t be controlled by Danzo.
Lord Kiiroinu has noticed you, and the Third Hokage won’t let Danzo continue harming Anbu.
I’ll research your seal right now and try to undo the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal.”
Hearing that her seal could be undone, hope ignited in White Crane’s heart.
Many things weren’t done by her willingly; she was forced.
She looked at the Fox Squad Leader with eyes full of expectation like a kitten.
Yoru undid White Crane’s collar, exposing her neck, shoulders, and a small half of her chest.
Even with sealing jutsu talent, there needed to be a research process.
The entire night, Yoru held the ninjutsu scroll for the Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal, exploring on White Crane’s body.
Until dawn, he bit his finger and began drawing curse marks with blood on White Crane’s forehead, face, neck, shoulders, and chest.
The Tongue-Cutting Flower Seal was a blood curse, using Danzo’s blood when applied; correspondingly, undoing the seal also required blood.
After hand seals, the blood-drawn curse patterns glowed red and began to writhe.
The curse patterns slowly crawled into Yamanaka Ruri’s mouth; Yamanaka Ruri felt a sweet, bloody taste in her mouth.
It took twenty minutes before Yoru carefully undid the seal.
On White Crane’s tongue, the six lines of the Dun Hexagram disappeared one after another.
He really was a sealing jutsu genius; after pretending to research all night, he undid the seal.
As for whether Danzo would know, Yoru no longer cared.
Soon Anbu would confront Danzo.
Danzo monitoring the Third Hokage through moles—there was no way the Third Hokage wouldn’t be angry.
After finishing all this, Yoru breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Alright, White Crane, your seal is undone.”
White Crane swallowed hard and said, “Has the seal Danzo put on me disappeared?”
“Look, you can even call Danzo by name directly now. The seal is undone.”
“Then… what if Danzo and the Lynx come for me later?”
Yoru said, “Don’t worry; I’ll shield you from the upcoming storm. Tell us about the other moles, and Lord Third and Lord Kiiroinu will protect you.”
Yamanaka Ruri’s eyes reddened again, but this time not from pain and humiliation, but from relief and gratitude.
No wonder, no wonder her older sister was so devoted to the Fox Squad Leader; the Fox gave her so much sense of security.
Her sister got pregnant for the Fox, and facing the clan’s inquiries, never said who the father was.
Yoru was about to leave when White Crane Yamanaka Ruri suddenly grabbed Yoru’s hand.
“Don’t go, please don’t go.”
Yamanaka Ruri glanced at the Fox’s lounge nearby and said, “I’ve smelled my sister’s scent in there…”
Yoru picked up Yamanaka Ruri and headed to his lounge.
A few minutes later, Yoru let out a gasp of admiration.
Purple Cat had pale golden hair and skin white as snow, but her sister Yamanaka Ruri was even more tender and delicate than Purple Cat.
Thus, the sisters’ bond was equally deep.
