Carrying Captain Black Ape on his back and gripping the severed arm tightly, Yoru sprinted across the plains.
"Captain! You must hold on!"
His previous superiors, Captain Antelope and Captain Brown Bear, had both died by Yoru's own hand. The fact that Black Ape was still alive now was proof of Yoru's rare mercy and restraint.
He would not allow Black Ape to die at someone else's hands.
Black Ape's severed arm dangled limply, cut off about five centimeters above the elbow. The flesh around the wound was dark purple, and even the blood had turned the same hue. The limb severed by the Hidden Stone ninja was completely discolored with poison.
Black Ape's consciousness blurred, he only felt himself jostling up and down, carried at high speed.
After taking the Red Chili Pill, his body had slimmed drastically. He was light, and Yoru ran fast.
Inside Konoha's frontline camp, Yoru charged into the medical tent, still carrying Black Ape.
Tsunade stepped out, her expression blank and cold.
Since the death of her younger brother Nawaki, she had buried herself in work, refusing to face the pain of his loss.
"Lady Tsunade! Please save my captain!"
Tsunade frowned at the stump of Black Ape's arm and the purplish, poisoned blood.
She said flatly:
"The poison of the salamander has spread throughout his organs, burning so much body fat accelerated the toxin's circulation. It's concentrated in the arm. Amputate higher up; maybe we can still save his life."
Yoru lifted the severed limb in his hand and asked anxiously, "Lady Tsunade, if we cut again, can this arm still be reattached later?"
Tsunade didn't take the discolored limb. She simply turned and walked back into the tent.
The medical-ninja carried Black Ape inside. Yoru was left outside, holding the severed arm, unsure what to do.
The limb certainly looked terrible, but shouldn't they at least try to save it?
He'd already lost one arm in the Land of Waves. If he lost this one too, he'd truly be crippled.
From a nearby tent came a familiar cry.
"Captain!"
Yoru stepped in. Inside, members of the Fox and White Ram squads were lying on cots, hooked up to IVs, receiving antidotes.
"What about the prisoners?"
"They've been handed over. Our mission's complete."
Yoru felt no joy.
In the cold, unfeeling ANBU, Black Ape was one of the few who had ever shown him warmth.
If Black Ape retired, Yoru would likely be promoted to captain, and that meant reporting directly to Captain Yellow Dog.
Yellow Dog was a true machine of war, emotionless, suspicious, utterly ruthless.
Half an hour later, Yellow Dog himself strode in.
The fanged paint on his mask made his expression seem even more menacing.
"Fox. Come with me."
Yoru followed him into the main medical tent.
Inside, Black Ape lay unconscious, but out of danger. The surgery had been so rushed he still wore his mask.
Yellow Dog turned to a medic. "How long until my subordinate recovers? How much combat power will he retain?"
The medical-ninja replied:
"Both arms are gone. He can't form hand seals. The poison has damaged his nerves,his reflexes will be permanently dulled. I can't give an exact number, but he'll have less than twenty percent of his former strength."
Yellow Dog didn't hesitate.
"Black Ape, I'll have a retirement decree sent to you immediately. You're being discharged from ANBU. You'll receive full compensation."
He then turned to Yoru.
"Fox, you're officially promoted to captain. From this moment, Black Ape Squad becomes Fox Squad. Handle Black Ape's discharge and reorganize your team at once."
Without waiting for a response, Yellow Dog left.
Yoru felt a deep pang of sorrow for Black Ape.
Retirement was acceptable, but Yellow Dog's handling of it was brutally cold.
Still, Yellow Dog himself was under enormous pressure. The Senju Hai affair had been mishandled, forcing Danzō to come to the front lines to clean up his mess.
Nawaki was dead, and other Senju shinobi on the front lines had begun dying mysteriously soon after.
If Danzō hadn't intervened personally, the Senju clan would surely have suspected foul play.
Yoru reached to remove Black Ape's mask.
"Wait… let me wear it a little longer."
His hand froze in midair, then slowly withdrew. He could see tears leaking from the mask's side. Poor Black Ape. From now on, he wouldn't even be able to wipe away his own tears.
There were, other places he wouldn't be able to wipe either. Life would be terribly inconvenient.
His pain was something no one else could share.
Seeing the tears, Yoru quietly turned and left. Black Ape wouldn't want anyone to see him like this.
Yoru visited the other tents to check on his subordinates' conditions.
The medics said the toxin was from an ordinary salamander, not the giant summoning beast.
Three more days of treatment would clear it.
Yoru sighed in relief, the squad's core members would recover.
He walked to the beds of Purple Cat, Antelope, and Black Bull.
"I've officially been appointed squad captain. From now on, Purple Cat, you'll lead your own unit.
Also, Captain Black Ape's mask will be passed down to your team."
Purple Cat asked softly, "What about Captain Black Ape? Did he die?"
"No," Yoru replied. "He retired."
In Konoha's system, retired ninja had no steady income. Their later years were often miserable, especially those without clans to support them.
For many, dying in the line of duty was considered an honor.
To live long was no blessing. To die swiftly was.
Yoru then pretended to request antidotes for himself, claiming he'd inhaled only a small amount of poison during the battle.
After leaving the medical tents, he returned to the ANBU quarters.
The other two squads under Yellow Dog, Hippo Squad and Yak Squad, had been sent toward the Land of Rain.
Hidden Rain Village, known as the "sixth great hidden village," had entered the war, forcing Konoha into a defensive position.
Fox Squad wasn't yet fit for combat, so they received no external missions for the time being.
While his comrades recovered, Yoru trained daily in taijutsu and ninjutsu.
His Earth Release: Earth Spears grew increasingly powerful.
He learned to inject chakra in segmented bursts, concentrating more at the spear tip for hardness,
and distributing the rear chakra for propulsion and speed.
With such precise chakra control, its power improved significantly.
Then he experimented with multiple spears at once, two, three, four, attacking from different angles.
If he had enough chakra, this B-rank technique could reshape the battlefield itself.
That slow, steady growth in power felt deeply satisfying.
Several days later, the squad had recovered.
Their new mission arrived, an easier one this time:
Escort the bodies of Nawaki and other fallen or gravely injured ninja back to the village.
Rumor had it Hippo Squad had been devastated in the Land of Rain.
Yellow Dog's entire division would soon return to Konoha to recruit and rebuild.
At the camp's gate, Tsunade stood pale and exhausted, staring at the body bags on the wagon,
one of them held her brother Nawaki.
"Please rest assured, Lady Tsunade," said Yoru, wearing his fox mask.
"I'll see that the heroes of Konoha are brought home safely."
Tsunade turned at the sound of his voice and nodded silently.
She herself could not yet return to the village.
Konoha would soon send her, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru into the Land of Rain, to face the full might of Hidden Rain Village's forces.
As Yoru walked away, he looked back once at the three of them.
The coming battle with Hidden Rain Village, would become the legendary battle that made the Sannin famous.