"What? Captain Hippo is dead?"
A week after the Nine-Tails' transfer and resealing, a chilling rumor spread through the ANBU base.
Captain Hippo of the Yellow Dog Division had died on a mission somewhere in the Land of Fire.
He was strong — just a step away from becoming a jōnin.
On the night of the Nine-Tails' transfer, Hippo had been one of the squad leaders under Yellow Dog's command, standing right beneath the rampaging beast.
ANBU agents die all the time — that much is part of the job.
But this time, something was different.
The wounds on Hippo's corpse showed that he'd been stabbed from behind — by one of his own men.
A spy in the ANBU… the thought itself was enough to make even hardened shinobi shiver.
In the following days, more ANBU died — killed by their own subordinates, or killing each other in mutual slaughter.
At the base hidden within the Forest of Death, tension hung thick in the air; no one trusted anyone anymore.
In a remote forest somewhere in the Land of Fire —
Members of the Fox Squad appeared one after another in silent flickers.
Three teams formed a circle — some on the ground, others perched on stones or tree branches.
In the center lay two corpses.
Both wore ANBU masks.
The air was heavy, suffocating.
This was the second case of ANBU killing each other that the Fox Squad had investigated recently.
After carefully examining the bodies, Purple Cat reported to Captain Yoru:
"Captain, the deceased were both members of the Yak Division under Yellow Dog.
One attacked the other from behind, stabbing a ninja blade straight through the lung.
They then fought briefly… both ended up dead."
Yoru asked quietly, "Were either of them recent transfers from Root?"
If Root's background checks were too lax, it was possible a spy had infiltrated ANBU and turned violent under pressure.
Purple Cat shook her head.
"The one who was attacked was new. But the one who struck first had already served in ANBU for more than six months."
"Six months?" Yoru frowned. "Then it's unlikely he was a spy."
White Ram, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. Six months and the suspicion's gone? he thought.
By that logic, their own captain — a year in service — should be beyond suspicion too.
Yoru looked back at Purple Cat.
"Since the Nine-Tails' transfer, we've had two confirmed cases of ANBU-on-ANBU killings just in our squad's jurisdiction.
Who knows how many in the others.
This isn't coincidence.
Aside from spies, there are techniques that can control people — the Nara Clan's Shadow Possession, the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer, and certain forbidden jutsu.
Can we rule out the Nara or the Yamanaka?"
Purple Cat replied:
"The final blows from both were kunai thrusts through the eye socket — straight into the brain. Their brains were destroyed, so the Intelligence Division can't extract memories.
But I can rule out Shadow Possession.
Anyone caught by it subconsciously struggles against the pull — they dig deep footprints into the ground. There are none here."
She hesitated. "As for the Mind Transfer Technique… I can't rule it out."
Yoru had no better answer.
The investigation, like the last one, hit a dead end.
Previously, three ANBU had gone to assassinate a Fire Country noble — they'd ended up killing each other in his garden.
Not only had the mission failed, it nearly sparked a diplomatic crisis.
Now, two ANBU messengers carrying intelligence to the frontlines in the Land of Grass were found dead halfway there — again, by mutual killing.
It was rare — almost unheard of — for ANBU to turn on each other like this.
"Bring the bodies back to the village," Yoru ordered. "Let the Interrogation Unit see if they can dig up anything."
Back at the ANBU base, Yoru had barely delivered the bodies when Yellow Dog's assistant arrived.
"The Captain wants to see you."
In Yellow Dog's office, the desk was buried under a dozen scattered scrolls.
Yellow Dog sighed heavily.
"The Nine-Tails' transfer cost ANBU dearly. And now, more than ten cases of ANBU killing each other… across all six divisions.
What did your investigation find?"
Yoru lowered his head.
"Same as last time — nothing.
All the corpses had their brains destroyed. We can't tell if it was genuine infighting or someone using genjutsu, a secret technique, or a forbidden art.
No traces of enemy infiltration or ambush within several hundred meters."
Yellow Dog adjusted his mask, a sign of his irritation.
"Most of these deaths happened outside the village. The enemy may be lurking beyond the borders.
We've searched the outskirts of Konoha and found nothing.
Fox — you'll lead your squad to the Land of Rain. Investigate another ANBU death there.
Your team includes members of the Yamanaka and Hyūga clans — you have a full range of abilities.
Your mission has two objectives:
First, investigate the ANBU squad's deaths.
Second, monitor the ongoing war in Rain on Lord Danzō's behalf.
Danzō plans to personally enter the Land of Rain within the next few weeks.
Right now, the fiercest battles are against Amegakure.
The 'Demi-God' Hanzō's reputation is formidable — these ANBU deaths might even be his doing, some kind of sabotage behind enemy lines."
Yoru nodded, then asked, "What about the mission monitoring the rising conflict between the Senju and Uchiha clans?"
"I'll assign that to another squad," Yellow Dog replied.
The feud between Senju and Uchiha had been escalating.
Clashes had already drawn blood.
The weakened Senju clan, oddly enough, were the aggressors — relentlessly provoking the Uchiha.
The Uchiha, unable to explain the appearance of the Sharingan during the Nine-Tails' transfer, could only endure in silence.
That same day, Yoru led his squad out of Konoha toward the Land of Rain.
All the way, he remained on edge — alert to every sound, every shadow, and every ANBU behind him, especially the new recruits.
Who was killing ANBU?
A name surfaced in his mind.
Could it be… him?
Kato Dan?
It wouldn't be strange for Dan to get involved — but directly killing ANBU agents? That didn't fit.
Had the Senju clan finally abandoned their naïveté and decided to strike at the ANBU by any means necessary?
Upon arriving in the Land of Rain, Yoru reported to the frontline command.
Commander Mitokado Homura didn't have authority over ANBU, but he needed to know all forces on the front, including them — to prevent fatal misunderstandings.
Inside the ANBU command tent, Yoru saw many high-ranking jōnin:
Orochimaru. Jiraiya. Tsunade. Kato Dan.
It looked like a strategy meeting had just ended.
Yoru's eyes lingered briefly on Tsunade.
The tragedy of the Nine-Tails' sealing had long reached the front lines — she had lost most of her clan that night. Her face was pale, her spirit heavy.
He glanced at Orochimaru — Danzō's Sharingan eye had likely been transplanted by him.
Yoru had once helped dispose of one of Orochimaru's "test subjects" — a boy from the Shimura clan whose eyes had been taken.
Who knew how many more of the Shimura had become "specimens" afterward?
As for Jiraiya — Yoru didn't even bother looking. The man was, as always, too busy flirting with Tsunade to notice anything else.
None of the three paid any attention to the masked ANBU captain.
But Yoru felt Kato Dan's gaze linger on him — for just a moment.
When Dan turned and left with two Senju bodyguards in tow, Yoru watched him closely, analyzing every subtle detail.
Dan's muscles were loose — utterly relaxed — showing no trace of hidden tension or killer intent.
So… was I wrong? Yoru thought.
Or does he simply not see a lowly ANBU captain as worth his concern?