Yagami had no home in the Hidden Leaf—no roof, no family, nothing.
After joining the ANBU, he was also assigned to handle some of the division's internal chores, so he simply lived in the headquarters.
Now that he finally had three days of leave, there was no way he'd spend it hanging around there. If a mission suddenly came up and the captain noticed he was still in the building, that would be the end of his break.
So Yagami changed into his casual clothes, slipped out of the Forest of Death—where the ANBU base was hidden—and wandered aimlessly through the village.
He stopped and looked up at the distant Hokage Rock.
The faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage towered over the village, massive and solemn, triggering an odd sense of megalophobia.
The closer he got to the rock, the closer he was to the Hokage Building—and the stronger that oppressive feeling became.
This village wasn't anything like the cheerful, youthful place shown in the manga. It carried only the heavy pressure of death.
Everyone here was like Kakashi from the original story—friends dead, teachers dead, teammates dead. Every single one of them seemed a little mentally off.
This was a village full of high-functioning lunatics.
During the Second Great Ninja War, most shinobi were sent to the frontlines, leaving the Hidden Leaf eerily quiet.
After wandering for half an hour, Yagami decided to find a cheap inn to stay in.
Then he froze.
"…Where's my wallet?"
When he reached for money, his ninja pouch was empty.
After thinking it through, he realized there was only one place it could've been left—the Tsukizuki Tavern.
So he went back.
Outside the tavern, the voluptuous and alluring owner had just stepped out to throw away some trash. When she saw the handsome young ninja from last night walking toward her, her teeth began to chatter from nerves.
It's over.
Had her identity as a spy been exposed after all?
That young man from last night—the one who'd killed her partner underground—was now standing right there in front of her.
Her partner had never even seen her face, so how did this man know?
What should she do?
Feigning ignorance, she turned and hurried back inside.
Behind the bar, gripping a sharp fruit knife, she began slicing lemons with trembling hands.
When Yagami sat down across from her, she forced a smile. "Would you like another bottle of sake, sir?"
"Return my wallet first. Then I'll have money for sake."
"…Huh?"
She stared at him in disbelief, her hand tightening and loosening around the knife.
Wait—he's not here to arrest me?
"What are you spacing out for? My wallet! Hand it over!"
"W-Wallet? What wallet?"
He's looking for his wallet?
That excuse was so ridiculous it actually sounded real.
After that emotional rollercoaster, the tavern owner's chest heaved with sudden relief, and her heartbeat quickened.
Yagami hopped off his stool and walked toward the back, heading for the courtyard.
"Sir! The backyard's under repair—you can't go in there!" she blurted, quickly blocking his way.
She was terrified.
When she woke up the previous night, the room had been empty.
Her partner underground was gone. The handsome Leaf ninja was gone.
She'd tried every method she knew to contact her fellow spy, but got no response.
There was a patch of floor that looked a bit different, as if someone had dug something up and then covered it again.
Yagami brushed past her hand and entered the back.
Sure enough, the courtyard was being repaired—tiles overturned, tools scattered, workers moving about.
"I told you it's under repair," she said quickly. "Tell you what, sir—why don't you rest upstairs while I look for your wallet in the back?"
She looped both arms around one of his, smiling sweetly. "I remember you now—you're last night's guest!
Why did I pass out? Why did you leave? Weren't we supposed to continue… exploring Yin and Yang Release?"
"You fell and hit your head last night," Yagami said with a faint grin. "I like it when there's passion, not when things go all lifeless."
Her soft curves pressed against his arm as they went upstairs.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Qiaoyi," she said.
In the private room on the second floor, Yagami sat down and said, "Qiaoyi, there's 150,000 ryō in that wallet. You have to find it and return it to me."
Leaf shinobi were notoriously underpaid.
A month of life-threatening missions in the ANBU barely earned him 100,000 ryō, and the remaining 50,000 had been the extra reward he'd shamelessly begged from his captain.
Qiaoyi nodded and went downstairs.
She searched the courtyard, the side rooms, under tables and chairs—but found nothing.
When she came back up, she smoothed her hair, put on her most seductive expression, and entered the room again.
"Ninja-sama, I really couldn't find your wallet," she said softly. "But… I must be such a fool. I only just realized—you didn't really come here just for that wallet, did you? I might not have your wallet, but I can offer you… other compensation."
Since she'd heard Yagami liked "passionate responses," Qiaoyi used every trick she knew
...
Downstairs in the tavern, the first customers of the day had just come in for lunch and drinks.
Ten minutes later, one of them frowned and looked up.
Dust was sifting down from the ceiling.
The floorboards above were creaking.
Another twenty minutes passed before the door to the upstairs room finally opened.
Qiaoyi, breathing heavily, adjusted her shoulder strap back into place and closed the door behind her.
Inside, Yagami lounged lazily on the bed. "You said it yourself—since you lost my wallet, I get to stay here for three days."
"I'll make sure to repay your loss in every way I can," she said with a shaky smile.
Yagami leaned back, perfectly content, drifting into a nap.
Three days later, Qiaoyi stood at the doorway, heartbroken as she watched Yagami leave.
That Leaf ninja was impossible to pry secrets from. Three whole days, and she hadn't gotten a single word out of him.
The tavern's floorboards had been replaced once because of him. Were all Leaf ninjas this good at keeping their mouths shut?
Still, she was sure of one thing now—the handsome man wasn't investigating her.
That night, Yagami returned to the ANBU.
When he opened his locker, his eyes widened—his wallet was sitting right there inside.
How the hell…?
He picked it up, confused. He was meticulous—three days ago when he left, there had definitely been no wallet here.
Then, behind him, the captain's voice came out of nowhere. The man had appeared silently again.
"Fox," the captain said, "I took my fifty thousand ryō back and added your ten for the B-rank mission. So now your wallet should have two hundred thousand. Count it if you like."
At this point, counting didn't matter anymore.
All Yagami could think about was how fiery that tavern owner, Qiaoyi, had been these past few days… why she'd been so enthusiastic.
Wait a minute. She was too enthusiastic.
Eh, whatever. Spy or not, that was Konoha's problem, not his.
Even if the whole village burned down tomorrow, it wouldn't concern him.
Female spies, though… those he could appreciate. Their investigations had a way of getting very in-depth.
"Let's move," the captain ordered. "We're tracking that stone spy from before. Follow the trail."
Yagami put on his fox mask and sighed behind it.
Another "follow the trail" mission. The last squad that did that all died.
Any spy daring enough to infiltrate the Leaf had to be strong—it was hard to tell who was the vine and who was the melon in this chase.
He donned his gray ANBU armor, slung his standard ninjatō across his back, checked every piece of gear, and joined his captain and two other teammates.
Together, they vanished from the ANBU's gates.
Hopefully, this one would turn out to be a simple C-rank mission.