The Leaf squads sprinted through the high peaks of the Land of Moon. Every shinobi was electrified; in a pursuit like this, if you were slow, you got nothing.
The Cloud commander and head of the Storm Style clan, Garui, had been slain by the Leaf commander, Hatake Sakumo. Hidden Leaf's morale was soaring, their momentum peak, while the Cloud—having lost their backbone—fled in a panicked rout.
Sakumo remained cautious. Fearing traps deep within the Land of Moon or large-scale casualties from overextending, he refused to issue orders for a scattered pursuit. Once a chase became too decentralized, squads could no longer support one another, turning a victory into a gamble.
The Fox Division remained cohesive as well. Its four squads operated within sight of Yagami, each hunting their own Cloud targets.
Yak watched the massive displays of ninjutsu in the distance, his mind filled with confusion. 'What is going on? We haven't fought alongside the Fallow Deer squad in only a short while—how has their strength jumped this much?'
Whenever the Flower Deer squad encountered a Cloud unit, they opened with a combined ninjutsu carpet-bombing. After a single volley, the Cloud ninja were decimated at mid-to-long range.
The Flower Deer squad was venting their frustration. During the battle that took down Garui, the Fox Commander had taken the White Sheep squad with him, leaving Flower Deer with no major merits. Now that they saw Cloud ninja, their eyes were practically bloodshot with competitive zeal.
The Yak squad could theoretically produce the same combined ninjutsu effects, but after such a move, the members' chakra would plummet, leading to problems in sustained combat.
However, the Flower Deer squad acted as if it were nothing. They had just unleashed three consecutive rounds of high-level techniques, yet their subsequent Taijutsu was swift and unaffected.
'Are they on drugs?' Yak wondered. 'Did the Akimichi clan develop a new secret soldier pill?'
Yak specifically moved toward Hippo and asked, "Hippo, did the Akimichi produce a new secret medicine?"
Hippo shook his head. "No. I know what you're suspecting, but their enhancement isn't from medicine. It's more like... like they suddenly have a massive surplus of chakra out of thin air."
The two men, baffled, looked toward their Division Commander. Yagami stood on a ridge, arms crossed over his chest, watching the battle below. Sensing the eyes of Yak and Hippo on him, the two captains didn't dare slack off and quickly split up to resume the hunt.
The pursuit lasted half a day until Leaf scouts detected Cloud reinforcements. Units from the Land of Lightning's border fortresses and the Guardian Shinobi of the Land of Moon's Daimyo were arriving to stabilize the retreat.
This conflict was meant to clear the Cloud presence from the border, not trigger a full-scale world war. Sakumo led the Leaf forces back toward the Land of Steam. The Cloud gathered their remnants, steering well clear of the Leaf's vanguard.
As news of the great victory reached the village, the high-intensity combat dropped to zero, leaving only the upcoming negotiations.
Using the excuse of a border patrol, Yagami left the main camp. He opened the "Right" scroll; Yakushi Nono had requested a meeting at a hot spring bathhouse in a nearby town. After being in the Land of Steam for so long, Yagami had yet to actually enjoy its namesake luxury.
He found the best bathhouse in town and booked a private pool. He lay comfortably in the steaming water, enjoying the sensation of the heat soaking into his skin. Just as he was about to drift off, someone entered the pool area.
"Sir, do you require a massage?"
Yagami looked up to see a handsome male servant. He glanced at the door—the earth-style sensory barrier he had set up had been bypassed silently.
"I do. But let me check your hands first; I'm afraid some biometric clay might fall off them in a moment."
Nono laughed softly, kneeling behind Yagami to massage his shoulders.
"I know it's you, but could you please not use a male form to see me? It makes my skin crawl." Being tenderly massaged by a pretty boy was enough to give anyone goosebumps.
Nono stood up, neatly setting aside several scrolls. She then shed her clothes and peeled away the layers of her secret disguise clay.
Yagami watched with interest. Her chest binding was like a competitive swimsuit from his past life—tight enough to make her as flat as a board—but once undone, her lush, soft curves spilled out.
He hadn't seen the full extent of this in the cave. Her real skin was as white as milk, kept smooth and supple through the constant use of medical chakra.
As she stepped into the pool, the water seemed to shy away from her skin. Seeing her silhouette vanish into the steam, Yagami reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"That clay can't be good for your pores. Let me help you wash it all off. Every last bit."
Yagami's hands began to wander, and before long, the two were once again "researching" the depth of their alliance. Water splashed and cascaded against the stone tiles.
After the exertion, Nono leaned against Yagami's chest, waiting for her breathing to steady.
"This disguise art of yours is too powerful," Yagami remarked. "You can become anyone you want."
"That's how I get most of my intel," she whispered. "I become a target's friend and talk them into a corner; it's hard to expose in a short timeframe. Even under a Byakugan, my clay looks exactly like body fat."
Yagami was tempted to test that with his own Byakugan, but he feared scaring her. A Leaf civilian possessing the vision of the Hyuga's main house without a Caged Bird Seal was too explosive a secret.
Nono continued, "Fox, the conflict with the Cloud is winding down. Neither side wants a war. Danzo has allowed me to return to the village. This winter, I'll be at the Orphanage."
"With the border conflict ending, we can focus on Root," Yagami said. "Being back in the village makes investigating them much easier. Do you know how far Danzo's search for the Uzumaki remnants has gone? Do we have an opening?"
"I have several hidden informants in the village who provide long-term intel," Nono'u said. "Danzo is obsessed with the Uzumaki. Beyond eliminating future threats, he wants revenge for the Shimura ninja who died. From what I've heard, Root has already tracked them to the Land of Rain. After leaving the Land of Whirlpools, the remnants passed through the Lands of Waves, Moon, Iron, and Grass."
Yagami's heart tightened. 'The Land of Rain?' This was becoming a problem. He had to find a way to break Danzo's hand and make him feel the pain.
Seeing the gravity in the Fox's eyes through his mask, Nono assumed he was merely plotting how to sabotage Danzo's plans. The power struggle between the ANBU and Root was so fierce that if Danzo wanted something, the ANBU would naturally oppose it.
For her, this was the perfect opportunity. She hoped the orphans taken by Root would delay receiving their codenames just a bit longer, giving her time to save them.
She began massaging Yagami again, her soft curves pressing against him as if to encourage him to think harder on how to crush Danzo. After verifying the "depth" of their alliance once more, the two reluctantly left the warm water.
Nono set off for Konoha. A few days later, Mitokado Homura arrived at the front lines to begin the formal negotiations.