"It's me, Fox."
Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Yōkō felt relieved.
He didn't turn around, instead speaking quietly as if to himself:
"Yuka, Princess Kushina has been taken in by Clan Head Senju Rinoki. You don't need to worry about her safety.
The Uzumaki clan's Book of Seals is now also in Clan Head Senju Rinoki's hands.
The Anbu received information that the Kiri-nin are plotting to seize the Uzumaki elder's sealing scroll.
The Land of Waves is too close to the Land of Fire and the Land of Water; it's very dangerous. You should leave, get away from here as soon as possible.
Going to other countries in the north might not be safe either, but it won't be as dangerous as the Land of Waves."
There was a long silence behind him.
Yuka slowly asked, "Fox, what role did the Konoha Anbu truly play in the Uzumaki clan's destruction?"
Yōkō also fell into a long silence.
He didn't know how to answer. The destruction of this pitiful shinobi clan had extremely complex reasons.
The death of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, weakened Konoha. The Uzumaki clan sought self-preservation by attempting to seal the Three-Tails, which conflicted with Konoha's candidate for the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, ultimately leading the three great shinobi villages to develop murderous intent.
Sympathy was one thing, but he didn't want to cause complications here.
"It's not yet confirmed. I'm still investigating."
Yuka threw out a scroll, saying:
"Fox, this is my summoning scroll. It contains the Contract Seal and the Summoning Technique.
I want to share the summoning contract for the Spear Egret beast tribe with you, to make it easier for us to exchange information."
Yōkō took the scroll and carefully hid it.
He could have the Spear Egret return the scroll to Uzumaki Yuka later.
He couldn't use the Spear Egret in front of people, but learning two sealing techniques—the Contract Seal and the Summoning Technique—was a profit.
Through a series of coincidences, his investment in Uzumaki Yuka had yielded a good return.
"Yuka, don't try to contact Princess Kushina for now. There will be spies all around her. Anyone who makes contact will be discovered by the Konoha Anbu," Yōkō said.
"Go. The Land of Whirlpools will soon be filled with many enemies."
"Take care, Fox."
"Take care, Yuka."
A faint rustling of leaves came from behind him.
There were Uzumaki shinobi among the Land of Whirlpools Daimyō's Guardian Ninja. If they wanted to escape, they probably had their own channels. Furthermore, the Yatagarasu could also carry away quite a few people.
Not long after, a group of people arrived in the distance; it was the Yak Squad.
The squad entered the forest from several directions.
Black Gorilla had lost an arm, and his combat strength had decreased, so he stayed at the rear with Yōkō.
A short but intense battle took place in the forest.
Both sides tacitly avoided using large-scale ninjutsu, relying only on taijutsu.
The Hippo Squad killed the Kiri-nin and captured one squad leader.
Faint, muffled groans came from the woods; Squad Leader Hippo was personally interrogating the Kiri-nin squad leader.
Half an hour later, Squad Leader Hippo wiped the blood from his hands with leaves, gathered the squad leaders, and said:
"The interrogation was quite effective. The Kiri-nin have found a key person: the Captain of the Land of Whirlpools Daimyō's Guardian Ninja.
After the Uzumaki remnants came to the Land of Whirlpools, they relied mainly on the protection of the Guardian Ninja Captain.
That Guardian Ninja Captain is a Uzumaki jōnin. There were originally quite a few Uzumaki clansmen in the capital; they've all gone into hiding.
The Guardian Ninja Captain must die. Only then can we force them to produce the sealing scroll."
The Land of Waves had assigned many missions to Uzushiogakure, which was also a point of great dissatisfaction for Konoha.
Some Uzumaki shinobi stationed long-term in the Land of Whirlpools, especially couples who were both Uzumaki shinobi, had taken up permanent residence there.
Squad Leader Hippo said:
"Eight Uzumaki kunoichi escaped from Uzushiogakure. According to the intelligence Anbu obtained from Uzushiogakure, there are 48 Uzumaki shinobi who either reside permanently in the Land of Waves or were here on missions when the clan was destroyed.
Fifty-six Uzumaki shinobi. The Kiri-nin have killed three, leaving at most fifty-three.
Our task is to find the Guardian Ninja Captain before the Kiri-nin do."
Uzushiogakure was truly pitiful, sharing all its intelligence with Konoha. Konoha knew the Uzumaki shinobi in the Land of Waves clearly, down to the exact number of individuals.
They didn't even know they had been sold out.
Squad Leader Black Gorilla said:
"Hippo, I believe the important thing now is to cut off the Land of Waves' support for the Uzumaki shinobi.
We should go directly to meet with the Daimyō of the Land of Waves, promise to take over the Daimyō's defense, and persuade him to abandon the Uzumaki shinobi."
Hippo's eyes lit up, but then he said with doubt:
"Negotiations at this national level would require at least Foreign Affairs Advisor Mitokado Homura to participate, right? If we go and say it, will the Daimyō of the Land of Waves agree?"
Black Gorilla said:
"He doesn't necessarily have to agree completely. We just need to clearly explain the situation regarding the Uzumaki clan's destruction to the Daimyō, so that he no longer fully supports the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain.
The Daimyō has 12 Guardian Ninja. Eight of them are Uzumaki shinobi; the remaining four are all Konoha shinobi.
Those four Guardian Ninja, plus us, are enough to make the Land of Waves lean towards Konoha.
With the Uzumaki clan destroyed, the Land of Waves' mission share must absolutely not be given to Kirigakure."
Hippo nodded repeatedly.
The two squad leaders made a decision: Black Gorilla would enter the Daimyō's Tenshu Castle to persuade the Daimyō.
Black Gorilla, taking only Yōkō with him, met with the Konoha Guardian Ninja outside the Tenshu Castle.
"Yamanaka Kari-sensei, I am Anbu Squad Leader Black Gorilla. I'm here to inquire about the situation with the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja."
Yamanaka Kari had light blond hair. He said:
"It's truly lamentable. Such a powerful shinobi clan as the Uzumaki was actually destroyed under the combined assault of Kiri-nin and Kumo-nin.
Konoha received the news too late. By the time we reached the border of the Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki clan had already been destroyed.
The eight Uzumaki Guardian Ninja have no heart for their guard duties and often disappear.
At first, they asked the Daimyō for leave, but later they just vanished without a trace.
The Daimyō is very displeased about this and has spoken to me twice. I've already notified the village to negotiate with the Daimyō as soon as possible and send new Guardian Ninja to replace the Uzumaki ones and bring them back to the village.
Let them return to Konoha. Isn't the intelligence saying the Uzumaki Princess is in Konoha? With gradual development, perhaps the Uzumaki clan can become a small shinobi clan within Konoha."
Yōkō thought to himself that the ordinary Konoha shinobi were completely unaware of what the Anbu had done.
The Uzumaki clan could never become a small clan within Konoha. What Konoha wanted was for Uzumaki Kushina to wholeheartedly serve as Konoha's jinchūriki.
Uzumaki Mito was one thing; she was the First Hokage's wife.
But if the Nine-Tails jinchūriki had loyalty to a specific clan, how could the Konoha higher-ups rest easy?
Black Gorilla didn't comment on Yamanaka Kari's suggestion, instead saying:
"After the Uzumaki clan's destruction, the Anbu received information that the Uzumaki clan is planning revenge.
The Uzumaki clan still holds the status of Konoha's ally. Their revenge could cause the Daimyō of the Land of Waves to lean towards Kirigakure.
Sympathy for the Uzumaki clan is one thing; the Land of Waves' mission share is another matter.
Yamanaka-sensei, the Anbu's intention is to drive the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja away from the Daimyō of the Land of Waves, to prevent them from influencing him."
Yamanaka Kari frowned. He detected some implied meaning. The Anbu's attitude towards the Uzumaki clan didn't seem very supportive.
Did the village not support the Uzumaki clan's revenge?
Yamanaka Kari suddenly said, "Wait, you are... I've heard your voice before within the clan."
"Yes, Kari nii-san, it's me."
Yamanaka Kari glanced at Yōkō's fox mask and didn't voice Black Gorilla's name.
"Your left arm?"
"It's not important anymore."
Yamanaka Kari thought for a moment and said, "I understand. I understand the Anbu's meaning. Tell me to what extent this needs to be done, and I'll make the plan."
...
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(End of Chapter)