Orders were relayed one after another.
Hearing his own assignment, Yōkō breathed a long sigh of relief.
The Yellow Dog Battalion had lost two squadrons, greatly reducing its strength. Therefore, the higher-ups assigned the Yellow Dog Battalion to guard Kato Dan.
Not being directly on the front lines was excellent news.
Within the body of Ushiga Mountain was a pre-dug cave.
Kato Dan, two Senju ninja, and Yellow Dog entered the cave.
Yōkō and Purple Cat were responsible for guarding the cave entrance.
Outside the entrance, one Anbu squad was positioned on each side, while the Yellow Dog Battalion Commander provided close protection for Kato Dan.
When Kato Dan used the Spirit Transformation Technique, his own body couldn't move.
The higher-ups believed that Kato Dan using the forbidden jutsu without restraint was more useful than having a veteran Anbu Jonin like Yellow Dog join the battle.
No wonder Kato Dan was qualified to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage; his strength and prestige were actually this high.
A fragrant breeze wafted in.
Tsunade entered the cave, inspecting Kato Dan's guard detail.
Tsunade had concocted a herbal perfume; the floral scent was pleasant to the senses.
Searching his memories, Yōkō recalled that Tsunade was four years older than his original self. The original had seen Tsunade at the Ninja Academy.
Back then, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, wasn't dead yet, and Tsunade was truly the favored daughter of heaven.
Passing by Yōkō, Tsunade stopped and said, "Fox, is it? Your intelligence was very timely."
Yōkō replied, "It was my duty, Princess Tsunade."
Tsunade wasn't a shy person, wearing loose, low-cut clothing that showcased her spectacular bosom.
Nodding at Fox, Tsunade continued further into the cave.
When Granduncle Tobirama was around, the Anbu were equivalent to his arms. Tsunade had always maintained a sense of closeness with the Anbu.
Unfortunately, after the Anbu passed into Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands, they changed.
Danzo was now Sarutobi Hiruzen's enforcer, directing the Anbu to do the dirty work.
Even if the village's ninja had complaints, Sarutobi Hiruzen would step in as the arbitrator.
Hearing today that only two members returned from an Anbu squadron, bringing back critical intelligence, made Tsunade feel that the Anbu still retained some of her granduncle's legacy.
Watching Tsunade and Kato Dan talking inside the cave entrance, Yōkō felt some sympathy for the two.
Kato Dan should be dying soon, right?
Nawaki and Kato Dan died one after the other during the Second Great Shinobi War.
After Tsunade left, Yōkō picked up his binoculars and looked into the distance.
In the night sky, a small black dot appeared.
The dot grew closer, revealing a dwarf-like human figure.
The person wore the Tsuchikage's hat—it was Ōnoki!
The battle reached its peak the moment it erupted.
Ōnoki directly used Dust Release!
A brilliant light appeared in his hands. The Dust Release barrier expanded sharply, and a beam shot straight towards the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Not only that, a red chakra appeared from the Iwa-nin direction.
The Steam Ninja Han didn't probe; he entered the Tailed Beast Chakra Mode directly, manifesting three tails.
Having penetrated deep into the Land of Fire, the Iwa-nin had to fight quickly. If a large number of Konoha ninja arrived, even Ōnoki would suffer greatly.
Facing the fierce Iwa-nin assault, the Konoha side responded swiftly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nimbly dodged the Dust Release, summoned Enma, and wielded the Adamantine Staff. The staff elongated, smashing towards Ōnoki in the air.
Han, with three tails, began gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb in front of him.
At that moment, a Jonin behind him suddenly moved.
This Jonin lunged at Han, pulling out an explosive tag, actually intending to die together with Han.
"It's Konoha's Spirit Transformation Technique!"
An Elite Jonin used an Earth Release to intercept the controlled Jonin.
The explosion caused chaos among the Iwa-nin.
The Elite Jonin immediately said, "I'll take people to find Kato Dan!"
Kato Dan's direct combat ability might be inferior to Sarutobi Hiruzen's three disciples, but his deterrent power on the battlefield was higher.
His name gave all enemy village commanders headaches.
Whenever the Spirit Transformation Technique appeared, their own side would inevitably fall into chaos.
Few sensory techniques could detect souls, so the Spirit Transformation Technique couldn't be resisted head-on. The only way was to find Kato Dan's real body.
Yōkō looked up at the faint barrier light on the cave walls, wondering if these barriers could block Iwa-nin reconnaissance.
The Elite Jonin, taking two squads of sensory ninja, broke away from the main Iwa-nin force, flanking to the side, focusing on finding Kato Dan.
Although he didn't have to go to the front lines, Yōkō couldn't escape a fight.
While observing the Iwa-nin movements, Yōkō asked Purple Cat beside him:
"Purple Cat, the Yamanaka secret techniques can control others, and Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique can also control others. Are these two techniques somehow related?"
Purple Cat said:
"Yes. Both the Yamanaka secret techniques and the Spirit Transformation Technique are Yin Release secret techniques specializing in mental control.
The Spirit Transformation Technique is a forbidden jutsu, and its range is much greater than the Yamanaka techniques.
The Yamanaka clan doesn't know exactly why the Spirit Transformation Technique is so powerful. It's a secret technique of the Senju clan, passed down within the Senju clan and its affiliated minor clans.
The Senju and Uchiha clans opposed each other for hundreds of years during the Warring States Period. The Senju clan united many affiliated clans to deal with the Uchiha clan.
For example, the Anma clan, whose genjutsu rivaled the Uchiha's, and the Kato clan, which inherited the Spirit Transformation Technique.
These minor clans received focused attacks from the Uchiha clan and remained small in scale."
Yōkō thought, The proud Uchiha clan didn't understand how to unite the power of others. The Senju clan had the Uzumaki clan as in-laws, plus minor secret technique clans like the Anma and Kato as support, growing stronger and stronger through the fights.
The distant great battle became noisy background noise.
Outside the cave, it was peaceful.
Yōkō formed the hand seals for the Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique and pressed his hand against the ground.
The ground rippled like water.
Chakra propagated underground, searching for any possible Iwa-nin below.
Skilled Iwa-nin were like rats, constantly burrowing into the earth, making full use of ground combat.
After searching for a few minutes, Yōkō suddenly looked up.
"2 o'clock direction! 80 meters away! Two Iwa-nin are traveling underground!"
Hearing this, Yellow Dog immediately shouted, "Be on alert!"
He would not leave Kato Dan's side.
One of the Anbu squads outside the cave had already charged in the direction Yōkō indicated.
Cold sweat seeped from Yōkō's forehead.
What he detected earlier might not necessarily be just two people.
There was another blurry figure underground; he wasn't sure where.
He couldn't pinpoint it accurately. Either his sensing was wrong, or the other party's strength far exceeded his own.
Winning or losing the battlefield battle didn't matter. Kato Dan's life or death didn't matter. His own life was the most important.
If they encountered an Elite Jonin now, even if Purple Cat died ten times over, she couldn't help Yōkō defeat an Elite Jonin.
Black Bull and Antelope were both dead. Purple Cat was his only subordinate left; he should cherish her.
He couldn't stay here. They were exposed. Being near Kato Dan was too dangerous.
Yōkō shouted, "A large number of enemies spotted at 2 o'clock! One squad is no match for them! Battalion Commander, I request permission to reinforce them!"
Yellow Dog said:
"Go! Hurry! The position is exposed! Everyone else must buy more time for Kato Dan!"
Yōkō and Purple Cat charged towards the 2 o'clock direction.
An abnormal chakra fluctuation came from underground. The Elite Jonin didn't engage with Yōkō and infiltrated the cave.
...
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(End of Chapter)