After the battle ended, Yōkō immediately went to find Battalion Commander Yellow Dog.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog and Kato Dan were both covered in dirt, and at their feet lay the corpse of an Iwa-nin Elite Jonin.
Yōkō sighed inwardly. As expected of Battalion Commander Yellow Dog, one of the six Anbu Battalion Commanders, his strength was formidable.
Seeing Fox approach, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog excused himself from Kato Dan and led Fox to a more distant spot, saying:
"Fox, village reinforcements will arrive shortly.
You, Purple Cat, and the other members of the battalion are to remove your masks and pose as regular shinobi to spread the word of Lord Danzo's heroic deeds.
Anbu Chief Danzo laid this trap for Iwagakure over six months, using Uzumaki Mito's old age as a pretext and the Uzumaki Princess's arrival in Konoha as bait.
In this battle, we killed 6 Elite Jonin, over 30 Jonin, and more than 300 Chūnin from Iwagakure.
Lord Danzo, Konoha's Darkness of the Shinobi, is the hero of the war in the Land of Grass!"
Yōkō was taken aback, thinking how shameless this was.
"Understood, Captain. I'll go arrange it immediately." Yōkō then asked, "Captain, Squadron Leader Black Gorilla and White Ram are injured. I don't know if they managed to hide successfully. After completing the propaganda task for Lord Danzo, can we go rescue the Squadron Leader and the others?"
"Complete the propaganda mission first. Afterward, I'll assign a Hyūga shinobi to you."
"Okay."
After Yōkō and Purple Cat relayed the Battalion Commander's orders, they removed their masks, put on their forehead protectors, and disguised themselves as ordinary shinobi.
About half an hour later, many shinobi indeed arrived from the direction of the village.
The heads of various major clans, along with famous Jonin, and others.
Yōkō and Yamanaka Ruri mingled with the crowd, spreading rumors.
"Did you know? Iwagakure lost 6 Elite Jonin! All killed by Lord Danzo!"
"Lord Danzo laid his plans for half a year, springing the trap tonight. He took out over 300 Chūnin! How many Chūnin even appear in a single Chūnin Exam?"
"Can Ōnoki even remain Tsuchikage? He's too foolish, completely played by Lord Danzo. He actually ventured deep into the Land of Fire, asking to get beaten up."
"The Darkness of the Shinobi... truly worthy of Lord Danzo."
"Rather than waiting for other forces to cause trouble when Uzumaki Mito passes away, it's better to force the issue early and teach them a lesson."
After spreading the rumors, Yōkō asked Purple Cat for a water canteen and drank deeply.
It felt a bit nauseating, praising Danzo like that.
Yōkō suddenly thought of Kyōi.
Perhaps Kyōi's spy identity had been exposed long ago, and the Anbu kept her around precisely to feed false intelligence to Iwagakure.
If Kyōi were exposed, wouldn't that make him seem suspicious as well?
No, he absolutely had to rescue Squadron Leader Black Gorilla and find a way for the Squadron Leader to clear his suspicions.
Yōkō stood by the valley, watching Sarutobi Hiruzen, Senju Rinoki, and other high-ranking officials depart amidst the cheers of the support shinobi.
As the bustling crowd dispersed, Yōkō waited for the assigned Hyūga shinobi.
Finally, they could go search for Squadron Leader Black Gorilla.
After searching for most of the night, the Hyūga shinobi detected two people hiding inside a hollow of a large tree.
Yōkō jumped up into the tree, rhythmically tapping on the trunk to signal to those inside that they were allies and to avoid friendly fire.
Once a coded knock came from inside the hollow, Yōkō jumped down and cleared away the bush camouflage covering the entrance.
"Squadron Leader Black Gorilla! Are you okay?"
Hearing Fox's voice, a trace of color finally returned to Black Gorilla's pale face.
"Good... good. Fox, did we win?"
"We won, a massive victory."
Yōkō hurriedly went to check on the two.
Black Gorilla's leg was broken, a comminuted fracture. Bone fragments had damaged blood vessels, causing the leg to bend outwards grotesquely, swell severely.
If not treated promptly, amputation was highly likely.
Squadron Leader Black Gorilla had already lost his left arm; if he lost his right leg too, he would be forced to retire on the spot.
White Ram's condition was also critical, stabbed through the lower abdomen, with internal organs even visible.
Only a shinobi's unique physique could explain surviving such injuries this long.
Squadron Leader Black Gorilla had performed basic first aid on White Ram, barely keeping him alive.
"Let's go! We need to get back to the village, to Konoha Hospital! Princess Tsunade happens to be in the village right now, you'll be fine!"
Black Gorilla was deeply moved.
Among his squadron leaders, Fox had served under him the longest, performed excellently, and always completed missions.
Moreover, Fox had now saved him twice – once in the capital of the Land of Waves, and once here.
He was truly a lucky star.
After delivering Black Gorilla and White Ram to Konoha Hospital, Yōkō saw several medical-nin enter the ward.
Leading them was Tsunade herself.
Tsunade first examined the unconscious White Ram and immediately made a diagnosis: "Ruptured intestines, infection. Human intestines are long; we'll remove a section."
The medical nurse behind her promptly recorded the treatment plan and wheeled White Ram away to the operating room.
Tsunade then examined Black Gorilla, this time taking much longer.
"Hmm... tricky. Amputation carries no life-threatening risk, and he could be discharged quickly.
If he wants to retain his combat capability, a major operation on the leg is necessary.
The shattered bone damaged blood vessels, muscles, and nerves. The success rate isn't high, and post-operative recovery will be very long.
If luck isn't on his side, amputation might still be needed later."
Tsunade turned to look at the Anbu member by the wall, recognizing the familiar fox mask.
"It's you? I was about to ask the family which option they prefer."
But Black Gorilla said, "Princess Tsunade, I choose the surgical option. I must stand again and regain my fighting strength."
Tsunade closed her chart and said, "Take him away, surgery now."
Soon, the ward was empty.
About ten minutes later, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog entered the ward and asked, "Where's Black Gorilla?"
"In the operating room."
"Surgery? So there's a chance he can recover?"
"That's what Princess Tsunade said."
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog went directly to the operating room.
After a while, the Battalion Commander returned and said:
"The Black Gorilla Squadron now only has four members. Black Gorilla himself is undergoing surgery, and he recommended that you temporarily assume the role of Squadron Leader.
Depending on Black Gorilla's recovery, if he doesn't recover well, you will be formally promoted to Squadron Leader.
There's a lot of Anbu work lately. Get the Black Gorilla Squadron operational again as soon as possible.
Return to the Anbu headquarters now and familiarize yourself with all the tasks currently held by the Black Gorilla Squadron as quickly as possible."
The Battalion Commander's assistant was outside the door and escorted Yōkō back to the Anbu headquarters, transferring the authority of Acting Squadron Leader to him.
He was promoted.
Yōkō first went to the Anbu records room and found all the personnel files for the Black Gorilla Squadron.
Squadron Leader Black Gorilla was a shinobi from the Akimichi clan, Purple Cat was from the Yamanaka clan – these were things Yōkō already knew.
He saw his own record: after joining the Anbu, he had carried out missions successively in the Brown Bear Squadron and the Black Gorilla Squadron.
He suddenly noticed that in Squadron Leader Brown Bear's file, it stated he had been active in the Land of Grass for a long time and had interrogated many Iwa-nin.
Yōkō had an idea. His Earth Release: Earth Clone could be claimed to have been obtained from Squadron Leader Brown Bear.
Squadron Leader Brown Bear had died long ago in the Land of Whirlpools, so no one could verify it.
If an Anbu member hid certain abilities or suddenly mastered new ones, they would be investigated for potential connections to enemy villages.
He found his own file and added an entry stating he had received an Earth Release scroll from Squadron Leader Brown Bear and spent several months mastering the Earth Release: Earth Clone technique.
As for why Squadron Leader Brown Bear was so good to Fox? Just look at Squadron Leader Black Gorilla – he treated Fox even better.
The feeling of promotion was truly wonderful; his autonomy had increased further.
If he became an Anbu Battalion Commander, wouldn't he be able to do as he pleased?
If he became the Anbu Chief, he would be a major figure capable of influencing the shinobi world.
If Danzo could be the Darkness of the Shinobi, why couldn't he, Yōkō?
...
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(End of Chapter)