The Kusagakure Capital was very unique, being the only capital with a non-fixed location.
The capital migrated each year along with the movement of the pastures. It was more like a large mobile encampment, filled with rows of tents.
After listening to Uzumaki Yuka's intelligence summary and learning that the target would leave this place in the early morning, Yōkō looked at Uzumaki Yuka's White Ghost Mask and said:
"The next part is for me to handle. You just need to wait for me at a distance.
Yuka, give me your mask. I will wear the Uzumaki clan's White Ghost Mask to carry out the first strike against the Shimura clan."
Uzumaki Yuka took off her mask and handed it to Fox.
Uzumaki Kaichō noticed that Fox was also wearing a mask under the fox mask, making his features indistinguishable.
After putting on the White Ghost Mask, Yōkō's aura changed, becoming more ferocious.
An hour later.
Shimura Sumi, Tokubetsu Jōnin of the Shimura clan, along with two Shimura clan Chūnin, left the Kusagakure Capital and set out on the road back to the village.
"Sumi-nii, after you return, you'll be promoted to Jōnin! Our Shimura clan will have one more Jōnin!"
"Sumi-nii, do you want to become a Guardian Ninja Jōnin? I think being a Guardian Ninja Jōnin is quite impressive, even the Daimyō has to listen to them."
The two behind him flattered the young and promising Shimura Sumi, who was walking ahead in high spirits.
Shimura Sumi said, "Don't speculate randomly. Whatever work I do after becoming a Jōnin will be arranged by the Clan Head.
Actually, I'd really like to join the ANBU or Root, but after the ANBU downsizing, they aren't really short on people.
Replacing one person only when one dies is too troublesome."
The three walked quickly along the road; the sun in the distance had already risen above the horizon.
A glint of light from the side caught Shimura Sumi's peripheral vision.
There was a patch of water in the grass beside the road. The rising sun shone on the water, reflecting points of light.
The pasture here was lush and the water abundant; the Kusagakure Capital wouldn't relocate for several months.
Just as the three of them passed that patch of water, a sudden sound of something cutting through the air was heard!
Shimura Sumi turned around in terror and saw a person wearing a White Ghost Mask and a black hooded robe suddenly appear via Body Flicker!
This person Body Flickered to his side, and a kunai was thrust into his flank!
What level of Body Flicker Technique was this?
More than half of the kunai had penetrated Shimura Sumi's side; he was already severely wounded.
After succeeding with a single strike, White Ghost jumped back, quickly forming hand seals in mid-air.
Shimura Sumi was extremely surprised. Those hand seals... weren't they the Sarutobi clan's signature technique, Dragon Fire Technique?
After seven seals, Yōkō released the ninjutsu: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
A massive fire dragon instantly spewed forth.
Shimura Sumi formed hand seals with difficulty and used a Wind Release.
However, high-temperature Fire Release disrupts airflow; their three Wind Releases were countered by the Fire Release.
Why did this assailant want to kill him?
One Fire Release clashed with three Wind Releases, yet the Fire Release actually gained the upper hand.
Yōkō continuously input chakra; the fire dragon changed from its initial orange-red color to a blazing white, its power increasing more and more.
The two Shimura clan Chūnin were first horrified that someone was attempting to assassinate them, then expectant.
Shimura Sumi was about to become a Jōnin, with his strength...
Their eyes instantly turned to terror.
Why was Shimura Sumi's Wind Release being steadily defeated by the assassin's Fire Release?
Despair welled up in their hearts.
There had been whispers within the clan that Shimura Sumi's strength was completely insufficient for a Jōnin promotion; the two of them hadn't believed it at first.
The Hokage himself had approved Shimura Sumi's Jōnin assessment, what could possibly be wrong?
They never expected that, faced with a true expert, Shimura Sumi, after being severely wounded in the flank, had no power to fight back.
The flames dissipated, the high temperatures cooled, and three charred corpses lay on the grass.
Yōkō kept shaking his head.
The Shimura clan was too greedy.
Someone like this completely lacked the strength of a Jōnin; among Tokubetsu Jōnin, he was at best mid-to-upper level, not even top-tier.
A Water Release: Water Body Flicker sneak attack to inflict heavy damage, followed by Fire Release suppression, and he was killed with almost no resistance.
His talent did not match his position. Pushing someone like this into a Jōnin position would be a disaster for the other Konoha shinobi.
Look, he got the two Chūnin from his own clan killed first.
Yōkō threw three kunai, shattering the three heads.
So, after being roasted by a great fire, a person's head becomes brittle.
Two hours later, a herdsman riding towards the capital was suddenly frightened by three black shapes on the roadside.
He stopped his horse to look and saw they resembled three oval black cocoons.
Wait!
Not black cocoons, but charred people!
He hurriedly galloped towards the capital to report this news to the capital's samurai.
Before long, the Captain of the Land of Grass's Daimyō Guardian Ninja, Shimura Kōhi, arrived with several Guardian Ninja via Body Flicker, appearing beside the three charred corpses.
"Who did this! Just who did this!"
At this time, these three bodies, judging by their height, were the party returning to the village, Shimura Sumi and his companions.
Shimura Kōhi quickly investigated the scene. The most obvious combat traces showed the three had used Wind Release to counter the assassin's Fire Release.
However, the assassin's Fire Release was exceptionally powerful, completely overwhelming their three Wind Releases.
Most of the Fire Release experts in the shinobi world were concentrated in Konoha.
Shimura Kōhi immediately thought that it was certain people from the village taking revenge on the Shimura clan.
Who was it!
Their Clan Head was the Hokage's Advisor, Danzo. Who would dare to so recklessly assassinate a member of the Shimura clan? And it was Shimura Sumi, a promising young member of the Shimura clan, about to be promoted to Jōnin.
Shimura Kōhi ordered the several Guardian Ninja to gather intelligence.
The Hyūga clan Guardian Ninja, Hyūga Shin, inspected the kunai in the charred heads, thinking to himself that the assassin was too cautious.
They were already burned like this, their brains turned to ash, was there still a need to destroy the heads further?
Or was the murderer so accustomed to killing that this was a habitual action?
Hyūga Shin thought that the name Shimura Sumi (Charcoal) was just unlucky. Look, he even carbonized when he died.
Hyūga Shin said, "Kōhi Jōnin, the culprit didn't leave even a single footprint. He is an extremely cautious and ruthless person. My apologies, I cannot obtain any effective intelligence."
Shimura Kōhi thought to himself, it must be the evil Uchiha, it has to be the evil Uchiha!
He dispatched one of his subordinates to quickly deliver the news of Shimura Sumi's death back to the village, to inform Clan Head Danzo.
Uzumaki Yuka and the others saw Fox return.
Uzumaki Kaichō and Uzumaki Genchō were completely convinced of Fox's commitment.
Fox had really killed three Konoha shinobi.
They had thought that even if Fox was a spy, he was still a Konoha shinobi and couldn't possibly mercilessly kill shinobi from his own village.
They never expected Fox to so decisively kill three Shimura clan shinobi.
It had to be said, Fox was truly ruthless towards Konoha's people.
If the ANBU were all shinobi like Fox, then the Uzumaki clan truly was no match for Konoha.
Fortunately, Fox was on their side, a spy for the Senju clan within the ANBU.
No matter what, the Uzumaki clan's revenge had finally begun.
"We can't rest yet. I have more intelligence. The retaliation cannot stop." Yōkō said:
"A Sarutobi clan Tokubetsu Jōnin is currently in the Land of Hot Water's capital, helping their Sarutobi clan Jōnin secure the position of Guardian Ninja Captain.
He is also returning to Konoha next month to participate in the Jōnin review.
Yuka, same as before. The three of you be careful. After confirming the Sarutobi Tokubetsu Jōnin's tracks, use Reverse Summoning on me. I'll take action."
"Understood, Fox."
Uzumaki Yuka thought today was already perfect, but it could get even better.
Fox had given them a new target.
Yōkō said, "Yuka, Kaichō-nii, Genchō-nii, let me explain the internal power distribution within Konoha to you, to help you understand the enemy.
In the post-war Jōnin Platoon meeting, Konoha's Upper Five Clans – the Upper Five Clans is a name I gave the higher-ups – the Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino–Shika–Chō, these five clans completely gained the upper hand.
After this round of Jōnin reviews, Konoha will have 220 Jōnin.
Among them, the Upper Five Clans, ANBU, and Mitokado Homura's children, etc., will have 77 Jōnin, occupying roughly one-third of the total Jōnin.
Other shinobi clans, including the Senju clan, Uchiha clan, etc., will have 39 Jōnin.
The Senju clan only has 9 Jōnin; their influence is at its lowest point.
Among the remaining 104 civilian Jōnin, including Orochimaru and Jiraiya, over 80 civilian shinobi are subordinates of the Third Hokage and the Upper Five Clans.
Many of these civilian shinobi can be won over. If someone else becomes Hokage, they will also obey the new Hokage's orders."
Uzumaki Kaichō's face was gloomy; he hadn't expected the Senju clan's situation within Konoha to be so severe.
Yōkō continued, "Princess Kushina is monitored by at least one ANBU squad. It's still impossible to contact her for now. You must be patient."
Yuka said, "We understand. Konoha is so vast, it's not something we can shake even slightly right now. We won't act rashly or hold out hope of contacting Princess Kushina at this time."
Uzumaki Kaichō thought to himself, Fox is an ANBU squad leader. If there is a squad leader-level ANBU by Princess Kushina's side, they should give up on contacting her for now.
An ANBU squad leader's strength and disposition were both fearsome, terrifyingly so.
Yōkō said, "I really like this White Ghost Mask. I'll use this mask for my future acts of revenge."
Yuka said, "Then give me the mask for now. I think I can set up a few barriers on it to block reconnaissance, preventing anyone from seeing your face through the mask."
"Good, then I'll take the mask next time."
Yōkō stepped forward and hugged Yuka, gave her the mask, then formed a seal to notify Hakuji to use Reverse Summoning on him.
After Fox left, Uzumaki Kaichō said, "I never expected the Senju clan to have a spy of such high rank within Konoha's ANBU."
"Fox is indeed very strong." Yuka said:
"We three are the strongest within the Uzumaki clan. Only the three of us can participate in this matter. The fewer people who know, the better.
Even if we die, we must protect Fox's secret, ensuring he continues to lurk within Konoha's ANBU."
Uzumaki Kaichō and Uzumaki Genchō nodded repeatedly; they had that much awareness.
After Uzushiogakure was destroyed and the Uzumaki clan annihilated, the two of them had been imprisoned by Danzo for nearly a year. No one hated Danzo and Konoha more than they did.
Returning to Konoha, Yōkō acted as if nothing had happened, going out to buy breakfast for himself and Kyōi.
Last night, during the first half of the night, the investigation of Kyōi might have involved excessive enforcement; she couldn't get up this morning.
Recently, he had been training hard in taijutsu with good results; his taijutsu had improved noticeably. Investigating in the first half of the night, killing someone in the early morning, nothing was delayed.
He glanced in the direction of the Shimura clan, wondering when they would learn of Shimura Sumi's death.
Arriving at the ANBU in the morning, Yōkō reviewed his squad's missions.
During this period, the squad's missions were focused on monitoring the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki; there were no out-of-village missions for the time being.
Four or five days passed, still no movement.
He didn't know if the other three squads had received the mission to investigate Shimura Sumi's death.
If only he were the ANBU Vice-Commander, then he would know all of Konoha's secret affairs, and could even send himself to investigate himself.
Several more days later, Yōkō noticed Squad Leader Golden Eagle suddenly returning to the ANBU.
Squad Leader Golden Eagle entered Yellow Dog's office.
Not long after, Danzo actually came to the ANBU.
Yellow Dog and Golden Eagle entered the Commander's office together.
The Commander's office was the largest, but mostly remained vacant.
Yōkō thought to himself, probably Golden Eagle had finished the investigation and found nothing.
With the trap set in advance using Water Body Flicker, killing someone was very easy.
Sure enough, Danzo left with a gloomy face.
The Shimura clan's promising junior, Shimura Sumi, who was about to be promoted to Jōnin, had died inexplicably in the Land of Grass.
Seeing that no one came looking for him, and the Stone Panda hadn't relayed any request for aid from Yuka, Yōkō knew that Squad Leader Golden Eagle and Danzo hadn't found out anything.
Danzo had to swallow this loss, helpless.
Yōkō went to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki with peace of mind.
Nothing happened to Uzumaki Kushina.
She went to school as usual, would walk home from school with Namikaze Minato every day, then part ways at a certain intersection. She returned to the Senju clan area, while Minato went to the training grounds.
At the training ground, Hatake Sakumo trained both Minato and the young Kakashi together.
Days passed.
He didn't know how Uzumaki Yuka's investigation in the Land of Hot Water was going, or if she had managed to track the movements of the Sarutobi clan Tokubetsu Jōnin.
—
The full moon was like a silver plate.
Yōkō once again waited for the night of the full moon.
He had learned that the Jōnin assessments were about to end, with only the final batch remaining.
In the middle of the night on the third day after the full moon, Yōkō suddenly sensed the contract chakra.
He first used his Byakugan to check his surroundings, then submerged into the ground, entering the underground training ground.
On the walls of the training ground hung vines, on which "Vine-Earth Concealment Barrier" was inscribed.
After summoning Hakuji and Hakuyū, Yōkō used Reverse Summoning to arrive in the Land of Hot Water.
At the border of the Land of Hot Water.
Uzumaki Yuka saw Fox and handed him the White Ghost Mask:
"After the Shimura clan Tokubetsu Jōnin was killed, they seemed to have become suspicious. The Sarutobi clan Tokubetsu Jōnin's speed varies, and his movements are erratic.
We have detected that the Tokubetsu Jōnin named Sarutobi Yutaka is hiding in that bathhouse tonight, planning to move again after daybreak tomorrow."
Yōkō put on the White Ghost Mask. This mask now had sealing formulas inscribed on it. Just like Danzo's bandages could block the perception of the Uchiha and Hyūga clans, this mask had a similar function.
He said: "Good. I'll handle it from here. You should still hide further away."
Yōkō Body Flickered away, while Uzumaki Yuka and the others retreated outside the town.
The Land of Hot Water had many hilly areas and mountainous terrain, rich in mineral hot spring resources.
Yōkō did not rashly enter the hot spring inn where Sarutobi Yutaka was staying, but observed the building's layout from the outside.
Soon, he found the water intake point for this hot spring inn.
In the inn's backyard, the hot spring water was first collected into a water tower. Then, using the height advantage of the tower, the water was allowed to flow into each bath in the front.
Yōkō Body Flickered onto the water tower and quickly submerged into the water tower.
The bathhouse was a good place, full of water everywhere – practically Yōkō's home turf.
Sarutobi Yutaka, I'm coming.
***
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(End of Chapter)