Yakushi Nonō glanced at Fox and said, "I've long heard of your great name, Copper Fox, possessor of the Absolute Defense."
"As expected of the Wandering Miko, your intelligence is very accurate," Yōkō said.
"Informing Hatake Sakumo's team about Ryūjin heading to the Land of Waves could save a lot of trouble."
Before Otsu could interrupt him, Yōkō corrected himself:
"No, we can't do that.
Mine and Otsu's mission is to gather intelligence on Hatake Sakumo, including their reconnaissance and analytical abilities.
If it were any other mission, the Anbu would be obligated to assist a Konoha team.
But for Hatake Sakumo's team, the Anbu simply cannot help.
In that case, let's wait and see how long it takes for Hatake Sakumo's team to discover this intelligence themselves."
Hearing Fox's choice, Otsu didn't say anything more.
Yakushi Nonō left the area.
Yōkō noticed that as she turned, her foot dragged slightly on the ground, leaving a mark pointing in a certain direction.
Late that night, Yakushi Nonō waited at a certain spot in the mountains.
She had left a signal for Fox, but didn't know if he would understand it.
After waiting for over two hours, Yakushi Nonō's visitor arrived.
The Anbu's Fox appeared in a Body Flicker.
Yōkō saw that Yakushi Nonō looked different from when they met during the day; her facial features and skin tone had changed again.
Who would have thought the dark-skinned, thin girl from daytime and this fair-skinned, slightly plump girl now were the same person?
A truly miraculous secret technique.
Confirming it was the real person, Yakushi Nonō said:
"Fox, why did you donate to the orphanage and leave a letter?"
"Isn't a donation a good thing? Relying on the mission payments for you, Kurumi, and the others probably can't support that many children."
Yakushi Nonō said, "I'm emphasizing the letter you left!
If my contact with the Anbu is exposed, Advisor Danzo would not hesitate to capture all the children from the orphanage and send them to Kō's laboratory."
"Otsu said you operate in enemy villages and don't know Konoha well. It seems he was wrong; you actually know about Kō's laboratory." Seeing Yakushi Nonō didn't respond, Yōkō continued:
"Last time we met in the Land of Whirlpools, you were afraid Root controlled the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, so you revealed the Root's Uzumaki experiment base to me.
You understand Danzo's terror better than I do.
In dealing with Danzo, you and I have common interests.
I represent Lord Yellow Dog, and I am specifically inviting you to provide certain intelligence on Danzo.
You don't want to be completely controlled by Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal either, do you?
You don't want the orphanage children to all be used as cannon fodder by Danzo, do you?
Trust Lord Yellow Dog, trust me. Our bottom line, while low, is slightly higher than Danzo's.
We would never do something like kidnapping orphanage children."
Yōkō layered on defenses for himself, using Yellow Dog to back his actions.
Dealing with someone like Yakushi Nonō required mixing truth and falsehood. If you were completely sincere about cooperating, she would suspect a trick.
If you were eighty percent truthful and twenty percent deceptive, she would judge and assess for herself, making successful cooperation more likely.
Yellow Dog, becoming the Anbu Deputy Battalion Commander, had taken much power from Danzo.
Sooner or later, a life-and-death struggle between the two was inevitable.
Fox representing Yellow Dog made his actions against Danzo justifiable.
Yōkō couldn't very well tell Yakushi Nonō that dealing with Danzo was to avenge the Uzumaki clan and for the peace and justice of the ninja world, could he?
Yakushi Nonō thought for a full minute before asking, "What intelligence do you want?"
Yōkō said, "I want intelligence on all Root members."
"That's impossible, because I don't know them all either."
Yōkō thought for a moment and said, "If Root ninja leave the village, can you notify me?"
Assassinating people like Shimura Sumi and Sarutobi Yutaka couldn't be done too often, or it would provoke intense investigation and retaliation from the Five Noble Clans, even the entire Konoha.
However, targeting Root ninja would bring much less pressure.
Root ninja dying on missions was far too common; everything they did was life-threatening.
When taking others' lives, having their own lives taken was inevitable.
What Yōkō needed to do wasn't passively wait for the Five Noble Clans' investigations and revenge, but to take the initiative like Hatake Sakumo, using offense as defense.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were so domineering now because they were powerful.
Continuously weakening them, teaching them lessons with kunai and death—when they became weak enough, they might finally listen to reason.
"You want intelligence on Root ninja leaving the village?" Yakushi Nonō said, "I might not always be able to obtain it in time."
Hearing that Yakushi Nonō didn't completely refuse, Yōkō said:
"'Might not'? So there's a possibility?
Yakushi Nonō, you hold many secrets. Danzo will eventually kill you to silence you.
Don't harbor illusions. Cooperating with me on matters related to Danzo may not be your only way out, but it is at least an extremely valuable opportunity.
Besides Lord Yellow Dog, who I represent, who else can oppose Danzo? Who else has the motivation to oppose Danzo?
Many ninja retire from Root every year, and Lord Yellow Dog doesn't go around silencing them.
Lord Yellow Dog's ambitions extend far beyond a mere Anbu unit, so he wouldn't do something like assassinating his own subordinates to silence them.
Ninjas who leave the Anbu remain an important part of Lord Yellow Dog's influence.
I hope you can recognize the situation and seize this precious opportunity to cooperate with Lord Yellow Dog."
Yakushi Nonō thought and thought, then threw over a scroll.
Yōkō opened the scroll; it was... a menu?
The orphanage's menu?
Yakushi Nonō said, "Pay attention to the daily menu posted by the orphanage. Sometimes I will hide codes within the menu."
Yōkō thought to himself, Although Yakushi Nonō isn't in Konoha, she must have some method of communication with the orphanage. Similar to my Reverse Summoning Technique, it can transmit intelligence regardless of distance. Making me pay attention to the orphanage's menu... if the orphans are eating particularly poorly, it would seem inconsiderate not to donate something. After all, Fox and Yellow Dog claim to have a much higher bottom line and a bit more humanity than Danzo.
Yakushi Nonō asked, "Are you going to kill Otsu this time? Otsu is a Shimura clan ninja, skilled in Wind Release."
Skilled in Wind Release?
Yōkō thought, I wonder if he can provide me with a Mastery-level Wind Release jutsu.
"Of course I'm not killing Otsu this time," Yōkō said. "If Otsu dies, wouldn't it clearly point to me having a problem?"
Yakushi Nonō asked strangely, "Wouldn't it be to kill Otsu and frame Hatake Sakumo?"
Yōkō thought, Of course I can't frame Hatake Sakumo; he's my 'Zhao Da'! (TL Note: Refers to a loyal, trusted general figure in Chinese history/stories.)
"Is there even a need to frame Hatake Sakumo? Shimura Danzo already despises him to the core. Hatake Sakumo has designs on the position of Fourth Hokage; he's a public enemy among the higher-ups. No need for framing."
Seeing Fox call Danzo by his full name directly, Yakushi Nonō inferred from this detail that the conflict between Yellow Dog and Danzo within the Anbu had already reached an irreconcilable level.
Yōkō returned to the hiding spot.
He didn't know when Otsu noticed his absence. Otsu asked, "Fox, where did you go?"
Yōkō glanced at Otsu and said:
"If Kō were here, perhaps he would have the qualification to ask about my whereabouts.
I am an Anbu squad leader, after all. Do I need to report my movements to you? You should focus on how to replace Kō as soon as possible."
"You!"
Otsu was furious, but he could do nothing against Fox, Yellow Dog's favorite.
The next morning, Hatake Sakumo's team entered the port.
It seemed they had discovered that Ryūjin was not in Kumoyagō Port city but had left with a certain ship.
Gekkō Sō's reconnaissance abilities were very strong; in the completely unfamiliar Kumoyagō Port, he managed to clarify the target's whereabouts in just one night.
Hatake Sakumo's team stationed themselves outside the port, waiting for the target.
The days passed one by one.
—
The full moon hung like a silver platter; Yōkō once again awaited the night of the full moon.
Over the past few full moon cycles, he had been using the system to round out his abilities.
Last month's draw awarded him the Mastery-level Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, enhancing the strength of his alternate identity, White Ghost.
The alternate identity White Ghost was responsible for carrying out strikes against the Five Noble Clans, Danzo, and other forces. White Ghost's strength needed to be high, yet share no similarities with the Fox identity.
This month, Yōkō planned to continue strengthening himself.
Whether it was acquiring the Lightning attribute, mastering a Mastery-level Wind Release, or rounding out other abilities would depend on the situation.
***
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(Chapter End)