Orochimaru actually asked Yōkō for his opinion on investigating B. His regard surprised Yōkō.
Yōkō immediately corrected his stance and said:
"Lord Orochimaru, you are the Third Hokage's direct disciple.
Chief Yellow Dog once told me that the Anbu currently belongs to the Third Hokage, but will eventually be yours.
During this mission, I will resolutely carry out your orders!"
Regardless of whether Yellow Dog wanted to become the Fourth Hokage or not, right now, Yellow Dog was far inferior to Orochimaru.
Yellow Dog was a notable figure among the village's top brass, but he was still virtually unknown among the general populace.
His path to becoming the Fourth Hokage likely followed Danzo's route: transitioning from Anbu Chief or Vice-Chief to Hokage Advisor.
Gaining prestige in the Hokage Advisor position, then competing for Hokage.
With this little flattery, wouldn't Orochimaru have to say a few good words about him in front of Yellow Dog?
Orochimaru chuckled twice, surprised that Fox was so understanding. Orochimaru said:
"Fox, during this mission, you are responsible for stalling the Third Raikage."
Yōkō was stunned.
Who?
Me?
Huh?
Is this your damn master-disciplerelationship? When there's difficulty, send the subordinate; if the subordinate won't go, force the subordinate to go?
Yōkō nodded with difficulty: "Understood, Lord Orochimaru."
Agree for now. If it doesn't work, he could always shield himself with Orochimaru when the time came.
If Orochimaru didn't cooperate, then shield himself with Hei first. If he couldn't handle Orochimaru, could he not handle Hei?
Not using him as a meat shield would make him seem somewhat unsociable.
Hei didn't understand why Fox was looking at him; Fox's gaze was strange.
Could Fox be hoping he would speak up for him?
Impossible!
Orochimaru was Root's Kō. How could a mere Root ninja like himself refuse his decision?
However, Hei was very surprised inwardly. Did Orochimaru think Fox could actually hold off the Third Raikage?
Last time, when traveling with Hatake Sakumo, Sakumo would consider the abilities of Special Jōnin like Hayama and not run at full speed.
Orochimaru had no such bad habits, dashing along at his own pace the whole way.
Yōkō saw Orochimaru's running posture with swinging arms, which was much more reasonable than keeping hands behind the back.
Yōkō could keep up, though with some slight difficulty.
Hei had it worse, panting heavily, legs trembling. Yōkō was even afraid he might develop rhabdomyolysis.
The journey took only 13 days to reach the depths of the Land of Lightning.
The mountain peaks 30 kilometers ahead were the location of Kumogakure.
Going deeper would easily lead to discovery by Kumo-nin.
Orochimaru said: "Hei, find your Root spy and deliver the message."
Hei acknowledged and left.
His legs were weak, but he forced himself to climb towards the mountaintop.
Orochimaru and Yōkō hid in a valley.
Staying with Orochimaru carried some pressure.
Yōkō worried inwardly, not knowing what intelligence Yūka and the others had uncovered in the Land of Iron.
He hadn't received any notification via the contract chakra yet.
He wondered if things were going smoothly for Yūka.
Even if Yūka notified him, with Orochimaru by his side, could he go deal with Root's Ki and Kō?
--
The full moon was like a silver plate.
Yōkō waited for the new night of the full moon.
Half of this month was spent on the road, another month wasted for the Anbu.
Two days after the full moon, Hei finally returned.
Orochimaru asked: "What intelligence did Yakushi Nonō provide?"
Yōkō was startled; Orochimaru actually knew the spy Hei was contacting was Yakushi Nonō.
Yakushi Nonō was Root's ace spy, trusted for the most critical missions.
"Lord Orochimaru! It's not intelligence on the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, it's that the assassin who killed Tei and Bo has appeared!"
Yōkō was stunned. Weren't they here to investigate the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki B? How did it jump to the assassin of Tei and Bo?
Besides, the assassin of Tei and Bo had appeared long ago and had been traveling with you for half a month.
He wondered if the back of your neck felt cold.
Hei quickly said: "Ki and the others set a trap and found three ninja wearing demon masks!
Lord Orochimaru, according to the plan, you should go there now to execute the killers!"
Yōkō's pupils constricted.
Three killers wearing demon masks, weren't they precisely Yūka and the other two?
"Oh?" Orochimaru said:
"This is interesting. Someone dares to target Root repeatedly; I'm very interested. Where are they?"
"A messenger hawk reported that the three killers are extremely strong. They were chased by Ki and three other Root ninja from the Land of Iron into the bay between the Land of Iron and the Land of Lightning!"
Yōkō calculated inwardly. Messenger hawks were faster than ninja, but from the Land of Iron to the bay would take at least two days.
That meant Yūka and the others had encountered danger two days ago.
Orochimaru said: "Lead the way. Let's go meet these people who dare to assassinate Root ninja."
Yōkō quickly said: "Lord Orochimaru! Our mission is to investigate B. Changing missions rashly, won't it affect our task?"
Orochimaru said: "Fox, don't be bound by Anbu missions. There are many things in this world far more important than missions.
For example, these three killers who dare to assassinate Root ninja. I'm very curious if they know who Danzo is.
I haven't seen such brave people in a long time; I must go see them."
Yōkō felt uneasy inwardly. Orochimaru was the highest commander; explaining himself to Yōkō was already giving him face. There was no way to refute him.
The three quickly headed towards the direction of the bay.
Between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Iron, there was only a narrow bay strait. For ninja, they could directly run across the water of the strait into the Land of Lightning.
This time, Yōkō moved very fast, occasionally half a step ahead of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, seeing Fox moving so quickly, assumed he was worried about failing the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki mission and also increased his speed.
The rocky mountains of the Land of Lightning were not easy to traverse.
Hei suffered. Without the strength of an Elite Jōnin, led by Orochimaru and Fox, he ran until his face was flushed red and sweat poured down like rain.
The surrounding air grew increasingly humid, and there were traces of rain from previous days on the ground, indicating they were getting closer to the coastline.
Yōkō thought to himself that Uzumaki Yūka had many summoning beasts inherited from the Uzumaki clan but couldn't use them easily.
Once she used flying summoning beasts like Yatagarasu, Spear Egret, or the Giant Owl, it would confirm the killers were Uzumaki remnants, exposing the intelligence about the Uzumaki survivors.
Crossing a high mountain, Yōkō saw Yūka wearing a Kappa Demon Mask and Uzumaki Kaichō wearing a Vengeful Ghost Mask.
Uzumaki Genchō's whereabouts were unknown.
Behind Uzumaki Yūka were four Root ninja.
Three chasing on the ground: Ki, Kō, and Shin.
Jin flew in the sky, sitting on a Super Beast Imitation Drawing: Bird in the Clouds.
Yōkō glanced at Orochimaru beside him, calculating in his heart how to rescue Uzumaki Yūka.
Yōkō continuously scanned everyone, gathering intelligence.
Jin, mastering the Super Beast Imitation Drawing secret technique from the original story, used by Sai, was likely Sai's elder.
His Super Beast Imitation Drawing: Bird in the Clouds was very fast.
A cloud of insects swirled around Ki.
The Yamanaka and Aburame clans, whether voluntarily or forced, had contributed many talents to Danzo.
The remaining Kō and Shin were simply chasing; their abilities weren't apparent for now.
Yōkō noticed that Yūka indeed refrained from using summoning beasts, afraid that the Uzumaki clan identity would draw Danzo and Root's attention.
Relying only on taijutsu and ninjutsu, Uzumaki Yūka and the other two were at a disadvantage against four Root elites.
If Danzo learned that the Uzumaki remnants possessed considerable strength, he would spare no effort to eradicate them to prevent future trouble.
Danzo was very adept at destroying the root of the problem.
Hei, seeing the two ninja wearing demon masks, immediately charged forward.
Orochimaru and Yōkō, however, remained standing in place.
Orochimaru didn't join because he thought it was interesting and wanted to observe further.
Yōkō wanted to gather more intelligence.
***
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(End of Chapter)