Yōkō's group didn't travel very fast, taking 12 days to enter the Land of Rain while maintaining ample stamina.
Torrential rain poured down on everyone's waterproof cloaks.
What followed was a tedious process of searching and intelligence gathering.
After more than ten days of continuous searching, they found nothing.
Yōkō thought to himself, Uchiha Madara has White Zetsu with him. If I don't make a move, how could you possibly find him?
A restless atmosphere spread through the team, one that even the cold, heavy rain couldn't suppress.
Uchiha Kane noticed that Fox was steady and composed every day, seemingly not anxious at all.
Noticing Uchiha Kane's gaze, Yōkō said:
"Clan Head Kane, Uchiha Madara's power far exceeds the village's imagination. Whether in terms of intelligence capabilities or combat strength, he is not someone we can easily deal with.
No news is good news, isn't it?"
Uchiha Kane secretly admired Fox; this Squad Leader had such a good mindset.
"We've been away from the village for over twenty days without any progress on the mission. But you're right, Squad Leader Fox, we can't rush."
Yōkō thought, over twenty days already... it's almost the next full moon night.
Next month, there's a perfect candidate to farm system rewards: Lynx.
Lynx stole the Deputy Anbu Commander position from me.
Farm rewards from him, then kill him, cutting off the problem at its root forever.
Lynx is only an Elite Jōnin. At most, he would contribute 0.2 times Kage-level chakra.
As Yōkō grew stronger, Elite Jōnin provided less improvement, entering the accumulation stage where many small amounts add up.
0.2... can't complain it's too little.
Killing Lynx is purely personal vengeance, without a single other ulterior motive. So what if the chakra amount is a bit small.
Before the original plot begins, with over a dozen years, he could definitely accumulate a Super Kage-level chakra reserve.
--
Another full moon night arrived.
Yōkō looked up and saw lines of rain.
The rain lines were extremely beautiful. Looking up, one could see a single-point perspective view, all the rain lines converging to a single point high in the sky.
Above, were dense dark clouds.
Before Yōkō left Konoha, Yuka had already entered the Land of Grass ahead of him.
A few days ago, Yuka had discovered Lynx's trail. She was following Lynx from a distance using an owl, waiting for Yōkō to arrive at any time.
The time was about right.
Yōkō summoned Uchiha Kane and Hyūga Koe, saying: "Clan Head Kane, Squad Leader Hyūga Koe, I believe we should change our tactics."
Uchiha Kane nodded repeatedly. The feeling of finding nothing after so many days of searching was terrible.
They could be discovered by Amegakure at any time. If Hanzo considered this an invasion, they would be in trouble.
They couldn't defeat Uchiha Madara, but they couldn't defeat Hanzo either.
Yōkō said: "I think we should conduct dispersed reconnaissance. With so many people gathered together advancing slowly, when will we finish investigating the Land of Rain?
It's better to split up for reconnaissance, have the squads operate separately to increase search efficiency.
We can't be so cautious just because we're afraid to die. For Konoha, we must show greater courage!"
Hearing Fox's righteous words, Uchiha Kane, after thinking it over, had to nod in agreement.
Yes, whether it was for Konoha or not, they had to continue the investigation even if it meant taking risks.
If they returned with no results, the village would suspect the Uchiha clan of perfunctory the village's mission, or even of having secretly contacted and defected to Uchiha Madara.
The village higher-ups' capacity for suspicion was undeniable.
The team quickly dispersed.
Yōkō said to his two squads: "White Ram, Kika, myself – we will split up and head in three different directions.
Be extremely careful. Avoid entering Amegakure's towns and villages if possible."
Where was Uchiha Madara? Of course, near the Rinnegan.
As long as they didn't enter towns or target Nagato and the others, Uchiha Madara wouldn't bother Konoha ninja.
After getting far enough away from the others, Yōkō dives into the earth.
Even Hyūga Koe's Byakugan couldn't detect Yōkō's Ephemeral Technique.
After using the Ephemeral Technique to travel a great distance, Yōkō summoned Hakuji and Hakuyū.
Hakuyū, seeing it was Fox, formed a hand seal to cancel the summoning, allowing Uzumaki Yuka to summon her.
After Hakuyū arrived beside Yuka, she performed a Reverse Summoning for Fox.
The wind on the grasslands was cold.
Yōkō took off his waterproof hood, and a small whirlwind appeared in his hand, drying the water on his cloak.
Yuka pointed into the distance: "Fox, five kilometers in that direction, my owl summon is there.
The Anbu Deputy Commander Lynx led his team to investigate the Evergreen Sacred Mountain in the Land of Grass, the place where we rescued Uzumaki Kaon.
My owl has been following them; it hasn't lost track."
Yōkō tightened his fingerless gloves one by one.
Sealed within the Cross Seal under the gloves was the chakra equivalent of five Kage-level jutsu.
This chakra was prepared for Lynx.
Yōkō said: "Lynx is the Anbu Deputy Commander and also the strongest shinobi in the Shimura clan besides Danzo.
Killing Lynx will deal a heavy blow to Danzo.
Yuka, I estimate I cannot kill Danzo right now. Even if I could, I wouldn't, because that would be too easy on Danzo.
We must not only kill Danzo but also erase everything he left behind in Konoha. Not just physical death, but complete and utter death.
Danzo uses killing to solve problems. I will use his methods to prove to him that his path is wrong.
He will recognize his error through repeated, heavy losses.
Alright, Yuka, you return to the Land of Rain first. Leave the rest here to me."
At the foot of the Evergreen Sacred Mountain was the abandoned secret laboratory of the Land of Grass Daimyō.
During the two Shinobi World Wars, as Konoha and Iwagakure fought in the buffer state of the Land of Grass, the Daimyō managed to collect quite a few shinobi corpses.
After the lab was exposed, the Daimyō hastily withdrew all personnel.
The entrance to the lab was a small, low cave, only large enough for one person to pass through at a time.
Outside the low cave, Lynx, Sarutobi Hinotama, Sarutobi Hinoyuu, and others were preparing to begin their investigation.
Lynx glanced at Sarutobi Hinoyuu.
According to Shimura clan investigations, Sarutobi Kanenosuke was highly likely to be, or even definitely was, Sarutobi Hinoyuu's illegitimate son, Sarutobi Hōng.
This time, he must make the Sarutobi clan pay the price. The Shimura clan suffered heavy losses; the Sarutobi clan couldn't remain perfectly unscathed.
Lynx said to the Aburame ninja in the reconnaissance team: "Send your insects inside to scout the laboratory."
Swarms of insects emerged from the Aburame ninja's palm and flew into the cave.
After an hour, the Aburame ninja said: "Lord Lynx, there are no life signs inside the cave."
"Good." Lynx said: "Send people in to investigate for detailed intelligence."
Although Lynx said this, his Wildcat Squad remained motionless.
Sarutobi Hinotama and Sarutobi Hinoyuu exchanged a look, and finally Sarutobi Hinoyuu stepped forward.
It seemed the Sarutobi clan had to bear this responsibility.
Who asked Sarutobi Kanenosuke to be Sarutobi Hinoyuu's illegitimate son?
--
The reconnaissance squad, one Sarutobi clan squad, and two Anbu squads entered the cave.
Sarutobi Shizutaka very much wanted to stay outside, but Sarutobi Hinotama ordered him to enter, so he had to obey.
Last time he encountered Sarutobi Kanenosuke, Kanenosuke said he would spare him once because he bore the Sarutobi name. But if he saw him a second time, he would definitely kill him.
There was no light at all in the low cave.
After crawling through the 50-meter-long low cave, they finally entered the constructed underground vaulted stone cave.
The stone cave was wide enough for three people to walk abreast.
Entering the depths of the cave, they first saw rows of prison cells.
Some corpses in the cells had turned to skeletons, others were slowly rotting.
Sarutobi Shizutaka, as a Guardian Ninja, explained to the others:
"The Daimyō of the Land of Grass accidentally captured an Uzumaki ninja and sent them here for experiments.
Later, someone attacked this laboratory and rescued that Uzumaki ninja.
I suspect this Uzumaki ninja was rescued by Uchiha Madara's forces, because Uchiha Madara once fought fiercely with Lord Jiraiya over an Uzumaki child."
No one refuted Sarutobi Shizutaka's judgment. The group continued deeper, entering the experimental area.
In the experimental area, some shinobi corpses were hanging.
It was impossible to tell if these corpses were from shinobi villages or were rogue ninjas.
Everyone split up to investigate, looking for traces of the Uzumaki ninja, hoping to find clues about Sarutobi Kanenosuke.
Sarutobi Shizutaka was carefully looking around.
Suddenly!
One of the corpses twitched.
Sarutobi Shizutaka instinctively jumped back a large step.
A kunai thrust out from behind, piercing into Sarutobi Shizutaka's lower back.
Sarutobi Shizutaka turned his head slightly and saw a white, spiral-patterned mask behind him.
"I told you, I could spare you once. If I see you again, I'll kill you. Why didn't you believe me?"
Panicked shouts erupted around them: "Not good! Sarutobi Shizutaka has been killed!"
Swarms of insects and ninjutsu rushed towards Sarutobi Shizutaka's location.
Sarutobi Hinoyuu broke out in a cold sweat. He saw Sarutobi Kanenosuke.
Sarutobi Kanenosuke was wearing a spiral mask. His build... was it his illegitimate son, Sarutobi Peng?
Never mind now, even when Sarutobi Hinoyu was in Konoha, Sarutobi Hinoyuu rarely saw him.
Sarutobi Peng's birth was just an accident.
Sarutobi Kanenosuke's figure quickly disappeared.
The others looked at the Hyūga ninja, who activated his Byakugan, his face covered in cold sweat.
The Hyūga ninja said: "After Sarutobi Kanenosuke entered the ground, he instantly disappeared! It's as if... as if his body was originally composed of soil and roots!"
A wave of fear spread through the underground laboratory.
They were here to investigate Sarutobi Kanenosuke, but who would have thought he was really here.
Sarutobi Kanenosuke could appear silently from anywhere. Neither the Aburame ninja nor the Hyūga ninja could detect him.
"Quick, notify Lord Lynx and Elder Hinotama! Sarutobi Kanenosuke is hiding in the cave!"
A Sarutobi ninja broke away from the main group and ran towards the cave entrance.
He was lucky; Sarutobi Kanenosuke didn't attack him along the way.
Reaching the outside, the messenger ninja's face was full of fear as he said:
"Lord Lynx, Elder Hinotama! Sarutobi Kanenosuke appeared in the cave! He killed Sarutobi Shizutaka!
Last time Sarutobi Kanenosuke attacked the Daimyō's Guardian Ninja, he threatened Shizutaka, saying every Sarutobi ninja only gets a free pass once in front of him.
This was Kanenosuke's second time seeing Shizutaka, so he killed him!"
Sarutobi Hinotama was stunned. Why was Sarutobi Kanenosuke really attacking his own clansmen?
Lynx glanced at Sarutobi Hinotama and said: "Jōnin Hinotama, shouldn't you go in and take a look?"
Sarutobi Hinotama had no choice but to nod and enter the cave.
Now, only Lynx and two Anbu squads remained outside the cave.
One squad leader asked: "Lord Lynx, should we prepare for anything?"
Lynx said: "No need to prepare anything. Sarutobi Hinotama is extremely powerful, the strongest ninja in the Sarutobi clan besides the Hokage-sama.
What we need to do is wait for Sarutobi Hinotama and Sarutobi Kanenosuke to decide the outcome."
On the mountainside, Yōkō raised his head.
Seeing Lynx below the mountain, Yōkō thought to himself that his guess was indeed correct.
Lynx was a big shot now; he wouldn't take risks easily and would definitely stay outside the cave.
Sarutobi Kanenosuke appeared like a ghost, his voice echoing around the sacred mountain.
"Lynx, you've learned Danzo's bad habits quite thoroughly.
Sending others in first, observing or reaping rewards from the back – what a terrible habit..."
Lynx looked up, saw it was Sarutobi Kanenosuke wearing the white spiral mask, and his heart tightened.
Yōkō charged down the mountain, ready to gather intelligence.
Soon, Yōkō discovered that Lynx, like other Shimura clan ninja, was skilled in Wind Release.
After several exchanges, Yōkō found himself frequently nodding at Lynx's Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets.
Not only were they fast, but there were also many of them.
Standing there, he was practically a long-range artillery turret.
After failing to gain more intelligence, Yōkō pretended to be outmatched and was 'killed' by a Vacuum Bullet piercing his brow.
"Lynx... I will be back..."
After hearing Sarutobi Kanenosuke's curse, a panicked Lynx watched him die.
"Hahaha! So Sarutobi Kanenosuke is nothing special after all!"
[Detecting host death, Mochizuki's Arc system starting up...]
--
Yōkō returned to several hours earlier.
[Mochizuki's Arc activated!
Host has only one resurrection opportunity per month, reviving on the previous full moon night after death.
Rewarding one draw opportunity...]
He didn't choose a Wind Release jutsu; Yōkō chose chakra amount.
Elite Jōnin-level chakra amount, which was 0.2 times Kage-level chakra.
Yōkō's chakra reserve reached 2.0 times the Kage-level standard.
The sequence of events was the same as the previous timeline. After Yōkō killed Sarutobi Shizutaka, Sarutobi Hinotama entered the cave.
Only Lynx and two Anbu squads remained outside the cave.
Yōkō used the Ephemeral Technique to secretly emerge behind Lynx and the others.
Lynx was completely unaware, still staring at the low cave on the hillside with the Anbu ninja.
After forming a single hand seal, four shadow clones appeared beside Yōkō.
Yōkō and his four shadow clones each formed different hand seals.
Five impact-type ninjutsu of different attributes shot forth after a single, final seal.
Earth Release: Flying Rubble, Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Lightning Release: Roaring Thunder!
Only then did Lynx notice the massive-scale ninjutsu behind him.
Why did the enemy appear in every Anbu ninja's blind spot?
Could he really find such a precise position at first glance? What kind of combat talent was this?
With a second chance, Yōkō had found the perfect angle.
Lynx turned his head in terror, seeing the five elemental ninjutsu, each exceeding Elite Jōnin level in scale!
Kage-level! Absolutely Kage-level!
In the hands of a Kage-level ninja, even ordinary B-rank jutsu had an exaggerated attack range.
He had only seen this level of ninjutsu proficiency years ago when the Third Hokage performed it!
The five Kage-level ninjutsu instantly swallowed Lynx and the two Anbu squads.
The five elemental chakras conflicted with each other, evolving into a terrifying explosion.
The explosion spanned over a hundred meters, rivaling a small Tailed Beast Ball.
The esteemed Deputy Commander Lynx died just like that, in the midst of the terrifying large-scale explosion.
Not a trace of his body remained.
Sir! Aren't you a big shot?
Lord Lynx, did you not even leave behind ashes?
A bit sorry, couldn't quite hold back, accidentally used so much chakra.
Last time Yōkō used the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack, he was still an Elite Jōnin. This time, reborn and transformed, he possessed the strength of a Kage-level ninja.
The minor identity 'Sarutobi Kanenosuke' was at least a Kage-level gatekeeper.
The intense explosion vibrations caused panic and uneasiness among those in the underground laboratory.
Dealing with the collapsing underground lab, Sarutobi Hinotama struggled to break through the earth and led everyone crawling out of the soil.
They saw Sarutobi Kanenosuke slowly sinking into the ground.
It seemed Sarutobi Kanenosuke had been waiting here for them and only left after seeing them emerge.
"I told Sarutobi Shizutaka last time that I would spare every Sarutobi clan member once.
Sarutobi Hinoyuu, don't appear before me a second time like Sarutobi Shizutaka did.
You are not special. Your life only gets one pass."
Everyone looked at Sarutobi Hinoyuu.
He said he wasn't special, but stayed behind to deliver a threat after killing the Deputy Anbu Commander... no matter how you looked at it, it seemed pretty special, right?
Was this the illegitimate son's revenge against his biological father?
Sarutobi Hinoyuu's heart was bitter. It was like mud falling into his crotch – impossible to clean up now.
***
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(End of Chapter)