When Danzo entered the Hokage's office, both Orochimaru and Fox were still present. Yellow Dog was there as well.
"Danzo's here," Hiruzen said, clearly in high spirits. "Orochimaru, would you please repeat your report on the Hidden Cloud mission for Counselor Danzo?"
Orochimaru began, "Yakushi Nonō did an excellent job gathering intel. She obtained the rotation schedule for the outer sentry posts of the Hidden Cloud and mapped out a route for infiltration.
As for the Genjutsu suppression pill you once tasked me with for countering the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—it worked quite well on Eight Tails' Junchuriki."
Yako sucked in a sharp breath.
Orochimaru had just casually revealed Danzo's old scheme to neutralize the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
He glanced around, only to find no one else in the room particularly shocked.
He'd thought he was already part of the inner circle—but now he realized just how far he still had to go.
No matter how "dirty" he thought he was, in this room, he was still a sweet little flower.
As for why they needed such a pill?
Ask anyone: "It's for the sake of the village."
If the Nine-Tails ever turned rogue, they needed a way to keep him in check.
Orochimaru continued, "The Eight-Tails rampaged. The Jinchuriki is dead. Eight jōnin and over sixty other shinobi perished.
Hidden Cloud's improved sealing technique works fine on the Two-Tails, but the Eight-Tails is on another level. Their seal wasn't stable enough.
In my opinion, on the battlefield, the Two-Tails is actually the greater threat.
As for the mission—Fox's performance was most impressive.
He took a direct hit from the Third Raikage while fully clad in Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In terms of pure defense, I've never seen better."
Yako quickly offered a modest reply. "I've faced death too many times during ANBU missions. Over time, I've developed a... specialized understanding of defense."
Danzo asked, "Orochimaru, the results are impressive. But have you considered the Hidden Cloud's response? What if they declare war?"
Before Orochimaru could answer, Hiruzen cut in, explaining for him:
"Danzo, this mission was about curbing the rising popularity of Hatake Sakumo. Compared to an external threat, internal instability is far more dangerous.
Konoha's greatest danger has never been from outside—but from within. We must clean our house before receiving guests, no?"
Yako mused silently: Classic power consolidation through internal purges. Sarutobi Hiruzen… you really are good at this.
Internal warfare expert. Foreign affairs novice.
Danzo didn't press further. Instead, he turned to Hiruzen and said:
"Four Root operatives—J, F, X, and R—were killed in the Land of Iron.
I'll be initiating a joint Root–ANBU emergency conscription campaign inside the village.
Any ninja with exceptional skills will be drafted into ANBU or Root.
Any ninja with outstanding talent will be taken into Root and cultivated with care."
Yellow Dog stiffened. Not wanting ANBU to be used as Danzo's pawn, he said:
"Danzo-sama, ANBU is not currently short on manpower.
We have only minor vacancies. Each of the four divisions needs no more than two or three recruits a month."
Danzo shot him a cold glare, then turned and left without a word.
Yellow Dog was left awkwardly hanging.
On their way back to ANBU HQ, Yako asked, "Captain, what's Danzo's endgame? Forcing civilians is one thing, but conscripting genius clan kids? Will the clans even allow it?"
"Danzo's panicking," Yellow Dog replied.
"Root only has two and a half people left—C, K, and half of Orochimaru.
Worse, Danzo still doesn't know who's been wiping out Root operatives.
The Golden Eagle squad's been investigating, but they've got nothing. All they know is that the culprit uses Fire Release and has at least jōnin-level skills."
Yako felt a pang of guilt.
His Fire Release wasn't even true elite-jōnin level. It just looked like it because he had one mastered jutsu—Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet—which he could cast nearly instantly. That speed gave enemies no time to react.
Back in Yellow Dog's office, the commander looked up from a mission report.
"Fox, that was your ninth S-rank mission. When I was your age, I'd barely completed half that."
"All thanks to your leadership, sir."
Yellow Dog smiled faintly.
His assistant, Butterfly, knocked and entered.
"Sir, a scroll just came in from Root. Danzo-sama intends to recruit at least twenty new trainees this week.
C says Root is severely understaffed and asks ANBU to send five elite shinobi to help train them."
Yellow Dog glanced at the scroll and then turned to Yako.
"You've been to the Land of Lightning twice in the last two months on back-to-back S-rank missions. Why not take a break? Go act as an instructor in Root.
If you're there, I'll rest easier."
"Understood, Captain."
Back in his own office, Yako had Purple Cat bring him the squad's mission reports for the month.
Most of their tasks were surveillance within the village.
As his assistant, Purple Cat would collect and distribute the missions when he was away.
Monitoring the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the Senju clan, the Uchiha, the Aburame…
None of them posed real danger.
What he needed now was actionable intel—something Orochimaru would value.
Details about Yellow Dog's Five Release Great Combo Technique, intel on the Black Ant Division, and the layout of the Forbidden Scroll Room.
Not easy. He had no clear starting point.
One scroll caught his attention.
Team Antelope had submitted a report—a spike in pregnancy rates at the hospital's maternity ward.
"Purple Cat, what month is it now?"
"June."
"The war ended last winter. With the pressure gone, everyone's reproductive cells must be bouncing back."
"Reproductive cells?" Purple Cat glanced at the scroll, then nodded. "Yeah, there's always a baby boom after a ninja war."
In the ninja world, women take their husband's surname after marriage.
Yako studied the list of last names recorded by Team Antelope and had a pretty good idea who had just been born.
Izumo Kamizuki. Kotetsu Hagane. Hayate Gekkō. Iruka.
Most of the future Tokubetsu Jōnin that Naruto would meet were likely born now.
Yako pulled Purple Cat into his arms, gently placing his hand on her stomach.
Being touched there made her more flustered than anywhere else. Her face turned bright red—her neck beneath the mask flushed hot.
He was checking if she might be pregnant.
"Fox… we're both ANBU. If we had a child, they couldn't even carry your surname until you retired…"
"Doesn't matter. I don't have a surname. I'm a civilian orphan."
The name Yako came from the original body. He had no clan name—just a lowborn identity.
Yako didn't mind having a child.
But he did worry… what kind of bloodline would the child inherit?
He currently carried traces of Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, and Hyūga bloodlines—a chaotic mix.
Technically, Senju was the first one he obtained and had influenced him the most.
Uzumaki and Senju were manageable… but if Riko gave birth to a child with Sharingan or Byakugan?
That'd be a problem.
Maybe if I tap into my Senju regenerative abilities while… deepening things with Riko, I can increase the chance of a Senju bloodline manifesting.
His commoner identity + Senju bloodline = plausible.
After all, many Senju women had married outside the clan, passing on their blood without the name.
Yako whispered, "Riko… if you ever have a child, give them a name with the character —'Night'—in it."
Purple Cat froze.
It was the first time Fox had ever revealed anything about his identity.
Despite their intimacy, she still didn't know who he really was.
As his assistant, she didn't even have clearance to view her own superior's file.
"'Night'?" she repeated, then nodded quickly. "Okay. I'll remember."
"My bad," Yako murmured. "The baby boom's already here, and your belly's still flat.
Time to start feeding you properly…"