Purple Cat rarely asked him anything. Seeing how frantic she looked now, Yako said, "I'll go check first. I need to understand the situation."
Yako left his office and headed straight for Root.
Root only had two ninja left. Yellow Dog had sent Yako along with three ANBU to help train new recruits—an identity that conveniently granted him access to Root.
'I went too hard on Root…' Yako thought. 'Pushed Danzo into a corner, and now he's forcibly conscripting a bunch of people into Root.'
'If he starts going clan-to-clan and snatching ninja, won't that spark resentment?'
The ones who really suffered were civilian ninja. No one stood up for them. When forced conscription came, all they could do was obey.
Yako thought he understood just how desperate Danzo was—but when he saw the twenty children there, he was still stunned.
How did Danzo find twenty four-year-olds?
Ninja matured early, sure—but four years old? Wasn't that too far?
C approached him.
"Didn't expect ANBU to send Captain Fox personally to serve as an instructor jōnin for the recruits."
Yako replied, "Yellow Dog, the Deputy Commander, values the quality of ANBU trainees. He sent me to take a look."
C nodded. "Captain Fox, Root's training this time is split into two groups: the ninja group and the youth group.
You'll handle training for the ninja group. These twenty children will be trained by me and K.
The ninja group has to develop combat capability within three to five months, then they'll be assigned into either ANBU or Root."
The ninja group all had at least chūnin-level strength.
Everyone wore white, featureless masks, making it impossible to tell who was Yamanaka Ruri.
C handed him a scroll containing the training program.
He then informed all the recruits that for the next three months, they would be trained by ANBU Captain Fox.
The recruits turned to look at him.
Unlike ordinary ANBU, who wore black hooded cloaks, a squad captain wore a white robe.
Only the weak needed to blend in. The strong always looked out of place wherever they stood.
Yako had the three ANBU divide the twenty recruits into three teams and begin a baseline taijutsu assessment.
After speed trials, endurance tests, and kunai-throwing evaluations, Yako split the twenty recruits into a fast class and a slow class.
The fast class began sparring in pairs, receiving targeted corrections to sharpen their taijutsu technique.
The slow class underwent limit training—pushing through repeated muscle tearing to break their physical ceiling and patch their weak fundamentals as quickly as possible.
Taijutsu was the foundation of an ANBU operative. Stealth techniques, taijutsu, and explosive tags were ANBU's most commonly used assassination tools.
Using the height and hair-color details Purple Cat had given him, Yako located Yamanaka Ruri.
Ruri's taijutsu foundation was poor. She was placed in the slow class—meaning she likely wouldn't be assigned for five months.
Five months… nearly the end of the year.
That was more than enough time for Yako to figure out how to pull her out.
Yako's gaze drifted to the far end of the training ground—where his real interest lay.
Twenty four-year-old children, wearing oversized masks, stood quietly as B gave them instructions.
In his previous life, four-year-olds were still in that loud, crying, sticky phase.
These children, however, were silent—because they already knew they couldn't cry. Crying didn't end well here.
Under K's command, they picked up kunai and shuriken and began familiarizing themselves with ninja tools.
For an adult, a kunai was like a dagger. For a four-year-old, it was practically a longblade.
By noon, Yako left Root and returned to ANBU to find Purple Cat.
"Purple Cat, don't worry for now. Your sister, Yamanaka Ruri, is average in strength. She needs five months of training—she's safe for the time being."
At his words, Purple Cat finally exhaled.
A few months meant there were still plenty of chances.
===
A while later.
Yako was resting inside ANBU when his eyes snapped open.
Someone incredibly strong was approaching the Forest of Death at high speed.
He shot out, moving through ANBU's open-air shaft to the surface.
Tsunade?
Wearing a green dress, Tsunade charged straight into the Forest of Death.
Golden Eagle was about to move, but Yako raised a hand. "Wait. Look at Princess Tsunade's direction—she's heading for Root, not us."
Golden Eagle signaled his subordinates to stand down.
Sure enough, Tsunade went directly for Root.
When she reached the Root base, she slammed a fist into the ground.
Yako and Golden Eagle exchanged a look—with that punch, Root is going to cave in.
In all of Konoha, only Tsunade dared to do something like this.
Yako was curious. What set her off?
No matter how deep the grudge, barging into Root in broad daylight was… rough. Too rough.
Couldn't she learn from Yako?
His hands were drenched in Root blood, yet he could still stroll into Root as an instructor jōnin.
A massive hole blasted open in the ceiling of Root's underground training hall.
A figure in a pale green dress dropped through the breach like a meteor.
The sudden sunlight pouring in was blinding.
C caught sight of a fist swelling rapidly in his vision.
"Stop!"
Counselor Danzo's voice rang out, halting Tsunade.
When the dust settled, C finally understood what had happened.
Princess Tsunade had punched through the training hall roof and nearly killed him with a single blow.
Spotting Counselor Danzo nearby, C hurriedly asked, "Princess Tsunade, what are you doing?!"
Tsunade shouted, "Hand over Kato Shizune!"
The Kato surname was rare.
After Kato Dan died, the most important person left in that family was his niece—Kato Shizune.
The moment C heard that Tsunade wanted Shizune, he answered without yielding.
"Princess Tsunade! Everyone must be prepared to sacrifice for Konoha!
These children were carefully selected by Root. They must endure Root's harsh training and become the 'root' that protects the village from the shadows!"
Tsunade was furious to the point of nausea. Hearing that "Will of Fire" rhetoric made her want to throw up.
"Konoha was founded so children would have a chance to grow up in peace!" Tsunade roared.
"You kidnapped twenty children and started training them from infancy! You want them to sacrifice for Konoha—so why don't you sacrifice for Konoha?!"
C said, "I've long been prepared to sacrifice for Konoha! As for the children's chance to grow up—rest assured, Princess Tsunade. We will train them into qualified ninja."
Tsunade raised her fist again, done with talking.
A gust of wind suddenly surged from the side.
The gale blasted C away, preventing the punch from landing cleanly.
Tsunade hadn't been able to fully put her weight into it. C's sternum shattered—but he didn't die.
C believed that even without Counselor Danzo's wind, Tsunade wouldn't truly kill him.
She couldn't bring herself to murder a fellow Konoha shinobi.
This was anger. Venting. Nothing more.
Tsunade lowered her fist and turned to face Danzo as he approached.
Half of Danzo's face was swallowed by darkness, the other half lit by the sunlight streaming through the hole—making him look grim and sinister.
Danzo said, "Tsunade. Don't disrupt Root's training. Come with me. We need to talk."
"Who wants to talk to you?! I'm taking Shizune!"
With that, Tsunade moved to rip masks off the nearest children, searching for Shizune.
K moved first—scooping up a small girl from the back.
At some point, K had silently positioned himself right beside Shizune.
Tsunade lunged to pursue them—but Danzo flashed in front of her in a Body Flicker.
"Tsunade," Danzo said. "If you want to take Shizune, you can trade her for a jutsu."