Yako returned to Konoha.
The village was quiet.
He stood atop a rooftop, eyes fixed in the direction of the Shimura compound.
A man who holds a kunai must be ready to die by one.
If Danzo had opened the door to endless internal conflict, then he should be prepared to be consumed by it too.
The annihilation of the Uzumaki clan—Konoha's upper brass merely watched coldly. That was already heartless enough.
But Danzo went further. He personally sold out their intel. That was his first unforgivable crime.
Then came the jōnin nomination system. The Five Noble Clans devoured everything in sight, leaving only rotten scraps for the rest. That was the second.
As for the countless other misdeeds committed by the high-ups—what Yako knew and didn't know—the list was endless.
They were the kind of elders who didn't die, didn't step down, didn't move forward, and worse—dragged others into their filth.
Enough. Time to give that old thief Danzo a taste of real consequences.
The Shimura clan monopolized the post of bodyguard captain to the daimyō of the Land of Grass, granting them first pick of all missions from that country.
Just those missions alone had made the Shimura fat with profits.
Requests from the Land of Grass were classified as national-level—S-Rank missions.
Lately, the Shimura had racked up S-Rank completions purely through these assignments.
By conservative estimate, the Land of Grass brought in at least sixty million ryō annually for the Shimura.
If you have the power, fine—go protect the daimyō.
But look around: the Sarutobi clan had the Fire Country and the Land of Hot Water. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu controlled the River Country. The Ino-Shika-Chō clans claimed the Land of Whirlpools.
The juiciest roles—all hoarded by the Five Noble Clans.
Do they really deserve it?
The next day, Yako returned to Root for trust-building drills. He kept a careful eye on Agent C and Agent K.
He felt a subtle nervousness creep in. After all, a guilty man always wonders if he's been found out.
Given the speed of a messenger hawk, news from the Land of Grass should reach Konoha in two to three days.
Sure enough—on the third day at noon, an operative rushed into the Root training grounds.
"Captain Fox! The Hokage has summoned you to the Tower!"
It's here.
Yako arrived at the Hokage's office to find Hatake Sakumo already present.
Gathered inside were the Third Hokage, Orochimaru, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Yellow Dog.
A full house of big names.
Yako quietly stood behind the sofa, listening in on the high-level meeting.
But after a few moments, disappointment settled in—it wasn't about the assassination of Shimura Kōhi. That news hadn't reached them yet.
Danzo sat on the sofa, steady as a boulder. Not a trace of sorrow on his face.
That, in itself, saddened Yako.
Today's topic was Kumogakure, explaining Sakumo's presence.
Kumo's two Jinchūriki had been attacked one after the other.
Konoha's White Fang and Orochimaru—both had made their moves, each more flamboyant than the last.
At the harbor, White Fang had sliced through a Tailed Beast Bomb in front of dozens of ships, leaving Ryuuren wondering if his technique was defective.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's mission in Kumo had ended with the Eight-Tails' host losing control and dying.
It was like a contest between the two. And in many ways, it was.
Mitokado Homura exploded: "Hatake Sakumo! Orochimaru! You two went way too far!
You were sent to gather intel! Killing a Jinchuriki may have seriously weakened Kumo, but it's guaranteed to trigger a violent counterattack!
There are already large numbers of Kumo-nin appearing along the border with the Land of Hot Water!
If this escalates, we could end up in a full-blown war!"
No wonder Yako had been summoned to sit in—this was the fallout from the Jinchūriki incidents.
Sakumo hadn't exactly gone rogue—he had been gathering intel on the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Orochimaru, on the other hand… had clearly gone too far.
But the elders wouldn't single him out. Instead, they scolded both at once.
Orochimaru replied, "The intel you gave me described a perfect Jinchūriki—one capable of large-scale Tailed Beast Bombs. I expected a challenge.
Instead, one pill later… he died."
"Orochimaru!" the Third Hokage barked, trying to stop his nonsense.
The genjutsu drug's effects had far exceeded expectations. But Kumo wasn't just about its Jinchūriki—they had plenty of skilled ninja beyond that.
And fighting Kumo was always a headache.
Their genin and chūnin had higher baseline strength than Konoha's.
If war did break out, even if the jōnin and commanders were evenly matched, the heavy casualties among Konoha's lower ranks could force retreat after retreat—maybe even ceding the Land of Hot Water.
Hatake Sakumo stepped forward. "Lord Hokage, Elders—Kumo-nin have already appeared along the border.
Please let me lead a squad to defend the Land of Hot Water.
I specialize in Lightning Release. I understand Kumo's style. I can hold them off."
Yako silently nodded.
Even after his nomination of jōnin was sabotaged, Sakumo had shown no sign of discouragement. He was more proactive than ever.
Volunteering for dangerous missions. Requesting to go where it was toughest.
If he could take command of the northern frontier, his reputation would rise even further.
More importantly, Sakumo could use this opportunity to push the Jutsu Merit System forward—reforming Konoha's culture, one battle at a time.
He could even cultivate loyal followers like Hayama Shirakumo.
Yako turned to look at the Third Hokage.
But… alas. The old man remained unmoved.
Instead, the Hokage turned to Danzo and asked, "During the Second Shinobi World War, Kumo fought both us and Iwagakure. Their losses were heavy.
And given their focus on elite soldiers, their total numbers are low.
How many have they sent to the Land of Hot Water?"
Danzo replied, "My informants report that Kumo dispatched at least 300 shinobi in the first wave.
They left the Land of Lightning and moved south—toward the border between the Land of the Moon and the Land of Hot Water.
Their commander is an elite jōnin from Kumo—Storm Release user, Garui."
"Garui…" the Hokage mused, recalling intel.
In battles against Iwagakure, Garui had slain several famed Iwa-nin. His kekkei genkai made him a formidable force.
Just as the Hokage hesitated—unsure how to suppress Sakumo without seeming too obvious—there came a knock at the door.
At a meeting of this level?
Unheard of.
Yako opened the door—and saw Agent C from Root.
There was a flicker of excitement behind his mask.
Has it finally happened?
C rushed in and whispered urgently into Danzo's ear.
Yako quietly shut the door.
It must be serious—C had interrupted a council of the highest-ranking figures.
Something big must've happened in the Land of Grass.
Danzo's pupil narrowed sharply. His expression turned savage—but he held his composure.
Yako stepped back behind the sofa, not looking at Danzo, but instead at the clearly shaken Agent C.
Compared to Danzo, C's composure was abysmal.
He stood hunched, body twitching, swaying as he leaned toward his master.
The Third Hokage asked, "What is it, Danzo?"
Danzo slowly closed his one eye, then reopened it with icy focus.
"A messenger hawk just arrived.
The daimyō of the Land of Grass was attacked.
Four of his personal guards—including Captain Shimura Kōhi—were killed in the assault."
"What?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen exclaimed. "And the daimyō?!"
Danzo said, "The four guards were all from the Shimura clan.
Thanks to their protection, the daimyō survived without injury."
Yako processed it quickly.
A major event had erupted in the Land of Grass.
With the tension at its peak, surely they couldn't continue stonewalling Sakumo—blocking him from command at the Land of Hot Water's frontlines… could they?