The Konoha squads dashed through the highlands of the Land of the Moon.
Every shinobi was brimming with excitement—so much so that a single misstep could have lost them everything.
The Cloud commander, Darui, had been slain by Konoha's commanding officer, Hatake Sakumo.
Konoha's morale surged; their momentum was overwhelming. With their backbone shattered, the Cloud forces scattered in disarray.
But Hatake Sakumo remained cautious. He feared the deeper regions of the Land of the Moon might hold traps—and that recklessness might lead to a devastating loss of life. Thus, he never gave the order to split up for pursuit.
Once they split, Konoha's squads would be too far apart to support each other. That would be dangerous.
The battlefront had grown too wide. Even Sakumo couldn't cover it all.
The Fox Division didn't split either. Its four squads fanned out near Yako, each independently hunting down remnants of the Cloud forces.
From afar, Yak Squad's captain stared at the flashes of ninjutsu in the distance, confusion evident in his eyes.
'What's going on? It hasn't even been that long since we last fought alongside the Blossom Deer Squad… how did their strength shoot up so much?'
The moment Blossom Deer located a Cloud unit, they unleashed a full-force joint ninjutsu bombardment.
Just one salvo from their synchronized attacks wiped out the enemy from medium to long range.
They were clearly venting their frustration. In the battle where Darui was slain, it was the White Ram Squad who followed Fox Division's captain. Blossom Deer hadn't gotten a piece of the glory.
Now that they saw Cloud forces again, their eyes practically turned red with envy.
The Yak Squad could pull off such joint ninjutsu—but after doing so, their chakra would plummet, leaving them vulnerable for follow-up combat.
But Blossom Deer? They acted like nothing had happened. Three waves of joint ninjutsu later, they were still launching swift and unimpeded taijutsu attacks.
'They're definitely on something.'
'Did the Akimichi Clan cook up some kind of new secret stimulant?'
Yak crept up beside Captain Hippo and asked, "Hippo, did the Akimichi develop a new combat drug?"
Hippo shook his head. "Nope. I get what you're thinking. But it's not some stimulant. If anything... it feels like they just suddenly got a whole lot more chakra out of nowhere."
Still puzzled, the two of them turned to glance at the Fox Division Captain.
He stood atop a ridge, arms folded, calmly observing the battlefield below.
When he noticed them looking, the two captains flinched and immediately scattered, returning to their pursuit of the fleeing Cloud squads.
The chase lasted for half a day. But once scouts confirmed Cloud reinforcements approaching, they had no choice but to disengage.
Reinforcements from the Lightning Country's border fortress were arriving. Elite Cloud forces and shinobi tasked with guarding the Land of the Moon's daimyo were on their way.
This operation had only aimed to wipe out the Cloud forces encroaching on the Moon Country's borders—it was never meant to escalate the war. Hatake Sakumo led the Konoha forces in retreat back into the Land of Hot Water.
The Cloud regrouped what remained of their troops and kept a wide berth, unwilling to clash head-on.
With the victory reported back to the village, all that remained was to wait for peace negotiations.
The fighting died down—completely.
Yako used "patrolling the border" as a reason to slip away from camp.
He unsealed his Right Scroll—inside was a message from Yakushi Nonō, requesting a meeting at a hot spring inn in a nearby town.
He'd been in the Land of Hot Water for a while, but never once enjoyed its famous hot springs.
Upon arriving, Yako sought out the town's best bathhouse and reserved a private bath.
Sinking into the hot water, he relaxed, letting it wash over his skin—soothing, comforting.
Just as sleep was starting to take him, someone stepped into the bath.
"Sir, do you require a massage?"
Yako opened his eyes and found a handsome young male attendant leaning toward him. His gaze then flicked toward the door.
The Soil Pulse Barrier he had personally set up… had been silently and completely bypassed.
"I do need a massage," Yako said calmly. "Let me check your hands though. I'd hate for you to get mud on me."
Yakushi Nonō chuckled and knelt behind him, gently massaging his shoulders.
"I know it's you," Yako muttered, "but could you please not show up looking like a man? This is just... really uncomfortable."
Anyone getting their shoulders kneaded by a pretty boy would feel the same level of skin-crawling discomfort.
Nonō stood, laid out a few scrolls in an orderly row, and stripped off her clothes, shedding the full-body Secretion Clay used in her transformation technique.
Yako couldn't help but be amused.
Her chest binding was practically like a competitive women's swimsuit—flat and tight. But the moment she undid it, two soft, snow-pale pears sprang free.
Back in the mountain cave, she hadn't looked like this at all.
Her skin—milky, supple, and treated with medical chakra—was so smooth it almost glistened.
As she stepped into the water, even the hot spring itself seemed to shy away from touching her.
As her body sank beneath the surface, Yako reached out and pulled her close.
"This clay's awful for your skin. Let me wash it off. Thoroughly."
His hands wandered, and before long, the two were engaged in... strategic alliance negotiations of considerable depth.
Water splashed. Steam hissed.
Afterward, Nonō leaned against him, catching her breath.
Yako murmured, "That disguise jutsu of yours is really something. You can look like anyone you want?"
"That's how I gather most of my intel," she replied. "I transform into a friend of someone, then go fish for secrets. In short bursts, it's nearly impossible to detect. Even the Byakugan can't tell—my clay mimics fat perfectly."
Yako was tempted to test her claim with a Byakugan... but knew it would scare her.
A Konoha civilian wielding the clan Byakugan, without the Caged Bird Seal? That'd be too insane to explain.
Nonō continued, "Fox, the Lightning Country skirmish is over. Neither side wants to keep fighting. Danzo has authorized my return to the village. I'll be staying at the Konoha orphanage this winter."
"With the border secure, we can focus on Root," Yako said quietly.
"Back in Konoha, it'll be easier to investigate Danzo's activities.
Any idea how far his investigation into the Uzumaki remnants has gone? Do we still have a window of opportunity?"
"I have a few secret informants still inside Konoha," she replied. "They've kept me updated all this time.
Danzo's obsessed with wiping out the last of the Uzumaki. Partly to eliminate future threats—but mostly to avenge the Shimura clan shinobi who died.
Last I heard, Root had tracked them all the way to the Land of Rain.
After fleeing Uzushio Village, the remnants passed through the Land of Waves, Land of the Moon, Land of Iron, and Land of Grass."
Yako's heart tensed.
They had reached the Land of Rain?
That… could become a serious problem.
He needed to act—fast. He had to break Danzo's grip, make the man feel it.
Noticing the heavy expression in Fox's masked eyes, Nonō assumed he was contemplating sabotage strategies against Root.
The power struggle between Yellow Dog and Danzo's ANBU was intensifying. Anything Danzo tried to do—Yellow Dog's camp would reflexively oppose.
To Nonō, this was the perfect opening.
She prayed that the orphans Root had captured wouldn't be given their code names too quickly—that they'd live long enough for her to save them.
She resumed massaging Fox—this time with her actual chest—perhaps to motivate him, or perhaps just to fluster him.
Yako's thoughts scattered.
After another "deep diplomatic exchange," the two reluctantly parted from the spring.
Nonō began her journey back to Konoha. A few days later, Yako met with Mitokado Homura, who had arrived at the front to begin peace negotiations.