All subordinates stood guard outside the cave. Yagami lay beside the campfire, silently feeling the changes in his body.
His platelets were extremely active; the bleeding stopped quickly.
The wound felt numb and itchy as new flesh slowly grew.
The combined vitality of the Senju and Uzumaki bloodlines gave Yagami a much higher tolerance for injury.
Three days later, when his condition had stabilized and begun to improve, Yagami met each ANBU member individually.
First were the three remaining members of the Monkey Squad.
All three gave the same story, Captain Monkey had behaved completely normal before. None of them knew when or how he had fallen under someone's control.
After failing to obtain any useful intelligence, Yagami appointed Flower Deer as the new squad captain.
That Monkey mask was too cursed — whoever wore it died, and it had nearly killed him too. It was a pity about Monkey, killed by Yagami's own hands.
A new captain might just change the squad's fortune.
Next, Yagami met with White Ram.
White Ram said he had kept his Byakugan active the entire time and had noticed nothing abnormal. Within a three-kilometer radius, there had been no hidden enemies.
The enemy's methods were so subtle that even the Byakugan couldn't detect them.
Finally, Yagami met Purple Cat.
"Captain," Purple Cat said,
"I used the Mind-Body Transfer Jutsu on Monkey at the end, hoping to stop him from attacking you.
But my jutsu failed!
There were two souls inside his body! I've never seen anything like that before!"
Yagami's eyes hardened — realization struck.
He had once suspected that Monkey had fallen under Madara Uchiha's genjutsu — after all, he'd seen three Leaf ninja succumb to illusions right in front of him.
But that was a false lead. The recent ANBU infighting, Monkey's assault — none of it had been genjutsu. It was a soul-type forbidden technique.
Now he finally had proof.
Of all the shinobi Yagami knew, only one possessed such an ability — Dan Kato.
Dan Kato, the talented vassal of the Senju Clan… it seemed he really had turned his hand against the village.
Thinking it over, Yagami couldn't entirely blame Dan or the Senju for becoming extreme, the village had pushed first. The village's policies were far more radical than anything the Senju had done.
Five days later, Yagami finally stepped out of the cave.
His shoulder was completely healed, his combat ability fully restored.
The enemies he faced — whether Madara Uchiha or Dan Kato — were too dangerous. He needed full strength before acting.
Outside, the drizzle continued without pause.
"Return to the frontline camp," Yagami said. "But take a detour — go through the Land of Fire first, then head back. What we've encountered here is too complicated for our unit to resolve.
We were only assigned a reconnaissance mission. There's no mandatory target, so this isn't abandoning the mission."
More than twenty kilometers away, inside another cave, Dan Kato spoke to his two guards.
"I'll use the forbidden technique again today to probe Hanzō's intel. Please stand guard for me."
The two guards stood watch at the cave entrance while Dan leaned against the wall.
Among the ANBU's Fox Squad was a Hyuga — one who had participated in the Nine-Tails Transfer and Sealing. That Hyuga must have seen a great deal.
If Dan could draw intelligence from the Hyuga ANBU, perhaps he could uncover the truth behind the Senju Clan's devastation.
Forming hand seals, Dan Kato activated the Spirit Transformation Technique.
His soul left his body, passed through the mountain above, and rose into the open sky.
Below, every soul flickered like candlelight in the dark.
Under White Ram's command, Fox Squad moved south, preparing to re-enter the Land of Fire from the southern border of the Land of Rain.
Because of Monkey's sudden rampage last time, all ANBU now maintained distance from one another — giving each ninja time to react if someone turned.
At the rear, Yagami watched every subordinate ahead of him.
Then, without warning, Antelope reached into his ninja pouch.
"Antelope! Don't move! Take your hand out!" Yagami shouted.
But in the next instant, five explosive tags were already in Antelope's hand.
"Scatter!"
The tags flew in five directions and detonated simultaneously.
Amid the roaring explosions, Yagami saw Purple Cat smashed into a nearby tree trunk, while Black Bull plummeted from midair, blood spraying from his mouth.
Purple Cat's squad was devastated.
Yagami rushed forward and caught Black Bull, who had fallen closest to him.
Black Bull's chest was burned and blackened, skin charred and blistered.
Just as Yagami was about to set him down, Black Bull suddenly swung up a kunai, stabbing toward Yagami's ribs.
From a branch above, Antelope shouted in panic, "It wasn't me! I was just controlled!"
Dan Kato's spirit had already transferred from Antelope into Black Bull's body.
But the kunai struck only a lump of human-shaped mud.
Dan's spirit hesitated — an Earth-Style Substitution?
Black Bull's attack missed, and he drove the kunai down toward the ground.
Yagami didn't counter immediately.
Seeing his strike fail, Black Bull turned toward the nearest target — Purple Cat.
Purple Cat staggered, trying to stand, still dazed from the blast.
Black Bull charged, his movements completely different — nothing like his former self.
The kunai stopped just three centimeters from the center of Purple Cat's mask.
Yagami erupted from underground, driving his kunai into Black Bull's arm.
He didn't want to kill him.
But Black Bull dropped the kunai, grabbed it with his other hand, and slashed again toward Purple Cat.
Yagami's kick sent him flying.
Already badly wounded, Black Bull rolled in the mud, writhing in agony.
Antelope dropped from the tree. "I'm sorry, Captain! I didn't know I was being controlled!"
His voice shook with guilt — yet his blade darted straight for Yagami's throat.
A cold tremor ran across Yagami's scalp. It wasn't that Black Bull or Antelope were strong — it was the feeling that anyone around him could be the enemy. Danger was everywhere.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of water burst forth, blasting Antelope backward.
He slammed into a horizontal branch, head spinning, then crashed to the ground.
He lifted his head with difficulty, murmuring, "Captain… I really didn't mean to…"
Yagami turned toward Purple Cat — she was the only one capable of identifying whose soul had been manipulated.
Purple Cat slowly raised her head. "Captain, I'll use a secret technique right away…"
She began forming hand seals.
Yagami thought, Even if Dan Kato is controlling her, he can't possibly use a Yamanaka-Clan secret art, can he?
In the next instant, the senbon needle hidden in Purple Cat's sleeve shot straight toward him.
Crack!
Yagami caught her wrist mid-strike, lifted her, and drove a punch into her abdomen, cutting off her resistance.
In the pouring rain, as Purple Cat collapsed, Yagami felt heat rise through his body, a surge of frustration in his chest.
So this is the oppressive pressure Dan Kato brings to his enemies…
When everyone around you could become a threat, teamwork itself became a cruel joke.
No wonder Dan once said he wanted to be Hokage — even a prodigy like Tsunade had supported him wholeheartedly.
For ordinary ninja squads, facing Dan Kato meant only one outcome: total annihilation.
With even Purple Cat no longer trustworthy, how could Yagami hope to stand against an elite jonin who had mastered forbidden jutsu?
***
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