"Purple Cat!"
Hearing Yagami's shout, Purple Cat immediately understood — Fox was about to use that strategy.
That desperate tactic carried enormous risk — not only for her, but for Fox as well. One small mistake could cost both their lives.
Yagami charged toward the direction White Ram had indicated, looking every bit like a man ready to die fighting Dan Kato.
Purple Cat fixed her eyes on Yagami's back, then quickly formed the seals for the Mind–Body Transfer Jutsu, sending her soul straight into Yagami's mind.
Yagami offered no resistance, allowing her soul to enter freely.
Now, inside Yagami's mind — there were two souls.
Purple Cat took over, guiding Yagami's body and using the Body Flicker Technique to surge forward at high speed.
Yagami was gambling — gambling that Dan Kato, upon seeing him charge toward the hiding spot, would immediately strike.
He was also gambling that two souls together would be stronger than one.
He and Purple Cat combined — perhaps they could rival Dan Kato's soul.
Then, with one long stride forward, Yagami's body suddenly stiffened.
Behind him, Purple Cat's face went deathly pale.
Every trace of color drained from the bit of skin visible below her mask.
Her soul had collided head-on with another — the enemy's.
Her consciousness was instantly engulfed in darkness.
Just before she blacked out, Purple Cat hoped only that she had at least weakened Dan Kato's soul for Fox.
For a single brain to house two souls was already unbearably crowded and unstable.
Three souls crashing together was beyond agony — none of them would emerge unscathed.
This was the first time Dan Kato had ever encountered such a situation — the target's mind already hosting two souls.
Even with his immense spiritual strength, against the combined force of Yagami and Purple Cat, he could not gain an absolute advantage.
He had sensed it earlier — the soul of the ANBU codenamed Fox shone twice as brightly as any ordinary human's.
Now, inside that tangled spiritual world, Yagami felt something strange.
Under the Mind–Body Transfer Jutsu, he couldn't feel his body at all — couldn't control it.
Between himself and his physical form was a dense fog — that fog was Purple Cat's soul.
Then, another mass of mist forced its way in violently — shattering the fragile balance between the two.
Three clouds of consciousness collided and twisted together.
Purple Cat's soul took the first blow, suffering severe damage in the initial clash with Dan Kato's invading spirit.
Then Yagami's soul surged forward — smashing directly into the intruder.
Yagami's soul came from another world, inherently different from any soul in this one.
You may have stronger jutsu, he thought coldly, but stronger spirit? That, I refuse to believe.
He rammed his will against the dense mist representing Dan Kato's soul.
After two violent collisions, Dan Kato's presence began to waver — then vanished entirely.
Purple Cat's soul, weakened and wounded, retreated back into her own body.
Yagami's own spirit reeled from the shock, pain splitting through his skull.
He halted his steps at once and turned back toward the squad.
White Ram had only pointed out a direction before dying, the actual distance remained unknown.
If it were dozens of kilometers away, by the time Yagami reached it, Dan Kato would have long escaped — or worse, recovered and struck again with his forbidden technique.
This clash was never meant to kill Dan Kato — it was meant to buy time to escape.
Dan Kato… next month, you and I are mortal enemies.
Returning to his squad, Yagami lifted the unconscious Purple Cat onto his back.
"Run!" he ordered. "Get out of the Land of Rain! Head toward the Land of Fire!"
Purple Cat's breathing was shallow, her limbs limp against his back.
Dan Kato's Spirit Transformation Technique didn't just allow him to possess others — it could directly shred an enemy's soul.
Balancing between the Senju Clan and the ANBU, Yagami had finally tasted the bitter price of walking such a tightrope.
He had prevented Danzō from obtaining the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Scrolls.
He had prevented the ANBU from being enslaved by Danzō's sealing curses.
And yet — it wasn't Danzō's ANBU who came to eliminate him first, but Dan Kato of the Senju.
The Senju had come too close to the truth. They suspected that the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan and the tragic losses suffered by the Senju during the Night of the Nine-Tails' Sealing were the result of ANBU and high-level conspiracies.
Once suspicion took root, the Senju acted swiftly.
And now, more than twenty ANBU had already fallen to Dan Kato.
Yagami felt as though he'd been struck by his own stone.
I've done so much for the Senju — I was their guide, their ally!
If not for me, on the night of the Nine-Tails' transfer and sealing, over nine hundred Senju ninja would have died.
And now White Ram's final words echoed in his mind — Captain Yellow Dog had begun to suspect him.
Yagami couldn't go to the Senju to explain, he couldn't reveal his true allegiance or identity.
He needed to lie low — to let the suspicion fade.
Once Captain Yellow Dog's doubts were gone, then he could reach out to the Senju again and rebuild trust.
Or perhaps… he thought suddenly… I could simply kill Yellow Dog.
To be my enemy is dangerous — to be my superior, even more so.
The thought flickered in his mind — then he acted.
He left a Shadow Clone behind.
"My clone will hold the rear! Keep moving!"
Once his squad was far away, the clone turned back, approaching White Ram's corpse.
Yagami gritted his teeth — the kunai plunged into White Ram's head.
The rain poured endlessly, washing away the blood beneath the body.
This was a cursed country — a land that never stopped weeping.
He couldn't let anyone extract intel from White Sheep's remains.
No one could be allowed to learn that White Ram had reported Yagami's chakra anomaly to Captain Yellow Dog.
He could only apologize — to White Ram's corpse.
When the Shadow Clone completed its grim task, it dispersed — and its memories flowed back into Yagami's mind.
He exhaled slowly, feeling the tension ease slightly.
In front of Captain Yellow Dog, one could never be too cautious.
Women and children might be careless.
ANBU could not.
Upon entering the Land of Fire, Yagami immediately ordered a flare signal fired for backup.
Moments later, from the distance, a flare of the same color burst skyward.
Good — other ANBU were nearby.
Yagami desperately needed support — especially a medical-nin who could tend to Purple Cat's damaged soul.
He darted through the forest, weaving between two thick trunks — and froze.
Ahead, three figures stood atop a branch.
His entire body tensed.
At the center of the trio stood Danzō Shimura.
They had run straight into him — the man en route to the frontlines of the Land of Rain.
Before the mission, Captain Yellow Dog had warned that Danzō might be deployed to the front.
Danzō stood on the tree branch, bandages covering one eye, the other cold and sharp as steel.
"You there," he said icily. "Who did you encounter? Why are you in such a state?"
Yagami swallowed hard before answering.
"Lord Danzō, my squad was ordered to investigate a series of ANBU deaths under mysterious circumstances. We located a possible suspect in the southwestern region of the Land of Rain."
As he spoke, his mind raced — Could I pit one beast against another? Drive the tiger to devour the wolf?
He began his report — part truth, part deception.
"Lord Danzō, we encountered three Leaf ninja under illusion control — one jonin, two special jonin. I believe the illusionist controlling them is the murderer responsible for our fallen ANBU."
"Only such a powerful genjutsu user could have caused so many ANBU casualties."
"During the investigation, my squad members were repeatedly possessed — forced into killing each other.
Captain Monkey, Captain White Ram, and several others all perished.
I was only able to determine the enemy's general direction — I couldn't get close enough."
Yagami deliberately blurred the truth — fusing Madara Uchiha and Dan Kato into a single phantom enemy.
He knew both names. His subordinates knew neither.
And Danzō — knew even less.
***
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