Once they had moved far enough away from the capital of the Land of Rain, Danzō gave his final orders to Captain Yellow Dog under the pounding rain, then disappeared into the mist with his two Root operatives.
Yellow Dog gathered the three squad captains and began assigning missions.
"Rain Village's sudden involvement was unexpected, so the Leaf has taken a two-pronged approach.
First — a full-scale assault. Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya will each lead a division into the Land of Rain to annihilate Hanzo's main force.
Second — negotiations.
Hanzo offered a condition: if we drive out the Sand-nin operating in his territory, he's willing to talk peace.
Whether on the battlefield or at the negotiation table, both paths are essential for victory.
Based on Hanzo's intel, our battalion will move to the southern Yoshimizu River to investigate the Sand's movements and expel them.
The war with Stone village is the core of this Second Great Ninja War. If we want to crush the Stone between the Leaf and the Cloud's pincer, we must settle the Rain front swiftly.
Each of your squads will take a section of the river. Capture Sand-nin alive if possible—find out what they're scheming near Yoshimizu."
Yagami's Fox Squad drew the middle section—
the hardest assignment, naturally.
Yellow Dog now defaulted to treating the Foxes as his strongest squad.
Yagami sighed inwardly. Too much competence is a curse.
Just like in his past life: the better you were, the more work you got—never more pay, only more "opportunity."
You show you can print double-sided once, and suddenly the whole department's printing is your job until you quit.
After taking their orders, the three squads fanned out in different directions.
Half a day later, White Sheep suddenly stiffened.
"Captain! Large group of shinobi ahead!"
Yagami immediately signaled the squad to relocate to higher ground for better visibility.
The valley below was nothing but haze and rainfall—
the binoculars caught only fog.
He couldn't help missing the previous "White Sheep"—
the one with Byakugan could've easily seen who they were.
"Captain! My insects detected the presence of other Aburame insects ahead! They're Leaf-nin!"
"Oh? Excellent." Yagami brightened.
"Could be part of Orochimaru's main force."
He ordered White Sheep to make contact, identify themselves as ANBU, and prevent any… unfortunate misunderstandings.
Moments later, four figures appeared in the rain.
Leading them was a masked female ninja with a high collar and an insect jar on her back—clearly another Aburame.
She scanned the ANBU carefully, her gaze locking onto the masked White Sheep.
"Is it you?"
Yagami blinked. Wait, she recognized him through insect resonance?
Stepping between them, he warned coolly,
"Aburame member, remember the Leaf's secrecy protocols."
Even if you do recognize a fellow clan member, you don't say it out loud!
"Apologies, Captain," the woman said.
"I'm Aburame Chima. I bring orders from Vice Commander Orochimaru.
Lord Orochimaru requests the presence of the ANBU captain."
Yagami frowned slightly. Orochimaru personally summoning ANBU? What for?
But the Sannin had Root clearance—technically equal to a division commander.
He couldn't refuse.
As they traveled, Aburame Chima kept glancing back—
again and again—at White Sheep.
Even after Yagami's earlier warning, she just couldn't help herself.
White Sheep trailed at the rear, shoulders tense.
Yagami quietly fell back beside him.
"White Sheep," he said, "before you joined ANBU, did you… leave something unresolved? Who is Aburame Chima to you?"
White Sheep froze.
In ANBU, personal ties were liabilities.
His answer could determine whether he was fit to remain.
He bowed his head.
"Captain… as you know, the Aburame host their insects within their own bodies. Because of that, we rarely marry outside the clan.
Aburame Chima was assigned to me as a fiancée.
But I… could never feel anything for her.
She's a good woman—but to make her forget me, I chose to disappear… by joining ANBU."
Yagami nodded sagely.
"Joining ANBU is a good way to vanish for a while.
Women are like that—feelings grow with time. The trick is just… not being around long enough for it to happen."
White Sheep blinked in confusion, not understanding his captain's cynicism.
He shook his head.
"Captain, you don't understand.
It's not just me—my insects reject hers."
"…Wait, what?" Yagami tilted his head.
"You mean your insects also have to… be compatible?"
"Yes," White Sheep said solemnly.
"On the wedding night, just as humans exchange fluids, our insects also exchange… and mate.
My insects loathe hers. It's a biological impossibility.
Aburame children are born with the symbiotic brood created by their parents' insects."
Yagami inhaled sharply through his teeth.
A vivid image flashed in his mind—
an Aburame couple's "wedding night," while every surface of the room—walls, ceiling, floor, windows—swarmed with countless copulating beetles.
He shuddered.
He'd thought the Ino–Shika–Cho clans were the weird ones.
But the Aburame?
The quiet, stoic bug-keepers? They were on another level.
Disgustingly, unimaginably complicated.
Yagami finally sighed.
"Right… that's not just emotional incompatibility—that's species-level rejection.
I'll warn her off. She shouldn't keep looking for you."
He moved to the front of the formation and confronted Chima.
"Captain Chima," he said flatly, "stop turning around. There is no one you know in my squad. Understood?"
Her shoulders slumped.
Her mouth trembled.
"…Understood, Captain."
They soon reached the main Leaf village force.
Hundreds of Leaf shinobi huddled under the downpour, leaning on trees, resting while rain pounded down.
It wasn't rest so much as a brief reprieve—just enough to keep muscles from locking.
More than four hundred ninja, all waiting for a chance to clash decisively with the Rain-nin.
The Land of Rain and the Land of Wind—
the two places Konoha shinobi hated most.
Terrible weather, miserable terrain—one mission here and you'd lose ten pounds of water weight.
At the front, Yagami spotted their field commander—
Orochimaru.
Beside him stood Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was talking nonstop, leaning close to Tsunade's ear,
trying to console her about Dan Katō's death.
Tsunade turned away, her entire body language radiating rejection.
Orochimaru looked toward Yagami.
"Fox. You're from Yellow Dog's battalion, aren't you?
Is your mission connected to the Rain conflict? If so, report your details—
it'll aid my operational planning."
Yagami hesitated.
Around Orochimaru stood Jiraiya, Tsunade, and two strategists.
This wasn't the kind of meeting ANBU normally briefed in public.
But seeing the impatience flicker across Orochimaru's face, Yagami quickly bowed his head.
With Danzō's trust and the Third's favor, Orochimaru was the rulebook right now.
Yagami relayed everything—the encounter with Hanzo, the skirmish, the proposed condition.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
"Danzō agreed to those terms? Hmph.
I will crush Hanzo myself. There's no need to bargain with him."
"Understood," Yagami replied, bowing out.
As he turned to leave, he muttered inwardly—
I just hope when you're the one getting pounded into the mud, you still sound that confident.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666