Koi Chisa walked along the banks of the Yoshimizu River with the Fox Anbu following behind her.
She claimed she might face assassination and demanded the Fox Anbu protect her at all times, never straying more than three steps away.
Yagami enjoyed coming to the construction site.
The head craftsman surprisingly knew how to use some simple D-rank ninjutsu. A bit of chakra was used for excavating foundations, laying bricks, and filling soil—similar to unfinished Earth Style ninjutsu—making the construction speed very fast.
Every morning, Koi Chisa ate at the same table as Fox.
She ate exquisite dishes, while the Fox Anbu merely tossed a soldier pill into the slit at the mouth of his mask.
Since learning the Water Severing Wave, Yagami had adjusted his mask, cutting a long, thin slit at the mouth.
The fox mask was already somewhat sinister, and with the addition of the slit, it appeared even more cold, even bordering on fierce and cruel.
When the two stayed at the Ministry of the Treasury, Koi Chisa would work while the Fox Anbu leaned against the corner of the wall behind her.
She had once brought the Fox Anbu into the courtyard where Mikome used to live, but Fox remained unmoved.
The light in Koi Chisa's eyes grew dimmer and dimmer. Had she been mistaken?
Until the night of the full moon, she prepared to make one final attempt.
She walked up to the Fox Anbu and raised her hand.
Yagami was startled; if Koi Chisa directly reached to unmask him, he would have no choice but to act.
However, Koi Chisa merely tapped on his mask twice, and with her other hand, she adjusted her glasses.
Yagami froze for a moment, then understood Koi Chisa's meaning.
This world had ninja temples like the Fire Temple, as well as some Buddhist scriptures.
There was a scripture called the Platform Sutra, which recorded the high monk of the Fifth Patriarch, Fazhen, who used the method of tapping someone on the head to tell the Sixth Patriarch at what time in the middle of the night to find him.
This story was later written into Journey to the West, where Sun Wukong went to see Patriarch Bodhi using the same head-tapping hint.
Chisa tapped his mask twice—did she want him to meet her at 2:00 in the morning?
The full moon was like a silver plate; tonight was the night of the full moon.
At 2:00 in the morning, Koi Chisa stood by her desk. There were no lights after the power was cut, and she had not lit a candle.
Opening the window, she gazed at the bright moon in the sky.
The room was empty; she had sent her maids elsewhere early on.
Suddenly, footsteps came from behind her.
"Is it you? Only you know what it means when I adjust my glasses. You like me wearing glasses all the time, don't you?"
The person behind her did not answer.
"My sixth sense tells me it must be you."
Yagami thought to himself, this truly is an ill-fated relationship.
Should he actually deepen his connection with Chisa?
From Ida Haneda's perspective, the relationship between the Anbu and the nobles was profound.
Yagami wanted to enter the upper echelons, and gaining the support of the nobles was essential.
He was a man determined to be the dark side of the Hidden Leaf; he had to use special means to obtain financial support, just like Danzo.
Fine, this was a good reason.
Yagami placed a blueprint down beside Koi Chisa.
This blueprint was a modification for a certain part of the dam; the previous drawing had a minor issue.
Koi Chisa grabbed the blueprint and looked at it, her chin trembling with excitement.
It really was him!
This was a drawing he had newly made!
But he was a Hidden Leaf Anbu, and she could not turn around.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Chisa hurriedly shouted:
"Wait! Don't go! Could you stay with me a while longer?"
She carefully moved backward, slowly leaning against Fox.
This sense of security was something only Mikome could give her. Regardless of whether he was Mikome or Fox, he was someone she acknowledged and even admired.
A hot and ambiguous atmosphere fermented between the two.
A few minutes later, her peach-like buttocks were fully revealed before the desk.
The breathing of the two grew more and more rapid.
Throughout the thirty minutes of shimmering spring light, Koi Chisa never turned around, respecting Fox's identity as an Anbu.
Once the person behind her vanished, Koi Chisa collapsed limply into her chair.
"Truly annoying. Couldn't the Anbu have cleaned up a bit? The chair is all wet."
Leaning softly on the table, Koi Chisa thought that the hydroelectric station was his most precious gift; she couldn't ask for more.
Every night at 2:00, Koi Chisa would wait by the window, waiting for Fox.
She would never turn around, always back to her lover.
Every morning at 3:00, her lover would leave, leaving behind a drenched chair.
Until one morning, Fox bid her farewell while Chisa was eating breakfast.
"Miss Chisa, the Land of Earth has returned a state document promising not to sabotage the hydroelectric station. Our unit's escort mission is over. Goodbye."
Koi Chisa nodded mechanically, feeling as though a large piece of her heart had gone missing.
By the time she looked up again, the Fox Anbu had disappeared.
The Fox unit left the capital and rushed toward the southwest, catching up to the Hidden Leaf front-line camp.
During the month they were away, the front-line camp had pushed forward and reached the border of the Land of Rivers.
While resting on the road, Purple Cat came to Yagami's side.
"Finally left that annoying sister of the Daimyo."
"Huh? Why do you hate her? She's alright."
Purple Cat rolled her eyes at Yagami and quickly got up to leave.
Yagami thought to himself, with my infiltration abilities, Purple Cat shouldn't have been able to discover anything, right?
The front-line camp was set at the border of the Land of Rivers, the ground beneath their feet being hard desert.
There were no rivers here; it was exceptionally dry with very few plants.
Entering the camp, Yagami noticed the number of ninja in the camp had decreased slightly.
The Hidden Leaf had paid a price to push the battle lines forward.
It also possible the Hidden Sand Village had intentionally retreated, drawing the Hidden Leaf into their home desert territory.
Yagami found the Anbu tent.
When Commander Yellow Dog saw Fox enter, he immediately rummaged through a pile of scrolls and found a mission scroll.
"Fox, you're finally back," Yellow Dog said:
"The Daimyo of the Land of Earth has conceded and will no longer target the hydroelectric station, so you should jump back into other Anbu missions as soon as possible.
There is a mission here that is quite tricky. You will lead the team to complete it."
Yagami glanced at the contents of the scroll. This wasn't just tricky; it was somewhat wicked.
Commander Yellow Dog said.
"Behind the front lines of the Land of Wind, there are several oases. The lake water in those oases is the water source for the Hidden Sand's supplies.
Ordinary ninja have too strong a sense of morality; it is inconvenient for them to go poison the water. What they won't do, we will do.
In these extraordinary times, Fox, you will lead the team to dump poison and destroy the Hidden Sand's water sources."
Yagami asked, "Extraordinary times?"
Yellow Dog explained:
"After the death of the Third Mizukage, the Hidden Mist Village is being governed by the Elder Genji.
The position of Mizukage cannot remain vacant forever.
The Hidden Mist Village is rife with factions. The largest is the Hozuki clan, the second largest is the Ice Style clan, then the Kaguya clan, the Karatachi clan, along with the elite Jonin among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, and so on. Contradictions are sharp and internal strife is severe.
Genji declared war on the Hidden Leaf to divert these sharp internal conflicts.
The Hidden Leaf is forced to fight on three fronts. The command center has decided to end the war by any means necessary to prevent the war in the Land of Rivers from becoming a war of attrition."
When internal pressure is too great, war is the only final choice.
The Hidden Mist Village's declaration of war came at the perfect time.
The Land of Fire occupied the best and most fertile central lands of the shinobi world, naturally placing it in a position for a four-way war.
If the Hidden Leaf fought on three fronts, even with the Hidden Leaf's resources, they wouldn't be able to hold out.
It was estimated that, just like during the First Shinobi World War, the Hidden Leaf would eventually have to send the Uchiha clan to the battlefield in the final stages of the war.
Yellow Dog continued:
"Genji also said that the ownership of the Fourth Mizukage position will be decided based on performance in the war.
Mist ninja have already landed from the Land of Whirlpools.
After the Uzumaki clan was wiped out, the Land of Whirlpools became a vassal of the Land of Fire and is also an important source of missions for our Hidden Leaf.
Therefore, the higher-ups believe the war in the Land of Rivers should be ended as quickly as possible."
Yagami took the scroll and sighed in his heart. Poisoning the oasis lakes—that was a top-tier crime in the Land of Wind.