After the final discussion ended, and everyone else had left Yellow Dog's tent.
Yōkō turned his head to glance at Butterfly and said, "Submit the operational plan as soon as possible. I can't wait to complete this ambush."
Yellow Dog said to Butterfly, "Butterfly, go quickly and write up the operational plan."
Once the operational plan was delivered to the headquarters tent, Danzo would know all the details.
Watching Butterfly turn and go behind a desk, Yōkō said quietly to Yellow Dog:
"Battalion Commander, I have a baseless feeling that something will go wrong with this ambush operation.
Previously, when our battalion carried out missions, we handled them ourselves.
This mission involves five battalions working together.
Our operational plan will also go through the headquarters.
With many people involved, information leakage is inevitable.
If the plan is leaked, the ambush will turn into a counter-ambush.
More crucially, the overall commander, Danzo, is the Head of the Anbu.
My resolve is far inferior to Advisor Danzo's. If I were the Head of the Anbu and someone was going to become Deputy Head, I would be unhappy.
If I were unhappy, I might do something.
So far, Advisor Danzo has been very supportive, assigning four other battalions to complete the ambush.
The problem lies precisely in this 'strong support'.
If Advisor Danzo created some obstacles, I wouldn't feel so uneasy."
Yellow Dog's expression changed.
Now that Fox mentioned it, it did seem a bit off.
Fox was a Jōnin who grew up amidst the bloody conflicts of the Anbu. His intuition, his worries, almost certainly meant something would happen.
Yōkō continued: "Commander, according to the operational plan, I will take people to the coast tomorrow, but I plan to set off today in advance. Please cover for me, Battalion Commander.
At the same time, you should also prepare a contingency plan. Perhaps depart early tomorrow afternoon, not according to the plan submitted to headquarters, but set off the day after tomorrow instead."
Yellow Dog said, "I understand. You go ahead. I will also be cautious on guard without showing it.
Tomorrow afternoon, under the pretext of a joint training exercise, I will gather the five battalions and set off directly, not following the operational plan."
Yōkō nodded and left Yellow Dog's tent.
Alerting Battalion Commander Yellow Dog was Yōkō's third arrangement.
In this ambush mission, Yellow Dog and Yōkō had shared interests.
Yellow Dog wanted promotion to Deputy Head, Yōkō wanted promotion to Battalion Commander; they could absolutely trust each other in this matter.
After watching Fox leave, Yellow Dog looked towards the headquarters' direction.
His promotion to Deputy Head, plus the veto of 'A' becoming an Anbu Battalion Commander – the Hokage had been quite assertive in both matters. It was hard to guarantee that Advisor Danzo didn't have some thoughts about it.
However, Danzo shouldn't move against him, right? Others in the Anbu might not know, but Danzo knew that he was the Third Hokage's eldest son.
Yet, Yellow Dog thought to himself, he must not be complacent.
Yōkō, Purple Cat, and White Ram put on Hippo Squad masks, disguised as a squad from the Hippo Squad, and left the main camp.
The Hippo Squad wasn't responsible for luring the enemy, so one squad leaving wouldn't attract the attention of anyone watching.
Quickly arriving at the coast, Yōkō had White Ram place Parasitic Destruction Insects along the coastline and sent Purple Cat to protect White Ram.
By placing one Parasitic Destruction Insect at intervals, White Ram alone could monitor a long stretch of coastline.
After White Ram and Purple Cat left, Yōkō first summoned the ninja hound Pakku, obtained the list of Hatake Sakumo's followers and admirers, and stated that he would look after these people during the battle.
Afterwards, he summoned the Spear Egret and obtained the Stone Panda clan summoning contract that Uzumaki Yuka had prepared for him.
White Ram and Purple Cat finished setting up the Parasitic Destruction Insects and returned to Yōkō's side.
White Ram said, "Squad Leader, as long as powerful Kiri-nin approach the coastline, I will definitely know."
Yōkō shook his head and said, "No, you're not monitoring Kiri-nin coming from the sea, but rather... Anbu coming from the land."
"Monitoring the Anbu?"
"Yes, monitoring the Anbu." Yōkō said: "Now go again and place a ring of Parasitic Destruction Insects about 3 kilometers from the shore."
In his previous life, this was the general area where he killed the Kiri-nin using the Water Gun Technique, and also roughly where the Kiri-nin landed.
If someone intentionally leaked the operational plan, they were highly likely to appear nearby.
They searched and waited, the hours passing by.
They searched from noon until dusk, and from dusk until midnight.
The wind at night was cold.
Yōkō grew increasingly uneasy.
Proposing to set up two ambush points, secretly having the Uchiha clan hide Special Jōnin within the battalions, alerting Battalion Commander Yellow Dog – would these arrangements really be enough to turn the situation around?
Should he try to abort this mission?
A major defeat would not only prevent his promotion to Battalion Commander but also cause the deaths of many of his subordinates.
2 AM in the latter half of the night.
White Ram suddenly said: "Squad Leader! Two people have entered the coconut grove! Moving very fast!"
"Follow them!"
After spotting the two masked Anbu ninja from a distance, Yōkō said:
"You two stay here and don't move. Guard my rear and prevent anyone else from approaching. I'll go have a chat with them."
Sending White Ram and Purple Cat away made it easier for Yōkō to operate.
In the coconut grove, the two Root ninja were rushing quickly towards the coast, preparing to meet their target.
The surrounding coconut trees flew past, and the sound of waves could already be heard.
Just then, a line of water suddenly shot out through the gap between the two of them.
Water Cutting Wave?
This technique didn't seem intended to kill them, more like a greeting.
As Yōkō spat out the Water Cutting Wave, he immediately formed the hand signs for Water Body Flicker.
His figure instantly traveled from dozens of meters away, appearing behind the two along the path of the water line.
This was Yōkō's strongest method of closing distance now: the Water Cutting Wave shot a high-speed water line, and the Water Body Flicker allowed rapid approach along that line.
Yōkō's hands landed on their shoulders, left and right, and cursed seals rapidly spread across their entire bodies.
Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal!
The two were instantly immobilized by Yōkō's sealing technique.
The two didn't even have time to turn their heads, unable to see Yōkō.
Confirming they were Root ninja, two kunai stabbed into their backs, piercing their hearts and killing them.
The two Root ninja were quite skilled, but faced with Yōkō risking exposure of his Water Body Flicker, they were easily closed in on.
Yōkō carried the two corpses and headed back.
Throwing the corpses in front of Purple Cat, Yōkō said:
"Purple Cat, the battalion received intelligence that suspicious individuals intended to contact Kiri-nin and sell our information.
Read the brains of these corpses, see if these two were spies."
White Ram propped up one corpse, and Purple Cat placed her hand on the back of its head.
Neither of them doubted the Squad Leader's explanation.
The Squad Leader had access to intelligence others couldn't reach; squad leaders only had to follow orders.
Purple Cat began extracting information from the corpse's brain.
The two were on their way, the Water Cutting Wave passing between them.
Fox suddenly appeared behind them.
Fox's Body Flicker Technique was too fast; they were controlled before they could react.
Neither had time to turn their heads, so they couldn't see how far away Fox was when he used the Body Flicker.
Soon, Purple Cat was so startled she took a step back.
"Squad Leader!"
Purple Cat's throat moved with difficulty. After glancing at White Ram beside her, she quickly walked over to Yōkō.
White Ram didn't feel offended; Purple Cat must have found critical intelligence, information so significant that he, as an Anbu squad leader, wasn't qualified to know.
Purple Cat leaned close to Yōkō's ear and whispered:
"Squad Leader, this person was supposed to deliver an operational plan to a Kiri-nin named Hoshigaki Kisame!
But... his orders came from... Advisor Danzo!"
***
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(Chapter End)