When Danzo entered the Hokage's office, Orochimaru and Fox hadn't left yet, and Yellow Dog was also there.
"Danzo is here." Sarutobi Hiruzen was in a very good mood: "Orochimaru, tell Advisor Danzo about the mission in Kumogakure again."
Orochimaru said: "Yakushi Nonō is an excellent intelligence operative."
"She obtained the rotation intelligence for Kumogakure's outer sentry points and planned the route for us."
"Advisor Danzo once asked me to develop an illusion secret drug to deal with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. I tested it on B, and it was very successful."
Yōkō drew a sharp breath. Did Orochimaru just casually state that Danzo had once plotted against the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
He slightly shifted his gaze and found that the few people in the office weren't particularly shocked.
He thought he had already integrated with these people, but it turned out he still had significant room for improvement.
No matter how bad he was, compared to these few, he was as innocent as a little white flower.
As for why they needed to develop a secret drug for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the answer was for the village's sake.
If the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki were to betray the village, they needed some means of restraint, right?
Orochimaru continued: "The Eight-Tails went berserk, B died, Kumogakure lost 8 Jōnin and over 60 ninja, suffering heavy casualties."
"Kumogakure's Improved Sealing Technique was sufficient for the Two-Tails, but the Eight-Tails is much stronger than the Two-Tails; B's seal wasn't stable enough."
"I believe the threat of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki on the battlefield is greater than that of the Eight-Tails."
"During this mission, Fox's performance also impressed me."
"He withstood a direct hit from the Third Raikage after he entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In terms of defensive power alone, Fox can be considered the strongest ninja I have ever seen."
Yōkō quickly modestly said: "Countless near-death experiences in Anbu missions have given me a somewhat special understanding of defense."
Danzo asked: "Orochimaru, the results are indeed astonishing. But have you considered Kumogakure's possible reactions? What if they start a war?"
Before Orochimaru could answer, Sarutobi Hiruzen explained for him:
"Danzo, the purpose of Orochimaru's completed B investigation mission was to suppress Hatake Sakumo's increasingly high prestige."
"Compared to the threat from Kumogakure, the chaos within the village is more worrying."
"Konoha's threat has never been external, but internal. We must clean our own house before receiving guests, isn't that right?"
Yōkō thought to himself, 'Internal stability precedes external resistance.' Sarutobi Hiruzen, the advantage is yours.
Expert in internal strife, amateur in external conflicts. Are you Sarutobi Zhongzheng?
Danzo stopped pressing and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen:
"Four Root ninja, Ki, Kō, Shin, and Jin, were killed in the Land of Iron."
"I will initiate a new Forcible Conscription plan for Root and the Anbu within the village."
"Any ninja with outstanding abilities will be forcibly conscripted into the Anbu and Root."
"Any ninja with outstanding talent will be forcibly conscripted into Root and carefully cultivated."
Yellow Dog, seeing Danzo speak so resolutely and not wanting the Anbu to be used by Danzo, said:
"Lord Danzo, the Anbu is not short of New Recruits for now."
"The Anbu's shortfall isn't large. For the Anbu's four squads, supplementing with 2 to 3 New Recruits per month is sufficient."
Danzo coldly glanced at Yellow Dog and turned to leave.
Yellow Dog was left embarrassed.
When Yōkō followed Yellow Dog back to the Anbu, he asked: "Minister, what is Advisor Danzo trying to do? Conscripting Civilian ninja is one thing, but forcibly conscripting Clan Geniuses? Will the clans agree?"
"Advisor Danzo is getting anxious." Yellow Dog said:
"Root now only has two and a half people left: Hei, Ki, and half of Orochimaru."
"The key point is that Advisor Danzo still hasn't identified the enemy, who exactly is secretly killing Root ninja."
"The Golden Eagle Squad has been investigating but found nothing."
"All we know is that the perpetrator is a Fire Release expert with at least Elite Jōnin strength."
Yōkō felt somewhat guilty. His Fire Release wasn't at the Elite Jōnin level yet; it was just because he had unlocked a Mastery-level Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, allowing fast execution and giving enemies little reaction time, making him seem like a Fire Release expert.
Returning to Yellow Dog's office, Yellow Dog looked at the mission report and said:
"Fox, this is your 9th S-rank mission. When I was your age, the number of S-rank missions I had completed wasn't even half of yours."
"It's all thanks to your excellent arrangements, Minister."
Yellow Dog smiled.
Assistant Butterfly knocked and entered the office:
"Sir, Root has sent a scroll. Minister Danzo will conscript at least 20 people into Root training this week."
"Hei says Root is short-handed and requests the Anbu send 5 elites to instruct the Root newcomers."
Yellow Dog took the scroll and looked at it, then said:
"Fox, you've completed 2 S-rank missions in the Land of Lightning consecutively over the last two months. Why not take a break and go to Root as an Instructor Jōnin? With you leading the others into Root, I'd feel more at ease."
"Understood, Minister."
Leaving Yellow Dog's office and returning to his own, Yōkō had Purple Cat bring him the squad's mission reports for the month.
Most of the squad's tasks were internal surveillance missions.
As the assistant, Purple Cat would receive and assign tasks on Yōkō's behalf when he was away.
Rotating duties like Nine-Tails Jinchūriki surveillance, Senju clan surveillance, Uchiha clan surveillance, Aburame clan surveillance, etc., none were particularly dangerous.
He needed to find a way to provide valuable intelligence to Orochimaru: intelligence on Yellow Dog and the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack, intelligence on the Black Ant Squad and the Scroll of Seals.
It was somewhat difficult; he didn't know where to start.
One scroll caught Yōkō's interest.
The Antelope Squad had written a report stating a sharp increase in the number of pregnant women in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Konoha Hospital.
"Purple Cat, what month is it now?"
"June."
"The war ended late last year. After the war ended, the pressure on ninja dropped sharply, and their Reproductive Cells became more active."
"Reproductive Cells?" Purple Cat looked at the scroll, then said: "Ah, yes. After every Great Ninja War, there's a wave of Baby Boom."
In the ninja world, women change their surname to their husband's after marriage.
Yōkō looked at the recorded surnames of the pregnant women from the Antelope Squad and roughly guessed which group of people was being born.
Kamizuki Izumo, Kōtetsu, Gekkō Hayate, Iruka... most of the special Jōnin Naruto encountered in the original story were born around this time.
Yōkō pulled Purple Cat into his embrace, stroking her lower abdomen.
Being touched there by Fox was even more embarrassing than being touched elsewhere. Purple Cat's face turned bright red, and even her long neck beneath the mask flushed.
Fox was checking if she was pregnant.
"Fox... we are both Anbu ninja. If we had a child, before you retire from the Anbu, the child couldn't take your surname..."
"It doesn't matter. I'm a Civilian with no surname."
The name Yōkō was inherited from the original body; this identity also had no surname, being from the lower-class Civilian.
Yōkō didn't mind having children, but he was somewhat worried about what Kekkei Genkai the child might inherit.
His current Kekkei Genkai were Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga... quite a mix.
Logically, the Senju Kekkei Genkai was obtained earliest and should have the greatest influence on him.
Uzumaki and Senju were somewhat better, but what if Yamanaka Ruri's child awakened the Sharingan or Byakugan?
When deeply engaging with Purple Cat, if he used a bit of the Senju Kekkei Genkai's self-healing ability, could it increase the probability of inheriting the Senju Kekkei Genkai?
It was easier to explain this Civilian identity having the Senju Kekkei Genkai.
Senju clan women who married ninja within the village no longer used the Senju surname, so the spread of Senju bloodline within the village could be reasonably explained.
Yōkō said: "Ruri, if you have a child, include the character 'Yō' in the child's name."
Purple Cat was stunned. This was the first time Fox had revealed any information related to his identity to her.
Despite their extreme intimacy, Purple Cat still didn't know who Fox was.
As Fox's assistant, she didn't have the authority to view any information about Squad Leader Fox.
"Yō?" Purple Cat nodded repeatedly: "Alright, I'll remember that."
"My fault. The Baby Boom has arrived, but your stomach still shows no sign of movement. I must properly nourish you during this time!"
***
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(End of Chapter)