Assassinating Shimura Kōhi was originally meant to strike at Danzo, but unexpectedly and indirectly helped Hatake Sakumo, which was a pleasant surprise.
It seemed that as long as he kept working against Danzo, there would always be some reward.
The Fox Squad was about to head to the Land of Hot Water border.
Purple Cat followed Captain Fox into Deputy Chief Yellow Dog's office.
Yellow Dog and Fox discussed what needed attention when going to the Land of Hot Water.
The final topic was a request from Fox.
"Chief, while I was an instructor Jōnin at Root, I discovered a new recruit, Yamanaka Ryuu, who has good talent. I'd like her to join my squad."
"Oh?" Yellow Dog said: "Yamanaka Ryuu, why does that name sound so familiar?"
He looked at Purple Cat behind Fox and remembered that Purple Cat's real name was Yamanaka Ruri.
Fox was afraid that Purple Cat's sister would be assigned to Danzo's Root.
Becoming a Root ninja was indeed terrifying.
Yellow Dog said: "Alright. Come with me, we'll go to Root to get her now."
"Thank you, Chief!"
Yōkō and Purple Cat followed Yellow Dog to Root.
The Root base was also located in the Forest of Death, about 1 kilometer from the Anbu base.
Upon entering Root, Yellow Dog went to the training ground and saw the new recruits and children training.
He signaled for Hei to come over.
Hei quickly came to Yellow Dog's side.
Yellow Dog said: "The Anbu plans to add 5 new members. Those among the new recruits with decent strength can enter the Anbu directly. Hei, bring me the list and training records."
Hei had Ki bring over a scroll.
The scroll contained the list of new recruits and their performance during training.
Hei said from the side: "Lord Yellow Dog, these recruits haven't completed three months of training yet. Isn't it somewhat irresponsible to let them enter the Anbu now?"
Yellow Dog said, "The Lynx Squad is heading to the Land of Grass, and the Fox Squad is going to the Land of Hot Water.
Both squads will likely suffer casualties soon, so we're arranging replacements in advance.
The new recruits are all Chūnin or Special Jōnin themselves; let the various squad leaders train them during missions."
Soon, Yellow Dog picked five people.
Yōkō thought to himself, if Yellow Dog had picked just one person, Hei might have noticed something unusual and refused the request. But by picking five, including Yamanaka Ryuu, it seemed much more reasonable.
Hei said: "Lord Yellow Dog, please wait a moment. I'll take these five to see Lord Danzo and get his approval."
Purple Cat, seeing everything go so smoothly, was very excited.
The five followed Hei away from the training ground.
Yōkō looked at the twenty children.
They were training very hard. They should have been enjoying their carefree time before starting school, but here they were diligently practicing taijutsu.
Visibly, a few children had very good talent.
They waited for a long time; it was taking quite a while.
Purple Cat looked anxiously at Fox. Yōkō also felt the five had been gone for too long.
After a long time, the five returned to the training ground with Hei.
Hei said: "Lord Yellow Dog, you may take these five now."
Yellow Dog nodded and led the people away.
Back in the Anbu, Yellow Dog said to Butterfly, "Butterfly, have a few squad leaders come to pick their new members."
Yōkō selected Yamanaka Ryuu and left first.
Purple Cat excitedly took Yamanaka Ryuu to her office.
As a squad leader assistant, Purple Cat had a private scroll room for storing the squad's various scrolls, which also served as her office.
Removing Yamanaka Ryuu's Root training mask, Purple Cat said excitedly: "Don't be afraid, Ryuu, it's me."
Purple Cat saw a pale and frightened face.
Even though less than a month had passed since they last met, Ryuu's demeanor had drastically changed. The girl's liveliness and cheerfulness had disappeared.
Replaced by panic and the fear from stress.
"Ryuu, what's wrong!"
Ryuu said: "It's nothing. We can't address each other as sisters in the Anbu, Purple Cat. What's my codename?"
Purple Cat felt sad: "Come on, I'll take you to Squad Leader Fox. He'll decide your codename and assign you a mask."
The two entered Fox's office.
Purple Cat said, "Squad Leader, the new recruit doesn't have a codename or mask yet."
Yōkō pondered. When they went to Root to pick up the new recruits, the wait was very long, and the recruits were taken by Hei to see Danzo.
Could it be...?
"I see. I'll speak with the new recruit alone first to see what she's good at, then decide which team she'll join. Purple Cat, you can go for now."
After Purple Cat left, Yōkō casually asked Yamanaka Ryuu some questions to put her at ease.
Yamanaka Ryuu said she was skilled in the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques and had also learned some medical ninjutsu.
Under the table, Yōkō had already formed hand seals.
Demonic Illusion: Temple of Nirvana Technique!
With Yōkō's current strength, Yamanaka Ryuu, at the Elite Chūnin level, couldn't resist his genjutsu.
Feathers drifted down, and Yamanaka Ryuu instantly fell asleep.
Yōkō quickly stepped forward, caught Yamanaka Ryuu, and laid her on the table.
He removed Yamanaka Ryuu's mask, revealing a pretty but pale face.
She looked very similar to Yamanaka Ruri, but younger, with more youthful vitality.
Yōkō pinched Yamanaka Ryuu's cheeks, making her stick out her tongue.
Seeing nothing on her tongue, Yōkō didn't believe it.
He formed hand seals and used a simple unsealing technique.
"Five Elements Unsealing!"
The unsealing technique corresponding to the Five Elements Seal, used to remove chakra restrictions.
It was only because of Yōkō's special chakra, the powerful sealing properties brought by his Uzumaki bloodline, that he could activate the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
Yamanaka Ryuu turned her head uncomfortably but didn't wake up.
On her tongue, the cursed seal of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal appeared!
The hexagram pattern from the Sixty-Four Hexagrams for Withdrawal/Hiding: two Yin lines and four Yang lines.
Yōkō's face darkened.
He had planned to let Danzo off the hook temporarily, to give him a breather, but Danzo wasn't giving him the chance.
He had actually branded Yamanaka Ryuu with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
Most likely, Danzo wanted Yamanaka Ryuu to gather intelligence for him.
Danzo's greatest asset was his intelligence network.
Konoha's most secret intelligence was in Danzo's hands.
With Root suffering heavy losses, Danzo's intelligence network was having operational problems.
He didn't know if Danzo was gathering intelligence on the Anbu in general or targeting him specifically.
Yamanaka Ryuu woke up and found herself standing against the wall.
"You're awake." Yōkō said, "It seems the training load in Root is very heavy, leaving you so weak.
Rest with Purple Cat for the next couple of days. Once you've recovered, I'll assign you to a team."
After Purple Cat left, Yōkō went out into the corridor.
Sensing slightly, the Golden Eagle Squad was not in the Root base.
He infiltrated the Golden Eagle Squad's locker room.
A new recruit was cleaning his ninja sword.
Feathers suddenly began to fall, and the new recruit soon grew drowsy.
Removing the mask, Yōkō used the Five Elements Unsealing to stimulate the cursed seal and saw that this person also had the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on his tongue.
Late at night, Yōkō left his office and detected three people in the Black Ant Squad's locker room.
Infiltrating the Black Ant Squad's locker room, three new recruits wearing white, featureless masks were leaning against the wall.
He started with the Demonic Illusion: Temple of Nirvana Technique again.
Without Jōnin-level strength, one couldn't resist Yōkō's genjutsu.
Yōkō checked all three one by one and found they all had the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
So, when Yellow Dog went to request the personnel and waited so long, Danzo had placed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on all five new recruits.
The bad news was that Danzo had planted spies near him.
The good news was that Danzo wasn't targeting him specifically; he was targeting everyone in the Anbu.
Especially the Black Ant Squad, which was the Third Hokage's most trusted squad, responsible for guarding the Hokage Building, delivering orders, and analyzing intelligence.
Three new recruits, assigned to three different teams... what secrets did the Black Ant Squad still hold?
Yōkō did not go to Yellow Dog to report these problematic new recruits.
He could ask Uzumaki Yuka to help research a way to break the seal; Yellow Dog didn't have that convenience.
Let them fight. It would be better if Danzo and the Third Hokage came to blows; that would give him a chance to fish in troubled waters.
Yōkō prepared to go to the Land of Hot Water, first to assist Hatake Sakumo in boosting his reputation, which would also conveniently allow him to avoid the phase where Danzo was biting like a mad dog.
***
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(End of Chapter)