As soon as he entered Yellow Dog's office, Yōkō called out: "Battalion Commander Yellow Dog, I've finally returned to the village!"
Seeing Fox return, Yellow Dog was also very happy:
"Fox, without you, many high-difficulty missions couldn't be carried out. You're finally back. I don't have to personally handle those troublesome missions anymore."
Yōkō thought to himself, You're happy too early, I'll have to leave for the Land of Rain soon.
Yellow Dog asked about the matters on the Land of Hot Water front, and Yōkō answered them one by one.
Yellow Dog took out a scroll: "In your report, you said Hatake Sakumo rewarded over 120 Chūnin and Genin with jutsu?"
"Yes, Battalion Commander. This scroll contains a detailed record of the names of those 120-plus individuals."
Yellow Dog looked somewhat troubled. "If Hatake Sakumo had rewarded 20 people with jutsu, it might still be possible to track and investigate. But he actually rewarded over 120 people. With the Anbu's current manpower, tracking them is almost impossible."
Hatake Sakumo had served as a commander numerous times. When he was on the front lines, his authority was great, and he was qualified to award many jutsu.
Hatake Sakumo was very generous, or perhaps very fair. As long as the mission record requirements were met, regardless of background or clan name, he would grant the jutsu.
Yōkō said, "It's better to focus on monitoring Hatake Sakumo and the people who appear around him. Monitoring all the ninja who have received favors from Hatake Sakumo is unrealistic."
Yellow Dog nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Yōkō's judgment.
Yellow Dog picked up another scroll and said, "There's a mission here that's rather tricky..."
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Butterfly walked in. "Sir, a mission scroll has been delivered from the Hokage Building."
Yellow Dog opened the scroll and saw it was a designated mission for Fox.
"I was about to assign you a mission, but the Hokage has other plans for you. You are to go to the Land of Rain to replace Orochimaru. That mission is more important."
The Third Hokage sent the mission scroll so quickly, saving me the trouble of explaining to Yellow Dog, Yōkō thought.
Yōkō said, "Battalion Commander, I truly want to properly complete missions for the Anbu, but other tasks always interfere."
Yellow Dog said, "The village's missions come first. Whether it's the conflict in the Land of Hot Water or the investigation in the Land of Rain, they are the village's most critical tasks."
"Battalion Commander, on the way back, Advisor Mitokado Homura asked me to recommend someone from the Anbu for promotion to Jōnin. I recommended White Ram," Yōkō said.
"How about having White Ram remain in the Anbu to carry out missions after his promotion? Keep the White Ram Squad, Hippo Squad, and Yak Squad here. I'll take the Flower Deer Squad to the Land of Rain."
"Is taking only the Flower Deer Squad enough?"
"It's enough," Yōkō said. "The Land of Rain has the Lynx Squad and Root Ninja. I don't need to bring many people."
"Alright," Yellow Dog said. "The Hokage said you should rest for two days before heading to the Land of Rain. Before you go, complete White Ram's Jōnin recommendation first."
"Okay."
Yōkō returned to his own squad and entered his office.
Purple Cat was organizing scrolls in front of the cabinet when she heard the door open behind her.
"White Crane! I said no one is allowed to enter the squad leader's office without the squad leader's permission!"
Purple Cat turned her head and saw it wasn't White Crane, but Fox. She quickly ran over to him.
"Fox! You're finally back!"
Yōkō caught the pouncing Purple Cat and patted her back.
"The good news is I'm back. The bad news is I'm leaving for the Land of Rain in two days."
"Leaving again?" Purple Cat asked.
"Yes," Yōkō said.
"For ordinary Konoha ninja, peacetime means a lot of safe C-rank and D-rank missions. Just moving around within the Land of Fire allows them to avoid dangerous B-rank missions. For the Anbu, there's no distinction between peacetime and wartime."
"How long will this trip to the Land of Rain take?"
"I don't know. A month if it's quick, two months if it's slow. In two months, it will be almost New Year, won't it?" Yōkō said.
"Purple Cat, first write White Ram's Jōnin recommendation. After it's written, give it to Butterfly. Then come back quickly and take off your armor. The sight of you without your armor has been on my mind day and night."
Purple Cat was already feeling a bit restless when Fox held her. Hearing his teasing now, her face instantly flushed red. She quickly turned to the desk to write White Ram's Jōnin recommendation.
Yōkō locked the door and came up behind Purple Cat.
"Not now, Captain. I can't write properly like this."
She had wanted to take off her armor herself, but the Captain couldn't wait and started removing it for her from behind.
Flak jacket, mesh shirt... piece by piece, they came off.
The Jōnin recommendation ultimately remained unfinished. Purple Cat, now stark naked, was picked up and carried towards the adjacent restroom.
Set against her pale golden hair, Purple Cat's skin was as white as jade, as white as porcelain.
Half an hour later, Purple Cat emerged from the restroom, panting. She picked up her clothes as she walked, put them on, and sat back down at the desk to continue writing White Ram's Jōnin recommendation report.
After finishing the report, the two left the office and saw White Crane sitting on a chair to the side of the door.
White Crane quickly stood up.
"Captain Fox! I am the new squad member, White Crane! I have completed extensive training. Please assign me to a team!"
Yōkō looked at White Crane and said, "Purple Cat, you go deliver the scroll. I'll have a chat with White Crane."
"Okay, Captain."
White Crane followed the squad leader into the office.
She sniffed. Why is there a familiar smell? Is this... the unique scent of my sister's mesh shirt? My sister likes to add special herbs when washing clothes to prevent skin inflammation from not being able to change clothes for long periods during missions.
Yōkō approached White Crane, startling her. She didn't dare think about her sister anymore.
Yōkō thought to himself, Danzo has planted spies in different squads. The Black Ant Squad near the Third Hokage is the most heavily infiltrated, with as many as three people. I'll find an opportunity later to induce White Crane to feed false information to Danzo.
Yōkō said, "White Crane, you will join the Hippo Squad. Hippo is an Akimichi clan ninja, which should suit you well."
"Understood, thank you, Squad Leader!"
"Go notify White Ram and have him come see me."
Yōkō waited for White Ram and put him through a simple training session.
When he was promoted to Jōnin, he was first asked three extreme questions, such as how to complete an assassination of Mitokado Homura's daughter if ordered by the Hokage. In the second round, he was besieged by several Jōnin and couldn't damage the plants in the examination room.
White Ram was still confused, wondering why the Captain was suddenly giving him special training, asking such extreme questions and not holding back.
After the training, Yōkō was very satisfied with White Ram's performance. He said:
"White Ram, you performed well in the Land of Hot Water conflict. I have recommended you for Jōnin promotion. Your Jōnin exam will probably be tomorrow. I'm not worried about your practical exam; your strength is sufficient to pass the Jōnin exam. I'm worried about your interview exam. You are an Anbu Jōnin. If you encounter tricky questions in the interview, your answers must be extreme, must be unconventional, and must fit your identity as an Anbu Jōnin. Understood?"
***
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(End of Chapter)