In the examination room of the Jōnin Corps.
Yōkō stood behind Nara Rokaku, watching White Ram undergo the examination.
"Now begins the interview examination. I will ask you three questions next. Do not hesitate; directly state the first answer that comes to your mind. Hesitation will be considered a failure of the examination," Nara Rokaku said.
"Suppose the village sends you undercover to the Land of Bears for thirty years. What would you do?"
White Ram immediately said, "The Land of Bears has no important figures worthy of an Anbu agent being undercover for thirty years, unless the goal is to completely control the Land of Bears."
Upon hearing this, Nara Rokaku immediately turned his head to glance at Fox. He remembered that Fox had followed the same line of thinking when answering this question back then.
White Ram continued, "I would stage a Cocoon Puppet Show within the Tenshu Castle of the Land of Bears' Daimyō. I would turn the important figures inside the Tenshu Castle into cocoons. Their skin would appear normal, but the flesh and blood beneath would have been eaten away and replaced by Parasitic Destruction Insects... On the surface, the people in the Tenshu Castle would seem normal, but in reality, they would all be walking cocoons. Then, upon Konoha's command..."
"Stop!" Nara Rokaku felt the Anbu were all too extreme.
This answer was only slightly less extreme than Fox's previous suggestion of making the Land of Bears' Queen Dowager his lover.
The other nine Jōnin present all looked askance. Is this the decision-making tendency of Konoha's Anbu?
Yōkō nodded repeatedly, feeling very pleased.
Truly, he's been with me for a long time. White Ram's thinking is on the same wavelength as mine, with outstanding methods.
For the next two questions, Nara Rokaku interrupted White Ram's answers.
Being extreme was one thing, but White Ram proposed solving every mission using insects, and the scenes he described were somewhat nauseating.
Later, during the combat examination, White Ram also passed easily.
White Ram was 19 years old this year, right in the middle of his high-speed growth period.
After the review concluded, Yōkō and Yellow Dog took White Ram to the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage personally imparted the Will of Fire to White Ram. White Ram vowed that he would spare no effort, even his last Parasitic Destruction Insect, for the missions of the Anbu.
After finishing White Ram's Jōnin promotion, Yōkō took Flower Deer into the Root headquarters.
The Root had a circular atrium hall.
Below the hall was icy cold groundwater. Above the water surface were cross-shaped bridge paths leading to different areas within Root.
One direction led to Danzo's office.
Yōkō stood in the center of the bridge, waiting for Danzo.
Danzo slowly emerged from the darkness and stepped into the beam of light shining down from the top of the atrium.
Yōkō spoke first: "Lord Danzo, the Hokage has decided to send me to the border of the Land of Rain to replace Lord Orochimaru. I wonder if Lord Danzo has any instructions or arrangements regarding the investigation mission concerning the Uzumaki remnants."
Danzo looked at Fox, thinking to himself, Why didn't I discover Fox's talent back then? If I had recruited Fox into Root early on, I wouldn't be so short-handed now.
Danzo said, "Fox, you are also a veteran of the Anbu. You participated fully in the Uzumaki clan's extermination and the battle at Uzushiogakure alongside Battalion Commander Yellow Dog. You should understand the immense damage it would cause to our Konoha if the Uzumaki remnants were allowed to gain power. This time, when you go to the Land of Rain, you must find the Uzumaki remnants. Preserve their brains. Bring them back, or at least their brains. Leave no survivors."
Yōkō said, "I understand. There will be no survivors."
Yōkō thought to himself, I wonder which side will have no survivors. In any case, there definitely will be no survivors.
Danzo said, "Ki is responsible for intelligence. Once you arrive in the Land of Rain, Ki will provide you with all the current intelligence. This is the mission scroll. After Ki sees this scroll, she will naturally cooperate with you."
Ki is in the Land of Rain? That's excellent.
Hei emerged from the darkness behind Danzo and threw over a scroll.
Yōkō caught the scroll, bowed to Danzo, and left the Root base.
After Fox left, Hei asked, "Lord Danzo, is it worth recalling Orochimaru for the experiments?"
Images of the earth-shattering power of Wood Release flashed in Danzo's mind. "It is worth it. From now on, fully cooperate with Orochimaru to advance the experiments."
Hei said, "Sir, the 50 child test subjects for the first injection experiment are ready. These children are all from outside villages and possess both Earth Release and Water Release aptitudes. Sir, Kō said the experimental mortality rate will be very high. Should we begin gathering test subjects for the next stage in advance?"
Danzo said, "First, observe the performance of this batch. If they all die, then proceed to find test subjects with Senju lineage. Start with the women who married out of the Senju clan. Their children also possess half Senju bloodline. Those who married out changed their surnames; if they go missing, it shouldn't cause immediate chaos. Begin screening suitable targets now. When the time comes, we can swiftly and covertly apprehend the test subjects."
"I will arrange it as soon as possible, Sir."
Danzo asked again, "How effective is the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal? Is the seal stable?"
Hei couldn't help but swallow. He himself had also been branded with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal by Danzo. Before that, he didn't know Danzo distrusted him. He had thought he was Danzo's absolute confidant. In the end, he had thought too highly of himself.
Hei knew Danzo wasn't asking about his own seal. He said, "Sir, the four new full members added to Root are completely controlled by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. The five individuals secretly assigned to the Anbu also show no issues with their seals so far."
Danzo said, "I suspect someone in the Anbu has betrayed Konoha."
Hei's eyes showed unease. "There's a traitor in the Anbu?"
Danzo said, "The strikes against the Shimura clan and Root were too accurate and too ruthless. Root's intelligence is top secret; many Konoha ninja don't even know Root exists. Someone must have leaked Root's intelligence to the Uzumaki remnants, allowing them to strike Root so precisely."
Danzo paused, then said, "Yellow Dog is proficient in Fire Release and also masters Wind Release..."
Danzo didn't continue. Hei didn't dare listen further and quickly said, "The Sarutobi clan's Sarutobi Yutaka was also killed. It couldn't be Yellow Dog, could it?"
Danzo didn't say anything. One must be ruthless to serve as the Anbu Deputy Chief. Perhaps Sarutobi Yutaka's death was a smokescreen of some kind.
--
The full moon was like a silver plate.
Another new full moon night had arrived.
In the latter half of the night, Yōkō left the Anbu base, wearing his mask as he wandered through the village.
After confirming he wasn't followed, he entered the orphanage.
In the orphanage's cramped headmaster's office, a basket of clothes sat beside Yakushi Nonō as she mended holes in the children's garments.
She particularly liked the lively and active orphans; they filled the orphanage with laughter. It was inevitable that active children's clothes tore easily.
Yakushi Nonō suddenly looked up; she had sensed someone entering the barrier she had set up.
A figure appeared behind her.
Yōkō first peeked over, seeing Yakushi Nonō's full chest, and said, "Lucky. You're not using that super-tight chest wrap."
"I'm in the orphanage; there's no need for disguise."
Yakushi Nonō put down her needle and thread, leaning forward to accommodate Fox.
After enjoying her unique tightness, Yōkō stroked Yakushi Nonō's slender waist and asked, "Has Ki been branded with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal?"
"It's confirmed. She has."
"Good."
***
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(End of Chapter)