The letter said that Danzo had personally come to the orphanage today, demanding that Yakushi Nonō continue gathering intelligence for Root.
Yakushi Nonō had to set off immediately, without time to bid farewell to Fox.
If Danzo had a moment of kindness, the next time Yakushi Nonō returned to Konoha might be near the end of Konoha Year 41.
Yōkō's gaze lowered.
The blows against Root still aren't enough.
He thought Root had learned its lesson after suffering losses, but it turned out Root had only grown weaker, not better.
The next morning, Yōkō entered Yellow Dog's office.
"Commander, how can Root obtain so much intelligence? Although we Anbu can use that intelligence, we cannot verify its authenticity," Yōkō said.
"I'm preparing to carry out assassinations according to the manual's list, but the thought that the intelligence comes from others makes me uneasy."
"What if the intelligence they provide is wrong?"
Yellow Dog understood Fox's concern. He said:
"The intelligence system and spy network are very complex legacy issues."
"When the Third Hokage first succeeded, he had Commander Danzo take over the Second Hokage's intelligence system."
"Commander Danzo secretly selects spies every year and sends them to other hidden villages, other countries, and other organizations."
"Due to the extreme secrecy of this spy network, no one besides Commander Danzo can take it over."
"Even if the Third Hokage replaced the Anbu Commander, those spies who have been undercover for five or ten years wouldn't trust a new person."
Besides Yakushi Nonō, Danzo held several other ace spies.
Having managed the spy network for over a decade, these spies constituted one of the foundations of Danzo's power, cementing his irreplaceability.
Yellow Dog said: "To this day, I still don't know how Commander Danzo exchanges information with the spy handlers in other hidden villages."
"Fox, if you're interested, you can try to investigate, but you must never cause a spy's exposure."
"Those spies are valuable assets to Konoha, heroes who have made great sacrifices for the village."
"I deeply admire those spies. Remaining undercover in enemy villages for five or ten years without exposure... the hardships involved are beyond words."
"Even just sending back intelligence on things like the price levels in enemy villages is a tremendous help to Konoha."
"I understand."
Within the Yamanaka clan compound.
Yamanaka Ruri sat in the courtyard, sewing children's clothes.
A gentle smile occasionally appeared on her fair face.
Yōkō leaned against a wooden pillar in the distance, watching Yamanaka Ruri from afar.
He wanted to keep hiding, to remain in the shadows forever.
However, he couldn't be alone forever.
A large web was slowly forming around him, and on this web were many people he was becoming increasingly familiar with.
These people collectively constituted who he was now; he was no longer a stranger from another world who had crossed over.
He had his lover Kyōi, his 'little three', 'little four', 'little five', 'little six', and familiar subordinates like White Ram and Kika.
Now with more attachments, he needed to be even more careful.
Yōkō left using the Ephemeral Technique.
In the courtyard, Yamanaka Ruri suddenly looked up but found nothing.
She had a feeling, as if someone had glanced at her.
Yōkō led the Kika Squad to the village gate, threw a kunai pinning an exit permit to the gate, and left the village.
The gate guard went to pull out the kunai.
The gate was pitted with countless holes made by kunai.
"Who were those people just now? They were too fast, I didn't see. These ninja on emergency missions are so annoying; this gate will be ruined by them sooner or later."
"The one leading them was an Anbu Squad Leader! Haven't you seen a Squad Leader's cloak? It's not the low-key black cloak, it's changed to a conspicuous white cloak."
"A Squad Leader, huh? No wonder they aren't afraid of being spotted by others."
Yōkō and the Kika Squad quickly headed north.
Root had sent intelligence: The Kumo-nin Jōnin Takami, proficient in Lightning Release, had left Kumogakure to perform a mission in the Land of the Moon.
Takami was an A-Rank target in the Assassination Manual, having been a Jōnin for five or six years with strong abilities.
Western Land of the Moon.
Samurai escorted a group of civilians towards the mines.
The great noble Chikayama Shin had discovered coal deposits within his domain and had forcibly conscripted many civilians to enter the mountains and mine.
The ragged civilians were tied together with ropes, twenty to a group, marching deep into the mountains.
A civilian youth named Daikū, barefoot on the stones, his clothes in tatters, quietly comforted the companion behind him:
"We escaped once, we can definitely escape a second time!"
Half a month ago, a mining disaster occurred in Great Noble Chikayama Shin's coal mine, killing over 50 people.
The miners, unwilling to use picks in mine shafts with no safety measures, started a riot.
Over 100 miners died in the riot, and more than 200 escaped the deep mountains.
They reached the coast of the Land of the Moon at their farthest point. The Land of Iron was just across the bay; if they could enter the neutral Land of Iron, they could survive.
The Land of the Moon nobles could not enter the Land of Iron to pursue the escaped miners.
However, the appearance of Kumo-nin shattered all illusions.
The Kumo-nin Jōnin Takami accepted the commission from Great Noble Chikayama Shin, rushed to the coast, killed the rebellion leaders, and stopped the remaining miners.
Takami stood on a hillside, frowning as he watched the long line of tied-up miners on the mountain path.
"Why are these miners moving so slowly?"
A squad member said, "Captain, these miners are hungry; they can't move fast. They betrayed Lord Chikayama. That noble wants to starve them for a few days to teach them a lesson."
Takami felt annoyed.
Every time he left Kumogakure, Takami felt surrounded by a vague sense of danger.
This time, the feeling was even stronger.
Everywhere outside Kumogakure was too dangerous.
This place was too close to the Land of Hot Water, where they could encounter brutal Konoha ninja at any time.
Many in the village criticized the Third Raikage, saying his policies were too weak.
Konoha had targeted the Jinchūriki twice, only resulting in two months of conflict at the border, gaining nothing, and hastily ending the clashes.
If only we could take the Land of Hot Water, Takami's current mission would be much safer.
Takami wasn't one of those foolish hardliners; he understood that even as a Jōnin, he could die at any moment.
After thinking it over, Takami said, "Go to the back of the line and kill the sick and injured miners. If the noble won't give them food, we can't let them delay us."
The Kumo-nin member nodded, quickly moving to the rear of the line.
He drew his ninja sword and killed three miners with leg and foot injuries.
"Move faster, damn it! Don't delay our mission!"
The miners at the back, seeing this, pushed and shoved, crowding forward.
Panic spread among the miners.
They were hungry, most had worn-through soles on their feet, and fearing the ninja would kill them, they hurried forward.
Yōkō put down his telescope.
The shinobi world was a strange place.
Those with superpowers, the ninja, lived in darkness.
Those holding secular power, the Daimyō and nobles, constantly faced the danger of being assassinated by ninja.
As for the civilians, they endured oppression by the nobles and also worried about being killed by passing ninja.
Everyone lived miserably. Who exactly is enjoying this?
These miners were the great noble Chikayama Shin's livestock.
Only the great nobles had the money to hire ninja. Before ninja, the civilian miners had no power to resist.
***
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(Chapter End)