Hanzō declared his withdrawal from the war, and with that, Konoha's campaign in the Land of Rain came to an end.
The pressure weighing on Konoha eased at once.
In the great camp on the front lines, some shinobi remained to fight in the Land of Grass, planning the push into the Land of Earth.
Others, including the Yellow Dog Unit, rotated out, returning to Konoha.
Back in the village, Yako entered a dimly lit conference room in the ANBU headquarters.
The room was empty, save for a single spotlight shining on his seat.
Yako sat under the harsh beam, the light burning down on him, making his skin prickle with unease.
Not long after, three jōnin stepped inside.
They seated themselves at the high platform in front, three lamps lighting their desks. Their silhouettes were visible, but their faces remained hidden.
Then a familiar voice eased Yako's tension.
"Fox, to become a Tokubetsu Jōnin, you require the joint recommendation of three jōnin. In the end, the Hokage himself will review and approve it.
Now comes the ANBU's internal evaluation. Answer carefully."
It was the Yellow Dog Captain speaking.
Yako nodded, eyes fixed on the three dark figures, waiting.
The middle shadow must be his captain. The other two, unknown. Each had a scroll laid before them—no doubt his records.
The figure to the left spoke first.
"Mission records show that in the Land of Rain, you killed a jōnin of Sunagakure. Recount the battle in detail. No omissions."
Yako's heartbeat quickened.
Back then, pressed for time and desperate to minimize casualties among his subordinates, he had invoked the Self-Binding Curse Mark. His last resort.
Had ANBU uncovered the truth?
He recalled the mission report he had submitted and began repeating it word for word:
"That Suna jōnin specialized in Earth Release, but my seals were faster.
My Earth Spears clashed again and again with his projectiles. I outpaced him, forced him into panic.
In the end, I seized the opening and cleaved down on his head—killed him."
No sooner had Fox finished than the jōnin on the left moved.
The ground beneath the platform cracked, pebbles shooting forth like bullets.
Yako's fingers blurred through seals. Earth Spears thrust up to intercept them.
Stone struck stone in rapid succession. But the enemy's precision pressed him hard—the impacts crawled ever closer.
Shards grazed his ear as they flew past. One pebble came within half a meter. Too close.
Amid the chaos, Yako switched jutsu.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A surging wall of water erupted, halting the barrage.
When it splashed down, sweat dotted his brow. The ANBU jōnin's ninjutsu was formidable.
The Yellow Dog Captain chuckled. "Crocodile Turtle, didn't I tell you? Fox's jutsu is first-rate."
Relief washed over Yako. So this was only a test of skill—not a probe into his hidden techniques.
The right-side jōnin now rose.
"Suppose I am a noble of the Land of Fire, hostile to Konoha. You are tasked with assassinating me, but you must not expose your shinobi identity. Only taijutsu. Come."
Steel hissed free as Fox drew a kunai, clashing with the jōnin's own.
The man remarked, "Hnh. Strong arms. That's clear at first contact."
Yako thought grimly, Of course. I carry Senju blood—taijutsu is no weakness of mine.
Sparks burst in the dark as kunai struck again and again.
Yako's training in Cloud-Flow Swordsmanship lent strange flexibility to his joints, letting him thrust at uncanny angles.
As they traded blows, the ANBU jōnin observed, "Your kunai work… laced with swordplay. Cunning, deceptive, and varied. Not bad."
After a few minutes of testing him, the jōnin retreated.
The Yellow Dog Captain addressed them both: "Well then, Crocodile Turtle, Hummingbird—will you join me in recommending Fox for Tokubetsu Jōnin?"
"You have a capable captain," one said.
"Stronger than mine," the other agreed.
All three signed the recommendation scroll in turn.
"Come, Fox," Yellow Dog said. "We'll report to the Hokage."
Yako felt the tension drain from his shoulders. The ANBU exam was passed.
Hokage's Office
The Yellow Dog Captain went in first to report. Ten minutes later, he returned and brought Fox upstairs.
At the doorway, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression softened at the sight of the masked Fox.
"Fox. Come in."
Inside, only the Hokage and the Yellow Dog Captain waited.
Hiruzen looked down at the file in his hands.
"Fox. Real name: Yako.
Born in Konoha, Year 23.
Orphaned in Year 28, raised by the village.
Graduated the Academy in Year 33.
Promoted to chūnin last year, Year 38.
Your squadmates, one after another, died in missions. You alone were rescued by ANBU—and chosen.
Since then, your performance in the Land of Waves, Uzushio Village, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain has been exceptional.
Commended repeatedly by your former captain, Black Ape, and by your current one, Yellow Dog.
Now, you come recommended for Tokubetsu Jōnin."
Hiruzen's eyes lifted, fixing on Yako.
"Fox… tell me. Since entering ANBU, what has changed within you?
ANBU is my personal blade. But now, I want your truth."
Yako thought quickly. The ANBU trial tested strength. The Hokage's trial tests loyalty.
He spoke with measured conviction:
"Hokage-sama, my parents, my teacher, my comrades… all perished in war.
I had resigned myself to death. Joining ANBU was the natural end.
But… in ANBU, I found life stirring again.
Our missions are cold, brutal. Yet in that brutality, the village grows safer.
I suffer cruelty, so others may know warmth.
Konoha moves forward only because men like you, Hokage-sama, shoulder its weight.
I wish to be part of that burden, to serve at your side."
This flattery, laid so neatly… who wouldn't be swayed? Yako mused.
Hiruzen blinked. Shouldering the burden?
Yes… that was it. That was the truth of his years. Every sacrifice, every weary step—bearing the village's weight. He had aged swiftly, grown old before his time.
"Good. Good!" The Hokage swiftly signed his name.
"Yako, I hereby approve you as Tokubetsu Jōnin!
Because of young talents like you, Konoha survives each crisis. Because of your vigor, it thrives."
He called him Yako now, not Fox. The warmth felt strange after so long behind a mask.
Yako bowed his head. "Hokage-sama, I will never betray the Will of Fire. I will fulfill every mission."
Hiruzen nodded, satisfied.
"As Tokubetsu Jōnin of ANBU, you are rewarded with an A-rank jutsu.
Tell me. What type of technique do you seek?"
"I lack offensive power, Hokage-sama. I wish to learn a Water Release attack."
The Hokage gestured to Yellow Dog.
The captain fetched a blue scroll from the shelves and handed it over.
Yako opened it. A catalog—Sarutobi Hiruzen's Compilation of Water Release Jutsu.
His eyes locked on one name at once: Water Release: Severing Wave.
A hallmark technique of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, its cutting power unmatched. Even in the Fourth Great War, the reanimated Tobirama had sliced branches of the God Tree with it.
"Hokage-sama, I request to learn Water Release: Severing Wave."
Hiruzen's gaze grew nostalgic.
"My teacher's jutsu. Difficult… but I'm glad someone will carry it on. Let it be known that your inheritance traces back to the Second."
"Rest assured, Hokage-sama. This jutsu will shine again in my hands."
Hiruzen nodded, then wrote out the technique in fresh ink. As the Professor of Konoha, he had mastered every jutsu within its walls.
Yellow Dog handed the scroll over. Yako dried the ink carefully and stored it away.
"Fox," the Hokage said, "train well. For now, stand at my side. We have a guest."
Yako obeyed, taking place opposite Yellow Dog at Hiruzen's side.
It was a position of trust.
Moments later, a white-haired shinobi with a short blade at his back entered.
Hiruzen's voice brightened. "Sakumo, sit."
"Hokage-sama."
Sakumo Hatake took the sofa, eyes briefly sweeping the two masked ANBU.
The one on the right he knew—Yellow Dog, master of Fire Release and taijutsu.
The one on the left was new. A Fox-mask, but the man's stance alone spoke of strength, of potential not yet fully reached.
Yako's heart skipped. Konoha's White Fang…!
At this time, Sakumo had not yet slain Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law. The title of White Fang had not yet been written in blood.
Hiruzen passed him a scroll.
"The war with Amegakure has just ended, and already Sunagakure declares war.
The Yellow Dog Unit foiled a scheme of theirs—to divert the Rain Country's waters into the Wind Country.
Their plot failed, and now they press us in the Land of Rivers, believing Konoha weakened after so many fronts.
There is no avoiding this. We will meet Suna there.
Sakumo, I want you as vice-commander of the River front.
Nara Kaku will serve as commander. You will be our spearhead."
Sakumo fell silent.
Yako blinked. He hesitates? This man who placed comrades above all?
Hiruzen continued.
"Orochimaru remains in the Land of Grass, while Mitokado Homura prepares a push into the Land of Earth.
Jiraiya is bound by his pact with Mount Myōboku.
Sakumo—of the young, only you can bear this role."
Sakumo bowed. "Hokage-sama, I will not falter. But I have a request."
"Speak."
Hiruzen's warmth cooled a fraction.
Unfazed, Sakumo went on:
"I propose we replace the recommendation system for promotions with examinations.
At present, advancement to Tokubetsu Jōnin and Jōnin is by recommendation, reviewed by you, Hokage-sama.
But many capable chūnin languish in obscurity.
I believe in war we should implement a merit system.
Complete a set number of A-rank missions—automatic promotion to Tokubetsu Jōnin.
Complete a set number of S-rank missions—automatic promotion to Jōnin.
So too with jutsu. Higher-level techniques should be earned through mission quotas.
The exact numbers, of course, to be set by you."
Yako's chest tightened. This…?
The recommendation system was the Hokage's lever of power, his way of distributing the pie.
Change it to merit, and strength alone would decide. Revolutionary.
Yako's gut twisted. In ANBU I've risked my life for scraps—two jutsu total. If it were merit-based, at least I'd know my progress. "100 S-rank missions left before your forbidden technique."
If he weren't ANBU, he'd have cheered for Sakumo.
Hiruzen's eyes lowered.
"Sakumo, the system was established by the Second. It cannot be overturned quickly.
I will consider it. But for now, Suna is the greater threat."
Sakumo inclined his head. "I accept the role of vice-commander. I ask only that you weigh my proposal."
When Sakumo departed, Hiruzen turned to Yellow Dog.
"Yellow Dog, followers gather around Sakumo, clamoring for this 'fair examination system.'
Add it to your duties. Track his circle. Find out what they truly intend."
"Understood!"