Chisa raised her hand, as if to call out—but Miqū was already gone.
Hatred surged within her. Why was she so weak? Every night, exhaustion took her before she could even question the strange routine. And so, she never once glimpsed Miqū's true face.
She should have known. Miqū was no ordinary drifter.
How could a so-called vagabond shinobi know something as obscure as hydroelectric power?
But then… was he really ANBU from the Hidden Rain?
Was "Miqū" even his real name?
A crowd of samurai arrived, along with Chisa's handmaidens.
One of them, relieved to see her unharmed, urged, "My lady, please—we must return to Kyoto. Konoha's guardian shinobi are stationed there. With the war against Sunagakure raging, the countryside is far too dangerous."
Chisa nodded. "Yes. We return—and continue the foundation ceremony."
"Huh? You're still holding the ceremony?"
"We are," she said, rubbing her reddened eyes, her voice resolute. "The hydroelectric station is a crucial facility for the Daimyō's Kyoto in the Land of Rivers. It must be completed."
"Even in war, the Daimyō's household must preserve its dignity."
"Kyoto cannot fall into darkness. We will not return to the candlelit chaos of the Warring States era. Summon a Konoha guardian shinobi to the dam. Construction must be guaranteed."
Seeing her determination, the maid could only send a messenger to request aid.
Several hours later, the ceremony resumed.
Chisa stood upon the platform, eyes sweeping over the halved ranks of engineers. She lowered her gaze to the blueprints—drawn by Miqū's own hand—and declared:
"Noble guests. Craftsmen. The Kyoto Hydroelectric Station's foundation ceremony will now begin."
"This station is of great importance to the Daimyō. It will solve the energy crisis caused by dwindling coal supplies—"
***
Yako and the White Ram Squad had circled along the southern border of the Land of Rivers, finally returning to the forward base.
First, Yako checked on the Purple Cat Squad and the Blossom Deer Squad. Thankfully, in the half-month he'd been away, neither team had lost a single member.
Both had been assigned surveillance missions—contained within camp.
Such was the life of Konoha shinobi now—watched constantly, never trusted. Even by the Hokage.
Yako entered the tent of Captain Yellow Dog and gave his report:
"Captain. Our targets, the noble Lord of the Left Guard and the Minister of the Central Palace, had already anticipated the risks of allying with Sunagakure."
"One stayed locked away in Tenshu Castle. The other never left the Daijō-in."
"I had to lure them both out of Kyoto—posing as Anbu from the Hidden Rain. Both were successfully assassinated, and minimal damage was done to property or personnel in the Land of Rivers."
"The Daimyō has no excuse to retaliate."
Captain Yellow Dog nodded, skimming the mission scroll. "Well done, Fox."
He set it down and picked up another scroll. "A new assignment. More difficult. Yours."
Yako sighed inwardly. 'So this is war. Not even a moment to breathe—mission after mission.'
Or perhaps he'd spent too long in Kyoto, and the Yellow Dog Unit had backlog piling up.
Taking the scroll, he read:
The next mission was to recover a captured Chūnin of the Shimura Clan during a prisoner exchange.
In wars between shinobi villages, prisoners were rare. In over half a month of fighting, Konoha had lost five to capture. Sunagakure, four.
Now the Sand had proposed a trade.
But there was a problem: Konoha had no prisoners to give.
Those captured Sunagakure ninja had already been handed off to Root's Alpha—none other than Orochimaru—for experimentation.
Orochimaru was starving for test subjects.
He preferred batches of fifty or more—to run comparison groups.
It was no experiment. It was a survivor's gauntlet.
With no prisoners to exchange, the only option was to have ANBU infiltrate the ceremony and extract the target.
Yako asked, "Captain, the scroll says to rescue the Shimura Chūnin. What about the other four?"
"Save them if you can."
"Ah. Got it. So… optional."
Captain Yellow Dog smirked. Fox's comprehension was sharp. He nodded.
"That Shimura Chūnin acted recklessly on a mission and got himself captured. He must be retrieved."
Yako narrowed his eyes. "What made him take such a risk?"
After all, the Shimura Clan were practically the new aristocracy. No need to throw their lives away.
Yellow Dog replied:
"He has an older cousin—serving as a strategist at headquarters."
"During a casual chat, that cousin let slip something… sensitive."
"There'd been a disagreement between Deputy Commander Hatake Sakumo and Supreme Commander Nara Shikakaku. No resolution was reached."
"Hatake Sakumo believes this war in the Land of Rivers is the perfect time to test a new promotion system."
"If a Chūnin team leader successfully completes two A-rank missions and twenty B-rank ones, command will recommend them as Tokubetsu jōnin."
"A Tokubetsu jōnin who leads two S-rank and twenty A-rank missions will be eligible for Jōnin recommendation."
The Shimura Chūnin had caught wind of that and wanted to seize an A-rank mission early.
And paid the price.
It was a clear and tempting path to promotion—not just for the average shinobi. Even Yako found himself tempted.
As an Anbu team leader, he'd completed:
One S-rank mission — the internal Anbu classification for the mission during Kato Dan's death.
Three A-rank missions:
The assassination of the Left Guard and Minister.
Guarding Princess Kushina during the Nine-Tails seal transfer, alongside Captain Yellow Dog.
Recon in the Land of Rain, investigating Sunagakure's activity in the Yoshigane Mountains.
Earlier missions—like the battle at Mount Ushiga or operations in Uzushio—had lesser contributions from him, earning only B-rank ratings.
By Hatake Sakumo's proposed system, he wasn't yet eligible for Jōnin. But the goal was clear:
Keep completing missions, and eventually, you'd have a seat at the table.
A place in the elite.
He asked, "Captain. That rumor about the assessment system… it hasn't spread, has it?"
"No. It was just a heated moment in the command tent. That Chūnin brought it on himself. Shouldn't have been eavesdropping."
After leaving the tent, Yako went to check the warfront's current status.
The outlook for the Land of Rivers was grim.
Sunagakure had deployed over 3,500 shinobi. Konoha's camp had only 2,000.
And the puppeteers could control several constructs at once—multiplying their threat.
Konoha was already fighting on two fronts—against both the Lands of Earth and Rivers. Meanwhile, they also had to watch their back.
Kirigakure was stirring.
After the death of the Third Mizukage at Uzushio Village, no consensus had been reached on a Fourth.
The infighting was brutal.
For now, the village was ruled by Elder Gensui.
But ANBU intel showed Kirigakure might launch a war against Konoha—just to unify its internal factions.
If things went badly…
Konoha would be fighting on three fronts.