"You really pushed yourself, Leaf Monkey."
Hearing the Fox Squad Captain speak with sympathy, Leaf Monkey replied:
"At the time, all I could think about was completing the mission, Captain. Captain Blossom Deer's injuries are real too. Everyone gave it their all."
Yako cast a glance at Blossom Deer. The man had shaved his head—his scalp was covered in blade wounds.
His wounds had reopened from the exertion, oozing a pale pink fluid.
Looking closer, the red blood was laced with yellow pus.
Yako turned his gaze to the poisoned Shimura clansman and said:
"Rest up ahead. Treat your wounds before we move. Don't let them become permanent. Give the Shimura guy a few more stimulant shots—so long as he doesn't die, that's enough."
Yako hadn't expected his squad to value this mission so highly.
As the squad captain, he had read Leaf Monkey's file.
Leaf Monkey, real name: Sugi Fuku.
A Chūnin from Konoha's civilian population. Raised by his older brother, who later died in the war. Sugi then raised his brother's son—his nephew.
Less than two years later, the boy died in battle as a Genin.
Sugi had lost everything. He was ready to die in the Land of Grass—fighting recklessly.
That was why ANBU recruited him.
They told him the ANBU would use any means necessary to end the war. If he pledged loyalty to the Hokage, he could help bring peace to Konoha sooner.
A new fire had ignited in his heart. He didn't want his brother's tragedy—or his nephew's—to repeat itself.
Ever since joining ANBU, he treated every mission like his last, hoping only to end the war quickly.
Such a dedicated ANBU operative… and he was being used to save one of Danzo's relatives.
"Leaf Monkey, once we're back, I'll request a proper jutsu for you. Don't worry. I'll make sure you get to live a few months longer."
"Thank you, Captain!"
They had only rested for a few minutes when White Ram suddenly spoke up:"Captain! Seven o'clock—800 meters out, a Sand ninja squad approaching!"
"So the Sand aren't planning a clean prisoner exchange either. They've got backup too. Figures—no one's clean in war."Yako immediately issued orders:
"Those carrying the wounded, move ahead! The rest form the center. I'll bring up the rear!"
The squad moved again. Yako fell back, staying alert as they passed a canyon with a river.
From inside the canyon came the distinct clack of puppet joints.
The horn-shaped gorge echoed the sound, making it louder.
Three humanoid puppets leapt out from the canyon and unleashed a barrage of poison needles at the Fox Squad.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Yako was prepared. A massive wall of water—over ten meters long—rose up, shielding the squad's flank.
The poison needles thudded into the wall and dissolved, spreading a purplish hue across the surface—the toxins dispersing in the water.
Before the wall fell, Yako had already formed five hand seals in rapid succession.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure stream blasted from Yako's mouth, sweeping through the puppets and slicing them apart.
Their internal mechanisms spilled onto the ground—gears, springs, pulleys. Quite the variety.
The three puppets lost most of their combat capability.
But one puppet, driven by a particularly skilled puppeteer, could still move with just its upper and lower halves.
That was the trouble with puppets—you couldn't predict their actions using logic meant for people.
After blocking a puppet's bladed arm with another Water Formation Wall, Yako shouted,"Move away from the canyon!"
The squad shifted direction, widening the distance until the puppeteers were forced to leave the canyon.
Two new puppets charged the ANBU squad under the control of their masters.
Yako stopped, turned, and faced the threat head-on.
Two human-shaped puppets skittered along the ground—decoys to draw the eye.
Overhead, a bat-shaped puppet flapped its wings, swooping in for a surprise strike on the Konoha squad captain.
Got him!
The bat puppet fired poison needles from its chest, stabbing into the captain's back.
Puff!
A burst of white smoke.
It was a Shadow Clone.
When?!
The puppeteer suddenly remembered—Konoha's captain had used a Water Formation Wall earlier. The clone must have been formed behind it.
Yako emerged from the earth behind the two puppeteers.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
The water stream tore through both of them at the waist.
Their guts spilled onto the ground.
Puppeteers didn't have the same luxury as their puppets—they couldn't fight with only half a body.
The two collapsed, dead, under the Water Severing Wave.
Yako stepped to the edge of the canyon and spotted two Sand ninja fleeing below.
He dropped into the canyon, landed on the river's surface, and activated his fastest Body Flicker Technique—Water Flicker.
He blinked behind them in an instant, and with another Water Severing Wave, sliced off both their skulls in one sweep.
Cruel—but necessary.
No one could know he had mastered Water Flicker, a technique once considered the trademark of Hanzo.
Afterward, Yako waited a while before climbing back up, pretending he had struggled to kill them.
Returning to the squad, Blossom Deer said admiringly,"Captain, your Water Release is incredible."
Yako replied,"The Water Severing Wave was a reward from ANBU for becoming a Tokubetsu Jōnin. As for Water Formation Wall, I got that thanks to Captain Black Ape."
He turned to the nearby Black Ape and quickly added,"Not you. I mean your mask's former owner—two generations back.
Once we're back, I'll put in jutsu requests for all of you. Think it over—what do you want?"
Back at camp, Yako headed straight to the medical tent.
Tsunade first examined the most severely injured Shimura Chūnin, pulling back his eyelids for a closer look.
"The poison attacked his nervous system," she said. "Even if cured, he'll be a fool. With ANBU's usual style, shouldn't someone like this have been handled along the way?"
Yako replied,"Princess Tsunade, even cured, he's still a fool from the Shimura clan. That's why we didn't deal with him on the way."
"Hmph." Tsunade crossed her arms. "So that's how it is."
The three rescued prisoners, along with Blossom Deer, Leaf Monkey, and others, were treated in the tent.
Yako was shooed out by the med-nin and waited outside.
Halfway through the procedures, two figures approached. Yako looked up—it was Nara Shikakaku, the commander-in-chief, and Hatake Sakumo, the deputy commander.
They entered the tent briefly, but soon emerged, both looking grim.
Shikakaku paused just outside the curtain and said,
"Sakumo, your proposal about implementing a performance-based examination system—word's gotten out.
Some Chūnin and Tokubetsu Jōnin on the frontlines have become dangerously reckless.
These three we just rescued? Got caught by the Sand because of overreach.
I understand your intentions, but the recommendation system is better suited to the current Konoha.
If we implement the exam system now, we'll be sending Chūnin to their deaths. Do you see it now?"
As he finished, he turned to Sakumo—and only then noticed a presence in the darkness nearby.
His eyes narrowed. It was an ANBU.
He let out a quiet breath of relief.
As commander, Shikakaku focused on tactics and logistics—he wasn't known for raw combat strength. That he failed to notice someone hiding nearby was… troubling.
Fortunately, it was an ally. If not, his conversation with Sakumo might've been overheard by the wrong person.
Yako thought to himself: As expected of the Nara clan head. Such a sharp angle of approach. And Sakumo... he probably doesn't want to see his suggestion lead to more deaths either.
Sakumo remained silent, unsure how to respond.
Accomplishing something is hard. Ruining it is easy.
Shikakaku had used facts to kill Sakumo's proposal.
You want an exam system? I'll show you how far the shinobi will go for it—far enough to get captured.
Over-executing a policy is sometimes more effective than passive resistance.
Shikakaku's subtle maneuver had boxed Sakumo in.
After Shikakaku left, Sakumo remained, deep in thought.
Yako walked by, pretending it was coincidence, and said quietly:
"Speaking purely as a shinobi—not ANBU—I support the exam system, Lord Sakumo."
Sakumo froze, eyeing the masked ANBU beside him.
He said nothing—knowing ANBU protocol—but gave the faintest nod before walking away.
After Leaf Monkey's surgery ended, Yako returned to the ANBU tent sector.
Captain Yellow Dog found him there:
"Fox. Vice Commander Sakumo wants a full briefing on the prisoner exchange mission. I gave the greenlight. You'll report to him directly."