Yako wasn't worried about White Ram Squad or Blossom Deer Squad. They'd carry out their missions without hesitation—even if it meant killing Nara shinobi.
But Purple Cat was different.
She was from the Yamanaka Clan. And when it came to eliminating members of the Nara, hesitation could slip in.
And hesitation in a mission like this—one of covert execution—meant failure.
And failure meant her career was over.
Yako raced across the rocky borderlands, traversing the desolate wasteland in a blur.
He soon found Purple Cat's squad—and just as he feared, things weren't going well.
In a field of scattered boulders, a Rain-nin squad was facing off against three Konoha shinobi.
The three from Konoha—an Ino–Shika–Chō trio.
An Akimichi, a Yamanaka, and at the center of it—a Nara.
Yako's eyes narrowed.
'She's here?'
The Yamanaka kunoichi was named Yamanaka Ryū—Purple Cat's younger sister.
Back when Danzo recruited talent for ANBU from the Yamanaka, Yamanaka Riko had volunteered herself to spare her clan leader, Yamanaka Ino'en, the political pressure. She was the eldest of her generation.
Yako had assumed she might hesitate to kill a Nara.
But now… it wasn't the Nara giving her pause.
It was her sister.
"Nara Jun, we've only just formed our Ino–Shika–Chō squad!" Ryū shouted.
"This is our first mission—we're not going to lose! We'll protect you!"
The Rain-nin squad was clearly focused on eliminating Nara Jun.
Ryū stepped forward to shield him.
Beside her, a chubby little Akimichi named Akimichi Kan shouted too:
"We'll protect you!"
Jun's gaze dropped low.
'Such good teammates,' he thought. 'Not like those pathetic civilians I used to carry—so stupid I had to use Shadow Imitation to force them into action.'
After graduation, he had never found a compatible Ino–Shika–Chō trio.
But now, with these two juniors—he finally had the perfect match.
"I don't need your protection," Jun said calmly. "I'm older than you two.
So obviously, I should handle the Rain-nin."
He stepped forward and gently pushed Ryū behind him.
'This time,' he thought, 'I won't let my teammates die.
This time, I'll be the most dependable "Shika" in Ino–Shika–Chō.'
Purple Cat hadn't noticed Yako's arrival.
She gripped her kunai tightly, gave her sister one last glance—
Then charged straight at the trio.
Akimichi Kan yelled, spinning into a Human Bullet Tank, rolling straight toward the Rain-nin.
Purple Cat shifted her path slightly, letting the tank fly past her with flawless timing.
Jun blinked. That dodge…
Not just instinct.
That level of precision only came from deep familiarity.
He dropped into a crouch and unleashed his clan's secret art.
His shadow stretched and darted across the ground toward Purple Cat.
She sidestepped again—perfectly avoiding every stone—and moved into open ground, where no shadows could leap from cover.
'She knows the technique.'
Jun's mind spun.
'Why is this Rain-nin so familiar with Shadow Imitation?
Why does she know exactly how to avoid it?'
Then—
"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Ryū held her hands up, forming the signature rectangular hand seal of her clan.
Purple Cat had already anticipated this—
She tossed a kunai straight through that hand seal.
If nothing changed, it would strike Ryū right between the eyes.
But Jun raised his own kunai just in time, knocking it aside.
'Too slow,' he realized.
That throw was deliberate.
That wasn't a real kill attempt—it was a test.
Jun's brain kicked into overdrive.
'Could it be… this Rain-nin is a Konoha shinobi in disguise?
Maybe even one of the Ino–Shika–Chō… pretending to be Rain-nin to get close to me?
If that's true… then—'
He froze.
'Did my actions in those past missions get exposed?
Is the village trying to kill me? Or is the Nara Clan purging me themselves?'
The Rain-nin squad clearly targeted him.
They didn't seem nearly as aggressive toward Ryū or Kan.
His thoughts had never been clearer.
He glanced at Ryū.
'The Rain-nin squad leader has the least killing intent toward her…
If I use her, maybe I can kill their leader. Then I can extract intel.'
When the Rain-nin charged again, Jun spun twice, slipping behind Ryū.
Purple Cat's next kunai nearly struck her sister.
And in that moment—Purple Cat understood.
Why ANBU had assigned Nara Jun as a target.
This man was dangerous. Calculating. A pure egoist who would use anyone.
Ryū and Kan once again moved to shield him.
Jun towered behind them—older, taller—like a predator hiding behind children.
Just then, a parasol-shaped ninja tool shot through the air, landing between the three.
BOOM!
The umbrella exploded outward.
The canopy smashed Ryū and Kan forward—while blasting Jun backward.
Purple Cat turned and spotted the figure who'd thrown it.
'The squad captain!'
Her chest tightened.
She'd failed again and again—hesitating, heart aching at the sight of her sister.
Before they left, the captain had warned her:
"Don't let your ties weaken your blade."
And yet… she had.
With a cry, Purple Cat hurled every single weapon in her pouch at Jun.
The other Rain-nin seized the opening and launched their own attacks.
Kan, bruised and rolling on the ground, struggled to rise—
But a hand slammed down on his shoulder.
Pain exploded through his body.
If he moved again—he'd break bones.
Still, he gritted his teeth.
'Even if I shatter my body—I won't let my teammate die.'
Yako saw the boy's defiance—and struck him with a swift knifehand to the neck, knocking him unconscious.
Then, he looked toward Ryū, hands already rising into position.
Yako Body Flickered—appearing in front of her in an instant.
Her hands were frozen against his chest—still forming the Mind Transfer seal.
She looked up—terrified—into the eyes behind his gas mask.
His hand came down.
A clean strike to the neck.
Ryū collapsed.
When Yako turned back around, Nara Jun was already a pincushion.
Purple Cat's final blow—
Both hands gripping her blade—
Drove it through his neck, the steel punching out through the back of his skull.
A Konoha squad appeared in the distance.
Purple Cat waved for everyone to retreat.
Once they were clear, she turned to Yako.
"I… I'm sorry, Captain. I—"
"Be more careful next time," Yako said.
"This was on me too. I didn't have the latest intel.
I didn't know Jun had formed an Ino–Shika–Chō with your sister.
That kind of man… is far too dangerous to be near her."