Yako found Yellow Dog and said,
"Commander, I'd like to be included in the strategic discussion for this ambush operation."
Yellow Dog didn't find the request unusual and agreed without hesitation.
That night, inside the command tent, five jōnin were gathered around a map. Yako stood nearby, quietly observing each of them.
There were seven people present:
The jōnin leaders of the five units, Yellow Dog's assistant Butterfly, and Yako himself.
Two of the jōnin were Uchiha Tōka and Uchiha Higane, both from the Uchiha Clan. They could be ruled out—those two wouldn't leak information. In the previous life's ambush, the Uchiha units had taken the brunt of the attack. Even the young clan heir, Uchiha Fugaku, had nearly lost his life.
The two village jōnin, Moonlight Kento and Yamashiro, were loyal supporters of Hatake Sakumo. Yako didn't suspect them either.
After all, all of Sakumo's remaining allies had been assigned to the Uzushio Village frontlines—except for Sakumo himself.
It was clear this assignment, lacking Danzo's approval, was where the village had dumped the people Danzo didn't like.
Yako's eyes drifted toward Yellow Dog's assistant, Butterfly.
'Could it be her...?'
Once the plan was finalized, it would be Butterfly who compiled the report and sent it to HQ.
Which meant—she was the first person to see the entire strategy.
'A mole planted by Danzo, perhaps?'
Among the six ANBU squad commanders, Yellow Dog was the one Sarutobi Hiruzen trusted the most.
Danzo would surely have interest in monitoring him.
'Should I ask White Ram to plant parasitic tracking insects on her?'
Yako hesitated.
If someone had done the same to Purple Cat—even if it was for her safety—he'd be furious.
'Never let suspicion override trust.'
He couldn't afford to falsely accuse Butterfly.
The five jōnin were analyzing the terrain of the Land of Waves, searching for a slope. If the enemy used Water Release, sloped terrain would let the water run off more easily.
The hill they chose was the very one where the ambush had happened in his past life.
Yako suddenly spoke up.
"Commander, I suggest adding a backup battlefield.
I'll be luring the enemy with Twin Blades Hiramekarei. If I move in a single direction, it'll be easy for the Mist to guess the location.
Instead, we could set up a secondary ambush site nearby. If the resistance I encounter is too heavy, I'll change course and lead them into the second trap.
We can have our five squad positioned somewhere between both sites—ready to converge on either."
The jōnin fell silent, mulling over the idea.
Copper Fox had a solid reputation. His opinions carried weight.
Yellow Dog agreed—though the suggestion would tighten their schedule, it significantly raised their odds of success.
Using Hiramekarei to bait the enemy was risky. Too many variables.
Uchiha Tōka, who had been planning to ask Copper Fox to train Fugaku, nodded at the idea and said,
"I agree. No ninja mission ever goes exactly as planned—we should always have a contingency."
The other jōnin voiced their approval. Soon, they marked a secondary ambush site on the map.
Once the meeting concluded and the others had left, Uchiha Tōka approached Yellow Dog and Yako.
"Fox-san, the Vice Commander has been looking for a strong Water Release user to help train our young clan heir. I heard your Water Release is excellent. Would you consider helping Fugaku with his training?"
Yellow Dog answered for him,
"Of course. We need the Uchiha to give their all in this mission. Let Fox assist until the operation begins."
"I've got no problem with that," Yako added.
The next morning, Yako headed to the training field just outside the main camp.
Uchiha Tōka was already there, accompanied by three young Uchiha. At the front stood Uchiha Fugaku.
Using only Water Release: Water Surge and Water Gun Jutsu, Yako left all three boys soaked, coughing, and sprawled across the dirt.
Even though Fugaku had awakened the three tomoe within a year of graduating from the Academy, the gap in strength was vast. He could barely put up a fight.
Yako gave the same critique he had in the past life: Fugaku lacked both cruelty and resolute.
After the session, he returned to Tōka's side.
Tōka was deeply grateful—some things were hard to say aloud, but coming from an ANBU, they felt more acceptable.
He too believed that while Fugaku had the talent, he lacked the will.
In a low voice, Yako asked,
"Tōka-san, what's your take on this ambush?"
"Hm?" Tōka looked surprised. "Isn't this just a standard combat op?"
What stood out, really, was that the mission was being spearheaded by Yellow Dog's ANBU squad.
The Uchiha knew a bit about the ANBU's internal structure. Yellow Dog's unit had distinguished itself in the Land of Rivers campaign, earning praise from both the command staff and the Hokage.
It made sense that they'd be trusted with a high-stakes mission in Uzushio.
But why would Copper Fox ask his opinion?
'Is he testing me?'
Tōka asked,
"Fox-san, aside from this Uzushio campaign, the Uchiha haven't worked with ANBU in years.
If you have concerns, please speak freely. I'm... not good with conspiracy theories."
Yako smiled faintly.
"Our spies in Kirigakure have reported that the Mist are placing great importance on retrieving Hiramekarei.
While five units sounds like overkill, it might not be enough.
Commander Yellow Dog intends to discreetly embed additional elite ninja within each unit.
The five-unit formation is just a feint—to appear weak, so that Kirigakure's sword retrieval squad walks right into the trap.
The real punch will come from the hidden units, timed for a devastating counter.
This must be kept absolutely confidential.
Once you've positioned your operatives, I'll report directly to Yellow Dog.
I may have criticized Fugaku's ruthlessness, but we're not seriously going to let him end up like Senju Nawaki, dying on the frontlines... right?"
Tōka's face changed. He nodded quickly.
"I understand. But most of our Uchiha jōnin have been deployed to the bloodiest fronts. I can assign... maybe six Tokubetsu Jōnin."
'Six?' Yako thought. 'That's not as many as I'd hoped... but it'll do.'
Six well-coordinated Tokubetsu Jōnin were worth at least two elite jōnin.
Some of them were only overlooked for promotion due to politics. In truth, they were stronger than some of the lazy jōnin from the Sarutobi clan.
Yako's second contingency plan was now in motion.
'Who would've thought... the ones I can trust right now are the Uchiha.
While every ANBU agent around me smells of danger.'
He had no clearance to investigate Butterfly.
He didn't even know who she really was.
If he were to warn Yellow Dog, it would have to be subtle—never spoken aloud, never obvious.
He couldn't afford to let anyone else know.
He couldn't afford to make himself a target.