Back at the Yellow Dog Battalion's tent zone, Yako approached Yellow Dog.
"I'd like to return to the coastline, Captain. We still don't know how the Hōzuki clan will react to Muratsuki's death. They won't take it lying down. We need to prepare for retaliation."
Yellow Dog's eyes gleamed with approval.
"Fox, you're the most proactive ANBU I've ever seen. I just received word—Mitokado Homura has left the Land of Earth and is on his way here to Uzushio. He'll be leading negotiations with the Mist."
"The war's almost over. The Second Shinobi World War is finally winding down."
Homura's departure from the Earth front confirmed it. That war was ending. With the others concluded, only Mist remained. And now, Konoha stood alone against them.
Yellow Dog smiled.
"Once it's over and rewards are handed out, I'll be promoted to Deputy Commander of ANBU. That makes you a full Squad Commander."
Yako grinned.
"Then I suppose I should start calling you Lord Yellow Dog!"
"And I'll call you Commander Fox. We rise together."
There was a moment of shared elation—an unspoken bond of mutual ambition, of wolves smiling in lockstep.
Yako straightened.
"Now I'm even more eager to wrap up loose ends. I'm heading out—gathering intel on the Hōzuki clan's next move."
"Go."
Yako left the camp and quickly regrouped with the returning White Ram Squad.
White Ram rushed over.
"Captain! The two corpses—they were destroyed! Someone found the trap I laid and sabotaged it!"
'Just as I feared,' Yako thought. 'No physical evidence left. Root acted too quickly.'
"Send the other three back to base. White Ram, you're with me."
Once they were alone, Yako said quietly,
"New orders from HQ: track a specific Aburame Root operative. You're to locate and tag his destruction insects."
Yako knew the man's name: Aburame Ryōma, also known as B.
White Ram nodded, eager.
"I won't fail again. This time we'll get the proof we need."
Aburame clansmen were easy to find—they instinctively released insects into the surroundings. Even when not on duty, they maintained defensive networks.
Yako might not find B, but White Ram could trace his insects.
The search took all day. Then—
"Captain! I found him!" White Ram whispered.
"Good. Give me the direction and go to ground. This next part's too risky for anyone but me."
White Ram obeyed without question. He was ANBU. Orders were everything.
—
Beneath a coastal cliff, B leaned against a rock outcrop, listening to the subtle pings of his insects. One of them had briefly clashed with another Aburame's swarm. The other soon retreated. B thought nothing of it—likely another clanmate patrolling.
Then a signal came: someone approaching.
He glanced sideways.
Soon, a woman arrived.
Nonō Yakushi, the Wandering Miko, Root's most important embedded agent. Her mastery of disguise had let her infiltrate enemy villages and countries alike.
Today, she was in the form of a plump housewife. Before arriving, she washed her hands in the sea, releasing a special powder. A ripple of scent spread into the water. Not long after, a sea lion emerged, drawn by the lure.
'Hooked it. Good.'
Nono pressed her glasses into place and descended toward the cliff's edge, where B waited.
He stared at her coldly.
"The Commander requires an explanation—why he shouldn't consider this a betrayal."
Nono's voice was unhurried.
"I brought Fuguki Suikazan to the meeting point. Your two Root operatives arrived, confirmed the passcode, and handed over the scroll. Everything went smoothly.
That scroll stated that Yellow Dog would strike yesterday. The Mist moved to plant traps the day before, as planned.
But Yellow Dog arrived early, before the Mist was ready. Their teams were caught mid-deployment. They couldn't cast Hidden Mist, couldn't combine their Water Releases—and they were crushed."
She tossed a scroll to B.
"My report. It's all there."
B slapped the scroll aside, letting it fall into the sea.
Nono's brows furrowed. 'So he's not even pretending this can be solved with paperwork…'
B tossed her a different scroll.
Nono opened it—and her pupils contracted.
…The real issue wasn't bad intel. The problem was… Ryō and Kai were imposters. The men she had seen at the exchange were fakes. The real Root agents had been killed.
Quickly, she ran through the implications.
"To kill Ryō and Kai, the enemy had to be at least elite jōnin level. And to extract information from their bodies… No. It can't have been interrogation. Not even the best methods could crack them.
Only someone from the Yamanaka clan could pull intel from corpses.
So whoever pulled this off had to be:
strong enough to kill both Ryō and Kai,
skilled enough to impersonate Root,
and backed by a Yamanaka.
Someone like…"
She trailed off, eyes narrowing.
B finished her thought.
"Only one match: Fox from Yellow Dog's Battalion.
His assistant—Purple Cat—is actually Yamanaka Ruri."
They had matched intelligence. The picture was clear.
"Am I free to go?" Nono asked. "The Mist is furious. They're questioning everyone. I have to cover tracks."
B's gaze darkened.
A sudden cyclone of buzzing insects surrounded them.
"No.
Failure must be punished.
You're coming back to Root.
The Commander is deeply dissatisfied with your performance in Kirigakure.
You won't be returning."
Nono's heart sank.
'So it's come to this.'
The insect whirlwind compressed, drawing closer.
Watching from the sea, Yako, submerged up to his brow, readied himself to act—then hesitated.
A new figure stepped onto the shore.
Tall. Orange-haired. A massive sword strapped to his back.
Fuguki Suikazan…?