After meeting Captain Brown Bear, Yoru was still assigned to the Blue Wolf squad.
The squad changed into Cloud-nin gear, preparing to openly snatch the Whirlpool sealing scroll.
This time, Yoru felt more confident, no longer as nervous. After all, he had an insider on his side now.
But Captain Blue Wolf was merciless, constantly pushing Yoru to send shadow clones into the town to gather intel.
Yoru's chakra reserves had doubled, though he pretended to complain about being low.
He secretly ordered his clone to lure the Whirlpool ninja in this direction as soon as possible.
Through the clone's memories, Yoru learned that Uzumaki Yuka had already entered the town.
After two clone deployments, the Uzumaki ninja came rushing over.
Yoru still had plenty of chakra left, and this time he felt calmer.
Seven Uzumaki ninja charged forward.
The moment Yuka saw the Fox, she recognized him instantly. After fighting alongside him before, she was very familiar with his movements.
The Fox—now infiltrating as a Cloud ninja—was acting as a spy sent by the Anbu.
The clash between both sides heated up immediately.
Yuka deliberately singled out the Fox, and the two of them fought farther and farther away.
One clueless Uzumaki tried to help Yuka, but in the exchange, Yoru took a kunai to the thigh. Under Yuka's cover, he found an opening and escaped underground with Earth Style: Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique.
The male Uzumaki beside Yuka frowned.
"That Cloud-nin actually knows an escape-type Earth Style technique. Hard to chase him now."
Yuka nodded, but inside she worried. The Fox had a kunai stuck in his thigh—would it affect his ability to tunnel?
The entry-level Earth Style: Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, combined with Yoru's current chakra reserves, only let him burrow about thirty meters.
He surfaced in a blind spot at the Uzumaki's flank, not making any rash moves. Instead, he lay in the bushes, waiting patiently.
When the fight ended and the Uzumaki finally leapt away, Yoru sank into the earth once more, vanishing without a trace.
Only when he was completely safe did he carefully deal with the kunai in his thigh.
Blood had soaked his clothes—clothes Yuka had just washed for him, now ruined again.
He hid in a crack between rocks, finishing off his last soldier pill, too cautious to move around.
The full moon gleamed like silver, its light like white frost.
Only when moonlight pierced the cracks of his hiding place did Yoru crawl out.
Starving, with only pills to sustain him, he snuck into a fishing village to steal food.
Salted fish and cold leftovers—he devoured them ravenously.
After filling his stomach, Yoru resolved to wait fifteen days before seeking out the main Anbu forces again.
The closer it got to the next full moon, the safer he would be.
For now, these fifteen days would be spent honing his ninjutsu and taijutsu, building strength as fast as possible.
The first focus: hand seal speed.
If he had been faster before, that kunai never would've hit his thigh—he'd already have been underground.
Both Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique and Self-Curse Binding Seal required three signs.
Uchiha Itachi could form six seals per second. Yoru? He needed a second and a half just for three—far too slow.
He had to build muscle memory until he could do three per second.
Seal training meant not just faster hands, but also syncing with his chakra flow. Both had to harmonize, or ninjutsu wouldn't work.
When he started, his hands felt stiff, clumsy. Others were pianists; he was a plaster dummy.
After five grueling days, his hands cramping, he finally saw progress—down to a second per three signs.
Next came tedious strength and speed training.
With the system's aid and his own discipline, progress was double-layered.
But the poor fishing villages nearby suffered, missing plenty of salted fish and rice scraps.
A new month came, and with fifteen days left until the full moon, Yoru began looking for Anbu markers.
Once again along the coast, he found Captain Brown Bear stationed there.
Brown Bear's squad was guarding the shoreline, preventing Uzumaki ninja from escaping back to the Land of Whirlpools.
The sealing arts of the Uzumaki—Konoha's Anbu were determined to seize them.
There were many captains like Brown Bear. Any Uzumaki entering the Land of Waves would likely die here.
The captains and commanders guarded the coast, and the Uzumaki back in Land of Whirpool had no clue what was happening.
Yoru reported everything about Blue Wolf squad's encounter.
Brown Bear listened and nodded.
"Other Anbu have run into Uzumaki recently too. Their strength is indeed impressive."
His gaze dropped to the Fox's thigh, clothing torn and stained in dried blood—a wound clearly from half a month ago.
After some thought, Brown Bear said:
"Fox—real name Yoru.
Your parents moved to Konoha in Year 18, after the First Shinobi World War ended.
You were born in Year 23, and five years later, your parents were killed in a rogue-nin uprising.
You graduated from the Academy in Year 33. In Year 38, this year, you passed the easier Chūnin Exams and were picked by Anbu.
Your record's clean. Weak, maybe, but you've adapted to Anbu missions—and you even learned shadow clones from Antelope.
Follow me, Fox.
In a few days, I'll assign one or two Anbu under you as an acting squad captain.
Complete a few missions, and you'll be officially promoted."
Yoru bowed quickly. "Thank you, Captain!"
Rank meant little; what mattered was that as captain, he'd gain direct orders and access to intelligence.
For five days straight, Yoru stayed with Brown Bear, leaving coded Anbu marks nearby.
Twice, Uzumaki ninja tried to break through the blockade and escape the island.
Brown Bear dispatched them with ease.
The power gap was overwhelming. He used only taijutsu, not even ninjutsu.
Searching the corpses yielded no sealing scrolls.
Yoru's fingers itched.
If he survived past the 14th of this month, maybe he'd try his luck against Brown Bear himself—perhaps loot something valuable.
But he only dared think this while looking at the ground. If he stared at Brown Bear while plotting, he feared the captain might stab him with a kunai on the spot.
"Captain… aren't you afraid the Hidden Whirlpool Village will hold Konoha accountable?"
"Of course not." Brown Bear gave him a sharp glance.
"I know you're Anbu. How would the Uzumaki know who you are?
Even if they did, the village could claim Hidden Mist Village planted evidence.
Konoha and Uzumaki are allies—why would we kill our own?
And remember: don't ask questions you shouldn't."
"My apologies, Captain. I was overthinking."
Anbu lived in the shadows, doing Konoha's dirty work. Unless killed or released by Danzō, no one ever left.
Yoru's shinobi registration was sealed; in the records, he was already marked as a dead Konoha ninja.
Other scattered Anbu began arriving.
Brown Bear assigned Yoru one partner—a mask bearing a pine-bird design.
The two of them formed a new squad, with Yoru as acting captain.
Once Pine-Bird was sent away, Brown Bear handed Yoru his first mission.
"Fox, the Land of Waves is crawling with Mist-nin, Cloud-nin, Uzumaki, and us.
Your mission: assassinate a local noble, a town mayor. He's a supporter of Uzumaki Village.
Be wary of his samurai guards and shinobi protectors."
Taking the scroll, Yoru said, "Understood."
Inside the scroll were detailed intel reports on the mayor.
Finally, Yoru wasn't just a disposable tool—he was receiving intelligence, with real decision-making power.