Chisa raised her hand, wanting to say something more, but Light's figure had long vanished.
She hated it, hated how weak she was. Every night she was exhausted so quickly that she fell asleep early, never once discovering Light's true identity.
She should have realized it earlier. Light was never just some wandering shinobi.
How could a mere wanderer know something as obscure as hydroelectric power generation?
But… was Light really ANBU from the Hidden Rain Village?
Was "Light" even his real name?
A group of samurai and Chisa's personal maid caught up to her.
Seeing that Lady Chisa was unhurt, the maid exhaled in relief.
"Milady, we must return to the Capital. Konoha shinobi are stationed there for protection. Konoha is at war with the Hidden Sand Village, everything outside the Capital is too dangerous."
"…Very well. We'll return, and continue the groundbreaking ceremony."
"Eh? We're still holding the ceremony?"
"We are!" Chisa rubbed her reddened eyes, gaze firm.
"The hydroelectric plant is a core project for the Capital of the Land of Rivers. It must be completed. Even during wartime, the daimyo's family must maintain basic dignity. The Capital cannot be plunged into darkness.
We cannot return to the Warring States days when we lit candles just to see. Send a message, request a Konoha Guardian Ninja be assigned to the dam. The dam's construction must be protected."
Her maid saw how resolute Chisa was and had no choice but to send samurai to deliver the request.
Several hours later, the dam's groundbreaking ceremony resumed.
Chisa stood on the main platform. Seeing that half the craftsmen were gone, she lowered her head and looked at the blueprint personally drawn by Light. She began:
"Honored nobles, valued craftsmen, the the Capital Hydroelectric Plant groundbreaking ceremony will now begin.
This power station is a project His Excellency the Daimyo values above all else. It will resolve the power shortage caused by the coal crisis…"
Yoru and the White Ram Squad circled around the border of the Land of Rivers, then hugged the southern edge and returned to the frontline camp.
Yoru first checked on the Purple Cat Squad and the Deer Squad. Thankfully, during his half-month absence, neither squad had suffered casualties.
The missions assigned to those two teams were all internal surveillance details within the camp.
Konoha shinobi truly lived pitiful lives here, the Hokage didn't trust them fully, so they were monitored constantly.
Yoru entered Captain Yellow Dog's tent to report.
"Captain, the target nobles were aware of the risks of siding with the Hidden Sand Village. One stayed holed up in Tenshu Castle, the other in the Treasure Temple. Neither would step outside.
I was forced to spend time luring them out of the Capital. I posed as Hidden Rain ANBU and successfully assassinated both without causing significant collateral damage or casualties in the Land of Rivers.
The daimyo has no grounds to accuse Konoha."
Captain Yellow Dog nodded, skimmed the mission scroll, and said,
"Good work, Fox."
He put the scroll down, picked up another one, and said,
"There's a new mission. Trickier. It's yours."
Yoru thought, So this is the rhythm of war, no time to rest. One mission after another.
Or perhaps he had spent too much time in the Capital and Yellow Dog had an entire backlog waiting.
He opened the scroll. The mission was to rescue a Shimura-clan Chunin during a prisoner-exchange ceremony.
Prisoners of war were rare among shinobi. After half a month of fighting, Konoha had five captured; the Hidden Sand Village had four.
The Sand requested an exchange.
The problem was that whenever Konoha captured Sand shinobi, they were immediately sent to the Land of Earth, for Danzo's Root, specifically for Orochimaru's experiments.
Orochimaru desperately lacked test subjects. He liked using at least fifty subjects at a time for comparison groups.
He was too brutal. That wasn't experimentation, that was a survival lottery.
With Konoha holding no real prisoners, they couldn't perform an exchange. Thus ANBU were to infiltrate the exchange and snatch back the target.
Yoru asked, "Captain, the scroll says to rescue the Shimura Chunin. What about the other four prisoners?"
"If possible, save them."
"Oh. Understood. Meaning, optional."
Yellow Dog nodded. Fox's comprehension was indeed sharp.
"The Shimura Chunin rushed ahead recklessly to complete a mission and got captured. We must recover him."
Yoru asked, "Why was he so reckless?"
The Shimura clan were practically half–noble status now. No need to throw their lives away.
Yellow Dog explained:
"He has an older clan brother serving as a strategist at HQ. That brother let slip that Vice Commander Hatake Sakumo and Supreme Commander Shikaku had a disagreement.
Sakumo proposed that, during this Land of Rivers campaign, they should test a Promotion Exam System on the front lines.
A Chunin Squad Leader who leads , 2 A-rank missions, 20 B-rank missions would be recommended as Special Jōnin.
A Special Jōnin Squad Leader who leads, 2 S-rank missions, 20 A-rank missions would be recommended for full Jōnin.
The Shimura Chunin heard the rumor and wanted to get ahead by completing a high-difficulty A-rank mission, so he rushed in and got captured."
The promotion conditions were so clear, even Yoru felt tempted.
Since becoming an ANBU squad captain, he had completed:
• 1 S-rank mission
• 3 A-rank missions
• numerous B-ranks
Kato Dan's assassination was rated S-rank internally. Killing the Left Imperial Guard General and the Court Minister was an A-rank.
The Nine-Tails seal transfer, protecting the Uzumaki princess under Yellow Dog's command, was another A-rank.
The investigation of the Hidden Sand Village in the Jikō Mountains, another A-rank.
Earlier missions as a regular ANBU member (Land of Whirlpools, Battle of Ushigaya Mountain, etc.) earned B-rank credit due to his limited contribution back then.
By Sakumo's proposed system, he wasn't qualified for Jōnin yet, but the path was clear:
As long as he kept completing missions, he would eventually reach Jōnin, eligible for Jōnin council meetings and entry into Konoha's elite circle.
"Captain… these exam-system rumors haven't spread, right?"
"No. Just a disagreement in the command tent. That Shimura fool got what he deserved for snooping around HQ secrets."
After leaving Yellow Dog's tent, Yoru went to check the battlefield situation.
The Land of Rivers war front was extremely uncertain.
The Hidden Sand Village had deployed more than 3,500 Sand shinobi, while Konoha's camp only had about 2,000.
Puppet Masters could control multiple puppets, effectively fighting with the strength of two or three extra people.
Konoha was simultaneously fighting in the Land of Earth and the Land of Rivers, while also having to watch the increasingly restless Hidden Mist Village.
Ever since the Third Mizukage died in Uzumaki Village, the village had failed to elect a Fourth Mizukage accepted by all factions. The internal conflict was brutal, so the Hidden Mist Village was temporarily governed by Elder Genshi.
ANBU intel suggested the Hidden Mist Village planned to resolve its internal chaos by launching a war against Konoha.
If things went poorly, Konoha might be facing a three-front war.