Carrying the Black Ape Squad Captain on his shoulder and gripping his severed arm, Yagami sprinted wildly across the grassland.
"Captain! You have to hold on!"
His previous superiors—Antelope Captain and Brown Bear Captain—had both died by his hand.
That the Black Ape was still alive was proof of Yagami's mercy and kindness.
He wouldn't allow Black Ape to die.
The severed arm dangled limply, chopped off about five centimeters above the elbow. The flesh around the break was bruised purple, and even the blood carried a violet hue.
The limb, cut by an Stone ninja, was completely discolored.
Black Ape's consciousness blurred. He only felt endless jolting as Yagami carried him.
He had taken a Red Chili Pill, leaving him thin and light, so Yagami ran swiftly.
At the Hidden Leaf front-line camp, Yagami charged toward the medical tent with Black Ape on his back.
Tsunade, her expression blank, had just stepped out from the tent.
Since her younger brother Nawaki's death, she had thrown herself into relentless work to keep from recalling his gruesome end.
"Lady Tsunade! Please save the Captain!"
Tsunade frowned as she examined the severed arm—especially the blood darkened by venom—and said quietly,
"Salamander toxin. Because of the excessive burning of body fat, the poison has spread through his organs. It's accumulated near the wound. We'll need to amputate higher—let's try to save his life first."
Yagami raised the arm in his hand.
"Lady Tsunade, should I cut again? If we do, will this limb still be reattached?"
Tsunade didn't take the bruised limb from him. She simply turned and walked back into the surgery tent.
The medical-nin carried Black Ape inside, leaving Yagami standing there, holding the severed arm, unsure what to do.
The limb did look bad... but shouldn't they at least try to save it?
He'd already lost one arm during the battle in the Land of Waves. Losing the other would truly cripple him.
From a nearby tent came Purple Cat's voice.
"Captain!"
Yagami stepped inside. Members of Fox Squad and White Sheep Squad were lying under IV drips, being detoxified.
"Where are the prisoners?"
"They've been handed over. Our mission's complete."
Yagami felt no joy.
In the cold world of the Anbu, Black Ape had been one of the few who offered him warmth.
If Black Ape retired, Yagami would likely be promoted to Squad Captain. That would mean directly facing Captain Yellow Dog.
Yellow Dog was a real machine—emotionless, cruel, suspicious of everyone.
Half an hour later, Yellow Dog himself strode in.
The fangs painted on his mask looked even more ferocious today.
"Fox. Come with me."
Yagami followed him into the main medical tent.
Inside, Black Ape was no longer in critical condition. The operation had been so rushed that his mask hadn't even been removed.
Yellow Dog asked the medic, "How long until my subordinate recovers? How much combat strength will remain?"
The medic answered,
"Both arms are gone—he can't perform hand seals. The toxin's damaged his nerves. His reaction speed will never recover.
I can't say exactly how much strength he'll have left, but... it won't exceed twenty percent."
Without hesitation, Yellow Dog turned to Black Ape.
"Black Ape, I'll have your retirement papers sent immediately. You're officially discharged from the Anbu. You'll receive full compensation."
Then he looked at Yagami.
"Fox, from now on you are the official Squad Captain. The Black Ape Squad will be renamed the Fox Squad. Handle Black Ape's retirement and the squad's reorganization at once."
He turned and left.
Yagami felt a deep ache for Black Ape.
Retirement was one thing—but Yellow Dog's tone had been brutally cold.
Lately, Yellow Dog had been under tremendous pressure. The Senju Haku incident had been handled poorly, forcing Danzo himself to come to the front lines and clean up the mess.
Nawaki was dead, and in the days that followed, several more Senju shinobi had died in succession.
Without Danzo's personal intervention, the Senju would surely have started questioning such convenient "coincidences."
Yagami reached out to remove Black Ape's mask—
"Wait. Let me wear it a little longer."
Yagami froze, then slowly withdrew his hand.
He clearly saw tears sliding down from beneath the mask.
Poor Black Ape… he wouldn't even be able to wipe his own tears anymore.
And certain other things… he wouldn't be able to wipe those himself either.
The sorrow in his heart could only be swallowed in silence.
Seeing the tears, Yagami quietly turned and left. Black Ape wouldn't want anyone to see him like this.
He went to check on his squad's condition.
The medic said, "It's the toxin from a normal salamander, not the giant summon kind. With three more days, the antidote will take effect."
Yagami sighed in relief—the squad's core remained intact.
He approached Purple Cat, Antelope, and Black Bull.
"I've officially been promoted to Squad Captain. From now on, Purple Cat will lead your team.
And… Black Ape's mask will now belong to your team."
Purple Cat looked up. "What about Captain Black Ape? Did he… fall in battle?"
"No. He retired."
In Hidden Leaf's structure, any shinobi too old or too injured to continue missions often lived miserably—no income, no aid.
That's why many ninja preferred dying on the battlefield.
Clans could protect their own, but civilian shinobi suffered terrible fates in old age.
Living long wasn't a blessing. Dying quickly was.
Yagami pretended to ask for some antidote himself, claiming he'd inhaled a trace of the poison mist due to his speed in combat.
Leaving the medical tents, he headed to the Anbu camp.
The other two squads under Yellow Dog—Hippo Squad and Yak Squad—had already been dispatched toward the Land of Rain.
The Hidden Rain Village, called the "Sixth Great Village," had joined the war, putting Leaf in a tough position.
Fox Squad had not yet recovered full fighting strength, so they remained without external missions for the time being.
During the recovery period, Yagami trained daily—honing both taijutsu and ninjutsu.
His Earth Spear Technique grew more powerful with practice.
He learned to inject chakra into the ground in segmented bursts.
By concentrating chakra at the spear's tip, he made it harder and sharper.
The rear segment emphasized thrust and acceleration.
With these adjustments, the spear's destructive force increased dramatically.
After forging one spear, Yagami tried creating multiple simultaneously—two, three, four—attacking from different directions.
With enough chakra, even this B-rank technique could alter the terrain itself.
That steady growth in strength… felt reassuring.
A few days later, once the squad recovered, Yagami received a new mission—a relatively easy one.
They were to escort the bodies of Nawaki and other fallen shinobi, along with the severely injured, back to the village.
Word was, Hippo Squad had suffered heavy losses in the Land of Rain.
Yellow Dog's division would soon return to village to recruit and reorganize.
At the camp's gate, Tsunade stood pale and hollow-eyed, staring at the body bags on the wagon.
Her younger brother Nawaki lay among them.
"Please rest assured, Lady Tsunade. I'll ensure the remains of our heroes return to the village safely."
Hearing that voice, Tsunade turned and saw Yagami in his fox mask. She nodded faintly.
She couldn't return yet. The village was assigning her to join the forces heading into the Land of Rain to confront the Rain Village's army.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru stood beside her, waiting.
As Yagami walked away, he glanced back at the trio.
The upcoming battle with the Rain Village… would be the one that made the Three Legendary Sannin famous.