After escaping with their lives, Yōkō had Shinna lie face down in the sand.
He looked towards the direction of Sarutobi Senjin.
That man could not be allowed to live. His private connection with Hatake Sakumo had to remain absolutely secret.
"Stay here and don't move. My mission isn't finished yet."
In the distance, Sarutobi Senjin was lying prone on a sand dune, carefully observing the situation within the oasis.
During his last promotion to Special Jōnin, he had used his teammates' lives to complete the mission.
This time was the same; he planned to use the Sand ninjas' reactions to write a perfect oasis reconnaissance report.
To his surprise, a Root ninja had appeared near Shinna's location. That Root ninja was probably a Konoha ninja passing by who had saved Shinna.
Sarutobi Senjin then looked towards his other two subordinates.
Those two subordinates weren't lucky enough to have a passing Root ninja save them; they died one after another at the hands of the Sand ninjas.
That's about enough. This information is sufficient.
This oasis contained roughly 100 Sand ninjas, about 10 of whom were Puppet Masters.
Sarutobi Senjin cautiously crawled backward, disappearing into a sand pit.
His foot suddenly bumped against someone's leg!
When he turned his head in terror, he saw a Fox-masked Root ninja!
Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal!
Sarutobi Senjin couldn't move a muscle; even his jaw was locked by the cursed seal.
A kunai was thrust into the very center of Sarutobi Senjin's forehead.
This was a sand pit. No one could see Yōkō acting here.
Yōkō returned to find Shinna and brought him into the Land of Rivers, stopping beside a river.
At the bottom of the deep river valley, torrential waters rushed by.
The sounds of flowing water and wind surrounded them.
Yōkō stood with his back to Shinna and asked, "Can you tell? You were sent by your squad leader to die."
"I can," Shinna said, looking at the Root ninja's back. "Sarutobi Senjin has at most Chūnin-level strength. The main reason he was promoted to Special Jōnin is largely because of his surname. He can't complete missions relying on his own ability, so he uses despicable tactics."
Yōkō said, "Sarutobi Senjin has sacrificed his teammates multiple times to complete missions. He has a good surname. If anyone investigated him properly, he would have been executed long ago."
Shinna's eyes were sorrowful.
How many classmates and comrades had died under unclear circumstances?
Shinna was silent for a moment before saying, "During the Land of Grass War, the number of Special Jōnin and Jōnin from the Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino–Shika–Chō clans increased dramatically. Over 40 percent of the new Special Jōnin came from those five clans. We are in agony. Even though we work harder and risk our lives more than them, we can only watch them get promoted. The ninjas from those five clans are becoming increasingly arrogant, even unscrupulous. They sacrifice their fellow villagers just to pad their own mission records. Thank you for saving me. Without you, I would be dead."
Through Shinna's response, Yōkō was fairly certain that Shinna held significant resentment towards the clans and the higher-ups. He could be a potential collaborator.
To successfully execute the plan with Hatake Sakumo—one operating openly, the other in secret—they needed to be prepared to take risks.
Yōkō said, "I saved you so you can deliver a piece of intelligence to Lord Sakumo for me."
"What intelligence?"
"The Konoha higher-ups have their eyes on Lord Sakumo's... group. Including you, all of Hatake Sakumo's followers. Tell Lord Sakumo to be careful, not to take it lightly, and to deal with it seriously."
"Group?" Shinna said, puzzled. "We're not a 'group'. We're just some like-minded friends."
"It's not about what you think, but what the higher-ups think," Yōkō said. "When the higher-ups judge you to be a group, no matter how you explain it, you are already a group. The reason I help you in secret is that I agree with Lord Sakumo's ideal—the assessment system should replace the recommendation system. Otherwise, clan ninjas will gradually monopolize the village's Special Jōnin and Jōnin positions. It would be one thing if they were truly strong, but if they are as weak as Sarutobi Senjin yet get promoted to Special Jōnin and command others as squad leaders, then the ninja mortality rate will keep rising. Ninja combat is extremely dangerous; strength is paramount. An incompetent squad leader only gets his subordinates killed for nothing."
Shinna understood, and much of the confusion in his heart dissipated.
This Root ninja also couldn't stand the darkness in the village and was secretly supporting Lord Sakumo.
Yōkō said, "Do not reveal my identity. Keep my secret. I will help you again at the appropriate time. Remember to remind Lord Sakumo to take the darkness in Konoha seriously and to be wary of it. For your sake, I am also taking a great risk. Do not betray my expectations."
Shinna nodded solemnly. "I will protect your secret with my life. Not because you saved my life, but because you share the same ideal as us."
Yōkō nodded. Shinna's credibility was quite good.
He knew full well that Sarutobi Senjin was sending him to his death, yet for Konoha's sake, he obediently served as bait, resigned to his fate.
Now that he promised to protect Yōkō's secret with his life, he likely wouldn't betray him easily.
Yōkō said, "You've been a Chūnin for many years. You're experienced. I trust you know how to report on this mission to leave no flaws."
Shinna said, "I won't return to the village immediately. I'll pretend to be severely injured, forced to hide in a safe place until my wounds heal before returning. By then, Lord Sakumo will have left Konoha and established his field headquarters. I'll report the mission directly to Lord Sakumo."
Yōkō disappeared using the Body Flicker Technique.
Shinna collected himself, found a secluded cave, took out a kunai, and forcefully stabbed it into his own abdomen.
He had dissected corpses before; he knew how to make the cut look gruesome but not actually be fatal.
Shinna's heart was filled with pain. Why was it so difficult just to want to make Konoha a better place?
Yōkō quickly returned to Konoha Village.
Back in the Root headquarters, Yōkō found Battalion Commander Yellow Dog and reported on his mission.
"Battalion Commander, the target Shinna is only a Chūnin and doesn't seem to possess the core secrets of Hatake Sakumo's group. He didn't show any unusual behavior along the way. During the mission to scout the Sand ninja oasis supply base, Shinna was severely injured and fled in panic deep into the desert. I didn't pursue him deeply and chose to return."
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog nodded and said, "Shinna is one of the weaker Chūnin in Hatake Sakumo's group. It's normal that you couldn't find out much. Next, Root will surveil other members of Hatake Sakumo's group."
Yōkō asked, "Is there a need to send a spy to infiltrate that group?"
If needed, Yōkō was willing to go.
As a Root agent going undercover in Hatake Sakumo's group, and as a Hatake Sakumo supporter going undercover in Root... it was a closed loop.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog thought for a moment and said, "Not for now. Hatake Sakumo is busy establishing his headquarters. We probably won't find out much during this period."
Yōkō left Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's office and went to the Root archives.
The archives contained the complete list of all current Konoha ninjas.
Yōkō looked at the Special Jōnin promotion records for the past year. Just as Shinna had said, the five major clans—Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino–Shika–Chō—were extremely dominant.
It wasn't the 40 percent Shinna estimated; roughly 50 percent of the newly promoted Special Jōnin came from the five clans aligned with the Hokage's faction.
In contrast, the Senju clan suffered heavy casualties, the Uchiha clan was busy with D-rank missions in the Military Police Force, and the Hyūga clan carried out reconnaissance missions with little combat. The number of Special Jōnin from these three clans was decreasing.
Based on Yōkō's observations, there weren't many Hyūga ninjas around the higher-ups.
When doing shady things, the higher-ups didn't want to be constantly watched by the Byakugan either.
In the original story, the Hyūga clan was suppressed, probably because they inadvertently discovered many scandals with their Byakugan.
The balance of power among Konoha's clans was quietly shifting.
The strength of clans like the Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga, Aburame, and Inuzuka was gradually weakening.
Meanwhile, the power of the five clans—Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino–Shika–Chō—was strengthening.
As for civilian ninjas being promoted to Special Jōnin, their numbers were scarce.
The "cake" wasn't even enough for the clans to divide; how could they possibly give any to civilian ninjas?
In the past year, civilian ninjas promoted to Special Jōnin accounted for only about 20 percent.
Every civilian Special Jōnin had advanced under difficult circumstances, often by chance, or by aligning themselves with a clan and suddenly gaining influence, or by joining Root like Yōkō, trading their lives for a future.
Looking at the Special Jōnin promotion ratios: the five Hokage-aligned clans accounted for 50%, the elder/founding clans of Konoha accounted for 30%, and civilian ninjas accounted for 20%.
The situation was severe. If this continued, the influence of the five Hokage-aligned clans would only grow larger and larger.
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