Rain struck Yako's hood, producing a dull, steady tapping sound.
He had returned to the night of the previous full moon.
The moon itself was hidden behind thick clouds.
Somewhere within the Land of Rain, Yako wandered aimlessly, searching for traces of Uchiha Madara.
Madara had the White Zetsu under his command—beings with extraordinary intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance abilities. If Yako didn't search seriously and simply let the Leaf Monkey squad roam randomly, he would never find Madara.
After the battle with Uchiha Gogo, Danzo had grown increasingly disgusted with Yako and had sent him to the Land of Rain.
Yako almost felt sorry for him.
The so-called Darkness of the Shinobi… yet when facing a single thorn inside Konoha, he had no real solution.
All he could do was send the problem away on external missions, hoping distance would bring peace of mind.
Two days later, Hatake Sakumo would depart for the Land of Grass.
By now, Yako roughly understood Danzo's plan.
It had to be admitted—Danzo's scheme was meticulous.
Hatake Sakumo was destined to die.
Sakumo had devoted himself wholeheartedly to Konoha, enduring countless grievances over the past few years.
He was not one of the village leadership's own people.
Despite possessing Kage-level strength, he lived like nothing more than an elite hired blade.
Wherever a blade was needed, Hatake Sakumo was sent.
With only a few manipulations, Danzo could push him into a corner with no escape.
And because Sakumo's loyalty to Konoha was absolute…
Once that belief collapsed, he chose suicide to prove his honor.
This time, Yako had to ensure Sakumo completed the mission.
He had to help him survive this catastrophe.
And more than that—
He needed to find a way to permanently resolve Sakumo's predicament.
If this mission succeeded, Sakumo should rightfully enter the village leadership.
And if the leadership refused to make room…
Then someone among them would have to agree through death.
Preferably Danzo himself.
Unfortunately, Danzo had grown cautious.
Cowardly.
Hidden.
He had withdrawn from most of the village's public affairs and buried himself deeper in the shadows.
Opportunities to strike him were rare.
Yako thought of Mitokado Homura, who was currently traveling between several nations conducting diplomatic negotiations.
Danzo…
Are you really so determined to get Homura killed as well?
After sending the Leaf Monkey squad away, Yako used Reverse Summoning and arrived at the Uzumaki clan territory.
"Yuka, head toward the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth. When you receive my signal, reverse summon me along the way."
Yuka nodded and departed.
She traveled north continuously.
Two nights later, she felt the notification from the Contract Seal.
She summoned the stone panda White Porcelain, and White Porcelain reverse summoned Fox.
Yako had already dismissed the Leaf Monkey squad earlier.
"Yuka, keep heading north. I'll make some preparations here."
Once she disappeared into the distance, Yako finally activated the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye.
"Eternal Mangekyō: Island of Miasmic Collapse."
A circular island of absolute darkness appeared on the ground nearby.
A towering tree more than twenty meters tall collapsed instantly—compressing into a thin yellow-green sheet.
The Leaf Monkey squad was absolutely trustworthy.
But caution never hurt.
Yako needed to leave behind clues that would reasonably explain his presence near the Land of Grass border.
After all, he was supposedly investigating Uchiha Madara and Guruguru.
If he traced signs of Island of Miasmic Collapse and followed the Mangekyō ability toward the Land of Grass border, it would make perfect sense.
And if he intercepted the Five-Tails Jinchūriki at the border—
Hatake Sakumo's mission would succeed.
All the later disasters would never occur.
Several days later, Yako led the Leaf Monkey squad to the location where the Mangekyō technique had been used.
"My lord! This is a Mangekyō technique!"
Leaf Monkey crouched beside the strange object.
A tree—from trunk to crown—had collapsed into a single sheet of paper.
Tree trunks were cylindrical structures.
They resisted compression extremely well.
Flattening one like this required unimaginable force.
What kind of power could produce such an effect?
Yako spoke calmly.
"Leaf Monkey, seal that sheet and bring it back to the ANBU for study. Let's move. We'll continue searching for Guruguru's traces."
Along the way, the squad discovered three more sheets created by Mangekyō techniques.
Standing beside the third, Yako said,
"Spiral Zetsu seems to be heading somewhere. He's practicing Mangekyō techniques while traveling."
Leaf Monkey nodded repeatedly, recording the captain's analysis in a scroll.
Yako blinked.
The Senju and Uchiha clans truly were perfect complements.
Wood Release chakra nourished the Mangekyō.
Or perhaps—
The bloodlines of the Sage of Six Paths simply became more powerful when reunited.
His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had no side effects.
Leaving the Land of Rain, the ANBU team traveled north along the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.
Leaf Monkey grew increasingly anxious.
Facing the legendary Mangekyō techniques made his heart uneasy.
He glanced at the fox-masked man ahead.
Fortunately…
Lord Fox was here.
Surely he had a way to deal with Mangekyō abilities.
Meanwhile, another group was moving toward the Land of Grass.
The Steam Ninja Han of the Hidden Stone Village led two elite battalions.
They were preparing to attack Evergreen Divine Mountain.
Their spies had provided extremely accurate intelligence.
They knew exactly how many shinobi Konoha had sent—and what each one could do.
The Shimura clan's guardian ninja were useless fools.
They could barely protect themselves, let alone the Daimyō of the Land of Grass.
The Daimyō had suffered greatly.
Three consecutive Guardian Captains had died.
He lived in constant fear.
Destroying the ritual at Evergreen Divine Mountain and shocking the Land of Grass nobles would send a clear message:
Konoha could not protect them.
Only the Hidden Stone Village could.
As the group advanced—
Han suddenly stopped walking.
The two battalion commanders turned toward him.
Han looked south.
Five hooded figures stood in the short grass.
The person in the center wore white robes.
What made the commanders' hearts tighten…
Was the fox mask beneath the hood.
Across the entire ninja world, only one ANBU unit was famous for the fox mask.
Konoha's Copper Fox.
Yako gestured for the Leaf Monkey squad to remain where they were and stay alert.
He alone walked forward.
"You must be the Hidden Stone Village's Steam Ninja Han," Yako said mockingly.
"I'm pursuing the subordinate of Konoha's rogue ninja Uchiha Madara—Spiral Zetsu."
He continued provocatively,
"Spiral Zetsu headed toward the Land of Earth. Has the Hidden Stone Village been hiding a subordinate of Konoha's traitor?
Hand him over.
And I might let you return to the Land of Earth."
One battalion commander scoffed.
"Copper Fox! You've chased someone all the way to the Land of Earth, and now you expect us to hand him over?
Are ANBU really this arrogant now?"
Yako's voice turned cold.
"Your attitude confirms it.
You're definitely hiding Spiral Zetsu."
His hands flashed through seals.
"Wood Release: Tree World Emergence!"
The grassland beneath their feet exploded.
Countless tree trunks burst from the earth.
The Iwa shinobi scrambled to evade.
At the same time, confusion spread among them.
Why had a Konoha ANBU suddenly appeared and attacked them without warning?
The spy intelligence had been incredibly detailed.
Was it a trap?
The battalion commanders knew more.
The intelligence had come from Danzo's elite spy network.
But could Danzo really be working with Copper Fox to sabotage them?
As expected of the Darkness of the Shinobi…
So vicious from the very beginning.
Even using Wood Release specifically against a Jinchūriki.
Seeing Yako attack, the Leaf Monkey squad immediately leapt backward.
The scale of Lord Fox's Wood Release was enormous.
They had no ability to interfere in his battle.
A forest of crimson maple trees quickly engulfed the Iwa shinobi.
The commanders shouted,
"Break out! This is Wood Release territory!"
The Hidden Stone Village had studied Wood Release carefully after hearing that Konoha had regained the ability.
Tree World Emergence was the opening move.
It created a battlefield filled with tree trunks.
Just like now.
Under their feet.
Beside them.
Above their heads.
Red maple trunks were everywhere.
A wind passed through the forest.
Vines descended from the branches.
The battalion commander shouted,
"Watch the vines!"
In the distance, Yako slammed his palm onto a tree trunk.
The entire forest came alive.
Countless vines writhed simultaneously.
Like living serpents, they lashed toward nearby Iwa shinobi.
The shinobi leapt between tree trunks, attempting to escape the Wood Release domain.
Then—
Their ankles were seized.
Their throats tightened.
Their wrists were bound.
Chakra!
The vines were absorbing chakra.
These vines were a special iron-thread vine Yako developed based on the Wood Dragon Technique.
They were incredibly tough.
Capable of binding enemies—
And draining their chakra.
Out of the 120 shinobi in the two battalions, more than eighty failed to escape the forest.
Thirty managed to break free outside.
They shouted the names of their trapped comrades.
But those caught in the vines quickly weakened.
Their chakra was drained.
That chakra became nourishment for Wood Release.
The vines grew thicker.
Stronger.
Yako walked calmly into the center of the forest.
Among the devastation, he saw Steam Ninja Han, bound tightly by the vines.
At first Han had shattered countless trunks and vines.
But there were simply too many.
Eventually he was captured by the endless iron-thread vines.
Han stared fiercely at the fox-masked ANBU.
Secretly gathering power.
He prepared to draw upon the chakra of the Five-Tails.
But the beast within him seemed to remember something unpleasant.
It resisted fighting Wood Release.
Then—
Han's eyes widened in fury.
Copper Fox ignored him entirely.
Instead, he charged toward the other Iwa shinobi.
"Wood Release: Impaling Spike Technique!"
Yako struck a nearby trunk.
From the wood erupted countless spikes over two meters long.
They launched instantly toward the Iwa shinobi suspended in the air by the vines.
The spikes pierced through their bodies—
Exploding out of their backs like a forest of thorns.
These shinobi had already been drained of chakra.
They could not move.
In a single volley—
More than twenty Iwa shinobi died in midair.
Blood flowed from the gaps between wood and flesh.
It gathered into broken crimson lines in the air.
The wind blew through them.
Like a curtain of blood-red rain.
Tailed Beast chakra began leaking from Han's body.
He was furious.
Yako thought calmly.
Good.
That was exactly what he wanted.
He wanted Han to lose control.
But…
Your efficiency is too low.
That amount of chakra can't even break the iron vines.
How are you supposed to rampage like this?
Yako charged toward another group of Iwa shinobi.
Another barrage of impaling spikes erupted.
The wooden spears burst out of their backs.
Thorny branches spread further—
Killing more than ten shinobi instantly.
Behind him came a beast-like roar.
It sounded partly like a horse…
Partly like a whale.
Yako turned around.
Han stood there with four tails erupted behind him.
In the Four-Tails state, the Steam Ninja could still retain his sanity.
Only when the fifth tail appeared would he completely lose control.
Yako narrowed his eyes.
That's a little insulting.
I'm Copper Fox of Konoha.
You think four tails are enough to deal with me?
Han raised his head.
A Tailed Beast Ball began forming.
But it was only the size of a fist.
Yako sighed inwardly.
Only fist-sized?
You really are looking down on me.