Yagami sought out Yellow Dog: "Brigade Commander, let me participate in the discussion for this ambush operation."
Yellow Dog didn't find the request strange and agreed.
Inside the tent that night, Yagami watched the five Jonin study the map, observing each of them closely. There were seven people in total: the five Jonin brigade commanders, Yellow Dog's assistant Butterfly, and Yagami.
The two Uchiha Jonin, Uchiha Tohka and Uchiha Murakumo, would definitely not leak information. In the ambush of his previous life, the two Uchiha brigades had been hit the hardest, and the young clan leader Fugaku Uchiha's life had even been in danger.
The two village Jonin, Moonlight Sō and Yamashiro Tera, were both supporters of Sakumo Hatake; they were unlikely to be the problem. All of Sakumo's supporters had been sent by the village to the Land of Whirlpools front lines, yet Sakumo himself had not come. In missions that Danzo didn't support, the ranks were filled with the people Danzo detested.
Yagami's eyes swept over Yellow Dog's assistant, Butterfly. Could it be her?
The combat arrangements discussed by the five Jonin would ultimately be formed into a report by Butterfly and submitted to headquarters. This meant Butterfly was the first person to have access to the complete operational plan. Was Butterfly a spy planted by Danzo at Yellow Dog's side? Among the six ANBU Brigade Commanders, Yellow Dog was the most trusted by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Danzo would naturally pay close attention to him.
Should he have Ram place a parasitic insect on Butterfly for surveillance? After some hesitation, Yagami decided not to risk it. If someone were investigating Purple Cat, even if it was for his own good, Yagami would be furious. A rift between close associates is dangerous. He couldn't rashly suspect Butterfly.
The five Jonin were studying the terrain of the Land of Waves, looking for a slope. If the Mist Ninja used Water Style, a slope would allow the water to drain away quickly. The slope they selected was exactly the one where the ambush occurred in his previous life.
Yagami suddenly spoke: "Brigade Commander, I believe we should add a backup battlefield. I will be luring the enemy with the Twin Swords Hiramekarei; if I move in only one direction, it will be easy for the Mist Ninja to predict my intent. It would be better to set a second ambush point near this location. If the resistance I encounter is too great, I'll have the chance to change directions and set the ambush at the second location. The five brigades should be stationed somewhere between the two points in advance to ensure they can be in position at any time."
The Jonin considered this suggestion seriously. Copper Fox had quite a reputation, and the other Jonin valued his opinion. Yellow Dog also felt Fox's idea was excellent. Although it would make the setup time tighter, it would improve the success rate. Fox parading the Twin Swords Hiramekarei along the coastline was dangerous, and there were many variables in the early stages of luring the enemy into the encirclement.
Uchiha Tohka had been looking for a chance to invite Copper Fox to help with special training for the young clan leader Fugaku. Hearing Copper Fox's suggestion, Tohka said: "I also think we should prepare a contingency. No ninja mission goes without surprises."
The other Jonin agreed, and they found a second ambush site near the first one.
After the discussion ended and everyone else had left the tent, Uchiha Tohka approached Yellow Dog and Fox: "Jonin Fox, the Vice Commander hopes to find a Water Style expert to help the young clan leader with some special training. I've heard Jonin Copper Fox's Water Style is quite strong. I wonder if we could invite him to train the young clan leader Fugaku?"
Yellow Dog needed the Uchiha clan to put in effort for this ambush, so he replied: "Of course. Before the formal operation, let Fox go and assist your young leader Fugaku."
Yagami also stated it was no problem.
The next day, Yagami arrived at the training ground outside the main camp and saw Uchiha Tohka with three Uchiha youths, the foremost of whom was Fugaku Uchiha. Using only Water Style: Water Trumpet and the Water Pistol Jutsu, Yagami left the three Uchiha youths in a sorry state. Even though Fugaku had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan within a year of graduating from the Ninja Academy, he had little resistance against such a massive gap in strength.
Yagami repeated the same words he had in his previous life: Fugaku Uchiha was neither ruthless enough nor sufficiently determined.
After training Fugaku, Yagami approached Uchiha Tohka. Tohka felt very grateful to Fox; there were things he couldn't easily say himself, but it was fine if an ANBU Jonin said them. He also felt that the young leader had plenty of talent but lacked ruthlessness.
Yagami whispered to Uchiha Tohka: "Jonin Tohka, what are your thoughts on this ambush?"
"Hmm?" Uchiha Tohka thought to himself: isn't this just a normal combat mission? The only thing special about it was that it was led by the ANBU Yellow Dog Brigade. The Uchiha clan had some understanding of the power within the ANBU; the Yellow Dog Brigade was incredibly strong and had participated in the entire Land of Rivers campaign.
Both the Land of Rivers headquarters and the Hokage were very satisfied with their performance. Now that the Yellow Dog Brigade had come to the Land of Whirlpools, it was inevitable they would achieve something.
Why was Jonin Copper Fox asking for his opinion? Did he think Tohka was overlooking something?
Uchiha Tohka asked: "Jonin Copper Fox, aside from this Land of Whirlpools war, the Uchiha clan hasn't dealt with the ANBU for several years. If you have any suggestions, please speak plainly. I'm not... I'm not good at conspiracy theories."
Yagami said: "The ANBU has spies within the Mist Hidden Village. According to their reports, the Mist is placing extraordinary importance on the Twin Swords Hiramekarei this time. Our five brigades ambushing the recovery unit may seem like a lot of power, but in reality, it's not enough. Brigade Commander Yellow Dog's intention is to secretly embed more powerful ninja within the brigades. Deploying five brigades is a way to show weakness to the enemy, letting the Mist recovery unit enter the encirclement smoothly."
"Hiding more powerful ninja ensures an absolute counterattack capability, catching them off guard. This must be kept secret. Once you have your hidden manpower ready, I will report back to Brigade Commander Yellow Dog. I just criticized Fugaku for lacking ruthlessness and aggression, but we can't truly let him die on the front lines like Nawaki Senju, can we?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Tohka nodded repeatedly and said: "I understand. However, our Uchiha Jonin have been dispatched by headquarters to the most dangerous and heated front lines. I can arrange at most six Special Jonin."
Yagami thought to himself: six Special Jonin—while not as many as he'd hoped, it was still good. If six Special Jonin coordinated a sneak attack well, they would be equivalent to at least two Jonin. Some Special Jonin simply hadn't had the chance to be recommended as Jonin; in terms of strength, they might be stronger than some mediocre Sarutobi clan Jonin.
Yagami's second arrangement was a success. He hadn't expected that the people he could trust most at this time were actually the Uchiha clan, while everyone in the ANBU carried an aura of danger.
Yagami didn't have the clearance to access information on Yellow Dog's assistant, Butterfly, and didn't know who she was. When he warned Brigade Commander Yellow Dog, he had to be careful not to be overheard by others and not to expose himself.
***
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