The individuals inside the Hokage's office continued to discuss the deaths of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui.
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, "The self-verification of Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and the Uchiha clan has concluded. I had Shikaku review them thoroughly, and no loopholes were found. It is possible that spies within the village learned of the friction during the Jonin meeting."
"Ninjas from enemy villages may have assassinated Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui to manufacture a crisis and incite internal strife in the Hidden Leaf. Danzo, suspend all reconnaissance against Hatake Sakumo for now. If he wants to investigate Cloud's Perfect Jinchuriki, let him go. Send Fox along to record key intelligence."
However, Danzo countered, "Fox alone is not enough. Root will also send one operative."
Yagami thought to himself: 'It's truly difficult for Sakumo to get anything done without everyone wanting a piece of the action. Are they hoping he dies at the hands of Ryujin? Though I don't know Ryujin's exact strength, the higher-ups might be overthinking things.'
He knew he had to keep a close eye on the Root operative to prevent any "accidents" from being manufactured.
Danzo turned to Yagami and said, "Fox, pay attention to gathering intel on Hatake Sakumo. See if he is secretly in contact with any specific people or factions. Monitoring his public subordinates isn't enough; he might have trained a hidden force to do his dirty work."
Yagami's heart tightened momentarily, but he quickly realized this was just Danzo's habitual paranoia—measuring a gentleman's heart by a villain's yardstick. If Danzo had actually found anything, Yagami wouldn't be standing here peacefully listening to orders.
Still, Danzo had accidentally hit the mark. As a master of internal struggle, his intuition was terrifyingly sharp. Yagami decided to be doubly cautious from now on.
"Rest assured, Lord Danzo," Yagami said. "I won't miss a single detail. If Hatake Sakumo contacts anyone, I will know."
'How convenient,' Yagami thought. 'As long as I don't initiate contact with Sakumo, he won't be 'secretly contacting' anyone at all. This side mission is too easy.'
Sarutobi Hiruzen added, "Ryujin's mastery over the Tailed Beast is highly mature—so much so that Cloud allows her to execute missions throughout the Land of Lightning. The Two-Tails Jinchuriki moves openly between the capital and various ports. Cloud is very confident in their seal. Danzo, activate your spies in Cloud. As soon as Ryujin leaves the village for her next mission, have Hatake Sakumo and Fox move out."
...
Yagami left the office and returned to the ANBU headquarters. As soon as Purple Cat entered his office, she sniffed the air and noted the scent of smoke on him.
"Fox, just by the secondhand smoke on each squad leader, I can tell who was summoned by the Hokage. Doesn't that mean such important intel is easily leaked?"
Yagami raised his arm and smelled a burnt, acrid odor. "You're right to be observant, Purple Cat. Write a report for Commander Yellow Dog. Suggest that every squad leader spray perfume after leaving the Hokage's office to prevent outsiders from tracking who was summoned."
Yagami intended it as a bit of a joke, but Purple Cat wrote it seriously, Yellow Dog read it seriously, and it was ultimately implemented seriously. Soon, the three ANBU squad leaders found themselves gathered in Yagami's office.
"To prevent people from seeing who was summoned, every squad leader has to wear perfume every day?"
"So, it was your idea for us to wear perfume?"
"Is the perfume made by ANBU, or do we buy it in the village?"
Yagami scratched his head. "Sorry everyone, I didn't realize it would have such an impact. How about we standardize the scent? Purple Cat recommended a tea-scented men's fragrance. Trust me, it's not too feminine."
Yellow Dog had overreacted a bit—why implement this so strictly? Just then, Butterfly entered.
"I suggested using air freshener instead of perfume, and Lord Yellow Dog agreed. Squad leaders, please inform your team captains: any ANBU leaving the Hokage's office must use air freshener to clear the smoke smell."
Yagami breathed a sigh of relief and put away the perfume Purple Cat had given him.
...
Several days later, Yagami returned to the Hokage Building. Hiruzen, Danzo, and Orochimaru were all present. Recently, Orochimaru had been spending a lot of time in the office, assisting the Third in distributing missions.
To any keen observer, it was clear: the Third was grooming Orochimaru for the next Hokage position. The power to distribute missions was far more central than the power to recommend appointments.
Shortly after, Hatake Sakumo entered with four others: Yamashiro-Ji, Gekko Munen, Shinma, and Shirakumo Mai. These were Sakumo's core subordinates—two Jonin and two Special Jonin—a team capable of investigating a Jinchuriki.
Sakumo glanced at Orochimaru, who stood at the Third's side, positioned where he could see the scrolls on the desk. A formidable rival... but Sakumo was fearless. He was determined to become Hokage to fundamentally change the village.
Danzo spoke, "My spies report that the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Ryujin, has left Cloud for a mission at Unoya Port in the Land of Lightning."
Hiruzen continued, "Sakumo, take your subordinates to Unoya Port. I am sending Fox and D to assist you. They are responsible for recording intelligence on Ryujin, allowing you to focus entirely on the battle."
Shinma glanced at Fox and D, thinking: 'Is the Hokage so distrustful of Lord Sakumo that he's sending two ANBU to watch us?'
Yagami also felt uneasy, but for a different reason. If D—a Root operative—died during this mission while everyone else survived, Danzo would know something was wrong. Either Sakumo was the problem, or Fox was. But looking at D made Yagami's hands itch. D ranked so high in Root; Danzo would be devastated if he died.
Should he assassinate D, or protect him to avoid Danzo's suspicion? Or... if he killed D, should he also kill Shinma or Shirakumo Mai to make it look like a tragic battle?
Sensing Fox's gaze on him, Shinma remembered Mai saying Fox was extreme and cruel. His heart tightened, and he immediately lowered his head. 'Damn it, I'm an aspiring Jonin, yet I'm cowed by a single look from an ANBU? That gaze just now... it felt like he was looking at dying prey.'
Yagami dismissed the thought. He couldn't kill one of Sakumo's subordinates just to get rid of D. He had been getting too extreme lately. He decided that once he returned, he would find Purple Cat or Qiaoyi to decompress. He was a human being, not a killing machine.
"Lord Hokage, rest assured," Sakumo said. "I will obtain the intelligence on the Perfect Jinchuriki."
...
The journey to Unoya Port in the northeast of the Land of Lightning was long, taking about 17 days. They crossed half the Land of Fire, the Land of Steam, the Land of Frost, and much of the Land of Lightning.
A few minutes after leaving the village, Shinma noticed the ANBU were nowhere to be seen and caught up to Sakumo. "Where did the two ANBU go? Weren't they supposed to monitor us?"
Yamashiro-Ji glanced back. "ANBU follow from the shadows; they only appear when necessary. Shinma, just act like they aren't there. And remember, that's one ANBU and one Root member, not 'two ANBU'."
In the forest behind them, Yagami and D leaped through the trees.
"Let's do a brief intro for coordination," Yagami said. "I am Fox, skilled in Earth and Water Style. You?"
D replied coldly, "No need. I know your ANBU file. I will coordinate with you during the mission."
Yagami paused. As a squad leader, he knew nothing about Root members, yet this Root ninja could access his ANBU files?
'No need to tell me your abilities, I will coordinate with you'—was D implying he would dictate the tactics based on Yagami's profile? The arrogance and coldness made Yagami physically uncomfortable.
'Do you really think being Danzo's man makes you immortal?' Yagami thought. 'B, who was stronger than you, and the Aburame genius Ryoma both died beneath the sea without a sound. How much stronger can you be?'
Yagami didn't speak to D again for the rest of the trip. Eventually, they reached Unoya Port, the largest port city on the northeast coast of the Land of Lightning, known for shipping iron and copper ore.
Outside the port, Gekko Munen used his Transparent Escape to infiltrate and gather intel while the others hid. Yagami watched through binoculars until Munen vanished behind a courtyard wall. Shortly after, D put down his binoculars and walked away. Yagami followed.
"I'm gathering intel for Lord Danzo. What are you doing?" D asked.
"I'm gathering intel on Consultant Danzo for the Hokage. Is there a problem?" Yagami replied. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can follow you from the shadows instead. The result is the same."
D's eyes flickered. He realized he couldn't stop Fox from following him—Fox was simply too strong. He had no choice but to ignore him.
D climbed a mountain overlooking the port, searching stones for Root's special coded signals. After finding what he was looking for, he moved to a cliffside. Soon, a woman jumped down from the distance.
The moment Yagami saw her, he recognized her: Yakushi Nono.
It was incredible. She had completely changed her face—features, skin tone, even her shoulder and hip width were different.
Nono caught sight of Fox perched on a rock in the distance and her heart jolted. Back in the Land of Whirlpools, they had a brief cooperation. Fox had discovered part of her secret—he knew about her relationship with Kurumi and had found her through her.
Her connection to the orphanage was exposed. She had told Fox the location of Root's secret lab, which was subsequently destroyed, along with the precious Uzumaki experimental subjects. Not only that, but Root's B and the Aburame genius Ryoma—Danzo's right-hand men—had died during those same days.
She had later investigated Fox and knew he was a trusted confidant of the Third Hokage and Yellow Dog, doing their dirty work. More importantly, the orphanage had received a donation and a letter. Between the lines of that letter was an intent to cooperate. Kurumi said the donor was a young man in a mask—Fox.
Nono couldn't tell if Fox wanted to cooperate with her personally, or if Yellow Dog was behind it. What did they want? Intel on Danzo?
Seeing Fox again in the Land of Lightning made her heart race for a second, but she immediately adjusted her composure. She approached D and said, "Ryujin is not in Unoya Port. She is on an escort mission, taking a merchant ship to the Land of Waves. I obtained the ship's schedule; it will return to Unoya Port in 10 days."
D nodded. "Priestess, report any further intel to me immediately."
Nono glanced at Fox. "Is he a Root newcomer? I haven't seen him before."
"You wander through enemy villages; the only thing you don't know is the Hidden Leaf," D said, lowering his voice. "Be careful of him. He is Yellow Dog's man."
At that moment, the "Fox" on the rock vanished in a puff of white smoke. Both D and Nono froze—it was a Shadow Clone.
Suddenly, the ground beside them rippled like water. Yagami's figure slowly rose from the earth. Nono was stunned—Such an exquisite Technique.
D finally realized that when Fox said he would follow from the shadows, he wasn't joking; he truly had the ability.
Fox's voice rang out: "Be careful of me for what exactly? ANBU and Root are of one family. Why the need to be careful?"
D's eyes showed panic. He finally understood that Fox was even stronger than he had imagined, able to hide soundlessly in the ground beneath his feet.
Yagami looked at Nono and said, "I have heard much of your name, Walking Priestess."