Root is to stand above the ANBU?
Yagami thought to himself: 'I'm supposed to take orders from Root? Then what was the point of becoming a squad leader?*'
It seemed killing Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui was far from enough. He had killed too few; they didn't know the meaning of pain yet. Until Root suffered a devastating blow, Yagami wouldn't feel comfortable hiding within the ANBU.
Root could not possibly stand above the ANBU squads, and a pawn like D certainly had no right to stand above him.
Yagami recalled D's exquisite Wind Style ninjutsu. 'Why not use D for a prize draw?' He didn't have to kill him permanently after the revival; letting him return to the Leaf alive would suffice. His "White Ghost" persona specialized in Fire Style; with Wind Style as a support, his strength would grow even further.
Seconds later, D stared in horror at Fox, who had charged forward only to die upon his kunai. D panicked and ripped off his mask, his face pale with shock. Although he wanted to suppress the ANBU, he had never intended to actually kill Fox—Fox was Yellow Dog's primary lackey.
[Host death detected. Arc of Moon System is initiating...]
Yagami returned to the previous full moon night. He was back on the mountain outside Unoya Port, waiting for the return of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Ryujin.
[The host has only one revival opportunity per month, reviving at the start of the previous full moon night.
Reward: One Prize Draw Opportunity:
1. Sealing Jutsu: Evil Sealing Method (Entry)
2. Wind Style: Vacuum Wave (Entry)
3. Wind Style: Great Breakthrough (Proficiency)]
The first option was a Sealing Jutsu. After the Uzumaki clan was wiped out, the few sealing techniques recovered from their corpses had mostly fallen into Shimura Danzo's hands. This had made the Shimura clan appear as if they were now a major clan of sealing arts.
The second option was Wind Style: Vacuum Wave. Exhaling a long blade of wind provided excellent large-scale cutting ability. This technique was similar to Yagami's Water Style: Water Severing Wave, but in terms of raw power, it fell short; the kinetic energy of the water jet far exceeded that of a wind blade.
The final option was another Proficiency-level ninjutsu. He chose the last reward: Wind Style: Great Breakthrough (Proficiency). With this, the combat power of his White Ghost persona increased once again.
D was now on his must-kill list. He would find an opportunity to kill this elite of the Shimura clan to continue striking at Danzo. If Danzo was the "Darkness of the Shinobi," then Yagami was the "Darkness of the Darkness." He wasn't much for words or reasoning, so he would use the only thing he was good at—assassination—to leave others with no room for argument.
All the benefits of the Hidden Leaf were being monopolized by Danzo and his ilk. But there is no such thing as a sweet date without a pit. If you swallow too many benefits, there will come a day when you must spit them back out.
...
The events unfolded exactly as they had in the previous timeline. Hatake Sakumo's team intercepted Ryujin on the sea. D's rash interference caused the engagement to end prematurely. Yagami remained behind, dutifully recording the Jinchuriki's subsequent behavior.
After catching up with Sakumo's group, the dispute between Yagami and D occurred once more. However, this time Yagami said nothing more, showing no sign of his usual assertiveness. There was no need for idle talk; D could take it up with his White Ghost persona later.
The group moved quickly. Occasionally, Cloud scouting parties would catch up, and Sakumo would drop back to decisively clear them before they continued south. They reached the Land of Steam without much delay.
Large squads of Cloud Ninja, unable to catch Sakumo, stood at the border of the Land of Hot Water. Their commander, Garui, shouted, "Return to the village! Wait for the village to declare war! we will formally invade the Land of Steam!"
...
A few days later, Hatake Sakumo and the others returned to the Hidden Leaf Village. When Yagami and D were summoned by the Hokage, they saw Sakumo just leaving the building. Inside the office were Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, and Orochimaru.
D spoke first, recounting everything observed along the way. He particularly emphasized that at the critical moment of the battle against the Two-Tails, he had charged forward regardless of the danger, ensuring Sakumo didn't hog all the glory of fighting a Jinchuriki.
After listening, Danzo asked, "Fox, what did you do during the mission?"
"I spent most of the time recording the mission alongside D," Yagami replied. "The only difference is that after Hatake Sakumo's team and D left, I stayed behind to record how the Two-Tails Jinchuriki retracted the overflowing Tailed Beast chakra."
Danzo nodded. "Valuable intelligence, I suppose."
Orochimaru asked, "Fox, can Hatake Sakumo really split a Tailed Beast Bomb with a blade?"
"Yes, he can," Yagami confirmed. "Hatake Sakumo's White Fang blade-light can continue to slash forward for about two seconds. When the Tailed Beast Bomb struck the blade-light, it was actually split down the middle. Sakumo's Body Flicker is very fast; after splitting the bomb at mid-range, he can retreat quickly. He possesses the strength to confront a Jinchuriki head-on. However..."
Yagami didn't pull any punches: "Because D intervened too early, it clearly disrupted Hatake Sakumo's attacking rhythm. Out of a desire to protect D, Sakumo was unable to force out the full Two-Tails transformation. Ryujin remained in human form, which is far from the full Tailed Beast transformation described in the intel.
Therefore, this mission was a failure. It only allowed Sakumo to demonstrate his ability to cut through Tailed Beast Bombs, but failed to expose his shortcomings against a giant Tailed Beast. His White Fang tanto's blade-light does not exceed five meters; he likely lacks the means to deal with large-scale beasts. Whether he has other trump cards remains unseen."
"Oh?" Orochimaru said, ignoring the sensibilities of the high-ranking officials. "So you're saying this fool D, in his rush to verify the power of Wind Style against a Jinchuriki, failed to wait for the full transformation to appear?"
"Fox is slandering me!" D explained hurriedly. "At that time, three Cloud squads appeared at the docks—escort ninjas and garrison ninjas were forming an encirclement under the organization of several Cloud Jonin. Even if I hadn't moved, the Cloud Ninja would have swarmed us. Sakumo had no chance to draw out the full Two-Tails. Besides, Sakumo didn't use his full strength; he did it on purpose, he wasn't truly scouting for the village."
Orochimaru questioned D several more times about the timing of his intervention, but D found excuses for everything. With Danzo backing him up, Orochimaru couldn't do much to D. Yagami listened from the side, offering no further opinions. Of the three, Orochimaru still possessed some shred of integrity, not yet completely soaked in the village's political vat.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Fox, you did well. Leave the mission scroll here and return to the ANBU."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
D stared at Fox's retreating back, his eyes cold.
...
Back at the ANBU headquarters, Yagami first went to Yellow Dog's office.
"Commander, during this mission, D said Root would stand above the four ANBU squads. Is this true?"
"Hmph," Yellow Dog snorted. "Consultant Danzo told the Hokage that Root should take the lead in missions, claiming their tasks are more secretive and important. He wants all ANBU ninjas to follow Root's orders at critical moments. The Hokage did not agree, and he will not agree."
Yagami thought to himself: 'Good. I still have time to set the board.'
***
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