In Konoha, an ANBU hawk descended rapidly.
The one who received it was not a communications ninja.
It was a shinobi wearing a monkey mask—codename Long-Arm Ape.
The moment Long-Arm Ape read the intelligence tied to the hawk's leg, his expression changed drastically.
He rushed straight to the Hokage Tower, first meeting Yellow Dog in the basement.
After reading the report, Yellow Dog was equally shocked. He immediately brought the intelligence to the Hokage's office on the third floor.
Before long, the office filled with people.
Danzo.
Koharu.
Nara Shikakaku.
Several senior figures of Konoha's leadership had gathered.
After a moment of thought, Danzo spoke.
"Hiruzen… if he can fight the Third Kazekage evenly, what makes you think he cannot fight you evenly?"
"The Third Kazekage is called the strongest Kazekage in history. We all know that reputation isn't exaggerated."
"We must prepare in advance. We cannot allow a repeat of what happened with Hatake Sakumo becoming an advisor."
Konoha produced geniuses like an endless field of chives.
No matter how much you cut, more would grow.
After reading the report, Shikakaku felt relief at first.
A single ANBU had fought the Third Kazekage dozens of kilometers outside Sunagakure—and the battle had ended in a stalemate.
If Sand reinforcements hadn't arrived in large numbers, it was impossible to say who would have won.
The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release: Iron Sand was a bloodline technique that combined offense and defense perfectly.
Shikakaku understood Danzo's concern.
Soon, the shinobi world would begin placing Copper Fox and the Third Kazekage in the same category.
Fox had long possessed Kage-level strength.
But until now, he had worked quietly within ANBU.
This time, however, his strength had been exposed to the world.
For the village leadership, shinobi of different strength levels required matching treatment.
Otherwise, the village would begin whispering criticism behind their backs.
But what kind of treatment could they give Fox?
For an ordinary jonin, it was simple—grant an A-rank technique, offer a jonin position, and the shinobi could be won over.
But Fox?
Should they make him the head of ANBU?
Koharu suddenly asked,
"Did Fox recover Homura's Five Ninja Blades?"
Yellow Dog replied,
"According to our spies, Sasori—the grandson of Advisor Chiyo—used Homura's weapon vault to create four top-tier puppets."
"Those four puppets were completely destroyed by Fox."
"The weapons are now in Fox's possession."
"Four puppets?" Koharu frowned.
"Weren't there five weapons in Homura's vault?"
"We don't know," Yellow Dog answered.
"We'll confirm once Fox returns."
Danzo said coldly,
"Whether there are five blades or four is irrelevant."
"What matters is how we deal with Fox."
"His strength is increasing rapidly. His combat style has already changed—from covert ANBU assassination to direct confrontation."
"His reputation will only continue to grow."
Everyone turned toward Yellow Dog.
Yellow Dog felt a trace of bitterness.
Despite years of training, he knew he could not face the Third Kazekage head-on.
The Kazekage's reputation as the strongest had been earned during the First Shinobi War.
He had fought Onoki.
He had fought Hiruzen.
They were shinobi of the same level.
The Second Shinobi War had not been as intense as the first. In the first war, every village's Kage had been forced onto the battlefield.
Now Konoha faced the same problem again.
Should Fox be granted status matching his strength?
Hatake Sakumo had been extremely powerful.
They delayed.
They suppressed.
Eventually they were forced to grant him the advisor position.
Many among the leadership had swallowed that decision like bitter poison.
An outsider had joined the advisors.
Fox was now just as strong.
Would they eventually be forced to give him command of ANBU?
Yellow Dog spoke again.
"My opinion is that Fox should temporarily remain inside the village."
"Let him focus on managing ANBU's daily affairs."
"The rogue organization led by Uchiha Madara can be handled by Advisor Sakumo. Fox does not need to be deployed there."
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
He seemed to agree.
Yellow Dog continued.
"Of course, this arrangement should be framed as maintaining stability."
"We should also appease Fox."
"He once mentioned lacking a suitable weapon."
"Perhaps we could reward him with some of Homura's ninja blades."
Yellow Dog glanced toward Koharu.
She did not object.
Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Very well."
"Fox's battle with the Third Kazekage carries enormous symbolic meaning."
"We know his strength is growing rapidly."
"But the significance of that achievement cannot be ignored."
"We are not yet prepared to place ANBU in his hands."
"So Fox should not accumulate greater accomplishments for now."
"Reward him with Homura's blades."
"And let him focus primarily on managing ANBU."
—
Yako returned to Konoha carrying four weapons.
The mission to the Land of Wind had taken more than twenty days.
Working for Konoha truly required both effort and sacrifice.
Such a waste of time and life.
Upon returning to the village, Yako entered Yellow Dog's office cheerfully.
"Yellow Dog-sama, I've completed the mission. I recovered Advisor Homura's weapon vault—four ninja blades."
"Oh… good work, Fox."
Yako paused.
Something about that tone felt wrong.
He explained again,
"Unfortunately the Third Kazekage intervened and rescued Sasori. Otherwise I would have killed Chiyo's grandson."
"Sasori is a genius puppet master of Sunagakure."
"He's listed as an A-rank target in the assassination manual."
After he finished speaking, Yako noticed Yellow Dog carefully organizing his words.
Something had clearly changed.
After a brief moment of thought, Yako realized the reason.
His battle with the Third Kazekage.
Had that frightened the leadership?
Had he changed—from ANBU's trusted executioner…
into a subordinate they needed to guard against?
He had no intention of seizing control of ANBU.
At least not yet.
Finally, Yellow Dog spoke.
"Fox, your performance was excellent."
"To fight the Third Kazekage on equal footing… that is extraordinary."
"Come with me."
"The Hokage wishes to see you."
"He will personally arrange your reward."
—
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen greeted him with a warm smile.
"Fox has returned."
"Sit, Fox. Sit on the sofa."
Yako hesitated slightly.
But he obeyed.
It was the first time he had ever sat on the Hokage's office sofa.
Hiruzen said,
"You performed exceptionally well."
"Even before you returned, waves of intelligence reports arrived."
"You not only recovered Homura's blades, but you also confronted the Third Kazekage directly."
"What reward would you like?"
"Do you have any requests?"
Could he say he wanted to read the Scroll of Seals?
To be honest, he suspected he had a talent for forbidden techniques.
But Yako was not stupid.
This was clearly a test.
If he requested access to the Scroll of Seals, Hiruzen would laugh it off—and quietly mark him as ambitious.
So Yako answered calmly.
"Hokage-sama, before leaving for the mission I told Yellow Dog-sama that I lack a suitable blade."
"When I recovered Advisor Homura's weapon vault, I discovered that the Senju Greatsword suits me particularly well."
"May I inherit that weapon?"
It was not an excessive request.
He had not asked for forbidden techniques.
He had not asked for promotion.
He simply wanted one blade from the weapons he personally recovered.
Yako unsealed a scroll.
Four blades appeared on the floor.
The Senju Greatsword.
A chakra metal ninja blade.
The Black Assassination Blade.
A giant Fuma Shuriken.
Hiruzen looked at them quietly.
"Fox," he said slowly, "I'm not saying your mission was incomplete."
"But Homura's vault contained five weapons."
"Did you see the nine-section blade?"
"No, Hokage-sama."
"Sasori only possessed four blades."
Hiruzen appeared to consider this for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"Fox, you have worked tirelessly for ANBU and the village."
"One weapon would hardly be sufficient."
"Take all four."
"These blades once belonged to my teacher and the First Hokage."
"They were later inherited by Homura."
"And now… they will pass to you."
"I hope you will not tarnish their legacy."
Yellow Dog blinked in surprise.
He had expected Fox to receive two weapons.
Instead, he received all four.
Yako was equally suspicious.
Was Hiruzen really this generous?
His original expectation had been only the Senju Greatsword.
Now he owned all four.
As Yako sealed the blades back into the scroll, Hiruzen continued.
"Fox, Advisor Sakumo is already handling matters in the Land of Rain."
"The village is safe on that front."
"I have a proposal."
"ANBU's overall strength is still too weak."
"Fox, I want you to devote your efforts to training ANBU."
"Improve their combat ability."
"When your subordinates are stronger, your own work will become easier."
"What do you think?"
Yako responded immediately.
"Hokage-sama, I will execute your orders without reservation."
"ANBU is the blade in your hand and Yellow Dog-sama's hand."
"If that blade is not sharp enough, how can it carry out the village's dark missions?"
"This is my failure."
"As deputy commander, I failed to maintain ANBU's overall combat strength."
"I will train them personally."
"Please rest assured."
For a brief moment, Hiruzen wondered if he had been overly suspicious.
But Fox's answer was too perfect.
Perfect enough to make Hiruzen even more cautious.
Yako noticed the change.
Hiruzen's expression had shifted—from satisfaction…
to vigilance.
Inside, Yako felt bitter.
At this moment, nothing he said would matter.
The Hokage had already begun to doubt him.
And once suspicion appeared—
guilt had already been decided.
From the moment Hiruzen questioned his loyalty…
Yako had already become a disloyal subordinate.
No matter what he did now—
it would only delay the inevitable confrontation.
Strictly speaking, Yako had done nothing wrong.
Was it wrong to fight the Third Kazekage?
For anyone in Konoha except Hiruzen—
that would be considered a glorious achievement.
But his mistake was simple.
He had placed himself on the same level as the Kage of great villages.
To everyone except Hiruzen, that was admirable.
To Hiruzen—
it was dangerous.
Yako calmly reported additional information about Sasori and the Third Kazekage, pretending nothing had happened.
After finishing the report and handing in the mission scroll, he took the sealing scroll containing the four blades and left the Hokage's office.
After Fox had been gone for a while, Hiruzen murmured quietly.
"Why isn't Fox a Sarutobi?"
"Why isn't he my disciple?"
If even one of those conditions had been true—
Hiruzen would never treat him this way.
Fox within ANBU was like Hatake Sakumo within Konoha.
Beneficial to ANBU.
Beneficial to the village.
But not necessarily beneficial to Hiruzen himself.
Throughout the history of the Land of Fire, many daimyo had harmed their own heroes.
Everyone knew betraying loyal servants was wrong.
But those servants had served the country—
not necessarily the daimyo.
—
Back at the ANBU headquarters, Yako summoned several squad captains and began organizing a new training program.
Ninjutsu refinement.
Taijutsu improvement.
Every squad would submit its own training plan.
Once the captains left, Yako sat alone in his office.
His eyes were cold.
'I'm not Hatake Sakumo… the righteous man who cherishes comrades.'
'You think the methods used against Sakumo will work on me?'
In his mind, his voice was calm and icy.
'You're too naïve.'
Just as naïve…
as you thought Sakumo was.