After his rebirth, following the plot from his previous life, Yōkō first went to see Squadron Leader Black Gorilla, then went to inform Battalion Commander Yellow Dog that Black Gorilla would need over a month to recover his combat strength.
After finishing training the newcomers in his squadron, Yōkō entered the Tsurugetsu Izakaya that evening.
Inside the izakaya, Yōkō saw the legless Senju Kaede and his friend Kamochi.
Watching the two chatting at the counter, Yōkō pondered his own situation.
Being in the Anbu, he was unwilling to remain just a hunting dog for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō.
He wanted to maintain a certain degree of autonomy; he couldn't let Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō grow too powerful.
The Senju clan was wiped out, the Uchiha clan was wiped out, the Hyūga clan was shat on by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the main family head Hyūga Hiashi was almost sent to Kumogakure... Sarutobi Hiruzen had the final say in Konoha. He himself would inevitably face more and more situations where he had no choice.
Currently, the only person within Konoha who could suppress Sarutobi Hiruzen was Uzumaki Mito.
Yōkō felt that he should find a way to leverage Uzumaki Mito's influence to preserve dissenting voices within the village and prevent Sarutobi Hiruzen from having a monopoly on power.
The Senju clan was the key. If not saving the entire Senju clan, he at least needed to preserve their spark, like how he helped Uzumaki Yuka, to save more members of the Senju clan and give the village higher-ups a headache.
The more chaotic the village, the more room he would have to maneuver.
Yōkō walked over to the counter, bantering with Kyōi, while listening to Senju Kaede and Kamochi chatting about Kamochi's son nearby.
The next day, Kamochi invited Senju Kaede's son, Senju Kashiwa, to come.
Upon hearing Kamochi mention his Uzumaki mother, Senju Kashiwa's expression changed drastically. He leaned close to his teacher's ear and whispered a few words.
Kamochi was greatly shocked and told his disciple not to act rashly; he would investigate first.
After leaving the izakaya, Kamochi was deeply worried.
Senju Kashiwa had met a woman in the Land of Grass, a kunoichi from the Uzumaki clan who possessed the Spear Egret summon.
That person told Kashiwa the truth about the Uzumaki clan's destruction: not only did Kirigakure and Kumogakure want the Uzumaki clan dead, but Konoha shared the same desire.
It was truly shocking.
Kamochi had heard some rumors among the higher-ups. Clan Head Senju Rinoki always acted as half the master of Konoha, pointing fingers at the work of other high-ranking officials.
Due to Senju Rinoki's status, the other higher-ups didn't say much openly.
But anyone with eyes could see that the Hokage, the advisors, and others were unwilling to listen to Senju Rinoki emphasize the wills of the First and Second Hokage.
Did Senju Rinoki inherit the wills of the two Hokage? Did that mean the Konoha higher-ups hadn't inherited their wills?
Kamochi was very confused. Had the conflicts among the higher-ups already reached such a sharp degree?
Could an ally like Uzushiogakure be discarded so casually?
The Uzumaki clan was related by marriage to the Senju clan; how could they accept such an outcome?
Kamochi looked towards the direction of the Forest of Death in the northeast corner of the village. He only knew the Anbu base was located within the Forest of Death, but he didn't know how to begin his investigation.
Late at night, Kamochi paced continuously through the village, mentally rejecting one plan after another.
Investigating the Anbu in secret – if such a thing were discovered by the Anbu, he would be branded a rogue ninja.
Just as he passed by a park, a white bird flew out from a tree on his left, flashing past and disappearing into the woods on the right.
Kamochi was stunned. Why did that white bird look like a waterbird?
Konoha didn't have water birds like that.
A piece of paper fluttered down from the air. Kamochi reached out and caught it.
The note read: Senju Kashiwa is in danger tonight.
Kamochi was jolted awake. That white bird just now was clearly an egret.
His disciple had just mentioned meeting an Uzumaki kunoichi in the Land of Grass who possessed the Spear Egret summon.
Could it be that some force was pushing the investigation into the Uzumaki clan's destruction within the village?
Kamochi quickly turned around and rushed back to the izakaya where he had parted with his disciple.
It was already 2 AM, and the izakaya had just closed.
The pretty female proprietor was busy closing the windows, occasionally glancing back with amorous eyes towards the handsome young man leaning against the back doorframe.
Kamochi had no time to ponder the relationship between this couple. He hurriedly headed from there towards the Senju clan's compound.
Yōkō glanced at Kamochi's retreating, wondering if he could save that young man from the Senju clan.
He put his arm around Kyōi's waist and walked into the backyard.
After this resurrection, he had to be cautious. He only had one resurrection chance per month. Only after the next full moon could he relax slightly.
The next day, Yōkō went to the Anbu.
Yōkō had judged Leaf Monkey as not meeting Anbu standards. He went to Root again to have Root reassign someone or transfer a new member with squad leader strength from another team.
While he was waiting at Root, another squadron leader was there complaining.
"Can Root live up to Lord Danzō's expectations? The quality of the newcomers you train is too poor. They can't even handle a simple cleanup mission, and even let the target escape?"
Without the Tongue Eradication Seal, Danzō's control over the Anbu and Root was far less than in the original story.
Danzō badly needed the Uzumaki's Sealing Scroll.
Yōkō's heart stirred. Could last night's cleanup mission have been targeting Senju Kashiwa?
Yōkō didn't receive a new squad leader and returned to his own squadron to continue training the newcomers.
Deep within the Forest of Death, at the training ground.
The two newcomers from the Fox Squad, the three newcomers from the White Goat Squad, and the three newcomers from the Leaf Monkey Squad – eight newcomers in total.
Purple Cat held a training kunai without an edge, applied red pigment to it, and then handed the kunai to Yōkō.
After obtaining the Senju Bloodline, Yōkō felt itchy all over, eager for a hearty fight.
He said to the eight newcomers:
"The Konoha Anbu really gets worse with each generation. If this continues, does the village even have a future? All eight of you come at me together. Don't disappoint me, you brand-new pieces of trash!"
Having passed the rigorous Chūnin Exams, these chūnin were already the backbone of the village and had some pride. How could they endure such humiliation from the acting squadron leader?
The eight of them, each holding their weapons, attacked from several directions.
Yōkō felt like he had endless strength.
Abundant stamina was also a form of talent.
Only with vigorous energy and a resilient body could one sustain continuous struggle and combat.
With his Stress Reflex broken through twice, Yōkō's reaction speed was very fast. He easily dodged the kunai of two people and kicked another away.
"Idiots! Can eight people fit around me all at once? Why didn't three of you provide long-range harassment? What kind of tactic is swarming forward?"
The training kunai struck a newcomer's arm, knocking his kunai away.
Finally, a few people retreated to the rear and threw kunai at Yōkō.
Two of them were okay, but one's kunai throw was weak.
Yōkō grabbed his kunai and threw it back.
"Don't underestimate the basic kunai throwing technique! Your fundamentals with ninja tools are terrible! Do you think kunai throwing isn't a high-level jutsu, so you look down on it?"
The returned kunai hit the newcomer in the throat.
The training kunai wasn't sharp, but it hit his windpipe painfully, causing him to bend over involuntarily.
Yōkō kept shaking his head.
Konoha had been continuously weakening during the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars. Even the quality of the Anbu ninja had declined so noticeably; the strength of the village's regular ninja was probably even worse.
Purple Cat, watching from the side, grew increasingly astonished. Why was Captain Fox's strength so formidable?
Anbu ninja primarily relied on taijutsu and explosive tags in combat, but Captain Fox's movements were fluid, without any sense of stiffness, as if his body had undergone a second growth spurt.
Remembering the captain's performance in the changing room a few nights ago, Purple Cat's neck turned red, and she hurriedly lowered her head to record each newcomer's performance.
Just as the squadron training was in full swing, Battalion Commander Yomi's assistant appeared instantly via Body Flicker.
"Two Special Jōnin-level rogue ninja have appeared within the village! One of them is a Special Jōnin from the Senju clan! Battalion Commander Yellow Dog orders your squadron to dispatch one team to participate in the pursuit of the rogue ninja!"
"I understand. I'll take a team there immediately."
Yōkō's heart sank. After his warning to Kamochi, the butterfly had flapped its wings, and the plot in this life had changed.
Both Senju Kashiwa and Kamochi had been identified as rogue ninja by the Anbu.
...
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(End of Chapter)