Carrying Squadron Leader Black Gorilla and holding his severed arm, Yōkō ran wildly across the grassland.
"Squadron Leader! You have to hold on!"
Yōkō's previous superiors, Captain Antelope and Squadron Leader Brown Bear, had both died by his hand.
That Black Gorilla had lived this long was a testament to Yōkō's mercy and kindness.
He would not allow Black Gorilla to die by someone else's hand.
Black Gorilla's severed arm hung down, cut off about five centimeters above the elbow. The area around the stump was bruised purple, and even the blood had a purple tint.
The severed limb, cut off by the Iwa-nin, was completely cyanotic.
Black Gorilla's consciousness was blurry; he only felt himself jolting, constantly jolting.
Black Gorilla had used the Red Chili Pill and was now thin and not heavy, so Yōkō ran very fast.
Inside the Konoha front-line camp, Yōkō, carrying Black Gorilla, rushed towards the medical tents.
Tsunade walked out of a medical tent, her expression numb.
After her brother Nawaki's death, she consumed herself with heavy work to avoid remembering the circumstances of his death.
"Princess Tsunade! Please save the Squadron Leader!"
Tsunade frowned, looking at Black Gorilla's severed arm, especially the poisoned blood, and said:
"Salamander venom. Because he excessively burned fat, the blood has carried the toxin to every organ. Toxins have accumulated at the severed arm site. First, amputate a section of the upper arm to see if we can save his life."
Yōkō lifted the cyanotic severed arm in his hand and asked, "Princess Tsunade, should we still amputate? If we cut another section, can this severed limb still be reattached?"
Princess Tsunade did not take the cyanotic severed limb Yōkō offered. She turned and walked into the surgical tent.
The medical-nin took Black Gorilla and disappeared into the tent, leaving Yōkō holding a severed limb, At a loss.
This severed limb Yes had poor presentation, but shouldn't they really try to save it a bit more?
Black Gorilla had already lost one arm in the Land of Waves. Losing another, wouldn't he truly become disabled?
From a tent nearby, Purple Cat's shout was heard.
"Squad Leader!"
Yōkō entered the side tent. Members of Team Fox and White Sheep Squad were all hooked up to IV drips, receiving antidotes.
"The prisoners?"
"The prisoners have been handed over. Our mission is complete."
Yōkō felt no joy in his heart.
In the cold, Anbu, Black Gorilla provided Yōkō with one of the few sources of warmth.
If Black Gorilla retired, Yōkō was highly likely to be promoted to Squadron Leader. Then, he would have to face Battalion Commander Yellow Dog directly.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog was a true mission machine, emotionless, cruel, and suspicious.
Half an hour later, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog strode over quickly.
The fangs painted on Yellow Dog's mask seemed even more ferocious now.
"Fox, come with me."
Yōkō quickly followed him into the main tent of the medical area.
Inside the tent, Black Gorilla was out of life's danger. The surgery was urgent; he hadn't even had time to remove his mask.
Yellow Dog asked the medical-nin beside him: "How long until my subordinate recovers? What percentage of his combat strength remains?"
The medical-nin said:
"Both arms are severed; he cannot form hand seals. The toxin has eroded his nerves; he will be slow to react in the future.
I cannot judge what percentage of combat strength remains, but it should not exceed 20%."
Without hesitation, Yellow Dog said to Black Gorilla:
"Black Gorilla, I will have someone bring you the retirement registration scroll immediately. You are retired from the Anbu. The Anbu will provide you with substantial compensation."
Yellow Dog turned to Yōkō and said:
"Fox, you are formally taking over as Squadron Leader. From now on, the Black Gorilla Squadron becomes the Fox Squadron. Handle Black Gorilla's retirement and the squadron's reorganization as soon as possible."
With that, Yellow Dog turned and left.
Yōkō felt secretly sad for Black Gorilla.
Retirement was one thing, but Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's handling was too abrupt.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog had been under great pressure recently. The Senju Kashiwa matter wasn't handled cleanly, forcing Danzo to come to the front lines to clean up the mess.
Senju Nawaki was dead, and the Senju shinobi at the front had died one after another within days.
Without Danzo personally arranging things, the Senju clan would definitely suspect why such a coincidence occurred.
Yōkō reached out to remove Black Gorilla's mask.
"Wait, let me wear it a little longer."
Yōkō's hand paused in mid-air, then slowly withdrew.
He clearly saw tears flowing from the side of the mask.
Poor Black Gorilla wouldn't even be able to wipe his own tears in the future.
Couldn't wipe certain other places either. So inconvenient.
The bitterness Black Gorilla felt was indescribable to outsiders and could only be digested by himself.
Seeing the teardrops, Yōkō turned and left. Black Gorilla certainly wouldn't want others to see him in his current state.
He went to the side tent and inquired about the condition of the squadron members.
The medical-nin said it was ordinary Salamander toxin, not from the giant summon Salamander. In three more days, the poison would be neutralized.
Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief; the basic framework of the squadron remained.
He went to Purple Cat, Antelope, and Black Ox and said:
"I have been appointed as the formal Squadron Leader. From now on, Purple Cat is the leader of your squad.
Purple Cat, after I leave the squad, the Black Gorilla mask will belong to your squad from now on."
Purple Cat asked, "What about Squadron Leader Black Gorilla? Did he... sacrifice?"
"No, retired."
In Konoha's system design, shinobi who are old and incapable of performing missions have no income and live very Miserable lives.
This led many shinobi to take pride in dying on missions.
Clan shinobi were better off, with their clans as a safety net, but the Later Years of civilian shinobi were Horrible.
Living long wasn't a blessing; dying quickly was the real blessing.
Yōkō also pretended to have the medical-nin prescribe him some antidote, saying he moved fast and inhaled only a minimal amount of the poison mist.
Leaving the medical tent area, Yōkō went to the Anbu tent area.
The other two squadrons of Yellow Dog Battalion, the Hippo Squadron and the Yak Squadron, had been dispatched towards the Land of Rain.
Amegakure, calling itself the Sixth Great Hidden Village, joining the war had put Konoha in a passive position.
The Fox Squadron had not yet recovered its combat strength and was temporarily without external missions.
While waiting for the squad members to recover, Yōkō practiced taijutsu and ninjutsu during the day.
The power of the Earth-Style Rising Spears grew greater.
Yōkō discovered he could inject chakra into the earth in segments.
Concentrate more chakra at the tip of the Earth-Style Rising Spears, making the tip harder.
The latter half of the Earth-Style Rising Spears focused on thrust and speed.
After fine-tuning the chakra like this, the attack power of the Earth-Style Rising Spears improved.
After mastering creating one Earth-Style Rising Spear, Yōkō also tried creating multiple spears simultaneously.
Two, three, four, attacking the enemy from different directions.
If he had sufficient chakra, this B-rank jutsu could also become a powerful terrain-altering technique.
This feeling of slowly growing stronger was comforting.
Several days later, the squadron members recovered, and Yōkō received a mission, a relatively easy one.
Escort the bodies of the sacrificed shinobi, including Senju Nawaki, and the severely injured back to the village.
He heard that the Hippo Squadron had suffered heavy losses in the Land of Rain. The Yellow Dog Battalion would return to the village in stages to recruit new members and reorganize.
At the camp entrance, a haggard Tsunade stared at the body bags on the carriage.
Her brother Nawaki lay there.
"Princess Tsunade, please rest assured, I will definitely return the remains of the village's heroes safely to the village."
Hearing the voice, Tsunade turned and saw Yōkō wearing the fox mask, and nodded.
She could not return to the village yet; the village was sending them into the Land of Rain to resist Amegakure's forces.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru waited for Tsunade nearby.
After Yōkō walked some distance away, he glanced back at Tsunade and the other two. The battle against Amegakure would be the battle that made the Legendary Sannin famous.
(End of Chapter)