Danzo waited for Fox's reply.
Yōkō was extremely nervous inside; if he said the wrong thing, Danzo would surely silence him here and now.
He quickly organized his thoughts and said:
"Lord Danzo! We must widely publicize the news that Uchiha Madara is still alive to the village.
This way, the village will organize a large force to hunt down Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara being alive is the village's nightmare.
Kato Dan's location wasn't far from Uchiha Madara, and he had Senju guards with him. I think the Senju clan roughly knew Kato Dan's whereabouts.
If we just throw Kato Dan's body into the Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees created by Uchiha Madara, and fake the scene that Kato Dan was killed by Uchiha Madara, wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"
Danzo raised his eyelid slightly, very interested: "How does it kill two birds with one stone?"
Yōkō thought his plan had struck a chord with Danzo and hurriedly said:
"First, it explains Kato Dan's death.
If Kato Dan dies, Tsunade will definitely investigate by any means necessary.
If Kato Dan died at the hands of Uchiha Madara, then there's nothing much Tsunade can do.
After all, her grandfather also died prematurely due to his great battle with Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End.
Second, it diverts the trouble elsewhere.
The Senju clan will inevitably target the Uchiha clan even more.
When the Senju and Uchiha clans are fighting internally, they will have no time to uncover the truth."
Yōkō was very certain that Danzo wasn't afraid of Tsunade's investigation, but he would definitely be interested in pitting the Senju and Uchiha clans against each other.
Danzo didn't even regard the Senju clan during Senju Rinoki's era highly; now, with Senju Hanaki and a group of old, weak, and disabled members, Danzo hasn't taken further action only because it would look bad and risk collective rejection from other ninja clans in the village.
Sure enough, when Danzo heard the words 'internal strife', his interest was strongly piqued.
No one understood internal strife better than Danzo.
Danzo was the king of conflict in Konoha.
"B" asked from the side: "What if Uchiha Madara doesn't admit he killed Kato Dan?"
Yōkō explained: "I've heard some stories about Uchiha Madara. He's killed too many people; he wouldn't remember someone two generations younger like Kato Dan."
Danzo nodded; that was true.
Seeing the situation was favorable, Yōkō stated his ultimate goal:
"Lord Danzo! I am willing to take the risk and go to the Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees now to stage the scene of Kato Dan being killed by Uchiha Madara!
The real time of Kato Dan's death and the faked time cannot differ too much, otherwise people will notice."
He needed to get away from Danzo; the current Danzo was too dangerous.
As long as he could separate from him, everything would be easier; he would have more room to maneuver.
Danzo frowned slightly, looked down at Kato Dan's body, and finally said: "Good! Fox, your thinking is sharp. You are a natural-born Anbu."
Natural-born Anbu... Yōkō felt this phrase sounded like an insult.
Danzo added, "B, you follow Fox, ensure he completes the plan. I will wait for you here."
As expected, Danzo didn't dare to risk himself; he was afraid of dying tonight.
Sending "B" along was due to distrust, fearing Yōkō would tamper with things.
Yōkō lifted the bodies of Kato Dan and the two guards, picked up Kato Dan's severed hand, and headed back.
"B" followed about a hundred meters behind Fox, watching him from a distance.
Heading back towards the cave where Uchiha Madara was hiding, "B" was also afraid.
Yōkō had to gamble.
He bet that Uchiha Madara would quickly relocate after his whereabouts were exposed.
In the original story, after Uchiha Madara gained Hashirama's power, he lost interest in everything in the ninja world, focusing solely on the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Now that Uchiha Madara had been discovered by Danzo, he might transfer and continue lurking in the shadows.
Reviving and initiating the Eye of the Moon Plan was Uchiha Madara's goal; without Hashirama, this world was dull.
If Uchiha Madara hadn't left yet... Yōkō moved his eyes. He could only activate his Sharingan and ask Uchiha Madara if he had any romantic liaisons in his youth.
Uchiha Madara, do you remember Xia Yuhe by the Nakano River?
But it was hard to say; maybe Uchiha Madara still hated the Uchiha clan for not leaving Konoha with him.
In the heavy rain, the distant forest was faintly visible through the water mist.
Soon, Yōkō saw the battlefield after the Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
Thick tree trunks were entangled and intertwined, dense and numerous.
Yōkō looked towards the dark cave above the wooden terrain.
He formed hand signs and created a shadow clone.
The shadow clone jumped onto the trunks created by the Wood Release, leaping towards the cave.
Standing at the cave entrance, cool gusts of wind blew out from inside.
Yōkō was ready to activate his Sharingan at any moment, watching his shadow clone disappear into the cave.
A hundred meters behind, "B" also watched the cave nervously.
He had secretly left Parasitic Destruction Insects on Fox. If Fox tried anything tricky, he would eliminate him immediately.
About twenty seconds later, the shadow clone reappeared at the cave entrance.
Yōkō's tense body relaxed. He first put down the bodies, then used Body Flicker Technique to appear at the mountainside cave entrance.
The shadow clone burst, returning its memories to Yōkō, but he still wasn't fully assured and walked into the cave.
The mountain and the ground beneath had been hollowed out. The space was unusually tall, but aside from a single chair, it was completely empty.
That large space was probably meant to accommodate the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Uchiha Madara, Nagato, and his family of three had all disappeared.
Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief. Uchiha Madara had indeed hidden again, plotting from behind the scenes.
He returned to the Wood Release area, saw the three Konoha ninja corpses, and also the corpse of the Yamanaka clan Root ninja.
These bodies had been crushed by the tree trunks, mangled and broken.
Observing the gruesome state of the corpses carefully, Yōkō treated the bodies of Kato Dan and the Senju guards similarly.
He lifted tree trunks, placed the bodies inside, and then ensured the skulls were crushed, preventing any intelligence from being gathered from the corpses.
Only the lower half of Kato Dan's face was visible between the gaps in the trunks, enough to identify him.
"B" relaxed in the distance, watching Fox work busily.
What Lord Danzo said was true; Fox was a natural-born Anbu, ruthless and meticulous in his methods.
After finishing the work, Yōkō found "B" and said:
"I request to join the investigation team. When the investigation team returns here, I can guide them to notice the details of Kato Dan's body, ensuring no mistakes."
"B", however, said: "You can tell me the details. I can also guide the investigation team."
Yōkō was taken aback. If he told all the details, wouldn't "B" still silence him?
"Alright, let's go over to Kato Dan and discuss the details."
Arriving beside Kato Dan's body, Yōkō deliberately made it complicated: "Look at this head... look at this chest..."
After describing the general situation, he added:
"I've also considered the rain washing things away. The investigation team won't arrive for at least ten days. I think under the rain, his arm might show four or five different possible conditions...
I request to stay here for a few days to observe the effects of rain on the bodies, and also to prevent wild animals or Rain Ninja from disturbing the scene."
"B" realized Fox had preset many possibilities, making things increasingly complex.
After thinking it over, he decided to go back and ask Lord Danzo whether to silence Fox or not; he would better not make the decision himself.
"Come back with me to see Lord Danzo first. Let him decide if guarding the scene is necessary."
Yōkō followed "B" back to Danzo. Danzo was still in the same spot, standing in the rain, one eye his distinctive Four White Eyes, the other a grayish-white dead eye.
"B" had Fox wait where he was, then went over and reported quietly to Danzo.
After thinking, Danzo said:
"Fox is useful. He considers things thoroughly. Let him guide the investigation team.
Fox has been involved in all the major Anbu missions this year, starting from Uzushiogakure, without making any mistakes.
He showed no mercy towards the three Senju clan members' bodies; he hasn't considered defecting to the Senju clan or betraying the Anbu in his heart.
Do as Fox says. You and he stay here together, ensuring the scene isn't disturbed by passing Rain ninja.
I will return to the village first and bring the investigation team as soon as possible.
The Third Hokage will come. Uchiha Madara being alive poses a greater threat to the village than the Second Shinobi World War."
"Understood, Lord Danzo."
Watching Danzo leave alone, Yōkō let out a long sigh of relief.
He had managed to bluff his way through.
(End of Chapter)