Yako dashed across the plains, one arm clutching the severed limb, the other dragging Captain Black Ape over his shoulder.
"Captain! Hang in there!"
His previous superiors — Captain Antelope and Captain Brown Bear — had both died by Yako's hand.
That Black Ape had survived this long… thanks to Yako's mercy.
He wouldn't allow Black Ape to die at anyone else's hands.
The captain's arm swung limply, severed just above the elbow. The flesh near the wound was a sickly bruise-colored purple, and even the blood carried that hue.
Black Ape's consciousness was fading. All he could register was the relentless jolting — bouncing, lurching, staggering motion.
He'd swallowed the red pill, shedding mass and becoming rail-thin. With his weight down, Yako was running fast — dangerously fast.
He burst into the front-line medical camp of Konoha, still carrying his wounded superior.
Tsunade had just stepped out of the medical tent, her face numb with exhaustion.
Ever since her brother Nawaki's death, she'd buried herself in work — not out of duty, but to outrun the memories.
"Princess Tsunade! Please save our captain!"
Tsunade frowned at the mangled limb, her gaze narrowing at the purplish blood.
"Salamander venom. He burned too much fat — the toxins have spread through his bloodstream to every organ. It's concentrated at the severed stump. Cut higher. Take more of the upper arm. We might still save his life."
Yako lifted the dismembered arm. "Princess Tsunade, if we cut again… can we still reattach it?"
She didn't answer. She didn't even look at him.
Tsunade turned without a word and walked into the operating tent.
Black Ape was whisked away by the medics, vanishing behind the flaps — leaving Yako alone, holding a severed, purpled arm with no place to put it.
It really did look awful, sure… but couldn't they at least try?
Black Ape had already lost an arm back in the Land of Waves. If he lost this one too… wouldn't that make him truly crippled?
From a nearby tent, a familiar voice rang out.
"Captain!"
It was Purple Cat.
Yako stepped into the side tent. Members of both the Fox Squad and the White Ram Squad lay resting, each hooked to IV drips — detoxification treatments underway.
"What about the prisoner?"
"Handed over. Mission complete."
But Yako felt no joy.
In the cold, impersonal world of ANBU, Black Ape had been one of the rare people who brought him warmth.
If Black Ape retired, then Yako would most likely be promoted to squad captain.
And that meant facing Captain Yellow Dog directly.
That man was a true mission machine — no-feeling, ruthless, and paranoid.
Half an hour later, Captain Yellow Dog arrived, his footsteps sharp and swift.
The painted fangs on his mask looked even more feral than usual.
"Fox. Come with me."
Yako followed quickly, entering the main medical tent.
Black Ape had stabilized. The surgery had been so urgent they hadn't even removed his mask.
Yellow Dog turned to the medical-nin. "How long until my subordinate recovers? How much combat capacity will he have?"
The medic replied:
"Both arms are gone. He can't form hand seals. The venom damaged his nerves — his reaction time will be slow from now on.
I can't give a clear number… but I'd estimate no more than 20% combat ability."
Yellow Dog didn't flinch. He turned to Black Ape.
"I'll have someone bring the retirement registration scroll. You're officially discharged from ANBU. You'll receive a substantial compensation."
He faced Yako next.
"Fox. You're now officially squad captain. From this moment forward, Black Ape Squad is now Fox Squad. Handle his retirement. Rebuild the unit."
And with that, Yellow Dog turned and left.
Yako's heart sank.
Retirement… sure. But did it have to be handled so coldly?
Still, Yellow Dog had been under immense pressure lately. The situation with Senju Haku hadn't been handled cleanly, forcing Danzo to come clean up the mess personally.
Nawaki was dead. Then Senju shinobi started dying one after another on the frontlines.
Without Danzo's direct coordination, the Senju clan would have surely suspected something. That kind of coincidence would never fly.
Yako reached for Black Ape's mask.
"Wait… let me wear it a little longer."
Yako froze, then slowly withdrew his hand.
From the edge of the mask… he saw a tear fall.
Poor Black Ape.
He wouldn't even be able to wipe his own tears anymore.
There were… other things he wouldn't be able to wipe either.
Some griefs, Yako thought, could never be spoken aloud.
Just endured.
Silently, he turned and left the tent. Black Ape wouldn't want anyone to see him like this.
In the adjacent tent, Yako checked in on the squad members.
A medic reported that the poison was from a normal salamander — not a giant summoned one. With three more days of rest, they'd be fully detoxed.
Yako let out a breath.
The core of his team was still intact.
He walked over to Purple Cat, Antelope, and Black Ox.
"I've been officially appointed as squad captain. From this point on, Purple Cat — you're squad leader for your team.
Also, once left the squad… Black Ape's mask will be yours to keep."
Purple Cat hesitated. "What about Captain Black Ape? …Did he die?"
"No. He retired."
In Konoha's system, retirement was cruel.
A shinobi who aged out or could no longer perform missions… had no income. Their later years were bleak.
Which is why so many shinobi sought death in battle — a final act of honor.
Shinobi from established clans fared better. Civilian-born ninja? Their old age was often too tragic to imagine.
Living long wasn't a blessing. Dying early was.
Yako made a show of requesting detox meds for himself, claiming he'd inhaled a bit of the poisonous mist during combat.
Leaving the medical zone, he made his way to the ANBU quarters.
The other two squads under Yellow Dog — Hippo Squad and Yak Squad — had already been dispatched toward the Land of Rain.
Amegakure was often called the sixth great hidden village. Their involvement had forced Konoha onto the defensive.
Fox Squad hadn't recovered full combat ability yet and had no assignments for the time being.
While waiting for the squad to heal, Yako trained every day — taijutsu, ninjutsu, and above all…
His Earth Longspear technique.
Its power was steadily increasing.
He discovered that by injecting chakra into the ground in staggered segments, he could refine its form.
The spear's tip, infused with concentrated chakra, became even harder.
The rear half? Focused on propulsion and speed.
With this fine control, the technique's offensive power had clearly improved.
After perfecting a single spear, Yako began working on summoning multiple at once.
Two. Three. Four.
Each from a different angle — a deadly pincer from the earth itself.
If only he had more chakra, this B-rank jutsu could become a terrain-altering technique.
This slow, steady growth in strength… was satisfying in its own way.
Days later, the squad recovered, and a mission came in — a light one.
They were to escort the remains of fallen shinobi, including Senju Nawaki, and the severely wounded… back to the village.
Word was that Hippo Squad had suffered devastating losses in the Land of Rain. Yellow Dog's entire unit would gradually return to the village, replenish its numbers, and restructure.
At the camp gates, Tsunade stood beside a wagon of corpse bags — her face hollow.
Her younger brother was in one of them.
"Princess Tsunade… I swear, I will bring our village's fallen heroes home safely."
She turned to the voice.
It was Yako — the new Captain of Fox Squad — mask still on.
She nodded silently.
She couldn't return home yet.
The village had assigned her, along with the others, to push into the Land of Rain — to block Amegakure's advance.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru were already standing nearby, waiting for her.
Yako glanced back once as he walked away — at Tsunade, and at the two by her side.
The battle in the Land of Rain…
…would be the birth of the Legendary Sannin.