Captain Black Ape glanced at Yako. From the voice alone, he recognized the Fox—and his eyes lit up with delight.
"You found me?" he asked, then immediately faltered, a flicker of gloom passing through his eyes."Guess it wasn't that hard. A retired Akimichi with both arms gone… maybe a dozen like that in the entire compound. Go door to door, and you'll find him fast."
"Yeah, I found you one by one," Yako replied, omitting the fact that he got the intel from Auntie at the street corner info station. Saying he checked door to door sounded more heartfelt.
"So, you're moving?" he asked.
Captain Black Ape sighed. "After I retired, I lost my income. My wife retired even earlier to take care of the family. A house this nice? We can't afford it for long. That damn woman of mine said we should downsize early and save the money for our daughter's future."
Yako sat off to the side, watching a few young Akimichi carry furniture.
"You're saying your wife's been giving you grief ever since you retired?" he asked after a pause.
"I can give you some money. I don't have any kids to support anyway. Think of it as a secret stash. But you better start practicing how to use your feet like hands—otherwise, what good is hiding money if you can't even reach it?"
He thought to himself, If worse comes to worst, I'll just make Kyoi suffer a bit and run up a tab with her.
Captain Black Ape growled, "It's not just grief! She's been lying to me! For more than ten years! All women are liars—every last one of them!"
Yako was just about to ask why, when the woman in question stepped out of the house.
Huh?
He'd seen Captain Black Ape's wife back at the hospital before. Busty—enough to give Tsunade a run for her money.
But now?
Flat.
Captain Black Ape looked on the verge of tears."She came clean to me. Said she snuck a peek at my precious adult magazine collection when she was a girl and figured out my type. So ever since puberty, she's been maintaining a busty figure using Partial Expansion Jutsu!
"If that's not lying, what is it?!
"A decade! She lied to me for a whole damn decade!
"Now that I've lost both arms, she says there's no need to keep using it, and just went back to how she really looks.
"I can't believe the woman I sleep next to tricked me like this for so long."
Yako stared, speechless.
The Yamanaka clan mastering the Mind Transfer and Body Switch Techniques was already mind-breaking enough… but this? The Akimichi clan doing body mods?!
Are all three Ino–Shika–Chō clans a bunch of freaks? Now I'm dying to know what kind of kinks the Nara clan's hiding...
"I feel bad for you, man," Yako said, shaking his head."That's too much. You lost your arms, not your eyesight. And now she won't even let you see the big ones anymore? That's just cruel.
"But on the flip side... if she kept up Partial Expansion for ten years just for you... doesn't that count as true love?"
He shut up quickly as Captain Black Ape's wife approached.
Captain Black Ape sulked with a pout.
His wife walked up briskly, holding a plate of cut watermelon."I cleaned out the fridge. There's still half a watermelon left. Eat it all, okay?"
She fed a piece toward him, but he turned his head away.
She leaned in, whispering,"Don't be mad, okay? I'll change back for a little while tonight, just for you. That good enough?
"And don't act like you weren't doing it too. You've been using Partial Expansion yourself—I can tell. Sometimes you shrink, sometimes you grow. There were times I thought you were someone else using Transformation Technique. Don't think I didn't notice."
Captain Black Ape blushed dark and opened his mouth for the watermelon, saying nothing more.
Yako watched her patiently feed him piece by piece. He dropped off the braised pork and left with peace of mind.
Lucky guy.
Can't touch them. Can't see them. But at least he still has someone beside him.
***
After New Year
Yako waited patiently for the next full moon.
In the meantime, he'd been tasked with monitoring the Senju clan.
Late at night, outside the Senju compound, ANBU were stationed everywhere.
No need for them to hide in tree canopies, or use Transformation Technique to turn into chimneys or stones.
They stood openly—on rooftops, on walls—all of them watching the depths of the compound with tense vigilance.
There was no need to hide anymore, because the Nine-Tails' chakra was already leaking into the air around them.
It was still manageable during the day. Uzumaki Mito could suppress the Nine-Tails when conscious.
But at night—half-asleep, sometimes comatose—the beast grew restless.
Sometimes you could even see it: that murky red chakra, visible to the naked eye.
Yako approached his three squads, holding three scrolls—Purple Cat Squad, White Ram Squad, and Leaf Monkey Squad.
His eyes lingered briefly on Leaf Monkey.
Ever since he'd joined Captain Black Ape's unit, the Leaf Monkey Squad had been wiped out three times and rebuilt four.
He had no idea how long the fourth generation would last.
Purple Cat had history with him—deep ties, life-or-death kind of bonds. He'd take good care of them.
White Ram was a Hyuga, the sensory cornerstone of the unit. Their evacuation priority was even higher than Purple Cat's.
Leaf Monkey… well, good luck.
Leaf Monkey was an elite chūnin, promoted straight to squad leader upon entering ANBU. When he saw Captain Fox's gaze, a chill ran down his spine.
Is the Nine-Tails' chakra really this overwhelming? Why does the captain keep looking at me like that?
What does that mean? Why that one extra look?
Is this it? Is the ANBU darkness finally descending on me?
Who knows when this war will end... Even Konoha can't endure losses like this forever.
In the original story, during the battle where the Third Raikage died, Iwagakure lost over ten thousand shinobi.
Shinobi wars were merciless.
Every battlefield was a meat grinder.
And every round of combat meant younger and younger ninja getting sent to the frontlines.
Yako handed out the scrolls."The Senju compound spans over 300 meters. Our unit is responsible for stabilizing the eastern sector of the barrier to prevent chakra leaks from affecting the rest of the village."
Nights in Konoha had grown cold and heavy.
The Hokage's office claimed it was just a harsh winter.
Civilians believed it.But the shinobi didn't.
This wasn't the chill of nature—it was a unique kind of chakra.
Just as the squad leaders were turning to leave, a Senju leapt from the compound walls.
"ANBU! The Hokage has rescinded the order! You're not authorized to use barrier techniques to surround the Senju compound!
"Putting up a barrier like this… doesn't that make it look like the Senju are under suspicion?"
The three squad leaders ignored him and continued laying the barrier.
Even Senju Rinju wouldn't have the authority to countermand an ANBU operation.
The Senju's face darkened. He was a jōnin, after all—just trying to relay the revised order early. And yet, ANBU had completely disregarded him.
Ten seconds later, an ANBU operative appeared beside Yako with a Body Flicker.
"Captain Fox. Cancel the barrier assignment. Report to Captain Yellow Dog immediately—there's been a new directive."
Yako raised a brow.
ANBU got overridden? That doesn't happen often…
The conflict between the Senju and the higher-ups must be getting serious.
He arrived at the southern edge of the Senju compound—and saw the upper brass of Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the center.To his left was Danzo.To his right—Senju Rinju.
Once again, the Senju and the village leadership were at each other's throats.