Inside the mortuary tent, Purple Cat and White Ram began collecting intel from the corpses.
Just as Purple Cat was about to speak, Yako turned to White Ram and said,"Check the perimeter with the Byakugan. Make sure no one's listening through the walls."
From beneath his mask, White Ram activated the Byakugan.
After scanning in all directions, he gave a slight shake of his head—no signs of eavesdropping.
Only then did Purple Cat speak:
"Captain, the wounds on the first three bodies were all caused by the same ninja blade. But the wounds on the fourth body are all different—ninja blade, steel wire, kunai.
In other words, this time, one ANBU initiated a surprise attack and was then ganged up on by the other three.
The ambusher was extremely strong. Held his own in a one-versus-three, killed two, and finally perished alongside the squad captain."
Yako reflected, then concluded:
"First it was a two-man ANBU team, now a four-man one... and in both cases, the enemy could only control one person. What about time of death?"
"According to the medical ninja's report, ten days ago."
"Ten days... That lines up with when those ANBU in the Land of Fire died during the assassination of rebellious nobles. So it's either a massive organization—or someone with teleportation abilities..."
After a moment's thought, Yako added:
"Tell the medics to register the bodies and send them back to the village for burial. We'll investigate the squad's death site next."
Not long after stepping out of the tent, Yako spotted Tsunade.
She seemed to be waiting for him.
Her brows were furrowed as she stared at him."Fox, I'm pretty sure I saw you with Hiruzen-sensei once... maybe two or three times since then. You're with Anbu's Yellow Dog Unit?"
"I'm Anbu. I'm not at liberty to disclose my assignment."
Tsunade pressed further."I remember you well. During the Battle of Mount Ushiga, you brought back key intel. And the night the Nine-Tails was resealed—you were there too, weren't you?"
"I can't answer that."
Yako thought to himself, This isn't Tobirama's era anymore. Asking an ANBU questions like that, out in the open? Seriously?
Realizing she wouldn't get more out of him, Tsunade let him go. Yako walked away too.
Not far off, Kato Dan approached."Tsunade, why'd you let that ANBU go?"
Only two people knew Tsunade was secretly investigating the ANBU: Senju Hanaki, head of the clan, and Kato Dan himself.
Even Tsunade didn't know that she was investigating ANBU.
She replied:
"Kushina wrote me a letter. She said she's absolutely sure there's a member of the Uzumaki Clan within ANBU. His chakra contains sealing power.
If he hadn't helped her—twice—by sending her chakra during the Nine-Tails resealing... she wouldn't have succeeded.
And if the Nine-Tails hadn't been sealed that night, we wouldn't be standing here right now. Over 900 members of the Senju Clan could've died.
Thankfully, someone helped her from the shadows. Otherwise, the Senju would've been wiped out—no different from extinction.
I have a hunch it's this 'Fox.' But I can't be sure.
If only I could examine him once—I'd know whether or not he carries Uzumaki chakra."
In the original storyline, the Senju Clan was nearly destroyed during the Nine-Tails incident, and Tsunade was left with nothing but her attachment to Kato Dan.
When he died, her spirit collapsed, and she developed hemophobia.
But Yako had altered the plot. Tsunade's resolve was stronger now.
The Senju Clan still stood. Her aunt, Senju Hanaki, was keeping the clan alive, and Tsunade had been appointed heir.
Kato Dan frowned."A letter from Kushina? You're not worried ANBU or someone else might intercept it?"
"Kushina sealed the letter. Without the proper hand seals, it can't be opened—only destroyed."
Kato Dan looked puzzled."The Uzumaki Clan sent a spy into ANBU? That's impossible. Even the Senju can't touch ANBU these days."
"I'm not sure either," Tsunade said, "but I trust Kushina's judgment. She lived through the resealing herself—there's no reason she'd lie."
Kato Dan looked thoughtfully at the retreating back of the masked man called Fox.
Fox's squad left the main encampment, circling around the frontline to head deeper into the Land of Rain.
The ANBU squad they were investigating had been killed far behind enemy lines.
Wearing a cloak, Yako sprinted through the downpour.
Ahead of him were his three ANBU squads.
As captain, he should have been leading from the front—to avoid ambush.
But what worried him more now... was someone within the ranks turning rogue.
Every member of every squad was under his watch.
Thanks to White Ram's dōjutsu, they avoided enemy outposts and finally reached the place where the squad had fallen.
The squads fanned out, searching for any clue they could find.
But the storm was relentless. Any trace would've been washed away long ago.
Yako wasn't hopeful. This was just procedure—waiting for the inevitable report of 'nothing found.'
He tilted his face to the sky.
Clouds blanketed the full moon.Above those clouds, a silver disc should've been shining.
The rain was cold. The night even colder.
The three squads searched for a long time—and came up empty.
Just then, a high-pitched bark echoed in the distance, snapping everyone's attention toward it.
Yako's heart skipped a beat. That bark... Split Hound?
The Uzumaki Clan's legacy summoning beasts—like the Eight-Winged Crow—had been passed to Uzumaki Yuka by the clan elders.
Those powerful beasts were one of the few reasons she had survived this long.
They hadn't contacted each other in a while. Could it be the remnants of the Uzumaki were under threat, forced to deploy a beast like that?
Yako glanced sharply at White Ram.
White Ram activated the Byakugan and looked in the direction of the bark.
"Captain! Two kilometers due west—a summoning beast is headed this way! It's chasing three ninja... Konoha ninja!"
"The summoning beast is fast—should arrive in just a few minutes!"
Yako thought for a moment, then said,"We can't abandon fellow Konoha shinobi. We'll wait and see."
White Ram continued,"It's a pursuit. The three Konoha ninja are carrying three people—two adults, one child.
Chasing them is the giant summoning beast Split Hound. ANBU records identify it as a guardian of Uzushio Village.
There's a woman riding on its head."
Yako's eyes narrowed. It's her. It's Yuka.
The rain must've grounded the Eight-Winged Crow—so she'd summoned the Split Hound instead.
The beast was over thirty meters tall, thundering through the downpour on all fours.
Fox Squad intercepted, slipping between the fleeing Konoha ninja and the massive creature.
ANBU tossed a flurry of explosive tags—blasting against the hound's side, causing new heads to erupt from its form.
Yako didn't want to fight Yuka in front of the others. He shouted toward the three Konoha ninja:
"We're Konoha ANBU! Come with us!"
But they kept running—deaf to his words.
Purple Cat's voice cut through the noise."Captain! They're under genjutsu! One jōnin, two special jōnin—all trapped in illusions!"
Yako froze. Was I wrong? The ANBU didn't die by Kato Dan's hand—but by genjutsu?
If it was genjutsu... it would take a lot of users, in a lot of places. Surely there would've been some trace left behind.
No, he thought. This must be something else. Something unexpected.
Looking at the rapidly approaching Split Hound, he barked out his orders:
"I'll hold the rear! Get those shinobi out of here and break the genjutsu if you can!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Yako weaved signs and released a massive wall of churning water.
White Ram, watching, let out a silent breath. Captain Fox is getting stronger.
Judging by the scale of that Water Release, he wasn't far from jōnin level now.
Split Hound slammed into the wall—and stopped cold.
Yuka gripped its ears, nearly flung forward by the momentum. She barely held on, inches from the raging water.
Then she saw it—behind the watery veil.
Fox.
Yako flashed her a hand signal—change direction. Go elsewhere. Don't expose yourself here.