"Antelope Squad! Move out!"
Yōkō's captain wore an antelope mask, and the team members all called him Captain Antelope.
Besides Yōkō, the squad included Purple Cat and Horned Ox.
Their real identities were unknown. Even if the person behind the Purple Cat mask had changed at some point, Yōkō wouldn't know.
The four squad members left the Forest of Death and followed the Konoha perimeter wall.
As they walked, Yōkō felt something was wrong.
This direction... were they heading for Konoha's main gate?
Were they leaving the village?
This was not good. Not good at all.
If he encountered danger inside Konoha, at worst he could scream and shout.
Calling for backup wasn't shameful.
But if he encountered danger outside the village, screaming his lungs out would be useless.
The Antelope Squad arrived at Konoha's main gate.
Without submitting any exit application or slowing down, the four members of the Antelope Squad passed through the main gate.
One of the gate guards said with envy, "The Anbu are so cool. They all wear masks, looking all stern."
"You could apply to join the Anbu. Wear a mask every day too."
"Never mind that. Being an Anbu with a mask... you only see the light of day when you're dead."
Yōkō's mood was terrible. Why did they have to leave the village?
Captain Antelope spoke while running:
"The target for this surveillance mission is an Elite Chunin.
He has already become a team leader, guiding a Genin squad, performing transport missions near the front lines.
That Elite Chunin is suspected of being connected to an Iwa-nin spy. We are to track and investigate him, gather evidence, and be ready to eliminate him at any time."
Hearing this, Yōkō grew even more apprehensive.
In the ninja world, someone two ranks higher could potentially kill you instantly.
Ninja ranks were roughly: Genin, Chunin, Elite Chunin, Tokubetsu Jōnin, Jōnin, Elite Jōnin, Kage-level, Super Kage-level, Six Paths-level.
An Elite Chunin could instantly kill a Genin, someone like Yōkō – a fake Chunin, true Genin.
Along the way, Yōkō carefully observed Captain Antelope and his two teammates, trying to gauge their strength.
Captain Antelope's strength was at least Elite Chunin; otherwise, he wouldn't talk about 'eliminating an Elite Chunin' so casually.
He himself was a Genin. Between Purple Cat and Horned Ox, it was likely both were Chunin, so the average squad strength would meet the Anbu's requirement for a Chunin-level team.
After leaving the Land of Fire and entering the frontlines in the Land of Rivers, they had to be careful everywhere.
Captain Antelope quickly located the reconnaissance target.
Yōkō used binoculars to look at the distant Konoha squad.
The reconnaissance target was a burly man with a resolute face.
His three student subordinates included an Akimichi clan ninja, a civilian girl without a clan crest, and finally a bespectacled civilian male ninja.
All four carried large backpacks, unknown what supplies they were transporting to the front lines.
After just two or three seconds, Yōkō quickly lowered his binoculars.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the Elite Chunin seemed to glance in their direction.
Captain Antelope was still observing with his binoculars: "Maintain a 200-meter distance. Don't get close. Gather intelligence slowly."
For five consecutive days, the Antelope Squad followed the target squad from afar.
The target squad moved back and forth between the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire, continuously transporting supplies.
These five days were relatively calm.
Yōkō counted the days.
3 days enjoying himself at the Tsurugetsu Izakaya + 4 days traveling to the border + 5 days tracking = 12 days passed. 13 more days until the full moon.
Yōkō hoped they could just continue monitoring quietly.
Captain Antelope suddenly shouted: "Situation!"
The reconnaissance target moved behind a large tree, avoiding his own team members.
He stuffed a scroll under the roots of the tree, then quickly left.
"Move! Confirm the scroll's contents, then proceed as planned!"
The four Anbu rushed quickly towards that large tree.
Yōkō rushed very fast.
He had to be fast! Rushing fast meant he could pick the easy target.
He adjusted his position slightly, charging towards the target squad's female ninja.
11 years old, and a civilian... must be weak, right?
Captain Antelope reached the large tree first, retrieved the scroll, opened it, and scanned its contents.
"It's an Iwagakure spy! Eliminate the target!"
It wasn't easy for Iwagakure to plant a spy, especially an Elite Chunin level one.
This spy must have subordinates. Based on past experience, they were likely his students or disciples.
The Akimichi clan Genin definitely wasn't the spy; he was from a ninja clan.
The remaining two students could both be spies.
As for how to tell... the Anbu's usual practice was not to distinguish.
Yōkō threw two kunai at the civilian female ninja.
One aimed directly for the left eye, to draw her attention.
One aimed directly for the abdomen, to ensure a hit.
The civilian female Genin instinctively raised her kunai, deflecting the one aimed at her eye.
Protecting her head but not her tail, the other kunai struck her abdomen.
Blood spurted out.
Yōkō didn't know if the girl in front of him was a spy or not, but he showed no mercy. After kicking her down, he pinned both her hands to the ground with kunai.
The Akimichi Genin nearby, seeing the girl companion's miserable state, went crazy on the spot.
He took a kunai hit from Purple Cat head-on and charged at Yōkō.
Yōkō stood his ground, calmly watching the charging Akimichi Genin.
Purple Cat was chasing him from behind. Barring any surprises, the Akimichi Genin shouldn't reach him.
However, the Akimichi Genin directly pulled out a secret pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
Yōkō didn't even see what color the pill was.
Not good!
"Human Bullet Tank!"
As expected of a clan ninja, the Akimichi Genin transformed into a massive fleshy bullet, rolling towards Yōkō at high speed.
Yōkō hurriedly jumped backward.
Crap, situation changed! Could this go sideways?
He was caught by the Human Bullet Tank and pinned firmly against a large rock.
At the critical moment, hiding behind the massive fleshy ball, Yōkō secretly formed hand seals and used the Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique.
His figure disappeared, sinking into the large rock.
Lucky he learned a jutsu from the system, or he'd be dead here.
For a moment, rock fragments flew everywhere.
As the Human Bullet Tank was about to stop, Yōkō quickly reappeared, not wanting anyone to discover he knew an Earth Release jutsu.
The Human Bullet Tank was large enough; the others couldn't see anything.
To make it look real, he let himself get crushed by the Human Bullet Tank, breaking several bones throughout his body.
"Enough!"
Captain Antelope's stern voice rang out.
Hearing the unfamiliar voice behind him, the Akimichi Genin shrank back to normal size and turned to look.
In the distance, the Iwagakure spy Elite Chunin was pinned to a tree by kunai.
Captain Antelope's ninja sword was plunged into the female Genin's chest.
As for the bespectacled Genin, he was stabbed to death by Horned Ox with a kunai.
"Who are you people!"
The Akimichi Genin was about to say something when Captain Antelope appeared in a Body Flicker next to him, punching him in the abdomen, interrupting his frenzy.
"We are Konoha Anbu, dealing with Iwagakure spies. Sober up! Don't cause trouble!"
Civilian ninja could just die, but this Akimichi Genin had clan backing, so it wasn't good to kill him directly.
The Akimichi Genin crawled towards the pretty civilian female ninja, weeping bitterly.
"I haven't told you yet... I... I like..."
Konoha ninja matured early. Whatever emotional entanglement existed between them, the female Genin was dead, and death severed all feelings.
Captain Antelope came to Yōkō and looked at his injuries.
Yōkō quickly said:
"Captain! The Will of Fire! We can't abandon any Konoha comrade! I'm just injured, you can't abandon me, right?"
"Useless trash. It'll take over ten days to recuperate back home."
Hearing the captain's tone implying he wouldn't be abandoned, Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he thought, recuperation could take over ten days?
Wouldn't that drag things out until next month's full moon? Was this actually a good thing?
Carried back to Konoha by Horned Ox, after recuperating for half a month, Yōkō finally waited for the full moon.
However, he also received a new mission.
Anbu Director Danzō was dispatching two Anbu battalions to the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools.
Yōkō felt uneasy.
The Uzumaki clan of the Land of Whirlpools... were they about to be wiped out?
What could a small fry like him do in a earth-shattering event like the annihilation of the Uzumaki clan?
(End of Chapter)