Inside the ANBU base, Captain Black Ape said in a dark room, "Fox, your team has an urgent mission: eliminate two rogue ninjas."
"Captain, are they the rogue ninjas related to Princess Uzumaki?"
"No, they're rogue ninjas designated by the Yamanaka Clan. You must execute this immediately, no delay, not even a day."
Yoru took the scroll, frowning. It was a critical time for monitoring Princess Uzumaki, and the funeral of Uzumaki Mito was approaching. He didn't want to miss this event. Kurama, Uzumaki Mito, the Senju clan, Kushina Uzumaki… anyone letting him draw a "lottery" here would guarantee something valuable.
But an ANBU mission must be completed. Yoru quietly pondered how to finish it quickly and return to the village to continue monitoring Princess Uzumaki.
After reading the scroll twice, he set it down and went to the changing room to gather the team. The Fox Squad quickly departed the village, heading northwest.
As they moved, Yoru considered the mission. The Yamanaka Clan had always been the village's "perfect tools," responsible for crucial and irreplaceable tasks: collecting intelligence from enemy corpses, planting evidence using Mind Transfer Jutsu, relaying orders on the battlefield…
Back in the Land of Waves, Guardian Ninja Yamanaka Kariya had already demonstrated to Yoru the Yamanaka Clan's "framing techniques," leaving others unable to argue. They could control the enemy's body, leaving them completely defenseless.
This time, the Yamanaka Clan urgently requested the ANBU to carry out the mission, even drawing resources from monitoring Princess Uzumaki. Clearly, the two rogue ninjas threatened the Yamanaka Clan's core interests. Could they be trying to leak Yamanaka secret techniques to another village?
The scroll didn't specify exactly what the rogue ninjas had done wrong.
Yoru glanced at Purple Cat, a ninja of the Yamanaka Clan, whose expression was tense.
"Purple Cat, the rogue ninjas we're hunting are from your clan. Do you have any intelligence on them?"
Purple Cat hesitated: "Captain, there's nothing special about them. They aren't very strong, just Chunin level. Our squad can handle them."
"Why did they betray the village?"
Purple Cat's face darkened: "Captain, that involves the Yamanaka Clan's honor. I can't say more. Their combat abilities aren't strong; a normal tactical plan will suffice."
Yoru frowned. They weren't very strong, yet it concerned the Yamanaka Clan's honor. Why wouldn't the clan send their own ninja instead of relying on the ANBU?
The team tracked the target to a small town fifty kilometers from Konoha. Yoru instructed the squad to search carefully. According to the intel, the rogue ninjas were likely hiding here.
The town was small. After some investigation, they learned that a pair of outsiders had recently been seen at the bathhouse. Yoru analyzed the layout and said:
"Me and Purple Cat will infiltrate the rear wall of the bathhouse and make small holes to scout the rogue ninjas. Antelope and Black Bull, you two stay in the trees behind and provide support."
Yoru and Purple Cat infiltrated the rear wall, creating a small hole using Earth Release chakra.
One eye pressed to the hole, Yoru observed the bath. It was a mixed-gender bath with over ten people, but no rogue ninjas were in sight. He moved to the independent high-end bath suite.
After making three holes, he finally spotted the targets. But he frowned: "Wait… not two rogue ninjas, four people total!"
Purple Cat whispered anxiously: "Not only are there two rogue ninjas, there are also two returning Yamanaka Clan ninja, who were originally on a border mission. How they ended up here, we don't know."
Yoru whispered back: "We could attack two rogue ninjas directly, but four is risky. ANBU are ready to die anytime, but it must be meaningful. I won't accept unnecessary casualties due to incomplete intelligence."
Purple Cat breathed heavily: "Captain… soon you'll understand. It's not concealment by the clan; it's… hard to explain."
Yoru continued observing through the hole. Among the four, the two rogue ninjas were in control, while the two returning border ninjas listened carefully.
Then, what Yoru saw left him completely stunned.
He had expected the most insane scene to be some lurid bathhouse scenario. But what he saw was far more shocking: the Yamanaka ninja paired off, practicing "Mind Transfer Jutsu."
This jutsu allows them to control another's body. Inside the private bath, the woman's soul controlled the man's body, and the man's soul controlled the woman's body, battling hundreds of rounds.
Yoru's mind went blank. The Yamanaka female entered the male's body, controlling him as they fought.
"This… what is this? Me! Sleeping! Myself? Wait…"
It was an advanced version of the Mind Transfer Jutsu, four people paired off, developing a high-level application. An aberration.
No wonder the Yamanaka Clan wanted the rogue ninjas eliminated immediately, they truly deserved to die.
At this moment, Yoru's jealousy toward the ninja clans reached its peak: why should the Yamanaka ninja, who mastered secret techniques, be allowed to experience such novel things? The ninja clans truly deserved to die!
Yoru took out an explosive talisman from his ninja tools bag and signaled Antelope and Black Bull: "Now! Immediately!"
After forming the hand seals, the Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique activated, the wall rippled like water, and Yoru sank into the wall.
Boom!
The explosion rocked the private bath, plunging it into chaos.