The battle was over. The first thing Yoru did was look for Captain Yellow Dog.
The captain and Kato Dan were covered in dirt, standing over the corpse of an elite jōnin from Hidden Stone Village.
Yoru couldn't help but sigh, as expected of Captain Yellow Dog, one of the six Anbu division leaders. His strength was monstrous.
When Yellow Dog saw the fox-masked Yoru approach, he discreetly pulled him aside, away from Kato Dan, and said:
"Fox, reinforcements from the village will arrive soon. You, Purple Cat, and the rest of the squad are to remove your masks and act as regular Konoha shinobi. Spread word of Lord Danzō's heroic deeds.
The honorable head of Anbu, Lord Danzō, planned this operation for half a year. Using Lady Uzumaki Mito's old age as a smokescreen and the Uzumaki Princess's arrival as bait, he lured Hidden Stone Village into our trap.
In this battle, we eliminated six elite jōnin, over thirty jōnin, and more than three hundred chūnin.
Lord Danzō, the Darkness of Konoha, is the hero of the Grass Country campaign!"
Yoru was speechless for a moment.
Wow… the audacity of this guy.
"Understood, Captain," Yoru said with a forced nod. Then he added, "Captain, both Captain Black Ape and White Ram were injured. I don't know if they managed to hide successfully. Once I finish spreading Lord Danzō's… heroic tale, may I go look for them?"
"Finish the propaganda first," Yellow Dog replied. "After that, I'll assign a Hyūga to assist you."
"Understood."
Yoru and Purple Cat relayed the orders to the rest of the squad. Then they removed their masks, put on Konoha forehead protectors, and disguised themselves as ordinary shinobi.
Half an hour later, waves of Konoha ninja arrived from the village, clan heads, senior jōnin, and other high-ranking figures.
Blending into the crowd, Yoru and Yamanaka Riko(Purple Cat) began spreading the rumors.
"Did you hear? Six Stone elite jōnin were killed! All by Lord Danzō himself!"
"He planned this for half a year, and tonight he reeled them all in, three hundred chūnin wiped out in one sweep! You know how long it takes to produce that many?"
"And Ōnoki? He still calls himself Tsuchikage? What a fool , got played like a puppet by Lord Danzō and beaten right in the Land of Fire!"
"He truly deserves the title Darkness of Konoha!"
"Rather than waiting for others to cause chaos after Lady Mito's death, better to strike first and make an example of them!"
When the rumors had spread far enough, Yoru took a canteen from Purple Cat and gulped down water.
He nearly gagged.
Gods… this level of Danzō-worship is nauseating.
Then, suddenly, a thought hit him, Shokyo.
Maybe her spy identity had already been exposed. The Anbu might have kept her alive only to feed Hidden Stone Village false intel.
And if she had been exposed… wouldn't that make him look suspicious too?
No… I have to find Captain Black Ape. I need him to vouch for me, or I'll be next.
Yoru stood at the edge of the valley, watching Sarutobi Hiruzen and Senju Rinmu depart with the cheering reinforcements.
Once the commotion faded, a Hyūga ninja arrived. Finally , he could begin his search.
They searched for half the night before the Hyūga spotted two chakra signatures inside the hollow of a large tree.
Yoru climbed up, tapped the trunk rhythmically , the coded signal to tell allies it was safe.
A reply came from inside. He dropped down and pulled aside the camouflaging brush that covered the opening.
"Captain Black Ape! Are you alright?"
At the sound of his voice, a bit of color returned to the captain's pale face.
"I'm fine… Fox. Did we win?"
"We did. A clean, total victory."
Yoru knelt and checked their wounds.
Black Ape's leg was shattered , a comminuted fracture. Bone fragments had torn through blood vessels, his leg bent the wrong way and swollen grotesquely.
If not treated soon, he could lose it entirely.
He had already lost his left arm. If he lost his right leg too… he'd be forced into early retirement.
White Ram wasn't any better. A kunai had pierced his abdomen so deeply that his organs were visible.
Only his shinobi physiology kept him alive.
Black Ape had already done what he could , crude first aid, enough to keep White Ram's heart beating.
"Come on! We're heading back to the village hospital! Lady Tsunade's there, you'll both make it!"
Black Ape was deeply moved. Among all his sub-captains, Fox had been with him the longest, loyal, capable, and always reliable.
He had saved him twice now: once in the Kyoto of the Land of Waves, and again here.
A true lucky charm, Black Ape thought.
When they reached the Konoha Hospital, Yoru watched several medical-ninja rush the two into a ward.
Leading them was none other than Tsunade herself.
She examined the unconscious White Ram first and quickly made her call.
"Intestinal rupture and infection. The intestines are long , we'll remove the damaged section."
Her assistants jotted down notes and wheeled the stretcher into surgery.
Then she turned to Black Ape, taking her time with the examination.
"Hmm… this one's tricky. Amputation would be safest , no risk to life, quick recovery. But if he wants to fight again, we can attempt a full reconstruction. The shattered bones damaged vessels, muscles, and nerves, the success rate's low, recovery long.
And if it fails… we amputate anyway."
When she turned around, she noticed the Anbu standing by the wall, wearing a fox mask.
"You again? I was just about to ask the family which treatment they preferred."
Before Yoru could speak, Black Ape said hoarsely:
"Lady Tsunade, I choose the surgery. I must stand again, I need to fight."
Tsunade closed her notes and nodded. "Very well. Take him to surgery."
Soon, the ward was empty.
Ten minutes later, Captain Yellow Dog walked in.
"Where's Black Ape?"
"In surgery."
"So there's a chance of recovery, then?"
"According to Lady Tsunade."
Yellow Dog gave a short nod and left for the operating room.
When he came back a few minutes later, he said:
"Black Ape Squad is down to four members. Since Black Ape is in surgery, he's recommended you as acting captain.
If his recovery doesn't go well, the promotion becomes permanent. The Anbu have plenty of work piling up , get his squad back in shape quickly.
Return to headquarters and familiarize yourself with all of their current missions."
An aide escorted Yoru back to Anbu HQ and handed over Black Ape Squad's authority to him.
He had been promoted.
Yoru's first stop was the archives. He pulled the personnel files for Black Ape Squad.
Black Ape was from the Akimichi clan. Purple Cat from the Yamanaka clan. Those, he already knew.
Then he found his own file, it listed his mission history with both Brown Bear Squad and Black Ape Squad.
Flipping through, he spotted an interesting detail: Brown Bear had operated extensively in the Land of Grass and interrogated many Stone shinobi.
That gave Yoru an idea. His Earth Release: Earth Substitution Technique, he could claim to have learned it from Brown Bear.
And since Captain Brown Bear had died long ago in Uzumaki Village… there'd be no one to refute it.
In Anbu, if you suddenly displayed a new ability, you'd be investigated for possible ties to enemy villages.
To cover himself, Yoru added a note in his own record:
"Acquired Earth Release scroll from Captain Brown Bear; mastered Earth Substitution after several months of training."
As for why Brown Bear treated Fox so well? Well , Black Ape had treated him even better.
Promotion felt amazing. He had more autonomy now. If he could one day become an Anbu division captain… he'd have true power. And if he became head of Anbu… he'd be one of the most influential figures in the entire ninja world.
Danzō could become the Darkness of the Leaf.
So why couldn't he?