The 20th. The Anbu locker room.
The daily patrol of Konoha had just ended. Everyone stood facing their lockers, taking off their Anbu flak jackets.
Yōkō's breathing was even weaker than usual, afraid of being singled out by the captain.
Can you imagine how terrifying it is to be called out by the captain?
It's like when you've slacked off for a week, and the manager calls on you to present the plan.
It's like when you've just returned home from a foot massage, and your wife calls on you to... perform your marital duties.
The captain still called Yōkō's codename.
"Fox, tonight you're on stakeout at the Tsurugetsu Izakaya."
It's over. It's still him.
Yōkō put the Anbu flak jacket he had just taken off back on.
This jacket wasn't the standard cloth armor of ordinary ninja, but grey iron armor, identical to what Kakashi wore in the original story during his Anbu days.
The iron flak jacket, however, provided not a shred of sense of security.
After nightfall, Yōkō hid in the trees at the street corner, watching the distant izakaya.
At a certain moment, beneath his mask, his eyes shifted slightly.
Even though he was being very careful, even with foreknowledge, he still didn't understand how the squad leader managed to appear via Body Flicker without him noticing.
He asked the captain for money, shamelessly asking for three stacks this time.
Take it while you can; I'm shedding blood for the Anbu, the Anbu shouldn't shortchange me.
Entering the Tsurugetsu Izakaya, Yōkō again headed straight for the corner.
"Give me your most expensive sake!"
The proprietress he had met in his previous life brought the sake, smiling seductively, and leaned close to Yōkō.
Her collar was so low.
Yōkō stared intently.
So big, so beautiful, but why don't they jiggle? Lacking a bit of aesthetic charm, after all.
The same routine. His side was squeezed by the proprietress's ample bosom as they walked into the side room in the backyard.
The proprietress closed the door.
"Ninja-sama, do you prefer Yang Release or Yin Release?"
"I understand this one, I understand it all too well. Sometimes I like Yang Release, sometimes I like Yin Release. When I'm tired, it's Yin Release, you get on top. When I'm still good, it's Yang Release, I get on top!"
"Hehehe, Ninja-sama, you certainly are easy to understand."
Yōkō bantered with his mouth, but in his heart, he was highly alert.
Movement!
Something moved!
Something in the corner of the room came up from underground.
The ground showed no change, but Yōkō also knew the Earth Release: Fish in Earth Reflection Technique and sensed the arrival.
At the same time, the proprietress also moved.
She pressed close, just like last time, her red lips so soft.
"I can't wait! Let's skip the kissing scene. Come on, let's start with Yang Release!"
Yōkō suddenly exerted force, pushing the proprietress to the ground, towards the direction of the shadow.
He drew the hidden kunai from the small of his back and fiercely stabbed it towards the ground between the proprietress's legs.
The proprietress initially thought this Konoha ninja was just being impatient, but then she suddenly saw the ring of the kunai over Yōkō's shoulder.
Oh no!
Between her legs, it felt a bit cold.
As soon as she hit the ground, just as she was about to exert force, she heard a muffled grunt from beneath her back.
Even worse!
The kunai wasn't meant for her; it was aimed at the teammate underground!
Beneath the ground under her back, her teammate was convulsing.
This Konoha ninja had, just by chance from between her legs, stabbed her spy teammate through the heart.
A storm raged in her mind.
Iwagakure had sacrificed many comrades for her spy identity. Teammates who had been with her for years, the teacher who instructed her, all died in Konoha.
To protect each other, she and the teammate beneath her had never met, communicating only through coded signals.
If her teammate was exposed, she absolutely must not be exposed.
The only chance to preserve her spy identity was to pretend she knew nothing.
Exposure meant death. Being discovered meant death.
If she happened to lose consciousness, Konoha might mistakenly assume she knew nothing. This was her only chance.
"Ah!"
The proprietress's head slammed heavily onto the floor.
Yōkō clearly felt the proprietress's body go limp as she lost consciousness.
Feeling the ground between the proprietress's legs and finding his hand covered in blood, Yōkō decided to call the captain first.
Yōkō left the side room, jumped onto the roof, signaled the captain, and then returned to the room in the backyard.
The door was open. A few seconds later, the captain also entered the side room.
The captain cautiously closed the door and immediately assessed the scene: "Blood is bubbling up from the ground around the kunai. There's someone underground! Fox, did you kill him?"
"Captain, my chakra nature is Earth. I sensed someone underground and tried stabbing the ground with my kunai."
The squad leader nodded and said, "Good. Very good."
The squad leader raised his hand and the next second smashed open the ground, revealing the person underneath.
Covered in dirt, mixed with bloodstains.
After an inspection, the squad leader continued:
"Skilled in Earth Release. Judging by the square face shape, looks like someone from the Land of Earth, suspected Iwa-nin spy.
Good, Fox, you've completed a B-rank mission.
For someone who just passed the Chunin Exams, completing a B-rank mission... your luck is good. Lord Hatake Sakumo once said, luck is also a form of strength."
He hadn't expected his captain to have had dealings with Hatake Sakumo.
So Kakashi saying luck is a form of strength... it seems he heard it from his father, Hatake Sakumo.
Yōkō corrected him: "Captain, my strength isn't that pathetic, is it?"
"If it weren't for the deaths of over a thousand ninja on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water, and the Chunin Exams being made easier during the Great Ninja War, it would take you another three years to become a Chunin."
Seeing he couldn't change the captain's impression, Yōkō turned his attention to the proprietress, indicating there was still a live one here.
"It's fine, the proprietress is knocked out, she can't hear our conversation," the squad leader said.
"Let's take this man away first, extract intelligence from his brain. Following the intelligence, we might uncover a whole network."
The captain hoisted the spy and left the room.
Yōkō restored the ground and moved the proprietress to the bed.
He took one last look at the proprietress, feeling some regret. Even if they weren't soft or jiggly, they were big. A shame.
Retrieving his equipment from the trees at the street corner, Yōkō also returned to the Anbu headquarters.
Yōkō and the captain delivered the body to the Intelligence Division.
A Yamanaka clan ninja took the body away.
Yōkō said, "Captain, can I take a few days off? These past few days of patrols, stakeouts, and this spy mission have left me a bit fatigued."
The captain initially wanted to refuse, but thinking about Fox's abysmal strength, the squad wasn't any different with or without him. Considering he just completed a spy mission, he said:
"You can have three days to rest and recuperate. Be ready for notification at any time. The village needs manpower right now. You must return to the squad in three days."
"Alright, thank you, Captain."
Yōkō needed to try and last until the next full moon on the 15th to get his resurrection chance.
These 25 days, he had to delay as much as possible, one day at a time.
(End of Chapter)