Just as the atmosphere grew tense—on the verge of erupting—
a voice suddenly came from outside.
"Is Danzō-sama suggesting that my subordinates are enemy spies disguised from another village?"
The moment that voice sounded, Danzō's expression changed drastically, shock flashing across his face.
Hatake Sakumo?!
How could he have returned so quickly?!
In the next instant, Hatake Sakumo strode in with a unit of ANBU behind him. After sweeping his gaze across the scene, he calmly removed his mask and looked straight at Danzō.
The balance of power shifted instantly.
Danzō had never expected Sakumo to return this fast—
and not only that, but to appear completely uninjured.
That was an elite Iwagakure assassination unit.
They had been wiped out so easily?!
Too fast.
This was far beyond what Sakumo's strength should allow… or so Danzō thought.
Frowning, Danzō's eyes filled with caution. He shot Yu Ye a cold glance, snorted, and said,
"Since you're back, this matter naturally falls to you. I'll take my leave."
Before turning away, Danzō gave Yu Ye one more long, inscrutable look—
then departed without another word.
Watching him go, Sakumo shook his head slightly before turning to the three ANBU standing there.
"Commander."
"Commander."
Yamanaka Inoshi and Asama Sana both bowed respectfully.
"Mm."
Sakumo nodded, then frowned.
"Moonlight Red Lotus is…?"
"She was killed in action."
Hearing this, Sakumo let out a quiet sigh. The ANBU present exchanged looks and observed a brief moment of silence.
Only for an instant.
Soon, their expressions returned to the calm numbness forged by countless battles.
"Very well. In that case, you'll stand down for now and wait for reassignment."
Sakumo nodded.
But at that moment—
a flash of lightning struck his thoughts.
Moonlight Red Lotus dead…
corpse disposal traces…
an elite Iwagakure unit annihilated…
"Wait," Sakumo said suddenly. "Explain how your captain died. Tell me exactly what happened—right here."
Even as he spoke, he shook his head slightly.
Impossible.
It had to be coincidence.
"Well…"
Yamanaka Inoshi glanced at Asama Sana and Yu Ye, his voice trembling slightly.
"Commander, I think it's better if you see this first."
He took out a sealing scroll and released it.
In an instant, a pile of severed heads appeared in the room.
The people present were all ANBU—
and Sakumo himself had witnessed countless battlefields. A few heads alone would not shock him.
But when they clearly saw who those heads belonged to—
and the identifying items beside them—
every single person froze in disbelief.
Even Hatake Sakumo could no longer maintain his composure, staring at the heads in utter shock.
These were—
the heads of the Iwagakure elite assassination unit!
"That's impossible!!"
"How did you get these?!"
Several ANBU couldn't restrain themselves and spoke out loud.
It was simply too unbelievable.
They had been wondering who had killed those Iwa elites and where the heads had gone—
and now they had appeared just like this!
"Explain everything," Sakumo said solemnly, his expression grave as he looked at Yamanaka Inoshi.
Inoshi took a deep breath and slowly recounted everything from beginning to end.
When he described how Moonlight Red Lotus fell into a trap and died, no one reacted much.
But the moment he reached the part where Yu Ye took action—
where Yu Ye alone swept through all the enemy chūnin and slaughtered them in moments—
shock appeared on every ANBU's face, their gazes locking onto Yu Ye.
And Inoshi wasn't finished.
He continued, describing how Yu Ye single-handedly suppressed four Iwagakure jōnin, and ultimately killed all of them.
When the account ended, the room was deathly silent.
The ANBU no longer looked merely shocked—
they were thunderstruck.
It felt as if they had personally witnessed that battlefield.
Hatake Sakumo stared at Yu Ye in disbelief.
Even he could not imagine Yu Ye being this strong.
It was almost incomprehensible.
Just a few months—
how could Yu Ye possibly have leapt to this level of power?
It made no sense.
For a moment, Sakumo even wondered whether Yu Ye was an impostor from another village—
but that was impossible.
Yu Ye's kekkei genkai could not be faked.
In the entire shinobi world, only Yu Ye possessed that so-called Vibration Release.
Seeing everyone's incredulous stares, Yu Ye remained calm. Still, being suspected wasn't ideal, so he added a brief explanation.
"I trained in the Eight Gates."
That single sentence brought sudden clarity to Sakumo.
Might Guy's father, Might Duy, had already become well known among the higher-ups, and most of the ANBU present were aware of it.
The Eight Gates—
a technique capable of unleashing near-impossible power in a short time, allowing even a "permanent genin" to gain the strength to kill jōnin.
"So that's it…"
Sakumo nodded in realization.
Yu Ye had always been close to Might Duy. Since Duy knew the Eight Gates, it was only natural that Yu Ye would too.
What Sakumo didn't know, however—
was that Yu Ye's Eight Gates were fundamentally different from Might Duy's.
Not a temporary burst—
but a permanent amplification.
Even so, the ANBU present could only look at Yu Ye with awe.
This level of power…
was already absurd.
At such a young age, possessing strength like this—
if Yu Ye were given more time to grow, the future was almost unimaginable.
Taking a deep breath, Sakumo looked at Yu Ye, his eyes still filled with amazement.
"I will report this matter truthfully to the Hokage. Yu Ye, go rest for now. The side effects of the Eight Gates are severe."
"Understood."
Yu Ye didn't elaborate further. He nodded and left the room.
Only after he had gone did the ANBU finally seem to wake from a dream.
"Such talent… it's terrifying."
"Indeed. Yu Ye might be promoted straight to squad leader—no, even platoon commander is possible."
"And with this level of merit, the rewards will be enormous. He may even gain permission to select a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals."
Amid their reverence, more than a few ANBU showed unmistakable envy.
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