Danzo. It really was him.
Yagami said to Purple Cat, "I will handle this. Act as if you know nothing. Never tell anyone, not even Brigade Commander Yellow Dog. Purple Cat, continue probing the corpses' brains. Find the contact signals for the meeting with Fuguki Suikazan."
Fortunately, Danzo hadn't obtained the Foundation's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal yet, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to extract so much intelligence from the corpses of Root ninja.
Purple Cat returned to the bodies and continued reading memories. These two had joined Root at the start of the Land of Whirlpools war, so their knowledge was limited.
"Ram, hide these two bodies. I will bring them back to the Brigade Commander later."
"Understood!"
Yagami took off his own mask and put on a Root mask. He said, "Ram, wear the mask from the other corpse and wait for me by the shore. Purple Cat, hide further away and stay out of sight. I'm going out onto the sea to fulfill the 'arrangements' of the Brigade Commander."
This was Yagami's most critical move.
Waves crashed against the jagged rocks, turning into plumes of white spray. Fuguki Suikazan stood upon the surface of the sea, his massive two-and-a-half-meter frame rising and falling with the swells. He cut a side-glance at the woman beside him.
This woman was not simple. Her medical ninjutsu was top-tier, and her combat capabilities weren't bad either; many in the Mist Village owed her their lives. He hadn't expected her to be a mole for the Hidden Leaf. Thinking about how many Mist casualties had passed through her hands made his skin crawl.
She had acted as the intermediary, arranging for Fuguki to meet the Hidden Leaf's Root, promising a great benefit. As expected of the "Walking Miko." Her name in the Mist Village was certainly a fake; he would have to pay close attention to her from now on.
Two figures appeared in the palm grove by the shore. One stayed at the edge to keep watch, while the other hurried out onto the water.
Stepping onto the sea, Yagami stood opposite Fuguki Suikazan. He first glanced at the girl with black-rimmed glasses standing next to the Mist giant. According to the intel from the corpses, this girl was Nonō Yakushi.
They exchanged the countersigns. Both sides were confirmed; everything was in order.
Yagami threw a scroll to Fuguki Suikazan and said, "I'll make this brief, Fuguki Suikazan. This is a combat plan. Five Hidden Leaf brigades will use the Twin Swords Hiramekarei to ambush your recovery unit."
Yagami had tampered slightly with this specific version of the plan.
Fuguki Suikazan caught the scroll but didn't open it. Instead, he asked suspiciously, "I know what I stand to gain, but what about you? I don't believe your Hidden Leaf Root is so charitable as to help me out of the goodness of your hearts."
"Your success is our benefit," Yagami replied coldly. "All you need to know is that the one leading the ambush is an ANBU Brigade Commander who has been driving a wedge between our Lord and the Third Hokage. He dreams of becoming the Deputy Minister of ANBU and causing a schism. For the sake of the Hidden Leaf, our Lord has to resort to extraordinary measures."
Knowing that excessive talk leads to slips, Yagami gave one last look at Nonō Yakushi and vanished with a Body Flicker.
Fuguki Suikazan turned to Nonō and remarked, "The internal strife in your Hidden Leaf is quite severe. An ANBU Brigade Commander sold out just like that, with five brigades thrown in as a bonus. And here I thought only the Mist Hidden Village practiced the cruel policy of the Blood Mist Village."
Nonō Yakushi said calmly, "Shinobi from within the village who harbor ill intent do more damage than any enemy. If it were an ordinary Leaf ninja, the ANBU could clean it up. If it is an ANBU ninja, we must borrow the strength of another village. It is all for the sake of the Hidden Leaf."
"Right, right. All for the Hidden Leaf. I'm doing this for the Leaf too," Fuguki chuckled mockingly. He opened the scroll and saw the combat plan, the ambush locations, and the timing, all perfectly detailed. He stowed the scroll and vanished from the surface of the sea.
Nonō Yakushi headed in a different direction. Ten minutes later, she suddenly stopped on the beach. The Root ninja from before was standing in front of her.
Glancing at her Mist forehead protector, Yagami said, "My Lord requires intelligence on the Mist sword recovery unit."
If he could get intel on the recovery unit, Yagami would hold the ultimate information advantage. In his previous life, he had been trapped in the thick fog with limited vision.
Nonō Yakushi replied, "I don't know if Fuguki Suikazan will alter the Mist's plans after getting that scroll. Their original plan involved Hozuki Muratsuki, Kushimaru Kuriarare, Fuguki Suikazan, and four other Jonin—a total of seven ninja brigades for the mission."
"Seven brigades. I understand."
Yagami vanished instantly, unwilling to have further contact with Nonō Yakushi for fear of being exposed.
...
Fuguki Suikazan returned to a ship floating in the outer sea. In the largest cabin sat six Jonin; with him, they were seven.
Hozuki Muratsuki, the wielder of the Great Sword Samehada and the leader of the recovery mission, asked, "Fuguki, you're the Jonin in charge of the intelligence department. Did you get anything new?"
Fuguki Suikazan said, "My collaborator in the Leaf sent word. Five Leaf brigades will ambush us the night after tomorrow on a specific hillside."
"Collaborator?" Muratsuki questioned. "You have a collaborator in the Leaf? What level of informant can obtain such high-level intel? An operation involving five brigades is something led by at least a Vice-Commander."
"Where I get my intel is none of your concern," Fuguki countered. "The report says that starting tomorrow morning, Mist Ninja will begin dying one by one to your Hozuki clan's secret technique, the Water Pistol Jutsu. The corpses will form a trail leading straight to the ambush site. If we find bodies killed by that jutsu tomorrow, it will prove the intel is real. My suggestion is to verify the intel tomorrow, move to the hillside at night, and set our own trap. We'll wait for the five Leaf brigades to walk right into our encirclement the day after."
The other Jonin's eyes lit up. If they could counter-ambush five brigades, wouldn't they crush the enemy with ease?
Hozuki Muratsuki, however, snapped, "Fuguki Suikazan, explain exactly how you got such precious information! You're just an ordinary Jonin who was somehow appointed by Genbu to lead intelligence. Are you trying to trick us?"
Fuguki's massive frame nearly touched the ceiling. He twisted his thick neck, staring at Muratsuki while casting a covert glance at the hilt of the Great Sword Samehada. "Hozuki Muratsuki, what do you have besides the sword the Second Mizukage left behind? If you don't understand intelligence gathering, then stop shouting. I have no need to explain my sources to you. I must protect my channels. If leaked, every spy on that line dies, you idiot."
The atmosphere became explosive. The hilt of Samehada actually twitched, as if it were eager for Muratsuki to draw it and slay the orange-haired giant.
Kushimaru Kuriarare barked, "Both of you, shut up! The Leaf interrogated the Water Pistol secret technique out of Hozuki Ryueki. Tomorrow, if we find Mist corpses killed by it, the intel is verified. Is there any need for this argument? Reclaiming Hiramekarei is the priority. Muratsuki, hasn't your clan embarrassed itself enough by losing the twin swords in the first place?"
Hozuki Muratsuki wanted to lash out, but for the sake of the mission, he suppressed his temper. If they didn't find those corpses tomorrow, he would settle the score with Fuguki Suikazan then.
***
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