After leaving the ANBU base, Yagami first headed to Yakushi Nono's orphanage.
Kurumi, recognizing him as the kind benefactor Mikome from the previous donation, quickly led him inside. Kurumi made a point of showing the poor conditions of the orphanage, especially the empty kitchen.
Unfortunately, Yagami wore a mask, hiding any expression. Kurumi hoped that if he felt sympathy, he might donate again.
In the dining hall, there was a small blackboard listing the daily, watery menu. Yagami glanced at it and found Yakushi Nono's coded message hidden within. The code indicated that Nono was working hard on the investigation.
After leaving 50,000 ryo, Yagami departed.
Over the next few days, aside from his surveillance duties within the village, Yagami would secretly observe the orphanage's blackboard through binoculars from a distance. Finally, one day, he saw a new message.
The code revealed that D and E had left the village for a mission in the Land of Rivers.
In the dead of night, Yagami summoned the Stone Panda Shiro-seiji and relayed the general intel on D and E to Uzumaki Yuka. In the scroll, Yagami specifically warned that this intelligence might not be 100% reliable and urged extreme caution.
Root recruited from Nono's orphans every year, so while she likely hated Danzo, Yagami couldn't be certain how much she truly trusted him.
...
The full moon sat in the sky like a silver plate.
Yagami emerged from his underground training ground. He still hadn't received word from Yuka and wondered if she had successfully intercepted D and E.
Meanwhile, by a river in the Land of Rivers...
Uzumaki Yuka adjusted her Kappa Demon mask, sweat dripping from beneath the porcelain. Beside her stood Uzumaki Kaicho and Uzumaki Gencho, wearing Resentful Demon and Sorrowful Demon masks respectively.
After their successful revenge against the Shimura and Sarutobi clan members last time, the Uzumaki survivors in the rainforest had wept for hours. After waiting so long, the Uzumaki clan was finally striking back. They decided to pull themselves together and formalize their vengeance.
The first step was establishing the Uzumaki assassination unit: The Oni Corps.
An ancient ancestor of the Uzumaki, possessing Sealing Jutsu powerful enough to rival the gods, had once sealed the Reaper (Shinigami). Many of the malevolent spirits surrounding the Reaper had also been sealed. Since then, the clan had passed down secret techniques related to the Reaper and these demons.
Having walked back from the edge of extinction, these survivors felt like demons crawling out of hell, their hearts filled with the singular focus of revenge. They were the "Oni" lingering in the living world.
While other clansmen trained in sealing arts and searched for summoning beasts, Yuka, Kaicho, and Gencho—the strongest among them—formed the Oni Corps.
Yuka was anxious. If D and E returned to the Hidden Leaf, the intel Fox had risked his life to provide would be wasted. Every act of revenge was built on Fox's risks; they had to value every opportunity.
She looked up at the night sky. High above, an owl glided silently. This owl possessed incredible night vision—a new summoning contract Yuka had made to bolster their scouting. With a three-meter wingspan, it could spot a mouse on the ground from two kilometers away. The night belonged to the owl.
Yuka actually had a pair of them. The two owls swept across the Land of Rivers, searching for their targets. Soon, they spotted two figures running through a river canyon. The targets wore hooded cloaks and moved with great speed.
One owl accelerated and flew ahead. Upon seeing the masks beneath the hoods, it let out a series of low-frequency "coo" calls. The other owl heard the signal and immediately veered off to notify Yuka.
Upon receiving the news, Yuka excitedly summoned the Stone Panda Shiro-seiji.
...
In the latter half of the night, Yagami bolted awake. Only hours ago, he had been worried; now, the word had arrived.
Beside him, Qiaoyi was fast asleep. She rarely liked staying under the covers, her silhouette striking in the moonlight. Yagami pulled a thin blanket over her before vanishing into the ground.
Summoning the Stone Panda Shiro-yu, Yagami was Reverse-Summoned to the Land of Rivers by Shiro-seiji.
Seeing the masks worn by the three Uzumaki, Yagami commented, "Yuka, your aura completely changes when you wear those demon masks."
The clan had finally moved past the period of instability following their destruction. They had gathered enough strength to begin their counter-attack. A blood debt of thousands would not be easily forgotten.
"Fox, I found the two Root ninjas! They are only dozens of kilometers from the border of the Land of Fire."
Yagami praised her when he heard about the owl summons. Scouting was their most urgent need; Yagami had the Byakugan, but Yuka did not. With the owls, her ability to track and intercept was far more potent and stealthy.
Yagami said, "Leave the rest to me. I'll handle it."
Yuka couldn't help but say, "Fox, we want to take our revenge personally. We formed the Oni Corps for this very purpose."
Yagami shook his head. "I understand your urgency, but we cannot leave a single clue for the enemy to follow back to you. It must appear as though a lone, independent assassin is doing the killing. That way, the investigation becomes a nightmare, making it impossible to identify the culprit. If you appear nearby, you might be caught by some strange tracking technique."
The three Uzumaki watched as Yagami disappeared into the river.
...
D and E were moving rapidly through the canyon. They had just met with a spy from the Hidden Sand Village to exchange critical intelligence. Root managed the Leaf's espionage network; Root ninjas were constantly busy meeting with spy masters from other villages.
Suddenly, a figure rose from the water, blocking their path.
The figure formed a single hand sign and unleashed a technique.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
D was extremely familiar with this jutsu; the Shimura and Sarutobi clans had been very close when he was young. But to use a jutsu that normally required seven signs with only one?
D reacted first, also using a single sign.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Wind was weak against Fire, but D managed to buy a split second. E took the opportunity, using Water Style before the flames could consume them.
One used Wind, the other Water—their coordination was seamless, creating a technique similar to the Hurricane Water Vortex.
Yagami's "White Ghost" persona couldn't use the Self-Cursing Seal. If he used it to lock their movements, their muscles would twitch in a way that might leave clues after death. Without it, he had to kill them traditionally.
Facing the Root duo's Wind-Water combination, Yagami formed the sign for Shadow Clones. Two clones appeared on his left and right, each forming a single sign.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A Proficiency-level Wind-Fire combination ninjutsu erupted, filling the entire canyon.
***
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