Luck Is Also a Form of Strength

The 20th, Anbu locker room.

Having just finished the daily patrol of Konoha, everyone stood before their lockers, unfastening their Anbu vests.

Yagami's breathing was even shallower than usual, terrified of being called out by the Squad Leader.

Can you imagine how terrifying it is to be called out by your squad leader?

It's like slacking off for a week, only for the manager to call your name to present the project proposal.

It's like just getting home from a foot massage, only for your wife to call your name and demand you "submit your homework."

The Squad Leader still called out Yagami's codename.

"Fox, go keep an eye on Tsurutsuki Izakaya tonight."

It's over, it's me again.

Yagami put the Anbu vest he had just taken off back on.

This vest wasn't the cloth armor of a regular ninja, but gray iron plating, identical to the attire Kakashi wore during his time in the Anbu.

Despite being iron armor, it provided not a shred of a sense of security.

After nightfall, Yagami hid in the woods at the street corner, tailing the izakaya in the distance.

In a split second, his eyes shifted slightly beneath his mask.

Even though he had been extremely focused and had even anticipated the movement, he still didn't know how the Squad Leader had appeared via Body Flicker.

He asked the captain for money, and this time, he shamelessly asked for three stacks.

Might as well take it; I'm bleeding for the Anbu, so the Anbu shouldn't treat me poorly.

Entering Tsurutsuki Izakaya, Yagami headed straight for the corner.

"Bring me your most expensive sake!"

The female boss he had seen in his previous life brought the wine over, smiling seductively as she leaned in close to Yagami.

Her collar was so low.

Yagami watched, mesmerized.

So big, so beautiful, yet why didn't they tremble? In the end, it lacked a certain aesthetic appeal.

Following the same routine, his ribs were pressed by the female boss's ample bosom as they walked into the side room of the backyard.

The female boss closed the door.

"Ninja-sama, do you prefer Yang Release or Yin Release?"

"I get that, I get that all too well. Sometimes I like Yang Release, sometimes I like Yin Release. If I'm tired, I use Yin Release and you take the lead. If I'm still good to go, I use Yang Release and I take the lead!"

"Hehehe, Ninja-sama, you really are easy to understand."

Yagami teased her with his words, but deep down, he was on high alert.

It moved!

Something moved!

There was something in the corner, burrowing up from underground.

The ground showed no change, but since Yagami also knew Earth Release: Subterranean Mirroring Fish Technique, he sensed the intruder.

At the same time, the female boss moved too.

She pressed against him, 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!"

Yagami exerted sudden force, tackling the female boss to the ground and lunging toward the shadows.

He drew the hidden Kunai from his lower back and thrust it violently between the female boss's legs.

The female boss had originally thought this Konoha Ninja was just impatient, but suddenly, from behind Yagami's shoulder, she saw the iron ring of the Kunai.

Oh no!

Between her legs, it felt a bit chilly.

Just as she hit the ground and prepared to exert force, she suddenly heard a muffled groan behind her back.

Even worse!

The Kunai wasn't meant to assassinate her; it was aimed at her teammate beneath the floor!

Beneath the ground behind her, her teammate was convulsing.

This Konoha Ninja had happened to strike the heart of her spy teammate from right between her legs.

A storm raged in her mind.

Iwagakure had sacrificed many comrades for her identity as a spy; the teammates who had accompanied her for years and the teachers who had instructed her had all died in Konoha.

To protect one another, she and the teammate beneath her had never even met, communicating only through coded signals.

Her teammate was exposed, but she absolutely could not be.

The only chance to maintain his cover as a spy was to pretend he knew nothing at all.

Exposure meant death, and being discovered meant death.

If he happened to fall unconscious, Konoha might misjudge him as knowing nothing; this was his only chance.

"Ah!"

The female proprietor's head struck the ground with a heavy thud.

Yagami clearly felt the woman's body go limp as she lost consciousness.

Feeling the ground between the woman's legs and coming away with a handful of blood, Yagami decided to call the Squad Leader over first.

Yagami left the side room, leaped onto the roof, signaled the Squad Leader, and returned to the room in the backyard.

The door was open, and a few seconds later, the Squad Leader entered the side room as well.

The Squad Leader cautiously closed the door and immediately surveyed the scene: "Blood is seeping from the ground around the Kunai; there is someone underground! Fox, did you kill him?"

"Squad Leader, my Chakra nature is Earth. I sensed someone underground, so I tried stabbing the ground with my Kunai."

The Squad Leader nodded and said, "Very good, truly excellent."

The Squad Leader raised his hand, and the next second, he smashed open the ground, unearthing the person hidden beneath.

He was covered in dirt, mixed with blood and grime.

After a brief inspection, the Squad Leader continued:

"He specializes in Earth Style, and judging by his square face, he looks like someone from the Land of Earth. He is a suspected Stone Ninja spy.

Very good, Fox, you have completed a B-rank mission.

For someone who just passed the Chunin Exams to complete a B-rank mission, your luck is quite good. Hatake Sakumo once said that luck is also a form of strength."

He hadn't expected his Squad Leader to have had dealings with Hatake Sakumo.

It seemed that Kakashi saying luck was a form of strength was something he had heard from his father, Hatake Sakumo.

Yagami corrected him: "Squad Leader, my strength isn't that pathetic, is it?"

"If it weren't for the fact that over a thousand ninjas died on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water, and the Chunin Exams were made easier during the Shinobi World War, you wouldn't have become a Chunin for another three years."

Seeing that he couldn't change the Squad Leader's impression, Yagami turned toward the female proprietor, signaling that there was still a living person here.

"It doesn't matter, the female proprietor has fainted and won't hear our conversation," the Squad Leader said.

"Take this man away first and extract the intelligence from his brain. Following that lead might uncover a larger trail."

The Squad Leader hoisted the spy onto his shoulder and left the house.

Yagami restored the ground and moved the female proprietor back onto the bed.

He took one last look at the woman with a hint of regret. Although she wasn't particularly soft or supple, she was well-endowed; it was a pity.

After retrieving his gear from the woods at the street corner, Yagami returned to the Anbu.

Yagami and the Squad Leader delivered the body to the Intelligence Division.

A ninja from the Yamanaka Clan took the body away.

Yagami said: "Squad Leader, may I take a few days off to rest? These past few days of patrolling, tailing, and this spy mission have left me quite exhausted."

The Squad Leader had intended to refuse, but after considering Fox's terrible strength—which made no difference to the squad whether he was there or not—and in light of his recent completion of a spy mission, he said:

"I can give you three days of rest, but be ready for notification at any time. The village is in dire need of manpower, so you must return to the squad after three days."

"Understood, thank you, Squad Leader."

Yagami needed to drag things out until the 15th, the next full moon, to have a chance at resurrection.

For these 25 days, he would stall as long as he could, one day at a time.