Ashen Face

Yagami followed the Yellow Dog Captain Commander to a spot twenty meters away from the senior officials.

The appearance of Yellow Dog signified that the Anbu had important intelligence to report to Minister Danzō.

Yagami glanced at the senior officials, observing their expressions.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, clad in armor, sat on a rock, smoking.

To his side were the Senju Clan leader, Senju Rin, and Elite Jonin Dan Katō. On his other side were Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō.

It seemed the Third Hokage was acting as a referee, mediating the conflict between the two sides.

Senju Rin's face was ashen, but his expression was proud, showing no signs of backing down.

On the other side, Mitokado Homura, tired from arguing, took a sip of water.

As for Danzō, he remained silent.

When these senior officials gathered, it was usually Mitokado Homura who spoke on behalf of the others, expressing their stance.

The Senju Clan appeared to have significant disagreements with the higher-ups, perhaps concerning the placement of Uzumaki Kushina or the ownership of the Uzu Hidden Village's Forbidden Scroll.

Both the Senju Clan and the village were eager to control the Uzumaki Clan's legacy.

Shimura Danzō walked over after seeing Yellow Dog.

Yellow Dog quickly reported:

"Lord Danzō, the Black Gorilla Squad has obtained crucial intelligence.

The Uzumaki Elder ultimately selected eight Uzumaki clan members and sent them towards the Land of Waves using Yatagarasu.

Furthermore, before the Uzumaki Elder died, he produced a sealing scroll.

Black Gorilla is doing his best to follow Yatagarasu."

Danzō's eyes sharpened upon hearing this.

If they couldn't obtain the Uzu Hidden Village's Forbidden Scroll, obtaining the Uzumaki Elder's sealing jutsu could serve as a temporary substitute.

Danzō gave an order:

"Yellow Dog, your squad suffered many casualties. First, organize the remaining members into a company and immediately go search for Black Gorilla.

You and Hippopotamus will then select and train a new Anbu squad from the two thousand Konoha Ninja who came here, aiming to establish their combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.

Once two full squads are assembled, you and Hippopotamus will go search for the Uzumaki remnants and bring them, or the scroll, back to Konohagakure."

Yagami thought to himself, that word 'or' was used quite effectively.

Danzō's intention was that if the Uzumaki remnants could be brought back, they should be. If not, it didn't matter, as long as the Uzumaki Elder's scroll was brought back.

Yellow Dog nodded repeatedly and left with Yagami.

Danzō turned his head and first glanced at Senju Rin.

The Senju Clan was deeply rooted, and many of the village's policies could not be implemented without considering the Senju Clan's opinion.

For example, during this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki replacement, the Senju Clan actually wanted to completely control the new Jinchuriki.

How could the safety of the village be entrusted to the Senju Clan?

Yellow Dog brought Yagami back to the squad.

"After this arduous mission, our squad has fewer than 20 people remaining.

Yak, I am now appointing you as Company Commander. Organize a full company and head to the Land of Waves to search. Fox has the temporary codes set by Black Gorilla.

Your company's mission is to find the Uzumaki remnants and the inheritance scroll, and keep them occupied.

Be careful, the Uzumaki Clan's secret techniques are difficult to deal with, and they also have large summoning beasts. Hippopotamus and I, along with two squads, will follow to carry out the capture."

Yagami followed Company Commander Yak.

After waiting for a long time, the equipment for disguising as Cloud Ninja did not arrive, so there was no need to put it on.

Before the Uzumaki Clan was annihilated, they had to be cautious when killing Uzumaki Ninja and even disguise themselves as Cloud Ninja.

Now that the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, they could be killed at will. As long as the Anbu kept their secrets, no one would know.

The full moon was like a silver plate, and the moonlight was like white frost.

Upon arriving at the seaside, Yagami waited for the night of the full moon.

Things would be a bit easier from now on, with one chance of revival.

Yagami looked at Company Commander Yak again, wondering what good things he would receive after this revival.

After entering the Land of Waves, the Anbu ninja meticulously searched for the marks left by Black Gorilla and inquired everywhere if anyone had seen a three-legged great bird.

After several days, they hadn't found the Uzumaki remnants, but they did receive new information.

After the death of the Third Mizukage, the Fourth had not been chosen, and Genshi, an elder of Kirigakure, became the new leader, temporarily managing Kirigakure.

As the end of the month approached, the Anbu finally found the signals left by Black Gorilla.

The code pointed towards the direction of Kyoto in the Land of Waves.

The Yak commander gathered the squad leaders to assign tasks, saying:

"With the Uzu Hidden Village destroyed, the mission quotas for both the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Waves have been vacated.

The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools and the Daimyo of the Land of Waves have always been vassals to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

If we cause too much bloodshed while operating in Kyoto, it will be detrimental to the upcoming mission quota negotiations.

Within Kyoto of the Land of Waves, there are still many Uzumaki remnants, for example, there are Uzumaki ninja among the guardian ninja of the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools."

All the Anbu ninja disguised themselves as ordinary merchants, carrying only kunai, and entered Kyoto in the Land of Waves.

The Land of Waves is situated between the three great nations. To the northwest is the Land of Lightning, to the west is the Land of Fire, and to the east is the Land of Water. The situation here is complex, akin to the Land of Rain, another Land of Four Wars.

Yagami moved through the streets and alleys, searching every trash can and every tree trunk.

The kunai on his back had to be carefully hidden.

Kunai were a symbol of a ninja's identity; if seen by civilians, their identity would be exposed.

Ninja were relatively comfortable within the ninja villages. Outside the villages, they were viewed with hostility by all civilians.

The ninja world had many records of ninja massacring entire cities and destroying nations. In the eyes of civilians, ninja were like floods and fierce beasts.

The excessive and rapid killing by ninja led to civilian hostility and non-violent non-cooperation.

After searching for several days, Yagami finally found the Black Gorilla squad commander.

"Commander, you..."

The Black Gorilla squad commander was hidden in a small storeroom, his left arm severed at the shoulder.

Seeing that it was Yagami, the Black Gorilla's tensed muscles relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Not only did we see the Uzumaki Elder take out a scroll in the end, but the Mist Ninja also saw it. I followed the Uzumaki remnants here, and so did the Mist Ninja.

Kurozaru is dead, and I also lost an arm.

Juzo Biwa is too powerful; I'm no match for him at all."

Yagami was secretly alarmed, not expecting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to have also come to Kyoto in the Land of Waves.

"Captain, what about the Uzumaki remnants?"

"I don't know. They went into hiding with the help of the guardian ninja, and I can't find them."

A flicker of happiness rose in Yagami's heart; Uzumaki Yuka should still be alive.

"Captain, I'll take you to Commander Yak. The first reinforcements for us are the Yak squad, and two more squads will arrive later."

The Black Gorilla and Yagami found Commander Yak.

After the two commanders conferred, they decided to have the Anbu operate in pairs, searching for the Uzumaki remnants in Kyoto as quickly as possible.

They had to find those Uzumaki female ninja before the Mist Ninja did.

The Black Gorilla and Yagami acted together.

Captain Black Gorilla was truly cautious, always walking to Yagami's left.

With his left arm gone, he kept his right hand defensively positioned towards Yagami.

Did Yagami look like a traitor? Or was the Black Gorilla inherently extremely cautious, hence his constant vigilance?

Kyoto was vast.

After several days, Yagami saw a small bird land by a small lake in a Kyoto park.

A white egret; it was a white egret.