"Raikage-sama, shall we continue advancing forward?" After a brief silence, Dodai asked.
"That depends on whether Konoha acts in good faith," Yugito replied. She paused, then continued, "...In any case, you all should temporarily remain in the Country of Frost and prepare for battle at any moment."
Though she left her words hanging, Dodai understood exactly what she meant.
Judging from her tone, she was leaning toward ending the war. However, if Konoha insisted on provoking conflict or continuing the fight, Kumogakure would certainly not show weakness.
As they watched Konoha's camp instantly vanish into nothingness, the Kumo ninja first froze in shock, then burst into delighted laughter.
"What a tragedy—but hahahaha..."
"Guess it's poetic justice..."
When Dodai returned to camp and told them the truth:
"It was Fifth Raikage-sama who destroyed Konoha's camp with a single strike, killing all the ninja inside."
After hearing this, the Kumo ninja's impression of Yugito slightly improved.
Originally, they had held serious grievances against her.
The reason was simple—her rise to power had been too sudden.
So young, having fought in only one battlefield, her combat record wasn't enough to command everyone's respect. Plus, she was a jinchuriki.
Had Kumogakure held elections for the Raikage position, no one would have even considered choosing her.
Although jinchuriki in Kumogakure were treated relatively well compared to other villages, they never seriously considered granting them political power.
Tell me, has there ever been a jinchuriki who became a Kage? Of course there has—one example being Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, who was also the jinchuriki of the Three-Tails.
But he had already become Mizukage before becoming the jinchuriki, not the other way around.
Thus, many people viewed Yugito as unqualified and unworthy of becoming Raikage.
Furthermore, her very first action upon taking office had been to seek peace with Konoha and halt the war, which made their impression of her even worse.
Now she had personally wiped out hundreds of Konoha ninja. Although it seemed reckless, it felt powerful and decisive to them, proving she hadn't lost the ferocious aura expected of a Raikage.
After Yugito left, the Kumogakure ninja changed camps.
They seized a new location in the Country of Frost and set up a permanent watchpost to keep an eye on Konoha.
Daily patrols and shifts resumed, just as they always did along the border of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.
Their actions—acting as if they'd already annexed the Country of Frost—outraged the Frost Daimyo beyond measure, prompting him to send an official letter requesting the Lightning Daimyo immediately withdraw his Kumo forces.
The Lightning Daimyo snorted in contempt and tore the letter sent by the Frost Daimyo into shreds.
"Kumogakure is only targeting Konoha. Once they've subdued Konoha, they'll leave the Country of Frost soon enough."
Receiving such a dismissive reply, the Frost Daimyo was furious yet dared not speak out loud.
It's all the fault of those worthless ninja from Frost! Not one of them is worth a damn! He thought bitterly through clenched teeth.
Konoha —
"Hokage-sama, I failed in my duty. I alone will bear full responsibility!"
Kakashi knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi, his head bowed so low it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
The killer responsible for the deaths of the Kumo diplomatic envoy and Anbu ninja had not yet been identified, but the time of death had already been determined.
The envoy team had died within half an hour after Kakashi's departure.
If he had left just a little later, perhaps this murder wouldn't have happened.
It turned out that those two teammates from his squad were already dead. The people who later appeared before him had been impostors.
The fact they called his name was no mistake—they had done it on purpose to lower his suspicions.
Kakashi felt endless self-blame and guilt rising in his heart.
"Sigh..."
Though Sarutobi said nothing harsh, he blamed Kakashi silently in his mind.
Kakashi's father once chose to save his comrades instead of completing the mission—an act that ended up costing the village dearly.
Now Kakashi had abandoned his post without permission too, placing the village in a passive position.
Why must both father and son commit such fundamental mistakes?
The Anbu consisted of seventy members. Besides the primary and deputy commanders, there were four squads, each consisting of sixteen operatives under a squad leader.
Each squad had one squad leader, and the remaining sixteen members were divided into four teams.
Each four-man team had one team leader.
Therefore, according to rank, from top to bottom it went commander/deputy commander—four squad leaders—sixteen team leaders—and finally regular members.
Kakashi's current position was merely a team leader.
Sarutobi originally planned to promote him to squad leader in time.
That would now have to be temporarily postponed.
He always appeared so reliable—so why had he faltered when it mattered most?
In contrast, Yugao Uzuki was just an ordinary Anbu member who had joined less than two years ago, yet she was sharp-witted and ambitious.
Her power had risen sharply in recent weeks—perhaps it was time she received proper recognition.
A flash of purple passed through Sarutobi's mind.
Meanwhile, Yugao Uzuki—who was currently on the Third Hokage's mind—was deep inside the Anbu base, sighing heavily.
"I must be going a little nuts again."
She noticed the Kumogakure ninja's death wasn't accidental? It must be her "episodes" again.
Yes, episodes. Since medical checks showed nothing wrong with her body, she could only call it an episode.
That night when she returned home, her body suddenly moved awkwardly and twisted her ankle.
Just from that stumble, she fell straight into a patch of woods.
Inside those woods lay two Anbu corpses side by side.
After figuring out their identities and assigned missions, Yugao then proceeded with her teammate to investigate whether the Kumo ninjas were alive or dead.
Yugao sighed inwardly.
Her first episode had somehow unlocked potential within herself, revealing new possibilities and giving her direction toward power improvement.
The second led directly to a murder scene.
Then what about the third? When will it decide to show up?
Who could guarantee things always went well? Who's to say her body won't pull another stunt mid-battle? If that happened, she'd be toast!
"Yugao…" A male voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Commander?" Yugao looked up.
Even through the mask, she instantly knew who it was—Sarutobi Torune, the Anbu's deputy commander.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be reassigned to the Hokage's elite personal guard."
"Me?" Yugao perked up instantly.
"You're not happy about it?"
After a moment of hesitation, Yugao Uzuki nodded firmly and said, "I can do it."
Each Hokage could establish their own *Shadow Guard* unit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't bother with that process. He simply trusted the Anbu to protect him. The elite personal guard was the Anbu squad closest to Hiruzen Sarutobi. In a sense, they already functioned as the *Shadow Guard*.
"Work hard," encouraged Sarutobi Torune.
In the Hokage's office,
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was pondering whether he should punish Kakashi, a ninja rushed in without regard for protocol.
"Hokage-sama!"
"What now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi rebuked displeasingly.
"Urgent report from the border patrol team. The *Forward Encampment* has been destroyed. All 307 ninjas were killed — not a single one survived."
"...The pipe in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand nearly snapped in two."
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