Inside the dark corridor of the Anbu, Bai Yang followed Fox Squad Captain towards the squad's changing rooms.
Under Bai Yang's mask, cold sweat continuously seeped out.
Fox Squad Captain was very perceptive and turned to ask, "Bai Yang, what's wrong with you?"
Bai Yang quickly lowered his head, letting the cold sweat fall onto his collar instead of the ground.
"I'm fine, Squad Leader."
During last night's Nine-Tailed transfer sealing operation, Bai Yang attacked Nine-Tailed from the periphery with Exploding Tags, and did not follow the Squad Leader and Captain under Nine-Tailed to protect Whirlpool Princess.
It was too dangerous under Nine-Tailed, and out of concern for the Squad Leader, he kept an eye on Fox Squad Captain.
Byakugan could see the flow of Chakra, and he noticed that Fox Squad Captain's Chakra had been depleted multiple times, which was somewhat strange.
Logically speaking, he should have written these abnormalities in the Squad's mission report.
The mission report recorded the behavioral details of each person, which was used to determine mission performance and decide mission rewards.
However, Bai Yang did not write it.
Fox Squad Captain was very meticulous; if he had written these in the mission report, Fox Squad Captain would definitely have seen it.
When night fell, Bai Yang remained in the lounge.
He wanted to wait for an opportunity to report to Captain Huang Quan, bypassing his immediate superior.
Purple Cat had originally intended to have some tender moments with Fox Squad Captain after everyone left.
Seeing that Bai Yang wasn't leaving, she knew it was a no-go for tonight and, having another mission tomorrow, left first.
Night Light saw Bai Yang lingering and walked over to ask, "Bai Yang, why aren't you going home yet? Is something on your mind?"
Bai Yang's heart tightened; had the Squad Leader discovered something?
"No, I'm just a bit tired."
Night Light recalled Hyuga Neji's hatred for his branch family status and the Caged Bird Seal in the original work, saying:
"Bai Yang, I heard that every Hyuga branch family member is troubled by the Caged Bird Seal.
Every Ninjutsu has a weakness, and every sealing jutsu has an unsealing jutsu.
Whirlpool Princess is skilled in sealing jutsu; perhaps after she grows up, she might be able to undo the Caged Bird."
Bai Yang breathed a sigh of relief, the Squad Leader only thought he was troubled by the Caged Bird.
His psychological resilience was too poor; he had been repeatedly seen acting strangely by the Squad Leader.
Fortunately, the Squad Leader trusted him more.
"Thank you for your comfort, Squad Leader." Bai Yang took the hint and said:
"Every time I return to the clan land, I feel like it's a dull, massive rock.
To escape that oppressive feeling, I voluntarily joined the Anbu.
It's just a bit easy to die in the Anbu, but everything else is much better than being in the clan land."
"Haha, Bai Yang, I didn't realize you had such a sense of humor. The Anbu isn't just 'a bit easy to die,' it's 'extremely easy to die.'" Night Light stood up from the bench and said:
"Don't worry, my strength has been increasing quickly recently. Unless absolutely necessary, none of you will die."
"Unless absolutely necessary?" Bai Yang coughed, "Squad Leader, you're the truly humorous one. Does the Squad Leader mean we'll still die when it's necessary?"
"If necessary, I myself will die. You and I both possess a firm Fire Will, don't we?"
Night Light left the Anbu and returned to the Izagaya.
After waiting for a long time, Bai Yang finally stood up from the bench.
Fox Squad Captain said he had a firm Fire Will. Was he overthinking things?
Only after confirming that the Squad Leader had disappeared with his Byakugan did he leave the changing room, hesitating repeatedly before walking towards Captain Huang Quan's office.
Knocking on the office door, Bai Yang entered the office.
Yellow Dog saw that it was a Squad Leader and asked, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Bai Yang saw that on Captain Huang Quan's desk were the mission reports from the night of the Nine-Tailed transfer sealing.
Bai Yang said, "Captain, there's a piece of information I didn't include in White Sheep Squad's mission report, which I believe I should report to you in person."
Yellow Dog paused.
Reporting above one's immediate superior meant that the intelligence was extremely important, or that the intelligence was directed at the person being bypassed.
Against Fox Squad Captain?
Yellow Dog said, "Tell me, in detail."
Bai Yang swallowed with difficulty and said:
"Captain Huang Quan, I have been using my Byakugan to keep an eye on our Squad Leader, in case he encountered any unexpected situations, so I could warn him in advance.
During the battle, I noticed that the Squad Leader had… one instance of rapid Chakra loss, which was somewhat unusual, even abnormal, so I didn't include it in the mission report."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, Bai Yang wanted to say "three times," but it ended up being "one time."
After joining the Anbu, the first Squad Leader he followed was Fox Squad Captain.
The Squad Leader trusted him greatly.
The Anbu was not as terrifying as the legends said, and the Squad Leader would not use the lives of his subordinates to probe enemy intelligence.
Although the Squad Leader was cold, he did not persecute his subordinates without reason.
The Hyuga Clan had seen too many scenes on the battlefield; they knew what truly sinister Squad Leaders were like.
Those Squad Leaders only had the mission in their eyes; anyone could die if it benefited their mission completion.
For some reason, Bai Yang finally relented and did not say "three times."
Under Yellow Dog's mask, his eyes darkened.
Among his Squad Leaders, Fox Squad Captain was the most outstanding in terms of strength, and his mission completion rate was very high.
He also understood that if Fox Squad Captain harbored ill intentions, no matter how much he valued him, he would have to eliminate him.
Yellow Dog asked, "Fox Squad Captain had one instance of abnormal Chakra loss? What kind of abnormality?"
"Captain, when the Squad Leader was beside Senju Rinmu's clan leader, his Chakra suddenly almost completely disappeared," Bai Yang said.
"But I'm not sure whether the Squad Leader used up all his Chakra to avoid Senju Rinmu's final Water Dragon Bullet, or for other reasons."
Yellow Dog's cold gaze softened considerably, and he said:
"Senju Rinmu's last Water Dragon Bullet, a final burst of light before death, if there was even a moment of hesitation, he would have been directly blown into the sky by the Water Dragon Bullet.
Let alone Fox Squad Captain, even I would surely die in front of such a Water Dragon Bullet.
However, even with full effort to evade, the Body Flicker Technique wouldn't use up all of one's Chakra.
Did you see Fox Squad Captain get hit by the Water Dragon Bullet?
If he was hit by the Water Dragon Bullet to counteract that terrifying Water Release impact, then it's possible to use up all Chakra."
Bai Yang shook his head and said:
"I'm not sure; both the Water Dragon Bullet and the Squad Leader's speed were too fast. Perhaps the Squad Leader anticipated the great power of the Water Dragon Bullet and thus stimulated his potential, causing his speed to skyrocket."
Yellow Dog frowned in thought.
After a full minute, Yellow Dog finally said:
"I understand, Bai Yang.
Your intelligence is very useful, but it's not enough to classify Fox Squad Captain as a Spy; there's no reason to necessarily eliminate him.
However, I'm giving you a secret A-rank mission.
From now on, you will constantly monitor Fox Squad Captain without the slightest slack, reporting any intelligence on him to me at any time, until I deem his suspicion cleared."
"Understood! I get it!"
Bai Yang emerged from the Captain's office, feeling uneasy.
He didn't know if what he did was right or not.
He didn't know if reporting to the Captain was right, nor did he know if concealing part of the truth was right.
Going forward, he would observe the Squad Leader more meticulously, determined to help clear the Squad Leader's suspicion.