"Mission complete!" Captain Black Gorilla said:
"We received intelligence from Anbu Headquarters that the Vortex Remnants have entered the Land of the Moon. The Land of the Moon is within the Hidden Cloud Village's sphere of influence, and their Anbu and Spies are responsible for the pursuit. We can return to the Village now."
Along the eastern coastline of the Ninja World Continent, from south to north, are the Land of Fire, the Land of Hot Water, the Land of the Moon, and the Land of Lightning.
If the Vortex Remnants wanted to escape, they could only choose between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon.
One wonders if the Uzumaki Clan feels a sense of bitterness.
Even if it meant going to the Land of the Moon, which is within Hidden Cloud Village's sphere of influence, they were unwilling to enter the Land of Hot Water, which is within Konoha Village's sphere of influence.
Hidden Cloud Village was one of the perpetrators of their clan's destruction, but in their judgment, Konoha was an even greater monster.
Given the strength of the Anbu and Konoha's emphasis on Kushina, perhaps they would never see Kushina again before they died. Vortex Kushina would never know the truth about the destruction of her clan.
Return to the Village!
The Black Gorilla Squad left the Wave Country and returned to Konoha.
Entering Konoha Village again, Night Light felt a bit dazed.
More than half a year had passed since he went to the Wave Country and Vortex Country.
Upon entering the Death Forest, Night Light noticed some changes.
The trees in certain areas had become smaller, and their positions had also changed.
Observing the details closely, Night Light discovered that many underground structures had been added to the Death Forest.
The renovated soil and replanted trees all revealed the changes that had occurred here.
Jumping down from the Anbu's atrium, the Anbu had indeed undergone significant changes.
Root appeared.
The newly established Root was purely an Anbu training institution.
Danzo set new rules for the Anbu.
Given the terrifying mortality rate of the Anbu, Danzo stipulated that newly recruited Ninja for the Anbu must undergo three months of training in Root.
Previously, Anbu Ninja were selected from ordinary Ninja. Ninja of Chunin level were ready for immediate deployment.
The Ninjutsu instructors of Root were appointed by Danzo.
In the future, Root would gradually change, becoming an independent kingdom within the Anbu, directly under Danzo.
Night Light returned to his squad's changing room.
This was the changing room he used before leaving the Village, and it belonged to the Antelope Squad.
Opening each person's locker in turn, the personal belongings of Captain Ling, Purple Cat, and Black Bull had all been cleared out.
Only one mask remained in each locker.
Captain Ling, Purple Cat, and Black Bull had all died in Vortex Country and the Wave Country long ago.
Night Light's own personal belongings were still in his locker.
After a sigh, Night Light organized his belongings.
Captain Black Gorilla passed by the changing room and said, "Fox, we have three days of vacation. Report to me after three days."
"Understood, Captain Black Gorilla."
Night Light took off his fox mask, removed his Anbu vest, put on his own clothes, wore his face mask, and left the Anbu.
Walking through the streets and alleys of Konoha again felt truly good.
The sun was warm, and the wind was gentle.
It would be even better if there wasn't a huge, oppressive Hokage statue looming overhead.
After walking some distance, Night Light took off his mask, becoming an ordinary Konoha Village resident.
Having nowhere else to go, Night Light went to the Crane Moon Izakaya.
There were few customers in the Izakaya at noon.
Inside the Izakaya, the beautiful proprietress Qiao Yi was visibly stunned when she saw Night Light.
Was that the same young man from half a year ago?
Looking at him now, the young man's face showed more maturity and calmness.
As a Spy, Qiao Yi immediately understood that this was the natural composure that came with increased strength.
In the past six months, this young man had grown a lot.
Night Light's strength had indeed increased significantly.
[Host Status:
Chakra Level: 3 times Chunin level.
Chakra Nature: Earth, Water.
Ninjutsu: Basic Three Body Techniques, Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu, Basic Kunai Throwing Technique, Beginner-level Swordsmanship, Beginner-level Body Flicker Technique, Cloud Style Swordsmanship.
Sealing Jutsu: Self-Inflicted Curse Sealing, Contract Seal, Summoning Jutsu (Spear Egret).
Other: Stress Reflex (One-time breakthrough).]
Qiao Yi quickly leaned in: "Where have you been for the past six months? Why didn't you ever come back to find me?"
"During wartime, how could I stay in the Village all the time?"
Qiao Yi's eyes immediately brightened a bit.
As a Spy, the intelligence she had gathered during this period was not of high value.
The young man in front of her had completed a half-year long mission, and his strength had increased significantly upon his return. He was worth probing.
After placing a cup of sake down, Qiao Yi, like a young girl seeing her lover, listened to Night Light boast about his various thrilling missions on the Land of Hot Water battlefield, while gently caressing the taut muscles on Night Light's arm.
Of course, Night Light wouldn't talk about his missions in Vortex Country and the Wave Country. He was currently disguised as a regular Chunin returning to the Village for rotation after the Land of Hot Water battlefield.
"Ninja-sama, look at your right arm, it's stronger than your left. Perhaps you should try switching hands in the future, instead of always using your right hand?"
"I prefer not to use my hands at all. Why don't you help me? That way, you won't have the problem you mentioned."
Two hours later.
Qiao Yi tidied her clothes and walked out of her bedroom in the back courtyard.
Seriously, after two hours of effort, she still couldn't extract any information.
The Konoha Chunin's strength was truly impressive. Qiao Yi walked with a slight limp, and her thighs were sore.
Night Light, half-asleep and half-awake, maintained a basic level of vigilance, taking a nap on Qiao Yi's soft bed. He felt refreshed.
At night, Night Light ordered three bottles of sake and slowly drank them.
Around him were Konoha Ninja and villagers.
When men drank too much, they were prone to bragging.
"Senju Nawaki, the young master of the Senju Clan, graduated this year. Do you know who the Senju Young Clan Head's Jonin instructor is?"
"I don't know, tell me quickly."
The braggart looked smug and said, "When I was at the photo studio, I happened to see the Senju Young Clan Head, and his team leader was also an extraordinary person."
"Of course, I know the Senju Young Clan Head's teacher is amazing, tell me quickly, stop building suspense."
"Orochimaru! The disciple of the Third Hokage, the teammate of Senju Princess Tsunade, Orochimaru!"
Everyone around gasped, exclaiming in admiration.
"If only I were the Senju Young Clan Head, would I also be able to become a disciple of Orochimaru Jonin?"
"Look at your ambition. It's clearly Orochimaru Jonin who is benefiting. I heard that Jiraiya Jonin, Kato Dan Jonin, and more than a dozen other Jonin were all competing to be the Senju Young Clan Head's team leader. It's just that Lord Third Hokage favored Orochimaru, so he chose Orochimaru."
"That's true, with Orochimaru Jonin guiding the Senju Young Clan Head, it's hard to say who is benefiting whom."
Night Light drank his sake on the side, constantly gathering information.
The Izakaya was a good place; every visit brought both giving and receiving.
He waited until most of the customers had left before Night Light walked towards the proprietress.
"Give me a room on the second floor. I'll be sleeping here for the next few days."
Qiao Yi covered her small mouth with her delicate hand: "You just liberated your hands at noon, are you liberating them again tonight?"
"Don't make my hands wait too long."
-----------------
The full moon was like a silver disk, and the moonlight was like white frost.
Life in Konoha Village was very relaxed; he only needed to perform daily guard duties.
Finally, it was another full moon night.
Crane Moon Izakaya.
Outside the window, there was a bright moon in the night sky, two bright moons in his palm, and the three moons reflected each other.