Yagami moved through the soil. For the first two meters, he used the Hiding Like a Mole Technique, but he quickly switched to the Mayfly Technique.
A sudden surge of massive tree roots underground startled him—could Wood Style launch root attacks even beneath the surface? Yagami immediately merged with the surrounding earth, flicking away to evade. A second later, he reappeared a hundred meters away.
Uchiha Madara was slightly surprised. This Leaf ANBU's Hiding Like a Mole technique felt strange; the speed was incredible once he entered the ground, almost identical to White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique. However, Mayfly was a Wood Style secret technique; there was no way a Fox ANBU could possess Wood Style.
Jiraiya, Lynx, and K were fleeing in different directions, unable to look out for one another. K was leaping forward desperately when, upon landing, he felt something snag his ankle. He failed to take his next jump, lost his balance, and slammed into the ground.
As he fell, a hand reached out from the earth clutching a broken branch. The cross-section of the wood was wedge-shaped and exceptionally sharp.
*Puchi!*
The branch impaled K through the abdomen! In quick succession, Yagami launched attacks from underground, using wooden branches to stab the other two Root members to death as well.
In the distance, Lynx looked back and caught a glimpse of a wooden spike protruding from K's spine. Terror gripped his heart. 'Did Fox's rear-guard action fail? Has Uchiha Madara caught up already?' He pushed himself even harder to escape into the distance.
Yagami's face surfaced on the trunk of a large tree, watching Lynx retreat. He would spare him this time; collecting K's body was the priority. Only with K's corpse could he break Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
Yagami's face sank back into the bark. Mayfly truly was the world's top stealth technique; even an elite Jonin like Lynx couldn't detect him when he moved. Ambushing people with Mayfly finally gave him the aura of an undetectable master.
Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, Yagami suddenly felt a shadow rushing through the underground organic network. Anyone capable of navigating that network had to be a White Zetsu. Since they both utilized the same network, it seemed the Zetsu could detect him.
The shadow stopped moving. But it was too late; Yagami unsealed the Cross Seal, releasing his final reserves of chakra to accelerate and lunge at the White Zetsu. Without a similar means of explosive speed, the Zetsu was captured.
After killing the scout Zetsu, Yagami quickly sealed it into a scroll. He could give the corpse to Orochimaru or the high-ranking officials in exchange for benefits.
Heaving K's body onto his back, Yagami used his contract chakra to notify the Stone Panda, Shiro-ji. This time, Root had lost five men and the Lynx Division had lost seven. Danzo had taken another heavy blow.
Arriving at the bamboo forest of the Stone Panda clan, Yagami tried to use Mayfly while carrying the corpse, but it failed. It seemed Mayfly could only be used by himself. He reached the Uzumaki hiding spot and dropped K's body off for Yuka.
"Yuka, this is the body of a Root ninja. He has Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. Try to crack it; this will be of great use in weakening Danzo."
Uzumaki Yuka nodded. "I understand. I'll break this seal as quickly as possible."
"A formidable person has appeared around Uzumaki Nagato," Yagami warned. "He is being used. Yuka, you must not contact Nagato for the next few years. Do not acknowledge him; he is no longer the Nagato of the Uzumaki clan. The man behind him is Uchiha Madara, a powerhouse on par with the First Hokage. I was utterly defeated and barely made it back alive."
Yuka nodded repeatedly, her gratitude toward Fox deepening. He had actually fought Uchiha Madara—a legendary figure—for the sake of Nagato.
"Fox, please be careful. Revenge doesn't have to happen all at once."
"I know my limits," Yagami said. "Yuka, time is tight. No one knows I survived yet, and I have to get back to the Leaf quickly before they start building a monument for me. So... we only have two days. Go handle the body first; I'll wait for you in our cabin!"
Yuka felt a pang of regret hearing time was short, but when he mentioned waiting in their secret cabin, her heart raced and her legs felt weak. Her meetings with Fox were the only colorful moments in her hard, dim life... even if those colors were a bit "white."
...
Two days later, Yagami left the hiding spot and headed for the Land of Fire. Upon crossing the border, he reached the first Hidden Leaf outpost. He went inside to check on the aftermath of the Nagato incident.
The Leaf Jonin at the outpost confirmed Yagami's identity and marveled, "Captain Fox! A few days ago, Lord Jiraiya and Division Commander Lynx passed through here and told me to watch for Rain country intel. They said there was a high probability you died holding the rear. Your subordinates wanted to go back for you, but Commander Lynx gave a direct order that all ANBU must return to the village first. I can't believe you're alive and completely unharmed."
"My offensive abilities are average, but my defense is decent," Yagami said. "It's not that easy to kill me."
Knowing that Flower Deer and Jiraiya had made it back safely, Yagami was relieved. It took another seven days to reach the village. The outpost had sent a messenger hawk ahead with news of his survival.
White Sheep and Deer were waiting at the village gate. Their breathing hitched when they saw their captain return safely. "Captain! You're back!"
"Just a minor skirmish," Yagami remarked. "Madara might be strong, but he's in his seventies. Who could he possibly kill?"
Flower Deer replied, "Captain, five Root members and seven from the Lynx Division are dead. Madara might be old, but he can still kill. When we reported back, you wouldn't believe how panicked the Hokage and Lord Danzo looked. Only someone like you could have come back alive."
White Sheep added, "Captain, the elders want you at the Hokage building immediately. They're already waiting for you."
"Fine. Let's go."
They leaped across the rooftops, moving at high speeds. The Uchiha Police Force ninja on the streets thought about pulling them down, but seeing they were ANBU, they kept quiet. Flying was forbidden in the village, but high-ranking officials and ANBU were exceptions.
Entering the Hokage's office, Yagami saw a crowd: the Third Hokage, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Yellow Dog, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Lynx. With White Sheep and Flower Deer following Yagami in, the room was cramped.
The Third said, "Fox, I'm glad you're back. This was a heavy loss, but your return is a relief."
"Lord Hokage, Lord Yellow Dog," Yagami stated. "I specialize in defensive ninjutsu. I was lucky enough to escape using Earth Style."
Yellow Dog nodded vigorously. He had been devastated when he heard Fox might have died. Fox was his most capable subordinate; many missions were only possible because of him. Looking at the Third, Yellow Dog seemed more pained than if he had lost his own father.
Danzo spoke up: "Fox, where are the five ninja from Root?"