Chapter 118: Prelude to the Moon God's Encirclement

Embedding the Black Receivers into the body was excruciating at first. Even Yuto, the creator, found the power of the yin-yang release within the Black Receivers disrupted his chakra control.

It took him some time to learn how to let his flowing chakra avoid the position of the Black Receivers.

Afterwards, Yuto transplanted the two Byakugan back into Shinosuke Hyuga's eye sockets and embedded a dozen Black Receivers into his corpse, experimenting with making the body perform various actions.

Thanks to his medical ninjutsu training, Yuto's chakra control was extremely precise, making it exceptionally easy for him to manipulate the corpse.

Once these tasks were completed, Yuto returned to the camp.

Over the next few days, he occasionally visited the secret base to practice controlling Shinosuke, spending the rest of his time on official duties and training, portraying himself as a dedicated and excellent vice commander.

A storm was brewing, with no one knowing the final outcome, but both sides were absolutely confident that they would be the ones to laugh last.

"Yuto." After one of the regular high-level front-line meetings, Minato called out to him.

"Stay here for a moment, the rest of you can leave."

Knowing that the moment had finally arrived, Yuto nodded slightly and calmly sat in his seat.

Once Minato confirmed that no one could hear their conversation, he spoke seriously.

"Yuto-kun, you should know that the village plans to kill the Moon God in the Land of Rain. He is an extremely dangerous individual who has attacked the village twice and must be eliminated."

"If the village needs my strength, I am ready to fight at any time."

"Good, but don't be nervous, Yuto-kun." Minato suddenly smiled, "The Moon God is our target. You don't need to take action; just put on a show. Young people like you are the future of the village."

No need to take action.

Yuto pondered these words.

So, as the Lone Lion, he was not yet qualified to be the main force in encircling the Moon God.

'What a grand plan... Hiruzen Sarutobi.'

"Please give your orders, Commander." Yuto shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, "What does the village need me to do?"

"Here." Minato handed him a scroll, "You will return to the village under the guise of escorting a key figure, then depart for the Land of Rain again."

"A key figure, meaning a bait."

"Four days ago, an ANBU captain defected from the village, and the information he possessed became known to enemy nations and the underground. The so-called key figure is actually something of immense power that the village intends to transport to the Land of Rain to deal with Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Currently, the village is unaware of the ANBU captain's defection."

"Of course, in reality, no ANBU captain defected. This information was deliberately leaked."

"You will act according to this false information, return to the village, and carry out the escort."

Yuto glanced at the scroll; the contents were completely different from what Minato had said, merely describing an S-rank mission to escort a key figure.

It seemed that the real mission details were only communicated orally, ensuring utmost secrecy.

The young branch family member asked curiously, "What exactly is this key figure? Since it's used to lure the Moon God, does it have to do with a kekkei genkai?"

"Yes." Minato replied softly, "It's Madara Uchiha's right eye."

"If I were the Moon God, hearing this news, I would definitely come to snatch it... But is it true?"

"It's false. The village doesn't have Madara's remains, but the Hokage and others created a ninja tool with Uchiha's ocular power and chakra to deceive the enemy. Even if it gets stolen, it won't be a problem." Minato paused, then hesitated slightly, "Actually, there are two baits. One is the fake Madara's eye, and the other is a living person hidden within the team, also part of the escort."

Yuto sighed, "If the Moon God is Shinosuke-sama... then the living bait must be Meiko-sama."

"Your guess is very accurate." Minato patted his shoulder.

"The escort team consists of thirty-two shinobi. Only you know the full picture, and even Meiko Hyuga is only aware of part of the truth."

Yuto displayed an appropriate amount of shock, "But... what if the Moon God attacks before we reach the ambush point? The strong forces involved in the encirclement won't follow the escort team to avoid alerting the enemy, right?"

"Don't worry, Yuto-kun." Minato reassured, handing him a kunai, "The false information leaked was done very carefully, only specifying your rendezvous point in the Land of Rain. And if there's any unexpected situation, I will use the Flying Thunder God to come to you."

Yuto nodded, understanding that the village had planned everything meticulously.

He and Minato chatted a bit more. Out of caution, he did not ask about the main forces involved in the encirclement of the Moon God. After completing the routine transfer of duties, he left the camp openly and headed straight for Konoha.

On the way, Yuto released a summoning beast specialized in communication with Nagato, wrote a few lines on a scroll, and sent it to him.

He then traveled nonstop, reaching the village by evening.

Only Shizune remained in the Senju Clan compound; Tsunade was no longer there.

With mixed feelings, he packed his ninja tools and followed protocol to the Hokage office to report to Hiruzen.

Both men tacitly avoided mentioning the Moon God, treating this as an ordinary S-rank escort mission.

The departure was scheduled for the next day, and he returned to the Senju compound to rest and prepare, passing a quiet night.

At dawn the next day, he arrived at the village gate.

Under the morning light, he glanced back at the Hokage office, wondering if Hiruzen was still inside.

After a while, the escort team assembled.

The team was a standard S-rank escort formation. Besides Yuto, there were two newly promoted Jonin, and out of the thirty-two shinobi, half were sensory and medical types.

Meiko Hyuga was among them, accompanied by branch family sacrificial guards.

In the center of the team was a luxurious carriage pulled by horses, with thick curtains obscuring the view inside.

To outsiders, seeing Yuto and his team would only lead them to think.

"This team must be protecting a high-ranking official from the Land of Fire, escorting him on a diplomatic mission."

"I am Yuto Hyuga, the captain of this escort team..."

He began the routine briefing.

Finally, he approached the window of the carriage, gently lifting a corner of the curtain and respectfully asked:

"Sir, shall we depart now? Mm, mm... Alright, yes, sir."

After the performance, Yuto straightened up.

"The sir said to proceed as scheduled, so..."

"Let's move out!"

(End of Chapter)