The training was brutal. We were allowed little food and little sleep and expected to improve every day. We weren't allowed to speak except to coordinate during training, but our silent misery allowed us to bond all the same.
We hadn't seen the sun or even the grass since Hawk and Boar brought us through underground tunnels to ANBU headquarters. I wasn't sure how long we'd been down here, and that was likely part of the training. We lost track of everything but doing what they told us.
Hour after hour, Misaki and I would be schooled in formations and team tactics then put through combat exercises against full-fledged ANBU. They didn't hold back.
If we suffered any injuries more serious than a minor cut or bruise, a med nin would appear to heal us before leaving us to our training again.
We were taught jutsu that were used in tandem with other casters and made to practice them until we ran out of chakra. My trouble learning elemental ninjutsu slowed us down significantly when I was taught the Water Formation Wall, and both of us were punished and forced to work harder because of it. Misaki's low genjutsu aptitude then slowed us down when they taught us Telepathy. They didn't know I was the one who made the technique and therefore already knew it, but I played along, 'learning' it easily as I did other genjutsu. I was still a little bitter for not getting credit for its creation, but that bitterness wouldn't serve me at all, so I did my best to dispel it.
Most ANBU carried a sword affixed to their backs and were expected to know how to use it. Both Misaki and I had never really practiced kenjutsu, so the ANBU trained us from the ground up. Of all the training we did, the kenjutsu training was what led me to improve the most. I went from being incompetent with a sword to being able to duel on even terms with my ANBU instructors. It was a slow, painful process, but one that delivered results. Misaki had picked up her kenjutsu skills faster than I had, but she'd still struggled. I didn't see her making as much use of her sword as I would. With her taijutsu aptitude, lightning jutsu and clan techniques, she was more deadly unarmed.
It felt like years since I'd been brought down here, but I knew that was likely just my screwed up sense of time. The training likely only lasted a number of months, a year at absolute most, and I doubted it was even half that long. I would know for sure when I got topside again.
No matter how long I'd spent here, it was worth it. Misaki and I had improved drastically in a very short amount of time. According to Cat – she'd talked to us near the end of the training even though she wasn't technically supposed to – the two of us made it through the ANBU pipeline faster than anyone before us. Additionally, this we didn't know until later, we'd been let in early. ANBU were typically required to be 13 years old before they were brought in to be trained. Misaki and I were 12. On official paperwork, we were both now one year older, but physically we were the youngest ANBU to ever be trained in Konoha, and we'd made it through the training in record time. Honestly, I was kind of amused by the age change. Now I had three separate ages – my mental age, my physical age and my official age.
Was it screwed up that The Hokage bent the rules to allow two kids younger than the age cut off to wind up in a black ops unit? Absolutely. The realization that I was younger than I should have been reinforced my drive to become someone important as fast as I could so I could finally control my own life.
I knelt in a dark room surrounded by men and women in animal masks. Some were tall. Some were broad-shouldered. Some were skinny. Only one of the figures was close to my size: a girl in an owl mask. There was one commonality between everyone present: a red, stylized tattoo on their left shoulder, a tattoo I now had as well.
A man in a fox mask approached me, another mask in his hand. "Rise, ANBU Badger."
Badger, huh? Could have been a whole lot worse. I took the mask from him and put it on, standing up in my silver ANBU jacket.
The ANBU that had trained me all gathered around, clapping me on the back and offering their congratulations. None removed their masks – all ANBU were required to remain in their gear while in ANBU facilities – but they wished me luck and welcomed me into the fold.
Misaki and I were both given special seals to carry our ANBU gear with us and finally told we could exit the vast network of tunnels in Konoha's underground that ANBU made use of. Part of our training was memorizing ANBU signals, formations and hideouts, so we already knew how to navigate the tunnels even if we'd never put that knowledge into practice.
After storing our gear into our seals, Misaki and I emerged into the village for the first time since our training began.
We both took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the sun on our skin.
Misaki had a wide, proud smile on her face. "We did it."
I smiled back. "We did it." I repeated.
Of course, we couldn't openly talk about what 'it' was. ANBU operations and personnel were kept highly confidential to protect the lives of ANBU agents and the integrity of their missions. Still, we'd done it.
"I am going to see my parents." Misaki suddenly said. "I will see you tonight." We'd both been told to report to the top of the Hokage monument in our ANBU gear when the sun went down, but we'd been given a few hours to ourselves before then.
"Tell them hi for me." I said with a parting wave. Misaki nodded and leapt up to a nearby roof, already running towards the Hyuga Compound.
I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jacket – man I missed wearing this thing – and walked towards the Nara Compound, not feeling any major need to rush.
The chunin guarding the gate to the Nara Compound both had their heads laying on the booth.
"Hey, troublesome. Nice to see you again." one of them said without opening his eyes. I was in the shadows cast by the trees, so he could feel my presence just as I could feel his.
"Hey, yourself. Enjoying your rest?" I asked, a smirk on my face.
He grunted. "Can't complain."
I snorted, waving a hand over my shoulder at them as I walked through the gate. "Keep up the good work, gentlemen."
A loud snore was my answer.
When I got home, I frowned, seeing someone there waiting for me. "Kami, does anything happen in this village without you hearing about it?" I asked Shikaku as I sat down on the porch next to him.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Between being the Nara Clan Head and the village's Jonin Commander, not really, no. Something has to be classified by the Hokage or one of the village elders to keep my eyes off it. I might be one of the busiest nin in the village."
"Sounds like a pain."
"You have no idea, troublesome."
I smirked at him. "Better you than me." We were silent for a moment, both of us looking at the bright-colored, extremely dangerous flowers growing around my house.
"How was it?" Shikaku asked finally.
I shrugged. Leaning back. I cast Telepathy, talking to him without speaking.
'It went well, I think. I haven't met who I'll be working with yet, but the people who trained me didn't seem to think I would be a detriment.'
Shikaku frowned minutely as he silently cast Telepathy himself.
'Don't let the job consume you. Make sure you find something to do outside of it.'
'I will. Hearing that the Hokage made this nifty jutsu called 'Telepathy' inspired me. I think I'm gonna try my hand at making some of my own techniques.'
Shikaku shot me a nonplussed look, sighing when he saw I was grinning at him. "You're a troublesome kid." he said aloud.
"So you keep telling me."
He stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Let me know if you need anything, Shinto. I'm here for you."
"Thank you, Shikaku. Really."
He smirked at me. "You're welcome." He waved at me over his shoulder as he turned and walked away.
I watched him go then turned to look at my flowers.
When I looked at everything objectively, I was moving forward at a staggering pace. When I was first reincarnated here, I didn't think I would be a chunin before fifteen. I didn't think I'd ever be put into ANBU at all. Now I was a chunin and an ANBU both before some kids graduated from the Academy.
It still wasn't enough. If I encountered Orochimaru like my parents did, I wouldn't even be able to flee from him. If some twist of fate caused me to run into any of the Akatsuki, I'd wind up dead without putting up much of a fight. I needed to get stronger.
I stood up and went inside, fixing myself a quick meal and making myself a cup of tea. I'd had a lot of time to work with my tea leaves while I was bouncing between chunin teams, and I'd managed to breed a whole selection of delicious tea leaves. Branching out from poisons was worth it.
For now, the best way for me to get stronger now was to work closely with my ANBU team and train with them. After my fundamentals were at a high enough level I could focus on making more jutsu that could give me a deadly edge, but for now, ANBU seemed like a good fit even if I still wasn't too stoked about being the Naruto equivalent of a red shirt. I'd be meeting my team tonight, so I'd best make a good impression.
X
Misaki and I hadn't made plans to meet up before going to the Hokage Monument – and for secrecy's sake it was probably better that we didn't – so I headed there myself after I ate, ducking into an ANBU hideout to change into my gear before I did. I wasn't supposed to meet my team there until the evening, but I didn't have anything better to do, so I figured I'd show up early to help with making a good impression.
There were ANBU hideouts, armories, bunkers and barracks scattered all through Konoha. I'd always known they were there on a logical level, but I didn't know how many there were or how well-equipped they were until I was able to use them myself. Just the small shop I'd stopped in had enough weapons in its basement to take over a small village.
In my ANBU gear, I snuck through Konoha, making my way undetected towards the Hokage Monument. Stealth was pretty easy when you could literally mold the shadows to your will. The only way someone would be able to detect me would be by scent or with cheating hax eyes like Misaki's. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sneak up on her while her byakugan was active.
I arrived at the Hokage Monument while the sun was still descending and found a shadow to fall into behind the carving of Minato Namikaze's head using the Hiding in Shadow technique. ANBU weren't banned from being seen by civilians, but it was hammered into my head during training that it was better for us to be unseen unless absolutely necessary. So I slunk into my shadow and settled in to wait for my new ANBU team.
Hours passed and the sun was slowly lost to the horizon. When the sun had fully descended, four ANBU rapidly appeared atop the Third Hokage's head. Their masks resembled an ox, a bear, an eagle and a tiger.
"They're late." a male voice said. It was hard to tell which was speaking because of their masks. There were three male figures and a single female figure. All but one of them had slim builds and each of them wore the standard ANBU apparel. An armored silver jacket, sleeveless shirt and sword on their back.
"They weren't given a precise time to be here. They can't be late." a feminine voice said.
"We're here before them, so they're late." the same male said, though I still didn't know which of the three he was.
A fifth ANBU flickered into being in front of the others. She was shorter than the others and wore an owl mask. "I apologize for my tardiness. I have no excuse." I recognized Misaki's voice.
"Where's Badger?" the male asked.
Misaki…no, I needed to think of her as Owl while she was in her ANBU gear lest I accidentally use her real name. Owl tilted her head, raising a hand to point at the puddle of shadow I was hiding in. "He is right behind you." she said.
The tallest male whirled around towards me. He was by far the most muscular of those present. He wore a tiger mask.
Since I'd been found out, I slowly stood out of my shadow, darkness dripping down my body as I rose. "I apologize for not announcing myself sooner. I have no excuse." I said, bowing my head.
The female snorted, "That was one of the most unsettling entrances I've ever seen, Badger. Keep that energy up." Now that she was facing me instead of the village, I could clearly see the Eagle mask on her face fully. "I am Eagle, your team captain. Welcome to Team Fist. On me." Without any other warning, she flickered away, Tiger, Bear and Ox following her.
Owl and I quickly flickered after them, heading deep into the forests that surrounded Konoha. Eagle was taking us away from Konoha.
We ran for several minutes in standard formation until Eagle signaled us to halt, bringing us down to the ground from where we'd been tree hopping. We landed in a small area hidden by trees all around us. There was a basket on the forest floor.
"Masks off." Eagle ordered, reaching up to take her own mask off. The rest of us complied with her order, removing our masks and clipping them to the holder on our belts.
Eagle was a blonde-haired woman with blue eyes and a cocky smirk on her face as she faced us, her hands on her hips. "My name is Chiaki Yamanaka. Like I said earlier, I'm your team captain. Introduce yourselves to the newbies, boys." Chiaki said, looking at the three male ANBU.
Tiger crossed his arms over his chest. He had short-cut red hair and a fierce face. "Ko Akimichi. I'm a close combat specialist."
The man with the ox mask clipped to his belt nodded at us politely. His shoulder-length brown hair flowed in front of his face as he nodded. "Touji Soko. I am our fuinjutsu specialist."
The final man, Bear, smirked as he looked down at Misaki and I. "Sogo Tomu. Traps and ninjutsu specialist. I hear good things about you two."
Misaki bowed politely. "I hope we live up to your expectations. I am Misaki Hyuga. I am a close quarters specialist."
I stepped up next to her and bowed shallowly. "Shinto Nara. Close-to-midrange support." I summed up my skill set as succinctly as I could. I was able to burn people away with the Boil Release, but the majority of my fighting style hinged on my shadow techniques.
"And I do whatever I need to at any given time." Chiaki said, the corner of her lip pulled up. "The two of you are taking the place of our old tracker." She held up a hand as I went to offer my condolences. "He's fine, just old. He retired. May we all be so lucky." She sighed wistfully. "Anyway, I needed a new sensor. Heard there was a Hyuga going through training and called dibs before anyone else could. It was only then I learned that the two of you were a packaged deal and barely old enough to join up. I felt stiffed until I read up on you both and learned what you could do." She turned to me, a look of respect in her eye. "Are you the only Nara with an elemental kekkei genkai, or can ANBU expect more of you?"
"I am a special case." I said simply.
Chiaki clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Shame. I heard you popped a water prison like a grape. Konoha could use more of that." Turning back to Misaki, Chiaki said, "What's the current range of your byakugan?"
"Five-hundred-twenty meters." Misaki immediately reported. Her range had increased since she'd last told me.
Chiaki frowned. "Good, but I'd hoped for better. We'll make do. Our team is designed to fight. We will pull the typical guard and assassination missions as needed, but we are designed to be a combative unit. According to my boss, Konoha will likely be at war with Kumo soon, so we will see a lot of action. It's our job to take the fight to the enemy, not stay back and guard the village. Many of our missions will take us outside the Land of Fire where we will assault the positions of enemy nin that are planning to create problems for the Land of Fire. Shinto, Misaki, do either of you have an issue with this? This is your one chance to ask for a transfer." she said, deadly serious.
"No." Misaki and I said as one.
Chiaki smirked. "Good. Welcome to Team Fist." She fell backwards, landing on her butt to sit on the ground. She grabbed the basket on the ground and opened it up. Sogo, Touji and Ko all sat down around her, forming a small circle with some space left for Misaki and I.
Chiaki raised an eyebrow at us. "Well? Care to join your new teammates?"
Misaki and I sat down in the circle. Chiaki took out rice balls and juice boxes – yes, the hardened ANBU killer was serving juice boxes – and began passing them around.
"Since we'll be working together, I thought it would be good for us to have a meal together before we got to all the serious stuff. We'll hash out the training and mission schedule later. For now, what do you do for fun, Shinto?" Chiaki asked as she handed me my juice box.
I shrugged. "I like training. I also keep a garden in my yard with vegetables, tea leaves and poisons."
Sogo raised an eyebrow at me. "You eat vegetables from a poison garden?"
"I have the poisons, tea leaves and vegetables separated. I'd be fine even if they mixed though. I've built up an immunity to every poison I use."
Ko's eyebrows were furrowed. "What kinds of poisons do you use?"
"Lethal, paralytics, sedatives – everything I can get my hands on really. My guardian after my parents died was a med nin and knew her way around poisons. She taught me how to make my own and safely inoculate myself and I've been experimenting with them myself ever since." I answered.
"Good." Chiaki said. "That means you can help the rest of us build up our own immunities to your poisons. If you're planning on using them in the field, we need to be able to resist them. We'll start on that tomorrow. You can also supply us with your poisons so we can apply them to our own weapons once we're all immune to them."
Touji smirked at Chiaki. "I thought you said we'd save the serious stuff for later?"
Chiaki fixed him with an unimpressed stare. "If his hobby involves serious stuff, then I'm obviously going to talk about serious stuff. Now shut up and eat your rice ball before I make you run laps."
Touji chuckled. "Yes, captain." he said, taking a bite of his food.
"Moving on to Misaki, what do you do for fun?" Chiaki asked, turning to look at the Hyuga girl.
"I…" Misaki blushed, looking away as she said, "I enjoy purchasing new outfits. I have been experimenting with making my own kimonos for some time now."
"Really?" Sogo said, seeming very interested. "My sister works as a seamstress. I could ask her to give you some lessons if you want?"
Misaki was sitting still, but I knew her well enough to recognize the excitement in her eyes. "I would greatly appreciate that."
Chiaki threw her hands up in the air. "Look at that! We've known each other for all of an hour and we're already bonding!"
"Please maintain decorum while wearing your ANBU uniform, captain." Touji said, not looking at Chiaki, his attention focused on the rice ball in his hands.
Chiaki frowned at him. "The mask's off, isn't it?"
"The mask is off." Ko said, a half-eaten rice ball in each hand.
"See? Take it from me, newbies, enjoy yourself whenever you get the chance." Chiaki said, imparting wisdom to her new teammates. "You're gonna get enough stress and see enough crap that'll keep you up at night doing this job. You don't need to burn yourself out being a stick in the mud when you're off duty on top of that."
Sogo nodded sagely. "She speaks with wisdom. I'd heed it if I were you." He shrugged. "Or don't. We aren't your parents."
The conversation died down as we all ate our rice balls. As we finished up, Chiaki moved on to the 'serious stuff'. She outlined our training and mission schedule. Every morning we were to report to the ANBU headquarters before the sun rose. Once there, we would train as a team until we were all used to each other. Once Chiaki was satisfied with our ability to work together, we would start taking missions. Whenever we didn't have a mission, we would train to keep our skills up. We would get five days off at the end of every two months to relax, then we'd start taking missions again. She'd made clear that since we were mainly a combat unit during a time of peace, missions may be few and far between, but I was alright with that. It would give me more time to hone my skills by training with my ANBU team. This seemed like the best environment for me to get strong enough to handle the real threats in this world, the ninja that sent entire squads of their enemies fleeing in terror. Hopefully one day, I'd be one of those terrors.
As I looked between Ko and Chiaki, I started to think. I was placed on an ANBU team with both an Akimichi and a Yamanaka. That presented me with an opportunity. I;d need to wait a while for us to get to know each other better, but having a foot in the door to their clans would be good for the future.
But for now, I'd focus on training with my new team.