Chapitre 327: CH_9.12 (327)
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The link is also in the synopsis
———
.
Nasaki Isato had been working for ANBU for several years as staff and was surprised when Copperhead—a snake-masked ANBU iryo-nin by the name of Sango—told her that one of the new recruits wanted to talk to her. He didn't want her specifically, but a competent staff member.
And her competence being acknowledged was always flattering to hear.
Usually, she would refuse anyone trying to meet her in her capacity as an ANBU staff member as it was seldom anything good, and she was not allowed to share anything about her job, even with her friends and family. At least she was allowed to share that she worked with ANBU; the operatives couldn't and were essentially forced to lie to almost everyone in their lives.
But the recommendation had come from an operative, and since she was meeting one of the recruits, which kept this thing inside ANBU, so she accepted the meeting, if only because she was getting a meal out of it.
The next day, she found herself sitting in a nice restaurant she had been wanting to visit for some time after work, facing a kid who couldn't be any older than fifteen. He introduced himself as Takuma. Everything about him, from the look in his eye to how he held himself made him look older.
"So, I've been told you need my help?," asked Isato.
"Copperhead told me you're a record keeper for ANBU."
Isato's responsibilities involved maintaining records for ANBU and organising and updating everything for ease of access and compliance with strict regulations. She and her fellow record keepers processed thousands of documents weekly, touching everything from memos to expenditure reports to personnel files.
If someone wanted information from ANBU's intelligence archives, they had to rely on record keepers who treated data and information like gold.
"I will be joining a team after I end my training, and seeing how busy everyone is, I want to be of help. I was wondering if you could walk me through best practices for paperwork in ANBU since I don't want to waste my team's time correcting my mistakes. So, I thought that learning from someone like you, who maintains the records, would be the best way to properly avoid mistakes."
If Isato and record keepers hated one thing, it was incorrect and improper paperwork. Every day, some team from some unit would submit a lazy or incompetent mess that the record keepers would have to send back to correct.
She couldn't understand why they couldn't do it right the first time, and it wasn't like they learned from their mistakes either.
Many people didn't take paperwork seriously and rushed through it, but paperwork was vital because it recorded everything. Over time, people could forget things, conflate facts, and confuse information, but once something was put into writing when it was fresh in their minds, it would never change.
"You are right. Learning from us would be the best," said Isato after downing her drink to wash away her frustrations. "Do you know which unit you will be joining?"
"Not yet."
"Then, unfortunately, I don't think I can help you very much."
Not everyone filled out the same paperwork. Units with different responsibilities had to fill out different forms related to their duties. Even if she wanted to teach him, she couldn't until she knew Takuma's unit to curate what kind of paperwork he would be filling.
"How about some general stuff that everyone deals with? I just want to help, so I will take anything I can learn. Of course, if it's not a problem for you. You must also be busy, and I don't want to take too much of your time."
"No, not at all," Isato hurriedly waved her hand. "Sure, let's focus on some basics. I can even help you with some of ANBU's standard operating procedures to get you more comfortable."
"Will you? Thank you so much," Takuma smiled gratefully.
Isato smiled. She was impressed that a new rookie showed great initiative before being assigned his codename, mask, and unit.
———
At the start of the second week of the training period, Takuma received a letter in the mail that he had been waiting for since he got confirmation about his chunin promotion.
He got dressed, headed to the ANBU headquarters, and arrived at the ANBU's jutsu archives because he had just received his special exemption from the year-long B-rank jutsu probationary period for new chunin.
"Hello, I would like to buy a B-rank jutsu, please," Takuma said to the shinobi outside the heavily guarded archives inside the ANBU headquarters.
The shinobi guard looked up at Takuma for a moment. "Your identification, please."
The process from then on was similar to what he had experienced when he visited the general jutsu archives. They checked if he had necessary access, stripped him of all of his belongings except his clothes, patted him down and put him through a metal detector before another shinobi escorted him to a waiting room.
Inside the waiting room was a shelf of catalogues for him to browse. The catalogues had a detailed section on each jutsu inside the archives that he could use to decide what jutsu he wanted. Takuma had spent hours in waiting rooms, reading Water Release and Earth Release C-rank catalogues from cover to cover to find the right jutsu for him.
He planned to do the same when he got his second B-rank jutsu since he already knew what he wanted as his first.
He had no experience with Fire Release and Wind Release jutsu, so he skipped past them. He had a terrible affinity for Lightning Release jutsu, so that wasn't an option as well. He was obviously interested in the Earth Release and Water Release jutsu, but now was not the time to look at them.
Mikoto told him there was no use in buying B-rank genjutsu and forbade him from ever wasting his mission points on them, making the catalogue useless.
His finger slid past the spines of all catalogues until he arrived at the last one.
{Non-Elemental B-rank Jutsu}
Takuma pulled out the catalogue and flipped through the pages until he arrived at the one-page spread about the jutsu to learn.
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was an A-rank ninjutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. The jutsu allowed a user to create corporeal clones, which, unlike the basic Clone Jutsu, were physically real and could do real damage. The chakra was split equally between the original and the clones. Because they possessed the same chakra as the user, shadow clones were indistinguishable from their original.
The jutsu was classified as forbidden due to the sheer chakra requirement needed to use it, which put the user at risk of death via chakra exhaustion if used carelessly, and thus, only jōnin were allowed to learn the jutsu.
However, in reality, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was a derivative jutsu.
Senju Tobirama first created the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which allowed the creation of only a single clone, with the chakra split in half between the original and the clone.
Shadow Clone Jutsu was not only not forbidden, but it was also a B-rank jutsu.
Even though it was a lower-grade version, in essence, it was the jutsu that helped the world's main character to the heights of shinobi.
"When the clone is dispersed, their experience is transferred back to the original," Takuma read the passage on the page, "making it ideal for intelligence gathering and recon: a shadow clone can be sent into hostile territory, gather information without endangering the user, and disperse when finished, thus transferring what it learns..."
As Takuma expected, there was no mention that the experience transfer could also be used to cut down training time in half.
Perhaps it was not known because not many people learned it because even the B-rank version had significant chakra requirements, and they just didn't realise that it could be used for training.
But Takuma knew about it, so he was going to use it for all its worth.
If he had not been in ANBU, he would not have chosen it as his first B-rank jutsu because buying it meant draining all of his mission point savings and going broke. He would've chosen an Earth Release or Water Release offensive jutsu instead.
But because he was in ANBU, given limitless, free access to C-rank jutsu—he was going to use the training exploit to learn new jutsu to expand his arsenal.
In the future, he expected this investment to give him compounded results.
Takuma sighed. He was about to go broke and had no idea when he would get the next chance to learn another B-rank jutsu.
It all depended on his performance.
Fortunately, Sango had given him another gift other than connecting him with Nasaki Isato.
———
Tapir sat in his office, reading a file on Takuma, the youngest recruit in the latest batch. He was beginning to understand why they had recruited him. It wasn't just because of what he did in the war or his accomplishments in the Police Force.
He looked at the optional tests Takuma had opted for during the second week of training: lock picking, horse riding, voice modulation using chakra, radio operation, an on-field first aid certification that was two levels beyond the ANBU recommendation, physical disguise, and chakra masking.
Then there were skills they hadn't tested, like surveillance, pickpocketing, electrical and plumbing, cartography, leather work, tailoring, shorthand transcribing, bookkeeping, computer skills, hunting, foraging, and more things he didn't even know how to test.
The kid knew so much that Tapir felt he was making up half of the things. But Takuma had passed all his tests, which gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Tapir heard a knock on the door. Takuma was standing at his threshold.
"Come in, Takuma," said Tapir, closing the file and putting it in his drawer. He wasn't surprised because Takuma had requested the meeting beforehand. He was not in the mood for small talk and cut right to the chase. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
Takuma didn't immediately speak. "I heard that the Master Instructor decides where the recruits will be assigned."
"Why? Do you want me to send you to a specific unit?" asked Tapir with a smirk. The information wasn't a secret, so it wasn't a surprise that he found out about it after two weeks.
"Not at all, but I was wondering where you plan to send me."
Tapir wondered why he was asking that. As far as he knew, Takuma had no connections inside ANBU. There was one connection to Weasel through his mother, but if the ANBU Captain wanted to use his position to influence Tapir's decision, he would've already shown up.
"Are you wondering why I am asking?" asked Takuma.
"I do," Tapir said straightforwardly.
"I want to use this training properly, so if I know where I will be working, I can focus my efforts to be better suited for the job. I heard that ANBU is stretched thin because of ROOT, so I want to do a good job and pull my weight right from the beginning."
Tapir narrowed his eyes. He didn't buy that reason. Maybe Takuma wanted to know about his decision before it was too late to change and try to shift it to something to his liking.
"I will respect your decision," Takuma smiled.
"Huh?"
"I am just so excited to work that I'm willing to exit training in eight weeks."
Tapir raised his chin. The kid is trying to negotiate with me! He said 'willing' instead of 'going', which meant he was open to reducing that time if he got something in return.
Takuma understood that ANBU wanted the recruits to exit training as soon as possible, and that put pressure on Tapir, who, as the Master Instructor, was expected to make that happen—but he couldn't force the recruits—or rather, he did not want to force the recruits.
"Six weeks," Tapir said.
"Seven weeks," Takuma countered.
"Six," Tapir shook his head.
"Okay, six," Takuma nodded, "but you let me choose from a few options."
"I thought you were going to respect my decision," Tapir glared.
Takuma simply smiled.
Tapir clicked his tongue. "Alright... I haven't decided yet. Give me a week before I present you with some options—but you have to choose from them!"
"Of course," Takuma smiled. "Now, on to the next topic."
"Next topic?" Tapir asked, cautious about what else Takuma was planning.
"Master Instructor, please suggest some D-rank jutsu that would be useful to me as an ANBU-nin. I was serious when I said I wanted to focus my efforts, and who better to get advice from you, the Master Instructor."
Tapir could only gaze as Takuma pulled out a notepad and pen.
.
———
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The link is in the synopsis!
Chapitre 328: CH_9.13 (328)
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón @
[ https://www̧̧.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]
The link is also in the synopsis
———
.
None of the recruits passed all their tests at the ANBU's recommended levels. Everyone had either failed or attempted at a level lower than the recommended.
Takuma was no different. He passed 10% of his mandatory criteria at levels above the ANBU recommendation, 70% at the recommended level, and the remaining 20% below the recommended level.
However, since he had agreed to exit training in six weeks, Takuma decided not to shore up his lacking skills. While Tapir and Ant told the recruits that not everyone relied on the criteria test results, this was a difficult decision for him.
Takuma carried a resume of his skills with him and wanted to build an internal ANBU version of the document. The only reason he was satisfied with leaving after six weeks was because he had a ton of additional, optional skills to make up for it.
Amami and Utamatsu had similar ideas. Amami took her tests at the recommended difficulty level and then applied for retesting her failures at a lower difficulty level, which she passed. Utamatsu took one chakra theory course because he had already enrolled in it before switching to the Amami's strategy.
Both of them were planning to leave training after four weeks.
The remaining guys all enrolled in courses to bring up their levels to the recommendation.
However, Takuma did opt for an additional course eligible for training. He figured it would be a bad look if his potential team learned that he spent six weeks in training without taking a single course when testing was all done early.
He needed a reason to stay in training for six weeks, so he chose a new skill he hadn't learned before.
During the third week of training, he faced an ANBU-nin no taller than 5 feet 5 inches. He was dressed in the standard black-and-grey Leaf ANBU tactical gear and had a sword strapped to his back.
Takuma had experienced what jōnin felt like when they didn't hide their presence; the man's presence was nowhere that of a jōnin, but it felt just as imposing. He walked up to Takuma wearing a 'duck' mask with khaki-coloured patterns.
"Greetings, Takuma. My codename is Campbell. I will be introducing you to kenjutsu."
———
It all started when Takuma was trying to figure out which skill course to pursue.
"What seems to be the issue?" Maruboshi asked as he sat opposite him under the warm kotatsu with a cup of steaming tea.
Takuma glanced at his teacher and landlord and was reminded that Maruboshi used a prosthetic for his lost left leg. He owned two models: home and tactical. The tactical model was made for combat and had a hidden blade concealed within that he used to strike with deadly precision. He had never used it against Takuma, who was never a challenge enough to warrant it.
He also used a tantō, a short blade, as his primary weapon of choice and was well-versed in the sword arts.
"Do you think I should learn kenjutsu?"
Maruboshi raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't interested."
They had previously discussed him learning a weapon, but the conversation happened when he was rapidly climbing the ranks in the Ring and was obsessively focused on improving his taijutsu and refining his fledgling chakra augmentation, which had brought him his success.
Back then, he had no time or desire to learn a weapon.
"I am still not sure," said Takuma, gazing at his hand as he clenched his fist. "My combat style revolves around my taijutsu and my chakra augmentation is my greatest weapon. I won't be able to use it as well if I am holding a sword—or be able to grab someone when they get too close. I use kunai, but it's not like I can throw a sword at my opponents... It just doesn't feel like a sword matches my style. It honestly feels like I would be abandoning everything I've built till now, and I know—I know that I'm trying to change my combat style, but I don't want to dump my foundation."
He wondered if he was resisting the idea because he had gotten comfortable and didn't want to face such abrupt change because it meant heading into the unknown. However, after thinking about it, he didn't believe he was averse to change. If abandoning his style and rebuilding it around kenjutsu was the right choice, he would've gone full steam ahead.
"I think you're misunderstanding something, Takuma." Maruboshi set his cup down. "Learning kenjutsu doesn't mean abandoning your current style. Does learning genjutsu mean you're abandoning ninjutsu?"
Takuma frowned. "No, why would I? They are two different things that serve different purposes."
"Learning kenjutsu doesn't mean you stop training your taijutsu or stop using it in combat. I draw my tantō when I think it will give me an advantage over my opponent, but if I judge taijutsu to be the better option for the situation, my sword will rest until I have a use for it."
In Maruboshi's words, if using a weapon was superior to bare-handed taijutsu, then every shinobi would be learning a weapon. But it wasn't true, and taijutsu, like everything else, had its strengths and weaknesses. The real skill was recognising those strengths and weaknesses to determine which to use.
"You're still unsure," Maruboshi commented.
Takuma nodded. "I have to fix my style, learn new ninjutsu, progress with my genjutsu training, fix the energy imbalance, get better at what I already know, learn new skills, and start a new job soon... there's so much to do; I don't know if it's the right time to pick up kenjutsu." He sighed. There was already too much on his plate, and it felt like the mountain of things to do would topple if he kept on adding more.
"I have to agree with you there. Sometimes, doing less is doing more. However, I believe learning a weapon, it doesn't have to be the sword, can be helpful to the current you."
"How so?"
"Kenjutsu and taijutsu are different skills. You want to change your combat style. Learning something new, which is so different from what you currently know, will force you into a direction you've never ventured into. The new discoveries may inspire you in positive ways precisely because they're so different. Your kenjutsu might benefit and influence your taijutsu, and the same will happen the other way around."
It was akin to bringing a fresh perspective. Takuma's taijutsu had become stale after not developing beyond the Ring and learning to use a weapon would bring in a direction to revitalise his stagnating progress.
"Please… help me," Takuma said as he bowed his head.
"You don't have to ask. However, let's not spar as much. These old bones are not what they used to be," Maruboshi smiled.
Takuma smiled as he gazed down at his calloused hands. His fingers felt weak for a moment, but he clenched into a fist to regain strength before they could tremble.
There was no time to get overwhelmed.
———
Takuma quickly enrolled himself in a kenjutsu course and received a teacher in three days. Because he was the only one among the recruits taking the course, it was to be a one-on-one tutelage—a boon, in his opinion.
"Do you have any prior experience with swords?" Campbell asked, looking Takuma over. His voice was flat but strong, and he sounded like he didn't care for whatever the answer would be.
"None," said Takuma before adding: "Well, I did use a sword to behead a man once." He killed one of Kon's lackeys with a sword but didn't remember much of the fight; his memories were all a blurry mess.
Campbell tilted his head and had a pause for a moment.
"...I see? Okay, well, let's make something clear. These lessons will not make you a beginner, much less a master. Bar a few of them, most of these training courses are supposed to be gateways. I'll introduce you to the fundamentals, and then it's up to you to how much you practice them. Finally, I'll be straight with you: unless you're a born prodigy, you will not be skilled enough to pass the lowest difficulty—so, if you're in this to earn a skill to put on your record, quit now and save us both some time. I will sort it out with Tapir, and you can choose some easy stuff."
"Do you not want to teach me?" asked Takuma.
"No, I don't want to waste my time. If you want to learn, I will teach you to the best of my ability."
"Then I want to learn."
"Great." Campbell delivered the response with all the enthusiasm of a deflated balloon. "Do you have any questions for me?"
"How long would it take for me to reach combat viability?"
Knowing the moves wasn't enough. He could learn the correct stance and train in the proper technique, but it was less than worthless if he couldn't defend himself or kill someone in a fight.
"That, once again, depends on your knack for the sword and how much effort you put in sparring and learning the techniques." Campbell tossed one wooden sword to Takuma and brandished the other. "Effort isn't all it's cracked up to be, but it won't disappoint. So, familiarise yourself with that sword because that will be in your life for a long while."
The wooden sword was uncomfortable in his hand; it was so different from kunai. For someone who fought barehanded, the weight distribution was wildly unfamiliar.
Takuma couldn't imagine how long it would take for the sword to become an extension of himself.
———
In an unidentified location in the Land of Fire, the ROOT agent codenamed Kon, knelt on his knees. One of his sleeves was half-empty from getting his arm hacked away at the elbow a few months back during a mission.
"You don't look well, Kon."
Kon pursed his lips. He had lost weight, a significant portion of it in muscle, and was much frailer than before. Maintaining their physique was drilled into ROOT agents's bones, and they were punished if they failed to pass their physicals. However, since Kon had lost his arm, he had let himself go and didn't look like a ROOT agent from any angle.
"M-My apologies, master," Kon lowered his head.
"What do you want to see me about?" asked Shimura Danzo, the founder of the organisation known as ROOT, formerly part of the Hidden Leaf. He was the Shimura clan's leader, the Second Hokage's student, one of the prime candidates for the Third Hokage, and an esteemed jōnin and elder feared by everyone.
Kon swallowed, his mouth dry from nervousness. It was his first time doing something like this; a few months ago, he wouldn't have even dreamed about it, much less daring to think about it.
"Do not waste my time," Danzo warned. His narrow eyes bore down on him as if analysing his existence and considering his worth. There were two ROOT agents in the room, and a twitch of his finger would be enough to end Kon's life.
"M-My arm, master," Kon trembled, and so did his words.
"Yes, you lost your arm... Genin Takuma, was it? The one who took away your arm. That boy, whose voice has barely cracked, handed you one defeat after another. So many of our plans failed. I'm not pleased, to say the least."
The more Danzo spoke, the more Kon trembled in fear, every orifice of his body pouring sweat. ROOT-nin didn't demand anything from their leader; they were supposed to be happy and content to have the life and purpose they were given.
Danzo continued, "Your arm is gone, so I assume you want to substitute it with one of our experiments?"
Kon remained silent. His real arm was gone, crushed into a pulp. There existed development projects in the field of iryōjutsu that could help him recover an arm. He didn't know what specific procedure would work for his specific case, but seeing that he had been once heavily involved in managing many such developmental projects, he had some preferences. As long as he could get the approval, he could pull some threads to ensure things went his way. The process would be difficult and with no guarantee of success, but he would take it as long as he had a chance.
"Very well. Despite your mistakes, you have served the foundation well, and I wish to reward you for your loyalty and dedication," said Danzo.
Kon's heart swelled. Getting his arm was the first step to returning to his previous status and taking back everything stolen from him. And once he had the power and influence to move, he would take his revenge.
"But you must prove that you remain worthy because your failures don't inspire the investment during these... turbulent times," said Danzo.
After their ex-communication from the Hidden Leaf, the ROOT lost their funding and now had to survive as an independent organisation, which required huge, sweeping changes. They had to attain stability as soon as possible to secure their safety and achieve their new purpose.
"You must prove your worthiness. Here, take this," Danzo held up a mission file.
Kon received the file before kneeling again. He read the contents, only to be shocked to find that it was a type of mission given to trainees early in their training—something a kid could do in his sleep.
Asking him to do such a mission was a slap in the face.
"Master, this..."
"You will start from the bottom and climb your way back up. Show me that you're still dedicated to our cause. When I see you that you still possess the drive you did back then, you will get your arm back, and that will be the day you will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Until then, prove to me that you are one, son."
The words made Kon's feel like he could soar through the sky. Danzo had never spoken to him like that, nor had he heard him speaking to others like this; the encouragement and warmth in his words made Kon realise how much he must believe in him.
All of the pain and suffering he had experienced till now was just for this moment.
He wanted to be called 'son' again.
Blood roared in his ears. "I will not disappoint!"
Not only would Kon return to his peak, he would also recover everything the ROOT had lost because of him. He would show that he was the most loyal, and to prove that, he required Takuma's head to complete not only his revenge but to send a signal.
To prove even though ROOT had changed their home, they were just as strong.
.
———
Chat with me and the rest of the community on our DISCORD server.
The link is in the synopsis!
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