บท 10: An Offer

The classroom buzzed with an air of anticipation. Everyone who had passed the exam had returned the next day, proudly sporting their new headbands, myself included. I took my seat near the back, watching as some of the others chattered excitedly about the upcoming team assignments. Even Sasuke seemed a little more animated, though his usual brooding silence remained.

I leaned back in my chair, staring out the window for a moment, the sunlight filtering in through the glass. I had been thinking a lot since yesterday, reflecting on everything that had led me to this point. My training, my Ketsuryūgan, the countless hours of pushing myself to the edge—all of it had brought me here. Yet, even with all that, there was still a gnawing feeling inside. I couldn't shake the thought that I was still far from my true goal, far from being strong enough to take my revenge.

The door slid open, and Iruka entered the room with his usual calm expression, a clipboard in hand. Immediately, the room quieted down as everyone turned their attention to him.

"Alright," Iruka began, scanning the list of names. "I know you're all eager to find out who your teammates are, so I won't keep you waiting too long."

I glanced around the room, my eyes flicking over the familiar faces. Sasuke sat a few seats away, his expression as unreadable as ever. Sakura, sitting next to him, was practically bouncing in her seat. Shikamaru, as usual, looked like he could care less, his head resting in his hand, half-asleep.

Iruka started reading off the teams, pairing names together. I listened half-heartedly at first, but then I perked up when I heard Sasuke's name.

"Team 7," Iruka announced. "Sasuke Uchiha... Sakura Haruno... and Naruto Uzumaki."

I blinked, my eyes widening slightly. Naruto? I looked over at the blond, who had entered the room late, how did Naruto get passed the exam? His performance yesterday had been far from impressive. I had seen him struggle, his techniques lacking the precision and control expected from a passing student.

I sighed, shaking my head slightly. It wasn't my concern, really.

As the other teams were called up one by one, I waited for my turn, but Iruka never mentioned my name. I felt a strange mix of unease as the classroom buzzed with the excitement of newly formed teams. I tried to focus on the situation, but my thoughts were elsewhere.

It wasn't long before Iruka approached me directly as the class began to wind down. His usual smile was replaced by a more serious expression. "Chihara, can I have a word with you?" he asked. I nodded, following him to the side of the room.

Once we were out of earshot from the other students, Iruka looked at me thoughtfully. "The Hokage wants to see you. He's asked for you to come to his office right away."

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I left the classroom and made my way toward the Hokage's office, my mind raced. What could the Hokage possibly want to discuss with me, does it have something to do with why I wasn't placed on a team?

I stood in front of the Hokage's office, my hand raised to knock. My mind was buzzing with questions, but I forced myself to push them aside. After a moment of hesitation, I rapped my knuckles on the door.

"Enter," came the familiar, calm voice of the Third Hokage from inside.

I opened the door, stepping into the room. The Hokage was seated at his desk, his kind but weathered face watching me carefully. Papers and scrolls were scattered across his workspace, but his attention was fully on me. The room was quiet, the air thick with anticipation.

I walked forward, stopping in front of his desk and bowing slightly out of respect. "Lord Hokage," I began, keeping my voice steady, "Iruka-sensei said you wanted to see me."

He nodded, his expression thoughtful as he folded his hands in front of him. "Yes, Chihara. I've been observing your progress for quite some time now. You've displayed remarkable talent, far beyond what I would expect from a student at the Academy."

I stayed quiet, unsure of where this conversation was going.

The Hokage continued, his tone serious. "Your skills, both in taijutsu and ninjutsu, are already at the level of a chunin. It's rare for someone your age to have developed so quickly, and even more so to master a kekkei genkai like the Ketsuryūgan with no one to teach you."

"Because of this," he went on, his gaze steady, "I believe assigning you to a regular Genin team would be a waste of your potential."

I tensed slightly, trying to process what he was saying.

The Hokage's eyes seemed to narrow just a fraction as he studied my reaction. "I'm offering you a different path, Chihara. I'd like to extend an invitation for you to join the ANBU."

The Hokage's expression softened, but there was a seriousness in his eyes. "The ANBU operates in the shadows, and you'll be required to do the same. No one can know you're a part of it. Your identity will be hidden. You'll be given a mask, a code name, and you will live your life as if you were just another shinobi in the village. Only a select few will know the truth."

He leaned back slightly, studying me with the same calm authority he always had. "Your missions will be dangerous, and you may be asked to do things that are... difficult. But I believe you are ready for this."

After a few moment of silence, I looked up at him, my voice steady. "I'll join the ANBU."

The Hokage tapped his desk lightly, and instantly a figure appeared beside me kneeling. The suddenness of it made me tense for a moment, but I quickly composed myself.

The ANBU shinobi wore a fox-shaped mask, their presence calm and composed, yet there was an underlying intensity. They didn't speak, waiting silently for orders, but their very being radiated purpose.

"Take Chihara to receive his mask and gear," the Hokage commanded, his tone authoritative yet measured.

The masked shinobi nodded without a word, then rose smoothly to their feet. I glanced at the Hokage one last time, but he simply met my gaze with that same unreadable expression. There was no going back now.

"Follow me," the ANBU operative said in a low, almost ghostly voice.

Fox led me through the Hokage building until we reached an unassuming wall, I watched him reach for a certain spot on the wall. His hand pressed a switch making the wall start to shift to the side, revealing a staircase leading down with torches lighting up the way. There was a series of winding hallways beneath the Hokage building, descending deeper into the underground. The air grew cooler, the walls more narrow and dimly lit, until we reached a large, sealed door. It creaked open with a low groan, revealing a room filled with various equipment, weapons, and the unmistakable presence of ANBU.

As we walked in, Fox finally spoke, their voice low and calm. "From now on, your orders come directly from the Hokage. No one else. You don't question them, and you don't deviate from them."

I nodded, the weight of it all pressing down on me. "I understand."

He led me toward a small table where an array of masks was displayed, each painted with intricate designs representing different animals. He picked up one of them—a mask resembling a crow. It had sharp, angular features, with dark streaks around the eyes and a beak-like design protruding slightly from the mouth area. The crow mask radiated an aura of quiet menace, embodying stealth and keen awareness.

Fox handed it to me with a nod. "This is yours. From now on, you're Crow."

I stared at the mask for a moment, feeling its weight in my hands. I placed the mask over my face, its cool surface pressing against my skin.

Fox glanced at me. "Welcome to the ANBU."

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A couple of months had passed since I had joined the ANBU. During that time, Fox had trained me rigorously in stealth, combat, and the art of silence. I learned how to move like a shadow, blend into my surroundings, and eliminate any traces of my presence. Fox was relentless, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

After our latest training session, I knelt on the cool stone floor, my breath steadying as the silence of the underground training chamber wrapped around me. My muscles ached from hours of stealth drills and hand-to-hand combat, but I've been through worse.

Fox stood a few feet away, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp beneath the mask he never removed. His movements were silent, calculated, and he revealed nothing unless it was necessary. Even now, I could feel his eyes on me, measuring, evaluating. There was something in the way he watched that told me he was never truly off guard, even when we weren't in combat.

I stood up slowly, rolling my shoulders to loosen the tension from the training. My ANBU mask—the mask of a crow—felt heavy in my hand, the stark white still foreign to me despite wearing it every day.

Fox tilted his head slightly, as if considering his next words. "The Hokage has been watching your progress closely," he said. I met his gaze—or at least, the place where his eyes would be behind the mask.

"There's a mission," he continued. "The Hokage is waiting for you."

Fox watched me carefully, waiting for any sign of hesitation, but there was none. I nodded once, wordlessly placing the crow mask back over my face. Its felt like a second skin now.

"You know the way," Fox said, his voice fading as he turned, vanishing into the shadows as easily as he had appeared.

I stood in the empty training room for a moment longer, the silence around me thicker than before. Then, without a sound, I moved. My steps were light and deliberate as I made my way through the winding tunnels beneath the Hokage's building. Each turn, each pathway, I had memorized during my training.

As I stood in the Hokage's office, awaiting my mission details, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift back to the months of training I had endured under Fox's guidance. Stealth techniques had been drilled into me—how to move without a sound, how to hide my presence even in plain sight. Fox, with his silent precision, was the embodiment of that style, and while I had learned to move like a shadow, a part of me couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't my way.

Stealth, while necessary for an ANBU, felt almost like a hindrance to the way I fought. My ability's thrived in the open, where I could control the battlefield, where every cut, every drop of blood became a weapon. There was power in confrontation, in facing the enemy head-on, making them understand that no matter what they did, I would always be one step ahead.

Stealth, by contrast, was subtle, quiet, and methodical. It was about avoiding attention, about striking before the opponent even knew you were there. And while I could see the value in it, part of me resented having to hide what I could do. My strength came from control, from overwhelming my opponent, not from skirting around the edges of battle.

I didn't particularly enjoy hiding in the shadows. It felt like suppressing my own strength, like I wasn't using everything I had at my disposal. And yet, here I was, learning to become a part of those very shadows.

I realized how deeply these thoughts had settled in over the past few months. I was ANBU now, and stealth was part of the job. But that didn't mean I had to like it. If anything, it would drive me to refine my own style even further. I wouldn't abandon what made me strong—I would use it in ways that even the shadows couldn't predict.