"In Anbu, we generally pick our own missions," Nara Kazuki explained as he led Shisui and Itachi into one of Konoha’s Anbu bases. "Unless there’s an emergency in the village, we don’t get force-assigned missions."
Well, base was a generous term. This place was more like a sub-base.
That’s right—sub-base.
Even the Anbu understood the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket. Sure, every shinobi in Anbu was vetted and selected with extreme care, but betrayal was still possible. And if a traitor emerged, things could get ugly fast.
That’s why Anbu squads were scattered across multiple sub-bases, minimizing the risk of being wiped out in a single sweep.
"Captain, can we take on any mission?" Shisui asked eagerly. Though Itachi remained quiet, his sharp eyes flicked between the mission boards, clearly engaged.
Itachi hadn’t joined Anbu out of personal ambition. He came with a mission—his father’s encouragement still echoed in his mind, pride laced with caution. That weight made Itachi mature faster than most kids his age.
"Not exactly. It depends on our team’s strength. For example—this one—we could take it, but there’s no reason to." Kazuki shook his head, pointing casually to one mission.
It had been sitting on the board forever:
[Capture Konoha Missing-nin Orochimaru]
A shinobi on par with a Kage, and a scientific lunatic to boot. He’d created all kinds of monstrous techniques—Cursed Seals, Living Corpse Reincarnation—and even after having his arms sealed, the guy found a workaround and somehow survived.
He even used Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage. And sure, the First clearly held back, but if he hadn’t, Hiruzen Sarutobi would’ve been flattened by a thousand-ton wooden Buddha.
That mission? Just for decoration.
Like those bounties posted in the Black Market for Sarutobi Hiruzen or Namikaze Minato’s heads. No rogue ninja had ever claimed those prizes.
"Orochimaru-sama..." Shisui murmured, his mood darkening as he stared at the mission.
Once a hero of Konoha, a source of pride. In a single year, now branded a traitor hunted by all. It reminded Shisui too much of his own clan’s possible future.
Kazuki glanced sideways at him, brow twitching.
You’re one of those hypersensitive types? That line I said just now—was there a damn hyperlink in it or something?
"To start with, since you two are new to Anbu," Kazuki pivoted, "there’s a tradition—we always begin with a basic field test mission."
His eyes scanned the mission board. He needed something simple to get them moving—and away from Root’s radar.
Sure, Danzō probably intended to recruit Shisui and Itachi into Root—and maybe even Kazuki himself as a throw-in bonus—but hell no. Kazuki had zero desire to set foot in that cesspool.
Root wasn’t just dangerous—it was a place people didn’t come back from.
He’d rather rot at home than play guinea pig in Danzō’s basement.
"What kind of mission? Assassination?" Shisui asked with childlike curiosity.
Kazuki didn’t answer immediately. He kept reading the board.
Assassination was tempting. He hadn’t killed anyone in days. His chakra was itching, practically purring for release.
But mission selection was delicate. Pick wrong, and they could end up in some convoluted multi-episode arc. Anbu’s "first-leader accountability system" was a pain in the ass.
He scratched his head and let his gaze roam.
Skip. That was suicide. Once Shisui and Itachi awakened Mangekyō, maybe. After all, Kazuki remembered Orochimaru’s obsession with Sasuke started after Itachi trapped him in a Sharingan genjutsu.
[Travel to the Land of Earth. Rendezvous with a sleeper agent and recover intelligence.]
Skip. Too far. And spy missions were risky as hell. If the agent was still undercover, maybe fine. But if they’d been compromised—tortured, brainwashed—they might just bait the recovery team into an ambush.
Sure, most spies were carefully selected. Many had hostages—family, lovers—held in the village. But crazy betrayals still happened.
"Land of Earth... sleeper agent... That does sound familiar though," Kazuki muttered, scratching his scalp. "Was that in the anime? What arc was that from again..."
[Eliminate wandering rogue-nin near Sunset Town in the Land of Fire]
Kazuki nodded. Now this had potential. He knew Sunset Town—it was a fair distance away, but not unreasonable.
And rogue-nin usually meant lower risk.
His only concern was: if he took Shisui and Itachi outside the village... would it attract Danzō’s attention?
Sure, he’d already started distracting the old fossil. But clearly, Danzō still had spare bandwidth. He’d need to increase the noise.
"Captain, how about this one?" Shisui suddenly pointed to another mission.
[Guard Duty at Hokage Tower. Rotational shifts. Duration: Indefinite]
Kazuki’s face twitched.
Weren’t you just talking about assassinations? Why the hell are you volunteering for guard duty now? You planning to kill the Fourth or something?
"That one? Nah. You guys aren’t qualified for that yet," Kazuki said, waving him off. "Besides, new recruits aren’t even allowed to take it."
The Hokage was the village’s keystone. Any danger to him was a major crisis. Even with Anbu’s rigorous screening, you couldn’t guard the Hokage unless you were a student or personally trusted subordinate.
Newbies didn’t even get near the Tower until they’d spent a year in Anbu.
"Shisui-nii is really strong!" Itachi suddenly spoke up, his voice small but firm.
Shisui looked a little disappointed, but nodded obediently.
"I know your big bro is strong, Itachi." Kazuki smiled. "But you’ll be strong too someday."
Saying it, he felt like some sketchy uncle trying to groom Itachi into something dark.
Itachi didn’t reply, but Kazuki could tell—despite his poker face, the kid was pleased. He just pretended not to care.