Anbu Selection

Two years later, in Konoha Year 53.

Hyuga Kei was only eight years old this year.

"Lord Hizashi, I want to take part in tomorrow's Anbu selection."

Hyuga Kei knelt before Hizashi Hyuga, pressing his forehead to the floor.

"Do you know how important tomorrow's selection slots are to the Hyuga clan? They will never allow an outsider like you to pass."

"I am willing to try. If I can join the Anbu, my hope for revenge will grow."

Hizashi sighed. Countless times, he had wanted to persuade Hyuga Kei to let go of his hatred. The fate of the Branch House was to sacrifice themselves for the Main Branch.

But as a husband, what right did he have to persuade Hyuga Kei to let go of that hatred? Perhaps he truly could change the Hyuga system.

After all, Hyuga Kei possessed the greatest talent he had seen in all these years, even surpassing Kakashi.

"Fine. Tomorrow, you will represent the Branch House and take one of its slots."

"Yes!" Excitement shone in Hyuga Kei's eyes. With his current strength, he would certainly enter the Anbu. The first step of his plan could be completed.

A mad plan finally took shape in his mind. Perhaps he could evolve his Byakugan. Then revenge would no longer be a fantasy.

The next day, Hyuga Kei went with a group of Hyuga Branch Family and Main Branch members to the arena for the competition.

The Main Branch had only come to make a show of support. Even if they were selected, they would never report to the Anbu.

Amid more than a dozen pairs of Byakugan, Hyuga Kei's black eyes stood out starkly.

"That guy is the Hyuga disgrace? That bastard bloodline?"

"Yes, that's him. His father was Hyuga Tokuma. Back when he was branded with the Caged Bird, it was delayed for several years, earning him the title of possessing the purest Byakugan in the Hyuga clan."

"And now... his son doesn't even have the Byakugan."

"Then why is he here?"

"How would I know? They need scouting ninja, yet he doesn't even have the Byakugan. But maybe during the competition, we can..." The Hyuga clan chunin drew a finger across his throat.

Every Hyuga clansman showed a look of disgust. This fellow was the Hyuga disgrace. Bloodlines flowing outside the clan was the one thing the Hyuga clan could not tolerate.

The Branch House members, meanwhile, found comfort in the sight of Hyuga Kei's bare forehead. He did not even bear the Caged Bird. He could not even be considered a Hyuga, at most a commoner.

Hyuga Kei ignored their discussions, standing there like a wooden statue.

Hyuga Kei suddenly turned sideways, and a fist swept fiercely past his shoulder from behind.

"No matter what method you used to take my younger brother's place, I advise you to withdraw now and give my brother's slot back."

"Otherwise, this bastard will learn the power of the Byakugan."

Hyuga Kei ignored the provocation in the man's words and merely looked at him coldly. He was waiting for a Leaf Village ninja to intervene—or for the man to strike first.

"My name is Hyuga Sokei. Remember it when you go to hell."

Hyuga Sokei formed hand seals, veins bulging around his eyes. "Byakugan!"

"Gentle Fist Style: Strike!" Hyuga Sokei leaped forward, arriving before Hyuga Kei. Blue light flared around his palms as he struck fiercely at Hyuga Kei.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out. Just as everyone assumed it had come from Hyuga Kei, they looked again.

Before the attack could land, Hyuga Kei had already punched Hyuga Sokei in the stomach.

He collapsed to the ground in pain, retching repeatedly.

"H-How is that possible? He defeated a chunin in a single blow!"

"Could that guy have awakened the Byakugan too?"

The people around them began discussing it in hushed tones. After that one move, no one dared underestimate Hyuga Kei again. He had knocked down a chunin with a single strike.

And Hyuga Kei looked young, no more than ten years old at most. Talent like that had to place him among the geniuses.

Seeing that the farce had ended, the Anbu examiners finally arrived. Someone immediately carried away Hyuga Sokei, who had already lost his ability to fight.

The Anbu examiner announced the rules. "Our selection standard is that there is no standard. Fight in this arena. Whoever loses the ability to fight loses."

"Each of our captains will select ninja based on your performance."

Those rules were not very favorable for Hyuga Kei. Sure enough, the moment the Anbu finished speaking, countless gazes turned toward him.

Hyuga Kei took a deep breath, assumed a taijutsu stance, and shouted, "Come on!"

In an instant, more than a dozen pairs of Byakugan opened across the arena. Hyuga Kei was going to face more than a dozen chunin alone.

Several Branch House members closest to Hyuga Kei launched the first attack.

"Gentle Fist Style: Thirty-Two Palms!" Several voices shouted at once as they launched a fierce assault together.

"Hmph! Wind Ninja Body Technique: Wind-Shattering Palm."

Wind-nature chakra enveloped Hyuga Kei's palms, and every strike carried a fierce gust.

Whenever his palms struck those Branch House members, bloody pits appeared on their bodies. Often, a single blow was enough to leave them unable to resist.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Fists met flesh, palms clashed against palms. This was how taijutsu ninja fought—simple and unadorned.

In barely a dozen seconds of fighting, several figures had already fallen. After paying the price in blood, no one dared be the first to step forward again.

The arena fell silent for a moment. No one attacked Hyuga Kei, and no one attacked the people around them either.

The arena remained quiet for a full minute before the Anbu finally lost their patience. What kind of competition was this supposed to be? How were they meant to recruit anyone?

"Hyuga Kei, you have been accepted by Third Squad. You may report to the Anbu now!"

"You can leave the arena. The rest of you, continue competing."

The moment Hyuga Kei walked out of the arena, the venue became lively again, and the free-for-all officially began.

The instant he stepped down, an Anbu approached him. The man wore a bull mask and had an extremely muscular build, his exposed arms covered in scars. "I am your future captain. Codename: Ushijima."

"Yes, Captain."

After introducing themselves, Ushijima led Hyuga Kei toward Anbu headquarters. The two moved by leaping across rooftops, and along the way, Ushijima continuously explained the Anbu's structure and rules to Hyuga Kei.

The Anbu had one commander and one deputy commander, along with four divisions of seventeen members each. Each division had one captain and four squads beneath them. Each squad had four people: one squad leader and three members.

At present, the commander and deputy commander were Sarutobi Hiruzen's son and daughter-in-law. After the Fourth took office, he had not even had time to cultivate his own faction before he died.

As he spoke, Ushijima continuously increased his speed. A jonin's speed was extremely fast, and Hyuga Kei could only grit his teeth and keep up.

"Not bad. You can actually keep up." Ushijima praised him inwardly.

Anbu headquarters was built in a forest within Konoha. After entering, everyone who passed Hyuga Kei cast surprised looks at him.

He was far too young. Even a genius like Kakashi had joined the Anbu at fourteen. Was this person even eleven?

The Anbu had suffered severe losses after the Nine-Tails' Rampage and the war with Iwagakure, but surely they had not fallen so low as to drag a child into the Anbu.

Yet they had all misjudged him. Hyuga Kei possessed a thin Sage Body bloodline and Hyuga bloodline, and with years of relentless training, he had developed this physique.

In truth, Hyuga Kei was only eight years old.

"Locker Number 8 is still empty. Put your things there from now on. How tall are you? I'll get you a set of equipment from logistics."

"One meter fifty. Thank you for the trouble."

"It's nothing."

Not long after, Ushijima returned with a set of Anbu equipment and handed it to Hyuga Kei. "Put this on, then choose a mask from the wall. Go to registration and record your name and codename. After that, gather at Training Ground 3 for the induction ceremony."

"Remember, in the Anbu, there are only codenames!"

"Understood." Hyuga Kei quickly changed into the Anbu equipment.

It consisted of a black short-sleeved bodysuit and pants, thin gray armor with straps, gray wrist guards, and finally, a straight sword.

The moment Hyuga Kei put on the Anbu uniform, his bearing seemed to become exceptionally sharp.

At the mask wall, Hyuga Kei scanned the selection before quickly locking onto a handsome wolf mask.

After putting it on, Hyuga Kei completely concealed his face and headed for registration.

Under the astonished gaze of the administrative staff, and after repeated confirmation, his name, age, and other details were finally recorded.

"A codename? I'll be called Yazi."

"Are you certain? This codename will follow you throughout your Anbu career. If you die, this will be the only name on your grave marker."

"I'm certain."

Leaving the registration office, Hyuga Kei walked step by step toward Training Ground 3. An induction ceremony was waiting for him there.

Hyuga Kei remembered that when Itachi joined the Anbu, he had been given a hard time because of his age. That was even more true for himself now.

Elsewhere, Ushijima arrived at the training ground ahead of time. Several people quickly surrounded him to ask about the newcomer's gender and appearance.

Most Anbu members were men, and Third Squad was especially male-dominated because it had a taijutsu ninja like Captain Ushiro.

When they heard that the newcomer was just a brat, they were even more disappointed. They exchanged glances and decided to teach the little brat a lesson later. Maybe if they scared him badly enough to wet himself, they could get a different teammate.

The moment Hyuga Kei stepped into the training ground, several kunai and shuriken flew toward his face.

He showed no intention of dodging. Without shifting his gaze, he continued forward with firm steps.

This scene was exactly like Itachi's induction ceremony. Was this an Anbu tradition?

The projectiles flew almost against Hyuga Kei's body. The Anbu members merely wanted to scare him, not kill him.

Hyuga Kei stopped before the group and said calmly, "My codename is Yazi. I specialize in taijutsu. I hope everyone will look after me in the future."

Not one of the seventeen people present responded. Clearly, none of them thought much of him.

Knowing it would be difficult to win their approval, Hyuga Kei walked beneath two adjacent trees.

His hands rapidly formed seals. "Raijin Body Technique: Thunderclap Palm."

Lightning flickered across his palm as he struck the tree in front of him. The tree did not budge; only a few leaves drifted down in the breeze.

Hyuga Kei turned his back to the tree and looked at the group.

Everyone thought he was merely putting on an act and was about to burst into laughter.

Hyuga Kei lightly snapped his fingers. Boom! A thunderous crash rang out, and a tree fell in response. The tree he had struck remained untouched, while the adjacent tree behind it had been hit by the lightning he released.

The fallen tree was like Hyuga Kei's declaration of strength to the group.

The few people who had opened their mouths to laugh found themselves unable to close them or continue. In the end, they could only force out, "Welcome to Third Squad..."

"Welcome. My codename is Fei Yun. I specialize in scouting and Fire Style Ninjutsu."

Everyone had been won over by Hyuga Kei's technique of striking across the mountain. One after another, they welcomed him into the squad and introduced themselves.

Among them were even two familiar strangers: Hatake Kakashi and Wood Style Yamato, who was still called Tenzo.

Seeing that Hyuga Kei had passed his first trial of joining the squad, Captain Ushiro nodded inwardly.

"Kakashi, your squad is still lacking a taijutsu ninja. From now on, he will be your teammate."

"Understood, Captain."

At this time, Kakashi had not yet been promoted to division captain. But by the time Itachi entered the Anbu, he should have been able to stand on his own.

"Let me introduce the rest of our teammates."

"Kakashi specializes in Lightning Release, Earth Release, and swordsmanship."

"Tenzo specializes in Water Release and Earth Release ninjutsu."

"Ameyuri specializes in sensing and scouting."

He then pointed at Hyuga Kei. "Yazi. You heard him just now."

"Please look after me."