Joining the Anbu

Seeing the veins bulging on Sora Uchiha's face, Minato felt a knot form in his stomach.

He didn't care about the villagers?

He carefully studied Sora Uchiha's expression. The latter's face was as calm as still water, without the slightest ripple. He truly didn't care; there wasn't a trace of emotional fluctuation.

Minato suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

Not caring about others was a good thing. It meant that this person had the temperament to accomplish great things in the future.

But it was also a bad thing. It meant that Sora Uchiha felt no sense of belonging to Konoha. His heart wasn't in Konoha, so naturally he didn't care what the people of Konoha said or did.

People like him... had a unique label: "covert rogue ninja."

There were generally two kinds of missing-nin. One kind cared too much about their village. When it failed to live up to the ideal in their heart, they shattered like glass and became missing-nin.

The other kind was like Sora Uchiha, with no sense of belonging to their village. Such people were more complicated. No one knew when they might suddenly get the urge to join an enemy village.

Minato opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the sight of the villagers openly showing their hatred for the Uchiha just moments ago immediately came to mind.

He fell silent. He... had no reason he could use to persuade Sora Uchiha.

"Sensei, don't worry. Just because I don't care about them doesn't mean there's no one in the village I care about." Sora Uchiha ended up comforting Minato instead.

Minato paused, then thought, That's true. The Uchiha Clan used to belong to Konoha, so Sora's roots were still in Konoha.

"By the way, Sensei, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Sora Uchiha asked.

He didn't think Minato would go out of his way to find him just to check on his training.

At Sora Uchiha's question, Minato smacked his forehead. "Oh, right! Look at me, forgetting the important thing.

"Sora, you're still a one-man squad, right?"

"Mm." Sora Uchiha nodded.

"Here's the thing. According to the rules, Chunin need to be in teams of three or more to take on missions. I've pretty much figured out your strength just now.

"You have three options.

"First, you can temporarily join Team 7 and go on missions with Kakashi and the others."

"Next." Sora Uchiha replied immediately. Temporarily joining Team 7?

It might have been a good option. That way, he could keep tabs on Team 7 and do everything he could to prevent Rin's death.

But joining Team 7 came with one major restriction: his freedom. If he agreed, it meant he'd be with Team 7 for a long time, with no opportunity to go elsewhere.

That was something he absolutely couldn't accept.

Minato was taken aback, feeling a little frustrated. Is Team 7 really that bad? He rejected the idea before I'd even finished explaining it. The thought left him feeling a little dejected.

But he quickly gathered himself.

"Second, you can protect the daimyo of the Land of Fire and prevent enemy assassins from killing him."

Konoha was a village in the Land of Fire, so naturally, the daimyo's safety was a top priority. If the daimyo died, the military's morale would likely collapse.

"Next," Sora Uchiha said calmly. Protect the daimyo?

Heh. I'm not that bored. In his eyes, the daimyo were nothing but a bunch of useless nobodies with the title of "leader."

Minato wasn't surprised at all. He continued:

"Then there's only one option left: join the Anbu and carry out secret missions."

[Dong--]

[Mission Issued]

[Note: This is a series of missions]

[Mission Objective One: Join the Anbu]

[Reward: Unknown]

Oh my god, the system's finally doing something after more than a dozen chapters!

Sora Uchiha silently griped, then grew interested. A series of missions—as the name suggested, it wasn't just a single mission, but a whole chain.

Like the Chunin Ninja Exams last time: the first stage was to place first in the written exam, and the second stage was to place first in the practical exam.

[Will the host accept?]

[Accept/Decline]

Accept. Of course he'd accept. The rewards for a series of missions were much better than those for ordinary missions. Most of his summoning techniques and secret scrolls had come from series missions.

Besides, Minato had just said he had three choices. Sora had rejected the first two. He would have agreed to join the Anbu even without the system.

After all, everyone was being mobilized for war now. And he was the top candidate in this Chunin Ninja Exam. If he refused to fight—

Heh. That would give the Konoha High Command an excuse to target the Uchiha.

"I'll join the Anbu." Sora Uchiha silently accepted the system's offer, then looked up at Minato and said.

Minato nodded, not surprised. Originally, he'd thought Sora Uchiha would choose between joining Team 7 and joining the Anbu. Since the first option had been rejected outright, only the Anbu remained.

As for protecting the daimyo?

The Uchiha Clan had never done anything like that. They were far too proud.

"Mm, understood. I'll bring it up with the Third Hokage." Minato Namikaze nodded.

"Wait, Minato-sensei. Do you mean that you're the one suggesting I join the Anbu?" Sora Uchiha blinked.

"Uh, yes. I only just got back to Konoha today, so I haven't met with the Third yet. I happened to see you at the training ground just now and decided on the spot. Though it might have been a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was inevitable anyway. You only had those few options."

Sora Uchiha understood.

So that's how it is. I was wondering why the Konoha High Command had just given me a warning, then turned around and invited me to join the Anbu.

Turns out Minato didn't know I hadn't received any notice.

In that case, Minato actually helped me out. If he hadn't brought it up, I doubt the Third would have let me join the Anbu so easily.

Maybe I wouldn't have had three choices then. I'd probably only have one: protecting the daimyo.

"Mm, it's getting late. I still have to give Kakashi and the others special training. Sora, you can head back. Someone from the Anbu should come looking for you in a few days." Minato glanced out the window, then turned to Sora Uchiha.

"Mm." Sora Uchiha nodded lightly, then opened the door to leave.

"Wait." Minato suddenly thought of something and called out to him.

Sora turned around and looked at him, silently asking what else he wanted to say.

Minato scratched his head, seeming a little embarrassed. "Well... how do I put this? Haha..."

Sora Uchiha's expression grew increasingly strange. What's with him getting all awkward now? Minato was still young; he wasn't as composed as he'd become after taking the Hokage title.

"Ahem. Sora, although I don't know what the other people in the village think of you, Kushina and I care about you a lot," Minato said earnestly.

Sora Uchiha fell silent.

How long does it take to build a friendship?

I don't know about other people,

but Minato and I only needed three days.

Back then, Minato had both loved and hated me. He loved my talent with Kunai, which pleased him greatly.

He hated how good I was with Kunai. Minato had planned to teach me the Rasengan, but... I hadn't learned a damn thing. I couldn't compress Chakra into a sphere at all.

Meeting Minato's sincere gaze, Sora Uchiha turned his head away.

No wonder he's called the Yellow Flash. He's so earnest even with a kid who'd only been his student for three days.

"Tch, this is so cheesy," he muttered.

"Heh." Minato chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "I keep feeling like you and I are the same age, so I can't help getting awkward about it."