Codename Seven

Beneath Kage Rock stood a building that looked utterly ordinary. It was barely distinguishable from the other squat houses. If it had any notable feature,

it was probably the subtle distance it kept from the other buildings—not too close, not too far, just right. There were no places to visit nearby, either, so few people came this way.

In front of the squat house stood two people: the Masked Man and Sora Uchiha. This squat house was the Anbu base.

"You... did well."

The Masked Man watched Sora for a while before speaking in a calm voice.

Sora had performed beautifully in the pursuit test. He had arrived almost right on the Masked Man's heels.

At first, the Masked Man had planned to "go easy" on him. But after observing him for a while, he realized Sora still had energy to spare, so he suddenly sped up. Even then, Sora had still caught up with him.

"Thank you for going easy on me, senior," Sora replied tactfully.

But the Masked Man wasn't having any of it. "You don't need to be polite. In the Anbu, what matters is strength."

Sora felt a little awkward, as if his warm welcome had been met with a cold shoulder.

He quickly changed the subject and looked at the squat house in front of them. Sycamore leaves were scattered across the ground. At this time of year, sycamores were beautiful, but they were also a nuisance—the fallen leaves were a pain.

"Is the Anbu base over here?"

"What's wrong?"

"Um... how should I put it? It's a little different from what I imagined. I thought the Anbu base would be more concealed, and more imposing, too."

"Hidden in plain sight. That's what the Anbu stands for. As for imposing..." He paused. "You'll see in a moment."

A faint doubt rose in Sora's mind. Why be so mysterious? What do you mean, I'll see in a moment?

Just before they entered the squat house, Sora noticed an old man lying in a lounge chair by the door. It looked as if the house behind him belonged to him and he had come out to sun himself.

Before the Masked Man could lead Sora inside, the old man woke up. He shot Sora a sidelong glance, then handed the Masked Man an ordinary, iron-colored key.

When the door opened, Sora looked around. The interior was no different from an ordinary home.

It had a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. The living room was furnished normally, with a dining table, a sofa, and a small balcony.

As Sora watched, the Masked Man walked over to the wall beside the sofa and pressed on it. Sora clearly saw one of the bricks sink inward!

A moment later, the ground trembled—not very violently—and a tunnel opened in the wall!

The perfectly ordinary living room actually had a secret room! Judging by its position, Sora immediately realized that the room was connected to Kage Rock.

He was a little surprised. So the Anbu base is hidden inside Kage Rock. Now that's concealed.

"Let's go," the Masked Man said calmly.

Sora nodded and followed him into the tunnel. After walking through it for about three or four meters, the space suddenly opened up, revealing a vast area.

Masked figures moved back and forth throughout the space, each radiating a dangerous aura. A tower-shaped building stood in the middle of the grounds.

Sora noticed that many Anbu members came from other directions. This probably wasn't the only entrance. That made sense; if there were only one entrance, someone else would soon discover the place.

"Come on. The captain is waiting for you." The Masked Man called to him, and Sora, who had been staring around, hurried after him.

Along the way, quite a few Anbu members gave Sora a second look. It was rare for someone so young to join the Anbu, but they only glanced at him briefly before returning to their work.

The whole place felt orderly, with an unmistakable sense of organization.

"Captain? Don't I need to meet the Lord Third?" Sora asked curiously. The current Hokage led the Anbu, but judging by what the Masked Man had said, Sora apparently wouldn't have to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi to join.

"Yes. The Lord Third is very busy lately, so when you join the Anbu, you only need to meet your captain."

"My captain? So the person I'm about to meet will be my captain." Sora quickly caught on to the key point.

"Yes. Unless something unexpected happens, you and I will be on the same team," the Masked Man explained.

He stopped in front of the only building and handed his identification badge to the guard. Once they were allowed through, Sora hurried after him.

There were far fewer people inside the building, and it was relatively quiet, but Sora could still feel an invisible pressure.

"Stay close and don't look around," the Masked Man said calmly from ahead.

"Okay," Sora replied. He put away his curious gaze and quietly followed the Masked Man.

Soon, they stopped in front of a door. Sora looked up at it.

—Squad Captain's Office.

The Anbu was organized into a captain general and squad captains. Each squad captain managed seventeen people, divided into four teams, with four or five people in each team.

Knock, knock, knock—

The Masked Man knocked in a steady rhythm, leaving the same pause between each knock.

"Come in," a man's voice called from inside.

"Go on in." The Masked Man stepped aside, indicating that Sora could enter.

Sora hadn't felt nervous before, but now, for some reason, a strange tension crept over him.

He pushed the door open and went inside.

The room was about twenty square meters, with a simple layout: one desk and two chairs. It felt a little like an interrogation room.

After entering, Sora closed the door politely and quietly studied the man in front of him.

The man had short, dark brown hair with three-pronged tips. A distinctive, rounded, horn-shaped scar marked his right cheek near the cheekbone. He wore Konoha's dark green Jonin uniform.

The man set down what he was holding, looked up at Sora, and smiled. "You're Sora Uchiha, right? Have a seat." He pointed to the chair opposite him.

Sora nodded. As soon as he sat down, the man introduced himself:

"Hello, I'm Shinnosuke Sarutobi. I'll be your captain from now on."

Sora's heart gave a jolt.

He knew of Shinnosuke Sarutobi. He was Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son and Asuma's older brother.

Sora suddenly understood. No wonder the old Lord Third hadn't even shown his face when he joined the Anbu. His own son was going to be Sora's direct supervisor.

In the original story, there was almost no information about Shinnosuke Sarutobi. The only thing Sora knew was that he was an Elite Jonin.

At Sora's current level, he couldn't even beat a Jonin, much less an Elite Jonin. Shinnosuke would have no trouble keeping him in line.

Was it a coincidence?

Or had the old Lord Third planned to keep Sora under his nose?

While Sora's thoughts ran wild, Shinnosuke spoke again:

"Anbu members must use their code names when carrying out missions."

Sora looked up blankly. The burly man in front of him said,

"Starting today, your code name is Seven."