"Shichi, you did well."
Back in Konoha, at the Anbu base, Shinnosuke looked at Sora Uchiha with growing approval. Although Sora was a newcomer, he had dealt with their opponents quickly during the mission—faster, in fact, than many seasoned veterans.
The organization valued members who worked this efficiently and had high hopes for them.
"Now that we've destroyed their supply wagon, I imagine those Iwagakure bastards will be busy for a while."
"Monkey."
The Masked Man acknowledged him. Shinnosuke pointed at Sora. "For the time being, show him how things work in the organization. During wartime, the Anbu are busier than usual."
"Yes."
"All right, you're dismissed." Shinnosuke waved a hand.
"Yes." Kazuki Utsuki responded crisply, then signaled with his eyes.
Sora nodded and followed him out of the office, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
Against the dark backdrop of stalactites, the damp air carried the earthy, metallic scent unique to rock. Now and then, a few drops of water seeped through the stone overhead and fell.
Ever since Sora had first come here, he'd wondered about one thing: wouldn't working here for a long time give you eczema?
Well, looking at the Anbu members coming and going, he figured it was probably a pointless question.
In fact, although the Anbu base had been built inside Kage Rock, its air circulated quite well, with fresh air flowing in from all directions. And since ninja were much hardier than ordinary people, even staying here for a long time wouldn't make them seriously ill.
Sora looked at Kazuki Utsuki walking ahead of him. During the mission, the man had been like a silent shadow, giving off an air of discipline. It was hard to imagine that after killing Shisui, he'd gone out of his way to comfort Sora.
"Our squad handles assassination and classified missions. In other words, we take care of the fighting. Other squads handle intelligence and protection missions."
Kazuki Utsuki spoke suddenly as he walked ahead. Sora narrowed his eyes slightly. For some reason, Kazuki's voice sounded even lower than before.
"So our squad's overall strength puts us among the top tier of the Anbu." He stopped and turned to stare straight at Sora.
"Shichi, do you know what that means?"
Uh, Sora met his serious gaze and thought for a while. "That we're better at fighting?"
Kazuki Utsuki froze. He hadn't expected Sora to give that answer, and couldn't help laughing.
"Strictly speaking, that's true." A moment later, his voice turned cold. "We are better at fighting. But that also means our missions are more dangerous, and our death rate is the highest."
The mask kept Sora from seeing Kazuki Utsuki's expression, but the faint sorrow in his eyes suddenly gave Sora an idea of what the man had been through.
"In any case, our squad doesn't have many rules. There's only one: obey orders."
Under the Anbu's training, most members were molded into exactly what the organization needed.
As they talked, they had already returned the way they'd come. Kazuki Utsuki pushed open the door ahead of them, and they went back into the low, squat building. The old man by the entrance was still lounging in his reclining chair, utterly at ease.
"That old man survived the Second Shinobi World War. Don't disrespect him," Kazuki Utsuki said, his tone serious.
At that, Sora took another look at the snoring old man and thought, you really couldn't judge someone by their appearance. Honestly, he couldn't tell that the man in front of him had endured the brutality of war.
Could he be some kind of hidden master, like those old monks who swept the temple floors?
Of course, that was just Sora's imagination. The old man didn't look like he had any wounds because he worked in logistics. The only scar on him was several dozen centimeters long and ran across his abdomen.
"All right, you can head back. We'll notify you if there's a mission." Kazuki Utsuki opened the door and turned to Sora.
"Sure." Sora didn't think anything of it and stepped over the threshold.
"Sora Uchiha." Kazuki Utsuki's voice suddenly came from behind him. This time, he didn't use Sora's codename; he called him by his real name.
Strictly speaking, they were both still wearing masks, so they should have used their codenames.
Sora stopped. After a long silence, a complicated voice finally came from behind him.
"Stay alive."
Sora stepped outside.
Kazuki Utsuki watched his retreating figure disappear, his expression unreadable. After a long while, his face gradually settled into the stillness of dead water.
Their squad took on the most difficult missions, and so it had the highest death rate: eighty percent. In fact, he was the only one left from his batch, while Shinnosuke Sarutobi was the only one left from the batch before his. That was why he'd said something so strange to Sora.
The sunset was blood-red. The people of the village knew nothing about what the Anbu had done. They went about their days, which were as full and orderly as ever.
At Konoha's main gate, in the security office, Yamashiro Ryuta, captain of the security force, sat in his small office, his face unsmiling.
On the desk in front of him lay a neatly arranged file.
Yes, it was Sora Uchiha's file.
In just one week, Sora's file had appeared in four places in succession: the Anbu, Root, the Akatsuki Organization, and the Konoha Security Office.
It seemed that from the moment the Chunin Ninja Exams ended, Sora's peaceful days had been over.
The reason Sora's file had ended up in Yamashiro Ryuta's hands went back to the two Sunagakure ninja who had died a week ago.
Of course, it wasn't because they'd found any evidence Sora had left behind. He'd disposed of the bodies so cleanly that there wasn't a shred of physical evidence.
The real reason was that, a few days ago, one of Yamashiro Ryuta's subordinates had suddenly reported finding an "eyewitness" from that night: a cleaner who'd been in the area. The cleaner had just finished his day's work and was on his way home when, before the explosion, he saw Sora heading toward the back hill.
He hadn't seen Sora's face, of course, but he'd judged from his build that it was a boy.
When the security force questioned him nearby, he told them what he'd seen. That was how Yamashiro Ryuta had come to be looking at the file now.
"Sora Uchiha..." Yamashiro Ryuta gently ran his fingers over Sora's portrait on the file and murmured softly.
When he'd heard at Ichiraku Ramen that Sora had ranked first in the Chunin Ninja Exams, he'd wondered if the boy might have been responsible. But he'd thought he was overthinking it—suspecting a twelve-year-old boy.
Now, the cleaner's account had made him take the boy seriously again.
An Uchiha and a burned body. It made sense, after all. The Uchiha were best known for their Sharingan and Fire Release.
According to the cleaner, a boy had gone to the back hill half an hour before the explosion. Then the blast had happened, killing two enemy ninja and one Konoha ninja.
That night, Yamashiro Ryuta had asked Sora if he'd encountered anyone suspicious. Sora had said no.
A boy. An Uchiha. Burned bodies. An encounter in the night...
Putting it all together, he couldn't believe it was a coincidence. That was a security officer's instinct.
"Captain, it's time to clock out," someone called from outside.
Yamashiro Ryuta answered, gave Sora's photograph one last long look, then rolled up the file and tucked it inside his clothing.
He intended to investigate this Uchiha boy thoroughly.
Konoha was getting lively. One thing after another was happening.
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