Anbu

Shiraishi Yoshijo examined Jo with a strange expression.

This was the first time he had seen Jo after it possessed a conscious form.

It was almost like looking at a reflection of himself in a mirror.

"Explain yourself. Why did you say that? And what exactly is going on with you? I raised you, shouldn't you be listening to me?"

"Why do you listen to Mei's orders to monitor me? Or are you Butterfly Seeds just tools used to keep tabs on our clan?"

Jo sighed, "As expected, different species cannot understand one another."

"The prerequisite for mutual understanding is that we share equal status. Do you think our status is equal right now?"

"Mei treats our clan entirely as food. Don't you also treat me as food?"

Jo shook its head, "To us Ninja Butterflies, Lady Mei is a true mother. All Ninja Butterflies are her children."

"What is wrong with me following my mother's orders? Besides, Lady Mei has no intention of harming you."

"Food? Surveillance? That is merely your persecution complex. I have said before that we are a symbiotic life form."

Persecution complex?

Shiraishi Yoshijo's mouth twitched, "Speaking of which, Mei seemed to mention something about predicting the future to me yesterday. Can you tell me what that's about?"

"Can you peer into all of my memories?"

Jo shook its head again, "I can only capture your thoughts. I am not a Spirit-Peering Butterfly; I do not possess that ability."

"When you encounter certain people or events, your mind often produces strange thoughts—they resemble future predictions, yet they are entirely different."

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed, "So you were the one who told Mei about the future predictions? How do you communicate with her? Why haven't I noticed anything at all?"

"I cannot tell you that. Regardless, even if Lady Mei is in the Butterfly Habitat Valley, she can still contact me."

Shiraishi Yoshijo's face darkened.

"Do not use human logic to speculate about us, just as we cannot fully understand you."

"Lady Mei will not harm you. After all, I am her child, and she would no more harm me than your mother would harm you. You can understand that, right?"

He couldn't understand it at all; Shiraishi Yoshijo felt his headache worsening.

"Jo, do you actually want me to cooperate with Mei? You should know that if I cooperate with her, I might never die, and you would be stuck here forever."

"Do you not crave freedom?"

A look of contemplation appeared on Jo's face.

"For every species, survival is the top priority. Freedom must come after survival."

"I cannot disobey Lady Mei's orders. Her evolution drives the evolution of our entire race."

"That is the most important thing."

"Besides, can you truly live forever? The human world is filled with countless malice. Didn't that Danzo you just met want to kill you?"

"Instead of worrying about us, shouldn't you be considering how to survive in the human world?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo fell silent.

"I will ask you one last time: can you truly guarantee that Mei won't harm me?"

"As long as you do not act against Lady Mei, she will absolutely not harm you."

Shiraishi Yoshijo took a deep breath, "I understand."

While Shiraishi Yoshijo was communicating with Jo, Hatake Sakumo had already brought him to the training grounds.

Many Anbu members who were training stopped what they were doing when they saw Shiraishi Yoshijo.

"Is that brat the last descendant of the Shide Clan?"

"He doesn't look like anything special. He just has a good background."

"I heard the village almost had a major incident because of him these past two days."

"Should we test him?"

"That sounds like a good idea. Will Sakumo get angry? He is his subordinate, after all."

"Cowards. I'll do it."

The Anbu member who spoke raised his hand and threw several shuriken.

Hatake Sakumo noticed, but he did not intervene; he also wanted to see what Shiraishi Yoshijo's skills were like.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had just emerged from the Consciousness Space when he saw several shuriken flying toward him.

He merely tilted his head, and then those shuriken embedded themselves into his body.

Hatake Sakumo was stunned.

Even the Anbu member who had thrown the shuriken was stunned.

Almost every Anbu member on the training ground was stunned.

A wave of cold, chilling aura began to emanate.

"He really is just a brat. How did someone who can't even dodge this kind of shuriken get into the Anbu?"

"As expected, he just has a good background. No one here cares about that; he'll be dead soon enough."

It hurts.

Shiraishi Yoshijo saw the shuriken; he could have dodged it if he wanted to, but he didn't want to.

Shiraishi Yoshijo reached out and pulled the shuriken out of his body one by one, activating medical Ninjutsu as he did so. The wounds healed without even a drop of blood spilling out.

His current medical Ninjutsu was sufficient to heal minor wounds like these, even capable of instantaneous healing, though it wouldn't work for anything larger.

If he were disemboweled, he would likely lose at least half his life just to patch himself up.

He looked at the Anbu member who had thrown the shuriken and raised his hand to toss it right back.

He didn't use much strength, just enough for it to land right at the Anbu member's feet.

"Senior, here is your shuriken back."

The Anbu member who had thrown the shuriken didn't look at the weapon at his feet; he just stared coldly at Shiraishi Yoshijo and said, "Brat, this is not a place where you should—"

He didn't finish his sentence, because Shiraishi Yoshijo had already arrived in front of him in an instant!

He hadn't just been doing nothing while pulling out the shuriken; he had quietly attached steel wires to them.

The full name of the Anbu is the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, and the members here are basically highly skilled elites.

If you don't want to be looked down upon or bullied, you have to show at least some capability.

He hadn't dodged the shuriken earlier because even if he had, it would have been difficult to launch an effective counterattack.

It was better to just go with the flow, pretend he couldn't dodge it, and paralyze the others to create an opportunity for a lethal strike.

Having shuriken stuck in one's body is painful, and he is a person who holds a grudge.

Lightning flickered on his hand; he had even utilized his lightning-style nature transformation.

Even a mere graze from that nature transformation would be enough to cause excruciating pain.

When the Anbu member saw Shiraishi Yoshijo appear before him in an instant, his pupils contracted sharply.

In his haste, he could only block with his arms in front of his chest.

With a muffled "thud," the Anbu member stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

Shiraishi Yoshijo immediately began to weave hand seals.

Butterfly Clone.

The Anbu member's counterattack arrived immediately, a knee strike aimed at his abdomen.

A perfect hit.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's body transformed into hundreds of butterflies, flying behind Hatake Sakumo.

Gradually reforming into a human shape, Shiraishi Yoshijo reappeared behind Hatake Sakumo.

He shrugged and said, "Senior, my attacks are quite painful, you know."

He didn't need to say it; the Anbu member had already sensed that something was wrong.

His arm felt as if it had been bitten by something, and the pain was so intense that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Is this lightning nature transformation?"

"To think a brat like this can use such Ninjutsu; he truly lives up to his prestigious lineage."

"Did you guys not notice how fast his Body Flicker was just now? It was even faster than Sakumo."

Hatake Sakumo was also a bit surprised at this moment; he gave him an appreciative look and began to lead the applause.

The applause gradually picked up, then grew enthusiastic.

Shiraishi Yoshijo scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

After a moment's thought, he walked toward that Anbu member, the green light characteristic of medical Ninjutsu glowing on his hand.

"Senior, I am a medical ninja. Do you need treatment?"

The Anbu member didn't act pretentious; after all, for people like them who lived on the edge of a blade, face was entirely dispensable—the most important thing was to stay alive.

Moreover, the stronger his teammates were, the better it was for them; he had no reason to fall out with Shiraishi Yoshijo over something like this.

While treating the Anbu member, Shiraishi Yoshijo was secretly clicking his tongue in his heart.

There was no doubt about how fast his Lightning Body Flicker was.

Not only had this Anbu blocked the attack with his arm, but he had also managed to counterattack simultaneously.

One could only say that such reaction speed was worthy of an Anbu elite.

As Shiraishi Yoshijo treated the man, not only Hatake Sakumo but the other Anbu members also noticed one thing.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had been hit by the shuriken earlier, yet not a single drop of blood had flowed from his body; at most, his clothes had a few holes.

They had originally assumed that Shiraishi Yoshijo had risked injury just to use that kind of Body Flicker Technique.

No one who makes it into the Anbu is a fool; they can generally judge the function of a ninjutsu after seeing it just once.

That particular Body Flicker Technique clearly required steel wires as a medium.

Deliberately standing still to let the shuriken strike, catching the opponent off guard while secretly attaching wires to the blades, and then launching an instantaneous attack.

What a devious little brat!

The applause was naturally for this reason as well.

In their eyes, possessing such courage combined with a cunning tactical strategy made him fully qualified to join the Anbu.

However, seeing that Shiraishi Yoshijo didn't even have a single drop of blood on him, they exchanged glances before finally looking toward Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo spread his hands toward them, indicating that he would not be asking.

Ninja intelligence is an untouchable taboo for any shinobi with an Anbu background.

If information were to leak and allow others to develop countermeasures, the consequences could range from injury to death.

Hatake Sakumo would never do such a thing; after all, this was a member of his own squad.

Soon, Hatake Sakumo brought Shiraishi Yoshijo to meet his other two teammates.

Hanari and Shincho.

Hanari removed her mask to reveal her true face and said, "Kawaigawa Aonobu, I look forward to working with you."

Kawaigawa?

Shiraishi Yoshijo's mouth twitched, but seeing Hanari wink at him, he didn't say anything more.

These ninja clans really are pervasive; perhaps she had made some kind of deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi again.

As for Shincho, she was a woman, and he knew nothing about her other than her codename.

Hatake Sakumo took out a mask painted with a butterfly and handed it to Shiraishi Yoshijo.

"This is your mask. Think of your own codename."

"Mengdie."

In Konoha under the Will of Fire, life here felt like a dream to him.

He was very clear-headed right now, and he hoped to remain clear-headed forever.

After all, humans are a species with a strong tendency toward assimilation.

He certainly didn't want to be forever immersed in a dream.