Anbu

"Join the Anbu?" Ueno Kei was slightly stunned. Wasn't it enough to let him graduate early? He had to join the Anbu, too? That place? Ueno Kei had seen the strength of the Anbu with his own eyes; while they might not reach the level of Jonin, they were essentially all elite Chunin.

For a rookie like him, who could barely compare to an average Chunin, to enter a place that gathered the middle-tier elites of Konoha's ninja force—wasn't that a bit of a joke?

However, since it was the Third Hokage's arrangement, there must have been a deeper meaning behind it. Ueno Kei would never know just how profound the Third Hokage's considerations were in making this decision.

Yet, what the Third Hokage could not have anticipated was that while he spent an entire night agonizing over the decision to provide Ueno Kei with the best path for cultivation, he had somewhat misjudged Ueno Kei's own thoughts.

As mentioned before, due to a series of events, Ueno Kei had developed unconventional views on the world, life, and death, which had led to some strange perspectives during his conversation with the Third Hokage.

In truth, those were merely Ueno Kei's thoughts at that specific moment.

Indeed, Ueno Kei felt somewhat lost and bewildered in this world. Aside from revenge, he lacked a clear, fixed purpose and felt a sense of aimlessness in life. However, it was absolutely not as severe as the Third Hokage had speculated, nor had his worldview or outlook on life undergone the twisted changes the Third Hokage imagined.

Ultimately, it was a matter of different perspectives. No matter how wise the Third Hokage was, he could not know that the ten-year-old child before him possessed the inner soul of a middle-aged man. Having seen so much life and death, did he have strange views? Conversely, couldn't that just be because he had grown accustomed to it?

Was it just that simple?

Therefore, the Third Hokage had overthought it, viewing the situation too gravely, while Ueno Kei had also overthought things, failing to guess the Third Hokage's true intentions.

In short, amidst a series of strange misunderstandings and conjectures, in the year Ueno Kei turned ten, he became the Third Hokage's fourth disciple—and possibly his final one.

He graduated early, donned the Konoha Village ninja headband, and joined the Konoha Anbu!

Inside a dim underground facility in Konoha, a tall man over 1.8 meters in height walked alongside a child who was clearly only 1.4 meters tall.

Both were wearing the standard Anbu uniform; the only difference was that they were not wearing the masks typically issued to Anbu members.

The man walking in front had a stern face and a powerful, muscular build. He was the captain of the squad Ueno Kei had been assigned to after entering the Anbu, a man named Akamatsu. On the day Ueno Kei had agreed to join the Anbu without hesitation, the Third Hokage had merely nodded faintly, showing no surprise at Ueno Kei's consent.

Afterward, he notified the relevant Anbu official, instructed Ueno Kei to come to his residence that evening, and then had the official take Ueno Kei away.

Thus, the current situation came to be.

Ueno Kei followed closely behind Akamatsu. When he was first assigned to this squad, Akamatsu had merely glanced at him and given a faint nod of acknowledgment, after which he had said nothing more.

But that single glance had made Ueno Kei feel as though he had been thoroughly scanned, a very unpleasant sensation.

It was a manifestation of being completely overwhelmed in terms of strength; there was no doubt that this was another guy with Jonin-level power.

Ueno Kei did not know the specific composition of the Anbu. It was the most classified institution among the many organizations in Konoha, established by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama—the man who was legendary for his mastery of Water Release.

Ueno Kei only knew that the Anbu was directly under the Hokage's command and consisted of numerous squads of four to five members each. The missions they accepted were all related to guarding the Hokage, carrying out assassinations, and conducting reconnaissance on enemy intelligence.

Most of their missions were dull, extremely dangerous, and even bloody. The strength of Anbu members was generally around the level of elite Chunin, while the squad captains were undoubtedly at the level of Jonin.

The strength of a squad composed of such individuals could not be compared to an ordinary ninja team, as standard teams within the village executing missions were usually led by one Chunin or Jonin accompanied by three Genin.

Setting aside the disparity in individual strength, the coordination, formation, and efficiency of Anbu members were far beyond what an ordinary team could achieve.

These were all the pieces of information Ueno Kei could recall in his mind.

Just as Ueno Kei was still contemplating information related to the Anbu, Akamatsu, who was leading the way, suddenly spoke: "We're here."

Ueno Kei immediately snapped back to reality and replied, "Yes!"

After responding, Ueno Kei looked closely and realized they had arrived in front of a door. Akamatsu pushed the door open, and what met Ueno Kei's eyes was a medium-sized room containing a large table, five or six chairs scattered about, and three figures.

They were all wearing the standard Anbu uniform and were not wearing masks. There were two men and one woman; the men appeared to be around twenty years old, while the woman looked younger, perhaps around seventeen or eighteen—though, of course, it was possible she just had a youthful face. Ueno Kei was only making a rough estimate.

When Akamatsu pushed the door open, the relaxed expressions on the faces of the three people in the room immediately tightened. They shouted in unison, "Captain!" Their peripheral vision also flickered toward Ueno Kei, who was following behind Akamatsu. A hint of surprise flashed across their eyes; after all, whether it was Ueno Kei's youthful face or his short stature, everything indicated that he was still just a child of about ten years old. Yet, this seemingly green individual was wearing the standard Anbu uniform, which naturally left the three of them feeling puzzled.

Of course, these doubts were kept to themselves. The rules of the Anbu were exceptionally strict, and the three would never speak lightly. Moreover, they believed that since their captain had brought Ueno Kei along, there must be a reason for it, and the captain would surely explain if it became necessary.

There was simply no need to pay it too much mind.

Akamatsu coldly swept his gaze over his three subordinates, nodded faintly, and then said coldly, "This is our new member, codenamed Hawk. He will be joining our squad on missions from now on. That is all!"

Akamatsu's explanation was very simple and clear. In truth, Akamatsu did not know Ueno Kei's identity. The Third Hokage had not given any specific instructions, only ordering the Anbu director to handle the paperwork for Ueno Kei's entry and adding that the Anbu should give him some extra training.

He was to report to the Third Hokage periodically.

The Anbu director understood the implication. Although he didn't know Ueno Kei's exact identity, he could guess that it must be very special. However, he also understood the true meaning behind the Third Hokage's order. Besides, the Anbu was not a place of comfort; he just needed to ensure that Ueno Kei didn't die too easily.

Of course, if he were to die during a mission, that would be a normal occurrence. The Anbu director had given the same instructions to Akamatsu: train Ueno Kei well.

To put it plainly, it meant assigning Ueno Kei missions that were just slightly above his strength limit—enough to serve as training, but not so excessive as to be absurd.

If Ueno Kei couldn't even complete such missions and ended up dying, then there was nothing more to be said.

From the moment he was thrown into the Anbu, the Third Hokage, Ueno Kei, and the Anbu director were all well aware of this, with no need to spell it out. As for why he was assigned to Akamatsu's squad, it was because Akamatsu's strength was among the best in the Anbu, making him the most capable of training Ueno Kei effectively.