Code Name: Aizen

Sosuke's residence soon received an unexpected visitor.

Sosuke, who had been fast asleep, suddenly woke from his dream. He sat up and looked at the Root Base ninja who had appeared before him.

A purple-haired woman in a mask stood rigidly beside his bed. She was slender, and her ninja outfit made her look very capable.

The red mask bore the face of a Japanese demon—a Hannya.

Her voice was cool and detached as she spoke.

"Sosuke, I'm taking you to Root on Lord Danzo's orders."

Looking at her, Sosuke gave a gentle, amiable smile.

"Do I have to leave so early? Could I wash up first?"

The masked kunoichi with the Hannya face: "..."

Before long, Sosuke had washed up and gotten dressed.

His tousled brown hair sat fluffily atop his head. He wore a white Shinigami Robe, with Kyoka Suigetsu tucked at his waist. Aside from the incongruous black glasses on his face, he looked quite handsome.

Looking at Sosuke, the kunoichi seemed to hesitate. In the end, as he gazed at her with a puzzled smile, she came over and formed Hand Seals.

"Poof!"

At her summoning, a pile of masks of all shapes and sizes appeared before Sosuke.

"Choose one. Starting today, you'll be a member of Root. You'll have no name, only a code name."

She looked at Aizen and spoke coldly.

Sosuke paused, but didn't hesitate. He glanced over the masks, then casually picked one. It was also a blue Ghost Mask.

Seeing that Sosuke had chosen a mask, the kunoichi put the others away and said coldly,

"Starting today, you'll serve on my squad. My code name is Hannya. Think of one for yourself, too. Apart from me and Lord Danzo, no one in Root will know your real name. Everyone will address you by your code name."

Hearing this, Sosuke looked down at the mask and made up his mind.

He slowly raised his head, revealing a warm, amiable smile.

"Then my code name will be Aizen."

As he spoke, he put on the mask.

Once Sosuke had put on his mask, Hannya turned and led him to the Root Base.

Sosuke followed close behind.

Before long,

the two of them arrived at the dark underground base.

Sosuke followed quietly behind Hannya the whole way. Even when he saw the vast underground base, he showed no surprise. Only a few glints in his eyes seemed to hint at his thoughts.

Root? Another Konoha intelligence organization, independent of the Anbu!? How has the Third Hokage put up with an organization like this? How many of the village's higher-ups know about it? And how much do those clans know about Root?

Everything seems to be getting more interesting...

He didn't meet Danzo. Hannya simply led him through a brief identity registration.

Code name: Aizen. Strength: Chunin.

The registration also included other information.

Then Hannya took Sosuke to a Scroll Room.

For some reason, she seemed to have a strange attitude toward Sosuke. In a chilly voice, she said,

"Lord Danzo arranged this. Some valuable ninjutsu and forbidden books are kept here. You have only today to study. Starting tomorrow, you'll come with me to carry out missions."

With that, she turned to leave, as if she didn't want to see Sosuke.

But Sosuke looked at her and said softly,

"No need. The ninjutsu and Forbidden Techniques here aren't suited to me."

It was true. With Kido at his disposal, he had an ability every bit as good as ninjutsu. Using his chakra for Kido was far more worthwhile than using it for ninjutsu. From Kyoka Suigetsu's explanations over the past few days, he knew that mastering the higher-level Kido would let him utterly crush even S-rank Forbidden Techniques. That was why he didn't want to bite off more than he could chew.

Hearing this, Hannya seemed to regard him even more coldly. He could almost feel the chill in her eyes through her mask.

But Sosuke didn't mind. He continued to face her with a gentle smile.

Hannya's voice was stiff as she spoke.

"Is that so, Aizen? Since that's what you think, then come on a mission with me today!"

At that moment, she could no longer stand the sight of that little brat who was always smiling! She was going to teach him a lesson!!

She no longer wanted to heed her uncle's instructions!

She'd already been unhappy when her uncle had looked down on her, and then she'd heard that he thought so highly of some civilian brat that he planned to take him on as a disciple.

And there was more!

The news she'd received yesterday was that this brat had injured the Root members sent to fetch him. In the end, her uncle had even gone to see him in person!

All of this had left Shimura Kazumi deeply resentful. She couldn't stand the sight of Sosuke no matter how she looked at him!

Fine. This time, she'd been following her uncle's orders and letting you study ninjutsu here. Since you won't accept this kindness, then come with me on some assassination missions! She wanted to see what a brat who'd just graduated from the Ninja Academy could do!!

With that thought, Shimura Kazumi walked out of the Scroll Room, her face cold. Sosuke followed close behind, still smiling beneath his mask.

Before long, they received a B-rank mission.

After reading the mission details, Shimura Kazumi accepted it, then tossed the scroll to Sosuke.

Sosuke caught it and carefully read the description.

Eliminate a group of bandits hiding near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.

On the surface, it seemed like a very ordinary mission, one that could be handled by any of the village's ninja. But in truth, there was a reason Root had to take it on!

The reason was this!

The bandits were actually an intelligence network that included foreign ninja. The mission details didn't specify which village they belonged to, but their strength could be assumed to be nothing exceptional.

They operated around the outskirts of Konoha, buying information and abducting passersby to verify its reliability.

Their presence had already harmed the village's interests. But Konoha's ninja couldn't eliminate them openly. That was where Root came in.

Besides safeguarding the village's internal intelligence operations, Root also had to deal with foreign spies like these.

Without hesitation, the two of them set out, since their opponents weren't especially strong.

They left Konoha through a hidden passage.

Outside, sunlight dappled the shade of the trees, sending specks of light onto them. It felt wonderfully warm.

As he walked, Sosuke felt quite at ease.

This was Sosuke's first time leaving Konoha, and his first mission.

How would it turn out?