Keep Up the Act Long Enough, and It Becomes Real

Uchiha Shingen then toured Sarutobi Torabu's office.

The head of the ANBU) has a very large office, even larger than the Hokage's office.

The main reason is that this is the intelligence gathering center of Hidden Leaf Village, and it simply can't be smaller.

Meanwhile, the office of the head of the ANBU consolidated the functions of many departments.

For example, strategic research and the planning of special action plans are all conducted here.

Uchiha Shingen wandered around for a bit, then walked to the minister's desk, where stacks of documents were neatly piled up, each labeled with its place of origin.

The office work in the ANBU is still very well-organized.

Take Sarutobi Torabu's table, for example. It looks much more comfortable and tidy than Namikaze Minato. It's so much neater than Namikaze Minato's table, which looks like a chicken coop.

This kind of office environment makes people feel comfortable.

Uchiha Shingen sat down, looking at the temporarily empty office, his thoughts drifting.

After so many years, he was able to return to this place.

Over the decades, Hidden Leaf Village has changed a lot, but the Hokage Building has remained remarkably unchanged.

Finally, Sarutobi Torabu returned with the ANBU members who had been left in the village with official positions.

When everyone entered the office, the first thing they felt was a rather oppressive aura emanating from the young man sitting in the minister's seat.

I felt very heavy, like I couldn't breathe properly.

Sarutobi Torabu's feeling was the most direct. Looking at the person sitting on his stool, he felt that it was not Uchiha Shingen, but something extremely terrifying.

But this feeling was only fleeting, because Uchiha Shingen had already stood up and warmly invited everyone to come in and sit down.

Sarutobi Torabu thought he must be too tired lately and was hallucinating.

After all, that was the White Ghost of Leaf Village; the killing intent in his bones couldn't be hidden. He was probably bored sitting alone, so he unconsciously let that aura emanate from him.

Or was it intentional?

The giant torch has been lit?

"Everyone, please don't be shy, have a seat." Uchiha Clan smiled, not at all like someone who was going to light the torch. "I am honored by the Lord Hokage regard for me. Brother Torabe has been working too hard lately, so he asked me to lend him a hand. I am not familiar with the work of the ANBU, so I hope you will all help me in the future."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with smiles.

The journey so far has been quite stressful for everyone. Everyone knows the name of Leaf Village's White Ghost, but no one in the ANBU has ever worked with Uchiha Shingen.

Chopping someone up together and sitting in an office together are two different things.

Now it seems, they weren't so difficult to get along with after all...

Uchiha Shingen observed all of this, including the mental state of these ANBU.

A smile on the outside, a shake of the head in the heart.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Pretending for Too Long Becomes Reality

The Leaf Village ANBU during the Second Hokage's era were known for their approachable style.

To use a very vivid example, imagine a group of people with road rage driving.

He truly shared in the joys of the people.

I saw you 800 meters away. I'm not driving this car unless I kill you.

It's not fair to blame them for their bad tempers. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. As the initial team of Leaf Village's ANBU, this group of people were inherently problematic members of the Senju Clan.

There aren't many friends who Senju Muzoku; all the living ones are inside.

During the Warring States period, they fought bravely and fearlessly for the Senju of the Forest. However, when peace suddenly arrived, they were at a loss and even unable to adapt to life in the ninja village.

So the confused old thugs would gather Tenten to drink, curse, and pick fights. They just wanted to get through the day by finding someone to fight.

Since Senju Muzoku was mentally prepared, he wasn't bothered, but he obviously couldn't embrace the new era alone and abandon his old brothers, who were his family.

Until one day he remembered the ANBU and quickly urged the big boss to set up the department.

It wasn't that he was afraid people would be suicidal—those people would never commit suicide—he was afraid he would get a perforated stomach.

He didn't know if it caused the ANBU to appear earlier than expected, but anyway, after it was built, the old guys were in great spirits, could eat several more bowls of rice at each meal, and no longer dragged him out for drinks from morning till night Tenten.

The only thing that Senju Muzoku unhappy about was that the rich dog wouldn't let him go to the ANBU, but instead wanted him to be the principal.

Being a principal is a terrible title; it's just unlucky.

Fortunately, the big boss eventually relented and agreed to let Senju Muzoku take a part-time job in the ANBU.

The old buddies understand him; they stick together very well, which angered the village's appointed head of the ANBU so much that he resigned.

When Uchiha Shingen sat in this place again, everything had changed.

Sitting in front of him were no longer those bragging bastards who loved to boast about their achievements; the once noisy bastards were now lying quietly in the Senju Tomb Complex.

Decades later, the younger generation who come and go here sit properly and give serious reports on their work.

At this moment, several regional leaders of the ANBU were reporting their work to Uchiha Shingen.

Uchiha Shingen sat in his seat, a smile on his face, listening attentively to what they had to say.

As one person stood up and sat down, he began to get a general idea of the current situation within the ANBU.

To be fair, the resources invested are there, and the Leaf Village Anbu Ninja are quite capable and efficient in their work.

Although there are bad times, this is the Ninja World full of surprises, and the ANBU's work is purely confrontational; it would be a miracle if they could complete it perfectly.

The main problem lies at the command level.

After the last regional manager finished his report, the office returned to silence.

Sarutobi Torabu glanced at Uchiha Shingen and noticed that the new leader didn't seem unhappy at all.

Everyone says the Uchiha Clan likes to have a sour face, but this White Ghost is much more normal.

"Everyone has given a very detailed explanation, and I have a general understanding of the situation," said Uchiha Shingen. "Without further ado, given the current circumstances, let's deal with the most urgent matters first."

It's here!

A chill ran through everyone.

We'll soon see what the new boss's style is.

We all work in the ANBU, so our basic principle is to not trust anyone's persona.

A persona can be cultivated, but a ninja's true character will always be reflected in their actions.

"First, regarding the organizational structure, I think it might be worth adjusting," Uchiha Shingen said, arranging several documents he had previously selected on the table. "I noticed that none of the colleagues present today are from the original Root. Is that because everyone is busy with missions?"

"That's not the case, Shingen. He's a former colleague of Root, and he mainly serves as a front-line squad leader in the department. He doesn't hold any position at headquarters, so he doesn't meet the requirements for attending the meeting," Sarutobi Torabu quickly explained.

He was aware of the relationship between the original Root and the Uchiha Clan, and he didn't believe that Uchiha Shingen had any goodwill towards the original Root members.

Although Sarutobi Torabu didn't allow any of the original Root members into the management team, they had worked together for many years and didn't want Uchiha Shingen to hold a grudge against them.

The original Root was restricted in his position within the new ANBU system. This was not due to any personal grudge; it was simply a matter of the situation, a result of the ANBU -integrating the Root.

"Brother Tiger, you've misunderstood. What I'm trying to say is that the original Root organization has been carrying out overseas ANBU missions for many years. The fact that they can't be in this office shows that their job assignments are unreasonable," Uchiha Shingen said with a smile.

Sarutobi Torabu's character remains to be seen, but his willingness to speak up for former Root members suggests he has decent character.

He had also heard about the new ANBU's rejection of the original Root members.

The remaining ninjas of the original Root are now a typical case of high pay for low rank. The high pay is due to the large subsidies, but frankly speaking, they are all just laborers who can only follow orders and have no say in the decisions of the ANBU.

However, as far as Uchiha Shingen knew, the number of official members of the original Root was extremely small. They were all talents carefully selected by Shimura Danzō from the village, and Shimura Danzō spared no effort in their training.

They were all outstanding Anbu Ninja capable of standing on their own.

Frankly speaking, probably more than half of the people here today are not as well-mannered as they are.

Uchiha Shingen could not tolerate this waste of resources.

As for the conflict over resource allocation between the original ANBU and the original Root, he didn't see it as a problem at all.

The Leaf Village ANBU are practically the kings of jokes in the Ninja World, so this little thing isn't even a problem, is it?

"How many of them are in the village now?" Uchiha Shingen asked.

"Basically... they're all there, I think." Sarutobi Torabu thought for a moment, then answered with certainty.

"I remember the ANBU has been doing a lot of overseas missions lately, haven't they? Weren't they sent out?"

Uchiha Shingen Sarutobi Torabu Shingen's question.

Then Uchiha Shingen understood.

It's no wonder things are going wrong when people who are best suited for working overseas are being ostracized like this.

It's not that the original members of the ANBU are incompetent, but they've been out of touch with the environment for too long. Although they've tried to adapt, an entire generation of the original ANBU has stopped doing this kind of work. Not giving the original Root a voice is tantamount to starting all over again.

"Never mind, it's not important anymore. Brother Tiger, could you please have someone go and invite them over? There aren't many of them anyway, so don't worry about their positions, just invite them all."

"Okay, Lord Shingen."

Sarutobi Torabu summoned someone and ordered him to go and inform them.

Uchiha Shingen didn't continue on this topic; he first picked up the first document from the table.

"Before our colleagues from the original Root arrive, let's handle a few urgent tasks. Brother Tiger, please have everyone circulate this document first."

Sarutobi Torabu took the document, glanced at it himself, and then passed it on to the person closest to him for circulation.

After being circulated around, the document returned to Sarutobi Torabu.

He then placed the document back on Uchiha Shingen's desk.

Yes, this table no longer belongs to him.

"Let me first share my personal understanding. If there's anything wrong, please point it out." Uchiha Shingen tapped the document with his finger. "An organization that doesn't belong to any other major ninja village, or even to Rain Village, Kusagakure, or Takigakure, provoked Leaf Village. Is my understanding correct?"

"That's how it is," Sarutobi Torabu said.

"I've seen this document; it's been here for three days, but it hasn't been processed yet."

"Yes, with the Joint Chunin Exams, Leaf Village is receiving a lot of attention. We feel it's not appropriate to take any drastic measures at this time. We plan to report to the Lord Hokage and deal with it after the exams."

"Putting aside whether it's appropriate or not, why report it to the Lord Hokage? And why suggest dealing with it after the exam?"

"Ah, of course... The actions of the ANBU must be reported to the Lord Hokage..." Sarutobi Torabu's voice gradually faded as he spoke.

"Brother Tiger, I'm not criticizing anyone. After all, I'm not on the front lines, so I can't sit in the office and criticize the work of my colleagues. But if a mad dog barks at you in the street, are you going to wait a few days before going to find it?"

"Of course not, we still have measures in place."

"Oh?" Uchiha Shingen immediately brightened. "What did we do?"

"We issued a warning to them, so they would understand that Hidden Leaf Village is not someone they can mess with; it's just inconvenient for them right now."

Uchiha Shingen: "..."

He pulled a red pen from the pen holder next to him and drew a big X on the comments section of the document.

Then he handed the document to Sarutobi Torabu.

"Send a detachment to take care of them."

Everyone was immediately taken aback.

"Shingen, this is the time for the village to cultivate its image Joint Chunin Exams," Sarutobi Torabu suggested, though he knew it was inappropriate. "It would be better if we reported this to the Lord Hokage for a decision."

"Brother Tiger, we're the ANBU," Uchiha Shingen sighed. "The ANBU needs to consider timeliness. How can we get anything done if we report everything to the Hokage? For those who like to talk too much, just shut them down and that's it. We can just write a statistical report every month."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Speaking of timeliness, we were definitely too late this time. After killing them, we stripped them naked and hung them on trees, which makes sense."

Everyone: "..."

Seeing their reaction, Uchiha Shingen was certain that his judgment was correct.

Ten years have passed; even a pig would have become a spirit by now.

These people certainly don't know what to do.

They clearly knew all along, but were unwilling to take responsibility.

The word "honest" is written as "play dumb" and read as "pretend to be stupid".

He was clearly the second senior brother, but he pretended to be a pig Tenten, and so he actually became a pig.