Notable Clansmen in the Anbu / Uchiha Shingen and Root

What was originally ANBU that emphasized speed and accuracy has been turned into an administrative department style with layers of reporting upwards.

What they need to change is their style.

The current ANBU needs the "Danzo style".

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Distinguished Young Masters in the ANBU

Sarutobi Torabu looked at the document in his hand that had already been approved in red ink. Although he had a lot of suggestions to say, he swallowed them all.

Since they've already approved it, as a subordinate, he just needs to do as they say.

He immediately chose the person to sit in the fifth column of the second row.

The selected guy didn't hesitate and immediately came up with a solution.

Uchiha Shingen nodded in agreement. If the intelligence was accurate, such a lineup would be enough to wipe out the organization completely, and the team would not take more than 24 hours to travel from the village to its return.

Once the plan was confirmed, the guy who received the task left the venue to recruit more people. The whole process was very quick, and the response capability met the standard.

Therefore, these people's professional skills are actually not a problem at all.

It's just oil.

But what the ANBU needs least is this kind of office wisdom.

"Since everyone's here, let's just process these documents as well." Uchiha Shingen simply approved the remaining documents and handed them to Sarutobi Torabu.

"Regarding our future work, I'd also like to inform everyone." Uchiha Shingen looked at everyone and announced the first working principle, "Leaving aside intelligence gathering, for matters involving military operations, there are the following criteria: any actions that clearly demonstrate military confrontation with Leaf Village, any actions that establish a de facto alliance with Leaf Village's hostile forces, and any actions that threaten Leaf Village's overseas strategies. If any of these three criteria are met, each branch should immediately prepare for battle."

Seeing that everyone had already taken out their notebooks and started taking notes, Uchiha Shingen paused briefly before continuing, "Decisions will be made in tiers according to the different levels of the entities being acted upon. For those not involving ninja villages, each branch will formulate its own operational plan and file it with headquarters. For those involving ninja villages but not the four major ninja villages, the branches will provide a plan, and headquarters will issue instructions after approval. For those involving the four major ninja villages, the branches will provide intelligence and suggestions, headquarters will formulate a plan, and the matter will be handled according to the Hokage's approval."

After hearing Uchiha Shingen's new procedure, the eyes of the branch leaders lit up.

Then something else occurred to them, and their excitement subsided somewhat.

"Regarding this procedure, I will report it to the Lord Hokage and issue a formal notice to all ANBU agencies. Within the filing level, the consequences of any actions taken by a branch are not related to the branch, unless the action requires headquarters approval or the Hokage's approval. Only then will a branch's unauthorized actions be considered a violation."

The branch managers' doubts vanished; this time, they were genuinely excited.

"There are also assessments. I've reviewed the ANBU's past assessment plans for special operations conducted by various branches, and they're too complicated. Starting today, they need to be adjusted as well," Uchiha Shingen added. "The assessments for special operations conducted by branches will be limited to the effectiveness of the operation, that is, the quantity and level of intelligence obtained, the number of enemies eliminated, and the casualty rate of our ninjas. The specifics will be clearly stated in writing."

The branch managers suddenly felt that they were about to turn the tables and become the masters of their own destiny.

Why is everyone so timid and hesitant? Why do some people insist on being treated like pigs instead of doing anything else? It's all because of this grueling assessment.

Damn it, before I can even carry out an action, I have to consider whether it will have any adverse effects on the village, otherwise I'll get points deducted. How can I just take any action? If headquarters doesn't approve it, do you think I'd dare to act?

Even if it's approved, and the intelligence is obtained, what if it's fake or expired? Would they really be held jointly liable?

Deducting pay is a minor issue; the real problem is that if you can't achieve three consecutive years of "excellent" ratings, you're basically stuck in the same position, okay?

Not to mention the various "exorbitant taxes and levies" collected at the end of each year, all of which are caused by the headquarters office.

As expected, the branch managers heard Uchiha Shingen start talking about that bastard's office.

This new boss is incredibly reliable! He's easy to get along with!

From today onwards, they are all Boss Shingen's men!

Tiger, it's not that we brothers don't support you, you're a good person and a good boss, but you're really not suited to be the head of the ANBU!

"The original function of the headquarters office should have been to collect and sort out the intelligence gathered by the various branches, verify the authenticity of the intelligence, and provide decision-making basis for the headquarters and the Lord Hokage. But it seems that these crucial tasks have been transferred to the various branches by the office, and the office only accepts the finished products sorted out by the branches?"

At this point, Uchiha Shingen also got a little angry.

What's left of the headquarters office, which used to be the most crucial part of the ANBU?

Few of them actually do anything; they're all just a bunch of people racking their brains to write reports. But the ANBU is supposed to get things done. What's the use of writing good reports?

The language is indeed flowery, but the accuracy of the intelligence itself is diluted, or even outdated.

The suggestions given were simply generic templates, which was tantamount to offering no suggestions at all.

Given the abysmal performance of the ANBU over the years, the headquarters office is at least half to blame.

"Since the work is being done by the branches, headquarters only needs to retain the secretariat; the rest can be eliminated, and all of that salary can be included in the frontline allowance."

Sarutobi Torabu finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Uchiha Shingen's strike was incredibly ruthless.

The headquarters office certainly had its share of problems, but in his view, it was precisely because of these people that the ANBU had maintained relatively harmonious relations with all parties over the years.

Who doesn't have a few relatives to take care of? These kinds of social obligations are very practical.

Although it was Uchiha Shingen who executed the man, Sarutobi Torabu believed that the blame would fall on him.

Uchiha Shingen is the future Uchiha Clan Head; that's normal for the Uchiha Clan.

But he's not like that. Over the years, he's had to protect his subordinates while also avoiding offending too many people. It's been very tough for him. These seemingly useless guys have played a significant role in all of this.

"Lord Shingen, the headquarters office can't be moved! It was set up by Lord Senju Muzoku himself back then!" Sarutobi Torabu came up with this reason.

However, this reason was the least convincing one for Uchiha Shingen.

"Brother Tiger, I understand what you're thinking," Uchiha Shingen sighed. "I also know you're a good captain, and you've suffered a lot of injustices to protect the ANBU."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Torabu felt a warmth in his heart.

He also knew how people outside viewed him.

The weakest head of the ANBU in history? That's being very polite.

The cotton tiger designation isn't excessive.

How could a Jonin not have a temper? He just can't express it.

If he didn't have to be the head of the ANBU, he wouldn't have to put up with this.

After the Shimura Danzō incident, the original Root naturally suffered, but the ANBU also got into trouble.

The pent-up anger of various gangs, suppressed by Shimura Danzō for many years, erupted in a single day with terrifying force, so much so that even the Hokage Building had to compromise to avoid provoking them too much.

The new ANBU returned all village affairs to the Police Force, largely because they didn't want to get involved in the village's factional struggles.

But the ANBU is ultimately based in the village. Sarutobi Torabu knows he's not a competent leader, but he still hopes the young men in the unit can maintain their "purity" before joining and not get involved in the messy affairs of the village.

The majority of the members of the ANBU did not come from those complex and intertwined factions, but were mostly civilian ninjas. While not all of them were from the Anbu, the majority of them joined the ANBU with a burning passion for the cause.

He dumped all the garbage that various forces had thrown in into his headquarters office, calling it a "core department."

Above them, the trash wouldn't dare mess with the Hokage; below them, at most they'd cause some trouble for the branch. With him and a few branch leaders holding things together, they couldn't do much besides being disgusting.

He felt that this was good enough, taking into account all aspects, even though it sacrificed the efficiency of the ANBU.

But these days, the ANBU really can't afford to offend anyone!

Sarutobi Torabu decided to tell Uchiha Shingen the truth.

"Lord Shingen, the ANBU is not what it used to be."

"It's alright, please tell me, I'll see how to solve it." Uchiha Shingen gestured for him to proceed.

He wanted to hear how things were different.

He could ignore it before, but now that Namikaze Minato has forced him here, he can no longer tolerate this lazy bum.

Otherwise, I'd be letting my old buddies down.

"After what happened to Shimura Danzō, there's been a general societal negative view of the ANBU in the village, and many of the younger generation have been affected," Sarutobi Torabu said. "I am a ninja from the Sarutobi Clan, and you are a strong member of the Uchiha Clan. We are from a prestigious family, and even without the ANBU, we wouldn't be much worse off in this village. But those young people are all commoner ninjas. With the ANBU destroyed, their dreams have been shattered."

Uchiha Shingen was somewhat surprised.

I wasn't surprised by what Sarutobi Torabu said, but rather by the fact that he said it.

Good heavens! The Leaf Village ANBU actually has a leader who's such a nice guy?

He didn't quite believe it.

If that's the case, Namikaze Minato really knows how to pick people.

"Lord Shingen, what Chief Sarutobi Clan said is indeed the truth," a branch chief said. "In previous years, the situation of the ANBU was very bad, and many tasks did not go smoothly."

Uchiha Shingen did know this.

Take the Uchiha Clan as an example. At that time, many people suggested at the clan meeting that the clan should exert its strength to eliminate the ANBU.

No ninja clan likes the ANBU.

The ninja clans of Leaf Village disliked the ANBU even more than Leaf Village's enemies.

The Uchiha Clan is actually considered relatively good, since they simply dislike, rather than hate, the reason for their dislike is mainly because the ANBU is the Hokage's direct military force.

However, some ninja clans genuinely despise the ANBU.

"If that's the case, then the headquarters office should be eliminated even more," Uchiha Shingen said.

Disappointment flashed in Sarutobi Torabu's eyes.

He felt that Uchiha Shingen, who had achieved fame at a young age and came from a prestigious family, was too indifferent to those young commoner ninjas.

He didn't really care at first, until he became the head of the ANBU.

He decided to stay in this position until retirement because he couldn't convince himself to go back to being the carefree scion of a prominent family he once was.

But Uchiha Shingen wouldn't stay in the ANBU forever; he was just a passerby in the ANBU.

They could leave at any time. The current measures, which seem to strengthen the ANBU, will cause it to lose ANBU for reconciliation with various factions.

The Hokage will be replaced, but the ANBU will always exist. The new Hokage will only replace the high-ranking members of the ANBU; the lower-level staff will remain the same simple young people.

"Brother Torabe, I'm not the kind of person you think I am. I won't let the ANBU fall to that level." Uchiha Shingen saw Sarutobi Torabu's disappointment, but he didn't delve deeper into the topic.

Many things can become clearer through debate, but the prerequisite is to do things first.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Uchiha Shingen and Root

After ending the topic, Uchiha Shingen looked towards the door.

Footsteps could already be heard outside the door.

Whether Sarutobi Torabu's words or his thoughts were true or false is no longer important; Uchiha Shingen has already concluded that Sarutobi Torabu can indeed take the blame for the other half of the situation.

Even if it's a lie, being able to come up with such a reason makes one unsuitable to be the head of the ANBU.

The office door opened again.

It was as if a blast of "cold air" had been blown in when the refrigerator door was opened.

A group of people stood at the door.

They didn't give off a very good impression.

Unlike Sarutobi Torabu, this group was fully prepared for battle. Even here, they were still wearing masks, draped in black cloaks, and their storage bags were bulging.

They were the only remaining official members of the original Root after Shimura Danzō.

During the Third's era, the official members of Leaf Village's ANBU numbered less than one hundred. Sarutobi Hiruzen's eldest son served as the head of the ANBU, also known as the Captain-Commander.

Below that are four squads, each with a squad leader and four platoons under them, with a maximum total number of seventeen people.

The so-called "Root" is the fifth detachment, and its personnel structure is the same as the four detachments of the ANBU".

In other words, the original Root actually only had seventeen official members.

Even Impure World Reincarnation them all couldn't satisfy Shimura Danzō's desire to cause trouble.

To fill the staffing gap, Shimura Danzō implemented a temporary contract system. Temporary employees did not have permanent positions, but their salaries were higher.

Shimura Danzō both power and money to build Root, a force that Leaf Village's enemies feared.

The temporary contract system then spread throughout the entire ANBU.

In the era of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato first inadvertently defeated Shimura Danzō, and then, learning from the lessons of his predecessor, began to reorganize the ANBU.

The first step is to eliminate factionalism, starting with the temporary employment system.

Why bother with temporary hires? Come and be a full member!

As Leaf Village's financial resources began to undergo a dramatic transformation, investment in the ANBU) was greatly increased.

The ANBU has now changed from a team system to a division system.

The total number of people has also surged to seven or eight hundred.