New Teammates

"Captain..."

"Hey, I'm not the captain anymore." Gennosuke lay on the hospital bed, his face full of smiles. "You're the captain of Anbu Squad One now."

"But Cicada and the others..." Jin sat beside the bed and said quietly, "I'm sorry, Captain. I couldn't keep them."

"Hahaha." Gennosuke laughed without a care. "That has nothing to do with you. This has always been the Anbu's rule. If a squad's captain withdraws from the front line, that squad's members will all be transferred out."

With Gennosuke putting it that way, much of the knot in Jin's heart slowly loosened. "Then, Captain, where do you plan to go after this?"

"Me? I'm planning to teach at the Ninja Academy. After fighting for so long, I want to take a proper rest too." Gennosuke smiled in relief. "Maybe one day I'll teach a student even more talented than you. Just thinking about it makes me happy."

The two talked for a while longer, until an Anbu arrived...

Outside Konoha Gate, Fangs and the other two were stopped there, until Jin, dressed all in white, came to the gate accompanied by an Anbu.

Jin looked at the companions he had once fought alongside and said, unable to bear it, "Fangs, Sparrow, Cicada, by order of the Hokage, you three... have been transferred out of the Anbu."

To Jin's slight surprise, the three of them took off their masks without the slightest hesitation, revealing their true faces. The three showed no emotion. If anything, they looked somewhat freed...

"You... you guys?" Jin blinked in confusion. Sparrow was the first to speak. "The three of us entered the Anbu together. Being able to leave the Anbu together is already tremendous luck."

Fangs also laughed and said, "Man, I didn't expect you to be the one announcing this order. So that means you're the new captain of Squad One?"

"Heehee, how miserable. From now on, this guy gets to stay behind and keep struggling in the Anbu." Cicada also looked as if she were enjoying his misfortune. To be honest, after staying in the Anbu for so long, she really had gotten tired of it.

"Damn it, I was actually pretty sad at first. But after hearing you say that, I'm even sadder." Jin lunged at Fangs and the others in annoyance. "So the three of you all get to leave, and I'm the only one left to suffer through everything after this!"

"Hey! This kid's getting worked up, Sparrow!"

"Hahaha..."

After some roughhousing, the four gradually quieted down. Fangs was the first to hand his mask to Jin. "Do a good job."

"Don't disgrace Squad One." Sparrow was also solemn.

Cicada looked at Jin meaningfully. "Stay alive."

"Got it. I've received the feelings of you three bros." Jin raised his brows. "What arrangements do you three want? I'll try applying to the Hokage for you."

"Oh, I thought about it long ago. I'll go be a doctor or something at the hospital. Pretty easy." Cicada blurted out, "Being an angel in white has been my dream since I was little."

"I'll go to the intelligence department," Sparrow said as well. "A bit easier."

"I'll go teach at the Ninja Academy. I heard the captain is going there too. Let's see if I can somehow get a position like director..."

"Oh? These are their requests?" Hiruzen asked, looking at the report Jin handed in.

Jin nodded. "Yes."

Hiruzen did not hesitate in the slightest. After briskly signing his name, he handed another list to Jin. "These are the teammates I personally selected for you. They all just entered the Anbu."

Jin took the list but did not look closely, asking casually, "They entered the Anbu through the formal assessment?"

"Don't worry, no one used connections." How could Hiruzen not know what Jin meant? "But they've only just entered the Anbu, after all. You'll have to put in more effort."

"You make it sound like I've been in the Anbu for ages." Jin muttered. Hiruzen automatically ignored that sentence, treating it as if he had farted. He waved at Jin, indicating that he could get lost.

It was Jin's first time being a captain, and he truly had no experience at all, so he had no choice but to find Sakumo, one of his direct superiors. This was also Jin's first time appearing in the Anbu chief's office.

"Reporting." Jin politely knocked on the door from outside. Sakumo's steady voice came from within. "Come in."

"Master." Jin sat down on the sofa without the slightest courtesy. Sakumo stopped the pen in his hand and said with a smile, "You brat, what made you think to come to my place?"

"Well, I became a captain, didn't I? So I came to report my work to the chief." Jin obsequiously picked up the teapot and filled Sakumo's empty cup before handing it over.

Sakumo took the teacup and laughed. "What? You don't know how to lead a team?"

"Come on, you know how it is." Jin shrugged noncommittally. "What team-leading experience do I have? The little bit I do have was from replacing Brother Minato during the Second War."

Sakumo gently blew on his tea. "Leading a team isn't actually hard. What's hard is bringing people out and then bringing them back safe and sound."

"But at my age, people won't be convinced." Jin placed the materials Hiruzen had given him on the table. "Though they're all ninjas from civilian backgrounds, they're all rookies."

"That is your duty as captain." Sakumo cheerfully analyzed the reasoning for Jin. "Do you know why, after the previous captain left the Anbu, the original squad members also had to be transferred out?"

"Uh... to save the next captain a lot of trouble?" Jin guessed.

"That is one reason. But as a special squad like Anbu Squad One, generally speaking, rookies wouldn't be recruited into it. This can also be considered training you." Sakumo explained, "Because the Hokage and I firmly believe your steps will not stop at being the captain of a single squad."

"Ha, you think too highly of me." Jin smiled bitterly.

Sakumo looked at Jin with a hint of relief. "Actually, when we look at your strength, we subconsciously forget your age. Then when we come back to our senses and see that you're only seven, you've already displayed astonishing maturity."

After resting at home for two days, Jin finally accepted the fact that he was only seven years old yet had become the captain of a squad.

"It's time to gather my teammates." Jin smiled bitterly. After putting on his Anbu outfit, he left home.

Sixth Training Ground.

Three Anbu without masks were waiting there. One of the men spoke. "Why isn't our captain here yet?"

"Be content. This is Anbu Squad One. How many people would fight tooth and nail to get in? As our captain, they must be really strong! Waiting for a strong person doesn't matter at all." Another boy spoke with hot-blooded enthusiasm.

"Who knows?" the last girl said quietly, though she was also very curious what the new captain was like...

"If this is your attitude, then go back wherever you came from."

A cold voice rang beside their ears. Looking toward the sound... they saw an Anbu wearing a cat mask, half a head shorter than them, slowly walking toward them.

"You are?" asked the boy who talked the most. "Are you our new teammate too?"

"My name is Uchiha Jin." Jin took off his mask, revealing that young, childish baby face. "I am your captain."

"You?"

All three looked at the boy in shock. Clearly, this was obviously impossible. Let a child who looked only a few years old be their captain? What kind of joke was that?