ANBU Training Class

Lin Chuan had been unable to sleep the entire night in Root, especially since he was sharing a dormitory with Kabuto Yakushi, that traitor. He only managed to doze off for a little while in the morning when he could no longer hold out.

The instant he heard Kabuto Yakushi get up and dress, he sprang from his bed and got dressed as well. Without asking or saying anything, he followed Kabuto Yakushi out and arrived at a rather large underground training ground.

As the two of them arrived, more than thirty children gradually gathered in the training ground. Aside from Fū Yamanaka, whom he had seen yesterday, Lin Chuan only recognized Torune Aburame with the black blindfold. There was also one child with short gray hair and another with short black hair. The rest were unfamiliar.

[Fū Yamanaka, Torune Aburame]

"Everyone is here," Danzo said, sweeping his gaze over them one by one. They all wore Root's black training uniforms. He began delivering a brainwashing speech. "Here, you have no names, no past, and no future. There is only loyalty, orders, and missions..."

"They are Konoha beneath the sunlight; we are the Root in the darkness, supporting the great tree of Konoha from behind, roots deeply embedded in the earth... I am the will of 'Root.' Self-sacrifice is the true nature of ANBU. Even hidden in darkness, we must protect Konoha..."

"Lord Danzo." Seeing the ANBU behind Danzo drop to one knee, the thirty-odd children standing in the training ground all followed suit, kneeling on one knee with convincing imitation and lowering their heads in submission before that old schemer, Danzo.

"Very good." Danzo was quite satisfied with the brainwashing's effect. Seeing everyone submit at his feet, he was pleased with this batch of children. Turning to his subordinate behind him, he ordered, "Ryūma, I'll leave the selection mission for this batch of ANBU to you. Kabuto and Leopard will assist you in training these children..."

[Ryūma Aburame]

"Yes, Lord Danzo." Ryūma Aburame, Danzo's right-hand man, accepted the task of selecting this year's ANBU trainees. Kabuto Yakushi and Leopard were both ANBU Training Class students from the previous class who had passed the selection.

"Begin," Danzo instructed softly, leaning on his cane as he left the training ground. He only cared about the results, not the process. There were quite a few geniuses among these children, but he wondered how many would survive in the end. As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Everything I do is for Konoha's future, Monkey..."

"Everything is for protecting Konoha. Some sacrifices are necessary. I will bear Konoha's darkness..."

After Danzo left, Ryūma Aburame stood before the crowd and gave them a cruel smile as he explained, "I am Ryūma Aburame, the chief instructor responsible for training you in this ANBU Training Class. From now on, you will all address me as Chief Instructor. I will become your nightmare. Whether you are eating or sleeping, you will think of me..."

"Here, you have no names, no emotions, no past, and no future. There are only missions. You will sever every bond and all familial affection, bury yourselves deep underground, and find it difficult to see sunlight again..."

"Here, you have only one master, your sole master: Lord Danzo. You will serve Lord Danzo and remain absolutely loyal to him. Lord Danzo's orders are above all else. Missions are above life itself. Failure means death. ANBU rules dictate that no corpse may be left behind; we cannot allow the enemy to obtain your bodies..."

"Next, you will face ANBU's cruelest training and selection, and witness true hell. The elimination rate for ANBU selection approaches ninety percent. Only ten percent survive to become one of us. Who will be that lucky one?"

Ryūma Aburame merely released a faint trace of killing intent, yet he already saw some children trembling. He could not help but chuckle before continuing his explanation.

"ANBU Training Class assignments include infiltration, disguise, tracking, intelligence gathering, silent assassination, wilderness survival, and extreme ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu training. Did you hear that?" Ryūma Aburame smiled at the crowd. Only the strong who had undergone brutal selection deserved to live—to become perfect tools devoid of emotion or will, absolutely obedient to Lord Danzo.

"Yes, Chief Instructor." The thirty-odd children did not dare raise their heads and all answered with their heads lowered. Those with stronger mental fortitude pretended to be calm, secretly clenching their fists. The weak and timid were already trembling in fear. Some children had even collapsed onto the ground, crying and sobbing incessantly.

"Tch, so this is the ANBU Training Class. It really is exciting." Hearing Ryūma Aburame's explanation, Lin Chuan felt thrilled, without the slightest fear. He was not going to die anyway. If training did not kill him, then he would train until it did. After all, he had always lived a life of grinding himself to the bone. He was truly looking forward to the coming week from hell!

"Kabuto, Leopard, take them to collect their equipment, imprint the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, then gather here again," Ryūma ordered his assistants behind him. He knew both of them, especially Kabuto Yakushi. Back then, he had accompanied Lord Danzo to the orphanage to bring Kabuto Yakushi away.

"Yes, Chief Instructor." Kabuto Yakushi and Leopard accepted the order. They rose and walked before the thirty-odd children, looking at this group of little ones already scared senseless. Kabuto Yakushi called out, "Those who can move, get up and follow me. Here, you must learn to obey your superiors' orders..."

Kabuto Yakushi looked at Lin Chuan with a smile at the corner of his mouth. He had noticed that the higher-ups had arranged for Lin Chuan to share a dormitory with him, which meant they valued this child highly. He wondered what was so special about Lin Chuan.

Still, he would probably find out soon enough. He wondered whether Lin Chuan could stand up. If he had been frightened so badly that his legs went weak and he could not rise, then perhaps the higher-ups had misjudged him after all.

The first to stand and follow Kabuto Yakushi away were Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame. Sai, with short black hair, and Shin, with short gray hair, helped each other to their feet and followed Kabuto Yakushi away.

[Shin, Sai]

Lin Chuan naturally stood as well. He was utterly unfazed by the killing intent released by Ryūma Aburame, a Jonin. He was a man who shared a dormitory with Kabuto Yakushi—how could he fear such trivial killing intent? He got up and chased after Kabuto Yakushi.

Many more children gradually got up and hurried after Lin Chuan and the others. In the end, three children remained collapsed on the ground, unable to rise. Masked ANBU dragged them away, and their fate was self-evident.

Root was not a kindergarten. This was the ANBU Training Class, and an even crueler Root. No one would give you time to adapt, and no one was willing to wait for you. If you were given an opportunity and failed to seize it, all that remained was physical disposal.

Elsewhere, Kabuto Yakushi led the group to the logistics department before smiling at the terrified children. "I'm taking you to the logistics department to collect your equipment. They are all standard ANBU equipment; you cannot buy them outside..."

The group arrived at the logistics department and collected ANBU vests and arm guards suited to their respective heights and weights. They also received short blades, kunai, and shuriken to put into their ninja tool pouches, along with standard ANBU masks.

The masks of the Hokage's directly subordinate ANBU were mostly white masks styled after animals. Root's ANBU masks mostly featured patterns in various colors. Lin Chuan chose a white mask with black facial markings. There was not much to fuss over with this thing.

After everyone put on their equipment, they went to Root's sealing class, where the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal was planted on their tongues. The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal was a silencing Cursed Seal specially developed by Shimura Danzō, primarily used to prevent intelligence leaks.