Joining the Anbu

To Hiruzen Sarutobi, the village came before everything else.

That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to bring an unpredictable factor like Chinatsu under control, no matter what. But he was not as extreme as Shimura Danzō, and after much deliberation, he decided to have Chinatsu join the Anbu.

The Anbu were Konoha's special assassination organization, but their regular missions were not necessarily assassinations. They also handled covert conflicts between villages.

The Anbu's average strength was relatively high, with members ranging from Chunin to Jonin. If Chinatsu joined, she would effectively be surrounded by informants, making her much easier to monitor.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, this was the best possible outcome, but he did not think Chinatsu would agree so readily.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: This girl definitely isn't as simple as she looks. She might make some demands. As long as they aren't too unreasonable, agreeing to them might not be a bad...

Chinatsu: "The Anbu? Sure, no problem."

Chinatsu tilted her head and answered with a smile, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi utterly dumbfounded.

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, which produced one elite ninja after another, it was perfectly normal for Chinatsu to have heard of the Anbu, an organization ordinary ninja knew nothing about. That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had simply asked her directly whether she would join.

Before Chinatsu answered, Hiruzen Sarutobi had rehearsed perfect responses to all sorts of possible replies. But at that moment, her single "Sure, no problem" shattered them all.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: That... that easily?

Chinatsu: After all that fuss, he just wants me to join the Anbu? I did all that preparation for nothing. The Anbu sounds great. I was planning to apply to become a ninja again anyway, and being in a higher-level unit would help me improve even more.

Besides... Kakashi is still in the Anbu.

Chinatsu was more than happy to get on Kakashi's good side. In the original story, he was known as the man who could fight anyone in the Shinobi World to a draw, and he would eventually become Naruto and Sasuke's teacher.

"The Anbu, huh? I've heard only the best ninja can get in. Lord Hokage, thank you so much! Thank you for trusting me!"

As she spoke, Chinatsu even bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi, giving him goosebumps. Inside his head, he frantically waved his hands.

No, no, no! I'm doing this because I don't trust you!

What is going on? Does this girl really not understand anything? If she's pretending, her expression is far too convincing. But the Anbu all said she was suspicious, and the Anbu wouldn't lie...

Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and fell silent for a few seconds before looking up at Chinatsu again. Her hands rested demurely in front of her, her head tilted, a smile on her face.

For an instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as though he had seen the "light"...

Hiruzen Sarutobi covered his face with one hand. Chinatsu was already known throughout Konoha as a budding beauty, and now she had thrown her dignity aside to imitate the endearing poses she had seen in her previous life. The sheer impact was like a club, striking people over and over. For a lecher like Hiruzen Sarutobi, it was a critical hit!

"You... you can go home for now. I'll send someone from the Anbu to notify you about the formal arrangements."

"All right."

Chinatsu gave Hiruzen Sarutobi another slight bow, then turned and left the Hokage's office without hesitation. He was left slumped in his chair, unable to calm down for a long time...

The Ninja Academy.

As usual, Sasuke appeared to be listening to the lesson while quietly refining his chakra.

Naruto, who sat a short distance away, watched him and copied his posture. But he really was only copying the posture...

"Naruto, answer this question."

Their teacher, Iruka, tapped the blackboard with his pointer as he addressed the distracted Naruto.

Naruto jumped and hurriedly looked at the blackboard, but looking did him no good.

The question? How am I supposed to answer something I don't know just by looking at the question?

Watching Naruto struggle to think despite clearly having no idea, Iruka sighed helplessly and waved for him to sit down.

At the same time, his gaze swept across the room and landed on Sasuke, who was just as "distracted" as Naruto.

"Sasuke, you answer this question."

Sasuke opened his eyes, gave the blackboard a brief, indifferent glance, then closed them again.

"The three fundamental ninja disciplines are ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu. The three basic ninja techniques are the Clone Technique, the Transformation Technique, and the Substitution Technique."

A perfect answer!

Iruka looked surprised, wondering whether Sasuke had actually been paying attention.

Of course he had been zoning out. It was just that Chinatsu had already given him some private tutoring.

The knowledge Sasuke had amassed by now was not necessarily inferior to Iruka's. Just as Sasuke himself had said, the Ninja Academy offered him no real help. If he wanted to, he could apply to graduate right now.

Of course, impressive as being able to graduate already might seem, even if Sasuke graduated now, he still could not claim first place.

Uchiha Itachi had graduated at seven, awakened his Sharingan at eight, become a Chunin at ten, and become an Anbu Captain at thirteen.

It was as if he had cheat codes enabled.

Right, there was someone even more ridiculous.

Kakashi Hatake had graduated at five...

Since he could not take first place, Sasuke had little interest in graduating early. He had discovered that refining his chakra while listening to the teacher lecture was inexplicably more effective. He wondered whether his sister had sent him to the Ninja Academy specifically because she knew about this.

If Chinatsu knew what Sasuke was thinking, she would definitely have offered this awkward retort.

[Your chakra training probably works better for the same reason I sleep especially well in class...]

Time flew, and another day soon came to an end. Sasuke picked up his backpack and prepared to leave. Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly packed his things and rushed after him.

"Sasuke, wait for me!"

"Who said I'd wait for you?"

Despite his words, Sasuke could not help slowing down until Naruto caught up. The two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the Uchiha Residence.

When the girls in their class and around the school saw this, some could not help covering their mouths. At that moment, their inner boys' love fangirls... awakened!

"Could Sasuke-kun be..."

This was just... too exciting!!!

The boys' love fangirls excitedly cupped their cheeks, while the other girls stared at Naruto as though he were a romantic rival, wondering why they could not be the ones standing beside Sasuke.

Well, well. They had become a universally recognized couple. Fortunately, Naruto and Sasuke were still innocent enough at this point. Otherwise, the girls' ideas would have left them utterly exasperated.

Meanwhile, as Sasuke and Naruto walked home, two figures stealthily followed behind them...