Anbu

Led by White Elephant, Kazuhiko Uchiha arrived in a secluded forest somewhere in Konoha, where he met an Anbu ninja wearing a star-patterned mask.

"Xinghe, Lord Hokage has ordered that Kazuhiko Uchiha be permitted to take the Anbu assessment." White Elephant saluted the Anbu ninja and relayed the Third Hokage's orders.

The Anbu named Xinghe leafed through the documents White Elephant had brought from the Hokage Building. His brows furrowed, and he asked in a displeased tone, "He only graduated this year, didn't he? He barely has any mission experience. Is he really suited to joining our squad?"

"Here's what happened..." White Elephant leaned close to Xinghe's ear and explained the circumstances.

"Understood. Follow me." After learning why Kazuhiko Uchiha was joining the Anbu, Xinghe's expression softened considerably. He gave Kazuhiko an approving look, then led everyone to a flat, open training ground.

Anbu, short for the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, was a special department established by the Second Hokage.

Its members were outstanding ninja selected from the village. Their primary duties were protecting the Hokage and preventing enemy incursions into the village, though they sometimes undertook reconnaissance and assassination missions as well. Given the nature of their missions, they needed considerable strength to ensure success.

Thus, apart from ninja assigned to certain noncombat departments or those with special talents, all new members had to possess at least elite chunin-level strength. The Anbu assessment required them to defeat a Shadow Clone created by an examiner, whose strength was set at elite chunin level.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Xinghe created a Shadow Clone, which leaped into the field. He then told Kazuhiko Uchiha, "Go ahead. There are no restrictions. As long as you defeat my Shadow Clone within ten minutes, you pass."

"Understood." Kazuhiko Uchiha nodded and leaped into the training ground, where he and the Shadow Clone each formed the Seal of Confrontation.

There was no suspense to the fight. Kazuhiko Uchiha opened the third gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation and instantly destroyed Xinghe's Shadow Clone with a single Reverse Lotus, passing the assessment with ease.

Clap, clap, clap. "Excellent. Another outstanding young ninja. Welcome to the Anbu."

Rather than being embarrassed or irritated that Kazuhiko Uchiha had instantly defeated his Shadow Clone, Xinghe applauded in satisfaction. He turned to White Elephant and said, "White Elephant, thank you for bringing me such a promising recruit."

"Haha, since he passed the assessment, I'll leave the mission involving him to your squad. I'll head back and report to Lord Third." White Elephant laughed and waved goodbye to everyone.

"From now on, you're a member of the Third Squad of our Second Action Team. I'm your squad leader, Xinghe."

Captain Xinghe took an unmarked white mask from a sealing scroll and handed it to Kazuhiko Uchiha.

"Once you join the Anbu, remember to keep your true identity hidden. Always wear your mask on missions, and address one another by code names. This is a temporary mask, so make do with it for now. When you have time, make one in a style you like."

"Thank you, Captain." Kazuhiko Uchiha accepted the mask and put it on. Though it was a little too large, it still concealed his face.

"Let's go complete the rest of your registration at Anbu headquarters." Once Kazuhiko Uchiha had his mask on, Captain Xinghe led him to the Anbu hall hidden deeper in the forest.

As they ran and leaped along, Kazuhiko Uchiha asked Captain Xinghe, "Captain, how many other members are in our squad?"

"Our squad has three other members: Fūren, Kasen, and Green Sparrow. I'll introduce you when you meet them tomorrow."

After that brief introduction, Captain Xinghe asked, "By the way, what code name do you intend to use?"

"A code name... Blue Hawk, then." After some thought, Kazuhiko Uchiha chose Blue Hawk as his code name, representing his dream of breaking free of fate's shackles and soaring freely through all the worlds.

With Xinghe's help, Kazuhiko Uchiha quickly completed all the procedures and officially became the Konoha Anbu ninja "Blue Hawk."

"All right, that's it for today. Assemble at Training Ground Nine in Konoha at eight tomorrow morning. We'll be carrying out the mission to eliminate Ichirō Ōki." With that, Captain Xinghe vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Kazuhiko Uchiha then left Anbu headquarters as well. After buying some supplies at a ninja tool shop in the village, he returned home and carefully read the precautions, confidentiality rules, and other documents issued by the Anbu, along with the training scroll for the B-rank ninjutsu [Fire Release: Searing Migraine], awarded to him for joining.

The next day, Kazuhiko Uchiha arrived at Training Ground Nine wearing his newly purchased blue hawk mask and met Captain Xinghe and his three teammates.

"Let's move out. Our destination is Cangdao City, Land of Lightning."

Once Kazuhiko Uchiha joined the team, Captain Xinghe gave the order, and everyone immediately set off for the Land of Lightning.

Along the way, Kazuhiko Uchiha and his teammates introduced themselves, gaining a basic understanding of one another.

Xinghe, the captain of the Third Squad, was a Jonin skilled in Water Release and Wind Release.

Fūren was a shapely, mature woman and a special jōnin skilled in Wind Release and a Sensory Secret Technique.

Kasen was a tall, thin young man of few words, an elite chunin skilled in swordsmanship and Lightning Release.

Green Sparrow was an honest-looking middle-aged man wearing a sparrow mask, a special jōnin skilled in Taijutsu and Earth Release who possessed a rare Bird Summoning Beast.

They certainly lived up to being the Anbu of the strongest ninja village. Though the original story made them seem like bit players who were constantly killed in an instant, in the real Naruto World, even a small squad possessed such strength. They truly were a force to be reckoned with.

Keeping up a grueling pace, the team reached Cangdao City in the Land of Lightning in just three days.

To conceal their identities as thoroughly as possible, Captain Xinghe ordered them to split up, disguise themselves, and slip into the city through different gates. They finally regrouped in a room at a prearranged inn.

"According to our intelligence, after the head of the Ōki Trading Company learned that his son had caused trouble, he hired two Cloud Ninja squads to protect Ichirō Ōki. That means we may have to fight Cloud Ninja on this mission, so be careful. Blue Hawk, this applies especially to you. Don't act rashly when you see the target. Wait for my orders before making a move."

Captain Xinghe shared the information gathered by the local intelligence department with everyone, taking particular care to warn Kazuhiko Uchiha, whom he believed might act recklessly out of a desire for revenge.

"Yes, Captain."

Kazuhiko Uchiha certainly had no intention of acting rashly. He would never gamble with his own life. Even his supposed desire for revenge was merely an excuse to show what he could do.

After confirming that Kazuhiko Uchiha had truly taken his advice to heart, Captain Xinghe relaxed and began laying out their next steps.

"Fūren, Kasen, you'll gather intelligence on the Cloud Ninja squads. Green Sparrow, Blue Hawk, you'll locate the target. Once we've confirmed everything, we'll decide on the final plan."

"Yes, Captain." The four answered, then dispersed to carry out the tasks Captain Xinghe had assigned.