"Hello, everyone. With my mask off, I imagine this is our first meeting for most of you. My name is Xia Yan, Senju Natsuhiko."
Xia Yan's voice was gentle, but with chakra, it reached the ears of every Anbu member present.
Whether they belonged to the frontline forces or the reserves, worked at desks or handled interrogations, they could all hear Xia Yan clearly.
His words confirmed everyone's suspicions: Xia Yan was now the Anbu Director!
The Anbu had a rule: no one except the Director could publicly remove their mask, much less publicly reveal their name.
Except under special circumstances where everyone already knew, as with Kakashi in the original story, doing so was considered a challenge to the Anbu's bottom line.
But one person was exempt, because he was the Anbu's supreme commander and stood outside its actual confidentiality rules.
That person was the Anbu Director!
Xia Yan's actions made one thing perfectly clear: he was now the Anbu Director!
When the other Anbu Ninja learned this, they could not help feeling surprised, despite having already guessed it.
Beyond their surprise, however, they felt even more excitement.
In truth, Xia Yan's performance had already earned their recognition. After all, fighting his way in and out of the Land of Wind alone was not something just anyone could do.
His performance last night had further proved just how terrifying his strength was. Both that mountain-like Summoning Beast and his fearsome Wood Release left the Anbu Ninja marveling.
His decisiveness and command abilities had also earned their recognition.
In such a crisis, Xia Yan had boldly killed the Anbu Director so the Anbu could mobilize faster to save Konoha. That was not something an ordinary person would dare do.
And amid Konoha's chaos, he had calmly directed the Anbu members