"Ning Feng, the Hokage Residence is just ahead. Anbu Headquarters is somewhere nearby. Whether you can find it is up to you!"
After Ning Feng finally managed to leave the Uchiha Estate, Uchiha Itachi, who had long been waiting there, gave him an affectionate look before vanishing without a trace alongside Shisui Uchiha.
Watching the two depart, Ning Feng's lips curled slightly. How could he not know that, although Minato Namikaze had invited him to join the Anbu, getting in would hardly be easy?
And the first problem before him was where Anbu Headquarters was.
Only by successfully finding Anbu Headquarters would he likely have fully passed Minato Namikaze's test.
With that thought, Ning Feng took out the Anbu Reporting Certificate Minato Namikaze had given him.
The Reporting Certificate contained only a single line of completely illegible writing, clearly a clue to Anbu Headquarters.
As a Naruto fan, Ning Feng also knew that even a mere Chunin Ninja Exam was terrifyingly difficult, let alone finding Anbu Headquarters.
Committing the writing on the Reporting Certificate to memory, Ning Feng headed straight for the vast plain behind the Hokage Residence.
A secretive organization like Konoha Anbu, especially one engaged in intelligence gathering and assassination, could not possibly operate out in the open, so its headquarters could only be underground.
Following that line of speculation, Ning Feng soon noticed that coded signs had actually been left in many places across the vast plain before him.
Moreover, these signs seemed to have a special connection to the writing in the Reporting Book Minato Namikaze had given him.
"Sharingan, activate!"
Suddenly, beneath the dim sky, a pair of scarlet Two-Tomoe Sharingan burst into brilliant light.
With his formidable perception, Ning Feng then discovered to his surprise that powerful barriers had been set up at every location bearing a coded sign. There was no way to tell which one was actually Anbu Headquarters.
"Truly worthy of the Anbu. Even if other ninja villages obtained some of their intelligence, destroying this organization would still be incredibly difficult!"
Ning Feng could not help voicing his admiration.
Although the original Naruto story had never mentioned it, it took only a little imagination to realize how terrifying Konoha Anbu, which had stood for so many years, must have been.
Just as Ning Feng was pondering this, he suddenly noticed that the writing in the Reporting Book Minato had given him seemed to determine Anbu Headquarters' location through a series of calculations.
Moreover, Anbu Headquarters probably changed locations at regular intervals.
With that in mind, Ning Feng quickly began calculating.
Far away, inside the Hokage Residence.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, quietly watched Ning Feng searching for traces of Anbu Headquarters in the distance, a look of intense anticipation flashing in his eyes.
Behind Minato, Uchiha Itachi wore an equally expectant expression.
"Itachi, do you think Feng can find traces of Anbu Headquarters this time? Even I, the Hokage, have to perform certain calculations using the intelligence I possess before I can work out its location."
"If it's Feng, he should be able to!"
Uchiha Itachi looked utterly confident.
Only after joining the Anbu had he discovered how terrifying the organization was. It held almost all the world's top-secret information.
And in places like this, counterespionage measures were often the most terrifying of all.
"Hmm? He found it?!"
Minato Namikaze stood with his hands behind his back and was just about to say something when surprise suddenly flashed through his expectant eyes.
Under his astonished gaze, Ning Feng seemed to have found a series of ways to decipher the code Minato had given him and finally determined something.
"To think the Hokage World was already using things like Morse Code this early!"
Ning Feng's lips curled slightly. If I didn't have knowledge in this field, I probably wouldn't even be able to find the Hokage's Anbu!
With that thought, he approached a seemingly ordinary stone with a strange symbol carved into it.
Soon, the stone began shining brilliantly, completely enveloping Ning Feng as though identifying him.
The barriers surrounding Konohagakure also possessed powerful identification capabilities. Only Konohagakure's ninja could remain unaffected by them.
The next moment, a rumble rang out, and a doorway unexpectedly appeared within the stone, revealing another space inside.
Clearly, this was the entrance to Anbu Headquarters!
"Found it!"
Ning Feng looked around. The entrance really was well hidden, incredibly difficult to find.
In the original Naruto story, Orochimaru's base in Otogakure had also been quite difficult to locate and filled with traps. It had probably been built with reference to Konoha Anbu Headquarters.
Just as Ning Feng was feeling somewhat excited, a pleasant, crisp notification sounded:
"Congratulations! You have found the entrance to Anbu Headquarters!" "Personal Exclusive Mission [Anbu Ninja] activated!" "Personal Main Mission [Ninja Technique Training] successfully completed..." "You have gained 1,000,000 Experience Points!" "You have gained 2,000 Chakra Limit!" "You have obtained Kunai ×100!" "You have obtained Explosive Tags ×20!" "All your Ninjutsu have increased by 1 level!" ... "You have leveled up! You have reached level 17!" ... "You have leveled up! You have reached level 19!"
As several pleasant, crisp notifications sounded in succession, Ning Feng felt boundless power surge into him in that instant, leaving every part of his body feeling indescribably refreshed.
Especially after receiving the reward of 2,000 Chakra Limit, he felt that the chakra contained in his cells had increased by an unknown amount.
The sensation was utterly marvelous.
Just as Ning Feng was thinking this, a ninja wearing an Anbu Mask slowly approached. "You're Feng, the one Lord Minato recommended to join Konoha Anbu, correct?"
"Please follow me! There are a few things I need to tell you..."
"First: during Anbu operations, all Anbu ninja have only code names, not names. No one's name may be spoken within the Anbu either."
"Second: no Anbu ninja may disclose any information whatsoever about their missions. Traitors will be pursued to the death!"
"Third: if a comrade dies or a similar situation occurs, the mission takes priority!"
As the ninja spoke, he took Ning Feng's Reporting Book and held out an Anbu ninja's mask to him.
Ning Feng accepted the mask.
[Anbu Mask]: A mask that only Anbu members are qualified to wear. While wearing this mask, all attributes increase by 10%!
Under the lead Anbu ninja's guidance, Ning Feng soon laid eyes on an enormous underground intelligence organization bustling with activity everywhere!
(Lightning Blade was written incorrectly in the previous two chapters. It should have been Chidori. Chidori is A-rank, while Lightning Blade is S-rank! Sorry!)
Before you continue