The passage was very dark, only illuminated by a few torches hung at intervals on the wall.
Lin Ze followed No. 233 silently. Fortunately, his eyesight had been enhanced and he could see the scene in this passage clearly.
After turning a few corners and passing through a heavy iron gate that required Chakra's verification, the scene in front of Lin Ze became slightly wider.
This is like a small assembly area with several rooms scattered around, with different numbers marked on the doors.
The room of Team B-5, or Squad B-5, is in the corner of the assembly area.
No. 233 stopped in front of the door, stepped aside, and signaled Lin Ze to go in, while he himself walked to the door of Squad B-4 next door.
The two of them didn't communicate at all, as if they were just strangers on the same road.
Lin Ze took a deep breath and pushed open Squad B-5's door.
The room is not big, and the furnishings are very simple, including a table, a few chairs, and a cabinet for Scroll.
At this moment, there are three people in the room.
One of them was sitting behind the table, wearing the Fox mask that Lin Ze remembered so deeply. He seemed to be flipping through a Scroll, and when he heard the Gate of Opening sound, he didn't even raise his head.
The other two were standing aside, one leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and wearing a ferocious wolf-shaped mask on his face; the other was sitting quietly on Corner's chair, with an upright posture and wearing a Fukurou mask. Judging from the body shape and subtle movements, she should be a woman.
Fox's eyes behind the mask moved away from Scroll and fell on Lin Ze who had just entered the door.
His movements seemed to pause. Although he couldn't see clearly through the mask, Lin Ze could feel the scrutinizing eyes staying on him for a moment.
"No. 567, report." Lin Ze spoke calmly.
Fox Put down the mask Scroll, and tapped his fingers on the table. "567...Lin Ze."
His voice came out through the mask, with a businesslike and cold tone, but Lin Ze keenly captured a subtle hint of complex emotions.
"It's me, Captain."
Lin Ze is already certain that the captain "Fox" in front of him is the same ANBU who brought him back to Konoha from the border two years ago.
After all, strictly speaking, this "Fox" is the first person Lin Ze met after he came to this world.
At the same time, Lin Ze also understood Hatake Sakumo's intention of assigning himself to "Fox Team" - to use this layer of "originality" to close the distance, allowing him to slowly develop a sense of belonging to Konoha and the team.
'And it also has the intention of letting Fox stare at me!'
The "Fox" in front of him not only gave Lin Ze a sense of familiarity, but also a slight sense of oppression. Obviously, even if he is not Elite Jōnin, he is still an experienced veteran Jōnin.
You must know that ANBU's strength is barely enough to reach the level of squad leader.
As for the team leader "Fox", his heart was also in turmoil at this moment.
The child found in the ruins on the border two years ago was thin and weak, as if a candle could be extinguished at any time. At that time, he just brought Lin Ze back to the village as a routine, not even expecting Lin Ze to survive.
Who would have thought that in just two years, that weak flame would not only burn tenaciously, but even burst out with such dazzling light.
The seven-year-old official member of ANBU turned on Eight Gates Released Formation Fourth Gate, and defeated Uchiha Clan's Special Jōnin head-on... He read this report several times, but still found it a bit incredible.
"Yes." Fox suppressed his emotions and his voice returned to its usual calmness, "I am captain Fox and Squad B-5. These two are your teammates."
He pointed to the wolf mask against the wall. "Gray Wolf, good at tracking and attacking."
Pointing to the Fukurou mask of Corner: "Night Owl, good at reconnaissance and traps."
Gray Wolf just nodded slightly as a greeting, looked at Lin Ze through the holes in the mask, and seemed a little curious about his short stature, but said nothing.
Night Owl stood up and nodded in greeting in a clean and neat manner.
'It seems that Gray Bear and another person were involved in the previous mission.'
Lin Ze thought to himself, he remembered that there were Gray Bear and another person in this team. There were four people in a class as standard. The last vacancy must have died before he traveled through time.
The thought just flashed by, Lin Ze didn't think any more and nodded in return towards the two of them.
Fox then knocked on the table and said calmly:
"A few simple rules: mission first, obey orders. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't look at what you shouldn't see. You can trust your teammates, but you must also stay vigilant. Only by staying alive can you continue to serve the village."
The words are concise and concise, full of ANBU style.
"Understood." Lin Ze responded.
"Follow me. First, go to the Logistics Department to get your equipment. The main thing is to choose your code name and mask." Fox stood up and walked out the door.
Lin Ze followed, while Gray Wolf and Night Owl remained in the room.
Logistics Department is located in an independent area deeper in the base, with a dedicated person guarding the entrance.
After Fox showed the formalities, he walked in with Lin Ze.
Different from the darkness and depression in the outer passage, the interior of the Logistics Department is brightly lit and looks very orderly and efficient. Rows of shelves are divided into various categories with various ninja tools, clothing, potions and... a dazzling array of masks.
A civilian employee wearing an unpatterned white mask received Lin Ze.
"The newcomer has chosen a code name and a mask." Fox simply explained his purpose.
The civilian staff nodded and led Lin Ze to a huge wall.
The walls are covered with all kinds of animal masks, from common cats, dogs, foxes, and wolves to more rare eagles, cranes, apes, snakes, and even some with strange shapes that look diverse.
"Choose one that suits you." Fox said while crossing his arms. "The code name usually corresponds to the mask. Once you choose it, this will be your name in ANBU from now on."
Lin Ze's gaze slowly swept across the entire wall.
In ANBU, the mask and code name are a kind of Identity logo, which also reflects the character or expectations of the chooser to some extent.
'Ghost faces and lion heads are too arrogant. If you wear them, you will definitely be the first to be beaten.'
'Tanuki? Wild Boar?, these two are pretty good, you can't even find them in a pile of people.'
Lin Ze was picking and choosing in his mind and did not choose at the first time. His eyes passed over each mask and finally stopped at two adjacent masks.
One is a coiled, green snake-shaped mask with hollowed-out snake pupils, revealing a bit of coldness and mystery.
The other one is the more majestic "Azure Dragon" mask with ferocious horns.
Azure Dragon...Lin Ze's heartbeat skipped a beat. This was a code name tailor-made for him.
But the next second, he rejected the idea.
Too pretentious...
When encountering an enemy, wearing this kind of mask that gives off an extraordinary aura and is anything but ordinary will definitely make you a target of public criticism, and your opponents will focus their fire on you first.
Although it is not ruled out that there will be some people who want to save effort and fish, and will choose the weaker-looking Aoda Mask next to them as their opponents, but those who choose such "soft persimmons" are often not much stronger.
Therefore, Lin Ze's eyes finally fixed on the "Aoda" mask.
Snake... In Hokage World, the snake is often associated with Orochimaru, associated with danger and conspiracy, but on the other hand, the snake also represents concealment, forbearance and transformation.
Lin Ze I remember an old saying in my previous life, "Dragon and snake are born in the deep mountains and swamps." There is also the saying "the transformation of dragon and snake", which means the rise and change of extraordinary people.
Aoda may not be able to transform into Azure Dragon one day!
"I choose this one." Lin Ze pointed to that Aoda Mask with a calm voice.
Fox looked along his finger, and when he saw it was Aoda Mask, he was slightly stunned, but quickly returned to normal.
"Aoda... Not bad. Record it." Fox said to the civilian staff.
The civilian staff took off Aoda Mask and handed it to Lin Ze. At the same time, he recorded "Code name: Aoda, previous number: 567" on a Scroll.
The mask is slightly cool to the touch, has a hard yet light texture, and is polished smooth inside.
Lin Ze didn't put it on immediately, just held it in his hand and looked at it carefully.
Fox didn't care so much. Seeing that Lin Ze had confirmed the code name, he said, "Let's go, the mission briefing should be coming soon. Gray Wolf and Night Owl are still waiting for us."
The two left Logistics Department and merged into the dark passage again.
From this moment on, Lin Ze numbered 567 has passed, and ANBU "Aoda" officially appears.