Everyone has their own path to walk. When Kakashi stepped back into the meat grinder, when Shisui took Itachi to the western front, Otonashi also joined the ANBU, starting a new life.
Past life, present life—many people were dissatisfied with the world, very, very many. They also had ideas, either righteous or dark, to change the world, but—
The vast majority didn't dare to take that step, lacking even the courage to try.
Otonashi didn't have this courage in his previous life either. At most, he could only be said to have taken a step to change his life. After all, the power of ordinary people was too insignificant. Thinking too much beyond that was just chuunibyou.
But now, he really wanted to try.
Ever since that idea popped up, it couldn't be stopped. During this time, he had been thinking about the overall problem, constantly writing and drawing in his notebook, as if calculating the probability of success.
These past few days might have been the most intense period of scouring memories since his transmigration. He continuously wrote down what he had seen and heard in his previous life combined with the experiences of this life, seeming to want to find a path within it.
Not only that, Otonashi also scoured his memories to see if this path was feasible, and which people could help achieve it.
For several whole days, he shut himself in his room, researching these issues. His whole person became much more mature. And the cause of the whole thing was just the grief born after Obito's death, followed by a hint from Hiashi Hyuga.
Others might have just heard it and let it go, but Otonashi's psychological age was not much younger than Hiashi's, further nurtured by millennia of history textbooks. He followed the train of thought and researched further.
Then, finally, when the instant noodle boxes filled the room, a preliminary idea took shape.
"If I say this out loud, I'm afraid some people would think I'm crazy."
"But the beauty of this world lies in the fact that individual strength can surpass numbers. If Hashirama had wanted to do it back then, no one could have stopped him."
Otonashi looked at the final conclusion in his notebook and actually let out a long sigh of relief. Everyone has different ideals and different paths to pursue those ideals. And this path was his.
"Let's give it a try. God sent me here; it shouldn't be to continue my old profession."
Killing is simple, why killing becomes difficult. Having lived two lives, eaten his 'fill', it's time to do something extraordinary.
He tucked the notebook into his clothes. Just then, the doorbell rang. He washed his face and quickly opened the door.
"It's you?" Standing at the door was still the ANBU with the Tanuki (Racoon Dog) mask.
"Hanyu Otonashi, come with me." Without much nonsense, the Tanuki mask directly turned around, leading Otonashi silently to a certain place in Konoha.
Passing through the streets of Konoha, entering through a hidden tunnel, the two walked continuously downwards. Passing through an iron gate, the area ahead suddenly opened up.
ANBU was really 'an' (dark). Ahead, in the underground cavity, a three-story small building was hidden in the dim light. Just as the ANBU code said, 'Protecting the light of Konoha from the darkness.'
Assassination, intelligence gathering, execution of rogue ninjas—everyone here was an executioner with hands full of blood, at the very least a veteran Chunin.
Walking into a room in the small building, the Tanuki-masked man finally stopped and said in a cold voice, "You've read the materials distributed earlier, right?"
"Read them." Otonashi nodded and added, "I've also destroyed the materials."
"Well done." The man seemed disliked young members, continuing coldly, "Stepping through this door, past companions might also become enemies. I hope you are prepared."
"I know." Otonashi nodded again. Joining the ANBU meant drawing a clear line with the past. In other words, even if his parents became rogue ninjas, he would have to kill them ruthlessly.
The masked man was silent, pointing to the chair in the center of the room. After Otonashi sat down, he brought over another stack of documents.
"These are ANBU internal materials. You have ten minutes to read them."
About an inch thick stack of materials, only given ten minutes—it was indeed demanding. Otonashi asked with a smile, "What happens if I don't finish reading?"
"Death." The gaze under the mask was cold. The man leaned against the door with his arms crossed, looked at his watch, and said, "Ten seconds have already passed."
Psychopath.
Otonashi cursed inwardly but still obediently started flipping through them on the surface.
Memory was also a basic requirement for ANBU. Materials were burned after each mission briefing. If they encountered a forgetful person who assassinated the wrong target, it would be comical. Fortunately, Otonashi had been reading the Second's notes since childhood; his page-turning speed was super fast, even allowing him to think while reading.
'Konoha headquarters has a total of seventy members, divided into four squads: Intelligence, Assassination, Torture & Interrogation, and Guard. There is one Commander and four Squad Captains.'
Otonashi's hand paused for a moment while turning the page. Roughly estimating the strength of the ANBU he had seen, the Squad Captains should be Jonin level, but strength didn't represent everything.
Everyone here was rich in practical combat experience, adept at various dirty tricks, essentially abandoning miscellaneous specialties to strengthen one aspect wholeheartedly.
'Is the Assassination Squad specialized in anti-personnel? Somewhat similar to me.'
Smiling inwardly, he continued reading, increasingly feeling the uniqueness of this unit.
Command authority was firmly held by the Third Hokage. Killing only followed orders, regardless of the target. It was also a good blade for eliminating dissent.
Members' identities were confidential. They wore masks daily and addressed each other by codenames. Targets had to be disposed of without a trace after elimination, leaving absolutely no clues.
'The Hokage's black glove, huh.' He frowned slightly. Perhaps a passerby encountered on the street could also be an ANBU member. No wonder he often felt strange gazes.
"Ten minutes are up." Not a second more, not a second less. The Tanuki-masked person immediately collected the materials and asked coldly, "Did you memorize it?"
"Memorized."
Of course, the masked man couldn't believe him, so he tested him on several points. Seeing Otonashi answer fluently, he finally nodded with satisfaction.
"My name is 'Tanuki'. Only I know your real identity. Now choose a codename."
"Can it be anything?"
"Yes, but no longer than two characters."
Otonashi lowered his head in thought for a moment, then replied with a smile, "Then let's call it 'Kurokoi' (Black Carp)."
"Okay." Tanuki nodded, then turned around, "Now go to the logistics department to receive your equipment."
Besides wearing masks, ANBU gear was also different from ordinary ninjas, roughly black tight suits plus beige vests, carrying a ninja sword on the back. Tanuki briefly pointed the way, and Otonashi headed deeper into the base.
At the very bottom of the base, on a wooden board in front of something resembling a ticket window, a pile of equipment was already neatly stacked. ANBU had sufficient funds; explosive tags were supplied freely. If one rendered meritorious service, they could even have weapons forged from precious chakra metal.
However, Otonashi already had a weapon, so this pile of equipment only contained the tight suit, vest, and mask.
Looking at the pure white mask with whiskers, Otonashi paused for a moment, muttering to himself, "Leopard?"
Shrugging indifferently, he picked up the equipment and returned to the rest room assigned to him. If he was on duty, he would have to stay here.
A wire bed, a washstand, a wardrobe—the ten-square-meter room was packed full. Otonashi changed into the ANBU attire and stood before the washstand silently for a long time.
ANBU indeed had great power and freedom, but there were two troublesome things.
One was having to be on duty, wasting training time. The other was this mask blocking his handsome face.
"I'll just have to bear with it." Raising his hand, the leopard mask covered his face. Combined with the hood covering his white hair, his entire person instantly exuded a cold and gloomy aura.
"Not bad. Whether in sunlight or darkness, the handsomeness still can't be hidden."
He nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to add some color to the pale white mask, the door was gently knocked.
"Kurokoi, the Squad Captain wants you to gather in the meeting room." A cold female voice came from outside the door.
"I'll be right there." Otonashi deliberately lowered his voice, grumbling inwardly that ANBU was too impatient, not even giving time to adapt.
Looking in the mirror again, he opened the door and left.
...
The meeting room was on the second floor of the headquarters. Eight people were already seated in the dimly lit room, roughly two squads from one division.
Tanuki, who had conducted the 'onboarding training' earlier, stood before the screen at the front. Seeing Otonashi, he nodded slightly, motioning for him to sit down.
Muttering 'ANBU is too power-saving', Otonashi sat in a corner, picked up the materials on the stool, and started flipping through them. As a result, just after turning two pages, he heard the Squad Captain in front clear his throat.
"Today's meeting mainly has two tasks, both concerning the Land of Rain."
Everyone focused intently. They were all familiar with the Land of Rain. This small country, like the Land of Grass, was caught between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, suffering a difficult fate. Fortunately, the existence of Hanzo of the Salamander prevented it from becoming a public toilet like the Land of Grass.
"First, there is a strange enemy within this country, specifically hunting ninjas from both warring sides, and no bodies can be found."
No bodies? Who's causing trouble again?
Otonashi raised an eyebrow. Could someone have a collection hobby, recycling corpses?
Information was limited, and Tanuki didn't elaborate, moving to the second topic.
"Second, an organization recently appeared in the Hidden Rain Village. They only have a few members. When Konoha was conducting reconnaissance on a certain village, they adopted hostile behavior. This is a secondary mission."
Two men and one woman appeared on the holographic screen. Otonashi looked, feeling they were very familiar, especially Nagato's Rinnegan eyes.
'Important characters have appeared.'
His mind couldn't help but become active. A whole plan began to form in his mind, like a shark smelling blood.
"Were there any casualties caused?" an ANBU member raised his hand and asked.
"That's the strange part. They defeated the squad containing a Jonin but didn't kill anyone, only warning them not to go to that village again."
Even stranger than the 'necrophiliac'. Whispers arose in the meeting room. Everyone was accustomed to killing; where was the logic of the victor sparing the weak?
"So are they bodyguards?"
"Unclear. According to information from the Intelligence Department, the Iwa-nin seem to have encountered the same thing." Tanuki replied. This was considered an attached task.
This... what are they thinking?
Otonashi was also stunned. This is indiscriminate fighting against friend and foe, yet they don't kill. He suddenly had a strange thought.
Could these people be trying to solve problems with talk-no-jutsu?
"Quiet down. I know both tasks are baffling, so Lord Third Hokage has ordered us to gather intelligence on these people." Tanuki raised his volume and commanded, "Depart in two days. Prepare yourselves."
"Yes!"
A group of killing machines stood up neatly, too lazy to ask further questions. The purpose of ANBU was to solve strange matters.
Whatever these people wanted to do, as long as they dared to oppose Konoha, it was a dead end!