"Dangerous? Difficult?"
"That's what we want! That's what we want!"
"Kakashi, just wait and see what happens next!"
Shihouin Naraku threw the documents in his hand onto the table, a confident smile spreading across his handsome face.
Seeing this, even Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but admit that this guy was really good-looking.
Of course, compared to himself, Kakashi thought, I'm still a bit better.
...
In the following days, Shihouin Naraku quickly became familiar with ANBU procedures and, under Hatake Kakashi's guidance, got to know all the ANBU members.
"This is Yamato," Kakashi brought a ninja to Naraku and introduced him. "You should already know him."
"Senior, I am Yamato."
Yamato stepped forward and gave a slight bow to Naraku.
Though this wasn't the name he always used, he was known as Yamato now.
"Of course, I know you. I've treated many of you ANBU shinobi," Naraku replied.
The missions that ANBU shinobi typically had to complete were extremely dangerous, and casualties were common. As Konoha's most powerful medical nin at the time, Shihouin Naraku had indeed treated many ANBU shinobi.
But back then, he hadn't realized how many of his patients were ANBU members.
Looking back, this was a good thing. At least now, he could integrate into ANBU in the shortest time possible.
"Yamato has other important tasks to attend to, so I didn't transfer him to your team," Kakashi mentioned briefly.
Even if he hadn't said it, Naraku knew what Yamato's mission was.
Watching over the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—Uzumaki Naruto!
Although many people claimed that First Hokage's Wood Style dominated the shinobi world and that Yamato's Wood Style was used merely to "green" the village, it had to be said that Wood Style was still very powerful when it came to suppressing the Tailed Beasts.
It didn't matter that he wasn't as good as the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Even if he could only suppress the Nine-Tails' power for a short period and prevent Uzumaki Naruto from going berserk, Yamato was still the most suitable person to monitor Naruto.
So, unless there were urgent and important tasks, Yamato was basically assigned to monitor Naruto in Konoha.
After briefly chatting with Kakashi and Yamato, Yamato left ANBU to carry out his surveillance mission.
"So busy?" Naraku asked.
Kakashi noticed Naraku's confusion and explained, "Yamato's mission is very important. He only gets a few hours of rest each day. Often, he doesn't even have time to eat."
"That's not so bad. ANBU shinobi who go out on missions face even more danger."
"But that's the purpose of ANBU's existence. Our sacrifices are exchanged for the village's prosperity."
Damn!
This is too harsh!
Shihouin Naraku's face darkened. Fortunately, he was only the deputy director of the medical department. Otherwise, he would be worked to death if he had to treat more people.
The two continued talking for a while before Naraku left ANBU headquarters and headed to the Hokage building, where he found Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"The seal that removes the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and tapped it. He knew what Naraku was trying to do.
In truth, he didn't agree with Danzō's use of the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to control the Root shinobi, but he hadn't said much when Danzō implemented it.
"I just need the method to remove the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. Don't worry about the specific sealing jutsu."
"Very well."
Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed and sent someone to bring a scroll.
After handing the scroll to Shihouin Naraku, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and gave him a reminder:
"Get familiar with ANBU as soon as possible. In a few days, there will be a mission that requires you to lead a team."
"Understood."
Naraku took the scroll and turned to leave the Hokage building.
However, he didn't return to ANBU headquarters, so he decided to go straight home.
As the deputy captain, he had that authority. Anyway, his main task now was to get familiar with ANBU.
Compared to other shinobi clans in Konohagakure, the Shihouin clan was just a very small shinobi clan.
Even before Naraku grew up, the Shihouin clan hadn't had a Jōnin for a long time.
There was no way around it. The total number of people in the entire Shihouin clan was less than a hundred.
There were simply too few members.
According to family records, the Shihouin clan was once glorious and even became a subsidiary clan of the Senju clan during the chaotic Warring States period. The records indicated that the Shihouin clan had also helped the Senju and the Uchiha clans in battle.
Naraku believed the Shihouin had indeed formed an alliance with the Senju. After all, in the chaotic Warring States era, almost all shinobi families had allies and close relatives in order to survive.
For example, the Ino–Shika–Chō clans were subsidiaries of the Sarutobi clan. The Senju clan had many subsidiaries, like the Shihouin clan, in addition to their distant relatives, the Uzumaki clan. Even the Hyūga clan was related to the Hui Yoruichi clan of Kirigakure.
Sometimes, Naraku speculated that it was because the Shihouin clan became a subsidiary of the Senju family and participated in the war between the Senju and Uchiha that so many shinobi died, leading to the clan's current decline in population.
After all, everyone knew how brutal the war between the Senju and the Uchiha was. Even the Uchiha clan couldn't withstand it. One could only imagine how many Shihouin shinobi died in that conflict.
From this perspective, given Tsunade's identity and status, it was natural for Shihouin Naraku to become her direct disciple.
...
"Crash..."
There were noises coming from the house. Someone could be heard moving around in the room.
Naraku knew who it was.
His girlfriend, Uzuki Yūgao.
"You're back," she said.
With her long purple hair flowing down and her delicate, fair face peering out from the room, Uzuki Yūgao greeted Naraku with a warm smile.
"You can eat in a moment."
Naraku wasn't surprised at all by Yūgao's presence. After all, Uzuki Yūgao was also an ANBU special Jōnin. As the deputy captain, he certainly knew that she had completed her mission and returned to the village yesterday.
"You just came back yesterday; you should rest for a while," Naraku said, walking over to Yūgao, who was busy in the kitchen. He added helplessly, "We can eat anytime."
"It's okay. I was going to come see you anyway. You're usually busier than me."
The two chatted and laughed as the food was soon served.
"Try this. It's good..."
"You eat too."
Naraku and Yūgao picked up food for each other while talking and laughing.
After quickly finishing their meal and cleaning up, the two sat in the yard and started chatting.
Uzuki Yūgao briefly talked about what happened during her mission. Now that Naraku was an ANBU captain, there was no need to worry about leaking secrets.
Naraku told her about the interesting things that had happened in Konoha Village and his promotion.
The atmosphere between them was pleasant. Within a few minutes, they moved closer to each other, soon leaning against one another.
"Ahem..."
Naraku couldn't bear it anymore and picked up Uzuki Yūgao in his arms, carrying her like a princess.
"It's still daytime," she protested.
"What are you afraid of? You should exercise after eating. It's good for your health."
Yūgao's fair face turned red immediately, making her look extremely beautiful.
With a bang, the door closed.
The light was blocked out, the room dimmed, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.
"Hmm..."
...
"Even though the Medical Department suited you so well, the Hokage still insisted on transferring you to ANBU."
Uzuki Yūgao, leaning against Naraku, seemed confused, a questioning expression on her rosy face.
"What? Are you worried that I won't be able to adapt to ANBU?"
"I just think it's a pity. You did such a good job in the medical department and made so many connections. If you leave now, will you..."
A smile appeared on Shihouin Naraku's face as he stroked Yūgao's long purple hair confidently.
"It's not that simple. They had good intentions, but it's impossible to remove my influence from the medical emergency department."
"Arata Amagiri is also a medical-nin. His skill in medical ninjutsu is not low!"
"That depends on who you're comparing him with..."