Chapter 96
For all her complaints about her job, Tsunade sure did fuss over him. A few bruises Hiruzen had missed were quickly healed by Tsunade, who glared at him the whole time. Like he was the worst kind of criminal there was, but Hiruzen understood her true feelings.
She hated it when others got hurt, especially the people she cared most about. Hiruzen wanted to say that he was sorry, but those would be empty words. They wouldn't stop her from worrying, nor would they lessen her annoyance at him for always getting hurt, nor would they stop him from getting hurt in the future.
"This is the last time I take care of you, you damn old man," Tsunade said, though neither of them thought what she said was true. "You should just do your job behind your desk and leave the rest to others. You're far too old for this."
Was he? He didn't think there was an age at which a shinobi was too old or too young to do what a shinobi had to do. Just thinking of what Itachi had to do at his age made Hiruzen forget all his complaints. It would be far better if he were the one to suffer now.
Children should not do what even adults can't. Nor should children suffer because of what the adults couldn't do. He might be a fake, but he was still an adult, so he should at least do his job, protect them, and build them a world where they never had to suffer.
"Stop it," Tsunade suddenly raised her voice. "I know that look. You are preparing to get hurt again. Haven't you realized it by now? Every single village in this world wants you dead. Many might respect you, but every single one of them fears you. And yet you always offer them your back to be stabbed. They will never accept it, so just stop it."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Hiruzen replied honestly. "I am just thinking about how much work I will have to do from now on. I probably won't have time to leave my desk."
Though that wasn't all he would do at his desk, it was true that he wouldn't be leaving it for a long time. And he was still awaiting news from Kirigakure and from Jiraiya. Depending on what information came from them, there would be a lot more work awaiting him.
But before that, he had something else in mind. If only Tsunade would let him go. This girl sure worried over him when there was nothing to worry about. His body would have healed completely on its own. All she did was fuss over nothing.
Yet it wasn't like Hiruzen could say that. He might heal quickly from most injuries, but he didn't dare test it against her punches. Nor did he dare experience how much they would hurt. He wasn't that stupid.
After Tsunade finally finished the checkup, Hiruzen was allowed to return to his office. There was already a pile of paperwork awaiting him. But for the first time, he missed it: the serenity of the paper fluttering and his pen writing.
Yeah, he felt far more comfortable here. And to think he despised it before. What a fool he was. But sadly, not many people get to do what they want. And so, he pushed away the boring reports and political nonsense to finish later.
He had to start studying something more important. And he started by going to the archives and getting the curriculum of the Academy. He took out everything that was labeled as tactics, stack after stack of these and other papers, and brought them back to his desk.
He quickly read through them. The basic jutsu had tactical uses that every student had to learn and understand. Using the Transformation Jutsu to infiltrate, or stage a surprise attack while pretending to be someone else, preferably the enemy's friend.
The Clone Jutsu is used to create a distraction, not only to waste the enemy's strength but also to split their concentration away from oneself. The Body Replacement Jutsu is essential for avoiding fatal blows, escaping traps, and repositioning yourself behind an opponent.
Well, he knew that. So, at least he had the basics that most students should learn, right? He quickly skimmed through the rest and found nothing useful there, either. It would be fine if his fights consisted of children's battles, but the ones who were trying to kill him were leagues beyond that.
He needed to learn from experience. But how could he possibly do that without putting himself in danger? And there wasn't a shinobi in this village who would allow him to put himself in danger just to gain experience. Unless he could learn from other experienced shinobi.
…
Yugao Uzuki had two things she was proud of. The first thing was her skill with a sword, something she trained herself in, making it her most cherished accomplishment. The second was her sensory skill, something she was born with, and she felt conflicted about it.
They told her that she was chosen because of those two skills, but which one of them was more valued? She didn't know. And that was the root of her conflict in the ANBU. She wanted to be accepted, but not for something she had no say in.
"Snake, why has the Hokage called upon you?" Yugao asked Anko once she came to the Hokage tower, as she heard many ANBU were called in, and she also should come and wait for her turn.
There were only a few people around Yugao's age. Snake, or more accurately, Anko Mitarashi, was one of them and her closest friend. That's why Yugao was concerned about why the Hokage had summoned her to speak alone. She feared it might have something to do with Orochimaru.
"I have no idea," Anko said. "He suddenly told me to write down and talk about every battle experience I had in detail, leaving nothing out, not even how I felt during combat or my thought process. I was so nervous the whole time that I feared I might have written or said something wrong."
"Phew, I thought you were going to be sent on a dangerous mission or something." Yugao was relieved, but also concerned for her friend. "After the recent assassination attempt, the atmosphere has completely changed around the village."
"You're telling me. My captain is so damn strict I'm afraid to breathe without permission. It was already hard to do extra training for genjutsu resistance, and now this," Anko complained, wiping the sweat from under the snake mask. "Though I heard Hokage-sama whooped the Mizukage's ass. Even poisoned and without chakra, Hokage-sama isn't someone just anyone can mess with."
"Snake, Cat." Before long, another ANBU member came to the Hokage tower, an older man wearing a squirrel mask. "Phew, I am so nervous; I don't know what I should do. I've never had a personal meeting with the Hokage."
That went for most of them; only captains met with the Hokage personally. They would even receive their missions only from their captains. Some members didn't even have the privilege of protecting the Hokage, as that duty was reserved for the most suited members.
But suddenly, the Hokage started asking one member at a time to meet him. That's why Yugao was concerned, as she thought many of them would receive personal missions, which meant dangerous missions.
And the only dangerous missions for the ANBU were the ones they knew they weren't coming back from. And so did the Hokage. Neither she nor anyone else would ever refuse one anyway, but they still worried about their comrades.
"Thinking about it, it seems I am lucky," Anko suddenly said. "I didn't have much to say, since my experience was short. If Hokage-sama is asking about our combat experience, could it mean that he is testing us? And if so, what are the criteria? Could it be that he will replace those who lacked awareness during their combat encounters? Ugh, now I'm even more afraid of what I said. What if I said something wrong?"
The few more ANBU members nearby who overheard Anko suddenly stiffened. All of them were elite, but just like Yugao, they harbored doubts about their skills. Were they accepted because of the skills they nurtured themselves, or because of the talents they were born with?
She wasn't the only one who thought about it. And now, it seemed the Hokage was testing their skills, one by one. And like Anko and Yugao, others were also afraid that they would fail and have to leave the ANBU.
It was more than their home or a code they lived by. It was their family; no, it was something even deeper. Every single one of them was a part of the same body. There were a few exceptions, but most of the time, whenever someone left the ANBU, it was because they were a tumor that had to be cut away from the body.
Leaving the ANBU meant they were a disease that had infected the body, and it was a hard thing for anyone to accept. No, it was something none of them could ever accept. They would rather die than leave the ANBU.
"Cat," the grave voice of her captain echoed in her ears. "It is your turn now. Do not leave anything out, and speak only the truth."
She was nervous, but once she received an order, she would follow through with it. That's what made her an ANBU member. Unconditional loyalty and the eagerness to follow through with all orders given to her. Now, she hoped that was enough in Hokage-sama's eyes. That she was enough to be kept as part of the body.
…
It always surprised him how many people were under his direct command. And Hiruzen wasn't talking about the regular shinobi but his ANBU. Every single one of them possessed an extraordinary skill that was used solely for him.
He was thankful to his past self for not learning about such things. Now, and only now, did he realize how lucky he was to settle into his job bit by bit. To the point where he could now handle such responsibility.
A couple of years ago, knowing as much as he did now about all the people around him and what he had to do would have sent him into panic mode. Wait. It did send him into panic mode. All this time, he had been panicking nonstop, to the point where it was just normal for him now.
Damn, and there he thought he was getting better at his job, but in the end, he had just gotten used to it. Well, as long as it worked, everything was fine. After dismissing the last ANBU operative, Hiruzen stashed away the records they had written.
It took days to go through them all. At first, he thought that he could just start with the youngest members and use them as his baseline, but then he thought it would be weird if he only asked them, so he decided to have everyone recount their combat experience to him.
Now, he had stacks upon stacks of firsthand combat experiences from his shinobi. And he intended to go through all of them and memorize every single word written in those records, hoping that would be enough to learn at least something useful.
But it would take a lot of time to go through them all, and he wasn't just going to stop at reading them. In these stacks of papers, there were countless experiences told by all kinds of people with all kinds of skills and mindsets.
He was going to dive into a bottomless sea, so it would take an extraordinary amount of time for him to emerge from it. And all of it was for him to learn to swim; otherwise, he might as well just drown himself here and be done with it.
Letting out a sigh, Hiruzen went to work. At least he tried before Owl appeared out of the shadows of the office. He knelt before Hiruzen as if asking for permission to speak. Letting out another sigh, Hiruzen motioned for his own son to stand up and speak to him.
"Hokage-sama, I don't wish to question you, but many of us are worried about this test of yours," Owl said. "Are you cutting us down? We will understand if that is your intention, but at least we deserve to know beforehand."
Test? Cutting them down? What was he even talking about? Hiruzen looked at Owl, then at the papers on his table, and quickly realized what was happening. And now, he wondered how he was supposed to explain it. Why do people come to conclusions so fast?
"Why would I cut off my own arms and legs?" Hiruzen asked, thinking of something that could also help him without burdening them. "I will be reevaluating all of you to see if I missed some talents or if someone wasn't recognized for their achievements. I will call a few of you to have a personal talk about your combat and overall experience as ANBU operatives. Though you joined not too long ago, you will also be reevaluated. Does this answer satisfy you, Owl?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Owl bowed his head. "Apologies for questioning your methods. Please permit me to share your words with the others."
"Do as you wish. Now leave me; I have a lot of work."
Getting rid of the unwanted attention, Hiruzen started with the thinnest piles. He thought it was a good plan. If there was something he didn't understand, he would question the shinobi about it. Hopefully, it would help him learn something useful.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven chapters in advance, you can support me on Pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.