"I heard they held the chūnin exams not too long ago."
"...Has nothing to do with me."
A long time had passed.
Long enough that Byakuya's once-short hair had grown out, only to be cut again and again.
During that time, their squad captain had already changed three times.
And the one standing beside Byakuya now, bringing up the chūnin exams, was not the captain he had first met either.
Was it because the missions were too dangerous? Too difficult?
Not exactly.
To be precise, it was simply because the Hokage's direct ANBU branch was weak.
The reason was simple enough. Even now, it still was not an officially recognized organization, so they could not attract truly outstanding people.
"Fair enough. Oh, right, I heard the war's going to end soon."
This current squad captain talked far too much.
He was completely unsuited for the ANBU. He talked so much it got on Byakuya's nerves.
Byakuya closed the jutsu scroll he had been reading and shot him a glance.
"So?"
"Haha... apparently once the war ends, the Third Hokage is going to step down."
"..."
"That means we'll be getting a new Fourth Hokage. And I've heard this direct Hokage ANBU unit of ours is finally going to be announced as an official organization too. When that happens, we'll probably start getting new recruits."
That soon?
Looks like a lot more time really had passed than he thought.
Byakuya listened expressionlessly as the captain went on, then tucked the closed scroll into his vest.
"The target's appeared."
"Oh? Is that so."
Next time, absolutely no missions with this captain.
As Byakuya adjusted his mask back into place, he made the vow silently in his head.
It had been a long time since he had run into someone this talkative on a mission. There used to be Inoichi, of course, but...
"..."
"Byakuya, the one on the right is yours."
There was no point dredging up memories like that.
Byakuya shoved down the irritation rising inside him and drew the long sword from his back.
He had chosen it on the Third Hokage's recommendation. He was still short, so a long blade could protect his head as well.
What made this blade different from any normal sword was the countless curse markings etched into the metal.
Using those markings, Byakuya had created an entirely new space-time ninjutsu.
Whoosh!
Byakuya launched himself from the tree where he had been hiding, leaping straight toward the target. He raised the long sword high and brought it down in a savage arc.
To his surprise, the enemy had some skill. He sensed Byakuya's presence, quickly pulled out a shuriken to block, but Byakuya's blade passed straight through the weapon and cut into him anyway.
"Gah!"
"Damn it! Take this!"
What is the captain even doing?
Seeing the enemy on the left launch a jutsu at him as well, Byakuya spun aside to dodge and slashed again.
That enemy drew a short blade to intercept, but just like before, his weapon passed uselessly through Byakuya's sword without ever stopping it, and a long gash opened across his chest.
"Well now, I didn't even get the chance to do anything. You already took care of them all."
"..."
No, seriously, what is this guy doing?
With an awkward look on his face, Byakuya slid the blade back into its sheath and clicked his tongue at the enemies collapsed on the ground.
Talkative and lazy.
Definitely not cut out for the ANBU.
"We finally caught up to them, and it turns out the trip was for nothing. No scroll either."
"It might be with the others."
"Could be. Think we should head over and see if they need help?"
No.
Byakuya was practically wearing his reluctance on his face, but the captain simply smiled as pleasantly as ever and turned away.
The other squads had probably already found their targets anyway. With any luck, they had already recovered the scrolls too.
"We should still go check. Just in case they need backup. Come on."
"...Yes, sir."
No matter how unwilling he was, the man was still the captain. That made it an order.
Byakuya followed behind him. Then, hearing the sound of fighting from somewhere ahead, he noticed the captain had heard it too.
"That's combat... but our squad wasn't assigned to that area. Could it be another fight?" the captain wondered aloud.
"You're not about to go check, are you?"
"Hm..."
That damned, ominous hum...
Inside his head, Byakuya started chanting please don't, please don't, praying the captain would not make some idiotic decision.
"We should check it out!"
What is wrong with this guy?
Byakuya complained bitterly to himself, but all he could do was turn and run after the captain, who had already taken off toward the sound.
Clang! Clang!
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this either!"
"For crying out loud, Obito, you idiot!"
A boy's voice and a girl's voice.
As Byakuya drew closer and heard that familiar name, all the strength seemed to drain out of him.
"There are too many enemies! Sensei Minato, he... ah!"
"Byakuya!"
Once the two of them got close enough to see what was happening, the captain suddenly shouted Byakuya's name.
Why are you yelling for me?
Byakuya looked at him blankly. The captain gave an awkward smile and pointed toward the girl.
"You're faster. Go save her."
So that's what this is. He wants me to rescue someone.
At last Byakuya seemed to understand. He gave a small nod, drew the blade from his back, and hurled it hard at the enemy standing over Rin with a sword raised while she lay on the ground.
"Don't even think about it... ngh!?"
The enemy sensed the blade coming from behind and quickly raised his own sword to block, but Byakuya's weapon passed straight through the guard and drove deep into his back.
The man staggered and fell.
"Nicely done!"
Are you here to spectate?
Byakuya shot the admiring captain a deadpan look, then dropped in front of Rin, yanked his blade free from the fallen enemy, and charged the others.
A few swift strikes later, he brought down the rest of them the same way, one after another.
Only when it was over did Byakuya realize all the kids were staring at him.
What are you looking at...
"Kids, are you all right?"
Even though Byakuya was the one who had saved them, the captain somehow managed to act as though it were his own accomplishment, taking off his mask and offering a hand to Rin with a warm smile.
"Th-thank you."
"Are you okay, Rin?"
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Kakashi, are you okay?"
"..."
Obito pulled off his goggles and hurried over to ask Rin if she was hurt, and Rin immediately turned to ask Kakashi the same thing.
But Kakashi did not answer.
He just kept staring at Byakuya.
Byakuya noticed the look too, but deliberately ignored it and turned to the captain instead.
"Captain, let's go. We don't have time for this."
"You were the one who didn't want to come in the first place. Relax, the other squad members will handle the rest."
No, you're the one who insisted on coming.
Byakuya finally felt himself nearing the end of his patience.
Was this man testing how far he could push him before Byakuya snapped and insubordination kicked in?
If so, he was getting dangerously close to success.