"It looks like we were a step too late. Orochimaru still managed to escape."
In the Hokage's office in Konohagakure, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, let out a long breath as he puffed on his pipe. The parchment in his wrinkled hands was still warm from the ink that reported the latest mission's outcome.
His eyes, calm but weathered by decades of war and loss, swept over the assembled Anbu standing before him. The dark-clad shinobi remained silent, masked and disciplined, save for one at the back— Shigen Hidezawa.
Hiruzen's gaze paused on him.
A slight curve appeared at the edge of his lips, more resigned than pleased.
"Although we suffered some losses." he finally said, voice gravelly, "Obtaining intel on Orochimaru is already a significant gain."
There was a moment of silence before he continued, "Besides, we were unprepared. So this mission isn't considered a failure. You've all worked hard."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." the Anbu replied in unison with slight bows. Hidezawa did the same, though his expression remained unreadable beneath the blank white mask.
Inside, however, he scoffed.
'So even this counts as an achievement for the most successful failure case, huh?'
He knew Hiruzen well enough by now. The Third Hokage probably never had any real intention of eliminating Orochimaru.
'If he really wanted to end Orochimaru, why didn't he do it when the man first defected? Back then, the old man still had plenty of strength left. But he let him go. And in a few years, he'll approve of someone else pulling off a full-on clan massacre. So much for moral high ground.'
Not that it mattered much to Hidezawa.
His reasons for staying in Konoha were far from noble.
Part of it was the convenient "civil servant benefits"—mission stipends, medical support, village protection. But more than anything else, he hadn't yet crossed Danzo's name off his list.
And as long as he remained in Konoha, he had cover. If anything went sideways, the village could take the fall for him. That was a win in his books.
"Alright, you may all go rest now."
Hiruzen's words snapped him from his thoughts. Just as Hidezawa moved to quietly slip out with the others, the old man's voice cut through again.
"Hidezawa-kun, I'd like you to stay for a moment."
He froze mid-step.
'Great. What now?'
He turned slowly and bowed once more, suppressing every urge to sigh. 'Let's see what kind of headache you're about to hand me now, old man.'
Once the others had left, Hiruzen smiled gently. "Hidezawa-kun, according to the report, your performance during the mission was excellent."
"Thank you for your praise, Hokage-sama." Hidezawa replied with a perfectly practiced smile. "Whether in Root or Anbu, I am always serving Konoha."
Internally, though?
'Anbu's a thousand times better than Root. At least here, people don't walk around acting like they're robots with trauma suppression jutsu.'
Especially since he'd spent a lot of Free Points recently on his Fūinjutsu, pushing it to LV5.
If he hadn't, he could've upgraded his physical stats to LV7 by now. And maybe then, he wouldn't have to keep avoiding Danzo's daily attempts to suffocate him with paranoia.
That old man was unbearable.
Like someone opened a sealed scroll of fermented snake guts and just left it in a closed room. Always acting like he was one breath away from ordering an entire bloodline's extinction.
"That's right, everything is for Konoha." Hiruzen said, apparently pleased with Hidezawa's response.
The smile in the old man's eyes deepened. "Although our roles are different, my old friend Danzo did train an excellent operative. Root's purpose, after all, is to nurture tools for Anbu."
'Oh, so we're just openly admitting that now?'
Hidezawa didn't know whether to laugh or just walk out the window.
He had no doubts anymore—Hiruzen had always known exactly what Danzo was doing. Their rivalry wasn't about ideals; it was an ongoing chess match, and he'd been used as one of the pawns.
"You did exceptionally well. According to Anbu regulations, you'll receive a reward."
'Oh boy, a pat on the back and maybe a scroll with something I already learned last year.'
Hiruzen went on, "Also, some squads will be reorganized due to casualties. Your current team is being restructured—I'll be assigning new members to support you."
Hidezawa narrowed his eyes.
'There it is.'
So this was Danzo's move.
Let Orochimaru thin out the ranks, collect data through the aftermath, and now wedge his people back in through "team reassignments". Classic.
'Not bad, old snake. Getting bolder these days.'
Still, Hidezawa kept his voice neutral. "I will follow Hokage-sama's arrangements."
"Good." Hiruzen nodded. "Yugao works well with you, and since Fujikawa is injured, he'll need time to recover. So you should rest too. I'm looking forward to your continued contributions."
'Master and apprentice, huh? The Third Hokage and Orochimaru really are two sides of the same shuriken.'
Hidezawa turned to leave the office, shaking his head subtly. 'These two old men speak in riddles so often, I half expect them to start composing poetry about espionage.'
His mood, however, took a sharp plunge when an utterly horrifying image burst into his imagination.
'Wait... their relationship's always been weird. Could it really be because of the Nine-Tails incident? The Third lost his wife and then...'
He shivered violently, halting mid-step.
'Nope. No. I am NOT picturing Danzo... bowing to Hiruzen... whispering sweet nothings...'
His skin crawled.
'Dear gods, kill that thought. Kill it with fire. At least turn the lights off first if you're going to dump a horror reel in my head.'
"You're finally out?"
A familiar voice snapped him back to reality.
"Yugao-senpai?"
Standing just beyond the office door was Uzuki Yugao, unmasked and waiting patiently.
Hidezawa pulled off his own mask and offered her a relaxed smile. "Were you waiting for me, senpai?"
"Mm." She nodded with a rare seriousness in her expression. "You saved me twice during this mission. I wanted to thank you. I…"
Hidezawa raised a brow.
'Wait, is she about to—? Nah. That'd be too fast. Right?'
Still, a part of him smirked internally. He wasn't exactly modest about his looks—tall, sharp-featured, tidy hair. In a profession like Anbu, a face like his was rare.
And good looks always helped.
"How about I treat you to ramen, senpai?" he said casually.
"Huh?" Yuugao blinked, clearly thrown off by the sudden shift.
Hidezawa chuckled. "As a junior, it's only right I treat you. Especially if we'll be teammates now. I hope you'll look after me."
"This…"
Yugao hesitated. But before she could object, Hidezawa took her hand and walked forward.
"Let's go. I've never been to Ichiraku Ramen, if you can believe it."
He added, lowering his voice slightly, "And I wanted to thank you too."
Yugao blinked. "Thank me?"
Hidezawa didn't reply.
Instead, he continued forward with that easy-going smile of his.
In the corner of his vision, a translucent blue box appeared:
…
[Side Mission Completed: Rescue Anbu Operatives]
[Mission Rating: B]
[Reward Obtained: Konoha-ryū Kenjutsu (Uzuki Yugao)]
[Merged with existing Taijutsu LV5]
*****
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