Over three hundred ANBU gathered inside the training hall, the space packed wall to wall with masked shinobi.
Despite their arrival, Danzo made no move to speak.
Moments later, from the shadows, Sarutobi Hiruzen emerged and stepped onto the dais.
Yellow Dog stood quickly, only sitting down once the Third Hokage had taken his seat.
Danzo remained unmoved.
Hiruzen lit his pipe, his eyes sweeping the hall filled with elite shinobi.
Then he began.
"ANBU shinobi. The Second Great Ninja War is over.
Konoha has endured war after war: the Hot Water War, the Grass War, the Rain War, the Stone War, the River War, and finally, the Whirlpool War.
We have won this conflict—but at a terrible cost.
Of all the losses, the ANBU have paid the greatest price.
The missions no one could return from? ANBU carried them out.
The deep infiltration assassinations? ANBU executed them.
The ambushes against enemy jonin and elite jonin? ANBU led them.
Your mortality rate was double that of standard shinobi.
But the war is over now. Truly over.
You are the ones who burned your lives for this village—resilient leaves hidden beneath the great tree's shadow.
Now that peace has come, most ANBU no longer need to dwell in that darkness.
You may return to the sunlight, continuing to serve Konoha with your true names.
All those departing from ANBU will receive the reward of an A-rank mission.
We will now begin distributing release scrolls and bonuses."
Aides moved quickly through the ranks, handing out 280 scrolls to designated shinobi.
Many were caught off guard—they hadn't known a large-scale ANBU downsizing was coming. Their expressions showed confusion and uncertainty.
Opening the scrolls, they found their ninja records, previously held by ANBU, now returned.
The documents listed only mission counts, not their actual contents—still classified.
The day one entered ANBU, their file was pulled from the Hokage Tower and stored in the ANBU archives. Now, it was back in their hands.
With this, they could re-register as ordinary shinobi.
Some were reluctant. Others, relieved.
No more near-suicidal missions. As regular ninjas, they could lead genin squads, reunite with family, walk the streets freely, go fishing without paranoia.
Hiruzen rose from his seat—and even Danzo followed suit.
The room quieted.
The Hokage's voice rang clear and firm.
"Your service in ANBU marks the most distinguished chapter of your shinobi lives.
The Hokage Tower will label you among the most trusted of all Leaf shinobi.
On behalf of Konoha—and ANBU—I thank you for your tireless sacrifice.
Wherever the leaves dance, there the fire shall burn.
Whether in shadow or sunlight, you are dancing leaves. You are burning flames.
Remove your masks, young ones.
The next time we meet, it will be as I assign you village missions under the light of day."
The hall fell into silence… and then, quiet sobs.
Tears fell onto the hard floor, each drop landing with an audible plap.
Mask after mask was lifted. Beneath them, the faces of veterans—scarred, weary, many with two trails of tears running down.
No matter what their time in ANBU had meant—fear, pain, resentment, endurance—it all became nostalgia in this moment of farewell.
Yako remembered Captain Black Ape's retirement.
He'd tried to remove his captain's mask then. Black Ape had stopped him.
"Not yet," he had said.
The next day, at the medic's tent, Captain Black Ape's mask was there—placed carefully on the pillow.
Yako touched his own Fox mask, unsure what kind of farewell awaited him someday.
The newly unmasked shinobi formed a line, turning in their masks to the logistics ninja stationed to the side.
Each bowed once to the dais—Hiruzen, Danzo, Yellow Dog—and departed.
By the end of it, the massive hall was nearly empty.
And then—footsteps echoed in the dark.
From the side corridor, a tall figure emerged.
Orochimaru, in his flowing robe, stepped into the light.
His slit-pupil eyes swept across the few remaining in the room.
He walked to the dais and took the seat beside Danzo.
Orochimaru was one of only three allowed to appear in ANBU headquarters unmasked.
Danzo's posture visibly relaxed.
Yako could understand why.
Danzo's top priority now wasn't managing ANBU—it was using Orochimaru's experiments to strengthen himself.
Power, not politics or fame, was what mattered. With strength came the rest.
So Danzo hadn't resisted the reforms.
The mood in the room darkened as Orochimaru's presence settled over it like a cold fog.
Hiruzen spoke again.
"Now, we begin the structural reform of the ANBU.
The organization will be divided as follows:
Root, under Danzo's command, will include Orochimaru and ten official members. They will train new recruits for both Root and Anbu and handle covert missions.
Four squads:
Black Ant Squad, for intelligence—handling recon, data collection, and communications.
Golden Eagle Squad, for defense—guarding key personnel and assets.
Lynx Squad and Fox Squad, for assassinations.
Additionally, ANBU will maintain support units such as the Scroll Division and Equipment Division."
Each unit assembled into their designated lines.
On the far left stood Root—only six members now besides Orochimaru.
Three had died in the Whirlpool War.
All three… at Yako's hands.
Then came the four squads:
Black Ant, Golden Eagle, Lynx, and Fox—each led by a single operative at the front, with subordinates lined behind.
From what Yako knew:
Black Ant was a member of the Nara clan.
Golden Eagle, from the Hyūga clan.
Lynx, from the Shimura clan.
And Fox… himself—still pretending to be Yellow Dog's trusted man.
Yako felt a brief pang of guilt.
Yellow Dog trusted him deeply.
Too bad… he wasn't truly loyal. But no matter—he'd keep pretending.
The Scroll Division handled jutsu distribution and mission archive work.
The Equipment Division crafted disguised forehead protectors, standard uniforms, ANBU blades, and provided general logistics.
With that, the ANBU restructuring was complete.
And Yako was now an official ANBU Squad Leader.
—
Once the high command had exited, Yako made his way to Yellow Dog's office.
"Yellow Dog-sama, are there any missions at the moment?"
"There is," Yellow Dog replied. "And it's important."
His assistant, Butterfly, brought over a scroll and handed it to Yako.
"We're sending you to the northeastern border of the Land of Earth.
Our spy in Iwagakure has confirmed they were crushed by Kumogakure in battle.
The reason? The sudden rampage of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
It seems Kumo has made a breakthrough in their Tailed Beast sealing.
Their Jinchūriki can now be deployed as weapons and safely retrieved afterward.
Fox—go investigate the battlefield. Look for clues, residual chakra, intel—anything you can gather.
Also, capture several Earth Release shinobi.
Root's labs have use for them."
"I understand." Yako nodded, then added:
"Yellow Dog-sama, now that ANBU has been downsized, shouldn't we consider promoting more people to Tokubetsu Jōnin?
Today's squad leaders carry far more weight than before.
In my unit, both Hippo and Yak are already Tokubetsu Jōnin.
I'd like to recommend White Ram and Blossom Deer as well."
Yellow Dog gave a satisfied nod.
"Agreed. Let this mission serve as their trial.
If they carry it out well, I'll back your recommendation."