Konoha.
ANBU.
Hatake Sakumo brought Hyūga Hizashi to the base.
"Here—pick a mask you like. And think up a codename as well."
"Since the Hokage-sama has tasked me with bringing you into ANBU, you'll temporarily be assigned to my squad."
"As for the work and the rules, I'll go over some basic principles with you in a bit. Tomorrow you'll attend the system's training course…"
Sakumo sat on a stool, humming an unidentifiable tune with the flavor of a Warring States–era samurai melody, carefully applying blade oil to the chakra short sword in his hands.
"Y-Yes… understood…"
Hizashi stood unsteadily before a row of masks.
Everything that had happened today felt dreamlike to him.
First, there had been war-level clashes erupting within the village. Then he had been pushed forward by the main family to take responsibility. After enduring the complex gazes of everyone around him and the torment in his heart—he had ended up joining ANBU!
Even now, he still hadn't fully processed it.
Joining ANBU…
There had never been a precedent for this within the Hyūga clan before.
Would the elders of the main family really agree?
"Sakumo-sama, there's something I need to report to you…" Hizashi said hesitantly. "Our clan's situation is… special. You're aware of that, right?"
"I can't refuse the Hokage-sama, and I really do want to join ANBU myself…"
"But as for the main family's side, I honestly don't know how they'll react. If I agreed rashly like this, it won't affect the relationship between the village and the Hyūga, will it?"
After Hizashi finished speaking, his face turned slightly red.
He truly felt he wasn't man enough—since he had already agreed to it, why was he backing out halfway?
But the heavy inertia of being a Hyūga branch family member made it impossible for him not to think about this side of things…
"I didn't understand what you mean."
Sakumo raised his head in confusion. "Why are you thinking so much? Wasn't this the Hokage-sama directly inviting you?"
Hizashi was left speechless.
Although Hiruzen had taken the initiative to invite him, what if the Hokage-sama didn't know what the main family was thinking?
"I've heard about those matters between your main family and branch family—this thousand-year noble clan, the Hyūga…"
"And I've also heard of the Hyūga's stance: 'a village within the village,' 'absolute neutrality.' It's not as if there aren't rumors in the village." Sakumo continued polishing White Fang in his hands.
"What I said is right, isn't it?"
Hizashi's eyes widened in shock. He had thought the main family's ideas were a secret—had they already spread widely through the village?
"What's with that surprised look in your eyes?"
Sakumo's gaze finally settled on him, as if he meant to see right through Hyūga Hizashi.
"Your branch family is too closed off in the clan compound, with far too little contact with the outside. The village has been established for so many years—at this point, even a chūnin should know some gossip and whispered secrets."
"One of ANBU's duties is precisely to collect this kind of public opinion."
"You haven't fully joined ANBU yet. If you decide to withdraw, it's still not too late. As squad leader, I have the authority to deem your evaluation unqualified—even if you were invited by the Hokage-sama."
Sakumo spoke calmly. "I want you to lay out all of your doubts completely. If they can be resolved, all the better. If they can't, then withdraw."
"If there ever comes a day when information is leaked, the consequences won't be good."
At that moment, the White Fang short blade refracted a cold gleam under the light.
"I…"
"I'm worried that if the main family doesn't agree to me entering ANBU, what should I do? And if the main family asks me about ANBU matters, what should I do then?"
Hizashi removed his forehead protector, revealing a bluish cross-shaped mark.
"This is the Caged Bird Seal. The main family needs only a single thought, and my brain and eyes will turn into a pile of pulp—something no one has been able to resist for a thousand years!"
"Death would be one thing, but the main family can use this seal to punish us—that's a punishment more terrifying than death!" As he said this, fear surfaced in Hizashi's eyes.
That was a kind of pain consciousness itself could not withstand.
When he was a child, he had once tasted it after talking back to a member of the main family.
"I want to join ANBU. I want to protect the village together with Sakumo-sama and your colleagues. I want to use these Byakugan to discover and drive back enemies that endanger the villagers…"
"I'm afraid I'll encounter moments where I'm put in a difficult position. I believe myself to be a man—but in the face of this Caged Bird, I don't dare say whether I truly have that qualification."
Hizashi forcefully rubbed the raw, bluish mark on his forehead. "After saying all this to you, I feel much better. Please—judge me by your own standards and subject me to the strictest evaluation!"
Sakumo nodded, then looked Hizashi up and down.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Very well. You're qualified. Welcome to ANBU, Hyūga Hizashi."
"As for the issues you mentioned, they aren't problems for ANBU."
Sakumo spoke slowly. "Your experiences within the Hyūga compound are too limited. You haven't yet formed a proper understanding of the village."
Hizashi blinked. Although he was delighted by Sakumo's affirmation, he didn't quite grasp the meaning of his words. "Could you… could you explain it to me?"
"As ANBU, you are a force directly under the Hokage—the extension of the Hokage's will."
"In Konoha, who would dare to interrogate ANBU? No matter how powerful your Hyūga main family is, they wouldn't dare," Sakumo said with an amused tone.
"Even the Uchiha clan has never thought of confronting ANBU head-on. At most, they mutter a few curses behind the scenes."
"The main family wants to rebel?"
Hearing this, Hizashi felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
His Byakugan suddenly activated; veins bulged around his eye sockets, and his eyes widened.
"What, does your Hyūga clan also have the Uchiha trait?" Sakumo asked curiously. "Do your eyes react whenever you're emotionally stimulated?"
"I'm sorry, Sakumo-sama—I was just too excited…"
At that moment, Hizashi finally came to a realization.
Right—whether the main family agreed or not, what did it matter? He was already ANBU, already the Hokage's man!
Interrogation was naturally out of the question; even reproach likely wouldn't exist.
After all, he had heard that ANBU possessed the authority to report directly to the Hokage…
Hizashi's thoughts raced ahead, his mind snapping back onto high ground after Sakumo's guidance. 'Forget punishment—does this mean I won't even have to do all those chores serving the main family anymore?'
'ANBU serves the Hokage!'
Excitement left Hizashi's body feeling a little weak.
As a branch family member, how could he not have once longed for freedom?
It was only that the barrier of the Caged Bird was too thick—no one could fly over it—and after it became habit, one stopped thinking about it.
Like a butterfly trapped in a glass bottle.
After colliding with the walls too many times, even if the mouth of the bottle were opened, it would no longer think to try…
Yet he had never imagined—
That a freedom no branch family member had enjoyed for a thousand years would fall squarely onto his head just like that!
True, the Caged Bird had not been removed. True, the restrained Byakugan still possessed a dead angle at times…
But so what? The most crucial freedom had already been gained!
Hizashi was so eager he almost wanted to throw a full set of Gentle Fist techniques on the spot, just to vent the indescribable excitement in his heart…
"No wonder the Hokage-sama had me bring you into ANBU first, instead of having you go through the standard training process,"
Sakumo said quietly. "If this had been handled through Danzō, whether you could even enter ANBU aside, your entire Hyūga clan would certainly have drawn his attention."
The so-called "Root" was formally known as the "ANBU Training Department."
Danzō, as the head of Root, was responsible for training personnel newly entering ANBU.
In Sakumo's view, although Danzō's training methods were overly harsh, they were indeed highly professional and very much necessary…
The problem was that "Root" had gradually become a private military force in Danzō's hands, no longer maintaining a high degree of loyalty and purity toward the Hokage.
Sakumo had mentioned this matter to Hiruzen several times before, but it had always been left unresolved.
Until now—when ANBU and Root were finally merged.
And today's address by Hiruzen at last made Sakumo understand.
Or rather, by a twist of fate, it happened to align with his long-held doubts.
—The reason it had not been dealt with earlier was not because the Hokage had simply indulged Danzō, but because he had been conducting research, preparing for an institutional reform of the entire village.
The long silence from Hiruzen in the past had, in truth, made Sakumo feel somewhat chilled.
He had been loyal to the Hokage, willing to offend the immensely powerful and extremely senior Danzō—yet it was as if he himself had been left out in the cold, receiving neither response nor explanation as to why Root was being allowed to operate unchecked.
'So the Hokage-sama was thinking further ahead after all…'
Such a thought passed through Sakumo's mind. 'As expected, the village is still good… I was simply too hasty!'
Meanwhile, upon hearing Danzō's name, much of Hizashi's excitement immediately dissipated.
This was a man whose title—the Darkness of the Shinobi World—was certainly not an exaggeration…
Whether inwardly or outwardly, he carried an extremely high level of deterrence.
Sakumo explained the department's rules and origins to his new squad member, Hizashi. "ANBU—its full name is the Assassination Tactical Special Unit. The missions it undertakes and the information it handles are all top secret."
"As for the other rules, someone will naturally teach you tomorrow. There are only two points that matter most."
"First: absolute loyalty to the Hokage. Second: any leak of secrets is punishable by death."
Hizashi listened attentively.
At this moment, he felt an unparalleled sense of belonging toward this work in ANBU.
No matter what, he had to do it well and keep doing it—to protect this hard-won freedom.
"Understood, Sakumo-sama!" Hizashi stood straight.
"As for your specific squad, we'll arrange that after the assessment… you should be prepared."
Sakumo rose unhurriedly. "Advisor Danzō is very strict."
Hizashi's expression turned slightly bitter.
But it quickly hardened into resolve. "I will definitely pass the training with outstanding results!"
Hizashi reached his hand toward the Ox mask.
"So-called branch family members must bear the main family's burdens like an 'ox'—that's something the Hyūga elders of this generation often say."
But he was different now…
His gaze shifted to the Hawk mask, an animal that symbolized freedom…
'No—still the 'Ox'!'
Hizashi tightened his grip on the edge of the mask, thinking to himself, 'As long as I can have this freedom, serving the village as an 'ox' is something I do willingly!'
"All right. Put on the mask and the uniform. I'll take you to carry out your first mission now."
"This is the Hokage's first assignment for you—don't mess it up."
Sakumo put on his mask, donned a white sleeveless garment on the outside, and draped over himself the beige trench coat that symbolized a squad leader's status.
Hizashi nodded repeatedly, carefully changing into the ANBU uniform, as if afraid of damaging it.
"Target: the Hyūga clan compound."
"Mission: inform the main family that you have joined ANBU, and convey the Hokage's concern. If they have any thoughts that are inconvenient to report directly in the future, they may pass them on through you."
Sakumo patted Hizashi on the shoulder. "You're the protagonist of this mission."
Hizashi was stunned at first—then overjoyed.
He had been wondering how to tell the Hyūga clan, tactfully and elegantly, that he was now a member of ANBU.
Who would have thought that the Hokage had even considered this layer?
Wasn't this mission precisely the stage the Hokage-sama had deliberately set up for him?
Otherwise, given ANBU's special nature, he would have had no way to return to the clan compound wearing this attire, openly displaying his current status…
"Remember—you are ANBU."
"What posture to take, what tone to use—don't lose face, Hizashi."
Sakumo fastened the White Fang short blade at his waist.
Although ANBU were theoretically a secret organization, at his level, once he made a move, everything would be known anyway…
The best form of secrecy was to kill the other party.
A short while later, Hizashi and Sakumo arrived at the clan compound.
A member of the main family happened to be at the gate, speaking with the patrolling branch members. His tone was distinctly displeased. "Why hasn't that brat Hizashi come back yet? The old master is waiting impatiently!"
His name was Hyūga Takashi.
He possessed no particular talent; he was a typical example of someone designated as main family solely because he had been born earlier.
His manner was rather overbearing. He believed that even if his abilities were insufficient, as a member of the main family he enjoyed ancestral protection, and was therefore naturally entitled to manage and command the branch family.
"Go and check what's going on. He's been gone this long and still hasn't come back! Does he think that just because he's Hiashi's younger brother he can act without restraint?"
"As a member of the branch family, he doesn't have the slightest sense of propriety!" Takashi vented his anger.
The two Hyūga branch family members beside him kept their heads lowered, silent and expressionless.
'This is really something—so this is what the inside of the Hyūga clan is like… This isn't ninja society at all; it's nobles and slaves, isn't it?' Sakumo felt a deep sense of emotion upon witnessing this rare scene.
'If not for the Caged Bird being so tyrannical, the branch family and the main family would have killed each other long ago, wouldn't they?'
At that moment, Takashi turned his head, and his whole body jolted.
Two masked ANBU had appeared silently before him at some unknown time.
"May I ask, you two, what brings you here?" Takashi put on a smile.
He had no desire to offend ANBU—especially after seeing the beige trench coat that signified a squad leader on Sakumo…
This was a major figure.
"Lead the way. We are seeing the Hyūga clan head."
The corner of Hizashi's mouth lifted high beneath the mask, but his voice was cold and stern.
"By order of the Hokage!"