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The operatives rose with the sun and began getting ready for the day. A couple of guys were in the kitchen putting something together for everyone to eat while they waited for their turn at one of three showers in the safehouse, which wasn't enough for a group of their size.
"Ten-minute limit per person!" Hopper yelled. He pointed at Yazo and a couple of his guys. "There's a tap and a hose on the roof. Get yourself cleaned there. I want all of you in gear before Weasel gets here!"
Takuma was in the kitchen on coffee duty when someone moved beside him. He looked up at Kingfisher, the ANBU Lieutenant, making him the highest-ranking person in the house. He had a head of caramel-coloured hair, which he wore in a long, low ponytail at the back. He was the head of a whole assault unit that included a high-profile all-chūnin squad, who were present in the house, and three more units of specially trained genin operatives, each led by a chūnin squad leader. He was among Weasel's most trusted confidants in ANBU.
ANBU lieutenants, like Barbary, didn't participate in the field, so having Kingfisher here meant that Itachi was taking this very seriously.
"You didn't say much yesterday during the meeting," Kingfisher said.
"There wasn't much to say."
"Oh? Others I've worked with always try to get their word in."
By nature, assault squads entered the picture after someone had already been working on a case. However, the assault squad had control over any field operation they were a part of, which often didn't sit well with those who had been working on a case for longer and felt a sense of ownership towards their work. Power and control struggles were a common occurrence in such cases.
"If I felt something wasn't right, I would've voiced it. Don't worry, I won't get in your way. If you need me to do something, feel free to command me like I'm one of your men," Takuma said. The assault squad had greater expertise than he did, and given the weight being assigned to the operation, they had enough motivation to ensure it went smoothly.
"Truthfully, that's a surprise given your reputation."
"My reputation?"
"Bossyboots."
"Bo-Bossyboots?"
"They say that you're so obsessed with control that you create one clone per person in your squad, including the staff. That way, you'd know what every single one of your subordinates is doing constantly."
"That sounds terrible," Takuma said, imagining what that'd be like, but he was more concerned about what types of baseless rumours about him were floating out there. "I assure you none of that is true. I only create clones because I require them for work."
Kingfisher looked sceptical. And who could blame him? The number of clones running around in Ratel Squad offices was truly ridiculous. No one in their right mind would do a job that required creating so many clones. Takuma sighed. He wondered if he needed to do some reputation management after he returned home.
"What are the chances that we get what we want today?" the lieutenant asked.
Takuma gazed at the man. Instead of answering, he asked, "Concerned about the possible attack on ROOT right after this?" Just last night, he had discussed it with Tern.
Kingfisher had a severe look as he nodded. "That attack would be much more dangerous than this operation. We will be going into the enemy's base. I'd die before saying anything good about ROOT… they'll be dangerous opponents."
"It depends. If you end up doing nothing today and we follow the shipment right to the ROOT base, we might have some time—at most a few days—to prepare and mount a proper attack. But… if you see action today, that means something went wrong and we'd have to rush everything before ROOT gets the news," Takuma said.
The two assault squads were there because ANBU had to take into account that Danzō might have heard about Baizan's troubles and might think that the Hidden Leaf was attempting to get to him.
"So, it's either all good or all bad," Kingfisher sighed.
"A tough deal," Takuma nodded.
There was a knock on the main door, and everyone in earshot paused. Two people moved to the second-floor window, while others stepped into the front hallway. A minute later, someone announced that it was Weasel. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief before gathering in the front hall to welcome the ANBU Captain.
Uchiha Itachi stepped into the room, dressed in a simple shirt and pants with a cloak around his shoulders. People stiffened in attention as his eyes swept through the room. His gaze lingered on Kingfisher and Takuma, both of whom returned a nod. However, while they were expecting him, they weren't expecting the person standing behind him.
"Who is that?" Kingfisher whispered.
"I don't know," Takuma replied.
The man was in his early thirties and had a polite smile that remained affixed on his lips and eyes. He gave a shallow bow to the room but didn't say anything or introduce himself.
"Please introduce us, Captain," Kingfisher asked.
"This is Operative Raven. He won't be participating in the field operation. He's here in case we need expedited information extraction."
Takuma and Kingfisher exchanged a glance. In case things went wrong today, things would move quickly, and getting the location of the ROOT base would be the top priority. Until today, they had captured quite a few ROOT agents. Takuma himself had captured the agents from the Inahara sleeper cell and the ones who attacked him during the Fire-Grass border outpost, but none of them gave up ROOT's base location, and it was not for a lack of trying. Even if the Hidden Leaf had by far the best interrogation capabilities across the nations, they couldn't extract what wasn't there.
"Status update, Kingfisher?" Itachi asked.
"Yes, sir. The reconnaissance has been completed. All routes out of the city have been mapped. The entire team has been briefed on their roles and responsibilities. With you present, we can start the final briefing."
"Let's not waste any time. We will convene after everyone's ready," Itachi said, looking at the embarrassed operatives, all in some state of not being ready.
It took about an hour for everyone to get ready. Because they were trying to hide their identities, neither side was dressed in ANBU gear nor in Leaf gear. Everyone was dressed in different tactical gear, all of it a derivative of the Leaf gear considered the standard blueprint in the Land of Fire, all of which was hidden beneath cloaks.
Including Weasel and Raven, a total of twenty-one operatives were involved in the operation. Eighteen of them were present in the room, which was just a little bit too cramped. The remaining operatives were keeping an eye on the warehouse. A table was set up in the middle of the room where Itachi, Takuma, Raven, Hopper, the reconnaissance squad leader, and the Weasel's assault squad leader sat, while everyone else settled around the room as Kingfisher addressed the group.
"The iron shipment sits in a Baizan warehouse that is currently being watched by the reconnaissance team. Putting it in simple words: when the shipment is picked up, we will follow that person to wherever they lead us, and hopefully, by the end of it, we will have the base location."
They could capture the person for interrogation, but there was always a risk that things would go wrong. Even jutsu-enhanced interrogation—even that of the Yamanaka clan—carried the risk that if they pushed incorrectly, they could end up killing the target. Even the most skilled and experienced users could make mistakes because people were unique and what they could take was different.
On the other hand, following someone was less risky and more reliable for the current scenario.
"The recon team, along with Aquilla, will take charge and coordinate with the rest. The assault squad will maintain a safe distance from the target and maintain positions where we are always ready to move in case the need arises."
Itachi turned to Aquilla. "Conserve your chakra and mental stamina. We could be on the road for multiple days. Only use your eyes to perform periodic surrounding checks and routine confirmation on the target's position. I want you to remain in good condition until the very end."
"Yes, sir," Aquilla said.
Itachi nodded before turning to Kingfisher. "How can I contribute?"
"You, Ratel, Tern, and Raven will hang back as our reserves. If either squad requires anything, we will call up the reserves."
Kingfisher wasn't going to tell his boss to do something. Just his presence was enough, and in case shit went south, he would be their strongest asset. Kingfisher then discussed the fine details of the plan and had everyone tune their short-range portable radios to the same frequency for communication. With the warehouse set to open in a few hours, the assault squads split into their own rooms for their final team meetings, while the reconnaissance squad members, with Aquilla, moved out ahead of everyone else.
"So, Raven?" Takuma asked Itachi as they stood in the corner of a room.
"He's from the Hokage's ANBU," Itachi said.
On the other side, Raven was chatting with Tern as they decided how to split the cargo the reserve team would be carrying. Takuma was surprised. The Hokage's ANBU was a group of operatives who directly served under the Hokage and answered only to him. Even though they were still part of the Department of ANBU, they also existed outside of it. Their duties included the Hokage's protection and any mission he might want them to run.
"Is he here to keep an eye on us?" Takuma asked, his eyes narrowing.
It wasn't a stretch to think that the Lord Third was anxious about this mission's success and had sent one of his own to keep an eye on things and maybe even dictate how some things went. Because even though Weasel, as an ANBU Captain, was the highest authority here, Raven was directly backed by the Hokage and could even be considered to be voicing Lord Third's wishes. Even if he had no official authority, he still held the power to influence things.
"He's here to help, but that doesn't mean he isn't also here to observe," Itachi said. "Though I feel he won't be getting in our way."
Takuma wasn't sure, but if Itachi felt that way, he was willing to believe that as well.
"Excited? I reckon you don't get to do these anymore," Takuma asked. If lieutenants rarely ever went out into the field, the number of times a captain would get involved could comfortably be counted on one hand.
"Excited? No, but it's nice to be running an operation with my subordinates for once."
"You're making me shy."
"I was talking about Kingfisher's assault squad."
Takuma chuckled.
"What about you?" Itachi asked. "You must enjoy these."
"What makes you say that?"
"Didn't you say you didn't want to be a lieutenant because you wanted to continue field work?"
"Ah, yes, I did say that." During their discussion about Takuma becoming Itachi's subordinate, the talk of making Takuma a lieutenant had come up. Itachi didn't want to make him a lieutenant because he valued his field skills, and Takuma wasn't interested for the same reason. "It depends. I enjoy field work when it goes well, but dislike it when it doesn't."
Kingfisher walked into the hall and loudly announced so that he was heard throughout the safehouse that they were moving out in two minutes.
"Then let's make today enjoyable," Itachi said.
"Yes, let's," replied Takuma with a grin.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Raven can be found in CHAPTER 31: INTERLUDE_1.1
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