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The battle lasted a couple more hours. The defeated ROOT jōnin caused the subordinate agents to scatter throughout the forest. Most Leaf jōnin pulled away after their battle, leaving their subordinates to hunt down the fleeing agents.
Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Gaku transported their badly injured but alive targets to get their chakra sealed and stood constant guard as the ROOT jōnin received medical treatment. Yuhi Kurenai and Uchiha Sayuri took control of the support base, medical tents, and logistical pipelines, ensuring everything was set up and working properly.
Hyūga Utsuse, Yamanaka Kawamochi, and Sarutobi Asuma took control of the troops and coordinated the capture efforts as the troops spread further into the woods, chasing the scattered agents.
Might Gai wanted to go out into the field but was barred and was instead forced to receive medical treatment. Chōza Akimichi insisted on keeping guard over the two captured jōnin, but it ended up with him in a hospital bed getting rest in the same medical tent as the ROOT jōnin.
Unlike Chōza, Uchiha Itachi patiently received treatment in a private tent but had another tent erected right beside his and ordered Shimura Danzō's corpse to be kept in there.
Hatake Kakashi led a small group to secure the underground ROOT base.
"Who secured the base?" Kakashi asked. He lifted his flashlight to illuminate the flammable liquid all over the floor.
"We did, sir." Chūnin Saika stepped forward from the group that had secured the base. "We secured the ROOT agents trying to set the building on fire, completed three sweeps of the building from top to bottom, and shut off the generator just to be safe."
"Great work." Kakashi gave them an approving nod. "We need to get the kerosene cleaned up," he said, looking at the ANBU-nin standing beside him.
"I will make the arrangements, sir," Takuma replied, not pleased to be in another underground building with connections to ROOT. But he was similarly thrilled to be in the heart of the enemy he had been fighting for the past year. "Would you like me to send for the team from the village? They're ready to deploy at a moment's notice."
One of the things he had to plan in preparation for this mission was setting up a team of ANBU and relevant personnel who would strip the ROOT base of anything and everything that could be considered valuable. If he were to send a messenger hawk now, the group would arrive in less than a day.
"Call them in. Until they arrive, I don't want anyone entering the base," Kakashi said.
"Understood. I had some of the troops pre-screened and have a verified list of people with clean backgrounds. I'll be forming the security detail from among those shinobi," Takuma said.
It had taken Boobook and many of Takuma's clones many work hours to find dozens of people whom they could trust not to be in ROOT's pocket, and thus would be trustworthy to guard the location. Kakashi looked at him strangely, and he couldn't blame the jōnin.
It was excessive, but he didn't want anything to go wrong. Given that this was ROOT's headquarters, the ANBU expected to find a treasure trove of information related to ROOT and their activities that they had never got their hands on before. With that level of information, they could expedite their efforts to eradicate ROOT's influence in the Land of Fire. With Danzō's death, ROOT was no longer a top threat, but they still had dangerous remnants that had to be dealt with. Not to mention, with ROOT's information, they could go after anyone who had ever had a shady connection to Danzō and ROOT.
Takuma sighed, expecting the following year to be stressful. If there was any place where Danzō would have copious amounts of shady dealings, it was the Hidden Leaf Village. He expected there to be chaos and unrest, and given his position, he would be right in the middle of it, weathering the storm.
Kakashi wanted a tour of the facility and had Saika show them around.
"Is there a reason you are disguising your voice?" Kakashi asked once they were alone.
Takuma had been modulating his voice with chakra. "Chūnin Saika has people I know on his team. We're close enough that they'd recognise my voice."
He was frankly very surprised to see Nenro and Masaaki when he arrived at the ROOT base because he was explicitly told that a team of chūnin had secured the ROOT base. Neither of his friends, regardless of their competence and accomplishments, were a chūnin. If it had been anyone else, he would have immediately taken them down for being suspicious, but he knew them well enough to know that they weren't.
"Understandable," Kakashi said, shining a light into a pitch-black supply closet. "Good job with Orochimaru. Weasel tells me that your plan played a huge part in the battle."
"Thank you, sir. It was a total team effort. My plan would've been useless without everyone's brave efforts," Takuma said. Even though it had only been a few hours, the memories of the battle were still fresh and just as horrifying in his mind. "My condolences, Captain. Operative Sandpiper was excellent in Fune."
One of Kakashi's assault team operatives was killed by Orochimaru. Both ANBU captains had lost subordinates—Itachi more than Kakashi—but even one death was felt. With Nenro and Masaaki, he had managed to confirm that none of his friends was dead.
"He was always excellent," Kakashi said. Given his history, Takuma wasn't surprised by the short response, but Kakashi's following words were entirely unexpected. "Weasel has always talked highly of you, Ratel. You have done impressive work, and your work with ROOT has been monumental. Even in our history, not many can claim to have done what you have accomplished in such a young career."
"That's high praise, sir."
"Are you ready for it, Ratel?"
"Ready for what, sir?"
"To be a lieutenant?"
"Pardon?"
Kakashi turned to him. "Why the surprise? I might be retiring soon, but Weasel is here to stay, and his scope of responsibility will only increase with my retirement. He's going to need good people under him to manage his responsibilities. With Kingfisher gone, he's going to need another lieutenant to support him, and after today, there's no better candidate than you."
Takuma was silent as he realised the situation. Kakashi was retiring, and Itachi had lost his most trusted lieutenant. He would need a replacement—ANBU would need a replacement—and Kakashi's words stood true; he was a standout candidate. However, he and Itachi had an understanding that he wanted to stay active in the field, and a lieutenant promotion would go against that. And yet, putting himself in Itachi's shoes, Takuma didn't think Itachi had a choice but to seriously consider him for a lieutenant promotion.
While it was Itachi's choice who he wanted serving under him, he needed to consider the legitimacy of the person getting the promotion. He was a captain; his decisions garnered attention, so he at least had to make an appropriate choice, which wasn't a problem. Itachi could just claim that Takuma was very new and needed more experience, and that would be considered a legitimate reason.
However, Takuma had to wonder: if Itachi asked, would it be right to reject the promotion?
Yes, while Takuma had to consider what was best for him, Itachi had been a stalwart supporter of his since the day they had started working together. Leaving someone like that high and dry in their time of need didn't seem right, given their relationship. Most ANBU captains wouldn't ever allow him the freedom and resources Itachi had given him; most of them wouldn't even give him charge of a ROOT squad, no matter how well he had done in the anti-ROOT initiative. He was too young and new.
Being completely honest with himself, if Itachi asked, Takuma didn't think he would be able to turn him down, which bothered him because he hadn't thought about it until this very moment, and he didn't know how to feel about that.
"I'm not sure I'm ready for such big responsibilities. I wish to remain active in the field; I have much to learn," he said.
"Which one is it? Are you not ready for the responsibility, or do you want to remain active in the field?"
Takuma thought Kakashi was going to continue, but he went silent as though waiting for him to respond.
"I want to stay active in the field. I fear that if I do accept a promotion, I won't be allowed out on the field. It was Kingfisher's first field mission in a while, and he's dead now. I don't think the higher-ups would like a lieutenant who likes to frequent the field," Takuma said—he wasn't even sure if Itachi would be stoked about that, given the risks.
"You seem to have a misunderstanding here, Ratel. Do you know why lieutenants don't participate in field missions?" Kakashi asked.
"Because a lieutenant is a high-ranking position and replacing them is hard," Takuma answered.
A lieutenant was in charge of an entire unit. It took time for someone in that position to get used to their job and start functioning at the expected level. They had to handle much more than when they were only squad leaders and had a significantly higher number of people working under them. If the turnover rate for lieutenants was that high, the ANBU wouldn't be able to function properly, as every new lieutenant would need time to get used to their position.
"You're right. That is the main reason why the ANBU doesn't want lieutenants out there. But there's no official rule that a lieutenant can't be field active." Kakashi turned to him and pointed his flashlight towards the ceiling, so the light would reflect down on them. "There are real-world, practical reasons why lieutenants aren't field active. People, even shinobi, dislike risking their lives in battles. Lieutenants simply don't have the time to be field active. They have their arms full. They can't be absent for a few days to a week regularly; that would leave their unit without critical leadership and important work piling up. They stay home because that's where they are needed.
"But that's not a problem for you, is it?"
Takuma wasn't surprised. He had developed a reputation in ANBU without meaning to.
"Clones," Takuma said.
"If you can manage and balance leadership and field duty, then do it. Weasel won't complain. Do you know why? He did the same. In the nine months he was a lieutenant under me, he was field active the entire time."
Itachi was an operative for a month, a squad leader for two months, and a lieutenant for nine months, which added up to a year, after which he was promoted to captain. A meteoric rise never before seen in ANBU.
"So, if you can do it, want to do it, and are confident that you can sustain it, my unwanted advice is that you should take it."
Kakashi walked away to rejoin the rest of the group, seemingly satisfied with his tour of the ROOT base, leaving Takuma behind with a mess of thoughts clouding his tired head.
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