The Anbu's visible base was located in a cave beneath the Hokage Rock, behind the Hokage Building. This was also the Anbu's main base for shift scheduling and protecting the Hokage.
The Anbu at the entrance did not stop Uchiha Ling, which suggested that the Third Hokage had informed them, or perhaps they already knew Ling.
Before Ling could even speak, an Anbu stepped out to guide her. This Anbu main base was indeed quite winding, and Ling would likely get lost if she went alone.
This Anbu remained silent, wearing a carp mask. His Chakra signature was unfamiliar, and his Chakra level seemed to be that of a Chunin.
Following the descending, spiraling staircase for several turns, they finally arrived at a spacious hall underground, with several doorways surrounding it.
In the center of the hall was a counter, seemingly a place for assigning missions, where three Anbu Ninja were processing documents.
It was quite inhumane to have to wear masks in the pitch-black underground. The Anbu led Ling to a door.
After knocking on the door with a specific rhythm, the entrance, adorned with Sealing Technique runes designed to block Chakra prying, was opened from within.
Inside the door was an office desk, where two Ninja, a man and a woman, were seated. Ling remembered the man's Chakra signature; it was Sarutobi Shinnosuke's.
"Ling, you're here. Welcome to the Anbu," Sarutobi Shinnosuke said, removing his mask to reveal a somewhat weathered face.
"Uncle Shinnosuke, long time no see. I'm now under your command, please take care of me," Ling said with a slight bow.
If Ling wasn't mistaken, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was currently the Anbu's General Commander. Other Anbu might need to wear masks to conceal their identities, but the General Commander did not.
It was estimated that Sarutobi Shinnosuke's bounty in the Bingo Book had already exceeded Asuma's peak, likely ranging from eighty million to over one hundred million Ryo.
For a fleeting moment, Ling even saw Shinnosuke's head transform into a pile of large gold coins. Fortunately, Ling wasn't particularly short on money these days, otherwise, she might have chopped off Sarutobi Shinnosuke's head to claim the bounty.
"I'll register your procedures now, and then I'll assign you to a squad to familiarize yourself with Anbu work. Later, I'll transfer you to the Anbu's most elite squad."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke didn't know if he was just making promises, but Ling didn't particularly want to go to the so-called elite squad; an easy mission would suffice.
However, she didn't voice her thoughts. Ling took the identity file processed by Sarutobi Shinnosuke and followed the Anbu towards the material supply area.
The Anbu's welfare benefits were quite good; many Ninja tools were free to take, such as Kunai and Shuriken. Soldier Pill and Exploding Tags could also be taken for free, though with quantity limits.
Not taking them would be a waste, so Ling took the maximum allowed amount of each item. Ling's actions made the Anbu managing the supplies twitch at the corner of his eye.
An Anbu raincoat, a hooded cloak, and an Anbu vest—these were the same style as Itachi's. Ling even collected the fishnet clothing and some uniforms.
Seeing these clothes, which were noticeably several sizes smaller than other Ninja's uniforms, Ling knew they were likely specially prepared, otherwise, there wouldn't be anything that would fit Ling's current figure.
The Anbu vest was also custom-made, even smaller than the smallest size, practically miniature, but thankfully, it fit perfectly.
Ling didn't know which pervert had obtained her body measurements, even knowing a loli's bust, waist, and hips. Hentai!
Ling walked into the changing room. The innermost layer was the fishnet outfit, followed by a black, form-fitting short-sleeved shirt and loose, elastic long pants. She then put on the Anbu Ninja shoes.
Immediately, she had that Anbu Ninja vibe. Then she put on the Anbu vest, strapped a free refined steel Ninjato to her back, and styled her hair like Itachi's during his time in the Anbu.
Then, with her forehead protector tied on and her two-tomoe Sharingan glowing red, ta-da! Cosplaying Anbu Uchiha Itachi was a success.
However, Ling didn't have nasolabial folds, and her face looked very young and soft, clearly a girl's appearance. Ahem, think of it as a female version of Uchiha Itachi.
Ling walked out of the room, immediately making the two Anbu's eyes light up. They felt that Ling suited this look very well, possessing a cool, detached aura mixed with a heroic and graceful charm.
"Let's go. I'll take you to choose a mask. My codename is Kyōri, and I specialize in Water Release."
"Are the mask and codename already chosen? Can I choose my own mask?"
Ling looked at Kyōri's mask, which indeed resembled a carp, and was curious about how Anbu masks and codenames worked.
If she could choose her own mask and codename, she would definitely pick a nice one.
"Yes, you can choose a mask, but each mask has a corresponding codename."
Ling was a bit disappointed, but being able to choose a good-looking mask was still nice. With the Anbu's severe reduction in personnel, there should be many codenames available, right?
In fact, Ling was mistaken. Every codename was never retired, so the number of masks in this place, similar to the Hall of Faces, wasn't very large.
Currently, there were still a red fox, a white elephant, a green swallow, and so on. Ling looked for a long time before choosing a white-based cat mask with black and red patterns.
"From today onwards, your name is Kyōri! Remember your codename."
The Anbu who managed the masks was likely specialized in making them; there were still some semi-finished products and wood shavings on the ground.
This Anbu wrote "Kyōri" and a string of numbers in the codename section of Ling's file, then handed everything to Ling.
Ling took the cat mask and observed the Sealing Technique runes and some unfamiliar jutsu on it.
"This mask can block Byakugan or other X-ray type jutsu from seeing through the mask to the face. When Chakra is infused, it will adhere to your face and has some air filtering capabilities."
As the Anbu explained, Ling realized that this thing actually had the function of a gas mask.
In the original story, when Itachi ambushed Shisui, if Shisui had worn a mask, he probably wouldn't have been poisoned by the smoke, right?
Ling placed the mask over her face. As Chakra flowed in, she felt the mask gently adhere to her face, fitting perfectly without any foreign sensation.
She had learned about another strange technology in the Ninja World. With the mask on and a codename, Ling was now a true Anbu.
Returning to Sarutobi Shinnosuke's office, she handed him the file. If it weren't for Ling's height revealing her identity, it would be difficult to recognize her.
"Kyōri, alright. I've already assigned you to a squad. They'll come shortly to familiarize you with daily missions."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke filed Ling's identity document, then pulled out a piece of paper with text and hand signs, handing it to Ling.
"These are the Anbu's secret codes, hand signs, and some ciphers. You have ten minutes to memorize them."
Ling looked at them and saw that they were indeed things specifically used by special departments. Memorizing them wasn't difficult; Ling remembered them after reading them twice.
To be safe, she still spent ten minutes looking, memorizing, and practicing the hand signs to deepen her memory.
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