"It seems we were still a step too late. Orochimaru managed to escape."
Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held a pipe between his lips as he read through the report in his hands. His gaze then shifted to the line of ANBU standing before him—lingering briefly on Ren, who stood near the back—before he spoke with a hint of resignation.
"Although we suffered losses, obtaining intelligence on Orochimaru is already a significant achievement.
Our preparations were insufficient, so this mission cannot be considered a failure. You've all worked hard."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
The assembled ANBU bowed in unison. Among them, Ren pressed his lips together slightly.
So this counts as a 'most successful failure,' huh?
Ren understood very well—this Third Hokage probably never truly wanted to deal with Orochimaru in the first place.
Otherwise, when Orochimaru defected from Konoha, why didn't the Third—still near the end of his prime—carry out righteous extermination himself?
After all, a few years later, he would calmly nod in approval when facing someone who truly embodied "I slaughter my entire clan."
Still, whatever the Third Hokage was thinking had little to do with Ren.
He stayed in Konoha for two reasons.
First: the appeal of being a Konoha "civil servant" under one of the Five Great Villages.
Second: he hadn't crushed Danzō to death yet.
Besides, hiding within Konoha meant protection. It meant backup. It even meant that if something went wrong, Konoha would shoulder the blame.
What a wonderful deal.
"All right. You may all return and rest."
As Ren's thoughts wandered, Hiruzen suddenly spoke again. His eyes returned to Ren, and he smiled.
"Ren-kun, I'll need you to stay behind for a moment."
Ren, who had been preparing to slip away with the others, stiffened slightly.
He had no idea what the Third Hokage was planning—but he obediently remained.
After all, if you wanted to make progress as a workhorse, you had to listen to the boss.
"Ren-kun, according to the reports, your performance this time was outstanding."
Once the other ANBU had left the office, Hiruzen spoke again with a gentle smile.
"And how does ANBU feel, compared to Root?"
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage," Ren replied immediately, putting on a righteous expression.
"Whether in Root or ANBU, I am serving Konoha."
Yeah right, Ren thought inwardly. ANBU is heaven compared to Root.
Just the Level 5 Sealing Techniques alone had cost him a massive amount of Free Points. Those points could have pushed his physical attributes to Level 7 instead.
Not to mention Danzō's personality—like a fermented fish barrel stirred with excrement. A man so dark that he talked about wiping out entire families as casually as breathing.
Among his subordinates, aside from Ren himself, how many were still normal?
Still, no matter what he thought, Ren swallowed it all.
After all, this was the Third Hokage—the man who could forgive even an attempted assassination by his "old friend."
"Indeed. All for Konoha."
Hiruzen nodded, clearly satisfied.
"Although our responsibilities differ, my old friend has truly cultivated a fine seedling.
The purpose of Root, after all, is to train and prepare talent for ANBU."
"..."
Ren fell silent.
Orochimaru had been absolutely right—this Third Hokage knew exactly why Ren had been transferred into ANBU.
But that wasn't surprising.
Behind the scenes, Hiruzen and Danzō had likely been verbally clashing for years already.
"Your performance this time was exemplary," Hiruzen continued warmly.
"I will ensure you receive appropriate rewards under ANBU regulations."
He paused, then added,
"There were casualties during this mission, so some squads will be reorganized.
Your current unit will also be restructured—I'll be assigning new members to it."
"..."
Ren's eyes flickered slightly.
So Danzō was making his move.
Using Orochimaru's hands to thin ANBU numbers.
Using Ren to deliver research materials.
And now using this opportunity to influence ANBU personnel deployment.
Impressive, old bastard.
Ren even found himself wondering whether, when he eventually killed Danzō, he should be generous enough to leave the corpse intact.
"I will follow Lord Hokage's arrangements."
Ren nodded calmly.
"Good."
Hiruzen smiled as usual.
"Your coordination with Yugao was excellent. Fujikawa was injured this time—let him rest for now.
You should also go and rest. I'm very much looking forward to your future performance in ANBU."
Just like master, just like disciple.
As Ren turned and left the office, he couldn't help mocking them internally.
The two of them spoke in a style that perfectly embodied speaking one thing while meaning another.
Fortunately, Ren was an old hand at workplace politics.
Some words, he understood.
Some words, he pretended not to understand.
"…But their relationship is way too subtle," Ren muttered.
"Could it really be because of the Nine-Tails incident? The Third lost his wife, so—"
Suddenly, Ren shuddered violently.
An image flashed through his mind—Danzō being pressed down by the Third Hokage, stammering helplessly.
His face turned pale.
That's disgusting.
At least turn off the lights before forcing my brain to picture that.
"You're done already?"
A voice abruptly pulled him out of that horrifying mental image.
"Yugao-senpai?"
Ren turned his head and saw Yugao Uzuki standing there, her mask already removed. He followed suit, taking off his own mask and smiling.
"Were you waiting for me, senpai?"
"Yes."
Yugao nodded, then spoke seriously.
"You've just joined ANBU, so there's a lot you're still unfamiliar with. And during this mission, you saved me twice. I…"
Wait—don't tell me this is going where I think it is?
Ren raised an eyebrow internally, amused. He was fairly confident in his own looks.
After all, no matter the profession, appearance was always combat power.
Otherwise, why did good-looking people always end up together?
"Then I'll treat you to ramen!"
Ren spoke before she could finish.
"…Huh?"
Yugao froze. How did this suddenly turn into him treating her?
Before she could respond, Ren continued with a smile.
"As your junior, it's only right. And unless something unexpected happens, we'll probably be teammates from now on.
Please take care of me in the future, senpai."
"Th-this…"
Yugao hesitated—but Ren didn't give her the chance to say anything else.
He reached out and took her hand, smiling as he spoke.
"Come on, senpai. I've heard Ichiraku Ramen is great. I've been in Konoha for years and never tried it.
Besides, I want to thank you."
"Thank me?"
Yugao looked confused.
Ren just smiled and led her forward without answering.
On his retina, a familiar notification appeared.
[Side Quest Completed: Rescue ANBU Operatives]
[Mission Rank: B]
[Reward Acquired: Konoha-Style Kenjutsu (Yugao Uzuki)]
[Condition Met: Taijutsu LV5 — Reward Merged]
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