Chương 319: CH_9.4 (319)

The rest of the day after his meeting with Fugaku was a blur for Takuma. The Chief of the Police offered him a deal he would be a fool to take, claimed that it suited him, and then gave no further explanation. In truth, Takuma didn't want an explanation—he didn't want to get roped into something clearly detrimental to his career, so he wrapped up the conversation and left behind a token statement of getting back to them.

He was so upset that he didn't even talk to Setsuna about the B-rank jutsu restriction because even if that problem was solved, he still didn't want to work in the Department of Corruption Investigations. No reasonable amount of benefits would have him take the job. He wasn't at a stage of his career where he could take such a controversial offer—nor did he have a powerful backing or background to survive the job. The work itself wasn't a problem.

He had the Police Force's backing, so he could use their weight to get what he wanted. The real problem started after he was finished. Once he was out of the Police Force, he would lose the backing but retain the enemies—so many doors would be barred for him. He would either have to be very lucky, or just stick it out with the Police Force, which had a limited ceiling due to its clan-dominated nature. Becoming a rat would only push that ceiling lower.

He had the option of choosing another department and starting from the ground up, as he had done at Organised Crime, but even then, the benefits weren't enough to warrant accepting the offer—especially with the B-rank jutsu restriction.

"Why would he say I would be good at it?" he whispered. Despite the awful nature of it all, Fugaku's words floated atop his thoughts. The statement struck out to him. Was he so gullible that a vague compliment was all it took to sway him? Takuma didn't want to believe that, but something about Fugaku's words stuck out to him. He didn't think the man was trying to dress up an ugly deal to him—but at the same time, he wondered if it was nothing but flattery.

When he tried to look at his options from a strictly objective point of view, there was a clear winner.

"The ANBU leaves them in the dust," Takuma whispered to himself. Limitless access to C-rank jutsu archives, access to village's B-rank jutsu archives without the year-long wait, and a performance-based jutsu compensation package. The ANBU deal stood out despite its non-negotiable five-year employment clause and Takuma didn't particular mind it, either. He was only worried about the performance-based jutsu compensation because it complicated things.

Things were simple with mission points—earn and exchange them for a jutsu— and the ANBU pay was fixed with zero variable components, so he could calculate the specific date he would have enough points to buy a jutsu. Not to mention the lack of a waiting period until he could purchase a B-rank jutsu. However, the free-of-charge performance-based compensation came with an inherent uncertainty as someone else would be judging his performance.

If said person didn't like him or simply didn't think his output was particularly impressive, they could mark him down, all but eliminating the benefit altogether. He would still have the ability to get B-rank jutsu the standard way, but that still meant a huge advantage going to waste. Takuma, sitting alone in the living room, sighed as he thought about his decision.

The Police Force had given him five days to decide, but he had to send in his response to ANBU in two days, which meant he only had that much time to make a decision. Despite how the Narcotics Taskforce situation had been handled, somewhere in his heart, he wanted to continue working there. Maybe it was because of the comfort. Because he didn't have much power, he had to learn to work the system to boost the growth of his taskforce.

Some part of him genuinely thought that if he had another try, he could game the system even harder. However, the decision seemed to have made itself. ———.

"Now, this is a first," said Mikoto as she walked around the Uchiha compound with Takuma. You have never asked out on a walk like this. I must admit, I quite like this." She gazed at him silently for a moment.

"Hmm... this is not the good news kind of walk, is it?" Takuma pursed his lips as he shook his head.

"I didn't want to run into your husband," he replied. It would've been awkward if Fugaku walked in on him breaking the news to Mikoto. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"So you're turning down my offer," she said.

"Unfortunately. I've decided not to return to the Police Force, and seeing that you wanted me to stay until the external hiring stabilised in return for your sponsorship." He had decided to go with ANBU.

"What if I waived that condition?" she asked. Takuma looked at her, unsure how to answer. He wasn't surprised to see another offer from her. If he was being completely honest, he didn't think she really wanted him to work at the Police Force when she had first set down the condition. She knew his conflicted feelings toward what had happened, and her setting up the condition away to settle those feelings. And now she had even waived that condition.

He understood that she was thinking about her clan, but that didn't mean she wasn't also thinking about him. Becoming affiliated wasn't just a big decision for the individual shinobi—it was also important for the clan, which was not only offering resources they could use elsewhere but also attaching their name to an outsider. Mikoto's offer showed that she valued him to devote the clan's resources that could be used to satisfy another subordinate clan, and trusted him to be the right representative for the clan.

Being valued like this wasn't something he was familiar with, so her straightforward intentions meant a lot to him. Enough that he couldn't put them in words." I... I'm sorry."

"May I ask why?" asked Mikoto; she sounded neither happy nor angry. Takuma gazed up at the sky in silence for a moment.

"I think I'm tired. I thought I'd spent too much time away at war and wanted to start strong when I got back in—but I've been feeling tired. For a while, I thought it would get better if I just pushed through it," he shook his head, "but nothing has changed. If I let myself go, I would be listlessly staring at clouds all day long," he chuckled.

"But I can't allow that to happen, but I can't also allow myself to crash and burn, so I decided to just focus on one thing." Too many things were changing in his life. He was being promoted to chunin, which came with additional responsibilities. On top of that, he had to adjust to his new job at ANBU and whatever they had waiting for him after joining. Training for a B-rank jutsu was a different beast than learning a lower-ranked jutsu.

His genjutsu sessions with Mikoto were making a return and he had to fix his approach to combat; he was on the verge of grasping on something, and yet it felt far in the distance simultaneously. All those things were alread too much for him to handle.

"And my offer can't be that one thing," said Mikoto, a tone of understanding in her voice.

"Right now, I don't think I'm in the proper mental space now to join the Uchiha clan. All eyes would be on me because when they find out that you brought me in. I would need to show results—great results—to not only hold up your name but also show my worth. You might not care, but I do care about not disappointing you—""Oh, I do care. Ruin my name, and I'll get angry, and no one likes me when I'm angry," said Mikoto with a smile. Takuma chuckled before sighing.

"And what is the one thing you'll focus on?" she asked.

"Inner peace, I think," he said.

"I've been ignoring some things that I need to take care of before I can move forward." Above all else the real benefit of joining ANBU was the closeness he would have with ROOT. More than learning powerful jutsu, he wanted to hunt Kon down because Rikku would not rest in peace as long as her murderer stayed alive. Moreover, Takuma would not be safe as long as ROOT existed to come after him for revenge. He didn't think he could exterminate an entity as vast as ROOT, but ignoring them wasn't an option either.

The day he could tell Rikku's family that she was avenged and informed the team of the same would be the day he would put down the guilt he carried for being the one to survive. Mikoto hadn't missed the turmoil writing across his face.

"So what's next? Back to the Genin Corp?"

"I have something else lined up. I'll tell you when it's confirmed." Takuma didn't want to say anything before ANBU briefed him about what he was supposed to tell people.

"Alright, your loss," said Mikoto as she ruffled his hair.

"Indeed," Takuma smiled apologetically.

"You better not skip our genjutsu lessons."

"Wouldn't even dream about it. Speaking of lessons, there's this girl I want to introduce to you who could use some taijutsu pointers, if you don't mind. Her name is Uchiha Izumi; you might know—""You're introducing a Uchiha... to me?" said Mikoto, looking at him as though he had said something absolutely ridiculous. Takuma grinned.

"Well, what can I say? I'm very well connected." ———. The next day, Maruboshi returned from his wilderness trip looking refreshed, and he brought along wild herbs and berries that Takuma used to prepare dinner. They sat together and talked about the ANBU recruitment, explaining what he had to do during the ten days he was away. Takuma set his chopsticks down and said, "I have decided to join the ANBU. I sent my response earlier today."

"I see." Maruboshi smiled.

"I suppose congratulations are in order. You are about to be promoted to chunin. You have worked hard, Takuma."

"Thank you," Takuma smiled.

"Have you already talked with the Police Force?"

"Yes, I even had a meeting with Morino Ibiki of Torture and Interrogation. I also visited Mikoto-sensei and had to apologise for declining her offer," Takuma sighed as he rubbed his temple. It had been very tiring.

"Good, it's good to deal with these matters swiftly," Maruboshi nodded. Takuma gathered his empty dishes and was about to get up and wash them when he stopped, but he decided to stay seated and fixed his posture while sitting on his knees and facing Maruboshi.

"Uhm, about what you talked about before," said Takuma hesitantly.

"Are you sure it won't inconvenience you? Me staying here, that is."

"Of course." Maruboshi smiled warmly.

"Do you want to stay?"

"If you would have me," said Takuma, bowing his head. He had decided that he did not need a separate place, and with Maruboshi opening his home to him, he was more than happy to live with his teacher. He enjoyed their conversations, and it was a warm experience to have someone there to welcome him when he returned home.

"That makes me happy. Meals will be more interesting from now on."

"Thank you," said Takuma, once again bowing in gratitude.