Chương 320: CH_9.5 (320)

The process of joining the ANBU was hectic. He had to formally turn down the Police Force offer and participate in an exit process, which had him sit in three meetings with the Narcotics Taskforce, the Department of Organised Crime, and the personnel office. The only nice thing about the process was that they let him keep his Police Force uniform and identity badge, which he was planning to frame and hang up at home. He also attended a farewell party with the original Narcotics Taskforce members.

He was bombarded with questions about what was next for him, which he answered vaguely because he genuinely didn't know much and also didn't want to reveal anything before everything was confirmed. The Torture and Interrogation department also sent an offer, which would have been a good, standard rank promotion deal. However, it was lacklustre compared to what the ANBU and even the Police Force had offered, so he politely refused them with a formal letter.

Anko admonished him for rejecting the offer when he said he didn't have anything else lined up. Just like everyone else, he had been vague with her as well, but when she found out that he had quit the Police Force, he had to sit through a long talk. She even offered to talk with Ibiki to convince him to disregard Takuma's refusal—but he managed to reassure her that he was fine. After all that, he was finally invited to the ANBU headquarters for a briefing. ———.

Just like the last time, he entered the headquarters through the front gates and found himself before the same kunoichi receptionist he had pickpocketed for weapons. And from the way she was frowning, she remembered him.

"I am truly sorry about last time." Takuma took the initiative to apologise because, from the looks of it, she had at least been reprimanded for the blunder—and he felt guilty about that. The kunoichi narrowed her eyes at him before putting on a plastic, professional smile.

"Please, there is no need to apologise. I was careless. It wouldn't happen again," she said before guiding him through the building. She walked beside him instead of leading from the front and remained at a vigilant distance so he wouldn't be able to swipe things off of her. He felt awkward because she didn't speak a single word to him the entire time, and he felt it was not the correct time to make things right.

The location was through same door as the last time, which opened up to an empty space with office rooms on one side and open floor space on the other. The bright white lights were all turned on, but unlike the last time, five people dressed in standard gear were waiting instead of the two ANBU-nin. They were the other candidates from his cohort.

"Yo, you're the last one," Amami waved at him before patting the empty seat next to her. Six chairs were set up in two columns of three, facing each other. Only six candidates, including Takuma, were present. The final round had eight, meaning the other two had either failed or rejected the offer. He sat down beside her, and she immediately bumped his shoulder with hers.

"Stealing my job, was it?" she whispered into his ear. He shrugged.

"Did it bother you? I hope so."

"Not one bit. Seeing that you're here, you must've accepted them."

"You as well, I suppose," he said. Amami nodded. Takuma gazed at the other candidates. None of them were strangers to him; he chatted with everyone during the day they had spent at the camp after the forest test. But, except the Hyuuga, it was his first time seeing their faces. Four and Five were missing, but their teammates, Ten and Sixteen, were present.

"Introduce yourself," said Amami.

"Oh yeah, sure." Takuma faced the candidates.

"Hello, everyone. I am Thirteen. My name is Takuma. It's nice to meet you all again. Congratulations on passing." Everyone introduced themselves to him. Three — Yamanaka Amami. Seven — Hyuuga Kojuro. Ten — Sonaba Yazo. Fourteen — Azugimoto Etomi. Sixteen — Yaya Utamatsu. All of them except for Takuma were already chunin.

"You're quite young, Takuma," said Yaya Utamatsu with an impressed nod. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I might be wrong, but ANBU's minimum age requirement is thirteen and above. You barely meet that at fourteen. They must really like you to recruit you so young," said Azugimoto Etomi as she looked him up and done with crossed arms. Takuma was by far the youngest of the group at fourteen. After him, Hyuuga Kojuro was eighteen, and Etomi was nineteen. The group itself had a wide age range. Utamatsu was the oldest, at twenty-five. Amami was twenty, and Sonaba Yazo was twenty-two.

"It just means I have the most to learn," said Takuma. And it was true when it came to experience. The others had been chunin for a while, and seeing that ANBU selected them, they were all talented and skilled. He knew he would be playing catch-up from the very start.

"The ANBU gives their operatives animal codenames. Eisbaer, Leopard, Ant, and so on." Amami addressed the group.

"Naturally, we'll get our codenames as well, but I was wondering how about we have a group thing and use our candidate numbers with each other. Something more personal just for our cohort."

"It works from a practical standpoint," said Kojuro.

"It will prevent us from using our real names or codenames since we'll be in the habit of using numbers, so the chances of accidentally revealing our real names or codenames at the wrong places will go down significantly." Sonaba Yazo smiled.

"I like the sound of that; let's do it."

"I don't mind it either," said Takuma. It gave the group a sense of belonging unique to themselves; they were entering a very secretive organisation, and having allies for even moral support was a positive. He glanced at Amami; she was very good at socialisation. Since everyone was in agreement, it was decided that the group would address each other by their candidate numbers. Ten minutes later, the door opened, and two operatives dressed in black-and-grey ANBU gear walked in.

They were Swine and Vespa, the two shinobi he had met during his first visit to the headquarters.

"Good morning, everyone," said Swine, a large man with even larger muscles. He made Yazo, who was taller than him, look smaller in comparison in sheer width.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you on passing our assessments. We are excited to bring you in and allow you to show what you can do for the village and the country." Vespa, the kunoichi wearing the bee-inspired mask, stood behind Swine and stared at the group like she had done the last time.

"As a welcome, allow us to introduce ourselves," Swine said before removing his mask to reveal a a square face, sharp jaw and rough beard, and swept-back dirty blonde hair. Vespa removed her mask as well. She had sharp, angular eyes and a gaze that seemed to cut through steel. Her hair was styled in an asymmetrical bob, and she wore earrings with a yellow crystal design.

"Every ANBU-nin is given a codename. Mine is Swine; my associate goes by Vespa. You will be given your names on your first day. There's no rule against sharing or using your real names among operatives and colleagues. I imagine you will use your real names regularly, however, we encourage you to stick to codenames to address yourself and your colleagues whenever possible to develop a habit of only using codenames.

Do not stress about having your name floating out there within the department; it will eventually get out regardless of your intention." The group glanced at each other; they were just discussing codenames.

"This meeting is to inform you about what the next few months of your life will look like and other key details now that you are joining us," said Swine.

"Your employment with ANBU is a secret that's not supposed to be shared with others. However, we understand everyone has family and friends, and you need to tell them something. For that reason, we provide cover jobs for all operatives that you are free to share with whomever your heart desires.

"For example, ANBU-nin often use covers such as being diplomats, secretaries, cultural and security attache, or nothing at all and simply being independent shinobi running missions. Usually, the cover jobs are anything that allow for and expects frequent travel so your loved ones won't be suspicious about why you are out of the village so often."

The ANBU had extensive manuals and modules to prepare them for their cover job and Takuma would need to pass a test to check their knowledge so they don't attract suspicion by behaving incorrectly. To support the cover, he would even work out of pseudo-legitimate offices and workspaces outside the headquarters, which was very important for the cover's legitimacy.

"What is your cover job?" Yazo asked Swine.

"Good question. Many operatives' cover jobs have them work from a restricted area within the village to avoid family looking for them at their place of work.." Restricted areas existed within the Hidden Leaf village and were heavily guarded. Only those with specific clearance and access could enter them. The ANBU headquarters itself was located within a restricted area, as was the area around the village's water treatment and power plants, which were considered key security locations.

"My cover job has me working in a fuinjutsu research and testing facility located in a restricted area," Swin replied.

"My family or friends can't visit that restricted area, so I don't need to be there, which allows me to work out of the headquarters. Even if they somehow managed to get there, we have contingencies planned for those cases."

"We've had decades' worth of experience to refine our operating procedures," said Vespa for the first time; her voice was soft but clear.

"As long as you properly study the resources, you won't have to think, much less stress about maintaining your cover."

"She is right. In my nine years working with ANBU, I have only run into a problematic situation once, and it would've been avoided if I followed the instructions in the manual," Swine nodded with a sigh.

"Can we choose our covers?" asked Etomi. The entire group was interested in the question. Since they would all have to justify their choices to their friends and family, it was important to have a cover that was easier to explain. There was also a prestige and reputation aspect where having a good cover would mean having a better social status.

"The short answer is no. We will discuss options with you, but the final decision will not be yours to make," Swine said semi-sternly. The disappointment was expected.

"After your onboarding is complete, you will go through a training period that may last anywhere up to three months, depending upon how quickly you pass all our requirements to be field operational," said Swine before his amusement vanished, replaced with a cautioning stare.

"Do not take more than three months to complete all your requirements. The moment you pass that three-month mark, your pay will stop, and you will start accruing harsh fines that will be deducted from your future pay—and you do not want to be known as someone who didn't pass the training."

"People will look at you differently," said Vespa in a grave tone. The way the two ANBU-nin put it was enough to get the point across, nevermind the fines. They couldn't tell them to hurry up the training as that would be reckless and irresponsible, but their intention was clear: complete the training as soon as possible. However, when Takuma heard they had three months to train, he was thinking of something else entirely.

'They're going to pay me to train for three months? Hmm...'