"From today, we're teammates. As your captain, all mission orders are to be followed without question."
The young man—barely in his twenties—spoke seriously from behind his goofy-looking dog mask.
"Mm? And what if you order me to do something indecent, senpai~?" Hitomi's tone was icy.
White Fang froze, then rubbed his chin as if actually considering it.
"Don't think about it seriously! I'll kill you!" Hitomi snapped, flustered and annoyed.
Naori watched with quiet amusement.
Maki just studied the man before her.
Konoha's White Fang…?
Not exactly like the one she'd heard of—he seemed a little… silly. And maybe unreliable.
"I won't give orders like that," White Fang said firmly. "But during missions, you follow my lead. If you can't handle that, we'll disband before we even start."
"That's only natural," Maki replied calmly. "We'll follow any reasonable instructions from the captain."
Reasonable, huh… White Fang scratched his head.
These three already seemed like trouble. Leading them would be… challenging.
"Good. Then it's settled," he said. "The mission starts in one week. We meet here in the morning. Let me brief you first."
His tone grew more professional.
"As a special assassination unit, our role is to protect the village from foreign threats.
If an enemy infiltrates—find them, and kill them.
If we detect signs of an attack—slip into their camp, and kill them before they act.
"We handle assassination, sabotage, covert ops, and intel gathering.
The mission comes first—no matter who the target is, they die.
"And we follow four commandments:
One—never abuse ninjutsu to kill without purpose.
Two—preserve your dignity as shinobi.
Three—keep silent; never reveal your identity.
Four—accept that most assignments are dull, exhausting, and not the thrill you might expect. Be ready for that."
"Understood," the three answered in unison.
"Good. One more thing—your current outfits are too flashy for ANBU work."
"You're the one who looks ugly," Hitomi said flatly.
"That's not the point," White Fang sighed. "Conspicuous clothing could compromise the village."
"As long as I kill everyone who sees me, problem solved," Maki said.
Hitomi's eyes lit up. "Exactly!"
White Fang hesitated. "…Right. Anyway—identifiable fighting styles can also expose you. In the ninja world, apart from Iwagakure's clan, only Konoha has insect users."
Naori smiled faintly. "And if I release a massive fireball, I won't exactly be subtle."
"You're… not wrong," White Fang said weakly. "At least wear masks and cloaks."
"My attire already meets ANBU standards," Maki said.
White Fang nodded—then met Hitomi's mischievous gaze.
"I know, I know, I'll wear it," she said.
He turned to Naori, who had nearly skewered him earlier.
"Don't worry, senpai," she said sweetly. "I'll be ready."
Finally, he looked at Maki—the devil among devils.
"We'll need code names for the field."
"Insect," Maki said immediately.
"Bird," Hitomi followed.
"Flower," Naori added.
White Fang felt oddly excluded. White Fang doesn't really fit… maybe Dog Fang?
"Then—"
"Wait, Captain Dog," Hitomi interrupted.
"…I'm pretty sure it's White Fang?"
"Close enough. You're stupid enough that it can't be Wolf Fang," she said with a smirk. "Besides, now we match as a team."
"…How about just Wolf?"
"Okay, Wolf Fang," Naori said with a smile.
"…Better than 'Dog,' I guess."
"As our captain, aren't you going to treat us to dinner?" Hitomi asked. "If not, maybe when a strong enemy shows up, we'll just leave you behind."
"This week is for training and building teamwork," White Fang explained. "But I'm used to fighting alone, and you three already work as a unit. No need for extra drills."
"So… I'm free to train with you for a whole week. You sure you still want that dinner?"
"Cheapskate," Hitomi muttered. "Fine, I'll pay, poor guy."
"…That's insulting, but somehow I'm happy right now," White Fang admitted.
"Captain, ANBU work is paid, right?" Naori asked.
"Well…" White Fang scratched his head. "Since these are internal village assignments, there's only a fixed salary and some small bonuses. Nothing like regular mission pay—the village just doesn't have that much money."
"Really, is this Anbu work even fun?" Hitomi asked. "In the end, he won't even be able to get married, right?"
"The village will provide a house," White Fang replied with a smile in his voice. "But finding a wife? That's up to me. I just don't have the time. It's not that I can't find someone, and it's not about money—I'm not poor."
The smile was hidden under his dog mask, but the three girls could tell they'd touched a sore spot.
"And…" White Fang's tone grew serious, "someone has to do the dirty work. That's the foundation that lets the village thrive in the sunlight."
"That's that, then," Maki said. "Let's go have dinner to celebrate forming our team. I'll be counting on your guidance, Captain White Fang." She bowed politely.
"Please take care of us, Captain White Fang," Naori followed, bowing as well.
"Same here, Captain White Fang," Hitomi echoed with a bow.
White Fang felt awkward, but these three weren't nearly as difficult to deal with as he'd feared.
At first, he had turned the idea down—even if it was Lady Mito's request. Sending him to kill people was fine. Pairing him up with three young girls? That was… another matter.
But in the end, he could only bite the bullet.
"Please take care of me too… Flower, Bird, and Insect," White Fang said, returning the bow.
With that, the four left together, moving swiftly like the shinobi they were. Before long, they were back in the village, settling into an izakaya.
Once they'd ordered and were waiting for the food, they watched White Fang pour himself sake without removing his mask.
"By the way, Captain," Hitomi said, leaning forward, "show us your face. Are you ugly or something?"
White Fang glanced at Maki. "And you? Won't you take your mask off?"
Maki stayed silent.
"Don't even think about it," Hitomi answered for her. "Maki won't take her mask off."
"Then I won't be taking mine off either," White Fang said. "You'll get used to it eventually. Ten days to two weeks on a mission is short. Sometimes we're away from the village for half a year. Masks become part of you—it's hard to remove them."
"What? That's boring," Hitomi huffed.
"Sorry about that…" White Fang scratched the back of his head.
"It's fine. I'm not interested in your face anyway," Hitomi said casually, quickly pouring tea for the three of them with neat, practiced movements.
"Ah…" White Fang let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. He couldn't explain the feeling—only that he was oddly disappointed.
---
A week later, at Konoha Hospital, Kato Dan came to have the plate removed from his arm. He stopped in front of a closed office door, the corner of his mouth twitching.
A beautiful nurse passing by had just told him that Maki had resigned.
Happiness and sadness hit at the same time, twisting in his chest.
A thousand words stuck in his throat, and in the end, all he could do was roar in frustration.
"Damn it all!!"
_____________________
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