A week later, early in the morning, the team gathered once again in the woods.
White Fang was already waiting when Maki and the others arrived right on time.
"You're late," White Fang said flatly. "Ever heard of professional ninja discipline?"
"Perfectly punctual," Maki replied.
"Three seconds to spare," Naori added.
"Right on time," Hitomi finished.
White Fang scratched his head. So this is how it's going to be… the three of them against their captain.
Looking at the uniform hooded robes they wore, he sighed. "Fine. No doubts then—let's move out."
"What's the mission?" Maki asked.
"An ANBU tradition," White Fang answered. "Every new squad takes on a trial mission. A blade that isn't sharp enough in its first cut isn't worthy of ANBU."
Cruel, yes—but this was Konoha's assassination force, feared across the ninja world.
"A boring mission," Maki said coldly. She had slaughtered small animals before, but never a person.
"You don't just pick someone off the street," Hitomi cut in. "That's dull. I'm not interested in weak prey." Her hand tightened on her sword hilt, betraying her inexperience.
Naori smiled faintly. "Too easy for a first time. A little disappointing."
"Killing is never easy," White Fang said, scratching his head again. "But my rule is simple—if it's an order from the village, it's the right thing. No need for guilt."
"You sound like an idiot," Hitomi shot back. "What if the order's wrong? You'll just obey it blindly?"
"Of course," White Fang said firmly. "That's the shinobi way. In the past, family survival was everything. Now, it's the village. Whatever the mission, we carry it out. That's what ANBU exists for."
Hitomi's lips parted as if to argue, but—
"Hitomi," Maki said softly.
Hitomi clicked her tongue and fell silent.
"Who's the target?" Maki asked.
"Normally, only the captain knows," White Fang replied. "But considering your abilities, I'll tell you so you can prepare."
He paused before continuing. "The mission is at the Fire Country border. Bandit suppression. The more we eliminate, the better. Our final goal is to trace their origins."
"Bandits in large numbers?" Naori asked thoughtfully.
"Exactly," White Fang said.
"Bandits are usually just refugees who can't survive otherwise," Maki murmured.
"Right," White Fang agreed. "But we can't rule out ninja interference."
"Assassination squads?" Maki pressed.
"Possibly. That's what we need to confirm," White Fang said.
"Why send us for that?" Hitomi asked.
"Border harassment is an old tactic," White Fang explained. "Ordinary ninja teams sent there tend to die miserably."
"Insidious," Naori muttered.
"So who already died?" Maki asked calmly.
"Three teams," White Fang said. "Two led by chunin. One by a jonin."
"Jonin…" Maki whispered.
"We don't know the enemy's numbers," White Fang went on. "It could just be harassment, but they'll retreat as soon as we appear, hiding among the bandits. That makes them hard to track."
"And if it isn't just harassment…?" Naori said softly.
"Trap," White Fang said. "We may run into hostile ninja."
"How many?" Maki asked.
"A few squads. Around forty men in total." White Fang replied. "One squad we can handle. More than that becomes dangerous."
"That's not a small number," Hitomi muttered, curious.
White Fang scratched his head. "Think of it like this: four-man team makes a squad. Ten squads make a unit—forty men. Five of those units form a squadron—two hundred. Five squadrons become a regiment—around a thousand. Three regiments make a brigade—roughly three thousand."
Hitomi whistled. "That's a lot of people. It'd take me forever to cut through them all."
Maki tilted her head. "How many are in Konoha's ANBU?"
White Fang hesitated before answering. "One brigade. The weakest among them are still elite chūnin. Every mission is led by at least one jōnin, sometimes several together. The roster is classified, so don't ask too much."
"Is it the same for the other villages?" Maki pressed.
White Fang nodded. "More or less. Each village only has so many elites to spare."
Maki suddenly asked, "What about the Uchiha? Do they fight as a clan?"
"The Guard Force alone is huge," White Fang said. "Excluding children and the elderly, the Uchiha can mobilize nearly all their members into combat."
"And the Senju?" Maki asked.
"Few in number, but none are weak," White Fang answered.
"On paper, the village only lists about twenty thousand ninja," Maki pointed out.
"ANBU are separate from those records," White Fang explained. "And many clans aren't fully bound to village orders. Their fighting men don't always appear in the census." His eyes flicked toward the Hyūga and Uchiha, before resting on Maki. "Your clan too—most of them serve in ANBU."
Excluding the elderly and children, her clan's true fighting strength was only two hundred. But with proper training, most reached jōnin level with little resistance. Personality, not talent, decided whether they joined ANBU. Mei Ji knew these facts, even if she wasn't clan head yet.
"Back to the main point," White Fang said.
"Wait," Maki cut in. "What about ANBU in the other four nations?"
White Fang scratched his head. "Since Konoha founded ANBU, every major nation copied the idea. But each runs it differently, according to their own customs."
He began listing them:
"Kiri's ANBU—also called the Corpse-Harvesting Unit—value results above all. They're brutal, use large numbers of expendables, and are packed with blood-soaked ninja. The Terumi, Yuki, Oniden, Kaguya, and the so-called Ninja Sword clans make up their core. Of all the Five Nations, their ANBU is the largest."
"Ninja Sword Clan?" Maki frowned.
White Fang's tone carried a hint of awe. "A clan wielding seven legendary blades, each with its own unique power. Supposedly impossible to deal with."
Maki considered this. Of course, there must have been wielders before the famous Seven Swordsmen—but they hadn't been advertised. The "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" title was little more than Kirigakure propaganda, especially before and after the Third War, meant to inspire fear and bolster morale. Ironically, their reputation had been shattered by Maito Dai of all people, who wiped out most of them in his first real battle.
"How big is Kiri's ANBU?" Maki asked.
"Nearly three regiments," White Fang said.
Hitomi's jaw dropped. "That's insane! That's half their village's fighting power!"
White Fang opened his mouth to explain, but Miki spoke first. "Because of their geography, Kirigakure doesn't need heavy defenses at home. They fill their ANBU with genin—cannon fodder, basically. Disposable."
"In wartime, they can split off and reinforce the regular army instantly," White Fang added.
Then his gaze darkened. "And… Kirigakure itself is insane. Don't ever forget that."
"I know," Hitomi said with a smirk.
"I mean it—don't get careless," White Fang said quietly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Hitomi muttered under her breath.
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