[Author Note: Extra Chapter for 250 power stones previous week. Today's chapter would be uploaded in a couple hours]
Shota stood outside the Kazekage's office on the top floor of the tower. He leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets and stared at the ceiling.
A small spider was building a web in the corner. Shota watched it work and felt jealous of how simple the spider's life looked.
He already knew what was coming. The moment the hospital released him, ANBU had appeared with a short message: report to the Kazekage tomorrow.
He did even get any time to buy the cloud-like bed he had been dreaming about for weeks. He knew that his future as a shinobi would be the topic of discussion.
Shota yawned. "I hope they at least have tea inside."
He let his mind wander while he waited. He knew he was going to ANBU. Everyone knew. The only question was which part of ANBU.
The black-ops had many sections. Some stayed inside the village and guarded important people. Some travelled the world to hunt missing-nin. Some did quiet jobs that never appeared in any report.
Shota pictured himself in the protection detail for the Kazekage. Most days would be quiet. He could stand in a corner, look scary, and nap with his eyes open.
Nobody was stupid enough to attack the Kazekage tower directly. The only real danger would be years from now when Orochimaru showed up.
Shota shivered at that thought. He did not want to fight the snake man. Orochimaru would probably try to steal his body the moment he realised who he was and take a glimpse of his ability.
Sharingan genjutsu was the snake's biggest weakness, and Shota's eyes were the perfect counter to it. Continue looking at an Uchiha and the uchia won't be able to even open the Sharingan, let alone use genjutsu.
He shook his head. "Nope. Not thinking about creepy tongue man today."
Another idea came to him. If he could learn shadow clones, training would become easy. One clone could stand guard with the Kazekage while the real him slept. Two clones could train new jutsu while he drank tea on the roof. Perfect lazy life.
Sadly, Suna did not have the shadow clone jutsu. He had checked the public scroll list. He had even sneaked a look at the forbidden list when nobody was watching. Nothing. Konoha kept that jutsu locked away like a family secret.
Shota closed his eyes and tried to remember how the jutsu worked in the anime. Hand seal. Huge amount of chakra split perfectly in half. The clones were real, not illusions. They could fight and learn and pass memories back when they popped.
He had enough chakra for two clones, maybe three on a good day. His Erasure did not cost any chakra at all. It only hurt his eyes if he stared too long. That meant most of his reserves stayed full. If he could somehow copy the jutsu or rebuild it from memory, life would be perfect.
The door opened. An ANBU with a veil appeared and looked at him. "The Kazekage will see you now."
Shota straightened his posture and walked inside.
The office was large and simple. Sand-coloured walls. A big window that showed the whole village. Gold dust floated slowly around the Kazekage like lazy fireflies. Rasa sat behind his desk. His face was calm and serious.
Shota bowed low. "Kazekage-sama."
Rasa nodded. "Chunin Shota."
The Kazekage's voice was flat, but not unkind. "First, Sōshi gave a full report of the mission. He spoke very highly of you. He told us that you were instrumental to the success of the mission. Because of that, I added extra pay to your reward. I expect you to continue doing such good work in the future."
Shota bowed again. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."
Inside his head he screamed. 'More work? Sir, I am allergic to effort!'
Rasa continued. "We need to talk about your future. Do you have any department you want to join? Any field you prefer?"
Shota almost laughed out loud. As if he had a real choice. The Kazekage was being polite, nothing more.
He put on his best loyal-soldier face. "I will serve wherever my skills help Sunagakure the most, Kazekage-sama. Thank you for asking."
Rasa nodded like he expected that answer. "You have seen the bounty Iwa placed on you?"
Shota nodded sadly.
"That price is high. Many hunters will try for you. Small villages might even send teams after you. Your safety is important to Suna. To keep you safe and to keep your identity secret on missions, you will join ANBU."
Shota had guessed that part already.
Rasa kept talking. "Inside ANBU, your skills fit two sections. Assassination and Hunter-nin. You will work in both. It means more missions, but you will learn faster and earn more."
Shota raised his hand like an academy student. "May I ask something?"
Rasa allowed it with a small motion.
"What is the difference between hunter-nin and assassination? Don't both jobs end with someone dead?"
Rasa answered without blinking. "Hunter-nin remove rogue shinobi who already have bounties. No village protects them. Assassination targets are chosen by Suna. The jobs must never be traced back to us. They are illegal killings done for the safety and future of the village."
Shota kept his face blank. In his mind he rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out. 'Illegal killings for the good of the village. Sure. Very heroic. Next they will tell me stealing candy from babies builds character.'
Rasa watched him for a long moment. "Are you willing to accept this duty?"
Shota took a slow breath. He thought about the orphanage kids. About Shizu who wanted to learn jutsu. About the Matron that raised him. About the village that had given him a home when he came to this world.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," he said clearly.
Rasa gave a single nod. He lifted one hand. An ANBU appeared beside Shota so fast it felt like magic. The masked shinobi carried black armour, turban and a porcelain mask in his hands. The mask was plain white with black markings around the eyes. A single red teardrop was painted under the left eye.
The ANBU placed the gear in Shota's hands.
Rasa spoke with finality. "Chunin Shota. From now on your codename is Raven."
-------Author Notes---------
For every 250 power stones. I would be posting an additional chapter. So gimme those power stones!!!
Y'all can read the next 15 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon. Thankyou for your support!
https://pat*reon.com/Charizard6
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