Konoha.
Anbu.
Sakumo Hatake brought Hizashi Hyuga to the base.
"Go on, pick a mask you like. Then think of a codename."
"Since the Third Hokage told me to bring you into Anbu, you'll be in my squad for now."
"As for work and rules, I'll give you the basics in a minute. Tomorrow you'll start formal training…"
Sakumo Hatake sat on a stool, humming a nameless tune that sounded like something a Warring States-era samurai would whistle under his breath. In his hands, he carefully oiled a chakra short blade.
Its name was White Fang, the weapon that gave him his title, White Fang of the Leaf.
"Y-yes, sir…"
Hizashi Hyuga stood in front of a row of masks, dazed.
Everything that had happened today felt unreal.
First, the village had erupted into a clash on the scale of war. Then the main house shoved him out to "explain" things. Then he had to swallow the village's complicated stares while his stomach twisted itself into knots…
And in the end, he'd joined Anbu.
Even now, it still didn't feel like it had fully sunk in.
Joining Anbu…
The Hyuga Clan had never had a precedent for that.
Would the elders of the main house even allow it?
"Sakumo-sama… there's something I need to report." Hizashi Hyuga hesitated, words catching in his throat. "Our clan is… complicated. You know that, right?"
"I can't refuse the Hokage. And honestly, I really do want to join Anbu…"
"But I don't know how the main house will react. If I agree to this so rashly, won't it affect the relationship between the village and the Hyuga Clan?"
After he said it, Hizashi Hyuga's face flushed.
He hated how it sounded. Like he wasn't man enough.
He'd already agreed. Why was he talking like he wanted to back out halfway?
But the heavy inertia drilled into him as a branch house member made it impossible not to think about these things…
"I don't get what you mean." Sakumo Hatake looked up, puzzled. "Why are you overthinking it? Didn't the Third Hokage invite you directly?"
Hizashi Hyuga choked on the answer.
Sure, Hiruzen Sarutobi had invited him. But what if the Hokage didn't know what the main house really thought?
"I've heard about the whole main house and branch house situation. The Hyuga are an ancient clan, after all…" Sakumo Hatake kept polishing White Fang, his tone casual. "And I've heard the Hyuga Clan's stance too."
"'A village within a village.' 'Absolute neutrality.' It's not like there aren't rumors."
"I'm not wrong, am I?"
Hizashi Hyuga's eyes widened.
He'd always thought the main house's attitude was something only the Hyuga knew.
Had it already spread through the village that widely?
"What's with that look?" Sakumo Hatake finally focused fully on him, sharp as if he could see straight through Hizashi Hyuga's ribs and into his heart.
"The branch house lives too closed off inside the compound. You barely interact with the outside. The village has existed this long, even a chunin should know a few pieces of gossip."
"And one of Anbu's responsibilities is collecting that kind of public sentiment."
He set the blade aside.
"You haven't completely joined yet. If you decide to withdraw, there's still time. As squad leader, I have the authority to mark your evaluation as unqualified, even if the Third Hokage invited you."
Sakumo Hatake's voice stayed calm. "I want you to say every concern out loud. If we can resolve them, good. If we can't, you leave."
"If you leak secrets one day, the outcome won't be pretty."
Under the light, White Fang reflected a cold gleam.
"I…"
"I'm worried that if the main house doesn't approve of me entering Anbu, what do I do? And if the main house asks me about Anbu matters, what do I do?"
Hizashi Hyuga pulled off his headband, revealing the bluish cross-shaped mark on his forehead.
"This is the Caged Bird Seal. The main house only needs a single thought, and my brain and my eyes will turn into mush. No one has been able to resist it for a thousand years."
"Dying isn't even the worst part. The main house can use the seal to punish us, and that's more terrifying than death." His Byakugan eyes filled with fear.
That pain wasn't something willpower could fight.
When he was a child, he'd once talked back to a main house member and tasted it for himself.
"I want to join Anbu. I want to protect the village alongside you and your comrades, Sakumo-sama. I want to use these Byakugan eyes to spot enemies and drive them back before they can harm civilians…"
"But I'm afraid I'll end up in a corner where I can't move. I believe I'm a man, but in front of the Caged Bird Seal, I can't swear I'm qualified to say that."
He rubbed hard at the mark on his forehead, fingers grinding against the raw skin. "After saying it out loud, I feel a lot better. Please evaluate me by your standards, as strictly as you can!"
Sakumo Hatake nodded, then looked Hizashi Hyuga up and down.
And smiled.
"Good. You pass. Welcome to Anbu, Hizashi Hyuga."
"And the problems you mentioned aren't problems, not for Anbu."
Sakumo Hatake spoke slowly. "You've seen too little inside the Hyuga compound. You haven't built the right understanding of the village yet."
Hizashi Hyuga blinked. He was thrilled to be acknowledged, but he didn't understand what Sakumo Hatake meant. "Could you… could you explain?"
"As Anbu, you are the Hokage's direct force. You are an extension of the Hokage's will."
"In Konoha, who would dare interrogate Anbu?" Sakumo Hatake said with a faint, amused edge. "No matter how powerful the Hyuga main house is, they won't."
"Even the Uchiha Clan has never dared confront Anbu head-on. At most, they curse behind closed doors."
"The main house wants to rebel?"
For a second, Hizashi Hyuga felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
His Byakugan snapped open on instinct, veins bulging at the corners as his eyes went wide.
"What, do the Hyuga have the Uchiha trait too?" Sakumo Hatake asked curiously. "You get emotionally stimulated and your eyes react?"
"Sorry, Sakumo-sama. I just… got too excited."
And in that moment, Hizashi Hyuga finally understood.
Right. What did it matter whether the main house approved or not?
He was already Anbu. He was already the Hokage's man.
Interrogation was impossible. Even blame probably wouldn't happen.
He'd heard Anbu had the right to report directly to the Hokage…
His thoughts took off at full speed, his brain climbing back to higher ground now that Sakumo Hatake had pointed the way. If that's true… then even punishment is off the table. And all the daily chores, the errands, the humiliating "serve the main house" work… I won't have to do any of it anymore, right?
Anbu serves the Hokage.
Hizashi Hyuga's whole body went weak with excitement.
As a branch house member, how could he not have craved freedom?
The Caged Bird Seal had just been too thick a wall. No one could jump it, so eventually you learned not to try.
Like a butterfly trapped in a glass bottle.
After slamming into the walls enough times, even if the bottle's mouth opened… you'd stop thinking there was any point in flying.
But now…
A freedom no branch house member had ever tasted in a thousand years had crashed straight down onto his head.
Sure, the Caged Bird Seal hadn't been removed. Sure, his Byakugan still had its blind spot.
But so what? The most important thing, freedom, was already here.
Hizashi Hyuga practically wanted to throw a full Gentle Fist kata on the spot just to vent the feeling in his chest.
"No wonder the Third Hokage had me bring you into Anbu first, instead of having you go through the normal training process," Sakumo Hatake said quietly.
"If we ran you through Foundation's channel, whether you could even enter Anbu is one thing. But the Hyuga Clan would definitely end up on Danzo Shimura's radar."
Foundation's official name was the Anbu training department.
As its leader, Danzo Shimura was responsible for training new recruits entering Anbu.
In Sakumo Hatake's eyes, Danzo Shimura's training was too harsh, but it was professional, and it had value.
The problem was that Foundation had gradually become Danzo Shimura's private armed force, no longer maintaining the same loyalty and purity toward the Hokage.
Sakumo Hatake had reported that more than once to Hiruzen, and it had always been shelved.
Until now, when Anbu and Foundation had finally merged.
And Hiruzen's speech today made Sakumo Hatake understand at last.
Or rather, by accident, it snapped into place with the question that had been gnawing at him all this time.
So it wasn't that the Hokage had been indulging Danzo Shimura. He'd been investigating, preparing to reform the village's systems from the ground up.
In the past, Hiruzen's silence had honestly left Sakumo Hatake cold.
He'd stayed loyal to the Hokage, even at the cost of offending a terrifying figure with immense power and seniority like Danzo Shimura, and yet it felt like he'd been left in storage. No response. No explanation for why Foundation was allowed to run wild.
The Hokage was thinking further ahead than I understood, Sakumo Hatake thought. The village is still good. I was the one who was too impatient.
But the moment Hizashi Hyuga heard Danzo Shimura's name, a lot of his excitement drained away.
That man's reputation as the shinobi world's darkness wasn't something people invented for fun.
Inside the village or beyond it, his intimidation was very real.
Sakumo Hatake began explaining the rules and origins of the department to his new teammate. "Anbu's full name is the assassination tactical special forces. Every mission and every file you touch is top secret."
"The rest of the rules will be taught tomorrow. The most important things are only two."
"One, absolute loyalty to the Hokage. Two, leaking secrets means death."
Hizashi Hyuga listened carefully.
Right now, he felt an overwhelming sense of belonging toward this work.
No matter what, he had to do it well. He had to keep doing it. He had to protect this hard-won freedom.
"Understood, Sakumo-sama!" Hizashi Hyuga stood straight.
"As for your specific team, we'll arrange it after your assessment," Sakumo Hatake said. "Be ready."
"Danzo Shimura is strict."
Hizashi Hyuga's face tightened.
Then his expression steadied, hardening into resolve. "I'll pass training with excellent results!"
Hizashi Hyuga reached toward the "ox" mask.
The elders of the main house liked to say a branch house member should be like an ox, carrying the main house without complaint. That was their favorite line.
But he wasn't the same anymore…
His eyes slid toward the "hawk" mask, a creature that symbolized freedom…
"No. The 'ox.'"
Hizashi Hyuga tightened his grip on the edge of the mask. As long as I can have this freedom, then being an 'ox' for the village is something I'll do willingly.
"Good." Sakumo Hatake stood. "Put on the mask. Put on the uniform. I'm taking you to your first mission."
"This is the Hokage's first mission for you. Don't mess it up."
Sakumo Hatake donned his own mask. Over a white strapped shirt, he threw on a pale yellow coat that marked him as a squad leader.
Hizashi Hyuga nodded rapidly, changing into the Anbu uniform with careful hands, like he was afraid he'd damage it.
"Target, the Hyuga compound."
"Mission: inform the main house that you've joined Anbu. Also pass along the Hokage's concern. If they have thoughts they can't conveniently report directly, they can pass them through you."
Sakumo Hatake patted Hizashi Hyuga on the shoulder. "You're the main actor for this mission."
Hizashi Hyuga froze, then joy surged through him so fast he almost laughed out loud.
He'd been wondering how to tell the Hyuga Clan, tactfully and elegantly, that he was now Anbu.
And the Hokage had already thought of that step too?
What was the point of wealth and status if you couldn't show it off?
This mission was a stage the Third Hokage had built specifically for him.
Otherwise, with Anbu's secrecy, he wouldn't be able to walk back into the compound in this uniform and openly display who he was now…
"Remember. You're Anbu," Sakumo Hatake said.
"Your posture, your tone. Don't lose face, Hizashi."
He strapped White Fang at his waist.
Anbu identities were theoretically secret, but at Sakumo Hatake's level, once he moved, people knew anyway.
The best secrecy was eliminating the witness.
A short while later…
Hizashi and Sakumo arrived at the compound.
At the gate, a main house member was speaking to two branch house guards on patrol, his voice irritated. "Why isn't that brat Hizashi back yet? The old man's getting impatient!"
His name was Ko Hyuga.
He didn't have much talent. The type who became main house simply because he was born early enough.
Arrogant, too. Even if he lacked ability, he believed being main house meant the ancestors blessed him, and it was only natural he should manage and command the branch house.
"Tell him to go check the situation and come back already. He's been gone forever. Does he think being Hiashi's brother means he can do whatever he wants?"
"As branch house, he doesn't have a shred of discipline!" Ko Hyuga vented.
The two branch house members beside him kept their eyes down, faces empty, making no sound.
Sakumo Hatake watched, quietly struck by the scene. So the Hyuga Clan is really like this inside… This isn't shinobi. This is nobles and slaves.
If not for the Caged Bird Seal being so absolute, the branch house and main house would've slaughtered each other long ago.
Then Ko Hyuga turned.
And his whole body jolted.
Two masked Anbu stood before him, appearing without a sound.
"Ah… you two." Ko Hyuga forced a smile onto his face.
He didn't want to offend Anbu, especially after he spotted Sakumo Hatake's pale yellow squad leader coat.
That was a big name.
"Lead us to the Hyuga clan head," Hizashi Hyuga said. Under his mask, his smile stretched high, but his voice came out cold and formal. "By order of the Hokage."