Chapter 54: ANBU HQ

'Oh, what did I do? Now I am under such a guy's control,' thought Tekku in despair. 'Who? Of course not Danzo; he is unrelated to the ANBU. He is the leader of the Root, another Division of Konoha that is supposed to not exist anymore. No, I mean Dragon, of course. That guy is the Devil himself.'

At first, everything seemed pretty normal besides the fact that Dragon directly pulled Tekku from the Hokage's Office to his apartment and made him pack up his things, as he wouldn't return to this place. It took Tekku quite a bit of time to remove his safety and security seals and to gather his things.

"Huh, you are really thorough with your privacy. Good, keep it up in the future. It will be a good bit of practice," nodded Dragon, without further elaborating on what exactly he meant.

"What will be good practice?" asked Tekku, worried, but got no reply. Why would he have to practice his privacy seals? Although that is right now his weakest part of Fuinjutsu, as he used them the least and didn't put much effort into it, even his lab was secured through secrecy and sheer mass of them that were connected to exploding tags for self-destruction in case of discovery, instead of focusing on defensive power. But why would people normally keep breaking them in his apartment? They were safely in the Village.

Seeing that Tekku had safely stored his things in storage scrolls, Dragon decided to bring him first to the ANBU Headquarters.

They headed to another part of the Village, to a particular unspectacular building that turned out to have a big underground complex. Tekku carefully looked around as he followed Dragon through the dark hallways that smelled faintly of blood. At the quartermaster, Tekku had signed his life away in blood, promising at least six years unless debilitating injuries or specific recommendations from the Hokage. Well, it felt at least like blood.

He looked at the uniform given to him - an ANBU gear set of his size - in his arms, the mask looking up at him. An Owl Mask, that was his new designation. It was a round bird-like mask depicting the features of an Owl. Tekku knew it could have been worse; Owl wasn't the worst of animals he could be assigned to.

"Locker 212 is yours, Owl. You can put your things there. Change into your uniform, and let's go to meet your Team. Today you can sleep in the Barracks; tomorrow, before team practice, your captain will find you an apartment in the ANBU complex," announced Dragon.

"ANBU complex?" Tekku didn't even know that something like that exists in the Village; he always assumed that they lived spread out throughout the Village.

"Yes, there are a series of apartment buildings dedicated to the ANBU and approved Jonin, spread through the Village. They are spread in case of an invasion, so that not all will be taken out at the same time while they are at home if the Enemy gains intel on one of these complexes, and also that the Operatives have it closer to their assigned spots. But you will be living in the one closest to the Headquarters, as you will be part of a Jumper Team that will perform many different kinds of missions instead of highly specialized ones," explained Dragon. "After all, it would be hard to maintain their secret identity as an ANBU if they lived just normally amongst the general populace. ANBU have an even more chaotic schedule than normal Shinobi, and their neighbors could notice their identity. That's why they live in dedicated complexes shared mostly with Jonin who are also living alone."

"I see," nodded Tekku in understanding.

"Now, put on your uniform; masks are to be worn on duty at all times outside the base, but you can leave it on your belt in HQ," said Dragon.

"What about you?" Tekku asked, curious about the man's identity. They were in HQ, but Dragon still wore his thick cloak and mask.

Also, the masks had Fuinjutsu worked into them, even obscuring ocular techniques and sensory techniques from working out the identity. The Chakra signature of ANBU always felt a bit strange; when Tekku saw Kakashi in the past without his uniform, he had another signature than as ANBU. He could now see it was the work of these masks.

"I'm the Commander, Owl; I'm never off duty, and my identity is an S-class secret even from my subordinates." With that, his new leader walked stiffly out, signaling the end of discussion.

Ten minutes later, Tekku walked into the common room, mask clipped to his belt, idly rubbing his ANBU tattoo that he just received on the back of his right shoulder. Inside, around forty or so off-duty ANBU were gathered idly chatting. Everything looked oddly normal, considering these were the elite. And Tekku was now part of them.

A man with a faceplate headband and fish eyes spotted him from a circle of chattering agents. He beckoned Tekku over.

"Welcome, Tekku, mask name Owl. I am your captain, Tenzo. On missions, you will call me Tiger. These are your teammates, Yugao Uzuki - mask name Cat - and Ryota Hyuga - mask name Wolf." The now identified Tenzo was formal and seemed to demand respect.

'Oh, I am in Team Ro. Although a few years younger, he still is easy to recognize, Yamato the Mokuton User of Konoha. And in some way my Senpai, since he is also one of Orochimaru's experiments,' Tekku realized as he clearly recognized the man. He also knew who the female member of his Team was, although she didn't appear much in Canon, "Thank you, Captain. It's a pleasure working with you," he replied in a respectful voice.

Trying to loosen his teammate up, Ryota, who is one of the more unique members of the ANBU with a good sense of humor, said, "Oi, Gaki, what are you doing in the ANBU?"

"Why are you calling me Gaki? You are only a few years older than myself!" replied Tekku calmly but a bit more relaxed.

"That may be, but I am still your Senior. I am looking forward to kicking your ass in shape," replied Ryota with a grin. He was truly unique for a Hyuuga, not having the stick in his ass that they usually had.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tekku, a bit annoyed by the older ANBU who seemed around 14-15 years old.

"Oh, all of us will help out with your training. Our current orders are to bring your skills in all areas onto a decent level. I, for example, will help you in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu," added Yugao nicely.

"I will also kick your ass in Taijutsu and help you with your stealth," added Ryota gleefully. He would clearly enjoy that, as he had a really unfair advantage with his Byakugan.

"My task is to train you in Ninjutsu, as I have the same element as you. And help you in all other areas that you will need for your ANBU duties," explained Yamato, who is a master of the Earth and Water Elements, in combination with his Mokuton. "Also, the Commander will train you in Genjutsu and train you in the other areas from time to time as well. He is quite busy."

And with these words, my three months of hellish training began. Three months entierly planned by Dragon that Devil.

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