Chapter 3

From his captain Takeshi learned that exactly one year had passed since the beginning of his training. When you are an immortal undead, time is of least importance. Over this year, a lot happened, specifically, he managed to understand the structure of the local power known as Chakra. He learned its criteria and how the local people use it. Initially, he couldn't understand why they needed so many gestures to create various "techniques," as it seemed enough to simply visualize the concept and transform it into reality. It turned out that more experienced and talented shinobi could indeed use only a few gestures, and only a few could activate techniques using words alone. Hand gestures served as a formula for creating specific techniques. Exceptions were techniques that required an elemental component or a special genome that combines two types of elements. It was not hard to guess that during the element detection test, "Fire" was identified as his sole and primary element.

In addition to the usual physical training that would bring down even a well-built person, they were taught the art of shinobi. They learned to feel chakra and control it, using it to apply the simplest and most basic techniques: "Sealing objects into special scrolls," "Henge," "Substitution," "Chameleon," "Resistance to applied illusions." The technique called "Substitution" allowed the user to replace themselves with an object and appear a short distance from the opponent. Resistance to Illusions was the most unpleasant part of the training because the person invoking them could create a real nightmare that felt quite real, but not for Takeshi. The situation was as follows. One of the special teachers would impose an illusion on a target, who in turn had to resist the imposed image. For almost everyone, this procedure was painful and terrible because it was practically impossible to escape from a quality, strong illusion. When it was Takeshi's turn, he just watched with an emotionless look as his body was pierced by thousands of needles, calmly and silently endured having his skin torn off, and several dozen swords plunged through his body...

"How much time has passed?" the squad captain, Yugao, asked grimly, folding her arms in front of her.

"Three hours! No one has managed to endure this long before. My chakra is running out...!"

"His pain threshold is incredible. Another unexplained anomaly, right, Takeshi? Why aren't you screaming in pain and asking to stop? Why are you so indifferent to everything?"

"Captain?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud. Enough, I think it's clear that such attacks have no effect on him."

After this training and learning about chakra, Takeshi realized that this type of power didn't particularly attract him. Moreover, controlling it was extremely inconvenient, so he decided to secretly train alone, in his subconscious or the so-called "Mirror of the Soul." This place resembled a vast, hot desert, with a great and endless amount of weapons stuck in the sand. Spears and swords, shields and armor. Broken, gray, and rusted from an unknown amount of time passed. How many epochs were destroyed? How many centuries and epochs were created from their ashes? How much of this weaponry has its own mind? Every single one. This was the reason for his strength of spirit. From the sand, he pulled out a magical tome of Bright Magic from the Kingdom of Lotrik and, sitting on the nearest boulder, began to study it. After that, he pulled a very old double-edged half-destroyed sword from the sand. The blade was broken, covered in scratches and red-black rust.

"Help me remember, Gael..."

Knight Slave Gael was a faithful knight to his "Lady" from the "Painted World" and had the most bloodthirsty and wild style of swordsmanship. This style was nothing else but a legacy of the knight traveler of the Abyss, named Artorias. Both tried to protect something dear to them, but ultimately failed. With a leap, the sword crashes into the sand, raising a cloud of dust and with a final slashing turn, he simply disperses the dust raised behind him with one forceful attack.

During this procedure, he was not required to adopt a meditative posture. Instead of normal sleep and rest, he always came here so that his body could "Remember" certain things from his world. Especially weapons created from the Soul of the Lord of Ashes, which seemed to awaken from a long and deep sleep and were ready at any moment to transform in the hands of the "chosen." At such times, he constantly kept his mind and emotions under control, to prevent this from happening. This is exactly why his captain senses anxiety, worry, and even fear when he is nearby because the Souls of the Fallen Lords thirst to break free. To show their Power and Might, which people can't even imagine! "I will destroy any memory of you if you dare..." — the "chosen" answered the freedom-thirsting voices in his head and this grounded them. The fear of being destroyed and forgotten was the strongest for them. For they had lived too long in his world as weapons to just let themselves be destroyed without any sense. In this way, he gradually regained his former power. It was only a matter of time before this world would learn of his strength, and so he only wished to find a place for himself that he could call home. Takeshi only hoped that someday he could call Konoha his home. He decided to reveal himself only when he was sure of his strength. Confident that he could resist and oppose even the Hokage, should he dislike the situation or position he was put in. For now, he was just an ordinary candidate for a place in ANBU. However, after all the unusual things he did nearly every day, "special" shinobi came to visit him. They could penetrate the mind, but they had no real experience in understanding the human soul. Each time he allowed them in and showed them only what they should see in a normal child. The most ordinary happy dream of a teenager with his parents, which sharply switched to a nightmare with blood and hatred for bandits. This performance should, at the very least, make them believe in his slight instability and that he partly relies on mere killer instincts. However, explaining his anomalous experience was still impossible. To concoct a dream with some sword master would be too... strange. Too many questions would arise about these dreams and their meanings. It would take up too much unnecessary time. Let them come up with theories about his abilities. However they tested him, he was "clean." He never did what was not asked of him. Always answered questions clearly and simply.

Today was the very day when they were to take the exam for membership in ANBU. All the future participants gathered in the main hall and waited for the details of the upcoming event to be explained.

"...It has been exactly one year since we accepted you here. You have learned the most important basics to become shinobi. Now all that remains is to pass the exam and prove your right to be one of us. I warn you right away that the exam is life-threatening and those who are not confident in themselves or not ready to risk their lives—please step forward. We will erase your memory and send you home. The weak in spirit are not needed."

Needless to say, there were no volunteers to back down. Although, Mei Kaidzimaru from my squad already wanted to raise her hand, but someone quickly grabbed her. She had always been the most modest and quiet in the squad.

"Very well. The exam will consist of two parts. The first half of the exam starts right now! So, Squad Captains, you know what to do!" — and, forming one seal, disappeared in a cloud of white smoke from the main room.

Captain Yugao Uzuki pulled four small scrolls from behind her back and, unfolding them to form a perfect square, asked the squad members to simply stand in its center. Forming a seal of concentration, they suddenly found themselves in some gray corridor with an iron door.

"From this moment on, the games are over, kids," he began sternly. "You need to pass through the corridor behind this door. That's it. I cannot directly influence your test, but I can offer a small piece of advice regarding the first half of the exam. Stay alert and take your time. Takeshi, I have a special instruction for you. Try to ensure that all squad members pass this exam."

"Is that an order?" Takeshi responded indifferently, causing his team members to wince at his cold tone, as if their lives meant nothing to him.

"Consider it an order. If everything goes well, you will stand out and catch the Hokage's attention."

"I won't make any promises. Saving the drowning is the job of the drowning themselves. I'm not one to seek attention and flattery. I'm looking for something else, Captain Yugao-san."

"Won't you share the secret?"

"No."

"How cold and hard you are, Takeshi. Well, that's all. Good luck to all of you," she said, and with those words, their captain disappeared in a familiar white puff of smoke. With her disappearance, the steel doors also swung open.

"So, I hope you don't mind if I take command?" Takeshi asked.

"Go to hell!" Raiden snapped back, harboring deep dislike and unwillingness to have anything to do with Takeshi because of his attitude toward them. The only thing that kept him from physical violence was the fact that he had never once beaten him in hand-to-hand sparring during their training. "I will pass this test without your help! Who's with me? Do you really want to follow this heartless bastard who couldn't care less about us?!"

Aside from him, the squad consisted of six boys and three girls, all teenagers ranging from twelve to fifteen years old. Despite his confident and fearless shout, only three boys followed him. The others stayed behind, instinctively understanding that sticking with Takeshi was safer.

"T-Takeshi-kun, aren't we supposed to go forward?" Mei asked uncertainly.

"No, I'll let them do the work for us," Takeshi responded melancholically and walked forward. Within a minute, there was some commotion ahead, painful cries and screams.

"And... what does it consist of?"

"The whole corridor is filled with a ridiculous amount of traps. If you blindly follow ahead, you might end up just as sadly as our... former comrades."

"Help...ugh!" a cry for help was cut off by a thunderous sound, similar to a hammer strike.

After walking a few more dozen meters, Takeshi raised his hand up, signaling the squad to stop.

"I give you a minute to look at the results of rash actions."

The five remaining squad members saw Raiden fall into a pit hidden under the floor, filled with spears that impaled his body, as crimson blood slowly dripped from his clothing onto the floor. They also saw two others standing in foolish poses, completely covered in thick, long needles. And one was smeared on the floor by a huge conical boulder. Almost all the team members were vomiting from the horrific sight. They had been psychologically prepared for killings, for seeing corpses in anatomy classes, but it's one thing to see the corpse of some unknown person, and quite another to witness the death of a squad member so close, beside them. Experience is something quite different.

"Have you seen enough? Let's move on."

"M-m-m-we'll die the same way, right?"

"No, if you follow me and do everything I say. Keep calm. That's part of the test. Do you all understand?"

"Yes," only Mei responded.

"I said: Do you all understand?!" Takeshi suddenly raised his voice, causing them to flinch and stare at him in surprise.

"Yes!!!" they replied, this time all together.

"Then focus! I'm not your mother or nanny. I am your Commander, and if you hesitate and tremble with fear at every sound, then you shouldn't have wasted a whole year to come here to die. You are future shinobi, after all, or what?!"

"We'll make it, Takeshi-kun," Yuki said uncertainly with a smile.

After this speech, the test no longer seemed so very difficult and frightening to them. Everything went as Takeshi said. If they had initially acted as a team, there would have been no casualties in their squad. Takeshi seemed to feel and sense in advance where and how the trap should work. As if he could see several steps ahead. Only when Yuki did not stop in time and took an extra step did she activate a hidden tile with a mechanism, causing a giant arbalest with a long sharp spear to shoot out from the floor. At the last moment, the brunette managed to knock its base to shavings with his fist, but not without consequences. His right fist bled and trembled.

"I'm sorry, captain."

Despite all his cold attitude towards them, the female part of the squad began to feel a certain warmth and embarrassment from the sudden attention to their person. The weaker sex was always susceptible to strong, responsible, and cool guys.

"Never mind. Let's continue. We're almost finished," he said, clenching his bleeding fist and heading for the finish line. Before this, he again pointed the squad to a semi-transparent thin thread, which apparently activated another dangerous trap for the overconfident fools expecting an easy victory. As they crossed the threshold of the steel door, it immediately slammed shut behind them, and their captain appeared in a familiar cloud of smoke.

"Congratulations on passing. Not all of you made it through successfully, but I'm glad that most of you are alive and well. You have exactly twenty-four hours to rest. Do whatever you like. When the time comes, you will all move on to the next test."

Captain Yugao couldn't stay with them long due to the need to report to the higher-ups on the test results. The corridor, full of traps, was equipped with various cameras, and through them, she watched everything that happened. The room they were in was a sort of gathering point for all the squads. Not all were lucky, and at the end of the test, they also had losses. Most squads' losses were nearly half of the ten people. Some just stared blankly into space, while others blamed themselves for what had happened. Takeshi didn't notice how Yuki Yozaru from his squad slowly and carefully bandaged his injured hand. Overwhelmed by feelings, he suddenly clenched it into a fist, thereby drawing Yuki's attention.

"Your hand is trembling, Takeshi, is this...?"

"It's not fear. It's anger, Yuki."

"Anger?! But why?"

"How naive and stupid must one be not to understand a simple truth. Their deaths are their own fault and no one else's. The weak die. The strong survive."

"Well, maybe it's because they relied too much on their comrades? It's sad to lose people dear to them?" he suggested.

"Personal relationships, love, and friendship don't save you on a dangerous mission. Coordination and teamwork. Experience and knowledge. A true shinobi must learn to control their emotions to complete the mission, especially if their lives are at stake."

"I will remember..." she noticed that she was not the only one listening to his perspective on the situation, so she corrected herself, "We will remember."

They spent the day calmly in a closed space, using travel scrolls that contained food for a day and sleeping bags. After twenty-four hours, all remaining participants were directed into a single wide and long corridor that led them to the surface. On the surface, a huge and abnormal forest awaited them. The "abnormality" lay in the fact that the trees and plants were of an anomalously huge size.

"The next test will be conducted here. In the Forest of Death. A long time ago, the First Hokage was able to create this forest with his power. However, he didn't consider that the living creatures there would also become somewhat larger than usual due to his chakra. Fortunately, they cannot leave the bounds of this forest because of that same chakra. So, your test is quite simple: You need to kill exactly one hundred dangerous criminals. The task is the same for everyone and we won't care about how many each of you killed. You have one week to complete the task. If it is not completed, then all of you will be considered to have failed the exam."

Needless to say, this news was the most shocking, but no one wanted to argue with the higher-ranking captain, so they all had to accept the conditions of this exam.

Due to the poor results of the first half of the exam, the higher Anbu leadership, with the assistance of the Hokage, decided to slightly change the conditions of the final part. Initially, it was planned for each squad member to have one kill. Thus, each of them would have gone through their own initiation ritual into their ranks.

All the squads were released into the forest under different gate numbers. Every step in the forest was hard and unpleasant. Takeshi, more than anyone, felt how much this area differed from Konoha. This place was truly alive, and more precisely, the forest structure had its own kind of heart and if some fool thought to light a fire or try to destroy it, it, strangely enough, would respond by sending information about the threat to its local fauna. The former chosen undead sighed tiredly and leaned back against a tree, signaling for a short break. They could not stay here long. He felt it. He sensed how the forest was watching them. How intensely it observed him because it literally penetrated his soul and saw him from the inside.

"I need to step away for a moment..."

"Commander?"

"I have a small urgent matter," he said, receiving puzzled looks from his squad, "I need to use the bathroom. How slow you all are to catch on."

Their reaction was priceless. Of course, it was a lie. In such a situation, he would never actually do that. He decided to head to the source of a strong emission of spiritual energy, which was relatively nearby. In an unremarkable open clearing stood a very old and time-withered tree. Under the roots of this tree, a white flower glowed faintly, and it was the reason for such a powerful emission. As Takeshi took a few more steps toward it, the tree's roots suddenly burst from the ground and grabbed his body, ready to swallow the foolish intruder under the ground. However, as he clasped his hands in a prayer gesture, he uttered a short prayer to his Bright Gods. His body shone with a faint mystical golden light, causing the tree's roots to abruptly stop. A barely audible whisper of a gentle prayer of peace and blessing came from his lips. He realized that this living creature existed to protect this flower, and thus he decided to show his good intentions in this way. The tree's roots slowly retracted underground and opened a path for him to the beautiful six-petaled white flower. Approaching it closely, Takeshi knelt down and once again recited another prayer, which now surrounded the flower with a small spherical barrier, not only protecting it but also enhancing the concentration of spiritual energy around it.

"Please, be tolerant of me and my comrades. Soon, we will leave your domain, oh Heart of the Forest," a strong wind blew, which seemed to accidentally knock a petal from the flower and just as accidentally it fell right onto the palm of the "chosen" one's right hand. Takeshi was not foolish and realized that this was how the forest's master gave his approval, transferring a part of itself to him, and therefore, the local wildlife would no longer be aggressively disposed towards them. Respectfully nodding briefly, he calmly decided to return to his squad.

Unfortunately, his squad could not discern the hidden meaning of this task and were still acting based on their own feelings. And now, one of the so-called "Dangerous Criminals," whom they were supposed to kill, voluntarily approached their squad, but instead, they decided to listen to him. It turned out that he was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit and to avoid a life sentence, they were all given the condition to survive one week in this forest.

"Do you want to become deserters, squad?"

Takeshi demonstratively pulled a kunai from his pouch and began twirling it with his index finger.

"No, commander, but..."

"But 'what'? How do you even plan to help him?"

"Perhaps there was some mistake and we can just..."

"Do you doubt the decisions of the Hokage? Do you doubt the decision of 'Konoha'?" his calm icy tone and his twirling kunai were suddenly caught in a reverse grip, and he himself stood in a combat stance. He saw clear fear and internal conflict on their faces, "Now do you understand the foolishness of your actions? I give you three seconds to get out of my way."

"D-damn it! Die, damn shinobi of Konoha!"

Before he started counting, the criminal managed to pull a kunai from the inner pocket of his clothing and in a desperate scream, stab Yuki in the back. "Damn, they didn't even search him..." Takeshi thought irritably to himself and performed a simple kunai throw at the head of his target. As the target was just an ordinary person, Takeshi was certain that from such a distance, the projectile was unavoidable. And so it happened. Right next to Mei's head, the kunai flew and pierced his skull to the hilt. The body dropped to the ground like a sack, after which Takeshi, still feeling a little anger towards his squad, pulled the kunai from the victim's head.

"Why are you standing like statues? Help Mei."

Luckily, the criminal's weapon was not poisoned and all that was necessary was to stop the bleeding and bandage the wound.

"You didn't need to think about anything else but your mission. Others have already thought and decided what you must do. If you had carelessly allowed him to stay with you, he would certainly have looked for an opportunity to eliminate you individually."

Another lesson allowed his squad to temporarily forget about pity and kindness, leaving only the desire to quickly finish this task.

Breathing steady, body movements clean and flawless. Time seemed to slow down and flow in space. The body moves forward, performing a weapon swing in front of him. Blood carelessly splashes onto his face. A few drops, then it becomes more and more, until it completely covers his face. Lips slightly spread in a barely noticeable smile. That familiar feeling. The feeling of how he reveled in the madness and joy of killing in the past. Killing those fools who fancied themselves heroes, the chosen ones who wished to save this pitiful rotting world, but in the end, would be disappointed that no one is destined to save the world. It will suffer. Forever. But those times have passed. Now he is given a new chance in this living and pleasant world. This time everything will be different...

"...This time everything will be different," Takeshi repeats aloud, and his hand wipes the blood from his face. After seven days, the exam was deemed successfully completed, indicating the successful elimination of one hundred criminals in the Forest of Death. Out of two hundred candidates, only eighty-three passed. In the familiar bunker, they underwent the initiation procedure. Each future member of Anbu received a tattoo resembling a flame, which was not just a tattoo but also a special seal that prevented the spread of critical organization information. Each Anbu member was also provided with a standard gray uniform, which in the case of Konoha Anbu, consisted of: black gear, a vest, metallic wrist plates, gloves, and ninja sandals. Each member of Anbu also had the right to choose a mask with the design of one animal or another and a codename. In the case of Takeshi, he chose not to select anything and took a simple white mask with eye slits.

"A Shadow has no face."

When all personal belongings of the Anbu members were sorted, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally appeared in the bunker, coming to them with the demeanor of a kind old man who seemed to simply want to congratulate them on passing the exam. In reality, he handed each a certificate for their own room in Konoha, inside which was their first paycheck for their service. When it came to Takeshi, he lingered on him and with a slight smile, casually suggested:

"You are very talented, Takeshi-kun. I would not want to waste your talent unnecessarily. Considering your tactical skills and strong spirit, I propose that you take an exam for the position of 'Captain' in a week."

This kind of attention drew too much to him from others, but he could not refuse the Hokage's proposal, so he automatically knelt on one knee and slightly lowering his head, said:

"For me, it is an honor, Hokage-sama."

"I bet if you had experienced squad members, the entire exam could have gone almost perfectly."

"Perhaps," Takeshi responded, "Lack of experience affects the overall result, but I am glad that I was able to teach them something..."

"'Teach'? Ha..." Hokage chuckled, "I never thought I'd hear that from the mouth of a thirteen-year-old teenager. The last time I could hear this was only from Uchiha Itachi. Tell me, Takeshi-kun, is there anything in your life that troubles you? Something with which I could help?"

"No," he quickly gave a calm reply.

"Don't want to trouble an old man with your problems? Alright, alright, I won't pry."

How ambiguous this sounded to the former undead, considering his power and hidden abilities. In a little more time, he would surely be able to regain all that he had lost. Five years? Yes, five years would be quite enough. Until then, he wants to understand this village and the Hokage. Understanding can be found in tasks. Well, time will tell...

After the congratulations and distribution of certificates, they were all temporarily sent to rest in their personal apartments. Using the key to open the door of his apartment, he glanced at the standard three-room apartment only long enough to reach the bedroom and tiredly collapse into it.

"I wonder what awaits me next?"

Becoming a member of Anbu did not mean that they were only awaited by continuous important secret missions with breaks for rest. According to Yugao Uzuki, his captain, they would soon be trained "for real." They would be trained according to what they were best at, and thus they would practically have no personal time. Takeshi was fine with this, as he could not yet imagine what he could do with free days other than train or perform missions as a member of Konoha's Anbu.

"And also, I will finally be able to understand who or what Uzumaki Naruto is..."

This was not the most important, but merely a curious unanswered question in his life, and soon he would be able to get an answer to it.