Chapter 60: State-Level Matter

Sitting in his office was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, while enjoying his pipe and working through his paperwork. Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door of his office.

"Come in!" he called. Since the secretary manning the front desk hadn't announced anyone, it must be someone working in the building.

As predicted by the Hokage, it was the Chunin responsible for the Message Hawks that hurried into his office with a scroll in his hands. "Hokage-sama, this important message just arrived for you."

Upon a closer look, he could see the seal of the Fire Daimyo keeping the contents of the message sealed. It was meant only for the eyes of the acting Hokage. He put his hand forward and received the scroll, carefully reading through the message. His outward appearance darkened as he got a serious look on his face.

Signaling for one of his ANBU currently guarding his office, he commanded, "Get me Dragon." The Third Hokage spoke with a serious voice, and the ANBU operative disappeared through the window after nodding.

It wasn't the first time he received such a message, and it was never easy. Even during his decades as the Hokage, he could never get comfortable with this kind of request. Although it was the job of a Shinobi, especially the ANBU with this kind of mission, this time he had an especially bitter taste in his mouth.

It didn't take long until Dragon arrived in a cloud of white smoke in his office. "You called for me, Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen held the scroll up before throwing it towards Dragon. "The kind of mission you requested of me arrived just now."

Dragon carefully read through the scroll, nodding, but not giving away any kind of reaction. "Yes, this is perfect."

"Are you sure this is the right path? He is still awfully young, even if he already killed. This kind of mission is just too dark for most people. He isn't even 10 yet," said Hiruzen, his age clearly visible now.

"No, Tekku will be able to handle it. In the worst case, his team is with him to complete the mission. It's unlikely that there will be any Shinobi on this mission, at worst some Nukenin. But this is the perfect opportunity to show him what the job of the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai is. Protecting Konoha and the Land of Fire from the shadows, no matter the cost," replied Dragon calmly without any hesitation.

"If you say so, I trust your judgment. According to the reports, he has improved greatly and is ready for such a mission," nodded Hiruzen, dejected. But he was the Hokage and had to make these kinds of hard decisions. There simply was nobody right now in the village who could take over his job, especially since Minato's death.

"He is. If he breaks from this, then he wasn't ANBU material in the first place," replied Dragon calmly.

The Hokage was signaling again to an ANBU agent, "Get me Team Ro."

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Tekku was currently in the break room of the ANBU Headquarters with his teammates as they were on standby duty. This meant they had no mission but had to be ready for any kind of mission or village defense if necessary. This was part of their contract as ANBU, and they received a standard salary based on their rank in addition to mission rewards.

The same goes for the ANBU, but they had a few more duties to fulfill, like spending a part of the day on standby in case there was a need for an ANBU team.

Suddenly, the ANBU operative with a Bear Mask arrived in the break room, calling them to the Hokage's office. The four members of Team Ro put their masks on and Shunshined towards the Hokage's office.

They were greeted by the Third Hokage and ANBU Commander Dragon, where their team captain Tenzo received the details of the mission. An A-Rank mission.

A few hours later, Team Ro barely touched the branches; they went so fast. Without his training, Tekku wouldn't have been able to keep up. This wasn't an emergency mission, just a high-importance one that needed to be completed under specific conditions.

The mission wasn't urgent, but their captain wished to test their speed and agility after not being outside the village for a few months. The verdict? Tekku held them up. If this was an emergency, they would have been far too slow, only traveling in high Chunin speeds. But this was still part of his training to improve also in this aspect. He could reach Jonin level of Speeds but he would have been exhausted far too fast.

'Five-minute break - eat and drink,' Tenzo signed. Rule twelve of ANBU mission parameters stated that talking out loud was forbidden unless absolutely necessary.

'Yes, Captain,' they signed back as they landed atop of thick branches for their break.

'Sorry for holding you guys back,' Tekku bowed his head in shame. For all his speed, it would still take a while before he could match his teammates in their ridiculous travel pace.

'Do not apologize, Owl. When we get back - up agility and speed practice,' Tenzo assured him. 'The Commander and Hokage are both aware that you are still young. That's why our first missions won't be emergency ones where speed is of critical need. Soon you will be able to keep up with us.'

'So what is our mission, Captain?' signed Ryota. Only Tenzo received their mission details yet, as it was of high importance that the details don't become public no matter what. They only learned their destination, the capital of the Land of Fire.

'It's mainly Owl's mission. Orders of the Hokage and Dragon. We are only there to act as backup,' Tenzo signed back a bit stiffly. From what Tekku could tell, he was a bit worried. Probably because the Mission doesn't seem to be simple.

'Isn't it an A-Rank mission? Won't it be too dangerous for him with enemy Shinobi around?' interjected Yugao, also a bit stiff after hearing that.

'Although it's A-Rank, the presence of enemy Shinobi is improbable. It received this ranking because of its worrying nature. This mission, if failed, will have political consequences and is a state matter to keep the stability in the Land of Fire,' explained Tenzo.

'What do I have to do?' asked Tekku in ANBU signs.

'Your mission is to assassinate the current Finance Minister of the Land of Fire, Lord Takeshi Yotsuki,' was Tenzo's answer, under the shocked gaze of the others.

"What? Why?" signed Tekku frantically back. He knew that as an ANBU, it wasn't uncommon to perform political assassinations; actually, it was pretty normal to kill important targets to keep the Land of Fire safe. Assassinations or disturbances in foreign countries to support the Land of Fire were normal. But an assassination inside the Land of Fire, as a Shinobi of Konoha, was rare. That meant it was a direct order of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, else the Hokage wouldn't have accepted such a mission, or it would have been treason. Now the question was why?

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