After joining the Anbu's Owl Squad, Amamiya Ayane took Principal Ichii's parting advice to heart: Build connections with your colleagues quickly.
Day 1: Eat, sleep, bond with teammates, and listen to the female ninja Eagle brag about her past.
Day 2: Eat, sleep, bond, and continue listening to Eagle's endless stories.
Day 3: Self-reflection. Ayane decided she couldn't let herself rot. She practiced swordsmanship all day. Achievement Points +28!
Day 4: Back to eating and sleeping, while successfully tricking the naive Eagle with her own "experienced" tall tales.
Day 5...
Well, today, a mission finally arrived.
The sun had passed its zenith. Ayane, with Stormrazor strapped to her back, moved silently through the dense forest.
The rainforest at this hour was like a giant steamer. Heat radiated from the damp earth, causing sweat to pour down incessantly. But a shinobi is one who endures; Ayane could only occasionally adjust her porcelain-like mask to let the moisture slide off her cheeks.
Behind her followed the talkative Eagle and the silent, stone-like Woodpecker.
After a few days, Ayane realized Eagle's codename was a complete mismatch. Instead of a cold, aloof predator of the sky, she was more like a pampered lark. She was naive, cheerful, and prone to chirping non-stop. Despite having joined the Anbu half a month before Ayane, she still looked like a fish out of water in the grim atmosphere of the Special Forces.
"We're the Anbu! The elite of the village!" Eagle complained, her voice hushed but filled with irritation. "Before this, I was in the Reconnaissance Force, and my daily task was patrolling! Now I'm in the Anbu, and my first mission is... still patrolling!"
The sweltering heat only fueled Eagle's resentment. "Tell me, Swan, did I join the Anbu for nothing?"
Since the Owl Squad had just been replenished, their first assignment wasn't assassination or infiltration, but border patrol. For an Anbu squad, this felt like assigning an Elite Jonin like the White Fang to a C-rank mission of finding a lost cat.
Captain Night Raven didn't seem to care much either. He simply split the six members into two cells of three. One cell patrolled the south; the other, the north.
Under Eagle's burning, expectant gaze, Ayane—feeling the "girls help girls" solidarity—gave a helpless nod. "Well... I think Eagle has a point."
Bolstered by her "bestie's" support, Eagle puffed out her chest and looked at the veteran. "See!"
Woodpecker sighed. "Konoha ninja have been active lately. The Reconnaissance units are under too much pressure. Is it so wrong for us to provide support?"
Having seen enough death in his time, Woodpecker was the only one who took the mundane patrol seriously.
"If they're under so much pressure, why did they transfer me out of Recon and into Anbu?" Eagle grumbled.
She was a sensory ninja. Because of her past merits, she had been promoted to the Anbu two weeks ago. At her limit, Eagle could sense chakra fluctuations within a fifty-meter radius.
To be honest, that range was underwhelming. Konoha's Byakugan users measured their range in kilometers. By the time of the Fourth War, Hinata could see Amaterasu flames ten kilometers away. Plus, the Byakugan provided X-ray vision—true sight—not just a vague sense of chakra.
But Amegakure was a small village with thin pockets. In a place like this, Eagle was a rare talent. If her combat strength hadn't been so subpar, she likely would have been a Jonin already.
Woodpecker shrugged it off. "Who knows? Maybe the higher-ups have a plan. As ninja, we just obey."
Ayane remained quiet. Over the past five days, she had pieced together the reality of this "new" Owl Squad. Including herself, the team seemed to be composed entirely of "connections"—the children of village officials or influential figures.
However, they weren't entirely useless. They had a rare sensory ninja (Eagle) and even a medical ninja in the other cell.
As for Captain Night Raven, Woodpecker had privately told her that he was the youngest Jonin in the Rain in recent years, capable of holding his own against veterans.
His arrogance stemmed from genuine talent—the "newborn calf that fears no tiger" phase.
This squad was likely formed to give 'golden' resumes to the well-connected, protect the village's next generation, and serve as a political tool for Hanzo to secure the loyalty of the elites, Ayane thought.
A veteran like Woodpecker probably realized he's a babysitter a long time ago.
Eagle's grumbling eventually subsided as they neared the border. Though it was a patrol, they had to be wary of Konoha infiltrators while setting traps and checking dead drops.
The journey was uneventful until they reached the edge of their sector. Woodpecker walked to an old tree and spotted a fresh Rain cipher carved into the bark.
He let out a nearly imperceptible sigh of relief. He took his kunai and added an Anbu mark next to it, signaling "All Clear."
Eagle leaned in. "Huh? That's the mark of Recon Squad 1? Our sector borders theirs?"
"Yeah. Squad 1 to the north, Squad 4 to the south," Woodpecker replied. "Both squads took heavy losses recently and are full of fresh recruits. The higher-ups probably don't trust them, so they sandwiched us in the middle as insurance."
Ayane noticed Woodpecker's voice went hollow when he mentioned casualties. She didn't press him, but she made a mental note. Recon Squad 1... why does that name sound familiar?
Eagle, oblivious to the shift in mood, hopped over to Ayane. "Swan! Teach me more Body Flicker today? Look, I've improved since yesterday, right?"
She pulled a small notebook from her vest and lowered her voice. "Here. This is the sensory technique you asked for. I wrote down all my cultivation notes—no secrets! I wouldn't give this to just anyone!"
Ayane smiled behind her mask. "Thanks, Eagle."
Since patrols were slow, the squad members often cross-trained. As the only two girls, Ayane and Eagle had become close.
Eagle slapped her flat chest and leaned in affectionately. "It's just a jutsu! We're sisters! When we get back to the village, I'm taking you to the hot springs!"
"Deal," Ayane laughed. "But for now... let's see that progress!"
Suddenly, Ayane drew Stormrazor. Without unsheathing it, she swung the scabbard directly at Eagle's shoulder!
Panicked, Eagle executed a clumsy Body Flicker. She successfully dodged the strike, but tripped over a root upon landing, nearly face-planting in the mud.
"Unfair! Unfair!" Eagle shrieked. "Swan! Why was your blade so much faster than yesterday? We agreed on fifty percent effort!"
"Ah..." Ayane scratched her head. "Sorry. I had a small breakthrough in my swordsmanship recently, and I didn't judge the force correctly."
She glanced at the translucent screen in her mind. A new trait was glowing brightly.
[New Trait: Swordsmanship Initiate!]
[Effect:] Increases attack speed with bladed weapons by 10%. Your movements are becoming more fluid and instinctive.
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