During the era of the Second Hokage, Konoha's ANBU was known for its approachable style.
A fitting analogy would be a group of road-ragers loudly driving on the streets, definitely not a good way to bond with the common folk.
You couldn't really blame them for their bad tempers. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. The original team of Konoha's ANBU was made up of the more problematic members of the Senju clan.
Muzo didn't have many friends, and the ones still alive were all in ANBU.
During the Warring States period, they fought bravely for the Senju clan, fearless in battle. But when sudden peace arrived, they found themselves lost, unable to adapt to the life of a ninja village.
So, these once-feared killers spent their days drinking, swearing, and picking fights, not out of any real grudge, but just to make it through the day.
Muzo had been mentally prepared for this, but he couldn't just embrace the new era alone while leaving his old comrades behind. These people were family to him.
Then one day, he remembered the concept of ANBU and hurriedly pushed Tobirama into establishing the department.
It wasn't that he feared they'd take their own lives, none of them would ever do that. He was more worried that he would get an ulcer from the stress.
Did this lead to ANBU forming earlier than it should have? He didn't know. But after it was established, his old comrades were in great spirits, eating well and no longer dragging him into drinking marathons from dawn till dusk.
The only thing Muzo was dissatisfied with was that Tobirama wouldn't let him join ANBU, insisting he become a school principal instead.
What kind of ridiculous job was that? Even the title sounded unlucky.
Fortunately, Tobirama later compromised, allowing Muzo to take on a part-time role in ANBU.
His old comrades understood him well and stuck together, frustrating the appointed ANBU commander so much that he resigned.
---
Now, as Masashi, he sat in this place, everything was different.
Gone were the loudmouths who used to brag about their achievements. Those troublemakers who once filled the room with noise now rested quietly in the Senju cemetery.
Decades later, the new generation entering this office sat properly, seriously reporting their work.
At this moment, several regional heads of ANBU were presenting their reports to Masashi.
He sat in his seat, smiling, listening attentively.
As each person stood up and sat down, he gradually gained a clearer understanding of ANBU's current state.
To be fair, with the amount of resources invested, Konoha's ANBU wasn't lacking in competence. Their execution was solid.
Of course, there were moments of failure, but this was the unpredictable shinobi world. ANBU's work was purely confrontational, if they had a 100% success rate, something would be off.
The real issue lay in command decisions.
Once the last regional head finished his report, the office fell silent.
Torabe glanced at Masashi, noting that the new boss's expression showed no trace of dissatisfaction.
People always said the Uchiha members loved to wear sour expressions, but this White Ghost seemed pretty normal.
"You all gave detailed reports. I have a general understanding of the situation now," Masashi said. "Let's not waste time. Given the current circumstances, we should prioritize handling the most urgent matters."
Here it comes! Everyone's hearts tensed.
They were about to see what kind of leader he really was.
Anyone working in ANBU knew better than to trust reputations.
A persona could be carefully crafted, but the way someone handled things would always reveal their true nature.
"First of all, regarding the organizational structure, I think some adjustments may be necessary." As Masashi spoke, he arranged a few selected documents on the table. "I noticed that none of today's attendees are former members of Root. Is that because they're all out on missions?"
"No, Masashi-sama," Torabe quickly explained. "Former Root members primarily serve as frontline squad captains. They don't hold headquarters positions, so they weren't eligible to attend this meeting."
Torabe knew about the history between Root and the Uchiha clan. He doubted Masashi had any goodwill toward them.
Though he had ensured no former Root members entered the management ranks, he had worked alongside them for years and didn't want them to be on Masashi's bad side.
The exclusion of former Root members from senior positions in ANBU wasn't due to personal grudges but simply a result of merging Root into ANBU, it was the natural outcome of restructuring.
"Torabe, you misunderstand," Masashi smiled. "What I mean is that former Root members have been handling covert missions outside the village for years. The fact that none of them are in this office suggests their current role distribution is unreasonable."
He still needed to observe Torabe's character, but at least the man was willing to speak up for former Root members, that showed decency.
He was already aware of the discrimination against them within the newly merged ANBU.
Former Root members now had high benefits but low positions. The high benefits were mainly due to extra allowances, essentially, they were just laborers with no say in ANBU's decisions.
But from what Masashi knew, actual full-fledged Root members were a rare breed. Danzō had handpicked only the most talented ninjas from the village, and he spared no effort in training them.
Every single one of them was an elite capable of working independently.
To put it bluntly, more than half of the people in this room might not even match their abilities.
Masashi wouldn't tolerate such a waste of resources.
As for the conflicts between former ANBU and former Root members over resource distribution, he didn't see it as a problem at all.
Konoha's ANBU had practically become the laughingstock of the shinobi world, how could something this trivial even be considered an issue?
"How many of them are in the village right now?" Masashi asked.
"Pretty much… all of them," Torabe thought for a moment before answering with certainty.
"I remember ANBU has had a lot of overseas missions lately. They weren't sent?"
Torabe let out a dry laugh at this question.
That was all Masashi needed to understand.
The people originally most skilled at handling overseas missions had been sidelined to this extent, no wonder things were in such a mess.
It wasn't that the former ANBU members were incompetent, but they had been out of that environment for too long. Even though they were trying to adapt, an entire generation of former ANBU hadn't done this kind of work in years. If the former Root members weren't given a say in operations, it was practically like starting from scratch.
"Forget it, it's not important," Masashi said. "Torabe, do me a favor, send someone to bring them all here. There aren't that many of them anyway. Don't worry about ranks; just invite everyone."
"Understood."
Torabe called over a subordinate and gave the order.
Masashi didn't dwell on the topic further. Instead, he picked up the first document from the table.
"Before the former Root members arrive, let's deal with a few urgent matters. Torabe, pass this document around first."
Torabe took the document, glanced through it, then handed it to the person nearest to him for circulation.
Once everyone had read it, the document returned to him, who placed it back on Masashi's desk.
Well, not his desk anymore.
"I'll share my understanding first. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me." Masashi tapped his finger on the document. "An organization that doesn't belong to any of the major ninja villages, not even to Ame, Kusa, or Taki, has provoked Konoha. Do I have that right?"
"That's correct," Torabe confirmed.
"I see this document has been sitting here for three days without action."
"Yes. With the upcoming Chunin Exams, Konoha is under heavy scrutiny. We felt it wasn't the right time for aggressive action and planned to report to the Hokage and deal with it after the exams."
"Whether it's the right time or not is one thing. But why does this need to be reported to the Hokage? And why wait until after the exams?"
"Well… of course… ANBU operations must be reported to the Hokage…" Torabe's voice trailed off.
"Torabe, I'm not blaming anyone here. I'm not on the front lines myself, so I can't sit in this office and nitpick frontline work. But if a rabid dog is barking at you on the street, do you wait a few days before dealing with it?"
"Of course not. We do have measures in place."
"Oh?" Masashi's interest was piqued. "What have we done?"
"We issued a warning, so they now understand that Konoha is not a village they can afford to provoke. It's just that the timing isn't convenient right now."
"…"
He pulled a red pen from a holder beside him and drew a huge X in the comments section of the document.
Then he handed it back to Torabe.
"Send a squad. Wipe them out."
Everyone in the room was taken aback.
"Masashi-sama, the Chunin Exams are underway. This is an important time for Konoha's public image," Torabe advised. "Wouldn't it be better to report this to the Hokage first and let him decide?"
"Torabe, we're ANBU," Masashi sighed. "Our priority is efficiency. If we report everything to the Hokage, how do we even function? When you come across people who just like to run their mouths, you shut them up, that's all there is to it. Just file a summary report at the end of the month."
After a brief pause, he added, "Speaking of efficiency, we're already late on this one. After killing them, strip them and hang their bodies from trees. That should make the message clear."
"…"
Masashi looked at their reactions and was now certain, his judgment had been correct.
It had been ten years.
These people weren't clueless about what needed to be done.
They knew. They just didn't want to take responsibility.
They called it being "cautious," but really, they were just playing dumb.
ANBU, once defined by speed and precision, had turned into just another bureaucratic department buried in layers of reporting.
What needed to change wasn't the personnel, it was the mindset.
Konoha's ANBU needed to adopt the Danzō approach.
Torabe looked at the document in his hands, already marked in red. Though he had plenty of suggestions to offer, he swallowed them back.
Since it had already been approved, as a subordinate, all he needed to do was follow orders.
He immediately selected a person, someone sitting in the second row, fifth seat.
The chosen man didn't hesitate. He immediately presented a plan.
Masashi nodded in approval. If the intelligence was accurate, this lineup would be enough to annihilate the target organization completely. Furthermore, the entire operation, departing from and returning to the village, would take no more than 24 hours.
With the plan confirmed, the operative left the meeting to gather his team. The entire process was swift and efficient.
So, it wasn't a matter of incompetence, these people were fully capable.
They were just... lazy.
And laziness was the last thing ANBU needed.
"Since everyone is here, let's deal with the rest of these documents as well." Masashi decisively signed off on the remaining reports and handed them to Torabe.
"As for future operations, here's what you all need to know." he addressed the group and laid out the first principle:
"For intelligence gathering, we'll discuss details later. As for military actions, there are three conditions that require immediate combat readiness:
Any organization that directly opposes Konoha militarily. Any entity that forms a substantive alliance with Konoha's enemies. Any force that threatens Konoha's external strategic interests.
If any of these three conditions are met, the relevant divisions must immediately enter a state of combat readiness."
Seeing the group take out their notebooks and start writing, Masashi paused slightly before continuing,"Decision-making will be tiered based on the entity involved. If the target is not a ninja village, divisions can execute their own plans and report them to headquarters. If it involves a ninja village but not the Four Great Villages, divisions submit plans for approval before execution. If it involves one of the Four Great Villages, divisions provide intelligence and recommendations, but headquarters will formulate the plan, which will be executed based on the Hokage's approval."
Hearing this new system, the division heads' eyes lit up.
But then, realization set in, and their excitement dimmed slightly.
"I'll submit this plan to the Hokage for formal approval and distribution to all ANBU divisions," he continued. "Within the authorized scope, any consequences of an operation will not be attributed to the division, unless the action required headquarters' or the Hokage's approval but was executed independently."
With that clarification, the division heads' doubts vanished.
Now they were truly excited.
As for evaluations, those outdated, restrictive assessments? They were about to be overhauled.
"I've reviewed the existing evaluation system for special operations. It's overly complicated. Starting today, that will change," Masashi announced. "From now on, special operations assessments will be based solely on outcomes, intelligence gathered, its classification level, enemies eliminated, and our own casualties. Specifics will be formally documented and distributed."
The division heads suddenly felt like they were about to be freed.
Why had so many people been hesitant to act? Why had some outright refused to engage, preferring to play it safe?
Because the assessment system was a trap.
A single operation required them to consider whether it might negatively impact the village. If it did, even slightly, they'd be penalized.
How could they freely take action?
If headquarters didn't approve an operation, they couldn't act.
And even when they did, if the intelligence turned out to be false or outdated, they'd still be held accountable.
Losing ryō was one thing, but if they failed to achieve an "excellent" rating for three years straight, they'd be permanently stuck at their rank.
And let's not even mention the end-of-year "fees" extracted by the headquarters office, nothing but bureaucratic nonsense.
So, when Masashi brought up the damned headquarters office, they were all ears.
This new boss was solid! Definitely someone worth following.
From today, they were officially Masashi's people.
Torabe, it's not that we don't support you. You're a good person, a good superior, but you're just not cut out to be the ANBU Commander.
"The headquarters office's original role was to compile and analyze intelligence gathered by the divisions, verify its accuracy, and provide decision-making support to headquarters and the Hokage," Masashi said. "But instead, they've pushed this work onto the divisions. And all they do is accept pre-processed reports?"
By this point, he was getting irritated.
The headquarters office had turned into a bureaucratic mess.
Instead of capable operatives, it was filled with paper-pushers.
ANBU wasn't about writing reports.
Flowery words were useless if intelligence accuracy was compromised or outdated.
The so-called "recommendations" they provided were just generic templates, completely worthless.
ANBU's abysmal performance in recent years? At least half the blame lay with headquarters.
"If all the real work is being done by the divisions, then headquarters only needs to retain the secretariat. The rest? Dissolve them. Their salaries will be reallocated as front-line bonuses."
That was the final straw for Torabe.
Yes, the headquarters office had its problems, but in his view, they played an important role in maintaining ANBU's political relationships.
Everyone had relatives to look after. Connections mattered.
Even if Masashi was the one cutting them off, Torabe knew the blame would ultimately fall on him.
Of course, the Uchiha would act this way, it was expected.
But Torabe wasn't Uchiha.
For years, he had carefully balanced protecting his subordinates and maintaining political goodwill.
And these so-called "useless" personnel had actually played a major role in that balance.
"Masashi-sama, the headquarters office can't be abolished! It was personally established by Muzo-sama back in the day!" Torabe grasped at this argument.
But to Masashi, that reasoning held no weight at all.
"Torabe, I understand where you're coming from," Masashi sighed. "I know you're a good commander. You've endured a lot to keep ANBU functioning."
Hearing this, Torabe felt a warmth in his chest.
He knew how people talked about him.
It wasn't that he lacked a temper, he was a jonin, after all. But there had never been an opportunity to express it.
If he weren't the ANBU Commander, he wouldn't have had to endure this frustration in the first place.
After Danzō's downfall, Root suffered the consequences, but ANBU wasn't spared either.
The various factions that Danzō had suppressed for years exploded with rage. Their backlash was so intense that even the Hokage's office had to compromise, fearing that pushing them too hard would cause an even greater crisis.
The new ANBU leadership returned all village security duties to the Police Force, not because they wanted to, but because they had no interest in getting caught up in factional struggles.
But ANBU was still part of the village, and Torabe knew he wasn't a great commander. Still, he had hoped to preserve some purity in the younger operatives, shielding them from Konoha's internal conflicts.
Most ANBU weren't from major clans but were civilian-born ninjas, idealistic youths who had joined with a sense of duty.
As for the clan-backed rejects forced into ANBU? He dumped them all into the headquarters office and called it the "core department."
Upwards, those people wouldn't dare mess with the Hokage. Downwards, the worst they could do was slow down the divisions. With him and the other division commanders holding the line, they were an annoyance but not a real threat.
It was a compromise. It sacrificed efficiency, but it kept the peace. Because right now, ANBU couldn't afford to make enemies.
Torabe decided to be honest with Masashi.
"Masashi-sama, ANBU isn't what it used to be."
"Go ahead," Masashi gestured. "Let's see how we can fix it."
He wanted to know exactly how things had changed.
Before, he hadn't cared. But now that Minato had put him here, he couldn't tolerate ANBU being a joke.
He owed that much to his comrades.
"After what happened with Danzō, the village's perception of ANBU has changed. Many of the younger operatives have been affected," Torabe explained. "You're from the Uchiha, and I'm from the Sarutobi. Even without ANBU, we'd be fine. But those young operatives are civilians. If ANBU collapses, so do their dreams."
Masashi was surprised.
Not by what Torabe had said, he already understood that.
But by the fact that he had said it at all.
ANBU produced a commander like this?
He found it hard to believe.
If this were true, Minato had made an incredible personnel choice.
"Masashi-sama, he is telling the truth," one of the division heads added. "The past few years have been extremely difficult for ANBU. Many operations have been hindered."
That, Masashi already knew.
Take the Uchiha clan, for example, there had been plenty of discussions in clan meetings about pressuring the Hokage to dissolve ANBU entirely.
No ninja clan liked ANBU.
In fact, Konoha's clans despised ANBU even more than Konoha's external enemies did.
The Uchiha, at least, merely disliked ANBU, mainly because it was the Hokage's direct military force.
But other clans? They outright hated it.
"If that's the case, then the headquarters office must be abolished," Masashi stated firmly.
Torabe's expression darkened with disappointment.
He had thought Masashi simply didn't care about the civilian-born ANBU operatives.
To be fair, neither had he, until he became ANBU Commander.
Now, he had decided to stay in this position until retirement.
He couldn't return to being the carefree heir of the Sarutobi clan.
But Masashi wasn't like him. He was just passing through.
One day, he'd leave.
And right now, these so-called "reforms" might strengthen ANBU in the short term, but they would eliminate the office's ability to smooth things over with other factions.
The Hokage would change, but ANBU would remain.
New Hokages would replace ANBU's leadership, but the rank-and-file would still be those idealistic, civilian-born youths.
"Torabe, I'm not the kind of person you think I am," Masashi said, noticing his disappointment. "I won't let ANBU fall to that level."
But he didn't press the issue further.
Some things could be argued endlessly.
But before that, work had to be done.