After concluding this topic, Masashi looked toward the door.
Footsteps could already be heard outside.
It no longer mattered whether Torabe's words and thoughts were true or false, Masashi had already determined that Torabe could indeed take the fall for the other half of the blame.
Even if he was lying, coming up with such an excuse proved that he was unfit to be the leader of the ANBU.
The office door opened once again.
It was as if a refrigerator door had been opened, and a wave of "cold air" swept in.
A group of people stood at the doorway. They gave off an unpleasant feeling.
Unlike Torabe and the others, this group was in full combat readiness. Even here, they still wore masks and black cloaks, with their storage pouches packed to the brim.
These were the only remaining official members of Root after Danzō's downfall.
During the Third Hokage's era, Konoha's ANBU had fewer than a hundred official members. Hiruzen's eldest son once served as the ANBU leader.
Below him were four squads, each led by a squad captain, with four teams under each squad. The total number of members per squad was capped at seventeen.
Root was essentially the fifth squad, structured similarly to the other four.
In other words, the original official members of Root only numbered seventeen.
Even if they were all resurrected with Edo Tensei, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy Danzō's ambitions.
To make up for the manpower shortage, he implemented a temporary recruitment system. These temporary recruits had no official status, but their pay was higher.
With an iron grip on power in one hand and money in the other, Danzō created Root to struck fear into Konoha's enemies.
Later, this temporary recruitment system spread throughout the entire ANBU.
Minato accidentally took down Danzō first. Learning from his predecessor's mistakes, he began reorganizing the ANBU.
The first step was to abolish factionalism, starting with the temporary recruitment system.
Why have temporary recruits? Just become official members!
As Konoha's financial strength improved dramatically, investments in the ANBU increased significantly.
The ANBU, originally structured into squads, transitioned into a divisional system.
Its total membership skyrocketed to around seven or eight hundred.
As for the original seventeen Root ninjas, only ten remained after Danzō's downfall.
Now, as Masashi looked at them, only seven were left. They couldn't even form two full teams.
The seven remaining Root members entered the office and all looked directly at Masashi, who sat in the department head's seat.
They naturally recognized him.
"Good, you're here. Have a seat," Masashi said.
The Root members remained silent as they walked to the empty seats and sat down. They didn't speak, but the other squad leaders and captains in the room felt uneasy.
As an isolated faction within the ANBU, the remaining Root members were now assigned to the main division.
On one hand, they were undeniably talented, and the ANBU couldn't afford to waste them.
On the other hand, there were concerns that they might still carry Danzō's ideology. If they were sent elsewhere, the other division members might not be able to control them, so it was safer to keep them under direct supervision.
However, there was one person in the room who didn't find this awkward, someone who, in fact, found it quite pleasing.
Upon seeing them, Masashi felt at ease.
This level of combat readiness, this was how ANBU ninjas were supposed to be! It was truly satisfying to see.
"Since I'm new here, you should introduce yoourself first," Masashi said with a smile.
Anyone could tell that he was in a good mood. This made everyone else feel conflicted. At this point, Masashi's leadership style was already crystal clear.
"Yamanaka Fū."
"Aburame Torune."
"Terai."
The Root members introduced themselves one by one, keeping their words to a minimum.
Masashi was even more pleased.
"Who is the team captain?"
No one responded.
"Torabe, do none of them even have a captain's rank?"
"Uh… that's actually true," Torabe admitted.
He could tell that Masashi clearly favored the Root members.
"Then let's promote them," Masashi said. "Among the seven, two will be promoted to squad captains, and four to team captains."
Before he even finished speaking, everyone in the room was shocked.
Even though the ANBU's numbers had now swelled to seven or eight hundred, the team captain role was still important, let alone the squad captain position.
Previously, ANBU squads and teams had fixed numbers, but now, since things had changed drastically, the team sizes had become more flexible.
"Masashi-sama." One of the Root members, Fū, spoke up. "Can we request not to be grouped into a separate team?"
"You don't want to be mixed in with others? That means only one of you can be a team captain."
"We accept that. We don't mind."
Masashi looked at the other Root members, and none of them objected.
"Fū, I know you. I've worked with Root before, so I'm well aware of your abilities." Masashi shook his head. "Assigning all of you to a single team would be a waste of resources. I can't allow it."
"Masashi-sama, may I remove my mask?" another Root member suddenly asked. His name was Terai, as he had introduced himself earlier.
Although he didn't know why the other party made this request, Masashi nodded.
Terai stood up first, then removed his mask.
Masashi looked at him and found him very familiar.
"Masashi-sama, it seems you don't remember me," Terai said with a slight smile, his tone changing. "Got a cigarette?"
Huh?
Masashi was momentarily stunned before it clicked.
Wasn't this the teahouse owner from before? The one who used shadow clones to smoke because his wife was pregnant!
"It's you," Masashi laughed. "Did you lose weight?"
People usually gain weight in middle age, but this guy did the opposite.
"It's an honor that yoou still remembers me." Terai smiled and bowed slightly. "Actually, what Fū said is the shared wish of us former Root members. There's no other meaning behind it, it's just to perform our missions better."
"I understand." Masashi nodded. "Then let's do this, I'm new here, and since that's the case, you'll be formed into a single squad, but you'll report directly to me. Is that acceptable?"
Terai was momentarily surprised.
"Masashi-sama, does this mean we won't be carrying out missions anymore?"
"Who said that? Of course, you'll be on missions. I've worked with Root before, so I know how you operate."
At that moment, everyone in the room understood. Their new boss planned to handle things personally!
The former Root members suddenly found Masashi rather agreeable.
One of the main reasons they looked down on the current ANBU was that the leadership had become even more bureaucratic than before.
In the past, during the Third Hokage's time, his son served as ANBU's overall commander and still personally participated in missions. But now, even division heads just sat in their offices and signed off on paperwork.
They respected Danzō not because he was a good person, anyone could see he wasn't.
But because he led by example. Even before becoming an advisor to the Hokage, he frequently led them into action.
To the Root ninjas, leadership was simple, if their leader fought alongside them, he was a good leader, even if he only offered empty promises.
As for the argument that the division system required centralized coordination, they didn't buy it.
No matter how busy you were, you couldn't be busier than the Hokage's advisor, right?
"So, Masashi-sama, do we have any upcoming missions?"
"You won't even have time to sneak a smoke," Masashi said. "Not only do we have missions, but they're also important. The joint Chunin Exams will start in about a month. Before that, we need to gather intelligence, scout enemy movements, and, at the same time, deal with the fact that the ninja world doesn't respect Konoha's ANBU enough. Some weeds need to be trimmed."
In the otherwise quiet office, there was the faint sound of rapid breathing, it came from the former Root ninjas.
"Who are the targets? Kumo?"
Although they found it ridiculous that Konoha now had allies all over the world, they still knew that allies couldn't be attacked recklessly.
That only left Kumo as a viable target.
"How could it just be Kumo?" Masashi shook his head. "For the ANBU, anyone outside Konoha is an enemy."
Terai's mouth opened slightly. This was something they had often heard before. Danzō loved saying things like this.
With a sudden rustling sound, the six Root members besides Terai all stood up.
Even though they wore masks, their eyes gleamed with excitement.
The captains sitting nearby felt a chill down their spines.
These war freaks… they're getting excited on their own again!
"Masashi-sama, your reputation is well-earned. It's a shame some of our comrades are no longer here," Torune finally spoke.
As a member of the Aburame clan and the son of Shikuro, he had the best impression of Masashi among the former Root members.
"The loss of comrades is indeed saddening, but their sacrifices won't be in vain," Masashi nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll introduce a new teammate to you, another Uchiha. You'll get along well."
He was thinking of a certain "little brother enthusiast."
If Shisui's personality was completely unsuitable for ANBU, then Itachi was the perfect fit, he would thrive here.
Danzō had too many conflicts with the Uchiha, so in the original timeline, Itachi probably would have ended up in Root if things had gone differently.
But since Danzō couldn't recruit him, Masashi would.
Now that he was in charge of ANBU, Itachi could be put in a place where he could fully utilize his talents.
"We'll be looking forward to it," Torune said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't be interested.
The Uchiha were infamous for their battle-hungry nature, and anyone Masashi brought in was bound to be interesting.
There was no way it would be one of those soft, bureaucratic types now filling the ANBU ranks.
"Alright." Masashi clapped his hands. "Today is the first day, so let's keep this meeting short. Tonight, I'm hosting, let's all grab some drinks, sing a few songs, and watch a performance to unwind. Everyone here is invited."
"Masashi-sama, we still have work to do," Torabe said, feeling that this was too laid-back.
"Torabe, don't think about work tonight. The entire department's structure needs to be reorganized, and tomorrow will be busy enough. You won't have time to slack off."
With that, Masashi's body disappeared from his seat.
When he reappeared, he was standing in front of a cemetery.
The Senju cemetery was usually a quiet and desolate place.
But now, ninjas were coming and going, mainly focusing on inspecting the two Hokage graves over and over again.
Generally speaking, no matter how powerful someone was in life, in death, they were nothing more than a mound of earth. However, the foundation of the Hokage lineage rested precisely on the two former Hokage buried here.
Back then, there had been no concrete evidence proving that Danzō had actually desecrated the Hokage graves, but that didn't matter. The mere suspicion was enough for the Hokage faction to abandon him.
Now that the Senju cemetery had been infiltrated again, the Hokage faction was on high alert. Those with manpower sent people, those with money contributed funds, all in a frantic effort to get to the bottom of things.
Their investigation focused solely on whether the Hokage graves had been tampered with.
Dig them up to check? No one had the guts to do that.
With no other options, the Hokage faction reached out to the Hyūga clan for help, but the Hyūga had already made their allegiance clear, they stood with the Police Force and chose to remain silent.
Masashi walked into the Senju cemetery.
No one stopped him.
Ever since Fugaku became the Hokage's advisor in this second timeline, Masashi had faced no obstacles visiting the Senju cemetery, though he had never actually come.
For one, this place was the symbolic foundation of the Hokage faction's legitimacy, and its security was not his concern. For another, he understood the attitude these guys had toward their posthumous selves, they wanted to be left alone, and he respected that.
But now that he was back to his old profession, he felt it was necessary to make a trip back and let them all know, he had been inexplicably re-employed.
Besides, as a property owner in this "community," it wasn't unreasonable to check on how well the old place was being maintained and maybe leave a review for the management.
Masashi didn't head toward the Hokage graves, there were too many people there, and he didn't like crowds.
Although it was called a cemetery, it was actually a vast mountainous area. The Senju clan had always been rough and straightforward, and they never put too much thought into rituals for the dead. When choosing burial sites, they simply picked spots that looked pleasing to them.
For example, if someone liked sleeping under tree shade when they were alive, they'd be buried somewhere with plenty of shade.
The deceased Senju members were scattered across this mountain range, embracing the earth with open arms, truly merging with nature.
An infiltration? That was perfectly normal. After all, this wasn't a proper, man-made cemetery.
Most of the graves here were just cenotaphs. Back in the Warring States period, people frequently relocated, so they buried their dead in secret locations, sometimes so well-hidden that even they couldn't find them later. The graves often had hidden ninjutsu traps and used the surrounding natural environment to accelerate decomposition, preventing grave robbers.
Only the Senju who died after the establishment of the village were properly buried in this area.
It had been a long time since Masashi last visited, and he had grown unfamiliar with the paths.
Most of the tombstones were covered in dust, making the inscriptions difficult to read.
Since he was already here, Masashi decided to clean them.
Destroying evidence? As if. The Hokage faction was only investigating whether the Hokage graves had been disturbed. Did they really expect them to look into who the intruder was?
Minato Namikaze had placed him in the ANBU, hoping to use the ANBU as a front while leveraging the Police Force's resources for an investigation.
But Masashi didn't think an investigation was even necessary, it had to be Orochimaru.
Anyone who knew to use the Senju cemetery as a diversion had to be someone intimately familiar with Konoha's internal workings. That could only be Orochimaru.
And the person executing the plan was most likely Kabuto Yakushi.
But Masashi wouldn't go after Kabuto. Keeping Kabuto around meant having a living locator for Otogakure. When the time came, he could just follow the trail.
After wiping the dust off the tombstone in front of him, Masashi glanced at the name.
"Oh, it's you, Baldy."
He patted the tombstone and sighed softly.
This guy had been single right up until his death.
There was nothing he could do, he just wasn't cut out for relationships.
People had told him not to be a simp, but he wouldn't listen.
Hyūga girls were out of his league.
So, he ended up buried in this spot. Who knew if he ever found love in the end?
Masashi stood up, ready to leave.
The sound of swift movement in the air reached his ears. Several figures appeared around him.
"Lord Masashi."
Seven former Root members had arrived.
The one who spoke was Aburame Torabe.
Masashi had always found his name amusing.
Why wasn't he called "Aburame Trapbug" instead?
But if he joked about that with Aburame Shikuro, the man probably wouldn't get it.
According to Masashi's original plan, he intended to promote the six other members to command positions while keeping Torabe as his trusted aide.
After all, the Aburame clan was an ally, and Aburame Shikuro had always disapproved of his son joining Root.
Shikuro just couldn't get over how every time he had a conversation with his son, the boy would suddenly go numb all over, which really annoyed him.
What the hell? A father and son can't even chat without hitting a pause button?
After Danzō's death, the cursed Root seals lost their effect, but Torabe could never return to being the son his father had hoped for.
"You're here?" Masashi knew his judgment had been correct.
Among the former ANBU, these former Root members were the only truly reliable ones.
For the Hokage, the new ANBU was free of factionalism.
But for the ANBU leader, the department was now full of entrenched bureaucrats, each with their own agenda.
Only these former Root members still embodied the discipline and initiative expected of ANBU operatives.
Out of everyone in the meeting, only they had known to come find him in the Senju cemetery.
Reforming the ANBU wouldn't be a quick process.
These former Root members would be the breakthrough point, he would start by putting them to use.
"Since you're here, let's take a walk together," Masashi said.
"Yes," Torabe responded concisely. The others remained silent.
But as Masashi started walking, they all followed in perfect formation.
"I probably look like a villain right now."
Strolling through the cemetery with seven masked men behind him, Masashi found the situation oddly amusing.
He thought of how Danzō always appeared with masked subordinates trailing him, bringing a gloomy atmosphere wherever he went.
After all, the former members of Root naturally exuded a chilling presence.
Masashi continued moving through the cemetery, cleaning each grave he passed.
One familiar name after another emerged.
During this process, the seven former Root members also lent a hand, working efficiently, seemingly unbothered by the task.
Finally, a group of people appeared in the distance.
They were gathered around a grave, discussing something.
Masashi led his newly-formed "Seven" toward them.
Their approach caught the attention of the group, who turned around to face them.
All unfamiliar faces.
They were all wearing Konoha's standard flak jackets, but the small details in their attire revealed that they weren't just civilian ninjas.
They were from the Hokage faction.
Masashi's gaze landed on the gravestone, it was already wiped clean.
"Did you clean this?" he asked.
"Lord Masashi," one of the Hokage-affiliated ninjas spoke, "this is the crime scene."
"This is a grave." Masashi pointed at one of the ninjas' feet. "Fix that."
The ninja had shifted the broken offering platform to make space to stand.
Sensing Masashi's displeasure, the Hokage faction ninjas quickly stepped aside and repositioned the platform.
"What are you all doing here?" Masashi asked. This place was quite far from the Hokage graves. Were they really here to investigate?
"Well, Lord Masashi, we were thinking... if someone wanted to tamper with the Hokage's grave, they might have used Earth Release. There could be clues here."
"Found anything?"
"No… we were discussing whether we should dig up the soil and check."
Examining the soil was indeed a valid way to detect traces of Earth Release techniques. But digging here?
Even if it wasn't an actual coffin being unearthed, it was still grave-robbing.
"You do know who's buried here, right?" Masashi asked.
"Of course, but for the sake of the Hokage—"
"This case is under ANBU jurisdiction. You can leave now." Masashi waved them off. "I'll also report this to the Hokage."
The Hokage faction ninjas were stunned.
At this point, it hadn't been fully announced that Masashi was in charge of ANBU. The official paperwork from the Hokage's office hadn't even been issued yet.
"Lord Masashi, shouldn't we at least—"
One of the ninjas tried to express his doubts politely.
After all, ANBU was the Hokage's private force, Masashi, of all people, becoming its leader seemed impossible.
But before he could finish, one of the former Root members, Terai, suddenly appeared in front of him, staring him down.
"What… what are you doing?" The Hokage faction ninja flinched, only now noticing that Terai's mask was different from standard ANBU ones.
Former Root members were quite recognizable because of their distinct mask designs. Even though ANBU had been reorganized, they still preferred the masks from their old organization.
But unlike before, Root was no longer the Hokage faction's blade.
Everyone knew that the former Root members had completely severed ties with the Hokage faction.
"You got a smoke?"
"???"
The ninja froze.
Terai sneered and grabbed him by the collar.
"What kind of ninja doesn't smoke? No smokes, and you dare pretend to be a Konoha ninja!?"
"Terai." Masashi gestured. "Forget it. Let him go."
"Yes, sir." Terai dropped the man and returned to formation.
"You all seem to have a misunderstanding about how ANBU operates," Masashi said, glancing at the group. "Obstructing ANBU's work is considered hostile behavior against the Hokage."
"But since this hasn't been publicly announced yet, I won't hold it against you. You can leave."
The Hokage faction ninjas exchanged nervous glances, then turned to look at Masashi and the seven masked figures behind him.
It seemed... Masashi really was the new head of ANBU.
Otherwise, there was no way these former Root members would be following his orders so obediently.
This was big news.
Handing both the advisory role and ANBU to an Uchiha, what was the Hokage thinking?
"We understand. We'll leave now."
Without any more hesitation, the Hokage faction ninjas quickly withdrew.
Masashi watched their retreating figures.
The Hokage faction's ninjas were really becoming more and more shameless.
This case needed to be wrapped up as soon as possible.
"Terai, got a smoke and a light?"
"Of course."
"Hand one over."
Masashi took a cigarette from Terai, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner.