The ANBU were a force directly under the Hokage's command—the true elite of Konoha!
They were effectively the village's last line of defense, and also its pillar in responding to any crisis.
Every full ANBU operative was at least an elite chūnin.
Naturally, at the very bottom of the hierarchy were candidate members like Yuya.
Above them were the official members, organized into four-person squads.
Each squad had a squad leader.
Since even regular members were elite chūnin, squad leaders were typically special jōnin.
Next—
Every three squads formed a platoon.
Each platoon had a platoon commander, who was at least a full jōnin, and often an elite jōnin.
Above that—
Every three platoons formed a division.
The entire ANBU had only three divisions, each led by a division commander.
Anyone capable of holding that position was at minimum an elite jōnin, and often possessed powerful forbidden techniques, wielding strength close to that of a Kage-class shinobi—enough to threaten a Kage directly.
Above the three division commanders stood the ANBU Commander himself.
The entire system was astonishingly well-structured.
The ANBU had exactly 121 full members.
Every single one of them was an elite.
Although Konoha, as a major hidden village, naturally had far more chūnin and jōnin than just these hundred-plus—
—the ANBU were unquestionably the most influential organization in the village.
Neither Root, nor the Uchiha clan, nor even the Senju clan could compare.
This was the Hokage's core power, the force through which he truly controlled everything.
From protecting the Hokage himself…
To patrolling and defending Konoha…
To carrying out assassination missions beyond the village—
ANBU operatives lived under relentless pressure. The trials they endured far exceeded those of ordinary shinobi.
Of course, ANBU candidates like Yuya were an exception.
They were comparatively relaxed, required only to undergo periodic evaluations.
After finishing the explanation of the ANBU's structure, the masked operative handed Yuya a cat-faced ANBU mask and a gray cloak worn by candidate members, then turned and left without another word.
Unlike Root, ANBU weren't completely stripped of emotion—
—but years spent hiding behind masks had eroded most of it away.
Even something as shocking as a child Yuya entering the ANBU failed to stir much reaction.
In that operative's eyes, there was only one thing that mattered—
the Hokage's orders.
Most ANBU operatives were like this.
Taking the mask and cloak, Yuya clicked his tongue lightly. He noticed that both had been custom-fitted to his body.
Shaking his head, he draped the cloak over himself and put on the mask.
Once fully equipped, the sense of incompatibility he had felt earlier gradually faded.
It was as if he had effortlessly blended into the ANBU environment.
Looking at the world from behind a mask really did feel strange—
Hazy. Detached.
As though the boundary between self and others had blurred.
But Yuya didn't linger in thought for long.
He soon headed in another direction.
First, he went to the area where ninja tools and training equipment were customized.
"I'd like a piece of chakra paper, please."
Yuya had always been curious about his chakra nature transformations.
Although he had no intention of wasting time mastering hand-sign-heavy ninjutsu that were almost useless to him—
—understanding his affinities was still worthwhile.
After all, handseal-less techniques did exist in this world, and some of them might suit him perfectly.
The person inside the room was nothing like the owner of a regular Konoha ninja shop.
Upon hearing Yuya's request, the man said nothing.
He silently went inside, then silently returned—
—and handed Yuya a strip of chakra paper.
Not a single extra question.
This was the ANBU way.
No unnecessary words.
No unnecessary curiosity.
Only execution.
Taking the chakra paper, Yuya turned aside and infused his chakra into it.
In the next instant—
The paper wrinkled, then split cleanly down the middle.
"Wind and Lightning, huh… interesting."
Seeing the result, Yuya smiled faintly.
Having only two chakra natures wasn't disappointing at all.
In fact, it was better than Naruto, who initially possessed only Wind Release.
As far as Yuya was concerned, having Water, Fire, or Earth wouldn't help him much anyway.
Wind Release, however, could offer augmentation-type techniques, which suited him quite well.
As for Lightning Release—
One couldn't mention Lightning without thinking of the Third Raikage or the Fourth Raikage.
Especially the Third Raikage.
Through lightning-based body-forging techniques, he had honed a physique capable of clashing head-on with tailed beasts.
In canon, he had once fought ten thousand enemies alone, dying only from sheer exhaustion.
Utterly monstrous.
That kind of secret technique was something Yuya had always coveted—
—but it was notoriously difficult to obtain.
Now, however, Yuya possessed Lightning Release chakra himself.
That meant if he ever had the chance to obtain such a technique, he could practice it immediately.
And even if he couldn't—
—he could always develop his own Lightning Release body-enhancement techniques.
In canon, Sasuke Uchiha trained the Chidori for just one month and achieved speed comparable to Rock Lee removing his weights.
This alone showed how dramatically Lightning Release could enhance cellular activity and physical performance.
At the same time, discovering his dual chakra natures gave Yuya a far more reasonable explanation for his Vibration Release Kekkei Genkai.
Wind + Lightning—
—forming Vibration Release.
Now there were no loose ends.
Two chakra natures fusing into a kekkei genkai was perfectly normal.
And even with the same elemental combination, different shinobi could produce completely different kekkei genkai.
Mei Terumī's Water + Earth produced Lava Release.
Hashirama Senju's Water + Earth produced Wood Release.
In short—
Kekkei genkai were extraordinarily complex.
Yuya's Vibration Release now had a fully reasonable, unquestionable explanation.
Turning away from the tool-customization area—
Yuya considered ordering a training dummy, but decided against it.
The rocky mountain region he had used before was far more suitable for his training.
There was no need to waste resources on specialized equipment.
After a few more steps, Yuya arrived at the scroll archive.
A masked ANBU guard stood at the entrance, eyes cold and indifferent.
He glanced at Yuya once—
—and waved him through.
At first glance, it seemed as though anyone wearing a mask and cloak could enter.
In reality, the entire ANBU facility was enveloped in a specialized sensory barrier.
More than one sensor-type shinobi continuously verified the identity of every ANBU member.
Infiltration was nearly impossible.
Entering the archive room—
Yuya's eyes swept across rows upon rows of scroll cabinets.
They were neatly arranged into three sections:
The first—Ninjutsu.
The second—Taijutsu.
The third—Genjutsu.
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