{As I said, 1050 powerstone means double release tomorrow too, so yeah, up to you.}
~~
A little over a month had passed since Ren began his missions under the Numbers. During this time, he had completed a large number of B-rank and C-rank assignments under all four of the elite squad leaders, but despite repeated requests and even borderline pestering, if he was honest, not a single A-rank mission had been assigned to him.
Even when Ren brought it up during downtime or after missions, Yoru had remained unmoved, shutting him down with a dismissive "No" every single time. It was becoming a routine now. But Ren didn't mind the grind. B-rank missions still contributed to his growth, albeit slowly. He had finally accumulated 2 Jonin-level points from the mission and combining it with the 3 he had before he now had 5 Jonin level points, and after some internal debate, decided to invest all of them at once into Agility, pushing it from 70 to 75.
The sudden boost in speed hit him hard.
His body felt disoriented, almost like his reflexes had shot ahead of his consciousness. It had taken him a couple of hours to adjust to the new boost, and thankfully, it happened while he was returning from a mission. If Yoru had seen him struggle like that, the man would've probably cracked open another training regimen just to 'fix' it.
That whole experience also taught Ren a valuable lesson: never dump multiple points at once again. One at a time was safer. He needed to avoid tipping off someone like Yoru, who already had an uncanny ability to read him.
Meanwhile, his training was going well. His Hyperfocus regimen was more stable now. He spent every free window he had sharpening that mental edge. The six-level trap course in the facility helped immensely, and Yoru's suggestions on how to approach it were gradually beginning to make sense.
His Bukijutsu Mastery had also grown significantly. It now stood at 38%, purely through clone-based grind. At this rate, he wouldn't even need to use mastery points to reach Master Level, something Ren was quietly proud of.
~~~
Currently, Ren stood alongside the other four Numbers in front of Yoru, all of them masked, silent, and waiting for orders.
Yoru looked at them briefly before addressing the new recruit.
"Good work on surviving a month in ANBU, 5," he said simply. "You now have a fixed mission schedule. Follow it."
He gestured slightly, signaling them to disperse. The other four Numbers turned to leave, but Ren, ever persistent, stepped forward slightly and asked with all the tone of a kid asking for an extra game on his phone, "Commander, I've been thinking, maybe now's a good time to let me do an A-rank mission?"
The room paused.
Even the usually expressionless Numbers hesitated in their steps, just enough to show they were mildly curious. It wasn't often someone talked to Yoru like this.
Yoru didn't stop shuffling the papers on his desk. "Why would I do that?" he asked flatly.
"Well" Ren said, a little too casually, "It's kind of a waste of village resources, right? Having someone as 'capable' as me and the other numbers doing B-rank missions?"
Yoru didn't even look up. "The Hokage gave me full authority over ANBU mission allocation. I can assign A-rank shinobi to babysit wild cats if I feel like it. No one questions me."
Ren blinked. "Wow. Abuse of power much?"
Yoru froze for a moment, then resumed writing.
"You got something to say, 5?"
Ren leaned forward, voice innocent. "I'm just saying, if someone filed a report about this, kind of an administrative nightmare, you know? Not that I would. I'm just concerned. For your image."
Yoru slowly turned to face him. His mask was still blank, but Ren could feel the stare.
"And you think you're in a position to talk back to a superior?"
"I mean," Ren scratched the back of his head, "You haven't killed me yet, so that's kind of giving me mixed signals. Maybe it's because I'm just that charming?"
The scroll landed a hair's width from his neck.
Ren tilted his head at the last second, and the scroll sailed past him, landing perfectly in Shinnosuke's hand. Ren didn't miss a beat.
"…Or maybe not."
Yoru finally let out a sharp sigh. The kind older shinobi do when they've dealt with kids for too long.
"Go with One. Now."
Ren saluted half-heartedly. "Thank you, Commander. I'll be back before you-"
He ducked as a pen, two ink bottles, and what might've been a mission file came flying at his face.
"SHUT UP AND GO."
Already halfway out the door, Ren shouted back, "Bye Commander!"
The door slammed behind him.
The four Numbers looked back at Yoru, momentarily frozen. He turned his masked face toward them, chakra flaring just enough to make the air around him tighten.
"…What?"
They all shook their heads in unison and disappeared.
Now alone, Yoru leaned back slightly and exhaled. "That kid's mouth is going to be the death of either him or me."
He reached for a cup of tea, only to realize Ren had broken it with a dodge roll two weeks ago.
He sighed again.
~~~
Once Ren stepped out of the commander's office, the other Numbers gave him a quick glance, more out of habit than surprise at this point.
Over the past month, this kind of back-and-forth between Ren and Yoru had become something of a regular occurrence. No one said anything. They were just mildly curious how the new Number Five always managed to push the commander's buttons without getting wiped off the map.
Though Ren wanted to get along with Yoru well too, the man's words were too constrictive, always about following orders and keeping head down, which didn't sit well with Ren so he often had to do verbal clashes with Yoru, but overtime he had come to enjoy it, so he was in good mood when he went to Number 1.
Number One was waiting near the hallway.
"Let's go," he said simply.
Ren nodded and followed him toward the section of the ANBU complex where One's animal squad was stationed.
Inside the quarters, One finished reading through a newly delivered scroll, then turned toward his team.
"A-rank mission," he began. "Target: One confirmed rogue ninja. Mentally unstable. High physical output. Orochimaru's involvement suspected. Location: Near the border with the Land of Tea. Mission objective: Capture target alive and bring back any relevant intelligence. Ten minutes. Gear check."
The squad moved instantly to prepare. Ren didn't need to do much. His gear was already set. He still had the whip wrapped around his waist like a belt, and inside his sleeve, he kept a retractable BO staff, his weapon of choice for this mission. Ever since Yoru had forced him to study the arsenal scroll, Ren had taken a liking to experimenting with different weapons. So far, he had tried 16 out of the 58 listed in the scroll. Still a long way to go.
Once the gear check was complete, the team moved through a new tunnel, it was one Ren hadn't used before. This one branched toward the south-east, directly beneath the Hokage Monument, leading to a hidden exit facing the direction of the Land of Tea.
Travel took just over two days, even with ANBU-level movement speed. The path wasn't exactly short, and the terrain near the border was dense with uneven hills and forests. Still, they made good time.
~
Upon reaching the general mission zone, the squad split into smaller groups to sweep and locate the target. Rabbit, Owl, and Deer scattered silently, moving into different directions of the forest. Ren was on his own for this sector. That suited him just fine.
Alone, he crouched on a high branch and summoned one of his smaller butterflies. The tiny summon fluttered once before speeding off, disappearing into the canopy to begin scanning the area.
During his time in the ANBU, even though he didn't actively hide the fact that he had a summon, he didn't tell anyone specially either, since an unknown summon, especially one like the butterflies could be extremely useful in certain situations.
A few minutes later, it returned, fluttering around Ren's head before giving him a concise location and vanishing again.
Ren nodded slightly and leapt into motion, following the trail laid by the natural butterflies which had linked under the summon's command. It didn't take him long to find the site. From a branch above, he observed the scene quietly.
A small noble's carriage was stalled on a dirt road.
But the real interest was the figure standing in front of it.
The target was… humanoid, yes, but barely. There were large, grotesque, wing-like protrusions sprouting from one side of the neck. His skin was crawling with jagged black markings which were the cursed seal effects, no doubt, and his entire body twitched and jerked like he was holding back some inner storm.
He was drooling. His jaw slack, his muscles flexing uncontrollably.
'Looks like Orochimaru's already begun testing variations of the cursed seal,' Ren thought, narrowing his eyes. 'And he's letting them loose to monitor performance.'
To confirm a suspicion, Ren cast a wide-area wind-based sensory scan. Immediately, he felt another chakra signature, not too far away. Watching. Hidden. Monitoring.
'Observer. Probably one of Orochimaru's researchers.'
But before he could act, the target's head snapped toward him.
"Shit."
Ren jumped just as the target barreled toward the tree. A single punch from the rogue shattered the trunk, sending the top half crashing down. Ren was already moving, activating a signal tag mid-air to alert the others.
He changed directions and made a beeline toward the hidden observer. If this guy was collecting data, he was even more valuable than the test subject.
He reached him in seconds.
The man, a pale, gaunt researcher in a tattered lab coat, barely had time to register the blur before a whip lashed out and coiled around his neck, yanking him off his feet. Ren dragged him into the brush and delivered a swift blow to the side of the head, knocking him out cold. In one motion, he slapped a paralysis seal on the researcher and dumped him behind a thick tree.
'We'll need to deep-read his mind back at HQ. Could be a goldmine of info.'
Mission-critical task done, Ren turned back toward the site. He flickered through the trees and rejoined the squad.
~
The situation had escalated with the target.
Shinnosuke had taken the lead in melee combat. Owl was launching support fire via mid-range elemental jutsu. Deer was near the carriage, helping escort the nobles to safety. Rabbit was using shadow possession, but even with multiple tries, she couldn't hold the rogue down for more than a few seconds.
'Not surprising,' Ren thought as he caught sight of the enemy's status window: Level 78. 'Orochimaru definitely used an elite Jonin-level shinobi for this cursed seal trial. No way a normal one gets this strong this fast.'
Shinnosuke acknowledged Ren with a brief nod.
"Unpredictable patterns. Moves on instinct. High-level Taijutsu mixed with uncontrolled chakra surges, and inhuman raw strength." One said calmly, still deflecting a barrage of wildly thrown punches.
At that moment, Rabbit managed to lock the enemy's right arm, but the restraint shattered almost immediately as the rogue twisted and powered through the technique. The freed fist shot straight toward Shinnosuke's head.
Ren moved in a blur.
With a flick of his wrist, the whip snapped out and wrapped around the rogue's forearm just before impact, halting the punch inches away from Shinnosuke's mask.
Holding the target's arm tightly with his whip, Ren dug his heels into the dirt, anchoring himself using chakra. The enemy had tried to pull him in, likely aiming to land a devastating punch once he got close, but Ren wasn't budging. The strain on both sides caused the whip to pull taut between them, locking their positions for a brief moment.
Number One didn't miss the opportunity.
With a short burst of chakra and a quick hand seal, Shinnosuke unleashed a powerful close-range [Water Release: Torrent Spike] directly at the rogue's exposed back. The high-pressure jet of water struck with full force, splashing violently on impact. But despite the power behind the jutsu, the target remained upright.
He didn't flinch. He didn't even react.
Instead, the rogue twisted his arm, trying to pull Ren toward him with a brutal jerk. Muscles surged with cursed chakra, and veins pulsed erratically across his skin. But Ren matched the force by reinforcing his stance further, his boots sinking slightly into the soil as chakra surged into his soles. His grip tightened on the whip's hilt, refusing to give ground.
The result?
A stalemate of strength and positioning, one that left the rogue's rear wide open.
Shinnosuke moved instantly, launching a barrage of elemental attacks. Fire, earth, and wind-style projectiles hammered into the rogue's back in rapid succession. Each jutsu hit its mark, slowing the rogue's movement slightly but not causing serious damage. The cursed seal's resilience was clearly working overtime, absorbing and deflecting much of the direct impact.
"Owl, support with physical strikes," Shinnosuke ordered mid-assault.
Owl blurred into motion, drawing a short-bladed tanto from his back and circling around to strike at the rogue's unguarded left side.
"Deer, escort the civilians out of the area, keep a 100-meter perimeter. They're too close."
"Yes, sir." Deer vanished toward the back of the carriage, shepherding the stunned noble and his retainers away from the fight.
"Rabbit, get me a weakness. Anything."
Rabbit, crouched a short distance away, had already been focusing intently on the rogue's movements. Her hands formed a weird shape as she linked them together closely observing the fight.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then finally, she spoke in a calm but focused voice.
"His cursed seal distribution is uneven," Rabbit began, loud enough for the others to hear over the sounds of combat. "Most of the markings are concentrated along his spine and left side. That's where the seal is reinforcing his strength."
She stood as she continued explaining.
"But that also means the right side is under protected. His right arm's muscle tension is lower, and his reaction time from that side is delayed by half a second. It's probably where the cursed seal integration failed or didn't take properly."
She paused, then continued.
"There's also excessive chakra flow building near the base of his neck, top of the spine. That's likely where the seal's core is anchored. If we disrupt that point, the seal will collapse or destabilize. At the very least, it'll stun him."
She turned to face Shinnosuke directly.
"But it needs precise timing. If we miss, the seal might go fully active."
~~~~~
{While writing the interaction between Ren and Yoru, I had the Gen Z and boomers' scenario in mind, if it felt weird I might just change it, but I like how it is now.}
{An interesting fight sequence after a while, so tell me what you think.}
{Also, to avoid any confusion, Rabbit is a Nara and Deer is the civilian. Probably should have changed it before but I got a big brain so I left it as it is to confuse you guys and myself too.}
{1050 stones means around 200 stones and I know there are enough of you guys that you can easily give 500 stones, but some of you are stingy, so yeah 1050 is the goal.}
{If you want to, you can support me on pat-reon.}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else to do}
{STONES!!!!}