Deep beneath the Yamaryū Village chief's residence lay a hidden base.
After mingling with the other Anbu operatives, Haruto Saito retreated to a small office carved into the side of the cavern. He requested paper and ink from the on-duty Infiltration Unit ninja and began writing furiously.
Unlike the other Anbu members deployed to the Land of Whirlpools, Haruto reported directly to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. His mission debrief would go straight to the Hokage—no need to explain himself to the Anbu chain of command.
Which meant this report had to be handwritten by Haruto himself.
He started by detailing the assassinations of Hyōga Rōba and Fujita Asa.
Then came the tricky part—fabrication.
Some lies were necessary. Certain things couldn't be explained.
Regarding his escape from the Seven Mist Swordsmen, Haruto crafted an elaborate story. He mentioned his underground movement technique, seeing no reason to hide that ability. As for its origin? He pinned it on Terumichi—claimed he'd copied the jutsu from the rogue ninja during their encounter. Not like Hiruzen could verify with Terumichi anyway.
(The man only spoke to Haruto, after all.)
For his survival, Haruto stuck to the story about the Swordsmen being lured away while he remained buried underground, severely wounded...
Next came his recent hunting of Mist Infiltration Unit operatives.
This part had to be included.
Every kill meant merit points.
Haruto deliberately omitted the incident at Broken Sea Village. He'd considered reporting his encounter with Fukube Ryūya, but decided against it—Hiruzen already knew the traitor was in the Land of Whirlpools. That's why Tsunade's team had been dispatched.
Besides, Haruto currently had no leads on Fukube's whereabouts.
More importantly, he needed to conceal the treasure trove of Mist intelligence he'd acquired. Those hidden caches were his alone to plunder. He felt zero guilt about withholding this from Konoha—scouting Mist operatives was never part of his mission parameters.
This was freelance work.
Anything gained outside official assignments belonged solely to him.
In the dimly lit cavern-office, Haruto's brush strokes neared completion.
The on-duty Infiltration ninja had stepped out temporarily, leaving Haruto alone.
"Akaito." Kiriike's voice cut through the silence as he appeared in the doorway.
"Almost done!" Haruto glanced up briefly before resuming writing.
Just the conclusion left.
After summarizing his actions, Haruto made his formal request—to remain in the Land of Whirlpools for continued assassination missions.
Final stroke.
Haruto rolled the scroll tightly, then bit his thumb. A drop of blood smeared across the parchment as he formed hand seals.
"Sealing Art: Secret Shadow Lock!"
The scroll glowed briefly as the encryption took hold. Every Anbu knew this standard sealing technique, but only three individuals could decrypt it:
1. Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi
2. Anbu Commander White Fang
3. Anbu Vice-Commander Kamisuke
Any forced tampering would make the scroll explode.
"All set, Captain Kiriike." Haruto stood, handing over the secured report.
Kiriike examined the seal before speaking. "You'll remain here awaiting the Hokage's orders. No departures for several days."
"Understood."
Without another word, Kiriike strode away with the scroll—doubtless to arrange express delivery to Konoha.
Back in the main cavern, dozens of Infiltration Unit ninja bustled about their work. The Anbu operatives clustered near the northwest wall, observing as Shiraha updated the merit leaderboard with brush and notebook in hand.
"Akaito's merits are confirmed," Shiraha announced while adjusting the board. "Completed S-rank assassination: Hyōga Rōba. Subsequent kill: Fujita Asa—also S-rank. Finally, the ninja hound has been verified as Kurojo... another S-rank equivalent. This places Akaito at third place overall."
Haruto's name hadn't appeared earlier—they'd presumed him dead. Corpses didn't earn rankings.
Now that he'd returned, the records required updating.
"How'd you confirm I killed that hound?" Haruto squeezed through the group with a grin.
"Infiltration Unit intelligence." Shiraha didn't look up from his writing. "Kurojo's death caused waves in Mist's ranks. Impossible to hide. Rumor says the Hōzuki Clan is demanding answers from the Seven Swordsmen."
"Makes sense." Haruto nodded, studying the board.
Currently ranked first: Assassination Squad Leader Kiriike.
Second place went to an operative codenamed "Tinder"—a notoriously low-profile yet formidable member of the assassination unit. Haruto barely knew the man, currently absent from the base.
The freshly inked third-place entry: Haruto himself.
"Wait, that doesn't add up!" Haruto suddenly protested.
"What's wrong?" Shiraha finally glanced up.
"Look—Captain Kiriike completed one SS-rank assassination. Tinder accomplished two S-ranks. I've got three S-rank equivalents. Even if I can't surpass Kiriike, how does Tinder outrank me?"
"You really don't know?" Shiraha's eyebrows rose.
Blank stares from surrounding Anbu suggested Haruto was missing something obvious.
"Akaito, how long have you been in Anbu?" Shiraha asked pointedly.
"Over a month."
"And you still don't understand?"
Haruto shook his head.
"Half the year's already passed," Chinmi chuckled from the sidelines.
"Oh..." Realization dawned. Haruto pointed at the board. "This tracks annual merit—not just the Whirlpools campaign? Tinder completed S-ranks earlier this year?"
"Precisely." Shiraha nodded. "Four missions before this deployment—three A-ranks, one S-rank. All successful."
"Got it."
The surrounding operatives burst into good-natured teasing:
"Not satisfied with third place, kid?"
"Unheard of for a rookie to climb this fast!"
"Hah! Akaito's gotten greedy!"
A somber note entered Shiraha's voice as he gazed at the board. "Pity about Blood River's failure. He'd have taken second place otherwise."
The mood turned heavy. Blood River's death had struck the Assassination Squad hard.
"Captain Kiriike will avenge him," asserted an operative codenamed "Gale."
"Yes. He will." Shiraha's grip tightened on his brush. "Likely securing this year's top spot again. Another term as First Squad Captain and Assassination Leader..."
"Actually..." Haruto raised a finger. "One last question."
All eyes turned to him.
"How much merit for killing a Mist Infiltration Unit ninja? What mission grade would that count as?"