Naruto: The Outsider’s Resolve

CH_9.24 (339)

"I guess you're my squad leader."

When Takuma left Barbary's office, Campbell was waiting for him outside. After their lessons ended, he wasn't expecting to see his kenjutsu trainer for some time while he got busy with his job, but then the man showed up two days later. After the stress and surprise faded, he guessed they would be working together somehow, and he didn't dislike that idea.

Campbell nodded. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

They walked around the surprisingly large, multiple-story office that housed the Inquisitor Unit, made up of three squads of five operatives, each excluding squad leaders and Barbary as the ANBU Captain, leading the entire unit, masking up to a total of nineteen operatives supported by fifteen staff members in various position. There were a lot more people involved in the operation than he expected.

"The units are named after squad leaders, so we are part of the Campbell Squad. Including you and I, there are six people in the squad. Your friend, Kestrel, is also part of the squad, so you'll be working together," said Campbell.

Kestrel was Amami's codename.

"Two out of five are new?" asked Takuma, surprised.

New operatives like him were supposed to shadow a mentor who was supposed to be a squad mate. Two new operatives on a team meant that only the remaining three were working, which was much less than the expected amount.

"It can't be helped that two of my people had to move out so soon from each other, and ANBU currently has a recruitment imbalance due to high demand and low supply, so we weren't able to get a replacement until your intake batch," said Campbell, and it was the first time Takuma had heard the unflappable man sigh.

"Because of ROOT?"

"We had to rush to pick up the slack when they left. The truth is that we weren't prepared for it. Yes, we had contingencies related to ROOT, but drafting plans is not the same as seeing them through. It has been roughly over a year since they fled, and we are finally near to getting used to this new normal—and we haven't even started a department-wide hunt for the ROOT agents and its network because we've been swamped with covering the gaps.

"I forecast another rough two or three years before things settle down to the expected level of chaos before the next big thing."

'Like the village getting invaded and attacked by a supposed ally under the manipulation of a traitor?'@@novelbin@@

Takuma also registered the information that ANBU hadn't started to hunt ROOT down in earnest yet. He was disappointed they hadn't begun hunting ROOT like dogs to put down, but he was also pleased because the responsibilities to hunt them down were still up for grabs. He feared that if the hunt were already in full sprint, responsibilities would've been locked down, and he might have missed the opportunity to go after Kon.

But seeing that they hadn't started a full-scale hunt yet meant that, as long as he took early initiative, he could involve himself in large-scale operations somewhere down the line.

"And what does our work involve?" Takuma asked. He wanted to be productive as soon as possible so he would be ready when the opportunity came.

The Inquisitor Unit worked with the Leaf Intelligence Division and ANBU's own intelligence network to find threats across the Land of Fire. The intelligence networks kept an eye on the pulse of what was happening around the nation, always on the lookout for disturbances. Once they found something, they would push it to appropriate stations like the Inquisitor Unit to see if there was something there to deal with.

The unit would then analyse the intelligence and identify the problem and its threat level before deciding how—or even whether—to eliminate it.

"We don't have many restrictions on what sort of cases we handle. You can take in anything as long as you clear it with me."

"Understood."

They made their way through the office and arrived at a fully-stocked armoury enough to arm the entire office to teeth and then some more. Takuma was confused as to why they had come to the armoury when he thought he was going to be formally introduced to his team.

"Has it arrived?" Campbell asked the armoury manager.

"It has," said the manager, smiling at Takuma before dipping back into the room.

"What is it?" asked Takuma, curious.

Campbell asked him to wait. After a minute, the armoury manager returned holding a white porcelain mask with a black design inspired by and resembling a honey badger. He placed it on the metal counter between them, and Takuma silently stared at the pristine mask, which was still gleaming under the light from the absence of scratching.

"Welcome to ANBU, Ratel," said the armour manager.

Takuma felt something unknown as he picked up the mask. The last time he had taken a mask, it was to hide his identity from people—including his friends—and eventually led him to hide a big part of his life from the people he cared about. This mask was going to be no different; they wouldn't know a whole part of his life for a very long time, and if the time came one day, even then, he could only say so much.

Did he find that difficult? No, he did not, but that didn't make him hate it any less.

"Do you like it?" asked Campbell.

"I like the design." He didn't mind whatever they gave, and it wasn't like he would see himself wearing it unless he looked in the mirror.

"Let's go meet the team."

Takuma thanked the armoury manager, and they were off to meet the squad. Each squad was assigned its own office space, and the Campbell Squad was located on the second floor, while the other two were on the first floor.

"You can greet them later on their own," Campbell said on their way up.

The team had already gathered in the squad's meeting room, waiting for them, and the moment Takuma entered the room, confetti shot out of the party popper, almost making him take cover to prepare for flooding the room with Water Release: Wild Water Wave.

"Welcome!" Amami yelled as she held the party popper.

"He doesn't look amused," said the adult man in his late twenties. His shaggy, dirty brown hair, messy stubble, untucked shirt, shorts, and household slippers gave an impression of a messy man who didn't care about his appearance and what people thought about him.

Takuma had nothing against that, but he believed in following dressing etiquette. He wore his Police Force uniform because it was required. He also wore his Leaf gear as his uniform diligently when he was in his capacity as a shinobi. A lot of shinobi liked to dress comfortably, something he had no problem with—but he at least expected people to be presentable.

Dressing in loungewear at the place of work was not working for him.

"Exactly," said Amami.

Takuma sighed as he saw her grinning mischievously, as though she were expecting and deliberately seeking his current reaction and that she had gotten exactly what she wanted. He shot her a look, but she just pumped her brows to show her amusement.

The other woman in the room stepped to Takuma and set out her hand for a handshake. "Welcome to the team, Ratel. I am Caracara," she said. She was the complete opposite of the man and was dressed in a crisp, ironed Leaf uniform, her black hair tied in a tight bun, and she wore polished boots. She had sharp features and openly judged him as she made solid eye contact.

"Nice, strong grip," said Takuma as he shook her hand.

"You're not bad yourself. I have heard a few things about you from friends at the Police Force," Caracara smiled.

"I hope they were good," Takuma smiled back, knowing she was one of the people looking at his file.

Caracara simply smiled.

"Kestrel is learning under Caracara, so Ratel will be doing the same under Dhole." Campbell turned to the messy man. "Show him the ropes; have him help you with your cases. Learn everything from him; if you have questions, ask him. I expect good results," he finished by addressing Takuma.

"Yes, sir," Takuma said before exchanging an awkward look with Dhole, who had also looked at his file.

He looked around the meeting room before turning to Campbell. "Uhm... what about the other member?" Each squad had five operatives and one squad leader. There were only four operatives, including Takuma, in the meeting room.

"Krait is out on a case for a moment. He will return at the end of the month. You can meet him when he comes back," said Campbell before looking at the wall clock in the room. "I have an appointment to attend at the headquarters and will return after lunch."

"Have a safe trip," said Caracara.

Takuma gazed at Campbell leave. His squad leader's name was also on the list of people who had read his file, which was to be expected since he was his direct supervisor.

Amami put her hand over his shoulder as she leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Unfortunately for you, I have not read your file, so you don't get to read mine, dear Thirteen, but maybe if you ask me nicely, I will tell you a secret about myself, but only if you tell me one first."

Takuma pushed her away while wondering if she was really reading his mind because she could be scarily accurate at the most unexpected times. He guessed she knew what he was thinking because the same thing had happened to her when she joined the team. She was telling the truth because her name was not on the list.

"I know you're shadowing Dhole, but don't hesitate to reach out to me," said Caracara before leaving the meeting room.

"Thank you," Takuma said with a bow.

"Come, Kestrel. We have work to do."

"Let's have lunch together," Amami patted his shoulder as she followed Caracara out of the room, leaving him and his Dhole alone.

He looked at his mentor and asked, "So, where do we start?"

He was now officially the ANBU operative codenamed Ratel.

It was time to get working.

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