Having abandoned the mineshaft that they were previously in to begin their pursuit of the traitors to Sunagakure, Midori and Kuno now ran over the sands of the shifting desert. Scrolls with her puppets at her side, the Kazekage kept her prosthetic fist clutched tightly, eyes scanning around the area, specifically ahead in the vast desert expanse. The information she had found out, and the words that the bandit had spoken rang throughout her mind. Amegakure shinobi. She was hopeful that they would be able to stop them long before the border of Amegakure, as then there’d be no risk of causing a conflict. However, as Kazekage, Midori was fully aware of the implications of eliminating foreign shinobi. A political conundrum that she would rather avoid, yet for the sake of the mission, would keep quiet about to her mission partner.

Glancing behind her every now and again and slowing down at intervals to make sure she didn’t go too far ahead from Kuno, Midori spoke up, feet shifting over the sand with no grace, only haste. Quickly, she began to formulate a plan. Vague details of the information they knew. Speaking as she thought. “I can’t emphasise how important this mission is. We have to find and eliminate the traitors before they reach the border, and we need to recover the scrolls without being damaged so that we can figure out what information we need to change. If they reach the border, or make contact with any shinobi from foreign relations, we will need to eliminate all of them, with no survivors. You wished to aim for ANBU, right? Consider this your first taste. The ANBU are the black ops of the village, the darkness for the jobs nobody wants to do. One mistake with this, and our very nation could end up in war. You want to take the dark path, then that’s fine, but know that there are risks. You will be holding lives in your hand, and innocents will die. If we fail this mission, innocents die. If we succeed… Innocents still may die. Are you ready to tell yourself that you need no morals? I don’t expect an answer now, but, think on it if you truly wish to pursue that path.”

Time passed slowly, the desert intensely featureless and expansive with seemingly no sign of direction outside of the passing of the sun, Midori glancing upwards every now and again to ensure she was on the right course. After a few more minutes of pained silence and running, she finally spoke up once more, having been debating plans inside of her head. “Tell me, do you have any techniques that are fitting for wide space combat? Despite being a puppet user, I am better at close quarters, but I’d like to think I can close the distance well enough. It is very unlikely we will have any scenery around to defend us, or use to our advantage, however we might end up in a savannah-like area depending upon how far we have to go. If we end up in the savannah, we act as we did in the prior mission, and aim for stealth kills. Otherwise, I hope you’re prepared for a no-survivor blitz.”

540

Running. So much running. If this mission ended and Kuno was never forced to run again, it would be too soon. It felt like they had been running for hours on end already, and only the gods in all their infinite wisdom knew how much farther it was to the boarder proper. Even as the pair of shinobi continued to dash across the sands of the Land of Wind, Kuno knew that as soon as he found the traitors that forced them into this pursuit, he would kill them. Of course they needed to die because of the sensitive information they had stolen, on top of that they needed to ensure that whatever information that had been gathered would not lead to war with Sunagakure no Sato in its current state. But even still, forcing people to run this far should also be a punishable offense, and Kuno knew that would be lingering in the back of his mind when he finally brought justice to the criminals.

Try as he might, Kuno was not nearly as fast as the Kazekage, and so he felt bad forcing her to slow her pace every once in a while to allow him to catch up. They had been running in silence for so long that he expected a reprimand for not keeping up when she finally glanced over her shoulder to him and began to speak. Exerting himself a little bit further, he was able to run alongside her for the moment. “I can’t emphasise how important this mission is. We have to find and eliminate the traitors before they reach the border, and we need to recover the scrolls without being damaged so that we can figure out what information we need to change. If they reach the border, or make contact with any shinobi from foreign relations, we will need to eliminate all of them, with no survivors. You wished to aim for ANBU, right? Consider this your first taste. The ANBU are the black ops of the village, the darkness for the jobs nobody wants to do. One mistake with this, and our very nation could end up in war. You want to take the dark path, then that’s fine, but know that there are risks. You will be holding lives in your hand, and innocents will die. If we fail this mission, innocents die. If we succeed… Innocents still may die. Are you ready to tell yourself that you need no morals? I don’t expect an answer now, but, think on it if you truly wish to pursue that path.”

It was an interesting question to say the least. Was he ready to forsake his morals in order to take on a position as a member of the village’s darkness? Was he comfortable with having to kill on a daily basis, without question and without hesitation? Was he willing to kill innocents for the sake of the greater good? It was only on the last question that he began to waiver. All of the other ones he was certainly ready to answer then and there. Killing on a daily basis would be nothing new, especially after his experience with the gangs of the Sand Dune Slums. And he trusted his village’s leadership, the leadership of Midori Ningyou, enough that he would do whatever she asked of him. In so far as the question of morals went, well…Kuno had long since abandoned the idea of them. Good and evil seemed so subjective to him now. He had always thought that perhaps his father was inherently good, and that he was just confused when it came to the Uchiha clan, but in reality, his father led a group of people that murdered his mother. He had always thought that ninja protect people for the greater good, but in reality, ninja kill people for the village’s security. He had no qualms with this, it had just taken him a long time to realize the truth. Kuno did not believe in morals anymore; they either did not exist, or evil so far outweighed good that it did not matter anymore. Only chaos and order existed. And if killing these people meant that order would be preserved, then that is what he would do.

A few more minutes of silent sprinting passed before the Kazekage dressed him once again. “Tell me, do you have any techniques that are fitting for wide space combat? Despite being a puppet user, I am better at close quarters, but I’d like to think I can close the distance well enough. It is very unlikely we will have any scenery around to defend us, or use to our advantage, however we might end up in a savannah-like area depending upon how far we have to go. If we end up in the savannah, we act as we did in the prior mission, and aim for stealth kills. Otherwise, I hope you’re prepared for a no-survivor blitz.” It seemed that she was trying to think up different strategies, so Kuno wasted no tie in answering her so that she could complete a plan as soon as possible. “I admit, I much prefer close quarters as well, given my ability with my sword. But my ninjutsu techniques have a fair amount of range on them. I can reach up to about 40 metres with the farthest reaching of my katon jutsu. Closing the distance will work to our advantage with we can pull it off, simply because then I can use some of my more powerful jutsu in conjunction with one another.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, ensuring that he had not left anything out before continuing. “I’m prepared for either option. I’ll follow your lead and if things get hairy, I won’t hesitate to jump into the fray. I won’t be able to take them out as quickly as you did in that cavern, but I can handle my share if need be.”

Kuno glanced up at the sky, trying to discern their position in conjunction with the map he still had on him. Unable to determine their exact location he turned back toward Midori. “How much farther do you think until we reach the boarder? I want to be ready to act well before we arrive if at all possible.”


WC:1070

As Kuno responded to her question, Midori nodded along, making a mental note. He could engage from roughly 40m away, yet no further, and preferred close quarters. He was willing to jump into the thick of it, and had his most powerful techniques at a far closer range. Midori put two and two together, and then in particular Midori fashion, overcomplicated it a lot to come up with an engagement plan that was incredibly unorthodox. She had an unknown number of targets, just that it was at least two people, and that there was information to retrieve. Finally, though, Kuno spoke up, breaking the silence of her thought process. Asking how much longer until they reached the targets, or at least the border, and that he wanted to be prepared. Midori didn’t know, and so, simply shrugged her shoulders, continuing to run and look ahead.

Squinting, however, Midori caught sight of something she wasn’t expecting so soon. Figures, hazed in the distance. A group of what appeared to be six individuals. No, wait. As she got closer, it appeared to in fact be seven. Roughly 500m away. She gestured forward to Kuno, not looking back or slowing down this time as the distance between her and Kuno slowly increased. “I see seven individuals. I’ll run on ahead. The instant I can identify them as either being hostile or friendly, I will engage and hold them in the vicinity to keep them distracted so that you can catch up, and clean up shop. Do not use any jutsu that could damage the scrolls! Our priorities are to execute, and recover the scrolls!”

At this, Midori took off in a full sprint, plucking a thin strand of hair from her head as she kept squinting ahead of her. Frustration seeped into her mind as the realisation dawned upon her that the only identification she could notice being a hitae ate. Amegakure’s symbol upon it indicated they were too late to stop the meeting. Midori cursed herself, feeling as though she failed for not being able to determine what was happening fast enough. She had to get behind them, to block off their route back to the border. And to do that, she would need to sprint, and use a diversion. Of course, the diversion was the easy bit.

Snapping the hair in her hand with chakra using her puppet limb, a clone of Midori appeared, feet planted against the fist of her arm as in a single swift motion Midori picked up the pace of her sprint, activating the pistons in her arm while her clone used it as a spring board for a jump. Like a rocket, the identical image of Midori flew through the air towards the group of conversing shinobi, landing among them in a crouched, combat position as Midori forced herself above and beyond what she was used to running, covering incredibly quickly the distance she needed to get around the group, hoping her clone was going to last long enough for Kuno to catch up.

After a moments pause, it wasn’t long before the gathered ninja took to action, each grabbing their respective weapons and one simply leaping forward to strike at the clone version of Midori. Working to only keep them distracted, the clone simply dodged, leaping out of the way and diving against the sands before forcefully rolling itself out of the way of another incoming attack via a yari wielded by a rather short, angry looking woman, wearing a scratched out hitae-ate of Sunagakure no Sato. There were in total four shinobi from Amegakure, each armed with weapons that were bladed, katana’s drawn and preparing to fight, while in the meantime there were three shinobi from Sunagakure – ex shinobi. A single, short statured man who held no weapons, yet had fist wraps around his hands, and had scrolls stored at his belt, the woman with the yari, and a rather young looking shinobi who clumsily began weaving hand signs.

Continuing to want to stall for time, the clone leapt past the nearest shinobi, narrowly avoiding a kunai slash to the side as it unleashed a punch upon the one casting the jutsu. While not doing any serious damage, the blow itself was enough to distract the shinobi, before two of the Amegakure no sato shinobi thrust forward, impaling the fake Kazekage through the chest, which collapsed to the ground before poofing into a cloud. Midori meanwhile gathered her breath, watching, and hoping she’d bought enough time for Kuno to arrive. If not, while sure she could take them on, she wasn’t confident nor sure of how skilled they were, what they could do, or that she could stop them all from getting to the other side of the border. She had to hope Kuno could get there, so that she could ignore the border and join the fray without risk. While not the strongest, her clone clearly didn’t stand a chance alone in that situation, and so she did not wish to leave Kuno or herself to it alone.

845 + 540 = 1385
Chakra: 260/270 (-10 for C rank Medical Jutsu (Used through puppet limb, clan Chakra reduction)
Born Ill: 1/8

Jutsu used:

The noncommittal shrug that Midori presented the young Uchiha with in response to his question was probably the exact opposite of reassuring. Had he been a little farther back and received a message like that, he would have let out an irritated sigh, but in the interest of keeping himself on the Kazekage’s good side, he stifled his complaint. He could only hope that he would not be completely exhausted by the time the pair would have to confront the traitors. Though it seemed that before Kuno could shift his focus back to the task at hand, Midori began to stretch the distance between them, calling back as she did so. “I see seven individuals. I’ll run on ahead. The instant I can identify them as either being hostile or friendly, I will engage and hold them in the vicinity to keep them distracted so that you can catch up, and clean up shop. Do not use any jutsu that could damage the scrolls! Our priorities are to execute, and recover the scrolls!”

Kuno could only watch as his Kazekage sped off toward the people so far off in the distance that they only appeared as blurred figures to his less trained eyes. He gritted his teeth as she rushed off far faster than he ever could, though he did his best to close the distance as well. As he grew closer, he could see that the Kage had launched a clone of herself into the fray while she herself ran around the group. Cursing himself for not being any faster, Kuno simply continued to push forward, all the while attempting to figure out how he would attack the enemies without using his Katon jutsu that would certainly destroy the scrolls. Unsheathing his crimson blade, Adolescent Ember, he prepared himself to get up close and personal with the soon to be dead criminals.

Closing now on what seemed to have developed into a proper fight, Kuno realized that there was no chance these people were friendly, especially as he noticed the defaced forehead protectors of his home village in plain sight. His eyes narrowed as he closed the gap and watched the clone of his trusted Kazekage fall to the blades of a couple of the Amegakure shinobi, while the former member of his own village was still teetering off balance. There was no hesitation or remorse on Kuno’s face as the distance between himself and the three closest enemies disappeared, and his eyes slowly faded from their normal darkness into pools of crimson. The unskilled man who had been knocked off balance was given no chance to recover as the young Uchiha drove his blade through the traitor’s neck, severing his spinal column and leaving him dead before he hit the ground.

The remaining two that now flanked Kuno seemed to be more of a challenge than the traitor, and with their katanas in hand they began to attack Kuno while the rest of the group still reacted to the new assailant. With his Sharingan now active, Kuno’s eyes darted from one blade to the next, tracking the movements of the chuunin much better than any regular eye could ever hope to. Though he was still forced to simply block the incoming strikes from either side for the time being, they seemed to almost come to him in slow motion. He could tell there the attacks would land even before they got close to him, and with that advantage on his side, on op of the fact that he seemed to be slightly faster than the duo attacking him meant that he could make a move.

It took a moment or two of biding his time, but before too long he saw his chance. At a moment where his Sharingan predicted the blades of his two enemies to be in the same place at the same time, Kuno dropped to the ground, planting his left hand while he did so and spinning out to kick at the left knee of one of his attackers. With their blades locked for the moment, the pair were helpless to defend themselves, and as the young Uchiha’s attack connected, he heard the sound of crunching bone while the recipient of his kick had his legs both swept out from under him. Kuno followed up by rolling out of the way of the downward swing of the other assailant and completing the roll with a flourish that slit the fallen man’s throat open. With his companion on the ground drowning in his own blood, Kuno saw the other shinobi from Amegakure’s resolve falter, and he used that opportunity to strike. He had to give the man credit; he was able to keep up with him for a moment or two. But before too long, the young Uchiha was able to wear him down wit slash after slash until the ninja fell, bloody and soon to be dead from his injuries.

With those three taken care of, Kuno spun to face the other four members of the meeting to see what Midori had accomplished. His blade remained in his hand, poised for action  at a moment’s notice.

WC:871+1070=1941

Chakra: 185/200:

As Kuno approached, Midori watched and began to step forward herself. The red that swirled into his eyes was apparent from where she stood. The Sharingan once more making its appearance. A quick dash to engage and Kuno had knocked one of them off balance, striking through their throat, blood staining the sand as they fell dead. From there, the two nearest began attacking him, not that Midori was watching at this point, instead focusing on the remaining four – from Amegakure to be precise. As Kuno went on the defensive, Midori began her offensive, rushing from behind the Amegakure shinobi while they were distracted and grabbing one of them by the back of their hair, pulling them backwards to be defenceless and off balance. From there, Midori made use of her knowledge of anatomy rather than actual physical prowess, sweeping a leg to knock the person onto their back on the sand below. From there, as the others began to readjust to the situation and turn to face the new threat, Midori switched her grip to now be with her puppet arm, lifting up the individual to use them as a human shield as their comrades threw shuriken and kunai at Midori, each hitting the person in the chest. Midori had to admit, it was fairly accurate aim, which ended up being the downfall of the poor Amegakure chuunin, who Midori dropped into the sand as she ran to the next three.

As one of the shinobi moved to swing a blade at Midori, the Kazekage Ningyou dove forwards, twisting around so that her puppet prosthetic would take the blow as the sharp object bounced backwards, Midori taking the momentum to catch the blade and snap it like a twig in her arm before spinning around and back hand slapping the man, who flew off to the side with blood leaking from his lips and the sickening sound of bones snapping emanating from his jaw. The other two opted for a closer and more personal approach, swinging their kunai in sync at Midori while her back was turned in hopes of catching her unawares.

Yet as the sound of the second cadaver hit the ground, Midori could hear the faint sounds of the enemies’ feet rustling against the sand. Taking the time to observe as Kuno countered the two strikes that came at him. Instead of doing such a combat-based approach, Midori took the approach she felt most fitted her, shifting her foot suddenly to flick sand at the rightmost of the two as she span around and dashed at the left shinobi, gripping them by the neck using their puppet prosthetic before simply squeezing, and dropping them. This left simply one more, who rubbed at their eyes and blinked to remove the grating irritation that burned and burned at their sensitive ocular aids.

Dashing low, Midori swept their feet out from under them, grabbing them by their shirt and tossing them slightly upwards so that they were only just within the air as she focused her thoughts on guaranteeing the job was done, striking punch after punch with both of her fists as fast as she could, the puppet prosthetic striking with such force as to keep him barely aloft, a sickening crack and the sight of blood from the poor shinobi’s lips as Midori kept punching in a standing rush. “Ora ora ora!” she shouted, as she unleashed a final blow while activating the pistons within her arm, the final corpse hitting the ground. From there, she shifted to inspect it. Seven bodies, two standing Sunagakure shinobi.

Exhaling softly, Midori shook her head, stretching out as she looked down to her blood covered prosthetic. Flicking her arm like most would flick a sword to remove the blood, she walked over to the cadavers, crouching down and checking the bodies one by one without addressing Kuno once. After going through the Amegakure shinobi, she shook her head, walking over to the three Kuno had eliminated and checking their bodies. Upon the one that fell first, she stood up finally, nodding to herself as she now held within her hands the scrolls. Small objects that featured the symbol of Sunagakure no Sato upon its parchment, and with bronze and steel framing to keep the parchment and scroll kept safe. In total there were three of them, Midori opening up one of the scrolls for a quick peek to confirm it was truly the correct scroll. It was, meaning the other two likely held similar information. Putting the scrolls away, she turned to Kuno, finally addressing him and speaking up. “I apologise. I did not quite… Wish to have to do a mission such as this. I hope this gives a hint of what the future, the ANBU, looks like. In all likeliness, those shinobi were innocent, the ones from Amegakure. In good faith, it would be to let them live. Yet in security, it was elimination. Now we must hide or eliminate the bodies. Use your fire release now if you wish. Otherwise, I will simply bury them beneath the sands, and we can let the serpents and scorpions have at them. A grim fate for those just doing their job, no doubt. Once you’ve decided, we can begin heading home. We’ll have plenty to discuss, and I doubt we’ll make it back before the next nightfall but if we keep a steady pace we will. If you have any questions or qualms, well, now is the time to do it.”

With a swift motion, Midori unlatched a flask from her side, pouring water from the flask into the cap before taking a swig and gesturing it towards Kuno. “Have a swig if you need it. The desert sun is hot and unrelenting, and we have a fair distance to walk back from the border to the village. You’ll need to keep hydrated.” Whether Kuno accepted the drink or not, Midori would take a second swig, before setting it back at her side.

1003 + 1385 = 2388

Born Ill: 2/8

By the time Kuno was able to turn from his fallen enemies and toward the rest of the fray, he had already heard the battle cry of his Kazekage. The fight was over, and the two shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Sands were all that remained. He watched as Midori began to flick her prosthetic puppet arm much like he was beginning to do with his sword, though he did not laugh at the situation. He knew that her arm was just as much of a weapon, if not more of one than the Uchiha’s crimson blade. Professional as always, Midori then wordlessly began to search for the scroll that had been stolen. It would only be after they were found and secured that she would drop the aura of severity that surrounded her for something more…friendly. It did not take her very long to locate those scrolls, despite the fact that they were on the last corpse that she searched. Kuno silently watched on as she double checked the contents of the scrolls and then finally turned toward him.

“I apologize. I did not quite… Wish to have to do a mission such as this. I hope this gives a hint of what the future, the ANBU, looks like. In all likeliness, those shinobi were innocent, the ones from Amegakure. In good faith, it would be to let them live. Yet in security, it was elimination. Now we must hide or eliminate the bodies. Use your fire release now if you wish. Otherwise, I will simply bury them beneath the sands, and we can let the serpents and scorpions have at them. A grim fate for those just doing their job, no doubt. Once you’ve decided, we can begin heading home. We’ll have plenty to discuss, and I doubt we’ll make it back before the next nightfall but if we keep a steady pace we will. If you have any questions or qualms, well, now is the time to do it.” Kuno nodded in response. “I’ll take care of them,” he said quietly, accepting the drink that was offered to him before going to each of the bodies and dragging them into a pile. He was curious about what the Kage wished to discuss with him, though he suspected it had to do with the fact that she kept bringing up the ANBU Black Ops. Now that she knew he wished to join them, it meant that he was on her radar so to speak. He would need to be promoted before he could ever hope to join their ranks and that meant that he needed to show that he could handle mission on his own, not just with the support of his Kage. It was certain to be an interesting conversation to say the least.

Once all of the bodies were together, Kuno stood back some distance from them and formed a series of hand seals before releasing a conflagration that enveloped the pile of corpses. After the initial explosion, the flames clung to the bodies and continued to burn them. He nodded with satisfaction and turned toward Midori, the grave look on his face finally softening as their mission was finally complete. “Those bodies should burn away to ash soon enough. There will be no evidence left.” With that, the young Uchiha looked up at the sigh and sighed quietly. “I guess we better get moving so that I can sleep in my own bed sooner rather than later.” He let out a chuckle and began to walk, addressing Midori as he did so. “I must ask, please don’t feel the need to apologize to me. I know any other shinobi worth his salt would have done the same as I did. If you’re on a mission, especially with the Kazekage as your leader, you do what needs to be done. As for the ANBU Black Ops…yes I do wish to join them once I have reached a sufficient skill level. I believe that my abilities lend me to such missions. If today was any indication, then I guess I would do alright among them; at least once I’m a little stronger and faster…”

He paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts but finding himself unable to do so. Instead, he turned back to Midori. “But you said that we had a great deal to discuss, so we might as well start now. What is it Midori?”

WC:754+1941=2695

Midori took her drink back after Kuno had finished with it, watching as he went and collected all the bodies, expression empty. As the pile was burnt, Midori watched for a moment, before turning away. After commenting that the mission was complete, and that he looked forward to returning to his own bed, Kuno spoke up further. “I must ask, please don’t feel the need to apologize to me. I know any other shinobi worth his salt would have done the same as I did. If you’re on a mission, especially with the Kazekage as your leader, you do what needs to be done. As for the ANBU Black Ops…yes I do wish to join them once I have reached a sufficient skill level. I believe that my abilities lend me to such missions. If today was any indication, then I guess I would do alright among them; at least once I’m a little stronger and faster…”

Then, he posed the question, asking what it is that she wanted to talk about. The Kazekage let out a gentle sigh, smiling lightly as she spoke and answered his query. “As somewhat amusingly to me, I actually want to talk to you about the ANBU. You seem rather keen to advance yourself through that direction, and in my opinion I would say you are not that far from sealing your own fate to it. So, while we are in the middle of nowhere, and with no risk of anyone hearing, I wish to first inform you of some technicalities that we will have to go through. First, understand that upon becoming one of the Black Ops, you accept to lose a part of yourself. You will give up your name, at least when on ANBU duty, and will instead become someone else. Giving out your identity as ANBU, or any information regarding it, is a crime of utmost treason, so know that doing so, you would be at risk of arrest, or perhaps even death, depending upon the severity of the action. The very nature of the ANBU is to live within the shadows, and for that reason, such a title can never exist within the light. That being said, you would still be expected to live out your normal life and duties outside of the more… Shadowy work. It would be counter productive to make ANBU as individuals simply disappear, for then questions would be asked, and their identities would be ever easier to discover. Furthermore, understand that you will not get recognition for the majority, if any, of the work you do. Some people may even despise the sight of you, although not recognize you. The shadows are a dark place to reside.”

As she continued to walk, the Kazekage took another swig of her water, looking out along the ever expanding horizon of sand. A long journey back to the village for sure. “That being said, I will admit, the work will probably suit you. You’re quiet, don’t abuse your position as a shinobi from what I’ve seen, and follow orders and rules. Furthermore, it comes with benefits of its own. There are some techniques, secrets, which are taught only to those of the ANBU; techniques and jutsu used specifically for their line of work. In addition to this, the mask will be made to your request, and the armor comes with. Not to mention, you may put in an application for a weapon. What would be a shinobi without the proper equipment, after all. So, I want you to think heavily on it. It’s a life changing decision to make.”

Pausing a moment to allow the information to sink in, Midori stretched her arms out, rolling her puppet prosthetic around as if readjusting a joint, before continuing. “That being said, don’t fall too far along a dark path, as I have warned you before. I told you that you would be joining my personal squad, and so I will have you know that the two you will be working with will be your allies and comrades. I want you to work with them as you have with me, and most importantly, become friends with them. Get a sense of the people within Sunagakure, and, well… Embrace the fact that you’re a part of the village.” Sighing, she turned to face him, yet still walking. “Any questions? It’s a long journey left to go after all.”

737 + 2388 = 3125

The moment Kuno saw the Kazekage sigh, he knew he was about to get a lengthy answer to his question. Not that Kuno minded in the slightest; detail had always been something that was important to him, even since he was a child working on the family farm in the Land of Fire. No, the fact that he knew he was going to get a good explanation of what Midori wanted to talk to him about made the Uchiha smile ever so slightly. Working with her had been an honour and a privilege that most people did not get and would never get in their lifetime, but Kuno had been around enough that he was beginning to pick up on her mannerisms. The thought simply pleased him as he listened to her reply. “As somewhat amusingly to me, I actually want to talk to you about the ANBU. You seem rather keen to advance yourself through that direction, and in my opinion I would say you are not that far from sealing your own fate to it. So, while we are in the middle of nowhere, and with no risk of anyone hearing, I wish to first inform you of some technicalities that we will have to go through. First, understand that upon becoming one of the Black Ops, you accept to lose a part of yourself. You will give up your name, at least when on ANBU duty, and will instead become someone else. Giving out your identity as ANBU, or any information regarding it, is a crime of utmost treason, so know that doing so, you would be at risk of arrest, or perhaps even death, depending upon the severity of the action. The very nature of the ANBU is to live within the shadows, and for that reason, such a title can never exist within the light. That being said, you would still be expected to live out your normal life and duties outside of the more… Shadowy work. It would be counter productive to make ANBU as individuals simply disappear, for then questions would be asked, and their identities would be ever easier to discover. Furthermore, understand that you will not get recognition for the majority, if any, of the work you do. Some people may even despise the sight of you, although not recognize you. The shadows are a dark place to reside.”

Kuno mulled over his sensei’s words as they continued along their way. He did not have anything to say in response just yet, but her words were definitely sinking in. He had no qualms about a life of secrecy, considering that he had nobody left that he was willing to confide in. Though he had to admit, he was happy that he would be able to continue with his normal duties as well. Working alongside the other ninja of the village meant a lot to Kuno, because even though he did not trust them enough to open up to them, he could work with them so that they would grow into strong protectors of his him. The Kage took another drink from her water before continuing.  “That being said, I will admit, the work will probably suit you. You’re quiet, don’t abuse your position as a shinobi from what I’ve seen, and follow orders and rules. Furthermore, it comes with benefits of its own. There are some techniques, secrets, which are taught only to those of the ANBU; techniques and jutsu used specifically for their line of work. In addition to this, the mask will be made to your request, and the armor comes with. Not to mention, you may put in an application for a weapon. What would be a shinobi without the proper equipment, after all. So, I want you to think heavily on it. It’s a life changing decision to make.”

It was…refreshing to hear Midori encouraging the path that he had chosen. For much of his life, Kuno had been told he could not be what he desired to be. But now, when he had finally found a path that he was suited to, somebody in a position of authority was telling him to for it. Not only that, but the information on secret techniques that he would be able to use was an exciting prospect for the chuunin, and made him want to reach that stage in his ability all the more. Even as Midori continued to speak to him, Kuno’s mind was racing with the possibilities. Perhaps he would even be able to use his new found abilities to find his father and put an end to him for what he had done. That was the hope at least. He had just started paying attention once again when Midori began to speak about the importance of friends and being part of a the village, concluding with asking him if he had any questions.

The Uchiha scratched the back of his head for a moment, mulling over all that had been said and trying to find the words to respond to his Kage. Eventually, he was able to form some semblance of sense from the thoughts running through his mind. “I do have questions, of course. But first, I just wanted to thank you for the faith you are showing in me. Even since I was a genin, you have entrusted me with special tasks and important duties that I know for a fact not all of the other chuunin have not had a chance to experience. It has really…solidified my love for this place. Knowing that the leader of the village cares about my progress is invaluable, and though there are times that I miss the Land of Fire, I know that Sunagakure no Sato is my home now. So again, thank you.“ He paused for a moment and smiled to Midori, a genuine, soft smile that he tried to show as little as possible. He did not let the moment last very long though; he did not want the Kage thinking he had gone soft on her all of the sudden. Pulling a piece of jerky from a pouch he had brought along, the young Uchiha chewed on it for a moment before bringing up the questions that he had. “As far as questions go…I do have a few questions about the ANBU position, but most of them are logistical more than anything else. And perhaps we can get to those closer to the end of out journey, but for now I have a question about you, Lady Kazekage.”

Kuno tore off another piece of the jerky with his teeth as he continued. “Suna was without a Kazekage for some time. It was a dark time for the village, and you coming to power has changed a great deal. But I have to ask, why you? Understand, I’m not complaining. I’m just trying to understand. You aren’t much older than myself but you’ve managed to be come so skilled that you are the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sands, which is no small feat. So how did you come to this position?”

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