ANBU rules were a lot to take in, but they boiled down to a few blunt principles. Talk less, do more. Absolute obedience. Mission comes first. Simple and clear, but even for Taiichi it took the whole afternoon to get through everything.
It wasn't the difficulty that slowed him down. It was the sheer volume. New hand signals. Secret seals. Code-breaking techniques. Hidden procedures only ANBU used. None of it could be written down or taken outside the base. Even with his memory, he could only absorb the basics in one day. Finishing it all would probably take three or four. Anyone else would have needed four or five times longer.
By the time Taiichi—now going by the codename Monkey—stood in front of Hiruzen again with Eagle at his side, the sun was already setting.
"Monkey reporting, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen rolled the new name around on his tongue and smiled. "Monkey, huh? Start tomorrow. You'll be my personal guard for a while."
Taiichi pushed his hood back and adjusted the monkey mask on his face. The thing was already uncomfortable. "Wait, Hokage-sama, I haven't even finished learning the rules yet and you want me working right away?"
"You little brat." Hiruzen pointed at him with his pipe, still smiling. "Don't think I don't know how you usually train. With all those shadow clones you keep around, you can spare one to study the procedures while the real you works."
Eagle, standing off to the side in his own mask, gave the tiniest tilt of his head toward Taiichi before going perfectly still again, like he was trying to become furniture.
Taiichi didn't bother hiding his glance. The guy had been a block of ice all afternoon—only spoke when he had to. If he hadn't moved just now, Taiichi would've wondered if the man even had curiosity.
He turned back to Hiruzen. He knew there was no getting out of this. He was in ANBU now. The assignments came from the top.
"Fine. Shadow clone can study. I'll be the guard."
Hiruzen tapped his pipe on the desk, satisfied. "Good. Get some rest tonight. Report here at seven tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Taiichi clicked his heels together in an exaggerated salute and strolled out while Hiruzen muttered something under his breath.
Once the door closed, Hiruzen looked at Eagle. "Well?"
"No complaints," Eagle reported. "He studied the rules and procedures without resistance. Stayed focused the whole time."
Hiruzen nodded to himself. That was good enough. If Taiichi was still willing to follow orders, he was still on the right side.
Taiichi, of course, had no idea about that conversation. Even if he had, it wouldn't have changed anything. The moment he got pulled back from the front lines, he knew the higher-ups wanted him out of the spotlight for a while. He was fine with that. After nearly two years of nonstop fighting, he had new ideas and techniques he needed time to develop. The front lines didn't give anyone that kind of breathing room. ANBU work, busy or not, only required one body or one clone at a time. The rest of his time was his to use.
After finishing his evening training, Taiichi went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be different.
The next morning he arrived at the Hokage's office right on time. Hiruzen was already at his desk, working.
"You're punctual," Hiruzen noted, glancing at the clock. "Five seconds early."
"Strict timing is part of the job," Taiichi answered through the mask, voice a little muffled.
Hiruzen chuckled and pointed toward the shadowed corner behind the bookshelf. "You know what a guard does. Stay inside today and keep an eye on things."
Taiichi nodded and vanished into the corner with Body Flicker. He let his chakra fade and blended into the shadows using basic Yin Release. It wasn't as advanced as the Nara clan's shadow techniques, but it was more than enough to stay hidden in a room.
Hiruzen's day started immediately—signing documents, listening to reports, meeting with shinobi, holding meetings with the village elders. Taiichi watched from the shadows and felt his scalp prickle. He couldn't imagine living like this every day. The paperwork alone would drive him insane.
He also noticed something else. Hiruzen worked hard, but his decision-making moved at a glacial pace. A simple discussion with Homura Mitokado about expanding Root's personnel dragged on for two hours. They argued over one extra person like it was a matter of life and death—funding, logistics, regulations. Taiichi started wondering if they were deliberately stalling just to avoid the mountain of documents waiting on the desk.
When Homura finally left looking pleased with himself, the office went quiet again.
"Monkey, come out," Hiruzen said. "It's break time. Keep me company."
Taiichi stepped out of the shadows and walked around the desk.
"How's the guard duty treating you?" Hiruzen asked, lighting his pipe.
"Easy. No fighting, just watching your back. I can live with it."
Hiruzen took a slow drag. "You've fought on every front these last two years. I pulled you back because I could see what that kind of constant pressure does to people. War makes you stronger, but if you stay wound too tight for too long, something breaks. You understand that, right?"
Taiichi played along, nodding and looking appropriately grateful. Hiruzen seemed satisfied.
The rest of the afternoon passed the same way—more meetings, more documents. Taiichi stayed hidden and watched.
Then, late in the day, a messenger scroll arrived from the southern front.
Hiruzen read it once. Then he didn't move. He sat completely still, pipe forgotten in his hand, eyes blank. Taiichi, watching from the shadows, felt his own curiosity spike. He couldn't see the scroll from where he stood, and there was no chakra fluctuation, so he stayed put.
After a long time, Hiruzen's hand finally twitched. He relit the pipe and his eyes sharpened again.
"Send for Homura Mitokado."
A Nara shinobi stepped out of another shadowed corner—Taiichi had noticed him earlier—and left without a word.
When Homura arrived, he looked ready to argue about something from their morning meeting. One look at Hiruzen's face made him swallow whatever he'd planned to say.
"What happened?" Homura asked instead.
Hiruzen handed him the scroll. Homura read it quickly. His expression shifted, but he recovered fast. He rolled the scroll up and set it on the desk.
"This was always going to happen," he said. "If we want the war to end sooner, some sacrifices are necessary."
"I know that," Hiruzen replied quietly. "But the shinobi on the front lines and the people here in the village won't see it the same way."
"Whether they like it or not, the war with Sand is over," Homura said. "We need to pull Jiraiya's forces out and reinforce the northern and western fronts. Those are the real priorities now."
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "We'll have to manage the narrative carefully. I don't want unrest in the village. Root can handle that part."
They spent the next few minutes working out the details. When Homura left, Hiruzen sat alone again, staring at nothing. Taiichi could feel the heaviness coming off him—older, more tired than before.
The next day, rumors started spreading through the village. Wood Leaf was surrounded on all sides. The village was in crisis. They were so short on people they were going to graduate academy students early and send them to the front. The daimyo had cut off funding. The village was broke.
For three days the rumors ran wild. ANBU and Root stayed out of sight. People who didn't know better grew scared. The streets felt quieter than usual.
On the fourth day, the official announcement came.
Wood Leaf and Hidden Sand had signed a peace treaty. Both sides would exchange prisoners and withdraw their forces from the border.
The village exploded with relief. Shops offered discounts. People hung lanterns and celebrated in the streets like it was New Year's. After three days of fear, the sudden peace hit like a drug.
Taiichi walked through the crowded streets late at night. The party showed no signs of slowing down. He had to admit Homura Mitokado knew how to play the game. The treaty was humiliating—no apology, no reparations, just a prisoner swap after all the blood and money spent. But by letting the fear build first and then dropping the news, they made people grateful instead of angry.
The major clans weren't fooled, of course. They had real intelligence. But ANBU had visited every clan head the day the rumors started, and after private meetings with Hiruzen, they all stayed quiet.
Taiichi kept walking, watching the celebration. For the first time in a long while, he felt uncertain. Maybe he'd been too passive. If he'd pushed harder for more power and influence, would things have turned out differently? Would this treaty even exist?
He didn't have an answer. He just kept walking through the lights and noise, wondering what came next.