A dark shadow stealthily slipped across the vacant streets of Konoha in the dead of night. No one who was used to seeing him in broad daylight would have believed that it was the same person. Gone were his flamboyant clothes and casual cheer, replaced with impeccable black ninja attire that covered his whole body, especially his dazzling blond hair, and a stern cautious mind wary of his surroundings.
Haruto needed practice, but he couldn't risk showing off his moves in broad daylight, not with the new arsenal of techniques he wanted to try. Now that darkness had fallen, the aspiring youngster was eager to try them out. He arrived at Training Field 43, a secluded training ground next to the Forest of Death, in record time. Sensing no one in the vicinity, Haruto proceeded to test out the new techniques he read about.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
Despite his best efforts, Haruto only succeeded in creating a whiff of smoke. The blond frowned as he mentally worked through each hand seal. Taking a deep breath, he tried it again, though he dramatically slowed down the speed of his hand motions this time around.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
To his satisfaction, a giant red fireball erupted from his mouth. It was such a shame that he could not tell anybody about this except maybe the old man. He doubted the Uchiha clan would be too pleased about him learning one of "their" techniques. Sometimes he wondered why he had bothered to try and save Konoha's number one arrogant clan. Not even the Hyuuga clan was as bad.
Haruto played around with his new technique, trying slightly different motions and movements to optimize its effect. Once done, he then went through the motions a few more dozen times, gradually increasing the speed and pace of his casting. Finally satisfied with himself, he moved on to the next technique. While the great fireball was an excellent chuunin level, short-ranged fire technique, mastering the next one would give him a medium-ranged attack.
"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!"
So absorbed was Haruto in his task that he almost missed the trio of incoming shuriken; "almost" being the operative word. The young blond moved by instinct. His body's center of gravity instantly shifted to the left as he launched into a forward 360 degree twist. Two of the shuriken flew harmlessly over his head while the third impacted the ground after missing his kneecap.
"A ninja should always be aware of his surroundings," the tallish figure that materialized before him chided.
"I noticed you long before I even got here." Haruto could feel the person smirking behind that blasted porcelain mask.
"You lie. If you knew I was here, you wouldn't have exerted so much energy trying out those ninjutsu of yours."
The young blond winced, mentally kicking himself for that foolish mistake. "I was acting that way to get you to underestimate me. I did avoid your attack, didn't I?"
The tester had to admit, the little fellow sure was tenacious.
"We'll see about that."
That was the only warning Haruto got before he found a foot flying towards his stomach. He blocked easily, somersaulted away to entice pursuit before bouncing back with a flurry of punches. The ANBU tester easily blocked the attacks but was still impressed by the rapid comeback. And he only grew more impressed with each passing second.
The boy had exceptional stamina and possessed a creative mind able to put together and implement attack plans on the fly. The veteran ANBU quickly noticed that the boy never fell for the same attack twice and never attacked the same way more than once. But all that was hardly enough to defeat an elite ANBU commander. Haruto found himself sweating on the ground with a kunai pressed against his neck within ten minutes.
"That was a very good display of taijutsu, far better than what anyone would expect of someone your age."
But not good enough. Haruto thought with visible gloom. Better than mediocre was hardly the praise he was going for.
"Do you know who I am, Haruto Uzumaki?"
"Yeah, the ANBU guy that hid in the room when I saw the old man the other day." The young boy proclaimed loudly with a big smirk.
If the ANBU was surprised, he did not show it, which gave Haruto pause. The blond was not absolutely positive about it, but his instinct told him he was right. His instinct also told him he got one up on his evaluator with that declaration. Unfortunately, with that blasted mask covering the guy's face, he could not be one hundred percent certain.
"The Hokage was right." Tenzou was indeed impressed, but the ANBU resolved to do something about the boy's lack of etiquette. It just would not do to have one of his subordinates address the village's revered leader in such a crude fashion.
As for Haruto, the masked man's response was equally surprising. He was expecting a far longer and gruesome test. On the other hand, if this guy was smart then he must already have an idea of what Haruto was capable of.
"Are you aware of why we are here?"
For a second, Haruto almost pulled the dumb guy routine but he managed to reign in that particular impulse. "Yeah, I get it."
"Excellent. Then sign here."
Haruto took the offered writing tool and looked at the scroll the guy produced. He hesitated… for about half a second.
"Congratulations, Haruto Uzumaki. With the Hokage's blessing, you have been chosen for special shinobi training and been given chuunin rank clearance. You are now, unofficially, a shinobi of Konoha. I am Vice Captain Tenzou of ANBU Assault Team Alpha. I will be serving as your sponsor and chief instructor-advisor. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Awesome!"
When the elated blond boy proceeded to do a jig, Tenzou decided that enough was enough.
"Given the need for secrecy and the fact that I'm still a serving member of the ANBU, our meetings will be infrequent and limited to times such as today. You are aware that you'll still be responsible for the bulk of the learning."
Haruto nodded enthusiastically. He hardly expected or wanted to be babied.
"The primary goal will be to train you to the point where you join my colleagues and participate in select missions as a special liaison to ANBU."
Haruto perked up in interest. The normal avenue to becoming an ANBU was long, tedious and time consuming even for the very best. But there was an accelerated experimental program, one open to only a select few. These chosen ones were called special liaisons to ANBU or Special ANBU for simplicity's sake. They were allowed to take ANBU class missions despite lacking the requisite experience and high level ninja rank. It was said that Uchiha Itachi had been accepted as a Special ANBU just one month after being made chuunin.
"Now, the Hokage informed me that you have both a powerful analytical mind and a photographic memory that allows you to learn simply by observing others."
Haruto nodded with a bit of pride. He would not be bragging if he said he was the best thing next to a Hyuuga or an Uchiha.
"However, I would hope that you are aware of the difference between knowledge and wisdom," Tenzou continued.
Haruto answered immediately, "The difference between knowledge and wisdom is experience." It was a simple mantra that warned people not to be cocky. Of course he knew it. He must have seen that proverb at least three dozen times. It was not that he didn't buy it so much as he couldn't do anything about it. He found it very unlikely that the old man was going to start sending him on missions so that he can get experience.
Once done with his oration, the ANBU captain pulled out a couple of meaty scrolls and dropped them in front of Haruto.
"Learn as much as you can from these scrolls about stealth and mirages during your free time. Ninja inside of ANBU receive training that is radically different from those outside of our ranks and it is important for you to see that. I can gain you entry to the ANBU training grounds, but I will do so only after you show me that you can stay hidden from my colleagues."
Haruto was impressed and very pleased. Realizing that this guy was taking him seriously, the aspiring ninja mentally promised to work extra hard.
"Be aware of one special exception, and that is my captain. If you sense him at all at any time, leave the restricted premise immediately. Captain Kakashi Hatake happens to be the only non-Uchiha to carry the Sharingan."
"Is there no way to hide oneself from the Sharingan or the Byakugan?"
The question gave the ANBU momentary pause. Surely, the young boy knew of both bloodline limits' abilities, and yet he was perfectly willing to challenge conventional wisdom. "I would not say it is impossible, but I'm not aware of any methods of deception that could fool either limits."
Haruto nodded, but did not pose further questions.
"As for the time remaining in our meeting, I will use it to teach you one technique which will be very useful to you. Have you heard of the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"
"Is that similar to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"
"Yes, it is. Do you happen to know it?" the ANBU officer asked, mildly intrigued.
Haruto shook his head. "I tried to look it up, but only found trace notes about it."
"Information about the Kage Bunshin is kept hidden for good reasons. The Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is an A-rank forbidden technique. While the normal Kage Bunshin is only B-rank, it uses the same hand seal so that information is kept out of the public archives as well."
"You'll teach me the Tajuu Kage Bunshin?" Haruto asked.
Tenzou nodded. "Strictly speaking, the Tajuu Kage Bunshin is not an offensive technique though it can be used to deadly effect offensively. It is forbidden because of its exceedingly high chakra uptake which makes its usage dangerous and even lethal for those without a large chakra reserve. From your previous display of jounin level ninjutsu, I believe you would be able to utilize this technique without too much trouble." The ANBU cleanly sidestepped the question of how a young child like him was able to wield such an advanced technique. "We'll start with the Kage Bunshin. Observe the hand seal I make very carefully. Start small with just a single clone."
In less than an hour, Haruto succeeded in calling forth over three hundred clones at one time. It was a credit to his ANBU training that Tenzou managed to keep his voice completely even and neutral.
"Now, are you aware of the benefits of this technique?"
Haruto nodded and carefully recited what he knew about memory transfer from clone to person, as well as the dangers of memory dumps overloading the nervous system. Notably impressed, the ANBU offered some final advice before dismissing the boy.