"Yeah!" the three of them answered in perfect unison.
After Aaron casually pulled off a display like that, only an idiot wouldn't realize how powerful those two forms of power were. Of course they wanted to learn.
Armament Haki could harden the body, boosting both offense and defense, it was practically made for combat.
Observation Haki let you sense presence and even predict incoming attacks. It was like a top-tier sensory ninjutsu, the kind every shinobi dreams of mastering.
Aaron smiled. "Good. Dismissed. Get some rest, we've got a mission tomorrow."
Inuzuka Midori's face immediately fell. She slumped dramatically. "Captain Aaron, that's just cruel. You get us all hyped up and then leave us hanging."
Kakashi, however, wasn't nearly as pessimistic. He hadn't known Aaron long, but their recent interactions told him one thing: Aaron didn't make empty promises.
Sure, secret arts were precious but that didn't mean they were untouchable.
Take the body-flicker technique "Shave" he'd shown him before. That wasn't some common Academy trick, yet Aaron had handed over the training method without hesitation.
Aaron waved a hand. "Hey, don't slander me. I'm not refusing to teach you, you just haven't met the standard yet.
"Haki isn't easy to cultivate. I'll set up proper training for you. Don't overthink it."
In truth, he was just short on points.
Haki was originally a power unique to the world of One Piece, but thanks to his Whitebeard template, he could grant others the potential to awaken it.
The problem? It wasn't cheap. Three thousand points per person. He'd already spent nearly everything increasing his synchronization with Whitebeard, pushing it to 44%.
Fortunately, every week he received points based on Konoha's overall prosperity. Last week alone, he'd collected eleven thousand.
Individual shinobi growing stronger also generated points. Each contribution was small, but when you added up the whole village, it wasn't insignificant.
"Yesss! I knew Captain Aaron was a responsible, dependable man! haimaru, make sure you grow up to be like him."
The moment she heard there'd be a training plan, Midori flipped her attitude instantly.
"Hey, hey, weren't you just calling me cruel?" Aaron shot back.
"Hehe." She gave an awkward grin, trying to pass it off with charm.
Aaron couldn't be bothered arguing with a teenage girl. After announcing the assembly time, he left.
He was headed to see Minato to pick up a mission.
The Anbu was a special branch of the village, and its missions differed from the usual assignments handled by standard shinobi teams.
Since Anbu operated directly under the Hokage, all missions were issued by the Hokage personally.
Ordinary Anbu squads received assignments through their captains, who distributed tasks down the chain. But Minato had only made Aaron a squad leader as a temporary measure. So he granted him a special privilege: direct access to mission briefings.
And if you had special privileges, why not use them?
He wasn't exactly close with the other Anbu captains. If he went through normal channels, he'd probably get stuck with endless patrol duty.
You didn't climb the ranks by walking laps around the village. You needed results.
Inside the Hokage's office, Aaron saw Minato buried beneath stacks of paperwork and chuckled.
"For someone known as the fastest shinobi alive, you look pretty swamped. I heard Kushina complaining yesterday, you've been staying at the office some nights."
Minato scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Yeah… it's been hectic. After the war, the village took heavy losses. There's a mountain of paperwork every day.
"But you're right. I've been neglecting Kushina lately. Thanks for the reminder."
Aaron waved it off and got to the point.
Minato paused, as if remembering something. He pulled a document from the pile and looked it over.
"You came at the perfect time. I was just wondering who to assign this to. If it's you, I can relax."
Now that sounded promising. "What's the mission?"
"Do you remember the three shinobi you and Kakashi brought back a few days ago?"
Aaron nodded. He wasn't suffering from early-onset dementia.
"The Intelligence Division finished extracting their memories. They're Anbu from the Hidden Grass Village."
"The Hidden Grass?" Aaron's eyes lit up. "So what, we're assassinating their leadership?"
Now this was interesting.
Ever since synchronizing with Whitebeard's power, he hadn't faced any true high-level opponents. The Hidden Grass Village might be small, but among the minor villages it was relatively strong, with several elite jōnin.
Its leader definitely wouldn't be weak, probably above elite jōnin level.
If he wanted to truly gauge his strength within the Kage tier, he needed a real fight.
Minato shook his head. "If it were that simple…"
He explained, "This has escalated into an issue between nations. I held a council meeting with the elders.
"My proposal was to send a powerful shinobi as a deterrent and demand compensation.
"The Third Hokage felt that was unwise. We've just signed ceasefires with Iwa and Suna. He argued it wasn't the time to stir up more conflict, especially since Grass is technically one of our allies. He believes we should negotiate first."
"And Danzo?" Aaron asked.
"Elder Danzo wanted to deploy a strike force and make an example of them."
Aaron burst out laughing, catching the helpless undertone in Minato's voice.
"For a Hokage, not many people seem eager to follow your lead."
Minato smiled faintly. "I suppose I'm still too young. Too inexperienced."
Whether it was subtle sarcasm or genuine self-reflection was hard to tell.
"So whose plan won?"
"Elder Homura and Elder Koharu supported the Third's proposal. Danzo dropped his own plan and backed mine instead.
"In the end, we reached a compromise.
"Since the intelligence came from memory extraction, we don't have hard evidence tying them officially to Grass.
"If we can obtain documented proof that the three are Anbu operatives from Grass, we'll implement my plan, apply pressure and demand compensation.
"If we fail to secure proof, we'll follow the Third's route and pursue diplomatic talks."
Minato looked up.
"I've classified this as an S-rank mission. Anbu records are among the highest-level secrets in any village. The difficulty and danger are extreme.
"Aaron… will you take it?"
He grinned.
"S-rank? The highest tier? Of course I'll take it. I didn't join Anbu to stay a squad leader forever."
If he wanted to reform Anbu, he needed authority, at least second only to the Hokage himself.
After all, strengthening Anbu meant increasing Konoha's prosperity. And that meant more points.
His goals and the village's interests aligned perfectly.
Minato smiled as well. "I'd hate to see you stuck as a squad leader."
He had worked hard to bring Aaron into Anbu. Letting his talents go unused would be a waste.
The two men met each other's gaze and laughed.
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