"No, this is entirely my fault."
Aaron lowered his head, his voice heavy with guilt, putting on a performance so convincing it bordered on theatrical.
"I let ambition get the better of me. I misused the authority the leader entrusted to me. I deserve the harshest punishment."
The squad captain felt a bead of sweat form.
If I don't say something soon, this guy might actually try to fall on his own sword right here…
He quickly stepped in to calm him down.
"Take it easy, Morishita. You made mistakes, sure but your plan also worked in our favor."
He crossed his arms, thinking it through.
"The attackers were most likely operatives from Root, the same group we turned down a few days ago."
"The false intel you leaked toward Konohagakure must have reached them. They took the bait."
"They stormed the fake archive, thought they'd hit the jackpot, destroyed it and left immediately."
He let out a dry laugh.
"Honestly… those Root operatives played themselves."
Aaron nodded sincerely.
"They really did."
Especially Danzō Shimura, he added silently.
Backstabbing me like that? I'll make sure this ends up being your worst decision.
The captain frowned slightly.
"But now that the archive's gone, what about the next step? Do we rebuild it?"
Aaron shook his head.
"Think about it," he said calmly. "Root is still part of Konoha. If they went straight for the archive, they clearly had a goal."
"There's a good chance they already took the documents we prepared."
The captain blinked.
"Then why would they do that? Weren't they offering to help us block Konoha spies before?"
"That was before," Aaron replied. "We rejected them. Now they're holding a grudge."
"If they take those documents back to Konoha, the worst-case scenario is we get pressured into paying reparations… or even dragged into a conflict."
The captain paused then suddenly realized something.
"…Wait. Doesn't that mean… things ended up exactly how we planned?"
Despite all the chaos, the outcome aligned perfectly with their original strategy.
Aaron smiled faintly.
"Exactly. Root probably thinks they've pulled off a clever move."
"But in reality, they just helped us push the plan forward."
"Since the documents were 'stolen' this way, Konoha will be even less likely to question their authenticity."
The captain looked around at the ruined ANBU compound and sighed.
"Still… what a waste. This place took years and a fortune to build."
Aaron's expression darkened appropriately.
"Yeah… it's a real loss."
Then, with perfect timing, he added:
"I'll donate everything I have to help rebuild the ANBU."
The captain stared at him in silence.
He had to admit
Morishita's loyalty to Kusagakure was on another level.
If it were me? No way I'm giving up all my money, he thought.
I've got expenses. Staff to pay. A certain lifestyle to maintain…
Not long after, the village leader arrived in person, accompanied by senior ANBU officers.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw the destruction.
The entire area looked like it had been hit by a natural disaster.
Suppressing his anger, he asked coldly:
"What happened here?"
The squad captain stepped forward.
"We were attacked. Fortunately, the damage is limited, the only major loss was the newly constructed decoy archive."
Aaron immediately stepped in.
"Leader, the responsibility is mine," he said firmly.
"I redeployed too many ANBU units trying to capture the spy who attacked Lord Aonuma. That left headquarters vulnerable."
The leader shifted his gaze to the captain.
"Explain."
The captain nodded.
"Morishita made a serious mistake, but his intentions were good."
"He was also the first to respond when the attack began."
"And most importantly, the false intelligence he leaked ensured that our real classified files remained untouched."
Aaron blinked.
Wait… is this guy secretly working for Konoha? Why is he defending me so hard?
His original plan had been simple:
Take the blame → receive punishment → use it as an excuse to "die" and exit cleanly.
After all, if "Morishita" died, that had nothing to do with Aaron.
But now
Things weren't going according to script.
"No," Aaron insisted dramatically.
"I've committed a grave error. I'm not fit to remain an ANBU captain."
"I request to be removed from my position."
The leader considered it and gave a slight nod.
That seemed reasonable.
The mistake had been serious. A temporary removal might help him cool off.
But before he could decide
Several ANBU spoke up at once.
"Leader, please reconsider!"
"Morishita has given everything to this unit, he deserves recognition, not dismissal!"
Another stepped forward.
"I used to wonder how someone so young became a captain. But after serving under him, I understand."
"When the rest of us slack off, he's always patrolling the base."
Aaron: …That was reconnaissance.
Another added:
"Every time I enter his office, he's buried in documents."
Yeah, searching for intelligence…
"And just now, he even offered to donate all his savings to rebuild ANBU!"
It's not even my money anyway…
More voices joined in, all defending him.
Aaron was genuinely stunned.
If not for his sharp perception, he might have thought the entire unit had been infiltrated by Konoha.
Seeing this, the leader frowned slightly.
He hadn't even announced a punishment yet, why did it feel like everyone was acting as if he was about to severely punish Morishita?
More importantly…
Morishita's influence is getting a bit too strong, he thought.
Have I relied on him too much lately?
After a brief pause, the leader made his decision.
"If you no longer wish to serve in ANBU, then take some time off," he said.
"You've been working nonstop anyway."
Aaron nodded.
"Understood."
Then he added cautiously:
"Just be careful. Don't give Root another opening."
The leader's expression turned cold as he nodded.
Everything pointed toward Root.
Even his own captains had reached the same conclusion.
If it were Konoha as a whole, that would be one thing…
But a single faction like Root daring to pull this?
He let out a quiet, dangerous chuckle.
Kusagakure's ANBU had… ways of dealing with that.
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