Chapter 71 - ANBU

*I've only shown them around half of my real capabilities, who knows if the Akatsuki has some leaks here the same way they have in the Hidden Sand... Keeping the Sharingan as a last trump-card was a good idea of mine, huh.*

*You will need some extra hidden power to make sure the Akatsuki can't take you by surprise. Remember, you are still behind them a bit, as you said they have many top ninjas at their disposal, not to mention this 'Pain', who has such a strong and direct link all the way back to the old man... You can't mess this up, as it doesn't seem like your little friends will be strong enough to help you."

*Yeah, true, they need a lot more time to actually become a good force with considerable strength, but I can't sit on my exploits for that long. I've already made my move, so the Akatsuki might hasten their plans.*

By the time Dix and Kurama finished chatting they arrived to the ANBU headquarters, which wasn't as hidden as Dix thought it would be. He was led trough a few rooms all the was to a chamber full of lockers and boxes.

"Your locker will be the 52nd. You will find a set of clothes in it which you must use at all times when you are on duty. Take off all your miscellaneous items and lock them away, anything that can identify you must stay here. Change into the uniform, then I'll take you to get your tattoo done." he said in a monotone tone then stepped out of the room.

Dix did as instructed, he didn't have to lock anything away, as he had no accessories or other stuff that one would wear just for fun. In a minute he was already sitting in a chair next to another ANBU member who didn't have a mask on. He was a middle-aged looking man, he was the one to tattoo the symbol of the konoha ANBU into his shoulder. Unfortunately the method used to get this done was an old one, which was a painful and long process. During the whole procedure he was 'consoled' by the old man.

"Hehe, fresh meat, huh? You are quite young, are you not? I thought since the last incident the Hokage would not recruit kids into ANBU. Well maybe the new one doesn't know better yet. Hey kid, are you going to kill your whole clan too?"

"Uhh.. Not like... I have many family members left... Uh... I am actually the last one of my clan already... So there aren't many I could kill... heh..." Dix answered, struggling to talk through the pain.

"I see, you were quite quick on your feet, right? Hehehe, now... tell me, which squad were you put into? Just so I know if I have to request a transfer or not... Hehe..." the old man said laughingly, he was obviously very good at entertaining himself.

"Don't worry, I will... act alone. I answer directly to Lady Tsunade... So you don't have to worry, its not my knife... that will find its way into your back... hehe..." Dix laughed too, trying to suppress another wave of pain caused by the funnily laughing man next to him.

"Eh, really... are you now? That is quite rare, isn't it?" he looked back at the one who led Dix there before, who also stayed around to see how the kid handles himself. He was kinda responsible for him, so he took a few minutes to have a chat. He just nodded as a response to the old man's question. "Damn, kid. You must be one of a kind... Huh... Wonder why you are held in such a high regard. Well whatever, we are done, Dezo you can take him back now." said the old man as he finished. Dix just stood up and moved after the already leaving ANBU member. He was a bit light-headed due to the pain, which he never had to get used to, but he soldiered on without complaining. Soon they arrived back to the Hokage's Office.

Dix was wearing the usual uniform of the konoha ANBU, which consist of black clothing, a grey flak jacket, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals with spikes for travelling into mountainous regions and three ninja pouches on his waist. He left the sword that is the part of the standard ANBU equipment in the locker as he couldn't use it, and even if he could it was a low-grade sword that would be useless anyway. He also had a mask representing a fox, which he chose solely because it seemed ironic that he will hide his identity with a fox mask.

"You are back, good. Considering your strength you will usually act on your own, doing missions that none other but I can issue. Also, only the two of us will know of what you do at all times, no one else will get informed of your missions or current status. First we will capitalize on the fact that you can summon many very strong clones. You will have to summon around a hundred to spread out across the borders around the Land of Fire and monitor the rival nations' movement. You will have to stop anyone that violates the borders without permission. Handle them as you see fit. Keep one of your instances nearby at all times so I can communicate with you without problems." Tsunade gave a quick briefing to Dix as soon as he entered.

"Understood, Lady Tsunade." he answered. It was a smooth relationship. Dix was respectful, but also very scary thanks to his unfathomable strength. Tsunade was a strong willed but intelligent woman, so as long as she was treated well cooperating with her is very easy. She was mostly portrayed as an annoying person in the anime, probably thanks to Naruto. Now, given the proper respect she was really easy to work with.

Next Dix summon 6 clones that teleported away to the closest point of the borders, then started rapidly multiplying up to around a hundred. Soon, at the end of the last iteration a clone teleported back, then stood to the side as the one in charge of communication.

"It is done, Lady Tsunade, the clones are quickly spreading trough the countryside."

"Good. As for you, " she acknowledged the clone, then turned towards the real one " you can choose if you want to stay in Konoha and handle peace-keeping duties or go to foreign lands and gather intelligence of things like what happened at the last invasion. I believe your claim that you are good at stealth, so I can trust you with infiltrating other nations. But don't expect any official help from us. If you are found you either escape or die. That is the usual ANBU process, but I believe you can at least run away no matter what."

"That is certainly true, Lady Tsunade. I don't know of anyone that can prevent spatial ninjutsu in the world. As for the choice, right now I would like to stay around and clean up locally before moving out on missions. Am I allowed to investigate on my own or will I have to consult with you?"

"If you want to stay here you will have to take a partner with you who can supervise your work for now. You are quite young as you are, while your exploits are great and you are extremely strong, I can't trust you to have jurisdiction over civilian crimes or questionable ninja-related cases. For now you have to put up with this and take a senior ANBU member along." Tsunade was prepared for many things as this was the first time she tried to restrict Dix. She didn't actually know how he will react, but she was kind of afraid of the consequences.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade. I will do as you say. I will be happy to learn from a senior." came the answer.

Tsunade had to suppress a huge sigh when she heard her fears were groundless. She was afraid this kid, whose power is close to being the highest in history, is simply a mindless killing machine. But it seems like she will be able to restrict him, at least partially, for now. This was one of the reasons she took the job, so she can do something with this extreme natural hazard walking on two legs. She felt like if left alone, this 'kid' can be as much of a disaster as the Akatsuki itself.

"I'm glad you understand. Come back tomorrow morning. I need some time to find and brief a good candidate to be your senior partner." she said, trying to keep the color of her voice natural.

"Understood." Dix answered simply, then used FTGT to move away. The communications-clone also moved out of the room, but stayed around so he can respond if Tsunade needs him. He could only hear her if she raises her voice. Because of this when they left, Tsunade let that huge sigh out and fell back into her armed chair, seemingly quite tired. Shizune was also there, but she wasn't really affected by the conversation, as she only remotely knew how strong Dix really is.

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University is stacked on me quite heavily, so be patient, I'll try to write new chapters as soon as I can. I don't really want to set up a schedule, even if it means I could stockpile, as this is simply a hobby for me, and I don't see a dime out of it. I write when I have the time and publish it immediately when its done.

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