The Anbu, established by Tobirama, has begun to take shape. Its members are all excellent ninjas selected from each ninja family. Following Tobirama's model inspired by the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi combination, it is set as a four-person team, with one captain and three team members. To facilitate the operation of Anbu, their attire has also been improved.
In the Warring States Period, a ninja's battle outfit was a light armor. While it provided excellent defense, it also posed a certain burden on movement. Of course, for Kage-Level like Hashirama and Madara, light armor was not a big deal, but taking into account the changes in fighting styles, Tobirama redesigned the battle outfit.
On the basis of light armor, the weight is further reduced, but a certain level of defense is retained. In Fumori Masaki's impression, this is the transition between the war armor of the Warring States period and the later Anbu strong armor. Presumably, with the Anbu's development, the armor will become lighter and lighter until it matches the dark clothing decades later.
What made Fumori Masaki a little fortunate was that, at this time, the Anbu did not have the covert duty of espionage, so there was no need to wear those animal pattern masks. To be honest, they were quite unsightly.
Fumori Masaki felt he would leave before the Anbu developed those masks. Although it wasn't impossible, he still didn't like them very much and preferred not to wear one.
After selecting the members of the Anbu, Tobirama ordered them to conduct repeated training, mainly focusing on teamwork within the squad and coordination between squads.
Although Fumori Masaki and others are disciples of the Hokage, they are very young in Anbu terms. The others are older ninjas from various families. Therefore, they are not qualified to be captains but are assigned as team members.
Just as Rimi promised, Fumori Masaki applied to Tobirama to let Rimi fight alongside him. Tobirama had considered transferring Rimi to Anbu, and with Fumori Masaki's initiative and sole request to fight side by side, he naturally agreed and assigned Rimi and Fumori Masaki to a small team.
The other person in the team is Uchiha Kagami. Given the close relationship between Uchiha Kagami and Fumori Masaki, having often practiced together at Konoha Academy and developed a tacit understanding, it made sense to place them in the same team.
However, possibly due to Rimi's presence, the Anbu captain in charge of their squad turned out to be Senju Tōka, an excellent female ninja from the Senju family. Rimi was very happy to see her, feeling reassured by having a familiar elder as her captain.
Fumori Masaki had it a bit tough. Senju Toka regarded Rimi as her daughter and had high expectations for Fumori Masaki, the "son-in-law." During practice, she always assigned him some challenging tasks.
Rimi understood that Senju Toka was not simply making things difficult for Fumori Masaki but also helping him improve his strength. Naturally, she was happy to see this. Uchiha Kagami didn't say anything, just watched the scene unfold with amusement like Rimi.
Fumori Masaki felt a mix of anger and amusement at their reactions. Despite the additional challenges, he appreciated that Senju Tōka's training did enhance his strength. He didn't complain, respecting her as Rimi's elder and a mentor.
Senju Tōka had outstanding strength and was renowned for her genjutsu. Having survived numerous battles with the Uchiha clan, her genjutsu level was naturally extraordinary. Even Uchiha Kagami admitted that he struggled against her genjutsu, which could subtly turn the tide of battle.
Fumori Masaki marveled at the skills of these seasoned Warring States era ninjas. Even though Uchiha and Senju were prominent clans, there were many other formidable ninja families. Among them, only Hashirama and Madara stood out as truly exceptional figures of their time.
Anbu training was grueling. Unlike the pure strength training at Konoha Academy, Anbu training demanded adherence to ninja responsibilities, presenting a different set of challenges. During breaks, Fumori Masaki, who had been "specially" cared for by Senju Toka, appeared more exhausted than the others.
Of course, with the Natural Energy in his body, Fumori Masaki wouldn't truly collapse from fatigue, but he feigned exhaustion to garner sympathy from Rimi. No matter how much she enjoyed the spectacle, she would still feel sorry for him at such times.
Uchiha Kagami, seeing through Fumori Masaki's act, didn't expose him but felt a bit envious, wishing his own wife were there to pamper him similarly.
Uchiha Kagami's wife, Uchiha Maki, was a gentle woman, but the Uchiha clan had battle in their blood. While she could have joined Anbu, precautions against the Uchiha clan allowed only trusted members like Uchiha Kagami into Anbu. Given the Uchiha clan's temperament, Maki Uchiha served in the Konoha Police Department instead.
Fumori Masaki supported this decision. If Maki Uchiha had died in battle, Uchiha Kagami might have been mentally shattered. Although Uchiha Kagami had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, his gentle nature distinguished him from other Uchiha members. Fumori Masaki believed Uchiha Kagami's stable personality stemmed from his exceptional qualifications.
After the Konoha Police Department was established, Fumori Masaki noticed a pattern among the Uchiha members on patrol. Typically, Uchiha clan members with two-tomoe Sharingan showed personality changes—pride, indifference, extremism, madness, and so on.
In contrast, those with exceptional aptitude, like those who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, did not exhibit such drastic personality changes initially. However, once they reached the three-tomoe stage, their personalities began to become more extreme.
Fumori Masaki theorized that Uchiha with better aptitude required stronger emotional stimuli to evolve their Sharingan. Thus, those capable of awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan did not become distorted until they faced significant trauma. Uchiha Kagami's superior qualifications allowed him to reach realms unattainable by ordinary Uchiha without extreme grief, but awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan would still subject him to the Uchiha clan's bloodline curse.
Fumori Masaki once asked Uchiha Kagami if he desired the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Uchiha Kagami, after some thought, shared a secret history from the Uchiha clan. As the clan head, he had learned that the Uchiha clan, driven by their battle lust, often faced near-annihilation. At such times, a Mangekyou Sharingan wielder would emerge, leading the Uchiha to resurgence.
Essentially, the appearance of a Mangekyou Sharingan wielder signaled the Uchiha clan's revival. At the end of the Warring States period, the Uchiha clan believed they would finally defeat the Senju clan with the emergence of Madara and Izuna, unaware that the Senju clan also produced two heroes, Hashirama and Tobirama.
Uchiha Kagami acknowledged the immense power of the Mangekyou Sharingan but felt it carried a curse. If possible, he did not wish for this power to manifest in the Uchiha clan.
Masaki inwardly admired Kagami's insight. Although he did not fully understand the Mangekyou Sharingan's secret, Uchiha Kagami sensed the curse behind it and chose to reject it. However, Uchiha Kagami's qualifications meant that, if the time came, he would inevitably awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. Fumori Masaki hoped that, should this happen, Uchiha Kagami would not succumb to madness and abandon the world like Obito Uchiha. He harbored an unrealistic hope that Uchiha Kagami would be different from other Uchiha.
After several months of intense Anbu training, efforts to build the village continued. Then, unfortunate news arrived from the capital.
The Daimyo had died.