IMPORTANT: Natsuro's codename has been changed to 'Ink' for those who haven't seen yet, after reading the feedback I agreed and made the changes earlier.
"Alright, Tenzo, take Ink with you to get familiar with your team. You all need to work well together from now on," said the Third Hokage, observing the scene without much concern. After all, Natsuro's strength was evident. Although there might be some doubts initially, he believed that Natsuro would quickly dispel those and become a cornerstone of the team.
After all, Natsuro was his grand-apprentice, and with such obvious talent, the Third Hokage had no reason to doubt his abilities.
"Yes!" Tenzo responded promptly. He glanced at Ink and then led the way.
Natsuro quietly followed Tenzo to a rather secluded place. After wandering around for years, Natsuro had never noticed this spot, which was well-hidden, as expected of the ANBU headquarters.
Soon, Tenzo brought him into a small room where two other people were present, along with a dog that looked like a wolf with a gray and white coat. The dog was likely also a member of their squad.
"Captain," the two men stood up and greeted Tenzo, showing clear respect for him.
Natsuro noticed this and deduced that Tenzo was well-regarded by his teammates, indicating that he must be a decent person.
"Hmm, Hyena, Fox, this is our new squad member, Ink. Get to know each other," Tenzo introduced Natsuro to his team members.
Natsuro glanced at them. The one wearing the dog mask was probably Hyena, given that he had a wolf-like dog, most likely from the Inuzuka clan. The other one, with the fox mask, was probably Fox, though it was harder to tell what his abilities might be.
"Hey, Captain, you're not joking, are you? He looks like he's only twelve or thirteen. How can he be an ANBU member, let alone our squad member?" Hyena was the first to voice his doubts loudly.
"Hyena, the Captain wouldn't joke about something like this," Fox interjected, though he also looked to Tenzo, hoping for an explanation.
They both knew that if they were stuck with a weak link, their mission success rates could plummet, not to mention the risk to their lives.
"No, I'm not joking. Ink was assigned to our squad by the Hokage himself," Tenzo stated plainly, not hiding the truth from them.
At this, Hyena and Fox fell silent. They looked at Ink, realizing he must be from a prominent family. With the Uchiha clan gone, could he be from the Hyuga clan? But his eyes didn't look like it... Or maybe he was a child of one of the elders?
Regardless, they assumed he had used connections to get into the squad, which made them even more skeptical of his abilities. However, since the Captain had confirmed it, they had no choice but to accept it.
"Well, Ink, I don't know which family's young master you are, but make sure not to hold us back," Hyena said in a disgruntled tone, staring at him.
"Don't worry, I won't be the one holding you back," Natsuro replied calmly.
"Let's hope so," Hyena muttered, somewhat relieved. At least he didn't seem arrogant, which was their biggest concern. Not just Hyena, but Tenzo and Fox also seemed to relax a bit.
Natsuro, too, was quickly gathering information about his new teammates, reading their thoughts through their actions. He wasn't angry; this was how things should be. He also felt a bit more at ease with his teammates.
"Alright, let's introduce ourselves and our abilities so we can cooperate better in the future," Tenzo suggested at this point.
"Ink, you should already know from the Hokage; I'm Tenzo, the squad leader. My ability is Wood Release, and I'm the main attacker of this squad," Tenzo revealed a significant piece of information right away.
"Wood Release?!" Natsuro's eyes widened in shock as he instantly realized who Tenzo was—this was Yamato!
At this moment, his increasingly hazy memories began to search frantically. Yamato was likely born in the Root division and later joined the ANBU. If he could temporarily replace Kakashi as the leader of Team 7, he should be trustworthy.
As for his strength, Yamato was considered a strong Jōnin. Even though a few years might pass before he reached his peak, Yamato's abilities should still be formidable, at least at the Jōnin level.
Natsuro was slightly taken aback by his situation—being placed in a squad led by a Jōnin right off the bat was no small matter.
The others weren't surprised by Ink's reaction; everyone had the same response when they heard about Wood Release. Being from a noble clan didn't change that.
"Yes, it's Wood Release. I can't say much more, just know that it's true," Tenzo added.
Natsuro nodded, not asking further, and turned to the others.
"It's my turn. I'm Hyena, responsible for scent tracking and secondary attacks in this squad," Hyena said casually, as his wolfdog barked in agreement.
"This is my partner, Gray Fang," Hyena patted his companion.
"Alright, my turn. I'm Fox, responsible for logistics and medical support in this squad. If you ever need supplies like soldier pills, I can get them for you at a discount, though I doubt you'd need that," Fox said in a somewhat cold tone.
"No, I actually do need those. I'll be counting on you, Fox," Natsuro responded, his eyes lighting up. Though he'd heard the pills didn't taste great, they were undoubtedly essential.
Fox seemed a bit surprised by Ink's response, then softened his tone slightly, "No need to call me 'senior.' We don't use titles like that in this squad. Just call me Fox."
"Alright," Natsuro agreed. "I'm Ink. I specialize in chakra sensing and speed attacks. I'll probably serve as secondary support, but the final decision will depend on my performance and the Captain's judgment."
After he finished speaking, the other three's eyes lit up. While they didn't expect much from Ink's speed attacks, his chakra sensing ability would be highly valuable!
Even if they couldn't rely on Ink for combat, he would still be useful. More importantly, this would increase Ink's safety—if a noble family's young master died, their squad would be in big trouble!
Natsuro also began to consider the squad's configuration. They had tracking, medical support, and a main attacker—already a solid setup. Now with his sensing ability...
No matter how he looked at it, this seemed like a pretty well-rounded team...
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