[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 42 Hey you 

ANBU briefings were always serious. Dark room, masked faces, a whole lot of tension in the air—like we were about to discuss stock market crashes instead of cold-blooded assassinations.

Crow, as expected, broke the silence first. "If this isn’t an urgent mission, I swear on my mask that I will riot."

"You’ll riot?" I asked. "Are you going to protest outside the Hokage’s office? Wave a little sign that says ‘No More Overtime’?"

"I might," Crow said. "Don’t push me."

"Focus," Wolf interrupted. "What’s the mission, Captain?"

I leaned over the table, tapping a map as my team—Wolf, Hawk, and Crow—stood before me. "We’ve been assigned to assassinate the Daimyo of Ishigakure."

Hawk leaned forward slightly. "Ishigakure? The Hidden Rock Village has its own Daimyo?"

"Not that Iwagakure," I corrected. "Ishigakure—the Hidden Stone Village, not the Hidden Village of Stone. They’re a tiny, independent shinobi state, unaffiliated with any major nation."

"Sounds fake," Crow muttered.

"Yeah, well, it’s real," I said. "And their Daimyo, Tanaka Gorō, has been causing problems. Apparently, he’s been funding rogue shinobi groups and trying to expand his influence beyond his tiny mountain village. The Fire Daimyo sees this as a threat, and Minato-sensei has given us the green light to take him out."

Hawk hummed. "Straight assassination? No sabotage, no extra objectives?"

"Just infiltration, elimination, and extraction," I confirmed. "The guy has a stronghold in the mountains, well-guarded but nothing we can’t handle."

Wolf studied the map. "Intel on his guards?"

"A mix of samurai and rogue ninja, but nothing too high-level. Some C-rank, a few B-rank, and one or two potential A-rankers. They have decent numbers, but they rely more on numbers than skill. We can bypass or eliminate them as needed."

Crow crossed his arms. "Any chance he has a personal bodyguard who’s secretly some insane S-rank lunatic that wasn’t in the reports?"

I sighed. "That would be our luck, wouldn’t it?"

Hawk nodded. "Alright, so we go in under cover of night?"

"Exactly," I said. "Silent approach, take out the target, leave no evidence. The mission’s in three days, so we’ll be prepping until then. Get your gear in order. Dismissed."

Crow groaned. "I’m gonna need so much coffee for this."

"Better make it strong," I said.

With that, the team dispersed, and I moved on to my next task—saying goodbye before I left.

First stop: Obito. He was hanging out near the training grounds, watching some Academy brats struggle with basic jutsu like a disappointed coach.

I walked up beside him. "Looking for future prodigies?"

"Nah," Obito said. "Just judging them."

"Fair."

I leaned against the post. "I’m heading out soon. ANBU mission. Might take a while."

Obito’s grin dropped about two notches. "Serious?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Alright, listen—no solo acts, no dumb risks, and definitely no coming back in a body bag."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you me now?"

"Someone has to do it," he shot back.

"Relax," I said. "I’ll be fine."

Next stop: Rin. She was at the hospital, as usual, saving lives while I was out here ruining them.

When she saw me, she smiled. "Mission?"

I nodded. "ANBU stuff. Long-term."

Rin sighed. "Kakashi, when was the last time you took a break?"

I thought about it. "Define break."

"As in, a time where you weren’t running yourself into the ground?"

"Uh…" I scratched my chin. "I sat down for five minutes yesterday?"

"Not the same thing."

"Agree to disagree."

She gave me the Look™—the same one medics used right before stabbing you with a painful recovery jutsu.

I sighed. "I’ll be careful."

"You better."

Finally, I stopped by Kushina’s place. The second I stepped in, I was hit by a smell that could only be described as culinary terrorism.

"Kakashi!" she greeted, stirring some mysterious pot of doom. "Hungry?"

I eyed the bubbling substance inside. "No."

"You didn’t even think about it."

"I did think about it. That’s why I said no."

Kushina scoffed. "Rude." Then she crossed her arms. "So, what brings you here?"

"Mission."

She frowned. "ANBU?"

I nodded.

She studied me. "Minato didn’t tell me about this one."

I blinked. "You do know he’s the Hokage, right? He has to keep secrets."

"Please," she said, waving a hand. "I have my ways."

I had zero doubt she did.

"Anyway," I said. "Just wanted to let you know I’ll be gone for a while. Try not to kill anyone while I’m gone."

"No promises."

Fair enough.

With that, I headed home to prep.

Stepping into my apartment, I went into full checklist mode.

Kunai? Check.

Wire? Check.

Explosive tags? Check.

Compression Weights? Check. 

Senzu Beans? Double check. Oh right, I forgot about them.

I also packed my Suppression Compound, just in case I ran into some overpowered nonsense.

Then, I tested my Superior Belt of Holding by pulling out a kunai at random. Infinite storage was an absolute godsend. I could probably fit an entire ramen stand in here.

…Mental note: find a way to do that.

As I worked, my thoughts drifted to the mission.

The daimyo himself wasn’t the issue. The issue was that people in power never liked dying quietly. He’d have tricks, bodyguards, backup plans.

I may be strong now, but not invincible.

I’d have to be very careful.

I sat down on my bed, exhaling.

Three days until departure.

—

Three days passed by quickly

We left before dawn. Because of course we did.

Nothing says “high-stakes assassination” like dragging yourself out of bed at an ungodly hour, running on questionable amounts of sleep, and hoping you don’t immediately regret life choices.

The village was dead quiet as we made our way to the gates. No civilians, no early morning training maniacs, not even that one old lady who somehow always managed to be sweeping her porch no matter the time of day.

It was almost eerie.

But hey, at least I didn’t have to deal with emotional farewells.

Rin would’ve given me that concerned “please don’t do anything reckless” look. Kushina would’ve smacked me upside the head and told me to come back in one piece. And Obito? He would’ve either tried to give me an inspirational speech or called dibs on my book collection if I died. Probably both.

So really, leaving early was a win for me.

We approached the gates, where two sleepy-looking guards barely spared us a glance. One of them mumbled something about “ANBU business” and waved us through. Good. The less attention, the better.

As soon as we passed the threshold of the village, I let out a small breath.

No turning back now.

—

Traveling with an ANBU squad is supposed to be all serious and professional. Silent assassins, ghosts in the night, the whole ominous ninja aesthetic.

Naturally, that lasted about three minutes before someone ruined it.

And by “someone,” I mean Crow.

“So,” Crow—a.k.a. Uchiha Shisui, the most hyperactive ANBU operative I had ever met—said, hanging upside down from a tree branch while moving at full speed. “Since we’re all about to risk our lives, I vote we finally drop the mystery act and introduce ourselves properly.”

Hawk—Tokuma Hyuga, as stiff as ever—didn’t even bother looking at him. “We already know each other’s ANBU names. That’s enough.”

“Yeah, but what if one of us dies?” Shisui said dramatically, flipping right-side up mid-air. “Wouldn’t it be tragic if all we had to remember each other by was fake bird names?”

“I like my fake name,” Wolf—Shiranui Genma—said. We’ll I do too, but here I am stuck with dog. Nothing wrong with them, its just wolf sounds cooler.

“Of course you do,” Shisui muttered. “Anyway! I’ll go first.”

Before anyone could stop him, he yanked off his mask with a flourish, revealing his usual easygoing grin. “Hi! I’m Shisui! I have bad impulse control, a superiority complex about my speed, and a severe addiction to being dramatic!”

I sighed. “We know who you are, Shisui.”

Shisui gasped in mock betrayal. “Wait, what? How?”

Tokuma exhaled sharply. “You talk exactly like Shisui Uchiha, you brag like Shisui Uchiha, and you run your mouth like Shisui Uchiha.”

“Not to mention the glowing red eyes are kind of a giveaway,” I added.

Shisui blinked. Then groaned. “Damn it. I was hoping for some mystery.”

Genma snorted, flipping his own mask up. “Well, since we’re doing this, name’s Genma, but you guys knew that already.”

Tokuma nodded. “You have the only voice in ANBU that somehow manages to be both smug and lazy at the same time.”

Genma clicked his senbon against his teeth. “That a compliment?”

“No.”

Genma grinned anyway. “I’m taking it as one.”

Shisui turned to Tokuma expectantly. “Well? Your turn, Hawk.”

Tokuma sighed, but relented, pulling off his mask to reveal the unmistakable pale eyes of a Hyuga. “Tokuma Hyuga.”

Genma whistled. “Damn, a Hyuga in ANBU? The clan must love that.”

Tokuma’s expression stayed blank. “They don’t.”

Shisui nudged him. “Don’t worry, I think it’s cool. I would’ve killed to have a Byakugan and a Sharingan, but apparently that’s ‘frowned upon’ and ‘a war crime.’”

Tokuma pinched the bridge of his nose. “I regret taking off my mask already.”

Shisui then turned to me. “Alright, Captain, your turn.”

I considered my options. I could refuse, but at this point, I was the only one still in disguise, and if I didn’t take it off, Shisui would never shut up about it.

With a sigh, I reached up and pulled my mask off.

Shisui let out a loud, exaggerated gasp. “Oh my god, it’s Kakashi!”

I gave him a deadpan look. “You’ve always known it was me.”

“Yes, but now I can pretend to be shocked for dramatic effect.”

Genma rolled his eyes. “You need help.”

“So do all of you for working with me,” Shisui shot back.

I sighed. “This was a mistake.”

“Too late, Captain,” Genma said, clapping me on the shoulder. “You’re stuck with us.”

And, unfortunately, he was right.