[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 38 ANBU Adventures I

Ah, another day, another top-secret mission where my life is probably at risk. Being an ANBU captain is a real privilege. You get all the best responsibilities—like tracking down rogue shinobi who think "basic morality" is just a suggestion.

Tonight’s grand adventure? Infiltrating some backwoods cult that decided chakra experiments on live subjects were a great hobby. Our orders were simple: break in, wreck their operation, save anyone still breathing, and bring back any useful intel. You know, standard Tuesday night.

I crouched in the treetops with my squad, overlooking the cave entrance. The usual suspects:

Crow—Uchiha speedster, overly smug, definitely planning a dramatic entrance.

Hawk—tracking specialist, allergic to humor.

Wolf—silent, terrifying, probably sharpening kunai with his mind.

Taka—my tiny, hyperactive summon who, for some reason, I decided to bring along.

"Alright, here’s the plan," I murmured. "We sneak in, incapacitate the guards, gather intel, and hopefully avoid whatever horrifying science project they’re cooking up in there."

Taka, perched on my shoulder, puffed out his tiny chest. "AND IF WE CAN’T AVOID IT, WE WILL SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF THE SKY, KAKASHI!"

I sighed. "Taka. Inside voice."

Crow tilted his head. "Why is the bird here?"

"He’s in training," I said.

"Training for what? A comedy act?"

Taka gasped dramatically. "I AM A PROUD WARRIOR OF THE EAGLE CLAN! MY TALONS SHALL STRIKE LIKE LIGHTNING!"

Hawk looked at me, deadpan. "Does he even have talons yet?"

Taka flapped his little wings furiously. "DO NOT DISRESPECT ME, HUMAN!"

"Focus," I muttered, rubbing my temple. "We have six guards at the entrance. Wolf, take the lead. Crow, don’t let the need to show off slow us down. Hawk, make sure I don’t step on anything stupid. Taka
 just
 try not to yell."

Taka saluted. "AYE, CAPTAIN!"

I was going to regret this.

We moved in fast. Wolf dropped from the trees and took out a guard before he could even blink. Crow and I worked together to subdue the rest, and within seconds, the entrance was clear.

Taka, who had done absolutely nothing, fluffed up. "WE ARE VICTORIOUS!"

Crow looked at me. "He didn’t do anything."

"He’s moral support," I said.

Hawk pointed toward the cave. "There are explosive seals along the corridor. We need to disable them."

"Bet you fifty ryo this place is even more trapped than it looks," Crow said.

I narrowed my eyes. "I’d take that bet, but I don’t gamble when I know I’m right."

Taka flapped once. "KAKASHI! I CAN SCOUT AHEAD!"

I grabbed him before he could take off. "No. You cannot. The last time I let you scout, you got stuck in a tree, and I had to get you down."

"I AM STRONGER NOW!"

"You got stuck last week."

"...I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES!"

Crow snorted. "I like this bird."

"You can have him," I muttered.

Crow zipped ahead, disabling the traps at top speed. By the time he finished, Taka was vibrating on my shoulder, desperate to be useful.

"I CAN STILL HELP—"

I shoved a tiny rice cracker into his beak. "Eat. Stay quiet. Look majestic."

Taka chewed in grumpy silence.

With the way clear, we moved forward. If the intel was right, the main chamber was up ahead, where the rogue leader was conducting his little chakra experiments. I had no idea what we’d find, but one thing was certain: we were about to make one hell of an entrance.

And, knowing my luck, Taka was probably going to try to make one too.

We moved deeper into the hideout, the air thick with the distinct smell of damp stone, burning incense, and the general bad life choices of rogue ninja.

The hallway twisted into a cavernous room lit by torches. In the center, a handful of robed figures chanted around a stone altar—because of course, it had to be a creepy cult. These guys weren’t just rogue ninja; they were the “let’s do forbidden jutsu in a dark cave” kind of rogue ninja.

Atop the altar? A restrained civilian with glowing seals drawn all over him. Probably an unwilling participant in whatever experiment these guys were running.

"Wow," I muttered. "It’s like every bad horror novel decided to come to life in one room."

Crow tilted his head. "You read horror novels?"

"I do now," I said. "This is inspiration."

Taka, perched on my shoulder, fluffed up his tiny wings. "I DON'T LIKE THIS, KAKASHI! THEY LOOK SUPER SUSPICIOUS!"

"Good eye, detective," I murmured.

The nearest cultist turned toward us. "Who dares to—"

I moved before he could finish.

Lightning crackled in my palm as I blurred forward, striking the nearest robed figure in the stomach. He crumpled like bad origami. The others snapped to attention, drawing weapons, but Crow was already weaving through them with inhuman speed, his tanto flashing in the firelight.

Wolf took down another without a sound, while Hawk picked off stragglers with precise kunai throws.

Taka, in what I could only describe as an act of questionable bravery, took a deep breath and screamed, "EVILDOERS, FACE MY WRATH!" before launching himself at a cultist’s head.

"ACK—WHAT IS THIS?!" The man flailed wildly as Taka latched onto his hair, pecking with the ferocity of a particularly irate sparrow.

"YEAH! FEAR ME! FEAR THE—oh no wait I lost balance—AAHHH!"

Taka spun in the air and smacked into the ground with a thump. He lay there for a second before weakly lifting one wing. "...I'm okay!"

Crow snorted. "Tough little guy."

"Don't encourage him," I sighed, kicking another enemy into a wall.

With a burst of chakra, I finished off the last opponent, leaving the room in eerie silence except for the crackling of torches and the occasional groan from the floor.

Taka wobbled back to my shoulder, looking up at me with the wide, innocent eyes of someone who believed he had definitely contributed to this victory.

"That was terrifying," he whispered dramatically. "But I was very brave, right?"

I stared at him. "...Sure, buddy."

Crow chuckled. "We should give him a medal."

"NO," I said immediately.

We secured the surviving cultists and freed the hostage, who was—understandably—having a breakdown. The guy was shaking so hard I thought he might pass out.

"Hey," I said, kneeling in front of him. "You’re safe now. We’re taking you back to Konoha."

The civilian stared at me, then at my mask, then at Taka. "...Why does that bird have a tiny headband?"

"Because I'm a mighty warrior!" Taka chirped proudly.

Crow lost it. Full-on laughter. "I'm sorry—mighty warrior? I need the Hokage to confirm this immediately."

Ignoring them, I helped the guy to his feet. Mission complete.

Now, all I had to do was get through the debriefing. And if Taka started exaggerating his heroism again, I was going to personally make him fly back to the village himself.

Back at HQ, I sat through the debriefing with all the enthusiasm of a man forced to listen to a lecture on proper kunai maintenance.

The Hokage’s office was brighter than before, sunlight streaming through the windows. Minato sat behind his desk, skimming through the mission report with that ever-present, easygoing smile. It would’ve been comforting—if I didn’t know firsthand how terrifying he could be in battle.

Wolf, Hawk, and Crow stood at attention behind me, radiating discipline. Meanwhile, Taka was preening himself on my shoulder, clearly basking in the glory of his contributions.

"...and we successfully eliminated the rogue shinobi and secured the civilian," I finished.

Minato nodded, flipping the report closed. "Good work, Kakashi. How was the team’s performance?"

"Efficient as always," I said.

Taka puffed up. "I WAS INCREDIBLE."

Minato blinked. His gaze shifted to me, questioning.

I sighed. "He provided... moral support."

"AND STRATEGIC DISTRACTIONS!" Taka added quickly.

Crow coughed, poorly concealing a laugh.

Minato exhaled in that way a father does when his child is telling an incredibly elaborate lie, but chooses peace over questioning it. "...I see. Well, dismissed."

We left the office, and the moment we stepped outside, Crow glanced at me. "So... are we putting Taka in for a commendation?"

"If I accidentally trip you into the Hokage Monument, just know it wasn’t personal."

Wolf made a noise suspiciously close to a snort.

Hawk hummed. "You know, we could ask the quartermaster to make him a tiny vest."

Taka gasped. "CAN I HAVE A VEST?!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No."

Crow draped an arm over my shoulder. "Kakashi. Buddy. We could even get him an Anbu mask."

Taka gasped even louder.

I turned to glare at Crow. "You’re officially the worst."

Taka nudged my head with his tiny beak. "So... no mask?"

I inhaled deeply. "Let’s just go train before I regret my entire career."

—

At the training grounds, I decided to put my team through some drills. Because if I had to suffer, so did they.

"Alright," I said, cracking my knuckles. "Three-on-one spar. Come at me."

Crow stretched. "No warm-ups?"

"You can warm up while you’re losing."

Wolf, silent as always, nodded and took a stance. Hawk flicked a kunai into his hand, body already tensed for movement.

Taka, still on my shoulder, raised a wing. "DO YOU WANT ME TO PARTICIPATE?"

"Absolutely not."

"Understood."

With that, the fight began.

Crow moved first, flickering forward with his tanto flashing. Wolf followed immediately, striking from the opposite side, while Hawk rained kunai from above.

I sidestepped Crow, ducked under Wolf’s strike, and caught Hawk’s kunai between my fingers.

"That’s it?" I taunted.

Crow clicked his tongue. "Cocky today, aren’t we?"

"I’m always cocky."

Wolf lunged again, and I let him get close before twisting at the last second, redirecting his attack straight into Crow.

"Wait—"

CRASH

Crow and Wolf tumbled into a heap.

Taka cheered. "GOOD JOB, KAKASHI!"

"Not helping, Taka."

Hawk tried to take advantage of my distraction, coming at me with a chakra-infused kunai. I caught his wrist, twisted, and flipped him over my shoulder into the dirt.

"Ow," Hawk muttered.

Crow groaned. "Alright, I hate you."

"You’re just mad because I’m better."

Taka nodded sagely. "He is better."

Crow glared at the bird. "Whose side are you on?"

Taka blinked. "...Kakashi’s?"

Crow looked utterly betrayed.

I clapped my hands. "Alright, round two. Try not to embarrass yourselves this time."

"One of these days," Crow muttered, standing up.

"But not today," I said cheerfully.

The next round started, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

Being an Anbu captain had its perks.

Especially when I got to bully my team.

After another grueling—but highly amusing—sparring session, we wrapped up training and headed back to HQ.

Well, I walked. Taka perched smugly on my shoulder.

Wolf, Hawk, and Crow? They were dragging themselves along with varying degrees of suffering.

Crow groaned. “Why do we spar against you?”

“Because it builds character,” I replied.

“It builds trauma,” Hawk muttered.

Taka fluffed his feathers. “You all did great! I was cheering for you!”

“Were you?” Crow deadpanned.

Taka nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Right after Kakashi kept beating you!”

“
I take it back. This bird is evil.”

I smirked under my mask. “Maybe he’s just honest.”

We arrived at HQ, and before I could even sit down, a masked operative approached.

“Captain,” they said, bowing slightly. “Mission briefing. Hokage’s office.”

I sighed. “Of course.”

Crow perked up. “Want me to stall for time?”

“You want to fake an emergency?”

“I was thinking of setting off a minor explosion outside.”

Wolf gave him a look.

I waved a hand. “Tempting, but Minato would see through it.”

Taka tilted his head. “What if I fake an injury?”

“You would absolutely overact.”

“UNTRUE.”

I raised an eyebrow.

Taka immediately puffed up. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Shaking my head, I motioned for my team to follow. “Let’s go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I get to watch you suffer in another mission.”

Crow groaned. “Can we get a day off?”

“Not in this economy.”

Minato stood behind his desk, hands folded, his usual warm expression in place. But beneath it, I saw the sharpness in his gaze—the kind that meant something serious was about to go down.

There was a map of the Land of Fire spread across the table, marked with multiple points. I immediately took note of them.

“Rogue activity?” I guessed.

Minato nodded. “Several groups have been moving unpredictably, hitting trade routes, attacking border villages. Normally, they don’t stay in one place, but we’ve identified a potential base.”

I looked at the map, tracing my fingers over the markings. “Too many attacks in a short period. They’re either getting reckless or confident.”

“Or both,” Minato said. “I want your team to infiltrate, assess the threat level, and eliminate key targets.”

Hawk leaned over the map. “How fortified is this base?”

“Moderate defenses. We suspect at least two high-level rogue ninja leading the operations.”

I nodded. “Alright. Standard recon, neutralization, and exfil. Any known affiliations?”

Minato hesitated. “One might have ties to Danzo.”

I just barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes. “Of course he does.”

Taka whispered dramatically, “The Plot Thickens.”

Crow snorted. “Who let the bird read books?”

“I AM LEARNING,” Taka announced proudly.

Ignoring him, I focused back on Minato. “Alright. We’ll handle it.”

Minato smiled slightly. “I expected nothing less.”

As we left the office, Crow stretched. “So, another infiltration mission?”

“Yep.”

“Stealthy?”

“As stealthy as we feel like.”

Hawk sighed. “That’s not how that works.”

I shrugged. “Depends on how much fun we want to have.”

Taka gasped. “CAN I GO?”

I stared at him. “No.”

“BUT WHAT IF I—”

“Absolutely not.”

He slumped dramatically. “You never let me do anything cool.”

Crow patted him. “Don’t worry, buddy. One day.”

I sighed, already regretting every decision leading up to this.

Another mission, another headache.

At least I got to mess with my team along the way.