An ancient tree, dozens of meters tall, had been uprooted by the fierce storm and crashed heavily into the forest.
Its massive body lay horizontally across the muddy earth like a deep, heavy scar carved across the landscape.
But death was not always the end.
The dense branches facing the scarce sunlight were still growing.
Fresh, tender shoots sprouted from the decaying timber.
The new branches reached stubbornly upward, trying to pierce the sky, but ultimately drooped powerlessly back down toward the trunk.
Merging with the thick moss and ferns thriving in the shadows, they formed a dense, natural curtain.
Ayane used her chakra blade to part the curtain of branches, stepping into the deep shadow behind them.
The trunk of the massive tree was completely hollowed out.
It was as spacious as an abandoned hut, though the air inside was thick with the scent of rotting wood.
A few small, squirrel-like animals seemed startled by her sudden intrusion.
Chittering wildly in panic, they scrambled out of the hollow, tumbling over one another as they fled into the rain.
This was one of Amegakure’s pre-established Anbu safe houses—a covert supply cache hidden entirely within the hollow trunk.
It was a perfect utilization of nature’s uncanny craftsmanship.
“Phew…
we can finally catch a break.” Eagle, trailing right behind her, immediately plopped her butt down onto the dry wood, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
“It’s not time to rest just yet,” Woodpecker reminded her sternly.
“Even if this is a safe house, we still need someone to keep watch outside at all times.” Ayane shook her head.
“Rest first.
We’ve thoroughly swept the perimeter on our way here.
It’s highly unlikely any enemies will stumble upon us in the short term.
Once night falls, I’ll take the first watch outside.” People couldn’t afford to be wound too tightly at all times.
If they remained in a constant state of hyper-vigilance for too long, the taut string holding their minds together would eventually snap without them even realizing it.
Shinobi who lived their lives licking blood off the edge of a blade were, in some psychological aspects, actually far more fragile than ordinary civilians.
Hearing Ayane speak, Woodpecker didn’t insist further.
Whether it was a black-ops Anbu cell or a standard Genin mission squad, a team could only have a single voice of authority!
Everyone else’s job was simply to obey.
And as for Ayane Amamiya…
Woodpecker truly believed this girl possessed a heaven-defying talent.
Her talent wasn’t solely reflected in her monstrous aptitude for ninjutsu; she also seemed to possess an innate, unshakeable aura of reliability that subconsciously commanded trust and obedience from those around her.
This kind of implicit trust wasn’t born overnight out of thin air.
It was built upon the foundation of her extraordinary combat strength that far exceeded her age, her chillingly calm and decisive judgment in crises, and that tiny, fleeting glimpse of vulnerability and kindness she had displayed when facing the orphaned boy, Yukio, in Maba Village…
In short, Woodpecker had completely and subconsciously accepted the reality of being commanded by an eleven-year-old girl.
After a brief discussion regarding the watch schedule…
The trio started a small, contained fire and sat in a circle around it.
Because the hollowed-out trunk hadn’t seen the light of day in years, the surrounding atmosphere was inherently gloomy and damp.
Eagle pulled out military-grade biscuits and canned meat from the cache, distributing them to her teammates one by one.
Finally, actual food instead of those chalky soldier pills.
Though Ayane didn’t voice it out loud, she felt a genuine surge of joy in her heart.
Soldier pills were dry, chalky, and tasted like dirt.
Eating too many of them would even cause invisible, cumulative damage to the body’s internal organs due to the aggressive stimulants they contained.
Compared to that, even if the canned meat wasn’t exactly fresh, it was still an absolute delicacy.
Smelling the savory aroma wafting from the tin, she unconsciously licked her lips, displaying a rare, adorably gluttonous expression.
Unfortunately, Ayane hadn’t mastered Kakashi Hatake’s legendary “Lightning-Speed Eating Jutsu.” Nor did she possess the ability to put her Anbu mask into a state of quantum superposition—where it was simultaneously on and off at the same time—allowing her to eat without anyone ever seeing her face…
However…
The three of them had been traveling together for days and had fought through several life-and-death battles side by side.
Naturally, the young girl was too lazy to keep hiding her true face from a teammate like Eagle.
Without a second thought, she smoothly pulled her mask off.
The blood-scented demon mask was removed for the very first time, revealing the delicate, pristine features hidden beneath.
Her bright amber eyes reflected the dancing flames, glowing like fiery gemstones.
Her cheekbones were sharp and defined, giving her profile the fierce, piercing beauty of a battle angel.
The girl couldn’t help but take a few deep breaths of the damp air.
Counting the days…
From the moment she received her squad assignment at the Academy and was handed this mask, it had only been a little over a week.
Yet, the psychological weight it brought was somehow heavier than the dozens of pounds of training weights she used to strap to her legs.
[Description: Wear the mask long enough, and you will eventually forget the face beneath it.] The eerie description of the [Ame Anbu Member] Trait drifted across her mind once more.
“Hey, hey, hey…” Watching her from the side, Eagle stared blankly, murmuring in a daze, “You…
your face is seriously cheating.” Ayane glanced at her, letting out a soft hum.
“Hm?” “Looking at a face like that makes me way too embarrassed to take my own mask off!” Eagle’s hand, which had been reaching for her mask, froze in mid-air.
She gritted her teeth in comedic frustration.
“It’s true what they say!
The only cute girls in the world are the ones who aren’t as pretty as you!” “Stop running your mouth,” Ayane replied, her tone completely flat but overflowing with oppressive authority.
She sounded exactly like a strict, old-fashioned homeroom teacher scolding a slacker: “At your age, you should be focusing all your energy on how to improve your combat strength!
Why is your head only filled with such vain nonsense?” Eagle: “…” But despite her scolding…
Ayane still cast a curious glance toward her other teammate.
Woodpecker had also removed his mask.
Beneath the demon visage was the deeply weathered, heavily lined face of a middle-aged man.
His overall vibe was absolutely identical to the exhausted, soul-crushed corporate wage slaves she used to see on the subway during evening rush hour in her past life.
Ayane gave a slight nod.
Sloping eyebrows, thick lips.
A single glance told you he was the kind of honest, dependable, and mild-mannered middle-aged man who always paid his taxes on time.
It perfectly matched the impression she had formed of him in her mind.
Eagle, naturally, started making a huge fuss again.
“Whoa!
I didn’t think you were actually a middle-aged old man, Woodpecker!” She squeaked and gasped in exaggerated shock.
“No wonder you sound exactly like my dad!
Always nagging me about getting married and settling down…
So annoying…” Woodpecker awkwardly scratched the back of his head, letting out a goofy, good-natured laugh.
Well, so much for that.
The strict, imposing aura of a veteran Anbu senior that he carried while wearing the mask was instantly and utterly obliterated.
“Actually, my son is right around your age.
He’s going through a rebellious phase right now, and dealing with him constantly gives me a headache.” He smiled warmly.
“I guess that’s probably why I’m always lecturing you, huh?
I’m really sorry about that, Eagle.” There were three people in the squad, and two had already unmasked.
Though Eagle fidgeted and hesitated, she eventually brought her hands up to the edges of her mask.
“You guys aren’t allowed to laugh at me, okay?!” She declared repeatedly, laying down the law, “If you laugh at me, I’ll get super sad, and my sensory jutsu won’t work anymore!” Woodpecker answered honestly, “I definitely won’t laugh.” Ayane kept her head down, focused on opening her canned meat, suppressing a smile.
“Mm, depends on the situation.” Eagle let out a dissatisfied hmph, but didn’t argue further.
Taking advantage of Ayane looking down, she squeezed her eyes shut and quickly yanked the mask off her face.
“Pfft.” Ayane couldn’t hold back her laugh.
Eagle’s face was completely round, like a polished apple.
She had large, doe-like almond eyes, creamy white skin, and cheeks that were still adorably chubby with baby fat.
To be completely fair, she wasn’t ugly by any means.
She had a very fresh, wholesome ‘girl-next-door’ vibe.
But when Ayane remembered that this was the squishy, adorable face hiding behind a terrifying demon mask while spitting ruthless Anbu threats…
she simply couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
How to describe this level of jarring contrast?
It was like watching Iron Man defeat a supervillain and heroically pop open his faceplate while a crowd of adoring fans watched in awe…
only to reveal that the person inside wasn’t the incredibly handsome Tony Stark, but the tiny, stubby Plankton screaming about wanting a Krabby Patty…
“I told you not to laugh at meeee~!” Eagle was so flustered she looked ready to rip her own hair out.
“Is there a rule that says Anbu ninja aren’t allowed to have a cute aesthetic?!” Ayane didn’t bother arguing with her.
She simply handed the first opened can of meat directly to Eagle, passing her a spoon to go with it.
Seeing the food, Eagle’s eyes darted around mischievously.
A sly grin spread across her face.
“Hey, Swan!
Let’s play a game, want to?” “Hm?
What kind of game?” “Let’s try to guess each other’s real names!
Whoever guesses right gets to make the loser grant one request!” Her intentions were so glaringly obvious.
Ayane didn’t even need to use her brain.
A split second of thought was all it took to completely see through the girl’s petty little scheme.
She definitely overheard me telling Shizuki my real name earlier, didn’t she?
Ayane saw through it but didn’t expose her.
She played along smoothly, “Alright.
I’ll guess first.” Eagle giggled, offering a helpful hint, “You only need to guess one character of my name to win!
I’ll give you a hint: it has something to do with plants~” Ayane thought about it for a moment.
Having absolutely no leads, she just threw out a random guess.
“Sakura (Cherry Blossom)?” Based on her knowledge…
The character for ‘Sakura’ had an incredibly high appearance rate in female anime names.
Sakura Kinomoto, Sakura Matou, Sakura Suzuhara, Yae Sakura…
Oh, right, and she couldn’t forget the absolute main heroine of the shinobi world, Sakura Haruno…
Eagle shook her head smugly.
“Nope!
You’re wrong!” She didn’t rush to reveal the correct answer.
Instead, she puffed out her chest triumphantly.
“Now, as for your name…
let me take a guess.” “Hmm…
Swan, you’re so incredibly pretty, you basically look like a fairy!
Your family has to be super rich nobles, so your surname definitely has the character for ‘Miya’ (Shrine/Palace) in it!” The girl began spinning absolute nonsense to justify her ‘deduction.’ “And…
when you swing your sword, you look so elegant and cool, like one of those famous koto musicians!
Even when you kill people, it looks super poetic and refined…
So, your first name definitely has to have the character for ‘Ne’ (Sound) in it!” “Ayane Amamiya!” “Am I right or am I right?!” She was completely immersed in her own flawless logic, planting her hands on her hips and letting out a triumphant laugh.
She genuinely seemed to believe she had deduced the name purely through her own brilliant detective work.
“Alright, alright.
I’ll admit you’re smart.” Ayane shrugged, feigning a helpless defeat.
“So, what’s your request?
Let’s hear it.” She fully expected this goofy girl to demand something ridiculous, like making Ayane call her ‘Mom’ or treating her to barbecue for a month.
Instead, Eagle leaned in close.
The playful grin vanished, replaced by a soft, vulnerable expression on her doe-like face.
She asked in a quiet, fragile whisper: “Ayane Amamiya…
will you form a squad with Ri Takenaka for the rest of our lives?”