So Eagle’s real name is Ri Takenaka?
Honestly, it had a really nice ring to it.
But why did that surname sound so familiar?
Come to think of it…
wasn’t the Minister of Security in Amegakure also named Takenaka?
No wonder her family had more empty houses than they knew what to do with…
Ayane’s scattered thoughts regarding the “Takenaka” surname didn’t last for long.
Her train of thought was quickly interrupted by Eagle, who had leaned in close.
The young girl locked her amber eyes onto the face hovering mere inches from her own.
They were so close their noses were practically touching.
She could clearly see the fine peach fuzz on Eagle’s cheeks trembling slightly with every breath she took, and the raw, soft anticipation brimming in those doe-like eyes that she completely failed to hide.
Ayane had no idea when exactly this girl had developed such a strong sense of dependency on her.
Maybe it was when they first joined the squad, sleeping in the same tent and chattering away about their dreams into the night.
Or perhaps it was later during their patrol missions, when Ayane stole moments of downtime to patiently drill her in the Body Flicker technique over and over again.
Or maybe it was just earlier, after the brutal battle with the Konoha ninja, when Ayane had sat exhausted in the mud, bidding a final farewell to her old classmate Shizuki.
But regardless of when it happened, Ayane could feel it.
Ri Takenaka might seem endlessly cheerful and bubbly, but this loud, goofy idiot definitely carried her own hidden scars and stories.
Then again, out of all the shinobi selected to join the Anbu, who didn’t have a unique and tragic past?
Take Woodpecker sitting right next to them, for example.
His deeply weathered, lined face practically had “I have a tragic backstory” written across his forehead in bold letters.
Ayane wasn’t the gossipy type, and she couldn’t be bothered to pry into their histories.
She only trusted her intuition—and her intuition told her that the eyes of these two teammates were clear and genuine.
Therefore, faced with Eagle’s earnest request, she was perfectly willing to let herself be bound by this new bond.
Bonds…
truly the absolute delicacy you are forced to consume when living in the shinobi world!
“A shinobi does not have the luxury of casually making promises about ‘the rest of our lives’.” Ayane dropped her playful smile, her expression turning solemn.
“From the very moment I tied this forehead protector around my head, I had already mentally prepared myself for the fact that I never know which will come first: tomorrow, or my death.” Ri’s expression shifted instantly.
It was as if her rationality had been violently ripped back from the warm intimacy of the moment, or as if she had been physically burned by the gentle rejection in Ayane’s words.
The girl took a half-step back, unable to hide the crushing disappointment welling up in her doe-like eyes.
But Ayane let out a soft smile.
“However, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to swap out the phrase ‘for the rest of our lives’ with something else.” “With what?” Ri’s hope instantly reignited, her little heart pounding frantically in her chest like a wildly swinging pendulum.
“A lifetime is far too long.” Ayane couldn’t help but reach out, gently pinching Ri’s chubby, baby-fat cheek.
“Rather than relying on some empty, distant promise built on clouds, I would rather say…
every single moment.
Every single moment that I can grasp onto right now.” “…” Two furious blushes instantly exploded across Ri’s pale cheeks, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears like a burning sunset.
Her face felt blisteringly hot.
Swan, this girl…
she really is…
Ayane flashed a wicked, mischievous grin, fully realizing her prank had succeeded.
She leaned her forehead directly against Ri’s, teasing in a low whisper, “Well, Miss Ri Takenaka?
Are you satisfied with my answer?” “C-Curse you!” Eagle, whose cheek was still being playfully pinched, pouted heavily, slurring her words in embarrassment.
“Swan, you jerk, can’t you just talk normally?!
Why did you have to throw in such a massive plot twist…” Heaven only knew how anxious she had felt just seconds ago.
Her poor heart had been mercilessly toyed with by the wicked girl in front of her…
Ayane couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into a bright, ringing laugh.
Her laughter was incredibly charismatic.
It wasn’t the kind of artificially gentle or reserved giggle expected of young ladies; instead, her crisp voice carried a bold, uninhibited charm, possessing an indescribable heroic flair that caused Woodpecker, who was quietly eating his food nearby, to glance over repeatedly.
‘What are those two little brats whispering and giggling about?’ The middle-aged man, entirely clueless about the intricacies of teenage girls’ hearts, wondered to himself.
‘Could it be that the sheer stress from the successive battles this afternoon finally got to them?’ It was completely understandable, though.
At the end of the day, Swan and Eagle were just two young girls, delicate as budding flowers.
Even if you added both their ages together, they still wouldn’t be as old as him!
Thinking of this, a sudden surge of “senior veteran” responsibility swelled in his chest.
He cleared his throat and immediately began imparting his gentle, seasoned wisdom: “Ahem…
if you two are feeling overwhelmed and depressed after fighting for so long, tearing up leaves or counting the stars can really help alleviate the mental burden.” “???” The two girls turned to look at him simultaneously, asking in perfect unison, “What are you talking about, old man?
Who’s depressed?” ‘Crap…’ ‘It seems I completely misunderstood the situation.’ ‘It’s true what they say…
never try to guess what a girl is thinking…’ Woodpecker felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.
He could only scratch his head in utter awkwardness.
“Uh, I thought you two were struggling to cope with the stress of our earlier battles…
Weren’t you comforting each other?” Ri was utterly speechless and rolled her eyes dramatically.
Ayane suppressed her laughter.
“Woodpecker, we are doing perfectly fine.” [You have acquired a new Title!] As she spoke, a silent notification popped up on her holographic panel.
Ayane’s expression flickered slightly.
What’s going on?
You can get a Title just from forming a squad?
Stealing a moment, she diverted a sliver of her attention and shifted her gaze to the system interface.
[Existing Title Upgraded: Ame Anbu Captain!] [Rarity: Blue] [Description: Even without an official appointment from your superiors, the moment you earn the genuine recognition and absolute trust of all your squad members, you become the true Captain of this cell!] [Effect: When wearing an Anbu mask, the power of your Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu increases by 20%!] [Reward: You have received 2,000 freely allocatable Achievement Points!] Her Anbu Title had actually upgraded?
It had evolved from [Ame Anbu Member] into [Ame Anbu Captain]?
Ayane was just about to celebrate, but she quickly grasped the hidden logic behind the upgrade, and her heart sank like a stone.
She had figured out one fundamental rule very early on.
Every single Title she acquired was derived entirely from how the people around her perceived her; the system was merely a mirror reflecting reality.
Just as the system description stated: Only by earning the genuine recognition of ALL squad members can you become the Captain!
But Ayane severely doubted that an arrogant, nepotism-fueled prick like Night Raven would ever genuinely acknowledge her from the bottom of his heart…
She hadn’t even spoken more than a handful of sentences to the guy!
‘If that’s the case…
does this mean Night Raven and the other three operatives in his cell are all completely dead?’ ‘After all, dead men can’t cast a vote!’ A rare, fleeting sense of guilt momentarily surfaced in her heart.
‘Generally speaking, a fully-staffed Anbu squad consists of 6 to 10 operatives.’ ‘For a rookie to rapidly earn the absolute trust and recognition of an entire veteran squad in such a short timeframe is next to impossible.
So, theoretically, upgrading the [Ame Anbu Member] title should have an absurdly high difficulty curve!’ ‘However…
if you look at it from another angle…
if the rest of the squad gets wiped out, how can dead people voice their dissent?’ ‘In a twisted way, I’m basically stepping on the corpses of Night Raven and his cell to farm these system upgrades…’ The young girl squeezed her eyes shut, forcefully suppressing the turbulent emotions churning in her chest.
When she opened them again, she had returned to her usual, chilling calmness, though a faint, imperceptible shadow now lingered in the depths of her amber eyes.
If only for the sake of these two remaining teammates, she had to fight even harder to survive!