Chapter 30: Codename — Tanuki
Name: Sakura Haruno Shinobi Registration Number: 01260110 Position: Active member, ANBU Squad Three Codename: Tanuki
Flames climbed into the night. Mountain wind howled.
The dilapidated bandit stronghold groaned in the heart of the inferno. Through the smoke and the fire, the silhouettes of figures could still be seen thrashing inside.
Suddenly, one figure burst out of the burning compound — a man wrapped head to toe in soaked, dripping bedding, half-blinded by smoke, stumbling for his life.
He hadn't gotten far before a small silhouette appeared in front of him out of nowhere.
The man froze, chest heaving, and stared at the figure with naked terror.
Black ninja gear. A grey-black flak vest. A mask shaped like a tanuki — a raccoon-dog. A short tantō, Konoha-issue, strapped across the back.
Pink hair drifted in the mountain wind. Through the eyeholes of the mask, you could just barely catch a flicker of green.
It was just a child.
But the man, looking at this "child," was choked with raw terror — so terrified he could barely catch his breath.
"Don't... don't kill me... I haven't done anything... it was them, all of it was them, those other men, I've never killed anyone — please, please let me go—"
Snot and tears streamed down his face. The huge man dropped to his knees without a moment's hesitation, begging for his life.
The "child" drew the tantō from her back. A single flash of cold steel cut clean across the man's throat without hesitation.
In that same instant, three more figures dressed exactly like Tanuki appeared in the air behind her.
"Tanuki. Solid work for your first mission."
Tenzō's voice was warm with approval.
It had been three days since Sakura had been folded into ANBU. This was her first mission — a B-rank job. The mountain stronghold had been a den of bandits — daily robbery, highway looting, and on top of that, suspected smuggling ties to a foreign merchant guild.
But Sakura understood perfectly well what this mission really was. It was here to get her bloodied.
The essential nature of a shinobi was an assassin. The client paid; the shinobi handled it. If your hands had never been stained, you might as well give up the headband and go farm rice somewhere quiet.
"What're you thinking about?"
Tenzō, for all that he liked to crack dry remarks, was actually a fairly warm and approachable squad captain.
"Nothing. I was just wondering who's behind this bandit group."
Sakura gave a small shake of her head. The mission file had said the bandits were suspected of links to a foreign merchant guild — which meant, by definition, there had to be some communication channel. A shame Tenzō hadn't tasked her with sweeping the leadership tent for intel.
"Don't think too much. That's not our job to figure out."
The ANBU known as Yūgao — Yūgao Uzuki — patted Sakura's shoulder gently in reminder.
"Let's head back. It's Tanuki's first mission. Once we're back in the village, hot pot's on me," Tenzō added.
He'd shot Sakura a surprised look. He had honestly expected the kid to have some kind of physical reaction the first time she took a life — nausea, shaking, tears, anything. Instead she'd skipped straight past all of that and gone directly to interrogating the geopolitical structure behind the target. Honestly? That was even better. It saved him the trouble of having to talk a freshly graduated newbie through her first kill.
"Now that's our captain. Generous as always."
The fourth and final member of the squad spoke up — codename Kurogatana, Black Blade, real name Raidō Namiashi. In the original story, he'd been part of the operation to hunt down the Akatsuki's immortal duo, had crossed blades with Kakuzu, and — with cover from Aoba Yamashiro — had managed to slash Kakuzu's mask wide open with a single stroke. A solid hand by any measure.
Yūgao Uzuki, meanwhile, specialized in kenjutsu, had mastered Konoha's Crescent Moon Dance, and doubled as both a sensor-type ninja and a medical ninja. A genuine all-rounder.
Tenzō. Yūgao Uzuki. Raidō Namiashi.
The squad Hiruzen had slipped Sakura into was an elite unit by any measure.
As for the blood?
Sakura felt nothing.
Maybe it was because she carried everything of Wartime Sakura inside her. Even taking a life felt like something she'd already done a thousand times.
Sakura also understood, very clearly, that even the original "boy-crazy ditz" version of her, and even sunny-cheerful Naruto — both of them had absolutely killed people in canon. The animation studio just hadn't put that part on screen.
By the time they got back to Konoha, it was almost midday.
The village gates rose up ahead, and the eternal gate guards Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were dutifully manning their posts as always.
Tenzō led his three squad members straight at the gates in a flying leap.
Kotetsu started to step forward to stop them out of habit — and a kunai came whistling through the air, transit pass speared neatly on its blade, and embedded itself directly in the gate beside him with a sharp thunk.
Without so much as a glance at the two gate guards, the four ANBU bounded right over their heads, leaving them with nothing but four very stylish backs.
"These guys are unbelievable. Always showing off. Big ANBU tough guys, hot stuff."
Kotetsu walked up and started wrestling the kunai out of the woodgrain, grumbling at the perfectly in-order paperwork pinned beneath it.
"Don't be like that. At least our kunai supply is overflowing. We can take 'em down to the ninja tool shop and turn a profit."
Izumo, in fairness, had a brain wired for opportunity.
Sakura kept pace with Tenzō and the others as they vaulted across Konoha's rooftops at full speed. As they flashed past a particular river, though, she couldn't help but glance down.
This kid. Always sitting around in the same exact spot doing nothing...
Naruto, almost as if he'd sensed something, looked up sharply. He found nothing.
"Ran into someone you know?"
Yūgao, just ahead of Sakura, had picked up on her brief lapse in attention.
"Just a classmate from the academy."
Hearing that, Raidō chimed in: "Now that you mention it — Tanuki is a prodigy in her own right. A shinobi who graduates the academy at eight years old — even back in wartime, that was rare. The only person who's beaten Tanuki for that record is probably Senpai Hatake himself."
ANBU was actually a lot less rigid than people imagined. In canon, Itachi Uchiha had walked into his own family home in full ANBU gear without batting an eye. The work was just classified — it didn't mean the operatives were robots.
"You mean Senpai Kakashi?"
Sakura played along, since they'd brought up the man who was, by rights, supposed to become her Team Seven sensei eventually.
"That's right. The Copy Ninja, Kakashi. One seriously impressive man. If you ever get the chance, Tanuki, you should get to know him."
Seeing the squad starting to relax into chitchat, Tenzō cut in.
"All right, social hour's over. We're at the Hokage Tower."
ANBU missions weren't filed through the regular Mission Assignment Office — they reported directly to the Hokage. Every debriefing meant a face-to-face with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Tenzō led his three squad members up to the tower roof rather than the front entrance, and they slipped inside from the top.