Chapter: 3

"I see... so that's what happened."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a soft whisper after he had finished listening to Kaori, or rather, the ANBU codenamed Suzume.

Her report was simple and straight to the point.

- Roughly a month ago, Suzume and her squadron, which consisted of 8 ANBUs including her, were assigned the task of tailing a Wind-Nation merchant.

- A week later, the merchant showed some suspicious movements. Frequenting a particular shop but not buying anything. Buying stuff he had no business with, Kunai and Exploding tags.

- Soon, the merchant showed signs of having noticed his tail. The possibility was reported to ANBU HQ and a second squadron was to be assigned to capture the merchant alive.

- And a week ago, things went horribly wrong. The merchant revealed himself to be a Jonin of the Sand Village and a puppet master on top, killing most of Suzume's squad. She survived but with a spilling gut. The merchant was intercepted and eliminated. Mission failed.

"I see... I see..."

The Hokage pulled out a smoking pipe from his robe's pocket and began to smoke, caring not that just outside the gate was a large sign that read in bright red 'Smoking Is Strictly Prohibited.'

"I see..."

'What are you, old man? A broken recorder!?'

Kaori fumed internally, the old coot was playing games with her! However, her outward emotions betrayed no sign of her annoyance.

"I will personally see to it that your comrades are honored for their sacrifice. And as for you... you have my gratitude for your service to the village. Rest assured, we will take all necessary measures to ensure that such an incident does not happen again."

...maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Now, let's talk about your next assignment."

'I take back what I said. This guy's an ass.'

"Your next assignment is simple,"

The old man finally reached the point after all that blabbering,

"You just need to join Kushina Uzumaki's surveillance details."

...

"I'm sorry, what?"

The old bastard chuckled dryly at Kaori's disbelief and took another puff out of his pipe... wait, was that an opium pipe?

"Hokage-sama,"

Kaori finally managed, her voice hoarse,

"are you referring to...?"

He took another long drag from his pipe, his eyes narrowing beneath his hat,

"Let's just say,"

he said, exhaling a plume of smoke,

"Konohagakure's safety has few to no loopholes... one of them is a certain redhead. And given the recent developments with the other Great Ninja Villages, it seems prudent to take some extra precautions."

Kaori's eyes twitched in annoyance. A certain redhead? Uzumaki? Was the card earlier an omen from the heavens? There was no other Uzumaki in Konoha except for the jinchūriki of Kyubi!

"I understand,"

Kaori said, forcing her voice into a respectful tone.

"But with all due respect, wouldn't a Jonin be better suited for such a task?"

The old man chuckled again,

"Perhaps. But sometimes, Suzume, the most valuable asset is not raw power, but discretion."

"Hokage-sama..."

"I would have given you a few more day's rest, but most of the ANBU black ops is busy with border patrol and weeding out spies."

His voice was serious and he was no longer smiling, instead, his face sported a grave look,

"There was an attempt, two days ago. Two Kumo Jonin attempted to assassinate her, of course, they died a gruesome death but for such a thing to happen under the eyes of the ANBU is a disgrace!"

An assassination attempt on Kushina Uzumaki, the village's precious jinchūriki, and it happened right under the ANBU's nose. The Hokage's anger was understandable.

"I understand, Hokage-sama."

Still, she had a question to ask of him,

"Do we know their motive for the assassination attempt?"

Hiruzen took another drag from his pipe, the glowing amber casting long shadows across his face,

"Officially,"

He said with a heavy sigh,

"They were rogue ninjas acting on their own accord..."

He trailed off, his eyes boring into her head. His expression made it quite clear that she was asking questions far above her pay grade and that he was only answering her out of pity for her injuries.

"Any more questions?"

Kaori shook her head,

"Good,"

He said simply, standing up and adjusting his hat,

"Report to Captain Hebi of the Guard in ten days. That should be enough to recover from your injuries. He'll brief you on the current security arrangements and assign you a post."

"Yes, sir,"

Kaori responded, rising with a practiced grace that hid the throbbing pain in her side.

She watched the Hokage leave the room, all the while, she couldn't shake off the feeling of dread settling in her stomach. Uzumaki Kushina, the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi,

'What a pain in the ass!'

The old bastard!

It would be like sitting next to a ticking timebomb.

*SIGH*

Kaori slumped back on her bed, discarding the stupid ANBU mask and loosening the ridiculous armor. The armor was practically useless, it couldn't stop even the most basic C-rank Jutsu, not to mention it could barely stop a kunai or shuriken from poking the wearer full of holes.

'Ridiculous.'

*DING!**DING!**DING!**DING!*...

'Huh?'

[New Mission!]

[Subordinate Milestone Achieved!]

[Subordinate Milestone Achieved!]

[New Mission: Reinforce Uzumaki Kushina's Security Detail]

[Mission Rank: A+ Rank]

[You are tasked with reinforcing the security detail of Uzumaki Kushina, the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. Ensure her safety at all costs.]

[Part I: Report to Captain Hebi of the Guard in ten days for further instructions.]

[Rewards: 500,000 ryō.]

[Subordinate Milestones: Sword Swings!]

- [Swordsmanship Milestone 1: Perform 1 Sword Swings.]

[Reward: EXP Points +1]

- [Swordsmanship Milestone 2: Perform 10 Sword Swings.]

[Reward: EXP Points +5, Old Tanto(White)]

- [Swordsmanship Milestone 3: Perform 100 Sword Swings.]

[Reward: EXP Points +10, Physique Enhancement Card (+5), New Tanto(White).]

- [Swordsmanship Milestone 4: Perform 250 Sword Swings, 50 with proper Sword Form]

[Reward: EXP Points +25, ANBU Tanto(Light Blue).]

'This is interesting.'

It seemed Aiko was up and running... swinging. Same difference.

'Deck.'

The Subordinate card's surface, which was showing a small female figure before, now showed a small, dusty room, and the same girl inside, clumsily swinging a wooden training sword.

[Swordsmanship Milestone 5: Perform 500 Sword Swings.]

[Total: 281/100]

[+1]

It was kind of pathetic.

Even with her limited accomplishments in the art of Kenjutsu, Kaori could see that the girl's, or rather Aiko's, sword swings were so messed up that if she stuck to the movement, her arms would hurt more from making mistakes rather than practicing.

*Sigh*

'What a drag!'

She slumped deeper into the bed, covering her face under the sheets. Suddenly, she sat up again, eyes burning with curiosity,

'By the way, what are milestones?'

[One-Time Explanation(2): Milestones are achievements on the path of training such as, 'Sword Swings,' 'Shuriken or Kunai Throws,' 'Ninjutsu Released,' 'Kills,' 'Mission Completed,' etc. Milestones require a certain number of actions, from 1 to 10 to 50 to 100 to 500 to 1000 to 5000, and so on. The higher the number of actions required to reach a milestone, the higher the reward.]

'Hmm...'

'Is there any way to direct her actions?'

[...]

[One-Time Explanation(3): As long as you possess the Subordinate Card, you can read the subordinates' memories, direct their actions, temporarily possess their bodies, and plant thoughts. The rest of the time, however, the 'subordinates' control their thoughts and emotions, living individually.]

'Oh, I get it! Kind of like a sleeper cell!'

Man, this system was getting creepier by the second.

'Ok! Let's try out the memory read.'

A shudder passed through Kaori's body as her mind was connected to the card and the memories flooded her head one by one.

Aiko. Parentless, friendless, moneyless, homeless, talentless.

'Man, this is getting depressing.'

Born in the year 34, joined the Academy in the year 42. She has above-average chakra, exceptional strength for her age, and is talented in Kenjutsu. Personality-wise, she would rather focus on swinging her sword rather than making friends. Her classmates include several characters from the series, namely Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, and Ebisu... alongside Guy. Also, her under-classmates include Rin, Obito, Ibiki, and Shisui.

'This is the protagonist-predecessor class!'

Rin... well, let's skip her for now. Genma and Ebisu, future Tokubetsu Jōnin or Special Jōnin. Kurenai and Ibiki, future Jonin. Asuma and Shisui, future Elite Jonin. Might Guy and Obito, future Super Kage.

...

'Seems like this year's recruits are quite interesting.'

But Aiko can never advance above the Genin rank, a Chunin if she gets lucky.

*DING!*

[Subordinate Milestone Achieved!]

[Swordsmanship Milestone 5: Perform 500 Sword Swings.]

[Reward: EXP Points +50, Physique Enhancement Card (+10), 10,000 ryō.]

'Hmm?'

She pulled up the Subordinate Card again. As before, the little girl was still busy swinging her sword, but signs of exhaustion were quite clearly visible on her face. Sweat trickled down her face and splattered on the floor. Blood stained the handle of the training sword.

'Already?'

She knew the girl was doing it wrong, but... still... to think she would start bleeding so soon. Well, that was to be expected. After all, she was born just an hour or two ago.

'Hey, how do I revert her back to her normal personality.'

[...]

[Answer: This 'IS' her normal personality. Training freak who trains till the point of self-harm. Technically speaking, all the Subordinate Cards possess shards of your personality amplified several times to create a fully functioning ninja.]

'Great, just what I need. Another thing to be worried about.'

Perhaps she was forgetting something?

'Ah! right! The milestone rewards!'

[Inventory:

- Talent Card(White): Tranquility.

- Talent Card(Light Blue): Snake's Bite

- Bloodline Card(Red): Uzumaki

- EXP Points: +91

- Physique Enhancement Cards(+5 & +10)

- Old Tanto(White)

- New Tanto(White)

- ANBU Tanto(Light Blue)

- 10,000 ryō]

'Maybe I should use some of these.'

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