Chapter 27: Into the Shadows(Bonus Chapter)
Under the cold light of the moon, across the rooftops of sleeping Konoha, the ANBU operative Tengu moved like a phantom. He employed the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing from one tiled crest only to materialize on another distant gable, his form a blur of black against the starry sky.
His technique was flawless, the mark of an elite operative specializing in speed and stealth, a ghost meant to leave no trace.
But tonight, this ghost had a shadow.
Following at a precise, unchanging distance was another figure, moving not with the chakra-fueled shunshin, but with a series of powerful, ground-shattering kicks against the roof tiles—Shave. Each kick launched him forward in a near-instantaneous burst, keeping perfect pace with the flickering ANBU.
It was Ragnar. For him, compared to the nuanced chakra control of the Body Flicker, Shave was an extension of his own will, pure explosive power. He followed, a silent observer, curious to see just how long the ANBU could maintain this taxing display.
The Tengu ahead was inwardly reeling. As the assigned handler for this "genius," part of his role was to provide a humbling first lesson—to show the boy the vast gap between academy prowess and the real world of ANBU. He'd planned to lose him effortlessly, then reappear with a stern lecture on humility and perseverance.
But reality was proving… inconvenient.
A dozen consecutive Body Flickers. Then twenty. His chakra reserves, substantial for a chunin, were draining at an alarming rate. The key insult? The boy behind him wasn't even breathing hard. In the glimpses he stole, Ragnar looked almost bored, his eyes occasionally flicking up to the moon as if on a casual night stroll.
Does this kid have no limit? Tengu thought, frustration bubbling. No. One more. A longer distance. I will reclaim some dignity here.
He poured more chakra into his next flicker, pushing his range to its limit, appearing on a rooftop near the village's outer wall. He landed, muscles trembling slightly from the strain, and whirled around.
There, landing softly a mere ten meters behind him, was Ragnar. Same distance. Same infuriatingly composed demeanor.
Huff… Tengu's breath hitched. It was no use. He was running on fumes.
Abandoning the rooftops, he dropped down into the silent, lamp-lit streets of Konoha and came to a stop, trying to mask his exhaustion with stillness.
Ragnar landed beside him a moment later, tilting his head. "Tengu-san? Why come down? The view is better from the roofs."
"..." Tengu's silence was profound. A strangled, hoarse noise finally emerged from behind the dog mask. "Walking… is beneficial for one's health."
Without another word, he turned and began striding with deliberate, ground-eating steps towards the Hokage Tower.
Ragnar fell into step beside him, a low, amused sound escaping his lips before he could stifle it.
The Tengu's step faltered for a fraction of a second. His jaw tightened behind the porcelain. This Ragnar was indeed the monster the Third had named him. But to be outdone in raw mobility by a rookie… it stung.
Konoha at night was a place of whispers and shadows, the civilian population safely behind locked doors. Their journey ended not at the tower's grand entrance, but at a nondescript service door near its foundation. With a series of hand seals and a pulse of chakra from Tengu, the wall itself seemed to ripple, revealing a descending staircase swallowed by darkness.
The ANBU headquarters. As the name implied, it existed where the light did not reach: deep beneath Konoha, directly under the Hokage's seat of power. Connected by a network of secure passages, it was a place where the Hokage's will could become action in the space of a heartbeat.
The air grew cool and carried a faint scent of damp stone and metal. Though subterranean, the space was not cramped but vast, a hidden city of purpose. In the gloom, shadows resolved into black and white-clad figures wearing animal masks, moving with silent urgency. Some glanced at the unfamiliar boy following Tengu, their gaze lingering for a assessing moment before moving on. The atmosphere was one of grim, focused efficiency. It felt less like a military base and more like the heart of a deadly, precision machine.
Tengu led him on a brisk tour, his voice a low monotone.
"This chamber is for mission assignment and debriefing."
"This armory provides custom weapon and gear fabrication. All costs are covered."
"The archives contain scrolls for ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu. Access is permitted based on clearance."
"That training ground is for spars. They are… typically conclusive."
Ragnar absorbed it all, mapping the layout of his new world.
Finally, they entered a secluded room, lit only by guttering candles set in wall sconces. The flickering light danced over rows of wooden shelves that lined the walls. And on those shelves, staring out with empty eyes, were masks. Dozens of them. Dog faces, cat faces, blank visages, demons, and wrathful deities.
"An ANBU operative is a ghost. The mask is your first and most essential tool. It hides your identity, your emotions, your humanity. Choose," Tengu intoned.
Ragnar walked slowly along the shelves. The faces of beasts and spirits gazed back. His hand passed over a snarling wolf, a placid ox, a blank slate. Then he stopped. His fingers closed around a mask the color of dried blood, its features carved into a nightmarish visage of fury—a Rakshasa.
He lifted it and put it on. The world narrowed through the eye-slits. The cool porcelain against his skin felt like a barrier, a new skin. The terrifying face he now wore was not his own, and in that separation, he felt a strange liberation. He was no longer Ragnar, the refugee, the student. He was a masked instrument.
Tengu said nothing about the choice. The psychological fortitude required to wear any of these masks was the first, unspoken test.
"ANBU imposes few restrictions on personal freedom," Tengu stated, his voice echoing slightly in the small room. "But the ones that exist are absolute: Obey orders. Loyalty to the Hokage and the village. Never reveal your identity. Break these, and you cease to exist."
"Understood," Ragnar's voice came out slightly muffled, distorted by the mask. "Do I get a codename now?"
"Not yet. You are a candidate. A codename and operational number are bestowed when you become a full operative." With that, Tengu seemed to dismiss him. ANBU was perpetually busy; a handler's time was not for babysitting.
Left to his own devices, Ragnar explored. The base was a labyrinth of silent corridors and purposeful activity. He found his way to the equipment supply area. On a shelf, among kunai pouches and wire spools, he saw a stack of plain white paper.
"Chakra affinity test paper," a voice said from beside a rack of scrolls. Another ANBU, this one with a fox mask, had appeared without a sound. "Detects your natural chakra transformations."
Ragnar nodded. He was genuinely curious. "How does it work?"
"Place it in your palm. Channel your chakra into it. The paper's reaction will show your innate affinities." The Fox-mask operative handed him a single sheet.
Ragnar did as instructed. He focused, drawing up the blue energy from his core, letting it flow into his palm and into the paper.
The reaction was immediate and dramatic.
First, the paper wrinkled, as if suddenly aged and dehydrated. Then, before his eyes, it split cleanly into two separate pieces. Finally, both pieces blackened at the edges and crumbled into fine, gray ash that drifted from his palm.
The Fox-masked ANBU let out a low whistle, a rare breach of professional detachment. "Three transformations. And potent ones. Wind that cuts. Lightning that splits. Fire that consumes. Remarkable."
Most shinobi had one strong affinity. Those of notable talent had two. Three was the mark of exceptional potential, a rare versatility. Innate chakra nature dictated which elemental ninjutsu a shinobi could learn most easily; without understanding these transformations, manipulating chakra for complex techniques was nearly impossible, as the taijutsu specialist, Rock Lee, would later prove.
The test paper was a guide, pointing a ninja toward their natural strengths. In theory, with enough understanding, any transformation could be mastered. The Third Hokage, the "Professor," was said to have mastered all five. Copy-ninja like Hatake Kakashi could replicate a thousand jutsu because he understood the fundamental principles behind their chakra nature.
Ragnar looked at the dust in his palm, then closed his fist. Wind, Lightning, Fire. Elements of speed, piercing power, and destruction. They fit. They fit very well indeed.
Behind the blood-red Rakshasa mask, no one could see his smile.
(End of Chapter)
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