Private The matter of information and knowledge (Calling all Anbu Captains)

[Chigokai Yuna]

Yuna pored over countless files that were spread out on her desk. It was all files on her current Anbu Captains. Through one way or another the Anbu branch has bolstered its numbers, however she only knows one of her captains. Hyuuga Honnou, basically a local legend in the Anbu branch, someone who has saved Cloud countless times and has found himself in the frontlines of dangerous missions. He is now leading the sub- branch for intelligence and information. She looked at the next two files, both of which are, in a sense, returning shinobi. The first of the two that she looked into was of Kaze Kouin. It was an actual surprise to her that he was a previous Anbu Sennin. Someone that had this position before her, before Miro, and before one other. She made a mental note that after business is conducted here that she would ask about his input since he was once the Sennin as well. It seemed that she had talked to him some time prior and sent him out on a mission to see if he was up to snuff. She only had recent reports that he was back. Along with that she did take note that he was once a missing ninja from Mist. This made her raise her eyebrows as she read further into his files. Due to that, if he ever did return, he would be granted Anbu captain once more. Which she felt that would be fair for him. And the last. Orochi Murasaki. She's read over her files as well. More machine than human, similar to Orochi Sakura. She figured when a representative from the Orochi clan had informed one of her agents about Murasaki, and in turn, informed her, she has had her own thoughts on the matter. Whilst Sakura herself hasn't been proven to be a liability, she has had continued absences pver the years in both Anbu and Main branch to fully get an idea of how she acts and works. Yuna will say that Sakura did good at her job of being a diplomat, whilst she never got the chance to really put her skills to the test with talking to other nations. Murasaki seems to be strong in her own rights to be considered deadly even back then, when chakra abled individuals were a rarity and trained to the highest degree. For now, she'll just have to wait and see how she operates. Due to her nature Yuna had let her maintain the Anbu Captain status that she earned all those years back and put her in charge of the Assassins sub-branch. Which only leaves one sub-branch and one Anbu Captain left.

But that will be touched on later in this meeting. Touching a finger to her headset, she would call, "All Anbu Captains report to the Anbu Sennin office." She would wait behind her desk as she cleaned up the files and had three chairs facing her desk ready to be claimed by each of the Captains. Once she was done cleaning up the files, she would interlock her fingers and sit in her chair as she waited for the three to arrive.

 

[Orochi Murasaki]

Just as the Sennin settled back into her chair, the air in the office felt… occupied.

A woman in white stood just the opposite side from which the Sennin sat, already present—silent, unmoving. No knock. No sound of entry. Only the faint suggestion that she had always been there. For a brief moment, Yuna might wonder how Orochi Murasaki had arrived so quickly, answering a summons that had only just been issued. However, there was no mystery to solve. Murasaki had been waiting. Just outside the office. In her hands were several neatly organized reports.

She stood with impeccable stillness, clad in the pale Anbu coat that somehow felt more like a burial shroud than a uniform. The fabric contrasted sharply with the skeletal visage of the mask she wore—bone-white, carved into a permanent, jagged grin that exposed serrated teeth where a mouth should have been. Golden eyes watched from behind it, unblinking, calculating, and unmistakably aware. Not predatory. Not impatient. Simply present.

A sword rested across her back, its hilt worn smooth by decades of use, the weapon of someone who had never stopped being Anbu—even when the world had moved on without her. More machine than human, as the files had said. And yet there was intent behind the stillness. Purpose. She did not speak. She did not bow. She only waited, as she always had. Ominous. Silent. Unannounced. True to her codename— “Ghost.”

[mft]

 

[Honnou]

Hon took a deep breath.

A lot of work had been done to safeguard, peer review, and confirm current archives. Now, most of that work was finished – which meant that Hon’s focus was going to lean more towards the acquisition of new intel as well as updates. He was adamant to live up to Yuna’s expectations, and it did test his resolve outside of open combat a lot more.

But currently, his eyes were closed. He’d worked for hours without break, and he just needed a small break to recollect himself. Summoning Ayaka for training was by the far the worst mistake he’d ever made – the mere sight of that little troll often made his blood boil… but he got over it.

…

He got the message.

The door opened slowly as he entered Yuna’s office, stepping inside and bowing. Hon was still wearing the standard ANBU uniform, his sharp and half-long ponytail hanging behind his scalp, and his fox mask concealing his face and Byakugan. He walked in rather peacefully, steady but without haste.

The sight of Murasaki made his eyes widen slightly behind his mask. He remembered the descriptions of Ghost, but… this must’ve been the first time he was even in the same room as her. He'd NEVER seen her before, and for good reason. She was technically his senior, his senpai. And what a scary-looking senpai he had! He felt the hairs on his neck rise, akin to when you were outside at night letting your morbid thoughts run wild, convincing yourself that a ghost was trailing your every step from a dozen feet behind you.

“Reporting,” Hon greeted as per standard, ready to heed the Sennin’s next instructions. His left, prosthetic arm reflected less light than usual – a small tweak to help with hiding.

WC: 295 [MFT]

 

[Kouin]

Alm...ost home... His feet tirelessly pushed forward, one after another, leaving heavy indents in the mud as he made his way up the mountain side. His clothes were torn; body battered and bruised, the last four years had tried him to his core, pushing him to his limits, and almost breaking him. Kouin's primary objective the last few years were simple, survive. The laden memories of the passing years are clouded, wrought from his will to live.

As he broached the threshold of the mountainside; a staticky transmission began buzzing through his headset on a frequency he hadn't heard from in ages; ~<A..l ----bu -apt-ins report>~ The transmission cut out there. Tossing the damaged headset to the side; Kouin grit his teeth and trudged forward, rain soaking his body, making every ounce of fatigue feel that much heavier. His steps brought him into the cloud line, many travelers lose their way when entering the clouds; the disorientation tends to lead them to almost a sharp drop, but Kouin traversed these lines numerous times, and knew them like the back of his hand.

The Dragon Tooth Pass finally came within his vision, guarded dutifully as was the norm, though he didn't expect these shinobi to know him at all, but he still had authority, whether they knew it or not.

Before prompt he handed a guard a passport, and lifted up his sleeve revealing his hourglass callsign, "Anbu Captain Echo returning from mission, apologies, but I've been gone for far too long, and it appears the Sennin is requesting my presence; please forward any complaints to my desk."

With a subtle snap of his fingers, his body dispersed into a murder of ebony crows fluttering out from where his body originated, leaving nothing but a Sorry note with a smiley face.

Kouin headed straight for the Sileo Tempestas, grabbing a less ruined set of clothes, save for some dried blood, before heading into the Anbu's inner sanctum.

The hall to his old office was oddly nostalgic, he had long forgotten ever returning to these halls, wondering if he'd ever actually have a chance to be remembered for more than just being a "delinquent".

Finally. The closed door beckoned him closer, the people on the other side probably don't have the slightest clue of who Kouin was, or what he had gotten into, save fore the Sennin; the Kage would be sure to detail that, he was sure of it.

He pushed the door open; the hinges creaking as the door swings open; stepping out of the shadows and into the light of the room, "Anbu Captain, Kaze Santaru Kouin, returning to duty Sir." His voice was rough, but firm; his face was clearly worn from some ordeal. Dried blood could be seen on his clothes, face and arms.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Yuna let out an inaudible sigh. Her eyes scanned the form known as Orochi Murasaki. Ghost. Out of all the Anbu Captains, she is technically the most experienced mainly for how many years of service that she has. The puppet body made it hard for Yuna to even detect as there was an absence of a blood flow. However, in her time of knowing Orochi Sakura, she has learned that she has to rely more on her other senses other than just her ability to hear blood flows.

The second one to arrive was Hyuuga Honnou. Byakko. He has been the most active of out of the Anbu Captains, with a whole roster of missions to suggest that he has worked hard for his rank as Anbu captain. The Sennin has known him far longer than the other two and has seen that his hard work is real.

And finally... Yuna let out another sigh, this one more audible than the last. Kaze Kouin, also known as Echo. He proved to be the most interesting out of the three Captains due to his own history of being the previous Anbu Sennin, back before her predecessor Miro. Before one known as Okada Kaji. It would seem that the mission that she has sent him to left him worst for wear.

She would gesture towards the chairs before them. "Please, take a seat." She would form handseals and blood would seep out of her hand and drop to the ground to summon a bracelet. But an aura would rise up from the object and the three captains would see that there was actually a spirit attached to the bracelet. "Noa. Would you heal Anbu Captain Echo?"

Noa nodded and would first inscribe a seal on Kouin, Medical ward to stabilize him in case his condition worsened and then followed it up with a high level medical jutsu to heal any of his more grievous injuries. "I trust your mission was a success, Echo?" She would inquire. Once he gave his answer, she would then say, "I would like you to lead the Sub-branch of the Diplomats. Your prior experience as one of the previous Anbu Sennin would prove to be indispensable knowledge to help with the relations with the other Villages."

It was more like she was giving him the position than asking if he wants to. But she has high hopes for what he can accomplish. She would lean back in her chair as she thought about the upcoming conversation. "Since we now have an Captain to lead all three sub-branches, it is important that you all know the information that I have learned over the years. Lately, it has only been me and Byakko," She would gesture to Hon, "And while he knows most of the going ons, I have been the one to get most of the information."

She would set a folder down for them to read, it was the current events on Cloud. "For the events in Cloud, or rather across Lightning Country, Tenouzans had been an enemy of Cloud ninja fo

r some time until a couple years ago. It was after this conflict that chakra had flooded the lands of Lightning Country making the program that we had of looking for chakra abled individuals unnecessary as more and more people had willingly come to Cloud for help on harnessing the powers. However..." She produced some pictures of several individuals that wore militaristic attire, most of which that Hon knew about. "It was because of that same program that we had before the great chakra awakening that also made so many people resent Cloud. A revolution took place and many good ninja had died. It was found out that during this revolution," More pictures, this time, showing a humanoid monster. "They had experimented on our ninja and made biological weapons known as Lycans. The most basic use pack tactics, while stronger ones are more mutated."

Yuna looked at the next file and set it down. It shown a picture of her predecessor, Kagami Miro. "Kagami Miro, code name, Alpha. The previous Anbu Sennin. I had inherited the branch after she had retired and disappeared from Cloud's eyes. Before she had left, she had stained the Anbu branch by taking a handful of prisoners and using them as slaves to push for her own twisted agenda. If she is found, I want her brought to me, alive."

She would wait to see how they would react to what she had said. Particularly to Kouin. Yuna had worked hard to get this branch back on its feet after Miro up and vanished, even when at the time she herself had a lot of stuff on her plate emotionally. During that time Rei had challenged her authority, thinking that she would be just like Miro. Then there was her father....

Yuna would put the Cloud file off to the side and then produce the file that she has on Sand. And, well it was a lot. "Years ago, Cloud gates were attacked. They had hinted that they were an Ancient, a type of sub-race that existed only in Wind Country. Me and my predecessor went there and talked with the Kazekage at the time, Raizo, the Eleventh Kazekage, had told us of how he suspected Mirokou Akkuma of being behind the attacks on both Cloud and Leaf. The Demon of the sands had also confirmed that he was the one." She let out a sigh, it was indeed one of her biggest failures as an anbu operative that she still thinks about to this day, "But due to unforseen events, Raizo had vanished and Chikamatsu Shin was appointed the next Kazekage. Due to this, he had in turn made Akkuma a Sennin of Sand. I was faced with a choice. Kill Akkuma and possibly start a war with Sand. Or cut ties with Sand by not renewing our alliance. I chose the latter to avoid having a full blown war on our hands."

Moving some files around, she would then produce the one that she had gotten word from Kazan. "A few years later, up to now, as far as I know, Sand is in a Civil war. Akira Kazan, who is now our current Main Branch Sennin, has seen the events play out first hand. He had also noted that an individual, a sand shinobi, was attacking citizenry and fighters alike. He produced a snapshot of the event and it shown that it was none other than the Twelve Kazekage, Chikamatsu Shin." She let it sink in before she continued, "During my time in Sand and meeting Shin a few times, I have deduced that he was not in control of his own thoughts. While it is likely that Akkuma could be a culprit, for once, I do not think that he was behind this instance. His own attacks on Cloud and Leaf were to test to see if the alliance between the Villages were real, in his own sick twisted sense."

She pulled out the next file, one that was about an attack on Cloud Gates, "Ryuu Tama. An Ancient hybrid that hails from Sand that attacked the Gates that I had stopped. During his interrogation, he had revealed that he acted separately from Sand and that they most likely do not know of his whereabouts. He also has ties to the Ryuu clan here, at first thought to be the cause behind the curse that ails that clan. He remains cooperative and has lost his powers due to some... Time goddess." She let out an audible sigh. Sometimes when she reads through these reports and logs, it seems sometimes fiction rather than reality. But she was there when he had lost his powers. "He has agreed to work with Cloud to rid the Ryuu clan of the curse that is on them and in return, we do not retaliate on Sand. It was during this interrogation that he revealed that it was his father that had caused the curse to begin with and that he would need help from either the Clan elders or the Clan head, who is currently the Medical Sennin, Ryuu Rei."

She cleaned up the Sand files and brought out the Leaf file, which was considerably smaller than that of the Sand Files. "There isn't much going on with Leaf outside of two things to note. The current Hokage is a man that goes by the name of Sazuki Nao. Our Raikage, Kitsune, had visited Leaf a while back to renew the alliance between Cloud and Leaf. She has stated that he is a good man, and from the few instances that I have read letters from him, he does seem honorable. The next thing is the Myakashi Clan, more so Myakashi Yong. Originally, the whole Myakashi clan is on our bingo book. But with Leaf's latest message to Cloud, his name is crossed out. It would seem that He is either dead or that he made his own amends to the Village. So if he is still alive and not hostile to us, we will not hunt him down."

It was a lot for just about anyone to take in, she would wait and then say, "The floor is open for any questions you all may have."

 

[Orochi Murasaki]

It turns out that this summons was strictly informative. Threats were here and there, were met with… diplomacy.
Orochi Murasaki did not reach for the files. She did not need to. The silence around her was not hesitation—it was calculation. When she finally spoke, it was not loud, yet it pressed against the room like pressure at depth. “Cloud has not chosen peace,” she said evenly. “It has chosen endurance.” Her gaze passed briefly over the images of the Lycans—not lingering, not recoiling. Her statement reflected her observations. That Kumogakure is lying to itself. They weren’t at peace; they were just surviving an ongoing assault without fighting back. To her, peace requires a resolution, while endurance was just a slow decline. “A village that endures abuse without correction does not become noble. It becomes useful.” She folded her hands, mechanical fingers motionless. Her words meant not as an insult but to say plainly the reality before them. Suffering in silence doesn't make you a hero; it makes you a victim that others can exploit. If Cloud doesn't punish those who hurt it, enemies will realize they can use Cloud as a resource or a punching bag without fear of retaliation.

“You speak of avoiding war,” Murasaki continued. “Yet war has already been waged against us. Our shinobi were harvested. Our gates tested. Our dead cataloged and archived.” A pause—measured, deliberate. “The difference is that our enemies bled purpose from Cloud, while Cloud bled restraint in return.”

Her eyes lifted to Yuna then—not accusatory, but assessing. She wanted to gauge the Sennin’s thoughts on her critique of a lopsided exchange. The enemies gained something tangible (purpose, power, resources) by attacking Cloud. In return, Cloud gained nothing but the pride of having stayed restrained. Murasaki sees restraint as a waste of a resource. The village is losing lives while the enemy is gaining ground. “I believe that strength is not measured by domination, but by consequence. Actions that carry no consequence invite repetition.” This was stated as her core thesis. Power isn't about domination; it’s about ensuring that if someone touches you, they pay a price. If there is no consequence for attacking Cloud, enemies will inevitably do it again. Punishment isn't about cruelty; it's about preventative maintenance.

She tilted her head slightly, “You seek Kagami Miro alive for staining Anbu with slavery.” A beat, “Correct.” Her voice hardened—not with anger, but with certainty. “Yet those who destabilized nations and let the debris fall into Lightning Country are met with patience.” She exhaled softly, “This is not justice. It is inconsistency.” She points out the hypocrisy to capture one woman (Kagami Miro) for her crimes against the Anbu, yet they use "diplomacy" and "patience" for others who have done far worse to the village as a whole. Murasaki values logic above all. To her, a law or a standard that isn't applied equally to everyone is a sign of a failing, illogical system.

Another pause—longer now. “I do not hate our enemies. Hate is indulgent.” Her eyes sharpened, “I do not forgive them. Forgiveness assumes remorse.” She straightened. Murasaki is emotionally detached. Hate is a waste of energy. Conversely, she won't forgive because the enemies aren't sorry; they are simply doing what they do. She views enemies like a predator or a disease. You don't hate a virus, but you don't forgive it either—you simply eradicate it because that is the only logical solution.

“Death, when applied correctly, is not cruelty. It is correction. Waste occurs only when death is avoided after it has already been earned.”

To Murasaki, execution was a tool for balancing the scales. Keeping a dangerous enemy alive isn't merciful—it’s wasteful because it leaves a threat on the board that will eventually cause more loss of life. Her gaze swept the room once—captains, Sennin, files alike.

“Cloud’s restraint has taught our adversaries that they may strike us without final cost. That our lives are negotiable, and our patience infinite.”

Her attention returned to Yuna, steady and unblinking. “If this is the path Cloud chooses, then understand what it becomes.” A final, quiet statement. “Not weak. Weakness offends no one.” A pause. “Disqualified.” She fell silent again—judgment rendered, no further words required as this was her final, most biting assessment. A weak village is just a victim. But a village that could fight back but chooses not to becomes disqualified—meaning it has lost its right to be considered a serious power or a sovereign nation. By choosing to be "useful" to its enemies rather than dangerous, Cloud has effectively removed itself from the game of nations. It has failed the ultimate test of survival.

“If this course—this restraint, this refusal of consequence—is the will of Kumogakure,” Murasaki said calmly, “then it will be executed.” No hesitation. No resentment. No emotion. Only the facts, the reality, and the consequences were stated. She was simply a tool after all.

[mft]