"Nara Kazuki, do you know about the ANBU?"
Sitting in the Hokage's office across from Minato Namikaze, Kazuki instantly understood where this was headed.
He'd only just been promoted to Chūnin, and already he was blindsided.
"Yeah, I know," Kazuki replied, deadpan. "That's the special ops unit in the village, right? A bunch of furries who love wearing animal masks."
He was completely serious.
Meanwhile, his thoughts spun like a shuriken.
He honestly hadn't expected the Fourth Hokage to try recruiting him into the ANBU.
He thought stuff was reserved for guys like Kakashi. Hardcore types. But now apparently, he was getting dragged in too.
"Fur... furries?" Minato blinked, momentarily stunned. He had been fully prepared to speak solemnly about ANBU protocol.
He knew about the animal masks. The code names. Standard procedure.
Kazuki had the urge to answer:
"People who get excited at the sight of animals."
But he held back. As a proper office drone in a past life, he understood rule number one of survival: don't piss off future coworkers.
Instead, he tactfully changed the subject.
"Lord Fourth, are you asking me to join the ANBU?"
If it had been Hiruzen Sarutobi in that chair, the old man probably would've pressed him for an explanation. Then Kazuki would've had to explain what a furry kink was. Maybe even detour into a lecture about Windows XP.
But this was Minato. The Fourth. He let the topic go without fuss and nodded.
"Yes. I'd like you to join ANBU—and partner with Kakashi."
Straightforward. No fluff.
Kazuki inhaled sharply.
Look, all those shitty rom-com manga authors need to take notes.
This is what efficiency looks like. If Minato were a protagonist in a romance series, he'd confess the moment he caught feelings, and the rest of the story would just be fluffy married life.
"Lord Hokage, what happens if I refuse?" Kazuki asked, expression serious.
Joining ANBU came with its own pros and cons.
The good: better pay, higher status, access to advanced ninjutsu.
Outside of clan-exclusive techniques, high-level jutsu in Konoha were tightly regulated—most civilians had zero chance of acquiring them. Even something like Shadow Clone Jutsu seemed common, but without access or training, it remained locked away forever.
During wartime, everyone was at risk. But in peacetime, ANBU was still the most dangerous department.
Kazuki also wasn't in dire need of high-tier ninjutsu right now. His goal was clear: max out Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique and Shadow Imitation Jutsu. Worst case, he could do what Naruto did—change his chakra nature and claim he invented a new jutsu.
"It's nothing mandatory," Minato smiled warmly. "I just think you have the right talent for it."
If it had been Danzo saying that, he'd assume it was a setup to get him sucked into ROOT.
But coming from Minato... he could trust it.
The Fourth was genuinely kind. Beloved in the village.
And part of why Naruto's childhood ended up so tragic was probably because the Fourth died protecting Konoha from the Nine-Tails.
People just couldn't bring themselves to hate Minato. He was too likeable.
"I'm willing to join, Lord Hokage," Kazuki nodded.
His top priority was still one thing: getting stronger.
And ANBU had privileges. Even some access to Kushina's upcoming delivery.
Kazuki was dying for a chance to wreck Obito with a surprise.
Soon after, Kazuki got a taste of Konoha's notorious work speed.
That same afternoon, he received:
A small set of animal masks to choose from
A form where he needed to pick his code name
Kazuki gave the options a glance and picked a fox mask, the most common.
For his code name, he casually wrote down "Shika" (Deer). Seemed fitting—he was from the Nara clan, after all. Raising deer was kind of their thing.
"'Shika' is taken. Add another word," said the ANBU handler without even looking up.
Typical. Simple names were already claimed.
"...Shika-sensei?" Kazuki tried. The man's face didn't move.
Shame. He wanted to make that "Master Shika, what do you do for a living?" joke.
"How about... 'Teenage Springtime Bambi Meets Seductive Wolf-Senpai in Black Stockings'?"
The man's face darkened like he'd just eaten raw centipedes.
Still no, apparently.
"Screw it. Let's go with Aka-Shika (Red Deer)," Kazuki finally said, recalling a hunting game from his previous life.
The man let out a breath of relief and immediately filled it in, handed Kazuki the fox mask, gave him a start date three days later, and bolted.
He looked terrified Kazuki might try brainstorming more names.
That night at Ichiraku Ramen, Kazuki slurped noodles next to Kakashi.
"What's your code name?" he asked between bites.
"Shikarō," Kakashi replied, glancing at his deluxe combo ramen with obvious satisfaction.
Finally—a meal paid for by Kazuki.
"Aka-Shika," Kazuki answered, sipping his broth with a pleased expression.
Damn, Ichiraku really was good. No wonder Naruto was obsessed with it.
"...Aren't the Nara clan's deer supposed to be spotted deer?" Kakashi muttered.
"What the hell is a red deer supposed to be?"
Kazuki sighed dramatically.
"Originally, I wanted to go with 'Supreme Overlord Invincible Cultivation Saint Battle-Deer', but alas..."
"..." Kakashi covered his face with one hand.
Thank the Sage he'd settled for Aka-Shika. Otherwise, on missions he'd have to call out:
"Hey! Supreme Overlord Invincible Cultivation Saint Battle-Deer, flank right!"
By the time he finished saying that, half the enemy would be dead.
"Oh right, Kakashi—do you know about ninken?" Kazuki suddenly asked.
He'd raised his ninja dogs himself. Loyal partners. Trusted friends. They'd helped him more times than he could count.