Naruto: Stormbreaker

In the hidden ANBU headquarters sat an agent with a thin body wearing a sparrow mask. The surrounding air was filled with an unusual excitement, the kind that only appeared on the rare days when the entire ANBU unit got to witness the suffering of new recruits. It was practically a treasured tradition at this point, a rite of passage woven so deeply into their culture that even the most stoic agents secretly looked forward to it. The veterans would mock the poor soul’s assignment with the enthusiasm of individuals who had survived far worse, laugh at their misfortune, then later pat them on the back and pass down their hard earned advice on how to survive in an organization that was as unforgiving as it was strict. It was the closest thing the ANBU had to a welcome party, and even that was a generous description.

Sparrow exhaled as multiple ANBU looked at him with anticipation while he held a closed envelope containing his assignment. An old and gruff voiced ANBU wearing a turtle mask slapped him on the back. ”Come on, Sparrow, stop being a coward and open it.” Sparrow gulped, remembering how other agents had been assigned to protect some pompous noble kid, or ordered to guard a warehouse filled with ancient scrolls all day, and another had received a cleaning assignment and cried in despair.

Sparrow finally summoned his courage, opened the envelope and took out the paper with the assignment written on it. A puzzled look appeared under the mask as he said in a confused tone, ”I am assigned to monitor an orphan called Noa for only two hours a day. I got lucky.” Sparrow stood up, almost knocking the chair behind him, before noticing something unsettling. Unlike the previous cheers, laughter, and mockery that accompanied earlier assignments, all the old agents looked shaken, with a few taking deep breaths, which caused Sparrow’s fear to ignite like dormant embers coming to life.

”What is going on? It is just a kid,” Sparrow said.

Turtle, to Sparrow’s surprise, replied with a sad tone. ”Sorry, kid, you got the short end of the stick there.”

The new recruits exchanged confused looks as Sparrow asked again, ”Why is everyone acting like that?”

Turtle sighed. ”Yes, he is a kid, but only in age. In reality he resembles a demon.” Sparrow felt his stomach twist as he asked with a shaking voice, ”How so?”

Turtle looked back, as a man wearing a gorilla mask, who was leaning against a wall, spoke up. ”When he was six years old, he ventured into the woods and actually went through the village walls using a gap no one had discovered before. Not only that, he came into contact with a bear, and they fought. A six year old kid fought a bear.”

Sparrow recoiled. ”How can that be? How is he alive? He is an orphan. Did someone from a clan teach or train him?”

Gorilla shook his head. ”No. He fought it with his own hands. When the barrier team sensed someone going outside the wall, I was sent. When I reached him, he had already taken one eye from the bear and caused it so much damage the creature looked like it was in agony.” Sparrow shivered as Gorilla added, ”When I saw him fighting the bear and the state the bear was in, my first thought was to... help the bear.”*

Sparrow tried to regain some confidence and puffed his chest out. ”He is just a kid. He got lucky, that is all.”

Turtle shook his head before turning toward another man wearing a boar mask. Boar looked like he desperately did not want to speak, but everyone stared until he finally gave in. ”He is not just a kid.”

He looked down, clearly traumatized, then continued. ”One day I was coming back from a mission and going through the forest in the dark when I heard a strange buzzing sound. When I reached the source, I found him. That demon kid. Sitting on the ground, laughing maniacally in the dark forest.”

Sparrow stumbled back. ”Well, that is not...”

Boar cut him off. ”He was sitting there naked. He looked me right in the eyes and did not even blink. Then he curtsied, dressed himself calmly, and acted like nothing had happened. Like I did not exist.”**

The new agents recoiled as they looked at Sparrow, pity and sorrow radiating from them as his brave mask cracked. ”Can I switch assignment?” he asked.

Turtle replied with a firm tone. ”No. You got unlucky. You will have to live with it. That is your fate.”

Sparrow laughed with a hint of madness. ”I will observe him from far, far away. He will not see me or feel my presence. I will not interact with him.” It sounded like a good strategy, and even Turtle looked impressed he came up with it so fast.

However, a sound drifted from the darkness. A woman in a cat mask stepped out of the shadows, causing everyone to flinch. No one had noticed her before. The old agents bowed with respect, and Turtle whispered in Sparrow’s ear, ”She is one of the most senior agents. She is a ghost who finishes her missions without any detection. No enemy has ever seen her coming. Even we cannot detect her.”

Sparrow noticed the reverence in his tone and the respect from the old agents as she finally spoke. ”That thing is not human.”

She looked around as the room grew dimmer, her body radiating shadows that made it harder to focus on her form. ”I was never detected. Ever. I have assassinated jonin and high ranking nobles while they were protected by their entire army without anyone catching or seeing me. However, one day, I was observing that thing from a very far distance. He was just walking like usual, not feeling or sensing my presence.”

She stopped, building suspense as every agent in the room froze.

”However, for the only time in my ANBU career...” Her voice darkened. ”He suddenly stopped. He twisted his head and, with a horrifying grin, looked directly at me. Not in my direction. At me. From that distance he looked into my eyes. It pierced straight into my soul. Then he smirked and looked away, as if telling me he knew I was there and was allowing me to observe him.”***

The old agents gasped at the knowledge that the ghost, who was never detected, had been seen by an orphan kid. They had never heard that story before, and the revelation shook them deeply.

Sparrow almost collapsed as Turtle helped steady him. The cat masked woman was swallowed by the shadows and disappeared as silently as she had arrived, while everyone sent a silent prayer for Sparrow.

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Noa sneezed as he looked around. ”Is someone talking about me?” He glanced left and right, then shrugged before returning to the important task of inhaling a milk chocolate bar he had ”borrowed” from a rich merchant’s kid, even though it was the merchant who refused to give him a discount on food. As he chewed, he calmly proclaimed, ”Milk chocolate is without a doubt the superior chocolate,” completely unaware of the mental scars he had just left on some of the most powerful operatives the village had.

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* Chapter 7

https://www.webnovel.com/book/naruto-stormbreaker_32310583600943605/Chapter-7-i-cast-rock!-it’s-super-effective!_87031233279749521

** Chapter 31

https://www.webnovel.com/book/naruto-stormbreaker_32310583600943605/Chapter-31-anbu-hate-him.find-out-why-with-this-one-chakra-trick-they-don%E2%80%99t-want-you-to-know!_87609043954228590

*** Chapter 33

https://www.webnovel.com/book/naruto-stormbreaker_32310583600943605/Chapter-33-step-1-breathe-in.-step-2-breathe-out.-step-3-step-4-profit!_87679270561830402

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A/N: Thank you all for one million views. I wanted to celebrate in a normal, responsible way, but then my brain said, ”what if ANBU trauma.” So here we are. I still cannot comprehend that one million people on RR and WN read my story. I had never written anything before this, and seeing this happen is incredible. For better or worse I left a mark on a lot of people, and I hope it was for the better. Thank you all for giving my story a chance. I am and will always be grateful for every single reader I have. Love you all, and I miss you already