Naruto : The System Files

Chapter no.113 Simulation Exercise

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. His week had not been a pleasant one. He had hoped working with his surrogate grandson would ease the tension between them but the boy had been closed off. Agreeable, polite, dedicated to his task, but a wall to anything else. The investigation of the sabotage at the Academy was going nowhere yet. Mizuki had been broken by T&I but had revealed nothing of importance. Sure, the silver-haired man had blurted worrying bits of information but nothing that could lead anyone forward. As for Iruka Umino, the teacher was making slow, if steady, progress but it was clear he was not in his element.

Finally, and it had been the most frustrating thing for the Hokage, he could not find something convincing to do about Naruto's situation. He had taken the grand resolution to give his surrogate grandson the recognition he deserved but he had no idea how to go about it.

He could not force anything on anyone. How would he even do it? By threatening his population? The goal was to establish trust and understanding, not to make people even more fearful. Organize crash course in fuinjutsu? The art was so complex, civilians and ninjas alike would probably end up even more confused.

He could mount a subtle propaganda operation but it would take years before anything would come off it. While it would have been a great idea twelve years ago, it was now too late. Showcasing the blond in a chunin exam, then? Naruto would need a proper, official genin team for it to work, to avoid being accused of favoritism. This particular ship had sailed and would not be possible for a while.

Get out of his office and knocking at each and every doors of Konoha to explain as best as he could, that Naruto was not dangerous? He was an old man busy with too much work, he had no time for such a stunt.

The only thing Hiruzen could imagine that would bring instant recognition for the blond was if he accomplished, unmasked, some grand exploit in front of the villagers. Something like saving their Hokage, battling back an invasion, or anything like that.

Given that Konoha had never been invaded, the Kyuubi attack notwithstanding, it was not likely anything like that would happen anytime soon. And Hiruzen knew that Naruto would not accept anything staged. He was not sure Naruto would accept anything at all, actually.

The Hokage groaned as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. Life was difficult sometimes.

...

Naruto began his third week in ANBU with Dragon welcoming him with his three instructors, the owl-masked woman from last week, and a sixth masked man. The newcomer had sandy blond hair and a hawk mask.

"Today Naruto, you'll go through your first simulation exercise," Tiger explained with his unchanging monotone.

If there was a constant in Naruto's life, it was his instructor's voice. The blond stayed silent. He knew that all necessary information would be explained in due time.

"Simulation exercises are basically simulated missions carried within the village or around. They test various things; among them your stealth, your ingenuity, and so on. You'll be designated a target who knows only that they are taking part in a training exercise-"

"So that they don't freak out," completed the blond.

"Correct. We will be observing you. You'll warm up properly in one of the training ground inside Konoha and then the exercise will begin. Let's go."

[ Alert: World Quest ]

[ Quest Title: Stealth Retrieval ]

[ Objective: Retrieve a designated item from a Target - a fellow ANBU member who is aware of participating in an exercise but unaware of your identity and objectives. The task must be completed within 3 hours. ]