CH_4.3 (103)

CH_4.3 (103)

"Setsuna..."

Uchiha Setsuna stopped to look back as he was about to exit the Leaf Military Police Force.

"Yakumi?"

The one to call out to him was Uchiha Yakumi, one of the squad supervisors.

"Can we talk about the recruit you're sending me tomorrow?" Yakumi asked.

Setsuna looked at his wristwatch. It was already past working hours, and he wanted to return home to his family. Talking about work after hours was his least liked thing to do, but looking at Yakumi and thinking about the man's reputation, he deemed it prudent to have the conversation with him.

"Let's talk over tea," Setsuna sighed— if he was being made to work after hours, he would make Yakumi pay for some evening tea and sweets for his children.

"What do you want to know?" Setsuna asked Yakumi sitting across from him in the busy tea shop inside the Uchiha complex.

"Who're you sending me?" asked Yakumi, setting his teacup down.

"You must've gotten the file."

"I read the file; that's why I want to know why send him to me? This Takuma kid... I don't see it."

Setsuna sipped his tea. "You don't like what you say?"

"All I saw was an inconsistent record with too many irregularities for my liking. I'd much rather appreciate someone reliable than someone with high peaks sprinkled between lows."

The special recruits were to be sent to departments Setsuna and the instructors had chosen for them by observing them during the training period. Their locations were based on the recruit's skill and the department pecking order. Not all departments were equal— based on the crimes, media attention, and politics, departments in the Leaf Military Police Force were considered of varying importance.

Yakumi's department happened to be among the top of said pecking order, if not the very best. While most departments weren't genuinely excited by the incoming recruits because of their origins— if they were going to get recruits, they needed to be the best. Yakumi's department head insisted (demanded) that they get the best of the recruits— and Yakumi's squad was the one to receive the recruit.

Setsuna couldn't say he hadn't seen this coming; Yakumi's department was strict about who they let in, no matter the recruit's background.

The dossier Setsuna had sent consisted of Takuma's shinobi file without the censored information (he couldn't go around spreading confidential information to anyone when it took his jonin supervisor's clearance to get it) along with Takuma's training reports and logs.

"I want to know what's not in the file," asked Yakumi.

Setsuna crossed his hands and thought about the question. If it had been the normal recruits, he wouldn't have an answer, for he hadn't directly supervised or trained them, but Yakumi was asking about one of their new special recruits, who he had worked closely with for the past two and a half months. The training had finally ended, and the trained recruits would be joining official duty from tomorrow.

"Before training, I too worried about his inconsistency," said Setsuna. He was mostly interested in Takuma's C-rank mission record. "But... he's 'strangely' competent."

"What do you mean?" Yakumi asked, hearing the inflection.

"He's a slow learner, but once he gets the hang of it, things stick in his mind like glue. That's not the strange part— the strange part is how he seemingly already knows all sorts of things that our people usually learn on the job through the years."

Setsuna recalled how Takuma knew precisely where to pat a person down to find hidden bundles and packages; when the recruits were taken to an arson scene, Takuma already knew how to sift through debris to look for the source of fire; he could crowd control with ease through clear instructions delivered using his chakra-enhanced voice; had an unexpected amount of knowledge of major and minor gangs and groups around the Leaf village; when he was sat down at a desk in one of the precincts, he guided the civilians and visitors as if he was used to doing it.Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

"One thing I'm sure you'd appreciate is that he listens and follows." Setsuna had seen many recruits who thought they were hot-shit when they entered duty, wanting to take charge and acting as if older shinobi didn't know crap. Takuma wasn't like them. "He keeps his head down, does his work, and... he observes. There was a week where I worked every day with the recruits when I noticed that every time, he'd be the last to speak— he isn't mute or sparse with his words— Takuma observes first, takes people's points, and only then presents his thoughts."

"You know of me?"

"Yes, sir. I was the outside help on the Higurashi pharmaceutical case," it didn't have a name back then— but the media had given it one.

A look of remembrance flashed across Yakumi's face. "Chunin Iruka was the one we brought in. Yes, I remember it now. And you were part of his team back then? I heard about the Land of Frost mission. How is he doing?"

"He has decided to take a break away from the field and has joined the Shinobi Academy as a teacher."

"An admirable route," Yakumi nodded, but his tone didn't hold no such sentiment. Takuma could tell that he had said it just for the sake of saying it. Yakumi continued, "Let's not waste any more of our day. It's time to introduce you to the team."

As Yakumi led him, Takuma felt nervousness creep up with every step. The training was something of a honeymoon period. It was tough, in some ways as brutal as the training under Taskmaster Yoshio, but it was very much an instructional training course where he was okay as long as he did what was asked of him. Do this, get that, and as long as he did it correctly, he was praised/not punished.

But the actual job was different because inside of the classroom was nothing like the real world.

Since he had found himself in the world, Takuma had never thought he had been handed something he didn't deserve. All of his skills he had worked to the bone to achieve them; his academy graduation gained through a year of misery; he had won the final tournament through grit and decisions that set himself for victory; his D-rank missions worked like a laborer; he got his Ring 'membership' because of his win at the final tournament and the gains through the Ring were an outcome of blood and sweat; he had nabbed his position at Iruka's team through a great impression and had retained his spot in every mission through pure results; even his drug dealing's earnings were a result of good service.

But the opportunity at the Leaf Military Police Force had come out of the left field. He hadn't sought it, nor had he wished for it. Iruka had thrown it in his lap as a way to take care of him.

Maybe because of that, Takuma felt he didn't deserve to be a part of the very illustrious organization. He felt that he needed more time, more skills, and more merit to earn.

He felt he wasn't ready for it.

"You'll be working under me..." Takuma buried his thoughts and focused on Yakumi, who continued, "So, I'll say this straight to your face. I dislike this arrangement, and you shouldn't be with us...."

That did wonders for Takuma's anxiety.

"People work hard to be in the position you've been handed on a silver platter. These aren't my thoughts, but everyone's." Yakumi walked one step ahead of Takuma and spoke without looking at him. "You will be under constant observation, your moves will be gone through a fine-tooth comb, and your peers will try to pick your faults to undermine you— so beware, make a wrong move, and it'll be announced and paraded through the department."

Takuma felt his feet turn into heavy stone. He pulled on his vest around his neck to let some air in as he kept his lips sealed shut. He felt Yakumi's every single word like a hammer through his body, mind, and spirit.

He was a drug dealer and underground prizefighter about to join official duty in the police. After the Uchiha, who would soon all be killed, he was the person in the most danger due to his occupation. Being under observation was the last thing he wanted.

But it was about to become his reality.

They arrived in front of large double doors that were fully open, and a raucous coming from inside. Yakumi turned to Takuma and pointed at the red strap around Takuma's arm with the Leaf Military Police Force insignia sewn into it.

"You don't deserve that." Yakumi looked Takuma in the eye. "But if you do the work, do it well, and prove without a doubt that you deserve to be here— then I'll personally help you to shut every doubter down.

Genin Takuma, welcome to the Leaf Military Police Force."

With a heart that drummed in his heart, Takuma looked above the double doors with a plaque bolted on the wall.

[Department of Organized Crime]

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