The Anbu established by Tobirama had already begun to take shape. Its members were all elite Ninjas selected from every Ninja clan. Based on the Ino–Shika–Chō formation that Tobirama emulated, they were organized into four-man squads: one captain and three team members. To facilitate Anbu operations, the uniforms were also improved.
During the Warring States Period, a Ninja's combat attire consisted of light armor, which provided excellent defense but also imposed a certain burden on movement.
Of course, for masters like Hashirama and Madara, light armor was of little consequence, but considering the changing nature of combat, Tobirama decided to redesign the combat attire.
Building upon the light armor, the weight was further reduced while retaining some defensive capabilities. In Fūmori Masaki's impression, this was the transition between the battle armor of the Warring States Period and the tight-fitting uniforms of the future Anbu. Presumably, as the Anbu developed, the light armor would become increasingly lightweight, eventually matching the uniforms seen decades later.
What Fūmori Masaki found somewhat fortunate was that the Anbu at this time did not yet have the duty of espionage, so there was no need to wear those animal-patterned masks. Honestly, they really didn't look good.
Fūmori Masaki felt that before the Anbu developed those kinds of masks, he would have already left this place. While it wasn't impossible to wear one, he didn't really like it; better not to wear one if possible.
After selecting the Anbu members, Tobirama began ordering them to undergo training again and again, focusing primarily on coordination within the squads and between the squads.
Although Fūmori Masaki and the others were disciples of the Hokage, in terms of age, they were very young within the Anbu. The others were all older Ninjas from their respective clans; therefore, they were not qualified to be captains and were instead assigned to squads as team members.
Just as Satomi had promised, Fūmori Masaki requested that Tobirama allow Satomi to fight alongside him. Tobirama had already intended to transfer Satomi into the Anbu, so now that Fūmori Masaki had proactively proposed it, with the only condition being to fight side-by-side, he naturally agreed and placed Satomi and Fūmori Masaki in the same squad.
The other person in the squad was Uchiha Kagami. It was likely that Tobirama considered the close relationship between Uchiha Kagami and Fūmori Masaki; they had frequently practiced together while at the Konoha Academy and had already developed a tacit understanding, which was why he placed them in the same squad.
But perhaps because of Satomi, the Anbu captain in charge of their squad turned out to be Senju Touka, an elite Female Ninja of the Senju Clan. When Satomi saw her, she appeared very happy; having a familiar elder as their captain was very reassuring.
Fūmori Masaki had it a bit rough. Senju Touka treated Satomi like her own daughter, and she had very high expectations for Fūmori Masaki, her "son-in-law," often assigning him troublesome tasks during training.
Satomi knew that Senju Touka wasn't just making things difficult for Fūmori Masaki, but was actually helping him improve his strength, so she was naturally happy to watch this unfold. Uchiha Kagami didn't say anything either, instead joining Satomi in watching the spectacle.
Fūmori Masaki was both annoyed and amused by the two of them. Although Senju Touka did indeed add many tasks for him, it truly served to enhance his strength, so Fūmori Masaki didn't say anything. After all, she was an elder to Satomi and also a teacher, so he would give her some face.
Senju Touka possessed outstanding strength and was renowned for her genjutsu. Having survived years of conflict against the Uchiha Clan, her level of genjutsu was naturally astonishing. Even Uchiha Kagami admitted that he could not best Senju Touka in genjutsu; if he were not careful, he would be deceived by her illusions. Although these were only slight misperceptions, they were enough to turn the tide in battle.
Fūmori Masaki was secretly amazed; one truly could not underestimate these Ninjas who had survived the Warring States Period. Even the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan were merely active participants in this Warring States Period; in other places, there were many other Ninja clans that could be mentioned in the same breath as them. If one were to speak of the only ones who transcended this era, it would only be Hashirama and Madara.
Anbu training was very arduous. Compared to pure strength, they had to adhere more to the duties of a Ninja, which was a completely different direction from the training at the Konoha Academy or under Tobirama. During breaks, Fūmori Masaki, who was specifically "cared for" by Senju Touka, had a training load even greater than the others, and was naturally more exhausted.
Of course, with Senjutsu at his disposal, Fūmori Masaki wouldn't really be exhausted to the point of collapse, but he deliberately put on a look of extreme fatigue. No matter how much Satomi liked to watch the spectacle, she would still feel sorry for her husband at this time and stay by his side to keep him company.
Uchiha Kagami naturally could see Fūmori Masaki's true condition. He wouldn't expose Fūmori Masaki, but he felt a bit envious and sighed, wondering why his own wife wasn't here—if she were, he could also imitate Fūmori Masaki and pull off something like this.
Although Uchiha Kagami's wife, Uchiha Maki, was a gentle woman, for those born into the Uchiha Clan, combat was already ingrained in their blood; she should have been able to join the Anbu. However, out of caution regarding the Uchiha Clan, Tobirama only allowed Uchiha Clan Members he trusted to enter the Anbu. Furthermore, considering the personality of the Uchiha Clan he had discovered, Tobirama did not let Uchiha Maki enter the Anbu, but instead had her serve in the Security Department.
Fūmori Masaki supported this decision by Tobirama; if Uchiha Maki were to die in war, Uchiha Kagami would surely have his personality twisted due to intense mental trauma. Do not think that just because Uchiha Kagami already possessed three tomoe and still maintained a gentle demeanor, he was different from other Uchiha Clan Members. Fūmori Masaki believed that the reason Uchiha Kagami had not yet appeared to have a twisted personality was simply because he had higher aptitude.
After the Security Department was established, Fūmori Masaki discovered some patterns in the Uchiha Clan Members patrolling along the way. Ordinary Uchiha Clan Members would show obvious personality changes when they unlocked two tomoe—arrogance, coldness, extremism, madness, and so on.
As for the Uchiha Clan Members with outstanding aptitude, such as those who unlocked three tomoe, it was said that they did not have such significant personality changes when they only had two tomoe. But once they reached the three-tomoe stage, their personalities began to lean towards extremism.
Fūmori Masaki speculated that the more outstanding the aptitude of an Uchiha Clan Member, the less intense mental trauma they needed to trigger changes in their Sharingan. Therefore, those Uchiha Clan Members with the aptitude to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan would not appear twisted even when they reached the three-tomoe stage.
However, the Mangekyo Sharingan was a power that truly required great sorrow to awaken; only at this moment would a person become crazed due to intense mental trauma. Uchiha Kagami's outstanding aptitude allowed him to reach a realm that ordinary Uchiha Clan Members could never reach in their entire lives without having to endure great sorrow. Yet, once he stepped into the realm of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he too would be cursed by the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan.
Fūmori Masaki had once asked Uchiha Kagami if he wanted the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Uchiha Kagami thought for a moment and told Fūmori Masaki a secret history of the Uchiha Clan, which he had learned after reading the clan records upon becoming clan leader—
He said that the Uchiha were a clan that enjoyed fighting. Throughout history, the Uchiha Clan had often fallen to the brink of extinction due to intense competition, and whenever this happened, someone possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan would appear and lead the Uchiha Clan to prosperity once again.
Basically, possessors of the Mangekyo Sharingan were seen as symbols of the clan's rise. In the late Warring States Period, when Madara and Izuna, two possessors of the Mangekyo Sharingan, appeared in the Uchiha Clan, they thought they had finally defeated the Senju Clan, but for some reason, two heroes, Hashirama and Tobirama, had also appeared in the Senju Clan.
Uchiha Kagami said that the Mangekyo Sharingan was indeed a very powerful force, but he always had a feeling that the Mangekyo Sharingan brought some kind of curse. If possible, he did not wish for this power to appear within the Uchiha Clan.
Fūmori Masaki sighed inwardly; in some respects, Uchiha Kagami was indeed different from other Uchiha Clan Members. Although he did not yet fully understand the secrets of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he had vaguely sensed the curse behind it and rejected it. However, it was not up to Uchiha Kagami to say whether it would exist or not; once the time came, Uchiha Kagami would inevitably unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan, because he had the qualification.
If that day truly came, Fūmori Masaki hoped that Uchiha Kagami would not become completely twisted, at least not like Uchiha Obito, turning his back on the entire world. He even had an unrealistic, extremely low-probability fantasy—that Uchiha Kagami would not be the same as other Uchiha Clan Members.
After several months of experiencing Anbu training, Tobirama was working hard on further developing the Village, when suddenly, unfortunate news arrived from the capital.
The Daimyo had passed away.