That is a good point - they might be keeping things hazy just so they can explain it in the future...

I completely forgot that ANBU and hunter-nin might not be the same thing. I remember in the first episodes, Haku was called a "hunter-nin" when he wore the mask, and later on the Leaf Village ninja wearing masks were called ANBU. I guess different mask types denote different roles? The ANBU masks are all animal-like, while the hunter-nin mask Haku was wearing was just decorative, with a spiral... Anyone know if there's actually a difference?