The path to the Jonin Housing Complex was short but arduous.
Anko leaned heavily on Naruto's shoulder with all her weight. The bravado with which she had met him in the alley melted away with every step. Proximity to the source of the "threat" (Qi) caused the Seal on her neck to go berserk. The parasite gnawed at her nerve endings, sending waves of agony down her spine.
They ascended to her floor. With a trembling hand, Anko pushed open the door to apartment #44. There was no lock—she had kicked it out a couple of days ago in a fit of rage.
They stumbled inside.
Naruto smelled it immediately. This wasn't a living space; it was the lair of a sick animal. Stale air, shards of a broken vase underfoot, empty bottles of cheap sake with which she had apparently tried to drown out the pain.
Anko pushed off him, took two steps, and collapsed onto a torn sofa.
"Damn..." she rasped, tearing off her trench coat. "Damn, damn, damn!"
She dug her hands into her mesh shirt and ripped it, exposing pale skin covered in sticky sweat. The Seal on her neck pulsed like a second, evil heart. Three black tomoe spun, releasing tentacles of dirty chakra under her skin.
"Don't just stand there!" she barked, throwing her head back. Her eyes shone feverishly in the darkness. "Do something!"
Naruto closed the door and walked over to her.
In this chaos, amidst the trash and the smell of pain, he remained the only point of calm.
"I will," he said, looming over her. "But you need to know. This is an operation. I will awaken another energy system within you. It won't just isolate the seal. It will burn it out from the inside."
He grabbed her shoulders, pinning her to the sofa.
"It will hurt, Anko. Your body will become a battlefield."
Anko looked up at him. A light flared in her gaze—wild and desperate.
"Pain?" she licked her dry lips. "I've lived with pain for ten years. I don't give a damn about pain if I can finally get rid of this... do whatever you want."
"Hold on."
He leaned low over her, his chest almost touching hers. His left hand settled on her stomach, where the Dantian would be located; his right covered the burning mark on her neck.
Qi Control: Seed of Qi.
He didn't hold back. He detached a dense, concentrated clot of White Qi from his core, aggressive toward any corruption, and forcefully drove it into her system.
"AAAGH!" Anko arched her back.
It felt as if molten metal had been poured into an open wound.
Naruto's Qi clashed with Orochimaru's chakra.
A tiger seized a snake by the throat.
Anko thrashed in his grip. In a fit of unbearable agony, seeking any anchor point, Anko instinctively pulled Naruto toward herself; she threw her legs up and crossed them at his lower back, pressing him into herself with monstrous force. Her heels dug into his back.
"Look at me!" the Uzumaki barked, holding her down with his body weight. "Don't pass out!"
She threw open her glazed eyes. And, unable to hold back a scream, lunged forward. Her teeth sank into Naruto's neck, biting through jacket and skin.
Naruto didn't pull away. He didn't even flinch. He allowed her to bite, using him as a focus point to keep her from going insane.
Blood soaked his sleeve, but he continued to pour in energy, feeling her thighs squeezing him tighter and tighter, bruising him.
"Accept it," he whispered to her. "Let it become part of you. This is your strength now."
The process lasted several minutes that felt like hours.
Finally, the pulsation under his palm quieted. The mark didn't disappear, but it was encased in a cage of white lines that slowly absorbed into the skin.
The Dantian took its place. The meridians awakened. The parasite was suppressed.
Anko unclenched her jaw. Her limbs, which had held him in a vice grip, slid limply onto the sofa.
Her chest heaved. Sweat streamed down her body, mixing with the dark grime of expelled toxins.
But her face...
The expression of torment was gone. In its place was bliss.
The influence of Orochimaru's residual will faded. The nerve pain was replaced by spreading heat—powerful Qi, having finished the battle, began to nourish the exhausted organism, triggering a release of endorphins.
"Oh..." she exhaled, her eyes rolling back. "Damn..."
She lay with arms spread wide, drunk with relief and the new power circulating through her meridians.
She turned her head to Naruto. He sat nearby, ignoring the bleeding mark on his neck.
He looked paler than usual. Separating a second "Seed of Qi" in one night hit his reserves hard, causing his Dantian to respond with a pulling emptiness and weakness in his limbs.
"You..." Anko reached for him. Her hand, still trembling, touched his face, tracing the whisker marks on his cheeks. "You turned it off. Silence and peace. It's divine."
She pulled him close, burying her forehead in his chest, inhaling his scent.
"You 'marked' me, kid," she whispered hoarsely; there was more intimacy in that whisper than in any confession. "Just like I 'marked' you."
She looked at him with an unfocused, but still predatory, possessive gaze.
"Now you are mine. If you die—I'll bring you back just to kill you again. Got it?"
"I'll be back," Naruto promised. "By then, you might have burned that filth out yourself."
Anko smiled weakly. Her eyelids fluttered and closed. The organism, exhausted by the struggle, shut down. She fell into a deep, restorative sleep.
Naruto slowly straightened up. The mark on his neck throbbed; a bloodstain was spreading on his jacket.
He looked at Anko. She lay unconscious, arms flung out. Beautiful, but covered in a layer of black, foul-smelling sludge—the byproducts of the seal's decay and the body purging toxins.
"Can't leave you like this," he said quietly. "This filth is toxic."
Naruto sighed. He took off his bloodied jacket and vest, remaining in a black T-shirt.
He closed his eyes.
Now he looked at the world only through Qi Sensory. The outlines of furniture, the heat of Anko's body, the pulsation of her new core.
He leaned down and scooped her up into his arms effortlessly, like a child.
He carried her into the bathroom, trying not to hit the doorframes. Turned on the water, adjusting it to a warm temperature.
He placed her in the tub. Jets of water hit the black grime, washing it away, turning the water gray.
Without opening his eyes, he took a sponge.
The touch of slippery, hot skin against his hands was a test. The temptation to open his eyes, to let his hands wander was great, but Naruto just gritted his teeth, holding his concentration on what needed to be done by sheer force of will.
He washed her methodically and carefully. Washed the dirt from her neck, chest, stomach, thighs. His hands touched her bare skin, but there was nothing in these touches except necessity.
When the water ran clear, he turned off the shower.
He wrapped her in a large towel hanging on a hook and carried her back to the room.
The sofa was dirty, so he laid her on the bed, covering her with a clean blanket. He found a large T-shirt in the closet and, deftly manipulating the fabric, put it on her, still with his eyes closed.
Only when Anko was covered and her breathing became even did Naruto open his eyes.
"Phew..." he exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead.
That was harder than all his recent fights.
He went to the table, found a clean sheet of paper and a pen.
He needed to leave instructions. She would wake up with a core of power she didn't understand.
Naruto quickly sketched a diagram of the Circulation, noted the necessity of concealing this power, and the steps for "Color Overlay."
He folded the note and put it in the breast pocket of the T-shirt he had put on her. Right by her heart.
Naruto put on his jacket and vest, hiding the bite.
He cast one last look at the sleeping woman.
Now she looked even more beautiful.
He went out the window, dissolving into the night.
He had one more thing to do.
***
The Hyuga compound slept, but Naruto knew where to look.
He found Hinata in the estate's backyard. She wasn't sleeping—she was meditating under the moon, cementing her cultivation progress.
Naruto landed silently beside her.
Hinata opened her eyes; her Byakugan immediately noticed the fresh bite mark on his neck and the strange mix of energies in his aura. But like a wise woman, she remained silent.
"Naruto-kun? Are you leaving already?"
"Yes. But I need your help again, Hinata."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"I just visited Anko Mitarashi. She... is now one of us too. I performed the initiation."
Hinata's eyes widened.
"The examiner from the forest? Special Jonin Anko? But she's..."
"She was in danger because of Orochimaru's berserk mark. Not anymore. I left her instructions, but she's a novice. She might make a mistake."
Naruto put a hand on Hinata's shoulder.
"Please, look after her. Check on her tomorrow. If something goes wrong, help her. I can only trust you with this."
Hinata straightened up. Steel appeared in her gaze. Naruto was entrusting her with the protection of his loved ones.
"I'll do everything, Naruto-kun. No one will know. I'll watch over Ayame-san and Anko-san. You don't have to worry about anything."
"Thank you."
He smiled at her genuinely.
"I'll be back soon. Get stronger."
"You too."
A shadow flickered and vanished.
***
Morning. Near the Main Gates of Konoha.
The sun was just touching the tops of the trees, painting the sky a pale pink.
Jiraiya was already waiting at the agreed spot. He sat on the railing, swinging a leg clad in a wooden sandal. His huge backpack stood nearby.
Naruto approached silently.
New gear. Chunin vest. Backpack. Full readiness.
"You're a minute late," Jiraiya noted, jumping down to the ground.
"Had things to do."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. The gaze of an experienced spy slid over his student. He noticed the slight pallor and, most importantly, the fresh bite mark on his neck, just above the collar of his jacket.
And the smell.
A mix of medicine, sweet syrup, and female sweat.
The Sannin smirked, understanding flashing in his eyes.
"Oho. Things to do, you say?" he nodded at the neck. "Were things... intense? You smell like the Red Light District after a wild night, only with a hint of poison."
"It's Anko," Naruto replied briefly, adjusting his collar. He didn't make excuses. "I helped her with her seal. Had to use... harsh methods. Otherwise, she wouldn't have survived until my return."
Jiraiya whistled.
"Anko Mitarashi? That student of Orochimaru? The rabid snake? Kid, you have suicidal taste. But I approve. Saving beautiful women is the path of a real man."
He slapped Naruto on the back so hard he almost fell.
"Alright, hero. Let's go already. Great deeds await us, a long road, and the most troublesome woman in the world—Tsunade. Hope you have some strength left after your night 'therapy'."
"More than enough," Naruto adjusted his backpack strap.
They passed the guards.
Naruto turned back for a second.
Konoha was gradually waking up. Somewhere out there was Ayame, who had awakened her cultivation. An actively practicing Hinata. And in a dark apartment slept Anko, in whom the core of this power now also lived.
His rear was covered by people he trusted.
"Let's go," he said, turning to the road.