Chapter 49: The Unfinished Cutscene
That evening, after Haruko gave everyone instructions for after his departure, he called Feng aside.
"While I'm away, the safety of the shop and the house is in your hands."
"Mhm, don't worry, dear. I'll keep a close eye on your 'harem' for you."
Haruko ignored her wild words and continued finalizing the details.
"In an emergency, you can seek help from the Hyuga, or even take them and flee Konoha."
Feng was a bit surprised by Haruko's arrangement: "Hmph~ Is that okay? Aren't you afraid I'll take the opportunity to bring them back to the Village?"
'What else? Isn't that what this fallback plan is for? If I don't choose you, should I trust the Third Elder instead?"
Mentally complaining, Haruko's face remained unmoved: "You wouldn't. And if you judge it necessary, you can."
"Geez..." The unexpected trust touched Feng. "You'll get tricked by bad women like this..."
She blushed and quickly pecked Haruko on the cheek.
"Stay safe. Come back as soon as you can..."
The next morning.
Haruko was fully equipped, standing at the gates of Konoha, yawning as he waited for his "bodyguard and tour guide."
Soon, Anko appeared at the end of the street.
She was still in her iconic outfit, but her backpack was bulging, a bag of snacks was even hanging from the side, and she was holding a map while humming a tune.
Haruko's eye twitched.
Looking at Anko's excited expression that screamed "we're going on an excursion," there wasn't a hint of the tension of being on a mission.
"Kept you waiting?" She winked at Haruko. "Ready, kid?"
"Yeah. So, where should we start looking?"
"..."
Anko's silence was deafening.
"???"
"Anko, you wouldn't happen to be..."
"Ahem, it's a mission precisely because there are no clues!" Anko nodded, looking like she had everything under control, but she didn't dare make eye contact with Haruko. "Anyway, let's get out of the Village first."
The two left the Village aimlessly just like that, and Haruko took the map from Anko's hands.
Walking along the main road for a while, Haruko suddenly stopped.
"I've studied the places where Jiraiya might appear and mapped out a search route."
Anko leaned over to look, and her eyebrows immediately shot up.
The map was densely marked with various symbols; upon closer inspection, they were all hot springs, bathhouses, bars, and red-light districts, stretching from Konoha all the way to the Land of Hot Springs.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you that horny?!"
Haruko put away the map with a straight face: "Jiraiya's hobbies are well-known. Instead of searching aimlessly, it's better to cater to his interests."
Anko opened her mouth, unable to find a reason to refute him.
She knew about Jiraiya's hobbies too. The route looked very improper, but thinking about it carefully, it actually made some sense.
"T-that's fine... But! If you dare to use this as an excuse to do anything weird, I'll string you up!"
"Don't worry, I have no interest in those places." Haruko waved his hand. "I just want to finish the mission early and go back to lie down."
The two wandered along the main road until evening, when they set up camp in a small grove.
Haruko skillfully used Earth Release to build a simple Earth House, used Fire Release to start a campfire, and even took out some tea leaves from his backpack.
"Still so convenient... It reminds me of the time I took you on a mission before."
Anko sat by the campfire, looking nostalgic.
"Oh." Haruko responded perfunctorily.
'If you hadn't given me a passing grade, I could have gone back to school to retake (slack off) for a few more months... and I wouldn't have gone to the front lines, gotten involved with Shisui... and then been dragged into Uchiha's mess."
The more Haruko thought about it, the more he felt Anko was causing him trouble, even though he rationally knew he was just taking his anger out on her.
Perhaps sensing it, Anko suddenly stood up and stretched her limbs: "Hey, Haruko, since we have time now, why don't we spar?"
"Spar? No need, right?"
"As a teacher, it's only right to check on a student's progress. Besides, I haven't seen your true strength yet."
"Ah—what a pain." Haruko sighed and put down the teapot.
"Fine, let's just spar a little. But it's agreed, we'll stop once we make our point."
"Here I come!" Anko grinned and charged straight at him, throwing a straight punch aimed directly at Haruko's face.
Haruko tilted his body slightly, dodging easily, and simultaneously reached out to grab something in the air.
Smack!
An invisible gust of wind slapped Anko on the forehead. Although it didn't cause any damage, being hit by an unexpected attack made her step back and create some distance.
"What the hell kind of Ninjutsu is that?!"
"This is a Wind Release: Fly Swatter I invented when I was bored."
"You!" Anko was so angry her face turned red. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Several poisonous snakes shot out from her sleeves, lunging at Haruko.
"Wind Release: Kitchen Knife."
Swish, swish, swish—
Invisible wind blades danced with his gestures, cutting the poisonous snakes into pieces in the air, which then dissipated into smoke.
Anko was stunned: "Vacuum Sword?!"
"No, no, no." Haruko waved his hand. "This is a Wind Blade Kitchen Knife, for cutting vegetables."
"You guy, are you messing with me!"
Anko was getting heated, no longer holding back, and began using orthodox Taijutsu, aiming every strike at vital points.
"Earth Release: Rock Furniture."
Haruko was unhurried, retreating and dodging while using Earth Release to create obstacles.
The simple obstacles were shattered by Anko's kick—
"Heh, this level of...?!"
—but when she tried to lift her leg again, she found it stuck.
"Water Release: Sticky Rat Trap."
"A diversion? But..."
Anko had naturally seen Izumo Kamizuki's Mizuame-no-Hara; one just needed to release Chakra from under their feet to break free—
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"
—but because the released Chakra pushed her away from the ground, it made her even easier to be blown away.
Blowing Anko ten meters away in one breath, Haruko clapped his hands: "Anko, I think that's enough."
Anko gritted her teeth and stood up, flames seemingly burning in her eyes.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm a Special Jonin!"
She formed hand seals with both hands, and Chakra began to surge.
Seeing Anko's "fight-to-the-death" stance, Haruko frowned.
'What's wrong with this woman? It's just a spar, is it necessary to be this serious?"
Having traveled all day, having to accompany her in exercise, and now having to stay up late, this made Haruko, who originally just wanted to rest early, a bit irritable.
"Since you're so interested, Anko... then I'll get serious too."
Even though he started forming hand seals later than Anko, Haruko activated his Ninjutsu faster.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
A dozen flames arched through the air, sealing off Anko's room for evasion.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."
Anko spewed a fire dragon that directly swallowed the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, heading straight for Haruko.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."
An earth wall rose from the ground, blocking Haruko.
Boom—
The fire dragon hit the earth wall, kicking up a lot of dust.
Only then did Anko realize with shock that Haruko's strength exceeded her imagination; she had unknowingly used her full power and seemed to have gone too hard.
"Haruko!"
Anko, rushing forward in a panic, had her ankles grabbed by a pair of hands bursting from the ground.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu."
The ground beneath her feet loosened, and Anko was dragged directly into the earth, with only half her body exposed.
'Only went down halfway, is it because she's too big and got stuck?... No!"
The moment her feet were grabbed, Anko immediately used Hidden Shadow Snake Hands to spread onto the ground, using it as support to avoid being completely dragged into the earth.
Watching Anko about to crawl out of the pit.
"Water Release: Water Wave."
The Water Release poured down, turning the loose soil into mud, slowing down Anko's speed in breaking free, and also soaking Anko's body.
"Anko, if you don't surrender, I'm going to use Lightning Release."
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