"I surrender! I surrender!" Anko raised both hands, her face full of frustration.
"Seriously, what kind of freakish Genin are you? No wonder Hokage-sama made an exception and approved your participation in the Chunin Exams."
For an ordinary ninja, being able to use one or two C-rank ninjutsu besides the Three Basic Techniques was already enough to qualify for promotion to Chunin.
But Ruichi knew more ninjutsu than some Jonin—and he could even chain them together into combinations!
And that activation speed…
She'd known it was fast, but only in actual combat did she truly understand how fast.
It felt like… did he even need hand signs at all?
It was as if he just clapped his hands, shouted a name, and the jutsu instantly appeared.
Completely absurd.
"There are others, Anko-sensei," Ruichi said calmly. "Kosuke Maruboshi is also a Genin."
He dispelled his jutsu and reached out, helping Anko crawl out of the muddy pit.
"You just have to argue with me, don't you?!"
Anko hooked an arm around Ruichi's neck, pulled him under her arm, and gave him a rough noogie.
"We agreed on a spar! You didn't need to go that hard!"
"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't really hold back." Ruichi didn't resist, letting her vent.
"Do you want me to help wash your clothes?"
Anko glanced down at herself. Her once-neat trench coat and skirt now looked like they'd been dredged out of a swamp.
"Wash them! Wash everything for me!"
---
Ten minutes later.
Anko, now changed into spare clothes, sat by the campfire watching Ruichi use Water Release to clean her clothes, her emotions complicated.
On this trip, the Third Hokage had entrusted her with several tasks—one of which was to provide one-on-one guidance for Ruichi's training.
"What kind of monster is this kid, anyway…"
From their first meeting, she'd known Ruichi was strong.
She'd planned to test his limits before deciding how to teach him—but not only had she failed to find those limits, she'd ended up in an utterly miserable state herself.
As a former team leader, getting beaten down by a student was already embarrassing enough.
Now she even had to rely on him to wash her clothes…
"All done," Ruichi said, handing them over.
"They should be even cleaner than before."
Anko took them—and they truly were spotless.
"Th-thanks…"
Her face flushed. She quickly ducked into the Earth Release: Earth House to change, her already tangled emotions now mixed with embarrassment.
---
Late at night.
The makeshift Earth Release shelter was crude, but far better than sleeping out in the open. It blocked wind and rain effectively.
Ruichi had already laid out his sleeping bag on the stone bed. His breathing was steady—clearly already half asleep.
But Anko couldn't sleep.
She tossed and turned in her sleeping bag beside him, like a fish flopping on a hot griddle.
Hot.
Not from the temperature—but from a dry heat spreading from the back of her neck through her entire body.
The earlier fight had pushed her chakra circulation to the limit. On top of that, Ruichi—this so-called "Natural Energy magnet"—was lying right beside her.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven was acting up again.
"Damn it… Orochimaru…"
Anko bit her lip hard, gripping the edge of her sleeping bag until her knuckles turned white.
That familiar, excruciating sensation—like countless insects gnawing at her nerves—returned.
She didn't want to show weakness in front of a student.
Even less did she want to admit she'd developed such a shameful dependence on this kid.
Hold on… Anko Mitarashi. You're a Special Jonin. This little bit of pain—
"Hm? Anko-sensei? Is this supposed to be a night raid?"
By the time she snapped back to reality, Anko realized she was already lying on top of Ruichi, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
But it still wasn't enough.
Simple physical contact only provided temporary relief. The violent energy inside her continued to surge.
"It's useless… why is it useless…"
Anko was on the verge of tears, writhing restlessly in Ruichi's arms.
What a headache.
Still, no matter how troublesome she was, she was suffering like this because she was accompanying him.
Ruichi sighed inwardly and relaxed his control over his body's Natural Energy.
Gentle energy flowed out, like a warm spring breeze, softly enveloping and soothing the raging cursed seal chakra within Anko.
Her breathing gradually steadied.
The tension in her body eased.
Her rational mind regained control.
And then—she realized their current position.
She was clinging to Ruichi like an octopus, her face pressed against his chest. She could clearly smell a clean, faint scent and hear his steady heartbeat.
Anko jolted away as if electrocuted, retreating to the corner and glaring at him fiercely.
"You—you brat! Why can you suppress Orochimaru's Cursed Seal?! Old Man Third told me you were special, but he didn't say this kind of special!"
So the Third Hokage already knows… Did he notice it when we first met?
I see. That's probably another reason he sent Anko. But she herself doesn't seem to know much.
Ruichi ignored her flustered interrogation. He stretched his stiff body and lay back down.
"I don't really know either," he said.
"When I relax, I naturally attract Natural Energy. When we made contact and I wanted to help you, it just… smoothed out the chaotic energy on its own."
"As for the principle behind it, I haven't figured it out. Since it hasn't caused any harm, I didn't dig into it."
Anko rubbed her temples. Today's shocks were stacking up far too quickly.
"Your ability… is extremely special. Be careful. Don't let people with ulterior motives take advantage of it."
"I know," Ruichi replied calmly.
"That's why I usually keep a low profile."
He turned onto his side, facing away from her.
"It's late. Go to sleep."
Ruichi knew these words would definitely be passed on to the Third Hokage by Anko. In fact, he'd said them deliberately.
Since it had already been discovered, it was better to be upfront—and maybe gain some support in return.
Wait… our mission is to find Jiraiya. Could it be the Third Hokage intends for him to teach me too?
Anko stared at Ruichi's back, teeth clenched.
Although the cursed seal on the back of her neck had calmed down, it was now faintly beginning to burn again.
Wasn't this one of the reasons the old man had sent her along?
A mischievous smile slowly curled at the corner of her mouth.
She dragged her sleeping bag over—and climbed directly onto Ruichi's stone bed.
"Enough talking!"
With righteous confidence, Anko hugged one of Ruichi's arms tightly.
"This is to prevent the cursed seal from flaring up again. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had an episode in the first place. You're responsible."
She buried her face against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and immediately pretended to fall asleep.
Feeling the astonishing softness and warmth pressed against his arm, along with warm breath brushing his ear, Ruichi stared wide-eyed at the ceiling of the Earth Release shelter.
This is really testing a cadre's willpower…
"At least take your leg off me."
"No. It's warmer like this."
"…We still have to travel tomorrow."
"Shut up. Go to sleep! That's an order!"
Anko rubbed contentedly against her human-shaped custom pillow and soon began breathing evenly.
Tomorrow I need to start helping Anko control the cursed seal. I also need to practice regulating my absorption of Natural Energy…
What a pain.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, you naturally evil old man. I'll remember this.
Ruichi silently added another mark against the Third Hokage in his mental ledger.
Since he already knows about my constitution, my value in his eyes will definitely rise. Was the earlier ANBU move a gesture of goodwill? If so, the safety of Dad and the others in Konoha should be more secure.
Listening to the faint snoring beside his ear, Ruichi glanced at the back of Anko's neck.
I remember Orochimaru left a backdoor in the Cursed Seal of Heaven. I need to find a way to deal with it.
If I can't erase it, I at least need to block it.
Worst case—if Orochimaru already knows about this—I must be ready to face him.
------
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