Anko Begins to Take Shape (Seeking Reads)

Half a month later, the Uchiha Elite Squad, who had been carrying out covert missions, returned one after another. The difference this time was that the expressions on everyone's faces were rather grim.

After all, for those born into a prestigious clan, being assigned to search for children with Chakra potential felt like a serious downgrade in status.

What's more, this was a classified mission. Frustrated as they were, luckily the number they needed to find wasn't large, and it was done quickly. Still, some secretly noticed one thing—this task seemed to be connected to Lord Orochimaru.

After all, the children weren't brought back to the village. Instead, they were gathered at a designated spot and handed over entirely to Shisui, who was the apparent commander on the surface.

"Shisui, that's enough. Let the clan ninjas head back to camp and rest."

Uchiha Yoru sighed inwardly as the mission wrapped up. He had no choice but to drag the entire Uchiha Clan into this mess. If he waited until Orochimaru defected and acted alone, he'd be singled out. And would the Uchiha really protect him for his sake? That was hard to say.

But now that so many Uchiha elites were implicated, Konoha couldn't just arrest them all on mere suspicion. There were too many of them, all elites, and the Uchiha Clan wouldn't stand for it. With so many debts already, he might as well not worry—let them do whatever they wanted.

"Brother Yoru, I'll head back to camp first."

As the mission ended, it felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Shisui quietly breathed a sigh of relief and took his leave from Uchiha Yoru. After all, he knew exactly what awaited those children—Human Experimentation. Just hearing it was enough.

Before parting, Uchiha Itachi, lost in confusion, seemed to glimpse something different in the path ahead. He couldn't help but look at Shisui and Yoru.

"Brother Yoru, I'll take Itachi back to the clan head."

"Go ahead." Uchiha Yoru waved casually with a smile. But when he caught a certain emotion flickering in Itachi's eyes, he smirked inwardly. The seed had been planted. He refused to believe that Itachi, now that he'd seen the ugly side of Konoha, would be so easily brainwashed again.

And he'd never outright said how Konoha oppressed them. Instead, he'd urged them to trust the village, to trust the future Fifth Hokage, Lord Orochimaru. The ugliness and sin were just the corruption of a few rotten individuals. Tsk, tsk.

"Uchiha Yoru!"

A voice burning with anger rang out. Uchiha Yoru turned to see Mitarashi Anko staring straight at him, her eyes blazing with fury.

Shisui, witnessing this, shrank his neck guiltily. He silently prayed they hadn't been found out, then quickly led Itachi away from the scene.

"Brother Shisui, what's this?"

Young, innocent Uchiha Itachi couldn't yet read the situation. Shisui, however, felt even more guilty—he knew the whole truth. Brother Yoru had gotten close to her for the clan's sake. If this got exposed, he'd feel utterly ashamed. Right now, all he wanted was to escape.

"Itachi, let's head back first."

Shisui brushed Itachi off with a simple excuse and led him toward the clan's camp. But young Itachi frowned, pondering the scene. Something about the clan seemed off.

On the other side, caught by Anko, Uchiha Yoru immediately put on a gentle, innocent smile. "Isn't this Anko? What's wrong?"

Seeing that infuriatingly smug face, Mitarashi Anko gritted her teeth in frustration. "Looks like I need to remind you! Twenty thousand! What about the twenty thousand you promised?"

Uchiha Yoru's face lit up with feigned realization. "Oh, that's what this is about. I thought something serious had happened. Come on, let's go back and talk it over properly."

Behind his easygoing smile, Uchiha Yoru was inwardly groaning. Twenty thousand! How was he supposed to talk his way out of this? Money in hand couldn't just be given away. No way. Absolutely not.

And so, with a lighthearted grin, Uchiha Yoru led Anko to a forest behind the camp. He couldn't help but tease, "Oh, I almost forgot. Teacher Orochimaru asked me to check if you've been slacking off on your training."

"What!" At the mention of Teacher Orochimaru checking her progress, Mitarashi Anko's face lit up with excitement, and the matter of the twenty thousand was instantly forgotten.

"Impossible! I've been training hard. I've already mastered Shadow Snake Hand and Shadow Multiple Snake Hands."

As Orochimaru's signature techniques, these required a contract with a Snake Summoning Beast to use. Shadow Snake Hand was a C-Rank Ninjutsu, while Shadow Multiple Snake Hands was a B-Rank Ninjutsu—versatile techniques for ambushes and control.

Anko puffed up with pride, still basking in the glory of being a disciple of one of the Sannin. She wasn't yet the Anko who had endured everything later in life.

Seeing her smug grin, Uchiha Yoru chuckled softly. He raised his hand, and from his wide, white sleeve, nine dark green-black snakes shot out, startling Anko as they bared their fangs and lunged.

Shadow Multiple Snake Hands!

To be fair, Anko had earned her rank as a Chunin without any shortcuts. Caught off guard, she leaped backward while swiftly forming hand seals, unleashing the same technique.

In an instant, five snakes burst from her arm. In terms of numbers, she was utterly outmatched, and in quality, her snakes were smaller and weaker.

The moment their Shadow Multiple Snake Hands clashed, five of Yoru's snakes coiled around Anko's five, while the remaining four wrapped around her petite body, drawing a startled cry from her.

"You bastard! Uchiha Yoru, you cheated with a sneak attack! Let's go again!"

Frustrated and unconvinced, Anko glared at Uchiha Yoru. But as the snakes tightened around her young frame, the curves of her chest, already beginning to develop, were accentuated. Yoru's eyes went wide, and he couldn't help but think, Damn, she's already this developed at her age.

No wonder the original story had called her Konoha's second Tsunade before Hinata grew up. It was true—nicknames were never wrong, only names could be misleading.

Of course, Yoru's gaze didn't escape Anko's notice. Following his line of sight, she saw her chest pressed tight by the snakes, and her face flushed with fury and embarrassment.

"Uchiha Yoru! Where are you looking!"

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to, but what can I say? You're just too well-endowed."

Looking at the bound Anko, Yoru laughed it off. Anko snorted in displeasure, but her attention shifted. Her beautiful eyes grew complicated as she looked at him.

"Is it true that every Uchiha who awakens the Sharingan is a genius? You learned this technique later than me, but you're already more skilled."

The legend that awakening the Sharingan made one a genius was known not just in Konoha but across the entire Shinobi World. Once a Kekkei Genkai awakened, the user became a prodigy—an undeniable fact.

Seeing the complex, defiant look in Anko's eyes, Uchiha Yoru broke into a smile.

Monday! Please keep reading, boohoo~ If I don't get a trial push this week, I'm really doomed.