Anko, You Still Underestimated Your Worth

Konoha's border.

Beneath towering trees that scraped the sky, a young girl barely twelve years old wore a fishnet outfit, her short, deep purple hair tied up in a small bun at the back of her head. In her hand, she toyed with a kunai, a faint, bloodthirsty smile playing on her lips.

"Heh, Yoru, I didn't expect you to become Teacher Orochimaru's student too. Looks like you're not just relying on that face of yours."

The still-immature Mitarashi Anko deliberately mimicked Orochimaru, putting on a bloodthirsty act, especially as she stuck out her cute tongue to lick the kunai in a threatening gesture. Watching her, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but smile.

"Anko, is your tongue feeling hot?"

Uchiha Yoru's words instantly killed the atmosphere she'd worked so hard to build, and Anko, with her playful, impulsive personality, immediately looked puzzled. "Tongue feeling hot? What does that mean?"

Seeing Anko's innocent, confused expression, Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes and pointed at his own mouth, lowering his voice. "Well, my mouth happens to be pretty cool. Maybe you could come over and let me cool you down—it's better than a kunai."

After his teasing remark, Anko froze for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. But this time, the smile carried a hint of danger, and it wasn't an act.

"Heh, 'Yoru,' you've got a point. Maybe next time I'll let you cool me down right in front of Kurenai."

After saying this with a dangerous grin, Anko immediately switched expressions, sneering coldly. "Teacher Orochimaru might have put us on the same team, but don't expect me to protect you on missions."

Mitarashi Anko, a student of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, graduated from the academy at ten and became a chūnin at twelve. She was practically a prodigy, so naturally, she looked down on Uchiha Yoru, who had only made chūnin at fourteen.

"Heh, Anko, don't be so cold."

Mitarashi Anko narrowed her eyes at the classmate who had been the most striking in their year, and who also happened to be her best friend's boyfriend. She was quietly calculating—Uchiha Yoru wasn't the type to act without a clear gain. She knew exactly how Yūhi Kurenai had managed to snag him back in the day.

"Uchiha Yoru, stop playing dumb. You went out of your way to get to the front lines and become Teacher Orochimaru's student—what are you really after?"

Mitarashi Anko gave him a scrutinizing look. Her personality might be a bit flighty, but as a ninja, she still had her guard up.

Seeing Anko like this, Uchiha Yoru shrugged and shook his head with a helpless expression. "Anko, you're so cold-hearted. Don't you miss your old classmate at all?"

"Me, cold-hearted? Who was it that sold himself out for a gold necklace from Kurenai?"

What the hell!

Hearing Anko drop that bombshell, Uchiha Yoru's eyes went wide. He spread his hands in exasperation. "Anko, for old times' sake, I'll give you a chance to make a fortune. One hundred thousand!"

He held up two fingers in a ten gesture, licking his lips with a smug look, as if to say, See how generous I am?

"Right now, the Third Hokage is back in power, but everyone knows that once the dust settles, the Fifth Hokage will eventually be chosen. And that Fifth Hokage..."

He trailed off, giving Anko a knowing look. Her mind immediately started racing.

"You bastard, Uchiha Yoru! You're here on orders from the Uchiha Clan to get close to Teacher Orochimaru!"

Facing Anko's fierce, protective glare, Uchiha Yoru shook his head dismissively. "You've got it wrong. I'm here on orders to get close to Orochimaru's student—you know what I mean!"

He raised an eyebrow at the last three words, and Anko's face twisted with anger. She drove her kunai hard into the wooden post beneath her.

"One hundred thousand! You think one hundred thousand is enough to seal this deal? You're Kurenai's boyfriend, and Kurenai is my dearest, closest friend! No way!"

Seeing Anko's resolute, contemptuous look, Uchiha Yoru sneered. "Anko, don't talk nonsense. What 'boyfriend'? You need to put an 'ex' in front of that."

Ex-boyfriend? Anko froze, her plan to extort him suddenly falling apart. But her mind quickly caught up, and a slow grin spread across her lips.

"Sugar daddy, you mean. Not bad—at least you know the Uchiha name is sensitive right now, and you had the sense to break up with Kurenai."

In this ninja world, early maturity was normal, especially since they'd been on the battlefield for years. Anyone without a brain was already lying in the cold dirt. As for the protagonist? He didn't fit into that category at all.

She put her kunai back into her Tool Pouch and walked over, looking down at him with an air of superiority.

"Three hundred thousand. I'll pretend to let you succeed. Then you finish your clan's mission, and we split the profit."

Damn. Seeing Anko's outrageous demand, Uchiha Yoru's eyes bulged. He refused without hesitation. "No way! The clan's only giving me three hundred thousand ryo total for this mission. So I do all the work and end up with nothing?"

Seeing his firm refusal, Anko's lips curled into a sly, triumphant smile. She'd finally figured out his bottom line.

"So it's three hundred thousand. Fine—I get two hundred thousand, you get one hundred thousand. Take it or leave it."

Mitarashi Anko gave him a smug look, as if to say, Take it or get nothing.

"One hundred fifty thousand! We split it evenly!"

"Hmph! Save the chatter. Either you get nothing."

"Fine!"

With Uchiha Yoru putting on a pained expression, Mitarashi Anko flashed a victorious smile.

But beneath his annoyed, headache-ridden face, Uchiha Yoru was quietly thinking to himself, Girl, you're not bad, but you've underestimated your own worth.

Just the fact that you're Teacher Orochimaru's student alone doubles the price. Tsk, tsk. Still thinking like a ninja tool.

Both of them had their own agendas—one wore a smile on her face, the other in his heart. Anko would get two hundred thousand for doing almost nothing, while Uchiha Yoru would directly skim one million from his clan. Nice—the clan's twenty-thousand budget is more than enough.

At this point, Anko was just a chūnin, and with wartime mission pay being low, she was feeling the pinch. As for Orochimaru? Forget it—his research was a money-burning machine. It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried about funds.

After all, even in the original story, the Akatsuki had stooped to being mercenaries to raise money.

A serious note on updates: waiting for recommendations! The first round of trial recommendations has arrived, so updates will start at two chapters per day. Please support me!