The Ignorant Anko

Konoha Hospital.

Shin sat bare-chested on the hospital bed. Before him, a middle-aged doctor carefully reviewed a file, then reached out and gently pressed the horrifying scar across Shin's chest and abdomen.

The scar had been caused by a blade piercing his body—the reason Shin had died before his soul transmigrated.

Nohara Rin had given him emergency treatment at the time. The wound had now closed, and when the doctor touched it, he felt only a slight itch and sting.

"Your recovery is progressing normally. Just come in for regular checkups," the doctor instructed.

"You should be fully healed in about a week. Until then, avoid strenuous activity and ninja training. When bathing, be careful not to scrub the wound too hard."

"Understood," Shin said with a nod.

The middle-aged doctor then picked up another report.

"All your physical examination results are normal as well, except your eyesight has worsened somewhat... Though that probably isn't much of a problem for you, is it?"

He knew that the person before him belonged to the Hyuga Clan. The eyesight Shin had possessed with the Byakugan naturally could not compare to what he had now.

"You may go. If anything feels wrong or you experience any discomfort, come to the hospital for an examination immediately."

"Thank you, Doctor." Shin nodded in gratitude, took his report, and left the examination room.

The hospital was far from quiet. If anything, it was chaotic and noisy.

Because they were at war, most medical ninja had been sent to the front lines, leaving the hospital severely understaffed. Meanwhile, wounded soldiers were being continuously sent back to the village from the battlefield.

People wrapped in bandages or plaster casts could often be seen limping through the corridors, along with hurried medical staff busy with their work.

The sight made Shin sigh inwardly. Just as he was about to leave the hospital, he rounded a corner and suddenly collided head-on with a hurried figure.

"Ow!"

A cry rang out as papers scattered all over the floor.

"Who the hell walks without looking where they're going?!"

Before Shin could see who it was, he heard a spoiled, indignant voice.

A little girl with short purple hair sat on the floor. She looked even younger than he was now.

She seemed familiar...

She glared at Shin furiously. "You bastard! Do you know who I am?! Can you take responsibility for delaying me from delivering something to Lord Orochimaru?!"

With that name-dropping and the mention of Orochimaru, Shin immediately realized who she was.

She lowered her head to gather the documents scattered across the floor. When she looked up, intending to scold the person who had run into her, she suddenly saw Shin leaning against the wall with one hand over his chest, his face twisted in pain.

Anko jumped in fright and instinctively took a step back. "Y-you... what are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

Shin sucked in a breath. "My chest hurts. You ran into me. Hiss..."

Anko looked doubtful. "Stop pretending. How could a little bump hurt that much?"

Shin trembled as he handed her the report in his hand. Anko took it and examined it carefully. When she saw that it recorded Shin's condition as severely injured and not yet healed, she immediately panicked.

She stood there at a loss, wanting to approach Shin but not daring to touch him. "A-are you okay? Does it hurt badly?"

"Doctor! Doctor!"

She shouted in panic until a female medical worker finally came over.

"What happened?" The woman moved to check Shin's condition, and Anko hurriedly handed her Shin's report.

Anko spoke in a frightened voice. "I just... accidentally bumped into him. I didn't know he was injured. I didn't mean to, I really didn't..."

After reading the report, the female medical worker looked at Shin, then at Anko.

Seeing this, Shin let out a breath and said, "I'm much better now. It doesn't hurt much anymore."

With an even expression, she handed the report back and said, "The hospital staff are all very busy. Don't let this happen again."

"Sorry for causing you trouble," Shin said.

Little Anko, however, failed to catch the implication. Thinking the woman was scolding her, she repeatedly bowed and agreed.

The medical worker left, leaving only Shin and Anko where they stood.

Anko asked cautiously, "A-are you alright now?"

Shin glanced at her. "No."

Anko stood there with her head lowered, both hands tightly clutching the stack of documents in front of her.

She pressed her lips together and asked, "Then what do you want... I-I don't have any money!"

Shin found it amusing, though he also felt he was being a little too mean.

"Can you afford to treat me to a meal?" he asked.

"Huh?" Anko was completely bewildered.

"Treat me to a meal as an apology."

Anko understood. She had been about to agree, but then she could not help wondering whether this guy was a huge eater who planned to eat her broke. What if her allowance was not enough?

After thinking it over for a while, she nodded. "Okay... But I need to deliver something to Lord Orochimaru first. Don't worry, I won't skip out on the bill! Or you could come with me..."

Shin said, "That's fine. I believe you. I'll wait for you at Yakiniku Q on West Street."

Barbecue...

Anko's little face scrunched up in distress. This guy really is going to cost me a fortune!

"Fine, wait for me half an hour."

They parted at the hospital entrance. Watching her run off, Shin was somewhat surprised that Orochimaru was actually in Konoha. He had assumed Orochimaru would be on the front lines. The original owner's memories contained very little about Orochimaru, most of it hearsay.

He strolled leisurely to their meeting place and took a seat inside the barbecue restaurant.

About half an hour later, he saw a small figure standing at the entrance and looking around.

Anko was currently cursing Hyuga Shin in her heart. After delivering the item to Orochimaru, she had worried that her allowance would not be enough, so she had asked Orochimaru for some money.

But when Orochimaru handed her his wallet, she discovered that Lord Orochimaru did not have much money either. There were only a few bills inside, and she could not bear to take too much.

That bastard had not only put her in an awkward position, he was even trying to swindle Lord Orochimaru's money. He was awful!

When she saw Shin watching her from his seat inside, Anko suppressed her anger so it would not show on her face.

She walked over, stood on tiptoe, and sat down across from Shin. "What was your name again? Shin something?"

She had only glanced over the name on the report earlier and had not paid attention.

"Hyuga Shin."

"Oh, Hyuga Shin. I'm Mitarashi... Hyuga?" Anko nodded. She had just started to introduce herself when she abruptly stopped.

"You're from the Hyuga Clan?" she asked in shock, staring at Shin's black eyes.

"What's your name, Mitarashi?" Shin asked instead.

"Oh, Mitarashi Anko..." Anko answered, still staring at Shin in surprise.

Shin called the owner over for a menu and began ordering without asking Anko what she wanted.

After pondering for a while, Anko suddenly said, "I remember now. You're the person Rin saved, aren't you?"

"You know Rin?"

"Yeah, Rin and Kurenai are very close, so I got to know her through Kurenai."

Anko was not in the same class as Rin. She was two years below her.

Before long, the owner brought over a dessert and some drinks. Anko's eyes immediately lit up, and she unceremoniously grabbed them and stuffed them into her mouth.

I'm the one paying, so I need to eat as much as I can!

Once the barbecue Shin had ordered arrived, he picked up his chopsticks and placed slices of meat onto the grill one by one.

Anko wanted to help, but she was terrible at it. She merely placed the meat randomly on the grill and then ignored it.

Shin could not help tapping Anko's chopsticks with his own. "Stop messing around. Just wait to eat."

Anko pouted and cursed him inwardly. I'm the one paying, yet he's still so bossy to me.

She picked up another pastry, stuffed it into her mouth, and chewed hard.

But when Shin placed a piece of properly grilled meat onto her plate, one taste was enough for her to immediately forget her irritation.

"You're pretty good at this," Anko said as she picked up barbecue with her chopsticks.

She was only a little girl, and Shin had not wanted to chat with her too much. But for now, he had no choice.

After eating a few bites of barbecue, Anko could no longer suppress her curiosity and bluntly asked, "I heard your eyes came from your dead teammate?"

Shin glanced at her, his expression calm. "Mm."

"I have a friend whose situation is pretty similar to yours, except he only replaced one eye."

"Kakashi Hatake?"

"You know him?"

"A genius jonin. Who in the village doesn't know him?"

Anko nodded at that. Kakashi's name was indeed quite famous in the village.

Then she asked, "So what feels different between your old Byakugan and your current eyes?"

Shin paused in the middle of picking up meat and looked at her. "Of course they're different. I used to have the Byakugan. I could see things several kilometers away, see through any obstacle, and clearly see the body's meridians, acupoints, and Chakra flow. Now I just have ordinary eyes. I can't see any of that anymore."

Anko could not help saying, "Doesn't that make you really pitiful?"

Shin said blandly, "It's only temporary. I'll soon replace them with the Byakugan again."

Anko was astonished. "Huh?"

Shin continued, "The Hyuga Clan has preserved many of our predecessors' eyes. They've been kept intact precisely so that members of the Hyuga Clan can replace their Byakugan if their eyes are injured. The clan has already arranged an eye replacement surgery for me. I'll regain the Byakugan soon."

"You can do that?" Anko had not considered why Shin was telling her this, but she found it all incredibly novel.

"Since I could replace the Byakugan with ordinary eyes, naturally I can replace them with the Byakugan again," Shin said. "And those eyes belonged to some very powerful predecessors, including the Byakugan of successive Main Branch members."

Anko listened blankly, then asked, "Whose Byakugan are you going to receive?"

Shin's gaze shifted slightly at her words. Looking at the intensely attentive Anko across from him, he slowly said, "I don't know. The place where the Byakugan are stored is an important area within the clan. The key is held by our clan's jonin, Jinyu Hyuga. No one is allowed inside without the Clan Head's orders."

Anko could not help wanting to ask more. "Then wouldn't you..."

Shin tapped her little head with the other end of his chopsticks. "Why do you have so many questions? Eat your barbecue."

Anko pouted, rubbed her head, and lowered her head to continue eating. Shin only ate a few pieces himself, giving all the rest to Anko.

"Stop giving me more. I'm stuffed."

"You're paying. Eat more."

"...Fine, I'll eat a little more."

Contracted