Jie Jie Jie, Anko's Taste Is Truly Wonderful

Anko's pupils suddenly contracted, her heart sinking.

He heard my conversation with Orochimaru, and more importantly, he seems to know quite a bit about Orochimaru?

Anko didn't reply, instead probing, "You, you know Orochimaru?"

Naruto chuckled lightly and said loudly, "An S-rank missing-nin, who, as Lord Hokage's disciple, conducted human experiments without permission. After his deeds were exposed, he defected from Konoha, and in the process, he 'branched out,' taking on quite a few 'students'."

His gaze landed on Anko's neck, where the Curse Mark was etched. She felt her eyelids twitch, her breathing quicken, her chest rising and falling.

Damn, is Anko that amazing? This must be what they call a slightly chubby figure from my past life?

Naruto suppressed his emotions and continued the previous topic, "Having a master-disciple relationship with Orochimaru is not a big problem. I'm sure Lord Hokage has already done a background check on you..."

"But as an examiner, you allowed your former master, now an S-rank missing-nin, to roam freely within the exam grounds. What would people think if they found out?"

Anko was stunned. On one hand, Naruto's words had startled her; on the other, she was confused by Naruto's earlier sneak attack on an elder.

Knowing he's an S-rank missing-nin and still charging forward, isn't he afraid of Orochimaru's techniques at all?

Such a person is either missing a screw in their head or their strength is unfathomable, capable of handling even Orochimaru with ease.

And judging by his clear and logical explanation just now, the former is highly unlikely!

Anko suddenly found the Naruto before her unfathomable, despite his seemingly young age.

She hesitated, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Two things," Naruto said calmly and unhurriedly. "First, when you contacted Orochimaru, did he carve any words into a tree, or say anything like 'hee hee'?"

Although a Shadow Clone had overheard most of the conversation, he still wanted to confirm for peace of mind.

Anko appeared to recall, and after a moment, she shook her head. "He didn't carve anything in front of me, and I don't remember anything like 'hee hee'... Why are you asking this?"

"Don't answer a question with a question," Naruto interrupted sternly, causing Anko to instinctively shrink her neck.

"Second, from now on, you will continue to search for Orochimaru's whereabouts and maintain contact with me."

Anko realized the seriousness of the matter. "Can you tell me why?"

"Heh." Naruto remained silent, extending a finger and shaking it at Anko. He then began to let the Nine-Tails' Chakra gradually permeate towards her.

Anko immediately felt a chill run through her body. "Ah!" she couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, retreating two steps.

Naruto looked at Anko with a half-smile, making her suddenly realize: she had overstepped; she shouldn't have asked such a question.

Naruto, however, thought to himself, This Nine-Tails Chakra is really useful. In the future, when I meet strangers, I can use the Nine-Tails' pressure to act tough and freeload... Hmm, it seems I'll need to visit the bathhouse area more often.

Seeing Anko pursing her lips without speaking, he chuckled and pointed to his forehead protector. "Look, as someone from Konoha, would I do anything to harm the village?"

"Don't worry, I just have a personal grudge against Orochimaru. Konoha people don't cheat Konoha people."

From the plot's direction, he indeed had a grudge, so this wasn't a lie.

Anko listened, then hesitated for a long time before finally summoning a small white snake and handing it to Naruto.

"You can use this to contact me," Anko said, looking at Naruto with complex eyes.

Naruto accepted it calmly, letting the small snake slither into his sleeve, and nodded slowly.

Suddenly, he said out of the blue, "By the way, your body seems very stiff. How about I give you a massage?"

With that, he stepped forward and made a move as if to lay his hands on Anko. Anko startled and instinctively took two steps back, but she quickly felt a pair of strong hands grasp her shoulders from behind.

She turned her head, and Naruto's Shadow Clone, exuding the Nine-Tails' pressure, chuckled, "Don't be nervous."

As he spoke, he massaged her, while letting the Nine-Tails' Chakra approach the area of Anko's Curse Mark.

Anko first felt a chill on her fair neck, followed by an indescribable sensation. The discomfort that Orochimaru had previously caused her actually began to slowly dissipate.

Naruto's main body quietly observed Anko's expression, already forming a preliminary judgment in his mind.

The Nine-Tails' pressure not only serves as a deterrent but can also act as a shield against these types of Curse Marks... Or rather, does the Nine-Tails' Chakra cover the Curse Mark's effect?

"How does it feel? Comfortable?"

"Good... No, not good!" Anko's composure instantly broke, a blush appearing on her pointed face.

"Then I'm relieved," Naruto said with a smile, dispelled the Shadow Clone, and left directly.

The moment it was dispelled, the sensation of skin contact with the woman instantly returned. Naruto felt the smooth texture of his hands and sighed inwardly.

"They say women are made of water, and it's true. Hehehe, Anko's touch was truly wonderful... Cough, cough, this operation wasn't without its gains. At least I've established a connection with Anko, and Orochimaru's suspicion has been reduced somewhat."

Naruto organized his intelligence and headed towards Sasuke's direction.

On the other side, in a tree hollow.

Sakura wrung out the sweat-soaked towel and, after checking the surrounding traps, returned to the tree hollow.

According to the original story, she would engage in a fierce battle with the Sound Ninja during the day, during which she would cut her hair wisely, be rescued by Rock Lee, and then be heroically saved by a revived Sasuke.

She touched her ponytail, having no intention of cutting her hair. After all, it was a desperate measure in the original story, and her situation was different.

"Creak--creak--"

Suddenly, Sakura heard a noise outside the tree hollow, like someone repeatedly rubbing a Kunai against the tree.

Sakura's eyelids twitched. Could it be a fellow transmigrator? Or have they tracked me down here?

Orochimaru? After all, he wasn't too far from where the previous battle took place.

Sakura, completely devoid of any sense of security, shakily got to her feet. She had thought that Naruto staying with her for a while would help her cope, but the nightmare in her heart hadn't dissipated, and she still couldn't fully awaken her combat power.

"...I'm going all out!" She gritted her teeth and pulled the thin rope connected to the trap in the tree hollow. She, meanwhile, quickly rummaged through her ninja tool pouch with her other hand, and soon, she pulled out an Explosive Tag.

If that person was truly a pervert, discovered them, and broke in, she'd rather just die.

At worst, they could die together.

But even as she said that, Sakura held her breath, unable to stop herself from thinking, What if that person didn't find her, and just carved words on the tree trunk? Wouldn't it be safe once they left?

After a long while like this, Sakura heard the commotion outside almost disappear. She gripped the Explosive Tag tightly and slowly approached the entrance of the tree hollow.

She suddenly poked her head out!

No one was there.

Only a small line of text, crookedly written.

Sakura walked over and looked closely:

[Found you, hee hee]