Duel with Anko

"Kakashi, huh? And who is this...?"

It was noon the next day at training ground 42. Gu Qi, accompanied by three Ninja Dogs, met Kakashi at the entrance. Standing beside Kakashi was Uchiha Itachi!

"My teammate. We're heading out on a mission shortly," Kakashi said casually.

Gu Qi nodded, not asking for details. Kakashi was still working in the Anbu at this time, so his missions were classified. Gu Qi recalled that Uchiha Itachi joined the Anbu at age 10 and undertook missions with Kakashi, though he didn't know the exact timing.

"You must be his younger brother. Hello, I am Uchiha Itachi," Itachi greeted Gu Qi with a nod.

Gu Qi smiled in response, "I remember you. I saw you and your brother in the forest before."

"I remember now. I heard you were going to spar with a Chunin, and out of curiosity, I followed my senior here. I apologize if I'm intruding," Itachi said politely.

Gu Qi shrugged, "It's fine. It just means one more spectator for the show."

"Thank you, then."

The three of them and the three Ninja Dogs didn't linger and entered the training ground through the entrance.

"Kakashi, are you Jonin all that free?"

Glancing at Might Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma in the training ground, Gu Qi couldn't help but complain. It was a blizzard outside, with biting cold, yet these guys were still in the mood to be spectators.

"Yo, Gu Qi, you're here! My dear disciple challenging a Chunin, truly embodying youth!" Might Guy exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up and showing off his pearly white, perfectly aligned teeth.

"Heh~" Gu Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes. If he wasn't afraid of being beaten every day later, he wouldn't have done it! If he had known things would turn out like this, he wouldn't have provoked Anko back then.

"Gu Qi, go for it! I'm rooting for you!" Asuma said with a smile.

"Heh!" Gu Qi didn't even want to acknowledge this guy. Didn't he call him 'uncle' a few times? Was he really that resentful!

"Gu Qi, go for it!" Kurenai also cheered him on.

"I will! Big sis Kurenai is the best! Your encouragement is sincere, unlike some people!" Gu Qi glanced pointedly at the men present.

Kakashi walked directly in front of Anko, "Don't hold back later. Teach that guy a lesson for me!"

"Don't worry," Anko gave a thumbs-up, "I definitely won't hold back!"

"..." Gu Qi had a lot of things he wanted to say but wasn't sure if he should.

When Anko, Gu Qi, and the three Ninja Dogs arrived at the training ground, Might Guy, acting as the referee, stood between the two.

"Alright, this spar is just a friendly match, not a fight to the death. Therefore, no high-power ninja tools are allowed. I'm talking to you, Gu Qi, put down those explosive tags!"

Seeing Gu Qi silently strapping more than ten explosive tags to his waist, Might Guy's face twitched.

"Oh, what a hassle!" Gu Qi had no choice but to mutter, taking off several high-explosive tags from his waist.

Might Guy pointed at the remaining tags on Gu Qi's waist, "Gu Qi, don't push it!"

Gu Qi scratched his face, "These are all harmless special tags, don't worry, they absolutely won't explode."

"Really?" Might Guy sounded skeptical.

Gu Qi pointed to his eyes, "Really, look at my pure and flawless eyes!"

"...Ahem, second, no killing blows. If I sense any life-threatening danger, I will intervene immediately to end the match," Might Guy continued his announcement.

"No problem!" Anko said.

Gu Qi clasped his hands together, "Teacher Kai, please act fast! My life depends on you."

"Ahem," ignoring Gu Qi's cutesy act, Might Guy continued, "Third, we are all comrades, so try to go easy on each other."

"Okay, sure," Anko nodded casually, licking her lips as she looked at Gu Qi with a grin.

"Alright, tell me when both sides are ready!" Might Guy said.

"I'm always ready!" Anko replied.

Upon hearing Might Guy, Gu Qi plopped down on the ground and pulled up his pant leg, "Wait a moment, I forgot to take off my weights!"

Ever since Gu Qi started learning Taijutsu from Might Guy, he had been wearing weights. After more than half a year, Gu Qi's weights had increased from a few kilograms to 20kg on each leg. Moreover, over time, he had become accustomed to wearing them.

"Whoa, you're even wearing weights? Kid, not bad!" Anko said, surprised. She didn't expect Gu Qi had been holding back.

"I'm ready!" After taking off the weights, Gu Qi felt significantly lighter.

"Alright, since both sides are ready, let the match begin."

After Might Guy's announcement, he instantly flashed away from the stage.

The moment Might Guy declared the start, Gu Qi immediately pulled an explosive tag from his waist, swiftly pulled the pin, and threw it between the two.

With a bang, thick smoke enveloped the entire training ground.

"Saye, Rasu, Hachi, flank them."

Gu Qi, enveloped in thick fog, issued commands to the three Ninja Dogs in a peculiar tone.

"Yo, Gu Qi's pretty smart! Creating favorable conditions for himself right off the bat. Kakashi, you have a good brother!" Asuma remarked with interest.

Kurenai chuckled, "After all, the opponent is a Chunin. If we don't go all out from the start, we might not get another chance later."

While the two were chattering, some changes occurred on the training ground!

"Wind Style - Great Breakthrough!" Anko wasn't one to be trifled with, using her ninjutsu to immediately disperse the fog on the field.

However, at this moment, Gu Qi and the three Ninja Dogs were charging towards Anko from all four directions!

It was just that Gu Qi now wore a mask for no apparent reason.

"Are we playing the numbers game?" Anko licked her lips excitedly. "I can do that too! Summoning Technique!"

With a poof, three stout pythons appeared on the training ground.

As soon as the three pythons appeared, they charged directly at Gu Qi's three Ninja Dogs.

"Damn it!" Seeing his three Ninja Dogs being tied up, Gu Qi immediately stopped his advance.

"Shadow Snake Hand!" Although Gu Qi stopped attacking, Anko wouldn't be polite.

"Lightning Style - Earth Run!" Seeing the four small snakes about to entangle him, Gu Qi quickly formed hand seals and placed his hands on the ground.

Streaks of lightning appeared out of thin air, charging rapidly towards the four small snakes.

Bang, bang, bang!

Caught off guard, three of the small snakes were hit and disappeared. Only the last one, unwilling to be outdone, wrapped around Gu Qi's left leg.

At the same time, Anko seized this opportunity to close in on Gu Qi.

Immediately following was a spinning kick, aimed directly at Gu Qi's face.

Gu Qi reacted quickly, crossing his arms to forcefully block Anko's kick.

Not only that, but he also used the momentum to grab Anko's right foot as it swung towards him, preparing to spin her around like a windmill.

"Uh oh!" However, when Gu Qi accidentally saw the playful glint in Anko's eyes, he knew trouble was brewing.

As expected, Gu Qi felt a tug on his left leg. The small snake he had overlooked earlier pulled, completely disrupting his rhythm.

Anko didn't slack either. Using Gu Qi's momentum, she twisted her waist, her left leg whipping out like a whip, striking Gu Qi fiercely.

Then, with a bang, Gu Qi was sent flying.

However, Anko didn't stop there, continuing her pursuit of Gu Qi, giving him no chance.

"So ruthless!" Gu Qi, flying through the air, muttered out of the corner of his eye as he saw Anko closely following.

Despite his words, Gu Qi's hands were not idle.

He quickly grabbed a *** with white stripes from his waist, pulled the pin, and threw it at Anko.

"Hmph, a mere trifle." Anko pulled out a kunai and directly shot the *** away.

"Hm?"

When Anko looked back at Gu Qi, she saw that he had somehow put on a pair of black sunglasses, which made her suspicious.

Bang!

There was no smoke as expected. This time, the *** emitted a blinding flash of light.

Because the *** exploded near Anko, even though she didn't look directly at it, she was still affected by the intense light, causing her vision to blur momentarily.

"Now, it's my turn to counterattack!"