Huh!?
Anko was stunned for a moment.
She took the notebook Uchiha Ao handed her and scanned its contents. Her eyes widened, and she instantly perked up.
"How could this be!?"
Anko murmured.
It recorded all the changes in her physical data over the past three days.
After the Cursed Seal was implanted,
her physical strength had increased by thirty percent on the first day, while her Chakra reserves had nearly tripled, undergoing a qualitative transformation.
Her ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and insight had also improved to some degree.
Her overall strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.
She had gone from a Chunin who barely scored 25 points to a Jonin with a score of 62.
It was worth noting that this was a comprehensive system for evaluating a ninja's overall strength, developed by Orochimaru based on years of experience and guided by Ao, using the Ninja Academy's scoring criteria.
It assessed a ninja across numerous areas, including physical fitness, mental strength, ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Chakra.
Even Orochimaru himself had only received a score of 89 when the system was first established.
In Ao's system, 20 points was the threshold for Genin; anyone exceeding 20 points was a Chunin.
A score of 20–40 meant Chunin, while anyone above 35 could be called an elite Chunin.
A score of 40–60 meant Special Jōnin, provided the ninja excelled in one or more areas and scored at least 60 in one of them.
A total score above 60 meant Jonin. Such a ninja had almost no weaknesses and ranked among the best in the entire Ninja World.
As for scores above 80, those were considered Kage Level.
They had no obvious weaknesses, were world-class in at least one field, possessed extraordinary combat strength, and could overwhelm Jonin-level opponents.
Orochimaru had scored so highly because his abilities were so well-rounded.
At this point, he had no weakness in the realm of the soul, and his Chakra reserves, ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and mental strength were all leagues ahead of those of ordinary Jonin.
"Everything you've gained comes from the power of your teacher's Cursed Seal. If you don't learn to control it, you'll eventually become nothing but an empty vessel."
"You wouldn't want to disappoint your teacher, would you?"
Ao said warningly. It was a well-intentioned lie.
He knew Anko idolized Orochimaru and dreamed of becoming a ninja like him.
So he took advantage of that, giving her a reason to fight for her life.
Anko's growth had been astonishingly fast—far beyond his expectations!
That was because Orochimaru's soul imprint had brought about such enormous changes in her body.
The reason was that their souls were exceptionally compatible.
Now, the perfected Heaven Cursed Seal did more than boost her through transformation; it also gradually strengthened her body.
Even Orochimaru hadn't anticipated that.
The domineering soul imprint would gradually assimilate Anko's body. If she didn't learn to control the Cursed Seal, she would slowly turn into one of Orochimaru's "clones"!
A "Shadow Clone" with a physical body!
A body containing the entirety of Orochimaru's soul and memories.
Once it awakened, it might even fight Orochimaru's original body for the identity of "Orochimaru."
This was the first side effect to emerge from the improved Heaven Cursed Seal.
Ao hadn't included any of these speculations in the experiment records.
He wanted to keep Orochimaru from discovering what was happening and allowing Anko to be assimilated by his soul.
Ao knew Orochimaru was an extremely self-obsessed man. If he had the chance to create another "himself," he would undoubtedly abandon Anko, his apprentice in name if nothing more.
That would also leave Ao with far fewer comparative experimental data points.
He wouldn't be able to study all the reactions to a transplanted Heaven Cursed Seal.
Anko took his words to heart.
She silently gritted her teeth and fought against the temptation deep within her.
A voice kept urging her to accept the power offered by the Cursed Seal on her neck, abandon her identity, and forget some important memories...
A week passed.
Anko's strength stabilized at the Jonin level, and she wasn't far from becoming an elite Jonin.
Her Chakra reserves were about four times greater than before the experiment.
In the span of a week, she had grown five centimeters taller. Even her flat chest now had a deep cleavage.
Her once childlike figure had also become a little fuller.
Her short hair had grown to her shoulders, and she'd tied it into a ponytail.
Her bangs covered her Forehead Protector.
Beneath them, her eyes brimmed with energy.
"Ao, are the examinations over?"
She looked at the man before her with eager hope.
"They're over. I've organized all the data."
Ao nodded. He put away the notebook in his hand and neatly placed it on a bookshelf. An entire shelf was filled with books bearing Mitaraishi Anko's name.
Half of them contained information Orochimaru had collected about the Cursed Seal's creation process; the other half held data gathered before and after Anko's experiment.
Over the course of a week, they had recorded a total of twenty-one notebooks, all documenting the changes in Anko.
"Then can I go look for my teacher? He hasn't been in the lab for so long. I'm afraid he's run into some trouble..."
Anko said anxiously.
Aside from when he needed experimental subjects, her teacher rarely left the lab for long.
Not seeing him for so long had filled her with dread.
She'd started worrying as early as the second day after Orochimaru left. By the third day, she'd nearly come to blows with Uchiha Ao.
Anko was now far stronger than Uchiha Ao, who was still a Genin. Even if he wanted to stop her, he couldn't.
Only Orochimaru's handwritten message had managed to convince Anko to stay.
"Go ahead. But I think that if even our teacher can't get away, then with your current strength, you probably won't be able to help him."
Ao spoke honestly.
This world was full of danger. Even in the supposedly safe village of Konoha, Danzo was a major threat.
Without anyone to protect him,
the only place Ao was safe was Orochimaru's base.
"The reason we exist is to help our teacher complete all his research. Even if it costs me my life, I'll protect him and make sure he returns safely!"
Anko stared resolutely at Ao and spoke each word with conviction.
"I don't know what your intentions are, but as long as our teacher is alive—you'd better not have any ulterior motives. Otherwise, I'll make you regret ever being born."
Although Ao had performed outstandingly lately and earned their teacher's approval,
she still hadn't let her guard down.
She'd always believed Uchiha Ao had ulterior motives.
"Don't worry. I respect our teacher, and I hope to carry on his research... Here's some money he gave me as a reward. Sorry for the trouble, but please give it to my younger brother, Uchiha Ran."
Ao paid no heed to Anko's threat. He pulled a stack of silver coins from his ninja pouch and handed them to her.
The thick stack, worth around five hundred thousand, was enough to see his younger siblings through graduation.
It would also ease his family's financial difficulties for a while.
"You really do care about your family..."
Anko fell silent for a moment, accepted the money, and replied.
She hadn't expected Uchiha Ao to entrust something so important to someone who hated him, especially when his life was in danger.
She'd only ever felt this kind of trust from her teacher, Orochimaru.
Ao was the second.
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