Curse Mark Backlash and the Wild Beauty

"What am I going to do? Save your life, of course."

Chiba stood in the waist-deep hot spring water, looking at her with an easy expression.

"Get lost! Don't touch me!"

Anko reached to her waist with her right hand, drew a kunai gleaming with cold light, and pointed it straight at Chiba.

The hand holding the kunai trembled violently, and even her knuckles had turned slightly blue.

Chiba gave her a once-over and shook his head.

"You can't even hold a kunai steady. What are you going to use to kill me? Just lie down and behave."

Anko gritted her teeth and shrank backward. Her back struck the jagged rocks at the edge of the pool, making her suck in a sharp breath from the pain.

She panted heavily, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

"Don't come closer! You little brat from the Senju Clan... get out of here! The Curse Mark inside me has gone out of control. It'll kill you!"

Chiba took a step forward, sending ripples spreading around his waist.

"Kill me? Orochimaru himself might have a chance. You think that rotten piece of flesh on your neck is worthy of taking my life?"

Anko cried out, "You don't understand this power at all! Orochimaru left it behind. It's devouring my chakra. Once it erupts completely, even you'll get dragged in!"

Chiba curled his lip.

"Orochimaru? That worm who only dares crawl through sewers? If he showed his face in front of me, I'd stew him into snake soup."

Anko stared at him, her eyes full of shock and confusion.

"You arrogant bastard... ah!"

Before she could finish, the Heavenly Curse Mark on her neck suddenly began giving off scalding black smoke.

Somewhere in a dark base at the border of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru seemed to have sensed the fluctuations of Wood Release chakra. From far away, he was using the Curse Mark to forcibly seize control of Anko's body.

Anko let out a piercing scream as black, flame-like markings rapidly spread from her neck and covered over half her face.

"Ah!"

Anko convulsed in agony, unable to stay on her feet. She fell backward into the warm spring water, splashing water everywhere.

Chiba sighed.

"What a troublesome woman."

He undid the buttons of his outer garment and casually tossed it onto a dry rock by the shore.

Wearing only a close-fitting black short-sleeved shirt, he leaped straight into the hot spring.

Water splashed.

Chiba crossed several strides to the center of the pool and scooped up Anko, who was struggling and flailing in the water.

Her soaked black fishnet outfit clung tightly to her body, outlining her strikingly full curves as warm spring water slid down from her neck and collarbones.

Anko thrashed in the water, clawing wildly with both hands.

"Let go... let go of me! This power will make you burst apart!"

Chiba tightened his arms and locked her firmly against his chest.

"Shut up, wild mare. You're lucky you ran into me."

Anko's face pressed against Chiba's shoulder, her skin burning like red-hot iron.

"So hot... save me... no, kill me..."

Chiba sneered.

"Kill you? The words 'leave someone to die' don't exist in my dictionary."

Anko struggled, opened her mouth, bared her silver teeth, and bit down hard on Chiba's shoulder.

Chiba sucked in a breath from the pain.

"Are you a dog or something? You really bit me?"

His right hand clamped onto the back of Anko's neck, pressing down on the tomoe-shaped mark that burned like fire.

"Behave. This might hurt a little, so endure it."

Anko refused to release his shoulder, shouting indistinctly, "Let go... bastard... Orochimaru will kill you..."

Chiba said, "Orochimaru? If he can kill me through this lousy mark, I'll shit upside down."

Anko's eyes began to lose focus, but she still stubbornly asked, "You... what are you trying to do...?"

Chiba said, "Break the dog chain Orochimaru left on you, of course."

Anko said, "It can't be done... this is the Heavenly Curse Mark... no one can undo it..."

Chiba sneered. "Just because others can't undo it doesn't mean I can't. Just cooperate and behave."

Anko said, "Why do you even care about me? We don't know each other at all..."

Chiba looked at her face, hazy with pain, and teased, "Because you've got a pretty good figure. If you die here, wouldn't Konoha lose a beautiful sight?"

Anko grew a little angry. "Pervert... shameless..."

Chiba said, "Good insults. You've still got plenty of strength, so you won't die anytime soon."

Anko said, "You... you lunatic..."

Chiba said, "Whether I'm crazy or not, you'll find out soon enough."

The black markings on Anko's neck surged again, and Orochimaru's cold voice faintly emerged from her throat. "Brat of the Senju Clan... you are far too arrogant..."

Chiba snorted disdainfully. "Orochimaru, using a woman's body to threaten me? That's all you've got? If you've got the guts, come here in person. I'll skin that snake hide of yours."

"Orochimaru" sneered. "Hehe... you will regret this... this body... along with your Wood Release... will turn to ashes..."

Chiba said, "Ashes? Then watch closely as I crush your power with my bare hands."

He took a deep breath. The rudimentary form of his perfect Sage Body began to operate, and pure chakra surged through his meridians.

Anko kept twisting in pain within Chiba's arms. Her soaked fishnet outfit and Chiba's shirt pressed tightly together, creating a strange sensation.

Anko said, "So hot... I'm going to burn up... please... let go of me..."

Chiba said, "If I let go, you'll die immediately. Hold onto me and stop moving."

Instinctively, Anko wrapped both arms around Chiba's neck, her entire body nearly pressed against his.

Chiba said, "Your mouth says no, but your body's pretty honest."

Anko said, "You... you're still taking advantage of me..."

Chiba said, "This is called medical contact, understand? If you don't, stop talking nonsense."

He pressed his palm firmly against the tomoe mark on Anko's neck as green chakra began gathering in his palm.

Chiba said, "Ready, wild mare? I'm about to remove Orochimaru's power."

Anko bit her lip. There was a trace of hope in her eyes, alongside endless pain. "Can you... really do it?"

Chiba smiled confidently. "Just watch."

He closed his eyes and began mobilizing the senjutsu chakra within his body.

Anko's body trembled constantly in Chiba's embrace. She could clearly feel the mountain-like steadiness and warmth emanating from him.

"Your... your chakra is so strange..."

Anko's voice was weak, but it carried an indescribable feeling as well.

Chiba said, "Strange is right. My chakra contains the pure life force of the Senju. It's far stronger than that cold-blooded animal inside you."

Anko gritted her teeth. "Stop bragging... if you're even one step too late, I won't let you go even as a ghost..."

Chiba laughed. "A ghost? Keep dreaming. I haven't even gotten married yet. If you become a ghost and haunt me every day, how am I supposed to find pretty girls?"

Anko was speechless with anger. "You bastard... at a time like this... you're still thinking about such nonsense..."

Chiba said, "It's called maintaining an optimistic mindset. Orochimaru is gloomy all day long, which is why he turned himself into such a freak."

Anko felt the warmth coming from her neck. The burning pain that had tormented her all this time seemed to ease slightly beneath Chiba's palm.

But she knew this was only the calm before the storm.

"Orochimaru's will... is beginning to strike back... he's going to force his way in..."

Anko clutched Chiba's shoulder tightly, her nails nearly digging into his flesh.

Chiba said, "Let him come. Today, I want to see just how big a wave he can make."

He took a deep breath, and the Strength of a Hundred Seal on his forehead began flickering in and out of view.

Anko looked at the mark on his forehead and gasped, "That is... the Strength of a Hundred Technique? You actually learned Lady Tsunade's technique?"

Chiba raised his brows proudly. "I learned it after one look. Is it hard?"

Anko was at a loss for words. "You... if Lady Tsunade finds out you're using the Strength of a Hundred Technique like this, she'll definitely send you flying with one punch."

Chiba said, "My aunt dotes on me too much to hit me. Enough, don't lose focus. Orochimaru's power is about to break out."

Suddenly, the Heavenly Curse Mark on Anko's neck erupted with a violent black radiance.

That power directly scattered part of Chiba's green chakra.

Anko threw back her neck in agony, a beast-like growl escaping her throat.

"Ah... it hurts... kill me... kill me now..."

Chiba tightened his arms again, firmly restraining her in his embrace.

"Shut up! Stay still!"

Anko's body struggled wildly in extreme pain, her legs kicking chaotically through the water and sending spray flying everywhere.

Her soaked fishnet outfit and Chiba's shirt rubbed continuously against each other in the struggle, producing startling heat.

Chiba said, "Wild mare, if you keep moving, I won't be polite."

Anko cried, "I can't control myself... my body feels like it's being torn apart..."

Chiba looked at her face, twisted by unbearable pain. The playful nonchalance in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a forceful dominance.

"Orochimaru, get the hell back!"

He exerted force with his right hand. Like floodwaters bursting through a dam, senjutsu chakra surged from his palm and forcibly poured into the Curse Mark on Anko's neck.

Anko's body suddenly went rigid, her pupils contracting as an indescribable cry escaped her throat.

"You... you're inside..."