Shut the Door and Beat the Dog

"There are a few rats that have been following you all this way."

Chiba's palm rested against Anko's thigh. Even through the oversized coat, the warmth of his hand seeped directly through.

Anko shrank back slightly, her cheeks flushing red as she hastily jabbed him with her elbow.

"You little brat, where do you think you're putting your hand?"

"Stay still and lie down. Don't move around."

Chiba's voice lowered as his eyes fixed on the dark canopy in the distance.

Seeing that something was wrong with his expression, Anko put away her earlier brazenness and asked in a low voice, "Are they really from Root?"

"Other than that old dog Danzō, who else would be so interested in the curse mark inside you?"

Chiba sneered, but his hand did not leave her thigh.

Anko gripped the collar of her coat and said quietly, "I felt like someone was watching me back in the forest. I thought it was a hallucination caused by the curse mark's backlash."

"They're no hallucination. They're here to collect corpses—or gather data."

Chiba patted her thigh, signaling for her to stay quiet.

Rustle.

Several leaves drifted down from the distant treetops.

Two figures in gray trench coats and white animal masks floated down from high branches, landing on the gravel bank beside the hot spring pool.

Their steps were so light that not even a single pebble was disturbed when they landed.

"Mitarashi Anko."

The ninja wearing an ape mask on the left spoke, his dry voice rasping like wood scraping together.

"Lord Danzō has ordered us to bring you back for an examination."

The ninja wearing a kodama mask on the right looked toward Chiba, his voice utterly flat.

"Senju Chiba, this is a Root mission. It has nothing to do with the Senju Clan. Step aside."

Anko braced herself against a rock and tried to stand, still chewing half a dumpling as she cursed indistinctly, "Bullshit! I'm a Special Jōnin now, not one of Root's dogs!"

"Lord Danzō's orders take precedence over all else."

The ape-masked ninja stepped forward half a pace. His right hand, hidden in his sleeve, twitched faintly, revealing a glint of cold metal.

"Your curse mark fluctuated violently just now. Orochimaru's will was forcibly suppressed. We need to bring you back and extract a chakra sample."

Anko gritted her teeth in fury and turned to Chiba. "You little brat, give me my kunai. I'll slaughter these two bastards."

"You can barely stand. What are you going to slaughter them with?"

Chiba pressed a hand to her shoulder and pushed her back down onto the rock.

"But they..."

"Eat your dumpling. Just watch the show."

Chiba stood up, bare-chested against the night wind, shielding Anko behind him.

He glanced sideways at the two Root ninja, a mocking curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Has that old dog Danzō gone senile? He sent two pieces of trash like you here, thinking you could take someone away in front of me?"

A cold snort came from beneath the ape mask.

"Senju Chiba, although you have awakened Wood Release, when Root acts, even the Hokage has no right to interfere."

"The Hokage may not be able to control you, but I can."

Chiba rolled his wrists as the chakra within him began to surge slowly.

The kodama-masked ninja said in a deep voice, "Stubborn fool. Then we'll take you back with her."

The two Root ninja moved at once, incredibly fast as they streaked through the night like two gray afterimages.

A short blade glowing blue appeared in each of their hands, clearly coated in lethal poison.

"Little brat, be careful!"

Anko could not help crying out, and the dumpling in her hand nearly fell to the ground.

Chiba did not move from where he stood. He did not even form a single hand seal.

He merely silently connected with the Dual Sage Body that had just completed its transformation.

Scaled Wood Dragon.

Chiba gave a low shout in his mind.

Boom!

The ground beside the hot spring pool suddenly split apart, scattering gravel in every direction.

Two azure-green wooden dragons burst from the earth.

These two wooden dragons were completely different from the Wood Release Chiba had used before.

Their bodies were covered in dense, hard, snake-scale-like patterns that shimmered with an eerie green luster beneath the moonlight.

The wooden dragons moved at a terrifying speed. The instant they appeared, they became two streaks of green lightning.

"What kind of Wood Release is this?!"

The ape-masked ninja had barely cried out before one of the Scaled Wood Dragons clamped down hard around his waist.

The immense impact slammed his entire body into the rock behind him.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bones rang clearly through the night.

Seeing that the situation had turned bad, the kodama-masked ninja forcefully twisted back in midair, trying to use the Body Flicker Technique to escape.

But the other Scaled Wood Dragon gave an eerie twist in the air, its tail lashing out like a long whip.

Smack!

The kodama mask shattered in midair, and its wearer was smashed heavily into the dirt.

Before he could struggle back to his feet, the Scaled Wood Dragon opened its jaws and swallowed him whole.

The enormous body of the Scaled Wood Dragon coiled across the ground before plunging fiercely back into the depths of the earth.

Boom!

The ground closed again, leaving behind only two bottomless pits in the mud.

All sound vanished at once, leaving only the soft rush of hot spring water.

Two elite Root ninja had been completely buried alive a hundred meters underground without even managing a single move.

Anko held her bamboo skewer as she stared blankly.

She looked dazedly at the two mud pits, then at Chiba standing beneath the moonlight.

"This... this is your Wood Release?"

"What else would it be? Did you think I was joking with you?"

Chiba turned around and brushed the dirt from his hands, looking as relaxed as though he had just pulled out two weeds.

Anko swallowed, and the look in her eyes as she watched Chiba changed completely.

It was a mixture of shock, disbelief, and a trace of admiration that even she herself had not noticed.

"Those scales... you really fused the power of Ryūchi Cave into your Wood Release?"

"Just a little common knowledge. No need to make such a fuss."

Chiba walked over and looked down at her.

"Well, Chief Guard? Does this little trick of mine meet your standards?"

Anko tugged at her coat and turned her head away, stubbornly saying, "Hmph, it's passable. You're still far behind Lady Tsunade."

[System Prompt: Mitarashi Anko's favorability has increased. Current favorability: 30.]

Hearing the voice in his mind, the smile on Chiba's lips deepened.

He crouched down and reached out to pinch her slightly flushed cheek.

"Stubborn women aren't cute. Come on, let's head home."

"You... don't pull me. I can walk by myself."

Anko struggled to stand, but the instant her legs exerted force, she pitched forward.

Chiba reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her half into his embrace.

"Enough, stop forcing yourself. That curse mark backlash drained your stamina long ago."

Anko leaned against his chest, breathing in the faint scent of sulfur and grass from his body, her own body softening slightly.

A little flustered, she pulled her coat tighter, her fingers wrinkling the fabric.

"You little brat, you were the one who hugged me first. Don't say I took advantage of you."

"Yes, yes, I'm the one taking advantage of you. Happy now?"

Chiba smiled, then scooped her up in his arms and headed toward Konoha.

The night deepened.

At the gates of the Senju ancestral estate in Konoha's northern district.

Chiba was bare-chested, still covered in hot spring mist, with Anko wrapped tightly in his arms.

Anko's short purple hair was still damp, clinging to her neck, while the blush on her face had yet to fade.

"Are we there yet...? If I go in looking like this and Shizune sees me, it'll be so embarrassing."

Anko buried her face in Chiba's shoulder and muttered softly.

"What's there to be embarrassed about in front of Shizune? We'll all be family from now on."

Chiba kicked the gate with his foot.

Creak.

The heavy redwood gates slowly swung open.

Chiba swaggered inside with Anko in his arms.

Yet the moment the gates opened, the sight in the courtyard made Chiba's steps pause slightly.

Moonlight spilled across the small courtyard paved with stone slabs.

At the stone table in the center of the courtyard sat a graceful figure in silence.

Tsunade wore a short green jacket over a black fitted garment, holding an exquisite celadon teacup.

Shizune stood awkwardly at the side, staring at her nose, then her heart, not daring to lift her head.

Tsunade slowly turned her head, her gaze falling upon Chiba.

More precisely, it fell upon Anko in Chiba's arms.

Seeing the oversized coat that belonged to Chiba wrapped around Anko, the half-hidden fair collarbone beneath its collar, and the still-undried water droplets—

Tsunade's eyes immediately darkened.

Crack.

The crisp sound was especially clear in the quiet courtyard.

The celadon teacup in Tsunade's hand was crushed into powder, tea slowly dripping through her fingers.

She looked at Chiba, a cold smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as her voice carried a chilling frost that made one's scalp tingle.

"Chiba, you went to soak in a hot spring and came back with some wild woman?"