The Revelation of One Hundred Thousand Ryo

"Anko, can you get in touch with Lord Orochimaru?"

There were not many pedestrians passing through the alley. Too many people were celebrating in various places today, while even more were immersed in grief.

Kato Xu looked up at Anko. Having graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago, she had not participated in the war and still looked somewhat youthful.

"Hey, what did you call me? You should call me Big Sis Anko!"

Kato Xu merely looked at Anko quietly without saying a word.

The atmosphere seemed to grow a little cold. Perhaps winter had not yet passed, and the lingering chill made Anko silently pull her clothes tighter. She looked at Kato Xu, gave a soft snort, and sighed helplessly.

"You're still the same. You're not as cute as you used to be..."

"Fine. Come with me..."

The deeper they went into the alley, the fewer pedestrians there were, until they had nearly vanished altogether. After looking around and confirming that no one else was present, Anko lightly bit her finger, formed hand seals, and summoned a small snake.

"Kato Xu, if you have anything to say to Lord Orochimaru or anything to give him, you can hand it to this snake... Forget it. Just tell it yourself..."

Anko stood some distance away, leaning against the wall. She pulled out a skewer of dango from somewhere and savored it slowly, though her gaze remained fixed on Kato Xu.

"Take this scroll to Lord Orochimaru..."

A trace of human-like intelligence flickered in the white snake's eyes. Its raised head slowly nodded before it bit down on the scroll Kato Xu tossed over.

Anko's eyes shifted slightly. She had never seen a special sealing scroll like that before. Her eyes rolled thoughtfully, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Ever since the day she became Orochimaru's disciple and met Kato Xu, her teacher had secretly been researching something with that not-so-cute fellow in front of her. Yet they had never included her.

She had wanted to ask, but Kato Xu always answered her with silence. Her curiosity only grew stronger...

"Curiosity can get a person killed..."

After seeing the white snake swallow the scroll and turn into smoke, Kato Xu turned around, cast Anko a slight glance, and leaped onto the high platform.

Anko immediately looked at Kato Xu on the platform with displeasure.

During those days in Orochimaru's laboratory, she had enthusiastically prepared lavish meals every day for the little brother she believed she had taken in. But later, they had barely seen each other, and their contact had gradually all but stopped.

She had not expected that when they met again, he would merely treat her as a tool for contacting Lord Orochimaru. He was so cold, as though they were complete strangers...

The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she felt. Unable to contain her indignation, she shouted at Kato Xu on the platform, "Hey! Kato Xu! You bastard, don't you have anything to say to me?!"

But no response came from Kato Xu. The person on the platform had already disappeared.

"Bastard! Bastard!"

"You're pissing me off!!!"

Anko's face flushed red with anger. She could not help punching the wall, as though she wanted to vent all her dissatisfaction at once.

"Hmph, when I get back, I'll find your scroll and throw it into the river. Let's see how you contact Lord Orochimaru then!"

Even after returning to the dango shop, Anko was still in a terrible mood. She turned all her anger into appetite, swallowing skewer after skewer of dango. Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi watched in stunned silence. They knew Anko loved dango, but they had never seen her like this, as though she regarded the dango as her enemy and tore it to pieces with her teeth.

"Um, Anko... Is Kato Xu also Lord Orochimaru's disciple?"

Tall stacks of plates had piled up beside Anko and Kurenai Yuhi. After silently counting them, Kurenai Yuhi could not help speaking, hoping to divert Anko's attention.

If this continued, she feared that all three of their wallets would be emptied. They might even have to work here to pay off their debt.

"Don't mention that bastard! If I see him again, I'll beat him until he's crawling around looking for his teeth!"

Only after finishing another two skewers of dango did Anko finally stop in satisfaction. She leisurely drank a bowl of warm red bean soup, and her mood seemed to calm down. Looking at Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi, who had barely eaten, she felt a little embarrassed.

"Kato Xu really is Lord Orochimaru's disciple, but... he's always researching something with Lord Orochimaru. I..."

After thinking about it, Anko suddenly realized that she truly could not think of anything particularly distinctive about Kato Xu. He was like a transparent person.

He did not talk much and liked to remain silent. It was as though that hooded cloak concealed not only his body, but also hid him completely within darkness.

"I don't know much about him either..."

At that moment, Anko suddenly felt that her anger had been entirely meaningless. From beginning to end, perhaps it had all been her own wishful thinking.

"Forget it... It's no big deal..."

Picking up the final skewer of dango, Anko looked out the window at the darkening sky. There was no one outside, only the cold, biting wind and snow-covered withered branches.

She seemed slightly lost in thought.

The brightly colored, sickeningly sweet dango—she had once believed she would never lose her love for it. Yet at this moment, it seemed to hold no attraction at all, leaving only an overwhelming greasiness.

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Anko with concern. She had never seen such complicated emotions on Anko's face. Anko, who had always been so carefree, seemed to possess a delicate heart as well. Hidden beneath her boisterous personality was a longing for friendship and a fear of loneliness.

Kurenai Yuhi gently patted Anko's shoulder. A strange sense of shared hardship rose in her heart. Ever since her mother had died, her home had felt much colder, even though she still had her father.

She could probably understand the loneliness of losing one's parents—they would come to cherish every relationship deeply.

"Anko, the next time we see that guy, I'll help you beat him into a pig's head!"

"How about adding me to the group?"

Asuma Sarutobi shrugged. He did not really understand why such a cheerful gathering had suddenly become so sentimental.

As a rebellious teenager, what troubled him now was always how to oppose his parents and keep them from meddling in anything he did.

"Hmph, this is girls' business!"

The simultaneous words from Kurenai Yuhi and Anko instantly darkened Asuma Sarutobi's face. Somewhat embarrassed, he looked at the tall stack of plates on the table. Then inspiration struck, and he seemed to think of a way to cheer them both up again.

"Owner, twenty more servings of dango!"

But his actions seemed to have the opposite effect. His loud shout drew everyone in the shop's attention toward them.

"Those two girls can really eat..."

"You'd never guess it... This is the first time I've seen girls who can eat that much..."

Though the whispers around them were quiet, Anko and Kurenai Yuhi, as ninja, heard them clearly. Their faces instantly flushed red.

Although they were ninja and held a somewhat higher status than ordinary citizens in Konoha, they were still only teenagers. Such "praise" for girls made them wish they could disappear into the ground, as though people were calling them gluttons.

"Asuma, you bastard!"

Kurenai Yuhi and Anko ground their teeth in fury. Blushing, they hurriedly left their seats and forced themselves to go settle the bill. They only wanted to leave this place at once, lest the title of glutton spread around...

"Excuse me, honored ninja, but your bill has already been paid. A ninja has deposited one hundred thousand ryo in advance. As long as this customer comes in, the entire amount can be deducted from it..."

The young cashier looked at Anko respectfully. One hundred thousand ryo was already a huge sum of income for a small shop like theirs.

"Me? Someone deposited one hundred thousand ryo for me?"

Anko froze. She had thought she was about to live a humble life of scrimping and saving, but she had not expected such a surprise.

"Did he leave a name? What did he look like?"

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Anko curiously, with a faint guess forming in her heart. As Anko asked her questions, Kurenai Yuhi also turned her gaze toward the shop clerk.

"Um... He looked about twelve or thirteen, wearing a hood. Oh, and he left behind a note, but no name..."

The moment Anko heard that he was wearing a hood, she had already guessed it was Kato Xu. Somewhat incredulous, she took the note handed over by the clerk and gently unfolded it. There was only one sentence written on it.

"The next time we meet, remember to call me Senior Brother."

Anko's eyes instantly brightened, and the smile at her lips could not be hidden no matter how hard she tried. All her emotions were completely overwhelmed by surprise, though she pursed her lips and kept muttering.

"That bastard..."

But even Kurenai Yuhi could hear that there was no longer a trace of anger in Anko's words, only wholehearted delight.

"Looks like your senior brother isn't bad after all... At least he's much better than certain people..."

Kurenai Yuhi's eyes also brightened slightly, and her impression of Kato Xu instantly changed completely.

"Of course... How could the little brother I took in be bad..."

Anko put one hand on her hip and burst into laughter, repeatedly patting Kurenai Yuhi on the shoulder. Seeing Anko return to her usual self, Kurenai Yuhi also pursed her lips in a broad smile.

Asuma Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. Looking at Kurenai Yuhi's somewhat envious gaze, he decided that he would compromise with the old man once first and get hold of one hundred thousand ryo...