Little Chili Pepper might have had a bad temper, but she certainly kept her word. After pulling Anyo aside, she actually taught him every Sealing Jutsu she knew.
Anyo frowned, however. The power of the Sealing Jutsu he had looked forward to so eagerly left him sorely disappointed, falling far short of his expectations. Take the simplest one, the Adamantine Sealing Chains: although he learned it, when he tested it on Little Chili Pepper, it barely tickled her and could not restrain her at all.
Out of curiosity, he asked Little Chili Pepper to try it on him.
The result was disastrous. Combined with her chakra, Little Chili Pepper's Adamantine Sealing Chains sealed him so thoroughly that he could not move. Only after Anyo sensibly admitted defeat was he released.
Seeing this, Little Chili Pepper said smugly, "See? I knew it. Our clan's sealing techniques can only show their power when combined with our constitution and chakra. Even if other people learn them, the results are poor."
Her words reminded Anyo of something. He remembered that in the anime, after Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he rescued a woman from the Uzumaki Clan. Whenever he was injured, a bite of her would restore him. She was practically the ultimate panacea. He wondered where Orochimaru had found her.
At that thought, the way Anyo looked at Little Chili Pepper became rather strange.
Little Chili Pepper clearly noticed his gaze turning a little creepy and asked uneasily, "Y-you... what are you trying to do?"
Realizing that his gaze had frightened her, Anyo immediately put on a bright, sunny smile and said in a warm, kindly tone, "Well, Kushina, we were classmates, after all. Could you let me take a bite? Just one."
"Ahhh!" Little Chili Pepper screamed and darted away, shouting as she ran, "Lord White Fang, come out! Your student's gone mad! He's going to eat someone!"
Anyo sighed at the sight but did not chase her. With Minato connecting them, he naturally could not force her. It seemed he would have to find another member of the Uzumaki Clan to try it on someday, though the chances were slim.
Just then, White Fang walked over and asked, "What did you just say to her to scare her like that?"
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Anyo said with a deeply troubled look, "I learned the Sealing Jutsu, but the results were terrible, so I wanted to try biting her and see where the problem was."
At those words, White Fang gave Anyo a hard smack on the forehead.
"Ow!" Anyo cried out, a large lump immediately swelling on his forehead.
Still angry, White Fang said, "Drop that jutsu-collecting habit of yours. Once you can withstand three strikes from me, I'll leave you alone and let you learn whatever assorted Ninjutsu you like."
Knowing better than to invite more immediate trouble, Anyo nodded quickly and replied, "All right."
White Fang did not believe him for a second. He sneered. "As of now, your squad is disbanded. You'll spend the next few days practicing swordsmanship inside the Sealing Barrier. You can come out when the war is over."
"Huh?" Anyo was dumbfounded. Honestly, he had already tasted the benefits of this squad. Minato and Dan Katō went without saying, and even Little Chili Pepper, whom he had looked down on, was a hidden expert. A squad like this would complete missions together very efficiently.
Ignoring Anyo after that, White Fang called into the distance, "Kushina, is the Sealing Barrier ready?"
Little Chili Pepper's voice came from afar. "Lord White Fang, it's finished."
Anyo realized White Fang was doing this for his own good. Without resisting, he stood and walked toward the barrier.
Seeing Anyo about to enter the barrier, Little Chili Pepper had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly turned back with a grin. "Kushina, well, look, if you get injured on the battlefield in the future, could you save that blood for me?"
Little Chili Pepper froze for a moment at his words. Then her overwhelming anger overrode her earlier fear, and she kicked Anyo inside, shouting, "You little short-haired freak! You damned pervert! Don't ever come out again!"
Inside the barrier, Anyo began seriously reflecting on his recent training. Ever since mastering Iaido, he had spent far less time practicing swordsmanship, and White Fang had clearly noticed. He remembered that in the anime, Kakashi had become a jonin at twelve, a textbook young prodigy. Yet it was only over a decade later that he advanced from jonin to elite jonin, and when he first faced Orochimaru, he could not put up any resistance at all. From this, it seemed that after obtaining the Sharingan, he had become too distracted and learned too many assorted Ninjutsu, consuming enormous amounts of energy and leaving his strength stagnant.
Having thought this through, Anyo came to his senses. He really had been too distracted lately, leaving his swordsmanship at a standstill. Ordinary jonin were manageable, but against an elite jonin like Kitsuchi, he had no way to deal with him. If the two truly fought a prolonged battle to the death, Anyo might very well be the one who died.
Anyo exhaled a stale breath and drew his short sword, his body naturally beginning to practice the original Thirteen Forms of basic swordsmanship. In wartime, life and death were often decided in a single second; there would be no time to use all sorts of Ninjutsu. Swordsmanship, therefore, would be the foundation of his survival from now on. Having understood this, Anyo's gaze grew resolute.
In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage looked at his son Kitsuchi helplessly and said, "You're saying the ninja who attacked the village was from Kumogakure?"
Kitsuchi said indignantly, "Yes! He admitted it himself, and he wore a Kumogakure forehead protector. He could use Lightning Release, and he fled toward Kumogakure. What is there to doubt?"
"You said he admitted it himself?" The Tsuchikage pondered for a moment, a flicker of understanding crossing his eyes. "That Cloud ninja drew your attention out front while someone else was sent to infiltrate from behind. After going to all that trouble, they only destroyed an office with no real strategic value. This was clearly meant to provoke us. In my opinion, he was very likely sent by Konoha to stir up trouble."
The Tsuchikage truly was a shrewd and calculating leader. In that short time, he had guessed the truth from the limited clues.
Unfortunately...
Kitsuchi said, his face flushed red, "Father, that's impossible. Since you don't believe me, I'll take a squad to Kumogakure right now and get a clear answer."
Without waiting for the Tsuchikage's approval, he turned and led the squad of indignant ninja at the door toward Kumogakure.
The Tsuchikage sighed at this. Knowing his son was as stubborn as a rock and could not be persuaded, he could only say to his trusted subordinate Akatsuchi beside him, "Pass on my orders. Have all the ninja on the front lines withdraw. Make sure they retreat in squads, and don't let Konoha discover it. Also, lay traps and explosive tags along the retreat routes."
"Yes," Akatsuchi answered, but did not leave immediately.
"Something else?" the Tsuchikage asked in puzzlement.
Akatsuchi asked guilelessly, "What about Roshi? Aren't you going to bring him back?"
At that name, the short Tsuchikage flew into a rage, his nose practically twisting with anger as he roared, "Never mention that idiot's name in front of me again! From now on, there is no such person in Iwagakure! Understood?"
"All right, understood."
Seeing the old curmudgeon angry, Akatsuchi slunk away.
Before you continue