"Hahaha, what do I have to fear? With Konoha's current strength, there's nothing I can't do — you can't stop me!"
Though Orochimaru wore a smile while speaking, a deep sense of caution flickered in his pupils — directed not only toward The Third but especially toward Sakura.
"Orochimaru, what exactly do you want from Konoha?" Anko's body trembled slightly. The cursed seal on her neck was throbbing painfully, nearly making her faint. Yet seeing Orochimaru standing before her, she struggled hard to stay conscious.
"Nothing much. I've just taken an interest in a certain talented little brat!" Orochimaru replied carelessly. Catching sight of the fury in Anko's gaze, he sneered coldly, "What's wrong? My dear disciple — are you still angry because your teacher left you behind?"
"I'm warning you, Orochimaru — don't you dare cause trouble here in Konoha, or else…"
Anko inhaled deeply, deliberately avoiding answering Orochimaru directly. But her tightly clenched fists betrayed the turbulence within her heart. She had become his disciple at a very young age and remained by his side for years, fully dependent on him. Then suddenly one day, he left. He abandoned Konoha — and didn't take her with him. That sense of betrayal had turned into an enduring hatred buried deep within her heart.
"Or else what?!"
Without warning, a snake slithered up behind Anko and wrapped tightly around her defenseless body, binding her completely. Instantly, Orochimaru appeared right behind her while the figure standing before her dissolved into a pile of earth.
"Orochimaru..."
Anko's trembling grew worse. Her incomplete cursed seal always flared up painfully whenever she was near him. Standing this close, the unbearable pain from the seal nearly knocked her unconscious. The only thing keeping her awake now was sheer stubbornness.
"Just look at that reaction! This gift I gave you must be quite amazing, little Anko," Orochimaru murmured, a trace of amusement in his voice. Watching Anko struggle desperately against the snake's constricting coils, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Why so unwilling to get close to your teacher? Didn't you used to say such delightful things, hmm? That if you couldn't pay back your debt, you'd turn me into a woman? Or did you really let me 'steal' something precious from you?"
Orochimaru's voice carried growing anger now. Thinking back to those embarrassing words Anko had shouted in front of others, he felt like throttling this reckless apprentice of his.
"Eh..."
Anko froze mid-struggle, icy sweat breaking out across her face. The fiery rage she'd shown moments ago instantly fizzled away. How did Orochimaru find out about those things she'd said?
"What? Little Anko, aren't you going to explain yourself to your teacher?" Orochimaru gritted his teeth, barely containing the furious rage building alongside resentment from earlier failures with Sakura. "Had a blast running your mouth with my name, huh? You said I stole something important from you — well, how about I make your words come true today?!"
"I-I was just joking!"
Anko no longer felt angry or resentful, but she wore a pitiful expression, as if her heart had become a sobbing two-hundred-pound python deep inside. She really had only been kidding—how was she supposed to know the person herself would actually hear it?
"Joking? Then you've got quite a sense of humor!" Orochimaru stretched out his long tongue and licked Anko's neck. The slimy sensation made Anko extremely nervous.
"I-I'm sorry! Please don't do anything crazy!"
Anko, usually so bold and carefree, finally felt fear creeping in. Knowing exactly what kind of person her teacher was, she now desperately wished she could kick herself. Why did you have to come over alone and play hero? Why insist on trying to handle Orochimaru by yourself? Now look at you—completely messed up. Old grudges and new grievances all piling up at once. Anko had already silently started calculating whether she'd at least get to die with her body intact.
"Heheheh," Orochimaru laughed as coldly as ever. "Since little Anko holds such deep resentment toward me, how could I not give you some compensation? Let me show you the truth behind things back then—you were most upset about being abandoned by me, weren't you? So then, let me show you what really happened. And while we're at it, I'll finish delivering my gift too!"
"What are you going to do?"
Before Anko could even finish shouting, a sharp pain shot through her Cursed Seal—it had been bitten again by Orochimaru.
The Chakra from the Cursed Seal originally prepared for Sasuke was now fully injected into Anko's own Cursed Seal. As this Chakra surged in, Anko felt a searing pain in her head before fragmented memories reappeared within her mind.
"So... it was actually my choice not to leave back then?!"
Anko's expression grew complicated. All along, she had believed that Orochimaru had abandoned her. But as the seal in her mind lifted, she realized the truth: it had been her who refused to leave with Orochimaru at the time. In other words, Orochimaru had been the one truly abandoned.
With that final thought flashing through her mind, Anko's body weakened and she lost consciousness. Orochimaru checked her condition briefly, confirming that there had been no complications with the Cursed Seal. He gently placed her on the ground and turned to leave.
Perhaps her body had long since grown accustomed to the presence of the Cursed Seal—although incomplete initially, the newly-injected Cursed Seal Chakra caused no harm to Anko whatsoever.
The unconscious Anko was soon discovered by searching Anbu members. Once transported to the hospital, no matter how thoroughly they examined her, they could only detect a strange, fresh Chakra circulating inside her system. Their final conclusion was that this mysterious Chakra must be the reason for her coma.
Sakura and her group remained unaware of Anko's fate. At that moment, they were gathered around a trembling young girl, eyeing her with astonishment.
"Finally grown a spine, huh? Bringing a girl home to start rebuilding the Uchiha clan!"
Sakura gave Sasuke's shoulder a playful pat, grinning with amusement.
Chapter 184: Sasuke's Devoted Fan Girl [Part 1]
"You're being weird again, aren't you?" Sasuke glanced sideways at Sakura, his eyes brimming with disdain.
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