"That annoying guy! He clearly said we'd come back together, but ran off alone!"
"I don't think you're really angry. In fact, you seem secretly happy being here in Konoha."
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm so mad my face is red!"
"It doesn't show."
"Samiu, do you actually believe I can have you sent back to Kumogakure right now?"
"Mabui, don't forget—you're a Kumo ninja too."
"That was the past."
As their argument heated up, Anya—who had arrived earlier—finally stepped forward and interrupted them. "I brought you two here to help take care of the kid, not to argue."
The moment she saw Anya, Mabui immediately snapped, "This is all your fault! You broke your promise!"
"Alright, things happened suddenly. I apologize. But honestly, looking at you two like this... can you really handle taking care of a child?" Anya asked doubtfully.
Surprisingly, Samiu volunteered, "No problem at all. Recently I've started studying books on how to properly raise children."
Mabui wore a confident smile: "Don't worry, I'll be very patient."
"Then come here, Hakuto." Anya called out.
A figure dashed out from the Clan District—it was Hakuto. Right now, she looked hopefully at Anya and asked, "Dad, have you and Mom made up?"
Anya smiled gently: "Of course. I promised you before. Come here, there are two aunts I'll officially introduce you to."
She had met Samiu briefly during a stage play performance before, though they hadn't interacted much. As for the other woman, Mabui, it was Hakuto's first time meeting her. She couldn't help wondering why her father specially brought these two women over. Could it be… am I about to gain another stepmother???
As soon as Mabui saw Hakuto's expression, she realized the misunderstanding and quickly stepped forward explaining, "Let me clarify—I'm Mabui, your father's secretary. This time I came with Samiu just to help look after you kids."
"Oh, got it. Hello," Hakuto greeted them, then shot Anya a knowing look—the message was crystal clear: Do the two *stepmothers* know about this?
Anya gently patted Hakuto's head and said, "Later on, I won't go inside with you. I need to leave for a while. Otherwise once they see me, they'll want to follow me away. So I'm leaving these two aunts to you to introduce around."
"Where are you going?" Hakuto's eyes lit up with excitement, clearly hoping to sneak along.
Anya playfully rapped Hakuto on the head with his knuckles: "Forget about tagging along. Your mom already warned me yesterday—not a single reckless outing with you anymore. Besides, the Sage Art energy inside you hasn't fully awakened yet. Study that chakra carefully for now."
Hakuto winced painfully but reluctantly agreed, "Fine…"
Just as Hakuto was about to show the two women inside, Anya suddenly called out, "Mabui, hold up. Come with me."
"What's wrong?" Curious, Mabui wondered whether he had called only her over because he had some secret to tell.
Anya simply stated a location to her, then calmly said, "Alright, begin. Use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send me there."
"You what?" Mabui exclaimed in shock. "Didn't I already tell you before?"
The Heavenly Transfer Technique can only transport objects. It instantly teleports a target to a designated location through high-speed movement. If it's a human body, the faster you move, the stronger the tearing force will be. You'll die before even arriving.
Anya smiled confidently. "Don't worry. My body has already recovered well. The Heavenly Transfer Technique won't hurt me."
"Really?" Mabui remained half-doubtful.
"Just watch."
To prove his point, Anya quickly cut his palm with a knife. The moment blood started to flow, the wound healed instantly as if nothing had ever happened.
"Woah, that's incredible!" Mabui exclaimed.
"Let's begin."
"Mm-hmm."
This was Anya's first time using the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Once Mabui completed the connection, an invisible force enveloped his entire body. He was surrounded by extreme speed and an underlying power of spatial tearing. However, when Sage Chakra flowed through his body, all external discomfort disappeared completely. When he reappeared again, he stood inside a secret tunnel.
Anya followed the tunnel and quickly stepped into a room.
"I thought you wouldn't come," a deep, gloomy voice reached Anya's ears.
Anya lit the lamp on the wall with a wave of his hand. As darkness receded, he saw Orochimaru lying weakly on the bed, sweat covering his face. His gaze, however, burned intensely as he stared without blinking at Anya, his expression complicated.
Anya retorted, "Not happy to see me?"
Orochimaru sneered, "The three-year window is almost up. You're not here to help me, are you? Are you here to take Sasuke away?"
Anya replied innocently, "I just wanted to let you know that Jiraiya brought his apprentice Naruto to find you. At their current pace, they should arrive soon."
"They?" Orochimaru questioned, puzzled. "With so many strongholds of mine, how could they possibly—"
Looking slightly embarrassed, Anya admitted, "Uh, I might have leaked the location."
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating," Orochimaru said mockingly without bothering to hide his sarcasm. "Now that you're here, do I even need to run?"
Anya grinned. "Then why don't you let Sasuke and Naruto meet each other?"
Orochimaru asked, "You've seen Sasuke's progress over these three years. How does he compare to you back then?"
Anya responded flatly, "Before he awakened the Mangekyō, he posed no threat compared to me at his age."
"You're right," Orochimaru said, recalling memories while sighing regretfully. "After the Second Great Ninja World War, you slaughtered every single prisoner during your Sword Art practice while Sasuke still clung to his pitiful moral limits, unwilling to kill. For this alone, he falls far short of you. What a pity..."
Finally, he mused, "Actually, he was never my best choice."
Anya's eyes narrowed, "You're not still interested in Hakuto, are you?"
"Hehehe..." Orochimaru fixed his gaze on Anya and replied meaningfully. "It's not like she's the only perfect person in the world, but later on, I gave up."
Although Anya sensed hidden implications within Orochimaru's words, their meaning eluded him.
Nevertheless, since he had already come here, Anya clearly expressed his purpose: "You should still have plenty of Cursed Seals left. Give one to me."
"Orochimaru asked curiously, 'Why?'
'Obviously to save you.'
Orochimaru's expression darkened immediately, his snake-like eyes radiating intense killing intent, 'You think something might go wrong during my process of consuming Sasuke.'
Anya didn't answer right away, but sighed, 'Just in case.'
'Hmph, I understand,' Orochimaru sneered, 'you've always had your own reasons for doing things. Come on, admit it—you're afraid that I might end up being consumed by Sasuke, leaving you unable to find Minato Namikaze's body ever again, right?'
'Dear uncle, why must you be so blunt?' Anya raised a single finger and said, 'Given your current condition, the chances of success are less than ten percent.'
'Then we'll just have to wait and see.'
With that, Orochimaru lazily tossed a key over, 'My northern stronghold—the source of the Cursed Seal is there. You've seen that person before.'
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