Chương 364: INTERLUDE_9.1 (364)

"— You have the potential; you should seriously try to become a jonin... No one's going to bring up the snake creep if you become a jonin —" She wondered how long ago she had stopped believing that she would be able to kill him. It was always a daunting goal, but hate fueling her didn't allow her to climb the mountain she had set herself against. It would've been difficult if he was just a jonin—but he was one of the Sannin —someone who even the Third Hokage couldn't kill, much less capture.

In truth, she knew the exact time she gave up on that goal. It was when no matter what she did, people only looked at her as the Snake's student. No matter what she achieved, others only talked about her past and kept distance as though she was tainted because of it. It was so bad that she had stopped putting in effort. Her hate hadn't grown colder. If she came across him, she was ready to sacrifice herself to take him out.

She even did things she wasn't proud of for Ryūchi Cave to gain a ninjutsu for that particular reason. But she stopped believing in her revenge somewhere along the line because her efforts weren't accepted no matter how hard she worked. If she couldn't progress, she would never reach close enough to drive a dagger through his heart. In the end, she readjusted her priorities. Instead of revenge, she simply wanted people to acknowledge her for her own merits."

—You'll only be known as Jonin Mitarashi Anko—not the Snake's student—" That's what she wanted. She didn't need to be jonin for it. As long as she worked hard, someone would recognise her efforts someday. Her heart wasn't damaged enough to believe that there was no good in the world.

"— If you become a jōnin, you'll have a better chance at killing him... I will help you kill him —" Despite her struggles, she was in a much better place from when he had betrayed her. It was because of her best friend and now roommate, staying by her side and ensuring that she didn't let her hate destroy from within. There were people who had supported her; they saw her for who she was before them. Torture & Interrogation was perhaps the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.

There were still people who could only see as the Snake's student—but just as many people saw her for who she was. People like Morino Ibiki and Oishi Yori only judged Anko for the work and results she produced. It was so refreshing that she looked forward to going to work every day—which would've been ridiculous if someone said that to her half a year ago. But not one of those good people she respected and felt grateful toward had ever told her that if she wanted to kill him, they would support her.

"— I'll steal away the satisfaction of killing that bastard from you —" No one had ever taunted her like that to get a rise out of her. They treated the topic like a taboo because they feared how she would react. She realised that if she returned to herself before she had given up, she would be stoking a fire that could burn her to a crisp.

She liked her current life and a big part of her didn't want to jeopardise that goodness, but another just as big part wanted to get near the fire because her circumstances had changed and she thought instead of getting burned by it, she could harness it. That small conversation had disrupted her life, bringing her to a crossroads. ———. Yuhi Kurenai noticed changes in her roommate.

For the few years they had been roommates, Anko exclusively woke up in the noon hours—but since she had returned from the Steam-Frost war, her alarm went off at seven in the morning. At first, she thought it was because Anko had to follow Torture & Interrogation's work hours and no longer had the freedom when she was independently running missions. But then she started to train in the morning—which never happened once in their cohabitation.

Anko trained twice or thrice a week for an hour or two at best each session for maintenance. She was now putting in an hour of training every day in the morning on top of that. Kurenai was sure something happened when she was at war, but except for mourning and grief for fallen comrades, she was more energetic upon her return. Kurenai again attributed that to her getting into Torture & Interrogation, which had been Anko's hopeful goal for the year before.

And while Torture & Interrogation had been a change for good, she didn't think that was everything. Anko hadn't changed completely. She still partied into the night and returned home drunk more often than not. Some habits were challenging to ditch. But no matter how much she drank, she was up in the morning to train.

"Something has changed," Kurenai told Anko at the breakfast table.

"Vat du u men?" Anko replied with a mouth full of sweat cereal. Kurenai had seen Anko at her worst. She was there for a couple of months when Anko had drunk enough to be "tipsy" throughout the day. It had taken a particularly powerful genjutsu serving as shock therapy to stop her from drowning her anxieties instead of confronting and resolving them. She admitted it was an extreme decision, but in her defence, other options had failed and she consulted with a Yamanaka iryo-nin beforehand.

"What's changed?"

"You."

"Well, I think I've gotten sexier. No wonder I felt more eyes on me at the club," Anko winked.

"I'm talking about the morning training. And you never used to talk about work; now you tell me about all the drama and gossip. Whatever it is, I like it. I'm happy to see you being so involved and proactive... And sure, you look good," Kurenai added when Anko wiggled her brows.

"Thank you, dear," Anko grinned.

"So, what brought this up?" Anko gazed into her bowl as she swirled her cereal milk with the spoon.

"You don't have to choose your words with me," she said, her voice softer than before.

"I know I was wasting my time before. I didn't think there was any use in putting in effort when it wouldn't get rewarded." She stopped Kurenai from speaking.

"It's different now. The people I know work with only care who I am now." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Kurenai appreciated her friend being so vulnerable when in the past, she had built walls around her to keep everyone out so she wouldn't get hurt. Anko's trust in her made her feel that all that time trying to help her friend hadn't gone to waste.

"Someone said that I've the potential to become a jonin," said Anko. Kurenai was momentarily surprised, but nodded. As a jonin herself, she believed that Anko had what it took if she put in serious effort. Anko had the terrific ability to pick whatever she tried to learn, which was wasted because she never genuinely attempted to develop any skill in earnest—but if she worked hard, Kurenai knew the woman was among the extraordinary talents of her generation.

"That someone is right; I think so too. You should definitely aim for it, but it won't be easy. Hard work is a must, but you must also be clever about it with clear goals and ways to achieve them, and most importantly, consistency will decide if you succeed or fail." Anko leaned back into her chair and gazed at her.

"I'm right about settling into T&I. I'll be devoting more time to training soon. Tone down the partying to twice a week—you know I can't do less than that," she said when Kurenai sighed.

"As for consistency, I don't think it will be a problem. I have the perfect motivation to keep me straight," she smiled.

"Oh, what's that?" asked Kurenai, thinking Anko was about to make another joke.

"To kill Orochimaru." Kurenai froze in her chair, completely taken aback by the answer. Anko's smile, which she thought was because of her uptick in life and newfound resolve to improve and achieve more in life, seemed no longer for those reasons. Kurenai felt a twisted glee from the tug on her lips. Knowing her friend as well as she did, Kurenai had an uncanny intuition that Anko was smiling from killing Orochimaru in her imagination. ———.

When his wife was still alive, Hiruzen used to host guests at his house in his position as Hokage and Sarutobi clan head with Biwako by his side to entertain them. Getting invited to the Hokage's home was a gesture many appreciated. It made it a great way to have them warm up, build stronger relationships, and get his agenda across, something essential in village politics. But since that terrible day ten years ago, Hiruzen closed his home off to everyone but his close family and friends.

It no longer felt right to use his home, which he shared with his wife, since the first day of marriage, for work without her being there by his side. There were precious memories of his wife in the house that he wanted to preserve.

"Isn't it too early for a checkup?" asked Anko as she sat straight on a stool with only a sarashi covering her torso.

"Is it wrong for me to want to meet you and know how you're doing," said Hiruzen as he drew script around her shoulder where a cursed seal was inflicted upon her by the person she had trusted the most at one point in her life. And that person was one of his students, creating a line between him and Anko. He felt guilt towards her that his cruel student had caused the young woman before him so much harm when she was just a child.

He had been unsuccessful in removing it, so he did his best to ensure it bothered him as little as possible. Orochimaru's juinjutsu was a vile thing for anyone to bear. He had personally sealed it many years ago and had since regularly met with her to perform checkup and maintenance. And that required Anko to expose a weak, vulnerable side of her, so they always held it at his house to give her the most privacy he could provide.

"Of course not," Anko said, hurriedly.

"I heard you have been doing well at Torture & Interrogation. Have you adjusted well?"

"Morino Ibiki is a stuffy man without flexibility. It has been fun to find his buttons," Anko snickered. Hiruzen smiled. Most people would try to please their bosses and not get on their bad side. Not Anko. She even argued with him about his and the village's efforts against Orochimaru several times through the years when most in her position wouldn't dare say a word. She was one of the most headstrong and outspoken kunoichi he knew. She reminded him of his other student before she had mellowed out.

"Your chakra is much more active than the last time we met," said Hiruzen, inferring it from his seal's response.

"I have been training," she said before confidently stating.

"It's about time Hidden Leaf gets a new jonin." Hiruzen laughed.

"I don't doubt it, but it won't be that easy."

"I know. Don't worry though. I'll become one before you kick the bucket. You'll be there to do the honours." Hiruzen smiled but internally wondered how long he had left as the village's leader. He resumed his position after his successor died protecting the village. As much as he hated to think about the day last year, Danzo's words as he fled about him holding the Hokage position for so long had weakened the village.

He didn't agree as he felt the village needed a steady, experienced hand in the time of need—the clans and jonin agreed with him, which was why he was still wearing the hat and robe—but those words had made him think often if he was still the right choice for the village. Even now, he didn't want the Fifth Hokage to inherit Danzo's action and his ROOT network before ANBU stabilised. However, it wasn't the right time to think about those things. As Anko said, it was too early for a routine check-up.

He had called her because he wanted to talk to her.

"You can do it, I believe it. Work hard and remember to enjoy the process while keeping your head clear and mind sharp. A sound mind in a sound body is the key to success..."

"Kurenai talked to you, didn't she?" Anko said without looking at him. Hiruzen's brush stopped when he heard the cutting tone. Anko had a sharp intuition. He hadn't even breached the topic and she already knew where he was leading the conversation.

"Hate is corrosive," Hiruzen said as he put his brush down and walked in front to face her.

"What he did to you was monstrous and I'm not telling you to forgive him or forget about it—""That will never happen," Anko almost snarled, but contained herself in his presence.

"However, letting this justified hate you have him control you will do you no good in life. I have seen brilliant people drive themselves to ruin because they allowed rage and hate to rule them," Hiruzen said, keeping his tone calm so as not to provoke her.

"You were doing well for the past couple of years. I want to understand where this is coming from so I can help."

"I don't need help because there's nothing wrong!" Anko exclaimed with heat. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths as she calmed herself.

"I apologise for the outburst." Hiruzen gently shook his head. He didn't blame her. It was understandable.

"I don't think I'll be able to kill him," said Anko, her face twitching with bitterness she didn't want to admit.

"I'm angry, not delusional. I'm young; I've decades of my prime years as a shinobi ahead of me. I'll undoubtedly grow stronger if I aim for it. Normally, I would have had an advantage because as he grew older, he would grow weaker—unfortunately, that damned snake is a monster in human form. You and I both know he'll never stop growing," she said, looking into his eyes. Memories of unspeakable things he had seen in Orochimaru's illegal labs flashed past his eyes.

His former student had crossed lines which should never have been crossed to attain the immortality that he so much desired.

"But I'm not giving up just because I can't kill him. If I can't kill Orochimaru, then I'll make his life on this earth hell. He gave me this curse, so I'll become a curse in his life until I die." Hiruzen saw the cursed seal flicker for a moment before it was restrained and restricted at the first sign of a flare up.

"I need power for that, so I'll get it. I'll become a jonin, who can mobilise the village's resources against him," said Anko, looking straight into his eyes.

"You and I will never agree on this, so I'll reach a place where even you can't deny me. This village will have its revenge against the traitor."

"Don't you mean you'll have your revenge."

"I am a part of the village. My revenge is the village's revenge," said Anko with a cold look in her eyes. Hiruzen realised no matter what he said would change her mind. His heart felt heavy because another young fire burned with hate rather than love like First Hokage wished for when he created the village.