Chapter 150: Mitarashi Anko: Why Are the Teacher's Pectoral Muscles So Exaggerated?
"Damn it. So stingy." Kenichi slumped into his chair with a frustrated look, then grabbed a piece of grilled meat.
He truly had not expected Nagato to make him exchange contribution points for it.
Worse, the requirement was absurdly high. It was basically priced at the same level as getting a chance to study the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path once.
Kenichi was naturally unwilling.
He could accept that the Demonic Statue was expensive. There was only one in the entire shinobi world. A full monopoly. If Nagato wanted to charge extra, fine, that at least made sense.
But the Rain Tiger Technique being that expensive? He could not accept it.
These days, the shinobi world had developed all kinds of bizarre techniques. There were even jutsu made specifically for counting money, able to instantly tally how much cash was on hand. Practical to the point of being shameless.
Rumor said it was invented by an anonymous shinobi who insisted he had once attacked the First Hokage.
Kenichi had even heard of a "charging" jutsu that could power home appliances as long as the user kept channeling chakra. The village banned it because it was supposedly bad for health.
The inventor protested, saying he could supply his own electricity and even cover his neighbor's needs. The next day, an unknown force placed a bounty on his head. On the third day, he was dead.
After that, rumors spread that the power company had issued the reward.
It was a truly magical world.
Kenichi admitted the Rain Tiger Technique was strong and ridiculously useful, but there was no way he was giving up a chance to research the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for it. The Rain Tiger Technique simply was not worth that price.
"Senior brother, what are you talking about?" Anko asked curiously. It was the first time she had ever seen Kenichi lose his temper like this.
"It's nothing," Kenichi said at once, forcing a friendly smile. "I was just thinking about when to hang all those guys from streetlights."
After being alone for so long, he had nearly forgotten he even had a junior sister beside him. But looking at Anko now, Kenichi also felt a bit awkward.
Nagato definitely would not allow Anko to join Akatsuki. Nagato recruited with an elite mindset.
Whether the future Anko would ever catch Nagato's eye was questionable, let alone the current Anko. If she joined now, she would be a mascot at best, or an errand runner.
So relying on Akatsuki was not an option.
Kenichi had considered asking Kakuzu to help train Anko, since Kakuzu was a veteran bounty hunter. But thinking about Kakuzu's habit of turning on his own comrades, Kenichi immediately killed that idea.
Otherwise, he might end up attending Anko's funeral, or discovering she had simply vanished.
Given Kakuzu's personality, the second outcome was more likely. Kakuzu valued money above all else, and Anko's looks were honestly quite good.
For now, Kenichi could only bring Anko back to his base in the Land of Rice Fields. As for taking her to his teacher's base, he had no such plan. He could decide matters for his own base, but he could not decide for his teacher's.
Right and wrong had to be separated clearly. You did not make decisions for other people in places that did not belong to you.
That was one of Kenichi's principles in life.
Otherwise, he would not have survived his teacher's experiments and made it this far as his student.
"Koji Tadokoro, right?" Kenichi put a piece of grilled meat onto Anko's plate, then looked at the man sitting across from him. "How much were you paid for working for Shinno?"
This guy's name was almost exactly the same as a certain "beast senpai," and it made Kenichi feel extremely uncomfortable.
The moment he looked at him, those ridiculous interjections almost echoed in his head.
Koji raised a hand. "Three thousand ryo a month."
Kenichi slowly formed a question mark in his mind.
"Then your job must have been completely unimportant, right?" Kenichi asked, staring at him. "You're a chunin. Three thousand a month? Are they paying you like a beggar?"
Maybe he was there to serve tea and water. Or sort trash.
"It's alright," Koji said with an awkward smile, scratching his head like he was embarrassed. "The leader said it was very important."
Koji did not care much about the salary. Shinno had said it was all for revenge against Konoha.
Kenichi nearly burst out laughing.
So Shinno was a top tier PUA type manipulator.
The work is important, but the pay is low.
What kind of magical capitalism was this?
Shouldn't "important work" mean "high pay"?
"Come help me build an aerial base," Kenichi said, "something like Ancor."
Koji froze for a moment, then asked with clear hope, "So… there's a salary?"
"Huh?" Kenichi looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What are you thinking? You're my prisoner. Isn't it payment enough that I'm not killing you?"
Prisoners of war negotiating wages?
Should they bring up the Geneva Convention again?
Kenichi knew very well that, even in his previous life, not all countries followed the Geneva Convention.
And this was the shinobi world. Kenichi had no idea whether the shinobi world even had such rules. Being captured here was often worse than death.
Male shinobi were exploited for intelligence, then imprisoned and forced to mine or do dangerous labor until they died. Female shinobi had it even worse. That was why most shinobi would run if they could on the battlefield. If they could not, they fought to the death, because nobody wanted to be captured.
Unless you had special status and your village would redeem you, so you could enjoy so called preferential treatment. Otherwise, you were already incredibly fortunate just to still be alive.
Those with bloodline limits, or those from clans with eye techniques, suffered even more. They could be directly treated as breeding stock.
And Koji Tadokoro was still thinking about pay?
He should have been ready to work himself to death even knowing he might die.
It was already a miracle Kenichi had not killed him. Kenichi was only keeping him alive to squeeze out advanced technology from the Sky Village.
Seeing Koji's fawning smile, Kenichi stretched lazily.
He had not been back to the Land of Rice Fields in a long time. He wondered how the experiments were progressing, and where his teacher had gone.
Kenichi was also curious about that. His teacher had been "missing" for a while, as if he could not be found at all.
As for Sasori, Kenichi had invited him along, but Sasori said he had an inspiration to modify Unit 01, so he would not be coming. Kenichi did not stop him.
Kenichi knew that feeling. When inspiration hit, nothing could drag you away.
So Kenichi brought Anko and Koji back to the Land of Rice Fields.
However, before Kenichi could even reach his own lab, he spotted a figure standing at the entrance of his teacher's lab.
Long white hair.
Kenichi frowned slightly. He had never seen this person before. But it was not Jiraiya either. Jiraiya was not that small and thin.
Before Kenichi could get close, the person turned and looked at him.
"Kimimaro?" Kenichi was surprised, but he recognized him immediately.
A descendant of the Kaguya clan, and a wielder of the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit.
Of course, the Kaguya clan had nothing to do with Kaguya Otsutsuki.
"Lord Amamiya." Kimimaro bowed deeply, a full ninety degree angle. His voice was respectful, but his face remained expressionless.
It sounded stiff to the point of being like a recitation.
"You know me?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
Kenichi knew Kimimaro because they had met before, but Kimimaro knowing him was strange. Had his teacher mentioned him specifically?
Thinking about it, that did sound like something his teacher would do.
"I do," Kimimaro said evenly. "Lord Orochimaru told me."
He remained the same, but the moment Orochimaru was mentioned, Kimimaro's expression softened just slightly.
Kenichi fell into thought.
If Kimimaro was here, then his teacher had returned. Otherwise there was no reason for Kimimaro to be standing guard at this place.
But why had his teacher called Kimimaro here?
Speaking of Kimimaro, Kenichi remembered something else. His teacher had once considered using Kimimaro as a vessel for reincarnation. Shikotsumyaku was terrifyingly strong, but perhaps because it was too strong, nature imposed a balance.
Hereditary illness.
Kimimaro carried an illness that would not let him live long. That was why his teacher ultimately gave up choosing him as a vessel. A short lifespan was not suitable, and forcing repeated reincarnation over a short period could easily create problems for the soul.
The only issue was that no one ever clearly said what disease Kimimaro had.
Even so, Kimimaro was extremely loyal to Orochimaru, the kind of loyalty that would die on command.
"It's Kenichi." Another person rose from the ground.
He recognized Kenichi immediately, and also noticed the girl beside him staring with reddened eyes.
"Anko," Orochimaru said with a warm smile. "You've worked hard."
He had done countless shady things, but at least on the surface, he could appear very attentive to his students.
"Teacher." Kenichi remained polite as always.
But Anko could not hold back.
She ran forward and threw herself into Orochimaru's arms, crying loudly. The moment she saw her teacher, everything she had suffered during this time suddenly felt unimportant.
This was probably a privilege reserved for girls.
Kenichi watched without any change in expression.
If a cute girl ran up asking for a hug, most people would not hesitate. But if a rough looking man ran up crying and asked for a hug, most people would call the police.
Anko hugged her teacher tightly, almost instinctively pressing against his chest.
Then she froze.
Something felt wrong.
Why wasn't there something firm against her teacher's chest?
How had he suddenly developed such ridiculously exaggerated pectoral muscles?
Anko paused, her mind blank. Her teacher's pectoral muscles felt even more outrageous than her mother's.
She even wanted to reach out and confirm her suspicion.
Before she could, Orochimaru pushed her away without changing expression. Then he opened a hidden underground entrance and called Kenichi inside.
Kenichi glanced at Anko, who still looked stunned.
He suspected she had discovered something truly dangerous.
The way she had moved just now looked like she was jumping back and forth on the edge of the Pure Land.
Even Kenichi only dared to use an excuse like "plucking gray hairs" to try touching his teacher's head.
Anko nearly went all out.
If she actually touched what she wanted to touch, then this touching reunion between master and disciple would turn into a purge of former students before it even truly began.
"Who is the one you brought?" Orochimaru's eyes shifted to Koji, who followed behind Kenichi obediently, looking honest enough. He did not seem like a complete waste.
"Teacher, do you know about the Sky Village?" Kenichi asked immediately, sounding excited.
He remembered that during the Second Shinobi World War, his teacher had gone to the battlefield. Theoretically, he should have encountered them.
"I know," Orochimaru said calmly. "My team wiped them out."
Of course he knew them.
A group of arrogant fools who relied on special devices and acted like they stood above the shinobi world.
A tiny country that dared to claim it would trample Konoha underfoot and punch the Hokage, openly disrespecting the Leaf.
So Orochimaru and his forces erased them.
But judging from his disciple's words, the person behind him might have some connection to the Sky Village?
"Teacher, it's like this." Kenichi briefly described his experience in the Land of Fire, explaining the Sky Village aerial fortress in detail.
Orochimaru stopped walking and listened.
At first, he showed little interest in remnants of the Sky Village. But once he heard about a stone fortress capable of flying, his interest stirred.
When Kenichi mentioned the Zero Tails, Orochimaru's interest deepened even more.
"These people are researching the Zero Tails too?" Orochimaru sounded indifferent, but Kenichi noticed it clearly.
Did his teacher already know about the Zero Tails?
Koji, standing to the side, felt uncomfortable seeing the Zero Tails, which they believed could defeat the Nine Tails, being dismissed so casually.
But under someone else's roof, you bowed your head. So Koji stayed silent.
"Teacher," Kenichi asked, genuinely curious, "is there a problem with the Zero Tails?"
Orochimaru answered bluntly.
"That thing is junk."
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