"Did he lay a hand on you?"
After a full day of training, Hakken returned home to Anko.
Though tired, breaking past 1,000 swings and reaching 2,000 had left him feeling elevated. Every breakthrough was a kind of baptism, and Hakken savored it.
Instead of collapsing straight into bed, he washed up carefully—and happened to run into Anko, just back from Orochimaru's place.
As he calmly pulled on his shorts, Hakken asked the question.
The girl's cheeks flushed, her eyes darting restlessly before she finally looked away from him. Living together, this wasn't the first time she'd seen something like this.
But they were growing older. And in this world, girls matured early.
Hinata, for example—falling for Naruto at three years old. Strange when you thought about it, but that was the charm of the two-dimensional world.
Anko was no different.
Her heart brimmed with girlish feelings—she was at the most beautiful stage of her youth. Her figure already stood out among the early cast of Naruto, and at such a young age, she'd even discovered how to use fishnet stockings to highlight her wild side. That kind of instinct wasn't something just anyone could match.
And as for her becoming a chubby auntie in Boruto? That was something that could be corrected. Nothing to worry about.
"You mean him… Orochimaru-sensei?"
After a pause, Anko frowned and said, "Hey, he's my teacher, alright? Can you keep your thoughts clean?"
She rolled her eyes.
Hakken didn't explain.
He simply walked up beside her, gently brushed a strand of hair away, then leaned against her lap and craned his neck to look more closely.
What's he doing?
Should I push him away?
Or maybe just pretend to resist before giving in?
Anko's face turned scarlet, round and steaming like a freshly made dumpling.
But she had completely misunderstood.
Hakken's hand lingered briefly at her pale neck. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he pulled away from her and rose.
She was far too tense.
Exhaling softly, Hakken turned toward his room.
He was, of course, checking for the cursed seal.
That dark brand—the power that twisted Anko's life. The force that transformed a bright, lively girl into a withdrawn, broken woman.
This time, he wouldn't let that tragedy repeat.
Anko's life was a peculiar one.
At first, she'd been that fierce examiner—yet Orochimaru had swatted her aside in an instant. Later, she became nothing more than a tool for his resurrection. A humiliating role.
Hakken couldn't accept it.
Change came through slow accumulation.
Orochimaru defecting without taking Anko along had been a devastating blow to her.
"Hakken!"
Just as Hakken reached his room, Anko suddenly called out.
This time she didn't cry "little brother" with her usual arrogance, nor did she order him around with a big-sisterly tone.
She simply called his name.
"Mm."
Turning slowly, Hakken's gaze stayed calm.
"Stay with me."
"Let's go eat dumplings, okay?"
For some reason, after what had just happened, Anko seemed shy, almost uncertain. Even her request for him to join her carried a note of pleading.
A few seconds later, just as her eyes began to dim with disappointment—
The boy nodded.
"Alright."
...
Konoha's dango shop.
A strangely magical place.
It was the kind of spot where, in between missions, well-known shinobi often came to unwind.
Like now.
When Hakken pushed open the door, his eyes immediately fell on a few familiar figures.
The first was a man in a glaring green tracksuit with a watermelon-shaped haircut—Might Guy, the man who would one day be known for kicking his name into history, youth always on his lips.
Further inside, Kurenai Yūhi looked visibly annoyed as she endured Asuma Sarutobi's pestering. The moment she spotted Anko, she rushed over as if she'd just been saved.
Hakken swept his gaze around once before pulling it back. He had no interest in the crowd of extras.
Choosing a random seat, he rubbed his sore shoulders.
After all, several peers from Anko's generation were missing.
Like that innocent girl, Rin Nohara.
Or the ANBU shinobi who had sunk into silence, now serving as bodyguard to the Fourth Hokage's wife, Kushina Uzumaki—the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake.
Thinking on it, Minato was being a bit cruel.
He wanted the birth of new life to break through the darkness weighing on Kakashi's heart.
But… was that really the right thing to do?
To make someone who had lost both father and comrades stand watch over how warm and loving your family was?
Wasn't that going too far?
Hakken let out a faint sigh, turning his gaze toward the window.
The seasons in the shinobi world were strange. The New Year festival had already passed, spring should have been arriving—but snow was still falling.
At this very time, Kakashi was likely crouched at the Fourth's window, keeping guard over Kushina.
But at the thought of Kushina, a sharp glint flashed in Hakken's eyes.
The Nine-Tails' rampage… was drawing near.
This ill-fated village of Konoha.
Shaking his head, a faint smirk of mockery tugged at his lips.
As for who that mockery was aimed at—none of those present could tell.
But with Anko and Kurenai seated beside Hakken, and Asuma having followed to sit across from him, that sneer landed squarely in his eyes.
What does he mean by that?
Asuma's face darkened.