juwbywrites

[juwbywrites]

New Chapter 38- Remember

Where Anko finally regains her memories Snippet:

She saw Orochimaru in the doorway; his face and clothes were cut and he was out of breath. Anko glanced upward, a look of confusion on her face.

"Oh, sensei, was there something you needed from the lab? Her gaze swept over him, noticing his wounds. Is something wrong?"

Orochimaru's expression shifted into a disturbingly pleasant smile. "Don't worry about that," he said. "It's merely a side effect of some of my village research."

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55935517/chapters/142042195

[juwbywrites]

Sasuke and Neji Rivalry

One of the things I decided to explore in my fic is a more direct rivalry between Sasuke and Neji. It was always disappointing that the two of them never fought in cannon.

Here's an excerpt of one of their first interactions:

Sasuke found Neji in a small clearing going through katas. He walked toward him as he was refining his technique and his stikes at his non-existent target. Sasuke was fascinated by the stance of the gentle fist; he knew of it, but his knowledge was limited.

"Are you here to copy my taijutsu Uchiha? Sorry to disappoint, but without this eye, it will remain useless to you," stated Neji without turning around.

"No, I wish to spar against you,"

"Why?"

"I heard you were strong, and I wish to test myself with an opponent of your caliber. "

"It would be a pointless endeavor. The outcome will already be decided, much like your clans."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What are you trying to say? "

"Your clan deserved their fate; they harbored a manic within their clan and were killed because of it."

Anger flooded through Sasuke as he activated his Sharingan and charged forward. Neji, with his Byakguan active, turned to intercept Sasuke, but before either of them could reach the other, both of their strikes were caught, as they saw a seriously-faced guy holding both of their wrists.

Gai began to speak, his usual joyful tone gone.

"Sparing is a sacred practice between comrades that is meant to spread youthfulness. Comrades should never try to intently harm each other, no matter what is said, and I know something was said,"

He let go of their wrist and gave Neji a pointed look.

" I do not know what you told Sasuke, but from what I understand, he is a tempered young man, and it would take a lot for him to attack you with such aggression."

"Even so, words are not enough of a justifier to initiate a fight," argued Neji

"I understand you like to disarm your opponents with your words, but you should hold your tongue more often when you speak to allies; there are lines that you can cross that will turn anyone from friend to foe. I'm sure there are things that people can say to you that will set you off as well."

Neji grimaced at the reminder. He then looked at Sasuke

"Perhaps I went too far, Uchiha, but the core of what I said is still true. No matter what you do or how much you train, you will never beat me."

Neji then began to walk away back toward the others,

Gai put a comforting hand on Sauske's shoulder.

I'm sorry about him; I've tried for over a year to get him to change his attitude, but..."

Gai sighed

"I like to believe that deep down, Neji doesn't believe the things he says."

Sasuke didn't hear Gai speak; he was consumed in his mind, but not with anger; for the first time since he made a promise to kill the man who murdered his clan, he had an additional goal that he needed to see done.

To kick Neji's ass.

[juwbywrites]

Kakashi and Anko excerpt from my newest chapter

Chapter 37: Where Loyalty Lies

Later into the night, as they got more privacy, Anko and Kakashi's conversation got more personal.

Kakashi was lying across the couch, Anko was on the floor lying back near Kakashi's head. They both had been silent for several minutes now, before Anko broke the silence.

"Why didn't you run?" Anko asked, her voice trembling slightly.

There was a slight pause, before Kakashi responded, "I was afraid that he would go after Naruto or Hinata. I couldn't risk either of them fighting him.

"That was reckless." Anko took a deep breath. "When I saw you being carried in, that was the most scared I've been in a long time. It felt like my heart was going to explode out my chest,"

"Then I'm glad you never saw how I would come back from my Anbu missions. I practically had to be put back together."

Anko began twisting her finger in a loose strand of hair. "You're joking, but it's not funny. You have people who care about you, I care about you, and you can't just decide to take a suicide mission whenever you feel like it,"

Anko exhaled deeply, wiping off tears that began to form in her eyes. "Oh god I'm just glad you're okay

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "If it makes you feel better, I really thought I could win."

Anko chuckled. "Oh, that makes everything so much better." she turned around, her gaze locking onto Kakashi's eye, the silence between stretching into eternity. Anko, shaking herself from the hypnosis, got up. "Get some rest. It's going to be a tough day tomorrow and I want all of us to make it through it."

[juwbywrites]

Team 7's first mission (Excerpt from my fic)

"Wait up. I see something." Anko said as she pointed to an area below

They touched down and began to survey the area.

"I don't see anything amiss," said Sasuke

"Look," Anko pointed to a trail of disturbed plant life leading away from the road.

"If they are taking hostages from caravans, then they must have a base close by where they take them.

"Don't caravans have a bunch of stuff like wagons and animals?" asked Naruto

"Yeah, but it's been three weeks. The only thing they couldn't cover up was the trail they had to take back to their base. Let's follow the path through the trees; stay behind us and point out anything you see," said Anko.

They went east for half an hour following the trail of crushed flowers and broken branches, and until they came upon an encampment,

Anko and Kakashi stopped and looked back.

Anko pointed at something, and Kakashi nodded.

With a swift motion, Kakashi's hands began to move, and his fingers danced in the air as he performed a series of hand signals.

During one of their team training sessions, they dedicated time to mastering a few essential leaf hand signals. This moment would testify to their training and test their memory.

Meet–Water–Strategy Kakashi signed to the genin.

Kakashi tried to keep the signs as basic as possible since he didn't know if they read up more outside of the few lessons they gave them.

They all got the general idea. They had passed a small pond a few minutes earlier, and he wanted them to head back toward it.

When they all gathered at the pond, Kakashi spoke.

"Good job. While they probably wouldn't have heard us if we had talked, it's good practice to use nonverbal communication when you're close to enemy presence."

"Yes, I understand, sensei, so how do you want us to approach this," asked Sakura

"Wait, we aren't eating lunch?" asked Naruto, confused

"What do you mean," asked Sakura

"Didn't Kakashi Sensei sign Food-Stop-Go"

Anko rubbed a head across her face.

"Naruto, we will work on hand signals when we get back. And why in the hell would someone use the stop-and-go hand signals right after each other? "

Naruto shrugged

"Well, more importantly, this is a good chance for you guys to learn how to plan. Don't worry; you will not be doing it by yourselves. We first need to find out everything we can about the camp, the number of enemies and hostages, their location, and the layout."

Anko then looked at Sakura.

"Sakura, can you travel underground and see what you can make out?"

"What if there are ninja? Won't they be able to sense me" asked Sakura

Kakashi smiled at Sakura; "You should be more confident. Most ninjas wouldn't be able to sense you in the ground, and I did a quick check when I got close; none of their chakra levels indicated any of them were ninjas."

"Okay, I'll try to get as much info as possible," said Sakura.

"Okay, while you're doing that, I'll get an above-ground look at what we are dealing with," Kakashi then hopped into the trees back toward the encampment.

Sakura then performed the hiding-like-a-mole technique and went into the earth.

After about a minute, she reemerged no worse for wear.

"Sakura, what did you sense," asked Anko

"I sensed someone around forty people; twenty-five are constantly moving, and the other fifteen or so are all bunched together."

"Those are probably captives, then. How were the bandits dispersed?"

"Most of them are in the camp, but it looked like they had two three-man patrols. On both sides of the encampment."

Just then, Kakashi came back and landed nearby.

"I got a good visual of the camp. It's built around a cliff, which serves as the camp's back wall; considering the quality of the construction and the number of buildings, the structure doesn't seem like it was quickly put up. They have probably been here for at least several months, but I wouldn't be surprised if the camp was built years ago. "

"So, anything to report on our kidnappers," asked Anko.

"They didn't look like your typical bandits. All of their weapons and armor were of decent quality, and I also saw some sort of tattoo that each of them had, "

"Tattoo, does it look like a seal?" with rising panic in her voice

"No, no chakra involved; it looked like it was just a symbol for whatever group this is."

Anko internally sighed. It looked like he wasn't involved

She then looked at Kakashi and said

"With all of that, these guys sound like mercenaries, expensive ones at that, who would have enough money to pay these guys year-round to stay here."

"Well, after we clear the camp, that is the first thing we're going to find out," said Kakashi

Anko turned to the genin.

"Okay, here is the plan,

Naruto and Sakura, you will take out the patrols outside the encampment. Be careful, and keep the noise to a minimum. We don't want to alert anybody in the camp before we're ready."

"Don't worry, I'll give these assholes a beating," Naruto said, putting his fist in his palm.

Kakashi looked over to Sakura.

"Where did you sense the hostages, "

"It was near the back of the camp; I only sensed three guards near there, though."

"I saw that there was a cave in the cliff that was being guarded."

"Only three guards near the hostages. Okay, that makes this easier. Sasuke, you will be posted up there. Kakashi pointed to a large tree over the camp; it has a view of the building; your goal will be to secure the hostages and disable the nearby guards; after that, you need to stay guard over the hostages to make sure no one harms them, There Sakura Naruto, you guys will rendezvous with Sasuke at the cave." informed Kakashi

"What will we be doing about the rest of them?" asked Sasuke

Kakashi turned to Anko for any recommendations.

"The best way to contain them would be for you to infiltrate and fight from the middle of the camp. Since they are mercenaries, they will be smart enough to leave when they see an advanced ninja attacking the camp. That will have them flee through the one entrance, and I'll set up traps at the camp entrance and clear up any stragglers.

"Sound like a plan," said Sasuke

Sakura nervously asked a question.

"Are we killing them?" her words almost turning into a whisper

Kakashi turned to the genin and sighed.

"I wished we didn't have to have this discussion. Listen, each of you may likely have to kill for the first time; I will leave it up to every one of you; if you feel you need to take a life to keep yourselves safe, then do not hesitate."

Each of the genin looked uncomfortable at the prospect. But each of them reluctantly nodded.

"Don't worry. After this is done, we'll talk about everything that happens." Anko said, trying to reassure them

"Okay, use only the radios to signal that your area is clear or if something urgent happens. Let's move out." ordered Kakashi."

"I need to take a piss,"

Terashi got up from sitting on a rock and walked away for privacy.

"Don't know why you needed to tell us unless you need some help," one of the other two joked.

"Ha ha, very funny assholes; I'm just telling you, just in case something happens."

"As if anything happens around here, but we'll be sure to tell you if we see a squirrel while you are rubbing against a tree."

Terashi rolled his eyes and walked away.

After a few minutes, Terashi didn't come back.

"Shouldn't he be back already?"

"I don't know; maybe he had to do more than take a piss."

The mercenary sighed." Come on, he might have got bitten by a snake or something; remember what happened to Kotsu last week. "

I guess you're right."

They both got up and headed in the direction Terashi had gone.

"What happened? Did you scrape yourself on a tree?" one of them yelled after them

They then heard the scraping of dirt.

The mercenary in front put his hand up and approached the tree slowly, with his hand on his sword.

Looking around the tree, he saw Terashi in the ground up to his nose, eyes full of fear.

Before he could react, he heard the noise of the earth splitting behind.

Sakura emerged and kicked the back of the knee of the mercenary in the back.

As he lost balance and began to fall, Sakura performed a quick chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out,

The other mercenary reacted quickly and began to swing his sword at Sakura; she deftly applied the double-vision genjutsu to the bandit,

He swung wide, losing his balance and tripod over a tree root,

He lost grip of his sword, and it ended up turning toward him as he fell, impaling himself

Sakura stared in shock at the impaled man; just then, he saw the man look up toward the camp; he was about to yell for help.

In an instant, Sakura lurched forward, stabbing a kunai in the man's neck; as he died, he looked up at Sakura, his eyes a combination of bewilderment and fear.

Sakura stared at the man for a few long moments; she then looked down at the kunai, and her hand was covered in the man's blood,

She felt her heart quicken as the coppery smell reached her nostrils, and bile began to rise in her throat,

Sakura realized the contents of her stomach on the ground before her, tears in her eyes. She wanted to lay on the ground and cry, but her team was relieving her. She reached for her earpiece and said over the comms that the east side was clear. She then took a deep breath and returned to the camp.

Naruto watched from above at the three mercenaries below, each spread out throughout the small area of the woods. Naruto considered the best approach and then nodded to himself. He put his hands into the ram hand sign and made two clones. Knowing Naruto's thoughts, the clones put themselves in a position for Naruto's plan. He could have it over instantly if his clones had used the shuriken shadow clone jutsu, but that would kill them; that wasn't the type of ninja he wanted to be; he would prove to everyone that he wasn't.

Once his clones got into position, they all jumped down in unison. His clones were able to take down their targets, one with an axe kick and the other with a punch to the back of the head. Naruto, however, was on a higher branch than his clones, meaning his descent to the ground took longer. This gave the mercenary enough time to react and get out of the way at the last second.

"Damn," said Naruto cursing his rushed plan

"What the fuck, a kid" yelled the merc

Naruto remembered that he had to limit the noise and quickly dashed toward the man. He grasped his palms together.

Gale-style Palm strike

Before the man could swing his sword, Naruto had placed his palm on his chest.

The man flew backward, careening at a tree; he hit it head-first with his neck, giving a sickening crack as he made contact and went limp on the ground.

"Oh no," Naruto said

He rushed over to the man to see if he was still alive; when he checked for a pulse, he was already gone, dying on impact with the tree.

Naruto felt tears fill his eyes; he didn't mean to; he just wanted to knock the guy out. Was everyone right about him? Was he just a monster, after all? Just then, he heard Sakura in his ear.

"East side clear"

Naruto came back out of his thoughts, remembering his role; he quickly reached for his eye and said

"West side clear."

"Okay, begin siege," Kakashi said, voice cold and professional.

Naruto stared at the man's body for a few long moments, mind-wracked with guilt. Tears ran down his face, and he turned away and went to meet up with his teammates.

"Okay, begin siege."

Sasuke immediately took action, sprinting down the cliff and jumping in front of the cave's entrance.

Once he landed on the ground, the two guards immediately turned to him. He threw two shurikens, hitting the wall behind the guards.

Ha, it looks like we got a baby ninja, I was almost scared.

Both of them began to approach. Once they got closer, Sasuke pulled out two more with ninja wire attached; he grabbed the ninja wire and tightened it around the bandits, tying them together.

Sasuke held the wire in his hands and performed the hand signs for

Lighting style Depth Charge

Sasuke then channeled lightning chakra into the wire, disabling the mercenaries.

The other one patrolling nearby came from around a corner, hearing the scream.

As he witnessed his fallen comrades, a surge of anger propelled him towards Sasuke. Swiftly, Sasuke hurled his kunai into the bandit's knee, forcing him to lunge forward. In a final blow, Sasuke's knee collided with the front of the bandit's head, rendering him unconscious.

Sasuke then surveyed the area; nobody else was in sight. He then heard the ground near him break, and he saw Sakura. She didn't look injured, but it was clear that she wasn't okay. Still, she put on a smile.

"Hey, is everything alright?" asked Sakura

Sasuke nodded. Yeah, everything went according to plan.

Just then, Naruto appeared, his usual bright smile replaced by a somber expression. He acknowledged his teammates with a nod, his gaze fixed ahead as if scanning for potential threats, yet his mind seemed elsewhere, lost in contemplation.

They maintained a tense silence, following their senseis' orders to guard the cave. The air was thick with the sounds of screams and the explosive release of ninjutsu, echoing from all corners of the camp. A handful of mercenaries darted through the chaos, oblivious to their presence or simply indifferent.

After several minutes, a mercenary came from the front of the camp, bloodied, running for his life.

"Move, get out of the way"

The bandit said while running toward the cave.

The genin braced themselves for combat, but just then, a senbon pierced the side of his neck. Anko jumped down from the roof of a nearby building and began to walk toward the genin.

Sakura was terrified at the ease; her sensei had just put the man down

"Did you kill him",

"No, he's just in a state of temporary paralysis."

Anko looked around the area.

"Good job, you three. The area is secure; we have to see the condition of the hostages."

"What about Kakashi?"

"He's doing final checks to see any stragglers in the area."

Anko said as she moved into the cave.

They followed Anko into the cave; it looked to be a natural passage that was altered to fit their needs, and after a while, they came to a metal door. Upon hearing the footsteps, several voices from behind the door began to speak

"Hello," a dry voice came from behind the door; "what's happening outside."

"Don't worry; we are leaf ninjas about to open the door, so stay calm," Anko said, announcing her presence.

Anko produced a key she procured from one of the bandits and opened the door.

Inside, the sight of the hostages, their eyes filled with relief and gratitude, was a testament to the success of their mission. None showed any severe conditions, just slight malnutrition from being inconsistently fed. After a barrage of heartfelt thank yous, praise, and tears, Team 7 had let the hostages stay in the remnants of the camp to get much-needed rest and food before they made the trip back to the trading post.

The sight of the rescued hostages, their gratitude palpable, momentarily lifted the heavy burden from Sakura and Naruto's hearts. It was a slight respite, but a significant one, from the weight of their thoughts.

When they gathered in a makeshift dining hall to feed everyone, they tracked down the caravan's leader and asked him questions about their situation. His name was Rikindo Seirio.

"We're fabric traders from the land of wind. Fabrics are how my village makes money, but lately, the country's economy has taken a turn for the worse. So I decided to take our goods to the land of; on our way, we ran into these two traders at a trading post."

He paused to take a sip of water.

"They told us their wagon broke and could not carry their goods. They asked us to take their goods with us to Degarshi for payment. At first, I refused, but then they said they knew of a fast land route to Degrashi port. It was the first place I wanted to go, but the cost of sea travel was too high, and the significant routes took months from where we lived."

"Did you look at the cargo?"

"No, all I knew was that they were heavily reinforced and had pretty impressive locks; since they were well-dressed, I assumed they were jewelry traders."

Anko nodded as she finished taking notes.

"Thank you for telling me; we'll make sure that bastard at the trading post gets his."

"I'm such an idiot; I put my family at risk all because I was too greedy to see through such an obvious ploy."

Anko put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You saw a chance to save your village and took it. You just met evil people who wanted to prey on your good intentions. Don't let go of that drive to protect your family and village; just consider who you trust more thoroughly next time."

The man looked up at Anko.

"Look at me, a grown man being comforted by someone half my age."

Anko smiled; "well, what can I say? Back home, they call me the young and wise Anko Mitarashi."

"I thought they called you the lady with the infinite tabs," said Kakashi as he came over.

The man laughed; "well, both are good titles."

"It's time," said Kakashi to Anko

Anko nodded

"I'll see you later, Rikindo. Will your people be ready by morning?"

"Don't worry. After a night's rest in an actual bed in months well be ready for anything."

Kakashi and Anko said their goodbyes and went to find their team

The genin were waiting by a small fire.

After dinner, they were told to meet there so they could have a full discussion about what happened,

Anko sat across from the genin,

"There is no pressure, but I think you'll find that talking about it will lighten the burden you are all currently carrying if you talk about what happened."

"Sakura looked at Anko hesitant and began speaking

"I killed one of the guards on patrol; I didn't mean to. I used my genjutsu to throw him off balance, but it affected him more than I thought it would, and he fell on his sword; I froze for a second, but he was about to yell, and without him, I shoved a kunai in his throat,"

"How do you feel"

"When it first happened, I felt sick and just overwhelmed, and I ended up throwing up, but now, every time I think about it, I don't feel anything, not sad or angry or sick; it just feels like a thing I did. And that scares me. Does that mean I'm like a psychopath or something"

Anko shook her head

"The fact that you're even thinking about the need to feel bad shows that you're not. Sakura, it's been a very hectic day, and it hasn't even been a day since you killed for the first time; you're emotionally drained, and it's okay not to feel something at the moment as long as you don't look back on the kill with bloodlust or glee; then you should be fine. As a shinobi, you can't let everything that comes with the job weigh you down; you need to compartmentalize, find ways to live, and keep a moral framework around your job."

Sakura nodded, her mind filled with a mix of relief and confusion. The thought of not feeling anything disturbed her, but after her teacher's words, she felt a little more assured, a glimmer of hope starting to flicker in her heart.

Kakashi and Anko's eyes then turned to Naruto,

He didn't speak for a few moments before he asked

"Am I a monster?"

Kakashi gave him a pensive look.

" No, you're not Naruto."

"I know killing is supposed to be a part of being a ninja, but I just wanted to change that, to prove that you don't have to kill and be a ninja, and I ended up crushing that dream in my first real mission," Naruto said, his voice filled with regret and disappointment.

"No, Naruto, that is a perfectly valid way to be a ninja," said Anko

Naruto looked up, tears still in his eyes, latched onto his teacher's words

Anko turned toward Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why do you choose not to kill?"

Sasuke looked at Anko, confused.

"What do you mean"

"I looked at the three bandits you took out. Each one had comparatively minor injuries, and the takedowns were efficient, but you could have just as easily killed them."

Sasuke paused

"I…I made a vow to myself that as long as I'm on my task to kill that man, I won't kill anyone; I want him to be the first life I take. "

"Do you know why you can do that, Sasuke? " asked Anko

Sasuke shook his head

"Because the three of you were the strongest today, not just in terms of fighting, but mentally, you stayed focused entirely on the mission."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked down and realized that their nervousness before and during the fight affected their performance.

Anko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Talking about her past was still hard for her, but she knew it would help the genin.

"When I had my first kill, my sensei wasn't much help. He told me to hold off my emotions and to steel myself towards death. I tried so hard to become numb to death, but I couldn't, and I ended up carrying everyone I killed with me when I was younger, that was until I met a white-haired man. He saw that I was struggling with myself. When I told him about how the lives I took weighed on me, the first question he asked me was, why do I kill."

"I then told him because I had to"

Anko then smiled lightly.

"He called me weak, I just about stabbed him in rage right then and there, but then he said words that I carry with me every day of my life. He said that a weak shinobi needs to kill, but a strong shinobi can choose mercy."

"As you all grow stronger, you'll continue to fight more dangerous foes and, without a doubt, kill some of them. However, you shouldn't resign to believing that killing is just a part of life as a ninja; you should strive to become strong enough to choose mercy in every fight.

The group went quiet for several minutes, just listening to Anko's story. Sakura and Naruto's moods lightened.

Naruto smiled at Anko; "I never knew you were so wise, sis."

Anko puffed her chest out. Well, you know they call me the young and wise Anko Mitrashi; after some light chuckles and eye-rolls, the group fell into comfortable conversation until the genin decided to sleep. As they laid down their heads, they were all determined to get strong enough to have the option to not kill.

[juwbywrites]

Snippet of Kakashi and Anko talking about the past (From my fic More than a Name)

Kakashi sat down on the roof of the hotel where they were staying, looking up at the night sky. He usually struggled to sleep most nights, but tonight was especially difficult. He noticed Naruto's out-of-character behavior earlier while they were out in town. It was subtle, but he was slightly less talkative and expressive.

Not to even mention the apparent attempt for him to speak to Anko alone. His curiosity was piqued, so on their way back, he asked Sakura and Sasuke for more details about what had happened during the exams. While Sasuke's confrontation with the blood manipulator was something he needed to look into in the future, the detail that caught Kakashi's interest was focused on the clan name of the girl they rescued.

Naruto had found out his true heritage. A mixture of guilt and sorrow flooded Kakashi, weighing him down like an anchor for the rest of the evening. As soon as he returned to the hotel, he said his goodbyes to Sakura and Sasuke and went off to sulk in peace. His mind was waylaid by the memory of Kushina and Minato. After their deaths, he truly felt he had nothing outside of duty, and even now, the grief was still suffocating.

Kakashi noticed Naruto come down the hotel's path; his eyes were puffy and red, and he looked exhausted. Kakashi decided it was best for him not to speak to him since he was not in the best state of mind. He watched Naruto enter the building and stared at the door for several more minutes before he looked back up to continue looking at the night sky.

Around an hour and a half later, another person landed on the roof beside him. Kakashi, still staring up at the sky, acknowledged their arrival. "Hey, were you out doing some late-night exploring?"

Anko walked toward Kakashi, and as she took a seat next to him, she said

"Nah, I was just out looking for some deadbeats."

"Ah, so you've already talked to Jiraiya and the Hokage. I guess I'm next on the list, huh?"

"Not in the same way; trust me, I've already gotten most of my anger out; at this point, I'm just trying to hear the full story; I can't wrap my head around it; how can the kid of the most beloved man in the village, be treated as a nuance and a pariah," said Anko

Kakashi sighed

"I wonder that myself, too, the kid's had a tough go of it, that's for sure."

Anko turned to Kakashi.

"I have to know. Did you know all this time that Naruto was the Fourth's son?"

Kakashi nodded

"Minato and Kushina kept me close after I lost my teammates. I was one of the first to know of Kushina's pregnancy. I remember being very happy for them."

"So what happened? Because from what I can remember, the first time Naruto met you was during the bell test?"

Kakashi closed his eye, and took a deep breath as his mind raced through the painful memories. He had thought about Kushina and Minato over the years, but this was the first time he had discussed his relationship with them and Naruto with anyone.

"That part of my life is a haze; I was more machine than man; I was only worried about three things: eating, sleeping, and working, while sometimes skipping the first two. I didn't know Naruto was alive until a few days after the Nine-Tails attack, but I couldn't face him because I wasn't strong enough." Kakashi looked down at that shame filling his voice

"And with the village being in disrepair, my role in the Anbu increased tenfold; I would go on month-long mission marathons, hopping from one assignment to the next. Some people call it my "prime". I completed hundreds of missions and saved the village's ass more times than I could count. I would have died doing that if it wasn't for Gai a few years back; he organized a few of the others and demanded the Hokage to take me out of Anbu."

"That definitely sounds like something Gai would do," Anko said as she smiled at the thought of their eccentric friend.

"After I got out, I was faced with the reality that it had been a decade, and the kid of my sensei was being treated like the plague around the village."

"Did you ever introduce yourself to him"

Kakashi shook his head.

"If I was going to enter Naruto's life, I would need to explain everything, who he is and who his parents are. I couldn't lie to him and pretend I didn't know his parents. Plus, the Hokage forbade me from telling Naruto about Minato and Kushina, so instead, I made the Hokage promise that I would be Naruto's sensei."

Anko did not respond, trying to take everything in. The two of them remained silent for several more minutes until Anko broke the silence.

"I don't blame you."

Kakashi's eye widened in slight shock, as he was expecting at least some anger from Anko.

"I mean, how old were you, like fourteen shit? When I was that age, I was in a very dark place too. I didn't have your issue of being numb, but it was that I felt everything too much; every comment made me irrationally angry, sad, or paranoid. I would threaten civilians, fight teammates, and be a menace for the smallest of things. I couldn't imagine trying to help a child during that time; I mean, I couldn't even help myself."

"I guess being a ninja isn't exactly the most healthy career mentally," Kakashi tried to say in a joking tone, but the truth of his words nullified it.

"Yeah…"

The two remained silent for another long moment.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow? You never really explained to me fully how you want this training plan to work," asked Kakashi as he sparked a new conversation

"Most of their skills are already up to par for the tournament, but you know better than I do that they need to start focusing on becoming elite in just one of two areas; focusing on that will make them better ninjas in the long run."

Kakashi nodded

"Makes sense. Do you have any ideas"

"I do have some suggestions, but at the end of the day, each of them will have to make that decision for themselves. I'll give them until tomorrow evening to come up with an answer, and after that, we are going to move heaven and earth to get them to their goal."

Kakashi and Anko continued to converse until both of them retired to their rooms prepared for the following day

[juwbywrites]

Snippet from my newest chapter

Sakura and Sasuke burst into a large common room filled with recreational equipment. And what appeared to be a bar in the corner.

"Let's fight them here," Sasuke said, scanning the room. "We can get to Anko-sensei fast once we beat them.

"They can turn into water," Sakura reminded him, pressing her back against his. "Normal attacks won't work."

Sasuke nodded

Sakura then turned to the tortoise, on her shoulder "Thank you, by the way, you really saved my skin, I really need to figure out your name at this point."

A few moments later Yakumo appeared in the doorway, their entrance silent but for the faint drip of water from their sleeve. After a weighted pause, they spoke: "Since you're both young, I'll offer this once. Leave the city immediately under my supervision. There's no need to die for your village here."

"And leave Anko-sensei?" Sakura spat. "No way!"

"We'll give you the same offer," Sasuke countered. "Leave now before you regret fighting us."

Yakumo remained impassive. "A pity. They brainwash you so young."

With a subtle movement, Yakumo activated a technique. Sasuke's Sharingan caught the chakra waves radiating from their body before the visible mist appeared.

"He's producing water vapor!" Sasuke warned.

Yakumo advanced, their footsteps leaving temporary wet prints that evaporated seconds later. A kunai flashed in their hands.

Sasuke reacted first, thrusting his fist forward.

Lightning Release: Great Powerful Breath

A bolt of electricity lanced toward Yakumo, striking and causing the clone to dispel into water.

The tortoise biting her ear made Sakura turn, just in time to see another Yakumo, kunai descending. She used the momentum of her turn to drop into a fall, hands planting on the floor as she pivoted into a sweeping kick. Her leg connected with Yakumo's center mass with a wet smack, the clone collapsing into a soaking puddle that drenched her bandages.

The two of them got back to back as they circled around the room looking for their assailant. "Did you see where he went" asked Sakura

"No."

Pressure Needle

Sasuke barely turned in time to see the high-velocity water bullet streaking toward his face. The tortoise launched itself from Sakura's shoulder, intercepting the projectile with a solid thunk.

They traced the attack's origin to a small hole in the wall. "With that much force, they could be shooting from the other side of the mansion," Sasuke realized.

Sakura knelt, pressing her palm to the floor as chakra pulsed outward.

"Anything?"Sasuke questioned

"Only for a moment, but they're moving so fast that I can't pin them down."

Another bolt blasted through from the second floor, Sasuke leaning back just enough for it to crater into the floor. "We need to keep moving, we can't let them get a bead on us" Sasuke exclaimed

As they ran, more needles shot through walls and ceilings, the whoosh of displaced air brushing their cheeks. "They're moving through the pipes," Sasuke realized.

"How can we track them then? asked Sakura

Sasuke's eyes flashed with sudden insight. "Can your scan locate the nearest pipe?"

Sakura nodded, fingers tracing the wall as chakra mapped the structure. "There! Behind that wall!" She pointed low to the ground.

Lightning crackled around Sasuke's arm as he smashed through the drywall, grasping the exposed pipe.

Lightning Release: Depth Charge

The pipes groaned as electricity surged through them, metal heating to a dull red. Sakura scanned their surroundings until a pained cry echoed down the hall.

"This way!"

They burst into the dining area to find Yakumo crouched and shaking, residual sparks dancing across their form. "Impressive," they admitted, performing rapid hand signs.

Water Release: Pond of Reflection

Pipes shuddered as water erupted from sinks and walls, transforming the floor into a shallow, clear pool.

"Sakura get off the water!" Sasuke ordered. Sakura leapt to the wall just as Sasuke unleashed another Depth Charge. Yakumo reacted instantly, splitting the pond and raising a water wall to block the current.

Sasuke cut the technique, conserving chakra. Yakumo didn't hesitate, water clones rose from the pool, charging alongside the original. Sasuke's Sharingan tracked the real threat as he drew his sword, lightning sheathing the blade.

Two clones fell to precise strikes while Sakura dropped down, hands flashing to dispel two more with chakra disruption. Sasuke lunged at the real Yakumo, but the assassin liquefied, flowing around the blade before reforming to slash at Sasuke's side. The kunai bit deep as Sasuke lunged backward.

Yakumo's hands moved again, water rising to waist level. Sakura and Sasuke stood atop the surface as Yakumo formed new signs.

Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet

But instead of attacking, the dragon coiled defensively around Yakumo. Sasuke responded with

Fire Release: Great Fireball

The collision created a scalding steam cloud. Yakumo simply reformed the dragon from the mist.

Meanwhile, Sakura sprinted to an exterior wall, earth chakra hardening her fist.

Earth Flow Spear

The punch cratered the wall, but no water drained out.

"They have complete control of it!" Her warning became a gasp as a water tendril snaked around her face, cutting off air. Sasuke moved to help but Yakumo intercepted him making it impossible for him to advance.

On top of one of the dinning tables the tortoise retreated into its shell, and began spinning rapidly, and sent itself flying like a discuss, serving the water tendril.

Sakura collapsed, coughing violently as Sasuke formed new seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu

The blast tore through a wall, creating an escape route.

"Get out now!" Sasuke yelled

Sakura scooped up the tortoise as they dove through, dodging last-second attacks as they fled.

Gasping, Sakura clutched the tortoise. "How... how do we stop them?"

Sasuke's eyes gleamed with determination. "I think I have an idea."

[juwbywrites]

Fanfiction.net bots rant

I crosspost my fic to Wattpad, Webnovel, and AO3, but I'm so tired of FFN. I like some of the features on the author side. The in depth statistics, the doc manager and so on, but the sheer amount of bots that brigade you is ridiculous. It started with just PMs of scammers offering commissions for my fic, not that big of a deal I can just ignore and move on, but here recently they've been posting reviews, posting their scams publicly.

Many a time I have been excited at a new review notification only to see another ai generated scam. And since you can't moderate reviews it just stays there forever on my fic, I've tried reporting, but they just stay up. I hold no ill will toward FFN, I'm sure thousands of these are posted on the platform each day, but im sick of scrolling through and seeing bots.

[juwbywrites]

New Chapter of my fic is out

More Than A Name Summary: Hiruzen enlists Anko to co-teach Team 7 with Kakashi in hopes of making them the next legends of Konoha.

Chapter 34: Where the team's hunt for Tsunade takes a turn for the worse. https://archiveofourown.org/works/55935517/chapters/171511993

[juwbywrites]

Out of options Anko breaks a decade long vow

Excerpt from chapter 8, Anko vs. Zabuza fight:

She took the brush and inscribed small summoning seals on the underside of both her wrists. Anko then took a deep breath and prepared to break a vow she had made to herself. She dabbed a finger in one of her wounds, went through her hand signs, and placed her hand on the ground.

Out of the smoke, a colossal snake materialized. Its large, sleek scales were uniformly glossy black, and its chin and throat were a cream color. The sunlight from above cast a purple tint on its scales.

The snake was coiled up, its head raised, and turned toward Anko,

It spoke, its voice hissing through the air like a breeze

"It seems that my wayward summoner has finally returned."

"Hello, Mirai," Anko said, regret in her voice.

Orochimaru let Anko sign the snake summoning contract about a year before they left the village; Anko remembers it as one of the happiest moments of her life.

After a few months of practice, she was able to conjure her personal summon, Mirai. She and Mirai had built up a close relationship before she left with Orochimaru, but after she lost her memories, she swore off all snake-related jutsu, though over the years,

Anko had allowed herself to use the non-intelligent snakes in rare cases, but she had never used Mirai or any of the more powerful summons. But now she wasn't in a position to keep a vow from when she was thirteen.

"Are you just going to stand there and say nothing? I would think that after a decade of silence you would be talkative," Mirai's voice was steady, showing no signs of annoyance or malice.

"I'm sorry, but I have no other option right now; I need your help. Will you give it?" Anko pleaded

Mirai looked down at Anko, studying her.

"It appears that your age hasn't affected your manners. It's a pity; I will assist you, but I have one request."

[juwbywrites]

Sakura and Ino excerpt from my fic, The first step they make to repairing their relationship.

Sakura returned from a nearby stall, a cone of ice cream in her hand, the sweet scent of vanilla and strawberry wafting through the air. Ino, leaning against the railing, turned to her with a smile.

Here's your ice cream, Sakura said as she handed it to Ino

"Thanks, forehead."

They sat there for a few minutes before Sakura said what had been on her mind for the last few hours.

"Ino, I've been wondering... why did we drift apart?" Sakura's voice was filled with a mix of curiosity and sadness.

"Can we not do this now, forehead? I'm actually enjoying being near you."

"I'm serious, Ino," tears began to form at the corners of Sakrua's eyes.

"Spending time with you today made me realize how much I yearned for our friendship, Ino. It's a feeling I've missed for so long."

Ino eyes soften

"You already know why it was because of Sasuke."

"They can't be it."

"What do you mean? Of course, it is; we literally declared that we were love rivals,"

"No, it wasn't just that; I felt that we were drifting apart before I started liking Sasuke, "

Ino sighed.

" I didn't really feel like psychoanalyzing myself today, but I've thought about that too, and I came to a realization,"

"What's that?"

"I was more mad at the fact that I thought you were copying me than you liking Sasuke."

"What do you mean?"

"In the academy, you changed Sakura. I thought you were becoming more confident, but you kept acting like me. You became loud and pushy. You even started a fan club after me. It was just so annoying to see you copying everything I did. I became friends with you because you were you, not me. After you confessed your love to Sasuke, I took that as a final straw. I couldn't be friends with another me."

"So you acknowledge that you're hard to be friends with."

Ino smiled. "My dad taught me to be aware of my flaws."

"It must be hard to keep a list of those."

Ino laughed

"But I felt like we lost our dynamic. I am supposed to be the smart, cute, funny, extroverted one, and you are the dorky, shy one."

"Hey," Sakura punched Ino lightly on the shoulder.

Sakura looked up at the evening sky.

Thanks for telling me, Ino. I wasn't trying to copy you; I actually looked up to you.

Ino nodded. "Makes sense."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You really know how to ruin a moment, don't you"?

Ino shrugged. "Hey, I'm just agreeing with you; looking up to me is something anyone in their right mind would do."

"Anyway, I'm just trying to say, Ino, I won't mimic you or anyone anymore. From now on, I will strive to be the best version of myself. "

A whooshing sound went through the air as a fireworks display launched into the night sky. An array of fireworks and lights followed as the Flame Festival Fireworks show began.

Sakura and Ino watched the fireworks in a comfortable silence.

This was one of my favorite scenes for a while, it's pretty early in my fic (chapter 5) and despite feeling my writing has improved since then, I still enjoy coming back and reading this from time to time.

[juwbywrites]

Excerpt from my newest chapter.

Anko and Kakashi had just exited another bar, their search for Tsunade once again fruitless. They took refuge by a secluded canal, the moonlight painting silver streaks across the dark water. Anko dropped her henge with a sigh, sitting heavily at the water's edge. Behind her, Kakashi leaned against the brick wall, dispeling his own disguise.

"We're wasting time," she muttered, "Tsunade's not here."

"Maybe we're early. Or maybe she's being unusually subtle."

Anko huffed, Kakashi had noticed that since learning that they would be going to the land of the sea, Anko had been unusually tense."Somethings been eating at you?"

"Not really it just…" Anko stopped staring out across the water, the soft sounds of the water, and the distant nose of people on the street radiated through the air.

After a minute of silence Anko suddenly pointed a finger across the water. "You see that?"

Kakashi followed her finger, his visible eye narrowing as he focused on the shadowy island in the distance.

"That's Jaro Island," Anko said, her voice dropping. "Where they found me after I left the village. This is the closest I've been to it since then." Her hand flew to her shoulder, fingers pressing into the curse mark through her sleeve.

Kakashi shifted closer. "Does it hurt?

"

"Not right now. But sometimes... phantom pains. From when I first got it." Her fingers dug into the fabric. "Burned and throbbed for days straight. I even tried to..." She swallowed hard. "Luckily, I was being watched."

Kakashi moved to sit beside her "Do you ever want to go back? To recover your memories fully?"

"A part of me does." Anko stared at her reflection in the dark water. "But most of me is terrified of what happened in those six months." She turned to face him, her voice dropping to a whisper. "What if when I remember... I stop being me?"

."That won't happen."

"But what if it does?" Her nails bit into her palms. "People talked about it for years. 'Sleeper agent.' 'Time bomb.' I always ignored them, but now..." Her breath hitched. "What if one day I wake up and hurt the kids? Or you?"

The moment stretched between them, the canal water lapping gently at the docks.

Then Kakashi did something unexpected; he lifted his hand and tugged his mask down just enough to show the curve of his mouth.

The first time Anko had ever seen his true smile.

"The Anko I know would never let anyone control her," he said softly. "Not even him."

Anko blinked. Her breath caught.

She turned toward him slowly, eyes narrowing, not suspicious but searching. She saw that scar across his brow, the gentleness in his voice, the part of his face so few had seen.

"Why did you do that?" she asked quietly.

Kakashi didn't flinch. "Because I trust you."

Her stomach flipped. She looked away, her jaw tightening. Too many things were happening in her chest all at once.

Her cheeks were hot. She could feel it blooming across her face; she could only hope it wasn't too obvious.

"You don't do that for just anyone," she muttered, more to herself than to him.

"No," he said simply. "I don't."

She stood then, slowly, carefully, her movements deliberate, like she didn't trust her body not to betray her.

"I should circle back to some of the bars, just in case we missed something…."

"Anko"

"I'm fine," she said, keeping her tone light. Almost. "I just need a bit of air."

"I mean, from where I'm sitting, there seems to be plenty, but just be careful."

She nodded once, then walked away with her hands shoved in her pockets, doing her best not to look back. The vision of Kakashi's face haunted her for the rest of the night.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55935517/chapters/170557591#workskin

[juwbywrites]

Excerpt of Tsunade and Shizune in my latest chapter

The Takara district was the city's crown jewel, a glittering hub of resturants and casinos. Its extravagance drew visitors from across the Elemental Nations. Ruled by Asato himself, the district's centerpiece was the Gilded Mirage, the largest casino, owned and operated by the man directly. In past visits, Shizune had always managed to steer Tsunade clear of it. But now, her stomach dropped as she realized Tsunade was heading straight for the casino's doors.

Shizune quickened her pace, falling into step beside Tsunade.

"Wait, aren't we going to the Six Bridges or the Ribbon?"

"No," Tsunade's gaze didn't move off the casino.

Shizune frowned and stepped directly into her path, forcing her to stop. Tsundae looked up at her pupil, her eyes locking onto hers for the first time in hours. "Move." Tsunade's voice was sharp.

Shizune flinched, but she stood her ground and hugged Tonton tighter in her arms. "No, you've been brushing me off for days. You have barely been talking to me! You won't tell me why we're here, and you haven't drank or gambled since last week." Her voice hardened. " Something's wrong, and you're not telling me."

Tsuande pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "You'll see when we get inside."

Shizune's face scrunched up at her answer. "No, tell me what's happening right now, or you're going in alone."

Tsunade stared at her pupil for a few moments. Shizune's gaze wavered slightly, but she fixed her resolute eyes on her master.

Tsunade exhaled and looked around; some passersby were stopping to see the commotion.

"Fine, but not here."

Tsunade began walking away from the casino, and Shizune followed.

They ended up in an isolated public garden about a block away, brick walls hiding away the small patch of life in the city.

Tsuande stopped and turned around to face Shizune. She then reached into her kimono, produced a folded-up piece of paper, and handed it to Shizune. "Read it," she said.

Shizune positioned TonTon in one arm as her eyes scanned the letter.

' Dear Tsunade

I have an urgent request concerning the health of one of my associates. I would not reach out to you if I had any other option, but his condition is beyond the skill of any other medical expert. I don't expect you to do this out of the kindness of your heart, so I have an offer: in return for your services, I will use a resurrection jutsu to revive the loved ones of your choice. You may not believe me, but I urge you to consider my offer, seek me out in Kakehashi-to, and go to the Gilded Mirage to meet with my associate Asato. You may refuse my offer of no consequence, but be warned, this is the only time I will reach out to you with such an opportunity. I hope you make the right decision.

Sincerely, An old friend.

Shizune's hands shook as she held the letter; she could almost feel the sadistic glee that the words were written with. "Lady Tsuande, this is from…"

Tsunade cut her off "Orochimaru. I know."

Shizune waved the letter in her hands

"When did you get this?"

"Two weeks ago, I woke up with it beside my head."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't want to go."

"Of course not! This has trap written all over it, you can't trust him, not after what he's done."

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

"Don't you think I know that, that's why I didn't tell you immediately, but then I got to thinking, what if he's telling the truth, what if he can actually revive the dead."

Shizune's eyes went wide.

"He's lying, he's just trying to lure you here, didn't you see in his letter that he's associated with Asato, he's working with the Roku Yurei and now we're alone in their city.

Shizune panicked, looking around to see if they were being observed. "We have to go. If we leave now, then they might not follow us out of the city." Shizune grabbed Tsunade's hand and tried to pull her away, but she didn't budge.

Shizune looked back, "Come on, they might already be suspicious."

"I'm not leaving Shizune, I want to hear his offer."

"Are you insane! There's no offer, he's brought you here to assassinate or kidnap you."

Tsuande scoffed, " Orochimaru does not operate like that. If he wanted to kill or take me, he would have shown up and fought me himself. I've known him for years, and I can tell that he's genuine."

Shizune was baffled

"Genuine?! The man's a monster, we can't even think about working with him."

Tsuande glared at Shizune.

"I'm a grown woman, and I can make my own damn decisions, trust me if I smell a hint of deceit, I'll gut him, but right now Shizune, I need to know…" Tsuande's voice softened, " I need to know if they can be brought back, so I'm going with or without you, it's your choice."

Shizune froze. On one hand, this was probably the single worst decision her master had ever made, and likely would end terribly, but on the other hand, the thought of leaving her alone against Orochimaru and the Roku Yurei made her feel cowardly. Shizune closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll go, but if anything happens, we leave immediately."

"Promise."

[juwbywrites]

Anko and Kakashi sparing

Excerpt of one of the earlier fights in my fic:

"I can't believe we are doing this," Kakashi mumbled under his breath

Anko and Kakashi stood across from each other 20 feet apart in the clearing, while the genin were a safe distance away.

"By the way, Hatake, you probably want to start with your Sharingan uncovered don't want to send you to the hospital," Anko said, cocky as ever.

Kakashi gave an eye smile.

"We'll see if you can back up those words."

He then launched a kunai into the air, and its descent signaled the start of their fight.

The genin watched in anticipation on a hill with a good view of the clearing.

"Who do you think is going to win" asked Naruto

"I don't know. We have never seen them fight before, but with Kakashi's strength during the bell test, it's hard to imagine him losing. What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was not paying any attention to his teammates. His focus was entirely on the duel between his teachers. He was anxious to see just how strong they were without holding back.

When the kunai planted into the dirt, Anko pulled three senbon and fired them at Kakashi.

Kakashi quickly pulled a kunai and deflected them.

Anko started to advance while periodically throwing senbon, targeting different areas of his body to keep him off balance. As Anko got closer, Kakashi suddenly closed the distance, and Anko had to dodge back to avoid a blow to her head. She dashed a few feet backward and got into her taijutsu stance. She then charged Kakashi with a hook aimed at his head. Kakashi was about to counter, but Anko suddenly stopped and spun on her heel. Kakashi only had a second to tilt his head back to avoid a sudden roundhouse kick. They then began an exchange of blows.

After the first few seconds, it was clear to Anko that she was outmatched. Her style of taijutsu relied on unnatural dodges and counters to get into her opponent's guard, but it also required her to predict her opponent's movements. This turned out to be near impossible with Kakashi. It was almost like he was slightly switching his style every other move, making him unpredictable and her unable to counter his attacks consistently.

Anko dodged a kick to jump away and get distance. She was more than a little frustrated. He had outmatched her in taijutsu without the use of his Sharigan. As she got more distant, she began to perform hand signs.

Earth Release: Earth flow Spears

Anko put her hands on the ground in front of her. Earth spikes began to shoot through the ground between her and Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't dodge and began to run through hands

Lightning Release: Depth Charge

Lighting enveloped Kakashi's body, and they shot forward, crashing into the earth and disrupting it. Anko barely managed to dodge as she rolled out of the way of the bolt.

Anko pulled down the sleeve of her trench coat to reveal a poison bomb launcher and began firing at Kakashi. The small bombs exploded on contact and released gas in a wide area. Kakashi dodged the gas, taking extra care not to get too close since he didn't know how seriously Anko was taking this spar.

Once the barrage stopped, Kakashi noticed the gas dispersed around him in a circle. Blocking his sight from Anko

"You'll probably want to pull out your Sharingan for this," yelled Anko

From beyond the wall of smoke, Anko quickly raced through hand signs. The gas around Kakashi dispersed just as Anko finished her technique

"Fire Release: Flame Wisps Technique "

Anko spat out a large amount of fire that quickly formed into dozens of tiny wisps of flame that surrounded Kakashi. Before he could make a move, he saw Anko start to run around him and throw sebon. He prepared to counter with a kunai, and then his lone eye widened as one of the senbon made contact with the wisps and nearly tripled in speed. He barely dodged out of the way of two of them, But one scraped across his arm and was hot enough to already close the wound after it passed through.

He instantly uncovered his eye, revealing his Sharingan. As he prepared to counter the rest of the technique. He tried to deflect one with a kunai, but it went straight through the kunai, leaving a small hole. This left him only with the option to dodge the incoming attacks.

By the time it was over, he found that he had not suffered any serious damage, but he had a few more closed cuts on his arms and legs. Kakashi quickly realized that if this wasn't a spar, then Anko would have most likely pierced him with more than one of those flaming senbon.

Anko was breathing heavily. She hadn't quite perfected the control needed for that technique, so she wasted a lot of chakra on it.

Kakshi addressed anko

"If this wasn't a spar, I would think you wanted to kill me."

Anko smirked, "Well, I couldn't let you take it easy the whole time."

Kakashi smirked under his mask and performed a jutsu

Water Release: Water Bullet Technique

As he shot out a fast-moving torrent of water at Anko

With no time to dodge, Anko performed a small Great Fireball Jutsu to counter the Jutsu. She quickly realized her mistake as the steam produced made her lose sight of Kakashi.

Cursing at herself, she quickly used Earth Release: Mud Wall directly at her feet to raise the ground beneath her and out of the cloud of steam. As she looked around for Kakashi, waiting for him to attack, she noticed too late when she felt the wall beneath her rumble slightly. As the wall exploded to reveal Kakashi, he landed a punch on her chin and then a kick to her chest, sending her spiraling to the ground.

Anko quickly recovered and launched senbon at a still mid-air Kakashi after her rough landing. She almost celebrated when they made contact, but she was surprised to see Kakashi disappear in a puff of smoke.

Anko then felt cold metal on the side of her neck

"Looks like this round is mine."

Anko could feel his smug expression despite not seeing it.

Anko put her hands up, annoyed

"Fine, you win this time. You masked bastard."

[juwbywrites]

Reworking Jiraiya: A Character Study

Jiraiya is such a frustrating character in Cannon, so I made changes in my fic while keeping him flawed but with less sexual harassment.

Excerpt:

Anko walked through the streets of Center Spring; she had just visited her seventh establishment and had come up with no hair or sign of Jiraiya. Getting frustrated, she was about to retire the search for the night, but suddenly, she heard a cacophony of feminine laughter from a building across the street that caught her attention. She examined the sign outside the building, 'The Silk Lotus.'

Testing her luck, she entered the establishment, which was rather sparsely populated, with a few customers and hostesses seating them. However, the table near the back was overfilled with seven hostesses, the mass of them hiding the customer from view.

She ignored the employees waning her way as she forced her way through and made her way toward the table; as she got to the far side, she saw him.

Jiraiya was a tall and well-built man with fair skin. He had waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes, which extended further down his face. He wore a short green shirt, kimono, and matching pants. Underneath, he wore mesh armor that was visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. Additionally, he wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil." A large scroll leaned against the table.

Anko walked forward and cleared her throat loudly, gaining the attention of everyone at the table.

There was a brief flash of confusion when Jiraiya spotted her, but it quickly turned into a jovial smile.

"Oh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Ladies, this beautiful young woman here is Anko Mitarahi, one of the bright young ninjas of Konoha and an old acquaintance of mine."

The hostesses said greetings and waved at Anko, but Anko barely acknowledged their presence as she continued to stare down Jiraiya.

Jiraiya, gaining a bad feeling from his well-trained intuition, kept his jovial attitude and asked Anko

"So, Anko, what brings you here? Would you like to join us for a drink"

"No, thank you, and I'm here to speak to you about an issue from your past, something of the blonde variety," Anko said, trying to be discreet.

"Jiraiya's mood instantly shifted, and he sighed.

"Sorry, ladies, it looks like I'll have to leave early tonight." Jiraiya then reached into his pocket and laid a large stack of bills on the table.

"Make sure you split that amongst yourselves, and don't worry, this won't be the last time I'll be here."

This scene shows that he still desires attention from women, but in a way that doesn't violate consent. In later chapters, I will explore his philosophical side, including questions about the morality of the ninja system. There are other less significant changes, like being less of a cheapskate, but in the end, I just wanted to make him a more dynamic character.

[juwbywrites]

Kakashi and Anko argue over Icha Icha

Just a excerpt from my fic:

Kakashi, before exiting the apartment, confronted Anko about what he saw when he first entered her apartment; despite the general disorganization, there was one pristine area and hanging shelf that looked to be custom-made; on it was every single entry to the Icha Icha series.

He gestured to the shelf.

"I didn't know you were a fan of Jiraiya's works."

Anko shrugged

"It was a given, really. Do you know how much my former sensei hated those books? When I came back to the village, I ended up reading all of them out of spite. And it turns out I really like them.

"You never thought about bringing it up with me," Kakashi said, wondering why their shared interest hadn't been brought up for months.

"I figured you were a casual reader because you only carried around one book."

"Oh, trust me, I appreciate all of Lord Jiryaiya's works. People too often dismiss it as smut, but it's so much more than that,"

"Definitely, the character interactions and the creative settings don't get me wrong; I think the books draw most readers in the smut, but the writing holds up damn well." agreed Anko

And, of course, we both know what the best series is

"Icha Icha Makeout Requiem"

"Icha Icha Rescuing Love"

The mood shifted as both Anko and Kakashi stared at each other, their competitive spirits igniting a silent battle.

"Oh, I see that you are a fan of the Rescuing series; it is not my cup of tea, but to each their own," Kakashi said, his tone dismissive.

"Of course, the Rescuing series has its best moments in terms of writing and story," Anko defended

Kakashi scoffed

"Nothing in the Rescuing series can even touch Makeout Masquerade or Makeout Mountain."

"Makeout mountain, are you serious? I didn't think you were a fan of slop; that was clearly something he made in a few weeks to appease his editor," argued Anko

"Oh, as if the entire Rescuing series wasn't something he put together to hold off fans for his subsequent volumes of Makeout."

"Nothing in the Makeout series touches the ice lake scene in Rescuing Frost," said Anko

"Nothing in the makeout series can touch the ice lake scene," Kakashi mocked in a shrill voice.

"I swear you are rescuing fans. Hold on to that scene for dear life to justify the rest of the series."

"Name three Makeout scenes that match the Ice Lake scene," demanded Anko

"Three?"

"Yeah, three."

"There's Miko's confession in Makeout Love at First Sight." Kakashi listed

Anko nodded. She expected that even though she had to admit it was one of the best scenes in the Icha Icha franchise, she had her own favorites that she believed were superior.

"There is the climax of Makeout tactics. "

Anko shrugged. Although she knew many people enjoyed the final stages of that book, she thought it was overrated.

"Then, the twist is revealed in Makeout Makeover," Kakashi said, confident in his list.

"Makeout makeover! That twist ruined the entire book; you know what I thought you had taste Kakashi."

"I could say the same."

"You know what? Get out, I don't need you here right now,"

"Why should I have to get out."

"Because it's my damn apartment."

"Oh yeah, right; I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Kakashi said awkwardly as he opened the door to leave.

"Uhm, sorry, I don't know what got over me there."

Anko shooed him away with her hand, and Kakashi exited her apartment head down, defeated.

Once he left, Anko fell on the floor and began dying of laughter.

[juwbywrites]

Excerpt of Anko teaching Naruto in my fic

The next day Naruto was staring angrily at the books laid out in front of him."This is so dumb I thought you were going to teach me ninja skills not bore me to death."

Anko leaned against a tree, arms crossed "With your clones you can have a constant squad of people who know exactly how you think on call. During the test, you just swarmed Kkashi, but if you used your clones more effectively you probably could have grabbed a bell. "

"So what does that have to do with me reading?"

"Because if you learn some battle tactics and troop organization, you have the potential to be a one-man army. "

Naruto's eyes lit up, and then narrowed. "I'll be a one-man army faster if you just teach me cool jutsu!"

Anko's eye twitched. Patience, Anko. He's twelve. She took a deep breath. "Kid, your chakra control is so bad, you'd blow yourself up trying most ninjutsu. You've got too much it'slike shoving a tidal wave through a straw." She flicked his forehead. "That's why Shadow Clones work for you. They don't need control they just split your chakra evenly."

Naruto rubbed his forehead, he still was not exactly following what this lady was getting at.

"How much did you read when you learned the technique from the forbidden scroll?"

Naruto gave a surprise squawk in response to her question

"Don't worry brat you're not in trouble with me. The Hokage told me what you managed to do with that technique. Good job by the way, but if Mizuki wasn't such a sorry ass he probably could have countered your technique with your skills the way they are now "

Naruto bristled

"Bet you just skimmed the name and hand signs, huh? Didn't read the description?"

Naruto gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head "Maybe"

Anko sighed and began to explain the Jutsu "To keep it short the technique you found was the more advanced version of the shadow clone technique. It uses more chakra, but it allows you to create a lot more clones. You also gain the memories of your clones when they are destroyed"

Naruto looked shocked, "Why haven't I noticed that yet?"

"Probably because you haven't used them for anything outside of combat, but maybe the version you use can't transfer memories. So let's test it out, I wanted to see if a theory I had about your training could work. Make five clones now."

Naruto proceeded to put his hands in the ram seal and made six clones.

"Close enough"

"Okay, I want three of you to work on the leaf control exercise to improve your control, Two of you need to start reading. And you..." the final clone looked up waiting for instructions, and had a brief look of betrayal before a pierced the front of its neck."

"Hey what's the big idea" All of the other Naruto's shouted in unison

Anko shrugged

"I had no idea what to do with that one, and plus I don't know what effect it may have on you if we overload you with memories. So we are going to keep the maximum number to five, But before you begin I feel like you're someone who doesn't see the value in something unless they know what they could get in the end, so I'll show you the jutsu, I'll teach you when I feel you have made enough progress on your control."

All of the Naruto's turned to Anko and watched her intently, excited to see a new jutsu. Anko then turned toward five target posts

Anko pulled out one shuriken and threw it at one post. She then began to weave through hand signs and performed the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, as one shuriken turned into five, All of them raced forward and hit the bullseye of each target.

"WHOAA! TEACH ME NOW!"

"No."

"WHY NOT?!"

"Because you'd make thousands and accidentally bomb the village."

The clones grumbled but split up, three meditating with leaves on their foreheads, two grudgingly cracking open books.

The original Naruto cracked his knuckles. "So what's my training?"

"Taijutsu. We're fixing your form."

Naruto grinned. "Bring it..."

THUD.

He hit the ground flat on his back, groaning.

Anko sighed. This'll be a long day.

[juwbywrites]

Just a fun little excerpt from my new chapter

"Karin!" Naruto shouted

Naruo ran forward, and he and Karin began to perform their secret handshake, which started with an explosive fist bump, then they quickly began to trace a spiral in the air with their pointer fingers, then they clapped once and pointed at each other and locked pinkies.

The rest of Team 7 stood in awe at the intricate handshake,

"When did you two even have enough time to come up with that?" asked Anko

Naruto shrugged, "It's just something we've been working on, it still needs practice, her clap was a little out of sync."

Karin snorted, "My clap was fine. You messed up the spiral, and that's the most important part."

"My spiral was fine."

"No, it wasn't. You curved inward too much on the final one."

Kakashi coughed, "As serious a conversation as this is, we have a meeting we have to get to."

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to stop you guys."

"Oh, wait," Naruto began rummaging through his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper.

"Just in case we don't see each other until we get back to the village, here's a coupon for half of ramen at Ichiraku Ramen,

Naruto leaned forward and spoke softly.

"And if you're looking for a free meal, just mention that I'm your cousin. I'm kinda important over there."

"Wow, could I use your name at other establishments to get free stuff?"

"Uhh, maybe don't do that, I don't want you going around and abusing my good name after all."

"Certainly, I don't want to mess up your reputation."

Sakura spoke "Karin I hope you don't take everything Naruto says at face value, he tends to"Sakura narrowed her eyes in his direction "Exaggerate the truth."

Karin waved her hand dismissively, "I'm sure Naruto has a wonderful reputation in the village."