Boom! Boom!
The already devastated land shook violently.
A massive trench stretched for more than a hundred meters, sending chills down everyone's spine.
At the end of the shattered battlefield lay a mangled corpse.
Black Hoe Thunder Fang, the S-rank rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist, had completely lost all signs of life.
"It's over?"
Looking at the graceful figure that had visibly returned to normal, Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana exchanged glances, feeling as though they were dreaming. The entire battle had seemed unreal.
The scene they had just witnessed was simply too shocking.
"You two, don't be scared..."
Kurenai smiled, half-joking and half-serious, as she comforted them.
"That was the Heaven Curse Seal Orochimaru once placed on Anko. Akira has already improved it."
According to Akira Ren, Anko's Curse Seal Transformation could also be considered a form of Sage Transformation—essentially a unique version of Sage Mode.
The Heaven Curse Seal that Orochimaru had left on Anko had merely been an inferior derivative of that power, far weaker than the true Curse Seal Transformation.
Because natural energy was extremely violent, it was normally impossible for someone to control this transformation through willpower alone.
However, Akira, who had already mastered Sage Mode and possessed profound knowledge of natural energy, had used the Spiritualization Technique to take control of Anko's body and help her tame that power when she had nearly gone berserk during the transformation.
"So that's what happened..."
Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana finally understood.
Although they didn't know the exact nature of the Heaven Curse Seal, they knew Anko had once been Orochimaru's disciple.
The transformed Anko from earlier—who had resembled a demon from hell—had truly been terrifying.
But the fact that she had mastered the rare Dark Release bloodline limit was even more astonishing.
"Hehe..."
Having returned to normal in the blink of an eye, Anko lovingly played with the twin Lightning Blades.
The spinning weapons crackled with dazzling arcs of electricity.
Under Akira Ren's guidance, she could now perfectly control the power of her Curse Seal Transformation.
While transformed, her body could freely alter its cellular structure, allowing any part of her body to become as hard as steel while changing its shape at will.
That was why she had been able to block the Lightning Blades with her bare hands.
Furthermore, while in Curse Seal Transformation, her strength, speed, neural reaction, physical abilities, and even chakra reserves all received an overwhelming boost.
It was essentially equivalent to wielding the power of Sage Arts.
The only drawback was that this shortcut couldn't be maintained for long. If she remained transformed for more than thirty minutes, she risked being overwhelmed by violent natural energy and completely losing control.
She still had to continue training and become even stronger.
Because of that, Akira had already left several safety measures on her.
At the same time, while in Curse Seal Transformation, the power of her Dark Release was amplified to an astonishing degree.
With Akira Ren's help, she had recovered the memories that Orochimaru had once sealed away. After learning the truth, Anko had completely let go of her lingering resentment.
Even so, she still looked forward to the day she met that bastard teacher Orochimaru again so she could personally settle the score over the Heaven Curse Seal.
"Anko, don't celebrate too early..."
Kurenai reminded her helplessly.
"Although we successfully eliminated the rogue Mist shinobi Zabuza and Black Hoe Thunder Fang, the Lightning Blades and the Executioner's Blade both belong to the Hidden Mist."
"To avoid unnecessary conflict with the Hidden Mist, I'm afraid the Hokage won't easily allow you to keep them."
Two of the legendary Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist were involved in the political relationship between the two villages.
Given the Third Hokage's usual preference for maintaining stability, he would most likely refuse to let Anko claim the Lightning Blades for herself.
"No problem. I'll ask the Hokage first. If he refuses..."
Anko had already expected this and wasn't worried at all.
She smiled confidently.
"Then I'll just wait for Akira to come back and ask him to help."
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Uzuki Yugao, who was still an Anbu operative.
Although Anko usually acted carefree, she wasn't foolish.
The Third Hokage had intentionally assigned the newly promoted Jonin Yuhi Kurenai to this dangerous S-rank mission while sending the Anbu member Uzuki Yugao along as well.
It was obvious he wanted to assess both Kurenai and Anko.
Now that he had seen the astonishing improvement in their strength, Anko believed the Third Hokage would at least give Akira some respect.
The stronger she became, the more deeply she realized just how unfathomable Akira truly was.
Even in her Curse Seal Transformation, she was already absurdly powerful.
It was impossible to imagine how terrifying Akira would be when using Sage Mode.
"..."
Inuzuka Hana and Uzuki Yugao exchanged another glance.
As the Third Hokage's grand-disciple and the only person to awaken the First Hokage's Wood Release, Senju Akira was undoubtedly one of Konoha's greatest future military assets.
The Third Hokage would certainly have to take his opinion into consideration.
"Do whatever you want..."
Kurenai's lips twitched.
Although Akira usually acted as though he found Anko troublesome, he actually cared deeply for the bold and proactive girl who never hesitated to indulge him.
Otherwise, he would never have gone to such extraordinary lengths to grant her the rare Dark Release, further strengthen and refine it, and even bestow upon her an alternative form of Sage Mode through the Curse Seal Transformation.
Considering how much Akira doted on Anko, along with his complete disdain for Konoha's higher-ups, Kurenai could easily imagine him marching into the Hokage Tower one day and giving the so-called "Strongest Hokage in History" and the village elders a very thorough lesson in "persuasion through force" for Anko's sake.
After all, she had never once seen Akira show the slightest respect for so-called authority or rules.
She could only hope that the Third Hokage would have the wisdom not to provoke him.
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