Shizuka hated fighting
It wasn't because of some moral stance against violence or anything, not even a dislike of blood, the act of fighting, of killing, that wasn't the issue. It's the lack of choice, specifically for Shizuka. She was forced into every spar, battle, and scuffle.
Her Kekkei Genkai was a life sentence in cloud, a life sentence to violence, there was no time for friends, she needed to perfect her form, no time for "goofing off" she needed to create new techniques, no time for anything, because she needed to learn how to kill better.
This suffocation was why she left her village, but sadly, the same cycle remained for her here, although significantly lessened. She knew none of the Roku Yurei cared about her outside of her strength. It legitimized them.
She took a deep breath as she looked up into the cloudy sky. Where would she go after this? She could go anywhere, even to places where no one had been before. Perhaps she could find an island like this somewhere. She peered out across the water and spotted a ship moving toward the island.
With a sigh, she got up. "Looks like it's time." She went through hand signs with ease
Storm Release: Accession
And with a flash of violet light, she retreated into the sky.
The air around the ship became thick as everyone stared for a few moments at the enemy who had boldly landed on their vessel. Jiraiya took a breath, and stepped out of the cabin, a plan already formulating in his mind.
He spoke to Shizuka, his voice low. "It's rather arrogant to put yourself in front of all your enemies, isn't it?" His fingernails dug into his palm, drawing blood as, in one fluid motion, he placed his hand on the side of the boat out of view.
"I'm offering a truce. Turn back, and we will allow you to leave the city." Shizuka said.
"That sounds more like a threat than a truce," said Sasuke
The team looked around, catching each other's gaze. Anko looked at Jiraiya, who responded with a wink as he stepped forward, his hand still grazing across the side of the ship.
"I'll have to agree with young Sasuke here and say that your arrival doesn't really instill the mood of peace."
Shizuka chuckled, "Take it as you wish. I could have destroyed this ship if I wanted to, but I gave you an option to live."
Jiraiya whistled. "These young shinobi today have no respect for legends; do you think you can defeat a sanin?""
Shizuka exhaled sharply, "Names and titles don't impress me. I measure my opponents on the battlefield."
Jiraiya grinned. "Then let this be a lesson in understanding why titles are bestowed."
In a single movement Jiraiya swung his hair, as it hardened, and turned into sharp needles
Needle Hell
The needles of hair sped toward Shizuka, making her jump backward in a blink of violet light, causing her to skid across the water. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke consumed the ship.
In the next moment, a massive toad burst through the smoke, barreling past her and heading to Jaro.
"What the hell!" Shizuka said, looking at the retreating creature's back. She turned to where the ship was and saw that it was gone. She scoffed. "Damn thing must have swallowed the ship."
Her fingers crackled with violet electricity as she went through hand signs, ready to strike the toad down. Then suddenly, she felt the temperature rise behind her.
Fire Release: Stream
A massive amount of flame came from behind her, as she changed her jutsu on a dime, and used
Water Release: Water pillar
A large column of water shot up, blocking the flames and generating steam across the area.
Shizuka turned toward the direction of the attack, and as the steam cleared, she saw Jiraiya standing across from her.
His face showed no amusement.
"I suggest you don't mind their getaway. Right now, you have bigger things to worry about."
Inside the mouth of the toad, with the rest of the team
"What is this?" Sakura backed away from the fleshly surface, the tortoise on her shoulder retreated into its shell slightly.
"What just happened?" questioned Naruto
A glob of mucus landed on Sasuke head, causing him to gag, "It must be hell" Sasuke said
"It looks like Lord Jiraiya used a summon to let us bypass her." Kakashi explained.
"Then where is he?" asked Hinata
"Probably fighting her," said Shizune
"Will he be okay?"
"Oh, he'll be fine, but right now, we have to focus on getting Tsunade, and taking down the big bastard himself."
Kakashi put a hand on Anko's shoulder. "We are waiting to fight Orochimaru until Jiraiya comes back. Understood?"
Anko bristled slightly at the order, shrugging Kakashi's hand off. "Understood. I'm not going to go off the handle, not here. I wouldn't want to risk any of you getting hurt."
The mouth of the toad opened, revealing a rocky coastline. Directly in front of them were two rusted metal doors. Etched into the side of a cliff.
Upon stepping onto the island, Anko yelped in pain. She held her head as it throbbed, her curse mark ached, the slow and steady pain causing her to winch.
Naruto slid down to her. "Anko, what's wrong?"
Shizune knelt down and began examining her
Anko waved them both off. "It's nothing, just my stupid curse mark, probably because he's close"
Shizune shared her concerns. "Are you sure it's a good idea to get closer to him, then? If you can't fight…"
Anko interrupted, "There's no way I'm sitting this one out. Besides, we need everyone to have a chance to take him down."
The group, concerns not entirely dismissed, entered the lab, with Kakashi keeping a close eye on Anko.
They proceed through the dark corridors of the facility, creeping along as the metal of the floor screeched.
Anko silently suffered the pain in her head worsening, it taking her entire focus to continue moving forward
Her lack of focus almost cost her as she felt herself get tackled by Kakashi, as a wall of crystal split the room, nearly bisecting her. The wall cut off Kakashi and Anko from the others.
On the other side, Naruto banged on the wall, trying to get through.
Sasuke ran through hand signs and attempted a fire jutsu, but the flames licked harmlessly against the crystal barrier.
Sakura used
Earth Flow Spear
Hardening her fist, she threw a punch with all her weight, only chipping away small shards of the crystal
"Dammit, what is this?" Naruto said in frustration.
Water Release Gunshot
"Watch out!" Shizune warned as someone pelted them with high-pressure water bullets, making them dodge.
They turned as two figures appeared from the corridor. Asato appeared, with Dokugan next to him.
"I'm afraid this is where your little game ends here."
On the other side
Kakashi gingerly picked up Anko, guiding her to her feet. She looked as if she was half conscious from the pain.
"Can you move?"
"Yeah, Anko responded dreary,"
Kakashi turned as he heard movement from the other side of the room. He spotted a blue-haired woman approaching them.
Gurren shook her head. "So, this is the traitor, reduced to a quivering pile, just by being near the master's presence."
Anko was in too much pain to respond.
Kakashi leaned Anko against the wall
"Stay back. I'll handle her." Kakashi revealed his Sharigan as he faced her.
Gurren held her hand forward as a crystal formed in her palm, Kakashi prepared to deflect a projectile, but his eye caught the sudden change in trajectory at the last second, as Gurren changed her target from Kakashi.
Kakashi's blood ran cold as he dove to intercept the attack, with anything, his arm, leg, heart, just anything.
The crystal spear grazed past his fingertips as it went toward its target
Anko's vision was blurred as the pain consumed her. It was so overwhelming that she almost didn't notice the sudden pressure in her chest., she then heard Kakashi scream.
"Nooo!"
Anko's vision cleared. As she peered down. Amd saw a spear of crystal through her chest. Her eyes went wide as she coughed up blood, gripping at it weakly with her hand, before locking eyes with Kakashi, who was staring at her, his eyes full of despair and fear.
"Ka.. Kakashi" she let out in a rasp before collapsing to the ground. The last thing she heard were Kakashi's cries and Gurren's laughter, before all went black.
Flashback Ten Years Ago in Konoha
Twelve-year-old Anko washed instruments and beakers in the small lab. The night's quiet filled with the sounds of running water and clinking glass. With a sigh and a wipe of her forehead, she checked the time on the wall.
Her brow furrowed. It seemed like another day would pass without seeing her sensei. For the last few months, he'd been engrossed in a top-secret village project, leaving Anko for weeks on end. Years of training taught her not to question her sensei, so she silently continued her work.
She let out a sigh. Orochimaru instilled independence in her, yet his absence left her feeling insecure about her progress.
With her cleaning complete, Anko put away her tools. As she neared the exit, ready to switch off the light, the door burst open, almost striking her.
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."
"Are you alright? Do you need me to get the medkit?" she asked
"You don't have to, but you could help by fetching the chakra and Kekkei Genkai research files."
Anko arched an eyebrow. Since Orochimaru had a perfect memory, their notes served primarily as a reference. As instructed, she retrieved a key, unlocked a filing cabinet, and collected three overflowing folders.
As she awkwardly carried the papers back to Orochimaru, she peeked over documents and asked, "Why do you need these?"
Orochimaru paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face as he considered his next words.
"Sadly my dear student, the village has tasked me with a research project that will take me out the village" Orochimaru raised his pointer finger upward, Anko recognized the motion as one of his sensor jutsu, he was looking out for something, but what?
"How long will you be gone?" Anko asked solemnly, not too happy with the prospect of having her mentor gone for longer than usual.
Orochimaru feigned hurt. "I can't give you a timeline, but it's a long-term assignment."
"Oh," Anko said, her gaze dropping in dejection.
Orochimaru, unseen, flashed a wide grin.
"Though since it is quite a cumbersome task, I wouldn't mind taking on an extra pair of hands."
"Really, sir?" Anko looked up hopefully.
Orochimaru nodded his head.
"Oh, I have to get supplies, just give me a second to run home real quick, I'll be back in les than ten minutes," said Anko
"It's unnecessary; we'll pick up supplies along the is a time sensitive assignment, so it's best if we leave immediately," Orochimaru's voice lowered at the last word, activating a sensor jutsu yet again.
A small sliver of suspicion pulled at Anko, but she knew better than to pester Orochimaru with inane questions like, "What is our mission, and where are we going?" He would reveal those details in his own time, and persistent questioning would only delay him.
Agreeing following her sensei, they left the village under the cover of darkness
That night, she did not know she and Orochimaru were escaping Konoha to become fugitives.
The next few days were uneventful. Orochimaru set a fast and grueling pace as Anko strained to keep up. She was used to this, however, since she had learned under him, he had set unspoken expectations. Whether it was letting her handle deadly poisons, or leaving her alone with a group of enemies, she only had two choices: either live up to his expectations, or get left behind and abandoned.
She dedicated herself to keeping up and creating efficient ways to use her chakra on the fly. They would take breaks for up to thirty minutes, maybe an hour. That was all the time Anko had to rest and eat, before Orochimaru continued forward again.
After four days of this Anko peered at her sensei in the trees in front of her, he hadn't eaten or slept,the entire time, but he looked as if he was unfazed, that composure, that strength, that is what she admired, what she wanted to emulate.
A few hours later, they reached the coast of the Land of Fire. Without a word, Orochimaru landed in the sand and walked forward, placing his feet on the water. And continuing across, Anko paused. Her legs and chakra pathways burned. She was nearly at her limit. There was no way she would last walking on the water for even an hour.
Then she grinned, as she bit her thumb and place her hand into the sand
Summoning Jutsu
A puff of smoke engulfed the beach as a large black and purple snake appeared.
"Mirai!" Anko ran forward and hugged her summons scaly body
Mirai looked down, unimpressed, "Why did my summoner have to be one of the small humans? What do you need?"
Anko pointed at Orochimaru, who was already gaining distance from the beach. "I need you to help me follow him across the water."
Mirai sighed "Reduced to a mount, very well hop on,"
Mirai leaned downward, allowing Anko to climb onto her back. Mirai then coated her underside with chakra as she slithered across the water at a moderate pace.
Anko collapsed in exhaustion while on Mirai's and recovered her chakra.
After three days of traveling on the water, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a small island. The side of it was rocky and full of small caverns, and on the side of one of these caverns were two tall metal doors that led into Orochimaru's research facility.
As they approached the doors, Anko looked up at them in awe, examining the security seals.
"Who built this?"
Orochimaru grinned
"With enough time and comment, you can accomplish anything , now I want to so you, what we've come all this way for.
Orochimaru led her inside, and threw the winding corridors, eventually arriving at a bare room, holding only one piece of machinery. It was a tube like apparatus with a console attached to it.
As Orochimaru stepped forward in front of the console, Anko could see an emotion across Orochimaru's face that she so rarely saw. Excitement.
He spoke. "This experiment has been on my list for many years now since my discovery of a lost clan during the second war. Their name is lost to history, but they possess a truly special ability: the means to absorb senjutsu chakra naturally. "
"But I thought you had to be a sage in order to use senjutsu chakra?" questioned Anko
"So did I until I saw it with my own eyes. I was tasked with investigating a destroyed village in the second war, it was absolutely devastated. We thought either Iwa or Suna had run through it, but I found the true cause.
Orochimaru pushed a level on the console, opening the tube with a hiss, as cold gas expelled from the chamber , dropping the temperature in the room.
Anko gasped as she saw what was revealed. It was a human, or humanoid, it had purplish skin, and two large horns that protruded from its head.
Anko stepped forward, feeling a mix of anxiety and curiosity. "What is it?"
"That, my dear student, is a human. Whatever this bloodline is, the absorption of senjutsu chakra alters and mutates them. In the aftermath of the destroyed village, I found this one. It appears he lost control. I've preserved him until that point, but his condition will deteriorate fast once we begin experiments. "
"Experiment? What do you want to do?"
"I want to use his DNA to manufacture an artificial way for a normal person to channel senjutsu chakra."
Anko's eyes widened. "Do you really think we could do that?"
"I believe we can do that and much more."
Anko's excitement faded as she took another look at the creature, "But he's still human right, is it okay to perform a test on him?"
"He's human in physiology only. Whatever rampage he went on before damaged his brain, there's nothing going on behind those eyes.
Anko paused, considering.
"Think about it Anko, if we can accomplish this, this just won't be a step toward our goal, but it could change the very foundation of the ninja world. Imagine the things that could be done, the jutsu we can create." Orochimaru argued
Anko relented, agreeing to work with her master in creating the first curse mark. The two of them worked separately. Her job was to monitor the subjects' vitals, and extract usable samples for the curse mark, and Orochimaru took the entire creation process on himself. He locked himself inside a chamber for his work. Orochimaru prevented Anko from entering.
The materials inside are delicate, he had told her. "They require the utmost care."
Despite her suspicions, Anko continued with her work.
Six months later, Orochimaru had informed that the first prototype of the curse mark was complete. He named it 'The Curse Seal of Hell' and he wanted Anko to be the first to undergo the procedure. She agreed, despite her sensei's unusual naming convention, the prospect of getting as strong as her teacher motivated her.
The chamber was cold. As Anko lay strapped to the operating table, Orochimaru loomed over her, his expression a mix of pride and glee.
"This will hurt," he murmured," but pain is the price of power."
Anko clenched her jaw. In her relatively brief time spent training under Orochimaru, she knew of suffering, the vicious poison testing that left her near death and in agony, the relentless and blistering, chakra tests, that kept her at the edge of exhaustion for days straight, but nothing could have prepared her for this.
Orochimaru traced a spot on her neck, before driving a syringe into her flesh
As Anko convulsed, arched against the restraints, and screamed, it felt as if molten lead filled her veins. Orochimaru clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Breathe through it," he commanded. "The senjutsu chakra is rewriting your cells. Fight it, and you'll destabilize."
Her vision blurred, the serum was spreading as it carved the pathway through her nerves. She could feel lit, like a parasite burrowing under her skin.
She felt Orochimaru press fingers into her neck, tracing a seal, as ink black patterns spiraled outward. The room spun, the pain causing her to fall into darkness as she went unconscious.
When Anko awoke, she was alone. She gasped, her body jerking upright. Sweat plastered to her hair and face as her breath came in ragged gulps.
She reached for her neck and flinched. The skin was tender, her new mark searing hot to the touch.
Working through the soreness, she looked around for her sensei, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Sensei?" Anko spoke, her hoarse voice echoing off the metal walls. She groaned as she got up from the table, exiting the room to look for Orochimaru. Proceeding down the hall, she saw that the door to the testing room stood open, a dim light showing through. Approaching the door, she saw her sensei working with some instruments. Smiling, she threw the door open to greet him, but her face fell in shock at the sight of the rest of the room.
Bodies, dozens of them, twisted, broken, fused with unnatural growths. Some still twitched. One, a man with an extra arm jutting from his ribs, met her eyes, pleading silently.
Anko recoiled. "What have you done?!"
Orochimaru sighed, as if disappointed by her reaction. "Did you think the first prototype would be perfect? Science requires trial and error. If I hadn't run as thorough of test as I did, you would be malformed as well."
"These are people!" Anko yelled
"They were," he corrected. Orochimaru walked forward, standing in front of the subject. "If we're lucky we could extract samples from these failed ones."
Anko's stomach dropped as tears formed at her eyes. "Why, why do this?
Orochimaru shook his head as he cut into the subject "My dear Anko, I hope there is one thing that you take away from this is that in pursuing knowledge, there are no limits or boundaries you can cross when you work toward your goal. "
The malformed man screamed as Orochimaru continued to cut into him
"Do you know how many suffered when chakra healing techniques were first created? It's not well documented, but early practitioners would often experiment on perfectly healthy people and break their bodies apart layer by layer, piece by piece, but no one ever talks about how evil medical ninjutsu is or its origins."
Anko backed away.
"When I, no when we accomplish our goal, no one will remember the sacrifices we made or the methods we used; all that will matter is results."
"It's not worth people's lives." Anko argued.
Orochimaru moved, appearing in front of Anko in an instant, looking down at her, his face morph into a scowl. "Where is this altruism coming from? Suddenly you care about theses people, don't tell me after all this time, you didn't know, didn't hear their screams or pleas."
Anko covered her ears, her voice choking. "I.. I. I didn't know that…."
Orochimaru grinned. "Face it Anko, you knew , you wanted to see what we could create together. That drive, that hunger, should be what feeds you."
Orochimaru peered around her, examining her new mark
"That mark is a sign of your commitment to pursuing knowledge and the power that comes with it."
Anko covered her ears and started screaming "No, No No, it's not true, I'm not like you, I'm not a monster!"
Orochimaru grabbed her wrist, lifting her up to eye level. "Are you so sure about that? You've followed me all this way to emulate my strength, and now, since you've gotten a taste, you break down like a child." He tossed her to the ground.
"I have failed to think I meticulously crafted your training to mold you into someone worthy of sharing in my achievements, only to end up with such a disappointing result."
Anko's heart broke; she saw the mask of the man she idealized ripped away, and the pain almost hurt worse than her curse mark. Her hurt quickly turned to anger as she stood and began a jutsu.
Her curse mark glowed as she channeled a fireball, then a wave of pain shot through her as she interrupted the jutsu as she collapsed over, the glow of her mark fading, as she groaned on the ground in pain.
Orochimaru shook his head. "I should have guessed. It appears the mark didn't take properly," He sighed. I expect you will be useful in the next round of experiments to perfect the process."
As the pain faded, fear overwhelmed Anko, as she got up and ran, trying to get as far away from Orochimaru as possible. Orochimaru sighed as he pricked his finger on a scalpel and performed hand signs
Summoning Jutsu
Three enormous snakes appeared, waiting for a command. "Capture the girl and bring her back." The snakes complied as they began their pursuit of Anko.
Anko looked back as she saw the summoners slithered through the corridor, closing in on her.
She attempted to push chakra through her legs for speed, but couldn't as she felt a blockage in her chakra system. Turning quick down a corridor and going up some stairs through a hatch, she ended up on top of a cliff on the island. Leaving her nowhere left to go, she turned facing down the three snakes.
She looked at the water below and, before the snakes could pounce, she jumped into the water below.
As she hit the water, it felt as if all the energy in her body had left her, as she helplessly sunk, as darkness came.
By happenstance, an Anbu squad from the leaf, were at Jaro the same day, investigating the disappearances of nearby locals from Kakehashi. As they arrived at the island, they saw a figure washed ashore.
As Anko opened her eyes once more, the intense pain in her chest remained, yet the agony from her mark had vanished, replaced by a surge of resentment, shame, and anger flooding her consciousness from her newly recovered memories; concurrently, the mark upon her neck emitted a soft glow, while a serpentine pattern spread across her body like a seal. With a noticeable push from within, Anko felt the crystal emerge from her chest as the wound rapidly sealed itself shut. She rose to her feet, her posture straightening.
The sudden surge of chakra energy instantly alerted both Kakashi and Gurren to something unusual. Kakashi turned, feeling relief flood over him as the tension left his shoulders, but that sense of relief immediately vanished when he saw the intense, unwavering look in Anko's eyes. It was foreign, as if a different person was staring at him from behind her eyes. Feelings of unease and apprehension washed over Gurren. She knew without a doubt that Anko should be dead, but she was unharmed.
Anko's voice was calm and tempered, as she addressed Gurren with one question
"Where is Orochimaru?"