Hakuto held the admission letter in her hand, locking her large eyes on Anya as she asked, "Is this really asking me to go to the Ninja Academy? But I'm already this old."
"Your skills definitely don't require you to attend school, but certain basic knowledge about being a ninja must be systematically learned at the academy, so you can better understand what the Ninja World is like," Anya replied while gently patting her shoulder. "This is a rite of passage for every ninja. Don't worry; once you feel you've learned enough, you can apply for early graduation."
"Alright then," Hakuto accepted and then curiously asked, "How did you convince her?"
Anya modestly answered, "With my mind and wisdom."
Hakuto generously gave a thumbs-up and cheerfully said, "Then I'll go check in now!"
Just after Hakuto left, Kakashi appeared there. Watching the girl's retreating figure, he couldn't help but say in disbelief, "I never thought your daughter had already grown up so much."
With a smile, Anya replied, "Actually, I didn't expect it either."
Kakashi pulled out his White Fang Blade from his cloak—the blade long since unsheathed—and said, "I've mostly recovered now. When should we begin?"
Anya's eyes lit up with interest. "Right now sounds good."
The two faced off, charging the air between them with tension. The surrounding air began turning turbulent. Just as they were about to move, Anya slightly frowned and shook his head toward Kakashi.
Though puzzled, Kakashi still stopped his movements.
Soon after, Naruto came running over anxiously, shouting at Kakashi, "Master Kakashi! Something's wrong! After hearing you'd been injured, I heard Sasuke ran out of Konoha village searching for someone, and Sakura secretly followed him. Neither has returned yet—we need to find them quickly!"
"Oh no!" Kakashi reacted immediately. "He must have gone to find Itachi Uchiha. If those two meet, he'll be killed."
Anya calmly responded, "Relax, the Akatsuki Organization is already far beyond Konoha's borders—they won't run into each other. Still, it's strange they haven't come back by now. Let's go, Naruto, I'll accompany you."
"Oh, you're going?" Kakashi was somewhat surprised.
Anya nodded. "After all, he's Miss Mikoto's child. With me searching, I can find him faster."
Kakashi sincerely said, "Alright then, thank you for helping."
Seeing how much Kakashi trusted Anya, Naruto impatiently grabbed his sleeve and said, "Uncle, let's get going then!"
"Not so fast—here's something fun, and we'll get there quicker." Anya took out a flying device and casually slapped it onto Naruto's back.
The device instantly spread its wings, rapidly absorbing chakra from Naruto's body before rocketing skyward.
Unaccustomed to it, Naruto flailed about in the air, completely confused about what had just happened.
Anya attached a similar flying device to himself, soared halfway into the sky, grabbed hold of Naruto, and vanished into the distance.
Watching this scene, Kakashi muttered, watching the scene unfold, "Where the heck did he get these things?"
"Whoa... So this is what flying feels like?"
"That's impressive!"
After flying through the air for a while, Naruto finally got the hang of it and began attempting some high-difficulty aerial maneuvers. He occasionally cheered excitedly, completely forgetting the original purpose of their journey.
Anya, on the other hand, was focused. Thousands of soul clones created through the Division Technique had already begun spreading out around Konoha. Less than half an hour later, Anya's eyes suddenly narrowed. She spoke to Naruto, "Stop fooling around. Follow me. I've found them."
Naruto snapped back to reality and happily replied, "Really? Great!"
In a dense forest, Sasuke was covered in blood and unconscious.
Sakura carried him on her back, her eyes glistening with tears. Despite being completely drained, she kept pushing forward toward Konoha. To herself, she murmured desperately, "Sasuke, you must hold on. Once we return to Konoha, I'll get you healed."
Two figures descended from the sky and landed in front of Sakura.
Startled, Sakura hadn't even clearly seen who they were when she heard a familiar voice, "Sakura, finally found you. What happened to Sasuke?"
"Sakura?" Relief washed over her, and her body suddenly relaxed. Unable to support herself any longer, she collapsed.
"Sakura!" Naruto hurriedly rushed over to catch her. Looking back anxiously at Anya, he asked, "Uncle, are they going to be okay? Let's hurry back and have Lady Tsunade treat them."
Another Beiyangyang... [a reference to a popular Chinese animated character known for being overly emotional]
"Calm down," Anya said indifferently. "Sakura is just exhausted. A little rest will do. As for Sasuke, the one who injured him didn't intend to kill him; otherwise, he wouldn't still be alive."
Naruto frowned, "C'mon, Uncle, don't act so indifferent. At least do something!"
"Tch, you sure didn't inherit your father's calmness at all. You're more like that Little Pepper — always rushing headfirst into things." Anya took a step forward to stand beside Sasuke. Green [chakra] glowed on her hand, and a gentle healing force entered his body. Within less than a minute, all the wounds across his body were already closed, and color slowly returned to his pale face.
Naruto exclaimed joyfully, "So you actually know [Medical Ninjutsu] too."
Anya ignored Naruto's excitement as she carefully examined Sasuke's wounds, identifying the attacker: "Kimimaro then. Looks like he was testing whether Sasuke was worthy enough to become Serpent Master's vessel."
"Uh..."
Sasuke groaned softly, like awakening from a nightmare. He stirred groggily, dazed and disoriented before locking eyes with Naruto's relieved face.
"Haha, Sasuke! You're awake! Finally found you! You made us worry so much. Don't ever run off recklessly again." Naruto babbled on, "Sakura passed out from exhaustion trying to save you."
"Shut up! Mind your own business!" Sasuke's face was filled with resentment, as if recalling something painful. His fists clenched as a wave of murderous intent surged from him.
Taken aback, Naruto couldn't say anything for a moment.
Anya calmly remarked nearby, "There's no need to feel bitter. Kimimaro possesses an incredibly powerful Kekkei Genkai and has several years more experience than you. It's normal for him to be stronger than you."
Only then did Sasuke realize there was someone else beside him. Looking at the unusually young Anya with silver hair, he scoffed and said, "And who might you be? What do you even know to dare speak like that here?"
Naruto stood up for Anya and said, "Sasuke, don't talk like that. Guess 'Teme' wasn't just a nickname for show."
Sasuke's eyes shifted into the Two-tomoe Sharingan. Emphasizing every word, he said, "Did I ever say I needed his help?"
Anya simply ignored Sasuke's remark and turned to Naruto, saying, "You take Sakura with you, and I'll carry Sasuke. Let's head back to the village together."
When he heard about heading back to the village, Sasuke was just about to say something when Anya had already arrived behind him. With a swift strike to the neck, Sasuke slumped unconscious once more.
Seeing this, Naruto simply nodded and said, "Alright."
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