Feng An looked at Sakura crying beside him and said calmly, "Sasuke will be fine. He'll wake up on his own in a day."
Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you for saving us, Feng An."
"It's nothing. We're classmates."
"By the way, do you still owe me that bet?"
Feng An looked at Sakura with a smirk.
Sakura's cheeks instantly flushed red.
"N-No, that's not it... You didn't do it back then..."
Ever since losing the bet, she had been worried about when Feng An would collect. But after being assigned to Team 7 and starting missions and training, she never saw him again.
Unexpectedly, when they met again, Feng An was already so far ahead.
She asked nervously, "Do... do you still want it now?"
Feng An glanced at her modest chest and shook his head. "I was just kidding."
He then leaped down from the tree, the Grass Ninja's head in hand, landing before Fubuki and Yukime.
"Ew! That's disgusting! Why are you carrying that head around?" Fubuki exclaimed.
Such harsh words!
Feng An glared at her. "Don't speak if you don't know what you're talking about. Yukime, you need to educate her properly. Her head is full of nonsense!"
???
What is he even saying?
Yukime nodded awkwardly.
Though she didn't understand, Feng An must have his reasons.
Feng An then waved to Sakura.
Yukime and Fubuki followed behind him.
Sakura held Sasuke, staring blankly at Feng An's retreating back, murmuring to herself, "Just like last time at the academy... when will we meet again..."
…
Several hours passed.
"Hey, how long are you going to carry that head around, you pervert?" Fubuki asked, frowning and covering her nose.
Feng An didn't explain.
He didn't want to carry a dead man's head, but he needed to find Mitarashi Anko.
Yukime and Fubuki had no idea what he was planning and could only follow.
"Ha! Hand over the scroll!"
As the three moved forward, three ninjas from the Hidden Rain Village suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
Feng An stopped and glanced at the three irritably. "What now?"
"Hahaha! Of course we'll let you go if you hand over the scroll—"
One of the men was laughing when the person beside him tugged his clothes from behind.
The man scolded impatiently, "What are you doing?"
Then another man patted his back. "H-He... what he's holding looks like a human head!"
"Nonsense, let me talk."
The man glared at them and looked toward Feng An.
Huh? Where did he go?
In an instant, Feng An appeared before him, raising the Grass Ninja's head to the man's face.
The shriveled head made intimate contact.
"See clearly now?"
"AHH!"
The man's pupils contracted, his whole body trembled, and he screamed, about to punch the head.
Fortunately, Feng An reacted quickly and kicked the man far away.
"She was a beauty in life. It's an honor to have such close contact. How could you think of domestic violence?"
The remaining two men watched their companion get kicked dozens of meters away and didn't dare to blink.
Feng An raised an eyebrow. "Not leaving? Are you attracted to her too?"
The two looked at the terrifying, shriveled head, felt nauseous, shook their heads rapidly, and fled at full speed.
Fubuki and the others saw this and suddenly understood.
So it was to scare other teams!
This way, they saved effort and deterred others from trying to steal their scroll.
They had thought Feng An was just a pervert, but it turned out he was thinking several steps ahead while they were still on the first floor.
Fubuki walked up to Feng An, somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry, I misunderstood you. If you'd said it was to intimidate other teams, I wouldn't have called you a pervert."
"Ah?" Feng An scratched his head.
He honestly hadn't thought that far.
With his strength, he could roam the Forest of Death freely. Intimidation? Threats? Completely unnecessary.
But since she'd crafted this image of a tactical genius for him, he didn't mind playing along.
"Yes, exactly. I thought you'd understand without me saying it." Feng An feigned a sigh.
Seeing this, Fubuki became convinced he was a top-tier genius in both combat and tactics.
She secretly vowed that no matter how puzzling Feng An's actions seemed, she would think deeply and try to learn from them.
She became even more certain: "Feng An must have his reasons for doing this."
"Honestly, my arm's getting sore. Can you help carry it?" Feng An lifted the head toward Fubuki.
The bloody smell instantly assaulted her nostrils.
"Take it away! Ugh! Get it away!" Fubuki gagged at the stench.
She quickly covered her nose and mouth, hiding behind Yukime.
I'd rather not learn this tactic!
Just as Feng An was about to speak, he spotted a familiar silhouette passing by.
Mitarashi Anko!
Overjoyed, Feng An quickly blocked her path. "Anko."
Mitarashi Anko glanced at Feng An with cold eyes. Only after seeing the Konoha forehead protector did her gaze soften slightly.
Her tone remained chilly. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Looking for her?" Feng An held up the Grass Ninja's head.
He'd been searching for Anko for a while and didn't want to waste time, so he got straight to the point.
Anko's pupils dilated instantly.
The image of Orochimaru flashed in her mind again.
The cursed seal on her neck flared with pain. Suppressing it, she asked, "How did you know I was looking for her? What's your relationship with Orochimaru?"
"I just ran into that Orochimaru you mentioned. After our team worked together to kill him, before he died, he said he wanted to see his beloved student, Anko Mitarashi, one last time."
"When I heard that, I thought of you and came to fulfill his dying wish." Feng An calmly shifted the blame to Orochimaru.
He knew Anko would never ask Orochimaru something like, "Do you miss me?"
He could say whatever he wanted.
Anko frowned. "So you cut off his head?"
Feng An quickly shook his head. "No, I decapitated him during the fight, so I brought it with me."
Anko was shocked.
So it was you who cut off his head.
This red-haired boy is ruthlessly cruel. Fortunately, he's from Konoha. If another village had someone like this, I'd eliminate him during his growth stage
*****
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