Anko did not release him.
Despite Ibiki's command, despite the stares of seventy-eight genin, despite the murderous intent radiating from six transformed kunoichi—Anko's arms remained locked around Naruto with no apparent intention of letting go.
"Anko," Ibiki's voice carried a warning edge. "The briefing."
"I can multitask."
Before anyone could react, Anko shifted her grip—one arm hooking under Naruto's legs, the other supporting his back—and lifted him entirely off the ground. His face remained pressed against her massive chest, the soft flesh engulfing him completely.
"What are you—" Sakura started forward, but Anko was already moving.
"The second phase of the Chuunin Exams!" Anko announced, her voice projecting across the room with professional clarity even as she cradled Naruto like an oversized child. "Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death. Seventy-eight of you enter. Statistically, less than half will emerge."
Her free hand—the one not supporting Naruto's weight—began running through his blond hair. The motion was gentle, rhythmic, almost unconscious. Her fingers traced soothing patterns across his scalp while she continued her briefing.
"Each team will receive one scroll—either Heaven or Earth. Your objective is to obtain the opposite scroll and reach the tower at the center of the training ground within five days. How you obtain the scroll is up to you. Combat is expected. Deaths are acceptable."
Naruto observed his situation with clinical detachment.
He was being held like a child. His face was buried in the chest of a woman he had met minutes ago. Her fingers were stroking his hair in a manner that suggested maternal affection rather than romantic interest.
It was... different from how the other six girls treated him.
Sakura, Satsuki, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Temari—their devotion was possessive, romantic, tinged with desire they barely concealed. They wanted him in ways that were explicitly non-familial.
Anko's touch was something else entirely.
"The Forest of Death contains numerous hazards," she continued, still petting his hair. "Giant predators, poisonous flora, environmental dangers. Many teams have entered that forest and never emerged. Their bodies were never found."
Her hand paused in its stroking to cup the back of his head protectively.
"But you don't need to worry about any of that, do you?" Her voice had dropped, meant only for him. "I'll make sure nothing hurts you. I don't know why I feel this way, but I know I need to protect you. Keep you safe. Take care of you."
"That would compromise your position as proctor," Naruto observed, his voice muffled by her chest.
"I don't care." Her grip tightened. "Something's wrong with me. I know that. I woke up yesterday feeling like there was a hole in my chest, and the only thing that fills it is being near you. Holding you. Making sure you're okay."
"The phenomenon affects different subjects in different ways. The others experience romantic or possessive attachment. Your manifestation appears more... parental."
Anko was quiet for a moment, her hand resuming its gentle stroking.
"Maybe that's what you need," she said softly. "From what I've heard—from what I've read in your file—no one's ever taken care of you. No one's ever held you like this. Made you feel safe."
"I don't feel anything."
"I know." Her voice was sad. "But maybe you should. Maybe someone should have made you feel safe years ago, and the fact that no one did is why you're like this now."
Naruto processed this observation without emotional response.
She wasn't wrong. His childhood had been devoid of maternal affection—devoid of any affection. The closest thing to parental care he had received was the Hokage's occasional check-ins, which had been wholly inadequate.
But acknowledging the absence didn't create the capacity to feel what had been missing.
"The examination begins in one hour!" Anko announced to the room, snapping back to her professional role. "Each team will report to a designated gate around the training ground's perimeter. Scrolls will be distributed at that time. Any questions?"
Hands rose throughout the room—genin wanting clarification on rules, asking about medical support, inquiring about the tower's location.
Anko answered them all while continuing to hold Naruto, her fingers never stopping their gentle motion through his hair.
The six other devoted girls watched with expressions that defied easy categorization.
Satsuki's Sharingan spun with barely contained aggression, but something in her gaze had shifted—confusion, perhaps, at Anko's distinctly non-romantic behavior.
Sakura's analytical mind was clearly processing, recategorizing Anko from "rival" to something else entirely.
Ino looked almost... relieved? As if maternal affection was somehow less threatening than romantic competition.
Hinata's Byakugan remained active, but her hostility had dimmed.
Tenten and Temari exchanged glances, apparently reaching similar conclusions.
"Briefing complete!" Anko declared finally. "Report to your designated gates in one hour. Don't be late, or you're disqualified."
She turned toward the shattered window she had entered through, Naruto still cradled against her chest.
"Wait—" Sakura started forward. "Where are you taking him?"
"To the Forest of Death. He needs to see the terrain before the exam starts." Anko's smile was sharp but somehow genuine. "Don't worry, Pinky. I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend. I just... I need to take care of him. It's different from what you feel. I can tell."
"Different how?"
Anko considered the question, her hand still stroking Naruto's hair.
"You want him. All of you do—I can see it in your eyes. You want to be with him, belong to him, have him belong to you." She shook her head slowly. "I don't want that. I want to protect him. Feed him. Make sure he sleeps. Hold him when he's hurting, even if he can't feel the hurt."
Her arms tightened around Naruto.
"I want to be his mother. And I don't know why, but the feeling is so strong I can barely breathe."
Silence fell across the room.
The six girls stared at Anko with expressions that had shifted entirely—from hostility to something approaching understanding. Perhaps even acceptance.
"That's..." Sakura's voice was quiet. "That's actually... we've been trying to take care of him too. But none of us knew how. None of us had the right instincts."
"I do." Anko's voice carried absolute certainty. "I don't know where they came from, but I do. Let me help. Let me be what he needs."
The girls exchanged glances—that silent communication they had developed.
Whatever conclusion they reached, it wasn't rejection.
"Fine," Satsuki said finally. "But we're coming with you."
"The exam—"
"Can wait. If you're taking Naruto-kun somewhere, we're coming too."
Anko studied them for a moment, then shrugged.
"Suit yourselves. Try to keep up."
She formed a hand seal, and in a swirl of leaves, she vanished—taking Naruto with her.
The Forest of Death materialized around them.
Anko had chosen a spot near the perimeter fence, where massive trees cast deep shadows and the sounds of distant predators echoed through the undergrowth. She settled onto a large root, positioning Naruto between her legs with his back against her chest.
Her arms wrapped around him from behind, and she rested her chin on top of his head. The position was protective, encompassing—maternal in a way that felt both natural and completely inexplicable.
"There," she murmured. "That's better."
Naruto observed his new position with clinical detachment.
He was essentially sitting in her lap, surrounded by her warmth, her chest pressing against the back of his head like an oversized pillow. Her arms crossed over his chest, holding him securely without restricting his movement.
It was... comfortable.
Physically comfortable, at least. The emotional component that should have accompanied such an embrace remained absent.
"You're too thin," Anko said, her hands moving to assess his frame. "And your muscle development is uneven—you've been training without proper nutrition. When was the last time you ate a real meal? Not ramen. Actual food."
"I don't track such details."
"That's what I thought." Her voice carried disapproval that was somehow warm rather than harsh. "Starting today, that changes. I'm going to make sure you eat properly. Sleep properly. Take care of yourself properly."
"That seems excessive."
"It's necessary." Her arms tightened around him. "You've been alone too long, doing everything yourself. Let someone else carry the burden for a while."
Six swirls of leaves announced the arrival of the other devoted girls, each one having apparently followed Anko's shunshin through sheer determination.
They arranged themselves around the root where Anko sat with Naruto, their positions forming a protective semicircle.
"You're fast," Temari observed, slightly out of breath.
"ANBU training." Anko didn't look up, her attention focused entirely on Naruto. "Among other things."
Sakura moved closer, studying the way Anko held Naruto. "You really do act like a mother."
"It's the only way I can describe what I'm feeling. This overwhelming need to nurture, to protect, to care for." Anko's hand resumed its gentle stroking of Naruto's hair. "I've never felt anything like it. I've never wanted children, never had maternal instincts. And now suddenly I can't imagine anything more important than making sure this boy is safe and healthy and... loved."
"He can't feel love," Satsuki said quietly. "He's told us. The capacity was destroyed."
"Then I'll feel it for him. Until he can feel it himself." Anko's voice was fierce. "Someone should have done this years ago. Someone should have held him like this when he was small, when the village was hurting him, when he needed it most."
"No one did," Naruto said, his voice flat. "The option was not available."
"I know." Anko's arms tightened. "And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that no one was there for you. But I'm here now. We're all here now."
She looked up at the six girls surrounding them.
"I don't know what's happening to us. This transformation, this devotion—it doesn't make sense. But maybe it doesn't have to make sense. Maybe what matters is that he finally has people who care about him. People who won't leave him alone."
"We're not leaving," Hinata said softly. "Ever."
"Neither am I." Anko pressed a kiss to the top of Naruto's head—gentle, maternal, utterly devoid of romantic undertone. "You're stuck with all of us now, kid. Hope you're ready for that."
Naruto processed this declaration without emotional response.
Seven women, all transformed, all devoted—six romantically, one maternally. A support network he had never requested and didn't know how to process. Care and affection directed at someone incapable of receiving them.
He should probably object. Should probably explain that their efforts were wasted on him, that he couldn't give them what they wanted, that their devotion would never be reciprocated.
But objecting required effort.
And the warmth surrounding him—Anko's arms, her chest against his head, her hands in his hair—was not unpleasant.
"The exam begins in forty-seven minutes," he said instead. "We should prepare."
"Always practical." Anko's laugh was warm. "Fine. We'll prepare. But after this exam is over, you're coming home with me. I'm going to cook you a real meal, make sure you get actual sleep, and start undoing years of neglect."
"I don't require—"
"I don't care what you require. I care about what you need." Her voice softened. "And what you need is someone to take care of you. Someone who isn't going to give up just because you can't feel anything. Someone who'll keep trying until you remember what it's like to be loved."
The six other girls nodded in silent agreement.
Naruto observed their united determination without any particular feeling about it.
But somewhere in the vast emptiness inside him—in that hollow space where emotions used to live—something flickered.
Not quite feeling.
Not quite recognition.
Just... acknowledgment.
That maybe, for the first time in his life, he wasn't entirely alone.
The thought carried no emotional weight.
But he noted it anyway.