Chapter 154: Light Bulb
Several figures shuttled rapidly through the treetops, startling a few roosting birds.
"Lord Shi, aren't we going to rendezvous with Atsui?"
"No need. He's taking a different route; someone is there to meet him," the blond young man explained without looking back.
"Originally, our side was supposed to be the bait to hold back Konoha. But clearly, something went wrong on Atsui's end."
As he spoke, Shi glared at Darui, who was beside him.
"Sigh, you really hit the nail on the head. Being too young really doesn't work..." Darui guiltily averted his gaze and looked at Katai in the center of the squad.
On his shoulder, Katai was carrying a fainted girl.
"At least we won't be returning empty-handed."
Before the words even faded, a sheet of white light suddenly erupted behind them.
Everyone turned back instinctively.
They saw a massive pillar of white light at the edge of the horizon tearing through the clouds, shooting straight into the firmament.
Even from such a distance, the terrifying pressure still made people's hearts jump.
Rumble—
A thunderous roar reached their ears several seconds later.
"That is..."
"Shiranami is finished." Shi narrowed his eyes. "Too fast. It seems Konoha still has capable people..."
Before long, a figure caught up from behind and to the side.
"Nurui!"
"Don't stop, keep running." Nurui panted heavily, sweat beading on his forehead. "There's no time to set up more traps; pursuers could catch up at any moment."
No one spoke again, just silently quickened their pace.
...
"Hiss... That Void Cannon blast was really something..."
In the clearing, the En no Gyoja lay limp in front of Haruko, already unconscious, his breathing faint.
Having forcibly suppressed Heavenly Fury Eruption for so long and then used such a large-scale Ninjutsu, this Old Man, who was already in the twilight of his years, was completely burnt out.
Looking at Haruko again—
"What do I call this? Sage Mode Chakra?"
Just from the appearance, he looked like a bright silver light bulb right now.
His body was full of power, with an enhancement level far higher than Sage Mode.
And Haruko could feel that some kind of change had occurred within his body.
"Hey, Old Man, you're not allowed to sleep here."
Haruko tried to heal him with Mystical Palm Technique. The En no Gyoja's complexion improved slightly but he did not wake up, so he simply picked him up to go rendezvous with Tsunade.
...
The air was still filled with the smell of dust scorched by high heat. The circle of Konoha Jonin around them looked at Haruko as if he were a monster, their whispers low but still drilling into his ears.
"Shikotsumyaku... isn't that the Kekkei Genkai of the Taketori Clan? I never expected that the employee of the Ramen Shop would be..."
"Was that pillar of light guided by him? If that were fired at an enemy..."
"Hokage-sama has always valued Haruko. I didn't understand it before, but now I do."
Haruko pretended not to hear, carried the fainted En no Gyoja a few steps to Tsunade, and placed him on a stretcher nearby.
"Master, do you think this Old Man can still be saved?"
Tsunade quickly checked him over and frowned.
"He won't die, but his vitality is severely overdrawn... Anyway, send him to the hospital first. He should wake up after a few days of rest."
The medical Ninja carried the person away. Tsunade glanced at the light bulb beside her and turned her face away: "Your new look is quite unique, isn't it?"
"I didn't want this either." Haruko scratched his head, troubled. "It must be because too much Natural Energy has accumulated. I need to find a place to 'boom' it out."
Just as he wanted to find a place to release the excess energy, Haruko came face-to-face with the Third's old face.
The Old Man was directing the cleanup work. Noticing Haruko's gaze, he gave him that signature kind smile.
Haruko felt his scalp tingle—no need to think, he knew this Old Man would double his workload after this.
Not giving the Third a chance to speak, Haruko turned and slipped away.
...
Anko stood on the outskirts of the crowd, twisting the hem of her trench coat with her fingers.
Her gaze had been glued to Haruko, but every time he turned, she would shift her eyes away.
As Haruko walked out of the crowd, she followed him subconsciously.
Her hand raised and lowered repeatedly. She opened her mouth several times, but not a single word came out.
"What is it, Anko-sensei?"
It wasn't until Haruko stopped and stood in front of her, his face wearing that habitual lazy smile.
"Still crying about breaking my arm? It's no big deal. See, it's all healed."
He flexed his arms to show he was healthy.
"You...!"
Anko turned red to her neck instantly, not knowing if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Who, who is crying!" Her voice rose a few decibels, then quickly dropped, looking around like a thief. "I was... that was..."
"That was what?"
"I was because..." Anko suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Haruko's collar, then immediately relaxed her grip. "I wanted to ask you, why did you never tell me you had Shikotsumyaku?"
"You never asked, did you? Besides, in that situation, if you hadn't acted, he would have flattened the arena. Your judgment was correct."
"It was thanks to that move of yours that Shiranami let his guard down, allowing me to complete the setup and succeed in the sneak attack." Haruko raised his hand and wiped the corner of Anko's eye. "You did well, Anko-sensei, really."
Anko looked at him blankly, her eyes reddening again unhelpfully, and she hugged Haruko.
"Don't call me sensei... You're the one who saved me."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, barely audible. "You have to practice the Cursed Seal with me later. I don't want to again..."
With the soft, fragrant body in his arms, Haruko didn't feel the usual heat this time.
He gently hugged Anko back, their heartbeats gradually synchronizing...
"Haruko! Are you okay?"
Taketori Sanuki squeezed out of the crowd and walked over with long strides. He didn't pay attention to the atmosphere between the two, looking Haruko up and down.
"You used 'Dance of the Seedling Fern', how does your body feel? Any discomfort?"
"Haruko?" Anko let go of Haruko upon hearing this and started feeling him up and down. "Does that move have any side effects? Are you okay?"
"Tsk... don't worry, my body is fine. He's afraid I'll get the Bloodline disease."
"Uh, as long as you're okay..."
Sanuki paused, his eyes rolled, and a smile piled up on his face, though it looked somewhat lecherous no matter how one looked at it: "Although your body is fine, look how dangerous today was? This matter of leaving descendants cannot be delayed..."
"You Old Man, what are you saying?!" Anko exploded on the spot.
Sanuki looked Anko up and down, his eyes lighting up: "Haruko, if you like her, this one is fine too! Her physique is great, the kids born would definitely be healthy!"
"Haruko, with your bloodline purity, you don't have to find a girl from the clan, the children born would also..."
"What nonsense are you talking about! I, I only have a student-teacher relationship with him..."
Anko said that, but her eyes couldn't help but drift to Haruko's face, her blush reaching her earlobes.
"Stop, stop, stop, Patriarch, let's talk about this later."
Haruko raised his hand to interrupt this farce that was about to escalate.
Although Sanuki wanted to persuade him more, he swallowed his words after seeing the many Konoha Ninja with their ears pricked up nearby.
"Fine, fine... You rest first, we'll talk about this slowly later..."
After sending Sanuki away, before Haruko could catch his breath, Shizune ran over in a panic.
"Haruko!"
Her forehead was still sweaty, and she asked breathlessly, "Have you seen Karin? She was still helping me treat the wounded during the chaos just now, but when I turned around, she was gone! Did you send her to take shelter?"
Haruko was stunned and looked subconsciously at the figure not far away.
"Kagero?"
"Only Uncle Teuchi, Ayame, Kaguya Kaede, Kin Tsuchi, and Tayuya entered the basement,"
Kagero shook her head,
"No one else."
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