Chapter 99: Soothing Control
"It doesn't look like she's injured—more like a forced self-protection shutdown. What exactly happened?"
Mizuki was fairly familiar with Anko Mitarashi. If she was unconscious like this, the curse mark was likely the biggest culprit.
"It's nothing else," Yamashiro Aoba replied. "The fighting was intense, and she exhausted her chakra. Then this happened."
"The thing on her neck—is it always this active?" Mizuki frowned.
The Evil Sealing Method was still working, but clearly it wasn't fully suppressing the curse mark's activity. Lines of sealing runes shimmered faintly—no longer spreading, but still pulsing with an unwillingness to lie dormant.
Mizuki wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Anko had received her Heaven Curse Mark long ago, but had never shown particularly outstanding performance afterward. Eventually, she was discarded by Orochimaru. As for things like entering the Curse Mark Stage Two state—Anko had never come close. After all these years, it was hard to say if the mark had changed.
He reached forward and gently touched the curse mark on her neck with his right hand.
"Compared to the surrounding skin, it's only slightly warmer. No other abnormalities…"
Even Mizuki's own prototype curse mark—once unstable—was now so controlled that being near an active Heaven Curse Mark evoked only a faint resonance, no longer any agitation.
"Has anyone else come to check on her?"
"Elder Shimura Danzō was just here…"
"Hm?" Mizuki was visibly surprised. "Why would he come here?"
"Could he be trying to assess Orochimaru's condition through Anko? Does this mean Danzō also understands the curse mark? Looks like his connection with Orochimaru goes deeper than I thought…"
Aoba shook his head. "I don't really know. When Sasuke and the other genin returned earlier, Danzō was there too. He seemed like he wanted to take Sasuke with him, but it didn't work out."
"Oh? Who stopped him—Kakashi?"
"Yeah." Aoba nodded. "People from that place always make everyone uneasy. No one really wants to get involved unless absolutely necessary."
Mizuki knew "that place" meant Root. Not many people knew of its existence, but those with decent connections were aware. Aoba clearly belonged to the well-connected crowd.
"This is something for Kakashi to worry about," Mizuki said, unwilling to speak too much on Konoha's darker side. "What about those two Sand ninja? Especially the One-Tails Jinchūriki?"
"They're in the hospital. Elder Danzō tried to interfere, but was stopped by the two advisors."
"I see…" Mizuki nodded. "Could've been worse."
As the surrendered enemy, outright eliminating or capturing a Jinchūriki was a serious provocation, likely to draw backlash from other villages—especially now that Konoha was already heavily wounded. This wasn't the time to stir up more trouble. Danzō's typically heavy-handed methods could lead to disastrous consequences, which was exactly why Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane wouldn't allow it. With victory secured, gaining more diplomatic leverage was far more valuable than attempting something reckless with prisoners or tailed beasts. In times like these, soft power was the superior path.
"That can be discussed later," Aoba said. "What about Anko? Do you have a way to help?"
"There is a way. It won't solve the root problem, but it'll be enough to stabilize her for now." Mizuki replied. "Though honestly, I feel like I'm being shortchanged here. She doesn't seem like the type to repay favors."
Anko wasn't in life-threatening danger. Even if Mizuki did nothing, she'd just be unconscious for a few more days and need more time to recover.
"Well, the village needs all hands right now. Getting her back on her feet and freeing up a bed is good enough."
"Why are you so concerned anyway? You're not even that close, are you?"
"Well…" Aoba rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Let's just say it's a comrade's bond. Without her help, I probably wouldn't have made it back. Just paying her back."
"Up to you," Mizuki said with a shrug. "But I remember you still owe me a meal from our return from the Land of Waves. Another favor before clearing the old one?"
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Once Hayate wakes up, let's all have a big feast."
"That works too." Mizuki was about to joke more, but restrained himself. "It's been over half a month. She should be waking up soon."
Based on Mizuki's calculations, once the sealing effect wore off and her condition was good, she should regain consciousness soon. But if she didn't in the next few days, it might mean trouble.
Mizuki pulled out a sealing scroll.
"I was well-prepared, gathered a ton of chakra for this. Turns out I didn't need as much as I expected…"
He first injected a large dose of nutritional supplement into Anko's body, then deployed a chakra-isolating barrier around her.
"That's it?" Aoba asked in surprise at how quickly Mizuki finished.
"You thought it'd be hard?" Mizuki replied, cleaning up. "The tricky part isn't the application—it's creating the barrier in the first place. Let's put it this way: if you poured in all your chakra, you might keep it up for one minute."
"You really do like inventing weird stuff." Another voice suddenly chimed in—Kakashi had arrived.
"You've settled Naruto and Sasuke?" Mizuki asked.
"They're both in the hospital. Thankfully, they'll be okay." Kakashi replied. "Judging from their condition, it must've been a hell of a fight."
"Good to hear. For two kids to take down a Jinchūriki—Kakashi, even you couldn't manage that, right?"
"Probably not," Kakashi admitted. "Thanks for taking care of them—especially Sasuke."
After hearing Sasuke's full account, Kakashi was truly grateful. Mizuki had risked his life to rescue Sasuke from Orochimaru. Not everyone had the courage to face that monster, even if he was injured and weakened. Sasuke might not understand, but Kakashi certainly did.
"Just doing my job. No need for thanks," Mizuki replied. "Though that kid's got an attitude. Anyone else would've been driven nuts by now. More importantly, that curse mark—he's your responsibility from here on."
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I don't have much choice, do I? Comes with the teacher title. Speaking of seals, you applied that one on the One-Tails, didn't you? The sealing team had a hell of a time undoing it. Your sealing skills are far beyond mine now."
"The sealing team? Did you see Kotoba?"
"Yeah, she was there. Looks like she's okay."
"That's a relief." Mizuki felt a weight lift from his heart. Despite everything spiraling beyond expectations, at least Kotoba—his fiancée—was safe.
As Mizuki was about to say more, he noticed both Kakashi and Aoba were staring past him. Realizing something, Mizuki turned.
"Of course. She woke up while we were talking."
The barrier's power was stronger than expected. Its repelling effect against external energy was immense. With enough chakra, Mizuki could theoretically create a miniature version of places like Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, or Shikkotsu Forest. Such barriers had obvious pros and cons—difficult in theory, but not impossible. The real downside was the absurd chakra consumption, which made them impractical for normal use.
However, for containment or isolation, they were perfect.
Anko's curse mark and her body's natural recovery had reached a delicate equilibrium. Once the barrier suppressed ambient energy, it tilted the balance just enough to subdue the curse mark. Combined with a mild stimulant in the nutrient mix, she regained consciousness swiftly.
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