Hidden Leaf Village.
After the turmoil caused by the Nine-Tails, the village's borders gradually stabilized, and a sense of peace returned to Konoha. Everywhere, there was a vibrant and rejuvenated atmosphere.
The police department oversaw a training ground situated right next to the forest, where the sounds of bodies colliding and weapons clashing filled the air.
Within the training ground, Mitarashi Anko was panting heavily, sweat covering her forehead. Her sweat-soaked fishnet shirt indicated her exhaustion as she breathed in the fresh air, mouth agape.
"Yoru... How did you make such great progress?"
On the other side was Uchiha Yoru, wearing a relaxed smile on his face. After a sparring session, it was evident that Anko was reaching her limits, while Yoru seemed invigorated.
"Anko, it's not that I've made great progress. It's just that lately, you seem to have been slacking in your training. Orochimaru-sensei specifically asked me to supervise you," Yoru replied.
Seeing Anko gasping for breath, Yoru's smile widened. She was the perfect person to use against Orochimaru, who would undoubtedly clash with the older generation of Konoha's politicians. Her influence would undoubtedly be significant.
With Orochimaru's departure, his political influence had collapsed. Anko was one of the first to be affected, and a once-promising genius had now fallen from grace.
Since Orochimaru's departure, Anko seemed to have stagnated in her growth. Even in later stages, she was still using the techniques Orochimaru had taught her. It was evident that she hadn't made much progress in all these years.
Yoru knew that Orochimaru's failure was inevitable, but he didn't want it to lead to a complete collapse of Orochimaru's influence. That would also affect his own identity.
"Tch, always listening to Orochimaru-sensei's incessant muttering, I wonder what he's researching."
Seeing Anko's annoyance with Orochimaru's recent mysterious behavior, Yoru couldn't help but smile even wider. She was still quite innocent, and perhaps that's one of the things he liked about her.
"Anko, Orochimaru-sensei told you to follow me in daily training from now on. Of course, you can slack off if you want," Yoru teased. "By the way, my own disciple, Itachi, may only be six years old, but his progress is remarkable. He might not surpass Kakashi immediately, but it won't be long before he graduates."
Anko's innocence came from being sheltered under Orochimaru's wing, but it didn't mean she was foolish.
Seeing Yoru's teasing expression, Anko rolled her eyes and responded in a nonchalant tone, "Alright, enough of your poor attempt at provoking me. I get it; I'll train hard."
Clearly, she was speaking with a tone of just appeasing him. Yoru smiled and slowly took out a scroll, tossing it to her.
Inquisitively, Anko looked at the scroll, and Yoru said, "Orochimaru-sensei made this training plan for you. Whether you follow it or not is up to you."
One had to admit that Orochimaru, despite his current obsession with research, was a responsible and good teacher. He would never be stingy with training plans and techniques.
As Anko opened the scroll and saw the comprehensive training plan Orochimaru had designed for her, excitement lit up her face. She looked like she had been injected with adrenaline, and with a proud expression, she declared, "Don't worry, Yoru. You might have relied on your Sharingan to make such great progress, but I will catch up to you."
"I am the talented Mitarashi Anko!"
With a proud and confident demeanor, Anko now exuded the aura of a genius. Her natural talent in chakra control and ninjutsu learning was undeniable.
As an old saying goes, the art of politics is about having many friends and fewer enemies. Nobody is foolish enough to offend everyone and put themselves in a situation where they're surrounded from all sides.
In the original storyline, the Uchiha clan had no friends, and Yoru didn't want the Uchiha to repeat the same mistake. He was now using Orochimaru's influence to make friends for the Uchiha, at the very least to avoid making enemies like in the original timeline.
"Anko, you must train diligently. Orochimaru-sensei said these three years are crucial for your physical and chakra development. If you seize this opportunity, you might become a Jonin soon," Yoru advised.
Anko was still young and had an age where she admired idols. Orochimaru was her idol, and the power of idols was immeasurable.
Yoru using Orochimaru's name had indeed ignited Anko's fighting spirit.
For ordinary shinobi, the three years from the age of thirteen to sixteen were considered a golden period. It was a time of explosive growth, both in physical development and chakra control. So, during this period, if possible, ninjas would dedicate themselves to self-improvement.
Missing this golden period would lead to a plateau in strength, and that's why characters like Kakashi, Yūgao, and Anko from the original timeline, despite being considered prodigies, ended up becoming average.
Kakashi was weighed down by the burden of his Sharingan, Yūgao and Anko suffered emotional setbacks due to the loss of their fathers and the defection of Orochimaru, which caused them to miss this golden period.
In the original timeline, the Konoha 12 were all graduates at the age of twelve. After going through the Chunin Exams and the events of the Three-Year Timeskip, almost everyone had reached the Jonin level.
Among the Konoha 12, apart from the protagonist, Naruto, some were no less talented than Kakashi, Yūgao, and Anko. However, it was evident that their growth rate was slower.
Various reasons contributed to this, such as missing the golden period of development and facing the turmoil caused by Orochimaru's defection at the borders, leaving no time for focused training.
The war in the Land of Water was considered over when Shizune returned to Konoha and before the Uchiha massacre.
"Anko, Orochimaru-sensei's training plan is clear. You should focus on chakra cultivation, especially snake-based ninjutsu as the primary and fire release ninjutsu as secondary."
Yoru couldn't let this valuable asset go to waste. Anko was undoubtedly a living force on his side. He couldn't just watch her potential go untapped. With a smile, he said, "Uchiha's prodigy, you better prepare yourself. I'll prove to Orochimaru-sensei that I, Mitarashi Anko, am the real genius here."
Looking at Anko's prideful and heroic character, Yoru's smile grew wider. Time was becoming more pressing, and he needed to have enough political backing when the time came. Otherwise, he would become just a discarded pawn, unable to change anything.
As he was lost in thought, a glint of light flashed in Yoru's eyes, and he smiled faintly, looking at the forest behind him.
~~~
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