"However, the village never appreciates those who suffer and carry their weight, Don't you think?" Devan insisted; for some reason, his gaze wouldn't leave the bowl full of food in his hands.
There was a brief moment of silence in which Anko simply stared at Devan. She clenched her teeth inwardly. "Wait, this guy…" Anko narrowed her eyes suspiciously, feeling herself grow irritated by Devan's simple words.
"The thing about Naruto…"
"Enough!!!" Anko cut in, standing up. Her sudden movement caught Devan's attention, who lifted his head to look at her. "W-what?" the necromancer showed confusion.
"Speaking that way about the village in front of me isn't appropriate, I…" Anko clicked her tongue, took a small step forward, and looked Devan in the eyes. "I…" she didn't know what to say.
What was she going to say?
Devan hadn't really done anything forbidden; she was the one who got riled up and reacted harshly by yelling. But… Anko placed her hand on her chest and rubbed it slowly, biting her lower lip with a hint of guilt as she leaned slightly forward.
"Even so, speaking that way about the village is intolerable," Anko replied; however, she didn't really feel that way. Deep down, she was angry at the people of Konoha for treating her so poorly after Orochimaru's betrayal.
Anko took a few steps forward, ready to give Devan a small slap. However, for some reason, she couldn't do it.
Deep down, she felt identified with what Devan had said—with those words filled with righteous indignation: "The people in the village mistreat those who suffer for them," Anko repeated in her mind. She looked at Devan's calm face for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry, Devan. I'm stressed today. I'll go to sleep first," Anko said in a low voice before leaving to rest.
As she walked away, she couldn't help but think again about the necromancer's words. "It makes sense," she told herself at that moment. However, she still felt something was off about everything Devan had said for some reason.
Devan, on the other hand, watched her back for a moment before looking down at his bowl again. "Does what I say bother you?" he asked himself with a faint smile. After all, he had been thinking about Anko's words from that morning.
"For some reason, Danzo believes you can influence people's minds and drive them insane," Devan repeated in his head.
"201." He noticed the slight increase of one point on the counter in his mind and couldn't help but smile. His eyes focused on Anko, who was now inside a sleeping bag. A bright smile spread across his face, and he couldn't help but want to hug Anko and sleep beside her.
"After all, thanks for that extra point on the counter…" The necromancer smiled, thinking that maybe if he reached a thousand points in the counter again, he could learn another ability similar to—or even more powerful than—The Rider of the Apocalypse.
The next day.
Explosion
Devan quickly opened his eyes due to a loud explosion that reached his ears. He got up in a rush and looked around, only to realize that Anko wasn't there.
"What the hell?" he cursed in confusion. He grabbed his things and quickly sealed them into storage scrolls before dashing out of the cave.
His steps grew faster and faster, and soon he could almost hear a conversation.
"Soon, things will go back to how they used to be, Don't you think?" The deep, almost malevolent voice of a man could be heard not far away. Devan sharpened his hearing as he cautiously exited the cave.
Outside, morning had already arrived. The forest was gently bathed in the early sunlight, and the surroundings were slightly damaged.
Devan focused and quickly pinpointed where the voice had come from. Not far away, just a few dozen meters ahead, Anko was slightly bent over, blood dripping from the corners of her lips, while in front of her stood a pale-skinned man with long black hair and a terrifying appearance.
The necromancer's eyes narrowed, his expression went pale, and with an almost primal fear, he whispered the name, "Orochimaru."
"Mhehehe, I've been here for a while and you're only just waking up. You really are a dangerous ninja, Huh?" Orochimaru murmured calmly, slightly turning his head to look in Devan's direction.
A chill ran down the necromancer's spine. His face twisted into one of pure, primal fear as his legs trembled slightly.
Just being looked at by that man was enough to provoke a terror that simply seemed illogical. "I-incredible!" Devan said aloud, lowering his head, trembling as he looked at his hand, which was shaking like a vibrator.
"W-what do you want?" Anko asked, still looking more threatening than Devan himself. "What do I want?" Orochimaru repeated, then let out a soft laugh as he looked Anko in the eyes. "Nothing really. I just came to see the boys Danzo sent me."
Anko narrowed her eyes tightly, a look of total surprise passing over her face as she lowered her gaze and let out a small chuckle. "So, it's true, then..." she murmured.
Chapters Ahead on: [email protected]/tgthegoodd
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