The atmosphere in the living room suddenly grew quiet, and Anko couldn't help but frown.
She nudged Aoba with her knee, "Say something, otherwise it's just awkward silence."
'Awkward? I was already thinking of finding an excuse to leave.'
Aoba was a little speechless. Even though Yugao had gone out on a mission, Konan and the others were still at home.
She hadn't even come out to take a look yet.
"Do you take commissions the same way, three days of fishing, two days of drying nets?"
"In your eyes am I really that lazy?"
Anko rolled her eyes at him, "I just like taking missions I'm interested in. Missions that are too boring or too hard, I don't accept."
"Then doesn't that mean there aren't many missions you can actually take?"
"What would I do with so many missions? As long as I have enough money to eat dango, that's fine."
Anko looked completely unconcerned. But then another thought popped into her head. She suddenly leaned closer to Aoba and asked, "What if I became a teacher at the ninja academy? Might be more interesting than taking missions."
"?", Aoba's mind suddenly flashed with the image of Mitarashi "Sweet Potato" Anko.
In Boruto, Anko really did become a ninja academy teacher, and had a good relationship with Chocho, the daughter of Choji.
'So she was already thinking about it this early, huh.'
But it was normal. After all, the prime years of an ordinary ninja only lasted a few short years. When they got older, they naturally had to consider a way out.
Only a few could maintain their peak for a long time.
Like Onoki and Chiyo, or Sarutobi Hiruzen.
'Well, he's dead now, let's not make fun of him.'
Aoba could only sigh at how fate treated people differently.
Clearly, they were all disciples of the Sannin.
Namikaze Minato, as Jiraiya's student, became the Fourth Hokage. He himself, as Tsunade's disciple, would probably be the next Hokage.
And Anko, as Orochimaru's student, was already considering retirement.
Of course, it wasn't really Anko's fault.
She should have had a bright future.
But soon after, Orochimaru defected. Not only was her talent wasted, the cursed seal he left became an obstacle to her growth.
Special Jonin was already her ceiling.
The only question left, would Anko really turn into a Sweet Potato?
"What's with that look?", Anko noticed the offense in Aoba's expression.
"Nothing," Aoba turned his face away.
Anko grabbed his face and pulled it back, "Tell me clearly, what's wrong with me being a teacher?"
Aoba looked a little awkward, "I just think, if you want to be a teacher, maybe you should eat less dango."
"Why?", Anko didn't understand.
"Because if you stop going on missions, and don't mind going from Anko to a Sweet Potato, then by all means keep eating," Aoba said meaningfully.
Anko froze, then viciously pinched his face, "So you're saying I'm fat?"
"I didn't. I only suggested you eat a little less dango," Aoba quickly denied it.
But Anko didn't listen at all, "Sure, I like dango, but I'm not fat. If you don't believe me, touch my waist!"
As she spoke, she directly pulled Aoba's hand and pressed it against her waist.
The loose nightgown tightened.
Aoba's eyes went wide in shock.
"You're really not fat."
'Didn't expect Anko to have such a slim, firm waist.'
'Not on Tsunade's level, but still impressive.'
"See! I told you, I could never be fat," Anko looked proud.
"Well, it was only a suggestion. I gave you what you wanted, so I should go now."
Aoba pulled his hand away from her waist and stood up from the sofa.
"In such a rush to leave?", Anko looked at him with dissatisfaction.
"I just got back today. I haven't even gone home yet," Aoba explained.
"You can go home anytime. Why not stay and keep me company?", Anko winked at him, deliberately tugging down the strap of her nightgown.
Aoba really did stop, his eyes settling on her neck.
"..."
Seeing him staring without blinking, even the bold Anko suddenly felt a little guilty.
She shrank back, the strap she had pulled down sliding back into place. She spoke seriously, "Ahem… you should go for now. Some things… can't be rushed."
"..."
Aoba knew she misunderstood. He hadn't been staring at her neck, he was looking at the cursed seal above it.
"Does that thing hurt?", He pointed to the mark on the back of Anko's neck.
Anko froze, instinctively covering it with her hand, "Mm… sometimes it hurts, but after so many years, I've gotten used to it."
Anko answered carelessly. She was good at enduring.
Aoba was silent for a moment, "Pain is pain. It's not something you can ignore just by getting used to it."
"What can I do? Even Tsunade-sama doesn't have a solution," Anko looked helpless.
"Let me take a look."
"Eh?", Anko blinked, confused.
But Aoba had already sat back down. He put his hands on her shoulders, turning her so her back faced him.
Then he placed his hand on the cursed seal, quietly sensing it.
Anko's cursed seal was an immature one. Other than being able to use the pain to sense Orochimaru's location, it had no real positive effect.
Well… if constantly draining her stamina so she didn't turn into a Sweet Potato counted, maybe that was a benefit.
While Aoba analyzed, Anko just felt strange.
Being touched on such an intimate spot by a younger boy gave her a heated feeling.
After a while, Aoba let go.
"Did you think of a way?"
"No."
Aoba answered bluntly.
But Anko's face didn't show disappointment.
"But I temporarily sealed it. It shouldn't flare up for a while," Aoba added.
"Really?"
Anko was surprised. She grabbed a mirror and checked. Sure enough, there was an extra ring of markings around the cursed seal.
"Aoba, you really helped me a lot. How should Oneechan repay you?", Anko's mood brightened.
"No need for now. Let me study it some more, maybe I can help you solve it completely," Aoba thought, 'Or better yet, just find Orochimaru directly.'
"...", Anko fell silent.
"But I really have to go now," Aoba said again.
"Why?"
"Kurenai-nee's treating us to yakiniku later."
The moment Anko heard that, her gloomy mood instantly vanished, and her eyes lit up, "I'm coming too!"
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