Konoha Notes

Chapter 276 Red Bean
Shuji went to the Ninja Academy, attended a class, and incidentally conducted an informal check on Ebisu's eligibility for promotion to Special Grade. However, Ebisu was not the only person Shuji needed to verify his eligibility for promotion.

Inside the ninja apartment, Anko was slurping noodles, while Shuji sat opposite her, doing the same thing.

"I'm full," Hongdou put down her empty bowl of noodles, patted her unchanged belly, and looked at Xiuji. "Captain, what were the specifics of my promotion assessment again?"

“Your promotion is based on intelligence gathering and reconnaissance. What else could it be besides searching for intelligence and finding scrolls?” Shuuji put down his chopsticks. “Since you’ve already reached the stage where you can apply for Special Jonin…”

"Your physical and mental state should have been adjusted to the best level that you can achieve right now, right?"

Hongdou didn't understand, but still replied, "Well, I guess so. No matter how much I improve, it's hard to make any more breakthroughs in physical fitness."

Shuji said, "In that case, I have an idea. Perhaps we can try to help you expand the upper limit of your basic abilities."

The purple-haired female ninja chuckled, "Improving abilities is of course great! Does the captain have any special training methods?"

“You could call it special training,” Shuuji said in a flat tone, “or you could say it was an experiment.”

Hongdou's smile froze for a moment.

The word "experiment" subconsciously reminded her of her former teacher, Orochimaru, and the things he had done.

But looking at Shuji, he nodded emphatically: "I'll do it. Is there anything I need to prepare, Shuji?"

"No need, just follow me."
-
At the old house in the western suburbs, next to the experimental woodland, Xiu Si handed Hong Dou a small slug.

There was another little slug on his shoulder.

"We meet again, Lord Live Slug."

Red Bean greeted us.

"Hello, Red Bean, please try to relax for a moment." The slug climbed onto Red Bean's shoulder. "I will assist you in trying to sense the presence of natural energy."

Following the instructions, Hongdou sat down on the spot, closed her eyes, and adjusted her breathing rhythm.

The slug's body emitted an extremely soft, almost imperceptible glow, guiding Red Bean's spirit to perceive the omnipresent energy in this world.

However, when her mind opened up, the first thing she touched was the curse mark on her own body.

Like a venomous snake awakened, Orochimaru's cold and obscure aura immediately emanated from the cursed seal, instantly engulfing her entire body and bringing a bone-chilling cold and a sense of rejection from the depths of her soul.

Hongdou was suddenly jolted awake from that state of nascent understanding, her eyes snapping open, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead.

“If you intend to gain more power, then Orochimaru is a hurdle you must overcome,” Shuji said. “Confront him directly, and try to understand and even utilize the essence of the power he contains.”

This is why he deliberately mentioned the word "experiment" earlier. Red Bean's application to join the Dark Division shows that she hasn't given up on her pursuit of personal growth.

Therefore, as her captain, Shuuji does not intend to be an obstacle in her path, nor will he presume to choose a seemingly smoother and safer path for her.

But in the ninja world, there are only so many paths to becoming stronger.

If one does not choose shortcuts such as directly using cursed seals and body modification, then one can only seek breakthroughs in other directions.

Given Hongdou's innate talent and current resources, attempting to access and initially perceive natural energy, combined with combat and even future attempts to utilize the characteristics of the cursed seal to solidify her foundation and seek inherent strength, is a feasible path with a relatively clear long-term prospect.

Clutching the faintly burning curse mark on her neck, Anko's hands trembled slightly, her teeth clenched. Shuuji stepped forward and, as he had done before, gently patted her hair.

"Orochimaru himself, and the problem he left behind, will not be a reason to stop you from moving forward."

"Even if it exists now, I will find a way to help you get rid of this problem in the future."

"Whether you want to be an outstanding ninja or achieve something in other areas, it doesn't matter."

"Don't just focus on me and Itachi. Everyone has their own rhythm, their own strengths, and what they truly want to do." His voice was slightly gentler than usual. "Let's end today's attempt here. This kind of training requires you to be able to completely concentrate and eliminate distractions."

He turned to the little slug on his shoulder: "Master Live Slug, you've worked hard."

“No, Shuuji and Lady Tsunade don’t usually need to summon me for help. I’m happy to be able to be summoned to provide some assistance to you,” the slug replied gently.

After saying that, the two little slugs on Xiu Si's and Hong Dou's shoulders simultaneously turned into two tiny wisps of white smoke, ending their psychic state.

Shuji reached out and helped Hongdou, whose limbs were still a little weak, to stand up.

“Captain…Shuji…” Her voice was very soft.

"Ah."

"Orochimaru... I used to think of him as the epitome of a wise and incredibly powerful ninja, the kind I admired." Anko murmured, her gaze drifting, as if she were looking back through time and seeing her past self.

"That's why when he betrayed you, when he left you with this kind of thing like discarded waste... you felt so much pain and such intense anger and resentment."

“It’s alright,” Shuji replied simply.

"I... don't really crave power itself that much." Feeling the reassuring warmth from the arm supporting her, Anko said softly, "It's just... I feel like I'm falling further and further behind the captain and Itachi."

"I don't know where else I can be of use."

"I wonder... if one day I'll be abandoned by everyone because I'm too useless, and become... all alone again."

He gently patted Hongdou's head.

"Don't think about these unnecessary things, because they won't happen."

The purple-haired female ninja raised her head, looked at his expressionless yet incredibly reassuring face, and nodded heavily.

"Shushi."

"what happened?"

“I want to do this kind of training again,” her eyes hardened. “Next time, I’ll be better prepared.”

"Then continue."

"Hehe," Red Bean twitched the corners of her mouth, trying to regain her usual composure, "No matter what, becoming stronger is always a good thing, right? As for what I really want to do in the future... it's not too late to find the answer when the future is actually here."

(End of this chapter)