The Curse Mark.(2)

Tendo ignored Anko's order and used his byakugan to inspect her body to see how his 64 Palms had worked out against her. It seemed that combining the Ice Chakra with his already brutal version of the Gentle Fist enabled him to more than just disable her chakra points, it looked like he had almost crushed and frozen them entirely.

Tendo: 'But it seems that she's been healed though. Hm, even if your chakra points are destroyed at that level it looks like a well-accomplished medical-nin can heal that completely. Seeing it happen in person rather than in the show is even more amazing. I might have to learn a bit about it before I leave this village.'

Anko: "Oi, didn't you hear me Tendo? The Hokage is standing in front of you so show your respect. And what are you looking at with your byakugan?!"

Tendo: "I just wanted to know if you were healed, Anko. So, since you're here im guessing you agree to let me remove your mark?"

Tendo was confident she would agree because he knew that she was easy to manipulate. Characters of this nature that had deep traumas and had nowhere else to turn would be easy to trap, especially for a seasoned manipulator like Tendo.

Tendo: "I mean, there isn't anything to be scared of right? The Hokage is here, and so are his Anbu Black Ops. All of this for little old me?"

Anko: "Why you-

Hiruzen: "Anko! Leave it alone. It doesn't matter if he salutes me or not. I'm not that easily angered to be offended by the stubbornness of a child."

Anko breathed a sigh of defeat and listened to Hiruzen's reasoning. Squinting his eyes at Tendo, he continued:

Hiruzen: "Tendo Hyuga huh? A descendant of an outcast member of the Hyuga and the great-grandson of Tobirama Senju. Did you know your great-grandfather was one of my sensei? Haha! It was a different time back then. Your looks remind me of him. You even have an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. You do know how important you are to the village right? And you have perceptive senses for one so young by even being able to know that the Anbu are surrounding the orphanage. Seems like you're a very skilled shinobi. But, what is your connection to Orochimaru?"

Anko immediately tensed up and prepared to fight as soon as Hiruzen asked this question. They didn't know who or what would pop out tonight so the Hokage told her to act normally while he asked the hard questions. They knew that no Jounin would tell a random kid about the Curse Mark easily so he had to have gotten than information somewhere.

Tendo: 'It seems this old man was intending to test my loyalty to the village by trying to establish a deep familial connection with Tobirama and by extension, me. He was trying to see how I would react. Seeing no reaction from me he then decided to take a more serious approach and ask about Orochimaru directly huh? Wasn't that much of a smart plan but to a normal kid, he would've been found out instantly.'

Tendo: "Orochi-who? Is that some kind of secret project? My only links in this village are the Senju Clan and Anko. Other than that I have no communication with anyone else."

Tendo put on a face of confusion to play like he actually didn't know who he was talking about. This was the most important part of his plan to get the Cursed Seal Of Heaven so he knew he couldn't fail at this point.

Hiruzen: "Boy! Don't play dumb with me. Your parents were suspected of having dealings with Orochimaru and now you're here asking about one of his most heinous inventions, the Curse Mark? You can't blame us for being extremely suspicious of you now, can you?"

Tendo: "My parents? One died protecting this village and the other died having me. How are they suspected of some crime? Have you no respect for the people who fought for this village with their lives?"

Anko: "Tendo! Watch ho-"

Hiruzen: "Anko, enough! Let him talk! Tendo Hyuga, it's not that I don't respect our shinobi who fought with their lives, it's that any involvement with Orochimaru is more than likely detrimental to our village so we want to clear all suspicion. So are you sure you don't have any dealings with this man?

Tendo: "Nope, never heard of him before now."

Hiruzen: "We'll have to take your word for it then. I hope you're not lying to me, Tendo Hyuga."

Hiruzen was extremely serious as he said those words. Although he said he would take Tendo's words to heart, he would station a few Anbu to watch the boys every move so that as soon that the boy slips, they can move on him.

Hiruzen: "Alright, Anko. You heard the boy. What do you plan on doing now?"

Anko: "I'll take whatever he plans to do. After all, I don't have anything to lose."

Hiruzen: "Anko I- Sigh. Alright, go ahead. I'll be here to protect you so don't be afraid."

Anko nodded in understanding and walked towards Tendo, looking down straight into his eyes while wondering what method he would use to remove her curse mark.

Tendo: "Good. If it doesn't work, at least I tried. Go sit on the bed and drop your coat down off of your shoulder a bit. I just need to touch the mark."

Anko: "Okay, but at least can't you tell me what you're going to do with the mark?"

Tendo: "Dont worry, you'll see what'll happen in time."

Anko hesitantly sat on the bed and followed his instructions.

Anko: "I'm ready. Don't you need to draw a seal or anything?"

Tendo: "No. Now just be quiet and let me get it done."

Tendo walked up next to her on the bed and put his hand on her shoulder, activating the Life Steal Technique.

Tendo: 'Now, I just need to make the absorption be very precise by taking the mark, Orochimaru's chakra and the enzymes that Jugo's body had produced. It might be painful for her but that doesn't matter, she could take it.'

[10 minutes later]

Tendo finally took his hands off of Anko and almost fell down to the floor in exhaustion. Such a precise ability of the Life Steal Technique took absurd amounts of stamina from him. Absorbing Orochimaru's chakra was even more stamina draining and it even made his body change in color from a normal pale complexion to an almost white color, resembling Orochimaru's skin greatly. But the biggest change was that on the palm of his hands, the Curse Mark had appeared there.

He could already feel the Mark trying to forcibly use his chakra to activate itself. He knew such power wouldn't be easy to control but the whole point of him taking the mark was to be able to start absorbing and controlling natural energy/sage chakra.

Anko was in extreme pain for the whole session but the only thing left from Tendo's operation was a red palm print on her shoulder. The pain quickly subsided when Tendo removed his hands but she was in awe at what he had done. After closer inspection of his body though, that awe quickly turned into extreme worry.

Anko: "Tendo! What have you done?! Why did you absorb the Curse Mark?! Are you crazy?!