Chapter 22

Don't forget, in this story, Anko never saw the darker side of Orochimaru, nobody really did, not the depths he'd actually go to. Anko never got a cursed seal, she still sees him as her sensei, a bit rough around the edges and weird, but still, the one who trained her and took her in. That's also why she's weaker than you'd expect canonically.

Please just keep that in mind.

Chapter 22

"...I'll say it again, the Sharingan is cheating."

Folding his arms, Minato turned away from Akari, moping to himself. Akari was sat cross-legged on the floor with a grin on her face. Minato had obviously hoped to torture er by making absolutely sure her seals were perfect. Even a hair out of line and he would make her do it again. After all, that was how Kushina taught her, so it stood to reason that Minato would adopt her teaching style. But Akari hadn't been idle. Her Fuinjutsu proficiency was incredibly high, meaning seal-writing was something she could do with her eyes closed and a hand tied behind her back whilst playing the harpsichord with one foot.

But what really made seals easy for her was that with one glance, she could perfectly recall exactly how Minato inscribed his Hiraishin seal. Thanks to the fact she could even feel how much Chakra he was putting into his ink at key points, she didn't have to trial-and-error for how much Chakra to insert into the seal. Her very first proto-Hiraishin tag worked a treat, a far cry from when she didn't use her Sharingan to help her learn, spending weeks and months cracking her fingers trying to keep up with Kushina.

The actual transportation via Hiraishin though? Nauseating, to say the least. It felt like being grabbed from behind, pulled suddenly backwards and up, then spun head over heels a dozen times before being spat out the other side, dazed and nearly throwing up. Akari had never had the joy of being transported by Hiraishin before, so she got hit with the full force of the transportation. That at least cheered Minato up somewhat. "You'll get used to it, I know I did." That was all Minato said to placate her when she looked ready to make sure Naruto never got a sibling.

Well, doubly-sure.

"Oh, uh, hi?"

Leaning back on her chair, Akari blinked in surprise as Anko stepped into the room, having heard her approaching, but not knowing who would come visit her at that time. "Hey there Akari. You busy?" Akari shrugged.

"Well, not really, I'm just messing around with a new trick of mine. Why, what's up?" Anko warily eyes the vials and tubes currently on Akari's desk. "Don't worry, I'm not turning into Orochimaru or anything, I just...had a pretty scary idea for a new way to fight." Anko raised an eyebrow in question. "Naw, don't worry about it. Now, what can I do ya for?"

Anko looked uncomfortable for a few moments, rubbing her arm. "I just...you..." She stopped a moment, sighing. "You killed him?" Akari nodded once, confusion on her face. "And...and you didn't have a choice about it?" Akari shook her head.

"He wanted to kill me and experiment on my body. I couldn't just leave, he was too skilled for that to be an option. In the time it'd have taken for me to escape, he'd have killed me three times over." It rankled her slightly to so freely admit that she was weaker than her opponent, but that was the truth, plain and simple. Orochimaru was a Sannin, and she was just Akari. Granted, the Game made her stronger than any 16-year-old had a right to be, but the gap between her and the sannin was far too great.

"...He was the only one to think I could ever actually become something in this world. Even at the top of my class nobody thought I'd ever actually amount to anything, not with no clan backing me, not after my team was failed by a useless Jonin. And then Orochimaru came along. He trained me, taught me how to use snakes as a weapon, even letting me sign the same contract as he wielded. And...to think he was a traitor this whole time..."

Akari stood up, wary to avoid knocking anything over on her desk, then approached Anko, a thin frown on her lips. "Look, Anko, I honestly wish he wasn't as well. He was strong, and even if I may have made a nasty first impression all those years ago during the war, he wasn't...that bad honestly. But...he wanted to torture me for everything I knew on Jutsu, steal my eyes to...'practice with', then steal the Sharingan of another Uchiha while I would be back where we were, dead and unable to do anything to stop him. He wouldn't have just turned around and stopped...sorry."

Being as strong as she was, Anko didn't shed a tear or break down in anger about how Akari should have tried harder. Instead, she nodded, patted Akari on the shoulder, then gut-punched her. "That's for killing him." Then wrapped her in a brief hug. "And that's for making it as quick and painless for me as you could. I know you wouldn't have fought him unless you had to." Akari grinned despite the painful punch Anko just whacked her with, returning the hug before it was broken.

"Well, what would I do if Monty's sitter decided to start hating me?" Anko chuckled, before one of the vials on Akari's desk started bubbling. "Oh, whoops." Akari reached over and knocked the vial off the heat, switching off the burner. Anko made no secret of her curiosity, leaning over her shoulder to peer at the clear liquid. "I wouldn't touch this stuff if I were you, this...isn't pleasant, and that's coming from someone who can literally grow tumors on people." Anko blanched, prompting Akari to explain with a nudge.

Akari set the vial down, carefully avoiding letting any of the fluid splash out of the glass container. "Well, this on its own is inert. But,-" She reached over and grabbed a second vial, placing them next to each other. "-if I mix these two together and get the resulting mixture into your body in any way, the results are hopefully, not pretty. If it worked that is, I haven't gotten a chance to test this yet. And no, do not offer anything you value, including a snake, as a guinea pig." Tapping her chin, Akari snapped her fingers. "Do T&I have any prisoners awaiting execution?"

"We're...got a few."

"Hmm, let's go with...that one!"

Pointing one prisoner out of a small group, all due to be executed for various reasons, Akari rubbed her hands together. She hadn't really delved into poisons or venoms at all beforehand, but after fighting Orochimaru, she decided that maybe trying her own hand at poisons would be effective. As such a new proficiency popped up. What surprised her was how simple poison-making actually was.

Her very first proto-poison worked just fine, her Game telling her that it would do 50 damage a second for sixty seconds, plus a 1% chance to inflict a random status effect. Granted, for her current level, 50hp a second was a drop in the bucket, but the fact that the poison was apparently fully functional surprised her.

She tossed that first poison into her inventory then got to work making other poisons in her spare time. Since she'd only had a few days to practice, the poison she was now holding wasn't as good as she expected she could make, but it would definitely do. The UI when she selected it stated proudly that the poison would do 250 damage a second for one minutes, with a 5% chance to enervate her enemy, 1% chance to paralyze, and a 25% chance of a random status effect.

The poison was strong enough to even kill her in a single hit if she didn't use the Poison Extraction Jutsu on herself to remove it. Anko, just because she was curious, turned out to be a level 37, a pretty high level for a Chunin, low for a Jonin though. Then again, she couldn't really speak, she was made Tokubetsu Jonin at level 30, the average levels were a tad higher than that. Humming to herself, Akari took out a small vial of clear liquid, shaking it once before uncapping it and pouring it across a single Senbon. As the vial fully emptied, Akari got a notification from the game, informing her of an equipment change.

Poisoned Senbon - 250HP/s, 1 minute duration, 5% enervation chance, 1% paralysis chance, 25% random effect chance.

Well, that'd certainly help with keeping track. Placing the now-empty vial back in her inventory, Akari observed the Senbon. Strangely enough, even when she rolled it around and shook it lightly, very little fluid dropped from the weapon. The poison itself was certainly in a liquid state when in the vial, but once poured, it seemed a lot more viscous, sticking to the blade adamantly.

While she did this, the other prisoners were shuffled out of the room, Inoichi Yamanaka himself showing up though was definitely not expected. "Akari-san, good to see you. So, I hear you want one of my prisoners?" Akari rolled her eyes at the current head of T&I. Rumor had it that he wanted to actually leave the job to Ibiki soon and retire to look after his daughter, a sentiment Akari could fully understand.

"Oh please, all these prisoners have already been interrogated and found guilty of one thing or another, they're going to die anyway. Better I make sure this stuff works, otherwise I might apply it one day to someone, expecting them to die, only for them to kill me or a comrade." When Inoichi raised an eyebrow, she crossed her arms. "I'm not turning into Orochimaru mark 2, don't worry. I just want a backup plan in case I'm ever in a tight spot, poisons are a pretty good way to go about it. And if I can refine one that doesn't kill, merely disables, capture orders will go way easier for me."

Inoichi shook his head. "Just keep an eye on yourself. I know these men are due to die, but don't think that means you should take their lives easily. If you started seeing them less as human beings, and more as test subjects..." Akari grimaced.

"I'll start seeing others as test subjects as well if I'm not careful. Don't worry, I don't plan to. Now, can I try this out yet, or am I getting the third degree for more stuff?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow but stepped aside. Sighing, Akari rolled the Senbon in her fingers a few times. With almost casual ease, she flicked her fingers, sending the tiny piece of metal flying towards the bound prisoner, piercing through her leg easily.

Immediately the captured woman began thrashing about, trying to free herself from her bonds and presumably tear out the Senbon before killing everyone she could. Thanks to the fact that T&I were used to this sort of thing, her restraints were far too strong for that, leaving her bound and allowing Akari to take notes on how her poison worked. It definitely inflicted a lot of pain, a single Senbon to the leg wouldn't facilitate that kind of response.

She didn't notice any kind of alternate effect, nor did her Game tell her that any sort of effect had been applied, so presumably she hadn't gotten lucky with an effect this time around. Observing the target, Akari watched her health fall rapidly, going empty after only approximately thirty seconds. Of course, the more health someone had, the longer it would take, plus anyone with over 15,000 health and uninjured could tank the poison entirely. "Impressive." Inoichi spoke, his tone, whilst not entirely approving, was still congratulatory.

"Thanks." Was all she muttered, already turning over other ways to apply and improve her poisons.

I originally had this big thing about how Akari made a super-infectious virus and...turned it into an Omake.

It doesn't fit the story, but I left it here so you can see what I'd written. I'm sorry this is a bit shorter than usual, honestly a bit of a filler feeling in my opinion. I tried to extend it, which is why it's also slightly late, but didn't have the time, I slept in, sorry boos!

Next chapter should ramp straight back up with the action. Akari won't be following those Kumo-nin for long, don't worry.

And please, reviews are delicious, I love receiving them! Please though, if you leave a review, check your inbox up to a day or two after making it, chances are I messaged you with my response! I love hearing back from people!

Please, enjoy this Omake!

Omake: The Rage Virus

Holding herself from giggling and rubbing her hands together in excitement, Akari delicately took the two vials out of their cases under the wary eye of Inoichi, Anko, Ibiki, and an assorted group of T&I agents who came to see what the Crimson Medic had cooked up, and why she needed a prisoner for it.

Pouring the two fluids together inside of a third, much larger flask of glass, Akari took it in one hand, corking the top before mixing it together slowly. "So, uhh, what do you actually expect to happen here Akari?" Anko asked nervously. Akari had been strangely tight-lipped about what her concoction was going to do. With a sigh, she turned her head, both hands still securely mixing the flask. She looked pretty ridiculous with a full face-mask, rubber gloves, apron and goggles on.

But for good reason. "Well, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." Was all she said, going back to mixing. Some of the T&I agents muttered between themselves, some murmuring that maybe it was some kind of truth serum, whilst others decided that it had to be a new poison of some kind. Nobody knew for sure, the only person who had any idea what the fluid was meant to do was Akari herself.

"H-Hokage-sama?!" The old man appeared in the room, surprising many of the agents. He nodded at the one who spoke, then turned his stern gaze on Akari.

"Akari, while I know I told you to take a break for a few hours, when I heard that you had gone to T&I searching for a prisoner who was due to be executed, I knew you hadn't taken the chance to rest. Would you mind telling me what you are planning?" Akari frowned. On one hand, she wanted to keep it a secret, but on the other, it was the Hokage.

Deciding to just ask for the sake of suspense, she put the large flask down, the fluid inside having stayed a clear colour, a thin film of bubbles on the surface. "Well, I don't know if this is going to work, so I wanted to test it on someone, but I can't go out on missions right now, so someone being executed was the next best thing. But I kinda want to keep it a secret, at least until I administer it?" The Hokage puffed on his pipe a moment.

"Will it be dangerous to anyone other than the prisoner?" Akari frowned, tipping her head to the side.

"I mean, maybe? I'm pretty sure I can handle any issues that crop up, but there's a reason I picked the largest observation room for this, so people can stay back." The old Kage frowned in disapproval, but Akari's earnest face won out, leaving him waving her on to do whatever she was planning, taking up residence a short distance away. With his approval, Akari withdrew a hypodermic needle from her apron, taking a few millimetres of the fluid before re-sealing the vial. Just for safekeeping, she put it in her inventory, under the guise of sealing it.

She then spawned a trio of Shadow Clones, handing one the needle whilst the other two withdrew Senbon from their leg-holsters. The clones warily approached the prisoner, whilst Akari stood back with her arms folded. "This is such a dumb idea. "She quietly muttered to herself, watching as the needle was sunk into the man's arm. As soon as the fluid was infected, the clones backed away, the needled discarded into Akari's inventory by the clone before it too drew Senbon.

Within moments the effect of the fluid was clear. The man began thrashing about, his sclera turning crimson as blood-veins in his eyes burst, his mouth frothing with saliva as he frantically ripped and pulled at his restraints, rolling about and trying to escape his confinement. Despite the strong restraints, his left arm popped free, windmilling around in a frenzy. That arm quickly ripped at the restraints across his body, trying to free himself.

Her clones acted quickly, each unleashing several Senbon which punctured the man at critical points, paralyzing his arms. Or at least jamming his muscles from moving. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Akari took one of her own Senbon out, rolling it between her fingers as she approached the paralyzed man. "Well, I guess it was a success." She muttered, flinging the piece of metal at his head.

As she did so, his lips opened, spewing out blood and bile towards her. Using a seamless Shunshin, she deftly avoided the fluid, grimacing as it splattered the floor and wall beside her. As some of the ninja made to get closer, she yelled, a pure booming noise of warning. "DON'T GET ANY FUCKING CLOSER!" All of the ninja, including the Hokage himself, stiffened at her voice. "This...is why I told you I'd have to report this to the Hokage, Anko. One drop of bodily fluid will infect you. The Incubation period is measured in single-digit seconds, the symptoms include burst blood-veins in the sclera, massively increased aggression, over-charge of the adrenal glands, loss of higher-brain function, before eventually, death from exhaustion/dehydration."

The room looked pretty horrified, and Akari couldn't blame them, the idea horrified her as well. She had her music player working away one day, going through songs, when the music for an old movie she'd watched came on. As she listened, she considered maybe, just because she could, trying to recreate what the movie had done. It wasn't her smartest move, making something like that, but she felt like it, and a few days later, she'd done it.

Of course, reality wasn't quite as easy, or at least, her old world, but in this new world, Chakra and Fuinjutsu was the way to go. The fluid she had injected into the subject had been fused with a virus commonly found in the Elemental Nations with the aid of Fuinjutsu. She had then added a few other choice viruses and poxes to the mixture, all of which had symptoms similar to the Rage Virus.

The idea eventually came around to being that perhaps she could inoculate her village and allies against the virus, then use it as a deterrent. Anyone who tried to start another war would be infected, the infection being so absolutely infectious and deadly that nobody would risk it. It was kind of like a nuclear deterrent, but instead of nuclear weapons, it was a biological deterrent.

"Akari...what have you done?" Hiruzen asked, his pipe long forgotten as he stared at the corpse of the prisoner. Akari sighed, bringing out the flask of fluid from her inventory before looking at it carefully.

"I...don't really know either Hokage-sama. This...this fluid could be what the bijuu weren't...peace. In a world where things like...like this exist, who would risk war? A single drop of this into the water supply of an enemy village and within days...the village would be reduced to scattered survivors. But...the risk of it mutating, spreading, wiping out the world?" Akari shook her head.

Maybe increased intelligence wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She was smart, but without the wisdom to know never to produce such a thing...Akari put the flask back in her inventory, shivering slightly before nodding at her clones. A few moments passed before they all flipped through hand seals, spewing flames which incinerated every last scrap of biological waste which was contained within the room.

Within moments, all the flesh, blood and other fluids were scourged clean from the earth. "If I may Hokage-sama, I would like this to actually...not be spoken to anyone. Heck, label this fluid as a Kinjutsu if you want to, but nobody is to recreate what I've done here. Not unless we want to see the world end as we know it." Hiruzen lifted his pipe to his lips, taking a puff.

"Just warn me before you do something like this again, alright Akari?"

Name: Akari Uchiha

Level: 53

Age: 16

Experience: 46,445/53,000

To Next Level: 6,555

Title: Sannin-slayer - Defeating one of the three legendary sannin is no easy feat, but you managed it. Future opportunities unlocked.

Secondary Title: Tokubetsu Jonin - +25% experience gained during solo missions.

Health Points: 11,030 - (100 Base + (Vit x End)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 2106/m - 35.1/s - Vit x End - Halted when afflicted with bleed status.

Chakra Points: 32,620 - (100 Base + (Int x Wis)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 6424/m - 107/s - Int x Wis - Halted when continuous chakra drain Jutsu in use.

Strength - 66

Vitality - 54

Endurance - 39

Intelligence - 73

Agility - 65

Wisdom - 88

Luck - 41

35 Skill Points Available