Chapter 5

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"Snivy…"

Hearing the praise from Anko, Snivy's big eyes narrowed into slits, raising its chin slightly with a proud look.

That very human expression of pride made Anko feel loved.

"You're so cute, my Snivy."

Anko picked up Snivy and kept rubbing her face against its cheek.

Knowing that Snivy couldn't bear the sound of her begging for mercy, Anko eventually let go.

"By the way, Fuji, what's going on with the Wood Style used by this Snivy?"

"What kind of creature is Snivy? Will it ever be able to use Wood Style?"

After letting go of Snivy, Anko curiously asked Fuji.

Hearing her inquiry, Fuji was a little stunned.

In fact, when Fuji let Snivy use its Vine Whip, he hadn't thought much about it.

But after hearing Anko mention Wood Style, Fuji realized that the Vine Whip did resemble Wood Style techniques.

Of course, compared to the Wood Style of the First Hokage, Snivy's Vine Whip was far inferior.

"Snivy is a grass-type Pokémon, and although Vine Whip looks like Wood Style, it's actually just a grass-type move."

"In addition to Vine Whip, Snivy will eventually learn other grass-type moves, but it's not exactly Wood Style."

After some thought, Fuji explained.

There are many grass-type moves: Vine Whip, Grass Knot, Leech Seed, which can resemble Wood Style.

But moves like Mega Drain or Giga Drain, for example, don't really have anything to do with Wood Style.

"Grass-type moves?"

Although she had never heard the term, Anko understood the general meaning from the name.

"That's right, grass-type moves. Just like how ninjas have the five nature releases—Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Wind—Pokémon have their own attribute differences, and Grass is one of them."

"What attribute does that Arbok have?" Anko asked.

Fuji sighed.

"That's just because the original generation was too strong…"

Fuji couldn't help but complain.

Wood Style isn't inherently powerful—it depends on the user. As the saying goes, the First Hokage's Wood Style could take on the world, but Yamato's Wood Style was mostly good for landscaping.

It's not Wood Style that's strong, it's the First Hokage.

Still, Fuji was impressed that Anko grasped the concept of grass-type moves so quickly, though knowing her personality, it wasn't too surprising.

Anko was the kind of person who was laid-back and informal.

"That wasn't an Arbok, it was an Ekans, a Poison-type Pokémon," Fuji corrected.

Even though Anko didn't seem interested in Ekans before, maybe now?

"Ekans is Arbok, whatever. Don't sweat the details."

"Poison-type? Poison can be its own attribute? That's such a strange classification."

Upon hearing that Ekans was Poison-type, Anko lost interest again.

After all, to her, poisonous snakes were fairly common as ninja summons.

Plus, Ekans' appearance didn't really appeal to Anko's tastes, so she didn't care for it much.

"It seems like you really like Snivy," Fuji noted.

"Yes, I really do like this Snivy."

Although she wasn't over-the-top with excitement, how could Anko resist a Snivy with "Wood Style" abilities?

Even though Fuji had explained that Vine Whip was a grass-type move, in Anko's mind, it was still Wood Style, just called something different.

"Alright, Fuji, how much for this Snivy?" Anko asked.

"If you're satisfied, this Snivy is of high quality, so the price is 500,000 yen."

Seeing that he was about to make his first sale, Fuji's face lit up with a wide smile.

"500,000? That's the reward for an A-rank mission! Fuji, you really drive a hard bargain!"

Upon hearing the price, Anko's happy expression froze, and she looked a bit displeased.

Though she could afford it, Anko didn't like the idea of being overcharged.

"Anko, this price isn't bad at all. Think about it—this is a creature that can use 'Wood Style.' 500,000 is already very cheap."

Fuji's smile didn't falter.

Anko froze, considering his point.

It made sense. If word got out that there was a creature that could use Wood Style, plenty of people would be throwing money at Snivy.

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