Chapter 33

Given that even my sensory abilities couldn't detect any human presence inside, and the girl's mother is definitely a kunoichi, according to what I've heard, this is a very troubling sign. Although there's something at the edge of my sensitivity, even people with an undeveloped chakra system are usually sensed better. Strange…

— Yes, ka-chan could barely move around the house, so she couldn't have gone anywhere, — the little girl said anxiously, starting to sniffle and on the verge of tears.

— Hmm, then we'll do this like real shinobi, — I said with a conspiratorial squint, watching Anko's face light up immediately and her almost vibrating with anticipation.

Ah, I had forgotten how easily children can be distracted by something exciting. Not wanting to disappoint the little one, I lifted my right index finger and formed a short pillar of glowing blue chakra, causing her to gasp in awe.

— And now we insert it into the keyhole and…, — transforming the chakra inside the lock, I turned my hand until it clicked and pulled out a nearly exact replica of the appropriate key, — we open the door!

After wiggling the handle of what seemed to be an open but resistant door, I looked questioningly at the giggling child.

— There's also a latch, — the little girl said with a huge smile.

Smirking with a touch of arrogance to further delight my little companion, I formed a thin blade and slipped it into the barely visible gap between the frame and the edge, sliding it up from the bottom until I met some resistance and heard the metal clink on the other side.

— There you go! No latch can stop a real shinobi! — I triumphantly grinned, playing to the audience.

Anko happily jumped up and down, clapping her hands and laughing, while an elderly man sitting on a bench across the street shook his head disapprovingly, though I noticed a twinkle of amusement in his squinting eyes.

— Well then, welcome home, — I said, flinging open the door, — time to check on your mom.

Despite this, I was the first to enter.

— H-hey, is anyone home? — I called out into the silence, then turned to the little girl. — Where could your ka-chan be?

— She's been feeling very unwell lately and has hardly gotten out of bed, — Anko said, her mood instantly darkening as she grabbed my pant leg and pulled me further into the house.

I took off my sandals at the threshold and only then allowed myself to be led, as the thought of a little girl weighing no more than fifteen kilograms pulling a hundred-kilogram body behind her could only bring a smile, but not reflect the actual situation.

Dragging me through a small, cozy living room, the little girl determinedly headed for one of the two noticed doors, ignoring the staircase leading to the second floor and another corridor on the other side, and I followed her, clearly wrinkling my nose at the smell of illness and unwashed body.

— Ka-chan, I'm home! — she announced brightly, flinging open the door to… a bedroom.

— A-Anko-chan? — the weak, sleepy whisper coming from the double bed confirmed that the house was indeed inhabited.

However, the fact that I sensed less chakra from the woman lying on the bed than from the smallest animals… Upon closer inspection, I barely restrained a curse from escaping my lips — the person lying on the bed could be called many things.

A girl, a teenager, with some stretch a young woman, but not a fully developed woman. Although her pitiful state, literally a living skeleton still covered in skin, still hinted at once-present significant feminine attributes. Anko's mother turned out to be very young.

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