Author Note:
Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!
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At Anko's insistent urging, Guts finally agreed to let her accompany him.
Kurenai considered joining as well, but ultimately chose to stay behind, to take care of Hinata.
Technically, she could have returned Hinata to the Hyuga clan, but she refused on the grounds of, "We haven't taught her anything yet. If Lord Hiashi finds out, how are we supposed to explain that?"
Of course, Guts had a different take. In his opinion, Kurenai had simply grown too attached to Hinata and couldn't bear to part with her just yet.
And so, with that decision made, Guts and Anko set off for Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village, deep within the Land of Water.
They boarded a ship headed toward the sea route leading to Water Country.
But as they approached the nation's coastline, the ship captain beca visibly anxious and refused to go any further.
Thanks to the Water Country's strict isolationist policy in recent years, outsiders weren't welco.
Ships that wandered too close to the borders were often searched, interrogated, or outright seized.
As a result, most boatn refused to make trips anywhere near the coast.
The only reason this captain agreed to bring them this far was because Guts had revealed his identity.
Otherwise, the old man wouldn't have even let them aboard.
As they neared the shoreline, Guts activated his Observation Haki.
"The coast is less than ten kiloters away," he muttered. "We can walk the rest."
Traveling across the water was no problem for Guts. While his chakra control was notoriously ssy and he couldn't use most ninjutsu, aside from the Eight Inner Gates, he could still walk on water and climb trees with ease.
The closer they got to land, the thicker the mist beca. A white curtain of fog enveloped the area, so dense that it beca hard to see beyond a few ters.
"Geez, no wonder they're called Mist Shinobi," Anko muttered, peering through the haze. She had sealed Sahada inside a weapon scroll for concealnt. "This fog's no joke."
"If I wasn't leading you, you'd be lost by now," Guts said without turning his head. "But this isn't natural fog, it's a jutsu. The Hidden Mist Technique."
Anko's eyes widened. "What?! You an this whole thing is chakra-based?"
Guts nodded. "This kind of scale would take at least a dozen shinobi working together."
He narrowed his eyes, which glowed with crimson light. A mont later...
BOOM!
A wave of raw, tyrannical Conqueror's Haki erupted from Guts like a shockwave, sweeping in every direction with terrifying intensity.
Miles away on the shore, over a dozen Mist Shinobi who had been cloaked in fog dropped unconscious, white-eyed and foam-mouthed, overwheld by the sheer force of will.
With their chakra supply cut off, the artificially-created mist began to disperse, revealing the rugged coastline of the Land of Water in the distance.
Anko gasped as the horizon cleared. "Holy crap… You just knocked them out from here? Sensei, you're scary strong!"
She clung to his arm with sparkling eyes, visibly impressed. Guts blinked and glanced at her.
Sothing about her lately had changed. She'd always been clingy, ever since they were younger, but lately, it felt different. More intense. More deliberate.
Was it just admiration?
Or…
Is Anko in heat or sothing?
He shook off the thought.
Once they stepped onto land, they were t with the unconscious bodies of the Mist Shinobi sprawled across the rocky ground, victims of Guts's Conqueror's Haki.
Anko looked at them and grinned. "They're really going this far to keep outsiders out, huh? What's Yagura so afraid of?"
"At the very least," Guts said, surveying the scene, "it ans he has sothing to hide."
"I rember hearing about Yagura a while back. Supposedly, he was a genius, beca Mizukage while still young and could fully control the Three-Tails. Everyone thought he'd be one of the greatest Kage ever."
Anko followed beside Guts.
At that mont, Guts removed both his and Anko's Konoha forehead protectors and tossed them into his bag.
"From the mont we step on this land," he said, his voice low and firm, "we're no longer shinobi of Konoha."
Anko smirked, clearly amused. "Coming from you, Sensei, I didn't expect you to care about sothing like that. I thought you were too fearless to bother with formalities."
"I'm just not in the mood to deal with unnecessary trouble," Guts replied flatly, flicking her forehead with two fingers.
Pak!
"Ow—! You could've just said that!" Anko rubbed her forehead, pouting.
Guts didn't respond. His crimson eyes narrowed as he glanced around, thoughtful.
He had just effortlessly taken down more than a dozen Mist Shinobi scouts, yet the system hadn't made a dent in his Garp template progression. Not even a fraction of a percentage had moved.
So Jonin and low-level Kage aren't enough anymore, he realized. If I want to evolve this to 100%, I'll need to fight soone far stronger—at least peak Kage level or above.
Picking fights with small fry wouldn't cut it anymore.
As twilight lted into night, the mist grew thicker, and the air turned cold.
Guts checked the ti, then looked at Anko. "No point pushing forward in the dark. We'll stop for the night in the next village."
"You're just trying to get out of walking," Anko teased, hands behind her head.
They passed through two nearly abandoned villages before finally finding one with a functioning inn.
The country's strict isolationist policy had suffocated any tourism or trade. rchants from other nations had long since stopped visiting, and most of the local inns had gone bankrupt.
Only a handful of places remained open, propped up by state-funded vendors or quiet dostic travelers.
When they stepped into the inn, the place was eerily silent. The hallway creaked under their footsteps.
Aside from the elderly innkeeper behind the desk, they were the only guests.
"I guess we've got the place to ourselves," Anko said, half-joking, half-creeped out.
"Good," Guts replied, taking the key. "Less noise."
By the ti they settled into their room, the sky outside had gone completely dark.
The chill of the ocean air seeped through the thin wooden walls. Guts lay back on the small sofa in his room, arms crossed behind his head.
Years of sleeping on the road had made him indifferent to comfort. He closed his eyes, and before long, the weight of the day pulled him into sleep.
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