After that, Anko spoke about how she had become Orochimaru's disciple as a child, how he had used her for human experimentation, and how he had ultimately abandoned her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before. I didn't want you to get caught up in the trouble."
"The truth is, I've always been looking for a chance to get revenge on Orochimaru, even if it meant dying together with him."
"But when I actually had that chance before, I got scared."
Anko trembled slightly and said, "I was afraid I might never see you again, afraid that if I left without leaving you a child, you might forget me... It was only then that I realized, I'm someone who is loved now."
"Ryun-kun, now that I've told you everything, you still like me, right?"
Facing Anko, who seemed on the verge of tears, Ryun naturally knew what to do.
He kissed Anko's lips, warmly soothing her heart, and only stopped when her eyes grew hazy and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Ryun held Anko, placed her on his bed, and returned to the living room, where he saw Yūhi Kurenai's knowing smirk.
As soon as she opened her mouth, it was full of jealousy: "I was wondering where you'd gone off to, turns out you were being intimate with Anko. By the way, which do you think tastes better, me or Anko?"
Kurenai was still in the passionate phase of her relationship with Ryun, so seeing him so infatuated with Anko naturally bothered her.
However, Ryun was skilled at resolving her issues, and by the time Kurenai came to her senses, it was already midnight.
After over a dozen rounds of pleasure, even her fingertips were trembling slightly.
Although she was a jōnin, she wasn't known for her stamina, and this guy Ryun was like a monster; she no longer had the strength to think about anything.
Only then did Ryun gently pat Kurenai's bottom and say, "Anko ran into Orochimaru earlier."
"Ah!"
Kurenai's eyes flew wide open, and she tried to sit up, but ended up lying back down, holding her lower back.
She glared at Ryun, annoyed, and only when she saw his serious expression, not like he was lying, did she hurriedly ask, "What exactly happened?"
Ryun then recounted the details of his battle with Orochimaru, not hiding anything, including the Formless Wave technique.
Both Kurenai and Anko were his women, and the women of his Nojuro clan would all have a baseline of 80 points on their stat sheets in the future, so they naturally qualified to learn the Formless Wave.
Kurenai, originally a master of genjutsu, was even more suited to learning this technique.
When she first heard that Ryun had developed a genjutsu capable of suppressing Orochimaru, Kurenai was full of disbelief.
But then, without Ryun making any move at all, she found herself bound by a large tree. It was only then that Kurenai understood; Ryun had silently and effortlessly activated the Tree Bind Death technique.
"Incredible, how did you do that!"
"This feeling... I understand, you used the Yamanaka clan's secret technique to cast the genjutsu?"
Kurenai was very familiar with Ryun and the people around him, so she quickly guessed the principle.
Ryun nodded, ready to dispel the genjutsu and bring Kurenai back to reality.
But he saw Kurenai, disheveled after their passionate encounter, now bound by the large tree... Mm, quite appealing.
Kurenai also noticed the look in Ryun's eyes, her face flushing as she said, "No, absolutely not. If you dare do anything bad to me again, I'll definitely—... Mm!"
About half an hour later, Ryun dispelled the genjutsu.
Kurenai bit down hard on Ryun's shoulder, only releasing him after her tense body relaxed, then unceremoniously punched him a few times.
"You bastard, after you do something like this, how can I ever use the Tree Bind Death technique again?"
"Cough, then just use it on me."
"Hmph, in your dreams!"
After Ryun did some soothing, Kurenai finally let out a breath and said, "Alright, let's talk business now."
"What are you and Anko planning to do about this Orochimaru situation?"
"Tell the Third Hokage about it and leave it to him."
Kurenai nodded slightly. This was a perfectly appropriate way to handle it, but she had a faint feeling something wasn't right.
"Darling, do you think something major might happen during this Chūnin Exams?"
Ryun wasn't surprised by Kurenai's question.
As a jōnin and a sensory-type ninja, Kurenai had likely noticed something off about the Suna-nin. But Ryun certainly wasn't going to tell her the truth right now.
"Don't worry, we've got the strongest Hokage, the Third, to shield us."
Ryun's tone was flippant. Kurenai rolled her eyes. She naturally knew Ryun still held a minor grudge against the Third Hokage over some previous matters.
But in the current situation, the overall good of Konoha had to come first—After thinking for a while, Kurenai suddenly realized there really wasn't much she could do right now.
Moreover, she only had a vague sense that something was wrong; only the Third Hokage had all the intelligence. She really should follow his instructions.
Kurenai then sighed softly and said, "I hope Konoha can remain peaceful, and that you all can grow up healthy..."
This was originally just a very normal statement, but after saying it, Kurenai's face reddened, and she quickly explained, "I'm not wishing you'd grow up faster, you're already strong enough, I just... Mmm."
The night was still young.
The next day, when Kurenai got up, the sun was already high in the sky.
She covered her face, feeling like she was being a bit too dissolute. If every day was like this, how would she manage in the future?
Just as she was bracing herself to feel the aches and pains all over, she was astonished to find that her body felt completely normal, not a single strange sensation. In fact, she felt full of energy and vitality.
Aside from waking up late, she felt no different from when her physical condition was at its peak years ago.
Kurenai then looked down at the character 'Ryun' on her stomach and suddenly felt it wasn't so conspicuous anymore.
She even struck a few alluring poses to show off her figure, looking at her perfect reflection in the mirror and breaking into a happy smile.
Soon, she tidied herself up and went to the living room, only to find Ryun pulling open Anko's collar, apparently about to do something.
Even though she was already more than satisfied, she couldn't help but tease, "Don't you ever run out of stamina, little brother? Doing this kind of thing so early, have you even had breakfast yet?"
Kurenai was then met with strange looks from both Ryun and Anko, after which Anko said, "We had breakfast ages ago, even did the dishes. Yours is in the kitchen, by the way. I made it myself."
"You're the one who slept in, aren't you? And you're criticizing us? Are you trying to steal my position as the First Wife already, Kurenai?"
Kurenai's face flushed red. She shot Anko a fierce glare, went to the kitchen to get her breakfast, and then noticed Ryun and Anko were examining the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
"Lord Hokage himself placed the seal on this curse mark, so it should be fine. Could it be loosening?"
Ryun shook his head and said, "I'm thinking about whether it's possible to get rid of it for good."
Kurenai was startled, then said seriously, "Theoretically, it can be removed, but we don't know what the consequences would be, so no one dares to do it."
Ryun thought for a moment and understood.
When Anko had the Cursed Seal of Heaven implanted, Tsunade had already left Konoha.
If Anko had experienced some physical anomaly back then from removing the curse mark, there really would have been no one who could solve the problem. Sealing it was the safest method.
But now, Ryun could actually resolve the curse mark.
In fact, the method was quite simple: use the Evil Release Method to release the chakra within it.
The Evil Release Method itself wasn't some mysterious sealing technique; it was just the reverse application of the Evil Sealing Method. And both Kakashi and Kurenai knew the Evil Sealing Method.
The only remaining issue was that resolving it now would arouse Orochimaru's suspicion.
After all, Orochimaru had only just applied the Cursed Seal of Heaven to Sasuke. If Anko's curse mark were removed now, Orochimaru would probably overreact.
"You're right. Let's wait until we have a chance to see Lady Tsunade later and ask her to help."
Ryun brought out Tsunade as a shield, and both Anko and Kurenai nodded, agreeing with this assessment.
In their eyes, even though Ryun had mastered the Palm Healing Technique, when it came to medical ninjutsu, he absolutely couldn't be compared to Tsunade.
The three of them then began discussing the details of the Chūnin Exams and Orochimaru, helping Anko sort out how to report what had happened the previous day.
After that, Anko headed to the Hokage's office.
By midday, Anko returned looking completely bewildered. Seeing her expression, Ryun had already guessed what happened.
"Did the Hokage just say 'noted'?"
Anko looked at Ryun as if she'd seen a ghost, and said, "How did you know?"
Ryun shrugged and said, "With so many foreign ninja in Konoha, the Hokage's ANBU have probably all been dispatched to gather intelligence. They might not be able to catch Orochimaru, but there's no way they found nothing."
Hearing this, both Anko and Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this matter really didn't require their concern.
What they didn't know, however, was that Sarutobi Hiruzen was currently fraught with anxiety, having already fallen into a state of completely isolated and without support.