Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 89 89 : Summoning Beast, RyūChi Cave?

Anko noticed Riku's movent and frowned. "What do you an?"

Riku smiled faintly. "Nothing. I just felt a little strange."

Anko found his words a bit annoying, but decided to tease him anyway.

"You don't seem to like snakes very much. Do they disgust you?"

As she spoke, Anko's hand suddenly transford into several snakes.

Riku tilted his head. He wasn't the least bit afraid of the snakes—he could easily obliterate them with a single bolt of lightning—but seeing Anko's beautiful hands turn into writhing serpents was unsettling in itself.

Seeing the look on Riku's face, Anko laughed. "Are you actually scared of snakes? What's so terrifying about them?"

Without hesitation, Riku casually flicked his wrist, releasing a small burst of lightning. The snakes that had been baring their fangs were instantly reduced to charred ash.

He had precise control over his chakra and made sure not to harm Anko.

"I'm not afraid of snakes," Riku said calmly. "I just don't like them."

Anko glanced at the scorched remains of her snakes and pouted slightly. "You really just zapped my summoned snakes like that... It stings a little, you know."

In truth, those snakes had been summoned using her Summoning Jutsu.

Anko had signed a summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave. The snakes she could summon ca from there, but due to her relatively limited chakra reserves, she had never managed to summon any of the more powerful beasts. At most, she could summon ordinary snakes or use techniques like Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.

Riku honestly found those kinds of jutsu hard to accept.

Anko, still watching him, smiled. "So you really don't like snakes. But honestly, it's not such a big deal. After summoning so many snakes over the years, my body's resistance to poison has beco insanely strong."

Despite her average combat strength, Anko possessed an exceptional tolerance to poison and remarkable endurance.

It was a valuable trait for a ninja.

After all, poison was commonly used in shinobi combat. While ninja had better stamina and recovery than ordinary people, even they had limits.

But for so reason—possibly due to her contract with Ryūchi Cave—Anko's stamina was unusually high.

Riku didn't feel like arguing with her. It wasn't the snakes that bothered him; it was the association with Orochimaru's vile techniques. At first, the idea of a snake Summoning Beast hadn't seed so bad—until he rembered Orochimaru doing the exact sa thing. That alone made it unacceptable.

He had access to the summoning contracts of any of the Three Great Sage Regions, if he wanted them.

But he didn't.

He had no need for a Summoning Beast. His current strength likely surpassed the Sannin already. Maybe if Jiraiya used Sage Mode, they could fight on equal footing.

So to him, having a Summoning Beast didn't matter at all.

Still, he was curious. Glancing over at Anko, he asked, "You've signed a Summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave, haven't you?"

Anko nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Back when Orochimaru was still my teacher, he took into Ryūchi Cave. If it hadn't been for him, I'd probably have been swallowed whole by those snakes."

Riku chuckled. "I've heard there are huge Summoning Beasts in the Three Great Sage Regions. Why are you only summoning little snakes?"

Anko froze for a second, then shot him a look—and saw the playful smirk on his face. She realized he was teasing her.

"Hmph! I just don't have enough chakra, alright? What can I do about that? Besides, those grumpy snakes in Ryūchi Cave are impossible to deal with. Summoning them would just create more trouble."

Riku smiled. "You know, if you trained harder, you might be able to manage it."

Anko shook her head. "It's too late for . I'm already at my limit. I won't be getting any stronger."

Riku leaned against a tree and resud his ditation.

Anko turned to look at him. Sure enough, he had already slipped into a ditative state again.

She laughed quietly. "No wonder you're so strong. You train every single day. With talent like yours, it's no surprise you're already on another level."

Riku smirked. "I just don't have anything better to do. Anyway, why aren't those ANBU here yet? Didn't you say they'd arrive in ten minutes?"

Anko nodded. "Yeah, they're taking their ti. But honestly, I could just go report back to Lord Hokage myself. You don't really need to wait here."

As she said that, she gave him a mischievous smile.

Riku blinked at her, then shook his head. He wasn't angry. "Forget it. Sasuke and the others haven't entered the central tower yet. They probably didn't make it. If I finish the Chūnin Exams alone, I can just proceed straight to the tower."

Anko laughed. "You might as well just say it outright: you're going to be promoted no matter what. I an, if you're taking the exam solo, what kind of test is that? Who could even stand a chance against you?"

Riku leaned back against the tree. "Don't say that. There are still a few decent ninja here."

Anko watched him in silence. With his calm expression and natural poise, Riku looked surprisingly attractive. His real na, Yamato, gave off a more mature vibe than most kids his age, and he was already taller and more composed than his peers.

The longer Anko looked at him, the more flustered she beca.

Strong, good-tempered, good-looking, and not even that much younger than her…

The blush on her cheeks deepened.

anwhile, Riku remained focused on his ditation, completely unaware of her gaze.

A few minutes later, the ANBU finally arrived.

When they saw the massive crater in the ground and learned it was caused by Riku, they were stunned.

Once they confird it was indeed his doing, they relaxed. Their intel had reported that Riku possessed Jōnin-level strength, so the destruction—though extre—wasn't entirely unexpected.

A combination of a powerful Fire Style: Dragon Fla Bomb and Chidori could definitely create that level of damage.

After a brief investigation, the ANBU took their leave.

As the appointed examiner, Anko was preparing to go as well. Just before she left, she turned and smiled at Riku.

"I've got sothing to tell you."

Riku looked up. "What is it?"

Anko grinned. "If you pass the Chūnin Exams, I'll give you the Ryūchi Cave summoning contract. You don't have a Summoning Beast yet, right?"

Riku hesitated, then smiled. "I don't really need one. With my current strength, a Summoning Beast wouldn't do much for ."

But Anko wasn't convinced. She gave him a serious look and said, "Think about it. You don't want to reveal your true strength too often, right? So if you're in a situation where you're surrounded or facing powerful enemies, and you don't want to show your hand—wouldn't it be smarter to let your Summoning Beast handle it instead?"

Riku looked at her, a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this kind of logical analysis from Anko.

Still, what she said made sense. In situations where he didn't want to reveal his full power, using a Summoning Beast as a proxy could be quite useful.

He looked at her again and, for so reason, smiled. "Sister Anko, I have to say—you're a really smart woman."

That was his way of apologizing for dismissing her earlier.

Anko caught it, too.

She smiled. "I just think it's a solid idea. But if you want to use those giant snakes from Ryūchi Cave, it's going to be dangerous. I can only give you the summoning scroll—I don't dare go back in there myself."

"Or," she added, "you don't have to pick snakes. After all, there are three holy places. With your abilities, I'm sure you can find a way to obtain any of those contracts."

Riku nodded. "But if I'm going to pick a Summoning Beast, I'll definitely choose sothing strong. If you haven't been able to get those giant snakes yet, let help you. Once you summon them, I'll beat them into submission for you."

After all, if you wanted to make those snakes submit, there was no choice but to beat them until they listened.

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