Anko was a genin on a team led by Orochimaru when she was young. Their team competed in the Chūnin Exams, where they faced a team consisting of Hayate Gekkō, Ibiki Morino and Tokara.

Orochimaru showed a keen interest in Anko, teaching her some of his hallmark jutsu as well as what he’d learned about immortality. She was later used as a test subject for Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal of Heaven, in which she was the sole survivor among the ten subjects.

She refused to follow Orochimaru after receiving the cursed seal, which drove Orochimaru to attempt to murder her. When he was unable to eliminate her, Orochimaru twisted Anko’s memories so she would feel she’d been abandoned because she lacked the ideal drive to power the cursed seal. She felt a resentment towards Orochimaru for what he did and believed it was her obligation as his former student to put an end to his criminal activities.

Part 1

Chūnin Exams

Anko supervises the second stage of the Chūnin Exams at Konoha. She storms into the room where the first stage was held and announces herself to the assembled genin in a showy manner. After realizing that she entered the competition too soon, she attempted to divert blame by reprimanding the first stage’s proctor Ibiki Morino, for his many genin were permitted to advance to the second stage.

Later, she guides the genin to the forest of Death, where she discusses the rules of the second stage as well as the hazards they would face. When Naruto Uzumaki suggests that she’s exaggerating, she hits him with a kunai, only to have it returned to her by Shiore, a Kusagakure ninja.

Shortly after the second stage commencement, Anko is notified of the discovery of three deceased Kusagakure ninja, including Shiore. Examining the remains, she realizes they’ve been dead for some time, and because they are missing their faces, she determines that Orochimaru has infiltrated the Chūnin Exams. She directs that the Third Hokage be informed of what’s happened, that two Anbu teams be deployed, and then walks into the jungle on her own to discover Orochimaru.

She finds him just after nightfall and attempts to execute the Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique on him, only to realize at the second that she was battling a shadow clone. He awakens her dormant Cursed Seal of Heaven, immobilizing her with anguish, and tells her not to cancel the Chunin Exams before leaving.

Despite the suffering, Anko eventually makes it to the heart of the Forest of Death. After treating her cursed seal, the Third Hokage speculates that Orochimaru is after Sasuke Uchiha, whom Orochimaru has branded with another Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Anko attempts to have Sasuke removed from the examination and placed under security, but the Third insists on the exams continuing as per Orochimaru’s orders. She stays by the Third’s side for the preliminary matches, informing him of the participants’ details. She is impressed by Sasuke’s control of his cursed seal during his match.

When the final round of matches approaches after a month, it becomes evident that Orochimaru plans to harm Konoha. Anko attempts to make amends to the Third for her failure in killing him. She also laments the Fourth Hokage’s death, believing that he could have stopped Orochimaru, but the Third encourages her not to blame herself or dwell on the dead.

Naruto visits her at her favorite Dango Shop around the same time to inquire about the “Fourth Hokage’s legacy”. She attacks him and chases him away when he eats one of her dango without permission.

During the Konoha Crush, Anko assists the evacuation of Konoha’s civilians to safety and later is seen attending the Third Hokage’s funeral.

Some time later, she attends the Fifth Hokage’s inauguration, and shortly after, she and the other exam proctors are present during Shikamaru Nara’s promotion to Chūnin.

Kaima Capture Mission

Konoha is hired to protect a trade convoy in the Land of Sea. Because this is the same country where Anko acquired her cursed seal from Orochimaru, the Hokage assigns Anko to the reassignment hoping that it may help her remember what occurred there.

Anko finds the lab where Orochimaru conducted his experiments after the Kaima Capture Team completes their mission. She remembers that he did not abandon her, but rather she deserted him. She is happy to find out the truth.

Part 2

Anko is first seen attending the funeral of Asuma Sarutobi.

She was assigned to a few missions before the commencement of the Fourth Shinobi World War, including a search party for finding Kabuto Yakushi.

Fourth Shinobi World War

A Reconnaissance Party including Anko is still tracking Kabuto. They soon come across three Takigakure ninjas who have died. Anko realizes from the bite marks on their necks that Kabuto has taken control of Orochimaru’s powers, but wonders why he’s leaving victims for her to find.

They follow the trail of bodies to the Mountains’ Graveyard, wary of a trap. Tokuma Hyūga uses his Byakugan and reports that Kabuto is with Tobi. Anko promptly informs Konoha of their discoveries, believing that they have discovered the Akatsuki base, although she briefly wondered why Kabuto would bring them here.

Anko and her squad are still keeping an eye on the Mountains’ Graveyard. Anko orders her team to notify the Allied Shinobi Forces about the approaching White Zetsu Army, while she pursues Kabuto. She sneaks up on Kabuto and attacks him, but is immediately defeated. Kabuto keeps her unconscious and siphons chakra from her cursed seal to increase his Summoning : Impure World Reincarnation.

Some time later, Jūgo discovers Anko’s body after Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha defeat Kabuto. In order to converse with Orochimaru, Sasuke employs the Evil Releasing Method to revive him from her cursed seal which causes her cursed seal to vanish in the process. She lies unconscious during the ordeal and they leave her behind.

Anko is later seen attending the mass funeral held in Konoha after the Fourth Shinobi World War concluded.

New Era

Ten years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Anko is now an instructor in the Konoha Academy.

Anko is described as being similar to Naruto Uzumaki as being noisy, stubborn and prone to act without thinking. Despite her eccentricities, Anko is deeply committed to her village and mission, frequently choosing to face attacks alone in order to buy time for her comrades to flee or for backup to arrive.

She adored Orochimaru while she was still a child and sought to be just like him as an adult, but later she came to believe that it was her duty to employ the same jutsu he taught her to bring him to justice.

Anko is a young woman of ordinary height and slim build. Her eyes are light brown and without pupils and her hair is arranged in a short, fanned-out ponytail.

Anko used to dress in sleeveless chainmail armbands that reached her elbows, dark shorts and knee-length boots as a child. While following Orochimaru as a preteen, she wore a brown-red T-shirt with bangles, white shorts and chainmail leggings.

During adulthood, she usually wore a custom suit composed of thin metal mesh tailored to her body lines that wraps from her neck to her legs. She also wore a brown overcoat with a purple inseam and a pocket on either side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt and pale gray thin guards over this. She wore a little pendant that resembles a snake fang in addition to the standard forehead protection.

Four years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Anko has gained weight and begins to wear red lipstick. Her chainmail bodysuit has been replaced by an orange blouse and a white coat cape.

Anko is a highly competent kunoichi as a tokubetsu jōnin. Her talent drew the attention of Orochimaru, who took her on as a disciple even as a youngster. Her skills earned her the title of legendary kunoichi a decade after the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Ninjutsu

She learned many of Orochimaru’s techniques while she was under his wing. One of the strongest variants among those is the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Her mastery of these methods, in particular, enabled her to easily outmaneuver the Ino-Shika-Chō trio’s coordinated efforts throughout their Genin Exams.

She can potentially use Orochimaru’s murder-suicide tactic, and she was also the first person to survive his Cursed Seal of Heaven, which appears as three tomoe at the back of her neck. She refuses to use it even though it flares up from time to time in an attempt to persuade her to utilize it. Following the Fourth Shinobi World War, it is eventually removed from her body.

Other Skills

Anko has incredible aim, capable of creating a perfect Konoha emblem out of dango sticks without looking. She possesses great tracking ability, as proven by her command of a team charged with finding Kabuto Yakushi. She was said to have developed an immunity to poisons with the help of Orochimaru, and it was also revealed that she can manipulate Fire and Yin Release, performing the Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique and Sly mind Affect Technique, respectively.

Anko is a playable character in the following Video Games:

(To Naruto) “Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest.”

(To Orochimaru, before engaging him) “This is no time to reminisce, you’re an S-class criminal, top of the most wanted list. You’ve got to be taken down, and it’s only fitting that I’m the one to do it. ‘Cause after all, you’re the one that taught me everything, right, Sensei?”

Q. What happened to Anko Mitarashi after the war?

A. Anko Mitarashi became an instructor at the Konoha Academy ten years after the war.

Q. Who did Anko love?

A. It has not been portrayed in the show, but Anko was rumored to have some sort of love interest in Kakashi. The duo were even shipped with the term “KakaAnko”.

Q. Why did Anko get a Curse Mark?

A. Anko received her cursed mark when she was a student of Orochimaru, when the latter was experimenting on ten test subjects, Anko included.