The squad entered Kusagakure shortly before dawn.
They were taken directly to the administration building.
Juro waited inside the meeting hall rather than his ordinary office. Several elders were present, along with the head physician of the village hospital.
The Head Jōnin rose as Kaede entered.
"Where is she?"
Kaede knelt.
The rest of the squad followed.
"We found what remained of Karin Uzumaki near the southern river."
Juro's expression became still.
"What remained?"
Kaede placed the first preservation bag upon the floor.
Then the second.
Hanako added the others.
The sealed bags formed a small pile between the retrieval squad and the village leadership.
Juro stared at them.
"Explain."
"We discovered a concealed campsite," Kaede said. "There were signs of extensive blood loss and deliberate cutting. We recovered approximately ten kilograms of flesh and bone from the river downstream."
The head physician stepped forward.
Hanako opened one of the bags.
A pale section of skin lay inside.
Human bite marks covered its surface.
Several strands of faint red hair remained attached.
The physician's composure broke for a fraction of a second.
He recognized the scars.
He had seen them many times.
Some had been documented after medical sessions conducted under his authority.
Juro did not move.
"Confirm it."
The physician took samples from several bags.
Blood.
Hair.
Skin.
Bone.
He performed one test after another while the room remained silent.
Riko confirmed the chakra signature.
Hanako presented the diagrams from Karin's medical records and compared them to several sections of scarred skin.
Individual bite patterns aligned.
One crescent-shaped scar near the elbow contained a missing indentation where one of the original biter's teeth had been broken.
The same indentation appeared upon the recovered flesh.
Another scar consisted of two overlapping bites recorded several months apart.
Both were present.
The physician eventually lowered his instruments.
"It is her."
Juro's eyes remained fixed upon the remains.
"You are certain?"
"The blood matches. The hair matches. The residual chakra matches. More than fourteen distinct scars correspond directly to records from the hospital."
"Could she have survived?"
"No..."
The physician swallowed before continuing.
"The tissue originated from multiple parts of the body. There are fragments of both arms, the shoulder, torso and several bones. The total loss approaches ten kilograms."
"She was an Uzumaki."
"Even then surviving this... not enough."
Juro's hands curled into fists.
"Who did it?"
Kaede lowered his head.
"We do not know."
"You followed them."
"We followed a manufactured trail east. By the time we discovered the deception and found the true route, several days had passed."
Juro's chakra flared.
The table cracked beneath his hand.
"You allowed them to escape?"
Kaede did not defend himself.
"There was no second chakra signature at the river. Whoever took her possessed advanced suppression skills."
"And the rest of the body?"
"Missing."
Juro's face darkened.
"Missing?"
"There are rumors surrounding Uzumaki flesh."
One of the elders closed her eyes.
Another turned away.
Juro looked between them.
"What rumors?"
The physician answered reluctantly.
"That consuming their flesh can increase vitality. That their blood can heal illnesses. That their organs can extend life."
"Superstition."
"Yes."
"Then why mention it?"
"Because someone may have believed it."
The room fell silent.
Juro looked again at the pieces of scarred flesh.
Understanding arrived slowly.
"They ate her?!"
For several seconds, the Head Jōnin stood completely still.
Then his chakra erupted.
Documents flew across the chamber.
"Find them!"
"Search every settlement south of the village! Close the roads! Interrogate every merchant, hunter and mercenary who entered the region!"
"Juro-sama," one elder began.
"Whoever did this entered my territory, stole an Uzumaki from beneath our noses and butchered her like livestock!"
His fist struck the table and the wood collapsed.
"She belonged to Grass!"
The words echoed through the room.
Juro stared down at the remains.
Karin's healing ability had saved dozens of shinobi.
Plans had already been made for her future.
The hospital relied upon her.
The village's military strength relied upon her.
Her bloodline had been a resource Grass could never replace.
Now that resource had been carved apart and thrown into a river.
Rage burned through him then confusion.
Who could infiltrate Grass, kill two Chūnin without anybody noticing inside the village, create a perfect false trail, carry Karin halfway toward the border, butcher her over several days and disappear without leaving a single identifiable chakra signature?
What kind of monster had found her?
Juro's anger began to collapse beneath the weight of the loss.
His shoulders lowered.
The strength left his legs.
He stepped backward and fell heavily into his chair.
For a long moment, he stared at the bags upon the floor.
Then he covered his face with one hand.
"Damn it…"
His voice was quiet.
Almost helpless.
"Damn it!"