After the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers made his appearance, the prisoner presentation ceremony for the Konoha Hundred came to an end.
The members of the Konoha Hundred were immediately swarmed by friends and family, all asking about their well-being—especially those who had returned with wives. Crowds gathered around them in excitement.
"Fujitomaru, weren't you supposed to be fighting on the front lines? How did you end up getting married?"
"Itō, don't say I didn't warn you—there are plenty of beauties among the refugees from the Land of Rivers. If you don't hurry up and pick one, you'll be stuck with the leftovers!"
"Fujitomaru, why didn't you tell me sooner?! Lend me some money real quick—I'll pay you back at the gathering tonight!"
When the villagers learned that the Konoha Hundred had not only returned with spoils of war but also brought back wives, they were practically green with envy. Many wished they could have been part of the mission to enjoy such benefits.
Fortunately, the Konoha Hundred only consisted of a little over a hundred men. While they had already picked the most beautiful women, there were still plenty of refugees left. As long as one had money and status, there was still a chance to find a lovely wife.
Settling these refugees was no small task, but with Konoha in the middle of an expansion, their arrival was timely. The village elders were more than happy to let the villagers share the burden. Thus, the atmosphere quickly shifted from celebrating military achievements to a full-blown matchmaking festival.
Once the Daimyo and the refugees were handed over to Konoha's leadership, the Konoha Hundred dispersed, returning home surrounded by their loved ones.
"Second Brother! Second Brother! Over here!"
A boy of about eight or nine stood atop a giant tree by the street, waving enthusiastically. He kept bragging to those below:
*"My second brother is the Iron Wall of Konoha—the commander of the Konoha Hundred! I'm his little brother!"*
The boy puffed up with pride, and the villagers below showered him with praise, calling him a little genius and expressing admiration for having such a heroic older brother.
Konoha was a village of hidden talents, so Umino Yoru didn't dare recklessly use his Sound Wave Perception Technique here. Still, ever since developing this jutsu, his hearing had sharpened significantly. He immediately spotted his family.
The villagers respectfully made way as Umino Yoru approached, allowing him to reunite with his kin.
"Big Brother, Futomaru, and little Umino… Where are Father and Mother?"
A bad feeling crept into his heart. On such a joyous occasion, his parents should have been here.
Umino Tarō (海野大郎), who had been smiling moments ago, suddenly looked downcast.
"Father is taking care of Mother at home. He couldn't leave her side."
"What happened to Mother?!"
Umino Yoru grabbed his older brother's arm in alarm, nearly crushing it in his grip. Thankfully, he caught himself in time, and a surge of Yang Release chakra quickly healed the bruise.
After hearing the full story, he learned that tragedy had struck his family.
Two months ago, when false reports of his death reached home—along with a Chūnin condolence payment—his mother, overcome with grief, fell gravely ill and had been bedridden ever since.
It was only later that they discovered the payment was actually for his deceased summoned bats, not him. Though this eased her sorrow somewhat, the damage had already been done.
Years of hardship had taken their toll. When the family first moved to Konoha over a decade ago, life had been difficult. His mother had worked tirelessly, even suffering a miscarriage during her third pregnancy, which left lasting damage to her health.
Years later, after finally recovering, she unexpectedly became pregnant again and gave birth to twins—Futomaru and Umino.
Now, the shock of believing her son dead had caused all her old ailments to resurface, leaving her body broken.
"Big Brother, I sent plenty of money home last month. Why wasn't a medical-nin called to treat her?"
With Konoha's medical expertise, curing her shouldn't have been an issue—as long as they could afford it.
"Mother said your money was earned through blood and sweat. She insisted on saving it for our future marriages and refused treatment, saying medical-nin fees were too expensive. She claimed she could recover on her own."
"Are medical-nin really that costly?"
"They say healing consumes chakra and hinders their training. Each visit costs thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of ryō. And since Mother's condition is internal, not external, they said she'd need expensive medicines and long-term care. Hearing that, she outright refused."
Umino Yoru frowned. Thinking it over, he realized this made sense.
Medical-nin were still a rarity in this era, reserved mostly for shinobi and nobility. For commoners, they were practically untouchable.
The Umino household was located on Konoha's outskirts. After passing through a narrow alley, the four siblings arrived home.
Without delay, Umino Yoru rushed upstairs. Seeing his mother on the verge of tears, he quickly used his Water-Based Healing Technique to stabilize her condition before letting her rest.
Just as he finished, Nara Shikazo arrived in person, bringing deer antler supplements as a congratulatory gift. After a brief exchange, he left.
For the next few days, Umino Yoru stayed by his mother's side, helping her recover. Thanks to the Nara clan's potent medicines, her health improved rapidly.
During this time, he also treated the rest of his family—especially Futomaru and Umino, who were still in the Academy. They received nourishment comparable to secret medicinal regimens.
But peace never lasted long.
Two days later, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, paid a personal visit to the Umino household, offering condolences and presenting Umino Yoru with an official Jōnin promotion.
The next day, Umino Sasuge brought a prepared scroll of jutsu to the Hokage's Office.
Seeing that he had willingly submitted puppetry techniques and an S-Rank Sound-Based Genjutsu, Hiruzen allowed him to choose one S-Rank and two A-Rank jutsu from the Sealed Scrolls.
"I choose the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and the Darkness Genjutsu."
Umino Yoru had already decided.
"Yoru… the Uchiha are also part of this village."
Hiruzen assumed Umino Yoru was targeting the Uchiha clan, as all three jutsu were effective counters against them.
Umino Yoru played along, pretending to agree verbally while letting his disdain for the Uchiha show on his face.
Seeing his stubbornness, Hiruzen saw an opportunity.
"Yoru, your family now has one Jōnin and two Tokubetsu Jōnin. That's enough to establish a clan."
"One Jōnin and two Tokubetsu Jōnin?" Umino Yoru feigned confusion.
"Umino Ikaku is still within five generations of your family, and with Umino Shari included, your household meets the requirements."
To further win him over, Hiruzen even proposed that Orochimaru use gene sequencing to track down any remaining relatives in their ancestral fishing village and relocate them to Konoha, bolstering the Umino Clan's numbers.