Four years ago...
In the west of the Land of Fire and on the southeastern borders of the Land of Earth, there was a small nation called the Land of Grass. This country was once very prosperous. Thanks to a favorable climate and fertile soil, its skilled farmers had driven impressive economic growth, supporting a sizable population. Its ninja village, Kusagakure, had similarly thrived, training a large number of ninjas.
But these good times were short-lived. The Third Great Ninja War forced Kusagakure into the conflict. They were locked in daily, fierce battles with invaders and suffered heavy casualties. Even after the war ended, peace remained elusive, and conflicts with neighboring lands persisted.
The village's situation worsened daily. The number of active ninjas plummeted, and even medical and service staff were forced to join the front lines.
However, perhaps the worst fate befell a civilian refugee: a young, tall woman with fair skin, gray eyes, and red hair who had sought shelter in Kusagakure with her young daughter a few years prior.
This woman was a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. The clan's special traits included an incredibly strong life force, a long lifespan, and powerful healing abilities. On top of that, others could bite her body to absorb her unique chakra, instantly healing their injuries.
She initially had good days in Kusagakure. The village leader promised to protect her and her daughter in exchange for healing wounded ninjas, and he welcomed them as villagers. But as the war escalated, she was forced to use her life force excessively every day. After a few years, she became ill and lost all her former vibrancy.
She cared for her daughter more than anything and was willing to risk her health and life to give them a stable home. It was only a matter of time before her life would be consumed by excessive chakra use...
Then, an odd stranger appeared.
About a year had passed since the Uchiha Clan massacre. After Daiki and Hikari had successfully mimicked his appearance using the Henge No Jutsu, Uchiha Mitsuro began his journey to collect various jutsus and tools throughout the ninja world. His biggest goal was to find individuals that Orochimaru had gathered but hadn't properly utilized. He believed Orochimaru was like a collector who finds priceless jewels but doesn't know how to use them.
Mitsuro had recently arrived in Kusagakure for two main reasons: First, the village's secret scrolls. He knew any village that could withstand invasions for so long must hold valuable scrolls and jutsus. While stealing them would be nearly impossible for an ordinary ninja, with a perfect plan, nothing was out of reach.
His second target was a young child: Uzumaki Karin, a talented kunoichi with high intelligence for medical skills and a knack for healing.
Mitsuro figured that at this point, Karin had likely just lost her mother and hadn't yet learned basic ninja skills. This was the perfect chance to get her out of the village since she wasn't under heavy surveillance and had no attachment to a village that had exploited her mother.
Kusagakure's security was at its peak, and they didn't welcome strangers. But Mitsuro had his own methods. He entered the village disguised as a merchant from the Land of Tea, hauling several large boxes. He claimed he wanted to request a C-rank mission and needed a few ninjas to escort him to the Land of Earth.
His identification documents were flawless. The few sensory ninjas in Kusagakure couldn't detect any unusual chakra because he had completely suppressed it. Their scans also showed he hadn't used any jutsu to alter his face. This was true—instead of ninja techniques, Mitsuro relied on the makeup skills he remembered from his past life, a process that used zero chakra. He had simply dyed his hair brown, put on a pair of glasses, and grew a natural-looking beard. The few wrinkles and sunburns were simply the result of applying pig fat to his face.
As soon as he rented a room, Mitsuro got to work, exploring the village using a variety of methods. The number of ninjas was overwhelming.
Disguised as a Kusagakure ninja, he slowly made his way to the medical center. The clinic was full of wounded ninjas but had minimal supervision. No one expected a foreign ninja to try and infiltrate it.
He easily entered the medical section and spotted a man wearing a white medical gown, a mask, and round glasses. His name, Kanda, was written on the gown. Mitsuro rushed over. "Doctor, hurry! Someone needs your help!"
Kanda looked at him calmly. "Calm down! This is a hospital; everyone needs help. Where's the patient?"
Mitsuro pulled him toward an empty room. "Hurry! He's in the next room. We just came back from the front line; his wound is very deep!"
Kanda nonchalantly followed Mitsuro into the room. As soon as the door closed, Mitsuro turned to the doctor and held a kunai to his throat. "Make a sound, and I'll cut your throat!"
Kanda asked in surprise, "Wh-what are you doing? What do you want?"
"No questions! Just answer what I ask, nothing more!" Mitsuro said firmly. "Now tell me what your responsibilities are in this clinic? Who do you report to, and who are your subordinates? State each of their names and addresses clearly!"
A few minutes later…
Kanda calmly left the room, acting as if nothing had happened, and began treating the patients. In reality, it was Mitsuro, who had put on Kanda's clothes and expertly impersonated him. Drawing on his experience working in Konoha's hospital, Mitsuro easily threw himself into the work. At the same time, he began asking sensitive questions to the wounded ninjas who were less than fully conscious.
He quickly learned the exact location of the village's secret scrolls, the number and skill level of their guards, and even their names and addresses. Working as a doctor, someone no one paid attention to, was the perfect cover!
Soon, it was time for the shift change. Mitsuro, with a sense of relief, went to the medical office and wrote Kanda's name on the end-of-shift list. As he was about to leave, his eyes caught sight of a young woman being escorted into the clinic by a Kusagakure ninja.
The woman looked to be in her thirties. She had bright red hair, and her face was extremely pale.
"Karin's mother? She's still alive?!" Mitsuro whispered to himself. "Looks like things just got more interesting."
Mitsuro immediately changed his plan. He crossed his name off the list and wrote "Overtime" instead.
The Kusagakure ninja asked in surprise, "Doctor, aren't you heading home?"
Mitsuro, his eyes still fixed on the woman, replied, "No, they still need me here."
He watched Karin's mother closely. The poor woman was taken to a room, where patients with the most severe injuries were brought to her. They had bitten her body for her healing chakra so many times that there were no unblemished spots left on her hands and neck.
After several hours, the woman was finally released, looking incredibly sick and emaciated. Mitsuro, seeing her leave, ended his overtime shift under the pretense of being tired.
"I'm exhausted," Mitsuro said. "I'm going to rest."
The nurse replied respectfully, "Thank you for all your hard work."
He began to silently follow the woman. She slowly moved through the alleys of Kusagakure and eventually reached a remote part of the village. The woman stopped in front of a small, dilapidated house. Mitsuro stayed hidden a short distance away. He heard the ninja tell the woman, "You have two days to rest. Then I'll come for you again. Got it?"
The woman nodded weakly. The ninja turned without emotion and left.
After the Kusagakure shinobi left, the woman reached for the doorknob. At the same moment, the door seemed to be pushed open from the inside, and a little girl with blood-red hair and cute glasses jumped out. The redness in her eyes was unmistakable.
"Karin...?!"
Mitsuro's heart pounded with excitement. "I found you!"
Then he thought to himself: "He said he'd be back for her in two days? Looks like I need to move quickly!"
He glanced around. He could sense a few Kusagakure ninjas watching the woman and girl's house from the shadows. "Of course, a treasure like this isn't left unwatched! But you're all still too careless! You'll see what happens when you leave your wallet unattended—it'll be replaced with a brick!"
He smirked and slowly retreated into the night.