Using Flying Thunder God to rapidly reach a location near where he had separated from his squad, Shuji set down the mother and daughter.
The Uzumaki clan possessed excellent physical constitution. Uzumaki Hagi slowly regained consciousness from her faint.
Her memory remained fixed on that strange Kusagakure shinobi who seemed to have designs on Karin.
"Karin!" Hagi cried out in alarm. After sitting up, she searched for her daughter's traces until she saw her daughter lying safely beside her, unharmed. She immediately pulled her into an embrace.
Only then did she belatedly notice the environmental change and that figure still standing not far away.
This place was not Kusagakure.
The fresh air and unfamiliar trees left her momentarily dazed.
Seeing Uzumaki Hagi awaken, Shuji paid no mind and simply released his Transformation Technique.
"You are not a Kusagakure shinobi," Hagi said tremulously. Her gaze fell on the changed forehead protector Shuji wore. "This is Konoha. You are a Konoha shinobi."
"Why did you..."
"Robbery," Shuji said, his expression remaining cold. "I discovered you in Kusagakure, deemed you valuable, so I took you."
The word "rescue" was too extravagant, too complicated. It might trigger unnecessary hope, doubt, or even resistance.
For someone long imprisoned and controlled, long accustomed to being treated as property, "robbery" proved more direct, easier to understand and accept. Simply a change of owner, nothing more.
Sure enough, Uzumaki Hagi fell silent, only holding her daughter tightly.
He commanded, "This place is already near the Land of Fire. Follow me."
The red-haired woman picked up her daughter and silently followed behind Shuji. She made no attempt to flee. A shinobi who could forcibly transport her and her daughter from Kusagakure to here was beyond her capacity to resist.
Moreover, whether in Kusagakure or after being taken to Konoha, since they were already here, she could only accept her fate. At worst, it would merely be having all her chakra drained until death. No difference whatsoever.
They had not walked far when rustling sounds came from a nearby thicket. Uzumaki Hagi trembled in fright, nearly collapsing.
"Captain!" Anko jumped out. "Success? Are these them?"
"Mm."
The kunoichi examined this mother-daughter pair carefully. Red hair, red eyes, nothing special. But when her gaze fell upon Uzumaki Hagi's exposed arms, her eyes narrowed.
So many bite marks. What had those Kusagakure shinobi done to her?
Just then, Karin in Hagi's arms made a faint sound as she slowly regained consciousness.
The familiar embrace made her instinctively nuzzle closer.
"Mother..."
Soon, memories from before losing consciousness flooded her mind. She could not help but cry out, "You, why did you knock me..."
Sitting upright in Hagi's embrace, Karin looked immediately furious. But under three pairs of watching eyes, her voice quickly diminished.
"Pfft," Anko could not suppress her laughter, breaking the somewhat heavy atmosphere. "Good spirit, little one. Mother looks so timid, but the daughter has quite the energy, Captain."
Shuji ignored Anko's joke and issued direct orders. "Anko, you handle her." He pointed at Uzumaki Hagi. "Give the child to me. Accelerate the return."
Hearing this, Hagi's arms instinctively tightened, her eyes showing pleading. She could obey orders, but to hand her daughter over to this cold-looking man...
"The destination is Konoha Village for both of you. So do not waste time," Shuji said, looking at Uzumaki Hagi. The pressure from his gaze and their realistic circumstances finally made this mother place her daughter in Shuji's hands.
Anko propped up the somewhat weakened Uzumaki Hagi. Sensing Shuji's attitude, she cooperatively adopted a slightly fierce expression.
"All right, big sister, just follow along obediently. My stamina is precious."
"Otherwise, do not blame me for being rough."
The small episode did not affect their journey. Shuji tucked Karin at his side. Anko supported the inwardly anxious yet compliant Uzumaki Hagi as they swiftly crossed the border toward Konoha Village.
Meanwhile, chaos had erupted within Kusagakure.
Several search squads returned in succession, reporting that aside from initially discovered ambiguous lingering traces, they could find no further clues. The mother and daughter had vanished as though evaporating from the human world.
Listening to his subordinates' fruitless reports, Hayami's brow twisted into a knot. The elders who had accompanied their leader suffered serious injuries, yet all displayed joyful attitudes, convinced Kusagakure's moment of rise was imminent.
When they urgently sought treatment for their wounds, they discovered Uzumaki Hagi and Uzumaki Karin had disappeared without a trace. Personnel were immediately dispatched to search, yet even so, they still could not catch up.
According to testimony from the last person to deliver food, their disappearance time was not long.
"Damn it, who exactly..." The only outsiders recently visiting the village had been Konoha's envoys. But they had clearly already departed, showing no abnormalities at the time.
Hayami's mind turned in circles but could find no likely suspects.
"Could there be traitors within the village?"
He thought this, ultimately leaving several squads to continue searching while he returned first to report the situation.
Bringing unidentified personnel into Konoha required necessary registration procedures. At the village entrance, Shuji concisely completed the report under the pretext of "encountering and bringing back suspicious persons during a mission who require further investigation."
After entering the village, Shuji temporarily settled the Uzumaki mother and daughter in lodgings within the village designated for temporary visitors or detained personnel.
"Anko, you remain on guard," Shuji instructed, then turned to depart. He needed to immediately report the situation to Tsunade.
Just before leaving, Karin mustered her courage again.
"That, I, Mother and I will..." she asked stammering.
"Konoha has its own medical system," Shuji merely answered thus.
Anko remained on the side, watching the seemingly somewhat uneasy Karin and Uzumaki Hagi guarding her daughter's side in silence.
Having already entered the village, she had no need to deliberately maintain a villainous appearance alongside Shuji.
"Though I don't know what happened to you, since the captain brought you back to Konoha, everything will definitely be arranged properly afterward."
"He... the captain's name is..."
Facing Karin's question, Anko only smiled. "If the captain wants to say it, he will."
The moment Shuji returned to the village, Tsunade received the news, then waited for his arrival in her office at the Hokage Tower.
Similarly, word that he had brought two strangers back also reached her ears.
"What is that guy up to now?" she muttered. The office door was pushed open.
The person entering was, as expected, that guy.
"Oh my, if it isn't Lord Shuji? Not even knocking anymore. Truly worthy of a jōnin with repeated meritorious achievements," the blonde woman said sarcastically.
Shuji was unbothered.
He replied, "Taking initiative to work overtime beyond assigned missions, handling unexpected situations, yet receiving not greetings but this. Lady Tsunade remains as harsh as ever."
"Because of you, this bastard, I haven't been sleeping well either. What more do you want!"
"Wicked adult," he evaluated thus.
"Annoying brat," she evaluated thus.
The two confronted each other for a while. Shuji took a seat. Tsunade returned to the main topic.
"So what's the deal with those two people? Also, what exactly is Kusagakure's situation?"
"Kusagakure's intelligence contains no new content. The confirmed part is they are indeed collecting shinobi with ulterior motives."
"And you still stayed that long?!"
"That mother-daughter pair are survivors of the Uzumaki clan," Shuji answered.
"Where did you encounter them?"
"Kusagakure."
Tsunade's expression became somewhat subtle. "Kusagakure... meaning they are currently Kusagakure's people?"
"No. Because I took them by force, with smooth subsequent procedures, they will become Konoha residents."
"Hah?!"
Hearing this, Tsunade abruptly stood from her chair, hands planted on the desk, body leaning forward. Her sharp gaze seemed intent on thoroughly examining Shuji from head to toe.
"Took by force? You've somewhat exceeded my expectations, Shuji."
She circled the desk, walked before Shuji, and lifted him up by the collar. Finding she could not hold him upright, she kicked him, making him stand straight himself.
Tsunade compared their height difference. "Mm, you've grown taller than me. Your face is barely passable too..."
"But listen, even if you've reached adolescence, directly going to another village to snatch people, moreover a woman with a child..."
Shuji remained silent, only calmly returning her gaze.
The staring continued several seconds. Tsunade was first to surrender, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Fine, what exactly was it for? Regardless of Kusagakure's current objectives, as long as they show no clear hostility, snatching people isn't ideal."
"The older one possesses a special constitution. Her own chakra can rapidly heal others' injuries. Therefore, in Kusagakure, she was used as living wound medicine."
"The younger one most likely inherited the same ability, though judging by current appearances, she has not yet suffered treatment equal to her mother's."
Tsunade fell silent for a while, sighing softly. "I see... so that's how it is..."
"Uzumaki clan survivors, because Uzushiogakure failed to receive timely support, view Konoha as betrayers and chose exile to other nations."
"In the end, this was their fate?"
Tsunade grabbed her coat, swiftly donning it. "Let's go. I'll see them, understand what situation could make you choose to intervene and help."
Reaching the office doorway, she seemed to suddenly remember something. Her steps paused. Without turning back, she asked, "You handled the trail cleanly? No witnesses from Kusagakure, right?"
"No witnesses."
"Oh, then that's theft, not robbery," her tone carried playfulness.
"Kusagakure has already dispatched search squads. Theoretically, this constitutes a confrontational relationship," Shuji corrected. "Therefore, it's robbery."
"Sophist thief."
"Robber."
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild