Chapter 79: A Big Catch
"Uzumaki...? I... I don't really understand, but if you mean red hair, I look like my mother..."
Sensing a subtle lack of hostility from Hiiro Rinko's attitude, Nagato's tone gradually steadied.
"Is that so? Since you don't know, you don't need to learn about it."
Rinko nodded, vaguely skimming over the topic.
Since Nagato didn't know about the Uzumaki Clan, either his mother was from a branch that had been wandering for a long time, or she had fled like Rinko's original parents.
In short, since Nagato's mother hadn't revealed her lineage to him, the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan probably didn't matter much to Nagato.
As for whether Rinko was mistaken...
That unique pattern of life force circulation was the easiest trait to identify in an Uzumaki. Even though Nagato's life force was slightly weakened by prolonged malnutrition, Rinko, being this close, wouldn't mistake the life-swirl unique to his "clansmen."
To be honest, in Rinko's view, the existence of the so-called bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths was actually no different from the Yama-bito.
The direct descendants of the Sage, who was essentially an alien, were hard to find, but his related bloodlines were everywhere in the Shinobi World, just like the Yama-bito mixed with the Japanese.
Or perhaps "contamination" would be more accurate?
After all, there was a significant difference in expressiveness between the Sage's bloodline and the Yama-bito's bloodline. Physical features don't equate to power, but if one inherited the corresponding power, they would inevitably inherit the clan's physical features along with it.
Considering many manga artists have a habit of citing classics in their works and possess surprisingly rich knowledge in subtle areas...
Given the plethora of techniques appearing later in the manga named after mythological systems quite obscure to the average person, and the connection between 'Tengu' and Susanoo, it's hard to say whether the original manga referenced folklore.
Maybe there really was a pureblood lineage of the Sage hiding in some corner of this world, like the Yama-bito he encountered in his past life?
As for the deeper question of "did the manga come first or this world," Rinko didn't intend to delve into it. After all, the chicken-or-egg philosophical puzzle is endless once you start agonizing over it.
In any case, Rinko added investigating the Sage's descendants to his long-term plan.
"What does that mean?"
But Nagato was obviously concerned about the topic of family. He subconsciously grabbed Rinko's sleeve, his tone pleading, "Could you please tell me..."
Even though his eyes were covered by long bangs, his desperate longing was clearly conveyed.
"It means we can be considered part of the same clan."
Letting Nagato tug at his sleeve, Rinko's tone lifted slightly, but he had no intention of explaining in detail.
Humans cannot tolerate, or fear, meaningless, illogical, uncertain things.
However, the reality is that many things are beyond human rational logic, or the motivations and causes for these things are so numerous that they are far beyond what human logic can organize and fully summarize.
Just like the cause of this war ravaging the Land of Rain, the annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan, and the goals and strategies of each party.
Explaining these things to these children to the extent they could understand would be too troublesome.
After three or four years as a teacher, the most useful experience Rinko had accumulated was that many things didn't need the process and principles explained clearly; as long as the student understood what to do and what effect it would have, that was enough.
"From your look, your family is gone?"
"Yes—Mom and Dad, by... ninja..."
Mentioning this, Nagato still trembled with hatred.
Rinko patted his shoulder gently to comfort him, asking in a flat voice, "Is it the same for your families?"
Hearing this, Konan pursed her lips and lowered her head sadly, while Yahiko nodded and answered crisply, "Yes."
"Alright. Things like this are everywhere."
Although Rinko's plan to find another Uzumaki clansman to bring back to Suna had failed, he didn't feel disappointed about something he had expected. "For the sake of being clansmen, I'll contact the village and take you out of the Land of Rain in a while."
"Whether for you three or for me, our luck isn't bad. I assume our future actions will be smoother."
Although saying this to three war orphans sounded overly mocking, his sentiment contained no irony; it was genuine.
With the Uzumaki Clan wiped out, the value of wandering Uzumaki descendants had been infinitely amplified in the eyes of the four villages that now held the Uzumaki legacy.
Although they ostensibly split different contents, no one believed the four villages didn't covet each other's loot back then.
However, Suna had the Sealing Corps he trained and brought back the records of Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu, so teaching them wouldn't be leading them astray.
And these three children looked about the same age as Sasori. Bringing them back could give that child some company.
"Um... can we not leave the Land of Rain?"
At this moment, Yahiko spoke again, somewhat hesitantly.
He knew that this opportunity to leave the increasingly chaotic Land of Rain was something countless war orphans dreamed of, and refusing Rinko's kindness risked angering him.
But no matter what, he didn't want to leave his homeland.
"Hm? Reason?"
Although his rare kindness was rejected, Rinko wasn't angry. He could see that the child before him forced himself to say this while holding onto some unshakeable will.
Some might call this stubbornness and inflexibility, but Rinko preferred to call it "willingness to give everything to carry out one's will."
He always had a favorable impression of people with this personality.
"We want to follow you and learn ninjutsu."
Seeing he wasn't angry, Yahiko licked his lips and answered quickly.
"That's not a reason. Once you get to Sunagakure, there are people who can teach you ninjutsu too. And I'm looking for someone here, busy as hell, with absolutely no time to teach you."
Rinko propped his cheek on his hand, flipped his other wrist to take out a kunai, and twirled it with interest on his fingertips. "But, I'll ask anyway: what is your reason for wanting to learn ninjutsu?"