The scale of Kusagakure was not large, and its economy was not very developed. Unlike Konoha, where at night lights shone everywhere, presenting a bustling and prosperous cityscape.
In a shabby wooden house in a remote corner of the village, the furniture was worn and the furnishings were simple. The dim yellow light bulb could not provide sufficient illumination, giving the interior an added sense of gloom.
The young woman's expression was numb, as if she were waiting for the judgment of a predetermined fate. Yet whenever she glanced at the child tightly held in her arms, her eyes were filled with worry.
She had red hair, cut to about neck length—similar in color to Uzumaki Kushina's, but slightly dry and far less vibrant.
Like a red flower on the verge of being dried out by the sun, ready to wither at any moment.
She was a rare healing physique that Kusagakure had discovered by chance. But she knew no medical ninjutsu. Her method of healing others was simply to let injured shinobi bite into her body and drink her blood.
She was nothing more than a walking blood bag, using her special Uzumaki physique to support Kusagakure's external wars all by herself.
But no matter how special her constitution was, she was still just one person—not the Sage of Six Paths. Her chakra would eventually run dry, and when that time came, it would be her end.
She was not afraid of death. She even saw it as a form of release. The only thing she could not let go of was her daughter.
This child had inherited that cursed special physique. She knew that after her own death, her daughter would walk the same path, continuing the same miserable fate.
And if, in the future, her daughter gave birth to children who also possessed this same physique, then this fate… might continue for who knew how many years.
This was a road to hell with no end in sight.
Kusagakure had blindly launched wars outward. Shinobi were often injured. The pain of being bitten by others, of watching her own life force drain away little by little—she endured it every few days.
The only "preferential treatment" Kusagakure gave her was practicing a kind of sustainable exploitation. Those who required her healing were all relatively strong shinobi; ordinary genin did not qualify.
If not for that, she would have already died from excessive chakra depletion. Even the Uzumaki clan's vast reserves of chakra were limited. She could not heal an entire village's worth of shinobi by herself.
Even so, she felt she would not be able to hold on for more than a few years. She would not live to see her daughter grow up, nor help her escape this fate.
She was powerless to resist any of it.
Based on past patterns, she knew that today was probably another day the village would come to use her.
Sure enough, not long after, she sensed someone approaching. Then a Kusagakure shinobi rudely slammed open her door.
"It's time for you to do your part again. Come with me. Hmph, don't give me that look. The village has sheltered you, let you survive. This is what you owe. You should learn to be grateful."
"I understand." The young woman gently set down the child in her arms.
In the shinobi world, infants grew quickly. The little girl had already learned to say a few simple words, though she did not yet understand her own and her mother's special nature. She instinctively clutched her mother's clothes: "Mama!"
"Karin, be good. Stay at home and wait for me. Mama will be back soon."
The Kusagakure shinobi grew impatient. "Hurry up. Don't dawdle, you stupid woman."
After soothing her daughter and placing her on the bed, the woman noticed that the shinobi urging her moments ago had gone silent. He stood there blankly, eyes empty.
...
Kusagakure was not on the same level as Konoha. Its core area did not have top-tier barrier protection.
To Makoto and the others, this place was practically undefended.
As he approached Kusagakure, he sensed two chakras full of vitality—similar to Uzumaki Kushina's, yet fundamentally different.
Makoto knew these must be Karin and her mother.
After quietly infiltrating the area, they saw a Kusagakure shinobi come to take the woman away to treat injured comrades who had just returned to the village. A single genjutsu was enough to knock him down.
They were all members of the Fourth Hokage's Guard Platoon, so they naturally knew about Kushina's special nature. And yet, the woman before them—holding a child—had the same hair color as Kushina.
In truth, in the shinobi world, having red hair did not necessarily mean one belonged to the Uzumaki clan. Other villages also had red-haired shinobi; for example, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had red hair.
However, theirs was usually dark red or reddish tones.
Meanwhile, not all Uzumaki had red hair either. Naruto himself, thanks to his father's strong genes, possessed the Uzumaki physique but ended up with bright blond hair.
But hair as vividly red as Kushina's, combined with the fact that their captain had brought them directly to this woman's home, was enough to explain everything.
They knew very well just how monstrous Makoto's sensory ability was.
Genma pointed at the woman's hair and asked, "Captain… could it be?"
"Exactly as you think. And she is the key figure behind why Kusagakure's shinobi can recover so quickly."
Upon hearing Makoto's words, the woman immediately realized that these four masked shinobi were not from Kusagakure.
She quickly shielded her daughter behind her and pleaded, "Honored shinobi… I know you've come to kill me. But can you please spare my daughter?"
Makoto glanced at the little Karin. She looked only one or two years old, peeking out curiously from behind her mother.
She had even greater potential than her mother—especially in sensory ability. Though she couldn't do anything yet, she could instinctively feel that the people before her bore no malice.
Unlike those bad people who often came to take her mother away.
Makoto removed his mask, revealing his face and the Konoha forehead protector on his head.
"Ma'am, we are shinobi from Konoha. We're not here to kill you."
"Is that so? Then what is your purpose in coming to me?"
"Are you willing to leave Kusagakure? If you are, we will take you away."
"No. I am not willing."
When Uzushiogakure had been destroyed, she had been very young. She had no real impression of Konoha. Her parents had never taken her there to live.
Her only knowledge of Konoha came from vague complaints her parents made when she was a child—memories long since faded.
The reason she refused was that she could not be sure whether these people were truly Konoha shinobi. If they were Kusagakure shinobi testing her loyalty, agreeing would make her and her daughter's lives even more miserable.
She did not dare gamble with her child's life.
Makoto generally did not use force against those who were not enemies. He was willing to respect others' choices. So all he needed to do was dispel her doubts.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Konoha shinobi Higashino Makoto. You may not have heard my name, but the one who taught me sealing techniques is Uzumaki Kushina. Does that name ring a bell?"
"Kushina…?" The woman froze for a moment, then murmured, "I didn't expect she was still alive."
Kushina was twenty-five this year, older than her. Back in their childhood village, she had been a leader among children—always causing trouble with a group trailing behind her.
At the time, she herself had been too young to understand anything, only vaguely remembering following behind those older kids to join in the fun.
But after Uzushiogakure was destroyed, everyone had been scattered, and they had never seen each other again.
She had not expected to hear that name again today—a name buried deep in her memories. And if she wished, they might even meet again.
Makoto asked, "So, are you willing to come with us to Konoha?"
The young woman looked at her daughter behind her. Finally, she made up her mind.
"I am willing. Please… take us away from here."
"No problem. But… where is the child's father?"
"He's already dead!"
"…I'm sorry. Please hold your daughter tightly."
At his words, the woman hugged Karin close. Makoto stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, while Genma and the other two placed their hands on Makoto.
The Flying Thunder God Technique activated.
In an instant, the six of them completely vanished from Kusagakure.
After they left, the Kusagakure shinobi who had been placed under genjutsu collapsed to the ground, dying peacefully.
...
Outside Kusagakure, the young woman stared in disbelief as the scene before her changed in an instant. The village that had imprisoned her and her daughter now stood before her like a beast lurking in the darkness.
She held her daughter tightly.
"We… we really got out… My little Karin, you won't have to live like Mama anymore."
If Kushina truly was in Konoha, she believed that her and her daughter's lives would not be too bad—at least far better than in Kusagakure.
There, she had only ever been treated as a useful tool.
Makoto looked at Kusagakure, its scattered lights glowing in the darkness, and asked: "If you want, I can make this village disappear from the shinobi world."
The woman fell silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it. This is enough. All I wanted was to leave."
Makoto did not object.
Since the victim herself had no desire for revenge, he would not go out of his way to destroy the village. Although most Kusagakure shinobi were scum, there were still many innocent civilians inside.
He had not saved Karin and her mother out of some sudden surge of morality. It was simply something done along the way during a mission.
More importantly, it was to find a companion for his somewhat scatterbrained teacher—to let Kushina live a happier life in Konoha.
Makoto was someone who understood gratitude.
For Kushina's wholehearted teaching of sealing techniques, he had always kept it firmly in his heart.
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