It was the first time Karin had ever heard her surname.
Her beautiful eyes stared blankly at the woman before her—the beautiful red-haired woman who shared the same hair color as her.
She repeated her name slowly.
"Uzumaki… Karin…? My name is Uzumaki Karin?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes. It's the surname of Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools.
As for the clan crest…" She glanced at Kakashi, who was wearing a jonin flak jacket. "The symbol on the back of a Konoha jonin vest is actually the crest of our Uzumaki clan."
Kakashi immediately understood what she meant. He turned around so Karin and the others could see the back of his vest—the red spiral symbol.
Sakura, Sasuke, and Gaara all froze.
The Uzumaki… clan?!
At the same time, their gazes shifted to the blond boy sleeping on Iruka's back.
Could it be…
Sasuke thought to himself: Could this woman be… the Kushina Mom mentioned in that memory?
A beautiful misunderstanding.
At that moment, the mechanical voice delivered its expected judgment.
[Answer… correct.]
If Karin still had doubts earlier, they completely disappeared now.
She really was Uzumaki Karin—the descendant of Uzushiogakure from the Land of Whirlpools.
[Congratulations. You have obtained Reward 1—]
[No-sacrifice version—Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal—one-time use permission.]
A string of white prayer beads appeared before Karin's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, they sank into her forehead as if nothing had happened.
Even Uzumaki Mito, was quite shocked..
She knew exactly what level of technique the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was.
To think there was a way to turn a sealing technique into something like a one-time ninja tool…
Just when everyone thought the first reward was finished, the mechanical voice spoke again.
[Because the correct answer was given on the first attempt, Reward 1 has been exceptionally upgraded to Reward 1—Encrypted Version.]
[You have obtained Reward 1—Encrypted Version.]
[No-sacrifice version—Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal Release—one-time use permission.]
The white prayer beads that had entered Karin's forehead emerged again.
This time, they transformed into a strange Hannya mask before sinking back into her forehead.
…
Then—
"Thud… thud… thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!"
Ten dull thuds echoed as coffins rose from the ground out of nowhere.
Even the Konoha shinobi who had witnessed it once before were still shocked.
Tobirama Senju frowned.
"Although it looks similar, it's not the forbidden technique I developed—Impure World Reincarnation…"
Rather than Edo Tensei, it was closer to the technique used by the controlled Obito Uchiha during the Fourth Great Ninja War to revive Madara—
Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
Inside the barrier, the ten coffins opened one after another.
Ten red-haired shinobi stood inside.
Men and women. Old and young.
But every single one of them had red hair.
This made those familiar with Naruto start wondering—if Naruto truly belonged to the Uzumaki clan, why was he the only one with blond hair?
Could it be that Naruto just happened to have the Uzumaki surname, but wasn't actually from the clan?
As for the people in the coffins, Karin didn't recognize a single one of them.
After all, if she was being honest, the only member of the Uzumaki clan she had ever known was her mother.
Unfortunately, her mother wasn't among them.
Karin looked at the Uzumaki Mito and asked in her slightly accented tone who she should revive.
The woman gave the choice back to Karin, telling her to decide for herself.
But Karin had no idea how to choose.
And Sakura still hadn't been cured of the poison, so there wasn't much time to hesitate.
"Can I choose her?"
Karin pointed to a young red-haired woman.
[Revival confirmed—Fusō.]
Bright green chakra surrounded the coffin, overflowing with vitality. The life-filled chakra caused the coffin—already dead wood—to sprout fresh branches again.
The woman inside slowly opened her eyes.
But the moment she saw the Konoha headbands around her, slumped back down sitting in the coffin in terror!
"K-Konoha ninja!"
"???"
At this point, the barrier had already opened. Kankuro went over to help prepare an antidote for Sakura, while the others gathered around the Mito.
The woman spoke gently.
"You seem afraid of Konoha shinobi. Don't worry—I'm an Uzumaki just like you."
Hearing that she was speaking to a fellow clansman, the woman felt a bit more trust toward her.
After pressing her lips together for a moment, the woman named Fusō finally said,
"Can you let me go?"
She clearly remembered dying—dying alongside her husband in their home in the Land of Rain.
She wondered if their child had managed to escape the Konoha ninja.
"We have no intention of harming you," Mito said. "In fact, that child revived you."
She pointed at Karin and gently pulled her closer.
"Right, Karin?"
Karin nodded, staring at the woman's red hair—the same color as her mother's.
Fusō looked at the girl, who seemed a little older than her own son. She was thin and somewhat shy. Those traits reminded her of her child.
She turned to the Uzumaki woman.
"May I ask where this place is?"
There was no endless rainfall here. So this definitely wasn't the Land of Rain.
"The Land of Fire—Konohagakure," the woman replied. "This is one of Konoha's training grounds. If you don't mind, we can find somewhere to talk. It's getting dark."
Iruka turned to the Second and Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto and the others haven't finished their Chunin Exams yet. Should I take them back to the Central Tower first?"
"Let's all go together," Tobirama said.
He pointed at Sasuke and looked toward the Uzumaki Mito.
"That Uchiha boy was marked with Orochimaru's Curse Seal. I temporarily sealed it earlier, but it seems to be loosening again. We should reinforce it while we have the chance."
Just then, a crow landed beside the woman.
Tobirama glanced at the crow suspiciously.
"??"
Itachi—the crow—pretended nothing was unusual.
…
The group returned to the Central Tower. On the way, Naruto slowly woke up.
None of them had eaten dinner. Because of the unexpected events, the food they found wasn't enough for everyone.
Kakashi and the others shrugged.
"We all carry soldier pills, so it's not a problem. But…" he glanced meaningfully at the crow beside the Uzumaki woman. "What does a crow eat? Soldier pills or bugs?"
Itachi: "…"
Naruto, who had just woken up, clutched his stomach.
"Ahhh, I'm starving! I want ramen so bad…"
"Ah! Wait!!"
He suddenly dashed in front of Tobirama.
"Second Hokage bro! Can you use that thing where you go whoosh—"
"Flying Thunder God Technique!" Tobirama snapped, unable to endure it anymore, supplying the name of his jutsu.
"Yeah, yeah! That Flying Thunder God thing! Could you go buy us ramen? You should be able to whoosh back instantly, right?!"
"Naruto! You idiot!" Iruka smacked Naruto on the head and quickly apologized to the Second Hokage.
Naruto pouted.
"But Second Hokage big bro said he owed me a favor. I still remember!"
Tobirama's forehead filled with black lines.
"You mean that favor… and you want me to repay it with a bowl of ramen?"
Naruto thought seriously for a moment before answering.
"Well… a few bowls would be fine too!"
"You dense kid…" Tobirama sighed deeply. "I've already decided how to repay that favor."
"Huh?"
Tobirama crossed his arms.
"In my lifetime, I developed quite a few forbidden—ninjutsu. Asidef rom the Shadow Clone Technique, the Flying Thunder God you saw earlier is also one of them.
And it's said that the Fourth Hokage became famous during the Third Great Ninja War using an improved version of Flying Thunder God…"
After speaking for a long time, Tobirama paused and looked at Naruto.
Seeing Naruto's expression that clearly said Where are you going with this?, he finally continued.
"I intend to teach you the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"!!!"
____________________________
*The bonus Chapter*
Every 50 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter