Chapter 21 (Patreon)

“Hand that Uzumaki woman over to me. Give me six months at most, and I will turn her into a weapon capable of dealing with Kumogakure’s jinchūriki.”

Danzō went straight to the point.

He believed Hiruzen could not possibly be satisfied with the current stalemate against Kumogakure either.

“She is with Kushina,” Hiruzen replied, barely sparing him a glance. “If you think you can take her, go and ask Kushina yourself.”

His tone was unreadable.

Perhaps, deep within his heart, there was a faint hope that Danzō really would succeed.

If Danzō could take the woman and train her into someone capable of ending the war, Konoha would benefit greatly.

In any case, as long as she remained alive, she would still be capable of continuing the Uzumaki bloodline.

More than anything, however, Hiruzen simply did not have the patience to argue with Danzō at the moment.

Konoha had failed to repel Kumogakure, and the daimyō of the Land of Fire had already sent a letter reprimanding him as Hokage.

The message stated that if the war could not be brought to an end soon, Konoha’s military funding for the following year would be reduced.

The major hidden villages earned part of their income by accepting commissions and sending shinobi on missions, but a large portion of their finances still came from the funding provided by their respective daimyō.

Once that funding was reduced, the training of shinobi, the purchase of equipment, and the supply of weapons and medicine would all be affected.

It would create a vicious cycle.

A lack of military strength would lead to reduced funding, and reduced funding would weaken the village even further.

Hiruzen wanted to end the war as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, Konoha currently lacked the strength required to force Kumogakure to retreat.

For now, his only choice was to begin with the daimyō and persuade him to withdraw the order.

Elsewhere, Kushina finally met Kaorui, whom Kakashi had brought back from the Land of Grass.

The joy of seeing another surviving member of her clan quickly turned into sorrow and sympathy when she noticed the bite marks occasionally visible beneath Kaorui’s clothes.

Seeing the two women facing each other, Kakashi quietly excused himself.

Although Kushina was a fellow Uzumaki, Kaorui was far more familiar with Kakashi, the young shinobi who had rescued her from that living nightmare.

The moment Kakashi left, she became visibly nervous and uncertain.

More importantly, although she could not see anything behind Kushina, Kaorui could sense an unknown presence watching her.

At the same time, an even more terrifying existence within Kushina’s body was also observing her.

Noticing her unease, Kushina softened her voice.

“Don’t be afraid. Now that you’re in Konoha, everything will be all right.”

Her gaze moved toward the infant in Kaorui’s arms.

“This is your daughter, isn’t it? What is her name?”

Kushina deliberately brought up the child to help ease Kaorui’s tension.

“Karin,” Kaorui answered quietly. “Her name is Uzumaki Karin.”

“Karin? That’s a lovely name.”

Kushina leaned closer and smiled at the infant.

“She’s just as adorable as Naruto. Naruto is my son. I’m sure the two of them will get along wonderfully.”

With their children as the starting point, the two mothers quickly found something to talk about.

Kaorui’s initial nervousness gradually disappeared.

Kushina then asked about their parents’ generation.

Both of them had left the Land of Whirlpools at a very young age, but there was a chance that their parents had known one another.

That connection would make it even easier to close the distance between them.

As it turned out, Kushina really did know of Kaorui’s parents.

Although nearly everyone in the Land of Whirlpools bore the Uzumaki surname, distinctions between the clan’s nobility and common families had still existed.

Kushina had been born into one of the clan’s noble branches.

Although she was not a direct descendant of Mito Uzumaki, they were still related by blood.

Kaorui’s father, meanwhile, had once served as one of the guards assigned to Kushina’s father.

After learning of this connection, Kaorui’s gaze toward Kushina became noticeably warmer.

“From now on, you and Karin can stay in the room on the left,” Kushina said. “No outsiders will disturb you here.”

Because of the difference in their former status, Kaorui instinctively wanted to refuse.

She already considered herself incredibly fortunate merely to have been granted a place in Konoha.

How could she possibly dare to eat and live beneath the same roof as the young lady of the clan?

Kushina, however, refused to accept her objections.

The Land of Whirlpools was gone.

Whatever status she had once possessed as a member of the Uzumaki nobility had disappeared along with it.

Besides, Kaorui and Karin might be the only blood relatives she had left in the world.

Kushina could not simply stand aside and allow them to continue suffering.

After some persuasion, Kaorui finally agreed to remain in the house.

“Give Karin to me and go take a proper bath,” Kushina said. “You must be exhausted after travelling all this way.”

Kaorui hesitated before carefully placing the swaddled infant in Kushina’s arms.

“I’m sorry to trouble you, Kushina-sama.”

She then made her way toward the bathroom, glancing back every few steps.

Kushina watched her leave and released a quiet sigh.

“She’s suffered so much too.”

Her gaze lowered toward the child in her arms.

“Roy-kun, why can’t people simply live together in peace?”

Roy knew she was only lamenting the cruelty of the world.

She did not truly expect him to provide an answer.

“Thank you, Roy-kun,” Kushina continued softly. “Without you, I never would have known that Kaorui and her daughter were suffering in Kusagakure.”

Kaorui was too worried about Karin to relax in the bath.

Rather than soaking, she quickly rinsed herself beneath the shower while activating the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura, constantly monitoring everything around her.

When she heard Kushina speaking to someone named Roy-kun, she instinctively connected that name to the invisible presence she had sensed behind her.

Kakashi had told her that Kushina had been the one who sent him to rescue them.

Until now, Kaorui had wondered how Kushina could possibly have known that she was living in the Land of Grass.

Everything finally seemed to make sense.

She could vaguely sense Roy’s presence.

However, there was no chakra within him.

What she sensed instead was an extraordinarily pure spiritual energy.

Aside from the divine beings spoken of in legends, Kaorui could think of no other existence that could live without possessing chakra.

Even ordinary civilians who had never trained as shinobi possessed chakra within their bodies.

As long as they were alive, there were no exceptions.

A benevolent god must have taken pity on her suffering and informed Kushina of her existence.

That was why Kakashi had been sent to rescue her.

Thank you, Roy-sama.

Kaorui silently offered her gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

Suddenly, she heard Karin begin to cry.

Kaorui was about to wrap herself in a towel and rush out of the bathroom when her sensory ability caught Kushina expertly checking the swaddle.

A moment later, Kushina loosened her clothes and began feeding the infant herself.

That finally convinced Kaorui that Kushina truly did have a newborn child of her own.

When Nonō returned carrying Naruto and discovered another infant in Kushina’s arms, she froze in surprise.

Had she not personally taken Naruto with her and kept him by her side the entire time, she might have wondered whether she had somehow brought back the wrong child.

“Kushina-sama, this child is…”

Kushina gently placed Karin on the sofa.

She then accepted Naruto from Nonō and laid him beside her.

“She’s the daughter of one of my clanswomen. Her name is Karin.”

Kushina smiled as she looked at the two infants.

“Look at them. They already seem so close.”

The two babies lay side by side, turning their heads to stare at one another.

Perhaps because Karin still carried Kushina’s scent, Naruto, who was due to be fed, instinctively began trying to nuzzle closer to her.

Nonō realised what was happening and was about to speak when she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned and saw a woman with similarly coloured, shoulder-length red hair approaching them.

Nonō immediately greeted her.

“Kaorui-sama, my name is Yakushi Nonō.”

Kaorui was startled by suddenly being addressed so respectfully and hurriedly waved her hands.

“Nonō-sama, please don’t call me that. Kaorui is enough.”

“All right, that’s enough formality from both of you.”

Seeing how awkward the two women had become, Kushina covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“We’re all on the same side now.”

After dinner, Nonō suddenly turned toward Kushina.

“Kushina-sama, one of the children at the orphanage is ill. I may need to stay there tonight to look after him, so…”