Chapter 98 (Patreon)

From what Roy remembered of the original story, Haku had spent his childhood in a village covered in snow throughout the year.

There were not many places like that in the Land of Water.

Therefore, compared to Fūshin, whose current whereabouts were completely unknown, Haku should be much easier to find.

The location Roy pointed out on the map was one of the few villages that remained covered in snow all year round.

However, just as Yakushi Nonō and Honoka were preparing to depart, several Hidden Mist shinobi approached them.

“So, you’re the ones asking about shinobi with kekkei genkai?”

They carefully examined Nonō and Honoka. Neither of them carried any markings that identified them as members of a shinobi village.

Although Honoka’s bright red hair stood out, the Hidden Mist shinobi did not suspect that she belonged to the Uzumaki Clan.

Hair colors varied widely throughout the shinobi world, so red hair alone proved nothing.

More importantly, the Uzumaki Clan had been destroyed many years ago. Some younger shinobi did not even know that such a clan had once existed.

Even if survivors remained, they would never openly enter territory controlled by Kirigakure. They should have been doing everything possible to avoid the village, not walking straight into its grasp.

As long as Honoka refrained from using the Uzumaki Clan’s signature technique—the Adamantine Sealing Chains—her identity would not be easily exposed.

Despite being surrounded, Nonō remained perfectly calm.

As a highly skilled spy, she had endured more interrogations than she could count. She was already preparing a convincing explanation that would allow them to slip away without raising suspicion.

Roy, however, had no patience to waste on these people.

He immediately cast a Bakudō spell, forcibly restraining all of them.

“Use genjutsu,” Roy said.

Although Nonō was confused by his sudden decision, she did not question him.

After placing the Mist shinobi under her control, she began relaying Roy’s questions to them.

Unfortunately, these shinobi were too low-ranking to know any of Kirigakure’s closely guarded secrets.

They could still tell her about several major incidents, including the reason the Hidden Mist Village had suddenly sealed its borders.

The Kaguya Clan had attempted to assassinate the Third Mizukage, only to be ruthlessly suppressed and purged.

Kirigakure had not wanted news of the incident to spread and draw the attention of the other villages, so it had placed the entire village under lockdown.

Outsiders could not enter, and any spies already inside would be unable to leave.

Despite those precautions, the news had eventually leaked, though the information circulating outside the Land of Water was far from complete.

The mention of the Kaguya Clan reminded Roy of Kimimaro.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where Kimimaro was either.

At this point in time, Orochimaru should not have taken him yet.

In the original story, after Zabuza took Haku under his wing, the two of them had encountered a young Kimimaro who was wandering alone after attacking several Hidden Mist shinobi.

If Jiraiya was the Toad Sage, then Orochimaru deserved to be called the Kidnapping Sage.

Any child who caught his interest inevitably ended up being taken away by him.

Roy did not kill the Mist shinobi, but it had nothing to do with kindness.

He simply did not want to attract Kirigakure’s attention.

If several shinobi suddenly disappeared without a trace, the Hidden Mist Village would inevitably send someone to investigate.

Kirigakure still possessed several powerful fighters, along with more than a few shinobi who wielded kekkei genkai.

If the village sent those people after them, Nonō and Honoka alone would have little chance of escaping.

Once the questioning was finished, Roy instructed Nonō to alter their memories with genjutsu. The Mist shinobi would remember questioning the two women and finding nothing suspicious about them.

Honoka held neither fondness nor hatred toward the Hidden Mist Village.

Kirigakure had been one of the forces responsible for Uzushiogakure’s destruction, but Honoka had been too young at the time to remember any of it.

She had later been taken to Summoning Island and raised there. Even her memories of her parents had become vague.

If Nonō had not told her so much about the Uzumaki Clan, Honoka might never have understood just how unique her clan had once been in the shinobi world.

One day later, after traveling through a frozen landscape of snow and ice, they finally arrived at another village.

The appearance of Nonō and Honoka immediately drew the villagers’ attention.

Their gazes contained nothing but caution and indifference, yet no one stepped forward to ask where the two strangers had come from.

“Excuse me,” Nonō said. “Does a child named Haku live in this village?”

At last, one of the villagers came forward.

“Who are you? Why are you looking for that child?”

Nonō calmly glanced at Roy beside her before answering.

“We’re relatives of his mother. We were separated from her during the war and have been searching for her ever since.”

The excuse was riddled with holes.

Haku had been born in this village, so there was no reason for outsiders to know his name.

Furthermore, if they were supposedly relatives of Haku’s mother, they should have asked for her by name instead of asking about Haku.

Unfortunately, Roy had no idea what Haku’s mother was called.

Since Haku was the only name he knew, it was the only one they could use to search for him.

Fortunately, the villagers did not give the matter much thought.

After pointing them in the right direction, they quickly returned to their homes to escape the cold.

Perhaps some of them had noticed something strange about Nonō’s story. Even so, it had nothing to do with them, so there was no reason to invite trouble by asking unnecessary questions.

Following the villagers’ directions, Nonō and Honoka soon found Haku’s home.

However, Roy stopped Nonō just as she was about to knock on the door.

Haku had not yet awakened his Ice Release kekkei genkai, and his family of three was still living peacefully together.

Taking him away under these circumstances would be no different from kidnapping a child.

As for Haku’s mother, although her constitution was stronger than that of an ordinary person, she was most likely an ordinary descendant of the Yuki Clan rather than a shinobi who had awakened their kekkei genkai.

After the Yuki Clan was persecuted, she had hidden her identity and married an ordinary man.

The real question was what Haku’s father would do if he discovered the truth.

Would he react as he had in the original story and try to kill both his wife and his son after learning about Haku’s ability?

Roy intended to find out.

If the man truly made the same choice, then Roy would feel no guilt about taking Haku away. He might even bring Haku’s mother with them.

After all, there was a significant difference between rescuing someone and simply abducting a child from a happy family.

According to the original timeline, Haku would accidentally discover his ability roughly a year from now when he froze a small pool of melted snow.

He would show the ice to his mother, only for his father to witness it as well.

Haku was still very young, so his kekkei genkai should not have awakened yet.

That was not a problem.

A simple genjutsu could create the scene they needed.

After hearing Roy’s plan, Nonō gave him a strange look. Nevertheless, she cast a genjutsu on the two adults inside the house.

Haku’s parents had been discussing where they might find game once the weather cleared when they suddenly noticed something happening beside their sleeping son.

The warm water nearby rose into the air as though drawn toward Haku. It gathered beside him and rapidly froze, transforming into several small pieces of ice.

The expressions of both parents changed at once.

Haku’s mother had never imagined that her son would awaken Ice Release. She turned toward her husband, terror filling her eyes.

She understood better than anyone how deeply ordinary people feared and despised such abilities because of Kirigakure’s actions and the wars that had ravaged the Land of Water years ago.

Since she had never awakened the Yuki Clan’s kekkei genkai herself, she had believed that no one would ever discover her true heritage.

She had never expected her young son to inherit the clan’s power.

Fear and disbelief also flashed across the man’s face.

His ancestors had all been ordinary people. If his son possessed such a monstrous ability, then it could only have come from his wife.

However, he also understood that confronting her immediately might force her to silence him.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, he forced himself to remain calm.

​“Don’t tell anyone about Haku’s ability,” he said. “We’ll pretend this never happened.”