Madam, You and Your Daughter Should Join the Hyuga Clan

The Grass ninjas regained their vision and saw Ryurin, quickly converging on him.

Ryurin swept his gaze around, but there was no sign of the enemy.

He immediately led the Grass ninjas into the dango shop to search.

They turned the shop upside down, digging through every inch of it, but couldn't find a single person.

"Damn it!"

"Squads Three and Four, guard every entrance and exit. The rest, follow me."

Ryurin barked out his orders, then led Squad One back to the Kusagakure branch's base. The other two squads raced toward the various entrances and exits of Kusagakure.

No one noticed one Grass ninja quietly slipping away from the group. Using the Transformation Technique, they turned into a black cat and vanished into the darkness.

That Grass ninja was, of course, Yugito in disguise.

After using a Fire Release technique to throw everything into chaos, Yugito had blended into the Grass ninja ranks.

She had planned to sneak into the dango shop and take Neji away, but after searching for ages, she couldn't find him.

Yugito hid in the shadows and watched as the disorderly streets of Kusagakure gradually returned to normal.

"Meow."

Yugito shook her head, dismissing a possibility that had occurred to her, then nimbly leaped onto the rooftops and raced toward the inn.

Elsewhere.

After returning to the inn, Kana and her mother finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Neji first set Kana on the bed, then poured the woman a cup of hot water. "Madam, rest here for the night. We'll leave Kusagakure tomorrow."

"Thank you!"

The beautiful woman took the cup in both hands and gently sipped from it with her red lips.

She looked so fragile and lovely that anyone would feel sorry for her.

"Madam, what's your name?"

"Uzumaki Kana."

The beautiful woman answered softly, then asked with some concern, "Young... sir, what do you plan to do with my daughter and me?"

"Don't worry. I'm not like those people from Kusagakure."

"Madam, you and your daughter should both join the Hyuga clan."

Uzumaki Kana's eyes widened.

The Hyuga clan was a prestigious family in the Shinobi World, with tremendous influence in Konoha.

This young man was actually a member of the Hyuga clan.

No wonder. His eyes... I should have realized sooner.

Uzumaki Kana would be more than happy to join the Hyuga clan.

It was Konoha Village she couldn't bring herself to trust.

Uzumaki Kana hesitated. "Sir, could you keep our identities hidden? Please don't let the Konoha High Command know we exist."

When the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed by the Land of Water, she had been a girl not yet ten years old and had experienced that bloody disaster firsthand.

Thousands of Uzumaki clan members had been slaughtered, and only a tiny handful of children had escaped.

Throughout it all, the Uzumaki clan's greatest ally—the strongest village in the Shinobi World, Konoha—had never once come to their aid.

Uzumaki Kana had been young then. She'd guessed there might have been reasons beyond her understanding.

Even so, Konoha had proved to be an utterly unreliable ally.

That was the main reason she had wandered the Shinobi World for so many years and chosen to go to Kusagakure rather than seek refuge in Konoha.

Now, she had no choice but to compromise.

She was a mother. Even if she didn't think of herself, she had to consider Karin's future.

"You're mistaken. You won't be joining Konoha. You'll be joining Kumogakure."

"?"

Uzumaki Kana was stunned. She asked suspiciously, "What did you say? Join Kumogakure?"

Neji nodded, adjusted his Forehead Protector, and said matter-of-factly, "I'm a shinobi of Kumogakure. Naturally, you'll be joining Kumogakure."

Uzumaki Kana looked at the two clouds on Neji's Forehead Protector. It was indeed a Kumogakure forehead protector.

Suddenly, she felt like her brain couldn't keep up.

How had a Hyuga ended up in Kumogakure? So many things must have happened in the Shinobi World while I was there.

"Um, sir, how many people are in our Hyuga clan?"

"Not many."

Neji met Uzumaki Kana's bright, watery eyes and replied awkwardly, "Counting the two of you, there are only three."

"..."

Uzumaki Kana's expression faltered, and she didn't know what to say.

A family of three—no, a clan of three—would do just fine.

She didn't ask for much. She just wanted to live a quiet life.

Knock, knock!

At the sudden knock, Uzumaki Kana's body trembled, and fear flashed across her delicate face.

She instinctively thought the Grass ninjas nearby had caught up with them.

Neji gestured for her to stay quiet, signaling her to remain calm.

"Neji, it's me!"

At the familiar female voice, Neji breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over to open the door.

The person standing outside was, naturally, Yugito.

"Are you all right?"

"What could happen to me..."

Yugito stepped inside, about to say something, when she suddenly frowned and looked around the room.

Karin was asleep on the bed. The woman beside her was plump and looked alarmed.

Yugito raised an eyebrow. "What's going on here?"

"I didn't find what I was looking for, and I didn't want to come back empty-handed, so I brought them both with me."

Neji answered as though it were perfectly reasonable.

Yugito felt a headache coming on. Kidnapping people was a Kumogakure tradition, but not just anyone qualified to be taken by Kumogakure.

Yugito sensed a faint chakra response from Kana, not even at Chunin level.

There were plenty of mediocre women like her in the Shinobi World.

Yugito took Neji by the hand and led him into the bathroom, shutting the door with a bang.

"Sit down."

Yugito pushed Neji onto the toilet and put her hands on her hips. "If you really want to take them to Kumogakure, I won't stop you. But I hope you won't be so impulsive next time."

"Captain, you've misunderstood."

Neji spread his hands. "I'm not going to take advantage of Lord Raikage's favor and do whatever I want."

"Is that so?"

Yugito eyed Neji suspiciously. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Is there anything special about that mother and daughter?"

"Do you remember the Uzumaki clan from the Land of Whirlpools?"

"The Uzumaki clan?"

Yugito raised an eyebrow, looking surprised.

The Uzumaki clan had been destroyed by the Land of Water before she was even born.

Still, Yugito knew a little about them.

The Uzumaki clan's Sealing Jutsu was second to none in the Shinobi World.

Decades ago, Kumogakure had stolen some of their Sealing Jutsu from the Land of Whirlpools.

The Iron Armor Sealing used to seal the Eight-Tails had been developed around the core principles of the Land of Whirlpools' Sealing Jutsu.

In addition, the Uzumaki clan had tenacious vitality and powerful chakra, making them ideal vessels for containing Tailed Beasts.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki throughout history had all been members of the Uzumaki clan.

The first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito, had been powerful enough to subdue the Nine-Tails with her own strength.

The second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, had been nowhere near as powerful as Uzumaki Mito, but she'd still had her strengths.

The third Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was suspected to be a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, though Kumogakure knew little about that.

The Uchiha were known for their Red Eyes, the Hyuga for their Byakugan, and the Uzumaki clan also had an obvious trait: red hair.

Yugito recalled the red hair of Kana and her mother and took a deep breath.

"Neji, you did well."

"I admit I was a little loud just now."