Madam, Join the Hyuga Clan, Both of You

The Kusagakure ninja, regaining their sight, quickly converged on Ryurin's figure.

Ryurin scanned his surroundings with narrowed eyes; there were no enemies in sight.

He immediately led the Kusagakure ninja into the dango shop to search.

They turned the dango shop upside down, digging three feet into the ground, but found no one.

"Damn it!"

"Teams three and four, guard all the exits. The rest of you, follow me."

Ryurin loudly issued his orders, then led one team back to the Kusagakure branch headquarters. The other two teams rushed towards the various exits of Kusagakure.

No one noticed as a Kusagakure ninja secretly broke away from the action team, used a transformation jutsu to become a black cat, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

This Kusagakure ninja was, of course, Yugito in disguise.

After using the Fire Release jutsu to disrupt the situation, Yugito had blended into the Kusagakure ninja team amidst the chaos.

She had intended to sneak into the dango shop and secretly take Neji away, but she hadn't expected to search for so long without finding him.

Yugito hid in the shadows, observing as the chaotic Kusagakure gradually restored order.

"Meow."

Yugito thought of a possibility, shook her head, and nimbly leaped onto the rooftops, rushing towards the inn.

Meanwhile.

Back at the inn, Karin and her mother, still shaken, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

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

"Thank you!"

The beautiful woman took the cup with both hands and took a sip with her red lips.

Her delicate appearance was truly heart-wrenching.

"Madam, what is your name?"

"Uzumaki Kana," the beautiful woman replied softly. She then asked with some worry, "Young... sir, how do you plan to arrange for my daughter and me?"

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

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

Uzumaki Kana's beautiful eyes widened upon hearing this.

The Hyuga clan was a renowned ninja family with a pivotal position in Konohagakure.

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

It was no wonder; she should have realized it sooner, given his eyes.

Uzumaki Kana couldn't have asked for more than to join the Hyuga clan.

However, she had lingering feelings about Konohagakure.

Uzumaki Kana hesitated. "Sir, could you conceal our identities and not let the Konoha higher-ups know about my daughter and me?"

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

Thousands of Uzumaki clan members had been massacred, with only a handful of children escaping.

During this time, Konohagakure, the Uzumaki clan's greatest ally and the strongest village in the ninja world, had never offered any assistance.

At the time, Uzumaki Kana was young and speculated that there might be some hidden circumstances she couldn't access.

However, regardless of the reason, Konohagakure was very unreliable as an ally.

This was also the main reason why, after wandering the ninja world for so many years, she would rather go to Kusagakure than seek refuge in Konohagakure.

Now, she had to compromise.

As a mother, even if she didn't consider herself, she had to think about Karin's future.

"You're mistaken. It's not joining Konohagakure, it's joining Kumogakure."

"?"

These words stunned Uzumaki Kana, and she asked suspiciously, "What did you say? Join Kumogakure?"

Neji nodded, put on his forehead protector, and said matter-of-factly, "I am a ninja from Kumogakure, so naturally, you will join Kumogakure."

Uzumaki Kana looked at the two clouds on Neji's forehead protector; they were indeed Kumogakure forehead protectors.

Suddenly, her mind felt overwhelmed.

How did the Hyuga clan end up in Kumogakure? Seeing that many major events had occurred in the ninja world during her years in Kumogakure.

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

"Not many."

Neji stared at Uzumaki Kana's bright, watery eyes and said awkwardly, "Counting you and your mother, there are only three."

"..."

Uzumaki Kana's expression faltered, and she couldn't say anything more.

A family of three, oh, no, a clan of three would also work.

Her demands weren't much; she just wanted to live a quiet life.

Knock knock!!

A sudden knock on the door made Uzumaki Kana's delicate body tremble, a hint of fear appearing on her exquisite face.

She subconsciously thought the nearby Kusagakure ninja had caught up.

Neji made a shushing gesture, signaling Kana to remain calm.

"Neji, it's me!"

A familiar female voice rang out. Neji let out a sigh of relief and ran to open the door.

Standing outside was, naturally, Yugito.

"Are you alright?"

"What could happen to me..."

Yugito entered the room and, just as she was about to say something, frowned and scanned the interior.

Karin, who was unconscious on the bed, and a beautiful woman with a flustered expression.

Yugito raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's going on here?"

"I didn't find what I was looking for, and I didn't want to return empty-handed, so I brought these two back," Neji replied matter-of-factly.

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

Yugito sensed a faint chakra reaction from Kana, not even enough to be a Chunin.

Such mediocre women were commonplace in the ninja world.

Yugito pulled Neji over to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"Sit down."

Yugito pushed Neji down onto the toilet seat, put her hands on her hips, and said, "If you absolutely must bring them to Kumogakure, I won't refuse, but I hope you won't be so willful next time."

"Captain, you misunderstand," Neji spread his hands. "I'm not so arrogant as to act recklessly just because Lord Raikage values me."

"Is that so?" Yugito looked at Neji suspiciously. After a moment of 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's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

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

However, Yugito knew a bit about the Uzumaki clan.

The Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu was unparalleled in the ninja world.

Decades ago, Kumogakure had stolen some sealing jutsu from the Land of Whirlpools.

The Iron Armor Sealing, which sealed the Eight-Tails, was developed with the Land of Whirlpools' sealing jutsu as its core.

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

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of past generations were all members of the Uzumaki clan.

The first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito, was a powerful being who could subdue the Nine-Tails with her own strength.

Although the second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, was far inferior to Uzumaki Mito, she still had her merits.

The third Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was suspected to be a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, but Kumogakure didn't have much information on this.

Uchiha with their red eyes, Hyuga with their Byakugan, and the Uzumaki clan's characteristics were also obvious: they had 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 speaking a bit loudly just now."