Karin Acquired!

Medical House!

It was a place only Grass Ninja knew about.

Located in the heart of Kusagakure, it was guarded outside by two Grass Ninja wearing flak jackets. They only let injured Grass Ninja in after they handed over a hundred thousand ryo.

The treatment method was also extremely primitive and cruel.

One bite!

Just one bite was enough for an injury to heal quickly. There was no longer any need to spend a long time recovering after being wounded.

With this treatment method, Grass Ninja had been taking on more missions and expanding faster over the past few years.

A strategic resource!

So someone had to be assigned to guard it.

"Sosuke, Ono, how did you two get hurt...? You're not here for treatment too, are you? We've already used up today's quota..."

One of the guards greeted White Dove and Izumi, who had transformed to look like someone else.

Clearly, they knew each other.

As for the quota... it was naturally to avoid "draining the pond to catch the fish." After all, the woman's condition was already at its limit, while the younger specimen hadn't yet grown up, so they had to use them carefully.

However, when he saw the several hundred thousand ryo in banknotes White Dove placed in his hand, he immediately changed his mind.

"But then again, you can't let your injuries go untreated, either. So we'll make that specimen suffer a little today. It's all for the village, after all... I'm sure no one will object!"

Several hundred thousand ryo meant that, aside from the two hundred thousand they had to hand over, the rest would be extra income for the two of them. No wonder he was willing to "make an exception."

Besides, he wasn't the one getting treated. How could he possibly refuse?

So letting them cut in line was only natural.

After the Grass Ninja ahead of them came out, White Dove and Izumi followed him inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw a six- or seven-year-old red-haired girl leaning against the bed, crying as she watched the red-haired woman lying on it.

"...Sob!"

When she heard footsteps behind her, her tearful face turned to one of fear and resentment. She pleaded timidly,

"N-no... Didn't you say you'd only treat five people a day? Mom can barely hold on anymore. Can you use me for the treatment instead? I can do it too!"

Her mother no longer had the strength to even stand. To keep from losing her, the girl had no choice but to offer herself in her place.

"No... You two, please treat me instead. Karin's constitution is too weak. She won't be able to treat you!"

The red-haired woman, her hair already faded and dull, struggled to sit up.

Even if she couldn't endure it, she didn't want her daughter to be sacrificed.

After all, her daughter was still young. Treating someone would require extracting a large amount of chakra from her, which was far too dangerous.

"Shut up!"

White Dove first shouted in his transformed voice, letting the two guards outside know everything was normal. Then, after having Izumi keep watch at the door, he dispelled the Transformation Technique.

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke dissipated, revealing White Dove in Uchiha attire, with a Konoha Forehead Protector on his head.

"You..."

Before little Karin could cry out, White Dove quickly covered her mouth and whispered,

"I'm here to get you out of here!"

After speaking, he slowly let go.

In a cruel place like the Shinobi World, one must never underestimate anyone, not even a child. One couldn't just assume they wouldn't do anything foolish.

Take Weasel Itachi, for example. Wasn't he taken to the battlefield by Fugaku when he was only four or five, and already able to think with "Hokage logic"?

So after White Dove released her, Karin didn't scream. Instead, her eyes shone with excitement as she quietly asked,

"Are you really here to get us out of here?"

She had already lost all hope in Kusagakure. As long as someone could take her and her mother away, she didn't care where they went.

"Yes."

White Dove nodded.

"Are you from Konoha?"

But when the red-haired woman on the bed saw his Forehead Protector, her tone suddenly turned cold.

White Dove was confused at first, but quickly understood.

The Land of Whirlpools had fallen because Konoha stood by and did nothing, allowing the Uzumaki Clan to be wiped out. Only a handful of its members had escaped.

Another mess caused by the F4!

They'd taken an excellent hand and played it into a terrible one. He had no idea how they still had the nerve to sit in those positions.

No wonder, during the Chunin Ninja Exams in the original story, the great ninja clans watched Sarutobi Hiruzen die without a single one of them stepping in to help. Yet the moment he died, they all joined forces to drive off the invaders.

It seemed that at the time, Orochimaru and the great clans had all plotted against the F4.

So the Uchiha might not be incapable of taking the Hokage Position for themselves.

How to seize power was another matter.

Taking Konoha by force was much easier than inheriting it.

If they really wanted to "inherit" it, there would be too many factions and interests to deal with. The advantage was that they could gain an intact Konoha.

As for "taking Konoha by force," they wouldn't have to worry about those decaying old powers, and the Konoha they gained would be absolutely loyal to them. The downside was that there would certainly be many losses.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, White Dove kept a calm expression and patiently explained,

"I'm from the Uchiha Clan. I'm sure you know about our relationship with the Hokage Faction. I came to save you because I want you to work for me in the future!"

Anyone who wasn't deaf knew about the relationship between the Uchiha and the Hokage Faction. They were practically sworn enemies.

So claiming to be from Konoha wouldn't work, but saying he was Uchiha was fine.

At the same time, he made his purpose clear.

She wouldn't believe someone who came to save her for no reason. But it made perfect sense for someone to rescue and cultivate a promising subordinate.

"..." The red-haired woman fell silent. But when she looked at her daughter, she spoke in a hoarse voice. "I can entrust Karin to you, but I hope you'll treat her well."

She knew that if she left her daughter in Kusagakure, she would end up just like her, with no future at all.

But if she left with the Uchiha, she might have a chance to live.

One had to admit, aside from their arrogance, the Uchiha had a reputation for being trustworthy in the Shinobi World.

"No, I don't want to leave without you, Mom!"

Little Karin had understood that her mother didn't want to leave with her, and panicked.

"Karin, Mom can't go with you. You have to live happily from now on..."

The red-haired woman gave her daughter a gentle smile and urged her on.

White Dove didn't try to persuade her to leave with them.

He could tell that her life was about to flicker out at any moment. If she hadn't been protecting Karin, she would have died long ago. That was why she had no desire to escape with them.

"All right, Karin. We're running out of time!"

White Dove reminded her.

The carriage would leave in half an hour. They had to get back and meet up before then.

"Karin, remember what Mom told you..."

The red-haired woman grew weaker and weaker, but her eyes grew brighter, gleaming with happiness.

Being able to see her daughter taken away in the final moments of her life truly was the happiest thing for her.

Even if she would be treated as a tool!

But in a place like the Shinobi World, being treated as a tool wasn't the worst thing. The real fear was having no value.

"No, I don't want to be alone..."

Karin naturally refused.

But before she could keep trying to persuade her mother to leave with her, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared before her, and she slowly lost consciousness.

"All right, I'm taking her with me. Is there anything else you'd like to tell her, ma'am?"

Holding Karin in his arms, White Dove looked at the gaunt woman on the bed.

This might be the last time the mother and daughter ever saw each other.

"Hidden in the Land of Grass... are the foundations of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu. I hope you can teach them to Karin someday, so she can live a good life..."

As the woman spoke, her gentle gaze remained fixed on little Karin.

She offered this as a reward to thank him for rescuing Karin, and, more importantly, for her daughter's future.

Given the Uchiha's way of doing things, they would surely make sure Karin benefited once they received the reward.

Sealing Jutsu!

The most precious and rarest kind of jutsu in the Shinobi World.

Put simply... Sealing Jutsu worked on both ordinary ninja and Otsutsuki.

Take Kaguya, for example. She couldn't be killed, so they had no choice but to seal her and hang her up on the moon.

That showed just how precious such techniques were.

At the Ninja Academy, one might get access to some ninjutsu materials. But something like Sealing Jutsu was completely out of reach unless it was taught by one's clan or one belonged to the Hokage Faction.

Now, the Uzumaki Clan's foundational Sealing Jutsu had been offered up to him. It was an enormous treasure.

"Goodbye!"

White Dove left with Karin.

Izumi used a genjutsu to control the two Grass Ninja outside, allowing them to leave without trouble.

After they left the Medical House, Karin's mother could no longer hold on and closed her eyes.

A few hours later, what had happened there was discovered.

But the carriage had already slipped away, leaving the Grass Ninja empty-handed.