Minato Namikaze, Saving a Girl Under the Moon

Since the mission was over, there was no need to hurry back to the village as they had on the way there. Besides, Rasa of Sunagakure had caused trouble several times before.

To avoid further trouble, they decided to take another route back, traveling along the northern borders of the Land of Bears, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Rain, near the Land of Earth.

The journey passed without incident until they neared the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass.

The weather was lovely that day. A bright moon hung high in the sky that night, and there wasn't a cloud in sight.

As they prepared to make camp for the night, Genichi released his sensory jutsu as usual to check the area. He picked up four chakra signatures ahead. One of them gave off an especially strong sense of vitality.

Since Genichi knew Kushina well, he was fairly certain the person was a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

After explaining the situation to the others, he told the students to hide where they were and keep watch. Then he led Minato toward the group of ninja ahead.

"Wah, wah... Can't anyone come and save me?" Karin Uzumaki couldn't help but cry inwardly. Things weren't going the way she'd imagined at all. Why was her life so miserable?

When the Land of Whirlpools had fallen, members of the Uzumaki Clan had scattered in every direction. Karin Uzumaki had retreated inland with an elder, thinking they were going to seek refuge with their ally, Konoha.

But the elder had said, "If we stay together, we'll be too easy to find. Let's split up here. The Land of Whirlpools is in the past, but as long as even one of us is alive, the Uzumaki Clan hasn't been wiped out.

"And whatever you do, don't go to Konoha. Konoha hasn't lifted a finger all this time. Lady Mito is still alive, so things shouldn't have turned out this way. Something must have gone wrong."

After wandering here and there, Karin Uzumaki had gradually crossed the Land of Fire and reached the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass.

A few years of peace had followed the end of the Second Shinobi World War, but the Ninja World was growing unsettled again. Karin Uzumaki decided to seek protection by joining a hidden village as a medical ninja.

That morning, she'd come across a Grass Ninja squad passing through on a mission. She'd approached them, introduced herself as a member of the Uzumaki Clan and a medical ninja, and asked to join Kusagakure.

The Grass Ninja had welcomed her. After all, Kusagakure was only a small hidden village, constantly shifting its loyalties among the major villages. It survived in the cracks between the great nations by copying other villages' jutsu and selling information.

Medical ninja were a rare resource for Kusagakure, especially one from the famous Uzumaki Clan.

So Karin Uzumaki had set out for Kusagakure with several Grass Ninja, and the journey had been pleasant.

Then Karin had thought of them as future comrades from her new village. Eager to earn Kusagakure's respect, she'd let her excitement get the better of her and told them about her special ability, Physical Healing.

Physical Healing was one of the Uzumaki Clan's abilities. By biting someone's skin, a person could quickly restore their own or another person's chakra and heal their injuries.

Instead of the admiration or praise she'd expected, the Grass Ninja had reacted strangely. They exchanged glances several times, shifted their positions until Karin was surrounded, and then continued toward Kusagakure.

Karin regretted it bitterly when she finally realized what was happening. From the way they looked at her, she felt they didn't see a medical ninja, but a valuable medical resource. She wanted to escape, but she was surrounded and could hardly get away.

As she worried about her future and lamented her misfortune, several kunai suddenly shot in from the distance. A flash of golden light followed, and the Grass Ninja collapsed. Then a gentle voice asked:

"Are you all right?"

A few minutes earlier.

Genichi said, "Do you see them, Minato? Three Grass Ninja are holding a member of the Uzumaki Clan captive."

"What should we do?" Minato asked gravely.

"Take a good look at the Uzumaki symbol on your Forehead Protector. It's proof of the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan. These Grass Ninja are abducting a member of the Uzumaki Clan right in front of us. How is that any different from abducting a Konoha ninja in front of us?" Genichi asked frankly.

"Take them out without leaving a trace. Go on, Minato. You're up."

Minato Namikaze was warm and kind to his allies, but cold-blooded toward his enemies. When he found his chance, he threw a Flying Thunder God Kunai and ended the fight cleanly.

"Who are you?" Karin stayed on guard. Though grateful that the ninja had saved her, she still asked.

Minato pointed to the Konoha Forehead Protector on his head. "We're Konoha ninja. You're a member of the Uzumaki Clan, aren't you? Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan are allies, so helping each other is only natural.

"What are you planning to do now? The Land of Whirlpools is gone. Would you like to come back to Konoha with us?"

"I can't go to Konoha." At the mention of going to Konoha, Karin blurted out what the elder had instructed her.

Minato was utterly confused. Why couldn't she go to Konoha?

Genichi's expression darkened when he heard this, and he hurried to explain. "I completely understand why you don't want to go to Konoha. When the Land of Whirlpools fell, Konoha stood by and did nothing.

"But there were reasons for it, all sorts of reasons. In short, Konoha's Hokage Advisor cut off the Land of Whirlpools' distress signal for his own benefit. By the time Konoha realized what was happening, it was already too late to send help."

Though he suspected the Third Hokage wasn't blameless—perhaps he'd coveted the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, or feared that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki at the time, Uzumaki Mito, might act rashly and cause trouble with the Nine-Tails—right now, he could only let Danzo take the blame.

"What!" Minato and Karin exclaimed in unison.

Minato hadn't expected the village's higher-ups to be so corrupt. Karin was shocked, but still only half-believed him.

Genichi continued, "With so many people in the village, it's inevitable that a few bad ones slip in. Do you know Kushina Uzumaki? She's about your age and lives in Konoha now. We're close friends.

"And this is the Four-Symbols Seal. I learned it from Lady Mito of the Uzumaki Clan when I was younger." Genichi pressed one hand down and inscribed a simple outline of the Four-Symbols Seal on the ground.

Seeing the familiar sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan, Karin finally relaxed. "Kushina's still alive?"

Karin was about the same age as Kushina, and they'd played together when they were little. But later, Kushina had been secretly taken to Konoha, and the two had never seen each other again.

"Of course. She's missed her clan for years. Why don't you come back to Konoha with us? Minato, who just saved you, can take responsibility for your safety," Genichi said.

Karin thought that she had nowhere else to go anyway, so she might as well visit Kushina. At last, she nodded. She looked at the blond ninja who had just saved her and saw how sunny and gentle his smile was, then greeted him.

"Lord Minato, is that right? I haven't thanked you for saving me. My name is Karin Uzumaki. I hope we'll get along."

"You don't have to call me Lord. You can call me Minato Namikaze or just Minato." Minato smiled gently. Looking at Karin's lovely red hair, he couldn't help staring. Their eyes met, and they gazed at each other.

"Ahem! We should get back, or the little ones will start to worry." Genichi broke the somewhat intimate atmosphere, thinking, From what I remember of the original story, Minato's got a bit of a thing for redheads. Add in the hero saving the beauty... Heh, young people these days sure know how to have fun.

Once everyone had gathered, Genichi briefly explained what had happened, and the nine of them slowly made their way back to the village.

He sent Minato on ahead to report the mission at the Hokage's office, while he took Karin to meet Kushina. After introducing the two, he watched as they reunited after so long, holding hands and laughing as they reminisced about their childhood in the Land of Whirlpools.

Genichi then went to the Hokage's office.

"Genichi, you did a fine job on this mission. Minato's already given me his report," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a genial smile from behind his desk.

"I heard the Shrine Maiden survived. How did that happen?"

Genichi put on a helpless expression. "It was just a monster from a small country, yet it claimed it could destroy the Ninja World. At most, its strength was comparable to a low-level Tailed Beast, and in many ways it was clearly weaker. With the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu combined with the Shrine Maiden's, I doubt it'll ever get out."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. He didn't know the details about Moryo, but Genichi was a sealing jutsu prodigy who'd studied under Lady Mito from a young age. He was even responsible for the regular maintenance of the Nine-Tails seal on Kushina Uzumaki. Sealing a monster from a small country would be well within his abilities.

"I heard you brought back a ninja from the Uzumaki Clan, too?"

"That's right, Lord Hokage. I've already used genjutsu to verify that Karin Uzumaki's background is clean and that she isn't a spy. She also has the potential to learn Sealing Jutsu and become an excellent medical ninja. I've sent her to meet Kushina, and I came here to request Konoha ninja status for Karin," Genichi explained.

Had he interrogated her with genjutsu? Of course not. Genichi had sensed the vitality in Karin's chakra and learned that the Grass Ninja were about to take her back to Kusagakure. He'd also guessed that Karin was Karin Uzumaki's mother from the original story.

"Hmm. Since you've checked her out, Genichi, granting her Konoha ninja status won't be a problem. However, according to regulations, I'll have the Anbu Ninja keep her under surveillance for a while," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, trusting Genichi's judgment.

"Then I'll take my leave." With everything settled, Genichi turned and left.