Return to Konoha

After Uchiha Akira appeared, he didn't waste any time on small talk. He looked at the red-haired woman, whose face was etched with terror, and drew his ninja blade, striking the chains several times.

With a few sharp clangs, the chains snapped.

Gaining her freedom, the red-haired woman lunged forward, snatching a Kunai from the gear pouch of a Kusagakure ninja.

She held the Kunai and stabbed down fiercely at the Kusagakure ninja lying on the ground.

With several wet thuds, she punctured holes in the ninja's neck, and blood pooled across the floor.

"Die, die, die..." the red-haired woman hissed repeatedly. She stabbed every unconscious Kusagakure ninja on the ground with the Kunai, a look of grim satisfaction on her face.

Uchiha Akira looked at her and said in a low voice, "Are you done venting? We should get going!"

Kusagakure was a ninja village, after all, fully equipped with defenses. If they were surrounded by a large number of ninjas, it would be troublesome to fight their way out while carrying someone.

"I am so sorry, I was blinded by hatred for a moment." Uzumaki Rika let out a long breath, tossed the blood-stained Kunai aside, and looked at Uchiha Akira. "My name is Uzumaki Rika. Did Konoha send you?"

"Let's get out of Kusagakure first." Uchiha Akira scooped her up by the waist and immediately used the Lightning Body Flicker to depart.

By now, Kusagakure had discovered the intrusion, and their ninjas were gathering in large numbers toward Uchiha Akira's position.

Blue electricity streaked through the air as Uchiha Akira charged through the surrounding Kusagakure ninjas with Uzumaki Rika in his arms.

Relying on the dynamic vision provided by his Sharingan, the extreme speed granted by stimulating his body with Lightning Style, and his Strength of a Hundred secret technique, he plowed through the opposition.

Wherever Uchiha Akira passed, bodies flew. After rampaging through the encirclement, he broke out of Kusagakure with lightning speed.

After sprinting more than ten kilometers away with Uzumaki Rika, Uchiha Akira set her down.

"Thank you." Once she was certain she was safe, Uzumaki Rika immediately expressed her gratitude to Uchiha Akira.

"You're welcome." Uchiha Akira waved his hand and asked, "Can you still walk? Are you still able to circulate your chakra?"

Uzumaki Rika nodded firmly. "Yes, I can keep going."

On the road, Uzumaki Rika looked at Uchiha Akira and asked the same question she had posed back in Kusagakure: "Did Konoha send you?"

"No." Uchiha Akira shook his head. "This was my own personal action."

Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Rika fell silent for a long time, looking somewhat dejected.

After a while, she asked, "Are we heading back to Konoha?"

"That's right." Uchiha Akira nodded. "The Uzumaki Clan once shared a deep bond with Konoha. Once you return, you will have a brand new life, and no one will ever treat you like a medicinal resource again."

"Will Konoha really accept me? How about you just drop me off in some town once we reach the Land of Fire? I'll figure something out on my own." A look of worry appeared on Uzumaki Rika's face as she whispered:

"Besides, your actions don't align with Konoha's ninja regulations, do they? Won't the Hokage punish you for this? It might even trigger a conflict between Kusagakure and Konoha."

"If you don't say anything, who would know I brought you back to Konoha from Kusagakure?" Uchiha Akira said dismissively.

Seeing that she was still worried, Uchiha Akira reassured her, "Don't worry, our Uchiha Clan can handle this."

"I hope so. It would be terrible if you were punished because of me." Uzumaki Rika didn't seem entirely convinced.

She felt deeply grateful toward Uchiha Akira; if he hadn't rescued her from Kusagakure, the ninjas there would have eventually drained her life force dry.

Despite wandering for years, Uzumaki Rika remained kind-hearted.

"Rest assured." Seeing her state, Uchiha Akira continued to comfort her. "The Hokage's Wife is named Uzumaki Kushina. She is from the same Uzumaki Clan as you, and it is said she is a descendant of a very important figure from the Land of Eddies."

"Really?" Uzumaki Rika's eyes lit up at Uchiha Akira's words, and she quickly asked, "When did the Third Hokage remarry?"

Uchiha Akira's cheek twitched. "Konoha is currently under the Fourth Hokage. The Third Hokage has already stepped down."

"I'm sorry, I meant no offense to your Hokage." Uzumaki Rika lowered her head in shame.

Her situation in Kusagakure had been dire; the man who had held her there only did so because of her looks, and he had kept her under strict control.

Consequently, she knew very little about the outside world.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Our Hokage doesn't care about things like that." Uchiha Akira shrugged. "On the contrary, he will surely be very happy to see someone from the Uzumaki Clan like you."

"Is that really true?" A look of longing appeared on Uzumaki Rika's face.

She felt a newfound sense of hope for her future.

Because Uzumaki Rika's speed was relatively slow, it took Uchiha Akira two days to bring her back to Konoha.

Upon returning to Konoha, Uchiha Akira did not immediately notify Minato Namikaze.

Instead, he took her to the Shentian Bio Research Institute to have her examined first.

Once he was certain there were no issues, Uchiha Akira had someone quietly collect a sample of her biological tissue.

Only then did Uchiha Akira have someone discreetly notify Minato Namikaze.

Uchiha Akira felt it was best to keep the matter of Uzumaki Rika as low-profile as possible.

Minato Namikaze, who was busy with paperwork, arrived at the Shentian Bio Research Institute immediately after receiving the message.

The situation went off without a hitch, as Uchiha Akira and Uzumaki Rika had already agreed on their story.

According to Uchiha Akira's account, he had discovered Uzumaki Rika by chance in a border town, not snatched her from Kusagakure.

Minato Namikaze offered no opinion or comment on Uchiha Akira's explanation.

Uzumaki Rika was of great significance to Konoha and could certainly serve as a candidate for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Regardless of her origins, it was impossible for Minato Namikaze to let her leave, both in terms of sentiment and reason.

In the eyes of the higher-ups, Uchiha Akira bringing her back was entirely correct and a great boon.

That very same day, Uzumaki Rika obtained a permanent residency permit for Konoha, becoming a member of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Uchiha Akira did not interfere too much regarding the matter of Uzumaki Rika.

He knew that Minato Namikaze would arrange everything properly.

He had only brought her back for the sake of his own Chimera Technique.

When he had taken her to Shentian Bio for an examination earlier, Uchiha Akira had already ordered the researchers to obtain some of Uzumaki Rika's body tissue to keep for future cloning purposes.

It could be said that Uchiha Akira had already achieved half of his goal.

Soon, the other half of Uchiha Akira's goal was also achieved.

On the third day after bringing Uzumaki Rika back to Konoha, Uchiha Mikoto sought him out with a scroll.

"Mikoto-nee," Uchiha Akira greeted Uchiha Mikoto, looking at her slightly rounded abdomen.

Uchiha Mikoto nodded slightly and said to Uchiha Akira:

"Kushina heard that you have been studying Sealing Jutsu recently; these are some of her notes and insights on the subject.

"She entrusted me to bring them over for you to look at. Kushina is very grateful to you for bringing her clansman back to Konoha, and this is her way of thanking you."

Uchiha Akira took the scroll and said, "Please remember to thank the Hokage's Wife for me when you see her, Mikoto-nee. I am indeed studying Sealing Jutsu, and these notes are truly very important to me."

"Rest assured, I will," Uchiha Mikoto said.

Clack, clack, clack.

A series of footsteps rang out as staff members from the Police Force arrived beside the two of them.