A pack of animals!

She was a frail, filthy woman.

Her disheveled red hair hung loose as she huddled in the innermost corner of the cell.

She clutched a baby wrapped in rags tightly to her chest.

Her body trembled slightly with fear.

Her clothes were in tatters.

No, they could hardly even be called clothes.

They were strips of cloth.

On the skin exposed beneath those strips, numerous bite marks and bruises, both old and new, were clearly visible.

Her face was as pale as paper, her eyes vacant and numb.

But when she saw Guy, a stranger, enter, those eyes filled with terror and despair.

Instinctively, she hugged the baby tighter and shrank back, as though she wanted to bury herself in the cold stone wall.

Apart from a pile of filthy straw in the corner, the cell was almost empty.

An indescribable sour stench lingered in the air, mingled with the faint smell of blood.

This was Karin's mother.

One of the surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan.

In the eyes of Kusagakure's ninja, she was merely a "blood bag" they could use whenever they pleased.

Guy stood in the doorway, silently taking in the scene before him.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, keeping his voice as gentle as possible so he would not frighten her:

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to take you away."

Rather than becoming excited at his words, the woman looked even more terrified.

She curled up tighter, fiercely shielding the baby in her arms, her voice faint and trembling:

"I... I won't run... I really won't... Please, don't hit me..."

Guy's expression grew conflicted.

Just how badly had she been tortured?

Someone had come to save her, yet her first reaction was not hope, but fear and pleading?

He took off his bamboo hat, revealing