If You Were Even a Third Like Her, I'd Lose My Head

"Th-the Sage of Six Paths..."

Uzumaki Kana's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz as she repeated the name tremblingly.

She huddled beside the tree roots, her red hair caked with mud and her pale face still bruised from being kicked. Her ruby-like eyes were wide with fear, yet they also held a trace of inexplicable reverence.

Yotsuki Sora looked down at her, his dark red eyes narrowing slightly. Following Uzumaki Kana's gaze, he reached up to touch the horn on his forehead and suddenly understood.

"Heh."

An unreadable chuckle rolled from Sora's throat.

His gaze fell directly on Uzumaki Kana's arm.

Beneath the filthy scraps of cloth was a slender arm. Yet the skin that should have been fair and smooth was covered in countless bite marks, old and new, stretching from her wrist all the way to her neck.

Those teeth marks varied in depth and overlapped one another, like ugly brands silently recounting her past.

"Talk about getting exactly what I wished for."

"If I took this luck to a casino, wouldn't I make a fortune?"

Sora's large hand gently brushed over her fair skin.

He could clearly feel the immense vitality contained beneath that delicate skin.

There wasn't the slightest trace of ninja training, yet the chakra within her was more abundant than that of an ordinary jonin!

"What's your name?"

"Y-you should leave quickly! This place is very close to the Hidden Grass Village. The village's ninja will find us soon!"

There was a barely noticeable urgency in her voice. It was not entirely out of concern for the terrifying man before her, but more out of fear for the greater chaos and danger that would soon arrive.

Once Hidden Grass Village's pursuers discovered what had happened here and found that their human-shaped medicine pill was gone, the consequences would be unimaginable!

At her words, a faint, almost mocking glint flashed through Yotsuki Sora's dark red eyes.

"Hidden Grass?"

"What the hell is that?"

Sora's voice was low and calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as though he were discussing a stone by the roadside. That casual tone, and the absolute contempt contained in his words, left Kana speechless.

That was the Hidden Grass Village!

Though it could not compare to the Five Great Nations, among the smaller ninja villages, it was still among the best.

Faced with such a powerful ninja village—indeed, even a country—this guy had that kind of attitude?

"I asked you a question. What's your name?"

"K-Kana..."

Uzumaki Kana trembled all over as she forced herself to answer through her fear.

"Uzumaki Kana, right?"

Sora repeated the name in an ordinary tone, but Kana's body began to shake violently.

"N-no, I'm not an Uzumaki."

She instinctively tried to deny it, her voice as fragile as a dying candle in the wind.

The Uzumaki Clan had been exterminated more than a decade ago. The shadow of that tragedy had been branded deep into the souls of every survivor.

A man's only crime was possessing a treasure.

Decades ago, the Uzumaki Clan had been glorious beyond measure.

One clan founded a village!

One clan founded a nation!

They forged marriage alliances with Konoha and formed alliances in every direction.

Whether in standing within the ninja world or overall strength, they had ranked among the very best!

But unfortunately, that calamity destroyed everything.

The nation, the village, the clan.

Everything had been reduced to ashes in a single night. They did not even know who their enemies were before it was all destroyed.

The scattered survivors fled throughout the ninja world, but their once-mighty chakra, unique talent for sealing techniques, and healing constitution praised as a "mobile blood bank" became a deathly curse after they lost the protection of their village and nation...

Over the years, any Uzumaki remnant who exposed their identity in the ninja world met a tragic end.

The exorbitant prices on the black market had drawn the attention of countless rogue ninja and bounty hunters to those red-haired people.

Human experimentation, research into escape techniques.

Not to mention the interest certain nobles with twisted tastes took in such playthings!

Uzumaki Kana's delicate body trembled as she denied her identity.

In order to survive in the chaotic ninja world, she had even been willing to become a human-shaped medicine pill in exchange for the Hidden Grass Village's protection.

And now, her identity had been exposed before this terrifying man...

In her mind, she could already see an abyss even darker and more despairing than the Hidden Grass Village!

"Denial is meaningless. Your red hair, your chakra, everything you've shown me makes your identity obvious."

Yotsuki Sora's rough fingers lightly brushed across her fair skin.

This girl was clearly not a ninja. Though she possessed abundant chakra, that was merely an innate gift.

But no matter how good one's foundation was, no one could withstand such prolonged depletion of chakra, vitality, and essence.

In the original story, Uzumaki Karin's mother had been bitten to death by the people of the Land of Grass!

"What a bunch of idiots who only know how to ruin good things."

Sora pinched Uzumaki Kana's cheek.

Long-term malnutrition and depletion had left her looking quite haggard.

"...If I want to live, I have to prove my worth." Uzumaki Kana's voice trembled slightly. She did not know who this man was or what kind of person he was, but she had already come to a realization.

Four ANBU had died, yet she had survived.

If the higher-ups of the Hidden Grass Village discovered this, what awaited her would undoubtedly be an unimaginable nightmare!

No matter what, she had to fight for the greatest possible chance of survival from the man before her!

"What I can do is make the most of what I have."

"My body contains special healing chakra. As long as someone bites me, they can quickly restore their own or another person's chakra and injuries."

Suppressing the fear in her heart, Uzumaki Kana raised her head and looked at Yotsuki Sora. "If you need it, I can become your personal [medicine]!"

"Oh?"

Sora looked at Uzumaki Kana with interest.

He truly had some ideas about this woman.

The Uzumaki Clan had practically gone extinct after the Second Shinobi World War. Coupled with the losses over the years, there were now only a handful of them left in the entire ninja world.

Now, a living member of the Uzumaki Clan stood before him—and a young woman at that. Whether for realizing his idea of "completing the bloodline" or carrying out his original plan to "strengthen the ninja clan," she would be very useful to Sora.

He had not expected that before he even spoke, this girl would offer herself up.

Sora's gaze moved from Uzumaki Kana's resolute face back to her scar-covered arms, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

How could someone willing to become a blood bag in exchange for protection possibly be willing to throw away her life just like that?

"It's not impossible for you to follow me, but first I need to confirm something with you."

"W-what...?"

"It's nothing difficult. Hmm, let me take a bite first and have a taste."