Obtaining the Uzumaki Bloodline

The borderlands of the Land of Grass were steeped in even deeper despair and chaos than the Land of Fire. This small nation struggled to survive in the cracks between great powers. Bandits ran rampant, minor conflicts never ceased, and Kusagakure itself lacked the strength to maintain order across the entire country. Many remote villages were like abandoned orphans, left to fend for themselves.

The temporary squad Kyohaku Uchiha was assigned to had received a mission to clear bandits from a supply route leading to a small town in the Land of Grass. The mission itself was unremarkable: encounters, battles, cleanup. But beyond the mission briefing, Kyohaku had a goal of his own.

Based on vague memories from his previous life and fragmented intelligence analysis, he knew that at this time, Karin, a surviving member of the Uzumaki Clan, and her mother should have been stranded in some heavily oppressed little village near the Land of Fire border in the Land of Grass. The Uzumaki Clan's powerful vitality and unique chakra were a crucial part of his "Completion Plan," the foundation for bearing vast amounts of chakra and integrating more bloodlines in the future.

During a break in the mission, he temporarily left the squad under the pretext of "scouting the surrounding area and eliminating potential threats." Ira did not suspect a thing. After all, Kyohaku's scouting and stealth abilities had been obvious to everyone.

Using the Mayfly Technique, Kyohaku moved soundlessly across the barren land of the Land of Grass like a ghost beneath the earth. He avoided every possible gaze and, based on his judgment of the terrain, village distribution, and Kusagakure's sphere of influence, precisely narrowed down several of the most likely target areas.

At last, in a dilapidated little village nearly forgotten in a mountain hollow, he sensed that distinctive chakra—not particularly powerful, yet possessing an unusually vigorous, warm, life-filled quality that closely matched the traits of the Uzumaki Clan he knew.

Night fell, and the little village sank into dead silence, broken only by a few barking dogs and the howling cold wind. Kyohaku emerged from the shadows like a specter and silently approached the most dilapidated thatched hut at the edge of the village. Through a crack in the wall, he saw the scene inside: beneath a dim oil lamp, a haggard woman with dry, straw-like red hair tightly held a tiny, painfully thin girl with equally vivid red hair. Both were covered in old and fresh wounds, and their eyes were filled with fear and numbness. Several men dressed like villagers had just left, cursing under their breath. They seemed to have just taken something from them—most likely forcing Karin's mother to use her healing ability on their injuries, only to repay her with further abuse.

The timing was perfect.

Kyohaku did not hesitate. He directly pushed open the creaking, broken door.

The mother and daughter jolted in fright and clung to each other like startled rabbits. The woman instinctively shielded the girl behind her, staring in terror at the pale, cold-auraed stranger who had suddenly barged in.

"Who are you?!" the woman asked in a trembling, despairing voice.

"Someone here to take you away from this place." Kyohaku's voice was calm without the slightest ripple as he stated his purpose. "The Land of Grass is no longer safe. War will soon reach this place. Come with me. I can take you to the Land of Fire, somewhere relatively safe."

The woman froze. A flicker of disbelief crossed her eyes, but there was even more suspicion and fear. "The Land of Fire? We... why should we trust you? Are you a Konoha ninja?" She had seen the forehead protector on Kyohaku's head.

"If you stay here, death is your only path. Or you'll become even more miserable tools." Kyohaku's gaze swept over the wounds on their bodies. His tone was cold, but he was only stating the facts. "Come with me, and at least you'll have a chance to live. I don't have much time for you to think it over."

His gaze finally settled on the little girl—Karin. Though frightened, she stared with wide eyes, curiously studying the pale older brother who did not seem like a bad person.

Perhaps Kyohaku's calmness beyond his years carried a strange persuasive power. Perhaps the long abuse had made them willing to seize any possibility of change. Or perhaps they sensed something in the dark. After a fierce inner struggle, Karin's mother looked at the frail daughter in her arms and finally gritted her teeth.

"...All right! We'll go with you! As long as you can keep Karin alive!"

"A wise choice." Kyohaku nodded. "Don't bring anything. Leave immediately."

He stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. The woman's body stiffened, and she instinctively tried to resist, but Kyohaku moved faster.

Mayfly Technique!

The three of them instantly sank into the ground and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the flickering oil lamp and the empty, broken hut.

Traveling underground was an extremely terrifying experience for Karin and her mother, but under Kyohaku's precise chakra protection, they were not harmed. In only a moment, they were far from that village, appearing in a dense forest near the Land of Fire's border.

Kyohaku had long ago contacted, through secret channels, the place where Orochimaru arranged people—a seemingly unremarkable village on the outskirts of Konoha. It had basic living provisions and was sufficiently hidden.

He handed the still-shaken mother and daughter over to a taciturn subordinate of Orochimaru who had been waiting there.

"Settle them properly. Provide their basic necessities, ensure their safety, and don't let anyone disturb them," Kyohaku ordered, his tone as though he were handling an object.

"Yes," the subordinate answered respectfully.

Only then did Karin's mother seem to relax slightly. She looked at Kyohaku, hesitated for a moment, and asked softly, "Th-thank you. What do we need to give in return?" She did not believe there was such a thing as help without reason in this world.

Kyohaku looked at her calmly. "I need some of your blood for... medical research. I will come to collect it periodically. It won't be much each time, and it won't endanger your life. In exchange, you will receive protection."

Direct and cold, yet it was also a different kind of "fairness."

The woman's face paled, but she ultimately nodded. Compared to what they had endured in the Land of Grass, these already seemed like very good terms.

Kyohaku said nothing more. He took out the sterile blood-drawing equipment he had prepared beforehand and, with practiced, professional movements, drew several tubes of bright red blood from the woman's arm. The entire process was quick and precise, carrying the particular indifference of a laboratory.

The blood swayed faintly in the tubes, displaying an extraordinarily vibrant color under the light and containing astonishing life energy.

The blood of the Uzumaki Clan was now in his hands.

After finishing everything, Kyohaku did not linger for even a moment. He turned and melted into the shadows, disappearing from sight, as if he had merely completed a simple material-gathering task.

Behind him, the red-haired mother and daughter remained in that unfamiliar place, beginning a new life under surveillance, filled with unease and a faint trace of hope.

Kyohaku, meanwhile, held those few tubes of warm blood and felt the surging vitality within them as he calmly evaluated the results.

The third stage of the plan—one of the key materials had been successfully acquired.

The road to completion had taken another solid step forward.

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