Bringing Karin and Her Mother Back

"Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger. The Snake and Ram hand seals are similar, so the motions in between can be omitted. Horse and Tiger are similar as well. The closer the final Tiger seal is to the chest, the more concentrated the Great Fireball will be..."

In the rear courtyard of the Daimyo Palace, Feng's Shadow Clone was gradually refining the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

"Let chakra adhere along the blade's edge, then circulate the chakra in your hand from the edge to the spine, either forward or backward. Start slow, then accelerate..."

His true body, meanwhile, slowly swung the newly purchased famous blade containing Chakra Metal, practicing the portion of White Fang Swordsmanship that made the blade sharper.

As for Daimyo Aiko Hamuro, she sat obediently in the courtyard corridor as always, reading for a while before watching Uchiha Feng for a while.

Whenever someone occasionally entered, she would chase them out one by one to avoid disrupting Feng's training.

These days that appeared harmonious to outsiders continued for quite some time.

"Kid, I brought them back."

Suddenly, a man clad entirely in black barged in. Ignoring Aiko Hamuro's displeased frown, he walked straight up to Feng and spoke.

The moment he spoke, Aiko Hamuro, who had been about to rebuke him, immediately fell silent.

She recognized the visitor's voice. He was that mysterious man who was extremely close to her husband and spent most of his time protecting him.

Since he was not some random person disturbing her husband's training, his rudeness must have been caused by something important. Thus, she held back her rebuke so as not to interfere with her husband's business.

"Sir." "S-Sir..." "S... Sir..."

Three more voices followed: one crisp and decisive male voice;

one confused, hesitant female voice; and the last, the frightened voice of a child.

The owners of those voices, two adults and one child, were also dressed entirely in black and followed behind the black-robed man who had first spoken to Feng.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior. Let's go. We'll talk in the secret chamber."

Feng stopped what he was doing and smiled at the man before him.

There was no need to say more. The visitor was Uchiha Mikio, and behind him stood the two adults and one child.

The man was naturally Kuniyoshi, the Iron Country samurai instructor whom Feng had also summoned through Impure World Reincarnation.

The other two, if nothing unexpected had happened, were Karin Uzumaki and her mother.

Thus, Feng was about to become busy.

Inside the secret chamber, Uchiha Mikio, Kuniyoshi, Karin Uzumaki, and her mother removed their black robes.

Feng looked Karin Uzumaki and her mother over from head to toe. Karin clung tightly to her mother's leg.

He could not actually recognize Karin, who had appeared in the anime at over ten years old but was now only one, much less her mother, who had never even appeared in the anime.

However, both had the Uzumaki clan's distinctive red hair, along with their unusual red eyes and the bite marks covering the mother's body.

They were extremely recognizable, so Feng easily confirmed their identities.

"Madam, I still don't know your name."

He looked at Karin's mother and spoke with a faint smile.

As for Karin Uzumaki, she was only one year old and could not even speak properly. To Feng, she was merely an added bonus.

"R-Replying... to... Sir, my name is Ayaka, Uzumaki Ayaka."

Karin's mother, Uzumaki Ayaka, answered timidly.

"Mm. Madam Ayaka, you should understand that we had a purpose in bringing you out of Kusagakure, right?"

Feng continued.

"...I understand, Sir. No matter what you ask, I will fully cooperate.

"But could you please show mercy and spare my child? She is still so young. I beg you."

Uzumaki Ayaka spoke weakly. Even as she spoke, she had already dropped to her knees, her eyes filled with pleading and supplication.

"Your daughter is named Karin, right?"

Feng did not answer. Instead, he asked a question.

One-year-old Karin raised her head in confusion when she heard her name.

"S-Sir, you know Karin's name!? You..."

Uzumaki Ayaka's pleading gaze instantly turned to terror.

A person from thousands of miles away knew the name of her one-year-old daughter but did not know her own. It was difficult not to imagine what intentions he might have toward her daughter.

"Hehe, don't be afraid. I have no interest in her.

"I simply need your help with something. She is merely a concern that will allow you to help me without worry."

Seeing that Uzumaki Ayaka had been frightened, Feng hurriedly explained with a smile.

He needed her to perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. If he did not soothe her and make her willing, then when she actually cast it, she could take him away with her as well.

"Then... Sir, Karin..."

Uzumaki Ayaka's eyes brightened as she asked timidly.

"As long as you can help me, I will take Karin as my disciple and sincerely teach her to become a ninja. She will never repeat the life you have lived."

Feng gave Uzumaki Ayaka a verbal promise she could hardly refuse.

"Is... is that true?"

Uzumaki Ayaka gently stroked her daughter Karin's head, unable to believe it.

"Given the circumstances you and your daughter are in, there is no need for me to deceive you."

Feng replied casually.

"Yes... For the two of us, there truly is no need for Sir to deceive us."

Uzumaki Ayaka murmured. A rare smile of relief appeared on her face.

Karin rarely saw her mother smile, so she timidly asked:

"M-Mom, does that mean... those people won't take you away today?"

Her mother's smile had only appeared before on days when no one came to take her away.

"Mm. Not only will no one take your mother away today, no one will take her away for a long time to come.

"She will stay with Karin for a very long time."

Before Uzumaki Ayaka could answer Karin, Feng spoke first on her behalf.

And Feng was indeed not deceiving Karin.

Before Uzumaki Ayaka learned the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, as long as she did not leave the Daimyo Palace, Feng would not place too many restrictions on her.

"Really!! Sir!!"

The formerly timid Karin cried out in delight.

She was only a one-year-old child, so her emotions naturally changed quickly.

If she had not previously lived in the hellish environment of Kusagakure, she might still have been babbling as she learned to speak instead of being forced to speak so fluently at such a young age.

"Mm, really. As long as your mother completes the task I give her, I guarantee that she can stay with you until old age."

But she can stay with you until old age, not until you grow up.

After speaking, Feng added silently in his heart.

After Uzumaki Ayaka used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, she would die in the Death God's stomach. Even Impure World Reincarnation would not be able to pull her back.

Naturally, she would be unable to accompany Karin as she grew up.

But in the future, Orochimaru would cut open the Death God's stomach when using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, releasing all the souls inside.

By then, Feng should have already obtained Nagato Uzumaki's Rinnegan, so he would naturally have a way to revive Uzumaki Ayaka.

Therefore, once she was revived, Uzumaki Ayaka would be able to accompany Karin until old age.

"Sir, please tell me what you need me to do.

"I will definitely complete the task you give me. Definitely."

At this moment, Uzumaki Ayaka gently moved Karin a little away from her side and began kowtowing with utmost seriousness and devotion.

She did not know whether the man before her was telling the truth.

But for her and her daughter, who had still been in hell not long ago, even if there was only the slightest shred of hope, she had to seize it.

She had lived in hell and knew how painful it was. As a mother, she could not let her daughter live in hell too.

And just as the man before her had said, he had no need to deceive her.

So this hope had to be real!! She!! Had to hold onto it tightly!!

That way, regardless of what happened to her, at least Karin would not live in hell in the future.

"Hehe. The fact that you awakened a self-healing constitution without any training is enough to prove how pure your Uzumaki bloodline is.

"And what I need you to do is not difficult for an Uzumaki of pure blood.

"You only need to learn one of any two Uzumaki sealing techniques.

"Then use the sealing technique you learn to help me with something.

"Once it is done, I will let you and Karin live the life you want here."

Feng still wore a faint smile.

"This... Sir, I have never learned sealing techniques, so I do not know whether I can learn them.

"But please rest assured, Sir. I will do everything I can. I will risk my life to learn."

After pondering for a moment, Uzumaki Ayaka answered sincerely.

Before the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, she had still been a child and had never come into contact with her clan's sealing techniques.

After the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, she fled all the way, only to end up in hell, completely losing contact with the outside world.

Thus, she herself did not know whether she could learn the clan's inherited sealing techniques.

So she did not dare promise the man before her that she would definitely learn them. She could only say that she would do her utmost and use her life to learn.

"Mm. First, take Karin and recuperate for a few days. Heal the bite wounds on your body and restore your depleted health.

"In a few days, I will arrange for someone to teach you which two sealing techniques you need to learn.

"At that time, choose the one you are most confident you can learn based on your own circumstances.

"During this time, you and Karin can remain together."

Feng nodded slightly, then turned to Kuniyoshi. "Senior, please take them to the residence Aiko previously used in the palace and settle them there.

"Then, Senior, you can take a look around the Samurai Training Ground. I obtained White Fang's swordsmanship and Great Swordsman Jūbei's sword techniques from Konoha. They are both there. Senior should be interested.

"Also, arrange for several samurai to watch this mother and daughter around the clock."

After speaking, Feng turned to Uzumaki Ayaka. "Madam Ayaka, I hope you do not mind."

"Sir, compared to my life in Kusagakure, this is already heaven. How could I mind?"

Of course Uzumaki Ayaka did not mind, and she answered respectfully.

"Mm, good. Then you may leave first."

Feng waved his hand upon hearing this, indicating that Kuniyoshi and Karin's mother and daughter could leave.