Return to Konoha

After dealing with the second wave of pursuers, Aoba quickly led the mother and daughter into the Land of Fire.

But soon afterward, another group of Grass Ninja actually came after them.

That was right—the Grass Ninja had openly crossed the border and pursued Aoba into the Land of Fire. What did that mean? It meant that Konoha, the greatest village in the Shinobi World, seemed to hold no deterrent power over Kusagakure at all.

Fortunately, those Grass Ninja did not dare pursue them too deeply. There were Konoha outposts along the border of the Land of Fire.

Crossing the border without authorization and wandering through uninhabited land was one thing. But once an outpost spotted them, it became an illegal invasion. Then it would truly become a war crisis.

It was not that ninja from other countries were forbidden from entering the Land of Fire. Ninja were military personnel. If they wanted to enter, they had to use official channels. The Grass Ninja who entered the Land of Fire failed to catch Aoba and ultimately did not dare continue the pursuit, so they could only retreat helplessly.

"All right, we're safe now."

Aoba set the mother and daughter down. After rushing over such a long distance and killing six Grass Ninja along the way, he was quite exhausted as well. As he had said before, he did not have much chakra. Whether traveling or fighting, he had to use it carefully.

In the wilderness, Aoba found a cave. After taking Soldier Pills, he recovered most of his chakra.

Then he caught several pheasants and wild rabbits and roasted them for dinner.

After enjoying a hearty meal, the exhausted Karin fell deeply asleep in her mother's arms.

Seeing this, Aoba took out a blanket from a sealing scroll and handed it to Karin's mother.

"Thank you." She gently laid Karin down, then covered her with the blanket. Afterward, Karin's mother stood and solemnly gave Aoba a deep bow.

"My name is Uzumaki Yumi. Thank you for your help, sir."

Aoba stood and helped her up.

"You needn't do this. I saved you because I have my own purpose as well. In the future, the two of you may have to work for me."

Aoba made no attempt to hide his intention of having them work for him. Karin's mother was not surprised in the slightest.

There was no such thing as love without reason in this world. He had taken such a huge risk to rescue the two of them from Kusagakure, so he certainly had an objective.

But for now, his care for Karin was genuine. No matter what, he was definitely a far better master than the Grass Ninja could ever be.

"As long as you treat Karin well and let her live out her life safely, we are willing to work for you. It's just that my body may not hold on much longer."

Aoba lifted her sleeve and looked at the dense scars covering her arm, then sighed.

"Your condition is indeed serious. Those Grass Ninja bit you without restraint, and they've already severely drained your vitality.

"But don't be too pessimistic. I won't treat you like the Grass Ninja did. As long as you stop casually consuming your life force, you can definitely hold on far longer than you imagine.

"The constitution of your Uzumaki clan is much stronger than you think. And I know a way to save you, but it will take time to carry out.

"So if you don't want your daughter to become an orphan, if you want to watch her grow up, then hold on. Trust me. I will save you."

Who would willingly die if they could live? Especially when Yumi still had a daughter like Karin.

"Thank you, sir. I'll do my best to live on. For Karin, and for you."

"And for yourself," Aoba added.

After resting for the night, Aoba continued toward Konoha with the mother and daughter.

Since this was rare free time for him, Aoba was not in a hurry. With no pursuers threatening them anymore, he began traveling at a leisurely pace.

Mainly because he now had a problem to face: should he bring Karin and her mother back to Konoha, or settle them outside Konoha?

If he brought them back to Konoha, should he conceal their identities as members of the Uzumaki clan?

These were all issues he would soon have to confront. Aoba could not quite make up his mind.

After thinking it over, leaving them outside Konoha was absolutely not an option. Konoha was currently troubled both internally and externally, while the other great nations were making restless moves. Though the original story had not developed into a true war, there would certainly be no shortage of various clashes.

Along the way, he even heard reports that Kumogakure had already stationed troops at the border.

Under such circumstances, there were no telling how many spies, bounty hunters, and similar people around Konoha. This mother and daughter had little ability to protect themselves. If they were placed outside and caught someone's attention, Aoba might not be able to rescue them in time.

Therefore, bringing them back to Konoha was inevitable. But Konoha was not absolutely safe either. If nothing else, if Danzo learned of the abilities of these two, there would definitely be no good outcome.

Within Konoha, Aoba was not yet capable of standing against Danzo, who controlled all of Root.

But hiding their identities was almost impossible as well. Their hair could be dyed, but once Karin attended school, people would inevitably notice something unusual.

Especially with that old pervert, the Third Hokage, using the Telescope Technique to peek around everywhere all day. Danzo's Root also had informants everywhere.

He could hide it for a while, but not forever. Aoba had originally wanted Yumi to make the decision herself.

But she said that she knew nothing about Konoha's internal situation and simply could not make the right judgment.

So in the end, Aoba still decided to bring them back without concealing their identities.

With Danzo's personality, the more they concealed, the more dangerous it would become once he discovered them. It would be relatively safer to simply present them as a pair of unfortunate Uzumaki descendants without hiding anything.

But that was not completely foolproof either. Aoba still needed to do something to make this more secure.

By the time they saw Konoha's gates, more than a month had passed since Aoba had left on his mission.

At the entrance, he used his status as a Jonin to vouch for the two of them, allowing them to pass the inspection of Konoha's two gate guards.

Before he even reached home, he encountered an ANBU ninja delivering a message.

"Aoba Kamikawa, report to the Hokage's Office immediately."

"Understood."

Though he said he understood, Aoba did not head straight for the Hokage's Office. Instead, he first took the mother and daughter to his home.

"Uh, I live alone, so it's a bit messy. Make do for now, and I'll clean it up when I get back.

"Listen, Yumi. This is Konoha. Most of the time, it's safe here. But I can't guarantee absolute safety. So don't wander around for now. Stay here and wait for me to return. And don't forget the plan the two of us discussed."

"I understand, sir." Yumi's face reddened slightly as she nodded in agreement.

With that, Yumi carried Karin into the house. The little girl was asleep again. Perhaps because she had spent every day in Kusagakure living in fear and had never been able to sleep properly.

Yet after following Aoba, despite sleeping rough and eating whatever they could along the way, she slept especially soundly. She often slept all the way while lying on Aoba's back.

After briefly settling the two of them in, Aoba turned and headed toward the Hokage Building.