Taking Karin Home to Konoha!

"Damn brat! Stop running!"

Whether it was some twist of fate or not, a tiny figure dashed past, with a middle-aged man chasing behind her, shouting angrily, "You dared to steal my bread! You little brat, you'd better not let me catch you!"

In such a chaotic era, war orphans were everywhere. Shinichi had seen scenes like this plenty of times.

"Stop!"

Sighing inwardly, Shinichi stopped the middle-aged man and took out a few banknotes. "Stop chasing that poor child. I'll pay for the bread you lost!"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly..."

The middle-aged man wore a sheepish smile, but his hands moved quickly. "Young man, this is far too much. A loaf of bread doesn't cost much."

What Shinichi had given him was far more than the price of a loaf. It would have been enough to buy a whole truckload of bread.

"If any other children like her come to steal your bread, consider this payment in advance. Give them a chance to survive."

Shinichi spoke solemnly.

What did it matter if he possessed strength that towered above the Shinobi World?

He was still just one man. He couldn't change the cruelty of the world around him, much less save every war orphan from their fate. Perhaps all he could do now were little things as insignificant as this.

With that thought, Shinichi headed in the direction the child had fled.

His speed was astonishing. In an instant, he had blocked her path.

"I... I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'll never steal again!"

Thinking the man from the bakery had caught up with her, the child immediately covered her head with both hands and spoke timidly.

Seeing her almost instinctive defensive posture, Shinichi felt his heart grow heavier. Clearly, she was used to being abused.

"Put your hands down. I won't hit you."

Shinichi made his voice as gentle as possible. "I've already paid for you. The owner won't chase you anymore."

As though sensing a gentleness she had never known before, the little girl opened her eyes curiously. Through her unusual perception, she discovered that the man before her had an incredibly warm color.

It felt just like her mother.

"Little girl, your hair..."

Shinichi suddenly noticed something and spoke in surprise.

Everything had happened so quickly that he hadn't noticed her hair wasn't an ordinary grayish black at all. It had been stained dark by layers of grime, beneath which lay a striking blood-red color!

Could it really... be such a coincidence?

"M-my hair is ugly. Don't look at it. They all say I'm a freak..."

At the mention of the sensitive word "hair," the little girl lowered her head self-consciously.

It was such a familiar experience. As a child, Kushina had also felt ashamed of her long, blood-red hair. Without the encouragement of her little sun, Minato Namikaze, she wouldn't have overcome those emotional scars so easily.

"Your hair looks lovely. It's beautiful. I really like it."

Shinichi chuckled softly. "And you're not a freak. Those people are just jealous that you have such beautiful hair!"

"Really?"

The little girl's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Little one, my name is Hatake Shinichi. What's yours?"

Meeting her expectant gaze, Shinichi smiled and nodded.

"My name is Karin. Karin Uzumaki."

"Karin? That's a lovely name."

Though he already knew the answer, Shinichi asked, "Then, little Karin, where is your family?"

"I... I only had my mom... but she died."

Karin lowered her head sadly.

"I see."

Shinichi smiled. "Then would you like to come with me? I'll take you somewhere warm, where you'll never go hungry again. From now on, I'll be your big brother. There's actually another kid at my house about your age, named Naruto. I'm sure you two will become friends."

"Really?"

At the promise of never going hungry again, Karin's eyes immediately widened. "Big brother, I want to go! Please take me with you!"

"Before that, let's get you a bath and some clean clothes!"

Shinichi smiled, first taking little Karin to buy some new clothes, then to a hot spring inn for a comfortable soak.

Accustomed to life on the streets, Karin seemed a little uneasy, as though wondering whether she deserved to enjoy such a life. But when she saw Shinichi's gentle smile, her anxiety faded.

After all, Karin possessed the special ability to sense other people's chakra.

That was precisely why she could tell Shinichi was a gentle person who would never hurt her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been foolish enough to follow some random stranger who approached her on the street.

"Big brother, where exactly are we going?"

"A village called Konoha."

Shinichi chuckled softly. "That's where my home is. Oh, right, I actually have two younger brothers. One is Naruto, and the other is named Kakashi. He might seem a little withdrawn, but he's a good person too. You're a child of the Hatake Clan now, so no one can bully you..."

As they spent time together, Karin gradually opened up to Shinichi, even telling him about her unusual constitution.

It was precisely because of this special constitution, which allowed her to heal others through her skin, that she and her mother had suffered such inhuman treatment in Kusagakure. Though Karin was only four, her body already bore numerous scars from bite marks.

The ninja in Kusagakure undoubtedly had a hand in her mother's death.

That was also the main reason Karin had immediately found a way to flee Kusagakure after her mother died.

"Don't worry. If anyone ever dares to bite you again, I'll beat him so badly even his own mother won't recognize him!"

Despite Shinichi's fierce tone, Karin felt a warmth she had never experienced before.

She suddenly felt incredibly lucky. Lucky that she had passed that bakery and stolen something, allowing her to meet Shinichi, who kept bringing warmth into her life.

They returned to Konoha.

Shinichi didn't hurry home. Instead, he took Karin to see the Third Hokage first.

"I see. So she's the little girl from the Uzumaki Clan you brought back?"

After hearing what had happened, the Third Hokage looked rather rueful.

After all, the Uzumaki Clan had always been Konoha's ally, yet Konoha had failed to prevent its destruction. If the Uzumaki Clan still existed, how could Karin and her mother have ended up living such a rootless, wandering life?

"Lord Hokage, Karin belongs to the Uzumaki Clan, just like Naruto. I'm sure they'll get along well."

Shinichi smiled faintly. "Also, I don't intend to leave Karin in the village's care. I'm taking her home to the Hatake Clan."

His words were less a request than a notification.

It couldn't be helped. He was no longer the Hatake Shinichi of old. He was now Konoha's hero.

To put it bluntly, even the Third Hokage had to show him some deference.

That was the respect the strong deserved.

"Since fate arranged for you to meet her, it's only natural that you should look after her."

The Third Hokage had no objections anyway. The Hatake Clan was part of his own Hokage faction. As long as Karin wasn't taken away by another major clan or Root, he could accept it.

Most importantly, there was no need to offend Konoha's hero over such a minor matter.

After his battle with the Fourth Raikage, Shinichi's reputation in Konoha had reached unprecedented heights. Countless people regarded him as an idol, though that was only natural.

As for the members of the Kumogakure Envoy Group, the moment they received news of the Fourth Raikage's defeat, they had fled back to the Land of Lightning with their tails between their legs, leaving the Third Hokage no chance to confront them.

It had to be said that Dodai, the leader of Kumogakure's delegation, was no ordinary man. This was indeed the best response Kumogakure could make at present.

Knowing they had run into someone they couldn't handle, staying in Konoha would only have invited further humiliation.

In any case, this farce had finally come to an end.