Karin woke the next morning.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Lin Ye sitting beside the bed, reading a scroll. Morning light streamed through the chamber's ventilation opening, bathing him in a pale golden glow.
"L-Lord Ye..." Karin struggled to sit up.
"Don't move. Your injuries haven't healed yet." Lin Ye set down the scroll, helped her sit up, and handed her a cup of water. "How do you feel?"
"Much better..." Karin drank the water, soothing her parched throat. She carefully checked the changes in her body and was astonished to find that her depleted chakra had not only recovered completely, but grown considerably. There was also a wealth of hazy knowledge in her mind-about sealing jutsu, chakra control, and the history of the Uzumaki Clan.
"My bloodline memories... some of them have awakened," Karin murmured.
"Yes. You forcibly awakened some of them last night to protect me," Lin Ye said. "But it was dangerous. Don't do that again. If you die, the Uzumaki Clan's legacy really will end."
"B-but you were protecting me, Lord Ye. I want to protect you too..." Karin said softly, her face reddening.
Lin Ye paused, then smiled. "Thank you. But protection goes both ways. It isn't about one person sacrificing themselves. We need to stay alive together, grow stronger together, and then protect more people."
"Yes!" Karin nodded firmly.
"Oh, take a look at this." Lin Ye handed her the scroll. "This is the final wish your mother left behind."
Karin took the scroll with trembling hands. It was old, its edges worn, but it had been carefully preserved. She opened it and saw familiar handwriting-her mother's.
"To Karin:
If you're reading this letter, it means Mommy is gone. Don't be sad. Mommy has gone to be with Daddy again.
Karin, you are a child of the Uzumaki Clan, born with powerful vitality and a gift for sealing jutsu. But this is also your curse-in this war-torn world, being special means being in danger.
Mommy's greatest regret is that I couldn't teach you the complete art of sealing jutsu or watch you grow up. But I believe that one day, you will meet someone who can guide and protect you. When that happens, don't be afraid. Go with him to a place where you can live freely.
Mommy's final wish is for you to grow up safely, to laugh freely, to find someone who treasures you, and to carry on the will of the Uzumaki Clan-to use sealing jutsu to protect the people who matter to you, not to hurt others.
Mommy, who will always love you."
The letter was short, but Karin's tears were already flowing uncontrollably. She clutched the scroll and sobbed, her shoulders shaking. The grief and hurt she had suppressed for so long finally poured out.
Lin Ye offered no words of comfort. He simply watched in silence. Some emotions needed to be let out.
After crying for a long time, Karin gradually calmed down. She wiped away her tears and looked at Lin Ye. "Lord Ye, how did you get this scroll?"
"An old man named Uchiha Jian gave it to me," Lin Ye said. "He saved your mother years ago, but she still couldn't escape Kusagakure's persecution. He kept this letter and waited for a chance to give it to you."
"Uchiha Jian... I need to thank him."
"He's already left. But he said that once you're strong enough, you can go to Kusagakure to pay your respects to your mother. Her grave is on the hillside west of the village, beneath a cherry tree."
Karin nodded and carefully put the scroll away. Then she took a deep breath, her gaze turning resolute.
"Lord Ye, I want to learn sealing jutsu-the complete art. I want to fulfill Mommy's final wish and use it to protect the people who matter to me."
"I can teach you, but I only know the basics. You'll have to awaken the true, complete legacy yourself," Lin Ye said. "Still, we can study it together. My Mangekyo can see the flow and structure of chakra. It might help you understand the essence of sealing jutsu."
"Really?"
"Yes. But before that, we have a few things to finish." Lin Ye stood up. "There are still several final wishes to fulfill in Kusagakure, all from people connected to the Uchiha and Uzumaki. Fulfilling them won't just help the dead rest in peace. It will also teach us more about this place's history, which might help awaken your bloodline memories."
"I'm coming with you." Karin stood as well. Though she was still a little weak, her eyes were determined.
Over the next two days, Lin Ye and Karin rested in the secret chamber Uchiha Jian had left them while beginning to fulfill the final wishes in the Land of Grass.
The first belonged to Uchiha Aoki, Uchiha Tekka's deputy. He had come to the Land of Grass with Tekka on a mission years ago and died protecting a civilian girl caught up in the war. His final wish was to find out whether that girl was still alive and whether she was happy.
Lin Ye and Karin slipped out of the chamber and found records in Kusagakure's archives. The girl had later married a merchant from the Land of Grass and had two children. She now ran a kimono shop in the Capital, living a peaceful, happy life.
"At least one of them had a happy ending," Karin said softly.
The second final wish belonged to a member of the Uzumaki Clan-not Karin's mother, but an Uzumaki ninja who had died in the Land of Grass even earlier. His wish was for the sealing jutsu insights he left behind to be passed on to a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.
The reward for this wish was unusual. Rather than a Rinnegan Fragment, it was a physical object-an ancient Sealing Jutsu Formula Pendant. When Karin received it, the pendant glowed red and resonated with her chakra. A vast amount of knowledge about sealing jutsu flooded her mind.
"This is... a legacy token of the Uzumaki Clan!" Karin exclaimed in delight. "It holds the insights of generations of Uzumaki clan leaders into sealing jutsu!"
"Looks like your bloodline awakening is about to speed up." Lin Ye was happy for her too.
The third final wish, the fourth... they fulfilled them one after another. With each one, Lin Ye gained more Rinnegan Fragments, and Karin's understanding of sealing jutsu deepened. By the evening of the third day, all nine final wishes in the Land of Grass had been fulfilled.
[Final wishes fulfilled: 322/1344] [Rinnegan Fragments: 40/1000] [Karin's sealing jutsu mastery: Intermediate (can perform sealing jutsu below B-rank; basic mastery of Adamantine Sealing Chains)]
The results were substantial. More importantly, fulfilling these wishes had given Lin Ye and Karin a deeper understanding of the Land of Grass's history and the ties between the Uzumaki and Uchiha.
As it turned out, the Uzumaki Clan and Uchiha Clan had intermarried as far back as the Warring States Period. Their sealing jutsu and ocular techniques complemented each other in certain ways. There was even a legend that combining the Sharingan's perceptive power with the Uzumaki Sealing Technique could produce seals approaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Looks like our meeting wasn't a coincidence," Lin Ye told Karin. "It was fate."
"Yes." Karin nodded, her face reddening again.
On the third night, Uchiha Jian returned with bad news.
"Danzo has sent more men. Root's informants are everywhere in Kusagakure now. And Orochimaru seems to have arrived too. He has a secret base in the Land of Grass, and there's been frequent activity there lately."
"Orochimaru?" Lin Ye frowned. At this point, Orochimaru should be preparing the Konoha Crush Plan. What was he doing in the Land of Grass?
"He's collecting unusual kekkei genkai, especially the Uchiha's Sharingan and the Uzumaki Clan's constitution," Uchiha Jian said. "You're both targets. I suggest you leave the Land of Grass immediately and return to Konoha. The Chunin Ninja Exams are about to begin. Konoha is the safest place right now. Neither Orochimaru nor Danzo would dare act openly there."
"But how do we leave? There are informants everywhere outside."
"I have a way." Uchiha Jian took out two masks and two sets of clothes. "These are uniforms and masks from Kusagakure's Ninja Academy. Tomorrow is the academy's graduation exam, so plenty of parents and visitors will be coming and going. Disguise yourselves as a student and a parent, then slip out with the crowd. I'll arrange for someone to meet you outside the village and take you to the Land of Fire's border."
"What about you?"
"I'll stay and keep watching Danzo and Orochimaru," Uchiha Jian said. "Remember, once you're back in Konoha, don't trust anyone-especially Danzo and his people. Don't confront him directly until you're strong enough."
"I understand." Lin Ye accepted the clothes and masks.
"And be careful of Orochimaru. His obsession with the Sharingan is beyond anything you can imagine, and he's skilled in forbidden jutsu and scheming. If he sets his sights on you, you'll be in serious trouble."
"I'll be careful."
That night, Lin Ye and Karin put on their disguises and, with Uchiha Jian's arrangements, slipped in among the students of Kusagakure's Ninja Academy. Early the next morning, they followed the crowds attending the graduation exam and left Kusagakure without incident.
In the woods outside the village, a ninja wearing a dog mask met them and escorted them toward the Land of Fire's border.
Along the way, Lin Ye kept thinking. Danzo, Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, the Uchiha's curse, the fate of the jinchūriki... this world was like an enormous whirlpool, and he was being drawn into its center.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
He looked at Karin beside him. The girl was focused on practicing hand seals for sealing jutsu. Red chakra flowed around her fingertips, forming one intricate formula after another.
"Karin, what do you plan to do once we're back in Konoha?"
"I-I want to stay with you, Lord Ye," Karin said softly. "I can help with healing and sealing, and I can... I can make tasty food too. My mother taught me to cook."
Lin Ye smiled. "All right. Stay with me, then. But Konoha isn't like other places. You'll need an official identity. I'll ask the Third Hokage to let you join Konoha as an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan. You'll have a home, friends, and a future."
"Really?" Karin's eyes lit up.
"Really. I promise."
Karin nodded firmly, tears shimmering in her eyes. For the first time since her mother's death, she felt that a home might be possible.
Three days later, they reached the Land of Fire's border. Their escort said goodbye and left, while Lin Ye and Karin continued toward Konoha.
Before entering Konoha, Lin Ye checked the system panel one last time.
[Host: Uchiha Ye] [Age: 9] [Strength: Special Jōnin (Mangekyō Sharingan, Uzumaki Sealing Technique · Basic)] [Final wishes fulfilled: 322/1344] [Rinnegan Fragments: 40/1000] [Current abilities: Divine Dominion, Time Reversal, Chakra Information Vision, Fate Line Perception (Basic), Uzumaki Sealing Technique · Basic, Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Rasengan (Beginner), Lightning Release: Chidori (Incomplete), etc.] [Special status: Established "guardian bond" with Karin Uzumaki; sealing jutsu training speed +50%] [Next-stage objectives: Participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, make contact with Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, and continue collecting final wishes and Rinnegan Fragments]
Forty fragments were still a long way from a thousand. But at least he had made a start.
And he was no longer alone. He had Karin, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Chiyo, and so many others who believed in him and supported him.
"Let's go, Karin." Lin Ye looked toward Konoha. "We're going home."
"Yes!"
The two walked toward Konoha's gates. The setting sun stretched their shadows long behind them, like two warriors fighting side by side.
What they didn't know was that several pairs of eyes were watching them from Konoha's shadows.
Danzo's eyes, Orochimaru's eyes, and... the Akatsuki's eyes.
The Chunin Ninja Exams were about to begin.
A greater storm was coming.
But Lin Ye was ready.
For the Uchiha's final wishes, to break the curse, and for everyone he wanted to protect.
He would carve out his own path through the storm.
Before you continue