Night gradually fell. Dragging her exhausted body along, the red-haired woman returned home to a wooden shack so dilapidated it could barely keep out the wind and rain.
Soon, a barefoot little girl ran up to the red-haired woman and offered her a rice ball she had kept warm.
Looking at her thoughtful daughter, the red-haired woman felt warmth in her heart, but also worried about the child's future.
Several years earlier, she had brought her child to Kusagakure, trading her ability to heal the wounded for the village's protection. She had also secured their promise that Karin could become a Grass Ninja someday.
Lately, however, the Grass Ninja had been demanding too much. Her life force had dwindled so drastically that she might not live to see her child become one of them.
Stroking Karin's head, the red-haired woman turned to look at the moon outside the window, only to see two figures at the door.
"Somebody..."
The red-haired woman had just opened her mouth to call for help from the Grass Ninja, but the thought of Karin beside her stopped her short.
Anyone who could appear in Kusagakure at night like this could not be ordinary. For her child's safety, she could not call for help.
Suppressing the intense unease in her heart, the red-haired woman told Karin to step aside, then asked calmly, "Who are you, and what have you come to Kusagakure for?"
"You're a ninja from the Uzumaki Clan, aren't you?" one of them asked.
Those words only deepened her unease. Ninja who knew their identities surely meant them harm. After the Land of Whirlpools had fallen, the scattered members of her clan had either died or become sacrifices for jinchūriki.
"Don't be afraid. We're allies of the Uzumaki, ninja from Konoha."
As those words