When the red-haired woman woke again, she was no longer in the shabby wooden hut. Instead, she lay on a soft bed, with a steaming bowl of meat broth beside her. Her daughter Karin had changed into new clothes and was playing with a wooden kunai toy.
Confusion flickered in the red-haired woman's eyes. She sighed softly and said, "You brought me away after all."
Oto Uchiha smiled and pointed at Karin beside her. "It was Karin's wish. Besides, things got a little complicated last night. In short, we killed a few Grass Ninja who didn't know better."
The red-haired woman fell silent, then looked around the enclosed room and asked, "Where are we now? Have we left the Land of Grass? Kusagakure is bound to notice that Karin and I are missing!"
Oto Uchiha shook her head. "We're still in Kusagakure. We have a mission to carry out. Once it's finished, we'll take you out of here."
The red-haired woman wanted to say more, but she immediately remembered the enormous amount of chakra the girl before her possessed and shut her mouth.
Perhaps the whole of Kusagakure meant little to these two.
At that moment, Karin abandoned her kunai toy and came over to feed her mother broth, telling her about everything she had experienced that day. She had suffered no mistreatment.
Watching the mother and daughter, Oto Uchiha suddenly asked, "Come to think of it, I still don't know your name."
After swallowing the warm broth, the red-haired woman said calmly, "Just call me Shizuko. There's no need to add the Uzumaki name. The Uzumaki Clan is already gone."
"Just like the Senju Clan..." Oto Uchiha's voice grew wistful. Then she looked at Shizuko and asked, "Ms. Shizuko, can you still use the Mind's Eye of the Kagura?"