"The barrier was crudely constructed. It was full of holes..."
After passing through the barrier, Kushina frowned and offered her assessment.
For Kushina, who had been born into the Uzumaki Clan and mastered numerous Sealing Jutsu, the barrier Zou Hyuga had erected ten years ago could only be described as crude.
Once she reached the interior of the base, however, Kushina's eyes lit up. The Sealing Jutsu used outside and inside were worlds apart, and some of those inside employed Uzumaki methods.
Seemingly noticing Kushina's confusion, Zou Hyuga smiled and said, "Lady Kushina, a member of the Uzumaki Clan did once live here. She maintained the base's barrier for several years."
"No wonder that shoddy barrier outside could keep functioning..." Kushina nodded. With that mystery cleared up, she asked, "Could you introduce me to her?"
Even after having died once, Kushina was still moved to hear news of a fellow clan member.
Zou Hyuga shook his head, looking troubled. "I'm sorry, but Shizuko has passed away. Her daughter Karin has taken over maintaining the base, though..."
Kushina's expression dimmed when she heard of Shizuko's death, but at the mention of a daughter, she smiled and said, "So you've been hiding an Uzumaki girl in this base. Does Oto know about this?"
That smile made Zou Hyuga's skin crawl. He explained, "Lady Kushina, Oto knows."
Soon, having sensed Zou Hyuga, Karin emerged from deep within the base to greet him. After calling him "my lord," she turned to look at Kushina and Minato beside him.
Both Minato and Kushina carried the aura of the dead, but the latter in particular made her furrow her brow.
Her beautiful red hair and chakra reserves dozens of times greater than an ordinary person's unmistakably marked her as a member of the Uzumaki Clan. Before