In the mountains behind Konoha, a red-haired head peeked out from behind a tree.
"Grandma Mito, is this Konoha?"
The soft, sweet voice reached Mito's ears.
"Yes, it is. This... is Konoha."
"Once you're inside, you'll have to rely on yourself."
"I've left you a few backup measures. If anything really does go wrong, don't hesitate to use them."
Mito gazed at the trees as memories kept surging through her mind.
She seemed to remember discovering this path herself back when Hashirama had sneaked out to see Madara.
Never mind. They were all dead now. Little Karin was what mattered.
It had all happened two months earlier.
Mito, who had been sleeping in the Pure Land, had inexplicably flown out of it and entered the body of a child named Karin Uzumaki in a strange form of existence.
Little Karin's situation had been terrible then. Her mother had died while taking her from place to place, and they had been within the Land of Grass at the time.
Several ninjas from Kusagakure had set their sights on Karin, who was all alone.
After all, only the Uzumaki Clan had such vivid red hair, right?
A blue screen in Mito's mind had given her a mission: protect this child and give her a safe environment.
So, after activating the Adamantine Sealing Chains and giving those feeble Grass Ninja a thoroughly satisfying whipping, Mito had guided Karin toward Konoha.
Grass Ninja: Thanks a lot.
Kurama gave that a thumbs-up.
And once little Karin successfully slipped into Konoha, Mito received a time notification. She had to go back.
But Karin's registration and living arrangements still hadn't been sorted out.
So Mito left behind a portion of chakra. When the time came, Karin could simply demand an identity from Sarutobi.
To keep Sarutobi and