Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 373 Karin's Mother

During the rest of the journey, the group traveled during the day and rested at night, while also engaging in cultivation practices.

Shizune and Yamanaka Inoichi are both trying hard to memorize everything, hoping to remember it all before leaving the Land of Fire.

Tamura Hao was quite busy, as he had to exchange ideas with Might Guy about the Eight Gates technique, as well as with Akimichi Choza about the Butterfly Transformation Technique. On his journey, he also had to exchange ideas about shadows with Nara Shikaku.

They traveled slowly for five days before finally arriving in the Land of Grass. The five then changed into Iwagakure clothing and headbands to better confuse the Iwagakure ninja when they entered the Land of Earth later.

Of course, it's best to avoid encountering Iwagakure ninjas.

The unusual activity in Sunagakure alerted the surrounding ninja villages, with Amegakure putting on full alert. This forced Kusagakure to also deploy ninjas to monitor the area, and even led to several conflicts.

This resulted in ninjas from the Grass Village roaming throughout the Land of Grass, and numerous checkpoints were set up to prevent outsiders from entering the Land of Grass.

With Yamanaka Inoichi by his side, they used their sensory techniques to evade the patrolling grass ninja and enter the Land of Grass.

They carefully bypassed the grass ninjas and proceeded slowly. Fortunately, this part of the Land of Grass was very narrow, and one night was enough to get around it.

As they traveled into the middle of the night, they suddenly saw two grass ninjas carrying a stretcher and running quickly. On the stretcher lay an injured person with extensive burns all over his body, and two kunai were stuck in his torso, both located in the area of ​​vital organs.

Tamura Hiroshi immediately fixed his gaze on the three people, and a guess formed in his mind.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Tamura Hiroshi's unusual behavior, Nara Shikaku asked a question.

"I'm not sure, we'll have to let Jingyin determine it."

"Silence, can you revive that person?"

Tamura Hiroshi handed the binoculars to Shizune, letting her make the judgment.

Shizune took the binoculars and carefully observed the moonlight before finally shaking her head.

"No, his clothes were all burned off, so he must have been burned by a high-level fire jutsu. One of the two kunai pierced his lungs and the other his liver."

That level of injury is probably only something Tsunade could heal.

"Does a small ninja village like Kusagakure have a medical ninja who can rival or even approach Tsunade's level?"

Tamura Hiroshi looked at Nara Shikaku, indicating that this was a major point of suspicion.

"You mean the Hidden Grass Village and the Hidden Stone Village have cooperated? And there are ninja teams dispatched by the Hidden Stone Village in their village?"

Nara Shikaku understood the meaning behind the words and felt worried about it.

The Grass Village is a fence-sitter with an unstable stance. If they are already secretly cooperating with the Iwagakure Village, it would be bad, especially in this special period when the Ninja World War could break out at any time.

"Haiyi!"

Thinking of this, Nara Shikaku gestured to Yamanaka Inoichi.

Let's catch them and take a look; it won't take much effort anyway.

Yamanaka Inoichi understood and used the Instantaneous Movement Technique to catch up. Once he reached the distance, he decisively raised his hand to form a hand seal.

"The Technique of Mind Transference and Body Cloning!"

The consciousness split into two parts and entered the mental space of the two grass ninjas carrying the stretcher, manipulating them to turn and arrive at the forest where they were.

Following behind, Dingza carried Yamanaka Inoichi back on his back. Then, Yamanaka Inoichi used a secret technique to read the memories of the two of them and quickly made a discovery.

"A member of the Uzumaki clan is secretly imprisoned in Kusagakure. Drinking her blood and chakra can heal injuries."

"The Uzumaki Clan!"

Tamura Hao immediately guessed that Uzumaki Karin must not have been born yet at this time, so it could only be Uzumaki Karin's mother.

"Brother Lu Jiu, we must rescue that Whirlpool Clan member."

He made a decisive suggestion, and even winked at the speaker.

"The Uzumaki clan has always been an ally of Konoha, and the clan crest is even displayed on our Konoha uniforms. We must rescue that Uzumaki clan member."

Nara Shikaku understood and righteously declared that he would save the person.

This mission is nothing special, and even if it fails, it's not a big deal. But rescuing that Uzumaki clansman will definitely earn Lady Tsunade's gratitude, which will greatly help their future plans.

"Inoichi, continue reading their memories. Next, we need to infiltrate Kusagakure and gather more information."

Silent, just keep this person's injuries stable and keep them alive.

"Choza, Gai, you two stay here to guard. Xiao Hao, come with me to get some Kusagakure clothing."

After saying that, Nara Shikaku gestured to Tamura Hao and then headed back the way he came, preparing to capture the few grass ninja he had encountered earlier.

Tamura Hao understood and followed Nara Shikaku away. The two walked forward while exchanging words in hushed tones. Before long, they arrived at a checkpoint set up by Kusagakure, where three squads of Kusagakure ninja were stationed, totaling nine people.

"Shadow Head Neck Binding Technique!"

He raised his hand to form a hand seal and cast a spell. Three shadows stretched out and snapped the necks of the three grass ninja on night watch.

His shadow magic works even better and is more concealed on nights like this.

However, the sound of a neck being snapped was quite noticeable in the darkness, alerting the six ninjas inside the cabin, who immediately rushed out.

At that moment, Tamura Hiroshi, who had used the Multiplying Technique, threw out four extra-large kunai, each with a thin steel wire attached to its ring.

Tamura Hao even used the technique of superhuman strength to further amplify his power, making the kunai he threw out even more terrifying in terms of power and speed.

By the moonlight, they saw four large kunai being swung at them. The six grass ninjas immediately dodged to the side, but only one of the jonin noticed something was wrong. He raised his kunai to block the thin steel wire.

However, he himself was dragged back several steps by the enormous force, while the other five grass ninjas were not so lucky, their bodies were cut by the steel wire.

Before the Jonin could react, a shadow quickly extended and connected with his shadow, freezing him in place.

Immediately afterwards, Tamura Hiroshi stepped forward and knocked him unconscious, then began to strip him of his clothes.

They needed this outfit to infiltrate Kusagakure. Although they had the Transformation Technique, it wasn't a magic bullet. At least, the Transformation Technique they knew wasn't advanced. To perfectly infiltrate Kusagakure, they needed real clothing, preferably with a scent, or even the smell of blood.

After stripping off several sets of clothes, Tamura Hao then carried the Kusagakure Jonin and followed Nara Shikaku back.

After handing over the Kusagakure Jonin to Yamanaka Inoichi to read the intelligence, Nara Shikaku changed into a Kusagakure outfit, even changing his shoes, because the pattern on the soles of the Kusagakure ninja boots was different from that of their Konoha boots.

These are all details, and details are often the key to success or failure, life or death.

Akimichi Choza also used his transformation technique to barely put on a set of Kusagakure armor. After finishing all that, Yamanaka Inoichi had finished reading the intelligence, including many codes inside Kusagakure, to facilitate infiltration and exfiltration.

Nara Shikaku used kunai to draw a map of Kusagakure Village and its surrounding terrain on the ground.

"Xiao Hao, you guys stay here and prepare to meet us. Bury the explosive tags. We'll come here to meet you as soon as we rescue that Vortex Clan member."

Nara Shikaku first pointed to a place and drew a route.

I just received the intelligence from Inoichi, which details the layout of Kusagakure here. Following this route will allow us to avoid those Kusagakure ninja.

While it's not absolute, Xiao Hao's strength should be more than enough to handle the rest.

"Yes, I'll get everything arranged."

Tamura Hao nodded in agreement, but did not try to sneak into Kusagakure.

Although Kusagakure is a small ninja village, it is still very strong compared to the five great ninja villages. Otherwise, it would not have been able to survive two Shinobi World Wars. Its small size is not qualified to clash with them.

The three of them, including Nara Shikaku, were different; even if something unexpected happened, they could still manage to escape.

Not to mention that the elite troops of Kusagakure have all been dispatched, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Might Guy and Silent didn't have any particular thoughts. At this moment, not causing trouble was the greatest merit, not to mention they also had a backup mission.

After a brief exchange with his two teammates, Nara Shikaku set off.

The key to this operation is speed. Find the Uzumaki clan member before Kusagakure can react, and then rescue him. It's best not to use any secret techniques during this process to avoid being recognized by the other party.

Fortunately, they brought a lot of detonating tags with them this time, so as long as they are fast enough, success should not be difficult.

Most importantly, you need to be prepared to catch your opponent off guard, and the success rate will be further increased if it is nighttime.

Yamanaka Inoichi continued to control the two grass ninjas carrying the stretcher, while he himself was carried on Akimichi Choza's back, with Nara Shikaku following closely behind.

The place wasn't far from Kusagakure, and they arrived in no time. As they were getting closer, Akimichi Choza hoisted Yamanaka Inoichi onto his shoulder, and Nara Shikaku also climbed onto the other shoulder. With their clothes and faces covered in blood, they looked exactly like seriously injured people.

Especially since Yamanaka Inoichi's consciousness is not in his body at this moment, he doesn't need to pretend; he is clearly a seriously injured person.

With Yamanaka Inoichi controlling the two, and the real wounded soldier also involved, they successfully infiltrated Kusagakure and headed straight for the hospital.

Along the way, Nara Shikaku used his shadow magic to bury explosive tags in the ground and on the surrounding houses, preparing for his escape.

The key to this plan was speed. Taking advantage of the fact that the seriously injured man saw the red-haired girl being dragged over, the three of them acted decisively and eliminated several grass ninja.

"We are Konoha ninjas, here to rescue you on the orders of Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Please cooperate with us to evacuate Kusagakure."

After giving a brief explanation, Nara Shikaku quickly walked out of the operating room and led the way.

Fortunately, it's late at night, and there's no one in the hospital corridor; they're either in the duty room or lying in their wards.

Akimichi Choza continued to carry Yamanaka Inoichi and Uzumaki Girl, while Yamanaka Inoichi used his mental techniques to assist in the battle, silently controlling the on-duty ninja. Nara Shikaku swung his kunai and killed everyone he saw.

In this way, the four of them quickly rushed out of the hospital. Yamanaka Inoichi used his perception and mental techniques to lock onto the nearby grass ninjas, while Nara Shikaku threw out kunai and accurately shot them down.

They rushed along, and were only discovered when they were less than a hundred meters from the village entrance. Immediately afterward, a shout rang out, and the ninja on duty at the village entrance was the first to react.

Before they could react, Nara Shikaku detonated the explosive tags he had secretly placed there, blowing the entire duty room to pieces.

However, the explosion also completely alarmed the Hidden Grass Village, and the village ninjas quickly dressed and rushed towards the village entrance.

Then, they were ravaged by the explosive tags that Nara Shikaku had planted in advance on the main road and around the area, and they dared not advance rashly, so they could only try to take a detour.

By the time the grass ninja arrived at the village entrance, the four had already run quite a distance.

"Chase!"

An angry jonin from the Grass Village led the pursuit, and the other Grass Village ninjas quickly followed.

Meanwhile, at the designated location, Tamura Hao saw the flames erupting at the entrance of Kusagakure Village and knew he had succeeded. He immediately signaled Shizune and Might Guy to retreat first, while he stayed behind to provide backup.

There are quite a few explosive tags set up here, and they are even harder to spot in the dark. Without my guidance, Nara Shikaku and the others would probably have been hit.

"Brother Lu Jiu, over here."

Upon seeing Nara Shikaku at the very front, Tamura Hiroko shouted, and then ran along the pre-arranged route.

Nara Shikaku immediately turned around, followed closely by Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi.

They passed through the minefield in no time and then turned east, preparing to return to the Land of Fire first.

"There's a very strong chakra reaction ahead, stronger than your chakra."

At this moment, the thin girl who had been being carried on Akimichi Choza's back suddenly spoke.

"Kagura's Mind's Eye?"

Tamura Hao turned around in surprise, guessing that it must be the Kagura Mind's Eye, a talent of the Uzumaki clan, which Karin Uzumaki awakened in the future. He didn't expect that her mother had also awakened this ability.

Nara Shikaku and the other two stopped in their tracks. Although they had never heard of Kagura's Mind's Eye, they figured it was a kind of perception ability. Since the girl said that, there must be something wrong ahead.

"It's beyond my comprehension."

Yamanaka Inoichi raised his hand to form a hand seal, pushing his perception to its absolute limit, and finally shook his head.

"This is the only road in this area that can lead back to the Land of Fire."

Nara Shikaku frowned; now things were in trouble.

To the south lies the border of the Land of Rain, where many Grass Ninja and Rain Ninja gather. To the north is the Hidden Grass Village, and those pursuers will surely come after us.

Now the road back to the Land of Fire is blocked by an unknown powerful figure, this is not good.

"Can you pinpoint the approximate location?"

Looking into the girl's eyes, Tamura Hao believed in her; at the very least, she certainly didn't want to return to Kusagakure, which would be hell for her.

"About fifty kilometers."

The girl sensed it for a moment and finally gave a general idea of ​​the distance.

"Fifty kilometers!"

Everyone was surprised; this range of perception was a bit exaggerated.

A typical sensory ninja's range is only a few hundred meters, with stronger ones reaching a few thousand meters, but this one's range is fifty kilometers.

"Just how strong is the opponent's chakra?"

Nara Shikaku asked solemnly.

"I am far, far better than you, at least ten times stronger."

The girl replied that this was something she truly sensed.

"Haiyi!"

After giving the girl a serious look, Nara Shikaku gestured to Yamanaka Inoichi.

Yamanaka Inoichi understood, raised his hand to form a hand seal, created a shadow clone, and continued forward.

His mental strength was the strongest among the three, and the shadow clones he created could last longer.

"Rest first and recover your strength as soon as possible."

Nara Shikaku said something, then found a tree to lean against, took out a soldier's ration pill and swallowed it to replenish his chakra.

Soldier's pills are a type of recovery drug that exploits the body's resources, and it's generally best to avoid taking them. However, in the current situation, preserving one's life is of the essence.

Matt Kai took the initiative to be vigilant, mainly keeping an eye on the area behind him.

Shizune examined the girl's body and couldn't help but get angry when she saw the dense teeth marks on her arm.

"This must be the Uzumaki clan's physical healing. Their blood and chakra possess a powerful life force, which is a talent in itself, but now it has become the source of disaster."

Even watching from the side, Tamura Hao couldn't help but feel sorry for them; those people from Kusagakure were truly inhuman.

"You know?"

The girl looked over, while simultaneously sensing it carefully with her Kagura Mind's Eye.

Her Kagura Mind's Eye allows her to vaguely judge whether others are lying through chakra sensing, and since these people have no ill intentions towards her, they are proven to be good people.

He's a good person, at least to himself.

"I saw relevant records in the books in the Senju clan's territory. The Uzumaki clan has three bloodline talents: Kagura Mind's Eye, Physical Healing, and Vajra Sealing Barrier, which respectively represent Yin Release and Yang Release."

In our Konoha, there is still a surviving member of the Uzumaki clan, a descendant of yours.

Tsunade's grandmother was also a member of the Uzumaki clan; her name was Uzumaki Mito. Have you heard of her?

Tamura Hiroshi knew about Kagura's ability to see into people's minds, so he appeared very sincere.

"A member of the clan?"

A glimmer of light appeared in the girl's eyes: Are there still any members of her tribe left?

"My name is Tamura Hiroshi. What's your name?"

Tamura Hao mentioned the name, but he only guessed that she was Karin Uzumaki's mother, and he didn't know her name. She had only appeared in Karin Uzumaki's memories.

"Vanilla, swirling vanilla."

After hesitating for a while, the girl finally revealed her name, a name she had almost forgotten.

"A very nice name!"

With a genuine and pure smile, Tamura Hao hoped to bring the girl back to the village safely, so that he could further keep Fat Sheep Teacher tied to the village.

Although the Senju clan was destroyed, there are still remnants of the Uzumaki clan, and they are in such a miserable state. Fat Sheep Teacher, how can you bear to leave?

"Her body is severely depleted, and the function of her organs is like that of an elderly person. I'm afraid only Tsunade-sensei can heal her from this kind of injury."

Shizune, who was examining Vanilla's body, didn't look well; this woman's health was terrible.

"As long as he's alive, that's all that matters. With Tsunade-sensei's medical skills, she can definitely cure him."

Tamura Hao also believed that this situation wouldn't be difficult for Fat Sheep Teacher; the title of the number one ninja master in the ninja world wasn't just for show.

After exchanging words with the girl for a while, Yamanaka Inoichi, who was not far away, suddenly turned pale and gasped for breath.

"Did you run into someone?"

Nara Shikaku appeared even more somber. This must be the impact of the memory relapse caused by the killing of his shadow clone, and the manner of death must have been terrible, otherwise Inoichi wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

"It's that demigod from Amegakure, along with a group of Amegakure ninja, all Jonin, heading in our direction. They also have sensory ninjas on their side."

Taking a breath, Yamanaka Ino replied with a pale face.

That person is terrifying; they are no match for him.

"That person actually entered the Land of Grass."

Nara Shikamaru frowned even more, not understanding why that person would suddenly bring people to the Land of Grass.

However, the other party's intentions are not something I need to consider right now; I need to find a way to get away as soon as possible.

"Should we continue to the Land of Earth?"

Tamura Hao suggested that since none of the three directions were viable, they should head west to the Land of Earth and continue their previous mission.

Once they've completed their mission, things should be calm here, and then they can return to the Land of Fire.

"Walk!"

Nara Shikaku pondered for a moment, then immediately ordered the departure.

"Brother Ding, I'll carry you. Try to conserve your energy."

Tamura Hiroshi carried the girl on his back and said something.

"Vanilla, help us sense the ninjas around us. We need to go to the Land of Earth first, and then return to the Land of Fire once things have calmed down here."

"Um!"

Vanilla nodded. Although she didn't know much about Konoha, she didn't want to return to Kusagakure. It was better to stay with these people than to be captured and taken back.

(End of this chapter)