A Kusagakure ninja leaped from a corner, blocking Makiya's path and pointing a finger at him.
In Makiya's perception, the soul fluctuations nearby were dense. Hidden sentries were stationed at every corner and alleyway; it was clear the Grass Village placed great importance on this location.
A flash of crimson flickered in Makiya's eyes. His surging ocular power instantly seized the Grass ninja's brain. A powerful genjutsu capable of controlling Tailed Beasts was an instant kill for any ordinary ninja below Kage-level.
"Honestly, another drunk looking for trouble." The ninja spat and cursed as he drove Makiya away, returning to his post.
"Kuma-ni, what's the situation?"
"Nothing much, just a drunk. I've sent him away." Kuma-ni muttered, walking back with a look of someone who hated being at work.
On the other side, Makiya hid in the corner of an adjacent street, fully expanding his perception to silently map out the distribution of personnel at the target location.
It was slightly different from Kabuto Yakushi's intelligence. Patrols had noticeably increased tonight, and the number of hidden sentries was higher. Security was exceptionally tight.
Additionally, twelve ninjas were stationed at the four corners of Karin's and her mother's residence. Their attire was distinctly different from ordinary Grass ninjas, with special patterns embroidered on their shoulders.
Makiya had some impression of that pattern; it seemed to be the clan crest of a certain noble family in the Land of Grass.
Those twelve ninjas in special attire were likely the guards of that noble.
After the ninja named Kuma-ni returned to his post, he quickly got into an argument with a comrade. Their shouting grew louder, gradually drawing the attention of the surrounding stationed ninjas.
Suddenly, Kuma-ni cursed loudly as a massive amount of chakra surged from him. Over a minor disagreement, he actually intended to release a jutsu!
"Kuma-ni, have you lost your mind?" The squad leader's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Grass Village couldn't afford to offend the important figure visiting today. That man was currently in the heat of his pleasure; if Kuma-ni's jutsu scared him into impotence, none of them would escape the consequences.
"[FIRE STYLE: RUNNING FIRE!]"
Two lines of fire streaked out from beneath Kuma-ni's feet, curving toward his colleagues in front of him and carving deep grooves into the hard stone floor.
"Damn it, Kuma-ni, stop!" The others roared, molding chakra to counterattack.
At that moment, countless half-foot-long flying swords shot out from a dark corner like streaks of light crossing the night sky. They moved so fast they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Because everyone's attention was on Kuma-ni, Makiya, launching a surprise attack from behind, had the total advantage. The guards didn't even have time to cry out before the sharp flying swords pierced their throats.
The small golden flying swords passed through the throats, brains, or chests of the guards. Each brilliant flash of gold was accompanied by a spray of eye-catching crimson upon the ground.
These twelve guards were supposed to be powerful ninjas raised with vast resources from the nobility, but before Makiya, they couldn't even react. Before they could use their lifelong training, they only saw a flicker of gold before the strength was sapped from their bodies and they collapsed.
The one-sided slaughter lasted less than half a minute. When the twenty-plus flying swords slowly returned to Makiya's side, every sentry and guard in the vicinity had fallen. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, with bodies strewn across the ground.
*Thud.*
Kuma-ni, who had started the chaos, knelt on the ground. He pulled out a kunai, reversed the blade to point at his own throat, and gripped the handle with both hands, slowly forcing the point toward his neck.
Before dying, Kuma-ni's consciousness struggled frantically, trying to break free from Makiya's genjutsu. But the gap in their strength was like a chasm. His desire for life could not overcome the control. Finally, Kuma-ni plunged the kunai into his own throat, blood splattering and staining the ground before him.
Makiya released the genjutsu. The dying Grass ninja's eyes flashed with disbelief before they gradually grew dim.
*Heh... heh... heh...*
Kuma-ni opened his mouth to speak, but only a wheezing sound escaped. He lay in a pool of blood, completely still.
Karin and her mother's residence was a two-story building, but the Grass ninjas obviously weren't that kind to them. Only a side room on the first floor served as their small den; the rest was filled with facilities for entertaining nobles.
*Bang!*
Makiya kicked the door open, his gaze sweeping the room to take in everything.
The room was extremely narrow and cramped, with two beds and a table crammed inside. On the smaller bed, a little girl of about three or four years old sat with tearful eyes, looking toward the doorway.
On the larger bed, a woman with a full head of red hair lay flat like a corpse. She was completely naked, her skin covered in bite marks from her cheeks to her toes. Some marks were bright red, some had turned black, and others had long since scarred over. It was clear these bites had been inflicted over a long period.
Beside the red-haired woman lay a fat pig of a man. When Makiya entered, the pig was closing his eyes, basking in the comfort of immense vitality and the afterglow of his release.
This was the Land of Grass noble. According to the information extracted through genjutsu interrogation, the Grass Village often used Karin's mother to entertain nobles. As long as it wasn't an incurable disease, a single bite would quickly restore one's health. This miraculous effect made the nobles flock to her.
It meant they could indulge in pleasure without restraint.
To satisfy the nobles, the Grass Village had specifically partitioned the mother's body into different rank zones. Lower-ranking ninjas could only bite the arms or calves to recover from injuries. High-ranking officials or Jonin could bite other areas. As for the exclusive zones for the nobility, those who knew understood.
As Makiya kicked the door in, the gluttonous noble scrambled up in terror. Because he was so obese, he failed to stand even after several attempts and could only drag his heavy body backward, trying to get away from Makiya.
"Who are you? Where are my guards?" the noble shouted frantically. "Someone! Help! Someone protect me!"
*Whoosh!*
A flying sword pierced the air, pinning the noble directly to the bed. The golden blade entered through the top of his pointed head, piercing through his entire skull and releasing a burst of golden flames within his body.
The flames burned intensely but did not harm the woman beside him in the slightest.
Under Makiya's deliberate control, the noble did not die instantly. The fire continuously scorched his body, allowing him to feel the agony of slowly being turned to ash.
"AAAAAAAAARGH!"
The screams echoed continuously until his throat was destroyed, and the shrill cries finally fell silent.
The woman on the bed tilted her head, watching the noble gradually turn into charcoal. A flicker of satisfaction from a long-awaited vengeance flashed in her eyes. She then turned to look at Makiya, her gaze filled with gratitude and confusion.
'Who is he? Why does he dare kill a noble? Doesn't he fear retaliation from the Grass Village?'
On the small bed, Uzumaki Karin's young face was still stained with tears. Her large eyes blinked repeatedly, squeezing out more tears that rolled down her grimy cheeks.
"Big Brother, who are you?"
In Makiya's perception, the little one before him had an exceptionally vibrant life force. Though her eyes were full of innocence and naivety, they were also tinged with caution and fear.
"I'm the person here to take you both away." Makiya knelt before Karin, smiling as he playfully tapped her nose. "Also, call me 'Big Brother' from now on, not 'Mister'."
Although Makiya's body grew faster than others his age, his actual age wasn't that high. He was far from the age where he should be called "Mister."
"Thank you... Big Brother!" Growing up in such a harsh environment, three or four-year-old Karin had already learned to speak, but her logic was still developing, and she couldn't clearly express everything she wanted to say.
Little Karin stared blankly at Makiya. A mysterious feeling urged her to open her arms and wrap them around Makiya's neck, firmly seizing this chance to change her fate.
The chakra from Makiya emitted constant waves of warmth. While a normal person wouldn't notice, it was very obvious to little Karin, making her feel very comfortable.
Makiya picked up Karin and walked to the red-haired woman's side, pulling a thin blanket over her to hide the scars covering her body.
"Who... are you?" the red-haired woman's voice was weak. If Makiya's hearing hadn't been enhanced, he wouldn't have heard her at all.
"Makiya Uchiha," he replied, holding Karin.
"Uchiha..." the woman murmured, her tone devoid of emotion. "Why would someone from Konoha... *cough cough*... appear here?"
"It has nothing to do with Konoha," Makiya shook his head. "I simply heard about what happened to you and your daughter and decided to come save you."
"Is that so..." The red-haired woman panted heavily, looking as if she might die at any moment. Her body had been hollowed out by the Grass Village. A massive amount of vitality and chakra had been drained; her life was like a flickering candle in the wind, easily extinguished by the slightest gust.
"Lord Uchiha, I can feel... *cough*... that you are a good person. Karin... Uzumaki Karin... I leave her in your care." The woman used every ounce of her strength to finish her last words. In a final burst of life, she sat up, letting the thin blanket fall as she pulled Karin into her scarred arms.
Suddenly receiving a "good person" card, Makiya didn't ask how she knew. Karin's talent was extraordinary; the Mind's Eye of the Kagura could perceive enemy chakra within dozens of kilometers and even judge a person's character through their chakra. As Karin's mother, it wasn't surprising she possessed similar talents.
Little Karin was very well-behaved, nestling quietly in her mother's arms. As a burst of golden chakra emerged from the woman, a unique sealing technique passed down by the Uzumaki clan manifested before Makiya.
Makiya watched thoughtfully. In his perception, the woman's entire chakra was converging and concentrating, flowing into Karin through the sealing technique.
It felt similar to when Minato and Kushina sealed their chakra inside Naruto in the original story.
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