Chapter 5: Red Hair... Bite Mark... Past Events
Seeing more than a dozen Kusagakure chūnin rushing toward the explosion area, the corners of Uchiha Sanpō's mouth unconsciously curled upward. He thought to himself with certainty: This wave is secure. That Iwagakure jōnin chasing me—if he doesn't withdraw quickly, even if he doesn't die, he'll definitely end up heavily injured.
Just as he prepared to slip away quietly, he detected three more ninjas approaching rapidly.
So he continued to lurk, pondering: "Judging by chakra amounts, two of them should be chūnin. The last one's chakra is outrageously high—could it be Kage-level? But... how could Kusagakure have such an expert?... Red hair... bite mark on the arm... could it be... she's Uzumaki Karin's mother!"
Uzumaki Karin and her mother both possessed the special physique of the Uzumaki clan: immense vitality, powerful chakra. A single bite could restore injuries and chakra.
At this thought, a trace of greed flickered in Uchiha Sanpō's heart: "This woman—I want her!"
As the three drew closer, he suddenly leaped out from his hiding spot.
Thanks to the two heads from Divine Demon Transformation, he simultaneously cast "Sharingan: Genjutsu" twice, instantly taking control of the two Kusagakure chūnin.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, Uzumaki Huiyi was startled too. She instinctively tried to assume a defensive stance, but one of the controlled Kusagakure chūnin unexpectedly struck her from the side, knocking her unconscious.
Next, Uchiha Sanpō used the two controlled chūnin to gather intelligence—after all, this was a basic ninja rule: obtain as much information as possible to increase mission success rate.
"What are your names?"
"Mano"
"Muto"
"In the past two days, what changes have there been in Iwagakure's deployments on the eastern battlefield?"
"Iwagakure's attacks on Konoha outposts... have increased somewhat..."
Uchiha Sanpō wanted to probe for more intel, but four more Kusagakure ninjas appeared in the distance—one of them seemingly a jōnin.
Time was short; he couldn't afford to keep questioning. Decisively, he continued using genjutsu to control Mano and Muto, guiding them toward a denser patch of grass.
There, he made them use kunai to slit their own throats.
Pain... instantly snapped them awake. Their eyes filled with terror and struggle, as if trying to say something, but fresh blood gushed like a fountain from their necks, quickly soaking the grass beneath them red.
After finishing this, Uchiha Sanpō didn't linger for a second. He quickly walked to the unconscious Uzumaki Huiyi.
He crouched down, lifted her arm, and gently bit down.
In an instant, a warm power surged into his body. The weakened feeling vanished like morning mist. Chakra began recovering continuously, and even his pupil power restored somewhat.
He immediately checked the system panel!
Host: Uchiha Sanpō Life: 520/520 Chakra: 996/996 Pupil Power: 598/958 ...
Ten-odd seconds later, the four Kusagakure ninjas passed by. The Kusagakure jōnin among them twitched his nose slightly, seeming to catch the bloody scent in the air. His expression sharpened. He immediately leaped to a treetop, eyes scanning the surroundings sharply.
But before he could locate the source of the blood, continuous explosions from afar drew his attention. After weighing his options, he could only lead his team quickly toward the explosion zone.
Kusagakure ninjas were gathering here in greater numbers, with increasing strength. Staying longer was unsafe.
Two minutes later, Uchiha Sanpō disguised himself as an ordinary Kusagakure genin. Then he picked up Uzumaki Huiyi and swiftly headed east.
The Land of Grass was only a small country. In the face of war between the two great powers of Konoha and Iwagakure, it was powerless to intervene.
Helplessly, they had temporarily ceded the eastern region of the Land of Grass as the battlefield for Konoha and Iwagakure. This was exactly why Uchiha Sanpō chose to shift east—relatively fewer Kusagakure ninjas there, making his movements safer.
Carrying Uzumaki Huiyi, he sprinted for over five minutes. The surroundings gradually quieted; no more sounds of battle or explosions. He slowed his pace and woke the woman in his arms. After all, carrying someone would be extremely inconvenient in a sudden fight.
He gently patted Uzumaki Huiyi's cheek: "Wake up... stop pretending."
Uzumaki Huiyi opened her eyes. Flashing through them wasn't just vigilance and hostility—there was far more disgust.
She stared at Uchiha Sanpō coldly: "Let me go, you Konoha bastard! I won't trust you. Your Konoha Village betrayed the alliance, causing our nation to perish and countless clansmen to die horribly. We'll settle this debt sooner or later!"
Seeing her agitation, Uchiha Sanpō frowned slightly and patiently said: "I understand how you feel. If you want to hate, hate Hiruzen Sarutobi and those Konoha higher-ups. Konoha didn't wrong the Uzumaki clan—at least your in-laws, the Senju clan, were nearly wiped out because of you."
Uzumaki Huiyi grew angry: "Hmph, I won't believe a single word from you Konoha people. You think you can trick me like this? Dream on!"
Uchiha Sanpō gazed steadily into her eyes and said seriously: "The Second Hokage Tobirama Senju died abnormally. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, as Hokage guards, bear inescapable blame. Later, Hiruzen took Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya as disciples, gaining the Senju clan's support to become the Third Hokage. But as time passed and Tsunade and the others grew up, they became a threat to Hiruzen's position as Hokage!"
Uzumaki Huiyi looked somewhat confused, her face showing disdain: "What does this have to do with our Uzumaki clan?"
Uchiha Sanpō continued staring into her eyes. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Uzumaki Huiyi slightly lowered her head.
"Before your nation was destroyed, you came to Konoha seeking aid. Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, refused support, greatly displeasing the Senju clan. They spontaneously organized over a thousand people to go reinforce the Land of Whirlpools. All of them died. This made the Senju clan desperately want to reclaim the Hokage position."
"Then the Second Great Ninja War broke out. Hiruzen used 'insufficient merit' as an excuse to send Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya—along with the Senju clan—to fight Amegakure. In that battle, the Senju suffered heavy casualties. This reminded the Senju clan of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's power. So Hiruzen proposed the Hashirama cell human experimentation plan; the participants were Senju clan members in the Anbu. All of them died, completely purging the Senju clan's influence in Konoha's upper echelons."
Hearing of the Senju clan's tragic fate stirred Uzumaki Huiyi's curiosity. Her voice lowered: "And then?"
"At that time, the Senju clan's leader was Uzumaki Mito—she was Hashirama Senju's wife and also your Uzumaki clan's princess. The destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the massive Senju losses dealt her a heavy blow, draining her will to live. But she still left a contingency for your Uzumaki clan: the new Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Kushina."
"But a jinchūriki dies upon separating from the tailed beast, so Uzumaki Mito died. What she didn't expect was that with her death, the Senju clan lost their greatest deterrent. That same year, on August 10, Senju clan young leader Nawaki 'died unexpectedly.' In December of the same year, Tsunade's lover Kato Dan 'died unexpectedly.' Soon after, Tsunade left Konoha citing hemophobia, preserving the remaining Senju clansmen."
Uzumaki Huiyi fell silent for a moment. She seemed to realize he was telling the truth, but years of hatred made it hard to compromise easily.
After a while, she gritted her teeth: "You! Why are you telling me all this?"
Uchiha Sanpō looked completely serious: "I want you to understand—your true enemy is Hiruzen Sarutobi. Our Uchiha clan doesn't get along with him either. We have a common enemy, which gives us a foundation for cooperation. I believe you know the strength of the Uchiha. If you want revenge, you can't do it without us Uchiha!"
The Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed for over 14 years. The Uzumaki clan was scattered, surviving only by attaching to other powers. After enduring so much hardship, she truly couldn't think of anything the Uchiha clan could possibly covet from them.
Thinking this, Uzumaki Huiyi said somewhat unconfidently: "What do you hope we do?"
Uchiha Sanpō gave a slight smile: "I want you... to become my woman..."
Become... your woman... This is too fast...
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