The instant Rowan saw Karin, he immediately understood who the red-haired woman was.
If nothing unexpected had happened, then this woman should be Karin's mother.
Rowan remembered that in the original Naruto story, after the Land of Whirlpools founded by the Uzumaki clan was destroyed, Karin and her mother drifted to Kusagakure and sought shelter there.
In exchange, Karin's mother became the Hidden Grass Village's living blood bag.
Because she possessed the same ability Karin did—vitality healing.
In the end, she was literally bitten to death by Kusagakure's ninja.
And after she died, the one who took over as the village's blood bag became Karin herself.
But right now, the Uchiha clan had only just been wiped out, Sasuke Uchiha was around seven years old, and Karin was about the same age.
So Karin's mother was still alive for the moment.
It was obvious that when Orochimaru and Tsunade went to Kusagakure looking for Karin, they found that this woman was still alive, so they brought both her and Karin back together.
In a way, that counted as changing this woman's fate.
When Tobirama saw Rowan walk in, he immediately gave a simple introduction.
"Lord Rowan, Brother, good timing. This is Ms. Kanae, Karin's mother, and the child beside her is Karin."
Rowan gave an acknowledging hum. So Karin's mother was called Kanae. That detail had never been mentioned in the original story.
Tobirama continued, "Ms. Kanae, this is Lord Rowan. From today onward, you and Karin will stay by his side and ensure his safety."
"As for the two people beside Lord Rowan, one is my elder brother, Hashirama Senju, and the other is Nico Robin."
"They are both Lord Rowan's guards."
Kanae immediately bowed to Rowan. "Greetings, Lord Rowan."
As for Karin, she shyly hid behind her mother, sneaking a few glances at Rowan. The moment her eyes met his, she quickly ducked her head back behind her mother again.
So Karin had been this shy and timid as a child.
That was completely different from the violent girl she became later in the story.
"Just call me Rowan."
Rowan looked at the red-haired woman and could clearly see bite marks all over the parts of her skin that were exposed. It was obvious Kusagakure's ninja had never treated her like a human being.
But that fit the nature of ninja well enough.
After all, ninja were killers by trade.
A lot of them didn't even value their own lives, let alone anyone else's.
"Is there no way to heal the wounds on her body?" Rowan asked.
If he kept a woman like this at his side, anyone who didn't know the story would probably think he was some kind of pervert.
Tobirama said, "I already examined Kanae's body. Because she spent so long being used as a living blood bag, an enormous amount of her life force was drained away. That's why those bite marks haven't been able to fade."
"But as long as the depleted part can be replenished, the Uzumaki clan's life force should be enough for her to recover in a very short time."
Rowan gave a quiet oh. "And how do you replenish it?"
Tobirama replied, "Tsunade and Orochimaru are preparing a drug in the lab right now. With the help of that medicine, she should recover soon."
Right as they were talking, Tsunade pushed open the door and walked in.
"Oh? When did you get here?" she asked curiously when she saw Rowan.
"Just now," Rowan answered.
Tsunade gave a small nod, then turned to Kanae. "Everything's ready. Come with me."
Kanae nodded and led Karin after Tsunade.
Rowan was curious, so he followed too.
The group made their way into the underground lab in the base. In the middle of the laboratory sat an oval-shaped tub, and Orochimaru was pouring a pale blue liquid into it.
The liquid was thick and viscous, and it even gave off a faint glow. The light was weak, though—more like the glow of luminescent algae.
"Take off your clothes and get in," Tsunade said to Kanae.
Hearing that she had to undress, Rowan felt awkward and thought he probably shouldn't have followed them in. He was just about to turn and leave when Tsunade saw right through his embarrassment and waved a hand.
"It's fine. I doubt you'd be interested in her body anyway."
At first Rowan didn't understand what she meant, but he figured it out soon enough.
Because after Kanae took off her outer clothes, she still had underwear on.
But her arms, thighs, and torso were covered in countless wounds. There wasn't a single patch of intact skin on her body.
Any normal person looking at Kanae's body would feel horror first, not interest.
Unless they were a freak.
"The people of Kusagakure really deserve to die," Rowan muttered.
Orochimaru didn't react much and said calmly, "In times like these, human life is the cheapest thing there is."
Rowan fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject. "What's that glowing liquid in the tub?"
"A nutrient solution Tsunade and I created," Orochimaru said.
Tsunade added, "These liquids can provide a massive amount of nourishment—enough to let a cloned embryo develop into an adult body in just a few months."
"After adjusting the formula, it can quickly make up for the deficiencies in this woman's body and restore her health."
Tsunade continued, "But this nutrient solution has one flaw. It can only replenish physical nutritional loss. It can't restore lost life force. Kanae may recover her health in a short time, but the life force she lost will never come back."
"Her lifespan is only half that of a normal person. Maybe even less."
In other words, if a normal person could live to a hundred, then Karin's mother Kanae would only live to around fifty.
And that was the ideal case.
The more realistic outcome was that she would enter old age in her forties and die before reaching fifty.
There was no helping it. Kusagakure's ninja had drained her too thoroughly.
The fact that Tsunade and Orochimaru could restore her to health at all already meant they had done everything they could.
Tobirama said calmly, "That's fine. I'll handle the life force issue."
While researching Devil Fruits earlier, Tobirama had discovered that Zoan-type Devil Fruits could grant their users extremely strong vitality and recovery.
The manga showed this clearly enough too.
After Kabuto ate the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Azure Dragon—the pink version—both his physique and life force improved to an absurd degree.
So as long as they found a Zoan fruit for Kanae to eat, it would be enough to make up for the life force that had been drained from her and extend her lifespan.
If it was a Mythical Zoan, the effect would only be better.
And if that still wasn't enough, he could always research the giants of the One Piece world.
Giants lived three times longer than humans. If he could successfully crack the secret behind their longevity, then lifespan would no longer be an issue at all.
So Tobirama didn't care in the slightest about the life force Kanae had lost.
What he cared about was whether she could recover her health as quickly as possible and ensure Rowan's safety.
As long as Rowan was there, anything was possible.
If Rowan was lost, then every bit of hope would collapse like a palace built in the air.
~~~
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