Konoha Notes

Chapter 121 is a robbery
Using the Flying Thunder God technique, Shuuji quickly arrived at a spot not far from where he had separated from the team and put the mother and daughter down.

The Uzumaki clan has good physical fitness, and Uzumaki Hagi slowly woke up from her coma.

Her memory was still stuck on that unfamiliar Kusagakure ninja who seemed to have designs on Karin.

"Karin!" Hagi cried out in surprise, sitting up and searching for her daughter. When she finally saw her daughter lying safely beside her, she pulled her into her arms.

It was only then that she belatedly noticed the change in her surroundings and the figure still standing not far away.

This is... not Kusagakure.

The fresh air and unfamiliar trees made her feel dazed for a moment.

Seeing that Hagi Uzumaki had woken up, Shuji didn't care and simply dispelled the transformation spell.

"You, you're not a ninja from Kusagakure," Hagi asked in a trembling voice, her gaze falling on Shuji's forehead, which had changed its design. "This is Konoha... You're a ninja from Konoha."

"Why are you..."

"We kidnapped you." Shuji's expression remained indifferent. "We found you in Kusagakure, thought you were valuable, so we kidnapped you."

The word "rescue" is too extravagant and too complicated, and may trigger unnecessary expectations, doubts, or even resistance.

For someone who has been imprisoned and controlled for a long time and has long been accustomed to the treatment of possessions, the reason of "stealing" is more direct and easier to understand and accept—it's just a change of ownership.

As expected, Uzumaki Hagi suddenly fell silent, simply holding her daughter tightly.

He commanded, "We're almost at the Land of Fire. Follow me."

The red-haired woman picked up her daughter and silently followed behind Shuji. She didn't try to escape. A ninja who could abduct her and her daughter from Kusagakure to this place was someone she couldn't resist.

Moreover, whether it's in Kusagakure or Konoha, since we're already here, we can only accept our fate. In any case, the worst that can happen is that we'll die from having all our chakra drained, so there's no difference.

They hadn't gone far when they heard rustling sounds coming from the bushes nearby. Whirlpool Hagi was so startled she almost collapsed.

"Captain!" Hongdou jumped up, "Did they succeed? It's them!"

"Ah."

The female ninja carefully examined the mother and daughter. Red hair, red eyes, nothing special... but when her gaze fell on Uzumaki Hagi's exposed arm, her eyes narrowed.

So many teeth marks, what did those Grass Village ninjas do to her?
Just then, Karin, who was in Hagi's arms, made a soft sound and slowly woke up.

The familiar embrace made her instinctively snuggle closer.

"Mother……"

Soon, memories from before she lost consciousness flooded her mind, and she couldn't help but cry out, "Why...why did you hit...me..."

Karin straightened up in Hagi's arms, her anger rising instantly, but under the watchful eyes of three people, her voice immediately subsided.

"Pfft," Hongdou couldn't help but laugh, breaking the slightly heavy atmosphere. "Not bad, little one. Mom looks so cautious, but the daughter is quite energetic, Captain."

Shuji ignored Anko's joke and gave the order directly: "Anko, you're in charge of taking care of her." He pointed to Uzumaki Hagi, "Leave the child to me. Return as quickly as possible."

Upon hearing this, Hagi instinctively tightened her grip, her eyes pleading. She could obey orders, but entrusting her daughter to this seemingly cold man…

"Our destination is Konoha Village, and it is for both of you, so don't waste time." Shuji looked at Uzumaki Hagi, and the pressure in his eyes, coupled with their current situation, ultimately led the mother to place her daughter in Shuji's hands.

Red Bean then supported the somewhat weakened Hagi Uzumaki. Noticing Shuuji's attitude, she also cooperated by showing a slightly fierce expression.

"Alright, ma'am, follow me obediently~ My stamina is very precious."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for being too rough."

The minor incident did not affect their journey. Shuji carried Karin to his side, while Anko supported the anxious but obedient Hagi Uzumaki, and they quickly crossed the border towards Konoha Village.

Meanwhile, Kusagakure was in complete chaos.

The search teams reported back one after another that, apart from the initial, vague traces of their presence, they found no further clues. The mother and daughter seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Hearing his subordinates' fruitless report, Hayami's brows furrowed deeply. The elders who had gone out with their leader were seriously injured, but they were all cheerful, convinced that the time for Kusagakure's rise was coming.

While they were busy treating their injuries, they discovered that Uzumaki Hagi and Uzumaki Karin were nowhere to be found. They immediately sent people to search for them, but even so, they still couldn't catch up.

According to the last person to deliver the food, they hadn't been gone for long.

"Damn it, who is it..." The only outsiders who have visited the village recently are the envoys from Konoha... but they clearly left long ago and did not show any abnormality at the time.

Su Jian racked his brains but couldn't find any possible suspects.

"Could there be a traitor in the village?"

He decided to leave a few teams behind to continue the search while he returned to report on the situation.
-
Bringing unidentified individuals into Konoha necessitates the necessary registration process. At the village entrance, Shuji succinctly completed the registration, citing "encountering and bringing back suspicious individuals during a mission, requiring further investigation."

After entering the village, Shuji temporarily placed the mother and daughter in a dormitory in the village, which was used to accommodate temporary visitors or stranded people.

"Red Bean, you stay and keep watch," Shuji instructed, then turned to leave, as he needed to report the situation to Tsunade immediately.

Just before leaving, Karin mustered her courage again.

"Um, I, my mom and I will..." she stammered.

"Konoha has its own medical system," Shuji simply replied. Anko stood by, watching Karin, who seemed somewhat uneasy, and Hagi, who remained silent beside her daughter.

Now that she's already in the village, there's no need for her to deliberately maintain the villainous image along with Shuji.

"Although I don't know what happened to you, now that the captain has brought you back to Konoha, things will definitely be arranged for you."

"His... the captain's name is..."

When asked about Karin's question, Anko simply smiled and said, "If the captain wants to say something, he will."

As soon as Shuji returned to the village, Tsunade received the news and waited for him in her office at the Hokage Building.

Similarly, she also heard that he had brought two strangers back with him.

"What's that guy up to now?" he muttered as the office door was pushed open.

The person who came in was, as expected, that guy.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Shuji? He didn't even knock on the door. As expected of a Jonin who has made great contributions."

The blonde woman's eccentricities went unnoticed.

Shuji replied, "I volunteered to work overtime on top of the established tasks to handle unexpected situations, but instead of being greeted, I was met with Tsunade-sama's still so harshness."

"Because of you, you bastard, I haven't been able to sleep well either. What more do you want!"

"A vile adult," he commented.

"That annoying brat," she commented.

After a brief standoff, Shuji took his seat, and Tsunade returned to the main topic.

"So, what's the deal with those two people? And what's the situation in Kusagakure?"

"There's nothing new in the information about Kusagakure, but what's confirmed is that they are indeed collecting ninjas with a specific purpose."

"Then why did you stay for so long?!"

“That mother and daughter are remnants of the Uzumaki clan,” Shuji replied.

Where did you meet them?

"The Hidden Kusagi Village."

Tsunade's expression became somewhat subtle: "Kusagakure... so, they're now people from Kusagakure?"

"No, because I took them back, if the subsequent procedures go smoothly, they will become residents of Konoha."

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade abruptly stood up from her chair, placed her hands on the table, leaned forward, and gave Shuji a thorough examination from head to toe with her sharp gaze.

"You snatched it back? You've exceeded my expectations to a greater or lesser extent, Shuji."

She walked around the table, stood in front of Xiu Si, and lifted him up, only to find that she couldn't straighten him up. So she kicked him to make him stand up on his own.

Tsunade gestured to show the height difference between the two: "Well, he's taller than me, and his face is passable..."

"But I'm telling you, even if she's reached puberty, going directly to someone else's village to snatch her, especially if she's a woman with a child..."

Xiu Si remained silent, simply looking back at her calmly.

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Tsunade was the first to give in, letting out an annoyed snort: "Alright, so what is it all about? Whatever the purpose of Kusagakure is, as long as they don't have any clear hostility, it's not a good idea to kidnap someone."

"The older ones have a special constitution, and their own chakra can heal the injuries of others at lightning speed. Therefore, in Kusagakure, they are used as living medicine."

"The younger one most likely inherited the same ability, but so far, she has not been treated the same way as her mother."

Tsunade was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Is that so... I see..."

"The remnants of the Uzumaki clan, because Uzushio Village failed to receive timely support, regarded Konoha as traitors and chose to flee to other countries."

"In the end, is this really the fate?"

Tsunade grabbed her coat and draped it over herself: "Let's go see what's going on with them that made you decide to help."

As she reached the office door, she paused as if suddenly remembering something, and asked without turning her head, "Was the tail cleaned up? Did the people from Kusagakure see us?"

There were no witnesses.

“Oh, so you mean it was theft, not robbery.” Her tone was slightly amused.

“Kusagakure has already dispatched a search team, which theoretically creates a confrontational relationship,” Shuji corrected. “So, it’s a robbery.”

"A thief who tries to justify himself."

"They are robbers."

(End of this chapter)