Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 987 Is this some big job that a new character like you can pull off?

"I think I understand."

After listening to Shana's description of her missing maid's talent, Uchiha Gin nodded thoughtfully. If he guessed correctly, this missing maid should be Karin's mother, who was so miserable in the original timeline that it was unbearable to look at. Until the moment of her death, there were still fresh teeth marks of the grass ninja on her body, which can be regarded as a microcosm of the many dark aspects of the ninja profession.

"Whoosh~"

"Hmm? Kami-sama, where are you going?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin suddenly get up and put on his coat, Shana, who was still praying for her maid who was like a sister to her, looked up in confusion. "Go take care of something."

"Is Kami-sama going to abandon Shana? No way! Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually very capable!"

Mistakenly thinking that Uchiha Gin was going to abandon her, Shana quickly puffed out her flat chest and showed him her overly slender arms. "Don't think too much. Your body hasn't recovered yet. Drink this bottle of milk and go to sleep early so as not to delay your second development."

Uchiha Gin tightened his cuffs, shook his head, and pulled a can of his ever-present strawberry milk from his bag, tossing it to the terrified Shana. Even if the girl in front of him wasn't a Uzumaki orphan or Hanamichi's daughter, as long as she called for his help, Uchiha Gin would lend a hand.

This is his way of chivalry.

"But I'm very hungry, are you having any pineapple buns?"

Clutching the still-warm strawberry milk, Shana, who hadn't eaten for days during her escape, swallowed hard, looking pitifully at Uchiha Gin, and gulped...

Glug glug...

"Take her out for a meal, and keep the receipt. I'll reimburse you when I get back."

Hearing the rumbling of the girl's belly, Uchiha Gin turned to look at Tsunade and her apprentice. These two were reliable enough; entrusting Shana to them shouldn't be a problem.

to reimburse?!

Tsunade didn't want to take on this mission at first, since the money in her pocket was too hot to handle. She wanted to go out and gamble a couple of times to satisfy her cravings. But when she heard the words "reimbursement," she immediately smiled brightly. In this era of handwritten invoices, how much to reimburse for a meal was entirely up to her.

"Mission accomplished!"

Seeing that Tsunade had agreed to the matter, Uchiha Gin said nothing more and turned to disappear at the end of the corridor.

"Lady Tsunade, what do you think Gin-sama is going to do?"

Shizune pulled her gaze away from Uchiha Gin's departing figure and looked curiously at Tsunade, who was drooling and grinning. It was so late, was she going to some adult-only area with censored images?

"Slurp~ Who knows? Kids shouldn't meddle in adults' business."

Tsunade wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and waved to Shana Uzumaki, who was holding a strawberry milk drink not far away. "Come on, I'll take you out for a big meal!"

She hadn't had a hot meal in ages because she was short of money, so now that someone was reimbursing her, she was determined to splurge. "A feast! I want to eat!"

Shana, who had been feeling a little disappointed by Uchiha Gin's sudden departure, lit up at the news. Her desire for food quickly overcame her other emotions, and she happily followed Tsunade, who was walking with lightning speed, clutching the milk.

blow!

A fleeting golden light streaked across the dark night sky, and Uchiha Gin's figure landed on the border between the two kingdoms of Kusanagi and Kamaji as the light faded. "Has anyone else come here since?"

Looking at the scene where he had disposed of the body during the day, Uchiha Gin's gaze shifted from the messy footprints around him, his deep eyes gazing into the dark forest in the distance.

He's looking for someone.

If Shana's maid's special talent is discovered by the Grass Ninja, she will face an unprecedented disaster.

We must take her away before that happens.

"Tsk, it's just a bit troublesome."

Uchiha Gin scratched his head. Since he had never met Shana's maid, he couldn't accurately pinpoint her chakra aura. Finding someone in such a vast place as the Land of Grass was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, he also has a perception radar with a huge search range. The chakra of the Uzumaki clan is very distinctive and relatively easy to identify.

"open!"

Without hesitation, Uchiha Gin leaped onto the highest branch nearby, held his breath, closed his eyes, and maximized the search range of his sensory radar: one kilometer, ten kilometers, one hundred kilometers, one thousand kilometers...

As the radar was deployed, countless tiny dots instantly appeared on the virtual map in Uchiha Gin's consciousness. Some were bright and clear, while others were dim and lifeless. Each flashing dot represented a life form containing chakra. The brighter the dot, the richer the chakra, and vice versa.

Uchiha Gin carefully examined each cursor. With the physique of the Uzumaki clan, their chakra radiance was absolutely outstanding. As long as he searched diligently, he would surely find the missing maid.

"what?"

Suddenly, his sensory radar detected an extremely dazzling light near the Land of Grass, close to the Land of Waterfall. However, Uchiha Gin didn't show any joy; instead, he frowned slightly. The light was indeed very bright, almost as bright as a tailed beast, but the light it emitted was pitch black. It clearly wasn't...

What kind of legitimate chakra?

What puzzled Uchiha Gin even more was that he had a sense of déjà vu.

"It's enlightenment!"

After stroking his chin and pondering for a moment, Uchiha Gin suddenly slammed his fist into his palm, his eyes filled with realization. No wonder he felt that this ball of chakra looked familiar. It turned out to be the ancient demon beast Wu, which was sealed in the Paradise Treasure Chest. Judging from its flashing frequency, it was probably trying its best to bewitch the humans around it, hoping to escape by doing so.

But that had nothing to do with Uchiha Gin. His immediate priority was finding the missing maid. "Hmm? Why isn't it sparkling anymore? Could she have escaped the Land of Grass?"

Just as Uchiha Gin was scratching his head in confusion, in a remote border town in the Land of Grass, a ragged red-haired girl huddled in a side alley. Her fair face was deliberately smeared with makeup, and her tattered clothes couldn't hide her impressive curves. At this moment, she stared blankly at the steaming steamer at the alley entrance with her slightly empty red eyes. Thick saliva dripped down her chapped lips. "Waaah... I'm so hungry. Princess, where are you?"

Looking down at her empty stomach, the girl thought of the princess she'd lost, who must also be starving. She rubbed her blurry eyes with her dirty little hands, tears streaming down her face as much as she drooled. At the same time, Shana, who was enjoying a hearty meal in a fancy restaurant, slammed her hand on the table with a hamster-like face, yelling, "Waiter, ten more pineapple buns!"

'

"Gurgle..."

"No, if I don't consume more energy, I..."

The rumbling of her stomach resumed. The girl hesitated, pursing her lips, then suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, rolled up her sleeve and bit her pale forearm. "Ouch...that hurts!"

However, the feeling of fullness that the girl had imagined did not materialize; instead, there was only the stinging pain of her teeth tearing through her flesh. "As expected, biting myself is useless."

Disappointed, the girl looked at the bloody teeth marks on her arm. Her gaze lingered on the neat, delicate teeth marks beside her for a moment before she slowly lowered her sleeve. "Princess, you absolutely cannot be hurt."

She knew very well what kind of people the Grass Ninja were. Bloodline ninjas like the Uzumaki clan, who were born with special talents, would definitely suffer a terrible fate if they were captured.

For men, the worst outcome is simply enjoying the good life until they can no longer enjoy it.

As for women, they simply have a miserable life.

The thought of being mercilessly stuffed into a giant cream puff by the grass ninja made the girl wish she were dead.

But with the princess's fate uncertain, she, who had vowed to serve Shana with her life, could not easily give up her own.

Just as the girl was hesitating about whether to pick up some kitchen waste from the dumpling shop's trash can at the alley entrance, a group of well-equipped Grass Ninja strode over from the other end of the street. "Hey! Boss, have you seen these two suspicious red-haired women these past few days?"

Each of them held two portraits, going from house to house questioning people. "Hmm!"

Because of her nearsightedness, the girl couldn't see the portrait in the ninja's hand clearly, but as soon as she heard what the other person was asking, she knew that the other person was after her.

two?

That means the princess hasn't been stuffed into a cream puff yet.

After deducing from the words of the Grass Ninja that Shana was temporarily safe, the girl's tense mood finally eased. Since the princess was safe, she couldn't possibly die!

With an overwhelming will to survive, the girl clenched her fists and squeezed her tall, voluptuous body into the corner of the alley, afraid of being discovered by passing ninja.

"Sir, I've never seen this before."

The steamed bun shop owner, being questioned, shook his head. Their town was very remote; if such a beautiful woman were to arrive, everyone would know. "Think about it carefully. They might be disguised as merchants, travelers, or beggars or something..."

'

Grass Ninja frowned and spoke up to remind them that their team had been following a trail of escape for a long time, almost circling the entire Land of Grass. If they couldn't catch those two Uzumaki orphans soon, their chances of winning the Advanced Award this year would definitely be gone.

"No...right, speaking of beggars, there have been signs that the food waste in my shop has been disturbed lately."

The steamed bun shop owner was about to shake his head when he remembered that his kitchen trash cans had been frequently stolen in recent days, resulting in large amounts of kitchen waste.

It was completely robbed; judging by the method, it was definitely done by a new beggar.

"When did this happen?"

"In the next couple of days."

After hearing the boss's description, Kusanagi's face lit up with joy, and he immediately called out to his teammates who were questioning him nearby, "Brothers, we've got a lead!"

"!!!"

Oh no, we're about to be discovered!

The girl hiding not far away overheard the conversation between the two. Seeing the grass ninjas gradually gathering, she immediately tiptoed and crept deeper into the alley.

Don't stay here for long.

"Gurgle!"

However, just as she carefully controlled her steps and tiptoed away from the other end of the alley to escape, her rumbling stomach pounded again. "Who's there?"

Hearing the commotion in the alley next door, the grass ninjas instantly became alert, quickly drawing their weapons and surrounding the area. The girl wanted to punch herself in the stomach twice. She had already rummaged through the garbage heap this morning, so why was she still yelling so loudly?

Whoosh!

But it was too late to say anything now. The grass ninjas at the alley entrance had already filed in. The girl's long legs gave a powerful kick, and she fled to the other side of the alley at a speed far beyond that of ordinary people. "She's the target! Chase after her! Catch her, this year's designated advanced individual!"

Although the alley was dimly lit, the leading Grass Ninja still managed to see the rare bright red mark above the girl's head. He immediately waved his hand and promised, "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The grass ninja behind him were shocked. The title of "Advanced Individual" in the village was not so easy to obtain. It not only represented a generous bonus but also unparalleled honor. Some veteran Jonin had spent their entire lives without ever receiving this dazzling title.

"Damn it, these few guys... if I were full..."

The girl, dizzy with hunger, glared fiercely at the ravenous grass ninja behind her. Based on her mental perception, she knew these grass ninja were no stronger than Chunin. Under normal circumstances, she could take them down with a single punch.

Both were quite fast, and soon they were running out of the small town one after the other, "Whoosh!"

Seeing that they couldn't catch the barefoot, red-haired girl, the pursuing Grass Ninja, fearing she would hide in the dense forest, frantically threw out a large number of hidden weapons. "Whoosh!"

A sharp kunai grazed the girl's cheek, tearing away a piece of flesh. "Tsk!"

Feeling the stinging pain from her wound, the girl's gaze darkened, and she abruptly stopped. Continuing to run would be pointless; she had to deal with these guys first before she could continue searching for the princess.

Thinking of this, the last bit of emergency chakra that she had specially sealed in her body began to thaw. She reached out and wiped the bloodstains from her cheek. The wound that was bleeding a second ago emitted white smoke and was instantly healed.

"Heh, so you know you can't escape, are you ready to surrender?"

Unaware of their impending doom, the Grass Ninja grinned maliciously as the red-haired girl turned around, as if looking at lambs to the slaughter. "We didn't expect our target to have such a hot body. How about we enjoy ourselves a bit later?"

One of the Grass Ninja leered at the voluptuous girl, his eyes gleaming with lust, and a lewd smile spread across his lips. "The captain hasn't arrived yet. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to enjoy ourselves?"

At this point, someone raised an objection: their superior hadn't arrived yet. "We're testing her for the captain; that's called unwavering loyalty!"

"Uh... what you said makes some sense."

Upon hearing this, the others all revealed lewd smiles of agreement. "Guys, since I suggested it first, I should be the one to go first... Pfft!"

Seeing his teammates persuaded by his eloquent words, the lecherous Kusanagi licked his lips, preparing to take action, when *thud!*

Before he could finish speaking, a small, blue-glowing fist slammed into his face. "Boom!"

The grass ninja, sent flying backward, snapped several large trees that would take two people to encircle, finally embedding itself upside down in the soft ground. Its convulsing limbs trembled a few times before it lay limp and lifeless. "Everyone, be careful!"

After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, the remaining Grass Ninja quickly retreated, yelling in terror, "Trying to run? Prepare to die!"

The girl, her hands wreathed in eerie blue flames, narrowed her eyes and unleashed another furious punch.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, a grass ninja had no choice but to raise his long sword to parry. "Crack... thud!"

The steel blade couldn't withstand the force for even a second. As the flying shards pierced through the grass ninja, the unstoppable punch pierced his chest, sending a spray of blood flying. "My—advance personal guard—"

That wasn't all. Instead of pulling her arm out of the dying Grass Ninja's chest, the girl reached out with her other hand, grabbed his mangled body, and, amidst the horrified gazes of the surrounding Grass Ninja, ripped it apart with a "rip!"

Nice to meet you all! I'll be showing you a spectacular hand-torn grass-ninja performance.

"Thud! Thud! —"

The terrified Grass Ninja stared pale-faced at the scattered parts of their former comrade, cold sweat pouring down their faces like it was free. "Seriously? Are you even human?"