Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 142 Our People Have Come to Our Rescue

late at night.

The red-haired woman woke up and immediately searched for her daughter. She only felt at ease after spotting her daughter out of the corner of her eye.

"Mother!"

The little girl, whose eyes were fixed on her mother, noticed that her mother had woken up immediately. Seeing that her mother was trying to get up by supporting herself with her hands on the ground, she quickly reached out and supported her mother's back, helping her to sit up halfway.

The red-haired woman gently stroked her daughter's somewhat dry red hair and smiled, saying, "Where's the rice ball?"

"Here," the little girl took out two rice balls wrapped in cotton cloth from her bag, gently unfolded them, picked up one of the rice balls and handed it to her mother, "Here, Mom, you eat."

"Hmm." The red-haired woman smiled and took the rice ball, but after only taking a small bite, she handed it back to her daughter. "Alright, Mother is full. Remember to finish the rest of the leaves."

"But Mom..."

"Mommy isn't hungry." The red-haired woman gently hugged her daughter and said, "Mommy ate some soldier's rations, so I won't be hungry all day."

Upon hearing this, the little girl named Yezi turned to look at her mother. She didn't see her mother's face, but only rows of teeth marks on her mother's neck. She immediately fell silent, and the words of persuasion she wanted to say were no longer uttered.

Yezi lowered her head and ate her rice ball gently. Her mother's large hand gently stroked her somewhat dry red hair. She could feel the warmth from her mother's hand, but she could also feel the cold despair deep within that warmth.

Yezi is twelve years old.

In the cruel and precocious ninja world, a twelve-year-old child already understands everything.

Ye Zi was well aware of how desperate her and her mother's current situation was.

She tried to resist, but all she got in return was more suffering for her mother.

She knew that she was a burden to her mother.

She knew even better that if she died, her mother would lose the will to live.

But as long as she was alive, her mother would continue to endure endless suffering, becoming food for others, allowing them to gnaw at her at will.

To die is not an option, nor is to live.

Endless pain and despair enveloped the mother and daughter with red hair.

the next day.

Before the sun had even risen, there was a loud banging on the small door of the wooden house. The red-haired woman told her daughter not to leave the house, then opened the door with a blank expression and went out.

Seeing her mother's numb, zombie-like face as she closed the door, the little girl Yezi felt as if her heart was bound by a thin rope, the other end tied to her mother, and she felt waves of heartache as her mother walked away.

Unbeknownst to me, a dried tear rolled down my cheek.

Yezi clenched her fists and then let them fall, clenched them again and let them fall, finally letting them fall completely. She crawled back to a corner of the wooden house where the sun couldn't reach, silently watching the wooden door, waiting for her mother to return.

……

The country of Taki.

A mountain road in the central mountainous region.

Three black iron chains extended from behind Li Yao, firmly binding the three ninjas who wore Takigakure headbands on their foreheads.

"Do you know where the Uzumaki clan is?"

A Takigakure ninja, bound by black iron chains, was dragged in front of Li Yao. He withdrew the genjutsu chakra from the man's head, and after the man woke up, he immediately asked a question.

"Who are you?"

The awakened Takigakure ninja did not answer Li Yao's question. After all, anyone walking on the road who suddenly went black and, upon regaining consciousness, opened their eyes to find themselves bound by chains by a stranger would instinctively ask who had bound them.

"Let me go, you bastard."

The Takigakure ninja seemed oblivious to his predicament, struggling physically while verbally cursing Li Yao.

"Do you know anyone from the Uzumaki clan?" Li Yao continued to ask.

Squeak, squeak, squeak... As the question was asked, the black iron chains compressed.

"Uh..." The Takigakure ninja's face turned bright red instantly, and his body felt like it was about to be squeezed to burst.

Now, the Takigakure ninja finally realized his situation, and the fear in his eyes as he looked at Li Yao could no longer be hidden.

"Who...who are you? Do we have a grudge? Why are you arresting me?"

The Takigakure ninja noticed that Li Yao didn't have a headband from a ninja village on his forehead, and guessed that Li Yao was probably not from Kusagakure, so he must be seeking revenge.

But he didn't remember having an enemy like Li Yao.

"I'll ask you one more time, do you know the Uzumaki clan?"

Li Yao frowned slightly, losing patience. If he asked again and kept rambling on, there was no need to waste any more time on this person.

The Takigakure ninja understood the killing intent in Li Yao's eyes and knew that if he didn't give Li Yao a satisfactory answer, he would lose his life.

Thinking of this, he panicked and frantically recalled information about the Uzumaki clan. At this moment, information about a medical ninja from the Kusagakure headquarters on the front lines came to mind. Although the identity of the medical ninja had not yet been confirmed, he could not care about that now and immediately said, "I heard that there is a red-haired medical ninja behind the Kusagakure front lines. That medical ninja has a very special body. As long as someone bites him, he can recover from his injuries."

"That red-haired medical ninja must be from the Uzumaki clan. Only members of the Uzumaki clan possess red hair and a powerful lineage of medical ninjutsu."

Red hair.

It has a healing ability that allows someone to recover from an injury simply by taking a bite.

After listening to the words of the Takigakure ninja, Li Yao pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He knew that he had found a member of the Uzumaki clan, and it seemed that he was a Uzumaki clansman with good talent.

The medical ninja from Kusagakure probably has the same physique as Karin Uzumaki, and might even be Karin's mother... or father?

Regardless of his identity, that medical ninja must know a lot about the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, so learning from him would definitely be a good idea.

"Let's go, take me to that Uzumaki clan medical ninja."

Li Yao pulled the Takigakure ninja onto the back of the Black Iron Giant Eagle. The other two Takigakure ninjas were rendered useless, their chakra being devoured and stored in the giant sealing scroll. Li Yao then gave the two a quick death.

Upon witnessing this scene, Takigaku, who had survived, trembled slightly before calming down.

late at night.

The border between Kusanagi and Kashiwa.

At the Grass Village headquarters, a red-haired woman returned to her cabin after a day of "treatment," holding her daughter and staring blankly out the window.

She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

I wonder if this persistence will allow her daughter to survive.

She knew nothing; despair had enveloped them ever since they escaped the Land of Whirlpools.

The entire ninja world is hunting them down.

Along the way, the surviving members of the tribe lost contact and died one by one.

Her husband also died while covering their escape.

In the end, neither he nor his daughter could escape and were captured by Kusagakure.

She is alive now because she still has value to others. Once she can't hold on and dies, her daughter will follow in her footsteps and be eaten like meat until the day she dies.

"Who will save us?"

"Who will come to our rescue?"

The red-haired woman's numb eyes held no hope. On her escape, she witnessed Konoha's Anbu also hunting down members of the Uzumaki clan.

Even Konoha, their sworn brother, is hunting them down. Who in this world can help them?

"Hmm...this is..."

Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in the red-haired woman's numb eyes, and she quickly stood up.

"Mom..." Yezi, the little girl who was lying in her mother's arms, got up when she saw this and followed behind her mother with a puzzled look on her face.

The red-haired woman quickly walked to the door of the wooden house, opened it, and went out. Yezi hugged her mother's waist, her eyes cautiously observing the outside.

gold!

Golden chains, like intertwined vines, densely covered the entire camp, as if dyeing the whole camp in gold.

Ye Zi looked at the golden chains with curiosity.

For some reason, she felt that these golden chains were familiar and comforting.

"Our people...our people...our people have come to save us!"

(End of this chapter)