"Hello…..!!" Naruto greeted Karin with a polite smile.
The Karin in front of Naruto was about the same age as him. She was all grown up. Luckily for Naruto, Karin's mother has managed to survive till this time.
Naruto knew that Karin lived a miserable life even after Orochimaru died.
"Hello....?" Karin did not know why this handsome young man was looking for her. She looked confused.
"Can we come inside?" Naruto asked.
"Who are you?" Karin asked in a cautious tone. After all, she can't just let strangers enter her house without even asking who they are.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki. And this is my mother. Kushina Uzumaki." Hearing that both of them were members of the Uzumaki clan, Karin wasn't surprised. Seeing their red hair, she already had guessed it.
'Kushina...!!!' Karin felt the name was familiar. She had heard this name somewhere before when she was really young.
"We are not here to harm you or your family. We are just here to talk."
Karin nodded her head.
'I could feel it. Both of them have very vast Chakra reserves. This young man is especially like a human-tailed beast. His chakra reserve could rival a Tailed Beast.' Karin thought in her mind.
Knowing this, she knew that it was useless to stop them.
If they wanted, they could kill her and her mother even before she could react. But clearly, they hadn't done anything aggressive. So far, the young man and the lady behind him have shown a polite attitude.
"Alright.....!!" Karin moved aside to let them enter the house.
Naruto curiously looked inside. The interior of the house was mostly dark except for the small rays of sunlight that managed to enter inside the house.
The house had one bedroom. On the bed there was a weak woman lying on the bed.
There was a small room connected to the bedroom. That small room was probably the kitchen. Next to the kitchen, there was another small room which probably was the bathroom.
While arriving there, Naruto noticed that there was a well just 40 meters away from there. Naruto guessed that Karin often drew water from the well for her and her mother.
The interior of the house was extremely run-down and aged. The house had mud floors, and the wooden walls and ceiling appeared very old, with numerous cracks. It seemed as though the house could collapse at any moment.
Naruto then shifted his attention to Karin's mother.
'In my previous world, Karin's mother already had died. But this time, there is a chance for me to prevent her death.' Naruto did not want a member of Uzumaki clan to die like this.
The woman's face was pale and wrinkled. Rather than looking like a mature woman in her 40s, she looked like a woman in her 80s. She looked like an '80s grandma. Even the red color of her hair had faded and her hair now had become white.
'This happened because of loss of chakra and life force.' Naruto then noticed many bite marks all around the woman's body. Especially her hands were full of bite marks. Seeing this, Naruto felt anger building inside him.
It was clear that the Hidden Grass Village had used her as a tool without caring if she lived or died.
"What happened to her?" Kushina went forward and sat on the edge of the bed. She then began closely inspecting the bite marks all over her body.
Hearing this, Karin bit her lips. Growing up, she has seen all the difficulties that her mother went through just to make sure that they could survive and live in this village. "Due to having a very powerful and rich life force, anyone who bites our bodies will be healed completely. My mother has been working as the Village's main healer for about 14 years now."
"Her Aura has become very weak because of this," Kushina said while gently holding the woman's arms.
At the same time, Karin's mother curiously stared at Kushina. She felt that she had seen her somewhere.
"If she was given enough time to recover then this wouldn't have happened." Kushina sounded angry seeing what these people had done to her.
In fact, someone with such a strong life force would have been able to live beyond 100 years while still looking like they were in their 50s. But because her life force had been drained too much without letting it recover, she had become like this.
"Who are you?" Karin's mother weakly asked.
Kushina gently held her hand and replied. "I am Kushina Uzumaki."
Hearing this, the woman widened her eyes. Her whole body trembled.
"Are you Lady Kushina?" The woman asked in a trembling shock.
Kushina nodded her head with a sad smile. This question reminded her of her home which she had left at a very young age.
"Are you really Princess Kushina?" The woman asked once again, but this time, her voice was slightly louder. She really couldn't believe that she would see the Princess of the Uzumaki clan once again.
Kushina once again nodded her head.
Meanwhile, Karin also looked shocked. A long time ago, her mother had heard about this princess who went to live in Konoha just a few years before the Uzumaki Clan's village was destroyed. She never thought she would meet her.
"Please lay down.....!!" Kushina gently pushed her shoulders and made her lie down.
But unexpectedly, the woman started shedding tears.
Yuna was forced to flee from her birthplace when her home was destroyed. After wondering for years, she finally made it to the Hidden Grass Village with young Karin. She was really desperate at that time. Despite having a large chakra reserve, she did not know any Jutsu. She did not have any means of protecting her daughter and herself.
This destruction has displaced hundreds of Uzumaki clan members across the whole world.
Karin's mother came to Kusagakure while her daughter was still young. The two were allowed to stay, provided that the mother would use her powers to heal the injured of the village under watch by Zōsui. As the fighting broke out, the mother was forced to regularly over-use her powers.
Luckily, she managed to survive till now. But she felt that she won't be able to live much longer given how things were going.
So seeing two members of her clan brought tears to her eyes. Now, even if she passes away, at least, her daughter, Karin won't be alone in this world. At least, her daughter will have some people to rely on.
This also means, her daughter won't need to take her place. This lifts a huge burden from Yuna's chest. As she did not wanted Karin to suffer like she did.
"It's okay.....!!!" Kushina just hugged her and tried her best to comfort her. Even Karin looked a little bit emotional seeing all this.
After a while, Karin and her mother calmed down.
"By the way, what is your name?" Naruto finally asked Karin.
"It's Karin Uzumaki," Karin replied while wiping her tears.
"My mother's name is Yuna. Yuna Uzumaki!!"
"Yuna, come out. I need you to heal some of men." The peaceful Reunion atmosphere was shattered when they all heard a man from outside of their house screaming loudly.
Hearing the words of the man, Naruto frowned. He certainly did not like the tone of this man.
Besides, given Yuna's condition. If someone bit her and sucked her Chakra, she would probably die the very next day. How could Naruto just stand there and let that happen?
Under his watch, no one was going to touch them. No one was allowed to touch them.
Hearing the words of the man, Yuna tried to get up. But Kushina stopped her.
Meanwhile, a panicked expression appeared on Karin's face.
"I will do something about it." She decided to use herself so that they would spare her mother and let her recover.
But as she was about to walk out of the house, Naruto grabbed her wrist.
"Let me take care of it." There was anger in Naruto's tone.
Afraid of what Naruto might do, Karin quickly followed him outside.
They saw a large man standing outside of the house. Behind them, there were some other men. Although these men looked slightly bit injured, they weren't seriously injured to the point where they needed immediate medical attention.
"Where is Yuna? And who the hell are you?" The man asked.
"Who is he?" Naruto ignored him and asked Karin.
Karin stood behind Naruto.
"He is Zōsui. He is the one who let us live in this village. He is the right-hand man of the Village Kage." Karin replied in a low tone.
Zōsui had fair skin, black hair that was combed back and reached shoulder length, grey pupiless eyes, wearing the Kusagakure forehead protector on his forehead, dark brown-grey kimono-like shirt with cream outlines, black pants, a white robe tied around his waist, black socks, and black sandals.
"Mom is really weak right now. Let me take Mom's place." Karin took a step forward but the next second, Naruto grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"You're not taking anyone's place."
"From now on, Karin and Aunty Yuna will be living with me in Konoha. Do you have any objections?" Naruto asked in a cold tone. Before he might have tried to sort this out peacefully. But the current Naruto has changed.
Zōsui wasn't pleased hearing Naruto's words.
"And what right do you have to take two citizens of our village to Konoha?" Zōsui asked in a righteous tone.
"Citizens? I don't think Hidden Grass's citizens were treated this badly."
"And don't speak of my right. As a member of the Uzumaki clan, I am here to take my family with me." Hearing this, Karin felt warm inside. She was touched by these words and his bravery.
"Brat, you're talking too much. Let go of her hand; otherwise, I won't show you any mercy, even if you're from Konoha." Zōsui said in an angry tone.
"I guess, I have no choice." Naruto let off Karin's wrist, but the next second, he disappeared.
Chakra Stat Transmutation!
Naruto converted all of his Chakra into his Strength.
Naruto appeared behind one of his men. At that moment, those blue eyes of his did not contain a hint of emotion in them.
bang...!!!
Naruto punched one of Zōsui's men. He aimed for the head.
Zōsui only reacted when he felt warm liquid landing on his right cheek.
Seeing the scene, Karin covered her mouth in horror.
When Zōsui turned to his right, he saw that one of his men was gone. There was no sign of his corpse either. In place of his corpse, the ground was covered in blood and countless small pieces of meat and bone parts.
Naruto's punch was so powerful that his body had just exploded like a water balloon.
Seeing all this, Zōsui's hearted beat quickened while his pupils contracted to the size of a needle in fear.
He saw Naruto standing in the same where his man once stood. Naruto's right arm was covered in blood.
'What kind of monster have I provoked?' Zōsui started sweating. His legs were already trembling.
The reason Zōsui was so bold before is that they were currently in Hidden Grass Village. And there was no way that even someone from Konoha would dare to harm him while he was in the village.
'I have to run...!!' Naruto disappeared once again.
Naruto let him run. He slowly took out the rest of his men before chasing after Zōsui.
(Since I couldn't find Karin's mother's name, I just named her Yuna.)
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