Dawn.
The wind carried a tinge of blood.
Akihara Kagura was dozing off against a tree.
Hatake Kakashi stood on the edge of the forest on alert, while Uchiha Itachi glanced at the hundreds of bodies of Grass ninja piled up behind him.
Since Hatake Kakashi and Akihara Kagura had a talk, Kakashi understood more about Kagura and became more aware of the young one's outlook on life.
Even though Akihara Kagura grew up beside Shimura Danzo, he still did not forget the innate kindness within humans, embodying a contradiction of extreme good and extreme evil.
Hatake Kakashi agreed to let Akihara Kagura stay here to wait for the Grass ninja's reinforcements and the little girl who lost her mother. He also rejected Kagura's suggestion to destroy the Grass Village, as doing so would likely alarm the nearby Land of Earth and bring trouble to Konoha…
Moreover, Akihara Kagura even suggested they could pin the destruction of the Grass Village on Obito Uchiha.
Wasn't that going too far?
Hatake Kakashi managed to persuade Akihara Kagura, believing that their destruction of Grass Village's main defensive line meant that the bloodthirsty Taketori clan could easily invade and annihilate the Grass Country, making any further trouble unnecessary.
"Captain Kakashi."
Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but whisper, "Captain Kakashi, all the bodies have been collected. When can we start the cremation?"
Last night, Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi had collected all the bodies, but they weren't in a hurry to destroy the evidence, which Itachi found strange.
"It's not time yet."
Hatake Kakashi shook his head, looking at Akihara Kagura resting against the tree: "There's another batch of bodies that hasn't arrived yet. They should be burned together…"
"Another batch of bodies… hasn't arrived?"
Uchiha Itachi looked up following Hatake Kakashi's gaze, looking at his teammate who was pretending to sleep, feeling a chill in his heart: "Does this mean…"
"The bodies have arrived…"
Akihara Kagura's eyes suddenly opened!
A group of Grass ninjas rushed towards the forest quickly.
Among them, a red-haired little girl, weak and barely able to run, fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Don't stop in places like this!"
"But, I've never been on a battlefield…"
This red-haired little girl, wearing glasses and looking about six or seven years old, felt panic and fear.
A Grass ninja captain coldly looked back at Karin, not hiding his killing intent: "Hurry up and follow us to support! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
This group of Grass ninja reinforcements quickly arrived at the forest, only to see the piled-up bodies of Grass ninjas, feeling terrified!
"Who did this?"
"All the defenders at the position are dead, where is our enemy?"
"In the forest…"
The little girl with red hair seemed to sense something, her face filled with panic as she looked towards the depths of the forest: "There is a terrifying person in the forest!"
Although this little girl didn't know why she could see him, she could already feel a monstrous threat hiding in the forest, a terrifying figure!
"Her perception is quite excellent..."
A young man's voice came from within the forest.
"Who's there!"
The Grass Ninja team leader quickly turned his head!
The next moment!
A vine suddenly burst out of the ground!
This vine was incredibly thick, instantly piercing through the body of the Grass Ninja Squad Leader!
With the prelude's rise, countless vines and roots rapidly emerged, killing off this Grass Ninja support team!
The little girl with red hair could only squat on the ground in terror, clutching her head, trying to use this behavior to cover her fear!
However...
These vines seemed to bear no malice towards her.
The terrifying figure in the forest manipulated vine after vine to kill the Grass Ninjas, yet not a single vine harmed a hair on her head.
The battle ended quickly.
The Grass Ninjas, facing an unknown terrifying enemy, had no power to resist and quickly became cold corpses.
After this Grass Ninja team was wiped out, the battlefield quickly quieted down, and after a while, a rustling of footsteps was heard again.
"Prepare to burn the bodies..."
This was the voice of a young man.
"Yes!"
This was the voice of a teenager.
"Are you the 'little thing' they spoke of?"
This was another young man's voice.
The little girl with red hair lifted her head in fear, only to see the terrifying chakra within this teenager, the terrifying figure from the forest!
It was this teenager...
Who had killed all the Grass Ninjas here!
"I...I..."
The little girl with red hair had tears in her eyes, filled with fear.
"We are ninjas from Konoha."
Akihara Kagura squatted in front of her, his face breaking into a sunny smile: "Let me introduce myself, my name is Akihara Kagura, killing is just a hobby, fishing is my main hobby…"
"I...my name is Karin…"
Karin dared not refuse to answer, shivering as she replied.
Akihara Kagura tilted his head towards the forest: "Those guys in the forest said before they died, that you have a special ability, where one can recover just by biting you?"
"Yes…"
Karin's eyes filled with even more fear.
Was this terrifying ninja, who killed the grass ninja, after her blood as well?
"Your ability is impressive, almost catching up to mine."
After nodding in praise, Akihara Kagura continued: "However, it seems they still don't know about your other ability, right? Since you saw me hiding in the forest, does that mean you can see enemies from a great distance away?"
Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
The most powerful sensory technique in the ninja world.
This name sounds a bit like Akihara Kagura's exclusive ability, but it is actually a unique ability of the Uzumaki clan, and only those with a high purity of Uzumaki bloodline have a chance to awaken it.
Besides being able to sense anomalies within tens of kilometers, Mind's Eye of the Kagura can even detect the number of enemies; if the enemy's chakra characteristics are known, it can also detect the enemy's exact location and all their movements; this terrifying sensory ability is even superior to that of the Hyuga clan!
The most terrifying aspect...
Mind's Eye of the Kagura, this special sensory ability, can also judge whether a person is lying through the fluctuations in their chakra.
"Sometimes I can see, sometimes I can't..."
Karin still doesn't understand what her Mind's Eye of the Kagura really is, often in a state of working intermittently, and most of the time, she can only see it when she is particularly afraid.
"Come with us."
Akihara Kagura stood up, not caring whether Karin would refuse: "Since you have special abilities, we're not in a hurry to send you back to Konoha. Follow us on our mission for now, to see if you can be of any use..."
Akihara Kagura glanced back at Karin, his face cold: "If you prove to be of no use, after returning to Konoha, you'll be sent to a terrifying place."
"I can be of use!"
Karin hurriedly indicated that she was still useful alive!
"Hey, hey, hey, don't scare the child!"
Hatake Kakashi took a moment to clean up the corpses, handing over the task of burning the bodies to Uchiha Itachi, and came over just to see Akihara Kagura scaring the little girl.
Hatake Kakashi looked down at Karin, softly reassuring her: "Don't be afraid, Kagura is just a bit extreme in his personality. He actually stayed behind to save you after secretly hearing the story about you and your mother in the forest..."
"Ah? Why... Why?"
Karin looked at Akihara Kagura somewhat astonished.
"Because you seem to be of use."
Akihara Kagura spoke with indifference, stating the plain truth.
"Because of pity for your background!"
Hatake Kakashi sighed helplessly, looking at Akihara Kagura: "Even though you're doing a good deed, don't always make yourself out to be the villain..."
"Hmph, chatterbox."
Akihara Kagura's expression seemed slightly annoyed, as if his thoughts were exposed.
"Are you really not going to send her back to Konoha?"
Remembering what Akihara Kagura had said, Hatake Kakashi spoke up: "We are going to the Land of Earth for a reconnaissance mission. It's very likely we'll encounter unimaginable dangers. Didn't you say you'd use the Flying Thunder God Technique to send her back to Konoha?"
"If she's only useful for recovery, then she's of no use to me. But she has a unique sensory ability, which could be helpful for our mission."
Akihara Kagura glanced at Hatake Kakashi, seemingly reminding him not to forget their conversation from last night: "Besides... Konoha isn't necessarily safe for her."
After saying this, Akihara Kagura looked down at Karin and asked: "little girl, do you want to go to Konoha, or stay with us?"
"I'll stay... with you."
Karin timidly lowered her head, nervously clutching her clothes: "I can be useful, don't leave me behind..."
"Then let's go."
Akihara Kagura picked up Karin by the collar: "Practice your chakra well on the way. When we get to the Land of Earth, use your ability to help us find where our target is hiding."
"I might not be able to see..."
Karin looked at Akihara Kagura with some fear.
Although the little girl just learned from Hatake Kakashi that Akihara Kagura might not be a bad person, his demeanor was indeed a bit frightening!
"Can't see?"
Akihara Kagura looked down at the little girl in his hands, continuing to intimidate: "Didn't I say, if you're useless, you'll have to go to a terrifying place."
"The hospital?"
Karin remembered her experiences.
The most terrifying place in the world might be the hospital, where the injured always want to draw her blood for healing.
If she can't see where the target is, the only use she might have is her blood, which can heal the injured, right?
"Weren't you saying you wouldn't send her to the Root?"
Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but whisper a reminder to Akihara Kagura, "Didn't we say that we would let her accompany Naruto, when we get back?"
For Hatake Kakashi, the most terrifying place for a child should be the Root. Last night, it was clearly agreed that this child would not fall into the hands of Danzo.
"Who said we were sending her to the Root?"
Akihara Kagura looked at Hatake Kakashi with surprise.
Hatake Kakashi thought for a moment and said with some confusion, "Apart from the Root and the ANBU interrogation room, what other terrifying places could there be in Konoha?"
"Ninja School."
"...Eh?"
"Kids still need to go to school properly!"
Akihara Kagura looked at Karin, showing a hint of envy in his eyes, and scolded, "If you don't study hard, in the future, you can only live in the dark like me, making mistakes during missions and being doubted by others…"
Hatake Kakashi understood the look in Akihara Kagura's eyes. Was this guy regretting that he had never studied at the Konoha Ninja School?
No.
To put it normally.
Akihara Kagura hadn't even enjoyed the normal life of a child in Konoha, so did he want to let Karin make up for his regret?
"Captain Kakashi."
After Uchiha Itachi incinerated the corpses and erased the traces, he looked at Karin in Akihara Kagura's hand with some surprise, "This little girl is..."
"This is..."
When Hatake Kakashi opened his mouth wanting to introduce Karin, Akihara Kagura's voice suddenly interrupted what he was about to say.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"This matter has nothing to do with you."
Akihara Kagura spoke coldly, changing his statement to Uchiha Itachi, "This is a gift I want to give to Lord Danzo. You don't need to worry about it."
If Uchiha Itachi knew about Karin's abilities, he would eventually tell Danzo. Wanting to gain the trust of Konoha's higher-ups, he wouldn't hide anything from Danzo;
It would be better for Akihara Kagura to clarify himself that he wanted to give this little girl to Danzo, then later throw the blame of Karin not entering the Root onto Hatake Kakashi.
Uchiha Itachi felt that Akihara Kagura was being too extreme again.
This teammate always thought he wanted to compete with him for Shimura Danzo's favor.
"Stay away from her."
Akihara Kagura looked at Uchiha Itachi and warned in a deep voice, "She is a future member of the Root. You don't have a say in this. The matter of our competition for the leadership of the Root has not been settled yet!"
"I'm not..."
Uchiha Itachi could only try hard to argue.
Shimura Danzo had never said that he would hand over the position of the Root's leader to himself!
"You stay away from him too."
Akihara Kagura then turned to Karin, advising, "This is a demon who wouldn't blink even when killing someone. I am the one who saved you, understand?"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi didn't want to refute, nor did he have the strength to refute Akihara Kagura's slander.
At least, when the Uchiha clan faced enemies, they would definitely use their Sharingan with eyes open. What Akihara Kagura said left him somewhat unable to rebut.
"Understood!"
Karin hurriedly nodded her head.
Although she didn't know why Akihara Kagura kept saying different things, as if her future had different paths... but no matter where she ended up going, it was much better for her than going to the hospital.
"Kagura, stop mocking Itachi."
Hatake Kakashi scolded Akihara Kagura.
Although Hatake Kakashi didn't quite understand why Akihara Kagura wanted to hide Karin's matter from Uchiha Itachi, he still didn't fully disclose Karin's situation.
"I'm not mocking him."
Akihara Kagura took a deep look at Uchiha Itachi and said, "I've warned him many times already to also stay away from Lord Danzo…"