"Besides, people see us as just three kids, easy to push around."
Takuya smirked, continuing, "So why bother dealing with them? Minato, go hunt. Nawaki, gather some firewood. Let's get dinner started."
Ignoring them was just fine with Takuya—he didn't want to waste his time on Grass Village, a bunch of fair-weather friends he had no respect for.
You're the captain, you call the shots.
Without hesitation, Minato and Nawaki split up, one heading off to hunt, the other to gather firewood.
If they don't want us in the village, fine. We'll stay outside and treat this like a little vacation.
The Land of Grass had a nice environment, pleasant weather—so much better than the Land of Rain, where it felt like the place was cursed, with never-ending rain.
There was no way Konoha was going to lose this war, so why worry? All they needed to do was enjoy themselves. As for the Stone shinobi...
We'll fill our bellies, take a little stroll around, and call it a day. It's not like Stone is going to waste their time attacking this broke, pitiful village.
With Danzo's assurance, the people of Grass Village had relaxed. As for Takuya's team... well, they decided to just ignore them.
"Sir, won't this attitude offend Konoha?" one of the Grass Village officials asked.
"Offend them?" sneered the village leader, Jūyasei. "Konoha assured us they'd protect Grass Village, but sending just three kids? What are three kids going to do? Go on a sightseeing trip?"
"Forget about them. As long as Konoha has our back, Stone won't dare do anything to us. Let those kids do whatever they want, go wherever they please."
"Yes, sir," the official replied.
With orders from the top, the rest of the village followed suit, choosing to act as if Takuya's team didn't exist.
The three of them could do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn't cause trouble in the village.
Once again, Takuya's team was underestimated.
But this played right into Takuya's hands.
If you think we're too weak to bother with, great. I'm not too fond of your village either. Let's just ignore each other and get on with our lives. We'll do the bare minimum to complete our mission.
As long as the Stone shinobi didn't breach Grass Village, Takuya's mission wouldn't be considered a failure.
If Grass Village was overrun, it would mean the Stone army was on the move.
And by then, whether the mission was a success or failure wouldn't really matter.
"Who would've thought that just yesterday we were stuck in the relentless downpour of the Land of Rain, huddled in a tent, and today we're sitting on the grass in the Land of Grass, eating barbecue and watching the stars?"
Nawaki mused aloud, gnawing on a piece of meat.
He's got too much time on his hands, Takuya thought, not bothering to respond. He just kept eating, but suddenly, his attention was drawn to the tall grass nearby.
"Are you going to come out on your own, or do I need to drag you out?" he called out.
"Someone's there?"
Snowy hadn't alerted him, which meant the person was likely just a regular civilian and not a threat.
Someone's nearby?
Minato and Nawaki were startled. They'd been so focused on the stars and the food that they hadn't noticed someone approaching.
We can't let this happen again. We need to stay alert, not just rely on Takuya all the time, they both thought, wiping sweat from their brows and silently vowing to be more vigilant.
The tall grass rustled, and after a moment, a child about the same age as Nagato cautiously stepped out.
The child's hair was the same shade of red as Nagato's.
An Uzumaki?
Takuya recalled that some members of the Uzumaki clan had fled to the Land of Grass after their village was destroyed.
Sadly, many had been exploited by Grass Village, treated as little more than walking medical supplies until they were used up and discarded.
Even Karin, years later, bore the scars of that treatment.
Do I have some kind of destiny with the Uzumaki clan? Takuya wondered. Lately, I keep running into them.
This child was a girl—Takuya wondered if she was somehow related to the future Karin.
The girl hesitated to approach, too frightened to come closer. Her small body trembled as she stood at a distance, head bowed.
"Why do we keep running into people with red hair lately?" Nawaki asked curiously.
"Because most of them are your relatives!" Takuya retorted, giving him an exasperated look.
"Pfft—"
Minato nearly choked on his meat, staring at the two in disbelief.
Relatives?
Did Nawaki really have that many relatives? From what Minato knew, it was just him and his sister, Tsunade.
But now that he thought about it, the Uzumaki clan's connection to the daimyo's family made sense, even though most of the Uzumaki relatives didn't have red hair. The only one he'd seen was Kushina...
Wait... could it be?
Minato started to piece it together.
This child was probably an Uzumaki, but weren't they wiped out? How had this girl ended up here in the Land of Grass, nearly across the entire Land of Fire?
"Are you saying..." Nawaki began, finally catching on.
Takuya nodded gravely. "After the Uzumaki clan was destroyed, only Kushina was brought to Konoha. The others scattered across the ninja world, hiding wherever they could."
"Are you hungry? Come have some food," Takuya said, holding up a piece of meat.
The young Uzumaki girl was indeed hungry, but fear held her back. Her family had been brutally killed, treated as little more than medical tools until they were discarded like trash.
She had been hiding, terrified, and only ventured out in search of food when the smell of their barbecue lured her in—only to be discovered by Takuya.
Takuya continued to hold out the food, but the girl didn't dare approach. They remained at an impasse for a long while.
Finally, sensing that Takuya meant no harm, the girl cautiously edged forward, took the meat from his hand, and began eating ravenously.
"Cough, cough!"
She choked, probably from eating too fast after going so long without food.
Takuya handed her a canteen.
The girl quickly drank, swallowing the meat. As she raised her head, Takuya finally got a good look at her dirty, tear-streaked face.
Realizing she'd been seen, the girl quickly looked down again and continued eating in silence.
Feeling sorry for her, Nawaki handed over his own portion of meat. Minato glanced at his own empty skewer and felt a bit awkward.
"Eat slowly. There's plenty more. My friend here took down a whole deer, so we've got lots of meat."
Takuya reassured the girl, cutting another piece of meat from the deer and roasting it over the fire.
If nothing else, they had plenty of food to offer.
After going so long without eating, the sudden intake of food made the girl feel weak. After finishing her meal, she slumped to the ground, too tired to move.
"Don't push yourself. You've been starving for too long. Your body needs time to recover. If you strain yourself now, you could end up worse off."
Takuya gently raised a hand, stopping her from trying to get up.
***********
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