[T/N: Greetings! Boundless_Beacon here, with a HUGE thank you for your support! ❤️ As a small token of my appreciation, I've just released FOUR brand-new chapters! 🎁 But the fun doesn't stop there! 🎉 I've also updated the Illustration/Pics chapter with some fresh visuals, so be sure to take a peek! 👀 To help me keep these updates coming, Power Stones are always welcome! 🙏 Thanks again for reading! 😄]
***
**
*
"We should be safe here."
Uchiha Mikoto carefully led Uchiha Kage, Naruto, and Sasuke out of the Kumogakure army's supply camp, arriving at a hidden cave entrance.
"Miyu-nee, I'm back!"
It seemed she wasn't the only one here.
Uchiha Kage activated his Byakugan and scanned the cave, confirming the presence of another ninja.
However, her condition didn't seem good…
"Miyu-nee?!"
The moment Uchiha Mikoto entered the cave, she saw her companion collapsed in a pool of blood.
"How are you?"
Anxiously rushing over to help her up, Uchiha Mikoto frantically searched her ninja pouch for medical supplies.
But before she could even pull out a bandage, a pair of hands emitting a soft, green glow covered the bloodied wound.
"It's you? That's great, you know Medical Ninjutsu!"
The one helping Uchiha Mikoto treat the female ninja in her arms was naturally Uchiha Kage.
"Only a little."
Uchiha Kage, his expression grave, applied the Mystical Palm Technique to the almost-hopeless wound while explaining to Naruto and Sasuke behind him,
"This is also a Ninjutsu I saw in a scroll."
He attributed the previous Hidden Mist Technique and the current Mystical Palm Technique to Zabuza's corpse, claiming he'd scavenged them from Zabuza and Haku's bodies.
However, in reality, the Mystical Palm Technique he knew had actually been learned from… Senju Tobirama. He had simply copied it after seeing it used so many times.
"Only you would learn such non-offensive Ninjutsu."
Sasuke knew that Uchiha Kage's interest lay in learning Ninjutsu; he had studied almost all of the Ninjutsu scrolls left behind by the Uchiha clan.
"Child… my child… Mikoto…"
The female ninja, whom Uchiha Mikoto called Miyu, struggled to sit up after regaining a little strength.
However, the first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to look for her child.
"What happened after I left? Why isn't the child here?"
Uchiha Mikoto also looked around searchingly.
"It, it was them! The Kumogakure ninjas took my child… Mikoto, I… cough… I beg you…"
The large hole in the female ninja's chest and abdomen continued to gush blood, and her voice was weak.
But even so, she used all her strength to tightly grasp Uchiha Mikoto's hands.
"Miyu-nee!"
Seeing the female ninja's face as pale as gold paper, Uchiha Mikoto realized something was wrong.
She then quickly looked at the boy still using the Mystical Palm Technique.
"How… how is she?"
"It's no use. Her internal organs have been pierced, and the other wounds on her body are also very deep. It's a miracle she's lasted this long."
Looking at the female ninja who had already stopped breathing, Uchiha Kage shook his head and stopped his Mystical Palm Technique, which hadn't done much good.
"How could this be… Sister!"
Seeming unable to believe that her sister had died just like that, Uchiha Mikoto hugged the rapidly cooling body even tighter.
"Mama, who is she?"
Seeing Uchiha Mikoto crying so sadly, Sasuke momentarily lost his composure and habitually called out "Mama."
He was indeed a little curious about who this person his mother called "sister" was, as he didn't remember having such a relative.
"Ma-Mama? Are you… calling me?"
Seeing the three boys beside her, Uchiha Mikoto quickly wiped away the tears on her face, forcing herself to be strong.
But being suddenly called "Mama" caught her off guard; she wasn't even twenty years old yet.
Did she look that old?
"Don't mind him. This friend of mine has a strange habit of instinctively calling pretty girls 'Mama'," Uchiha Kage explained to the bewildered Sasuke while sorting through the information he had just heard.
Uchiha Mikoto's older sister, and… an Uchiha child kidnapped by Kumogakure?
Those Kumogakure are really good at kidnapping children.
"No, I didn't mean it!"
Sasuke quickly retorted loudly.
But for a moment, he really didn't know how to explain himself to this young "mother."
----
"Anyway, we still don't know your name, Older sister?"
After helping to bury the female ninja's body, Uchiha Kage remembered that they hadn't asked Uchiha Mikoto for her name yet.
Speaking of which, even if this face was the right one, there was still a slight possibility that she wasn't Uchiha Mikoto.
"My name is Mikoto. I should be a few years older than you. The one just now… was my older sister, Miyu."
Uchiha Mikoto introduced herself while once again revealing a sad expression.
Originally, she and her sister were both safely in the Konoha Ninja Army's supply unit, but she never expected the camp to be attacked by Kumogakure ninjas, causing them to become separated from the main force.
During this process, her sister suffered serious injuries, so she had no choice but to settle her sister in this hidden cave, and then go alone to find traces of the Konoha main force. Later, she happened to meet the three Uchiha Kage who had been captured, but she did not expect that after she rescued them, her sister would be attacked by Kumogakure ninjas again...
"The scent of blood must have drawn the Kumogakure ninjas here."
Uchiha Kage sniffed the surrounding air.
For ninjas with keen senses, it wasn't difficult to find this place by scent.
Perhaps there were still traces of blood that Uchiha Mikoto's sister had accidentally left behind nearby.
Maybe, if Uchiha Mikoto hadn't left here earlier, she might have ended up like her sister…
"But what about the child?"
Sasuke hadn't heard that he had such a relative.
Could it be that they were already… in the war?
No, he couldn't be sure that everything in this Instance was real.
"Yeah, why do the Kumogakure people even kidnap children?"
Naruto was also very curious.
"That child was unintended, so my sister had no choice but to bring the child with her."
Getting pregnant out of wedlock would be frowned upon even in the relatively open-minded Uchiha clan.
It was all because of this damn war, and if Konoha didn't have a shortage of manpower, how could her sister have ended up here, even if she was staying in the relatively safe rear area?
"As for Kumogakure kidnapping children, it's mostly for our Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai."
"Kekkei Genkai, is that like the red-eye disease?"
"Yeah…"
Red-eye disease?
Naruto's abstract but unpretentious answer made Uchiha Mikoto couldn't help but laugh through her tears.
But soon, she frowned again.
These three boys… seemed to still be Genin. Although they were finally rescued, they would probably inevitably become cannon fodder in this Ninja World War.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Mikoto's mood became somewhat heavy.
Even her confusion about the other two boys, who were clearly Uchiha Clan Members but whom she didn't recognize, faded.
"Let's part ways here. You should have your missions, and I have things to do!"
Tying her somewhat messy hair into a ponytail behind her head, Uchiha Mikoto looked seriously in the direction of the Kumogakure camp.
This was her older sister's last request…
She had to rescue the child no matter what.