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The Land of Grass was a small country wedged between the three great nations of Wind, Fire, and Earth. Its territory wasn't vast, so it only took a single day for Mujin and Karin to return to the Hidden Grass Village.
Of course, they did so without alerting anyone.
Mujin had served as an ANBU operative in this village for many years, and Karin's Kagura Shingan allowed her to detect the chakra signatures of everyone around them. Avoiding the patrols was child's play.
However, they didn't immediately confront the elders. Instead, they first returned to their home.
Karin quickly packed up a few essentials, stuffing them into her backpack. The miniature Shukaku, feeling its "territory" invaded, protested loudly. But when it saw Karin carefully wrapping up some scraps and parts as if they were treasures, it eventually huffed, muttered something under its breath, and quieted down.
The two took one last look at the dilapidated wooden house where they had lived for so long. This place had once been filled with laughter and joy, but now, all that remained were painful memories shared by just the two of them.
"We'll never come back here again," Karin said. Afterward, she formed several hand seals and pressed them against the ground.
The earth surged upward like a ravenous beast, swallowing the wooden house whole and grinding it into fragments.
That was the final trace of their life in the Hidden Grass Village.
After leaving the house, the two ventured into the forest, eventually finding an inconspicuous mound of dirt near a stream.
Karin cleared away the weeds surrounding the mound, then knelt down and closed her eyes gently.
Slowly, tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes, then slid down her cheeks, soaking into the soil.
Mujin also knelt on one knee, placing his hand softly atop the mound.
Mother…
I'm so sorry. You took me in, protected me, but I couldn't protect you…
Perhaps it's true that one only feels profound pain when they've lost something. I shouldn't have prayed for divine intervention or hoped for a hero to appear. If I'm already in hell, then I shouldn't fear it any longer. The only ones we can rely on… are ourselves…
Mother, this time, I'll protect Karin…
As for the Hidden Grass Village, it won't be long before I send every one of those who harmed you straight to hell…
The two stayed there for a long time, until midnight, when the moon hung high in the sky. Karin finally opened her bleary eyes and rubbed them.
"Ah, I fell asleep…"
Hey!
Karin stood up and looked at the mound suddenly. "Mujin-niisan, let's take Mom with us. She wouldn't like it here. I want to bring her back to the Land of Whirlpools. That's where she grew up—she'd probably want to go back and see it again, right?"
Mujin nodded. "Yeah, let's do that. This place is going to be drenched in blood soon. Mother was such a gentle person; she wouldn't want to see us do this. Let's not let her witness it."
At this, Karin's lips curled into a faint smile. "We really are two disobedient bad kids, huh?"
Mujin chuckled. "Isn't it natural for children to disobey their parents? Besides, we're in our rebellious phase right now… And no matter what… Mother would always forgive us."
"Mm," Karin nodded vigorously, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "I'll show her my cute side when we get there."
The two dug up the remains and carefully preserved them. Seeing this, Karin broke down in tears once more.
After a while, she sniffled and turned to Mujin. "Alright, Mujin-niisan, let's go kill those bastards who hurt Mom."
"Yeah, let's go."
A moonless night is perfect for murder, and a windy night is ideal for arson.
Tonight wasn't suitable for starting fires, but the moonlight was perfect for killing.
The two strolled under the silvery glow of the moon. Then, a cloud drifted by, concealing their figures once more.
They were heading toward the Elder Hall. According to Karin's perception, the elders of Grass had not left that place since their arrival.
It didn't take long for them to be spotted by a patrol of Grass shinobi.
"Who's there?!" Four Grass shinobi surrounded them warily. The elders had issued a curfew, forbidding anyone from wandering about at night.
Mujin didn't respond. The black pupil on his forehead slowly opened, and the Yin Staff materialized in his hand. With a tap on the ground, dozens of rune chains shot out, binding the four shinobi tightly.
Then, the chains contracted violently, slicing through flesh and bone with sickening crunches. In moments, the four shinobi were reduced to a pile of bloody chunks.
"Huh?" The miniature Shukaku suddenly popped its head out of Karin's backpack. "I smell blood! Are we killing people? Can I join? Please?"
Karin pushed the little Shukaku back into the bag. "Shukaku-chan, this blood belongs to us. Besides, we can't kill too many tonight. Let us handle this ourselves."
The miniature Shukaku glanced at Karin, muttered something dismissively, and retreated back into the bag. "How boring. I'm going back to sleep. And stop calling me that disgusting name!"
Karin smiled faintly, then stomped her foot. The ground churned, burying the corpses and bloodstains deep beneath the soil.
The two continued onward until they reached the Elder Hall, which was guarded by about twenty Grass shinobi—a significant increase in security compared to usual.
Mujin gave Karin a nod. "Let's begin."
With that, the black pupil on his forehead activated, channeling Yin Release energy to inscribe countless runes around the Elder Hall. These runes converged to form a massive barrier encompassing everyone inside.
"Barrier Technique: Mirage Dragon Array!"
The Mirage Dragon Array created illusions akin to mirages, capable of isolating and fabricating sounds and images. Those outside the barrier would remain oblivious to what transpired within.
As the square-shaped barrier formed, the surroundings briefly distorted before returning to normal. No one noticed anything amiss.
Mujin and Karin continued forward, their forms rippling like water as they passed through the barrier's surface.
Once both had entered, everything returned to calm. To the outside world, the Elder Hall appeared undisturbed, peaceful and quiet under the gentle breeze.
Inside the Elder Hall, the four elders had been waiting anxiously for an entire day.
"Damn it! Those two Whirlpool brats actually dared to pull off something like this! Konoha has already sent over a diplomatic letter demanding to know if Grass intends to declare war! Damn it! We must capture those two and hand them over to Konoha! I knew we shouldn't have shown them mercy back then!"
"Calm down. First, we need to confirm whether they've captured the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"If they had, Konoha would have interrogated us about it. Since they haven't, it means they don't have it."
"Even so, we still need to extract information about the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. And forget Mujin—he's expendable—but Karin cannot be handed over. If necessary, we'll claim she died in battle and find another red-haired girl to kill and present to Konoha instead."
The elders fell silent for a moment. Then, one of them slammed the table angrily. "Damn it! How dare they! How dare they commit such acts in Konoha! How dare they!"
Another elder sneered disdainfully. "Listen, are you seriously buying into Konoha's nonsense? Those two brats wreaking havoc in Konoha? Creating a giant meteorite? Ha! Such lies wouldn't fool even a child. It's obviously Orochimaru's doing! He killed the Hokage, and now Konoha is too scared to confront him, so they're pinning the blame on us. At the end of the day, all they want is money—money!"
This explanation quickly gained everyone's agreement. After all, Mujin and Karin had grown up right under their noses. They found it hard to believe the two could deceive them so thoroughly.
"Speaking of which, haven't they returned yet? Didn't the ANBU report seeing them re-enter the Land of Grass?"
"At the latest, they'll be here tomorrow. Prepare your men. Once they show up, we'll ambush them and—"
BANG!!!
Before the elder could finish, the doors exploded into shards, flying everywhere. Mujin stepped in, gripping his staff firmly.
Behind him, Karin, drenched in blood, grinned wickedly as she twisted the head off a Grass shinobi and tossed it onto the floor.
Dozens of heads were already scattered across the room, each face contorted in agony, their eyes bulging grotesquely.
On the ground.
Staring up at Karin.