After leaving the ruins of Uzushiogakure, Kiyosuke didn't return to Konoha immediately.
The leave he had requested from Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't over yet, and there was no rush to head back.
Instead, he went north—toward Kusagakure.
He remembered that Karin, also a member of the Uzumaki clan, was still there.
Since he had taken items from the Uzumaki clan, it was only natural to look after their descendants.
Because of Uzushiogakure's destruction, the Uzumaki clan's descendants had scattered throughout the ninja world. Very few remained, and only Nagato and Karin were full-blooded.
Full-blooded Uzumaki were easily recognized by their striking red hair. In contrast, Naruto's blonde hair came from his father's side—he was a half-blood. Tsunade was also a half-blood.
The Uzumaki clan had concealed their identities and disappeared into the ninja world. Among those found by Konoha, only Kushina remained.
Now that Kushina had also passed away, there were no Uzumaki left in Konoha.
Although Naruto carried Uzumaki blood, Kiyosuke had him take the name Namikaze to inherit Minato's surname.
Kusagakure wasn't a major shinobi village. During the Third Great Ninja War, they had turned on Iwagakure and been beaten by Konoha. Since then, they'd behaved themselves and established decent diplomatic ties with Konoha.
At the same time, Kusagakure operated the largest prison in the ninja world—Hōzuki Castle.
This prison had been built on a small island near Kusagakure at the request of multiple countries. It was a facility specifically used to imprison rogue or criminal shinobi. Surrounded on all sides by the sea, the castle was guarded by a clan that could use the Fire Style: Heaven Prison technique.
But Kiyosuke wasn't interested in that.
What he cared about was—where was Karin?
She should be at the Kusagakure hospital.
A war had recently broken out between Kusagakure and their neighbor Takigakure, flooding the Kusagakure hospital with injured shinobi. The war had apparently been started over something called Hero Water.
Kiyosuke had looked into this Hero Water before. Takigakure had a giant tree, and every hundred years, it would produce sacred water from its roots—this was the so-called Hero Water. Drinking it would multiply one's chakra by ten times, but at a steep cost: it would consume the user's life force. The side effects were severe.
Kiyosuke had once considered obtaining some himself, but the fact that it was a life-burning item quickly changed his mind. He had no use for something like that.
Under the cover of darkness, he snuck into Kusagakure's hospital.
Looking at the floor full of wounded, Kiyosuke shook his head.
This was the cruelty of war. The Third Great Ninja War had been even more horrific than this.
Many were missing limbs. Their wounds had been treated, but the excruciating pain still had them crying out in agony.
"Get that woman over here, quick! If she doesn't come soon, those people will die!" a medical-nin shouted.
"Yes! Hurry!"
A ninja called over a red-haired woman.
She looked to be in her early forties, but her actual age wasn't even thirty.
Her face was pale and frail, eyes vacant. Her arms, neck, and even her face were covered in deep bite marks.
With one glance, Kiyosuke knew—she wouldn't last much longer.
Her chakra had been overdrawn. She was on the brink of death.
He shook his head, understanding that this was the one he had been looking for.
He quietly closed the door to the hospital room.
One of the nearby shinobi noticed something wrong and asked warily,
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Bang!
The man was sent flying and crashed into the wall.
Kiyosuke said,
"I'll send you all off—free you from your pain. There's no one more compassionate than me. No one! Absolutely no one!"
He clenched his fists and swiftly eliminated every shinobi in the room. None of them even had time to scream.
Only the red-haired woman was left, standing frozen in place.
Kiyosuke said,
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
"You… who are you?"
Kiyosuke canceled his Transformation Technique.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Asakawa Kiyosuke, a jōnin from Konoha. Ma'am, would you consider relocating to Konoha?"
"Konoha…" The woman opened her mouth, her vision darkening. Her body wobbled, but with sheer will, she grabbed onto Kiyosuke's clothing and said with effort,
"Take… take my daughter… to Konoha."
"Let's go together—mother and daughter both."
Hoisting the woman onto his back, Kiyosuke jumped out of the room.
"Why didn't you go to Konoha in the first place?"
"Konoha… Grandma didn't let us. She was afraid we'd cause trouble for Konoha. Back then… Konoha was also at war!" the woman said weakly.
The destruction of Uzushiogakure had happened around the time of the First Great Ninja War.
Back then, the entire shinobi world was in chaos. Iwagakure and Kirigakure were both engaged in open conflict—it had been utter madness.
The scattered survivors of the Uzumaki clan had fled across the land, hiding in different countries.
This woman had arrived in Kusagakure several years ago and settled down.
In exchange for her safety, she used her unique ability to heal Kusagakure's shinobi and restore their chakra.
At first, things were manageable.
But once war broke out between Kusagakure and Takigakure, the number of wounded skyrocketed, and she began to run out of chakra.
Her ability was rare—even among the Uzumaki clan.
A natural-born trait known as "bodily healing," it allowed her to heal herself or others and restore chakra by having someone bite into her flesh.
This power had bought her and her daughter a chance to survive.
Kiyosuke shook his head and said,
"You can always trust Konoha. Sure, there are some bastards there, but the Third Hokage was always kind to the Uzumaki. I'll take you and your daughter back. Consider it my way of repaying your clan for everything it's done."
"Then… please… take Karin… my daughter… I'm begging you…"
The woman lay on Kiyosuke's back, her voice breaking.
After those final words, she stopped breathing.
"Ma'am? Ma'am!"
Feeling the life fade from the body on his back, Kiyosuke fell silent for a moment.
Then he switched his chakra into sensory mode, searching for any sign of Karin.
"...?"
He sensed several shinobi approaching his position.
Scoffing, he didn't even bother hiding.
The moment they spotted him, he took them out—instantly.
He left one alive.
"Where's her house?" he asked.
"You'll have to kill me! I'll never talk!"
"Oh, you will."
Casting a Genjutsu over the man, he forced the answer out of him—then finished him off.
Kiyosuke made his way to a small house on the edge of Kusagakure.
A red-haired girl was squatting in front of the door, hugging her knees.
She looked like she was waiting for her mother to return.
Kiyosuke let out a long sigh and stepped inside.
"You're Karin, right?"
Karin looked up and saw Kiyosuke—and the woman on his back.
"Mom!"
She cried out, but there was no response.
Kiyosuke gently set the woman down.
"I'm a shinobi from Konoha. I've been looking for any surviving members of the Uzumaki clan. When I found your mother, she was already on the verge of death. She passed away just now. I'm sorry."
"Mom!"
Karin collapsed onto her mother's body, sobbing uncontrollably.
Kiyosuke stood up and looked toward the distant glow of torchlight.
The shinobi of Kusagakure were coming.