"Aoshi-senpai!" An excited voice suddenly called out, interrupting Aoshi and Kushina's conversation. The two of them turned in the direction of the voice, and a striking head of blond hair came into view.
It was none other than Minato.
"Minato, you guys made it here already, huh?"
After the brief greeting, Minato gently pulled a girl out from behind him. "This is Mai. She's from the Uzumaki clan."
At his words, Kushina instantly rushed forward in excitement. Her sudden enthusiasm startled Mai, who instinctively took half a step back.
But that was all she could manage—because Kushina had already grabbed both of her hands tightly. There was no need for words. Sometimes, when two people who've shared the same past finally cross paths again… the emotion speaks for itself.
Ever since the Uzumaki clan was annihilated, Kushina hadn't seen another clanswoman. Except, of course, for Uzumaki Mito, who had long since married into Konoha.
So now, upon meeting Mai, she couldn't control her overwhelming emotions and came across a bit too familiar.
"I'm Kushina. I'm an Uzumaki too. I never thought I'd ever see another clanswoman again."
"Uh… I didn't expect it either," Mai replied.
Although Kushina was being incredibly warm, it was their first time meeting. Mai couldn't quite handle such intense enthusiasm all at once, and she reacted with some awkward restraint.
While Kushina and Mai were chatting, Aoshi was quietly observing her.
The name Mai didn't ring any bells—he didn't remember such a character from the original story. But once he noticed the Kusagakure forehead protector she wore, combined with her Uzumaki heritage, Aoshi quickly pieced it together.
In the original story, this was likely Karin's mother.
A deeply tragic figure—used by Kusagakure as a human blood pack due to her special healing ability, eventually dying after being bitten one too many times.
Her daughter, Karin, inherited the same fate—also treated like a tool.
If she hadn't later become one of Orochimaru's subordinates, she probably wouldn't have survived long enough to appear in the Boruto timeline—let alone the end of Shippuden.
Minato's next words confirmed Aoshi's theory.
"After the Uzumaki clan was wiped out, Mai—who had a special ability—was used by Kusagakure as a living blood pack. We encountered a Grass ninja team and managed to rescue her."
"I want to make sure she never goes through that again. I'd like her to stay in Konoha."
Aoshi fully agreed with Minato. Konoha might not be perfect, but it was certainly more humane than Kusagakure.
"Hello, I'm Hirakawa Aoshi. You can call me Aoshi-senpai like Minato does, or simply Aoshi, like Kushina. Welcome to Konoha."
With both Kushina and Mito here, Mai's integration into the village wouldn't be a problem.
"Nice to meet you, Aoshi-senpai. Just call me Mai," she replied.
"Mai, I'm a medical ninja. I can help treat the wounds you sustained in Kusagakure."
She looked to Minato, who gave her a reassuring nod. Only then did Yumiko extend her arm.
When Aoshi pulled back her sleeve and saw the countless bite marks on her arm, Kushina exploded with rage.
"Damn Kusagakure! If I run into any of their shinobi in the exam, I swear I'll wipe them all out!"
The sight of so many scars told her everything. A girl around her age had endured this kind of abuse—how could she not be furious? Her clenched fists were trembling with suppressed anger.
"There's no chance of running into any more Grass shinobi," Minato said calmly. "On the way here, we already killed them all."
Kusagakure had sent nine people to the Chūnin Exams this time. Aside from Mai, there were eight others. Two had already been killed by Tomoki.
Minato's team encountered the remaining six.
When they saw Mai traveling with Konoha shinobi, their first instinct was to capture her and drag her back for punishment.
At first, Minato had thought only some Grass shinobi were responsible for abusing her. But after confronting those six, he realized just how wrong he was.
He had been completely mistaken. So without hesitation, they took all six down.
Kusagakure was now entirely wiped out from this year's Chūnin Exams.
Hearing this, Kushina—who usually didn't think much of Minato—couldn't help but glance at him with surprise and a hint of admiration.
"You did a good job with this. I'm starting to see you in a new light. I used to think you were just a weird, clueless guy."
Minato's lips twitched slightly. So that's what you thought of me before…?
"Minato's actually a very dependable person," Mai quickly added, speaking up in his defense while Aoshi continued her treatment.
Kushina then noticed tears welling up in Mai's eyes and immediately wiped them away.
"Why are you crying, Mai? Don't worry. With me and Grandma Mito here, no one will ever hurt you again."
"I'm not sad. I'm just… really happy."
Mai could tell that Kushina wasn't faking it. Everything she said and did came straight from the heart. This proved to Mai that choosing to stay in Konoha had been the right decision.
Roughly half an hour later, Aoshi finally completed Mai's treatment.
Individually, her wounds weren't too severe—but there were just so many of them, it took time. Luckily, she was treated early enough.
A few more years of being used like that, and her body's foundation would've been irreversibly damaged. At that point, even healing would have been nearly impossible.
[Treatment of Uzumaki Mai is complete. Reward: 1 White Orb.]
[Congratulations! You have gained 10 Chakra.]
Though a member of the Uzumaki clan, it was clear that Mai hadn't received proper shinobi training in Kusagakure.
Aside from her special ability to heal others through physical contact, she had no combat capabilities at all.
"All done. Mai, from now on, your ability must remain secret. Don't tell anyone about it besides us," Aoshi warned her gently but firmly.
Mai bowed in gratitude and nodded quickly to show she understood.
"You two should head into the central tower now," Aoshi added.
"Wait, Aoshi-senpai, you're not coming with us?" Minato asked, picking up on the implication.
Aoshi quickly explained that he planned to send a Shadow Clone into the tower with Kushina, while his real body stayed behind to treat the injured participants.
Even Minato was a bit speechless at this unexpected strategy. He didn't quite understand it—but he respected it.
"Just don't forget the time, Big Brother Aoshi. You have to return to the tower before the deadline."
Even if the exam rules didn't technically allow it, as long as Aoshi made it back before the fifth day ended, he'd still pass the second round.
Aoshi understood that perfectly. That's why he dared to pull off such an unprecedented move.
Honestly, if the system didn't require the real body to do the healing to earn rewards, he wouldn't have bothered going to all this trouble.
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