Chapter 18: Hanna Uzumaki

In the hidden village of Kusagakure, a small wooden house was dimly lit by candlelight.

Inside, a woman with red hair and drenched in sweat was lying down, trying to give birth, her breath labored, while an elderly woman with white hair assisted her in her efforts.

"Just breathe, the baby is almost here," the elderly woman said.

"I can't take it anymore, Midori-san!" the red-haired woman exclaimed, clutching the sheets as another contraction wracked her body.

"Ahhh! I can't take it anymore!" she screamed, her entire body trembling from the intense pain.

"Push, you must do it, just one last time, push with all your strength," Midori urged her.

She gritted her teeth, letting out a desperate groan, her body arching as she pushed with all her might.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The cry of a baby girl filled the room.

"It's a girl," said the elderly woman, holding the baby.

"Let me see her," said the red-haired woman. The elderly woman granted her wish and handed the newborn to her.

"She's beautiful…" she murmured, tears streaming from her eyes as she extended her arms to receive her daughter.

Midori carefully placed the baby in the red-haired woman's arms. "Do you already have a name for her?"

"Karin… She will be called Karin," she whispered, kissing her daughter's forehead tenderly, but just then, a commotion erupted outside.

Outside, shouts, metallic clashes, and explosions shattered the peace of the night, causing the house to tremble slightly.

"What's happening out there?" the red-haired woman asked, her voice trembling with worry as she held Karin tightly.

Midori frowned, walking over to the window and pulling the curtain aside slightly to peek out, her eyes widening in horror, thousands of enemies were razing the entire village to the ground.

All the ninjas who tried to face them were killed, even the village's Kage was defeated in mere seconds when a sword cut him, and he clutched his chest before dying, bleeding from every orifice.

Suddenly, a Chunin ninja staggered into the small wooden house, his skin completely charred, and his gaze deranged, his eyes bloodshot.

"No! Stay away!" the red-haired woman screamed.

The Chunin let out a low, guttural growl, almost inhuman, as he staggered toward her with erratic steps, he approached the red-haired woman and bit her arm, narrowly missing the baby.

"Be careful with the baby, she'll be our blood sack after she dies!" Midori said fiercely, glaring at the ninja.

The ninja ignored her and continued biting the red-haired woman, who grew paler with each passing second, feeling her vitality slipping away.

'I don't want to die… I want to take care of Karin and watch her grow, I want to be there for her when she needs me, I don't want…' the red-haired woman thought, closing her eyes.

Slash!

Suddenly, the old woman's head fell to the ground, and a sword appeared in the ninja's back, causing him to release the red-haired woman's arm and let out a pained scream, but just as he did, a hand grabbed his hair and flung him away, his body covered in seals.

"You… who are you?" the red-haired woman asked, gathering her strength.

"I came to rescue both of you," said the mysterious man.

"W-why would you do that?" she asked, confused but suspecting the reason.

"It's not for what you're thinking, I just happened to pass by and decided to save you, it has nothing to do with what you're imagining," said the mysterious man with an orange spiral mask.

"If what you say is true, then I thank you, although there's nothing you can do for me, please take care of Karin, please…" the red-haired woman said with difficulty.

"Don't be so pessimistic, you're not going to die today, not on my watch," said the mysterious man, pulling out a seal with a strange symbol resembling a snake coiled around a staff with angel wings at the top.

The mysterious man placed the seal on the red-haired woman's arm, who immediately felt her lost vitality returning, her body began healing rapidly, even the bite marks on her body vanished.

After the seal completed its function, it crumbled into specks of dust, leaving the red-haired woman slightly fatigued but able to stand without issue.

"Follow me, I'll get you out of here," said the mysterious man, the red-haired woman nodded and stood up, carrying baby Karin.

The three of them then left the old wooden house, walking through the streets of the village as if the chaos around them had nothing to do with them, occasionally, a ninja noticed them and tried to attack, but another mysterious man appeared out of nowhere and killed them within seconds.

...

Pov Orochimaru ~

After leaving the village and getting far enough away, I removed my mask and spoke toward the forest.

"Jūgo, come here, you can come out now," I said, removing my mask, Jūgo slowly emerged from behind a tree and approached.

"Sensei, who are they?" Jūgo asked, as I had only told him I was going to pick someone up.

"I was wondering the same thing, what's your name?" I asked, honestly not knowing.

"My name is Hanna Uzumaki, thank you for saving me and Karin, I promise I'll repay you however you wish!" Hanna vowed, ready to do whatever I asked.

"So her name is Karin, very well, then follow me back to Konoha, after that you'll have all the time in the world to thank me," I said, looking her in the eyes, she nodded and agreed.

"I will, I have nowhere else to go now, I can only follow you, truly, thank you so much for saving us!" Hanna said, bowing while holding Karin, soon, tears flooded her eyes.

"Don't cry, I'm not a tyrant, in any case, just follow me and don't lag behind," I said and began walking back to the camp.

As for the village of Kusagakure, my clones eliminated all the ninjas, leaving only civilians and small children, everything else was eradicated, even their jutsus were taken, this village is destined not to produce more ninjas in the near future.

...

The next morning, with the sun rising in the east and the sound of birds taking flight, I landed in the camp on my ink bird, having to use it due to Hanna's exhaustion.

As I landed, the guards had already sounded the alarm, and I found myself completely surrounded by Konoha ninjas ready to face me to the death.

"Orochimaru, is that you? Who are they?" Suddenly, a sleepy Tsunade emerged from the coalition and asked upon seeing me.

"Oh, Tsunade, this is Hanna Uzumaki and Karin Uzumaki, they're from the same clan as your grandmother Mito," I said, pointing at Hanna and Karin.

"This is my new disciple, Jūgo, I'll explain the details later, but in short, they'll be returning with us to Konoha," I said briefly explaining the situation.

"Uzumaki?" Tsunade snapped awake upon hearing that, looking at the girl's hair again and reacting.

"Come with me!" Tsunade said, taking her to her tent, I simply shrugged, called a nearby kunoichi, and asked her to take care of Jūgo's needs for now, then walked to my own tent, as I hadn't rested all night.

...

By midday, we decided to continue our journey back to the Land of Fire, two days later, we reached the border, where we spent two more days organizing everything properly while the healthy ninjas returned to their regular patrols.

The rest of us, including the wounded, returned to Konoha, three days later, we found ourselves standing before the village gates.

"I'll go report everything to the Hokage, you can all go home for now, there's likely to be a meeting soon, so be prepared, Hanna, Jūgo, follow me," I said, walking toward the Hokage's tower.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"

"Yes, Sensei!"

With that, we soon arrived at the Hokage's tower, entering directly, upon reaching the office, I told the two to stay outside for now and entered.

"Sarutobi-sensei, I'm here to report the mission's success," I said after entering.

"Orochimaru, so you've returned," Hiruzen said, sitting behind his desk filled with scrolls and reports, extinguishing his pipe and leaning back slightly, feigning surprise.

"Tell me the details, Orochimaru," he said in a neutral tone, though his eyes showed interest.

"I assisted in eliminating the main leaders of Kumogakure and Iwagakure on the front lines, we managed to capture over a thousand prisoners and neutralized their Jinchuriki, including eliminating the Raikage and two other Bijuu."

"Konoha's losses were significant but acceptable compared to the results obtained," I said, handing him a scroll with all the details.

"Accidentally, I got lost on the path of life and acquired some valuable resources from Kusagakure," I added, pulling out a scroll and placing it on his desk, of course, it was a copy.

Hiruzen frowned as he opened the scroll, inside were detailed seals containing techniques and documents confiscated from Kusagakure, as well as strategic maps.

For a moment, he seemed overwhelmed, thinking he might be having a strange wet dream, he looked up and asked.

"By the way, Orochimaru, who are they?" Hiruzen asked, looking at the door behind me.

"Yes, they are Hanna Uzumaki and Karin Uzumaki along with my new disciple, Jūgo, I will take responsibility for them, as well as the children who were used for experiments from now on," I said, explaining my plans.

"Oh, then do you already have a place where they'll live?" Hiruzen asked.

"No, Sensei, not yet, but it shouldn't be too difficult, I suppose," I said, shrugging.

"Let me help you with that. A family moved to another city for personal reasons and sold their house to the village, I can offer it to you at a fair price," Hiruzen said, avoiding looking me in the eyes.

'You sly old man, trying to scam your disciple? Fine, let's play this game,' I thought, cursing him internally.

"I greatly appreciate it, Sensei!" I responded enthusiastically.

Hiruzen nodded, satisfied: "Then let me accompany you to the place," he said, standing up and putting on the Hokage's hat.

...

In a few minutes, we arrived at the house Hiruzen had mentioned, he had already introduced my guests, so we all followed without further ado.

The location was somewhat on the outskirts of the village but close enough not to feel isolated, the house itself looked worn down, but that wasn't a problem, the most important thing was that it could accommodate everyone easily.

Hiruzen gave us an extensive tour until, after a while, he led me to a lake behind the house, and we stood on the wooden dock side by side, gazing at the clear water.

"Orochimaru, what do you think a Hokage should be?" Hiruzen asked, turning to face me.

'So that's your goal, huh?' I thought, realizing his intentions, but fine, let's play this game, I stroked my chin and answered after a moment.

"A Hokage should be the perfect balance of strength, wisdom, and leadership, they must be a protective spirit in the heart of every villager without exception, but most importantly, they must be willing to sacrifice everything for the village, even their life!" I said, looking at him with a fiery gaze, or at least it seemed so.

Hiruzen nodded, satisfied. "You're right, you know, the truth is, I'm not getting any younger, Orochimaru, would you like to become the Fourth Hokage?" Hiruzen asked.

"The Fourth Hokage? Sensei, do you think I'm suitable to be Hokage? I've never thought about it!" I said, feigning surprise, yeah right.

"Hm, I think you'd be excellent as Hokage, I plan to retire soon, so, would you be willing to take my mantle?" he finally asked, I remained silent for a moment and then nodded.

"I'm willing, Sensei!" I said, Hiruzen's expression lighting up.

"By the way, Sensei, how much does the house cost?" I asked, remembering what truly mattered to me now, you know, Orochimaru didn't even have a decent house, just the old family relic inherited from his parents.

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll gift it to you, as your Sensei, it's natural for me to do so, you can come by the office any day to sign," Hiruzen said.

"Thank you, Sensei!" I accepted without hesitation, let's see who gives you a free house in the modern world, after that, we exchanged a few more pleasantries before he left.

"Sigh, it's so exhausting…" I sighed once he was gone.

"Orochimaru-sama, I've finished cleaning your room, please rest," said Hanna, approaching me.

"Oh, don't worry about me. Let me join you in renovating this place," I responded, summoning hundreds of clones.

The next day, over thirty children were running back and forth throughout the house, which was considerably large, I didn't mind the noise, as I wasn't planning to live here anyway.

"Yamato, stop running through the halls!" a woman's voice called out behind Yamato.

That was Hanna, I plan to find a few more women to help care for them, but for now, I can only summon more clones to assist.

...

By midday, I went to my weapon shop in Konoha, yes, Orochimaru had a weapon shop, the guy spent his time researching things, so the need for funds was fundamental.

I came here because now I have to take care of dozens of lives, so my need for funds is much more pressing than the original Orochimaru's.

When I arrived, I saw the sign that said "Sannin Shop" I have to admit he knew how to capitalize on his fame to generate income, but despite the free publicity effect, I decided to change the shop's name.

I jumped toward the sign, removed the old one, and put up a new one, it now says «Tempest» which will be my new surname in this world.

When I entered, I saw a girl sleeping at the counter, apparently, the shop isn't very popular, even with Orochimaru's fame, which only means the competition is tough.

"Hey, Yukio, wake up," I said, pinching her cheek, but she didn't seem to have any intention of waking up and kept snoring.

"..."

For a moment, I was tempted to throw a bucket of water on her, but I decided against it and simply created a mini bell and rang it.

"Hm… what's that? Don't make noise, just five more minutes…" Yukio muttered, waking up slowly with displeasure, suddenly, her eyes locked on me.

"Ah! Orochimaru-sama!" Yukio stepped back as if she had seen a ghost.

"Lower your voice, or they'll think someone is robbing the shop," I said, covering my ears.

"Ah, right, sorry, Orochimaru-sama, it wasn't my intention, by the way, what are you doing here? Do you need something from the shop? Whatever it is, I'll get it for you!" Yukio said, flailing her arms in a rush.

"Sort of, bring me a list of all the products the shop sells, can you do that?" I asked.

"Yes, I can do that!" Yukio said and went to the back room, leaving a blur behind her, I even wondered if she was a ninja.

"Here's everything, Orochimaru-sama, including prices, weekly sales, and more," Yukio said, handing me the list after returning.

I took the list and glanced at it. Items like kunai, shuriken, senbon, explosive tags, the usual things that a ninja would need, but if you're looking for special medicines, secret techniques, or something higher-level, there's absolutely nothing.

"I see, keep sleeping and don't bother me unless it's an emergency," I said, walking toward the office next to the warehouse behind the shop.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Wait, no, I wasn't sleeping… well, yes, but not anymore…" Yukio stammered, but I had already disappeared from her sight.

...

After sitting behind the desk, I began to think about quick and lasting ways to earn money, my only advantages for now are my sealing techniques and my industrial capability.

That is, not being from a rich family in Konoha, I don't know those secret techniques for crafting special medicines like the Akimichi do, but I have deep knowledge of sealing.

Also, as long as I know the formula, I can supply the entire Land of Fire with my Arc of Embodiment ability and my absurdly exaggerated amount of chakra.

So, after thinking it over, I decided to go with the healing seals as I had originally planned, it's a product that would undoubtedly sell, it just needs some publicity, and that's easily resolved again with hundreds of infiltrated clones.

Once I decided to create the healing seals, I decided to create four versions of them, the first level is only for healing minor wounds, it doesn't have chakra from the wood element.

The second level is for healing deeper wounds, this level is the same as the one I created in the battle against Kumo and Iwagakure.

The third level is capable of regenerating a limb with a single seal, the fourth level is a specialized seal, which has the same function as Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, as long as you place the seal on your arm, it will keep pumping healing chakra and continuously healing your wounds.

As for a fifth level, it's only theoretical, but when I can truly master Sage Mode, I plan to make a seal ten times stronger than the experimental fourth version.

I also fixed a fatal flaw in the seal, previously, if you used a seal, which has about twenty points of chakra in case the target is exhausted, it would take away half your chakra to create the clone, regardless of whether you were exhausted or not.

That is, if you had 100 points of chakra and used a seal, your chakra would jump to 120 points of chakra, but then you'd use 60 points of chakra to create the clone, which means if you used too many, you could end up completely drained, which wasn't practical and even dangerous.

But now, not only do you not lose chakra, but with each one, your chakra increases by ten points with each seal.

The final result was this. First level, 100 Ryos, second level, 1,000 Ryos, third level, 10,000 Ryos, fourth level, 100,000 Ryos.

I created as many as I could before exhausting my chakra and put them up for sale without hesitation, Yukio opened her eyes in surprise, looking at the exorbitant price of the fourth-level healing seal.

I waited half an hour and created two shadow clones, which kept cloning themselves, spreading the word throughout Konoha, over the next few days, the shop was completely overwhelmed by an inhuman number of customers.

This was something I expected since there were many injured in the last battle, for a ninja, spending 10,000 for a new arm is just an absolute bargain.

To deal with the endless number of customers, I made Hanna the new manager of the shop, replacing me, I also hired two more girls.

I also found five nannies to take care of the kids at the house, by the way, Yamato managed to awaken his Mokuton the next day.