Chapter 10

"My mother was Uzushiogakure's spymaster. One day, she managed to hijack the communication between Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure. She realized quickly how big it was for three big villages to communicate with each other when they have never declared alliances, so she told the Uzukage about that.

It turned out that the three villages were targeting Konohagakure. Take note that it is Konohagakure who was targeted, not Uzushiogakure. As Konoha's ally, Uzukage quickly sent a warning about that. After confirming what Uzukage said, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked for our help. We sent about 50 ninjas to Konoha for help. But, do you know what happened?" Seeing as Aoki and Akira shake their head, Mana-san let out a bitter laugh.

"All of the help we sent were slaughtered on their journey to Konoha. I have a suspicion that it was Danzo and his roots who did that." She stopped her explanation as she saw Akira wants to ask.

"How did you know it was Danzo?"

"At that time, Danzo was the one who manage the international relationships for Konoha. He was the one who our ninjas had to meet the first after we arrived. I didn't know what really happened that time, but I guess the leader found the condition in Konoha a bit suspicious.

So, he sent one ninja who was seal master to investigate what happened and took a record of anything suspicious. The seal master created a seal that act similar to a radio so the leader and Uzukage who also received the news about suspicious activity around Konoha could hear what he found.

The seal master found out a secret meeting in Hokage's residence with the Hokage, his three advisors, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and Orochimaru of the Sannin discussed the incoming attack. That was when things turned from bad to worse for Uzushiogakure. They found out that Jiraiya and Danzo leaked the information about Uzushio's security so the three villages turned their attention to us.

Danzo also said that he timed the timing of information to leak so that the three villages would send their troops a day after our help arrived. That was done to prevent us from going back to help as they knew we sent our best to help. Without those 50 ninjas, our destruction would be easier." She stopped talking and take a breath. Aoki and Akira could see the pain in her eyes, but they didn't stop her from talking.

"Do you know what they said to convince themselves? They said it was because Uzushio is getting stronger than them! Only Konoha deserves to be the strongest! What kind of bullshit they uttered!" She started to scream in furious. Akira feels glad that her scream was not enough to wake Karin up. After she calmed down a bit, she started to talk again.

"That was the last transmission we received from the seal master. I guess they found him spying and decided to kill him and the rest of our help. You might be wondering how did I know about that high-secret information when I was just 12 years old at that time, right?" Akira nodded.

"It was because Uzukage decided to broadcast the conversation to the entire village so that all of the Uzushio's residents knew about their betrayal and avoid Konoha if somehow, we managed to survive. It was also the first time we felt the hatred toward Konoha, for they betrayed our home." She took a break to drink a glass of water while Akira and Aoki tried to process what she had said since the beginning.

"But my fear didn't come from that. It was for a completely different reason." She took her time as her breath become heavier once again.

"It was right after the invasion happened and Uzushiogakure was destroyed. There are about twenty survivors from us as we wanted to hide in Uzumaki's hideout. That was when Konoha's special Anbu, roots, managed to find out our hideout. The only clan who knew about that hideout beside us was the Senju clan. That was when we realized, we were betrayed once again.

They killed all the men and captured the women for their breeding program, to have a loyal Uzumaki, they say." She let out a bitter chuckle before she lashes out in agony. "They have loyal Uzumaki who were ready to die for them, but they betrayed us because of what? We were getting too strong? I could not find a more ridiculous reason than that!"

She lets out a burst of painful laughter that echoed around the cave. It also woke Karin up, so Aoki decided to take care of the confused girl, leaving Akira alone with Mana-san.

"In the end, they were intercepted by the seven swordsmen from Kirigakure, and we ended up there. You asked me why I didn't feel any fear toward Kirigakure. Because I could bear the humiliation, the beating, even the raping they gave to me. But I feared Konoha, as they were our brothers before. And they betrayed us, left us out of nothing."

Akira has to give her a sedative as she started to lash out again. He turned around just to see Karin and Aoki look at him.

"I-is Okaa-san okay?" Karin asked hesitantly. Akira gives her a warm smile before he replied,

"She is okay, just a bit tired. She will be better when she sees you tomorrow. Now, what do you want to do?" Hearing Akira's question, Karin gives him eyes full of determination before asking,

"Please, can you help me train?" She bowed, leaving Akira and Aoki stupefied.

"Why?" Aoki asked out of reflex. But Karin still gives him an answer,

"Because I want to protect Okaa-san so she won't have to cry anymore." Her determination definitely moves Aoki's heart as he replied,

"Good answer! Come here, I will help you in chakra control!" The two left Akira alone with the sleeping Mana-san. Akira chuckled as he watched Aoki taught Karin the tree walking. However, his mind is wandering far,

'It would be hard to trust Konoha after hearing what Mana-san said. But her story leaves a lot of questions. Did Tsunade know about Konoha's betrayal? How about Uzumaki Kushina, the wife of the yondaime Hokage? Those two fought and bleed for Konoha, did they know that what they fought for was the reason why their home was destroyed? Are there any Uzumaki out here?'

"What are you thinking about?" Aoki's voice snapped his thought. He looked at him, then at Karin who is walking slowly in the tree.

"She is a sensor, so it would be easier if she started with a walk while she monitors the usage of her chakra. It would be a good exercise for her chakra control and chakra detection as she could use the same method to detect the enemy's chakra level." Akira nodded at the explanation.

"But back to my question. What are you thinking about?"

"I am just wondering, did Kushina Uzumaki and Tsunade Senju know about Konoha's betrayal? They have Uzumaki's blood, after all." Aoki frowned for a moment before he replied,

"I don't know. But knowing about it would not change anything. In fact, it would only make Mana-san's hatred worse. She would just feel her kin abandoned them for their betrayer." His answer left us in silence before Aoki asked,

"Did you notice how advanced Mana-san and Uzumaki clan are in the seal?" Akira nodded.

"Of course, I notice. The communication seal right after her baby was born? The radio and recorder seal? If not for their massive chakra, they would suit more as investors. I bet they laughed hard at us as they saw the usage of the seal right now. We only use it as storage or an explosive tag. Only strong people use seals as barriers, and it costs a lot of chakras. Besides those three, nobody uses seal anymore."

Aoki who heard what Akira said suddenly let out a low whistle, making Akira turn his attention to what he saw. It was Karin who was celebrating at the top of the trees after being successful in her first chakra control exercise.

"Good job, Karin-chan! Now, come here!" Aoki shouted as Karin walked down slowly. Akira smiles at the sight of Karin's talent. Usually, it took a day for people with high chakra like Karin to reach the top of the tree. But Karin managed to do that in thirty minutes. Of course, she would need to train it more before Aoki showed her the water walking exercise. But Akira knows that it would take no long time for her to master it.

"Between Mana-san and Karin-chan, having them around would definitely make the future more interesting," He murmured.

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Author note:

You can also read:

- Transmigrated Into Anime World as Kiyoko Shimizu's Older Brother up to chapter 45

- Naruto: Ashigaru up to chapter 15

You can read all of it at my Patreon account, pat_reon.com/zwolf1 (Without '_') Thank you for your support! :)