No matter how you looked at it, the primary objective of this mission led by Makoto was to deal with the sea monster attacks in the Land of Fish, and to investigate whether the incident was related to Orochimaru's activities in the Land of Sea before and after the war.
So after leaving the Summoning Island, Makoto's group continued on to the Land of Sea and honestly spent several days doing what proper shinobi were supposed to do. Under Honoka's guidance, they even secretly investigated several ninja factions within the Land of Sea.
But in truth, Makoto already knew that Orochimaru had indeed established a laboratory in the Land of Sea. However, it should have already been abandoned by him at this point, leaving behind only a researcher named Amachi, who was still persisting with human modification experiments, striving to produce results and prove his worth to Orochimaru.
What a hardworking and self-driven employee.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru was only focused on his own immortality. He wasn't a qualified capitalist—he didn't know how to appreciate this kind of effort, nor how to exploit it thoroughly.
The current Orochimaru would not pay attention to those who had already lost their value.
The laboratory's location was well hidden and had no connection to the local ninja factions, making it extremely difficult to find—unless they traced supply demands along coastal towns and investigated from there.
But that would waste too much time.
At present, it had already been confirmed that the sea monsters in the Land of Fish had nothing to do with Orochimaru. So after a few days, Makoto gave the order to halt operations and return to the village.
After a journey over both land and sea, Makoto led his team back to his loyal Konohagakure on the last day of June.
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen finished reading the mission report and nodded in satisfaction.
Every mission Makoto undertook was not only completed excellently, but occasionally even brought unexpected gains back to Konoha.
If all shinobi were like him, why would Konoha worry about not prospering?
If only his youngest son had even half of Makoto's steadiness—if he could show even a bit of respect and consideration toward him, this old man—then the Third Hokage felt he wouldn't be losing handfuls of hair.
"So, the sea monsters that appeared in the Land of Fish—were they all created by that Summoning Island?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I secretly reviewed their experimental data. Before attempting to create an ultimate summoned beast, they indeed conducted a large number of animal experiments, producing some mutated species."
"An ultimate summoned beast, huh… how strong is it?"
"Very strong. I estimate it would take at least three jōnin working together to handle it. The most terrifying aspect is that it can continuously evolve by devouring, so its upper limit is extremely high."
"Unfortunately, its mind is too chaotic. It only has instincts for killing and consumption, making it difficult to control. Otherwise, it would actually be a pretty good choice as a summoned beast."
"This kind of monster is far too dangerous to humans. Makoto, you did the right thing by killing it early. That way, you prevented a potential disaster in the future."
"Can you confirm that none of this is related to Orochimaru?"
"Yes. The laboratory on Summoning Island has existed for a long time. It was initially funded by some people from Kumogakure, but after failing to get results, they abandoned it."
"After that, it was entirely maintained by ninja factions from the Land of Sea. I infiltrated and investigated several of those factions—Orochimaru has never had direct contact with them."
Hiruzen frowned. "Then what was he doing, frequently going to the Land of Sea before?"
"He might have been stealing certain experimental data. Or perhaps he set up a hidden laboratory there. But in my judgment, the likelihood that Orochimaru remains in the Land of Sea is low."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Too few resources, too weak in terms of ninja strength, no special bloodline inheritances. It's too far from the mainland and too close to Kumogakure. From Orochimaru's perspective, that place holds little value for him. And even if there were something valuable, it wouldn't be his turn—Kumogakure would have taken it long ago."
"That makes sense." Hiruzen nodded, then glanced at Honoka's file and smiled. "Heh, not everything was taken, though. Didn't you find an Uzumaki clan member?"
"She was discovered by a ninja faction in the Land of Sea by chance, and then kept working on Summoning Island. Even Kumogakure didn't know of her existence."
"If they had known, she would have been taken long ago." The Third Hokage recalled Kumogakure's past attempt to kidnap Kushina. Then he looked at Makoto curiously. "Why do I feel like you have quite the affinity with the Uzumaki clan?"
"Coincidence. All coincidence. Maybe I just have good luck."
"Hahahaha! Then I hope your luck keeps holding. Find more Uzumaki clan members and bring them back to Konoha. This… can also be considered making up for Konoha's past regrets."
Makoto: "…"
Just as he had told Honoka, Konoha had no such intention subjectively—but after seeing the number of Uzumaki within the village increase, the Third Hokage inevitably began to entertain certain thoughts.
Unfortunately, Makoto knew that there were hardly any pure-blooded Uzumaki left in the shinobi world.
There's one in the Akatsuki—he's even your disciple's disciple. If I knock him out and bring him back, I wonder if you'd dare accept him.
I'm afraid once you see those ripple eyes, you won't be able to sleep at night.
...
Inside Minato's home, red hair ruled the scene.
A certain Fourth Hokage looked at his own and his son's blond hair and increasingly felt out of place among them.
Kushina was overjoyed. Looking at Kaori, Karin, and Honoka's bright red hair, the more she looked, the more familiar it felt—like she had returned to her childhood days in the Land of Whirlpool.
Who would have thought that after her nation fell and her clan was destroyed, she would still be able to gather several clan members again in Konoha?
Red hair was the mark of pure-blooded Uzumaki. Tracing back two or three generations, the three of them could all find familial ties between one another.
They enthusiastically shared their experiences and those familiar names from the past.
Karin, who had just turned two, couldn't join the conversation, so she began attacking her little brother: "Hey, Naruto, even though your surname is Uzumaki, you don't have beautiful red hair like me."
Not yet two years old, Naruto immediately felt wronged and looked at Minato: "Dad, I want hair like that too. Can I?"
The child's words triggered a burst of laughter, instantly filling the house with a cheerful atmosphere.
Minato scratched his head, inwardly lamenting that his hair color genes were too strong—he had forcefully dyed the Uzumaki clan, known for their powerful vitality, blond.
After completing her "attack," little Karin turned to ask: "Mom, can I take the surname Uzumaki?"
Kaori, who had already recovered her complexion, stroked her daughter's head and hesitated. After all, for most of her life, that surname had represented suffering.
So she could only reply: "That… there's no rush. When you grow up, you can decide for yourself."
Kushina understood her concern and comforted her: "Hey, surnames don't matter. As long as everyone can live happily from now on, that's what matters most."
Kaori: "Yes… as long as we can live peacefully, that's enough."
After years of hardship, her expectations were actually very low. Living like this now was already enough for her. As for surnames, she didn't care much.
Honoka didn't value such things either. She felt things weren't bad right now—perhaps living among members of the same clan really was a good choice.
It was just that the person who brought her here had disappeared.
"Kushina…-nee-san, where did he go?"
"Who?" Kushina paused, then suddenly realized. "Oh, you mean Makoto. That guy must have gone to report the mission."
"I see…"
Honoka replied softly, turning to look out at the unfamiliar scenery beyond the window.
Kushina glanced at her husband. Both of them felt that this newly arrived clan member seemed to be carrying heavy thoughts.
At that moment, Makoto pushed the door open and walked in.
Kushina immediately pulled him over and patted his shoulder: "Makoto, well done! As expected of my disciple."
"As long as you're happy, sensei."
"Of course I'm happy. I think—how about you go out on a mission once every month? That way you can help me find more clan members."
"Sensei, what do you take me for? An Uzumaki detection device?"
Kushina shamelessly admitted: "Exactly!"
"…" Makoto had nothing to say to her. He turned to Honoka: "Now that you're in Konoha, just settle down here. If you run into any problems, come find me or Kushina-sensei."
Honoka lowered her head. "I understand."
Makoto nodded, then looked at Minato and Kushina: "I'll leave her arrangements to you. I'll head home first."
Kushina: "Not staying for dinner?"
"No. This mission took half a month. If I don't go home to eat first, I'll get nagged to death."
As soon as he finished speaking, Makoto disappeared with Flying Thunder God.
Honoka had just raised her head, about to say something—only to find he was already gone. A look of disappointment immediately appeared on her face.
Minato and Kushina: "…"
The couple exchanged another glance.
With their rich experience in young love, they saw through it at a glance—
This Uzumaki girl's main reason for coming to Konoha… probably wasn't just to reunite with her clan.
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