Nobody lowered their guard.
Not even for a second.
The stream continued to flow quietly between them, as if nothing had happened.
Hana remained where she stood.
Hands visible.
Shoulders lowered.
She didn't move another step.
She knew better.
⸻
Daichi's voice broke the silence first.
"Prove it."
Hana didn't look offended.
She looked tired.
"I expected that."
Slowly—
very slowly—
she pulled back the sleeve of her left arm.
Dark scars covered her wrist.
Not random.
Circular.
Layered.
Seal marks.
Old.
Burned into her skin.
Kushina's stomach tightened.
"…those…"
Minato narrowed his eyes.
"Containment seals."
Hana nodded once.
"They used them to measure us."
Silence.
That word again.
Measure.
Study.
Observe.
Kushina hated all of them.
⸻
Daichi didn't move.
"Who are you?"
Hana lowered her arm.
"My name is Hana."
A pause.
"I was one of their subjects."
Kushina frowned.
"…like Ren?"
Pain flickered across Hana's face.
"Worse."
That answer silenced everyone.
⸻
She slowly looked toward the flowing water.
"There were many of us."
Another pause.
"They never called us by name."
Her voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"We were numbers."
Kushina felt her chest tighten.
"…how many?"
Hana closed her eyes briefly.
"I stopped counting."
⸻
Minato watched her carefully.
"How did you escape?"
Hana lowered her gaze.
For the first time—
she hesitated.
"…I escaped."
Silence.
Kushina frowned.
"…you actually got out?"
A slow nod.
"Barely."
Another pause.
"I spent months hiding."
"Never staying in one place."
"Never lighting a fire."
"Never trusting anyone."
Minato studied her quietly.
"…then how did you find us?"
Hana let out a slow breath.
"I wasn't looking for you."
A pause.
"At first."
She looked directly at Kushina.
"I was looking for anyone from Uzushiogakure."
Another pause.
"Anyone who still remembered."
Kushina's expression softened slightly.
"…and then?"
"I found the ruins."
"The broken seals."
"The places where you fought."
A faint pause.
"It wasn't difficult after that."
Daichi narrowed his eyes.
"…they know you escaped."
Hana nodded slowly.
"They do now."
Silence settled over the clearing.
"I don't think they ever expected me to survive this long."
Another pause.
"But once I started following your trail…"
"…they would have known."
She met Kushina's eyes again.
"They didn't send me."
A beat.
"They simply realized where I was going."
⸻
The stream continued to murmur softly.
It was the only peaceful sound in the forest.
Hana looked toward Daichi.
"They know how you think."
Then toward Minato.
"They know how he reacts."
Finally—
toward Kushina.
"And they know what you'll sacrifice."
A chill ran down Kushina's spine.
"…they know too much…"
"…they've been watching…"
⸻
Daichi took one careful step forward.
"What changed?"
Hana answered immediately.
"They've stopped testing you."
Silence.
"They've started preparing for you."
Those words landed heavily.
Very heavily.
⸻
Kushina felt her fingers curl unconsciously.
"…preparing…"
Hana nodded.
"They believe you're becoming exactly what they predicted."
"No."
Kushina answered before thinking.
"I'm not."
Hana held her gaze.
"I know."
A pause.
"That's why I had to find you."
⸻
For the first time—
there was something genuine in Hana's expression.
Not fear.
Not hopelessness.
Hope.
Small.
Fragile.
"You still have a choice."
Silence.
"I didn't."
Kushina couldn't look away.
Because she believed her.
Every word.
⸻
Then Hana reached slowly into her jacket.
Daichi immediately shifted his stance.
She stopped.
Careful.
"It's not a weapon."
Slowly she placed a small object onto a nearby rock.
A thin metal tag.
Worn with age.
An engraved spiral marked its center.
The Uzumaki crest.
Kushina stared at it.
"…where did you get that?"
Hana's voice became almost a whisper.
"From the woman with the red hair."
Silence.
Every heartbeat seemed to stop.
Kushina's eyes widened.
"…Akane?"
Hana nodded.
"She told me…"
A pause.
"…if I ever escaped…"
Another.
"…I had to find you."
The world seemed to stand still.
Even Daichi froze.
For the first time since Kushina had met him—
she saw genuine shock in his eyes.