As the distance closed, the chakra Kyusei sensed grew clearer and clearer.
And more importantly—he could feel it steadily weakening.
The decrease was subtle, almost negligible compared to the owner's total reserves, but it was undeniably dropping.
Don't tell me…
Realizing where he was—the Land of Grass—Kyusei unconsciously accelerated again.
That chakra kept fluctuating, sending out what was unmistakably a distress signal. And the more violently it fluctuated, the faster it was being drained.
Soon, a village entered Kyusei's field of vision.
On the gate hung a crude emblem shaped like a blade of grass.
Kusagakure…
So it really was Uzumaki Karin's mother.
Understanding dawned across Kyusei's face. Without hesitation, he charged straight in.
At this point, Kyusei was practically unrestrained. Aside from Sarutobi Hiruzen, kaoru , Nao, and Hatake Sakumo—people who could still make him pause—no one else in this world could truly control him.
Kyusei was a blade.
Those people were his sheath.
Without a sheath, merely looking at the blade's edge was enough to draw blood.
The moment he stepped into Kusagakure, Kyusei knew he'd been detected.
The entire village was covered by a sensory barrier—and worse, it was one he recognized all too well.
Uzumaki sealing techniques.
Oh? So you're eating my clan's bones and still licking the marrow, huh.
Kyusei's gaze turned icy.
At first, he'd only been unsure. Now it was clear—whether the woman was Karin's mother or not, she was definitely an Uzumaki.
Several chakra signatures rushed toward him the instant he entered the village.
To Kyusei, they were nothing more than ants.
Ignoring them completely, he sprinted straight toward the massive chakra source he sensed.
As he drew closer, a red cross symbol—marking a medical facility—came into view.
Without sparing a glance at the medics or wounded below, the golden figure leapt straight up, crashing through an open third-floor window.
She was inside this room.
And what Kyusei saw made his blood boil.
For the first time, he felt the world's malice so clearly.
Five or six men were piled on top of a half-naked girl, gnawing at her body like beasts…
"You…"
"What do you think you're doing?"
His voice echoed through the room.
They didn't even look up. One of them muttered impatiently,
"New guy?"
"Wait your turn. You'll get her after we're done."
The words had barely left his mouth when an unbearable pain exploded in his waist.
A force he couldn't resist struck him head-on.
Bam! Bam!
Kyusei's furious kick sent the man flying. He smashed through two walls before finally slumping to a stop.
Blood poured from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth as he sagged against the rubble, trying to say something—
But no sound came out.
A golden spear had pierced straight through his mouth, pinning him brutally to the wall.
In the final moments of his life, terror filled his eyes as he watched his companions meet the same fate—each one blasted into walls, floors, or ceilings, bodies twisted unnaturally.
The only thing they shared in common—
Every single mouth was impaled by a golden spear, nailed in place.
The girl lay trembling, her body covered in bite marks. She stared at the golden figure before her, tears streaming down her face.
Her voice shook as she spoke, disbelief clear in every syllable.
"J-Kyusei… my lord…"
Kyusei looked at her in silence.
A long-buried memory surfaced—one that belonged to this body's original owner.
Back when the Land of Whirlpools still existed.
When the Uzumaki clan was still whole.
When he himself was barely five years old.
A red-haired little girl used to toddle after him every day, calling him Kyusei-sama again and again.
And then—
There was nothing after that.
The Land of Whirlpools was gone.
The Uzumaki were gone.
And he had been sent to Konoha.
"…It's been a long time, Mika."
Kyusei spoke calmly as he wrapped her body in a bedsheet without hesitation.
At that moment, the chakra signatures he'd sensed earlier finally arrived.
All of them wore Grass shinobi headbands. The one in front was a middle-aged man.
He stared at Kyusei—his body wreathed in golden chakra—with clear uncertainty.
After hesitating, he tried to speak.
"Sir… are you perhaps Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki?"
After Kyusei's rampage in Kirigakure—and the fact that he'd never hidden his face—the entire shinobi world knew Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki was an Uzumaki.
Only Kyusei's current Nine-Tails Mode, with his hair blazing gold instead of crimson, made the man unsure.
Kyusei ignored him completely.
Holding Uzumaki Mika in his arms, he asked softly,
"Are there any other Uzumaki left in this village?"
"I asked whether you are Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki!"
The man raised his voice and demanded again.
—
His eyes widened in horror.
A golden chain erupted forward, piercing straight through his mouth.
Too fast.
So fast he hadn't even realized what had happened.
The pain arrived an instant later—so deep it felt like it reached his bones.
He collapsed like a shrimp, convulsing on the ground.
He wanted to scream.
He couldn't.
He wanted to close his mouth.
He couldn't.
All he could do was writhe on the floor, producing only a choking hng… hng… sound.
"Mika," Kyusei asked again, voice steady,
"are there any other Uzumaki left in this village?"
"N-No… none left, Kyusei-sama…"
The girl stared blankly at the golden-haired youth holding her.
"…Good."
Kyusei smiled.
A smile so cold it was utterly merciless.
"Then this garbage of a village doesn't deserve to exist in this world."
After eleven years in this world, Kyusei had believed he'd already adapted to it.
Back in Kirigakure, he'd fired a Tailed Beast Ball at the Third Mizukage partly because the Mist was also one of the culprits behind the Uzumaki clan's destruction.
But seeing this with his own eyes—
That anger went far beyond irritation.
Cradling Mika with one arm, Kyusei leapt skyward.
With his free hand, chakra gathered—vast, terrifying, overwhelming.
A giant Tailed Beast Ball.
One he hadn't even used against Kirigakure.
—
Not a heroine. Not a heroine. Not a heroine.
Important things are said three times.
If you're confused about who the heroines are, check the character card page.
Only three matter here:
The protagonist, kaoru , and Nao.
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