In the crowd, a young boy broke free from his mother's hand and ran forward.
Imitating the man who had bowed in a deep apology earlier, he also knelt before Naruto and loudly pleaded, "Great hero, can you stay in our village?"
Naruto looked at him. "You want me to stay?"
The boy, having used all his courage to voice the request, now spoke more weakly, "Pirates… they're not just the ones from today."
"Our village gets raided by pirates every few days."
"Even if we move somewhere else, they'll still find us."
"My dad… was killed by other pirates."
"Please, great hero! Stay in the village and protect us!"
Naruto didn't hesitate and shook his head. "Why should I stay?"
The boy looked up, confused. He had already given the reason. "Because… there will be more pirates! They'll rob our village and kill people…"
Naruto looked into his eyes and nodded. "Yes, there will be more pirates."
"I killed this group today, but in a few days, another group will appear."
"Even if I kill all the pirates now, in a few years, new people will become pirates."
The boy was lost, unable to fully understand those words.
"If I stay to protect you, then how long do I stay?" Naruto asked. "Pirates will always exist. Should I stay forever?"
The boy opened his mouth.
He wanted to say, "Why not?"
But…
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"I have things I need to do too," Naruto said gently, his tone soft. "Things that are very important to me."
"They're just as important as your wish to protect this village."
The boy's eyes turned red. He clenched his fists tightly.
"Why ask someone else to protect you?" Naruto squatted down and gently patted the boy's head. "If you want that outcome, why not do it yourself?"
"If you want to protect yourself and the ones you care about…"
"Then use your own hands."
The boy bit his lip. "But… I'm not that strong…"
Naruto said no more. He formed hand seals and activated a jutsu.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique."
He summoned two blank scrolls.
After writing something on them, he placed them in front of the boy.
The boy looked at the scrolls, then at Naruto, puzzled.
"Can you read?" Naruto asked.
The boy shook his head. "Not yet, but Grandpa the village chief can."
Naruto patted his head. "Then start by learning to read."
"Then study the contents of the scrolls."
"They contain chakra refining techniques, and some taijutsu and swordsmanship basics."
"Work hard to become strong."
With that, he stood up and left with Karin.
The boy stood up, clutching the scrolls, bowed deeply, and shouted, "Thank you, great hero!"
That golden hair of his, shining brilliantly, looked just like the sun.
Naruto didn't look back—he only raised a hand in farewell.
The two of them left the village.
Karin tilted her head and looked at Naruto. "We're not being ninjas anymore?"
"Why should we be ninjas?" Naruto replied with a question.
Karin looked ahead. "I thought you wanted to rebuild the Land of Whirlpools, to restore Uzushiogakure."
Naruto softly repeated her words, "Rebuild Uzushiogakure…"
"Maybe someday, maybe not."
"But before I decide, I need to figure something out."
Karin kicked a pebble by the road. "Figure out what?"
"What's the meaning of a ninja's existence?" Naruto took a big step forward.
It was a question often overlooked, but a meaningful one.
In Soul Society, the purpose of the Shinigami was clear—
To maintain balance between the Three Realms:
The Living World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo.
These realms formed the entire "world" system.
But what about ninjas?
In Konoha's education system…
The purpose of a ninja was to complete missions.
The teachings Karin received in the Grass Village weren't much different.
But…
That only described the purpose of a ninja as a "tool," not as an individual.
Karin looked down at her outfit.
She thought to herself, maybe being a ninja wasn't all that important. Her mother had been one, so she had naturally assumed she had to be one too.
But in the days since she left Konoha with Naruto, she hadn't lived like a ninja at all.
Even her clothes didn't feel like those of a ninja.
Yet these past few days had been the happiest, most freeing days of her life.
So maybe not being a ninja wasn't such a bad thing.
She quickened her pace and followed behind Naruto.
As they searched for the ruins of the ninja village, they came to realize one thing: this land was full of bandits.
There was barely any space for good people here.
Whenever they encountered others, there was always conflict.
Naruto and Karin would watch.
If both sides were evil, Naruto would ignore them and walk past.
If one side was bullying the other, Naruto would intervene.
Konoha Coastline.
"Even Zetsu found him. That guy's sensory ability is something else," Kisame said as he unrolled a scroll and read the intel. "He's heading straight for the Land of Whirlpools…"
Uchiha Itachi said nothing, quietly gazing toward the faint outline of an island in the distance.
"Let's go, Itachi. Looks like your previous judgment was off," Kisame said as he put the scroll away. "The Nine-Tails' departure wasn't a ruse from Konoha."
"But… Zetsu says he's very strong."
"The report that he killed Orochimaru is probably true too."
"A kid with strength rivaling the Legendary Sannin… not someone to be underestimated."
Itachi's tone remained calm. "There's nothing to underestimate."
"Our mission isn't to capture the Nine-Tails just yet."
"The organization isn't ready."
"If we can't take him, then we gather as much information as possible."
"We currently know nothing about him."
Kisame tilted his head. "You're always so rational, Itachi."
They boarded a boat and headed toward the Land of Whirlpools.
At the same time, Naruto and Karin arrived at the ruins of Uzushiogakure.
The place was in even worse condition than any of the towns they had passed.
Buildings collapsed, totems shattered.
Only a few moss-covered stone pillars still bore traces of the Uzumaki clan symbol.
"There's nothing valuable left here," Karin said, rummaging through some ruins and only finding some skeletal remains.
They were just fragments—hands, fingers, nothing complete.
"Ninja corpses are valuable," she continued. "Those who attacked the Uzumaki clan must have taken all the bodies when they left."
"As for the village's stored records—no need to even mention."
Naruto said nothing. He crouched in front of a stone tablet, wiping off the moss. "Not completely empty."
"Look at this."
Karin leaned over.
The stone tablet recorded the history of Uzushiogakure's founding.
Led by clan leader Uzumaki Ashina, the Uzumaki settled here and established the village.
"This doesn't help you much," Karin muttered, disappointed.
Naruto shook his head. "Maybe there's another stone somewhere… with what I really need."
"Let's keep looking."
(End of Chapter)