Chapter 110: The Life She Longed For
Kayo led Kushina by the hand, her slow, leisurely pace now a frantic rush towards the edge of the Forest of Death. Kushina, of course, did not cooperate, stumbling and dragging her feet to buy time. Kayo hesitated for a moment, then, her heart softening, she chose not to knock her out, but to tie her up like a rice dumpling and sling her over her shoulder.
According to the plan, the others would stay behind to engage the enemy. Her mission was to take the Jinchuriki and provide support. Once the Third Raikage and his team arrived, someone else would take over, and she, the rookie, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Kayo found a hidden spot and put Kushina down, then used her unique sensory ability to survey the battlefield.
She couldn't go far. In the worst-case scenario, she might have to extract the Nine-Tails and trigger a rampage. This had been explicitly stated in the mission briefing. It was the one thing she hoped would not happen.
She looked at Kushina's red hair. It was hard not to feel a sense of kinship. She had almost never seen another of her kind. To meet one under these circumstances...
"How long have you been in Konoha?" she asked.
Kushina didn't answer, just continued to struggle against her bonds.
Kayo turned her face towards her. "Hey, listen to me!" she said, her voice earnest. "Don't cause any more trouble. Konoha has no chance. Just come with us."
"Who are you?!" Kushina demanded. "Why did you take me?!"
Kayo hesitated. The Raikage and his men would be arriving soon. Their identities would be revealed sooner or later. It was better to try and persuade her now. If she cooperated, her chances of survival would be much greater. And if the Jinchuriki was willing to come to the Cloud, that was much better than just extracting the tailed beast. The Raikage would surely agree.
Probably.
She dispelled her transformation, revealing her true face and her red hair.
Kushina, who had been struggling, froze. "Impossible," she breathed. "You..."
"My name is Kayo Uzumaki," she said. "I'm an Uzumaki, just like you. Listen, do you have any family left in Konoha? If not, just come back to the Cloud with me. I have an older brother, and my parents are also Uzumaki."
Kushina was stunned. She hadn't expected this. To suddenly meet a fellow clansman, for someone who had been a stranger in a strange land for so long, it was a natural bond. But after a moment of thought, she said, "I have no family left anywhere. But what difference does it make? No matter where I am, I'm just a forgotten exile of a fallen nation."
"No, it's not like that!" Kayo said urgently. "I don't know what it's like in Konoha, but the Cloud is different. Since we arrived, no one has ever bullied us. No one has ever treated us like outsiders. We can go to the Academy and learn. My parents found jobs and are living a peaceful life. The people in the Cloud might be a bit rough with outsiders, but they've never been hostile to anyone in their own village! There are a lot of outsiders in the village, but so what? You can start a new life in the Cloud."
Seeing that Kushina was wavering, she pressed on. "Do you know why we were able to get into Konoha and capture you? Because someone in your own village wanted the power of the Nine-Tails, wanted to control you. Otherwise, how do you think we could have gotten past the barrier? If you stay in Konoha, you're just a fish on a cutting board. Sooner or later, you'll be eaten."
A chill ran down Kushina's spine. She had suspected that there was a traitor, but to have it confirmed still filled her with a sense of loss.
So I can't even trust the people of Konoha.
"You have to stay close to me," Kayo said. "If the other ninja from my village come, you have to tell them you're willing to go to the Cloud. Then you'll be safe. When we get there, I can help you with all the paperwork. Then we can go to school together. The Cloud has an advanced ninja school. You don't have to fight and run all the time. I'm a good student. I can help you. By the way, are you hungry? We were waiting on the ceiling beam for a long time. You didn't even eat dinner. I have a rice ball my mom made. Do you want it?"
She took out the last of her mother's rice balls and held it to Kushina's mouth.
"I'm sorry, I can't untie you yet. Do you trust me? It's not poisoned. We're from the same clan. I don't want anything to happen to you."
The smell of the rice ball, the genuine concern in her voice... Kushina suddenly felt like crying. Someone actually cared if she had eaten, if she was hungry.
She took a bite. She imagined the life Kayo had described. A sense of relief washed over her, and a flicker of longing appeared in her heart.
I'm so ridiculous, she thought with a bitter smile. To believe an enemy's words, to eat an enemy's food.
But she wanted that life so badly.
Looking at the girl, who was a year or two younger than her, she found it hard to believe she was lying.
Was the Cloud really that good? And her own people were there.
But then, she thought of the boy with the golden hair.
"Rescuing a comrade needs no reason!"
He was probably the only one who saw her as a comrade. To everyone else, she was just an object, a vessel for the Nine-Tails.
Mikoto would see me as a comrade, right? Would she be angry if I left?
As she was lost in thought, a clap of thunder echoed from the sky.
Several streaks of light shot across the sky, like fiery blades cutting through the night.
Kayo stood on a large rock, her hands on her hips. "See that?" she said proudly. "That's our Raikage! Isn't he cool? I wonder if Onii-chan Dana is with him. If he is, he can decide if you can join the village. I'll go and talk to him. It will be a sure thing."
The thunder grew closer.
And then the Raikage came.
And then the Raikage left, continuing on his journey, a streak of brilliant light in the sky.
Kayo stood there, her body rigid, staring at the receding lights.
"What happened?!"
Did the Raikage forget to land? Can the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu even land?
As she was wondering, her senses picked up someone approaching.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"That dark chakra... it's those Root people!"
She immediately grabbed Kushina and moved.
But she found that no matter where she went, the Root ninja were closing in on her.
What she didn't know was that a rice-grain-sized insect, which even her senses could not detect, was attached to Kushina's hair.
The Root ninja, led by their captain, surrounded her, and soon she was trapped.
"What happened?!" she cried, her voice filled with panic. "The plan didn't say anything about me and the Jinchuriki facing a whole squad of ninja! This isn't how the script is supposed to go!"
What do I do? What do I do?!
In a fit of desperation, she suddenly remembered. She had the thing Onii-chan Dana had given her