That night, after meeting their cnmate, both Kana and Fuso had red eyes. Kana hadn’t lived through the destruction of their homend like Fuso had, but the Land of Uzumaki had fallen when she was very young.

  Still, no matter what, that was their home. It was only after experiencing such loss firsthand that these refugee survivors truly understood how difficult it was just to survive. Suddenly running into another member of their cn, of course, gave them a lot to talk about.

  Unfortunately, dinner needed to be prepared by him, so after making sure the two children had a simple meal, he sat down quietly in the courtyard to rest. As for Yahiko, Mujie had taken him away since Yahiko was officially his adopted son.

  Meanwhile, Fuso, Nagato, and Konan stayed at his house for the time being. The Land of Grass was still being rebuilt, and there weren’t many spare rooms. Many civilians were still living in temporary thatched huts.

  “Charlie, big brother, so I really am a member of the Uzumaki cn?”Lying quietly and gazing up at the stars, Charlie was just about to rex when Nagato’s voice caught his attention.

  Turning to look, he saw the boy’s young face filled with hesitation and confusion. It seemed natural that this lost youth, upon learning he had cnmates, was curious. Konan, on the other hand, y nearby, blinking calmly, seemingly uninterested, she was already content with her current life.

  “Yes,” Charlie nodded with a smile. “After the fall of the Land of Uzumaki, the cn scattered across the shinobi world to avoid assassination attempts. Most survivors changed their names and lived in hiding, spread far and wide.”

  “Really? The Land of Uzumaki is gone... no wonder Mom was always so cautious when I was little! I thought she was just timid, but I wanted to protect her when I grew up!”

  So that’s why. Mom must have been really scared of being discovered. Nagato paused, then frowned. “Then why are they still hunting the Uzumaki cn?”

  “Because they fear the Uzumaki cn’s abilities. They’re afraid the cn might rise again,” Charlie expined.

  “Why is that?” Nagato asked.

  “You’ll understand once you go to school,” he said, shaking his head without going into detail. His brow furrowed as he fell silent, lost in thought. ‘School, huh... Now that I thought about it, the Kusagakure Shinobi didn’t even have an academy yet!’

  In smaller countries and vilges outside the major shinobi nations, shinobi academies were rare. Most shinobi learned jutsu through their families or by apprenticing under experienced shinobi.

  Sunagakure was an exception. Since the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had cut off funding and outsourced most missions to Konoha, Sunagakure had to focus on elite training, fewer students, Jonin giving one-on-one lessons. And Kirigakure? That was a whole other story better left unsaid.

  ;I need to get a shinobi school up and running in the Land of Grass as soon as possible!; Charlie thought urgently.

  Before he could say more, footsteps approached. Kana and Fuso had finished their conversation and greeted him with slightly red eyes, probably from crying. Fuso pulled Nagato close, bowed deeply, and said with determination, “Thank you so much! Whatever you need me to do, just say the word. I won’t hesitate”

  “No need for that,” Charlie replied, waving his hand. Then he turned to Kana. “Are there any other Uzumaki cn members around?”

  He was eager to gather more of the cn. If they could bring them all to the Land of Grass, it might help fix the shortage of bloodline abilities they were facing.

  Fuso shook her head, hesitating before quietly adding, “The Three Elders seem to have gone north.”

  “I followed the Fifth and Seventh Elders,” Kana said, lowering her head in disappointment. “But the Fifth Elder was surrounded and killed by a group of shinobis, and everyone scattered. I pnned to go to Konoha, but I ended up drifting here.”

  It seemed that after the cn was suddenly attacked, many Uzumaki, both civilians and shinobi, had escaped and scattered across the nd.

  Even after the fall of the Land of Uzumaki, they were still being hunted, and no one knew where they had gone. Charlie shook his head in disappointment but then smiled. “Forget it. I’ll arrange for the shinobi to investigate, maybe we’ll get lucky. It’s te, and Fuso, Nagato, and Konan must be exhausted. Get some rest. Kana, please make sure everyone has a pce to sleep.”

  They had been away for days, and there was a lot to take care of tomorrow. Charlie suddenly remembered, “Oh, right! You haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you? I left some for you on the table.”

  With that, he yawned and headed toward the house. “Lord Kusa is really kind,” Fuso thought as she watched him walk away. Her mind wandered back to that night, and she felt her cheeks flush once again. “He really is gentle.”

  “Yeah! Charlie is a good person!” Kana agreed, then noticed Fuso’s reddening face as she was about to organize everyone’s rest. “Fuso, are you alright? Your face is so red!”

  “I-I... might just be a little warm,” Fuso stammered.

  ***

  As the weather grew colder, Charlie looked over the map spread across the table with a furrowed brow. “Winter is coming, so we need to start preparing,” he said firmly. “We have to stock up on food, coal, bnkets, and even pn for housing, everything must be ready.”

  The Land of Grass had been devastated during the First Shinobi World War, leaving it in chaos. This time, Charlie was determined to rebuild it from the ground up. He pnned to divide the territory into clear zones, residential areas, living quarters, and commercial districts, to make future development smoother.

  However, there was a major problem: there simply weren’t enough shinobi in the Land of Grass to get everything done.

  “Forget waiting on just the shinobi,” Charlie decred. “Let’s get everyone involved. Remember, the Land of Grass belongs to all of us, and rebuilding it depends on everyone pitching in!” His words were met with immediate agreement from the others.

  It was autumn, the 37th year in Konoha. The Konoha shinobi had been pushing hard into the Land of Rain, which forced the Rain Country’s leader, the legendary shinobi Samander Hanzo, to step onto the battlefield himself.

  Renowned for his mastery of poison, ninjutsu, and taijutsu, Hanzo was an unstoppable force, taking down countless Konoha shinobi and earning the fearful title of the Shinobi Half-God.

  To avoid heavy losses, Konoha sent their three strongest students, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, to face Hanzo. Though they were defeated, they gained Hanzo’s respect and became known as the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. With that, the war between Konoha and the Land of Rain came to an end.