Chapter Fifty: The Letter

After finishing their meal, they waited for a while longer. Around one o’clock, Yu Higashino once again extended his mental energy to scan the distance, but Karin’s mother still hadn’t returned.

“Karin, do you know where your mother went?” Yu sensed that something was amiss.

“She probably went to the hospital.”

“I’ll go look for her.”

“Alright!” Karin replied immediately, eager. “I want to come too.”

“Okay, you can show me the way. Do you know where the hospital is?”

“Yes!”

With Karin leading, the three of them hurried toward the hospital. Although Karin was small, she walked quickly, and Yu and Kakuzu had to keep up with her brisk pace.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived at the Kusagakure hospital. At the entrance, Yu paused and used his mental powers to scan carefully, but the woman from yesterday was nowhere to be found.

He frowned, then led Karin and Kakuzu inside, heading straight for the front desk.

“Did her mother come by today? A woman with red hair.”

The question itself was unremarkable, but Yu subtly employed some techniques from his [Genjutsu] skill.

As his power took effect, the receptionist’s eyes glazed over, her expression vacant as if entranced.

“Yes, I’ve seen her,” the receptionist replied in a dull monotone.

“Is she still in the hospital?”

“No, she was taken away by Lord Chiyan earlier.”

Yu’s eyes narrowed. “Who is Lord Chiyan?”

“He’s one of the village elders,” the receptionist recalled.

As she remembered, Yu delved into her mind for information about this Lord Chiyan.

“Let’s go find this Chiyan,” Yu said to Kakuzu and Karin, turning to leave.

Karin quickly followed, but Kakuzu hesitated for a moment.

He finally realized what had just happened—Yu had just used an extremely powerful genjutsu.

“Not only is he skilled with the blade, but his genjutsu is this formidable too? What a fathomless man,” Kakuzu marveled inwardly, then trailed after them.

Once the three left the hospital, the receptionist snapped out of her trance, looking bewildered—who am I, where am I, what just happened?

…

They moved briskly through the streets of Kusagakure once more. This time, Yu led the way instead of Karin.

“Brother Luffy, is my mom going to be okay?” Karin asked anxiously from behind.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine,” Yu said without turning.

Karin didn’t ask further, only kept close behind him. Soon, they arrived at the gates of a grand, traditional Japanese mansion.

The disparity in Kusagakure’s wealth was striking—Karin’s home was humble and run-down, yet this “Lord Chiyan” lived in a place that resembled a palace.

Guards stood at the entrance. Yu approached and used the same method as before.

“Is Lord Chiyan at home?”

“No, he left early this morning,” the guard replied, glassy-eyed.

“Do you know where he went?”

“I don’t.”

Yu’s brow furrowed.

“Go fetch someone who might know where he is.”

The guard, like a puppet, opened the gate and went inside, leaving the three outside, each with their own thoughts.

Yu, though frowning, kept his composed, slightly aloof demeanor. Kakuzu’s expression remained cold, but inwardly he still marveled at Yu’s mastery of genjutsu. Karin was visibly anxious.

Before long, the guard returned with a man who appeared to be the house steward.

Without waiting for the man to speak, Yu cast his genjutsu once more.

“Where did your lord go?”

“I don’t know. He only said he had some business to take care of. He didn’t say anything else.”

Yu scanned the mansion with his mental senses, confirming that neither Chiyan nor the person he sought was present.

“What a bother,” Yu muttered.

“Brother Luffy, what should we do now?” Karin asked, worry etched on her face.

“It’s alright.”

Yu found the situation troublesome, but not insurmountable. If necessary, he could go straight to the Kusakage, and if that didn’t work, he would turn the entire village upside down. Kusagakure wasn’t that large—he would find her eventually.

“Let’s go see the Kusakage. Maybe he knows something,” Yu decided.

“Okay,” Karin nodded.

Seeing that she was still anxious, Yu added, “If you’re worried, you can formally hire me. I’m a wandering ninja. For the sake of my reputation, once I accept a request, I’ll do my utmost to complete it.”

“Really?” Karin asked timidly.

“Yes.”

“What about the fee?”

“The fee…” Yu considered. “One piece of candy will do.”

“One piece of candy?”

“Yes, isn’t that your most precious thing?”

“Alright.”

“Then the request is accepted. The mission: I will find your mother and bring her safely back to you. The commission fee is one piece of candy.”

“Okay.”

Yu said no more and led Karin toward the Kusakage Tower.

The Kusakage Tower was easy to spot—the tallest building in sight.

But they didn’t make it all the way there. Halfway down a side street, they were stopped.

“Excuse me, are you Lord Luffy?”

Blocking their way was a white-haired girl, who stopped them at the entrance to a narrow alley.

Yu thought her face looked familiar, but couldn’t place her at first.

“Yes, that’s me. What is it?”

“My name is Ryuzetsu. Someone asked me to deliver this letter to you.”

At that moment, Yu remembered who she was—a character from the movie about the Box of Ultimate Bliss, a close friend of Mukō, the son of Mui. In the original story, after witnessing her friend’s death, she joined Kusagakure’s peace faction, the Kusanohana, and devoted herself to stopping Mui from opening the box.

In the end, she helped Naruto defeat the puppet “Satori” controlled by the box and even used her secret technique to save Naruto’s life.

Yu took the letter from Ryuzetsu, puzzled—who would write to him, and have Ryuzetsu deliver it?

He opened the envelope and unfolded the paper inside.

There was an address written on it, but that wasn’t the important part; what mattered was the lock of red hair tucked inside.

Yu narrowed his eyes and activated [Genjutsu].

“Did the person who asked you to deliver the letter say anything else to you?”

Ryuzetsu replied in a trance, “He said if I wanted to save Mukō, I had to make sure this letter reached you.”

Yu plucked some memories from her mind and was surprised to recognize the person who’d sent her.

It was the Kusagakure ninja who’d led them in battle on the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfall. His name was… Mui.