Red Nara

"Is your son really an Uzumaki?" suddenly asked Hyuga, casting a fleeting glance at my hair, as if it couldn't be discerned from my eyes alone.

"Almost a complete copy of his father!" proudly declared Ma.

"Hmm... considering the clan relationships and their hereditary traits, it's quite obvious that they were hunting specifically for members of the Uzumaki and Senju clans."

He didn't add why someone would need representatives of these clans, but there are actually only a few options - sealing the biju in my case or obtaining children with kekkei genkai from both of us. What fate awaited Linli was clear to everyone, judging by the darkened face of the would-be victim.

"As soon as we arrive, I'll send a message to otou-san, and the Nara clan will take care of the investigation," Ma promised grimly, leaping from branch to branch.

"I would be grateful if you keep us informed," requested the jonin.

Sighing, Mom adjusted her grip on me and nodded, increasing her speed. After what had happened, no one was particularly eager to talk, and the squad hastened to reach the coastal town where we could hand ourselves over to the shinobi of Uzushiogakure and properly attend to the wounded.

Death on the battlefield can leave an indelible impression on a child's fragile mind, sometimes leading to mental trauma, so I occasionally caught Sai's caring gaze when she turned around.

Fortunately, a fair amount of cynicism and a simpler view of death had been passed down to me from my past life, and training in the clan, albeit recently started, and the ability to think clearly allowed me to avoid such a fate. And I had seen corpses before, so the attack only reinforced my belief that in this world, one must be strong to protect oneself and everyone dear to them. And also, not to let others dictate the terms of how one should live.

We reached the port town closer to evening the next day, encountering no further obstacles along the way, and contrary to my expectations, we were greeted there - a group of four shinobi from Uzushiogakure had positioned themselves right by the gates.

"Nara Saya-san?" approached the leader of the group, just as red-haired as the rest.

"Yes," Ma nodded, gesturing for the tense Konoha shinobi to relax.

"I'm Uzumaki Jansen, and we've been hired to escort you to Uzushiogakure."

"Alright, give me a couple of minutes and we can set off."

After the mission scrolls for both teams were signed, Saya gave final instructions regarding the bodies of the attackers (just in case - to ensure they wouldn't "accidentally" disappear from the morgue) and cooperation in the investigation between the Nara and Senju clans.

Despite her brother being the head of the clan, he preferred not to contradict the wishes of his wife or sister when it came to matters not related to politics - the vast majority of men in the clan were under the thumb of women during ordinary life and preferred not to cause trouble in that regard.

After enduring the farewell squeezing from Linli and literally squeezing out a promise to visit her sometime, accompanied by Mom's sly laughter, we parted ways and, together with the shinobi from Uzushiogakure, headed to the ship awaiting us in the port.

I quickly grew tired of looking at the city, as it was almost indistinguishable from the part of Konoha where ordinary people lived, so I turned my attention to more interesting personalities - the four shinobi, who had the same hair color as me.

The three boys and one girl hardly differed in appearance from their colleagues in Konoha, except that they were all chunin and looked about seventeen-eighteen, but in appearance could easily pass for that age, of course, except for Senju.

The quartet effortlessly demonstrated the noble blood flowing in their veins - movements filled with inner dignity, posture, and barely noticeable body movements, along with completely natural behavior, left no doubt that they belonged to an ancient clan that had existed since the time of the Sage of the Six Paths.

Actually, out of the eight who accompanied us, only the jonin could boast of such qualities. The same Inuzuka didn't particularly stand out from the other chunin. Actually, now it's clear how I managed to come into this world - if all Uzumaki are so beautiful, then not every woman can resist, especially with the right approach.

And the red-haired kunoichi clearly didn't lack attention, considering the looks she received from all the men in the city. Well, it remains only to regret that I'm not ten or twelve years older.