novelhk Chapter 243 On the way home
Chapter 243 On the way home
Camel caravan slowly moving forward among the sand dunes
The three members of the Whirlpool Clan huddled under the canvas of the camel cart, their breathing trembling with the feeling of having survived a disaster.
Karin sat at the front of the cart, her fingertips resting on the shaft. Her chakra network, like a spread of red silk, captured everything within a ten-mile radius. Amidst the rustling of sand, she could always detect the soft twang of Tayuya's flute between the camel bells—he was adjusting the frequency of his illusion, like a vigilant purple weasel.
"Five miles northwest, twelve streams of chakra are moving." Karin suddenly pulled the reins, her crimson eyes reflecting the swirling sand and fog in the distance. Those chakras carried the sharp edge of the Konoha Anbu's kunai, two of which were particularly eye-catching, like poisoned ice cones.
Qin Chui's thunder hammer made a dull sound beside the camel cart, and the blue light emitted by the lightning crystal illuminated her tense jaw: "It's Gen's people." The iron spikes on the soles of her boots dug deep into the sand. Three years ago at the border of the Land of Fire, it was this kind of chakra with a decaying smell that burned the blacksmith shop of the Land of Craftsmen to ashes.
Tayuya's flute was suddenly placed across her lips, her purple hair lifted by the wind, revealing the same curse seal behind her ear as Karin's: "It's a good time to try out the new 'Magic Flute Dream' given to me by Lord Ototake." Her fingertips slid across the flute holes, and three kunai wrapped in illusion chakra silently inserted into the sand, forming a triangular barrier.
Karin's sensory network suddenly trembled violently, as if a red-hot iron was thrown into the calm surface of a lake.
Among the twelve chakras, the two strongest ones suddenly accelerated, and the sharp sound of metal friction was heard in the sand mist - they were Danzo's direct subordinates, the Anbu. They all had Sharingan grafted onto their right arms, and the flow of chakra carried the fishy sweetness of Uchiha.
"Protect the tribe!"
Karin leaped onto the roof, pressing her palms against the canvas. The distinctive crimson glow of her vortex bloodline spread along the fabric, forming a translucent shield around the camel cart. She could clearly sense the heartbeats of her three tribesmen beneath the canvas, like three fragile glass beads, resonating with her own bloodline.
The first wave of attacks came unexpectedly.
Eight kunai, imbued with explosive tags, pierced the sand and mist, exploding into blinding balls of light on the shield. Karin grunted, and ripples spread across the shield. Blood dripped from her palm, seeping into the canvas. The kunai were entangled with Yin-Tsukushi chakra, a substance that could corrode life force.
"Waste!" Tayuya's flute suddenly rose in pitch, and a purple-black illusory mist gushed out from the triangular barrier. The screams of the Anbu were heard from the sand mist, and their Sharingan saw the scene of their cursed right arms festering in the illusory jutsu. But when the mist dissipated, Karin discovered that two Anbu were intact, their Sharingan rotating strange patterns, obviously using the Uchiha forbidden technique.
"It's Shisui's eyes!"
Karin's sensory network picked up a familiar burst of spacetime chakra, identical to the fragments occasionally revealed by Yinzhu. She suddenly remembered the empty wound on Yinzhu's left sleeve, and her heart felt like it was being clenched by grains of sand.
Qin Chui's thunder hammer, trailing an afterimage, smashed down on the two ANBU, its lightning chakra plowing charred furrows in the sand. But the opponent's form suddenly vanished, and the kunai grazed her waist, leaving a trail of blood. The ANBU's Sharingan glowed red, evidently having predicted the trajectory of her attack.
"They can share vision!" Karin's shield was struck again by a kunai. This time, the detonating talisman, laced with wind chakra, tore a crack in the shield. She could feel her life force rapidly draining away, just as she had done when she sacrificed herself to Ototake last year. The edges of her vision began to darken.
Tayuya's flute suddenly changed its tune, no longer attacking the Anbu. Instead, it transformed into countless fine needles, piercing Karin's ears. Those notes, laced with spiritual chakra, were like cold threads, forcibly stitching together her crumbling sensory network. "Focus on defense. Don't die here."
A bitter taste played at the corners of Karin's mouth. She knew Tayuya was using her mental energy to help her share the burden, just like she had done last time at the Sunagakure puppet shop. But when her sensory network stabilized again, she noticed that Tayuya's chakra fluctuations were becoming distorted—the two ANBU were using Kotoamatsukami to counter-attack her genjutsu.
"Koto! Left rear!" Karin suddenly roared, her chakra shield swerving. A kunai grazed the camel cart and pierced the distant dune, its detonating tag exploding in the sand. Koto, who had been guarding the left, now raised her thunder hammer to block Tayuya's attack. The lightning from the hammer's blade illuminated the ANBU's Sharingan with a pale glow.
"Time to polish your hammer!" Tayuya's flute was breathy, yet still sharp. Using her koto-hammer as cover, she launched three genjutsu kunai at the ANBU's feet. This time, the chakra was laced with Karin's blood—the vortex bloodline could dissolve Kotoamatsukami's mental erosion.
Without looking back, Qin Chui swung her thunder hammer, severing the right arm of an Anbu at the shoulder. The Sharingan on the severed arm continued to swirl, but she suddenly turned her head, avoiding Tayuya's body, which collapsed from exhaustion. "Stop talking nonsense."
Karin's shield suddenly shrank, tightly wrapping the three Uzumaki members.
She watched Kototsuchi shield Tayuya's back with her body, watched the blood splattering from the thunder hammer entwine with her purple hair, and suddenly understood what Yinzhu meant by "Crimson Bond." She bit her tongue and poured all her remaining life force into the shield. This time, the red light was mixed with Tayuya's illusion patterns and Kototsuchi's lightning fragments.
As the ANBU's kunai struck again, the shield suddenly erupted in blinding light. Red, purple, and blue chakra woven into a vast vortex, deflecting all the attacks. Karin could feel the two strongest chakras screaming and annihilating in the light, like ice and snow melting in the sun.
As the camel caravan emerged from the sandy fog, the morning sun pierced through the clouds. Karin slumped on the car roof, watching Tayuya slumped against Kototsuchi's shoulder, her fingers still clutching the flute as if it were a lifeline. Kototsuchi's thunder hammer lodged in the sand, supporting the weight of both of them. A scratch slashed the side of her face, and blood dripped down her jaw into Tayuya's hair.
Three Uzumaki members poked their heads out from under the canvas, looked at the figures leaning against each other on the roof, and whispered, "Are you... angels sent by Lord Yinzhu?"
Karin smiled, tugging at the wound at the corner of her mouth. She remembered Yinzhu's words before leaving: protect the tribe, and protect yourself. His fingertips had rested on her curse seal, and warmth seeped through her skin, warmer than the morning sun.
When Tayuya awoke, she found her flute wrapped in bandages from a koto-hammer, the warmth of the lightning release still lingering on the fabric. She turned away, pretending to gaze at the scenery, but quietly tucked the flute into her arms.
When Qin Chui examined her thunder hammer, she found a purple hair stuck in a crack in the crystal. She picked it out with her fingertips and looked at it against the sunlight. It suddenly struck her that the color matched the red glow of Karin's shield.
Karin's sensory network spread out again, this time without vigilance, only a steady flow. She could clearly discern Tayuya's illusionary chakra soothing the wounds of her people, Koto Tsuchigumi's lightning release creating a defensive circle around the camel cart, and her own life force intertwined with their chakra, forming a web like the protective shield of countless cursed seals over Otogakure.
The cry of a falcon was heard in the distance. It was the messenger sent by Yin Zhu.
Karin caught the carrier pigeon and unfolded the note, only to find a single line of words on it: "Waiting for you to come home." The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, with a small spiral pattern at the end.
She handed the note to Tayuya and Koto Tsuchigumi, and seeing their ears blush at the same time, she suddenly felt that this long journey didn't seem so unbearable.
The sand rustled under the wheels, and the sound of the camel bells was crisp and pleasant.