Inside the Hospital.
Musashi moved through the halls completely unopposed.
No one expected a ninja from an enemy nation to just waltz into a hospital filled with the sick and wounded.
The corridor was quiet, save for the occasional groan of pain echoing from the rooms.
Musashi extended his senses to their limit, searching floor by floor.
Before he could pinpoint the location, voices drifted from a room ahead.
"Hmph! That little brat. Looks just like her mother."
"She's got that 'bad luck' written all over her face."
"Being a battery for our ninja is the only useful thing she can do. If the village hadn't taken her in, she'd be rotting in a ditch somewhere by now."
"She's an outsider anyway. Can't trust her. We might as well use her up while she's still got some juice left."
"Let's just hope she lasts longer than her mother did. Otherwise, treating the wounded is going to be a real pain in the ass."
Inside the ward, two women in white nurse uniforms were gossiping viciously.
Musashi walked straight in.
"Where is the little girl?"
The heavy-set nurse glanced at Musashi. Seeing he wasn't a high-ranking official she recognized, her face twisted with impatience.
"What's your problem? You hurt? Where?"
"I asked you, where is the girl?"
"Tell me where you're hurt first! We don't handle scratches here unless your Squad Leader comes down and orders me to."
The nurse was still confused. Where did this kid come from? Does he think the girl is just some free-for-all for anyone to bite?
She was just about to teach this young man his place when she realized he had already stepped forward.
His hand clamped around her thick neck. He applied only a slight amount of pressure.
SNAP.
The sound of her cervical vertebrae shattering was crisp.
Her heavy body hit the floor, twitching like a dying pig trying to cling to life. After a few seconds of struggle, she went still.
The slender nurse went pale with terror.
Her pretty face distorted in fear. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand was already wrapped around her throat.
The man's eyes were deep pools of cold indifference. His voice sounded like it was being ground out of a gravel pit.
"Point. The girl. Where is she?"
Survival instinct took over. She raised a trembling hand.
This kind of enemy is for the ninja to deal with, not medical staff!
Musashi held her up high, following the direction she pointed. He found his target quickly.
It was a small hospital room.
And a very small girl.
Red hair. Red eyes. Black-rimmed glasses.
She was clenching her teeth, eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming down her face.
On her pale, slender arm, two deep bite marks were still oozing blood.
The nurse felt the hand on her neck spasm, tightening for a split second.
She nearly fainted, thinking she was dead.
Realizing his hand had only twitched in anger, her survival instinct kicked into overdrive. She prepared to beg, hoping he would spare her.
The next moment, the grip on her neck tightened instantly.
A sickening crack traveled from her spine to her brain, and her world faded to black.
Thud!
The sound of the corpse hitting the floor startled the girl who had been crying silently.
Karin Uzumaki opened her eyes.
Standing before her was a stranger. A young man.
He looked sharp, handsome.
His energy felt pure.
But right now, he radiated an aura of extreme violence.
She didn't understand what was happening. She only saw that the woman who had been verbally abusing her moments ago was now lying dead on the floor.
Confused and terrified, she instinctively raised her slender arm toward him.
Noticing there was blood on it, she quickly switched to the other arm.
"Do... do you need a bite? Here."
The man walked over slowly.
Riiip.
He tore a piece of clean bedsheet and gently wiped the blood from her arm.
Karin stared at him, stunned.
The next moment, she was pulled into a warm embrace.
The man held her, wrapping her in pure, warm energy.
He spoke to her in a gentle voice.
"Don't be afraid. I'm taking you out of here."
"From now on, no one will ever bite you again."
"Never again."
---
A booming explosion echoed from the distance.
It was followed by thick black smoke and the flicker of firelight.
Musashi knew his copy had made its move.
Sirens wailed and shouts erupted. The number of people in the hospital began to dwindle as they rushed to the scene.
After a moment, Musashi walked out, carrying Karin in his arms.
She didn't know what was happening, but instinct told her to shrink into his embrace and hide.
It felt like as long as she stayed in his arms, she was safe.
"Who the hell are you?! Where do you think you're taking her?!"
An injured ninja spotted Musashi and realized something was wrong.
His answer was a hand crackling with lightning.
BANG!~
Red and white matter splattered across the wall, a mist of blood exploding in mid-air.
Musashi kept walking, his expression blank.
Gradually, more injured ninjas and medical staff noticed him.
Gasps and shouts of alarm rang out.
Those who could still move—guards and ninjas alike—began to swarm toward him.
Musashi controlled his energy flow.
Arcs of electricity began to flicker.
He carefully directed the current away from Karin in his arms.
Lightning danced along his hands and legs.
Facing the enemies rushing him, he responded with simple punches and kicks.
Two years ago, when he fought Itachi Uchiha, his "Lightning Armor" was only at Phase Two—enough to stimulate his cells and boost his physical stats.
After two years of research and grinding, his Lightning energy training had entered Phase Three.
It was now more flexible and far more stable.
The sweat spilled on the Konoha training grounds, the time passed day by day—none of it had been wasted.
The enemies rushing him weren't elite Jonin.
They were mostly Chunin and Genin—mostly Genin, actually.
To the current Musashi, their skills and magic were laughably weak.
The gap between a major power like Konoha and a minor village was massive.
And these were just the sick and wounded.
Every punch and kick claimed a life.
Limbs were severed; chests and skulls burst open.
The heavy metallic stench of blood began to fill the hospital corridors, mixing with the chemical bite of antiseptic.
It had been a long time since Musashi felt such uncontrollable murderous rage.
If he could, he would have blasted this entire place into a crater right then and there.
In his arms, Karin trembled. She reached out and hugged Musashi tighter, as if trying to squeeze more safety out of him.
As an Uzumaki with exceptional sensory abilities, she knew exactly what was happening, even with her face buried in his chest.
The smell of blood in the air was thick enough to make anyone gag.
"Stop him! Don't let him take the girl!" a ninja shouted.
The next instant, a heavy metal weight—Musashi's "Gutsy" training gear—whistled through the air and smashed the man to pieces.
Limbs and debris flew in all directions.
The nearby ninjas were terrified by this brutal display, their legs trembling. No one dared to step forward.
They hesitated.
But there were still a few brave enough to try.
Musashi respected their courage.
He formed a seal with one hand, thunder rumbling in the air around him.
"Lightning Style: Tracking Fang!"