49 Chapter 49: Meeting With Karin

After visiting the Hokage building to apply for a certificate of departure from the village, Sato returned home to pack his belongings. He carried a backpack filled with storage scrolls and headed to Ino's flower shop to bid her farewell.

"Huh?"

Ino, who was assisting her mother at the shop, opened her eyes slightly when she saw Sato, who was about to embark on a long journey. "Sato, have you received a personal mission?"

"Yes, I'm going to retrieve someone from Pamphlet Street(The location of Karin's house)," Sato replied, nodding. He smiled at Ino and added, "It's not a difficult task. I'll be back in a few days, and I'll bring you gifts. Please remember to pass on my regards to Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chōji."

"Sure, have a safe journey!" Ino bid him farewell.

After saying his goodbyes to Ino, Sato returned to the Hokage building. Kurenai had already provided her endorsement as a guiding Jōnin, allowing Sato to swiftly obtain the certificate for leaving the village. He departed Konoha in a usual and unremarkable manner.

Once outside the village, in a matter of hours, Sato made his way to Pamphlet Street. Before long, he saw Jiraiya and Naruto, who were leisurely traveling and gathering information about Tsunade through their own sources.

"Sato, welcome home!" Just as before, the girl with Kagura's awakened mind, whom Sato had bought a house for, was waiting eagerly at the door even before he arrived. Over the past few days, she frequently used Kagura's Mind Eye to sense the familiar Chakra fluctuations in the Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sato. Despite Sato's significant increase in strength, having transitioned from an Elite Jōnin to Kage-level, and possessing a physique several times stronger than hers, Karin still recognized him instantly.

Seeing Karin's flushed cheeks, filled with excitement yet restrained from throwing herself into his arms, Sato raised his hand and gently stroked her head, smiling. "I've been waiting, I'm back."

"Hey-hey..." Karin, overwhelmed by the touch, rubbed her head against Sato's hand vigorously, as jubilant as a puppy reuniting with its owner.

Observing the girl's delight, Sato willingly embraced Karin and entered the house with her, her body trembling with tenderness.

As usual, Sato asked Karin to change into slippers at the entrance. Once they settled in the living room, Sato gazed at Karin, who had retrieved juice from the refrigerator, and spoke, "I have informed the Jōnin Commander, and once the daimyo confirms the appointment of the Fifth Hokage, she will recommend you for the Fifth Generation Konoha Project."

"Does that mean I can permanently live in Konoha and become a ninja?" Karin exclaimed with joy.

"Yes, indeed! However, it may take some time to finalize the candidates for the Fifth Generation. So, let's stay here for a while longer and enjoy ourselves," Sato assured her.

Excited by the prospect of being by Sato's side without the need for long separations, Karin cheered ecstatically. It was not solely because she aspired to join Konoha, the village of the renowned ninjas, but primarily because she could finally remain close to Sato, eliminating the long waits between their meetings. Karin was willing to be a ninja or an ordinary person as long as she could be with Sato.

"It will take some time to determine the candidates for the Fifth Generation. We will return to Konoha later. But for now, let's have some fun here," Sato proposed after receiving an apple from Karin. Taking a bite, he stood up and said to Karin, "By the way, I will introduce you to my friends when we return to Konoha."

"Really? That's fantastic!" Karin responded cheerfully.

Her excitement stemmed not only from the opportunity to join Konoha, the village she once admired as the strongest ninja village, but also from the chance to be with Sato all the time, no longer separated by distance and prolonged periods of time apart.

As long as Sato was happy, Karin didn't care about his friends, whether they were girls, or if any of them had feelings for Sato. All she desired was Sato's happiness, and that alone sufficed for her contentment.

Unaware of Karin's thoughts, Sato would undoubtedly feel a sense of accomplishment had he known. After storing away his backpack and discreetly deploying a Wood Clone to guard it in the room, Sato went shopping with Karin.

During their outing, while selecting gifts for Team 8 and Ino–Shika–Chō, Sato shared details about his relationships with Karin. Upon their first encounter, Karin had realized that, like herself, Sato was an orphan without a surname. However, she hadn't expected Sato's social connections to be so straightforward.

He had three close male friends of the same age, two childhood sweetheart female friends, and a female guide Jōnin. Compared to Karin, his social circle was much more well-defined.

Observing Karin's surprise, Sato explained, "In this life, one doesn't need many friends. A few sincere companions are sufficient."

Karin nodded enthusiastically and replied with a smile, "I believe that those recognized by you, Mr. Sato, must be good people worth befriending."

"From now on, you can just call me Sato, like my friends do," Sato said, patting Karin's head while wearing a smile.

"Okay, Sato... hehe!" Engrossed in her own fantasy world once again, Karin exhibited her silly behavior, bowing her head and releasing an amusing laugh.

Sato's hand swiftly transitioned from stroking to patting Karin's head. He responded, somewhat speechless, "Be careful, we're in public."

"Oh, I see..." Karin covered her head obediently and acknowledged his warning.

Soon, the two resumed selecting gifts for Team 8 and Ino–Shika–Chō, although the main purpose of Sato's outing was to find Tsunade.

Meanwhile, back at Sato and Karin's home, the Wood Clone, disguised as a seed, stood guard over the backpack. It employed byakugan and Kagura Mind Eye: Malicious Edition to monitor the entire Street, prepared to alert the original Sato at the first sign of trouble.

Regrettably, there were no signs of Tsunade or Shizune's arrival at Street, and the Wood Clone detected no Kage-level Chakra fluctuations. Tsunade had yet to arrive, let alone Orochimaru.

Consequently, while awaiting the arrival of the Sannin, Sato planned to continue reviewing the results he had obtained over the past few days. These findings pertained to memory movies.

During this time, Sato had delved into the memories of Hayate Gekkō, the Hyuga clan elders, the Yamanaka clan, the Nara clan, and even Yamato. However, he had yet to fully digest the memories of Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Mito, and the Senju family.

While Kushina and Mito's memories contained snippets of Adamantine Sealing Chains and Kagura Mind Eye, along with various sealing techniques, those techniques did not encompass the entirety of the Uzumaki clan's repertoire.

Mito and Kushina, being the wives of the First and Fourth Hokage respectively, held the complete knowledge of the Uzumaki family's sealing techniques. However, having passed away many years ago, only fragments of those sealing techniques remained within their memories. It was up to Sato to learn the sealing techniques on his own.

To obtain the complete set of Uzumaki clan sealing techniques and utilize them without training, Sato would need to resurrect them using the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu.

Thus, Sato found waiting to be quite tedious for the first time. He eagerly awaited Orochimaru's arrival, thinking to himself, "Orochimaru, oh Orochimaru, hurry up!"