Chương 100

More than a month had passed since Jugo had been brought into this strange new world, yet every single morning still felt surreal. Gone were the endless forests, hidden villages, and the constant smell of blood that had followed him throughout his life. Instead, towering glass buildings stretched toward the clouds while countless metal carriages roared across smooth black roads without a single horse pulling them.

People walked past carrying colorful bags, talking into small devices, and paying no attention whatsoever to the unusually tall red-haired man quietly following behind a young girl with black hair, but if one looked very closely, one would notice that it was the wig which hid her crimson hair perfectly. In normal times, the girl wouldn't even come out alone as she was quite young for that, but since Jugo was quite tall and one couldn't guess his age easily, he didn't need to use any wig of any sort.

Normally, red hair was fine as many people here had red hair, but her kind of hair was way too red to be considered normal for a person of her age.

"You're staring again." Karin sighed without even turning around, as she was the girl with the wig, which was to be expected by now.

"... I'm still trying to understand this world."

"I noticed." Jugo looked around the massive shopping complex with genuine curiosity. Bright lights hung from every ceiling while enormous transparent windows displayed clothes, electronics, and things he couldn't even begin to identify. Hundreds of civilians moved from one shop to another without fear, laughing, eating, and arguing over trivial matters. He was brought up in a village where there would be attacks randomly or people scheming with each other, but here there were none.

There were proper laws and regulations, and though this world wasn't perfect, for a person like him, this was the best one could hope for. Jugo remained silent and observed everything with more curiosity. This wasn't his first time around, but he still found the world fascinating. More than a month ago, he was forcefully sent here, and at first he thought he was in some kind of genjutsu, but a man named Daniel seemed to be around the modern house he was thrown into.

There, he was explained where he was, and by this point Daniel had become the "orientation man," as he was almost always the one to receive a new person being thrown into this world. But Jugo wasn't convinced, and thankfully Karin was around and she explained it to him in more detail and how this was a different place. Now, Karin and Jugo were roommates. Daniel wanted Jugo to attend school just like Karin, but he refused and instead tended to the horses and the animals around.

Daniel for the first time saw a natural animal tamer, or the correct term here would be a natural friend of nature, as Jugo was able to converse with the animals like they were some kind of intelligent beings. Daniel then decided to just let him be around and register this guy for homeschooling.

By now Allied Universal was handling the adoption process, and since the Harris family had been a great example in the community and of how well they brought up the children, the agencies and social services didn't find any problem with this family adopting new children who were guardian-less in the wild. They were like that famous Hollywood couple who adopted multiple children. Meanwhile, Karin held up two shirts.

"Blue or black?"

"... They're both the same."

"They are absolutely not the same."

"They cover the body." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"... You're impossible." Jugo was confused. Didn't this girl come from the same kind of background as his? Why would she care about the color? Little did he know that Karin had been living here for quite some time now, and thus was losing all the inhibitions and fear. She was slowly turning into a bubbly girl who found joy and love in small things, just like any other girl of her age would.

"I thought that's what clothes were supposed to do." Several nearby customers quietly laughed while Karin buried her face in her hands.

"Please don't say things like that out loud..."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't." Despite her exasperation, a small smile eventually appeared on Karin's face. Compared to the constantly cautious boy she had first met more than a month ago, he had changed enormously. In fact, even she herself wasn't the same anymore. After Rei brought her here, everything had slowly begun changing.

She had enrolled in a nearby public school where, for the first time in her life, nobody cared about the Uzumaki blood flowing through her veins, not that they would even understand what her bloodline meant, nor were they able to see her hair color. She had made friends, complained about homework, discovered movies, video games, and fast food, and even started arguing with teachers at times like an ordinary teenager. Well, argument would be a long word; disagreement would be a better fit.

The biggest change, however, had been where she lived. Gone was the small temporary room she had first occupied after arriving. Instead, she now had her own room inside the enormous ranch house Rei had apparently purchased on the outskirts of New York quite some time ago. The property had gradually become less of a safe house for her and more of a home.

There were enough rooms for everyone, a massive backyard to train in, and enough privacy that nobody questioned the occasional strange noises caused by people practicing abilities that belonged nowhere near Earth.

"You've adapted surprisingly well." Jugo observed as they left the clothing store carrying several bags. Karin shrugged.

"I didn't really have much keeping me back there."

"You miss your best friend, Kimimaro?" Karin suddenly asked. She had heard his story when she had asked.

"Sometimes, but after coming here I came to realize one thing. You can't help someone who doesn't want your help. Even if Rei allows me to go back, I don't think he will even want my help." Karin was a bit surprised by the words. For a young boy of his age, he spouted some profound nonsense for sure.

"BTW, you still owe me lunch."

"I do?"

"You agreed yesterday."

"I don't remember agreeing."

"You nodded."

"I was eating."

"That still counts." Jugo was just about to answer when a loud series of barks erupted near the entrance of the shopping complex. A medium-sized golden retriever had somehow slipped free from its owner's leash and came charging across the pavement toward a much smaller white terrier that immediately froze in fear. The elderly woman holding the smaller dog's leash panicked and instinctively pulled backward.

"Buddy! Come back!" the retriever's owner shouted while trying to catch up. Several pedestrians stepped aside while others watched with concern, expecting the larger dog to bowl the smaller one over. Jugo's feet moved before he even realized it. He didn't run or make any dramatic gesture. He simply stepped between the two animals and lowered himself into a crouch, extending one open hand toward the charging retriever.

"Easy..." His voice remained calm and steady, and the retriever slowed down almost instantly. Its frantic barking became uncertain whines as it reached Jugo. Instead of lunging forward, the dog circled him once, sniffed his outstretched hand, and then sat down with its tail wagging hesitantly, all traces of aggression disappearing as though they had never existed.

"There now... you were only excited." The golden retriever let out a contented huff before lying down beside him. By the time the owner caught up, he was left blinking in confusion.

"... I-I'm so sorry! He never listens when he gets excited." The young man quickly clipped the leash back on before looking at Jugo with surprise.

"Wow... you're really good with dogs."

"They understand more than people think." The elderly woman smiled warmly while picking up her trembling terrier.

"Thank you, young man. You saved my little Daisy from quite a scare."

"It wasn't anything." To everyone around, it looked like nothing more than an unusually calm man with a natural talent for handling animals. Only Karin knew that he had just used senjutsu, and though unlike normal chakra it was very potent, she didn't dare to even think about learning it. From what she could tell, it came with horrible side effects, and it was only controlled because Rei's contract had forced him to behave like a normal person. In the end, she chose not to comment.

"Come on," she said, pointing toward the black SUV waiting outside.

"Our chauffeur's probably wondering what took us so long." Karin said as she looked at Jugo, who was now being asked by both of the owners of the dogs to take pictures together as they found his intervention heroic and wanted to post it in a social media community about his heroic work. As they were going to the SUV, their minds suddenly jolted as they received a command to gather at home.