Sasuke gave Naruto a sidelong glance and snorted. "Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea."

Hands tucked into his pockets, he muttered with a faint smirk, "After all, you're not that guy. Your strength is limited. If it were him, I wouldn't be worried at all."

"Shi–yi?!" Naruto's gratitude evaporated in an instant, smoke practically puffing from his nose in anger. "What do you mean, limited strength?!"

He shook his fist furiously. "Damn it! Sasuke, you idiot, I really do hate you!"

The sight of Naruto's whiplash mood shift thankful one second, furious the next made Sakura burst into laughter.

Karin, watching from the side, felt a pang of envy as she saw the three bicker like siblings. She sighed softly. "You three… you really have such a good relationship."

"Huh?!" Naruto and Sasuke froze, then snapped back in perfect unison:

"Who has a good relationship with him?!"

Their words overlapped, and the two immediately turned away from each other with matching scowls.

On the far side of the Forest of Death

The ground was littered with snapped branches and charred scars. The air reeked of blood, lightning, and smoke.

Kakashi leaned against the trunk of a thick tree, half-kneeling, his left eye squeezed shut. Sweat poured down his face, his breath ragged.

His skin was pale, his chakra drained nearly dry.

Not far ahead lay a pale sheet of human skin.

It was dry, shriveled, like a snake's discarded molt, spread limply among the dead leaves. A blackened hole gaped in the chest.

Kakashi's chest rose and fell heavily. He stared at the grisly skin, frustration tightening his jaw.

Moments ago, he had driven his Raikiri clean through Orochimaru's chest.

But Orochimaru's mouth had split wide open, and another intact body had slithered forth from within.

In the next breath, his entire form dissolved into countless writhing snakes, scattering through the underbrush in a rustling tide before vanishing into the shadows of the forest.

"Damn it!"

Anko's furious shout rang out nearby. She hacked at the slithering serpents with her kunai, each strike splitting a wriggling fragment in two.

Root ANBU operatives rushed among the trees, trying to cut off the retreat.

But the snakes slipped away, disappearing into the deep thickets.

Kakashi forced himself upright, though his chest felt tight. He knew chasing further was pointless.

He watched the last shadows of the snakes vanish into the gloom and let out a bitter sigh. "…He escaped again."

The realization weighed heavily on him. Against an enemy like Orochimaru, his chakra reserves were far too shallow.

Even with the power of the Sharingan, his body could not sustain it. If not for Anko and the ANBU at his side, Orochimaru would never have retreated. Kakashi might have been the one lying dead on this battlefield.

Soon, the ANBU regrouped with Anko, who slammed her fist against a tree in frustration.

Thud!

A shower of yellow leaves fluttered down around her. Her shoulders trembled, teeth clenched. "Damn it! He actually slipped away again!"

Kakashi braced a hand on his knee, steadying his breath. His voice was grim. "Did we underestimate him? Or were we simply unprepared?"

He lifted his gaze to the others. "Those human skins found earlier in the exam hall most likely Orochimaru's work. He shed them, then disguised himself as a Genin to slip into the Forest of Death."

"What?!" Anko's eyes widened. She had thought the ANBU's sudden appearance during the exam was because Konoha's intelligence division had uncovered Orochimaru's infiltration in advance. "Then you weren't here to hunt him down?"

Kakashi gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Of course not. Our orders were only to monitor Yakushi Kabuto's team."

"Yakushi Kabuto?" Anko was taken aback.

One of the masked ANBU explained flatly, "Monitoring a group of examinees is simple for us. But none of us expected "

He exchanged glances with his comrades, their voices low with bitter resignation. " that you would sense Orochimaru's presence and bring us directly into his path."

The irony stung. For ANBU, tailing Genin was trivial. Facing Orochimaru was impossible.

Kakashi's eye darkened. "…And all this, during the Chūnin Exams."

He exhaled heavily, voice edged with anger. "The candidates are barely twelve or thirteen. Fresh Genin from villages across the world. And yet Orochimaru a man with a decade-long reputation in the shinobi world stooped to sneaking into the exams, disguised as one of them, to prey on children…"

His words trailed into a growl.

"It's shameless."

Kakashi's brows furrowed. "For Orochimaru to risk sneaking into the exam… he must have his eyes on one of the candidates."

Anko's eyes widened. "What? They're just Genin! Who could he possibly want?"

Kakashi's single eye glimmered with unease. "Among this batch, there are two Jinchūriki."

His voice dropped to a grave murmur. "If Orochimaru provokes them and either loses control, Konoha won't withstand the rampage of two tailed beasts."

"Hey, let me introduce myself!" Naruto grinned, scratching his head. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Karin's small body jolted. Her eyes widened in shock. "Y-Your surname… what did you say?"

"Uzumaki," Naruto repeated with a sunny smile.

"Uzumaki ?!" Karin echoed blankly, her heart pounding.

Sakura's eyes lit up. She hurried closer, exclaiming, "So you're Uzumaki too, right? You're the same clan!"

Karin blinked, dazed. "But… but his hair "

She pointed in confusion at Naruto's golden spikes. The Uzumaki clan was known for their red hair, yet this boy claimed to be one of them?

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Heh, my hair's the same as my dad's it turned out blond. But my mom's hair was just like yours. A beautiful red."

"B-Beautiful…?" Karin repeated softly, stunned.

It was the first time anyone had ever called her hair beautiful. Her cheeks grew warm.

But Naruto's gaze suddenly sharpened. His smile froze as he noticed the scars along her wrist.

"What's wrong with your left hand?" he asked, frowning. Without waiting, he gently lifted her sleeve. "Your right one too…"

Karin flinched, but it was too late.

Naruto inhaled sharply.

Her thin arms were covered in bite marks deep, shallow, old, new layered over one another until there was hardly an inch of unscarred skin.

Sakura gasped, covering her mouth. "W-What happened?!" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel[f]ire.net

Sasuke's brows drew tight, anger flashing in his eyes. "Who did this?"

Karin pulled her arms back and lowered her head. She forced a trembling smile that looked more like a sob. "…These are old wounds."

She steadied herself, then spoke in a low voice.

"A few years ago, the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed. Most of my clan was wiped out that night. My mother and I were lucky to escape and ended up in Kusagakure."

Her voice faltered. "The Grass Village didn't take us in out of kindness. They only wanted the Uzumaki clan's ability."

Slowly, she raised her arms, showing the scars. "A single bite from us can heal wounds. That's why they kept us."

Naruto's fists clenched. "That's… that's disgusting!"

Karin gave a bitter smile. "Small villages don't have the resources for medical-nin. To them, we were… tools. Something to be used until nothing's left."

Her voice cracked. "My mother died from it. Bitten over and over until her body gave out."

Silence fell.

A cold breeze stirred the trees, rustling leaves across the still forest floor.

Sakura's throat tightened. Growing up in peaceful Konoha, she couldn't imagine such cruelty.

Sasuke's eyes darkened with fury. "So those teammates of yours… they gave you the scroll and sent you wandering alone, just bait to lure other teams?"

Karin bit her lip and nodded. Tears trembled at the corners of her eyes.

Naruto's face twisted with rage. "No wonder those two bastards just sat there watching while that bear almost killed you!"

The anger in his chest exploded.

He stomped over to one of the Grass shinobi still groaning on the ground and drove his foot into the man's stomach.

"Ugh !" The ninja screamed, tumbling across the dirt before slamming against a tree and falling unconscious.

"These bastards!" Naruto shouted, his voice trembling with fury.

His chest heaved until finally he let out a long breath.

Then he turned back to Karin. His blue eyes shone with fierce determination as he reached out his hand.

"Karin… from now on, I'll never let you go back to that kind of hell again. I promise you."

Karin's breath caught. She lifted her head.

In Naruto's gaze, she saw no pity only strength and unwavering resolve.

Her vision blurred as tears welled.

And in that moment, the boy before her looked like a beacon of light breaking through the darkness.

....

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