"Hehehe…"
Orochimaru let out a pleased chuckle. This was exactly the reaction he wanted.
"You see… you're still lost."
"You don't know how to achieve your goal more efficiently—more thoroughly."
"And that is precisely why fate arranged for you to meet me."
"It was destined that I would come here today… to guide you."
Once again, Orochimaru extended his pale, slender hand toward Karin. His face carried a deceptively gentle smile.
"Come with me. There, you'll meet like-minded companions. Together, we'll accomplish your grand ambition of 'cleansing the world.'"
Karin stared at the outstretched hand, then looked up at Orochimaru's seemingly sincere expression. For the first time, hesitation appeared clearly on her face.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke in a tone that blended warning with childlike innocence.
"…If you lie to me, I'll kill you."
To Orochimaru, the childish threat carried no intimidation at all. If anything, it made her seem even more amusing.
"You won't," he said, his voice imbued with a strange certainty—as though stating an undeniable fact.
For reasons she couldn't explain, Karin instinctively nodded.
"Oh… okay then."
She placed her small hand into his cold one.
"I'll go with you."
"Kukuku… welcome aboard."
Orochimaru smiled in satisfaction and clasped her hand.
Outside the projection in the sky, the shinobi world watched with complicated emotions.
Seeing Orochimaru use a few mystical-sounding words about "fate" to spirit away the infamous "Demon Child" Karin, Jiraiya stood in the Hokage's office with his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
"So… Karin was just… talked into going with Orochimaru like that?!"
His worldview felt shaken. This was stranger than any of his novels.
Tsunade rubbed her temple, her expression a mix of exasperation and understanding.
"Orochimaru has always said strange, cryptic things no one fully understands."
"The disturbing part is… people still fall for it. Some even follow him to the death."
Her thoughts drifted to her former teammate—the genius who had strayed from the right path.
Jiraiya let out a soft laugh, though his tone was complicated.
"Maybe that's just… his unique kind of 'charisma.'"
A dangerous, twisted kind of charisma.
Tsunade neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, her expression turned serious as she issued orders.
"Immediately analyze the terrain shown in the projection and determine the approximate location."
"Jiraiya, you'll lead the team personally. Take Kakashi, Asuma, and the others. Depart at once."
"According to the timeline shown, Karin should be nearing that area. We must find her before Orochimaru—or anyone else—does and bring her back."
Jiraiya nodded grimly, but then hesitated.
"What if… she refuses to return with us? In her current 'Demon Child' state, forcing her might be…"
A mysterious smile curved on Tsunade's lips.
"You only need to tell her two things."
"First—her future teammate from the projection, Uchiha Sasuke, is in Konohagakure."
"Second—Uzumaki Naruto is also an Uzumaki, a survivor of her clan."
Jiraiya's expression changed sharply.
Using Sasuke and Naruto to draw Karin in?
He opened his mouth to object, but seeing Tsunade's firm gaze—and thinking of the Uzumaki Clan's ties to Konoha, as well as the unpredictable variable Karin represented—he ultimately nodded.
"I understand… Let's hope your plan works."
Konoha was not the only one moving.
At nearly the same time, the other Four Great Shinobi Villages—and certain hidden organizations and ambitious individuals coveting either the "Demon Child's" power or the Uzumaki bloodline—began mobilizing as well.
All available resources were directed toward analyzing and locating the meeting point shown in the projection.
Yet the two people at the center of the storm made a decision no one expected.
In a forest somewhere, Orochimaru looked up at the projection, where he had been labeled a "human trafficker."
"Human trafficker?" he muttered, his expression peculiar.
"Hmph. Hardly. I merely guide lost lambs toward a broader world."
Though he was determined to obtain Karin, he also understood the danger of having his movements exposed.
He glanced toward his original destination, curled his lip, and decisively turned in a completely different direction.
"Since the location has been exposed, it will soon become a battlefield. Let the fools fight over it."
His golden snake-like eyes gleamed with calculation.
"As for Karin and me… if there truly is such a thing as destiny, then no matter which path I take, those meant to meet will inevitably meet."
"This will also be a good test… to see whether fate is truly so fascinating."
Elsewhere, Karin frowned as she watched herself being easily persuaded in the projection.
"Human trafficker… liar…"
She muttered softly. Although her future self seemed to fare decently, she instinctively disliked the feeling of being manipulated—of being arranged by someone else.
Not even by a projection from the sky.
After some thought, she stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes, deciding to change her route as well.
"Hmph. I'm not running into that creepy human trafficker."
Muttering to herself, she chose a path completely different from her original plan and vanished into the forest.
Within the projection, the journey after Orochimaru took Karin continued.
It seemed Orochimaru had initially interpreted Karin's idea of "cleansing the world" as simply eliminating unsavory trash.
He led her to a notorious bandit hideout.
"Go on. Practice your 'cleansing.'"
Orochimaru watched with interest from the sidelines.
Karin hesitated not at all. Like a tiger descending into a flock of sheep, she charged into the bandits.
She used no ninjutsu.
With nothing but her small fists, every punch she threw was accompanied by the sickening crack of breaking bones—and the death of another bandit.
Her efficiency was astonishing.
When the battle—rather, the slaughter—ended, Orochimaru stepped forward. His golden eyes carefully examined her slender arms and tiny fists, curiosity flickering in his gaze.
"Your body… truly is quite extraordinary."
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