Orochimaru spoke in his hoarse voice, offering his assessment.
"That kind of strength… could it be some alternative form of monstrous strength?"
He clearly hadn't grasped the true nature of Karin's power. After all, the way she directly possessed terrifying raw physical strength was completely different from the chakra-enhanced strength used in Tsunade's and Sakura's chakra-enhanced attacks.
Karin shrugged indifferently.
"This is nothing."
She hadn't even used much force.
Orochimaru didn't press further. Any genin could handle ordinary bandits with ease.
What interested him more was something else.
"You speak of 'cleansing,'" Orochimaru said, gesturing toward the corpses on the ground. Though dead, they were mostly intact. His tone carried a subtle hint of instruction. "Cleansing doesn't necessarily have to be so… bloody."
Karin looked around at the bodies in confusion, then back at him.
"They're all in one piece. Their heads aren't smashed or anything. How is that bloody?"
In her mind, this was already quite "civilized."
Orochimaru: "…"
He decided to change his teaching approach.
Soon after, he brought Karin to "cleanse" another target.
Perhaps influenced by his words—or perhaps simply bored—Karin's methods became noticeably "gentler."
She began striking vital points with precision, or snapping necks with speed, aiming for instant kills with minimal bloodshed.
Orochimaru expressed "satisfaction."
He truly had a knack for raising children.
Eventually, Orochimaru brought Karin to one of his hidden bases.
With his silver tongue, under the pretense of "understanding your power better so you can cleanse the world more effectively," he persuaded her to cooperate. He collected several samples of her blood and eagerly threw himself into research.
Meanwhile, within the base, Karin encountered other children around her age.
Most of them had dull or feral eyes—clearly "subjects" or "materials" Orochimaru had gathered from various places.
Time flowed quietly as the projection continued to show Karin's days under Orochimaru.
She gradually shed some of her childishness, but the cold emptiness in her crimson eyes remained.
She continued her so-called "cleansing."
Sometimes she left the base to seek out what she deemed "filth"—bandits, rogue shinobi, or even entire villages that simply displeased her.
Other times, when experiments within the base spiraled out of control or riots broke out, she would step in and suppress them with overwhelming force.
Her strength was formidable. That abnormal raw power allowed her to tear enemies apart with ease.
Yet beyond that, nothing else stood out.
Orochimaru studied her blood repeatedly, attempting to uncover the secret behind her abilities—but found nothing.
It was disappointingly ordinary.
Over time, he lost interest in pursuing deeper research. He regarded her simply as a subordinate with unusual brute strength and an erratic personality—hardly reliable.
Like a younger, more uncontrollable version of Tsunade.
And so Karin continued her "ordinary," albeit blood-soaked, life.
Until one day—
A figure stepped into that sinister place.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Sasuke arrived with a chilling aura and walked straight toward Karin, who was alone at the time.
His first words were direct and commanding.
"I need you."
The certainty in his tone instantly stilled her.
Karin looked up in surprise at the black-haired, dark-eyed boy before her.
Sasuke didn't give her time to process it.
"Orochimaru is dead."
"I need your sensory abilities."
"Find someone for me."
Karin stared at Uchiha Sasuke. Something ignited in her once-cold crimson eyes.
Not anger. Not killing intent.
Something far more unhinged.
After a long moment, the corner of her lips slowly curled upward into a smile unlike her usual cruelty or indifference—a smile filled with eerie satisfaction and excitement.
"Sure…"
"I'll definitely help you… find him."
She didn't ask who he was searching for.
She didn't question Orochimaru's death.
She didn't even care about his commanding tone.
Sasuke showed no surprise at her response. He merely gave a faint nod of approval before turning and leaving decisively, as if he had simply delivered an order.
Karin remained where she was, watching his retreating back. Her smile deepened, and her red eyes shimmered with the dangerous, twisted gleam of someone who had found a new "toy"—or a new "purpose."
Watching the projection of his future self being killed by Sasuke—and Karin being recruited with a single line—Orochimaru's expression darkened.
Not because of her "betrayal."
But because the projection once again highlighted the humiliating fact that he had been slain by Sasuke.
Elsewhere in the shinobi world, people reacted with "Well, that figures."
The story had reached the pivotal moment: Orochimaru's "death," Sasuke breaking free of control, and the formation of his own team.
What left many speechless, however, was Karin's reaction.
"Isn't Karin a bit too easy to win over?" someone complained. "First Orochimaru lured her away with talk of 'destiny' and 'companions.' Now Sasuke just says 'I need you' and she's his?"
"The 'Demon Child' reputation just evaporated."
"Seriously—just promise her something and she follows?"
At the Ninja Academy, Sasuke couldn't hide a hint of pride as he watched his future self recruit Karin so effortlessly.
He had expected it to take far more effort.
That smug expression immediately irritated Naruto, who puffed out his cheeks and glared at him as if to say, Why does it work for you with just one sentence?
The girls around them, however, were starry-eyed.
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
"One line and he conquered the 'Demon Child'!"
"That's what a true elite shinobi looks like!"
Only Haruno Sakura felt a sharp sense of alarm.
Watching Karin stare at Sasuke's back and agree without hesitation, a wave of inexplicable crisis washed over her.
She glared at Karin in the projection, fists clenched tightly.
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