Karin planted her hands on her hips and glared at Kabuto.
"You're not allowed to touch those two. Not for now."
"Why?!" Kabuto protested immediately. "They're in the best possible state for research! I need to examine the changes in their bodies!"
"Because—"
Karin pointed at Naruto and Sasuke, calculation and excitement gleaming in her crimson eyes.
"They're Indra and Asura's vessels. That 'Sigh Monster' went through all that trouble to save them. That means it definitely cares about them."
She licked her lips, like someone setting an amusing trap.
"I'm going to use them as bait. Let's see if we can lure out that coward who only dared to 'sigh' and hide."
"If we can catch that one too, wouldn't that be way more interesting than studying these two 'empty shells'?"
Kabuto's face darkened completely.
For the first time, he felt acutely aware that he was nothing more than a tool in Karin's eyes—either an "interesting partner" or an "obstacle."
Right now, he had clearly been categorized as the latter.
"So I did all that for nothing?" Kabuto asked, displeased.
"Not at all!"
Karin grinned mysteriously and reached into her clothes.
When she pulled her hands out again, two spheres of energy floated above her palms.
Kabuto's eyes widened in shock.
"Those are—?!"
"Kehehehe…"
Karin gave a wicked chuckle.
"I picked these up from Indra and Asura just now. Want some? I can spare you a little. Don't worry—it's their most fundamental power."
Kabuto trembled with excitement and nodded frantically.
The research value of that was immeasurable!
Karin casually peeled off two thin strands from each sphere and tossed them over.
The sheer casualness of it nearly brought tears to Kabuto's eyes.
"You still have so much left—what are you saving it for?" he asked, quickly sealing the fragments into a scroll.
Karin ignored him and continued to grin.
"Kehehe…"
"Say, what do you think would happen if I injected Indra's power into Naruto… and Asura's power into Sasuke?"
Kabuto froze.
He stared at her in horror.
Was that even something a sane person would suggest?
But Karin was already getting more excited the longer she talked.
"What if Naruto—the little sun—turns cold?"
"What if Sasuke—the little ice cube—becomes warm and bright?"
The more she thought about it, the more fun it sounded.
So she did it.
Without hesitation.
The two energy spheres shot forward and sank into Naruto and Sasuke's bodies.
"You really aren't afraid of something going wrong!" Kabuto exclaimed.
Though he claimed he wasn't suicidal, he still leaned forward eagerly to observe.
Across the shinobi world, a chill ran up countless spines.
"Inject Asura's warm energy into Sasuke? Indra's cold Yin power into Naruto?"
"That Karin… no wonder they call her a 'demon child'! Her brain doesn't work like a normal person's!"
"What is she trying to do? An experiment? Stir chaos?"
At first, people were simply shocked by the absurdity.
But soon—
Some began connecting the dots.
"Wait… I get it!"
"No wonder in the earlier vision, Naruto eventually became so extreme—shouting about destroying the world!"
"Besides his tragic experiences, he must have been influenced by Indra's cold will!"
"A boy who already endured darkness… then injected with ancient Yin power? Of course he'd spiral!"
"And Sasuke…"
"He stayed cold on the surface, sure—but he still stood up to protect Konoha in the end."
"That makes sense now!"
"If Asura's warm, compassionate energy was forced into him, even in fragments, long-term influence would be inevitable."
"Maybe that tiny imbalance was the key that shifted the scale of fate!"
This speculation spread like wildfire.
Naruto's potential descent into destruction.
Sasuke's possible redemption.
All traced back to Karin's reckless "experiment."
The shinobi world felt increasingly unsettled.
It was as if the fate of the world was being casually nudged by an unpredictable madwoman.
At the Ninja Academy—
Naruto scratched his head.
Watching Indra's power being shoved into his future self, he didn't feel particularly disturbed.
He was simple-hearted.
If anything, he just looked confused.
Sasuke, however, looked absolutely livid.
Watching Asura's power being forcibly injected into his body—even a fragment—filled him with visceral disgust.
"That damned demon child…" he muttered through clenched teeth.
He felt… contaminated.
In a hidden location—
Itachi Uchiha sighed deeply, his Mangekyō Sharingan reflecting exhaustion and calculation.
"If Shisui's Kotoamatsukami alone may not permanently alter Sasuke's will… especially if he awakens the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…"
He spoke softly, reassessing his plans.
"But if Asura's energy exerts a long-term, internal influence…"
A complex light flickered in his eyes.
"With dual influence… the probability of Sasuke walking the path I prepared—becoming Konoha's protector—may increase."
Outside a secret base—
Orochimaru's golden snake-like eyes gleamed with undisguised admiration.
"What a… brilliant concept."
He licked his lips instinctively.
"To forcibly invert the balance between the reincarnations of Indra and Asura…"
"How very… creative."
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