When Naruto found Karin, one of her teammates was biting her arm to heal his wounds, the result of a recent attack from another team.
Karin closed her eyes and bit her lip. It hurt. That was obvious.
Naruto frowned at the scene. In the group chat, Kushina and Mito didn't take long to react with fury.
[Kushina Uzumaki: THOSE BASTARDS! HOW DARE THEY?! NARUTO, BEAT THEM UP FOR ME!]
[Mito Uzumaki: Beat them up, you say...? Naruto, kill them and I'll personally teach you everything I know about Fūinjutsu!]
[Kushina Uzumaki: YES, THAT! KILL THEM! How dare they treat her like a tool?!]
[Mito Uzumaki: Those wretches…]
Naruto shared Kushina and Mito's anger. But his rage wasn't only directed at Karin's teammates.
He was even more furious with the Jōnin who had accompanied them to Konoha.
He eagerly awaited the end of the second test, just so he could pay him a visit. He didn't care that Zōsui was a high-ranking ninja in Kusagakure.
He would die by his hands.
Naruto gripped his three-pronged kunai tightly. Zōsui was responsible for the death of Karin's mother and her current situation.
He had repeatedly forced her mother to use her ability to heal Kusagakure ninjas, always against her will.
She agreed only because it was the only way to survive and raise her daughter in Kusagakure—the last safe place left to them since the fall of Uzushiogakure.
In time, her body couldn't take it anymore, and she died. And Zōsui, without hesitation, dragged a still-young Karin into doing the same.
Even now, the higher-ups in Kusagakure had sent her to the Chūnin Exams not because they thought she was ready to rank up, but to serve as support for her team. Nothing more than a tool.
That's why Naruto decided he would never show mercy to any ninja from Kusagakure.
They had already dug their own grave. And it was deep...
"Stay here. If you follow us, you'll only be a burden," one of her teammates said.
They were still under attack, but they didn't plan to protect her. They told her to hide and pray for her luck.
"Take this and hide," the other said, throwing her the Heaven Scroll.
Karin bowed her head and nodded before running in the opposite direction, hiding in the bushes.
Naruto had seen enough.
Without making a sound, he appeared behind one of Karin's teammates and plunged his tantō into the back of his neck.
The blade pierced his throat. The ninja fell to the ground, choking on his own blood.
Naruto left him there. He didn't bother to finish him off.
Karin wouldn't be able to continue the exam due to the loss of one of her teammates, but that didn't matter anymore.
From now on, she would no longer be a ninja of Kusagakure.
Nor would she be of Konoha—unless she wanted to. Naruto doubted she would, but he would respect her decision.
"One down," he muttered, pulling his tantō from the still-dying body.
Karin's other teammate stared at him, paralyzed. He swallowed hard.
Naruto's eyes locked onto him, and a wave of overwhelming pressure burst from his body, forcing the other ninja to step back instinctively, as if his very survival instincts were screaming at him to run.
"W-what is t-this killing intent...?" he stammered, trembling in fear.
Naruto vanished from his sight and reappeared behind him. Just like with his teammate, his tantō pierced his throat.
"I'd love to make you suffer more, but you're lucky… I don't enjoy this."
With those words, he disappeared, heading toward Karin.
[Mito Uzumaki: Remind me to train you when you have some free time! You've earned it!]
Naruto, though pleased with the recognition, couldn't smile about it.
He was too angry.
All his hatred was directed at Kusagakure in that moment.
When he arrived, he found Karin frozen, backing away from a five-meter-tall bear lunging at her.
Karin tried to run but tripped. Her glasses flew off.
She closed her eyes, bracing for the fatal blow...
But it never came.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the arms of a handsome blonde boy. The ninja headband tied around his left arm showed he was a ninja from Konohagakure.
Naruto placed her glasses in her hand just as they landed on the branch of a tall tree, far away from the bear.
He had no intention of hurting the creature. After all, they had been the ones to intrude into its territory. As he suspected, the bear calmed down and eventually walked away once it saw them leave.
Naruto turned his gaze to Karin. She had already put her glasses back on. She stared at him intently, her shoulders tense, her face as red as her hair.
Naruto smiled, easing his frown a little.
"You're Karin Uzumaki, right?" he asked softly.
Karin nodded awkwardly, not taking her eyes off his face.
"I saw you during the first test," Naruto added.
Karin still didn't respond, still processing what had just happened. Her hands, tense, were clutching the Heaven Scroll.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," he said finally, calmly introducing himself.
Karin blinked, as if she had just snapped out of a trance.
"I-I'm Karin Uzumaki! Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed, louder than she meant to. Her voice trembled at the end, and the blush on her cheeks deepened.
Naruto couldn't help but let out a short, amused laugh. But then his expression changed.
He raised a hand and, without asking for permission, tore off her ninja headband and threw it far away, as if the idea of touching it disgusted him.
Karin didn't resist—she just looked at him, confused.
"W-why…?" she asked, not understanding.
"You don't need that anymore," Naruto said. "You're not going back to Kusagakure."
Karin lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together.
"I-I can't stay," she murmured, shaking her head. "Not if he's still alive…"
Naruto immediately understood who she meant.
He didn't miss the look on Karin's face; she was completely terrified.
Naruto clenched his teeth.
"You didn't hear me right. I said you're not going back," he repeated, more firmly. "I won't allow it."
Karin looked at him. Something in his voice made her feel safe.
"You don't have to keep being what they want. You don't have to endure their abuse ever again."
For the first time in a long while, Karin felt like someone was speaking for her. Like someone saw her as more than just a tool.
Naruto lowered his voice a bit, leaning in slightly toward her.
"Besides… I think you didn't catch it earlier. My name is Naruto UZUMAKI. We're family, Karin. Well, sort of."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"You're… from the Uzumaki Clan?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Naruto nodded.
The confusion and tension that had built up in her chest shattered in an instant. Karin threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder, as if her body could no longer bear the weight of everything she had been holding in for so long.
Naruto didn't know what to do at first. He felt her cling to him like the world would collapse if she let go. He awkwardly raised his hand and gave her a few soft pats on the head.
"There, there~ There, there~" he murmured with each pat, as if that could help. "It's over now~ You're safe."
He didn't know how to comfort her. He didn't know how to say pretty things. But he stayed with her.
And that was all Karin needed in that moment.