66. Karin

After walking for a while, Naruto raises his hand.

"We've been discovered," he says.

It's not surprising, given how openly they've been moving. Both Sakura and Sasuke silently grumble to themselves.

Sure enough, two large men jump out of the bushes the next moment.

One of them unsheathes the long knife on his back, eyeing the three young ninjas. "Oh? Looks like we've run into one of Konoha's rookie teams. We're in luck."

The other smirks, just as confident. "If you know what's good for you, hand over your scrolls now. Otherwise, don't blame us for what happens next."

Sasuke turns to Naruto. "One each?"

"Sure," Naruto replies casually. "I'm not in the mood for a fight, but since you're being so polite, I guess I'll oblige."

The man with the knife can't hold back any longer. "How arrogant! You two brats!"

The other one chimes in. "You won't even know what hit you!"

Naruto wants to laugh but holds it back. For a fight, it's better to be serious.

Sasuke throws a kunai, and Naruto follows suit.

The two grass ninjas dodge and are about to sneer, "Newbies will be newbies. Is this all they've got..."

But before they can finish, lightning crackles around Sasuke's body, and his left hand has already pierced one of the men's chests.

Naruto vanishes in an instant, reappearing at the spot where he threw his kunai, and slams a Rasengan into the other man's skull.

In truth, defeating these two doesn't require much effort, but both Naruto and Sasuke want to test out their new techniques.

For Sasuke, it's the first time his Chidori strikes a person And for Naruto, it's the first time he uses the Flying Thunder God Jutsu in combat.

Besides, these two Kusa-nin aren't good people. Their intentions were lethal, so there's no guilt in taking them down.

The two Kusa-nin collapse and Sasuke coolly shakes the blood off his hand.

Naruto pulls out a canteen from his scroll and tosses it to Sasuke to wash his hands. Reflecting on his actions, Naruto thinks the move looked pretty cool.

"Sakura, check their bodies. I'll scout ahead to see if there's anything left," Naruto says.

Sasuke follows without a word. These two weaklings were the ones Naruto sensed earlier. He's curious to see how strong the third one might be.

Sakura quickly searches the bodies of the two Kusa-nin. It's not that Naruto doesn't care about her, but as a ninja, she wouldn't be squeamish about corpses. Moreover, Sakura is studying medicine, so examining bodies is no big deal for her.

Naruto and Sasuke soon find the third person's hiding spot.

It's a young girl with red hair and red eyes, wearing glasses and a Kusa-nin forehead protector. She's about the same height as Sakura and is leaning against a tree, looking at them in fear.

Sasuke frowns. "Are you sure she's the stronger one?"

Sakura, who found nothing on the two Kusa-nin, looks at Naruto, puzzled.

"In terms of chakra, yes," Naruto explains casually. "But it seems she hasn't learned much ninjutsu, or even had much training."

The blonde one is handsome, and the black-haired one behind him is even more handsome, the girl thinks.

Sakura, noticing the way the girl is looking at Sasuke, quickly steps in front of him, eyeing her warily.

Karin snaps back to reality, realizing now isn't the time to be distracted. She holds out the Earth scroll with trembling hands. "This is our scroll. Please, don't kill me!"

Sasuke and Sakura both look at Naruto.

"She... might have relatives from my clan," Naruto says as he takes the scroll. "Do you know the Uzumaki Clan?"

Karin is taken aback. Do I have relatives among Konoha's ninjas? But this handsome guy seems approachable. "No... I don't know."

"I see..." Naruto muses. It's not surprising. After the fall of Uzushiogakure, the surviving members of the Uzumaki clan likely went into hiding.

At the time, they probably didn't dare tell their children about their lineage, fearing it would bring disaster.

Thinking of this, Naruto says, "Come with us. With your teammates gone, you probably don't plan on continuing the exam, right?"

"Ah, yes," Karin replies. She had been sent to take the exam by a bald man from Kusagakure, tasked with healing her teammates by letting them bite her.

Now that they're dead, there's no point in staying. She could be attacked by wild beasts at any moment.

It's better to go with this kind of ninja; if she has relatives in Konoha, it would be better to take refuge there than continue being used by those in Kusagakure.

Naruto contacts Kushina via a communication link and asks her to meet them at the Hokage's office.

Leaving with someone from another village requires approval from the Hokage.

So, Naruto creates a shadow clone.

As soon as the clone appears, it sticks a small disk labelled "001" on its chest, seemingly out of nowhere.

Naruto resists the urge to punch him and pats the clone's shoulder. "Come on, this is serious. Can you act more responsibly?"

"Don't worry, I got this," the clone, labelled No. 001, says confidently before placing his hand on Karin's shoulder and vanishing.

"I trust you as far as I can throw you," Naruto mutters under his breath.

Ignoring the clone, Naruto shakes the two scrolls at his teammates. "Let's go. Time to head to the central tower."

The tower is only five kilometres away. It won't take long if they move quickly, though they might encounter other candidates or dangerous creatures on the way.

Better to reach the tower early and avoid unnecessary trouble.

...

The other clone arrives at the Hokage's office with Karin in tow.

"Hey, Pervy Sage, what are you doing here?"

The office is occupied by only two people: Jiraiya and Minato, who seem to be in the middle of a discussion.

"Naruto? Shouldn't you be taking the second test? How did you get here?" Minato asks, eyeing Karin, who hasn't yet reacted to her surroundings. "And who's this?"

"Did you meet a pretty girl during the exam and couldn't wait to introduce her to your parents?" Jiraiya quips, noticing Karin's red hair. "Oh, as expected of father and son—similar taste!"

"I'm just a shadow clone," No. 001 explains. "The real me is still taking the exam. This girl here... well, she might have ties to the Uzumaki clan. I figured we should let my mom confirm it."

The door to the office bursts open, and Kushina storms in. "Where is she?"

No. 001 guides the timid Karin toward Kushina. "Mom, is this my long-lost sister?"

Minato: ??

Karin: ??

Jiraiya: !!!

****

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