Chapter 93

Forest of Death,

Kazuki of the Gekko Clan had never truly left this place. What followed Orochimaru away was merely one of his shadow clones. Even though Kazuki's strength had reached the shadow level, he was never so arrogant when facing an opponent of the same caliber.

Following Orochimaru out to fight? Kazuki was not that foolish. His real motive for engaging Orochimaru was to test his strength. Despite having possessed shadow-level strength for quite some time, Kazuki was still uncertain about the true extent of his combat abilities.

With Orochimaru conveniently here, Kazuki saw an opportunity to spar. If his goal was truly to kill Orochimaru, he could have simply activated his Sharingan. Though his Sharingan only had two tomoe, its power was no less than that of the Mangekyō Sharingan. His genjutsu abilities were formidable, even without the Mangekyō.

Moreover, Orochimaru's soul, weakened by the effects of the Living Corpse Reincarnation, was particularly vulnerable to genjutsu. A well-timed attack with his Sharingan could give Kazuki an 80% chance of killing Orochimaru in mere seconds!

"The shadow clone retains one-tenth of my chakra and strength. If Orochimaru doesn't summon Manda or use the Impure World Reincarnation technique, my clone's strength should be slightly above his. But if he does, the clone will stand no chance," Kazuki analyzed.

"If I attack by surprise, using the restraining effect of the Sharingan, my winning rate against Orochimaru is 90%. In a direct confrontation, knowing I possess the Sharingan, the winning rate is 70-80%. In an all-out battle where Orochimaru uses his Impure World Reincarnation and Manda, and I refrain from using the Sharingan, my chances drop to around 60-70%."

Through this battle between his shadow clone and Orochimaru, Kazuki concluded that his overall combat power surpassed Orochimaru's in terms of speed and strength. However, Orochimaru's cunning and underhanded methods gave him a slim chance of victory if Kazuki were careless.

Suddenly, a scream broke his thoughts. Kazuki was about to leave the Forest of Death to find Sasuke and the others when he heard a girl's cry nearby.

"This voice…" Kazuki thought, recognizing it. It was both familiar and unfamiliar, likely one of the candidates who had entered the Forest of Death recently.

"A trap? Or…" Kazuki muttered. He rarely involved himself in other people's affairs, but he still needed to collect the Scroll of Heaven and Earth to pass the exam. Running into other candidates was an opportunity he couldn't miss. He even hoped it was a trap because that would mean the other party possessed a scroll.

After passing through several sections of the forest, Kazuki found a red-haired girl trembling on a tree. Below, a massive blind bear was relentlessly hitting the trunk, causing the girl to scream each time.

"Karin?" Kazuki thought, surprised. In the original story, Sasuke was the one who saved her. But with his presence here, Sasuke had deviated from his path, and now there was no one else to rescue her.

Kazuki used his perception ninjutsu to check his surroundings. Sensing no ambush, he stepped forward with a disappointed expression. It was not a trap. Approaching to the bear, he kicked it unconscious.

"This will make for some extra food," Kazuki mused as he slung the bear over his back, then glanced up at Karin.

Karin looked at Kazuki, her cheeks flushing. After a few moments of silence, Kazuki finally spoke, "Do you have a scroll with you?"

Karin hesitated before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I don't. I got separated from my team." Though Karin didn't have a scroll, her gratitude towards Kazuki was genuine—she would have handed it over if she did.

"Separated from your teammates, huh? Can you take me to them?"

Karin was torn. She disliked her teammates but didn't want to betray them. However, Kazuki had saved her, and his strength and kindness made her heart race.

Kazuki saw her hesitation and offered, "Karin, right? I know your situation in Kusagakure isn't good. Why not come with me instead?"

Karin, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, possessed healing abilities, sealing techniques, and exceptional sensory skills. She was a valuable asset. Having her by his side would give Kazuki a reliable healer and a companion with formidable support skills.

Karin was taken aback by his direct invitation and was even more surprised that Kazuki knew about her troubles.

"Has he been paying attention to me?" she thought, overwhelmed by emotion. Despite only having met him a few times, she felt she could trust him completely.

"Okay, I will!" she agreed eagerly, climbing down from the tree awkwardly, her inexperience in basic ninjutsu painfully evident. Kazuki couldn't help but feel sorry for her situation in Kusagakure, where her talents were wasted.

Kazuki knew that, unlike Kusagakure's flawed approach, he would nurture Karin's potential. And with that, the bond between Kazuki and Uzumaki Karin began—a partnership that would shape their futures.

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+74 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg

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