"The second round of the Chuunin Selection Exam... begins now!"
As the exam officially started, Anko Mitarashi's voice echoed through the broadcast system, reaching the ears of all proctors and participants.
The proctors, who had been stationed at the entrance, immediately took out their keys and unlocked the iron gates, addressing the examinees, "You may enter."
In an instant, the candidates who had passed the first exam either dashed in as afterimages, ran in with their fists clenched behind their backs in a ninja run, or walked in at a steady pace.
Team 8 was among the latter.
"Izayoi-kun, should we take the initiative?" Hinata asked.
"No rush. Let's find someone first," Izayoi replied.
Activating his Tenseigan, Izayoi's vision shifted into a god-like perspective, first encompassing the entire Death Forest, then switching to monitor each team like a surveillance system.
Soon, Karin and her two teammates' locations were revealed before Izayoi's eyes.
"Follow me," Izayoi said as he flickered away using the Body Flicker Technique.
Hinata and Aburame Shino quickly followed.
"Izayoi-kun, are you going to find that kunoichi from the Grass Village?" Hinata vaguely guessed Izayoi's intentions.
"Yes, such talent shouldn't be wasted," Izayoi nodded.
For this exam, Izayoi had made thorough preparations, even wearing colored contact lenses.
He intended to change the fates of two people, one of whom was Karin.
His trip to the Black Market had made him realize the inconvenience of being a lone wolf.
If he hadn't cleverly spared Momochi Zabuza and Haku's lives, Izayoi wouldn't even have a human puppet now.
Haku was a useful tool, but unfortunately, his loyalty lay solely with Zabuza.
As for Zabuza, Izayoi didn't trust him and thus wouldn't recruit such a rogue ninja.
But from that moment on, Izayoi began to consider recruiting subordinates.
Karin was one of his targets.
Despite her family's destruction, the early death of her parents, and the loss of her heritage, Karin had awakened all the unique abilities of the Uzumaki Clan by the age of sixteen.
Even within the Uzumaki Clan's thousand-year history, Karin's talent was among the top.
Even if she hadn't yet altered her destiny, Karin's talents far outshone many others.
[Whirlpool Bloodline (Purple)]
[Chakra Control (Purple)]
[Medical Genius (Blue)]
[Jonin Aptitude (Blue)]
[Otsutsuki Lineage (Blue)]
Just as there were differences between red talents, although both Karin and Uzumaki Naruto possessed purple bloodlines, the purity of Karin's red hair undoubtedly surpassed that of Naruto's blond hair, even though the latter contained ancestral Chakra.
Moreover, Izayoi was certain that five talents were not Karin's limit.
When he first learned Medical Ninja Techniques, he had unlocked the [Medical Genius (Blue)] talent.
The Uzumaki Clan naturally excelled in Sealing Techniques.
Once Karin began learning Sealing Techniques, she would undoubtedly unlock the [Sealing Genius (Blue)] talent, just as Izayoi had.
By then, Karin would be a genius with six talents.
Such a talent—how could Izayoi possibly let her fall into Orochimaru's hands?
Hinata and Aburame Shino, of course, had no idea what Izayoi was thinking.
However, Shino seemed to pick up on something and adjusted his sunglasses, cautioning, "Izayoi, are you planning to recruit ninja from another village? That's against the law."
"Shino, will you go and report this?" Izayoi asked with a smile.
Aburame Shino thought for a moment and replied, "If you don't keep her in the Leaf Village, I won't."
During this period of interaction, Aburame Shino had come to regard Izayoi and Hinata as his companions.
Unlike Uzumaki Naruto and the others, Izayoi never ignored him, which made Shino feel a strong sense of goodwill toward him.
In his heart, both Izayoi and Hinata were his friends.
He would never betray his friends! That is, as long as Izayoi didn't do anything to harm the village.
Detaining a foreign ninja in the Leaf Village was already a very serious diplomatic incident.
As the heir of the Aburame Clan, Shino couldn't turn a blind eye to this. "Don't worry, I'll handle it properly," Izayoi nodded with a smile.
Seeing Izayoi agree so readily, Shino also expressed his stance, "If you need any help, just let me know."
"You and Hinata can help me deal with those two Grass ninjas."
Team 8, moving at full speed using the Body Flicker Technique, was rapidly closing the distance to the squad where Karin was located.
At that moment, Karin was being ordered by her teammates to set up traps.
"Hurry up! If we get discovered, we'll leave you here."
"Ah... yes!"
"You're so useless. If it weren't for your healing ability, we wouldn't have brought you along, you burden."
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Karin, who was being threatened and scolded by her teammates, didn't dare show any dissatisfaction. Instead, while setting up the traps, she apologized in a trembling voice, utterly submissive.
This was the status of an outsider.
Although Karin had grown up in the Grass Village, her mother wasn't from the village. Even though she could become a ninja, she was still an outsider who couldn't gain the village's trust.
Despite the fact that both Karin and her mother possessed incredibly powerful Physical Stamina Healing abilities, the Grass Village treated them merely as medical supplies.
Anyone who was injured could come and absorb their Chakra to recover, which led to Karin's mother, who had inherited the Uzumaki Clan's strong vitality, passing away at an early age.
Karin herself had become malnourished and nearsighted.
What was even more ridiculous was that the Grass Village was very skilled at studying the Ninja Techniques of other countries, yet they had no idea what red hair and Physical Stamina Healing truly signified.
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"
Just as Karin was setting up the traps, a young girl's shout suddenly reached her ears.
At the same time, there was a buzzing sound that grew louder and closer.
Before Karin could look up, a loud bang came from the direction of her teammates.
Turning her head, she saw one of her teammates, who had been standing under a large tree, now plastered against the trunk like a painting, his body surrounded by cracks, blood spilling from his mouth.
The other teammate hadn't even had time to react before being overwhelmed by a swarm of insects descending from the sky. After a brief scream, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
Karin was so frightened by this scene that she collapsed to the ground, her already pale face turning even whiter.
At that moment, a gentle laugh reached her ears.
"Yo, we meet again."
Following the voice, she saw two men and a woman standing in front of her.
Looking at Izayoi, who stood in the middle, Karin's eyes widened behind her glasses. "It's you!"
"Let me see your arm."
Hinata crouched down, grabbed Karin's arm, and pulled up her sleeve.
In the next second, Hinata's gaze instantly turned sharp.
Karin's forearm was covered with bite marks of various shapes.
Of course, this wasn't the reason Hinata was angry.
She and Hanabi absorbed Izayoi's Chakra every day, and after two years, not a single bite mark had been left.
Because the amount of Chakra they absorbed couldn't even keep up with Izayoi's recovery speed.
But Karin only had two teammates, and the bite marks on her arm numbered at least several people, and that was just on one arm.
This indicated that her situation was the opposite of Izayoi's—her recovery speed couldn't keep up with the rate at which her Chakra was being drained.
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"
Hinata stood up and once again unleashed a shockwave through the air, instantly killing the barely alive Grass Ninja.
From beginning to end, Hinata never verbally expressed concern for Karin.
But her actions caused Karin's eyes to uncontrollably well up with tears, her vision blurring.
For the first time in years since her mother's death, she finally felt the sensation of being cared for again.
And this feeling was given to her by an enemy.
(End of Chapter)