"Hah… Hah…"
The girl ran frantically through the dense forest, her breath ragged and heavy. Her heart pounded so fiercely that she felt as if it might burst from her chest. Behind her, it was as if a wild beast were chasing her—rest wasn't an option. She didn't even dare to glance back. All she could do was grit her teeth and push forward.
"Run, Karin! Run!"
The memory of her team captain shouting at her, shielding her at the cost of his own safety, played vividly in her mind. Tears welled up in Karin's eyes. Otogakure might've been a newly formed minor village, created by Orochimaru, and while its jōnin-level shinobi weren't the strongest by any stretch, three genin still had no chance against a true elite.
Especially not Karin.
She wasn't cut out for combat to begin with. In this situation, she was nothing but dead weight. If Kawasemi Kuwan hadn't wanted to take her alive, she would've been killed long ago.
Her Kusagakure forehead protector, tied across her brow, slipped askew as she ran. Karin quickly reached up to fix it—but failed to see the exposed root underfoot. She stumbled and fell, tumbling onto the forest floor. Her red-rimmed glasses flew from her face.
"Damn!" Karin's eyes brimmed with tears as she scrambled to her feet. It wasn't the pain that bothered her—it was the sudden, sickening loss of chakra she'd just sensed. One of her comrades… their chakra had vanished.
They were dead.
Hands trembling, she crawled along the grass, searching desperately until she found her glasses. She put them on quickly and spotted the Earth Scroll not far from where she'd fallen—the scroll her captain had entrusted to her before they split up.
She picked it up and held it tight, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Her once-frightened expression grew resolute.
"I have to think of something…"
"That ninja is way too powerful… There's no way he's a genin." Karin stood upright, steadying her breath. She resumed running, but now with determination—not panic. Her mind spun quickly, analyzing.
"Our team's already out. We've lost our chance to pass… but…"
She clutched the Earth Scroll tighter, her voice low but firm.
"…I can trade this scroll. With my sensory abilities, I can help a team that already has a matching scroll avoid traps and ambushes and reach the central tower safely. That should be enough for a deal."
Of course, the team she met would need to help rescue her teammate.
If the team already had an Earth Scroll, she could lie—say that her attacker, Kawasemi Kuwan, had ambushed them and likely carried a Heaven Scroll. For examinees in a prolonged battle of attrition, the chance to strike at an exhausted enemy and grab a scroll was an appealing offer.
But ideally, Karin thought, she'd lure whoever she found straight into Kuwan's ambush.
"…Huh?"
Just then, her pace slowed and her pupils shrank slightly. She sensed chakra ahead. Normally, that would've been a relief—but the number of signatures shocked her.
"There are six of them?!"
Meanwhile, not far from where Karin ran, another sensory-type ninja—Shino Aburame—suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing the rest of the group following behind to halt as well.
"What is it?"
Shikamaru pushed off a tree branch and landed beside Shino, asking the question calmly.
Shino's brows knit together. Without turning, he responded:
"They're getting closer. Not only that… whoever it is—they're approaching us."
"They noticed us?" Shikamaru's expression sharpened.
"Hinata." Shino didn't answer directly. He turned to the girl trailing behind. "We're close enough. Use your Byakugan and scan 500 meters ahead."
Hinata nodded softly. She inhaled deeply, then made a hand seal. The veins around her eyes bulged, her gentle expression sharpening into focused clarity.
Through the trees, she looked ahead.
Karin, meanwhile, had noticed the chakra signatures stop moving. She frowned and picked up her pace again, growing anxious.
"There's only one person," Hinata confirmed after a moment, deactivating her Byakugan. She glanced around nervously, blushing faintly from the attention. "She's running fast… but her steps are erratic."
"Kiba?" Shino turned toward his teammate.
Kiba looked down at Akamaru, who sniffed the air and let out a soft bark. Kiba nodded.
"Yeah. Just one person."
"There's a trace of blood on her, too," he added after stroking Akamaru's head. "She probably just escaped a fight."
"She was attacked," Choji commented. "Think her scroll got taken?"
"No," Shino shook his head. "The Earth Scroll is still on her. I placed a female kikaichū inside it. Her scent's still there. No mistake."
"If that's the case," Ino chimed in, "why don't we go talk to her?"
"We've got the numbers. Even if it's a trick, we won't be easy targets." Kiba agreed.
"I… I finally made it…"
Karin stumbled to a stop and dropped to her knees, panting heavily. Her hands hit the grass, and her chest heaved.
"Looks like someone was being chased," came a voice laced with humor from up ahead.
Karin's head shot up—and her breath caught.
Perched casually atop a thick branch were six shinobi, four males and two females, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors. They stared down at her with curious expressions.
They were from Team 8 and Team 10.
"They're all from Konoha? Two full teams? Working together?" Karin quickly processed the situation. Even among same-village candidates, collaboration was rare unless they were confident in securing both sets of scrolls. Konoha was the only village with numbers sufficient to attempt this—and also the exam's host.
Still, despite her questions, she knew what mattered now was convincing them to help her rescue her teammate.
"Hey! That scroll—you're holding an Earth Scroll!" Kiba called out, grinning. "Hand it over, and we'll let you go."
Shinobi were trained in deception—especially female shinobi, who often had an edge when it came to subtle manipulation.
Karin had been preparing the moment she stopped. Now she raised her teary eyes and, choking back a sob, spoke:
"Are you Konoha shinobi? I'll give you the scroll—just please, take me with you!"
"I'm a sensory-type ninja. I can detect enemy chakra. I can help you avoid traps and reach the tower safely! Please… this place is too dangerous…"
"Sorry," Shino cut her off, pushing his sunglasses up. His tone, usually flat, now held a rare edge of amusement. "We don't need a sensor. And we're not about to let some stranger guide us, either. Just hand over the scroll—or we'll take it ourselves."
He took a step forward, but Shikamaru raised a hand to stop him.
Shikamaru stared at the girl kneeling in the grass—Kusagakure headband, fiery red hair, distinctive red-rimmed glasses, and evident sensory ability. He knew exactly who she was.
Though he wasn't one to romanticize characters from the "original story," he was still curious.
He looked her straight in the eyes.
"Where are your teammates?"
Karin's face fell. She'd been caught off guard by Shino's rejection, but composed herself quickly. If she lied and said her teammates were fine, it could raise suspicion.
"They're fighting someone," she said truthfully. "I don't know if they're still alive… I want to ask for your help. Please."
Shino and Shikamaru exchanged a glance. Kiba frowned.
"Who's the enemy? What village?"
"I… I don't know." Karin hesitated, then added quickly, "He's disguised as a Kusagakure ninja, but I don't think he's really one of us."
"…He's disguised as a Grass ninja?"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.
A flicker of realization passed through his mind.
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