Karin also sensed the existence of Satori, and that overwhelming dark chakra made her heart tremble.
But the moment she remembered that Mianma-sama was standing right beside her, she immediately relaxed—and at the same time, admiration filled her eyes.
Even in front of such a terrifying monster, Mianma-sama didn't even blink.
Satori's rampage didn't affect Naruto or Karin at all, but the other guests in the izakaya were terrified. They clutched their heads and curled up under the tables like frightened chickens.
The pedestrians outside were even worse off—they could only hide in corners, shaking like leaves in a storm.
Noticing the destruction caused by Satori, several Grass ninjas quickly pulled out their kunai launchers and aimed at the low-flying monster.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The kunai shot out at speeds invisible to the naked eye.
But just before impact—Satori twisted its body at a bizarre angle and dodged everything effortlessly.
With a deafening roar, it swooped down and crushed several Grass ninjas beneath its claws, stomping them into bloody pulp.
Looking at the corpses lying in pools of blood, and sensing the panicked chakra all around, Karin hesitated before asking,
"Mianma-sama… why is Grass Village suddenly being attacked by this monster? Is it… yours?"
Naruto shook his head casually.
"This thing is Grass Village's own secret weapon. But from the looks of it, it's gone completely out of control and started slaughtering its own people."
He glanced at her.
"Why? Feeling like helping them?"
Karin nodded instinctively—but when memories of the past surfaced, she froze.
Grass Village had taken in her and her mother, allowed her—the remnant of the Uzumaki clan—to attend the Ninja Academy, and in exchange, they used her as a living medical tool.
At first, it was a fair deal.
But both she and her mother had underestimated just how greedy those bastards were.
Because of their "free healing," the Grass ninjas started acting like idiots with no fear of death. Injuries that could heal with a few days' rest? They still came to bite her for recovery.
Over and over again.
Relentlessly.
Until… her mother died.
That was the moment Karin realized she had to escape this hell.
So now, seeing those same Grass ninjas lying helpless and bleeding—
She didn't move.
In fact… a strange sense of satisfaction crept into her heart.
Her body even trembled slightly.
From excitement.
Naruto glanced at her reaction and felt relieved.
At least she wasn't blindly soft-hearted.
Though… thinking about it, Karin's "special physique" really did come with some questionable side effects.
From a talent standpoint, she had the potential to become an elite jōnin.
But in the original timeline, after getting stabbed by Sasuke Uchiha, she still loved him like crazy.
Yeah… that was some next-level messed up devotion.
Naruto adjusted his glasses and shrugged internally.
Eh, whatever. Compared to that level of insanity, this version of Karin was perfectly fine.
Pulling his thoughts back, Naruto looked toward the end of the street.
Besides the Akatsuki members and White Zetsu lurking around, two familiar figures had finally appeared—
Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Naruto smirked slightly.
He was really looking forward to their reactions when they ran into the Akatsuki.
Should he tell them Pain's real identity?
…Nah. Watching the chaos unfold was way more fun.
Since mastering Sage Mode combined with Kurama's power, Naruto wasn't in a rush to get stronger anymore.
The only real way to power up quickly now was collecting the remaining tailed beasts… and the other half of the Nine-Tails.
And that?
Yeah… that would take time.
Meanwhile—
After receiving Jiraiya's invitation, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune arrived at Grass Village.
Grass Village wasn't just any small village—it had a defense agreement with Konoha to deal with threats from Iwagakure and Amegakure.
Out of courtesy, they originally planned to meet the village leader.
After all, even if Konoha underwent internal changes, its stance toward Grass Village likely wouldn't shift much. A buffer nation between major powers was still necessary.
But the moment they stepped into the village—
Tsunade immediately headed toward the casino.
…Priorities.
Unfortunately, she ran straight into Satori.
Hovering mid-air, Satori casually held a massive boulder in its claws. The moment it noticed Tsunade, it released the rock.
BOOM!
Tsunade shattered the falling boulder with a single punch, her expression darkening as she locked onto the monster.
She stomped forward and threw another punch—
But Satori twisted its body again, dodging at a ridiculous angle.
After several failed attempts, Tsunade's expression turned serious.
She couldn't hit it.
"Is this something Grass Village created?" Shizune asked, confused.
Tsunade shook her head.
"Unlikely. Those dead Grass ninjas were clearly killed by it. And I've never seen anything this strange… my attacks can't even touch it."
Before she could finish—
A voice rang out from a blind spot.
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya unleashed a massive wave of flames, sweeping across the area.
But even with such a wide-range attack—
Satori still dodged.
Only a few feathers were burned, and they regenerated instantly.
After being attacked repeatedly, Satori grew annoyed and lunged at Jiraiya.
But its attacks weren't enough to threaten him. After a few failed attempts, it suddenly turned and sped off into the distance.
Jiraiya didn't chase. Instead, he returned to Tsunade, frowning.
"Where the hell did that thing come from? It's not that strong… but it feels like it can read my movements."
Tsunade nodded slowly.
"It's not 'feels like.' It definitely can read minds. The only way to deal with it is large-scale attacks."
"Then I'll use Sage Mode—"
"No."
Tsunade cut him off immediately.
"This isn't Konoha. Using large-scale ninjutsu recklessly here could be seen as an invasion. We need to understand the situation first."
At that moment, Shizune brought over several injured Grass ninjas.
Seeing the blood, Tsunade instinctively grimaced but forced herself to act. She used her medical ninjutsu and asked,
"I'm Tsunade. What exactly is that monster?"
"We… we don't know…"
"You'd better start talking," she said coldly. "Grass Village won't survive if that thing isn't stopped."
The Grass ninja hesitated, glancing at Jiraiya before speaking cautiously.
"Iwagakure has stationed troops at the border… To deal with them, the higher-ups secretly developed a weapon… That's all we know…"
Jiraiya's face darkened.
So it wasn't a natural disaster.
It was man-made stupidity.
And a deadly one at that.
If a flying monster like that escaped the village… it would be a nightmare for ordinary people.
After telling Shizune to continue treating the injured, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya.
"We need to find the leader of Grass Village immediately—and kill that mind-reading monster as soon as possible."
At that moment—
Jiraiya suddenly sensed something.
His gaze snapped toward the distance.
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