"He looked at me in a way I didn't like," Karin said, pointing at the spot where Danzō's Shadow Clone had just vanished, as if stating an unquestionable truth. "So I cleansed him."
She lifted her chin slightly, even looking faintly proud as she added,
"That's what the Lord of Demons said—no one is allowed to make me suffer."
"If someone makes me feel wronged, kill them."
"If someone makes me uncomfortable, kill them."
"If I just don't like the look of someone—kill them too."
Even Orochimaru felt a strange numbness creeping in as he listened.
He considered himself indifferent to life.
But compared to her?
He almost seemed principled.
Feel wronged? Kill.
Feel uncomfortable? Kill.
No morality. No distinction between right and wrong.
Everything was decided purely by her personal emotions—unstable, subjective, absolute.
This wasn't mere madness.
This was indulgence sanctioned by a higher being.
"Heh…" Orochimaru let out a dry laugh, feeling his facial muscles stiffen slightly. "Your Lord of Demons… certainly has a unique style of instruction."
He genuinely couldn't think of a better description.
This wasn't nurturing a follower.
This was raising an unrestrained, overwhelmingly powerful brat with zero boundaries.
No wonder she was called the "Demon Child."
Compared to her straightforward "I don't like you, so you die" philosophy—
His human experimentation and pursuit of immortality almost seemed structured. Logical.
He realized he would have to adjust how he handled her.
This was a little ancestor he couldn't afford to offend.
After all—
Who knew which stray glance or careless word might make her feel "uncomfortable"?
And earn him a cleansing punch to the chest?
Glancing at the gore that had once been Hawk, and the already dissipated Shadow Clone, Orochimaru merely shrugged.
"What's done is done," he said coolly. "Danzō's always been too foolish to read the situation properly."
"Though… this may cause some trouble."
Danzō had controlled Konoha's darker side for years.
If nothing else, he was skilled at scheming.
Being targeted by him was like being watched by a venomous snake—irritating and potentially dangerous.
But that concern lasted less than a second.
When it came to survival, concealment, tunneling, and building hidden bases—
Orochimaru would confidently claim second place at worst.
Perhaps first.
He had survived repeated hunts and betrayals precisely because of his philosophy:
If I can't win—I disappear.
"Let him search," Orochimaru said with a cold smirk. "I'd like to see if he can find my new home."
Without lingering, he vanished into the forest with Karin—who wore an expression that clearly said I did nothing wrong, and I'd do it again.
Like drops of water swallowed by the sea, they left no trace.
Meanwhile, deep within a heavily concealed underground base—
Shimura Danzō suddenly opened his lone eye.
His face turned so dark it seemed ready to drip with venom.
The moment his Shadow Clone was destroyed, its final sensations had returned to him.
The red-haired girl.
The "Demon Child."
Because she disliked a look—
She had erased him instantly.
Efficient. Ruthless. Unreasonable.
"Bastard!" Danzō slammed his fist against the stone wall.
His chest rose and fell violently, humiliation and fury burning in his eye.
Shimura Danzō—reduced to this?
Not even allowed to speak before being destroyed?
By a child he had regarded as a tool?
And worse—
Orochimaru, that traitor, truly had aligned himself with her.
Times had changed.
Once, he had been Konoha's shadow.
The leader of Root.
A man even the Hokage treated cautiously.
Now?
He was a wanted criminal.
Forced to skulk underground like a rat.
Root itself had been shattered by successive blows. Loyal elites were few. And now Hawk—one of his capable subordinates—was gone.
Another cut to an already bleeding organization.
"You won't let me live in peace?" Danzō's expression twisted with hatred. He lifted his head and hissed into the darkness:
"Then no one will."
"Someone!"
A shadow detached itself from the gloom and knelt silently before him.
Danzō issued the order without hesitation:
"Spread the word. The missing-nin Orochimaru has captured and taken control of the 'Demon Child' Karin. Spread it across the entire shinobi world—immediately."
"Yes."
The Root operative vanished.
Left alone in the dim chamber, Danzō's low, suppressed laughter echoed.
"Orochimaru… and that ignorant little brat…"
"Let's see how long you can hide when the entire shinobi world is hunting you."
"You want to monopolize the Demon Child and her secrets?"
"In your dreams."
It was a vicious move.
By binding Orochimaru and Karin together in the public eye, he ensured they would become targets of every ambitious force in existence.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789