Chapter 80: Meeting the Pitiful Uzumaki Karin
Gulping down the last of the water from the canteen in big mouthfuls,
Sasuke finally felt truly alive again.
"N-Naruto… when did you get back?"
Before passing out,
Sasuke had heard Naruto's voice.
He instinctively assumed Orochimaru had been driven off by Naruto.
Only someone as overwhelmingly strong as Naruto could do that.
This feeling of being protected…
wasn't entirely unpleasant.
It reminded him of the good times he once shared with Itachi.
But the moment he recalled the scene of Itachi massacring the clan,
Sasuke immediately shoved that illusion aside!
Sure enough—only when he himself possessed power
could he truly rely on anything.
Depending on others was useless!
"What do you think?" Naruto grinned, hands behind his head.
Guess. Go on—guess whether you can guess.
The words carried an oddly ambiguous tone.
The air gradually grew awkward.
Sasuke was about to snap in anger
when—
gurgle… gurgle…
His stomach loudly protested!
And rightfully so—from yesterday afternoon until now,
Sasuke hadn't eaten a single grain of rice.
But all the game they hunted yesterday had already been eaten.
Naruto said: "You two wait here. I'll go catch some game and bring it back for a proper meal."
"Whatever's left over we'll turn into jerky."
Sasuke's face flushed with embarrassment as he retorted: "Mind your own business… even if I starve to death…"
gurgle… gurgle gurgle…
Before Sasuke could finish,
his stomach let out an even louder roar.
This time it was deafening!
Sakura couldn't hold back—she burst out laughing.
Sasuke glared at her. "What are you laughing at?"
"N-Nothing… I just thought of something funny."
Naruto-kun is so nice—he never yells at me.
Sakura thought to herself.
Naruto's own stomach was growling too.
"Even if you don't want to eat, I still need to."
"Besides—look at you. Do you even have the strength to keep moving later?"
Sakura raised her small hand. "Naruto-kun, I want to eat too!"
One singing, the other harmonizing.
Sasuke felt something catch in his throat. He arrogantly turned his head away.
"Do whatever you want…"
But before Sasuke could finish speaking,
Naruto had already left.
The meaning was obvious.
I'm not hunting because of you.
I'm doing it for myself.
You're just along for the ride.
This scene left Sasuke feeling deeply stifled inside.
Damn it!
At least let me finish talking!
On the other side of Training Ground 44—the Forest of Death—
"Damn it! What the hell—aren't the ninja from other villages all monsters?!"
A Grass ninja wearing a forehead protector grumbled in frustration.
He had thought everyone was Bronze tier.
Weak and playful.
Who could've expected to run into nothing but Kings!
What kind of nonsense is this!
His teammate nodded in agreement.
"Looks like we need to take the initiative!"
The two reached a consensus.
They turned their gaze toward the side—toward the dirty, pitiful-looking red-haired girl with glasses.
This red-haired girl looked quite disheveled.
Her small head was constantly lowered.
As though she had no confidence.
"Come here!"
One of the Grass ninja ordered.
Karin Uzumaki nodded and slowly walked over.
The Grass ninja pulled out the Earth Scroll and tossed it to her.
Karin
"Keep that scroll safe! Find a safe spot and stay there—don't wander too far."
"We'll be back in the afternoon!"
The Grass ninja instructed.
His teammate added menacingly:
"If you lose that scroll, you might as well not live!"
"The scroll is more important than your life—got it?!"
"Even if you die—you hide the scroll or throw it aside so we can retrieve it later."
"In short—don't let anyone take it."
Karin clutched the scroll tightly with both hands and nodded timidly.
What else could she do?
She had no power to protect herself.
Seeing her obedience, the two teammates left.
The moment they were gone,
Karin planned to find somewhere to hide first.
But in the next instant—
something changed.
ROAR—
A beastly roar echoed.
Flocks of birds in the forest scattered in fright.
A massive black bear—body like a small mountain—
emerged from the woods.
Its nose twitched constantly.
As though it had smelled something delicious.
Hearing the noise, Karin's pretty face turned deathly pale.
All strength seemed to drain from her body.
But instinct told her:
If she didn't run,
only death awaited.
Clutching the scroll tightly, Karin fled in panic toward another direction.
At the same time—the enormous black bear
had also noticed its prey.
Despite its massive size,
its movement speed was not slow at all.
Gradually the distance between them shrank.
Karin ran blindly and was eventually cornered.
When she saw her pursuer was a giant black bear,
Karin was instantly paralyzed with fear.
Its head alone was as big as her entire body.
ROAR!
The black bear threw its head back and bellowed.
Its sharp, terrifying fangs were bared.
Drool dripped from its mouth.
The bear brain slowly closed in.
Karin could even smell the foul stench from its maw!
Its jaws opened wide—lunging straight for Karin!
Fortunately Karin dodged at the last second,
avoiding the bite.
"W-Who… someone save me…"
Karin cried out while running.
The giant black bear chased relentlessly behind her.
But the next moment—
Karin didn't notice the tree root underfoot.
She tripped and fell.
The scroll rolled to the side.
Seeing its prey fall,
the black bear's beastly eyes lit up. Its pace instinctively slowed.
In its mind—
the girl was already a dying prey.
Soon she would become its meal.
"E-Everyone… where are you… is there anyone who can save me…"
"Wuwuwu… I-I don't want to die."
Karin lay on the ground, hands clutching her small head.
Intense pain shot through her leg.
She didn't want to die here.
Her life had only just begun.
She didn't want it to end like this.
"Nine-Tails—good job. Today we're eating bear paw. Hopefully this bear's a male—then we get bear whip too."
Naruto—who had rushed over—thought to himself.
The Nine-Tails—praised by its master—
looked smug.
Finally it had some use.
Acting as a Tailed Beast radar detector.
Helping locate nearby beasts
and giving Naruto directions.
"Huh?? Isn't that glasses girl Karin?"
Naruto looked at the fallen Uzumaki Karin.
He saw the massive black bear drawing closer.
In the next instant Naruto moved—kicking off the ground hard.
His physical body was comparable to a taijutsu-specialized jōnin.
This single leap covered over twenty meters.
Then—Lightning Flash Kick—
well, okay, just an ordinary precise kick.
He slammed his foot straight into the giant bear's head.
At that moment the dumb bear still hadn't anticipated death approaching.
Its mind was still fantasizing about how delicious it would be to devour Uzumaki Karin whole.
Crack—
The sound of breaking bone rang out.
Before dying, the black bear saw a blond pretty boy land a perfect kick right between its eyes.
Just one kick—no full Lightning Five连Whip needed.
The bear's eyes rolled back. It died instantly.
Boom—
Its massive body crashed to the ground.
Kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
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