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“Karin, I’m leaving the Land of Whirlpools for a bit. Let Kushina and the others know.”
Shin planned to leave the Land of Whirlpools to observe—This time, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki might finally clash again.
“Shin-sama, take me with you,” Karin pleaded, looking at Shin with puppy-dog eyes.
“I HEARD THAT, Shin-nii! If you’re leaving the Land of Whirlpools, you have to take me too! Otherwise, I’ll tell Mikoto-neechan and the others right away!” Hanabi suddenly popped out from the nearby bushes.
“What are you doing here??” Karin asked, startled by Hanabi’s sudden appearance. It had genuinely frightened her.
“I was sleeping here—” Hanabi immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she’d let her slacking slip.
“You think you can threaten me with that? So what if you tell Mikoto? I was planning on telling them anyway.” Shin flicked Hanabi’s forehead, annoyed.
“Hmph! Then I’ll tell them you went out to meet some other woman!” Hanabi huffed at Shin.
“Looks like you need a good lesson.” Shin rolled up his sleeves, preparing to discipline Hanabi.
Karin watched from the side, clearly enjoying the show. Not only did she have no intention of helping Hanabi, but she actually wanted to see her get disciplined.
“WAIT! I WON’T GO WITH YOU! AND I WON’T MAKE THINGS UP! DON’T BULLY ME!”
Hanabi quickly surrendered… Compared to being disciplined, compromise was the better option.
“Karin, keep an eye on Hanabi. Take her back and make sure she trains properly. I’m leaving now,” Shin said to Karin, then departed.
After Shin left, Karin and Hanabi stared at each other. Karin glared angrily at Hanabi.
“It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t suddenly popped out and interrupted, I would have left with Shin-sama!”
“Tch! I was just trying to ruin your plan. What are you going to do about it?” Hanabi scoffed, deliberately challenging Karin.
“Heh, I can beat you up. What do you think?” Karin adjusted her glasses, gritting her teeth at Hanabi.
Hearing this, Hanabi flinched, then immediately turned and ran.
She didn’t argue with Karin—seeing Karin’s expression, it seemed she really was going to hit her. Only by running home could she be saved.
“Don’t run! You can’t escape!!” Karin chased after Hanabi.
“You’re chasing me now, but when I’m as strong as Big Sister, I’ll definitely make you pay! Just you wait!” Hanabi yelled back at Karin as she ran.
Karin found Hanabi’s taunts both infuriating and amusing.
Karin hadn’t actually intended to catch Hanabi; she just wanted to scare her. But now, Karin genuinely didn’t plan on letting Hanabi off.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, she caught up to Hanabi in an instant, grabbing her and lifting her up.
“Weren’t you quite capable just now? Running and taunting? Keep it up,” Karin said to Hanabi with a cold smile.
“Waaaaaah! I was wrong! I regret it so much!” Hanabi, knowing when to fold, immediately burst into tears and apologized.
“Alright, alright. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was actually bullying you.” Karin shot Hanabi an annoyed glare, then put her down.
Hanabi, once released, wiped away her non-existent tears, feeling particularly smug.
This is Hanabi’s ultimate survival technique—
Hanabi should be glad Karin didn’t know what she was thinking. If she did, Hanabi would be getting a real beating right now.
———
Shin left the Land of Whirlpools and appeared before White Zetsu.
White Zetsu, upon seeing Shin, instantly became very deferential.
“Shin-sama, what brings you here?” White Zetsu asked Shin cautiously.
“What’s the status of Obito and Sasuke Uchiha’s plan? Have they lured out Naruto Uzumaki yet?” Shin asked White Zetsu.
Hearing Shin ask about this, White Zetsu immediately relaxed and quickly replied, “They’ve already lured him out. Naruto Uzumaki is currently heading towards the Valley of the End.”
“Oh? The Valley of the End?” Shin showed a hint of surprise, though it also seemed logical.
The Valley of the End was where Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had their final battle.
It was also where Madara, feigning death, bit off a piece of Hashirama’s flesh, obtaining his cells and eventually awakening the Rinnegan. Hashirama Senju also passed away not long after the battle at the Valley of the End.
Though Hashirama Senju was the victor in that battle, Madara Uchiha outlived him by many years.
The previous generation’s Indra and Asura settled their scores there. Now, this generation’s Indra and Asura were gathering there again. Interesting.
After obtaining this information, Shin paid no further attention to White Zetsu and headed towards the Valley of the End.
When Shin arrived, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki had already reached the Valley, facing each other.
Naruto Uzumaki had come alone—or rather, he had snuck away. If anyone else in Konoha knew, they definitely wouldn’t have allowed him to go find Sasuke.
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“SASUKE, COME BACK WITH ME,” Naruto Uzumaki said, his eyes filled with hope as he looked at Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke Uchiha remained expressionless. His former teammate meant nothing to him now.
He was different from Naruto Uzumaki.
Perhaps Naruto truly felt a bond with him, but Sasuke Uchiha had already severed that bond when he left Konoha—
“Go back? Heh. I’m here to kill you,” Sasuke Uchiha said to Naruto Uzumaki with cold indifference.
Naruto Uzumaki’s expression froze.
He asked Sasuke in a low voice, “Why? Orochimaru is already dead. Why won’t you return to Konoha?”
“Naruto, don’t you know that the Uchiha Clan massacre was orchestrated by Konoha’s higher-ups?”
Sasuke Uchiha’s eyes filled with hatred. He hated Itachi Uchiha, hated Konoha, hated everyone in Konoha. He would destroy Konoha.
“Impossible! Sasuke, you must have been deceived by someone!!”
Naruto Uzumaki roared, his voice low and pained. In Naruto Uzumaki’s heart, Konoha was only filled with light…
Honestly, to be like Naruto Uzumaki was a state of being in itself—
To endure countless insults yet still protect Konoha. Not turning evil was already impressive.
Shin, for one, couldn’t understand it. If it were him, he would have already overturned the entire village.
“I’m here for the Nine-Tails within you. Hand it over,” Sasuke Uchiha didn’t want to waste any more words on Naruto Uzumaki.
“Sasuke, do you really want to kill me?” Naruto Uzumaki stared at Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke wanted the Nine-Tails, and extracting the Nine-Tails meant certain death. He didn’t know why he had been lucky enough to survive last time, but such luck definitely wouldn’t strike twice.
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