On the night of the Fireworks Festival, Shinji had already grown suspicious of Karin.
Later, when he heard that Karin had gotten mixed up with Mizuki on the night Naruto was attacked, he knew there was definitely something going on with her.
Mizuki was Orochimaru's spy in the village.
There was no doubt about that.
So when he connected Karin, Mizuki, and Naruto's attack, then made a few deductions, it wasn't hard to conclude that someone was after the Nine-Tails.
The only thing he couldn't determine was whether they intended to use the Nine-Tails' rampage to destroy Konoha, or simply wanted the Nine-Tails for themselves.
Judging by Karin's reaction now, he'd guessed correctly.
Karin finally came to her senses. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
Shinji chuckled. "Is that so? I think Konoha would be interested in hearing your excuses."
Karin panicked. "What are you going to do?"
"Don't panic!" He waved a hand, calming Karin down a little before continuing. "I'm not interested in Tailed Beasts, and I don't care about Konoha."
"Then what do you want?"
Karin was utterly confused.
Shinji stared at Karin. "I want you!"
Karin gasped and stumbled backward, her eyes full of fear.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat, then explained awkwardly, "What I'm interested in is your talent!"
Only then did Karin relax.
It was precisely their unparalleled talent—hers and her mother's—that had left them mired in disaster, exploited by all kinds of people and organizations.
So she had grown used to it. Even numb to it.
For some reason, seeing Karin's expression made Shinji feel a pang of sympathy.
He fell silent for a long while before continuing. "I'll keep your secret and protect you. In exchange, you'll join my organization and work for me!"
Karin cautiously asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"
Shinji replied, "It's simple. Do what you're good at, like healing and sensing!"
"That's all?"
Karin asked again to be sure.
Shinji said calmly, "You don't have to be so wary. I have no reason to lie to you about this. You contribute your abilities, and I protect you. That's all there is to it!"
"All right!"
Karin agreed without much hesitation.
Having never been treated with genuine kindness, she had no reason to stay loyal to those who only wanted to use her!
"Our organization is called the Akatsuki Organization," Shinji said. "It won't interfere with anything else you do, and you won't need to report anything to us. There's only one rule you must follow!"
"What is it?"
"You must never reveal anything about the organization to anyone!" He paused, his voice turning stern. "If you break this rule, the consequences won't be something you'll want to face!"
To make his threat more convincing, Shinji used the Mangekyō Sharingan he had kept activated to cast a genjutsu on Karin.
In an instant,
Karin's eyes lost focus, and her expression turned blank.
Shinji quickly released the genjutsu and said calmly, "Becoming a member of the Akatsuki Organization won't be a bad thing for you!"
Karin came to, her face full of shock. "Y-You're from the Uchiha Clan?"
She had reason to be shocked.
As far as she knew, only three Uchiha were still alive in the Shinobi World.
The mysterious man in front of her clearly couldn't be Shinji Uchiha or Sasuke Uchiha. That left Itachi Uchiha, the S-rank wanted criminal who had single-handedly wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan!
Satisfied that he'd made the impression he wanted, Shinji turned and left Karin's apartment.
After meeting up downstairs with Meiqiu, who was hiding in the shadows, Shinji looked back at Karin's apartment. Thinking of how frightened she'd looked, he muttered, "Did I go a little too far?"
"Yeah, making me stand guard here all night was way too much!"
Meiqiu nodded repeatedly.
Shinji glanced at Meiqiu. "I'm the one paying you!"
Meiqiu pouted and retreated into the shadows.
Shinji didn't linger. With a flash, he disappeared down the street.
He hadn't activated the Mangekyō Sharingan just to intimidate Karin. He had also meant to interfere with her sensing ability.
With the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, ordinary Transformation and Shadow Clone Techniques couldn't fool Karin.
Once she activated the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she could pinpoint the exact location of any Chakra she had marked, even from dozens of kilometers away.
So if Shinji didn't activate the Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd be putting on an act in front of her one moment, only to be exposed the next.
But once he activated the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shinji could use the Dōjutsu of Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan—the one he controlled—to interfere with Karin.
He could make the Mind's Eye of the Kagura mistakenly mark Fugaku Uchiha's Chakra signature, thus concealing his own identity.
Shinji deliberately detoured to a secluded grove and deactivated the Mangekyō Sharingan there before quietly returning to his apartment.
He'd gone to all that trouble because Karin's support abilities were incredibly comprehensive.
Not only did she possess the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, one of the Shinobi World's most powerful sensing techniques, but her Chakra also had unparalleled healing properties.
In the original timeline, Karin had dragged Sasuke back from the brink of death several times after he'd recklessly gotten himself into trouble.
That was why Shinji had given Karin the second attendant slot.
With Karin on the team, combined with the target-tracking abilities of the "Lamp," any demon that invaded the Shinobi World and crossed paths with him would never escape his slaughter.
Back at his apartment, Shinji removed his disguise and lay down on the bed.
"I'll deal with troublesome enemies myself."
The feeling of coaxing and deceiving those around him was awful, so he secretly decided that he'd make sure Haku and Karin stayed safe in battle.
He'd take on the hard fights himself, leave Haku to keep the enemy occupied, and let Karin focus on support.
A three-person team like that would handle all kinds of situations far more easily than he could alone.
Besides, Haku and Karin had tremendous potential. Given enough time and experience, they might one day grow into powerful fighters in their own right.
Early the next morning,
Shinji saw Meiqiu crouched at the head of his bed and asked anxiously, "How did it go?"
Meiqiu yawned. "She stayed inside all night. She didn't leave once."
Shinji breathed a sigh of relief.
Still, he couldn't let his guard down. It had been late last night, after all, and even if Karin had wanted to make a move, it might not have been convenient.
After thinking it over, he said to Meiqiu, "Good work. Go back and get some rest!"
Meiqiu stretched. "Finally, I can rest!"
Shinji smiled. "Thanks for your hard work last night."
Meiqiu waved a paw at Shinji and prepared to end the summoning and return to the Land of Cats.
But before Meiqiu could leave, Shinji added, "You're on duty again tonight!"
Before you continue