Orochimaru!

"Ah, what do you mean?"

Clearly, Yun Xi had not expected Karin to make such a move.

Yun Xi was momentarily stunned...

"You used so many ninjutsu earlier; don't you need chakra?"

Seeing his reaction, Karin hurriedly explained, then walked up to Yun Xi and continued, "As long as you take a bite of me, you can recover your stamina and chakra."

"Come on, I'm not afraid of the pain~"

Having said that, Karin squeezed her eyes shut; it was obvious that her claim about not fearing pain was just to trick Yun Xi.

"Haha, I'm fine."

Seeing such an adorable Karin, Yun Xi couldn't help but laugh.

He then pulled the sleeve of Karin's arm back down and said, "This little bit of chakra depletion is nothing to me at all."

Yun Xi was absolutely not lying to Karin with these words.

Although activating the Heaven Curse Mark and Amaterasu placed a certain burden on Yun Xi's body, these burdens were well within his acceptable range.

There was simply no need to use Karin's healing ability at this moment.

"Hmm? Are you really okay?"

Karin clearly still had some doubts.

"Yeah, I'm really fine."

Yun Xi nodded, then walked toward the corpses of the Land of Grass ninjas.

He began his favorite activity: looting the bodies!

"Do you need my help?"

Seeing this, Karin hurriedly spoke up, seemingly wanting to prove herself to Yun Xi.

"If you aren't afraid, then come along. Just remember, we only want the money."

Seeing Karin take the initiative, Yun Xi didn't stand on ceremony and let her get to work.

"Okay, I'm not afraid!"

While corpses weren't exactly an everyday occurrence for Karin, they certainly didn't frighten her.

Although Karin was only six years old, her years of living had long since taught her the cruelty of this world.

And her innate sensory abilities made Karin certain that Yun Xi was definitely not a bad person!

With Karin's help, the two of them quickly finished collecting the spoils from the corpses.

Although the haul wasn't massive, the money from these Land of Grass ninjas was far more than what those three broke rogue ninjas Yun Xi had encountered earlier possessed.

"Thirty thousand yen, plus some shuriken and ninja tools... this haul is probably worth around one hundred thousand yen..."

After tallying the spoils, Yun Xi felt a little happy.

A single routine battle could net him one hundred thousand yen, which was equivalent to a month's living expenses provided by the Third Hokage.

Even though some of the ninja tools and shuriken would need to be sold, they were still money!

This harvest further solidified a conviction in Yun Xi.

Whenever he had free time, he had to leave the village to make money!

Furthermore, this battle had taught Yun Xi that when fighting others, he needed to be wary of all sorts of sneak attacks.

"What are we going to do next?"

Seeing that Yun Xi had finished collecting the loot, Karin took the initiative to ask about his upcoming plans.

Although she didn't know Yun Xi's true identity, her intuition told her that following the big brother in front of her was the most correct choice.

"First, we eat, and then I have to make a trip to the Land of Waves."

"Finally, I'll take you home with me!"

Realizing that he had successfully "kidnapped" the little loli Karin, Yun Xi told her his plan directly.

"Home?!"

Hearing Yun Xi say this, the expression on Karin's face became somewhat complex.

There was a hint of nervousness mixed in with the surprise...

After all, for an orphan, "home" was a familiar yet foreign word.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the expression on Karin's face, Yun Xi was somewhat surprised.

He hurriedly asked her, "No, I'm willing! I'm willing to go home with you, big brother!"

Seeing the puzzled look on Yun Xi's face, Karin hurriedly explained.

"The two of you, come with me..."

Just as Yun Xi and Karin were about to leave the forest, a cold, sinister voice suddenly rang out!

"Karin, watch out!"

In an instant, Yun Xi pulled Karin behind him to protect her.

At the same time, Yun Xi had already entered a combat stance!

"I originally thought I would only find one descendant of the Uzumaki Clan this time."

"I never expected to encounter such a perfect little brat."

Accompanied by a light breeze, a man wearing a white robe with pale skin stepped out first.

Behind him followed two youths!

"Orochimaru?!"

"Is Kimimaro here too?"

Seeing that the newcomers were actually Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and an unknown youth, Yun Xi's heart was filled with tension.

"Still want to resist?" Seeing that Yun Xi seemed prepared to fight, Orochimaru chuckled.

He looked at Yun Xi and Karin before him with a relaxed expression.

"Why would Orochimaru come here?"

"Is this the butterfly effect I caused?"

This was the biggest question in Yun Xi's mind right now.

Because in the original Hokage story, Karin shouldn't have appeared until after the Chunin Exams.

Only after that did she follow Sasuke and become one of Orochimaru's subordinates.

Why would Orochimaru appear in the Land of Whirlpools at this time?

"Damn it, Orochimaru must have come to the Land of Whirlpools looking for materials, and was then drawn here by the noise I made while fighting the Land of Grass ninjas!"

Yun Xi finally understood why Orochimaru had come to this place.

In the original work, there was a brief description of Orochimaru having once visited the Land of Whirlpools to search for a suitable vessel.

But by that time, Karin had already been taken away by the Land of Grass, so naturally, Orochimaru hadn't found her.

And now, the ninjas from the Land of Grass had been killed by him...

"It really is the butterfly effect..."

Yun Xi finally realized the reason for Orochimaru's appearance here...

"Don't struggle. As long as you follow me, you will obtain the power you've dreamed of!"

Orochimaru strolled forward, with Kimimaro and the other unknown youth following behind him.

"No way, you big bad guy!"

Possessing powerful sensory abilities, Karin naturally understood that this strange-looking middle-aged man was a big villain.

"Let's fight. Let me see just how strong the legendary Orochimaru really is!"

Just seconds ago, Yun Xi had made his decision between fighting and fleeing.

Although Orochimaru had been famous for a long time and was the biggest boss in the early stages of Hokage, Yun Xi did not want to run!

He wanted to test whether his current strength could actually defeat a long-renowned Kage-level expert!

"It seems you don't want to surrender..."

Orochimaru saw through Yun Xi's intentions, and the smile on his face grew even more intense.

"Kimimaro, leave this guy to you. Remember to keep him alive..."

Although in Orochimaru's eyes, Yun Xi's physical constitution was extremely excellent, as a long-renowned expert, Orochimaru would naturally not lower himself to deal with a young child personally.

Instead, he sent out his subordinate, Kimimaro!

He also wanted to take this opportunity to see the power of the Kaguya Clan's legendary bloodline limit, the Shikotsumyaku.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's command, Kimimaro stepped forward directly.

His white hair danced in the wind, and his green eyes remained locked onto Yun Xi, who stood not far away.

"Big brother, let's run away this time..."

Having sensed the immense power and aura radiating from within Kimimaro and Orochimaru, Karin felt a surge of nervousness. In her heart, fleeing at this moment was the only correct choice.

"Don't worry, I told you I would take you home!"

Yun Xi had no intention of running from this battle.

He wanted to test his own strength, fair and square.