Orochimaru!

"Uh, what do you mean?"

Yun Xi clearly hadn't expected Karin to do something like that.

For a moment, he was a little stunned...

"You've used so many ninjutsu. Don't you need chakra?"

Karin hurriedly explained, then walked up to Yun Xi and continued, "If you bite me, you can recover your strength and chakra."

"Go ahead, I'm not afraid of pain~"

After saying that, Karin squeezed her eyes shut. Clearly, her claim that she wasn't afraid of pain had been a lie.

"Haha, I'm fine."

Yun Xi couldn't help laughing at how adorable Karin was.

Then he lowered the sleeve over her arm and said, "Losing this little chakra is nothing to me."

Yun Xi wasn't lying to Karin.

Opening the Heaven Curse Mark and using Amaterasu did put some strain on his body.

But the strain was within an acceptable range for him.

There was no need to use Karin's healing ability right now.

"Uh? Are you really okay?"

Karin still seemed unconvinced.

"Yeah, I'm really fine."

Yun Xi nodded, then walked over to the corpses of the Grass Country ninjas.

He began his favorite activity: looting the bodies!

"Do you want me to help?"

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

"If you're not afraid, go ahead. Remember, we only want the money."

Since Karin had volunteered, Yun Xi didn't hold back and let her help.

"Okay, I'm not afraid!"

Corpses weren't exactly an everyday sight for Karin, but they certainly didn't frighten her.

Although Karin was only six, her years of hardship had already taught her how cruel the world could be.

And her innate sensory ability told her Yun Xi definitely wasn't a bad person!

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

The haul wasn't huge, but the Grass Country ninjas had far more money than the three penniless rogue ninjas Yun Xi had encountered before.

"Thirty thousand ryo, plus some Shuriken and ninja tools. This haul might be worth around a hundred thousand ryo..."

After counting their spoils, Yun Xi felt quite pleased.

A routine battle had earned him a hundred thousand ryo, about as much as the Third Hokage's monthly allowance.

Some of the ninja tools and Shuriken would have to be sold, but they were still worth money!

This haul only strengthened Yun Xi's resolve.

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

And after this battle, Yun Xi also realized that when fighting others, he needed to watch out for all kinds of sneak attacks.

"What are we doing next?"

Once Yun Xi had finished collecting the spoils, Karin asked what he planned to do next.

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

"First, we'll eat. Then we need to go to the Land of Waves."

"After that, I'll take you home!"

Realizing that he'd successfully won over the little Karin, Yun Xi told her his plan.

"Home?!"

At that, Karin's expression turned complicated.

There was excitement, but also a trace of nervousness...

After all, to an orphan, home was a word both familiar and strange.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Karin's expression, Yun Xi was a little puzzled.

He hurriedly asked her what was the matter.

"Nothing. I want to go! I want to go home with you, big brother!"

Seeing Yun Xi's confused expression, Karin hurriedly explained.

"You two, come with me..."

Just as Yun Xi and Karin were about to leave the forest,

a chilling voice suddenly rang out!

"Karin, watch out!"

In an instant, Yun Xi moved to shield Karin behind him.

At the same time, he went on guard!

"I thought I'd only find one descendant of the Uzumaki Clan this time."

"I didn't expect to come across such a perfect little specimen, too."

A faint breeze stirred as a pale man in a white robe stepped out first.

Two boys followed behind him!

"Orochimaru?!"

"Kimimaro is here, too?"

Seeing Orochimaru, Kimimaro, and another boy he didn't recognize, Yun Xi felt a surge of tension.

"Are you still thinking of fighting back?" Seeing that Yun Xi seemed ready to fight, Orochimaru smiled.

He looked at Yun Xi and Karin with an easygoing expression.

"Why would Orochimaru come here?"

"Was this the butterfly effect I caused?"

That was the biggest question on Yun Xi's mind.

In the original Naruto story, Karin didn't appear until after the Chunin Ninja Exams.

She later became one of Orochimaru's subordinates after joining Sasuke.

Why was Orochimaru in the Land of Whirlpools now?

"Damn, Orochimaru must have come to the Land of Whirlpools looking for specimens. Then the noise from my fight with the Grass Country ninjas drew him here!"

Yun Xi finally understood why Orochimaru had come.

The original story had briefly mentioned that Orochimaru once visited the Land of Whirlpools in search of a suitable vessel.

But by then, Karin had already been taken away by the Grass Country, so Orochimaru hadn't found her.

Now, he had killed the Grass Country ninjas...

"It really is the butterfly effect..."

Yun Xi finally figured out why Orochimaru was here...

"Don't struggle. If you come with me, you'll gain the power you've always dreamed of!"

Orochimaru strolled forward, with Kimimaro and the other boy following behind.

"No way, you bad man!"

With her powerful sensory ability, Karin could tell that the strange-looking man before her was a bad guy.

"Let's fight. I want to see just how strong the legendary Orochimaru is!"

In those few seconds, Yun Xi had decided whether to fight or flee.

Orochimaru had been famous for years and was the biggest boss in the early part of the Naruto story.

But Yun Xi didn't want to run!

He wanted to test whether his current strength was enough to defeat a renowned Kage Level fighter!

"So you don't want to surrender..."

Orochimaru had Detect-ed Yun Xi's intentions, and his smile grew wider.

"Kimimaro, deal with him. Remember, keep him alive..."

Although Orochimaru thought Yun Xi's physical abilities were exceptional,

he was far too renowned to personally deal with a child.

Instead, he sent his subordinate Kimimaro!

He also wanted to see the power of the legendary Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya Clan: Shikotsumyaku.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

At Orochimaru's command, Kimimaro stepped forward.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, and his green eyes fixed on Yun Xi...

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

Sensing the immense power and presence within Kimimaro and Orochimaru,

Karin was nervous, too. In her heart, running away was clearly the right choice...

"Don't worry. I promised I'd take you home!"

Yun Xi wasn't going to run from this fight!

He would test his strength head-on.