Karin, No One Would Ever Bully You Again

Karin's face went pale. Instinctively, she stepped in front of Naruto. Though she was trembling all over, she still gritted her teeth and took a defensive stance.

Naruto smiled instead.

He gently pulled Karin behind him and slowly drew the Nine-Life Demon Tail Blade. A cold gleam flowed along the blade, reflecting the mad smile in his eyes.

He hadn't killed enough just now.

Perfect. Darkness Value delivered right to his door—no reason to refuse it.

He looked up at the dozen or so people surrounding him, the corner of his mouth lifting into an utterly arrogant smile. His voice was not loud, but every person heard it clearly:

"Want to take my things?"

"Fine."

"Trade your lives for them."

As his words fell, even the wind in the forest seemed to still for a moment.

The dozen people tightened their grips on their ninja tools, their killing intent crashing down on Naruto like a tide.

Naruto glanced at the Grass Ninja remnants still rolling on the ground, then shot a look at the Sound Ninja leading them. With a mocking curl of his lips, he said:

"You lot look creepy, and the way you act is pretty twisted too. You've got nothing better to do than take bites out of girls? You really have no shame! Let go of that girl, and I'll... pfft, no, I won't!"

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone froze.

The murderous tension abruptly stalled. Even the Grass Ninjas writhing in pain on the ground forgot to scream as they stared blankly at him.

Then he shouted again:

"Karin, you're such an idiot! He's only after your body!"

Karin, hiding behind him, suddenly felt the knot in her chest loosen. She nearly burst out laughing.

"That's still better than you animals. You all deserve to die!"

The leading Sound Ninja's face turned liver-purple. The agony from having his Achilles tendon severed by Naruto's blade still burned through him, and this taunt sent his rage surging.

But after looking at the number of people around him and relying on his numerical advantage, he immediately found his courage again.

The Grass Ninja leader on the ground, his foot ruined, also began roaring:

"I don't believe it! You can't kill all of us! Come on, hurt each other!"

The dozen people started shouting along with him, their kunai and hand signs all aimed at Naruto. The scattered killing intent gathered once more.

They had all calculated it: no matter how strong Naruto was, he was only a Genin.

Even an elephant could be bitten to death by enough ants. With so many of them attacking together, even if he were made of iron, he would lose a layer of skin!

Naruto let out a low laugh, filled with casual brutality.

"I've never seen such a pathetic request before. Since you're begging to die, I'll grant your wish—by killing every last one of you."

Before his words had even faded, a vicious gleam suddenly flashed through the eyes of the half-dead Grass Ninja leader on the ground.

He seized the instant after Naruto finished speaking, exhausted the last of his chakra, and lunged toward Karin!

He couldn't beat Naruto, but this red-haired girl was Naruto's greatest weakness!

As long as he took her hostage, he could live! He might even be able to turn the tables on that blond brat!

His hand was already about to touch Karin's red hair, and a triumphant, savage grin had appeared in his eyes.

—Whoosh!

A blade flash too fast to see streaked past everyone's eyes like lightning.

"Ahhh! Fuck, my hands!"

A shrill scream instantly tore through the forest.

When everyone looked closely, both hands the Grass Ninja had reached out with had been severed at the wrists and lay on the ground. The cuts were smooth and clean, while the fingers that had fallen onto the rocky ground still twitched unconsciously.

Blood gushed from the stumps, but every drop splashed onto the Grass Ninja himself. Not a single drop touched Karin's clothes.

No one had seen when Naruto drew his blade.

He had not even turned around, still standing in front of Karin.

Not even a drop of blood stained the Nine-Life Demon Tail Blade.

Naruto lifted his foot and kicked the screaming Grass Ninja three meters away as though crushing trash. Then he pulled Karin behind him with one hand, shielding her completely.

He lowered his head and looked at the girl in his arms, whose face was pale but whose lips were still tightly bitten. For the first time, his voice softened.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. You guessed right. We're from the same clan."

Karin's pupils suddenly trembled.

Her sensory ability was an innate gift of the Uzumaki Clan. From the moment Naruto stepped forward, she had sensed within his chakra the same blazing, vast life force that shared her origin.

But she had not dared to believe it.

She had searched for her clansmen for so many years, searched so long for a sense of belonging. How could it have simply appeared before her like this?

Karin's voice shook beyond recognition, and her eyes reddened again.

"You're from the Uzumaki Clan too? But your hair... isn't red..."

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, leaned close to her ear, and whispered:

"I'll tell you a secret. My mother's name is Kushina Uzumaki. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Boom.

It felt as though something exploded in Karin's mind.

When her mother had still been alive, she had told her countless times about this legendary woman from their clan—the last princess of Whirlpool Hidden Village, who married Konoha's Fourth Hokage and became the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She was a powerful woman the entire Uzumaki Clan took pride in.

Karin had never imagined that she would actually meet Lady Kushina's child.

The scorching tears could no longer be held back and came pouring down in large drops.

This time, there was no grievance and no despair—only the burning warmth of finally finding her roots.

For all these years, she had been treated as a tool, as a blood bag, beaten, cursed, and exploited. No one had ever told her that she was not alone.

Naruto quickly raised a finger to his lips and shushed her, a mischievous smile in his azure eyes.

"Keep it quiet. Right now, you're the only one who knows."

The two of them talked as if no one else existed, completely igniting the dozen people surrounding them.

The humiliation of being utterly ignored, mixed with their fear of Naruto's strength, turned into hysterical madness.

"Now's our chance! He's distracted! Attack together! Kill him!"

"Take his scroll! Grab that woman too!"

"Kill him!"

More than a dozen figures charged forward at once. Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, Water Release: Water Rushing Wave, and kunai wrapped in wind-natured chakra came crashing down on Naruto from all directions!

Karin's face went pale, and she instinctively tried to stand in front of Naruto, but he held her firmly against his chest.

"Pathetic."

Naruto snorted. The smile vanished from his eyes in an instant, leaving only bone-chilling coldness.

Holding the Nine-Life Demon Tail Blade in one hand, he swung it backward. The fierce blade aura directly shattered the Earth Release wall rushing toward him!

His other hand moved so fast it left afterimages. His one-handed seal speed was so fast that even the Sharingan might not have been able to follow it!

"Wind Release: Fūma Shuriken: Shadow Windmill!"

Four shuriken howling through the air instantly tore through the atmosphere and shot toward the people charging at the front!

Those people immediately raised their kunai to block, still mocking Naruto in their hearts for having only this much skill—but the next second, the incoming shuriken exploded and transformed into four Naruto clones!

"What?!"

Their cries of shock had barely reached their throats.

—Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three cold flashes swept past, too fast for them to even scream.

The three ninjas at the front were cut in half at the waist. Blood and organs splattered everywhere, and their corpses crashed heavily to the ground, their eyes still wide open.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The remaining dozen people stood frozen as if their feet had been nailed to the ground. They shook like sieves, barely able to hold their kunai.

The courage they had just had to attack together shattered into nothing.

They finally understood.

This blond youth before them was no ordinary Genin.

He was an evil ghost that had crawled out of hell!

"Run! Run!"

Someone shouted, and the remaining people instantly scattered like frightened birds. They fled madly into the depths of the forest, scrambling and crawling away without even daring to look back.

Naruto did not pursue them. He simply sheathed his blade and looked down at Karin, who was still clutching his clothes tightly in his arms.

The girl's red hair brushed against his chest. She was still trembling slightly, but she looked up at him with bright eyes full of undisguised dependence.

Karin's nose stung, and she wanted to cry again. But she nodded hard and buried her face in his chest.

Naruto raised a hand and gently rubbed her messy red hair. His tone was more serious than ever.

"From now on, no one will ever bully you again."