Kusagakure

"I remember you saying that I wasn't your only option. You had other pieces on the board. Let me guess—the other one was Neji Hyuga, wasn't it?" Sasuke suddenly said.

Black Shadow glanced at him. "When did you become so perceptive?"

"Don't forget, I'm an Uchiha!" Sasuke slightly raised his chin like a proud cat. "What happened to the Aburame was so similar to what happened to the Hyuga back then. And like me, Neji Hyuga was someone burdened by deep hatred, trapped between impossible choices. So I guessed this might have something to do with Neji Hyuga."

That night, Sasuke had attacked Torune Aburame. The Root reinforcements who came to assist had been captured and tortured by him. After that, it was as though he had awakened some strange new trait.

Torune Aburame's brains had been dug out, and his body taken away by Black Shadow. The very next day, something happened at the border of the Land of Lightning. Their efficiency was truly impressive.

"I want to meet Neji Hyuga." Sasuke looked utterly sincere.

"What for? To seek work experience from an outstanding senior?"

Sasuke fell silent for a moment. "I really am pathetic. Neji caused such a huge stir without making a sound, while I was still hesitating. I have to admit, Neji's actions moved me. I want this village to witness another Night of the Massacre! The Hyuga would make an excellent target."

Black Shadow nodded. "Fine. Neji will probably agree. He must be very envious that you have such a wonderful older brother who can wipe out an entire clan~"

The Shinobi World was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Every ninja village seemed to be suffering from serious internal problems.

Meanwhile, in Kusagakure—

A young ninja rushed into Karin's home in a panic, his face twisted with ferocity. "Where's Karin? I'm injured! Hurry up and let me bite you!"

Karin calmly rose to her feet, stood before the young ninja, and reached out with a wet squelch to dig out one of his eyes.

The young ninja howled in agony, rage surging through him. A medical pack that had always let others tear into her actually dared to resist? This was outrageous! She had to be punished!

The young ninja formed hand seals.

Before he could finish, he was instantly killed.

Karin calmly dealt with the corpse. As she dismembered it, she muttered, "Auntie Nao, was that the right thing to do?"

In Karin's vision, a red-haired woman suddenly appeared out of thin air. "Well done. Anyone who dares bully you doesn't deserve to live."

"But every one of them is stronger than me." Karin looked dejected. Kusagakure had never taught her any proper ninjutsu in order to control her.

"It's fine. I'll help you. Whoever you want dead, we'll kill!" The red-haired woman radiated murderous intent.

Karin hesitated briefly, then nodded decisively.

The red-haired woman was called Nao. She claimed to be the spirit of an Uzumaki and Karin's maternal aunt. One evening, she had suddenly appeared in Karin's mind, and then... people in Kusagakure had begun dying.

That very night, Nao took Karin out to ambush someone with a sack and beat a ninja who frequently bullied her into a pile of flesh.

Karin was excited at first, but then she grew worried. "Auntie, what if someone finds out? Kusagakure will come after us!"

"Don't be afraid. Your auntie is a supervillain who commits every evil imaginable. Villains are supposed to do bad things. As a little villain, you should be setting fires and killing people with me. Kusagakure is nothing but trash—we'll wipe it out when we get the chance!" Nao was incredibly arrogant, and she decided to put Karin through special villainization training. From that moment on, Kusagakure would become a true hell on earth.

Half a month later...

"Smack!" A Kusagakure ninja who tried to sneak up on Karin was sent flying. When he hit the ground, all the skin on his body had vanished, leaving behind only a bloody body that wailed endlessly, desperate to die.

"Idiot!" Nao shouted angrily.

"I'm not an idiot!" Karin protested, though she sounded slightly guilty.

"You got ambushed without noticing a thing. If that doesn't make you an idiot, what does? And that Uzumaki Skinning Technique—I've taught you for so long, so why can't you still use it properly?" Nao snapped in frustration.

Karin looked aggrieved. "Is the Skinning Technique really a secret Uzumaki technique? It's too... cruel. Wouldn't it be better to just chop them to death?"

Karin knew there was something suspicious about Nao's identity, because Nao made no effort to hide it. It seemed that "Uzumaki spirit" was merely an excuse she had casually made up. But Karin was still grateful to her and truly regarded her as her maternal aunt. Kusagakure was hell, and Nao was the light that had pulled Karin from that hell—her salvation.

Karin needed a spiritual pillar. Based on her past experiences, the role she needed most was that of a "mother," so the Demon took advantage of that opening.

The villainization training continued.

"Put some strength into it! Haven't you eaten? You're only peeling off a sheet of human skin. Why are you shaking?"

Hearing Auntie Nao's savage roar, Karin burst into tears. As a young girl, skinning someone alive really did not fit her image at all!

"Oh! I got it off! It's completely intact this time—not a single hole!" Karin happily sought praise from Nao.

"Very good." Nao took out the Witch's Handbook and crossed off the item for skinning someone alive.

Karin secretly glanced at it a few times. "Auntie Nao, what are boiling someone alive and dismemberment by chariots?"

"Oh, those are all skills a little witch must master. Let me see what's next... personally making a human stick."

Karin did not quite understand, but that did not stop her from agreeing. "Auntie Nao is right!"

The one turned into a human stick was a white-haired female ninja named Ryuzetsu. A green headscarf was draped over her head as she angrily rebuked Karin for being ungrateful. Kusagakure had taken in Karin and her mother, yet now Karin wanted to repay kindness with hatred.

Karin slapped her across the face. "Bitch, don't act like you never bit me. What are you pretending to be, some innocent little saint?"

Half an hour later, the gentle, kind, righteous female ninja Ryuzetsu, who cared for the whole world, had been turned into a human stick by Karin, who had no morals, no humanity, and was worse than a beast.

It was enough to make those who heard it sad and those who saw it weep.

The Kusagakure ninja had treated Karin as a living blood-restoring pill. Her heart had long been filled with hatred and resentment. So she did not struggle much over whether she was killing innocents; she simply lacked the courage to take the first step. Once her hands were stained with blood, the shackles around her heart immediately broke. She barely needed Nao's guidance to know what she should do.

Nao said that if they were going to pursue thrills, they should carry it through to the end. So she took Karin and offered every living thing in Kusagakure and Hozuki Castle to the Box of Bliss. They cursed, they begged, they were overcome with despair. Karin softened a little, but her hands showed no mercy, because Auntie Nao had said that if they did not kill them all, they would come back for revenge sooner or later.

When would the cycle of vengeance ever end? It was better to kill them all at once, sever the chain of hatred, and prevent future conflict.

Karin thought Nao made perfect sense. Though she killed without restraint, her heart was filled with compassion. "Auntie Nao is doing this for your own good. If you stay alive, you'll definitely suffer the pain of hatred. Besides, the Land of Grass is poor and miserable, so you might as well die. At least your families can be together, so you won't be lonely when you reach the Pure Land."

When Mui, the warden of Hozuki Castle, was killed, he heard Karin say such things and stared with eyes as wide as bells. Was that something a normal person could say?

Then again, Karin's mental state had never been normal. In Mui's eyes, Karin had been talking to herself from beginning to end, playing two roles as she smiled and slaughtered people.

Every Kusagakure ninja had devoted their lives to fulfilling the value of their existence. Their souls were taken by the Demon, their chakra devoured by the Box of Bliss, and their corpses became fertilizer that nourished the earth.

The Box of Bliss awakened, and a monster named Satori emerged from within. Nao circled him several times with an eager expression, countless terrible ideas bubbling up in her heart.