Naruto Uzumaki Is a Rogue Ninja

With the clones included, four Narutos formed hand seals and used the Body Flicker Technique, instantly appearing before the Kusagakure ninja.

"Wind Release: Finger Gun!"

The projectiles that exploded within their bodies instantly tore their bodies apart, blood staining Naruto's cherry blossom dress.

"Nonō, protect Karin!"

Mikoto Uchiha noticed the Kusagakure ninja trying to snatch Karin and activated her Sharingan.

"How can this be, my body won't move!"

The Kusagakure ninja who had tried to snatch Karin found their bodies suddenly unable to move.

"This is a paralyzing Genjutsu!"

Just as the Kusagakure ninja, realizing they were caught in a genjutsu, was about to break free, a kunai pierced his neck.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Mikoto quickly formed hand seals, took a breath, and her Fire Release chakra transformed into flames, heading towards the ninja immobilized by the genjutsu. Facing the whistling flames, those trapped by Mikoto's paralyzing genjutsu were unable to dodge and could only watch as the flames approached, their eyes widening in terror as they were engulfed.

"Ahhhhhh—!!!"

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

A fierce gale blew outwards, scattering the ninja who got close to Naruto. Naruto raised his hand, crossing his arms.

"Wind Release: Finger Bullet Barrage!"

Projectiles compressed from Wind Release chakra shot out from the fingertips of Naruto's ten fingers in rapid succession, like a machine gun.

Upon hitting the enemies, the projectiles spread out, forming countless tiny wind blades that sliced through their bodies. Mangled corpses, their appearances indistinguishable, fell to the ground.

"And you think you can take Karin back like this?"

Naruto walked towards the ninja who had bitten Karin. Naruto deliberately didn't kill him, saving him for last. Naruto stomped hard on his hand, grinding it with force.

"You want to take Karin back? You know very well what you did to her. The wounds on her wrist were caused by you, weren't they?"

Listening to his pained groans, Naruto tilted her head and chuckled with delight.

"Their deaths are all your fault!"

Naruto pointed at the Kusagakure ninja killed by Wind Release and Fire Release.

"If you hadn't meddled, if you hadn't been greedy for Karin's abilities, none of this would have happened. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a cure for regret in this world. You have to bear the consequences of your actions..."

"Wind Release: Finger Gun!"

Naruto's deep, azure blue eyes were the last thing he saw before his death.

Seeing Naruto, who was not much older than herself, capable of killing the ninja who had killed her mother, and thinking of her mother's dying moments when she could do nothing but passively accept her mother's protection, Karin tightly closed her eyes, tears of pain and sorrow streaming down her face.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Naruto looked at the crying Karin, tenderly stroking her head. To her surprise, Karin sobbed and threw herself into her arms, hugging her tightly and weeping, her heart-wrenching cries expressing a pain and sorrow suppressed for who knows how long.

The image of her mother, covered in bite marks, dying before her eyes, never faded, haunting her like a nightmare, appearing in her dreams every night, reminding her that her future would be the same as her mother's, dying covered in bite marks.

Karin, sobbing, her cheeks slightly flushed, lowered her head, tugging on Naruto's sleeve, cautiously watching Naruto's expression.

"Can you take my mother with us? I don't want my mother to be left in this terrible place."

"What happened?"

Naruto didn't have many memories regarding Karin. She couldn't possibly remember all 700+ episodes of the Naruto story, only the general outline.

"Wait, your mother, did she have abilities like yours?" Naruto touched Karin's wrist. The bite marks from before had already healed after Yakushi Nonō's treatment, leaving no trace of a scar.

"Yes, my mother was bitten to death by ninja from this village..." Karin bit her lip, trying to hold back tears, but they flowed uncontrollably.

"Take me to your mother's grave," Naruto said, lowering her head and her voice. Anyone could feel the anger simmering within Naruto.

In a corner of Kusagakure, at an inconspicuous mound of earth, Karin pointed.

"They told me my mother was buried here."

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

A strong wind swept up the soil, quickly revealing what was buried in the mound. Inside was merely the corpse of a dead ninja hound. Karin's mother's body was not buried here.

"This is too much..." Mikoto Uchiha, seeing a dog's corpse buried in the grave, felt an indescribable rage surge within her, her eyes unconsciously activating her Sharingan.

"They, they lied to me! They said they would bury my mother properly if I behaved!" Karin, overwhelmed with emotion, could not believe what she was seeing and collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly at the ninja hound's corpse.

Was her mother's body...? Yakushi Nonō, realizing what might have happened to Karin's mother's body, covered her mouth, looking at the devastated Karin with pity.

Naruto's teeth gnashed. Seeing Karin sitting on the ground, completely broken, she had never been so angry before. The extreme rage caused the Nine-Tails' seal to weaken.

The Nine-Tails suppressed its chakra to prevent too much from leaking due to the weakened seal.

"Naruto! Control your emotions!"

"Sorry, Nine-Tails, anger isn't something you can just control. I never imagined something like this would happen to Karin. I thought her fate was tragic enough, but to think her mother was... bitten to death by Kusagakure ninja!"

"I think they probably did something to your mother's remains. Come, let's go and retrieve your mother, Karin!"

Naruto pulled Karin, who was sitting on the ground staring blankly at the grave, to her feet.

"Take it back?"

Karin turned her head and looked at Naruto blankly, her young face showing such a fragile expression.

"That's right, take it back."

"But how can we fight an entire ninja village with just us?" Karin laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Slap—!"

"Look at you, like a stray dog! What do you think is happening to your mother's remains? Have you even thought about it? They won't even let your mother's body rest in peace after she's dead, and you're just going to accept it?"

Naruto slapped Karin. In his extreme anger, Naruto's eyes turned blood red, his pupils becoming beast-like and vertical.

Frightened by those eyes, Karin pushed Naruto away and sat back down on the ground.