Chapter 71: Give Me a Chance

The Grass shinobi placed the severely injured shinobi on the ground.

One of the Grass shinobi quickly entered the wooden hut, while the other reached out to grab Karin.

"No, don’t! Waaaah~!"

Karin cried out in pain as she struggled desperately.

But how could her weakened body possibly overpower a grown shinobi?

At that moment, the other Grass shinobi who had gone inside to check the situation came out and nodded.

She was really dead.

The Grass shinobi stared at the struggling Karin with a vicious look in his eyes.

Since her mother was dead, there was only the little girl left!

Her mother had possessed a special constitution, so naturally, her daughter should have it too.

Whether it worked or not, they would bite her first and worry about the rest later!

Otherwise, their brother wouldn’t survive.

And if it didn’t work, they would simply kill her and let her accompany their brother to the grave.

Their Grass Village didn’t raise useless people!

The Grass shinobi who had captured Karin quickly dragged her over to the desperately waiting injured shinobi.

Despair filled Karin’s face.

But she could only grit her teeth and glare fiercely at the Grass shinobi in front of her.

As though she wanted to carve their faces into her memory!

In the shadows—

Uchiha Izumi glanced at Naruto, silently asking what he intended to do.

Naruto opened his mouth slightly.

Wait.

If he was going to intervene, he had to do it at the critical moment.

It was still too early.

Understanding Naruto’s intention, Uchiha Izumi’s heart stirred.

She turned her gaze toward Karin.

But she wasn’t looking at her with pity.

Instead, she looked at her like she was looking at someone incredibly fortunate.

Was Karin really lucky to be left to suffer for a while instead of being rescued immediately?

Yes.

At least Naruto was already there, ready to intervene.

Once she endured this ordeal, a completely new life would await her.

Wasn’t that fortunate?

The fact that Naruto wasn’t rescuing her immediately proved that he placed importance on her.

Wasn’t it?

If he didn’t care about her, he could simply save her casually.

Afterward, he could arrange a place for her to stay and might never think about her again.

But because he valued her, he was willing to help her build a stronger connection with him.

That meant Naruto would continue paying attention to her in the future.

With Naruto watching over her, Orochimaru wouldn’t dare do anything reckless.

Karin’s quality of life and status would naturally improve.

She might even receive guidance.

As long as she worked hard, she could possess considerable strength in the future.

Perhaps she wouldn’t reach the highest levels of the shinobi world.

But at the very least, she would never again be bullied like she was now.

Could the frightened and helpless Karin imagine any of this?

Probably not.

She wouldn’t even dare dream of it.

And yet, the turning point she couldn’t even imagine was about to arrive.

In Uchiha Izumi’s eyes, Karin was truly fortunate.

She turned her gaze toward the Grass shinobi.

Karin had already been dragged over to the severely injured shinobi.

The desperate shinobi opened his mouth, revealing teeth stained with blood.

"Someone, save me!"

Terror filled Karin’s face as she abruptly closed her eyes.

In the shadows—

Naruto suddenly appeared.

Tap!

"Who?!"

The deliberately loud sound of his landing immediately drew the attention of the three Grass shinobi.

The Sharingan genjutsu activated instantly!

The three Grass shinobi’s eyes became vacant, their movements freezing in place.

The sudden change caused Karin, who had been trembling with her eyes shut, to open them.

Naruto, without bothering to disguise himself, stared at her with his scarlet Sharingan.

There was no fear in Karin’s eyes.

Instead, a glimmer of hope appeared.

"Are you here to save me?"

"No!"

Naruto shook his head.

The light in Karin’s eyes immediately dimmed.

That’s right.

Who would save a poor little girl like me?

Clang!

Suddenly, a kunai landed in front of Karin.

"No one is going to save you. But you can try saving yourself."

Hearing the voice behind her and looking at the kunai in front of her, Karin bit her lower lip.

She remembered how the Grass shinobi had treated her and her mother.

She remembered her mother who had already died.

And she remembered the countless bite marks covering her mother’s body.

Karin’s entire body trembled.

A ruthless look appeared in her eyes.

Her expression twisted with hatred.

She suddenly picked up the kunai from the ground and viciously stabbed it into the heart of the Grass shinobi beside her!

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Even that wasn’t enough to satisfy her hatred.

Her hands were covered in blood.

Blood even splashed across her face.

Karin immediately turned toward the next Grass shinobi and stabbed again.

Slash!

It was a slaughter.

The three Grass shinobi were brutally killed by Karin, who had completely descended into madness.

Watching this scene from the shadows without revealing herself, Uchiha Izumi realized that she had misunderstood.

Naruto hadn’t deliberately waited until the last moment to rescue Karin simply to build a favorable impression.

He had wanted Karin to summon the courage to stake everything on a single desperate act while trapped in despair.

He had helped her develop a self-reliant mentality and strengthen her heart.

It seemed Naruto valued this clan member far more than she had imagined.

He even had extremely high expectations for her future.

"Waaaahhh~!"

After the madness subsided, emptiness filled Karin’s entire body and mind.

Covered in blood, Karin hugged her knees and burst into a hoarse, heart-wrenching cry.

"Let’s go, Izumi."

Naruto didn’t comfort her.

He didn’t even appear to have any intention of taking Karin with them.

He simply spoke toward the tree beside him before turning around and leaving.

Uchiha Izumi shook her head with a helpless smile, then appeared beside Naruto and walked alongside him.

Behind them, Karin raised her head while still sobbing.

She stared at their departing figures.

She suddenly felt as though something was about to leave her forever.

Naruto had appeared at the moment when she was at her most desperate.

He had even given her the opportunity to personally kill her enemies.

Her heart was now completely empty.

Almost instinctively, Karin filled that emptiness with Naruto, the person who had helped her.

If he left, there would truly be nothing left inside her.

She wiped away her tears with blood-covered hands and shouted,

"Can I come with you?!"

She didn’t dare chase after him.

But she couldn’t bear to let the last thing remaining in her heart disappear.

Naruto stopped.

But he didn’t turn around.

Seeing this, Karin immediately stood up.

"I’m useful! I can cook, wash clothes, and do all kinds of housework. If there’s something I don’t know how to do, I can learn.

"A powerful shinobi like you must need subordinates, right?

"I may be weak, but I have a special constitution. If you’re injured, or if one of your friends gets hurt, you can even bite me.

"As long as you bite me, your injuries will recover. It’s true.

"Just give me a chance to stay by your side. I’ll do anything."

When Naruto still didn’t respond, Karin bit her lower lip and whispered,

"Please... give me a chance."

Uchiha Izumi nudged Naruto with her elbow.

That’s enough.

A smile appeared on Naruto’s face.

He turned around.

"Then you can follow me from now on."

At those words, Karin felt the emptiness in her heart instantly filled by the warmth of Naruto’s smile.

Naruto himself hadn’t thought too much about it.

Just as Uchiha Izumi had guessed, he simply had high expectations for Karin’s future.

But on the path he was walking, he didn’t need weak people by his side.

Nor did he want to force anyone.

Only those who stood firmly at his side without hesitation were qualified to walk alongside him.

His decision to turn around and leave was simply giving Karin time to consider and make her own choice.

He wouldn’t walk too quickly.

Karin had enough time to think.

She could choose to remain in the Grass Village.

She could escape the Grass Village on her own.

She could even ask him to take her away.

Since he had already come here, Naruto would agree to any of those requests.

But Karin’s future position beside Naruto would depend entirely on the choice she made now.

If Karin had merely asked Naruto to take her away, Naruto would have simply handed her over to Orochimaru and left her there.

He wouldn’t pay special attention to her, nor would he make any effort to train her.

An opportunity had to be seized.

And now—

Naruto was very satisfied.

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