Walking out of the Hokage Building.
The heavy doors behind him slowly closed with a dull thud.
As if sealing off another world.
"Still too naive, aren't I?"
Naruto stood on the steps, watching the busy street, a self-deprecating smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Even though he had long seen through the true nature of the Village's higher-ups,
even though he clearly knew that the so-called "Will of Fire" weighed less than a feather on the scales of interest,
but at the moment he brought up Karin's future just now,
deep in his heart, he had actually harbored a sliver of unrealistic expectation for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As it turned out, illusions are just illusions after all.
Naruto's eyes gradually grew cold in the night.
Since Konoha's rules have no place for her, I'll do it my own way.
"Naruto!"
Under the lights not far away, several familiar figures were waiting.
Sakura was jumping and waving, her pink hair exceptionally striking in the night;
Sasuke leaned against a tree trunk with his hands in his pockets, a look of impatience on his face;
Karin shrank back behind the two of them, timidly observing everything around her.
Kakashi leaned against a lamp post, half his face obscured by that well-worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise.
Seeing Naruto come out, he lazily lifted his half-lidded eyes.
"You're late, Naruto."
Sasuke straightened up and gave a cold snort.
Though as sharp-tongued as ever,
the moment Naruto appeared, the irritability that had been swirling around him seemed to dissipate significantly.
Seeing this scene, the chill in Naruto's heart thawed slightly.
He walked down the stairs.
"At least these guys are still here."
Karin looked around at the passing crowds,
seeming full of curiosity about everything in Konoha.
As Naruto approached, she became increasingly nervous.
Her hands tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, her lips moved a few times, but she said nothing.
Her eyes were filled with hope and apprehension.
Though she didn't speak, Naruto read her gaze.
Did the Hokage agree to take me in?
Naruto walked up to her, reached out, and gently ruffled her long red hair,
his tone calm and certain:
"Don't worry, everything will be fine."
This was Naruto's promise.
From now on, Karin's safety wouldn't be a charity from Konoha; Uzumaki Naruto would be responsible for it.
Looking at the determined youth before her, the panic in Karin's eyes gradually subsided.
As if she finally had someone to lean on, her heart became incredibly peaceful.
"Mm!"
Naruto turned around and smiled at everyone:
"To celebrate all of us passing the second exam,
I suggest we eat barbecue tonight! Kakashi-sensei's treat!"
"That's right! We have to have a good meal!"
Sakura immediately chimed in.
"Hmph, I agree."
Sasuke's lips curved slightly, a rare show of agreement.
Kakashi stumbled, looking at his wallet with a helpless expression:
"Hey, hey… I didn't agree to this."
However, no one paid him any mind. The three students, with Karin in tow, were already marching grandly toward the barbecue restaurant…
Crackle.
The charcoal gave a soft pop, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the small private room.
While flipping the meat, Kakashi looked at Naruto with feigned casualness.
"Speaking of which, Naruto, I've been meaning to ask since we were in the tower."
"You keep protecting your neck, intentionally or not. Are you injured?"
Sasuke's hand froze as he was picking up meat, and he looked up at Naruto's collar.
Naruto's expression remained normal.
"It's nothing, just got bitten by a snake by accident. It's fine now."
"Fine now?"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly, clearly unconvinced.
Beside them, Karin looked like she wanted to say something.
She had seen Naruto's agonizing struggle when he suppressed the Cursed Seal.
But she timidly glanced at Naruto's calm profile and wisely chose to keep her mouth shut.
Snap.
A crisp sound echoed.
The chopsticks in Sasuke's hand were snapped clean in two.
He kept his head down, his bangs obscuring his eyes, making his expression unreadable.
Sasuke was starting to figure things out now.
That terrifying man's initial target should have been him.
But in the end… Naruto blocked the attack for him? And even got injured for it?
A strong sense of shame and self-reproach surged wildly in Sasuke's heart.
"Again… even though he's the 'dead last'…"
"Even though I'm the one carrying the destiny of revenge…"
"Why… is it always me who ends up being protected…"
…Having eaten their fill, the group walked along the street.
"Well then, see you tomorrow."
Just as the group was about to go their separate ways,
several swaying figures suddenly emerged from a nearby izakaya, blocking their path.
They reeked of alcohol and wore Kusagakure forehead protectors.
It was the Kusagakure Jonin leading the team for the Chunin Exams, along with two Genin who had luckily survived.
"Yo, found you."
The leading Jonin let out a drunken burp, his gaze passing over Naruto and the others to stare straight at Karin, who was hiding at the back.
A cruel sneer appeared on his face:
"Didn't expect a piece of trash like you to still be alive? We all thought you died in the Forest of Death."
Karin trembled all over; it was a fear etched into her bones.
She instinctively tried to shrink behind Naruto.
"Since you're not dead, come back with us!"
Another Grass Ninja stepped forward impatiently, ignoring the Konoha group with an extremely arrogant attitude:
"Don't think you're safe just because you're hiding behind Konoha Ninja. The Village is still waiting for you to get back to work!"
"Get over here now!"
As he spoke, he roughly reached out, grabbing at Karin's conspicuous red hair.
"Ah!"
Karin let out a short scream.
Sasuke and Sakura instinctively moved to act, but they were still a step too slow.
Just as Karin was about to be dragged away like livestock,
a hand, like an iron vise, firmly clamped onto the Grass Ninja's wrist.
The Grass Ninja blinked and looked to the side.
There stood a blond youth, who had appeared beside him at some unknown moment.
Naruto had one hand in his pocket while the other held the man fast.
The usual gentleness was gone from his face, replaced by a cold indifference.
"Let go! Brat!"
The Grass Ninja roared, trying to break free.
But he found the other's grip was terrifyingly strong; he couldn't budge an inch despite his struggling.
"This is internal Kusagakure business. Do you want to break the alliance between Konoha and Kusagakure?"
"Alliance?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said that.
Upon hearing those words, a flash of tyranny flickered in the blue eyes behind Naruto's lenses.
"What does that scrap of paper have to do with me?"
CRACK!!
"AAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The Grass Ninja let out a shrill scream of agony.
His wrist bone was crushed by Naruto's bare hand, bending at a grotesque angle.
Naruto ignored the man's screams and tossed him aside like garbage.
Kakashi's pupils shrank. He started to step forward to intervene but then stopped himself.
Sasuke looked at Naruto's back, his shock beyond words.
Sakura gently took Karin's hand, finding that she was still trembling slightly.
Naruto forcibly suppressed the killing intent in his heart.
"Listen up, you Grass trash."
"She belongs to me now."
Naruto turned his head slightly, a bloodthirsty red glow glinting in the corner of his eye:
"Die here, or… get lost!"