Karin bit her lip and remained silent for a dozen seconds, then rolled up her left sleeve, revealing a dense cluster of bite marks on her arm.
Karin touched one of the deepest bite marks with the tip of her right index finger. "My mother used to be like this too. Whenever the ninjas of Kusagakure got injured, they would come to her and bite her arm. No matter how severe the wound was, one bite would heal it."
"That's how my mother was sucked dry by them, bit by bit. In the end, she didn't even have the strength to sit up."
"I was very small back then. I would lie next to her, watching those ninjas walk in one by one to bite her."
"On the day she died, she told me to make sure I found a way to leave this place, so I wouldn't end up bitten to death like her."
"But after she died, they locked me in the exact same room. Now, I've taken over my mother's role."
Karin didn't cry when she said this and her voice was very calm. But Naruto could clearly see that her entire body was trembling at an extremely subtle frequency.
He threw the finished stick in his hand into the fire. "If you don't want to keep being locked in that room, come to Konoha after a while."
Karin raised her head from her knees. "Konoha? I... I'm a ninja of Kusagakure. I can't just leave whenever I want."
Naruto said, "We are both from the Uzumaki clan. It's only natural that we look out for each other. Once you arrive in Konoha, you can choose to continue being a ninja, or if you don't want to, you can just live as an ordinary civilian. You can do whatever you want, and no one will lock you up to use you as a first-aid kit anymore."
"But... why after a while? Why not now?" Karin asked in confusion.
"Konoha won't be very peaceful for a while."
Naruto didn't explain too much, only raising his eyes to look at Karin. "It will only stabilize in about two months."
"Once the Chunin Exams are over, if you are willing to come to Konoha, I will come and get you."
Karin lowered her head and fell silent.
"What do I want to do? From the moment I was born until now, I have never thought about this." She muttered to herself.
"What if they want to bite me again after I go back? I've endured it for so long, I thought I had gotten used to it. But now, I suddenly feel like that's not the case. Now, it feels like I can't bear it anymore."
Seeing this, Naruto took out a Kunai engraved with a Flying Thunder God Mark from his ninja tool pouch and handed it to Karin.
The Flying Thunder God Mark on this Kunai was carved by condensing a large amount of his Chakra. If not used frequently, the mark wouldn't dissipate for half a year.
"Keep it with you. Once the Chunin Exams are over and you go back, if you've made up your mind, channel your Chakra into it. I'll be able to sense it and find you."
"It's not made of any precious materials, just an ordinary Kunai. It's just that my formula is on it. If you hold onto it, I'll know where you are."
Karin took the Kunai with both hands and slid it into the innermost layer of her ninja tool pouch.
Having done all this, she seemed to make up her mind, sniffing hard to force back the tears behind her glasses.
"Yeah."
...
As the night grew deep, Naruto leaned against the rock wall with his eyes closed to rest, while Karin, wrapped in the white trench coat Naruto had lent her, curled up on the other side of the bonfire.
Naruto swept his perception around, and after confirming there were no anomalies, he went back to rest.
A lot of things happened in the Forest of Death that night.
After leaving Naruto, Orochimaru tracked northward all the way, catching up to Sasuke by a stream as he struggled forward, dragging Sakura along.
Sakura was already in a semi-conscious state due to continuous extreme tension and physical exhaustion. Sasuke was supporting her with one arm while keeping his other hand in a defensive posture, holding his Kunai in a reverse grip.
Orochimaru didn't give Sasuke any time to react. He lunged out of the shadows and bit the left side of Sasuke's neck.
Sasuke didn't even have time to make a sound as he collapsed to his knees. At the bitten spot on his neck, three tomoe-shaped black spots were spreading outward along his blood vessels at a terrifying speed.
Cursed Seal of Heaven!
Orochimaru left a sentence by Sasuke's ear. "I will be waiting for you to come find me."
Then, he disappeared into the woods.
Sasuke lay on the ground for the entire night. He struggled repeatedly on the brink of consciousness and unconsciousness, and each brief moment of waking was accompanied by a tearing pain throughout his body.
When Sakura woke up and saw Sasuke collapsed by the stream, she was so frightened she almost fainted again.
She dragged Sasuke out of the cold stream onto the bank, built a crude shelter out of branches and a cloak, and then guarded Sasuke's side with her Kunai for the entire night, her ears filled with his uncontrollable, hoarse groans.