Tenten vs. Uzumaki Karin
After seeing her name appear on the screen, Uzumaki Karin straightened up, stretched lazily, and smiled faintly.
"So it's finally my turn."
"We're in Konoha. Don't overdo it," Yugao reminded her from the side.
"Got it."
With that, Karin leapt down into the arena.
On the opposite side, a girl with twin buns jumped down as well.
"Tenten, you've got this!"
"Believe in yourself and crush her!"
Two loud voices with matching thick eyebrows echoed from the stands.
Beside them, Naruto covered his ears with a grimace. "They're way too loud…"
"Huh?!"
His eyes suddenly widened as he pointed at the screen and shouted, "Kakashi-sensei! That girl's surname is Uzumaki too—just like mine!"
Naruto stared in shock.
In this world, Naruto still bore the Uzumaki name. The higher-ups in Konoha had him take his mother's surname, fearing that Minato's many enemies might one day target the child.
"You just noticed?" Kakashi muttered dryly.
Still, like the other shinobi present, he focused his gaze on the red-haired girl below.
The Uzumaki clan…
"So the Snow Hidden Village team is finally stepping up," someone murmured.
The genin in the stands leaned forward with curiosity.
"They arrived before us," Kiba whispered. "And they were the first to clear the second exam."
"Ahem… Tenten versus Uzumaki Karin. Begin!"
Seeing both fighters ready, Hayate Gekkō announced the start of the match.
For a moment, neither girl moved.
Tenten hopped back lightly, widening the distance between them. Her eyes flicked back and forth, carefully measuring the space as she planned her opening.
Karin, on the other hand, didn't budge. One hand rested on her hip as she watched Tenten casually, a bored, indifferent look on her face.
"Tch. How long are you going to stand there thinking?" Karin clicked her tongue. "Planning to beat me by boring me to death?"
After a pause, she added impatiently, "Come on. I'll let you have the first move. I'll just stand right here."
Tenten studied her face. Karin didn't look like she was bluffing.
"…Then I won't hold back!"
She sprang into motion, leaping forward and flicking both hands. Several shuriken whistled through the air toward Karin.
Karin's expression didn't change. She turned slightly sideways and stepped lightly, hands still in her pockets.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Every shuriken missed, embedding themselves in the ground behind her.
"That it?" Karin asked flatly.
"Damn it…"
Tenten launched another volley. Once again, Karin slipped past every projectile with effortless ease.
"Put away the warm-up tricks," Karin said coolly. "Show me something worth watching."
'Calm down… Don't let her get under your skin.'
Tenten steadied her breathing and judged the distance again. If Karin was that good at dodging, then she just had to make dodging impossible.
Her eyes narrowed.
Tenten pulled out a scroll and sprinted forward before jumping high into the air. The scroll unfurled and spun around her like a coiling dragon.
In the next instant, a torrent of weapons—kunai, shuriken, sickles, and more—poured from the scroll and rained down on Karin.
Facing the dense storm of steel, Karin raised an eyebrow and spoke softly:
"Adamantine Sealing Chains."
Golden chains burst from her back, surging forward and weaving into a shining net.
Clang! Clatter!
The incoming weapons struck the chains and fell uselessly to the ground.
"What is that?!"
Aside from Naruto and a few Konoha shinobi, the spectators erupted in shock.
The power of the Uzumaki…
Even the jonin couldn't hide their surprise.
"She's awakened it to this extent already…" Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured, eyes fixed on Karin.
Only Naruto stared at Karin with wide eyes.
"The same surname… the same ability as my mom… and even the same hair color…"
His voice trembled with excitement as he turned to Kakashi, hope shining in his eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei… that girl… could she be related to me?!"
"Uh…"
Kakashi blinked, caught off guard. He scratched the back of his head before answering,
"She is part of the Uzumaki clan, just like you and your mother. In that sense… yeah, you could call her family."
"Really?!"
Naruto immediately looked back down at Karin.
"She's from the same clan as Naruto…" Sakura murmured, staring at the red-haired girl that they met before in surprise.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Tenten landed lightly and faced Karin with a serious expression.
"My weapons… those chains can block everything… Can she control them freely…?"
"In that case—!"
Tenten pulled out two scrolls at once.
"Oh? Two this time?" Karin said calmly, her expression unchanged. She watched with mild interest, as if expecting at least a little surprise.
Bang!
A puff of smoke burst across the field as Tenten leapt high into the air.
"Twin Rising Dragons!"
The scrolls unfurled, and an even greater storm of weapons poured out. Kunai, shuriken, and blades rained down like a steel torrent, twice as dense as before, all aimed at Karin.
Karin casually manipulated the chains around her. They rose and curved overhead, forming a shimmering hemispherical shield.
Clang! Clatter!
Every weapon struck the golden barrier and bounced away, scattering harmlessly across the ground.
"…Is that it?" Karin sighed, faint disappointment in her voice.
The next instant, the chains exploded outward. Golden links shot toward the sky like spears.
Tenten's expression changed. She twisted midair, desperately dodging—but there were too many.
One chain snapped around her calf.
Before she could react, several more wrapped around her body, binding her completely.
"No—I can't—!"
Tenten's face paled.
"Tenten!"
From the stands, her thick-browed sensei and teammate shouted in alarm.
The chains retracted strongly. Tenten was yanked forward without resistance.
Karin clenched her fist, chakra gathering around it, and drove a punch into Tenten's stomach.
Bang!
"Gagh—!"
The impact folded Tenten's body in half. A breathless gasp escaped her as bile rose in her throat.
Karin suspended her in the air with the chains, then drew a kunai and held it lightly at Tenten's neck.
"It's over."
She glanced at Hayate Gekkō.
"The match is finished. Winner: Uzumaki Karin of the Snow Hidden Village."
Hayate announced the result without hesitation.
Yugao's student… impressive.
He cast an appreciative glance toward the stands.
With the match decided, Karin gently lowered Tenten to the ground, withdrew her chains, and turned to walk calmly back upstairs.
Watching her retreating figure, the Third Hokage frowned slightly.
Her talent rivals Kushina's… What a shame she belongs to the Snow Hidden Village.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Amazing…"
The Konoha shinobi murmured among themselves. Karin had ended the fight swiftly and cleanly the moment she got serious.
Under countless gazes, she returned to her team's area.
"What's wrong? Not happy with your win?" Yugao asked with a small smile.
"My opponent was too weak," Karin replied quietly. "There's no satisfaction in it."
Unlike her original path—where she had been constantly tied up assisting Orochimaru's experiments and rarely trained—this Karin had developed under Obito's strict guidance.
Day after day of training had sharpened her taijutsu, ninjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and sealing techniques. Combined with her Uzumaki bloodline abilities, her potential had been fully drawn out.
"Hey!"
A blur of blond hair rushed up to the Snow team's section. Naruto skidded to a stop in front of Karin and grinned.
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you!"
"…."
Karin turned and stared at him in silence.
Of course she knew who he was—the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki of Konoha. She'd heard from her lord and from her mother that the sealing techniques she practiced had originated from this boy's mother, Uzumaki Kushina. They'd even crossed paths once at Ichiraku Ramen.
Which only made his sudden enthusiasm more puzzling.
"Huh? Why are you staring at me like that?" Naruto asked, confused.
Karin sighed.
"It's nothing. You just look unbelievably stupid."
"Huh?!"
Naruto froze for half a second—then exploded.
"What do you mean stupid?! Where do I look stupid?!"
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