In the middle of Room Twelve stood a massive barrel, wrapped in concentric seals of the Five Elements. The stone gleamed under the lamp's light, and with every passing second, a faint crackling grew louder inside — as if chakra itself was trying to break free.
A dull click echoed, the lid shifted aside, and the barrel split open. Two figures rose from the clouds of steam. The Uzumaki twins straightened slowly, wincing from dizziness. Faint lines of glowing chakra still ran across their skin — remnants of Orochimaru's experiment.
If things had gone according to his plan, an uncontrollable surge of power would be tearing through them now, laced with combat stimulants and the Snake Sannin's personal chakra. The idea was simple: make them addicted to borrowed strength. Give them a taste of power, then keep them on a leash like pets.
Luckily, Minato had intervened in time and carefully removed that "happiness supplement" from the seal.
Menma lifted the edge of his shirt and ran his fingers across the inked pattern on his stomach. The Kyūbi seal looked familiar, but it now bore new additions — five concentric symbols shimmering faintly in the dim light. The accursed Five Elements Seal. It was dormant for now, but Menma could feel it: if he wanted, the entire construct could become a weapon.
Beside him, Naruko was examining her own seal. She bit her lip at the resemblance to her brother's, then looked up. Their eyes met — and both smirked at the same time.
Orochimaru had tried to turn them into addicts. Instead, he accidentally gave them a new path to power.
"Ironic," Menma muttered, letting his shirt fall. "Thanks for the upgrade, snake."
Before Naruko could reply, the door on the far side of the room creaked open.
Karin stood in the doorway. Her pupils widened, her breathing quickened — then she dashed forward. A heartbeat later, the twins were trapped in her iron grip, faces pressed against her chest.
"You're alive!" Her voice trembled somewhere between sobbing and laughing. "I thought... I thought you weren't coming back!"
The twins exchanged a glance between her arms. Naruko's face clearly said, what's happening, while Menma's said, don't move, let her finish. Neither dared to stir.
"You seriously thought we'd die in a barrel?" Menma drawled.
"Don't joke about that!" Karin let them go abruptly and stepped back, hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea what it's like to wake up and find you gone? Just some creepy barrel in the middle of the room and a note!"
"A note?" Menma raised an eyebrow.
"Here, read it!" She fished a crumpled scrap of paper from her pocket and tossed it at him. "Keep it. I've already memorized it after five days of panic!"
Menma caught the paper, unfolded it, and read aloud: "Getting stronger. Don't disturb."
He glanced at his sister.
[How thoughtful of Orochimaru to leave a note on our behalf. How considerate.]
"Well?" Karin tapped her foot like a metronome. "What. Was. That?"
Menma opened his mouth to answer — but instead, his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl. A second later, Naruko's joined in, even louder.
"Karin-chan, we'll tell you everything," Naruko said, pressing her palms together in a pleading gesture, looking as innocent as possible. "But first... food, please!"
Karin exhaled loudly, though her lips twitched. It was physically impossible to stay mad at this duo. "And take a shower while you're at it," she said, wrinkling her nose. "You smell like two horses that escaped from the Forest of Death. The exam ends in three hours, by the way."
"Three hours?!" the twins yelled in unison and bolted toward the door, shedding clothes as they ran.
Karin almost dropped her glasses. "Hey! Both of you? There's only one shower!"
"We're used to it," Menma called back, already pulling off his shirt. "At the orphanage, we had to stick together for safety."
"Sometimes we bathed together in the river, totally naked!" Naruko added cheerfully, waving over her shoulder. "Karin-chan, wanna join us? It's more fun as a trio!"
Karin's face went scarlet to the roots of her hair. "Perverts!" she blurted, turning away. "I'll just make lunch!"
"Make a lot," Menma shouted from behind the door. "We haven't eaten in five days. I could devour a bear."
"Two bears," Naruko added, twisting the shower handle. "Raised in the Forest of Death!"
Karin pressed a palm to her face, listening to the water and the muffled laughter beyond the door. "Completely insane," she muttered, unable to hide a smile. "But they're my insane ones."
///
Half an hour later, the bathroom door cracked open, and two clouds of steam rolled out — followed by the Uzumaki twins, laughing and shoving each other playfully. Clean, fresh, and clearly satisfied, they both wore identical white bathrobes. Their hair was still damp and sticking out in every direction, as if they hadn't had time to dry it properly.
By the wardrobe lay neatly folded sets of their clothes — clean, pressed, and carrying Karin's scent. Even Naruko's sash had been retied into a new, elegant knot, unmistakably done by a woman's hand. But clothes could wait — hunger had triumphed over aesthetics.
The twins moved almost in sync toward the low table, where a steaming dinner was already waiting. The air was thick with the smell of noodles, rice, and something meaty, and Menma felt his stomach twist with impatience.
Without a word, they sat on the floor and dug in. The clatter of chopsticks, the hiss of hot broth, and the cheerful munching of the duo blended into one joyful symphony.
Menma demolished his bowl of ramen in three bites, then went for a second, then a third. He ate with the urgency of someone who feared the plate might vanish at any moment. He drank milk straight from the carton, forgetting to breathe between gulps.
Karin, watching the chaos unfold, set her bowl aside and clasped her hands under her chin.
"So, my little starving monsters," she asked with forced calm that barely hid her worry, "are you full now?"
Menma exhaled loudly, flopped onto his back, and patted his stomach with satisfaction. "Honestly, I think I finally understand the meaning of the word 'enlightenment,'" he mumbled. "A few more bites, and I'd have started meditating in the pot."
"Wonderful," Karin folded her arms. "Now… are you two going to explain what that was all about?"
Naruko instantly buried her face in her bowl, pretending to chew. Menma shrugged like someone caught red-handed but not particularly sorry about it.
"Nothing much to tell," he said lazily. "Just adamantine training."
Karin slowly turned her head toward him. "Training what?"
"Adamantine," Menma repeated calmly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. "My chakra chains."
She narrowed her eyes and glanced toward the remains of the ill-fated barrel still standing in the middle of the room. "Really?" she asked, voice tinged with disbelief. "And here I thought you'd just be doing push-ups and pull-ups."
Menma nearly snorted. "Karin," he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, "adamantine is a clan hiden of the Uzumaki. You think you can learn something like that by hanging from a bar? Of course it needs a special seal and a proper ritual."
Karin adjusted her glasses but didn't look away. "Let's say I believe you. Why now, of all times?"
"Because the opportunity came up," Menma replied slowly enough to sound convincing. "You'll understand once we start teaching you our techniques — moments like that can't be wasted. Sometimes a door opens for a second, and either you step through it or you stay outside."
Karin blinked in surprise. "You're… planning to teach me your techniques? But that's… not right!" she hesitated. "Shinobi are supposed to keep their clan secrets."
"Karin!" Menma cut her off, not sharply but with quiet insistence. "You're not just our teammate."
He turned to his sister, and Naruko smiled without pausing her meal.
"You're family. And, well… to be completely honest, you're our girlfriend," he said, tilting his head slightly, as if stating something obvious. "We'll always take care of you."
Karin blushed to the tips of her ears, hid her smile behind her bowl, and decided it was wiser not to ask any more uncomfortable questions.
Naruko kept chewing, eyes downcast. A pang of guilt nagged at her — lying to Karin-chan wasn't pleasant. But Dad had been clear: mentioning Orochimaru or the experiments was forbidden. Even as a hint.
Menma stretched out his legs, yawned, and said lazily, "So… what happened while we were gone?"
Karin's tone turned serious. "Plenty. Orochimaru showed up at the exam."
Menma raised an eyebrow. "The Orochimaru? As in, Jiraiya and Tsunade's teammate?"
"Uh-huh." She nodded. "The whole village is buzzing. He attacked Sasuke right in the middle of the test. Played with him like a toy. But then… he suddenly screamed, like something burned him from the inside, and disappeared."
[Dad warned me — a Rasengan with natural energy hitting a snake clone would definitely recoil back to the original.]
"How's Sasuke?" Menma asked casually.
"Alive," Karin said. "No serious injuries, just bruises. The fight didn't really get going."
[Good. So Sasuke didn't get the cursed mark. Last thing I need is him going off the deep end like in canon.]
Naruko swallowed another mouthful of noodles and grinned. "Karin-chan, you must've been bored without us, huh?"
"Not really," she snorted. "I hung out with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. They're nice, even if they never shut up. But every time I left the room, I still checked where Gaara was with my sensory field."
[Of course that red psycho made it through.And now he thirsts for our blood.]