"Karin, I finally get to see you in person!"
Following the address given in the chat group, Tenten soon found Karin in a small courtyard.
Her face lit up with joy as she rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
This was the first offline meeting between chat group members in the ninja world—truly a historic moment.
"That's great! I've wanted to meet you for so long!" Karin was just as happy, returning the hug.
Even now, it still felt surreal to her.
Not only had she escaped from the nightmare of Kusagakure, but she was now living in a safe environment with people who genuinely cared for her.
This girl—her good sister from the group—even though it was their first meeting, there was no trace of awkwardness between them.
Apart from Anko, who had just joined, and Sakura, who had barely spoken since entering the group, everyone else already felt like family.
"Karin, is someone here?" Her mother Kana called from inside the house as she finished cleaning and arranging furniture.
"Yes, Mom!" Karin shouted happily. "Come out quick, a friend of mine came to visit!"
"Friend?" Kana blinked in surprise.
Karin had wandered alongside her since birth, never having a stable life.
Two years ago, Kusagakure had offered to take them in. At first, they thought it would finally mean safety—but it had turned into a nightmare instead.
Under those cruel conditions, where even their lives were constantly in danger, no one had ever dared get close to Karin. So how could she suddenly have a friend?
With some doubt, Kana stepped into the yard.
There she saw Tenten hugging Karin tightly, whispering and giggling like old friends.
Sensing their genuine happiness, Kana's caution quickly faded.
"Well then, Karin, won't you introduce me to your mother?" Kana smiled warmly at them both.
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Tenten!" she said cheerfully. "Karin helped me earlier on the road, so I came here especially to thank her."
"Yes, yes!" Karin nodded vigorously. "We hit it off right away—now we're best sisters!"
Seeing her daughter's unguarded joy, Kana's confusion melted away. As Karin had guessed, she didn't press for details and was simply glad for her daughter.
"Tenten? What a good child." Kana nodded with a smile. "I'll ask you to take good care of Karin from now on. You two stay in the yard for a bit—I'll make some cakes for you."
She added softly, "It's been a long time since I cooked myself… I'm not sure if my skills are rusty. I hope you won't mind."
"You're too polite, Auntie!" Tenten waved her hands quickly, then offered the fruit she had bought along the way. "Here, I brought some fruit. Could you help wash and cut it?"
As for helping in the kitchen, Tenten wanted to—but she knew her limits. Better to let Auntie handle it, and hope she wouldn't think poorly of her.
Kana thought nothing of it and simply smiled, accepting the fruit before heading inside.
Meanwhile, Itsuki was moving through a secluded forest when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Behind the blank Anbu mask, his eyes narrowed.
Swish!
From his position, a gray-white barrier instantly lit up, expanding in a radius of hundreds of meters.
"So… you came for me? Who could it be?"
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly as he scanned the surroundings.
No suppression techniques affected him—the barrier seemed only to isolate the area.
Clearly, it had been set up long in advance. They had been waiting for someone—specifically him.
If this were just bandits or rogues, they wouldn't go this far.
Which meant… someone had predicted his path and laid a trap.
But why him? He was just a rookie who'd only recently graduated.
The only people he'd directly offended were Kusagakure. But they couldn't possibly react this fast, let alone dare to ambush someone on Fire Country soil.
That left only one possibility—
Shimura Danzo.
The rat lurking in the shadows.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
As Itsuki analyzed the situation, a barrage of shuriken suddenly flew at him from all directions.
An ordinary rookie would've been turned into a pincushion. Even someone of Sasuke's level might have been badly wounded.
But under the gaze of the Sharingan, Itsuki didn't even need to move his feet.
He simply shifted his body ever so slightly, weaving through the deadly storm without a single scratch.
Then eight masked figures emerged from the trees, rushing at him.
They wore Anbu gear, but their cloaks were heavier, and their masks subtly different.
Root.
They wasted no time forming hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Lightning Style: Electric Volts!"
The ninjutsu merged instantly—
"Combined Jutsu: Lightning Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Four unleashed Earth Style, four unleashed Lightning Style, fusing into four composite attacks that roared toward him from every side.
Their skill was undeniable. Each one was at least Special Jonin level—far beyond the Kusagakure trash he'd faced before.
Itsuki's eyes narrowed. Their intent was clear.
They want to force me to use Wood Release.
Water and Earth—that was what he had openly mastered.
But Earth was crushed by Lightning, and Water was crushed by Earth.
Their formation was designed to counter everything he had shown so far.
This could only be Danzo's handiwork.
But…
They had underestimated him.
The corners of Itsuki's lips curved upward beneath his mask. Calmly, he formed hand seals.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Combined Jutsu: Earth-Water Dragon Bullet!"
Eight clones worked in perfect synchronicity. Four massive composite jutsu surged forth, each twice as thick as the Root's Lightning-Earth dragons.
For a moment, the Root ninja smirked in contempt.
Too slow. Too foolish. Wrong element. He's sealing his own death.
But then their eyes widened.
Itsuki's speed was astonishing, his control flawless.
Before the Lightning Earth Dragon Bullets even closed the distance, his Earth-Water Dragons had already taken form—and slammed into them head-on.
Boom!
The Root attacks shattered like paper, crushed under overwhelming force.
And the Earth-Water Dragons kept going, their momentum still raging as they barreled toward the eight attackers.
"What?!"
"Scatter!"
"Is he even human?!"
Their formation broke, panic flashing in their eyes.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The four colossal jutsu tore through the forest, reducing trees and stone alike to rubble.
The shockwaves sent dirt and leaves flying. One Root operative coughed blood, slammed back by the force.
The rest barely dodged in time—but even they staggered, blood and chakra roiling from the aftershocks.