"Retreat!"
Karin broke free of the encirclement. Realizing their window was closing, the shadowed figure immediately ordered the Otsutsuki Puppets to seize Orochimaru's paralyzed body and burrow underground. He followed right after them. The Yin-Yang Release poison, powerful enough to completely neutralize a Sannin, was incredibly difficult to manufacture. They had only brought a small dose, and every last drop had been used on him. The blade-wielding puppet that delivered the strike had been smashed to splinters instantly. Without the toxin, and facing Karin's terrifying ferocity, remaining in the base meant a guaranteed death sentence against the swarming Oto-nin.
Monga followed close behind, leaving a handful of Otsutsuki Puppets to hold the line. As the kidnapping squad disappeared beneath the floorboards, the remaining constructs threw themselves at Karin and the rushing base personnel.
"Karin?!" Sakon of the Sound Four rushed to her side, shouting orders at the base guards to intercept the enemy puppets.
"Where is Lord Orochimaru?"
Finding no trace of their master, he practically screamed in Karin's face.
Annoyed by his excessive volume, she dug a pinky finger into her ear. Under his furious, anxious glare, she simply spread her hands in an empty shrug. "Didn't I say? He got taken away."
"What?!" Sakon rounded on her, veins bulging. "Is this how you protect Lord Orochimaru, you useless punk?"
He used the skill Growl. It wasn't effective.
Sakon had despised the red-haired girl for a long time. However, since she spent all her hours locked inside the laboratory, they had barely interacted. Otherwise, he would have come looking for a fight much sooner. He certainly wasn't the only one who couldn't stand her. The rest of his team shared the exact same sentiment.
What this particular group loved most was violently fighting for Orochimaru's favor, a side effect of his twisted charisma. If he hadn't strictly kept them in line, they would have murdered Karin months ago.
Why should some random outsider instantly gain a higher status than his elite guard? They were the Sound Four, Lord Orochimaru's most trusted weapons. He had told them so himself.
In Otogakure, only raw strength commanded respect. It had always been true, and it remained true now. They were eager to prove their absolute superiority.
Well, now was the perfect chance to put this woman in her place.
The second to lash out was the team's only girl, Tayuya. She pointed a finger directly at Karin. "You useless bitch, you didn't protect him at all. I'm going to beat you into the dirt."
The massive Jirobo spoke up next, though his reprimand was directed entirely at Tayuya. "Tayuya, a girl should be far more demure. Watch your filthy language."
"Shut up, you fat pig." Tayuya clearly did not appreciate his concern.
Of the four, only Kidomaru appeared slightly calmer, but even the spider-ninja was casting a highly malicious glare at Karin.
Under their combined killing intent, Karin just sighed.
"It seems Orochimaru only ever trained your brute strength. Your organizational skills and tactical awareness are entirely lacking. The exact moment he disappears, you lot turn into stray dogs without a master, barking with absolutely no direction. Starting petty infighting while enemy puppets are still in the room is just pathetic."
After all, the core philosophy of Orochimaru's training method was to lock a group of test subjects in a room and force them to slaughter each other. Only the sole victor would earn his personal instruction. That bloody crucible was exactly how the Sound Four had been forged.
"You arrogant bitch! I'll kill you!" Sakon, always the most impulsive, rushed forward and threw a vicious punch straight at her face. Facing the slow, pathetic strike, she extended a single finger to block his fist, then casually threw a hook of her own.
Karin used a Normal Right Punch on Sakon. It was super effective.
Sakon crumpled to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he foamed at the mouth. His vision went completely black. That single, terrifying strike had nearly shattered his skull.
"It hurts so much... what happened?"
"Why does my body hurt so much?" The fleshy lump on Sakon's back grumbled from the floor. The lump shifted, revealing a human face before forcefully manipulating Sakon's paralyzed limbs to stand back up. This was Sakon's older twin, Ukon.
They possessed a Kekkei Genkai that allowed them to merge their bodies at a cellular level. Usually, the older brother preferred to sleep inside the younger one, lazily disguising himself as a tumor.
Technically, they shouldn't be called the Sound Four at all. They were actually a five-man cell. But since legendary quartets always seemed to have a secret fifth member hidden away somewhere, the title stuck regardless.
"Ukon, that bitch just attacked Sakon! She's entirely alone right now. Let's rush her together and put her in the ground!" Kidomaru shouted, seizing the golden opportunity.
As he spoke, dark, ink-like marks flared on all of their necks simultaneously, rapidly spreading across their pale skin. They were activating Cursed Seal Level Two. This was their absolute strongest combat state. Even elite Konoha ninja had to tread carefully against them in this form. Now, after a solid year of brutal training, their physical power was far more overwhelming.
Just then, the final Otsutsuki Puppet violently broke through the guards encirclement, rushing blindly toward Karin's back. Several sharp blades shot out from its wooden chassis, fully prepared to turn her into a bloody honeycomb.
"You're so annoying!"
Without even looking back, Karin threw a backhand punch. With a deafening boom, her fist cratered the Otsutsuki Puppet's face. She didn't stop there. Carrying the full, terrifying momentum of her swing, she drove the shattered puppet directly down into the solid stone floor.
The ground heaved. The foundations swayed. The entire underground base trembled violently. Deep, jagged cracks raced across the stone tiles like a massive spiderweb before the floor completely caved in. The puppet was entirely atomized, its mechanical parts raining down everywhere. A single metal screw bounced across the floor, rolling to a slow stop right against Kidomaru's foot.
Having casually leveled the hallway, Karin dusted off her hands and turned back to the Sound Four. "Now, what was it you just said?"
The team froze. "No, we didn't say anything at all."
Kidomaru stood as straight as a ramrod, hurriedly retracting his aggression. A wise man adapts to his current environment. He had absolutely no desire to test whether his hardened resin armor was tougher than her fist.
"Didn't you just say that since I'm alone, you'd all attack me together?"
"No, you heard wrong," Kidomaru blurted out. "I said you should rest here while we handle the small fry for you."
"And what's with your current look? Why are you all so spiky and demonic?"
"This is just our new style, prepared especially to impress you. What do you think?"
Karin shook her head in disgust. "It's far too ugly."
'Look at that spineless coward sucking up to her,' Tayuya whispered to Jirobo.
"Tayuya!"
"Yes!"
Tayuya flinched at her name and snapped to attention, standing even straighter than Kidomaru.
"From now on, swear less," Karin lectured. "A girl should be gentle and quiet."
"Yes, ma'am!" Tayuya squeaked.
Karin looked around the terrified group and nodded in deep satisfaction. "Since Lord Orochimaru has been captured, I am officially in charge of this base."
"Any objections?"
"No objections, Big Sis Karin!" The five of them shouted in unison.
The Land of Frost sat directly on the border between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rice Paddies. Despite its obscure reputation, the nation wasn't small at all. It covered more than twice the area of the Rice Paddies, making it larger than Grass and Waterfall combined.
At the cold frontier of the nation, a newly built stone fortress loomed in the distance.
"Arrived safely."
Two figures burst out from the frozen ground. They eyed the heavily armed guards, let out relieved breaths, brushed the dirt from their cloaks, and straightened their posture before approaching.
The moment they crossed within a hundred meters of the gate, masked ninja materialized seamlessly from the surrounding shadows.
"Hold it. You two."
The captain blocked their path. Raising a hand, he carefully scanned them with a targeted sensory jutsu to confirm their chakra signatures.
"Did you secure the target our Lord requested?" he asked once satisfied.
"Naturally." Monga gestured toward the heavy cloth bundle slung over the Otsutsuki Puppet's shoulder.
The captain gave a curt nod and waved his subordinates aside. "Enter immediately. The lords have been waiting."
This was only the outermost checkpoint. Nine more deadly layers of security awaited them inside.
They passed through the grueling layers of security, enduring tedious procedures and redundant identity checks until they finally stood before a secure chamber. From the hallway, it looked like a modest meeting room. Inside, it stretched as vast as a stadium. The stone walls crawled with dense, intricate sealing formulas, anti-eavesdropping barriers. Elite samurai in heavy armor patrolled the outer perimeter, resting their hands on their blades. In each cardinal corner, Jonin-level ninja stood guard, their potent chakra signatures humming in the air.
At the room's center rose a strange, temple-like structure. Translucent barriers wrapped around it in endless, overlapping layers. At the very heart of the defenses blazed a massive Four Violet Flames Formation. Without explicit clearance from the occupants, absolutely no outsider could force their way inside.
"Asuma. Monga. Congratulations on completing your S-Rank mission."
Blinding light flared the moment they stepped into the central barrier. A curved row of elevated seats rose before them, filled with imposing figures whose chakra radiated like furnace heat. An old, incredibly vigorous voice cut through the glare.
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
pat reo n.co m /8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 30 Chapters in advance.