Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosion tags detonated right in their faces, instantly blasting the Jashin cult members off their feet.
However, since these exploding tags were just 'common goods' Naruto had scavenged from bounty hunters, their power was far from comparable to those used by a certain Paper Release Ninja.
But Karin's goal wasn't just to injure them.
The explosions echoed through the entire street, and even though this area was far from populated, someone was bound to hear them.
The most important thing is that Karin believes that Naruto will notice it.
The sudden blast wounded several of the pursuers, but a few quick-reacting ones managed to dodge in time.
After throwing the explosive tag kunai, Karin immediately turned and sprinted away, all while steadying her breathing.
'Don't panic. Watch your steps.'
'Stay calm.'
Karin kept mentally 'hypnotizing' herself.
But thanks to this method of hers, despite wearing clothes that were inconvenient for movement, she didn't end up tripping and falling flat on her face like female characters in movies and TV shows during her escape.
Though she was small, her legs moved surprisingly fast.
Even though a dull pain still throbbed in her abdomen, this was no time to dwell on it.
As Karin ran, she scattered caltrops behind her.
The Jashin cult members, who hadn't been injured by the explosion, couldn't see the path clearly in the dark and immediately howled in pain as they stepped on them.
However, this trick could only slow them down temporarily and it wasn't enough to cause any real damage.
One of the cultists quickly formed hand signs and unleashed a Water Release Ninjutsu, washing away all the obstacles on the road ahead.
With the path cleared, the group charged forward again, moving even faster than Karin. The distance between them was rapidly closing.
Karin could naturally sense the dangerous presence closing in behind her, but at this point, she seemed to have no other options left.
When she was in the hands of Kusagakure, she had been treated as nothing more than a healing tool.
To prevent her from resisting, they hadn't taught her a single thing about Ninjutsu… not even the basic techniques like the Three Basic Techniques that were taught in Konoha's Ninja Academy.
Even the method of channeling Chakra to detonate the explosive tags was something Naruto had taught her on the ship.
'My talent really is terrible. Even though Naruto-san taught me so patiently, I still couldn't learn properly.'
Gritting her teeth, the despair in Karin's heart was already making her limbs feel weak.
During the days they had spent together, Naruto had tried to teach her some simple Ninjutsu.
But compared to prodigies like Konohamaru or Sasuke, who had been the top of their class, Karin's learning speed could only be described as 'snail-speed'.
The only area where she showed any real talent was in the secret techniques unique to the Uzumaki Clan.
"Hah! Got you!"
The cultist closest to Karin suddenly grabbed her sleeve.
Fortunately, Karin reacted swiftly, slicing through the sleeve with a kunai in her other hand.
But that momentary delay was enough for the other cultists to surround her.
'No.'
'I don't want to die here.'
'I was just saved from that hopeless hell.'
'I refuse… to die like this!'
In this critical moment, fragments of her past flashed through Karin's mind.
The devastation of witnessing her mother's death. The numbness of being treated as a tool by her fellow villagers. And the liberation she felt after being saved by Naruto.
'I could have endured the darkness, if I had never seen the light.'
Having tasted the dignity of being treated as a human being, Karin's resistance to being captured again had reached its peak.
She would rather die here than be imprisoned once again.
And it was this intense emotion that awakened the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan within her.
In an instant, four golden, translucent chains shot out from her back, coiling through the air like serpents.
Then, with swift precision, the chains wrapped around the cultists, suspending them mid-air.
"Damn it! What is this?!"
"Why can't I break free?!"
No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't break free from those slender golden chains.
Karin also recognized the golden chains. This was the [Adamantine Sealing Chains] recorded in the Uzumaki Clan's secret techniques scroll that Naruto had given her.
But before Karin could celebrate for more than a second, an even more dangerous Chakra presence entered her sensory range.
"You lot! Why haven't you caught the sacrifice yet?! With this kind of performance, how do you expect to earn Jashin-sama's favor?"
A wild, arrogant voice rang out from nearby.
Some of the cultists looked relieved upon hearing it, but the more experienced ones immediately paled in terror.
Hidan, clad in a leather jacket, tall boots, and a metal necklace around his neck, strode forward.
In his hand was a massive triple-bladed scythe, its crimson edge scraping lightly against the alley walls with a chilling metallic sound.
"Help us, Hidan!"
One of the bound cultists shouted impatiently.
"Hah?!"
The response came in the form of a vicious horizontal slash from the bloodstained scythe.
"You useless trash! You failed to offer a sacrifice to Jashin-sama, and now you dare order me around?!"
The cultist was bisected cleanly, his upper and lower halves sliding off the chains before hitting the ground.
"Hidan! Wait-!"
A more experienced cultist tried to speak, but his words were cut short by cold steel.
Hidan had never considered the other Jashin cultists his equals.
If anything, as someone who had already gained Jashin's blessing and possessed an immortal body, he saw himself as a completely different 'race'.
"Now then, it's time to offer you to Jashin-sama!"
"Hah!"
Hidan's physical abilities were far superior to Karin's.
His scythe slashed rapidly, attempting to sever those strange chains.
But the Adamantine Sealing Chains were a secret technique capable of restraining even Tailed Beasts after all.
Even the 'youth version' that Karin released in an emergency was not strong enough, it wasn't something Hidan could break through with brute strength alone.
Seeing that he couldn't cut them, Hidan simply ignored the chains and charged straight at Karin.
At this time, Karin was still unable to freely manipulate the chains.
Even when one or two lashed out to block Hidan, he nimbly dodged them.
As the scythe's blade drew closer, Karin's pupils dilated in terror.
'I'm sorry, Naruto-san…'
'It looks like I'm going to die here.'
In her final moment, the only thought in her mind was regret… that she hadn't been able to help Naruto in any meaningful way before dying like this.
The blade was less than ten centimeters away from Karin's head when it suddenly stopped.
When she looked up, he saw a tall man before her, his index finger and thumb casually pinching the scythe's edge. No matter how hard Hidan strained, the weapon didn't budge.
Hidan immediately let go of the scythe, then pulled out a short rod from his coat. With a flick, it extended into a sharp metal spike, and he lunged at Naruto.
'It doesn't matter who you are… once I draw blood, you're dead!'
But Naruto didn't even seem to acknowledge him, instead looking down at Karin.
"You did well, Karin."
Naruto's voice snapped Karin out of her daze, and she looked up in disbelief.
"Now, let me show you."
"This is how the chains are meant to be used."
The moment he finished speaking, dozens of radiant golden chains erupted from Naruto's body.