"Abyss?"
Kabuto frowned. He had never heard that term before.
"What is it?"
Karin tilted her head, as if even she struggled to define it clearly.
"Well… it's the 'Abyss,' obviously."
After a moment's thought, she added in a more cryptic tone,
"It's probably… the most chaotic, most primal form of malice and void. Anyway, it's incredibly effective for stimulating people."
Outside the Projection — A Hidden Base
Orochimaru turned slowly to look at the younger Karin beside him, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
He had never heard her mention such a thing.
Little Karin blinked innocently and shook her head rapidly.
"Why are you looking at me? I don't know either! 'Abyssal aura'? Never heard of it!"
"Then it must be an ability you acquire in the future," Orochimaru concluded thoughtfully.
Karin nodded matter-of-factly.
"That has to be it. The Demon God loves me the most!"
Orochimaru fell silent.
He chose not to ask further.
Konohagakure — Hokage's Office
The brief relief Tsunade and Jiraiya had felt after witnessing the revival of Konoha's people vanished instantly.
They stared at the projection—at Naruto's twisting expression and the darkening aura around him.
A dreadful premonition wrapped around their hearts like ice-cold vines.
"That crazy girl… what did she do to Naruto?!" Tsunade demanded, unable to suppress her fury.
Jiraiya's face was grim. His fists were clenched tight.
Across the Shinobi World
Every viewer was locked onto Naruto.
Karin's words, combined with the increasingly ominous transformation unfolding before them, confirmed a terrifying suspicion.
"It's happening!"
"Naruto's going to fall!"
"I knew it! The first time we saw that apocalyptic Naruto, it couldn't have come from nowhere!"
"So it was that 'demon child' Karin! She used that Abyss thing to push him over the edge!"
"She's forcing a hero into becoming a devil!"
Nearly everyone connected this moment to the earlier vision of a dark Naruto standing atop ruins, declaring he would "purify" the world.
It fit too neatly.
Suppressed pain, maliciously amplified. Ideals shattered. A descent into extremity.
Yet some questioned the logic.
"If Karin's the one who drives him into darkness… why does she later appear in Team Taka, following Sasuke?"
"Right! That doesn't add up!"
"Is Sasuke involved somehow? Or does she have another goal?"
"How many layers is this projection hiding?!"
No answers came. Only mounting tension.
Inside the Cave
The change within Naruto reached a breaking point.
A low, soul-deep hum vibrated through the air.
Then—
Dark crimson light began seeping from Naruto's pores and orifices like corrupted blood.
This wasn't chakra.
It carried no heat. No explosive force.
Instead, it felt cold. Stagnant. Devouring.
Where the light spread, the air itself seemed polluted.
"Danger!"
Sasuke's combat instincts screamed.
Without hesitation, he leapt backward with explosive speed.
Even so, the edge of his cloak brushed the crimson glow—
Ssssss—
The fabric instantly dulled and decayed, as though corroded by unseen acid.
Sasuke's face darkened. If that had touched his skin…
"What is that?!" he demanded.
Karin rolled her eyes.
"Relax, Sasuke. It's not like it'll hurt you."
"At least not someone like you. Your heart's already pitch-black. High resistance, you know?"
"Naruto's a little sun. You? More like a tiny ice cube."
"You only felt a little uncomfortable, right?"
Kabuto chuckled softly.
"Heh… Considering Lady Karin's personality, she probably 'tested' you more than once after deciding to follow you."
The implication chilled Sasuke.
He recalled moments of inexplicable irritation… fleeting, intrusive dark thoughts.
Had she been manipulating him all along?
His killing intent sharpened.
But Karin no longer paid him any attention.
Her eyes were fixed entirely on Naruto.
"I knew it! I knew it!" she exclaimed, trembling with exhilaration.
"This world couldn't possibly have someone as purely radiant as the sun. It's not that such people don't exist…"
Her voice turned hushed. Reverent.
"It's that the light is so overwhelming, so warm… that it buries the shadows completely."
In her perception, the Abyssal aura had forced Naruto's "true" inner landscape into view.
Sasuke and Kabuto couldn't see what she saw.
But she could.
And it delighted her.
"Ahahaha… fascinating! This is too fascinating!"
Her manic laughter echoed through the cave.
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