Night
Senju Residence
A red-haired girl was earnestly flipping through the study materials in front of her.
She had been especially diligent these past few days.
All for the sake of teaming up with Sakura.
Karin adjusted the glasses perched on her nose, her crimson eyes scanning the densely packed text on the page.
This was the written exam for Konoha's ninja academy. As for the practical portion of the test, she didn't need to worry about it—her physical skills and ninjutsu were already more than qualified.
Born in Kusagakure, she had spent her life in darkness.
Until a beam of light pierced through that darkness, illuminating her world. She cherished this light more than anything.
And she was willing to work tirelessly for it.
Thinking of that pink-haired figure, Karin couldn't help but smile.
But that smile...
"Hehe, hehe… Sakura..."
Karin absentmindedly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth before quickly returning to her notes with renewed focus.
"Karin, are you there?"
Tsunade's voice came from outside the door.
"Yes! Lady Tsunade!"
Karin scrambled to her feet and hurried to open the door.
Due to her Uzumaki lineage, and because Tsunade had taken a liking to her, she had been brought to live at the Senju residence.
"Lady Tsunade!"
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Tsunade holding a stack of scrolls.
Seeing this, Karin quickly stepped forward to take them from her hands and placed them neatly on her desk.
"What's all this?"
Karin looked at the pile of scrolls, puzzled.
"These are sealing technique scrolls," Tsunade explained with a smile. "You should spend some time studying them."
"Eh?"
Karin was confused.
Just how long was she supposed to spend reading all this?
She had been hoping to become a Konoha ninja as soon as possible and join Sakura's squad.
Noticing her thoughts, Tsunade reached out and gently ruffled Karin's soft red hair, speaking seriously:
"These scrolls will help Sakura."
These weren't just any sealing technique scrolls.
They contained knowledge of the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
A powerful sealing technique unique to the Uzumaki clan.
Even the Nine-Tails couldn't escape its grasp. The Adamantine Barrier Tsunade had learned to contain Inner Sakura was derived from this very technique.
Kushina Uzumaki had once used this ability, combining it with the Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain the Nine-Tails, even creating a barrier so impenetrable that even the Third Hokage couldn't break through.
"Sakura?"
Hearing that familiar name, Karin's eyes lit up.
"Yes. Sakura is… facing some issues right now."
Tsunade hesitated slightly, watching as the girl before her practically sparkled with excitement.
Karin froze.
Sakura… had a problem?
What kind of problem?
A sudden memory surfaced—of the time when Sakura had asked her to fetch reinforcements.
The moment she had found Tsunade and returned, she had seen Sakura.
She clearly remembered Sakura's chakra.
It was unyielding, like iron—no matter what, nothing could shake it.
But back then, that "Sakura" had felt… different.
Her chakra had been chaotic, wild, arrogant.
Completely unlike the unwavering presence Karin was used to.
It was like facing a monster.
That kind of chakra—Karin had never encountered it before.
"What's wrong with Sakura?!"
Karin grew agitated.
"Calm down. We're working on a solution."
Tsunade reassured her.
"Sakura needs you."
Just these simple words made Karin's gaze instantly firm.
"I understand."
The girl's voice was steady as she looked up at Tsunade.
"Then do your best."
"Master this technique as quickly as possible."
Tsunade patted Karin's head before turning to leave.
Glancing back at the closed door, she couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
In a way, Karin's loyalty wasn't to Konoha.
It was to Sakura.
Sakura herself probably never realized it, but the moment she had saved Karin from Kusagakure's grasp, Karin had already become completely dependent on her.
In the thirteen years of Karin's life, no one had ever helped her.
She had only ever been used, treated as a tool, constantly persecuted.
Then, out of nowhere, Sakura had appeared and pulled her from that abyss.
Not only that, but she had also arranged everything for her in Konoha.
Anyone who hadn't experienced it wouldn't understand what Sakura meant to Karin.
Karin had developed an illness.
A severe case of "Sakura Dependence Syndrome."
Tsunade could guess that Sakura hadn't saved Karin purely out of goodwill.
She had needed Karin to fill her Yin Seal.
But did that matter to Karin?
In the end, she had escaped Kusagakure and gained something in Konoha—an identity, a place where she was recognized as a person.
And all of it was because of a certain pink-haired girl.
Obsessive devotion...
Tsunade leaned back on the couch, her gaze drifting to the stack of documents before her.
The war had been going on for quite some time, and by now, she fully understood its catalyst.
Sakura.
Suna was one thing—they were always the first to stir up war in the ninja world.
But Kumogakure? Perhaps they had truly been driven to fight due to their country's resource scarcity.
If not for Iwagakure easing up on their control over resources, Ōnoki might have already declared war on Konoha as well.
And all of it led back to Sakura.
Tsunade no longer saw Sakura as just another twelve or thirteen-year-old girl.
She regarded her as an equal.
Talent alone couldn't explain the kind of strategic mind Sakura possessed.
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