At the Haruno Residence
"Hey, stop right there..." Haruno Mebuki grabbed Sakura, who was trying to sneak away after finishing breakfast. "You wash those dishes. Learn from Karin. You've been gone for three years and brought back a lot of bad habits."
Sakura looked at Mebuki with tears welling up in her eyes. Ever since Karin had arrived, Sakura was constantly being compared to her. Karin, deeply grateful for her hard-won, stable life, always helped out with chores around the house whenever she had free time.
And thus, Sakura's miserable life began. She was now doing chores she'd never done before, all while enduring Mebuki's constant nagging. And even worse, even when Sakura grudgingly did the work, she still couldn't escape the scolding.
"Separate households, we absolutely have to separate households! Once Karin's place is built, I'm running off to live with her. I can't take this anymore..." Sakura silently grumbled to herself as she went to wash the dishes.
Once Sakura was finished, she dragged Karin out the door. Karin didn't have to go to the Sealing Team today. It seemed that the Sealing Team was assisting the Barrier Team in strengthening the village's barrier for the next few days, giving Karin some unexpected free time.
"Sakura, where are we going today?" Karin asked. Karin had originally planned to stay home and study her textbooks, but Sakura had pulled her out.
"To the hospital. I want you to meet some of my teammates," Sakura replied.
"The hospital...?" Karin hesitated noticeably at the word, clearly still harboring a fear of hospitals. All of her worst memories were tied to that place.
"Yeah, I'm introducing you to some new friends. You can't just interact with me in Konoha, you know." Konoha was currently undergoing repairs, giving Sakura a decent amount of free time. It was unlikely she'd be this free in the future, so she wanted to take advantage of these days to help Karin make some new acquaintances.
"Alright..." Karin's sensory abilities were very strong. Through the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she could sense a person's chakra and determine if they were lying. In dangerous situations, she could conceal her own chakra, giving her the power to escape from almost any threat. Given the right environment, Karin could get along with anyone.
The two arrived at the hospital and had just reached the door to Sasuke's room when Karin suddenly tugged on Sakura's arm.
"Sakura, there's someone in there with a really cold, dark-feeling chakra..." Karin said.
Sakura felt a little speechless. Karin was probably talking about Sasuke. To think she could sense that even from here – Sakura was a little envious of Karin's ability. "It's fine, come on in," Sakura said, pulling open the door. Sasuke was sitting on the bed inside, and Naruto was there too.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, you're here!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw Sakura enter with an unfamiliar red-haired girl. "Who's that?"
"I'll introduce her in a bit. Sasuke, are you feeling any better?" Sakura asked.
For some reason, Sasuke had been unconscious for an unusually long time. She remembered that he should have only been out for a day and a night, but Sasuke had been unconscious for several days before waking up. Sakura guessed that it was probably because Sasuke had been given the Cursed Seal not long before it was sealed, which had hindered the seal's corrosive speed. That was likely the reason for his prolonged unconsciousness.
"I'm mostly fine..." Sasuke replied, touching his neck.
"Hehe, Sasuke, you were out cold! You have no idea, that day, Gaara turned into..." Naruto began boasting to Sasuke about his own accomplishments, exaggerating his own feats and praising Sakura's as well, completely oblivious to Sasuke's increasingly sour expression.
Finally, Naruto turned his head and asked, "Sakura-chan, you still haven't introduced her. Her red hair is so strange."
"Her name is Uzumaki Karin," Sakura said. She was also a little curious about how Naruto would react knowing that Karin shared his last name.
"Huh? Your last name is Uzumaki too...?" Naruto jumped up in surprise and asked.
In the world of Naruto, if two people had the exact same last name, there was usually some kind of connection. They were either distant relatives or members of a scattered clan. It was rare for two people to share a surname without any relationship whatsoever. So, when two people had the same last name, it inevitably implied some connection from a certain era.
This was common knowledge in the Naruto world, which explained Naruto's strong reaction. Either someone had no last name, or there was a connection. A third possibility was extremely rare.
Although it was common knowledge, Naruto was an orphan and had never paid attention to such things. Therefore, up until now, Naruto had no idea about the Uzumaki clan.
"You... you... you..." Naruto pointed at Karin, stammering "you" for a long time without saying anything else.
Karin, seeing Naruto's reaction, nervously shrank back behind Sakura. Although Naruto's chakra felt very comfortable to Karin, his expression made him look like an idiot.
"What are you babbling about? Speak properly," Sakura said, giving Naruto a light punch on the head.
"Ow..." Naruto clutched his head and said, "Sakura-chan, who is she? Why does she have the same last name as me...?"
"Uzumaki Karin, didn't I tell you?" Sakura said. "What's so strange about her having the same last name as you? She's also from the Uzumaki clan."
"Uzumaki... clan?" Naruto asked, stunned.
"Yeah, the Uzumaki clan. Don't tell me you don't even know your own clan..." Sakura teased Naruto with a laugh.
"I don't... I thought I was an orphan. So... where is the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto responded, his surprise turning to excitement. He had always believed he was an orphan, but it turned out there was an Uzumaki clan.
"In the Land of Whirlpools. That's the country of the Uzumaki clan," Karin spoke up. She wasn't afraid anymore. From Sakura and Naruto's conversation, she had gathered that the blond-haired boy also had the last name Uzumaki. It seemed he, like her, didn't know his own identity.
"The Land of Whirlpools? Where is that? Can you take me there?" Naruto asked Karin excitedly.
"I've never been there either," Karin replied.
"Huh? But aren't you from the Uzumaki clan...?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"The Land of Whirlpools has been destroyed. The Uzumaki clan no longer exists," Karin said. She was also happy to meet someone from the same clan in Konoha, but due to the influence of her upbringing, she didn't show her emotions outwardly.
Hearing Karin's words, Naruto's excited expression gradually froze. His face slowly darkened.
"Naruto, you need to get along well with Karin. Karin is also an orphan now. You and Karin are arguably some of the last remaining members of the Uzumaki clan in the ninja world," Sakura told Naruto.
"Hehe, I understand! I'll take good care of her," Naruto replied. He was quick to recover from his sadness and his spirits lifted again quickly.
"I doubt that. You should take care of yourself first. Karin is living with me now," Sakura said, clearly skeptical of Naruto's words.
"Um, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. It's nice to meet you," Naruto said with a smile, extending his hand to Karin.
"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto. My name is Uzumaki Karin," Karin replied, shaking Naruto's hand.
At that moment, the two young people with similar backgrounds smiled at each other, hearing each other pronounce the same last name. The emptiness within their hearts was filled.
"Ahem, this is Uchiha Sasuke, also my teammate, Karin," Sakura interrupted, seeing the two kindred spirits connecting.
"Hello, Karin," Sasuke said, looking at Karin with a blank expression.
"Hello, Uchiha Sasuke. My name is Uzumaki Karin," Karin replied, still somewhat afraid of Sasuke. His chakra made her feel uncomfortable.
It was also Sasuke's first time hearing about the Uzumaki clan. He hadn't realized Naruto was like him, belonging to a clan that had been destroyed. He instantly felt a sense of camaraderie.
However, Sasuke also felt a twinge of jealousy towards Naruto at this moment. Naruto had found a girl from his own clan. This immediately made Sasuke think of Itachi, and the hatred in his heart began to burn again.
After hearing Naruto's description of what had happened while he was unconscious, Sasuke became even more anxious. His mood worsened, and he didn't understand what he was so angry about as he watched Naruto, Sakura, and Karin chatting and laughing.
Suddenly, "Sakura, let's have a spar! How about it?!"
Sasuke stared at Sakura with his blood-red Sharingan, the Cursed Seal on his neck, sealed by the Third Hokage, itching to break free.
Karin, sensing Sasuke's increasingly chilling chakra, hid further behind Sakura, frightened.
Naruto, seeing Sasuke's grim expression directed at Sakura, was also confused about what was going on with him.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense...
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