"Two weeks had passed since Keisuke Hyūga had take the Forest of Death. And failed. The reason for Keisuke failing the Chunin Exams was because one of his teammates decided to take an Earth scroll and open it without permission. That action caused his entire team to be disqualified from the Chunin Exams. Despite failing to become a Chunin, Keisuke decided that he was going to continue to work hard to become a Jonin in the future."

Within the Hyūga Clan compound, Keisuke Hyuuga trained to get stronger within Taijutsu as he continued to hit targets on the tree. He has trained for a few hours. He had previously failed in the Chunin Exams and vowed to get even stronger. After training in the courtyard for four hours, he decided to take a break. He lied on the dirt and stared at the sky.

"I wonder, how she's doing?" Keisuke muttered as he looked at the sky. He saw a large cloud that formed into the shape of Karin.

Meanwhile...

"Gyaahh! Someone help me, please!" Karin cried as one of her attackers grabbed Karin's red hair by the roots. Karin was being attacked by

"I bet this redhead is a remnant of the Uzumaki Clan." Her first attacker said as he grabbed Karin by her roots.

"You were right when you said, she'd be worth something." Her second attacker replied, then laughed.

Karin could feel the pain in her head as her roots were being pulled upward. Tears streamed down her face. 'Keisuke. Please, help me...' Karin then thought of Keisuke Hyuga. The boy who saved her in the Forest of Death. 'Keisuke!' When an orb of Karin's tear dropped and touched the ground, she suddenly felt her body be pushed in a to the ground. Her attackers had disappeared and a large gray snake had slithered from nowhere.

"A shinobi without a homeland is quite tragic."

Karin gasped as she heard a chilling masculine voice. She then looked up to see a pale-skinned man with long black hair. The man who approached her was Orochimaru.

"But, you know... you must decide for yourself." Orochimaru said.

"Huh?" Karin wiped the tears from her eyes.

"If you come with me, I will make sure no one bit-I mean, hurt you, again." Orochimaru said.

'I'm getting terrible vibes around this guy! Wait, he said, "Who is he? And was he trying to say, "Bite" me?' Karin stared at Orochimaru for a moment as she made eye contact with him. Then she flinched when she noticed that Orochimaru's pet gray snake hissed at her.

Orochimaru continued staring at Karin with his cold and sinister yellow eyes.

Karin felt terrified as she could visualize dark purple and sinister aura surrounding Orochimaru. Plus, a snake behind him. 'I don't know what to do right now. What if I-' Karin then gasped as she had remembered something.

If you ever feel like you're have uneasy vibes around people. Run. Run as fast as you can and don't look back.'

Karin then remembered the words that Keisuke Hyuuga told her while in the Chunin Exams. 'It's just as you said, Keisuke. I'm definitely feeling uneasy vibes from this guy!' Karin clinched her teeth together. 'I don't want to go with this guy! But if I refuse and run away, then... that snake this man possesses might eat me!' Karin had thought of Orochimaru's gray snake. 'I really don't know what to do!' Karin thought as she struggled, internally.

"Have you come to a decision?" Orochimaru asked.

Karin waited another five seconds, until she had taken a deep breath in front of the rogue Sannin. 'I'm sorry, Keisuke. But, I have no choice.' She thought as she stood on both her feet, then looked at Orochimaru in his eyes. She begun to open her mouth, which caught Orochimaru's attention.

"Wel-"

Before Orochimaru could finish, Karin planted her left foot on the ground. Turned around, six O' Clock and sprinted the opposite way.

Orochimaru was a bit surprised by this action. 'Looks like we have a strong girl.'

Orochimaru's snake was planning to slither and chase after Karin, but Orochimaru raised his right hand where it can see it.

"No need. We will meet that girl again. One way or another." Orochimaru said as he watched the direction Karin was sprinting away from them.

'It's just as you said, Keisuke! If you ever feel uneasy vibes when I'm around someone... Run! Run as fast as you can! And don't look back!' Karin thought for a moment as she continued sprinting away from the terrain.

Ten Minutes Later...

Karin continued running for the next ten minutes. When she finally stopped running, she found herself in a tall grassy field. Karin fell on her knees and panted a bit. She currently didn't know what to do or where to go, currently. 'Now that I've gotten away from that creepy guy... what do I do, now?' Karin looked around at her surroundings to see grass around her and trees in the distance. She couldn't any people or animals within an instant. 'Now that I'm alone, do I go back to Kusagakure? Or...' Karin thought of her past experiences when she was previously bitten by dozens of Kusagakure patients and Shinobi. 'No! I can't go back to that life! If I do, then...' Karin then thought of a Zōsui and all the hardships that he forced Karin to endure after her mother's death. 'Then that Zōsui jerk face will keep ordering me to heal them, by having everyone suck on my chakra, again! And if that happens...' Karin clinched her teeth together, then thought of her late mother-who's body lied on the table. 'I might end up like mother!' Karin's eyes begun to tear up a bit. 'But... if I continue runaway, now, and desert the village... then I'll be listed as a runaway Ninja. And everyone will be after me, dead or alive!' Karin gulped. She then untied her Kusa headband from her forehead and looked at it in her hand. 'What should I do? I want to be free, but do I really want to risk my life?' As soon as Karin asked, the wind started to blow, letting her hair flow in the breeze.

To be continued...