Fate Of the Wolf Goddess (Naruto Fanfic x ATLA aspects)

Meanwhile, with the real Moriko. . .

Sasuke POV

"Sasuke-kun! Who is this girl?! And why's she talking with you so informally?!" Karin screeches. She scoffs as she looks Moriko up and down with clear disdain on her features.

Moriko just smiles her knowing smile.

"You need to chill Karin. I'm not a threat, okay?" She says, which only further upsets the Uzumaki.

"Don't talk to me like you know me! How do you know my name?! Just who in the hell do you think you are? You just came out of nowhere, took down the tracker nin that were after us in one fell swoop and then started cursing out my- I mean, our leader Sasuke!" She marches up to Moriko and gets right in her face.

That's. . . not a good idea.

Moriko. . . still does nothing; just smiles her knowing smile. She must know something Karin doesn't. I expected her to at least insult Karin at this point, but nothing of the sort has occurred.

I wonder what she's got in store for her.

"Look, he and I go way back. He's not in the least offended at my language. It's normal for me to bicker with him. Plus, I cursed him out for playing with the nin instead of just ending it. That was just unnecessary." She scoffs.

It's been two full weeks since I defeated Orochimaru, absorbing what was left of him. I don't feel any different, leading me to believe that he really is gone.

The look on Kabuto's face when he realized it was me inside my body and not Orochimaru, was VERY satisfying.

Immediately after my battle with the snake Sanin, I began gathering the people I needed to complete my life-long mission:

Karin Uzumaki, an exceptional sensory nin and medic nin.

Suigetsu Hozuki, a skilled swordsman from the Hidden Mist.

And Juugo, the strongest person I've come across since my time with Orochimaru. Not to mention, the origin of the curse mark. His unmatched strength and speed in battle is sure to serve me well during my journey.

Karin, Suigetsu and I only just picked him up from the Northern hideout a few days ago, forming the Hebi. I relayed my goals to them and intentions with the group. They all agreed to accompany me on the journey and assist me when needed. Now, we're heading to a small village on the edge of the Land of Rice Paddies. Orochimaru once spoke of a man there who he went to for information.

I'm still officially a rogue nin, as are the rest of my team, so using backroads and forgotten trails to travel has been the norm. The only problem with that is we're not the only rogue nin that use it.

There's been a handful of encounters with bandits, rogue nin who ditched their villages once they became genin, and of course just shady individuals in general. None have been an issue to deal with.

It's just become rather annoying, knocking someone out every few days when they attempt to rob or kill us. I've switched to using genjutus for most of them now, that way when we're seen, they don't come looking for trouble.

The journey has become a lot quieter and smoother since then, but I let my guard down too quickly. A small group of tracker nin ambushed us. It shouldn't have even been possible with Karin here as the Hebi's resident sensory nin, so I knew right away they were exceptionally skilled.

Either that, or Karin was too busy eyeballing me to do her job.

I'll have to have a talk with her later. Not looking forward to it.