On the night of the fireworks festival, Uchiha Shinji had already begun to suspect Karin.
After hearing that Karin was involved with Mizuki during the night of Naruto's attack, he knew for sure that something was off about her.
Mizuki was undoubtedly a spy planted by Orochimaru within the village.
So when Uchiha Shinji connected the dots between Karin, Mizuki, and Naruto's attack, it wasn't hard to deduce that someone was after the Nine-Tails.
What remained unclear was whether the culprit wanted to use the Nine-Tails' rampage to destroy the Hidden Leaf or simply had plans for the Nine-Tails itself.
Now, seeing Karin's reaction, Uchiha Shinji knew he had guessed right.
Karin finally gathered herself and said, "I... I don't know what you're talking about!"
Uchiha Shinji chuckled softly, "Oh? I think the Hidden Leaf would be quite interested in hearing your excuses."
Karin panicked, "What are you going to do?"
"Don't worry." Uchiha Shinji waved his hand to calm Karin a little before continuing, "I have no interest in the Tailed Beasts, nor do I care about the Hidden Leaf."
"Then what do you want?"
Karin was filled with confusion.
Uchiha Shinji stared directly at Karin. "I want you."
Karin was startled, backing away repeatedly, her eyes filled with fear.
"Ahem." Uchiha Shinji cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward as he explained, "What I mean is, I'm interested in your talent."
Only then did Karin let out a sigh of relief.
It was because of her and her mother's unparalleled talents that they were caught in their current predicament, used and exploited by various people and organizations.
She had grown used to it, even numb to it.
Seeing Karin's expression, for some reason, Uchiha Shinji felt a twinge of pity.
After a moment of silence, he continued, "I'll keep your secret and provide you with protection. In return, you must join my organization and work for me."
Karin hesitantly asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Uchiha Shinji responded, "Simple. Do what you're best at—healing and sensing."
"That's it?"
Karin wanted to confirm again.
Uchiha Shinji answered calmly, "There's no need to worry. I have no reason to deceive you on this matter. You'll use your abilities to help me, and in return, I'll protect you. It's as simple as that."
"Alright."
Karin didn't take long to agree.
Having never been genuinely cared for by anyone, she certainly didn't feel any loyalty toward those who only wanted to use her.
Uchiha Shinji then said, "Our organization is called 'Akatsuki.' The organization won't interfere with your other activities, nor will you need to report to it regularly. There's only one rule you must follow."
"What is it?"
"Under no circumstances can you reveal anything about the organization, to anyone!" Uchiha Shinji's voice grew colder, "If you break this rule, the consequences will be something you won't want to face."
To strengthen his warning, Uchiha Shinji activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and cast a genjutsu on Karin.
Instantly, Karin's eyes went blank, and she fell into a daze.
After a moment, Uchiha Shinji released the genjutsu and said calmly, "Being part of the Akatsuki isn't a bad thing for you."
Karin, snapping out of the genjutsu, was shocked. "Y-you're from the Uchiha clan?"
She had every reason to be shocked.
From her perspective, there were only three Uchiha left in the entire shinobi world.
And this mysterious man in front of her was clearly neither Uchiha Shinji nor Uchiha Sasuke, which left only one possibility—the S-ranked criminal Uchiha Itachi, who had wiped out the entire Uchiha clan!
Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Uchiha Shinji turned and left Karin's apartment.
After meeting up with Coalball, who was hiding in the shadows downstairs, Uchiha Shinji glanced back at Karin's apartment and muttered, "Was I too harsh?"
"Hmm, hmm, making me stand guard all night is definitely too much!" Coalball nodded repeatedly.
Uchiha Shinji shot a glance at Coalball, "I'm the client here, remember?"
Coalball pouted and sulked back into the shadows.
Without further delay, Uchiha Shinji disappeared into the night.
He had activated his Mangekyo Sharingan not just to intimidate Karin but also to interfere with her sensing abilities.
For someone like Karin, who possessed the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, normal transformations or shadow clones wouldn't fool her.
Once she activated the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she could precisely sense the location of any chakra she had marked, even from dozens of kilometers away.
If Uchiha Shinji hadn't activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, his little performance in front of her would have been easily exposed.
But with his Mangekyo Sharingan activated, Uchiha Shinji could use the Mangekyo Sharingan powers of Uchiha Fugaku to interfere with Karin's abilities.
This would cause Karin's Mind's Eye of the Kagura to mistakenly register Uchiha Fugaku's chakra signature, allowing him to conceal his true identity.
After taking a detour through a secluded forest to deactivate his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Shinji finally returned to his apartment.
He went through all this trouble because Karin's support abilities were simply too comprehensive.
Not only did she possess the top-tier sensing technique Mind's Eye of the Kagura, but her chakra also had unparalleled healing capabilities.
In the original timeline, it was Karin who pulled Sasuke back from the brink of death multiple times after his reckless behavior.
That's why Uchiha Shinji gave Karin the second servant slot.
With Karin in the team, combined with the Lamp's tracking abilities, no invading enemy would be able to escape his grasp once they had encountered him.
Returning to his apartment, Uchiha Shinji removed his disguise and lay down on his bed.
"I'll handle the troublesome enemies myself."
The feeling of having to manipulate those around him, tricking them into his plans, left a bad taste in his mouth. So he silently vowed to ensure that both Haku and Karin would be safe in any battles.
The hard fights would be his to bear; Haku would handle the distractions, and Karin would focus on support.
With such a well-rounded three-person squad, dealing with any situation would be much easier than going it alone.
And besides, both Haku and Karin had immense potential. Given enough time and experience, they might one day grow into powerful shinobi in their own right.
...
The next morning.
Uchiha Shinji saw Coalball sitting by his bedside and anxiously asked, "How did it go?"
Coalball yawned, "She stayed inside her apartment all night. Didn't leave even once."
Uchiha Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
But he couldn't afford to get complacent just yet. Last night had been too late for Karin to make any moves, even if she had wanted to.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Coalball, "You did a good job. Go get some rest."
Coalball stretched lazily, "Finally, I can sleep!"
Uchiha Shinji chuckled, "You worked hard last night."
Coalball waved a paw at Uchiha Shinji, preparing to dispel the summoning and return to the Cat Fortress.
But just as Coalball was about to leave, Uchiha Shinji added, "You're on duty again tonight!"