Karin (香燐, Karin) is a subordinate of Orochimaru, a former kunoichi of Kusagakure, and a member of the Uzumaki Clan. She assisted Orochimaru in his experiments, and was left in charge of his Southern Hideout while he was away. She was later recruited to Sasuke Uchiha's group Taka, which was initially called "Hebi" at the time of its creation.
Background
Early Life
Karin as a genin.
While a genin of Kusagakure, Karin took part in the Chunin Exams held in Konoha on a team. During the second phase, Karin lost track of her teammates and was attacked by a large bear. She was saved by Sasuke Uchiha, who was disappointed to discover she had an earth scroll as well, but she was able to catch a good glimpse of him, as he smiled at her. Her team later failed as they didn't make it to the tower with both scrolls by the fifth day.
Personality
Suigetsu being attacked by an enraged Karin.
Karin has a fluctuating personality; she will appear tough and in control at times, to the point of being violent and critical, and at other times will appear highly flirtatious. She possesses a strong dislike towards Suigetsu Hōzuki, whom she attacks whenever he decides to mock or berate her. In the anime, she stated that she was attracted to men based on their chakra quality, and claims that Suigetsu's chakra disgusts her. Sasuke Uchiha's chakra used to dazzle her, but it now scares her, due to it getting colder and darker from his hatred. Naruto Uzumaki's seems to calm and dazzle her as well, making her feel comfortable and relaxed due to it being warm and bright, though she also became scared after sensing an evil chakra within him.
Karin forgives Sasuke almost immediately for stabbing her.
Karin develops a fondness for Sasuke from the first day they met; when he saved her life during the Chūnin Exams. In the anime, she has a flashback of when Orochimaru sends her to assist Sasuke in capturing a horde of escaped prisoners. There, she is captivated by the level of Sasuke's chakra and develops a sexual attraction to him. Karin's strong fondness bordered on fanaticism. For example, it was revealed that she had kept one of Sasuke's sweat-drenched shirts. Karin would typically insist that she has no feelings for Sasuke around others, while frequently suggesting to Sasuke that they should spend time alone with the intention of freely expressing her feelings to him, only to switch back to acting cold when other people are present. Despite Sasuke's chakra becoming increasingly "darker", she still found him attractive. However, after he stabbed her in order to kill Danzō and tried to kill her, then even ordering Sakura to kill her to test Sakura's intent to join him since he was suspicious of her true motives, Karin stated that she no longer cares about him. Karin has also used others' perception of her feelings towards Sasuke to her advantage, feigning mental instability while imprisoned at Konoha to make the guards pay less attention to her. Upon her escape, she follows Sasuke's chakra with the intent of aggressively confronting him about the stab as she vents her rage by furiously beating Suigetsu, but with Sasuke's apology and Orochimaru's suggestion, she found herself unable to stay angry. She even puts Sasuke's well-being above her own. Despite not being a combatant of Taka, she rushed into the battlefield with virtually no weapons or protective gear when she senses that Sasuke was on the verge of death, paying no heed to how strong the enemy was.
In the anime, as seen in her Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, her greatest desire is simply to see Sasuke smile kindly to her. Years later, despite seemingly still not being over Sasuke, Karin is content with the knowledge that he is happy with his new family. Karin also seems to have a soft spot for Sasuke and Sakura's daughter, whom she helped deliver when Sakura went into labor and offered a pair of glasses to.
Appearance
Karin has red eyes, fair skin, and the red hair that is shaved on the left and mid length on the right, with bangs. She typically wears a cuffed white button-up shirt with a purple bow and separate black wrist cuffs, black short shorts, and black open-toed boots.
While traveling alongside Hebi, Karin wore a purple long-sleeved jacket that doesn't cover her belly button, black short shorts, thigh-high black stockings and black sandals, with a ninja pouch attached to a belt around her midsection; her hair was short and spiky on the right side, while longer and straight on the left side.
Abilities
Karin manifests chakra chains.
Karin has been praised for her abilities by both Obito and Orochimaru, the latter deciding to take her with him for as for that reason. Despite being mostly a non-combatant, Orochimaru referred to Karin as one of his good experiments, and had enough faith in her skills to put her in charge of the Southern Hideout's prison, since she made escaping impossible. Karin later demonstrated these skills most predominantly during the Fourth Shinobi World War, where she destroyed much of Tobi's giant wooden statue.
Sensory Perception
Karin's "sense" of chakra.
Karin possesses a unique ability called the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, which allows her to sense any targets' chakra signature. Sasuke states that her sensory abilities are unlike any other. Unlike most sensors, who normally require to mould their chakra first, Karin appears able to detect chakra targets without any conscious effort. Using this ability, Karin can detect the presence of others, easily discern how many and if a specific individual, even its species, is present from great distance, letting her easily track the target. She can determine the size of a target's chakra reserve and potency, and even tell when someone was lying through the dishonest emotions causing chakra fluctuations. Karin can also tell if someone is a clone technique or trapped in genjutsu, including herself. Similarly, she can conceal her own chakra from others. However, she cannot use her chakra for other feats while doing so, thereby negating her own sensing.
Life Force and Chakra Prowess
Karin healing Sasuke.
As a direct descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Karin has a remarkably powerful life-force. This gives her tremendous stamina, reserves of chakra, and vitality. This also gives her immense longevity. Her inherit life-force also grants a powerful healing capabilities, allowing her to mend wounds and regenerate quickly. Even more, by biting herself and consuming some of her chakra, her healing becomes instantaneous. Likewise, she can heal others by letting them bite her. The potency of Karin's healing chakra was enough to restore Tsunade's chakra reserves. However, it is dangerous for her to use that ability more than once a day, and as a consequence, she is left with permanent bite marks.
Ninjutsu
Stemming from her Uzumaki chakra, Karin is able to materialise an incomplete version of the Adamantine Sealing Chains in combat. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she was able to use the chains to combat and destroy Tobi's giant wooden statue and it's numerous arms. Karin is also proficient in the use of Earth, Water, Yin and Yang Release. In the anime, she was also seen using the Mystical Palm Technique, although it is unclear how skilled she is in its usage compared to a medical-nin.
Intelligence
Karin is quite intelligent. With her extensive knowledge at her disposal, she can come up with brilliant strategies that contribute to her missions. While being tracked by the Konoha shinobi, she was able to deduce they were accomplishing this feat by locking on to and following Sasuke's scent. From this, she quickly came up with a countermeasure to throw them off Hebi's tracks, by tearing up Sasuke's sweat-soaked shirt and scattering them about in multiple directions attached to birds. She is analytical, capable of quickly deducing the basics of a complex technique such as Izanagi. She is also resourceful, as seen during her imprisonment, hiding a blade in the frame of her glasses as well as a lock-pick set within a portrait that she seemingly carries around with her, all the while putting up an act of fluctuating feelings for Sasuke in order to lessen the guards' sense of security around her. Furthermore, to ensure she kept the portrait, she feigned even more mental instability and caused less ruckus with the portrait, causing to guards to allow her to keep it.
Other Skills
Although she usually takes a supporting role for her allies as the team tracker and unorthodox healer, Karin seems to have some competence in taijutsu, as shown when she tried to attack Danzō to save Sasuke, and also when losing her temper from Suigetsu's taunting. Furthermore, she was seen knocking out one of the prisoners in the Southern Hideout once. She has proven to be very nimble and evasive from the countless attacks from Tobi's giant wooden statue.
New Era
Karin later resumed her work for Orochimaru at one of his hideouts. Four years after the war, she helped Sakura by assisting her during the birth of Sakura and Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, at Orochimaru's hideout — as Sakura, while pregnant, had refused to leave Sasuke's side when they were traveling together. She also became friends with Sakura, at some point.
Sarada Uchiha Arc
Eleven years later, upon learning that Suigetsu used a umbilical cord he thought belonged to Karin for a DNA test to help Sarada uncover the identity of her biological mother, Karin was furious. She informed him that there was no possibility she was Sarada's birth mother because she had only helped Sakura give birth to Sarada. Karin further elaborated that the umbilical cord was from Sarada and Sakura, that Sakura had traveled with Sasuke during her pregnancy, and that she had simply helped with Sarada's delivery when Sakura had gone into labor. When Suigetsu asked if that meant she was over Sasuke, she was silent for a moment and said all that mattered to her was that Sasuke was happy and that she had become friends with Sakura. Karin then told him he owed Sarada an apology and should start by giving her a new pair of glasses, basing this request on the assumption that Sarada must have been outgrowing her current ones.
Mitsuki Disappearance Arc
Sarada meets Karin.
In the anime, when Boruto Uzumaki confronted Orochimaru about the seeming betrayal of Mitsuki to Konohagakure, Orochimaru sent Karin to aid Sarada, who was acting as decoy to the Konoha-nin watching over Orochimaru. Karin quickly saved Sarada, disguised as Mitsuki, from her capture. She was pleased to see that Sarada recognised her and that the glasses she had given Sarada suited her. She then took Sarada's place as Mitsuki so Sarada could join Boruto. After making sure Sarada made it, Karin dropped her disguise to the guards, quickly escaping in a smokescreen.
Jūgo Arc
Karin and Suigetsu encounter Team 7.
In the anime, when Jūgo abruptly left the base to deal with an outbreak of cursed seals infecting wildlife, Orochimaru tasked Suigetsu and Karin with retrieving him. They ultimately encountered Sumire Kakei, whose Nue attacked them abruptly. After Suigetsu overexerted himself to knock her and her summoning out, they were approached by Team 7, who revealed that Jūgo had been apprehended by the Land of Rivers' researchers. While Karin treated Sumire, she voiced her joy at seeing Sarada again, saying that she is dear to her despite them not being related. When Sumire regained her consciousness, she explained that two assailants who captured Wasabi Izuno and Namida Suzumeno had special collars that let them harness cursed seals of their own. Realising that this duo was working with the Land of Rivers' researchers, they concluded the outbreak must have been started by them. While Suigetsu insisted on just assaulting the enemies and taking Jūgo back by force, the others insisted that they had to be more cautious due to the innocent bystanders, as negative outcomes due to Suigetsu's and Karin's involvement could endanger Orochimaru's already dubious truce with the world.
Karin immobilises Sasami.
Karin and Sarada acted as diversions to draw out the assailants while their allies infiltrated the enemy base. While initially working, the enemies quickly saw through the ruse and split up, with Sasami going further to face Karin and Sarada while Momo returned to the base. Once transformed, Sasami quickly began making sport of her opponents, treating them as prey. Karin's sensory prowess let her follow Sasami's movements enough to defend. However, when Sasami managed to land a powerful blow on Sarada, Karin immobilised Sasami with her chakra chains long enough for Sarada to take some of Karin's chakra. This let Sarada deliver a devastating punch that knocked Sasami out and destroyed her cursed seal collar. Karin complimented Sarada's skills, comparing her to her parents. While on the way back to the village, they changed course when they realised the wild geese were about to start migrating, spreading the cursed seal infection.
Karin and Sarada struggled to keep the infected geese from migrating, requesting Team 15's help when they arrived by the lake. While Jūgo defeated Tosaka and later fought Nue and Boruto, Karin considered the possibility of having to kill the birds to prevent the cursed seal from spreading. She didn't think Sarada could do it, but she took the responsibility onto herself, as she was part of the team assigned to the mission. After Boruto managed to cause Jūgo's transformation to recede, Mitsuki arrived with Konohamaru and Suigetsu, having acquired a serum to remove the infection. Suigetsu consumed it and merged with the lake to rain it over the birds. Karin left with Jūgo and Suigetsu, having also taken a powerless Tosaka as a prisoner, and was teased by Suigetsu over her concern for Sarada.
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Quotes
- (To Sasuke) "If you really want me to, Sasuke… I will follow you."
- (To Sasuke) "I hate Suigetsu always running his mouth."
- (To herself about Sasuke) " …I just wanted… to see that face once more…"
- (To herself about Sakura) "You're the enemy… I don't want to sympathise with you… so… so don't… don't cry like that in front of me…! Damn it…"
- (To herself) "Sasuke… I may have healed you a little, but this is too much… actually… forget it, I'm done with you."
- (To Suigetsu) "As long as Sasuke is happy, that's all I care about. Besides, we women have a certain camaraderie between us you wouldn't understand."