The girl took a few steps back fearfully when she saw Sasuke after he had appeared at the other end of the corridor. With a panicked look she huddled against the wall behind her back.
Sasuke himself had stopped. For the brief fraction of a millisecond he had actually been surprised - but no longer. He would not have expected to meet someone here. Karin had assured him that this shelter was abandoned.
Of course, he didn't have to think long about what had gone wrong here: Karin had cheated on him. He knew what their abilities were and what they couldn't. The red-haired Kunoichi was definitely not wrong. But why did you endure the presence of a contentious, much too loud, arrogant, opinionated bitch if she didn't even do what you endured her for?
"I thought there was nobody here but us ...", Sasuke threw a disapproving look over her shoulder at Karin.
The person addressed just waved off: "Oh, the little one is practically nobody. Don't worry, Sasuke, we have nothing to fear from her."
"So you know her," Suigetsu concluded.
Karin skilfully ignored the hated teammate and, as so often, did not deign to answer him or to confirm his suspicion.
But, yes, she knew the brown-haired girl in the gray T-shirt who stood there so intimidated in the twilight of the dimly lit hallway. She was a former guinea pig of Orochimaru.
But what the cowardly brat was still looking for now that Orochimaru was dead and this hiding place officially no longer existed, Karin could not say either.
"What is it now, Karin? Do you know her?", Sasuke repeated Suigetsu's question, as she would probably answer him.
"Yes.", The redhead answered willingly this time, without sounding too enthusiastic - you didn't want to reveal yourself or much more your feelings. "That's why I can tell you that, firstly, it does not pose any threat and, secondly, it is also totally uninteresting. Orochimaru has already noticed that."
"What did he want from her originally?", The young Uchiha hacked without taking his eyes off the stranger at the other end of the corridor. "Something must have drawn his attention to her."
"Don't you trust my judgment?" Karin said indignantly and put her hands on her sides.
Sasuke only had an extremely sober reply ready for this reaction: "I basically form my own judgments."
"She can't do anything!", Karin then roared, "She has no Kekkeigenkai, has no command of Tai, Nin or Gen-Jutsu! She is uninteresting and that's that! So just ignore the brat and let's do it, why we came here: refresh our supplies. Don't waste your time on her. Or do you want to wait any longer for your revenge on Itachi? "
The redhead knew exactly how interesting the inconspicuous brunette girl could be for Uchiha's plans.Sasuke sighed, annoyed, and approached the girl. He was far from stupid. With Karin's reaction you could already imagine that she was hiding something about the stranger to him. Something that was definitely anything but uninteresting, but extremely impressive - for people who did not have the last name 'Uchiha', had no idea of ​​the power of his inherited ability, the Sharingan, and who had not had to watch how their own clan had been mercilessly massacred. Finding out what that was exactly and with whom or what he was dealing with was therefore not necessarily unimportant.
It would be much easier if Karin simply gave him the requested information, but please, since she vehemently refused, there was certainly another way to find out.

He walked slowly towards the unknown girl and studied her very carefully.
In one point, however, he was able to agree with Karin: The stranger really didn't make a dangerous impression at all. She was like an innocent, defenseless rabbit that wanted to get very far away, very quickly.
The look of her dull eyes, whose color Sasuke could not define in the weak light, flickered nervously and her posture corresponded to something infinitely lower than 'submissive' or 'humble'. It was more slavishly, as she got smaller and smaller with every step Sasuke took towards her. It almost seemed as if she was throwing herself at his feet.
She was very thin, not to say emaciated. The collarbones, cheekbones and wrists were prominent. The kneecaps looked particularly unnatural, as they seemed to swell out of the non-existent flesh, as if they no longer belong to the owner's body. Only skin covered the bones, every single tendon - slack and almost unsteady - was clearly visible, but muscles did not seem to be present at all.
She wore her dark brown hair loose in a very misshapen cut, if Sasuke could assess this in poor light conditions and at a distance of several meters. She had probably tried to keep the mane shoulder length with a kunai herself. Judging by the greasy film of her hair, which glistened in the shadowy light and could not be overlooked, she hadn't seen soap and water in a while.
The skinny legs and arms were in black shorts and a gray T-shirt, both of which were so worn and torn that they probably bared more than they dressed. So Sasuke could also see part of the ribs. They were countable.
It was ugly because it was neglected, neglected and in a pitiful state. At least that's how anyone would think who attaches importance to the appearance in order to explain an objective overall impression. But Sasuke didn't care about these things. He would feel no greater respect for her if she had the beauty of a noble princess.
No matter if ugly or lovely - at the moment she was for the young Uchiha, since he knew nothing about her, one thing above all, a potential danger.The only thing that made her look bearable or even worthwhile, however, was her face. It had extremely smooth and harmonious features, which, however, were marred by deep-seated fear. Even Sasuke could read from her frightened look that this girl here had had anything but easy in her life. Orochimaru generally treated his subjects like worthless animals. It was certainly no different for her.
The psychological consequences of the inhumane treatment she had endured under Orochimaru were clearly visible in her behavior and look. But the physical agony that she must have gone through with absolute certainty was even more obvious: starting with a glowing burn scar that misshapen her upper arm, innumerable incisions on her face and limbs disfigured her body even more than it already was from neglect. A lilac-colored hematoma that was not yet fully healed literally glowed in the dim lamplight of the corridor.
Oh yes, in many ways this girl had suffered. Sasuke saw it and simply took note of it factually, without even giving a single, sympathetic thought to it.
But why should he? He himself bore the enormous burden of his past and had therefore had to give up a lot in the course of his life. His sympathy was only enough for himself, so he couldn't pity anyone else. Not this stranger here, not his probably best friend Naruto, not one that Sasuke knew had to bear heavy loads. In any case, his own was a thousand times heavier. Everyone had to deal with it on their own.
She obviously couldn't make it here. That deserved no sympathy, but rather contempt in the eyes of the Uchiha.
Maybe Karin was right after all and this girl didn't deserve the attention he paid her out of caution and foresight ...
Sasuke was now about ten paces away from the stranger. She was now crouching on the floor, trembling and chattering her teeth, and still pressed herself tighter and tighter against the wall behind her, so that you might think she was trying to sink into it. This behavior was plain and poignant ... pathetic. Sasuke already despised her for it.

But all of a sudden she sat up, raised her hand defensively and, despite her trembling voice, let out a loud "Stop!" hear. When, not even a moment later, a lightbulb burst over Sasuke, he actually stopped in astonishment.
"I can do the same with your head if you get one step closer!"
She had probably tried to sound threatening, but the excitement made her voice slip an octave higher and so her beautiful threat was undone.
She had impressed Sasuke anyway. To some extent at least ... He shook the broken lightbulb pieces out of his hair. At least now he knew what Karin had kept from him. He threw the red-haired teammate a disapproving look: so uninteresting!Thanks to his great comprehension and his high intelligence, it was immediately clear to Sasuke that he was dealing with a telekinetic. Sasuke had heard of people like her who could deform or move matter through the power of their thoughts alone, but had never met anyone before. Orochimaru had spoken about it a few times with his faithful assistant Kabuto. Sasuke had picked it up time and time again.
He was not surprised that Orochimaru had had a girl in his possession who possessed this powerful gift. It was just astonishing why she had obviously served as a guinea pig and not used in combat.
Used correctly, this girl would surely have unlimited power over life and death. How one could be mistaken. Hadn't Sasuke just thought she wasn't worth his attention? Well, the thinking person is known to change his mind, and Sasuke was definitely a thinking, even planning person. Once again it was proven - never underestimate your opponent!
She here could either be one or the other: an opponent who had to be destroyed so that she would no longer pose a threat, or she could be won as an ally.
What an enrichment that would be for Team Hebi! How much easier it would be to pursue his plans if Sasuke could only manage to get this telekinetine to his side ...
But right now she was still a potential danger. She had not only been treated like an animal here, but had certainly also got used to animal behavior and could therefore bite immediately if she felt too threatened.
Either that or she tried to sink into the wall again. Instinct told Sasuke that this was the more likely case.
But that wasn't an advantage either.