quick-tempered. Disputes between Suigetsu and Karin also occurred almost every second and escalated more than every other time.
Sasuke would certainly have commanded unity as the leader and the two fighters could have put him in their place, but he was simply too proud for that. A sensei might do that with his stupid students, but he, a descendant of the famous Uchiha clan and avenger of the same, would certainly not deign to pay any more attention than was absolutely necessary to both of their childish things . They weren't worth it.
Most of the time he spoke a word of power after a long time, but only when he saw his concentration endangered by Karin, Suigetsu and their relentless bickering. Under no circumstances could he afford inattentiveness.

Both Suigetsu and Karin did not keep themselves in check during the onward journey, as usual, but at least it was still so limited that Sasuke did not consider it important enough to acknowledge their quarrels with words . Here in the deserted forest nobody would be able to hear them anyway, quite apart from the fact that they had just reached their destination: a dead tree trunk that looked as if lightning had struck it long ago.Here, well hidden, was the entrance to Orochimaru's underground hiding place.
"Karin", Sasuke interrupted the nagging of the red-haired glasses wearer for the first time that day. "I want you to check whether, contrary to all expectations, we still have someone to meet."
"Always I ..." mumbled the asked disgruntled. Secretly, however, she was only too happy to comply with this request, which was actually not a request but an order.
It was important to hide this well, but actually she secretly had a crush on the young Uchiha and, if she received just a little of his precious attention, would do anything for him. But at the same time she would be careful not to ever show this to her teammates Juugo and Suigetsu!
So Karin slowly closed her eyes and concentrated. Focused on trees, the gentle wind, the earth, the grass ... Particles in all of these things picked up the traces of other people's chakras. Karin was able to feel this - smell it more precisely -, assign it, identify it and recognize it again. So she could tell exactly whether they would meet someone during the day, and if so, maybe even whom.
"Nobody there," she reported after a few minutes.
"Sure?" Asked Sasuke. Something told him she wasn't telling the truth. He had barely allowed feelings for a long time if possible, but his instincts were as sharp as that of a wild tiger on the hunt, which intuitively always and invariably made the right decisions.
"Sure, I'm sure!", Karin snapped immediately and angrily put her hands on her sides. "Have I ever let you down? I can't remember it."
Sasuke was still not completely convinced, but stepped through the hidden gate without another word, followed by his comrades. He had been able to gain experience very early on with Karin's caliber bitches and therefore knew exactly that any further sentence would not lead to any result anyway. It would be nothing more than wasted time. In such a situation, deeds were many times more effective than any single syllable spoken.
But Sasuke hadn't misled his instincts. Karin had actually kept something secret. There was definitely someone downstairs in the corridors, although it was only one person, and Karin had sensed that very well.
Certainly, given the vastness of the hidden corridors, one did not necessarily have to encounter this. In fact, it was many times more likely that no meeting would take place. Of course, Karin had assumed that the more likely case would occur and therefore left her teammates unmolested.
Besides, she knew the person who was still hiding in hiding, and knew that there was no danger from her. On the contrary! So why raise the alarm unnecessarily? The adored Sasuke would certainly have been annoyed to lose time by taking completely superfluous precautionary measures. Not that he was too passionate about showing that anger, but still ... It just didn't have to be.That person down there wasn't worth it in the slightest - Karin could be absolutely sure of that.
Your expectation, by the way, almost came true - almost. Just turned down a hall earlier and Team Hebi would not have met the person Karin had sensed. But fate probably wanted it to happen.
So Sasuke, followed by his own, moved step by step closer to the person - a girl his age who was so different from him that they couldn't have been more different:
His heart was eaten away by the fire of hatred, while hers was frozen in the cold of fear. Like fire and ice - they were so different. In many ways. And yet they were united by one thing even now, when they had never met: a broken soul.
As Sasuke turned the corner into the next corridor, and the girl who was at the other end of the same for the very first time in his life, indicated that this togetherness should become a balm for each other's soul saw nothing yet.
On the contrary, even ...