Iroh read over the letter from Tsunade for what seemed the hundredth time, but try as he might there was no extra information to glean from it.

There was very little in the letter as it was. Really, it just amounted to a brief warning.

Iroh needed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha as soon as he would allow it.

True, Sasuke was no longer as volatile as he had once been, but Iroh did not think that Sasuke was ready for the responsibility and captivity Konoha's Council doubtless would demand of him.

And Iroh didn't want to see him go, either.

He'd grown used to Sasuke's company, his somewhat abrasive nature. Iroh relished the precious moments when Sasuke looked to him for important moral guidance, and the paternal pride he felt whenever Sasuke made a leap on his own.

So perhaps Iroh's perception was flawed. Perhaps Sasuke would like to go back home, and Iroh was holding him back.

The only way to know would be to ask, however, and Iroh wasn't sure he was ready for the answer.

Iroh braced his shoulders like a man buffeted by a sandstorm, and lit the letter aflame. It would be ill-advised, after all, to leave sensitive information lying around.

Another day, another growth spurt.

Sasuke tugged exasperatedly at the bottom of his shirt, trying to will it into place well below his waist band. It wasn't that he minded showing skin, but he didn't really feel like channeling Ino Yamanaka's fashion sense.

Being sixteen was irritating. Sifu had reassured him that the growth spurts would be done within a few years, but it wasn't that reassuring. Especially since Sasuke had finally stopped looking like a particularly scrawny carrot and was starting to fill in with the muscles that he'd always envied adults for having.

At least he now had the reach for his kenjutsu to back up his practice and strength. Sasuke no longer had to work as hard to put power behind his swings, and that made his life much easier. Of course, he still worked himself to the point of exhaustion in his training anyway.

Sasuke grimaced at the hem of his shirt, and finally gave up for the time being. His time and energy would be better used just buying new ones than trying this new exercise in futility.

'Maybe I should just give up on fitting clothes entirely. Wear over-sized shirts that I can't possibly grow into. If I leave them partially open, I can just slip them off if they get in the way.'

Now there was a thought. It could look stupid, though… Maybe a rope belt would pull the ensemble together. Yes. That would be best. Many formidable shinobi accessorized with rope belts.

"Haru, stop! Whatever you're thinking, don't do it!"

He blinked at Iroh, thinking that the old man looked unduly panicked. "Ah, if you say so…"

"Haru, come here, if you would."

That was odd. Sasuke placed his sword in its sheath, and turned to his shishou. "Yes, Sifu?"

Sifu patted the ground next to him in an open invitation, and Sasuke slumped to the ground as gracefully as he was able.

Unfortunately, as always Sifu wasn't fooled in the slightest by Sasuke's attempts to look nonchalant. Sasuke resolutely stared in any other direction than the one in which his shishou was smirking.

Sifu cleared his throat in amusement, and Sasuke continued to carefully examine all the individual blades of grass in his immediate area.

"Sasuke."

That made him look up. Sifu had insisted on using his fabricated name for all the time they'd been together, so it was almost… odd, to hear his own name given voice.

It felt disjointed, a bit. Like when he wore clothes that didn't fit him well (a phenomenon he was all too accustomed to, as of late), or tried to use a jutsu out of his element. It was uncomfortable and somewhat suffocating.

"Yes, shishou?"

Sifu did look serious, and Sasuke felt his stomach tie itself up in knots.

"I have something I need to show you, but first I have some words of caution."

Sasuke felt the acid in his stomach bubbling up a bit, and nodded hesitantly.

Sifu held up a finger. "First of all, this technique is very dangerous. Not just to the intended target, but to yourself and any who get in its way."

A hard pill to swallow, to be sure, but much of the ninjutsu Sasuke had been taught was deadly. Then again, so was the firebending Sifu had already taught him. For his shishou to warn him in such a manner, this technique must be very powerful, indeed.

Sifu held up a second finger, which caught Sasuke's attention enough to bring him out of his musings. "Secondly, it requires utter peace of mind and total concentration. If you lose either one of those, you will lose control of it, and it might kill you and anyone around you."

Sasuke tensed, and then forced his muscles to relax. He needed Sifu to believe he could do this. He had endeavored to be the best apprentice possible. He didn't want to disappoint either Sifu or himself by cracking under the pressure.

Sifu eyed him calmly, but Sasuke could see under the façade a bit. But if Sifu had offered to teach him this technique, he must be confident in Sasuke's abilities, so Sasuke waited with as much patience as he could muster.

Sifu leaned forward, and placed his hand onto Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke, lightning is dangerous. Though I believe you already understand that more than most."

And just what did that mean?

Sasuke stared uncomprehendingly at his shishou as he pulled away and stood up. Sifu walked a few feet in front, and began to do a slow circular motion with his arms.

The crackle that pervaded the air was unmistakable, and Sasuke had to force himself not to cringe. That suffocating electricity was just like the day he met Sifu more than two years ago, which meant…

Sasuke was floored. His shishou was really willing to give him a technique that made one of the Sannin look like an Academy student?

That explained Sifu's earlier discomfort. This was one hell of a technique to be trusting Sasuke with.

Not unlike Kakashi's Chidori, actually. Sasuke momentarily wallowed in the guilt for how he'd repaid his former sensei for that gift of trust, before Sifu twisted his other arm and a large tree on the other side of the clearing shattered into nothing. The resultant sparks tore through trees, shrubs, and rocks, scorching everything within a ten foot radius.

Sifu turned back to Sasuke, and the look in his eyes made Sasuke feel like he was being evaluated again. He quieted his discomfort and forced words out of his mouth, ignoring that it tasted distinctly of ashes and his own blood (just when had he bitten his own cheek that hard?).

"If you think I'm ready, shishou, I will not disappoint you."

That seemed to be the desired answer, because Sifu visibly relaxed and beckoned Sasuke forward. "The first step is to entirely calm your mind, Sasuke…"

Itachi was exhausted, though he didn't care to admit it. Tracking the Sabaku girl's communications was a tiresome experience, to say the least. Not that it was because she was especially social, to be perfectly honest, but rather because she wasn't. She didn't appear to write to any friends, and the only mail she ever sent was through diplomatic channels.

Itachi could get his hands on those, but his intrusions would be noted and cause undue suspicion. The last thing he wanted was for others to note his comings and goings, and expose Sasuke to another predator like Orochimaru. This is, if it really was Sasuke. If not, then it was even worse. Some innocent civilian would suffer for Itachi's selfish need to stalk a long-dead sibling.

His head reeled with the potential consequences. There were no right options to be had, here. Every step had to be planned carefully, so as to minimize the inevitable collateral damage.

Unfortunately, he was caught between a metaphorical rock and a hard place. Either he absconded with diplomatic documents (thereby informing all parties involved that someone was interested in their activities and possibly inciting a war in the worst possible time to do so), or he took a large personal risk and breached Konoha's walls again, to intercept the package after it was delivered and delve through its contents for what he sought.

Neither option struck him as very appealing, to be honest. Itachi flexed his fingers, to offset the stiffness settling therein, and narrowed his eyes.

There was, perhaps, a third option.

Jiraiya was unreliable, to be sure, but he would have left the jinchuuriki in Konoha again by now and be available for Itachi's questions. And he might be willing to help Itachi locate Sasuke… by all reports, the Council wanted the last of the Uchiha clan back within its wizened claws.

As foul as it was, it was the best option available to him. The only other comfort in it was that Jiraiya and Tsunade were highly unlikely to trust Danzo with any information pertaining to Sasuke at all. As a young ANBU, he had occasionally been party to long but muffled discussions between the Sandaime and Jiraiya. The Toad Sage had often (and loudly) insisted upon Danzo's removal from actual power, and his suspicions that Danzo had long been guilty of treasonous activities.

The Sandaime had been unjustifiably forgiving, Itachi had realized far too late.

But then, age had granted Itachi more perspective of the Third Hokage. He had always been too forgiving. Even in his first term of office, or so it appeared. Generally, if one commanded that a subversive organization be disbanded, it either was, or someone paid the price with their life. Sarutobi had done neither, seemingly content to call the issue resolved in anticipation of his retirement. Of course, he never picked up the matter after his reinstatement, either.

The village Itachi had sacrificed so much for seemed to be fallings apart at the seams.

How can a great tree ever flourish with leaves if its roots are thoroughly rotten?

Sasuke pulled his arms around again, and felt the electricity jolt over and through his skin. The feeling was actually becoming somewhat comforting, after weeks of practice. His lightning release didn't yet have the same destructive quality as his shishou's, but Sifu at least had reassured him that it was a problem remedied only with practice.

And Sasuke lived to train.

He had plans for this technique, ones that had been percolating in the back of his mind ever since Sifu had demonstrated it in the forest more than a month ago.

Sasuke would use the insights from Kakashi's Chidori (and later, how Sasuke had tweaked even that for his use) to exercise more precise control over the lightning release, and give it more fluidity in its use. Sifu stated that he could only use the technique a few times a day, and it would leave him drained.

Sasuke knew he wasn't as powerful as Sifu yet, so he likely would be able to use it even less in its current form. At least, he lacked the power that only experience on the field of battle would give. By Sifu's admission, he was a master of the various firebending forms, which was a true testament to how fiercely Sasuke trained and the high standards to which he held himself accountable.

But just training wouldn't be enough, unfortunately. And though Sasuke didn't know that he wanted to hunt down and kill Itachi, he certainly didn't want to be unprepared in case of a confrontation with his homicidal brother.

And perhaps being a political figure with immense power somewhat appealed to him. Just a bit. It would be much easier to start a clan without fear that idiots like those Cloud shinobi would try to run off with any of his potential offspring. If he was terrifying enough, power-grubbing morons would give him a wide berth, at least theoretically.

Sifu, for example, was one of those persons formidable enough to give assailants pause. If Sifu were his enemy, Sasuke would prefer to not occupy the same continent. The chance of being burnt to a crisp by wayward fire or lightning was too great for Sasuke to consider worth it.

He let the lightning loose, and was underwhelmed again by the amount of lightning that rushed forth and splintered his tree target. It was a respectable amount, maybe enough to fry someone's pacemaker. Well, it would still kill most people, but people like Itachi and the other people Sasuke wanted to avoid fell easily out of the realm of "most people".

But that was the fifth attempt he'd made today, and Sasuke knew his body was at its limit right now. He'd have to try again tomorrow.