By Thunder

Karin listened to the rain skittering over the roof of their new home with exasperation written on her face: at every sunset, she liked to watch out from the little abode they had taken over since their arrival, as she found incredibly soothing the visage of the final rays of the sun crashing over the ripples of the inner lake created from what was left of Uzushiogakure. It was something that she could have never seen while still in Kusa, where the weight of her future darkened every moment.

For a moment, she smiled softly at the memory of awakening over the back of a giant eagle, Haruto-sensei confirming that the recent events were real, and that she'd never be forced to let herself be used as her mother had. Then she pinched the bridge of her nose while she turned her back on the downpour that turned what should have been a view on the horizon into a grey wall.

He knows how much it annoys me! She rolled open one of the scrolls Haruto had left her and sat at the low table that sat near the wall: at the light of a seal that glowed bluish-white on the nearest wall, she started to read, her hands covering her ears just after the first flash of lightning seared white across the sky.

Outside, what looked like a regular bald eagle kept its descending spiral towards a once white patch of sand by the inner lake of Uzushiogakure, her first task completed as the rain fell harshly on a ground that almost made it sizzle because of the fire techniques that had cooked it into a charred wasteland. Above her, amidst the clouds, Aōfeza flew in tighter and tighter circles, his far greater wingspan extended to the max of his ability so that he could channel chakra through the overstretched feathers.

Raiton crackled as it was stolen from the cumulonimbus the three of them had spent the better part of an hour creating, and not so far below Kyōfū the bald eagle, stood the last member of their clan. Without feathers and with his silly disguise on, Haruto maintained a hunched posture as his lightning-natured chakra resonated through the link he shared with his summons, his right hand held high in a half-dragon seal with the left holding his wrist.

Kyōfū exercised her masterful control over her immediate surroundings to displace the air in a way that she would have never thought of if not for her summoner's insight and frankly obscene creativity: before, she had flown up to the forming clouds of smoke in a spiral, guiding and containing the heat generated by the combined techniques she had used with Sasuke, and now she was descending, readying a funnel of sorts where the air was the tiniest bit thinner than the surroundings, her chakra remaining behind in an outstanding example of control, quickly leaving her exhausted.

Gaining speed, she let out a fierce screech when she reached the tree that had been designed as a target, and when she saw her shadow projected on the ground by a flash of lightning, Kyōfū dispelled herself, returning to the Summon Realm, knowing that she couldn't witness what was about to happen and remain alive after it.

Aōfeza, heralded by lightning, was already diving.

The funnel of wind-natured chakra was the only thing guiding him towards the target, as, overflowing as he was with Raiton, the only thing he could do was hold on for dear life as he acted both as the tip of the spear and as the horse pulling the figurative cart.

He knew that thunder followed close by, but was unable to catch up with him: he knew that his eardrums would burst if he slowed down, he knew that anyone looking directly at him would be blinded by the intensity of the lightning he was riding into the ground. As something as undignified as a fish riding the crest of a wave only to jump above the water at its peak, Aōfeza let go as his talons were about to touch the tallest leaves of the rain-soaked tree that had been designed as a target, banking hard to the left as he tried to avoid the consequences of his technique.

But as the lighting had followed him, it now refused to let go, and the blue feathered eagle was quick to disperse himself, his connection to the mortal plane severed with a thought, and his disappearance happening at a pace that was couldn't be matched by anything in the world, leveraging the mechanics of the interactions between different dimensional planes to avoid killing himself in what must have been the greatest destructive technique ever crafted.

Off to the side, Haruto stood with Sharingan spinning in his eyes as the unbelievably complex technique unfolded, the logical extreme of the Chidori brought to greater heights thanks to the collaboration of two summoned creatures that could specialize in ways humans simply couldn't. A satisfied smile began to develop on his face as the eagle-shaped lightning crashed into the ground with enough power to bring down a mountain, only for a stray bolt of it to trace back the connection between Sasuke and the technique, surging in his body with a searing, hot white lance of agony.

I blinked the flash of lighting out of my eyes, the memory of how the chakra had been shaped forever seared into my mind while a rush of memories came at me from the clone that I had practicing the techniques. Every detail, from how the combination attacks with Kyōfū had allowed me to relatively quickly generate a cloud heavy with rain, to how I and Aōfeza would need to improve and coordinate better in order to avoid the price for what should have been a suicide technique.

With my breath controlled, I inhaled deeply, ignoring my bone-soaked discomfort caused by the heavy rain, and exhaled, my chakra turning into lightning-natured in a way that felt easier than it had ever been, even if it would never come as natural as fire. Making plans for how I'd need to modify the set-up and the realization of my bastardized 'Kirin', I turned towards the quiet observer that had made his way toward me during my training, and let the Sharingan fade away as a familiar shape walked out of the trees, an annoying grin stamped wide on his face: "Well, you don't see a princess do that every day..."

I sighed, already regretting the brief glimpse of fondness that had clawed its way through me at the sight of the older shinobi, before carefully examining him: there were signs of wounds that he hadn't had the last time we had seen each other, but he stood as straight-backed as ever, his wide frame powerful and his might supported by his own certainty about the path he had chosen so many years before. I shrugged: "Even as a princess I've been able to avoid having sex with other men..."

The genuinely disturbed frown that appeared on his features was a familiar, welcome thing, as was the geta sandal suddenly held in a threatening manner in his right hand: "Oi, boyo, I get that you feel almighty now, but you've not grown so much that I can't smack you around!"

My lips twitched with suppressed laughter before I turned towards the ruins of what had once been a tree. Well, towards the ruins of the place where the tree I chose as a target used to stand: a jagged crater was surrounded by a spiderweb of chasms as deep as 6 meters, and absolutely nothing but charred ground stood as a witness of the Kirin I had unleashed.

Still, hearing the implicit question, I answered to the man that, despite his misgivings and odd nature, had helped me more in this life than anyone else: "Summons can specialize in way we can't: Aōfeza is the size of a horse, wich is up to par for the Eagle Clan, but his Lightning Nature prevent him from truly shining where his kin does, while Kyōfū simply doesn't have the chakra, or the size, to leverage her Wind Nature in the way the rest of the eagles do."

"And yet, you chose those two to work with." Jiraya stepped fully under the slowly dispersing rain as his experienced eyes tracked the results of my last training session.

I snorted, shaking my head: "You told me once that the summons that you find by performing the hand seals without an already signed contract are those most similar to you... It's true enough: getting an eagle to follow my indications was all but impossible, but those two want to shine on their own terms, and as long as I help them along, they're willing to follow."

I refrained from speaking further, this was as close as a 'thank you' that Jiraya was going to get from me, and from his sharp grin, I knew that he knew, and that was enough. "I guess you didn't come here to chat, have you?"

And just like that, the Sannin was all business: "How much do you know of what happened since your tactical retreat with the Uzumaki in the most obvious place one capable of flying would take an Uzumaki?"

"Nothing." I answered truthfully. I mean, I can make exceptionally good guesses about the future thanks to my metaknowledge, but we're a while from any event closely related to the timeline I'm familiar with, "I had hoped to find at least an Eagle willing to fly about and bring me back news of what it saw, but understandably, none of them want to do something so undignified: maybe I'll be able to swing some concessions for a minor contract out of the Queen pointing out how such tasks are beneath the Clan, but I'd need a solid proposal first, and..."

"Yeah, yeah," Jiraya crossed his arms as his eyes didn't move from the devastation caused by my last technique: "I know that you like to plan ahead, you'll likely find some bullshit, princess-like solution down the road that'll make me poke fun at you. How will you call that technique?"

I raised an eyebrow at the attempt to slow down the true nature behind his visit: for all that he had said it was obvious, he wouldn't have needed four months to reach me only to make small talk. "Kirin." If it isn't broken... "If water-natured ninjutsu can make use of rivers, why can't I do the same with fire and lightning?" I rolled my shoulders only to push us back to the topic at hand: "Why are you here, Jiraya?"

"Reasons." he answered flatly, before crossing his arms and fully turning towards me, "Reasons that you won't fully like, but it is what it is."

After a deep breath, the Sannin spoke: "The Kaguya was only one of Orochi-teme's experiments, but there are worrying implications if he's able to get his hands on such a coveted bloodline. So I poked around once Tsunade-hime put me back together, and the situation isn't pretty back in Kiri."

"What does it have to do with me?" I sighed, knowing perfectly what he was talking about.

"Orders came directly from the top this time, so it has kind of everything to do with you." Jiraya sighed, and then dropped the 'bomb' he had been sitting on all this time: "Your presence as an 'apprentice' of sorts opens up possibilities that Konoha can't really let pass, and the existence of the Uzumaki that only I know about allows for some breathing room that we otherwise wouldn't have."

In short, concise words, the Toad Summoner painted me a picture of what the situation was like in Kirigakure no Sato: a dead Lord of Water, a bloodline purge heralded by the Yondaime Mizukage who was also the Jinchuriki of the Three-tails, a civil war sparked because of that, and opportunity to both offer safe haven to all those unbelievably valuable bloodlines that Orochimaru had so easily managed to get his hands on, and for me to copy the endless stream of ninjutsu that were used during a war by either side.

Besides a flicker of interest at the idea of widening my arsenal, I remained uninterested: civil war? That sounded like a spectacular way to get myself killed with my eyes ripped out.

"You already have the 'Haruto' thing going on, with the mask and all." Jiraya added, "Nobody knows Haruto holds the Eagle Contract, and you can use Raiton well enough to pass it off as your primary affinity: with a bit of training, and a few ambushes, we can get you up to par with the standard maneuvers and styles of Kiri."

I actually raised both my eyebrows at that my hands opening as I stared in disbelief: "What? You want me to infiltrate Kiri?"

"I will be doing the infiltrating part." he shook his head, "You'll tag along, and we'll find an old guy that Haruto can pass off as. There will be opportunities that my presence would bust, simply because everyone would charge at the foreigner from Konoha. Many who are being hunted down and killed would be safe away from the war as I smuggled them in Konoha: I'm talking about children whose only fault is to be born."

I narrowed my eyes at that: "And I'd be willing to put myself at risk for some strangers because..?"

"When the time came, you chose." the answer came with certainty in a new dawn after the night, with the same surety that Jiraya held for his own beliefs, and I hated that I couldn't instantly snap back a 'fuck off'. "Besides, what's your plan? Staying here, killing those that eventually will come looking for the cause behind the racket you make while training, and die alone of old age? What of the Uzumaki? The mother hasn't much left in her, what will you do once you no longer have her to shield you both from the choice of joining again the wider world?"

"It'd be better than dying meaninglessly." I bared my teeth for an instant, considering my situation. I didn't want to get thrown into danger for people I didn't know, but I hadn't thought as far as what I was going to do once I felt secure enough about my skills to be able to walk in Konoha without the risk of being kidnapped off the street by the next Orochimaru that came knocking. I kind of missed Lee and Tenten, that was true, but I knew they'd be fine without me, especially if my little gamble paid off and Shikamaru ended up being the third member of their team, and until I had a solution for Neji's Caged Bird Seal, I was limited in what help I could offer him.

"I think," Jiraya's answer came with a knowing, low tone, "that you'd rather live meaningfully."

Intellectually, I knew that there was no difference between Lee and the next poor sod to be mowed down as collateral damage in Kiri's civil war, no difference between Haku, who'd be 'rescued' by Zabuza, and Karin, who ended up as my 'student'. But while killing strangers didn't particularly bother me, as I had discovered during the first C-rank with my first team, letting others die meaninglessly wasn't quite the same. Oh, I could ignore it: I came first, what was the point of being granted this new lease on life if I didn't make sure to be able to enjoy it to the fullest? And could I really enjoy anything if I wasn't free to choose it on my own terms? It was the same reasoning that brought me close to the Eagles in the first place, the same mental pattern that saw me virtually alone in the ruins of Uzushiogakure no Sato.

"I'm not ordering anything." Jiraya shrugged, "But I'll be going there, and you'd be a great help, no matter how much I disguise myself, at the first actual fight my cover would be blown, while you can keep playing the long game as Haruto."

On the other hand, the carrion attitude that Konoha was willing to take didn't surprise me in the slightest: Why would the Hokage need to involve his forces in another's country war? But putting on stand-by Jiraya's usual duties to make away like kings... I understood how much my home village stood to gain on the long term. "So all the people that we'd save will then become proud, grateful soldiers of Konoha, won't they?"

The Sannin's eyes tightened minutely, acknowledging my point with a simple nod of his head even as he shrugged: "You have to give something in order to gain something... it's not pretty, but it's better than the alternative."

And just like it was easy form me to intellectually understand that Lee's life had the same value as a no-name orphan soon to be mindlessly slaughtered in Kiri, it was all too simple to see all those faceless 'innocents' as myself, forced to accept Konoha as the only way to survive until they were strong enough to make their own way into the world. Only, none of those would have the advantage of a fully formed personality before going through the Academy, none of Itachi's shadow to keep them from the machinations of the darker sides of the village.

"You said there is a resistance thing going on in Kiri." If only to spite the mercenary mentality that seemed to rule unopposed in this world, a different solution appeared in my mind: "I'm guessing that they're not going to casually annihilate the 'innocents' that we'd be saving?"

"You'd help them instead of handing them over to Konoha?" a third voice joined our conversation, and I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I had let my careful sensing of the surroundings go while I focused on what Jiraya had come al the way to Uzushiogakure to tell me, "Like you helped me?"

Karin had sneaked up on me, but not on Jiraya, who was looking at me, no that the rain had passed with the same expectation written on the Uzumaki's face. There was an odd mixture of awe and hope in her voice, intermingled with nervousness and an undercurrent of anger: if it was easy for me to see those faceless unknowns as people in my same situation, the parallelism would only be stronger for my 'student'.

The certainty that I would acquiesce to Jiraiya's request hit me with the force of thunder, and already cursing myself and my bleeding heart, I started to think about what was going to happen.

AN

OK, this has been a hellishly long wait, I know, but this year has truly been really busy making me do the oddest things, and I simply didn't have the time to write as much as I'd have liked.

This chapter is set roughly 4 months past the last one, and is a relatively small time skip that I've used to justify the events happening off-screen that bring Jiraya to learn about Kiri, and by extension the Hokage. It's a rather hamfisted way to get my MC back into the events happening in the wider world, but while I could have jumped ahead to him returning to Konoha with Karin by the time the chuning exams rolled about, or straight up time-skipping up to when the Akatsuki starts moving in 'Shippuden', I didn't want to waste all the work done until now to end up in a slightly different version of canon.

Besides this chapter highlights that the choice Sasuke made, about saving the two Uzumaki, isn't a random thing, but an event that had a deep impact on his character, and that will thusly color his choices going forward.

I didn't work through the countless ideas and attempts at the base of this Sasuke's Kirin because it would have been a word-vomit thing several pages long, and while I love that kind of thing, I'm trying to conform to the 'show, not tell' principle that I've spent an awfully big amount of time implementing in this fic. There will be conversations that I'll use to have the various characters either work through the ideas of a technique, or brief, first-person POV interludes to give the actual 'feeling' that comes with chakra.

I hope everyone remembers about this fic, but in any case, you can always re-read it, and comment it anew, ha!

As always, let me know what you think, and if this story is published by someone who is not Cloud 9 Stories, report it to an admin of whatever site you're on if you can.

Toodles!