Karin hesitated at Naruto's door, knuckles raised to knock. The hallway of his apartment building smelled of old paint and someone's attempt to cover it with cheap air freshener. Not the worst place to live, but certainly not the best either. She'd been to his apartment several times since arriving in Konoha, but never alone. Usually Hinata or one of his teammates was present.

  She knocked twice, waited, then knocked again.

  "Naruto? It's Karin."

  Silence greeted her. Strange—he'd asked her to meet him here. She checked the small clock at the end of the hallway. She wasn't early; in fact, she was five minutes late. She pressed her palm against the door, extending her chakra sense. Yes, he was definitely inside, his chakra burning like a small sun.

  She fumbled in her pocket for the key he'd given her. "I'm coming in," she called, turning the key in the lock.

  The apartment was dimly lit, curtains drawn against the afternoon sun. Books, scrolls, and empty instant ramen cups littered the small table. The air smelled of ink and paper.

  Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor, hunched over a large scroll spread before him. He'd pushed the couch and coffee table aside to make room for it. His hair was messier than usual, and dark circles ringed his eyes, as if he'd been up all night.

  "Naruto?"

  He jumped, whirling around with wide eyes. When he saw her, his shoulders slumped in relief. "Karin! Sorry, I was... um..." He scrambled to roll up the scroll.

  "What's that?" She closed the door behind her, eyes fixed on the paper.

  "Nothing important. Just some stuff Pervy Sage gave me to study." His hands fumbled, trying to hide the complex array of symbols inked across the parchment.

  Karin crossed the room and knelt beside him. "Is that the seal for your bijuu?"

  Naruto froze, scroll half-rolled. His chakra spiked with anxiety. "How did you—"

  "I'm a sensor-type," she said, tapping her temple. "Pretty obvious."

  "Oh." Naruto let go of the scroll, letting it unroll again. "Does that... change how you see me?"

  Karin blinked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Why would it? I've always known."

  "You have?"

  She tilted her head. "Your chakra is like nothing I've ever felt before. It has two distinct signatures—yours, and something much more powerful underneath." She leaned forward, studying the seal. "I just assumed everyone knew."

  Naruto laughed, but the sound was hollow. "Not exactly. The adults do, but kids my age..." He scratched the back of his head. "The Third made a law that no one could talk about it. Wanted me to have a normal childhood."

  "That worked out well," Karin said dryly.

  Naruto snorted. "Yeah." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Wait, if you could tell right away, do you think Ino knows too? She's a sensor-type."

  "Depends how sensitive she is." Karin carefully smoothed out a wrinkled corner of the scroll. "Not all sensors are equal. Some only pick up on chakra presence, not its quality."

  She studied the seal—an elaborate spiral surrounded by kanji and smaller, interlocking patterns. It was beautiful in its complexity, far beyond anything she'd seen in Grass. "This is incredible. Who designed this?"

  "The Fourth Hokage." Naruto's voice carried a strange mix of pride and resentment. "It's supposed to be one of the most advanced seals ever created."

  Karin traced a finger along one of the spiral's arms, careful not to touch the ink directly. "I've never seen anything this complex. Most bijuu seals are simpler—cruder, really. This has at least three containment layers, multiple filter paths..." She pointed to a section where the lines seemed to double back on themselves. "And this part looks like it's designed to gradually mix the two chakras."

  Naruto stared at her. "How do you know all that?"

  "I'm an Uzumaki," she said, as if that explained everything. In many ways, it did.

  He nodded, a small smile playing at his lips. "Right. I keep forgetting we're both from the same clan."

  "We're the last ones, as far as I know." She swallowed hard, pushing down the pang of loneliness that always accompanied that thought.

  Naruto leaned back on his hands. "I can use the seal, but I don't really understand how it works. Pervy Sage—I mean, Jiraiya—has been teaching me some basics about seals, but nothing on this level." He traced a finger along one of the patterns. "See these sections? They've been modified from the original design."

  Karin squinted at the areas he indicated. The ink was slightly different there—darker in some places, with small additions that disrupted the elegant flow of the original pattern.

  "I'm trying to figure out what these changes do," he continued. "Jiraiya says they were made when..." He hesitated. "When the seal was placed on me."

  Karin noted the careful phrasing. There was more to the story, but she didn't press. Instead, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a small, tightly-bound scroll sealed with wax.

  "Where were you hiding that?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.

  She smiled, a secret little curve of her lips. "I've been keeping it as a special bargaining chip. In case I needed it."

  "What is it?"

  She turned the scroll in her hands, the weight of generations heavy in her palm. "My mother gave it to me before she died. It's one of the few things I have from her." She held it out to him. "It's about Uzumaki sealing techniques."

  Naruto took it reverently, as if handling a priceless artifact. His fingers hovered over the wax seal, hesitating. "You're sure you want to share this with me?"

  Karin nodded. Something warm blossomed in her chest at his careful treatment of her treasure. This was why she'd fallen for him—not just the boundless energy or determination, but these moments of unexpected gentleness.

  He broke the seal and unrolled the scroll across the floor next to his own. His eyes widened as he scanned the contents. "Karin, this is... this is amazing!" His finger traced the diagrams, lips moving silently as he read. "Some of these principles might help me understand what's happening with my seal."

  He looked up at her, eyes bright with excitement. "Thank you. This is exactly what I needed."

  "Glad I could help." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach at his enthusiasm.

  Naruto turned back to the scroll, already jotting notes on a piece of paper beside him. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have you as family."

  The word landed like a kunai to her heart. Family. Not exactly what she'd been hoping for, but still precious. She watched him work, his face animated with concentration, tongue poking out slightly as he copied a particularly complex diagram.

  Maybe Sakura was right. Maybe she needed to accept what Naruto was offering—family, connection, a shared heritage—instead of pining for something more.

  "What's this part mean?" Naruto pointed to a section filled with dense text.

  Karin leaned closer, trying to focus on the scroll rather than the warmth of his shoulder next to hers. "I think it's describing how to create chakra containment fields that adapt to different types of energy."

  "That sounds useful." He scribbled another note. "Man, the Uzumaki clan was amazing at this stuff, weren't they?"

  "The best." Pride colored her voice. "My mother used to say that other villages feared our sealing abilities more than any jutsu."

  "Makes sense why they'd want to wipe us out, then." Naruto's tone was matter-of-fact, but she felt the spike of anger in his chakra.

  "Yeah." She adjusted her glasses, a nervous habit. "Mom never told me much about Uzushiogakure. Just that it was beautiful, with bridges spanning whirlpools and buildings that glowed in the sunset."

  Naruto paused in his note-taking. "Maybe we could rebuild it someday."

  "Maybe." She smiled, not wanting to say how often she'd had the same thought.

  They worked for almost an hour, Naruto asking questions about the scroll that Karin did her best to answer, though many were beyond her knowledge.

  "Most of what I know about seals is practical, not theoretical," she admitted after failing to explain a particularly complex passage. "Mom taught me a few techniques, but she died before she could teach me everything."

  Naruto nodded, face solemn. "Still, you know way more than I do." He stretched, his back popping after being hunched over for so long. "Want some tea? I think I have some somewhere."

  "Sure." She watched him rummage through cupboards, his movements easy and natural in the small space.

  This was nice, she thought. Just the two of them, sharing knowledge, connecting over their shared heritage. Different from what she'd imagined when fantasizing about being alone with him, but nice all the same.

  Her mind drifted to the other boys who'd been showing interest in her. Chouji had taken her to his family's home for dinner last week. The food had been incredible—course after course of expertly prepared dishes—but more striking was the warmth of the Akimichi household. His parents had treated her like an honored guest, asking about her interests and telling embarrassing stories about Chouji as a child that made him blush and her laugh.

  Then there was Shino, quiet and mysterious, who'd shown her his family's butterfly garden. She'd expected the Aburame compound to be austere, perhaps even creepy, but the garden had been a riot of color and movement, butterflies of every hue dancing around them. He'd explained each species with quiet passion, his face lighting up when a rare blue morpho landed on her shoulder.

  And Kiba... she still giggled remembering his latest attempt to impress her. He'd been working on a new technique with Akamaru that involved the dog launching him into the air for aerial attacks. It had gone spectacularly wrong when Akamaru had gotten distracted by a squirrel mid-technique, sending Kiba face-first into a mud puddle. Rather than being embarrassed, he'd laughed it off, flinging mud at his partner in crime, and somehow that had been more charming than if the technique had worked perfectly.

  "Earth to Karin." Naruto waved a hand in front of her face, startling her from her thoughts.

  "Sorry, I was just thinking."

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  He placed a steaming mug in front of her. "About sealing techniques?"

  "Among other things." She took a sip of the tea—over-steeped and too sweet, but she didn't mind.

  Naruto settled back down with his own mug. "I've been meaning to ask—how are you liking Konoha so far? Better than Grass?"

  "Much better," she said without hesitation. "People here actually see me as a person, not just a walking medical supply."

  Naruto's face darkened. "They used you."

  It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "The more chakra they took, the faster I could generate it. So they took more and more." She rubbed her arm, where the bite marks had finally begun to fade. "I thought that was normal. That it was just what medical ninjas did."

  Naruto looked like he wanted to punch something. "It's not. It's messed up."

  "I know that now." She took another sip of tea. "Everyone here has been so... kind. Especially you."

  "Me?" Naruto looked genuinely surprised. "I haven't done anything special."

  "You gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go. You introduced me to your friends. You've spent time with me nearly every day." She met his eyes. "That means a lot."

  Naruto scratched the back of his head, a flush creeping up his neck. "Well, we're family, right? That's what family does."

  There it was again. Family. She should be grateful—and she was—but a selfish part of her wanted more.

  "Right," she said, forcing a smile. "Family."

  Naruto returned to the scroll, apparently oblivious to her inner conflict. "So this section here—what do you think it means by 'resonance patterns'?"

  Karin forced herself to focus on the scroll, pushing her feelings aside. "It's talking about how seals can be designed to respond to specific chakra signatures."

  "Like a lock and key?"

  "Sort of. More like how certain musical notes make specific objects vibrate." She tapped the diagram. "If you can match the 'frequency' of a seal with your chakra, you can activate or deactivate it more efficiently."

  Naruto's eyes lit up. "That's it! That might explain some of what I'm seeing with the modifications to my seal."

  He grabbed his pencil, scribbling furiously in the margins of his notes. Karin watched him work, finding comfort in his enthusiasm despite her complicated feelings.

  Maybe this was enough. Maybe being family to Naruto Uzumaki—the last of her clan, a fellow survivor—was more precious than any romantic fantasy.

  Or maybe, as Sakura had suggested, she needed to give the others a fair chance. After all, Chouji's warmth, Shino's quiet intensity, and Kiba's exuberance each held their own appeal.

  "What about this part?" Naruto pointed to another section of the scroll.

  Karin leaned in, setting aside her musings to focus on the task at hand. After all, she was an Uzumaki too—and right now, helping another Uzumaki understand their shared heritage felt like exactly where she needed to be.

  Sasuke rolled his shoulders, feeling the satisfying pop that came from muscles pushed to their limits. Three days of non-stop training had his body aching in places he didn't know could ache, but the pain carried a certain satisfaction.

  "That's enough for today." Kakashi closed his book with a snap. "Rest up for the finals. You've done all the preparation you can."

  Sasuke wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. The sun hung high in the cloudless sky, and his stomach reminded him loudly that breakfast had been many hours ago.

  "Sakura." He nodded toward his pink-haired teammate who had been watching their training session. "Let's get something to eat."

  Her rabbit ears drooped slightly —a tell he'd come to recognize meant she was uncomfortable. She winced, fiddling with a strand of hair. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. My mother asked me to meet her for lunch today, just the two of us. She's been planning it for days."

  Sasuke kept his face neutral, ignoring the twinge of disappointment. "Fine. Meet me at the compound afterward."

  She brightened immediately, the fluffy cotton tail at the base of her spine giving a little wiggle. "I'll be there. Shouldn't take too long."

  He watched her leave, a flash of pink disappearing down the dusty training ground path.

  "My, my," Kakashi said, eye crinkling in that irritating way that suggested he was smirking beneath his mask. "The great Sasuke Uchiha, left to dine alone. How the mighty have fallen."

  Sasuke arched a single eyebrow at his teacher, not rising to the bait.

  Kakashi merely eye-smiled in response. "Well, I've got places to be. People to see. Books to read." He formed a hand sign, and with a swirl of leaves, he was gone.

  Sasuke shook his head. He never could quite figure Kakashi out—the man seemed determined to project an air of lazy indifference, yet he'd been driving Sasuke relentlessly for the past three weeks. The training had paid off, though. Sasuke had mastered techniques that would have taken months under normal circumstances.

  With no plan and no company, Sasuke made his way toward the heart of Konoha. The streets bustled with the usual mix of civilians and off-duty shinobi, with an added layer of visitors who had arrived early for the final rounds of the Chūnin Exam. Foreign headbands glinted in the sunlight—mostly Sand and the occasional Mist, even a few Grass, their wearers giving him curious glances as he passed.

  His thoughts drifted to his meeting with the Hokage scheduled for tomorrow. Naruto had already spoken with the old man and passed on what information he could, but Sasuke wanted to hear it directly. He wanted to look the Third in the eye when he asked why his clan had been allowed to die.

  And why Itachi had been chosen as the instrument of their destruction.

  The cursed seal on his neck gave a dull throb at the thought of his brother. Sasuke pushed the dark energy back, the containment seal Jiraiya had placed doing most of the work. He'd managed to integrate the seal's power into his fighting style without letting it overcome him, but emotional triggers still caused flare-ups.

  A small soba stand caught his eye—not one of the popular places overrun with tourists, but a simple establishment with a weathered awning and worn wooden counter. Perfect. Sasuke ducked under the noren curtains and took a seat at the far end.

  "One cold soba, extra buckwheat," he told the elderly proprietor, who nodded silently and turned to his cooking station.

  "Make that two," came a familiar voice.

  Sasuke turned to find Kabuto sliding onto the stool beside him, adjusting his glasses with a smile.

  "Uchiha-san. This is a pleasant surprise."

  Sasuke gave a slight nod. "Kabuto. I thought you'd be busy at the hospital."

  "Just finished a double shift." Kabuto stretched his arms over his head. "Thought I'd grab something to eat before heading home to sleep."

  The old man placed two cups of steaming green tea before them.

  "Looking forward to the finals?" Kabuto asked, taking a sip. "Your teammates seem confident. I saw Naruto practicing with Lord Jiraiya yesterday—quite the honor for a genin."

  "Hn." Sasuke took a drink from his own cup. "The dobe needs all the help he can get."

  Kabuto chuckled. "Don't sell him short. Your whole team has improved remarkably since graduation. Most of the hospital staff has been placing bets on which of you will make chūnin."

  "And who are they betting on?"

  "You, mostly. The last Uchiha, top of his class, trained by Kakashi of the Sharingan." Kabuto shrugged. "Though after your performance in the prelims, some are concerned you might be... overly ruthless."

  Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Sound ninja knew the risks when they entered the exam."

  "True enough." Kabuto raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not judging. We're shinobi, after all. We deal in death."

  Their conversation paused as the soba arrived, steaming and fragrant. They broke their chopsticks and began to eat in comfortable silence.

  "I'm curious, though," Kabuto said after a few bites. "You're clearly driven. Another step up the ladder toward your brother, right? Toward vengeance."

  Sasuke looked up sharply.

  Kabuto gave a small smile. "It's hardly a secret, Sasuke-kun. What happened to your clan... what your brother did... everyone knows you seek vengeance."

  "Is that what they think?" Sasuke asked, his voice level. "That I'm driven by hatred for my brother?"

  "Aren't you?" Kabuto looked genuinely curious.

  Sasuke stared into his bowl for a long moment. "It's not that simple."

  "Few things are," Kabuto agreed.

  The words came slowly, each one chosen with care. "If it were just about hatred... I would have left the village long ago. Sought power at any cost." Sasuke met Kabuto's eyes. "But it's not hatred that drives me. It's love."

  Kabuto's chopsticks paused halfway to his mouth. "Love? For your brother?"

  Sasuke scoffed. "For my dead family. For what was stolen from me." His fingers tightened around his tea cup. "For my mother, who always smiled even when she was tired. For my cousins who taught me to skip stones at the lake. For my father who—" He cut himself off, realizing he'd said more than he intended.

  "I see." Kabuto resumed eating, though more slowly now. "That's... unexpected. Though I suppose this is the part where, as a good Leaf shinobi, I should remind you that vengeance won't bring them back. That you should focus on protecting those you still have rather than avenging those you've lost."

  "Is that what you think?" Sasuke asked, his voice neutral.

  Kabuto shrugged. "It's what they teach us, isn't it? The Will of Fire and all that. The dead are gone. They say the departed would want their loved ones to live peaceful, happy lives."

  "My dead were shinobi. Uchiha." Sasuke's voice hardened. "They understood what it means to protect what matters, no matter the cost."

  "And vengeance protects... what, exactly?"

  "Our way of life." Sasuke took another bite of soba. "It's a deterrent. A promise that transcends death. That actions have consequences, even if those consequences come years later."

  "An interesting philosophy." Kabuto tilted his head. "Most in the village wouldn't see it that way."

  "Most in the village didn't watch their entire family die."

  Kabuto's expression grew thoughtful. "The dead can't appreciate justice served in their name, you know. No matter how poetic it might seem."

  "So the dead should be forgotten? Their killers allowed to walk free?" Sasuke's tone remained calm, but his eyes flashed. "What would you do, Kabuto, if someone took from you the person who mattered most?"

  For the briefest moment, Kabuto's ever-present smile slipped.

  "You harbor your own hatred," Sasuke continued, his voice dropping lower. "I don't know who or why or how, but someone important to you was taken. I can see it in your eyes when you speak of vengeance."

  Kabuto went very, very still.

  "I don't claim to know your story," Sasuke said. "But I recognize the look. It's the same one I see in the mirror every morning."

  The silence between them stretched, taut as a wire. The old shop owner moved quietly at his station, pretending not to hear their conversation.

  "You're more perceptive than I gave you credit for, Sasuke-kun." Kabuto's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Though I wonder what gave me away."

  "Your words." Sasuke tapped his chopsticks against the rim of his bowl. "No one speaks of vengeance the way you do unless they understand it intimately."

  Kabuto adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. "And here I thought I was playing my part so well."

  "Your part?"

  "The helpful, unassuming medical ninja. The perpetual genin with no particular ambitions." Kabuto's smile returned, but there was something different about it now—something sharper. "We all wear masks, Sasuke-kun. Some more convincing than others."

  Sasuke raised his tea cup. "To good hunting, then."

  Kabuto stared at him for a long moment. Then, a chuckle began in his throat, low and quiet at first, building until it erupted into near-hysterical laughter.

  The sound was so unexpected and so at odds with Kabuto's usual demeanor that Sasuke tensed, hand instinctively moving closer to his kunai pouch.

  Kabuto regained control of himself with visible effort, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "I've come to really like you, Uchiha Sasuke. I hope we have the chance to work together in the future."

  He raised his own cup, tapping it gently against Sasuke's. "To vengeance for the dead. May they rest easier for it."

  As they drank, Sasuke noticed that the old shop owner had backed away to the far end of his small kitchen, hands trembling slightly as he wiped the same spot on the counter over and over. The man's face had gone pale, and a dark stain spread down one leg of his pants.

  The two shinobi exchanged a glance.

  "Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere," Kabuto suggested mildly. "I believe we've disturbed the proprietor."

  Sasuke placed money on the counter—more than enough to cover both meals—and stood. "Your cooking was excellent," he told the terrified man. "I'll be back."

  The old man managed a jerky nod, not meeting either of their eyes.

  Outside, the bright sunlight felt incongruous after the intensity of their conversation. Civilians bustled past, laughing and talking, oblivious to the dark undercurrents that ran beneath the village's peaceful surface.

  "You know," Kabuto said as they walked, "most people would have tried to talk you out of your path. Told you that vengeance is a poison that will consume you. That forgiveness is the only way to heal."

  "Would they be wrong?" Sasuke asked.

  Kabuto glanced at him. "Would it matter if they were? Some wounds can't be healed. Some debts can only be paid in blood."

  "And yours?" Sasuke kept his eyes forward. "Will blood be enough?"

  "For what was taken from me?" Kabuto's smile turned cold. "Blood is just the beginning."

  They came to a crossroads. To the left lay the hospital district, to the right the path toward the Uchiha compound.

  "This is where we part ways, I think," Kabuto said. "I enjoyed our conversation, Sasuke-kun. It's rare to find someone who truly understands."

  Sasuke nodded. "Good luck with your hunt."

  "And you with yours." Kabuto adjusted his glasses one last time. "Though luck may have little to do with it."

  As Kabuto walked away toward the hospital, Sasuke stood watching him for a long moment. There was something off about the medical ninja, something that had always struck him as not quite right. Their conversation had only deepened that impression.

  Still, he'd worry about Kabuto another day. For now, he had his own vengeance to plan, his own meeting with the Hokage to prepare for.

  And perhaps, if he was lucky, his own answers to find.