Chapter 51.3- Gamer of the Desert

In the shadows of the village hidden in the Leaves, they stood. They stood waiting and watching. Orochimaru had promised. He’d promised, and she trusted him to deliver. That sentence was insane in hw mind. That she would still put her trust in Orochimaru after all he’d done was impressive. But that was what I mean to be in the same team as someone. From Six years old, she’d lived with and surrounded by the two of them. They were as much her brothers as Nawaki had been. And wasn’t that one hell of a mindfuck. Really put that crush she’d had on the Snake in their early years into perspective. Luckily, she’d out grown that particular madness quickly.

“Any second now" Jiraiya said, cloaked from view by his Meisaigakure no jutsu. He’d boasted that he was the greatest user of the technique under the sun and she was beginning to believe him. This was one hell of a cloak, and the fact that she had to legitimately focus to tell him apart even when she knew he was there was something else. Naruto was by her side, cloaked in his inferior version of the technique, but there was little chance any one with any possibility of spotting them would show up here. It was an intentional blindspot in Konoha’s defences that Sarutobi-sensei had left for his own use.

They heard a massive crashing sound, and took it as the signal it was. Jiraiya ran up to the wall and weaved a key of 12 seals that temporarily disabled the sensing barrier around this part of the walls. She jumped clear over Konoha’s high walls with Naruto underarm and the Kazekage joined her in her jump with his weird sand transformation jutsu. She’d noticed the changes in him. There was a confidence in him that hadn’t existed when he’d first greeted them at his village’s border. Good. He’d need it to face down Danzo and whatever tricks and traps he had waiting for them in there.

XXXXXX- KARIN UZUMAKI

“Is she outside, Konan?” She heard a weak voice ask from within the room. She waited with a tingling feeling running down her spine. Within the room was the strongest chakra signature she had ever felt in her life. They had even more chakra than Orochimaru-sama at the peak of his powers. The Konan lady was strong and scary enough, but the fact that she answered to someone who was even stronger, and thus scarier was doing things to her mind. She was sure that the only reason she hadn’t passed out from the fear running through her was because of how the chakra signature felt.

It was dark and menacing, for sure. But it was also a lot of things. It was resolute and determined like nothing else she’d ever felt. Whatever that person wanted, they wanted it bad. Bad enough that they’d give everything, she suspected. But the one silver lining was that the chakra signature was familiar. It felt like home. She’d only felt this twice before. Once with her mother and the other with the blonde kid that had been on Sasuke-kun’s team. Both of them had been good people, trustworthy. She had faith that this would be the same.

Not like there was much of a choice in her hands in the first place. It was either have faith or give into despair. When the woman with the paper jutsu had appeared at the hideout, she’d almost had a conniption at the power in her chakra. She was as strong as Orochimaru-sama was. And she showed it, slaughtering every single one of the formerly imprisoned cursed seal abominations Orochimaru had made with ease. Her paper shurinken sliced through skin that was supposed to be as hard as stone with ease.

After a display like that, when the woman had instructed Karin to follow her, she had no way to say no. There would be no outrunning someone who could fly, and even though she’d pretended that Karin had the choice to decide not to follow her, her chakra did not lie. Karin would have been brought here whether she wanted or not. It was just more convenient to include the illusion of choice. It was something karin couldn’t do much about, so she took it on the chin and adapted. The same way she’d adapted when the Kusa nin killed her mother and expected her to replace her. The same way she’d adapted when Orochimaru-sama saved her life and decided to use her in much the same way the Kusa nin had. Well, not much the same way. He’d been a notable step up. She just hoped this ended up being a step up as well.

“Send her in” The weak voice said, and the woman was at the doorway in less time than it took Karin to realise she was the one being referred to.

“Go on in” She said with a smile on her face. A smile meant to disarm. It had the exact opposite effect, because she could feel the sharpness in the woman’s chakra. She could feel that she didn’t want her to go in. She could feel that the woman was almost completely on edge. She’d kill her in a second if she misstepped.

“Come in, Cousin” She heard the weak voice again. This time, it was addressing her. She walked in, shocked. Cousin? When she came face to face with the source of strong chakra, she wanted to curl in on herself. What was this? A man, emaciated as all hell, with rods sticking out of his back, connected to some sort of device. She could feel how his chakra was sent out by the rods. They were acting as Chakra transmitters. Powerful ones. The receivers weren’t all within her range, but she could feel two of them. They were higher on in the tower. This was some sort of basement level.

“Uzumaki. Karin. That is your name right?”

She nodded, not trusting her mouth to speak clearly in the present situation.

“Good. I am Uzumaki Nagato. Your cousin”

Her mouth dropped open. It wasn’t possible. All the Uzumaki were dead. Mother had told her a million times when she hoped and prayed that they would come and save them from Kusa. When she laid awake at night despairing at her mother’s screams of pain. The nights when they would return her mother to her, tired and on death’s doorstep, and then somehow return to take her in the morning. All those times. She wished for some Uzumaki to save her. There were none.

“You’re lying” She said without thinking, overcome by such fury that her red cheeks were no concern to her. That her hair rose in on itself, animated with her chakra.

“You’re a liar.” She said for emphasis, on the edge of screaming.

“Never” He said in reply, removing one of his hands from the device it was in, and stretching it out to her.

She felt his chakra. She felt the truth in it. Chakra never lied. He wasn’t lying.

“C-Cousin?” She damned her stutter a million times. Why? It didn’t matter that he was her cousin. He was just like the rest. She knew why he’d brought her here.

“Yes. Karin Uzumaki. I searched and sought after one who shared the blood for decades. I found a few, but none like me. None like us. A pureblooded Uzumaki is a rare thing these days. I am happy to meet you.”

“Where were you all this time, then?” Where were you when my mother died, she wanted to ask.

“Here. Kusa hid your existence well. It was only Orochimaru’s death and our subsequent dismantling of his operations that allowed us find any mention of you. If I had known about you earlier, I would have spared no means to see you freed and brought to my side. An Uzumaki alone in the world is a terrible thing.” He said. Once more, he was telling the truth. He only wanted her because she was family. She wanted to cry. She was already crying, she amended as the first sob left her lips. She folded in on herself with a hand on her chest. Weeping. Family.

She had no idea how long she remained crying for, until she felt arms wrap around her. Weak, bony arms, but arms all the same. She felt his chakra cloak her. The way it covered her completely. She sunk into his grasp. She memorised the feeling with all her strength and held on to it, hoping it would never leave. Hoping it would never stop.

A/N; I think it’s really funny how I have done no clarification on the timeline at all and I just have like a dozen things going on on different timelines. Hopefully, everything makes sense when all the actors find themselves brought together by fate and plot. If it doesn’t, you have my permission to smack me over the head.