22 onwards - Spirit_noir - Original Work [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: 22-27

Chapter Text

The next day, not only did they buy the carry-on bags, but Seina also went to the hospital to resume her studies. Sasuke, bored because he couldn't go to the forest to train alone due to the danger he was in, went for a walk around the village during the couple of hours she was in the hospital, accompanied by his clone.

"I see you're back. We missed you," Mina-senpai told him. Congratulations on your promotion.

"Thank you very much, Mina-senpai.

"Well, let's get started. Have you read the books I gave you yet? He saw how I nodded with a slightly wicked smile. So, it's time to put yourself to the test. See...

She spent a whole hour undergoing the most rigorous of examinations but, as expected, she passed it. He knew that if he didn't have his clones, it would have taken him years to get to where he was now. Luckily for her, she had enough chakra to create as many clones as she wanted to read those texts. In the next hour, he taught her how to prepare various poisons with her antidotes, much to her surprise. Soon it wouldn't be too strange for him to show her the potions he had created, the easiest ones at least.

"You're moving very fast. You're good at theory, so from now on, we'll move on to the practical part. We've started with the easiest poisons. I think it will take a couple of weeks to finish this part. For the next week, we'll start with the recipes for ointments and medicines. I'll give you just one book with recipes in case you want to read it.

Mina-senpai handed him the book, which was much finer than the pieces of text he had read so far, and explained that once they had finished the formulation and laboratory parts, they would continue with the iryo ninjutsu. He left the hospital and went in search of Sasuke who, to his surprise, was with Shikamaru and his team.

"Hey! We haven't seen each other in months," she greeted, arriving at the park where they were sitting.

"Seina! Congratulations on your promotion. Shikamaru told us all about it.

"Yes, congratulations," Chouji said, handing him a bag of potatoes. But we didn't expect anything else.

"Thanks, guys. How have you been these days?

"Pff... My father was hardly ever home," Ino began. I had a lot of work in the interrogation department so I've spent every day working in the florist.

"Same," Shikamaru yawned. At least it seems like things are relaxing, although something strange is happening.

"Strange?" Sasuke asked. What do you mean?

"You just have to see how some jonin act. Something else is going on.

"He'll be talking about Itachi's attack, Orochimaru's attack, and all that," she said. Their jonin sensei is aware of everything, but I don't know if he has told them anything.

"It makes sense.

—By the way, where's Naruto? Chouji asked. It's been a while since we've spoken.

"He's with the pervert Jiraiya," she told him, "looking for Tsunade-sama.

"And what do you do with it?" Shikamaru asked, "and alone. He was always with you.

"I've stayed to continue my internship at the hospital.

"Do you study at the hospital?"

"Yes. Someone has to do it, considering that no one on my team has the slightest idea of iryo ninjutsu.

"Maybe I should sign up, too," Ino thought aloud, clearly troubled by what she had said. Is it too difficult?

"No. Even though I've been using the clones to speed up the study, otherwise it would have taken a lot longer," he told her truthfully.

"Which translated means it's not easy," Shikamaru yawned again, "but you can do it, Ino." I think you'd be good at it.

"Do you think so?" Yes, I'm going to give it a try! We could tell that to Hinata! Can you imagine?

"And what about Sakura?" Chouji asked. I thought you were friends with hers.

"I am, but Sakura..." I don't think I'm cut out to be a ninja," Ino sighed. They passed the theory exam of chunin thanks to their brains, but then in the forest... One of his teammates was badly injured and the other retired from ninja life after witnessing the death of another rival team. Surprisingly, Sakura is the only one who's on the fence about whether to continue or not, you know? He told me that he has been offered a job in the cryptanalysis squad.

"Really?"

"Yes, yes. Apparently, Sakura didn't cheat on the exam, but answered all the questions on her own.

"I see," Shikamaru cut in. Sakura is very good at the theoretical part of being a ninja, but fatal at the practical part. Still, someone with a studio-oriented brain despite being a nefarious field ninja can't be wasted.

"Exactly.

"And what will he do?" She asked, finishing her potatoes.

"He's thinking about it, but I think he'll accept..." An opportunity like this, with a stable and secure job where you can shine that is also well paid, is hard to refuse," Ino shrugged. The only thing holding her back from accepting is not being able to be a "real" ninja, according to her.

"I'm glad for her," Chouji said. Plus, it's essential work. There's no shame in not doing field missions like everyone else.

They talked for a while longer, and then Seina and Sasuke went home with their groceries. When they arrived, Kakashi-sensei hadn't yet returned, so they got to work with their bags while his clones read the recipe book.

"What do you have to do with the suitcase?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"First, I have to enlarge the interior space. That's very easy. I'll install some stairs to get in, but we won't see anything at first as there is no light of its own. Once we're inside. And we can see how much space we have, the question will be to reinforce the suitcase so that it does not collapse. Then, I'll have to divide the space into different habitats and we'll be able to settle the animals. Once everything is complete, we will put the summoning stamp inside the suitcase.

"If they're really not alive, why make them habitats?" Sasuke asked.

"Because it's prettier that way, obviously.

"Hn," he hissed a laugh.

"Besides, whenever you feel like visiting or relaxing, for example, in the desert, you could go in your briefcase and enjoy yourself safely. Not to mention, I plan to make an enclosed area where we can leave prisoners. I was thinking of cells where, as soon as you enter, the prisoner goes into a kind of coma from which he cannot wake up. I haven't finished touching up that idea. I wouldn't want them to be able to use chakra inside the suitcase and destroy it from the inside.

"Good idea. Maybe you could make a pair of shackles instead of a coma-inducing cell... From the cell one can escape, but from the shackles, with your powers, I doubt it very much.

"Well thought out, Sasuke. Well, we'll leave that for last. Let's get to it first.

That's how Kakashi-sensei found them hours later, when he apparently scoured the entire house in search of them and saw the briefcase on the floor of his study. Seina heard him walking toward them and turned to look at him. Kakashi-sensei seemed unable to speak. He stood, staring into the distance, as if he were seeing the sky for the first time.

What I was looking at was a huge jungle that stretched into the distance and seemed to have no end, with its own gigantic waterfall a few hundred meters away, the rivers, countless trees and plants under the scorching sun and that characteristic suffocating humidity. Seina had placed the habitats next to each other without physically separating them. The idea was that each climate would gradually change to another, as in nature, but inside its briefcase. He had only created a couple of habitats: the desert and now the jungle, but he planned to reach as far as the Arctic. This part, without a doubt, was his most incredible magic in this new world.

"Do you mind if I investigate the area?" Kakashi-sensei asked, and she motioned for him to go into the jungle.

A few minutes later he returned to the entrance area, where the "house" had been placed around the entrance staircase.

"How is that possible?" How have you done all this in hours? Nothing is the same!

"That's because I added randomness in doing so. I started from the basis of what fauna and flora exists in each ecosystem and then let the marked land grow as I wanted.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head as he listened. I supposed that, for a ninja, magic was an incredible thing. The jutsus were something out of the ordinary for any civilian, but they were calculated and thought out to the millimetre. Magic lacked such boundaries. For someone as brilliant in the ninja arts as his master, seeing what magic could do must have destroyed his preconceived notions every time. She sat beside him and they watched in silence as the creatures she had created to fill the landscape, which were not anchored to her with blood magic, hissed, sang, flew, swam and ran. The animals she would use to summon, on the contrary, were a source of information for her since, in part, they were her. He could know where they were, what they were doing and experiencing, and as soon as he put the seal on the suitcase, he could summon them at will.

"Naruto is going to be furious," Sasuke said suddenly, with a smile. You're missing out on the best of everything.

"I think seeing all this will be enough to appease him," Kakashi-sensei said. Come on, have you eaten?

"Uh, no. We've missed it, to be honest.

"I haven't eaten either. What do you think about me inviting you to a restaurant?

They left the house in the direction of Chouji's family's restaurant. Kakashi-sensei explained to them how, as long as Naruto was outside, they would have no new missions. Apparently, since he was now chunin, they would never have D-rank missions again. Once Naruto returned, the idea was for her to remain part of the team for another year to acclimate to C-rank missions with a familiar team. In addition, she was also expected to have C- and B-rank missions with other ninjas due to her promotion.

"In the next year, Sasuke and Naruto will continue to train for the next chunin exam and will have a temporary partner to sit the exam with.

"And then?"

"Once you're all chunin, you'll still be under my command, but you'll also have other jonin commanders if necessary. At the same time, you are expected to lead some missions with other chunin. The moment you all become a jonin, if that's what you want, you'll still be under my command by default as I'll be the veteran ninja on the team when we work as a team. Still, you'll be more likely to have to lead teams with chunin or genin than to remain under my command, as that would be a waste of resources.

"That is to say, until we are all jonin, we will continue to be team 7 for the most part.

"Exactly. We'll always be Team 7 no matter how much you go on to work with other ninjas. There are times when the team you form from genin is the most optimal. Look at your friends' parents, they're one of the best teams in Konoha, the Ino-Shika-Cho team, and they're all jonin. If there is any powerful threat, we will surely team up as it is the most effective because of our years of group work. Above all, you 3.

"Hmm... "Makes sense," she thought aloud. He felt his worries melt away at his master's words.

"That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" "To be jonin," he asked, and they both nodded. You'll make it, I'm sure.

"Do you think the dobe will become Hokage?"

"Maybe. Naruto is strong and has many allies from the new generation who would support him.

"If the dobe succeeds, I'll try to be the commander of anbu," Sasuke said, to everyone's surprise.

"Really?" She asked, having never heard Sasuke talk about his aspirations. Not bad. It hits you.

"And you, Seina?"

"I suppose I'd try to take over the hospital," he shrugged.

"If you succeed, you will have 3 positions of great power in the village," Kakashi-sensei remarked, his voice proud. Although, Sasuke, if you want to be the commander of anbu you'll have to be a part of them and have a cover. You know that, right?

"I know. That was my intention. Besides, you wouldn't be alone. There would also be Seina.

"What?" She saw him turn to look at her. Do you want to get into anbu? I thought you were just thinking about it.

Seina kicked Sasuke under the table, watching with satisfaction as he shuddered in pain as his foot touched her shin. I'd thought about anbu for a long time, but I hadn't decided. If offered, she might accept, but she knew that her brother would be so worried about her that he would surely follow her.

"I could do a lot of things as an anbu," he shrugged again. You know.

"I know, that's why I'm worried. The higher your success rate, the higher your chances of being sent on a mission.

"We're not going to die, if that's your concern," Sasuke said, tactlessly. Between Seina, the dobe and I would make a good team in anbu.

"Do the three of you want to go into anbu?" Kakashi-sensei sighed.

"Naruto doesn't exactly want to, but he doesn't want to be left behind either.

"Typical of your brother..." In any case, don't be too hasty. You have time.

Seina didn't remind him of the age at which Itachi was accepted into anbu, or the age at which he himself entered. After all, he seemed worried about them. Coming from someone like him, who always tried to appear aloof, it was sweet to him that he didn't want to lose his entire team in anbu. They ate what was left of the delicious meal and left back home after taking a walk, probably not very recommended for safety reasons, around the village.

The next few days without Naruto went by more slowly than usual. Neither she nor Sasuke wanted to contact him so that he could enjoy the experience alone. If he needed something, it was clear that he could ask for it on his own, as he had done. Also, with his mornings at the hospital and kenjutsu and taijutsu training in his garden in the afternoons, he had full days. Little by little they seemed to return to normal, almost as if nothing strange had happened.

Seina, in her spare time, dedicated herself to finishing the briefcase. Judging by the time it took to make a single habitat, I knew I wouldn't be fully done with the project until the end of August, about 2 weeks from now. In addition, he also wanted to write his own cookbook so that he could show his research to Mina-senpai. If I gave him the essays behind each potion with explanations and their properties, I knew he could start marketing the potions. She wouldn't earn the same compared to selling them to the highest bidder, but she was more at ease thinking she could save lives in her village. In addition, he knew that Konoha would have a monopoly on medicines, which would mean an increase in civilians to the village to ask for the services of the hospital and also business with companies, which meant wealth for the village, and for his family.

Even so, until they had a new Hokage, he had time to prepare the defense of his medical project. In fact, she was a little nervous about presenting her recipe book since she had not been a potions master, unlike Draco and, years later, Hermione. His forte in potions consisted in the reproducibility of his potions with good instructions or, in other words, as long as he followed the correct instructions he could make a perfect potion.

The problem with this was that he had never bothered to thoroughly study why a potion had what ingredients and how he could substitute them for other materials. His greatest knowledge of potions was focused on medical potions because they were necessary for life, especially having naughty children, and because his career as an Auror had required them. That meant that more complex potions such as veritaserum or the polyjuice potion were totally out of his reach now as he had no idea how to replace the magic ingredients. A bummer but, in the end, what I knew was better than nothing. Luckily, the ninjas had knowledge about botany that he could use for his potions. Although he expected to suffer quite a few failures on his way to reproducing all the magical medicines he knew.

At least he had his extensive knowledge of enchantments, transformations, and runes thanks to his masteries. The first 2 were taken due to the sentimentality of feeling closer to his mother and father respectively, while the mastery of runes was out of self-interest after listening for 15 years to Hermione and Bill talk about runes at every family meal. Obviously, she also had her master's degree in defense and dark arts, something necessary to move up in the magical security department, which she took right out of Hogwarts so that no one could complain about her promotion within the force and accuse her of favoritism. It's a pity that most of his knowledge, except for spells, didn't do him any good in this new world without criminals or magical creatures.

He snapped out of his thoughts with a yawn and turned the page to continue writing his potion essay. He had little left, so he decided to make a final effort, even though he should go down to dinner. Minutes later, as expected, she was called to dinner. He sighed, but stopped what he was doing.

—How are you doing with the recipe book? Kakashi-sensei asked.

"I'm about to finish. If I stayed in my studio for a while I'd finish it today, but I think I'd rather sleep.

"You're not in a hurry," her master reminded her, and she nodded. I was thinking of introducing you to someone who is an expert in kenjutsu. You've improved a lot and I think you need another opponent to measure you.

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.

"From Yugao." I don't think you know her. She recently almost lost her partner in the invasion, so I think doing something like this might help her escape.

"You mean we're going to get out of here and practice outside?" She asked.

"Yes. With Yugao there, we'll be 2 jonins guarding the terrain, and besides, I know you can protect yourselves.

"And what about Orochimaru?"

Seina nodded. Weren't they doing all this stuff so they couldn't get hold of Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei sighed as he heard his student's question.

"The truth is that everything is quiet. We think that if we pretend that you're back in the normal routine, we might discover a spy, a mole, or something similar.

"Basically, you plan to bait Sasuke while you teach us kenjutsu.

—N-... well, yes, why lie." Sasuke coughed a laugh at the sound of it.

"That's fine with me.

The next day, in the afternoon, they met Yugao for the first time. As soon as Seina saw her, she sensed her pain and her determination, as well as her desire for revenge. That was problematic, as Shikamaru would say. If what Kakashi-sensei said was true, Yugao's partner had been left in a coma at the hands of some of Orochimaru's minions or at the hands of some ninja from Suna, with whom they had an alliance. He only hoped that it would be the former, because if one of his allies from Suna was to blame, he would not be able to exact his revenge.

"Yugao, let me introduce you to my team: Sasuke Uchiha and Seina Uzumaki.

"Nice to meet you," Yugao assured them, with a tiny smile. What do you think if we start?

A few minutes later, Seina watched as her teammate and the jonin dueled with their respective swords. Beside him, his master watched the fight carefully without saying a word. Almost half an hour after where Sasuke gave his all to try to make his opponent bleed, Yugao stopped the fight without a hair out of his ponytail.

"It's your turn, Seina-san.

He drew his wakizashi, thinking about how to counter the fact that his sword was somewhat shorter than Yugao's, but before he could do anything but assume his usual stance, Yugao pounced on it. He stopped thinking and focused on the fight. Fighting was like a magical duel. I felt like I was going into a kind of trance where I trusted my body and its abilities, without having to think twice about every action and wasting valuable time. He realized that Yugao was a true kenjutsu expert, equal to his jonin-sensei. The difference between the styles was obvious. While Kakashi-sensei had an almost military approach in the precision of his movements, Yugao seemed to dance with his sword.

I knew that if I didn't want to lose miserably, I would have to be unpredictable. So, when he realized how he was fighting and they were about to clash their swords again, he used his wakizashi to, instead of stopping Yugao's blade, deflect it into his right side. She turned her body the wrong way on herself, using her wakizashi to protect herself from the opposing sword as she rolled, and when she had her back to her opponent in front of her in a move that didn't last a thousandth of a second, she attacked her with the wakizashi using the same momentum of the spin.

No sooner had his sword made contact with Yugao's right shoulder, causing her to bleed, that a backward kick from the jonin surged in her direction to cause him to distance himself from her. Unfortunately for Yugao, he had trained with the most unpredictable ninja of them all: Naruto. He used the wakizashi to lean on her shoulder, injuring her further and using her body as a foothold to leap into the air and dodge her kick. Yugao leaned forward and rolled to the side, away from her blade, and she followed her without giving him time to react as she had gained the upper hand.

Her precious advantage, however, lasted only a few seconds as Yugao was a much better swordsman than she was. A few minutes later he had her back on the ropes, panting.

"Stop.

They stopped instantly. He caught his breath. Yugao looked at his moderately bleeding shoulder and then looked at her.

"You've impressed me. Both of them. You have what a good swordsman has to have. Sasuke, you are fast and strong and your stamina is enviable for your age. Plus, you efficiently use all your movements without being predictable. Seina, on the other hand, is also very fast and flexible. I've noticed that your punches are strong but, above all, unpredictable. Despite this, you somehow manage to be efficient like Sasuke. You have a bit different styles, but I think I'll be able to show you a few things.

Sasuke and Seina nodded at his words. Kakashi-sensei walked over to look at Yugao's shoulder.

"It's not serious, but it's a good cut.

"I can heal you, Yugao-sensei," she smiled and nodded.

He disinfected it and cured her in a matter of minutes. He used his magic to make it easier for it not to heal and let Yugao inspect his work.

"Do you also know iryo ninjutsu?" He asked with a pained expression, as if lost in memory.

"Seeing the number of injuries that happen in training, I thought it would be helpful," he shrugged.

"Thank you, Seina-san.

"You can call me Seina.

"Sasuke."

Yugao bowed his head, accepting their offerings. They left the training camp for the village. The jonin said goodbye at a crossroads and left them alone. Seina looked at his back.

"Why do you look so sad?" Sasuke asked, suddenly.

"I told you about his partner," Kakashi-sensei sighed, running a hand through his hair. Before he was attacked by a Sunagakure ninja, he was already suffering from some kind of unknown lung pathology that the attack aggravated. Doctors have him in a ventilator-induced coma 24 hours a day... They believe that if they wake him up, he could have a seizure and die.

"And there was nothing Tsunade-sama could do?" They say she's a legendary doctor.

"That's what Yugao is waiting for, but until then, pray that nothing happens to him in the hospital before he arrives..."

"Wow," Seina said. Well, at least there's hope.

"At the moment, yes.

The next day, they entered the last week of August. Seina finally finished writing her recipe book and memorizing the one Mina-senpai had given her. He also finished the first suitcase, much to the astonishment of Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. Then, as if she had been slapped, she remembered that Kakashi-sensei's birthday was September 15.

"What can we buy him?" He asked Sasuke inside the suitcase, where he knew he couldn't hear them.

"Do you ask me?" You are the one who can do literally anything with your powers.

"Yes, but I can't think of anything!" I'd pack another suitcase for him, but he doesn't seem to want invocations like ours with his dogs.

"No, but he liked having a space like this inside something small," Sasuke said, opening his arms as if he could take in the entire tundra right under his nose. Maybe you could do something like that to him.

"Hmm... Maybe you're right... You know, I think I'll make him a magic tent. Perfect! We need to start planning what to put inside!

"Wait a minute. Do you think you'll have it finished in such a short time?

"Ugh... Definitely not. I think it would take at least a month, maybe more.

"Then you can give him the gift for Christmas," Sasuke sighed in exasperation.

He nodded without paying much attention to her. If he didn't have the fanny pack he could give him one but, since he already had that as well as a medical kit and the weapon holsters and earrings, the only thing I could give him that he didn't have but that Sasuke and Naruto had was the bracelet. At the same time, it didn't seem like a gift as such but a weapon, something useful, but what could she give him that was just for him? His thoughts turned to the dogs he had as an invocation, and he realized that, perhaps, he could mix the two.

"I know that expression. What are you thinking? Sasuke asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

"On a cerberus."

"That... Wasn't the 3-headed dog?

"Exactly. I was thinking that I can give him a single summon of the same theme as his ninken.

"Are you going to give him a giant 3-headed dog?" Sasuke asked again, his face blank. Anyone else would give you a scarf or something.

"That's a sh*tty gift," she said indignantly.

"If you say so. I'm hoping for something huge for my birthday, just so you know.

"Didn't you like the earrings and the Portkey I gave you for your birthday?" He asked rhetorically, with a laugh.

—Hn.

Seina smiled. Damn Sasuke...
Chapter 23
From that moment on, he started his Cerberus project on his own. The 3-headed dog could enlarge or shrink at Kakashi-sensei's commands, and not only that, it could separate into 3 independent bodies. It would be virtually indestructible and could use its sense of smell just like other dogs to search for its prey. He had also given him a cluster of runes so that he could use some spells at Kakashi-sensei's command, such as a spell to create a protective shield, some spells modified so that he could walk on all kinds of surfaces that, curiously, he had the idea of adding thanks to the memory of Walburga Black's portrait, and a couple of elemental spells.

At this point, she realized that none of the animals she had created for her had been created thinking that they could use the chakra, which was impossible, but that she could mimic the effects of the chakra with spells. He would have to re-modify his creations to look like ninkens like Kakashi-sensei's or Naruto's toads.

"What breed is this dog supposed to be?" Sasuke asked, days later, when the dog was completely finished.

Seina looked up from the gaping mouth of one of the huge heads.

"It's a modified Doberman. The normal ones have brown spots, but this one is totally black. I was thinking of making him red-eyed to impress.

"No. Being all black, it will go better unnoticed.

"yes, that's what I thought. Well, I'll see how it goes.

He was testing the dog's spells, causing it to shrink, enlarge, separate, spit fire, water, and wind according to its head.

"Am you supposed to do that?" Sasuke asked, watching a stone smash off as if nothing had happened.

"Sure, he's got modified claws. What's missing now is to animate it with sounds since it doesn't have vocal cords.

Almost an hour later, he finally finished his project. Kakashi-sensei's birthday was barely 5 days away and, to his joy, it seemed that Naruto, who had hardly been heard from for weeks, was also about to arrive.

"And you said exactly when you'd be back?" His sensei asked.

"He doesn't know. He doesn't want to tell me what he's been doing, he says it's a surprise.

"I'd say the dobe doesn't want to worry you.

"Hmm... Well, we just have to wait.

That same afternoon, Seina pulled Sasuke away to her study and put a silencing spell on the room.

"What are we going to do for his birthday?"

"What do you mean?" What if we're going to throw him a party? Sasuke asked, his face blank, not understanding the question. Seina is an elite ninja, not a 5-year-old.

"He wasn't talking about a party. How were we going to invite your friends, if you consider anyone your friend, here? She rolled her eyes. I was thinking of inviting him to eat somewhere and then making him a cake to give him here. We couldn't throw you a party because your birthday was just in the month of chunin's training, but we invited you to lunch afterwards, or don't you remember?

"That makes more sense," Sasuke thought aloud, ignoring the second part of his argument as if nothing had happened. We could invite him to a restaurant and have the other jonins show up as well. He seemed to get along well with Asuma and the others. We can talk to him and see if he knows who we can invite.

"Tomorrow I'll send a clone to talk to Asuma-sensei or one of them while I'm in the hospital.

The next day, Seina used one of her clones to book a private room at the Akimichi's restaurant. It wasn't exactly cheap, but they had a lot of money saved up and there were only like 3 birthday days a year to plan so they could afford it. An hour later, at the hospital, his clone fell apart and all the information arrived at once.

—… And in the case of welding pills, we'll use these molds to keep them in shape. The very composition of the mixture will solidify into the form of a pill. Although the taste is not the best in the world and loses some effectiveness.

"And why not use a jelly capsule?" She asked. We could save the solvent without losing the active ingredient and the efficiency would increase.

Mina-senpai blinked in her direction a couple of times, as if he didn't understand her.

"What do you mean by capsule?"

"Well, that's it. A capsule." He waved his hand in the air, as if it were obvious.

"No, explain yourself.

"You've ever used gelatin or agar for cooking, haven't you?" He asked, and watched as Mina-senpai shook his head. Seriously? Never?

"We ninjas aren't used to cooking, Seina. We have more important things to do, or we're too tired, or no one has ever taught us how to cook and we're lousy cooks. With a few exceptions," he explained.

Seina remembered Sasuke and had to bite her tongue to keep from nodding strongly.

"Huh... Ok. Gelatin is a cooking ingredient that is extracted from the bone, among other sources, and agar is extracted from algae. Basically, it is a compound that when added water forms a kind of viscous paste that can be shaped. That's why it's used in the kitchen, especially in pastry," she explained, wondering if she was making a mistake in talking to her about something common that a skilled ninja had no idea about. We could make a capsule containing the active ingredient in powder. In this way, when the capsule reaches the stomach it would dissolve, releasing the contents like a normal pill, but without the need to mix the active ingredient in a solvent, thus gaining effectiveness, but without losing functionality.

—… If what you say is true, we'd be improving the soldier pills tremendously," Mina-senpai said in a surprised tone. It is ok. As there is half an hour left before the end of the class, we will go to the village to buy some of this material. I have no idea where to buy it so I'll count on your help.

"Hai," she nodded.

They made their way to the village. I couldn't believe these people didn't know what agar was when Japanese cuisine had hundreds of seaweed dishes. Although, thinking of Mina-senpai's words, it was perhaps less surprising than usual. Sasuke was a f*cking mess at cooking and Kakashi-sensei, the times he cooked, was more of a regular and simple cook. Now what I thought, the cooks of Akimichi Restaurant, despite coming from a family of ninjas, were not ninjas. He hadn't thought about it before, but apparently there was so much disconnect between the civilian ninja sector that, although it seemed absurd to him, it resulted in cases like this where the ninjas didn't know what the uses of gelatin was.

For her, who was used to taking all kinds of medicines, from drinks to pills without capsules and others with capsules, it had not seemed extraordinary. For a ninja, whose technology was still quite outdated compared to the world from which he came and who, moreover, relied more on medical jutsus than on instrumental techniques and apparatus... Well, maybe it was more understandable.

"Here it is," she said, pointing to a shop near her old flat. At least, the last time I came they had.

"Let's go in."

She walked through the halls this time without any spell but, to her surprise, hardly anyone looked at her twice. She went straight to the pastry aisle and saw what she was looking for easily.

"It's this.

"I see... And with these strips we can make the capsules?"

"Of course, you just have to follow the instructions.

They bought like 10 packs to be able to do quite a few tests and said goodbye a little before they gave the 2 hours of class. Mina-senpai assured him that they would test it the next day and that, if it worked, he would take his discovery to the head of the lab so that he could analyze it. As he walked back home, he thought of his clone's memories. He saw how both Asuma-sensei and Guy-sensei were willing to go to the surprise party and, according to them, a few more friends of Kakashi-sensei would also go. Apparently, his clone, on Guy-sensei's advice, had booked a medium-sized room with food and drink included.

Luckily, Sasuke and Naruto were willing to collaborate with the price, so in the end it wasn't that much money. Also, I hadn't known that the restaurant offered birthday services so the cake at the end had been included in the menu.

"Hello nee-chan! A voice shouted. Seina stopped dead in her tracks.

"Naruto?"

"We're at the front door, dattebayo!"

He turned around with a smile and walked toward the largest gate in the village. First he saw the huge silver hair of the great pervert Jiraiya and then he saw his brother, who seemed to be talking to a young blonde woman with 2 pigtails and an impressive front that was catching the attention of more than one man, and woman. Also with them was another girl, even younger, with short dark hair, carrying a little pig in her arms.

"Nee-chan! Naruto exclaimed when he felt her and rushed out to hug her. I can't believe it's been a month since I saw you, Seina-nee! Come, come! I have to introduce you to old Tsunade!

Seina couldn't suppress a laugh when she heard him. He watched as everyone turned in his direction. Jiraiya nodded to her, knowing that she didn't have much respect for him, but the brunette girl smiled at him. Old Tsunade turned out to be the stunning blonde woman.

"Oh?" Is this your sister, airhead?

"Less than a month and he knows you inside out, Naru," she said with an amused smile at the sight of her brother's irritated face. Nice to meet you, Tsunade-sama.

"Call me Tsunade while you can," the woman sighed. This is my assistant, Shizune.

"I've heard a lot about you, Seina-san," the other woman greeted her, "and Sasuke.

"Did you just get out of the hospital?" Her brother asked, and she nodded.

"I've gone shopping with Mina-senpai.

"Are you sick?" Shizune asked suddenly, her face worried.

I study with Mina-senpai in the hospital every morning.

"Do you want to be an iryo ninja?" Tsunade asked with interest.

The ninjas at the gate handed the paperwork to the newcomers, allowing them to pass. They started walking down the village, probably towards the tower of the Hokage. Seina, having nothing to do, accompanied them.

"I'd like to know everything, not just be a ninja Ire," she said. I don't see why I should limit myself to just one branch of knowledge.

"Seina-nee has been studying medicine for a long time," Naruto praised her. He makes his own potions and other concoctions.

"Oh?" Very interesting. I'd like to see your work, if you don't care," Tsunade told him.

Seina knew that she was just going with the flow, she probably didn't imagine that she could do something really important or useful but, at that precise moment, she realized that she had a golden opportunity thanks to her brother. He would give her a copy of the recipe book she had written to show Mina-senpai and let her judge his work.

"I don't care. I was going to give a copy of my notes to Mina-senpai at the hospital to take a look at. Come to think of it... I forgot to give them to you," she sighed, realizing it was true. Well, I'll give them to you tomorrow.

He took the book, a duplicate, out of his fanny pack and handed it to Tsunade. He watched as he scanned it with his assistant, and apprentice, Shizune. It took him a few minutes to look up over the book to look back at her, as he knew he would. Shizune continued reading a page or two, his face surprised.

"Have you tried any of that?"

"Yes. The invigorating potion. I had to give it to Kakashi-sensei when our first C-rank mission turned into an A-rank one, after he got exhausted from using the sharingan.

"How many doses did you give him?"

"One per day for 2 days.

"And how long did it take him to get up?" The doctor asked clinically.

"The next day."

"The next day?" He asked, blinking at her answer. She nodded—... Let me settle in and read it carefully. I'm guessing you've got samples of each ready. When you can, bring them to me.

"What have you been up to this month?" Naruto asked, bored with all the medical talk.

"We've been practicing kenjutsu and taijutsu with Yugao-sensei, a colleague of Kakashi-sensei. Also, this morning we prepared the birthday dinner. You must have bought him something, right?

"Not really. I have asked ero-senin to give me a few unpublished manuscripts of Icha Icha.

"Good idea! She said, surprised. I'm sure you'll love that.

"What about you?" And the bastard?

"Sasuke will give him some kind of expensive liquor on Asuma-sensei's advice, and I—" I'll show you. When you see what I've been doing, your underpants will fall on the floor.

He heard an abrupt laugh behind him at his words.

"So it's Kakashi's brat's birthday, isn't it?" Tsunade asked with a smile. He's not a brat anymore, after all...

"I guess everyone next to you is a brat," Jiraiya said, obviously without thinking.

The punch was so swift and powerful that the man flew out, embedding himself in a nearby wall. Seina had to stifle a laugh in amazement at the sight of him moaning in pain.

"Good shot! She smiled with a hint of wickedness. Although I would have hit him in the crotch.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed, exasperated and worried.

Tsunade began to laugh at the sound of it, while the pervert turned pale. Naruto didn't seem surprised by what had just happened, probably because it wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this.

"I like you. Maybe next time I'll aim lower.

"Great. I'd like to see it.

"Are you so eager to see Jiraiya suffer?"

"That gray-haired pervert almost killed my brother in training and then almost had my brother killed, again, while under his charge," she hissed, ignoring Tsunade's snort of laughter at Jiraiya's nickname.

"Hey! It was just part of the training! Jiraiya defended himself. And how could I think that the women who flirted with me were the work of Itachi genjutsu? I would never have imagined it from him!

Seina felt her lips curl with anger, but she didn't say anything. Tsunade looked at his colleague with exasperation and irritation. In the end, Shizune helped him out of the wall and they continued their march. He was catching up with his brother about what he had seen and eaten, the places he had stayed that were worth visiting again, training... He knew there was something big he wasn't telling her, from the looks of the adults, but he knew that sooner or later he would tell her. Probably, when they were with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke.

"Well, guys. We said goodbye here. We'll see you soon," Jiraiya told them.

"Remember to bring me your essays," Tsunade reminded him. I'll be by... Here, I imagine.

"I will.

"Good-bye, old woman!

"Naruto!"

They walked back home at a brisk pace. Apparently, Naruto not only wanted to tell them everything that had happened but also to see what he had done in their absence. When they arrived at the house, there was only Sasuke.

"Hn?" Dobe, how long," she greeted him as if nothing had happened.

"He's afraid, how long!?" Naruto growled and the two began to argue.

He sighed and began to prepare the meal. It was as if nothing had changed. When Kakashi-sensei arrived a while later, he didn't seem surprised to see Naruto with them.

"How was your journey with Jiraiya-sama?"

"Great! I've learned a new technique that my father created! He explained. Kakashi-sensei glanced at her sideways. It's called ransengan. It uses wind-like nature to make a sphere with blades that spins very fast in my hand.

He went on to explain in great detail how difficult it had been to learn it, the bet he had made with Tsunade, and the necklace he gave her in return when he managed to learn it in less than a week. Seina listened to her brother with a pleased smile. Sometimes, like now, he felt much older. As if instead of being his twin sister, I was his much older sister. Listening to Naruto and seeing his childish expression reminded him in those moments of the difference in maturity between them. Despite having a good head on his shoulders, Naruto was still a child. A ninja kid, but a kid nonetheless.

"And what did you want to tell us that you haven't told me before?" He finally asked.

"Ugh, yes. On the journey, in addition to Itachi's fear, we were attacked by Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Seina sighed as she heard him. Kakashi-sensei interrogated her brother at length while she and Sasuke listened in silence to everything that happened. How Tsunade had drugged Jiraiya, how Orochimaru almost convinced her to join him using the death of her little brother and his deceased partner as a temptation, how Orochimaru couldn't use his arms... Worst of all, apparently, Naruto left it for last.

"Kabuto almost killed me with a medical jutsu, so old Tsunade had to save me.

—...What? She hissed, before he could understand that she had opened her mouth. What do you mean by saving yourself?

"According to Shizune, Kabuto gave me a... arrhythmia?" Yes, that. In the heart.

Seina trembled in her seat with anger. Of all the times his brother had come close to dying, nothing serious had ever happened. Until now. Oh, how he wished he had Kabuto within his grasp and squeezed his throat with both hands until his eyes popped out of their sockets, filled with fear as he realized she was going to kill him. No. I would sooner torture him for trying to remove the last blood bond that bound her to this world. He would use every curse he knew, one by one, until he begged her to die. He would laugh at her fear as he broke every bone in her body and peeled off her skin with a potato peeler, the old-fashioned way. Him-

A hand rested on his shoulder and cut off his train of thought. It was Kakashi-sensei squeezing his shoulder. He cleared his throat and with an imperceptible movement of his jaw pointed at Naruto and Sasuke, who were pale in their seats, their pupils constricting with terror. He came to his senses as he realized that she had done this unintentionally. He used his mental barriers to take a deep breath and the moment just passed. He watched his team regain color and vowed never to lose his temper like that again. He would kill Kabuto, but no one had to be harmed by his anger.

"I'll have Tsunade to thank for saving you," she said, arranging the spoon she'd inadvertently folded.

—… In the future, remind me not to anger her," Naruto whispered to Sasuke, who nodded dryly. He kicked them under the table. OW!

"Hey!

"Tomorrow is Tsunade-sama's ascension to power," Kakashi-sensei told them as if nothing had happened. We have to be there to see it at 10 o'clock in the morning.

They finished eating with no further surprises. Naruto went to take a bath and take a nap while Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei disappeared into the garden to do who knows what. She went to her study to continue creating her summoning creatures. He spent the whole afternoon inside the suitcase. When he came out, it was already dark. He watched through the kitchen window as Sasuke and Naruto trained in the garden in the distance, looking like 2 flecks of color flying. Before he saw him, he heard Kakashi-sensei prostrate himself behind him.

"I see you didn't mind that Jiraiya-sama taught Naruto that technique.

"Why would I bother?" She raised an eyebrow. Why is it a technique of my father's that only Naruto knows because only that pervert has bothered to teach it to him?

"As always, hitting the nail on the head.

"It's not a competition to begin with. Plus, it's a wind-type technique. It's not my greatest affinity. Not to mention, I don't need to know a jutsu to feel like a daughter of my parents. If I wanted to, I could use something similar to hiraishin, or better.

"Really?" Of course. You're Seina Uzumaki.

"What's that got to do with it?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you and your brother always seem to achieve the impossible. Every time you tell me you can do something, I believe it.

"If you say so..."

Kakashi-sensei shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning beside him on the counter as he made himself a cup of tea.

The next day, everyone witnessed Tsunade's ascent to Fifth Hokage. The nervous and worried atmosphere of the last few weeks, when they still had no clear leader, vanished in the blink of an eye. Most were thrilled not only to have a new Hokage, but that he was a relatively young Hokage and a powerful ninja. Seina, like many other people, breathed a sigh of relief in his presence.

From what he had been able to perceive of her, Tsunade was not only powerful but also intelligent and a woman who would not let herself be trampled on. That was just what they needed. With her in power, other less scrupulous people would be forced to take a few steps back, allowing her and Naruto to be safer within the village. If Tsunade were able to investigate and resolve the issues he left half-baked, the Third would become his favorite Hokage, and would wave at him if necessary.

He listened to the excited murmurs and celebrations that were about to begin to commemorate his ascension and couldn't help but smile as he caught on to the general optimism that hung in the air. He saw Shizune in the distance and knew it was the right time to hand him the samples of potions, ointments, and other things he had prepared. She knew that if she didn't hand it over to her, she would have to wait a long time to be received by the new Hokage.

"Shizune-san! She called, walking away from her team.

"Seina-san!" Nice to see you again, do you want to say hello to Tsunade-sama?

I know she'll be very busy. I was just coming to give you what I promised him so you can give it to him on my behalf, if you don't mind.

"Of course not. I'll give it to him as soon as we're alone, don't worry.

"Thank you.

She returned to her team, who were waiting for her, and they left the crowd. He was thankful that the ascent to Hokage didn't coincide with Kakashi-sensei's birthday, otherwise it would have been more difficult to gather all of his master's friends for lunch.

"Aaah, everything is finally back to normal," his brother sighed deeply.

"I don't think so, Naruto," the jonin cut off. Although it may not seem like it, Tsunade-sama faces many challenges. For starters, his rise is due to a failed invasion that has left us with a shaky alliance. Not to mention the criminals who are reappearing at our borders, such as Itachi and Kisame. Despite appearances and the general relief of the village, he has his work cut out for him.

Seina and Sasuke nodded, understanding the situation. Luckily, all of that was none of their business as they were nothing more than low- and mid-range ninjas. Other, more competent ones would be in charge of analyzing and investigating everything they knew, she could not and would not do more unless she was ordered to do so.

"When will we be able to start having missions again?" She asked.

"And to train?"

"Soon," Kakashi-sensei sighed. The village can't afford a break from quests much longer, and you can't be tied to the village every time you're in danger.

"Does that mean we'll go back to work as before!?" Naruto asked excitedly, and his master nodded. Yatta!

"We'll go back to training tomorrow. I'll talk to the relevant people to see if we can do any missions.

Seina thanked Heaven. Even though she could hold up pretty well, without complaining, staying in the village didn't mean she wanted to stay in it for the rest of her life. Being a jinchuriki was dangerous, so sooner or later, he would be in danger. It was logical, redundant, and very likely. The only thing she could do was become stronger so that no one could handle her. There was no point in staying in the village with her head down until the danger was over because, for her, it was never going to end. Kakashi-sensei and the others, it seemed, had had to acknowledge that truth, or at least realize that they could no longer protect them in Konoha. If his entire team was in danger, the entire team would have to train until they were virtually invincible.

He felt his team's determination through their half-open bond. The last 2 months had been strange. Not only had they been separated, but they had been going in with different senseis and had barely seen each other for dinner. At least Naruto and her. They had fought before the entire village, they had suffered an invasion, people had died, they had new Hokage, Sasuke's brother had reappeared, Naruto had fled the village and been attacked, she had been promoted to chunin, and they had been confined to the village for their own safety. No wonder I was looking forward to getting back to the old routine.

The next day, they all went to training together for the first time in a long time. They had several fights to see the level they had now and, to everyone's surprise, they saw how they had improved a lot. Kakashi-sensei had them going over everything they had learned so far, as well as practicing taijutsu and kenjutsu.

"I see I'll have to raise the bar since our previous workouts have become obsolete," Kakashi-sensei told them, without even once taking out the p*rn book. The 3 of you are definitely on the same level as the other chunin. In the upcoming exams, if you learn from your mistakes in this last exam, you will surely ascend.

"How are we going to train from now on?" Sasuke asked.

"You have a good foundation in taijutsu, kenjutsu, shurikenjutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. Perhaps what you are most lacking in is the latter. The only thing you can do now to keep improving is to train in each area with different opponents and learn as much as you can about jutsus," Kakashi-sensei shrugged. I'm going to be brutally honest with each of you. Naruto and Sasuke, your strengths are taijutsu and ninjutsu while your weaknesses are genjutsu and kenjutsu. Seina, on the other hand, still has the same weak point as before, taijutsu while her strengths are clearly ninjutsu and kenjutsu, and genjutsu for the simple fact that you are immune.

"And what can I do?" She asked irritably, still the worst in that area.

"I think your problem is that you need tough opponents with different styles than mine. Still, even though it's your weak point, it doesn't mean that your taijutsu is flawed," his master assured him, "just like Sasuke's kenjutsu or Naruto's genjutsu. It's just your weakest ability. What you have to ask yourself is, do you see yourself using these skills on a regular basis in the future? If the answer is yes, then you need to train harder in these areas. If, on the other hand, the answer is no, or rarely, perhaps what you know so far will help you or you may not be interested in spending so much time training these skills.

"I refuse to be mediocre in any field," she rebutted without a second thought. Who can I fight?

"That! We're not going to give up, Kaka-sensei! His brother exclaimed, and Sasuke nodded.

"It's all right. Seina, I'll talk to Guy to see if he can help you. He is adept at various forms of taijutsu so he will be able to teach you everything you want and more. Naruto and Sasuke, we're going to continue to work with your kenjutsu more than we've done so far. As for genjutsu, I'm going to teach you several jutsu. However, this is a field that depends a lot on you and your imagination. What I'm going to teach you is how to do a genjutsu, the basics of how it works, and then it's all up to you. If you learn that, genjutsu will not be your weakness anymore.

"When do we start?"

"Always so impatient, Sasuke. Either way, we'll start right now.

Kakashi-sensei began to explain to them how to shape the chakra for a genjutsu, what targets they could attack from the brain, how they should imagine the genjutsu to make it as real as possible, and so on. As she listened, she realized something she had missed. Genjutsu used chakra to affect the central nervous system, i.e., the brain itself. I'd known that for years. What he had forgotten was that practically everything happened in the brain.

As far as she knew, all the genjutsus tried to make the victim believe an "illusion," so to speak. That is, genjutsu attacked the areas of the mind corresponding to the senses, to make the brain believe that it was witnessing something that was not really real. For example, the genjutsu they put on the chunin exams to make everyone believe that a classroom on the second floor was a classroom on the third floor had been possible because the victims' senses had been manipulated into believing it to be true.

That meant that if she could manipulate certain areas of the brain, she could control someone from afar, and not only that, she could kill them by using her own brain against them. After all, he could make the brain believe, for example, that he was inhaling or taking a certain substance. The brain would produce some molecules as a consequence of that "inhalation" and, in extreme cases, could poison or intoxicate the victim's body with the over-manufactured substances controlled by their own brain. Not only that. She could modify the brain's senses to produce actual loss of balance, among many other things, that would give her enough time to finish someone off if necessary.

That meant that genjutsu wasn't really an illusion but a brain manipulation. The ninjas had no idea what a gold mine they had on their hands. Maybe because they didn't have psychologists or psychiatrists who had studied the brain the way she understood it, or maybe because no one had thought of using a genjutsu in that way. He wrote in his journal, along with everything he had just thought about, that he should buy a couple of physiology books or something similar to see if he could study on his own.

"Smoke almost came out, Seina," the jonin stopped his thoughts in his tracks. What are you aiming at so quickly?

"If it works, I'll tell you," he laughed with a wicked laugh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Naruto and Sasuke shuddered. Seina, on the other hand, kept aiming. If he could use genjutsu as he thought he could, he could also use it medically to influence his patients' bodies to regenerate themselves. I had to look into it!

"Um... "Well, that's what I was saying," Kakashi-sensei cleared his throat. Now that you know how it works, I'd like you to try creating a genjutsu. It's not in a hurry, so you have time to think about all the details. That aside, I'd like you to continue learning ninjutsu so I've brought you more jutsus to train. In addition, I have also brought ninjutsu from different chakra natures to see what your secondary chakra nature is.

Seina ended up trying one jutsu of each nature and realized that she had practically the same affinity for all of them as she did for water. She wasn't too surprised, because the same thing happened to her with her magic. He could use elemental spells of all kinds, why would it be any different with the chakra? Naruto, on the other hand, had a great affinity for fire and, thirdly, for earth. Kakashi-sensei, upon checking this, promised to teach them all the ninjutsu he knew over the next year.

When they returned home, sweaty and exhausted, he took a bath thinking about what he was going to have to learn. He had realized that he had been somewhat complacent. Even in the academy she had thought that she had time to train and become strong, to graduate later but, in reality, what was holding her back from training three times as hard? I wanted to learn as many ninjutsu as possible, I wanted to be a great doctor, an expert in genjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu, I wanted to incorporate their magic into combat. I wanted to be the best. Only then would they think twice before attacking her. Why had he been hiding so much? He didn't want to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder or figuring out what he could do or what he had to hide so as not to draw attention to himself! Is that what he lived for? To be hiding? No.

Things were going to change, and if that meant having more enemies... Well. He would kill anyone who tried to harm his family. He would kill all his enemies, one after the other, until they realized it was a bad idea to stand in their way. He would talk to his team before deciding anything, but even in that moment, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

When he came down for dinner, he couldn't hold back for a second.

"I want to stop hiding my kekkei genkai," she said.

There was silence as everyone contemplated his words. Kakashi-sensei motioned for them to sit at the table.

"I see. I'm not surprised," he said. You hide your skills less and less. I knew that sooner or later you would be tired of always looking over your shoulder and measuring your actions.

"And what can I do?" She asked.

"Carry on as before. Gradually introduce inventions and show skills. You're not in a hurry. You can think about it calmly.

Seina nodded. She felt Sasuke's leg touch hers under the table, reminding her that she wasn't alone. Like the comforting presence of her brother at her side who, despite being silent, felt the determination to support her inside. Whatever he did, he had his new family.

Notes:
Hello again.

Thank you for your feedback. I just wanted to give you a preview of the next chapters since you mentioned it to me in the comments and I didn't want to leave you with the doubt.

1. Orochimaru will soon appear again. You'll see how the invasion is just the beginning of Orochimaru, and other Konoha villains.
2. Gaara will respawn. Several times, in fact. He'll get the hug he needs, I promise.
3. Tsunade makes her debut in this chapter and will be a main character from now on. You'll see.
4. For Itachi fans... There will be redemption for him, and it may blow your mind in the distant (very distant) future with plot twists.
5. And Kakashi... Ah... I'll just say one thing: you'll like chapter 31. It's the turning point of a new form of interaction between Seina and Kakashi.

Be ready to move the story forward!
Chapter 24

The next day came Kakashi-sensei's birthday. To give him a surprise, everyone let him believe that they had forgotten him. They spent the morning studying the new ninjutsu and creating genjutsu, at their request, so they wouldn't have to stop by the house to shower before going to the restaurant. Kakashi-sensei agreed, probably a little surprised.

"Naruto, start pretending," Sasuke said, with a mental touch.

"Got it. Pfff! I'm starving," his brother groaned, tossing the feather into the grass and lying down. I'd eat a huge bowl of ramen right now!

"Ramen?" I'm more into Akimichi food," she said.

"Me too.

"Eeh... well, I guess eating where Chouji isn't so bad," Naruto wiped his drool and his stomach really growled at Sasuke's disbelief.

"Why don't we leave it for today?" Kakashi-sensei interceded. We can go to the restaurant. I invite.

"Really!?"

They gathered their things and headed for the village. Naruto took it upon himself to distract him with his usual verbiage while Seina and Sasuke followed his conversation to distract their master. When they arrived, Seina made a discreet gesture to one of the employees, who was aware of the surprise. He knew right away when Kakashi-sensei began to smell that something was wrong when they were escorted to one of the rooms instead of eating at the restaurant, even so, he didn't have time to ask as Naruto slammed open the door. At first glance, Seina met several people with whom even she had had contact, such as the other jonin sensei, Tenzou, and Yugao.

"YOSH KAKASHI!" CONGRATULATIONS, MY ETERNAL RIVAL! Guy-sensei shouted as soon as the door opened.

"Surprise! Several voices exclaimed.

Seina saw the clearly shocked face of Kakashi-sensei, who was receiving congratulations, handshakes, pats on the back, and what appeared to be a painful hug from his "eternal rival." He closed the door behind them and pushed him to sit at the end of the table, where the other ninja had made room for them. Seina sat on the left hand side with Sasuke on her left side and Naruto in front, on the other side of Kakashi-sensei.

"It's been a while since we've all eaten together," said another jonin. He was the referee of the final matches of chunin, Shiranui if he remembered correctly. How have you been Kakashi?

"Surprisingly well," he replied. Some even seemed astonished by his response. What about you?

Seina, Naruto, and Sasuke listened in silence as most jonins, and probably the odd anbu, were catching up. It was obvious that Kakashi-sensei hadn't socialized with people his age for quite some time, so they were listening, so he was glad they had been able to give him that. In the meantime, he looked at the letter to think about what to order. When the waiter arrived and began to write down her orders, Kakashi-sensei leaned over to her.

"This is your business, yours, isn't it?" He asked quietly.

"What makes you think that?" He asked, suppressing a smile.

"I almost swallowed your little number that you were starving," he rolled his eyes with a laugh, "and I was thinking of paying..."

"Kakashi was going to pay!?" A man with dark hair and sunglasses, sitting next to Naruto's right, exclaimed.

"I don't believe it!

"It's clearly not Kakashi!"

Seina and Naruto laughed at the jonin they were overpowering while Sasuke smiled sarcastically upon hearing the taunts against his master. It was strange and fun to see how he related to his fellow academy students and friends his age. After all, Kakashi-sensei was only 24 years old. Who knew?

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei is less and less late! Naruto defended him with a chuckle. Now he's only 15 minutes late.

"Impossible!

"Naruto is right," she nodded. He even brings out his p*rn book in public fewer times.

"Seina! Kakashi-sensei wailed with a defeated groan, blushing. What did I tell you about talking about it in public?

"But you're with your friends!" She defended herself, suppressing a laugh.

Kakashi-sensei's friends began to laugh as they saw her face and how Sasuke nodded seriously at her and Naruto's words. He saw more than one wipe away a couple of tears of laughter. A couple of waiters came in with the food and drinks, calming the atmosphere again, and she took the opportunity to nudge Kakashi-sensei in a reconciling way. It was obvious that she and Naruto were teasing her to liven up the atmosphere. The p*rn book, after all, was not a secret but a blunt weapon of its master.

"So you're Kakashi's team," smiled another brown-haired, dark-eyed jonin with a characteristic diagonal scar on his face. My name is Raido. It's a pleasure to meet you.

"You'll know me, I'm Genma.

The others presented themselves in order, smiling at them, and they nodded respectfully, before the pleased face of their master.

"I never thought Kakashi would accept just one genin team. Imagine the surprise when it was my turn to be your referee! Genma spoke to them. Then he looked at Kakashi. I was impressed with them. You've taught them well.

"Almost everything is his merit.

"And how did you pass Kakashi's exam?" Asuma-sensei asked. From what I've heard, no team has ever managed to remove those bells.

Seina and Naruto began to laugh in unison at the memory of it while Kakashi-sensei bowed his head in embarrassment, and Sasuke smiled sarcastically again. That was enough to pique the curiosity of all his friends. Naruto opened his mouth to gladly tell the story, but the jonin covered his mouth with one hand instantly, much to the amazement, and amusem*nt, of the other ninja.

"Oh! This looks good! Raido laughed.

"Basically, 'Hmp!' she began, but she was silenced as well.

"We used the end of your newly published p*rn book," Sasuke cut in. Not wanting to know the end, he closed his eyes and covered his ears.

—…

There was a dead silence as Sasuke listened to his words. It barely lasted 3 seconds that everyone began to crack up with laughter at the mortified face of the elite ninja, former anbu of Konoha. He watched as Guy-sensei cried on the ground, exaggeratedly, as he heard how his rival was beaten in such a shabby way. He wasn't the only one crying with laughter.

"I can't believe it! Aoba laughed, clutching his side.

They saw how most of them were too busy laughing to speak, much to Kakashi-sensei's horror. In the end, he sighed and began to smile as well. Seina knew he wasn't really ashamed of what happened, even though he preferred to keep it a secret. He got the impression that, deep down, he cared a little about his reputation as a "serene" and "cool" person.

"Yes, I must admit that they beat me in a dirty way. They even changed the time on the clock! He sighed with a smile, explaining what happened indignantly. That was enough to make those who had calmed down cry with laughter again. I was already saying that the exam was taking a long time.

"I see you're just like that," Kurenai-sensei smiled at them. Only you could have a team of genins just as many trolls as you.

"HEY! Naruto shouted. It's not our fault if Kaka-sensei lacks imagination!

"Kaka-sensei!?"

Seina and Sasuke nodded, much to the amusem*nt of the other jonin. Kakashi-sensei sighed again, but accepted the laughter at his expense. They ate and chatted about everything a bit. It was clear that Kakashi-sensei's friends were trying to relate to them, his team, explaining all sorts of things about their master without delving too deeply into the sad memories.

It didn't cost Naruto anything to strike up a conversation with everyone, just like she did simply because of her experience, but Sasuke stayed pretty much out of all the conversations, preferring to listen and smile when he found something funny. That afternoon he saw Kakashi-sensei as never before, and wondered why he didn't meet his colleagues more often. Maybe so much interaction drained him? She didn't know it, but she was glad to have prepared something like this with her teammates.

When dessert arrived, a huge birthday cake, they began to give him the gifts they had bought for him. It was clear that he hadn't expected it, but he saw how he recovered from the surprise quickly. Accepting packages from his colleagues, which turned out to be ninja material, books, some scroll with a new jutsu discovered on a mission, and even delux food for his ninken. The last to give him the gifts were them, his team, and he realized that the others had done it on purpose.

"Hn," Sasuke said, with his usual dryness.

Kakashi-sensei unwrapped the gift. He saw how Sasuke had given him one of those liqueurs that Asuma advised him to buy, but judging by the bottle, it looked old. As if they've been keeping it for years. He sensed in Sasuke's somewhat embarrassed thoughts that it looked ancient because it was ancient. It was one of the bottles his father kept in his old house. Seina looked at him in amazement because, despite having asked one of Kakashi-sensei's friends for help, he had given it a personal touch as best she could, handing him something valuable to him.

He watched as the jonin also examined the bottle carefully, realizing the same thing. Luckily, the look on Sasuke's face was enough for him not to ask him there in front of everyone if he had gotten it from where he imagined he had gotten it. He carefully put it in his bag.

"Thank you very much, Sasuke. I'll save it for a special occasion.

"Take this, Kakashi-sensei! Naruto almost threw the package at him, excited to see his face, diverting Sasuke's attention on purpose.

"A limited edition! Kakashi-sensei said, flipping through the pages. And signed! Thank you Naruto.

"Kakashi and his Icha Icha," he heard Kurenai-sensei's murmur.

"Hey! I like them too! Anko scolded, much to the astonishment of the other woman.

Seina took her package. It wasn't the real gift since I didn't feel like explaining where I got it from, it didn't fit in the restaurant, and I didn't want to take away a surprise asset from Kakashi-sensei. He handed his master an invisibility bracelet and a note as a "voucher" so that he would know that he had one more gift to redeem in secret. He watched as he read the note first, raising an eyebrow curiously, and then opened the padded box containing the thin silver bracelet.

"Wow, Kakashi! More than one whistled, looking at them both with amusem*nt. She rolled her eyes with a funny exhale.

"You can try it on if you want," then he looked at those who had laughed and winked at them. I think I'll sell the next ones, if you're interested.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi-sensei asked, remembering the conversation they had yesterday. She nodded determinedly. It is ok.

He put it on his left arm and activated it with a drop of blood. To the astonishment of the other ninja in his rank, Kakashi-sensei seemed to disappear before all of them. That was enough to calm them all down. He watched as they tried to sense it and dispel a non-existent genjutsu with a smile on their lips. After a few minutes, Kakashi-sensei deactivated the bracelet.

"What was that!?"

"He wasn't!"

"An invisibility bracelet," she said, and showed them the one she was wearing. Fuinjutsu.

"Are you saying that you've been able to remove the presence of someone with fuinjutsu and a simple blood-activated bracelet?" Genma asked incredulously. His eyes shone like a small child in a toy store. I want one.

"Wait a minute! Kakashi-sensei caught everyone's attention. I must speak to Tsunade-sama first. I hope you know how to count until then.

"You have our word, Kakashi!" Guy-sensei assured him, giving him a thumbs up and taking the heat out of the matter.

The ninja nodded, suddenly falling silent at her words, but they continued to speculatively stare at both the bracelet and her. The 3 jonin sensei who had visited Kakashi-sensei's house, in particular, looked at her curiously. Apparently, they had begun to realize that, perhaps, this was not genjutsu but fuinjutsu. He didn't care what they believed. No matter how hard they tried to replicate it, they wouldn't be able to perform the spell.

A few hours later, they said goodbye to everyone to leave the restaurant. They walked slowly toward the house, talking about the gifts they had given Kakashi-sensei. When they arrived, Seina could hardly contain herself from being excited. I wanted to see what face he made when he saw his true gift.

"Is this the time to exchange my voucher?" The Jonin asked jokingly, waving the piece of paper.

"Come, it's over here.

They all went up to his study. Naruto and Sasuke had seen the gift, but they didn't want to miss Kakashi-sensei's face when he first saw it, in its expanded state. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow as he motioned for her to come down the ladder of the suitcase. They walked out of the house to one of the habitats. He could sense the cerberus before he saw it.

"It's right there in front of you, spinning that rock," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Should I fear for my life?"

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei!" Don't be a! Naruto yelled at him. Seina pushed him from behind.

She knew the moment she saw him by hearing his surprised breathing. He wasn't surprised. In its actual form, the cerberus was more than 7 meters tall. Add to that the 3 heads and their dark appearance and it could be quite intimidating. Seina whistled, drawing the dog's attention, and walked up to them without making a single sound thanks to the appropriate runes.

"What kind of... Is this a beast? Kakashi-sensei asked.

"I thought you might find a summoning like ours useful," she said. He took out a scroll on which he had written down everything he could do and handed it to her. Be. Here you will find information on all the jutsus you can make.

Kakashi-sensei picked up the scroll as if it were made of crystal, glancing sideways at the cerberus that sat at his feet. Even without stretching, it was bigger than the whole house.

"First we need to activate it with your blood, and from that point on, you should be able to summon it and use it as an extension of your own. It's strange and fascinating, you'll see.

He taught him where to put his blood, but then let him learn on his own what it meant to be connected to such an animal. From his own experience, he must have been feeling through the cerberus, as if it were just another limb in his body. Naruto, Sasuke, and Seina watched with a smile as Kakashi-sensei climbed onto the huge dog and got lost in the middle of the mountain inside the suitcase.

"Let's go. I don't think he'll show up for a while," Sasuke told them, with a yawn.

They left the suitcase, leaving the exit door open.

"What do you want to do?" Naruto asked. We can train for a while in the garden.

"I think I'll stay here in my studio. I want to make a schedule for everything I want to do and research.

"Don't you ever get tired of studying, nee-chan?"

"It's not studying if you're interested," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm going for a swim in the pool," Sasuke said, leaving his study.

"Hey! Hold on! I'm coming too!

Seina waved them away, sitting down without looking at them at her large desk. He hadn't lied when he'd said he wanted to organize his days a bit.

For starters, he had his hospital studies that included potions as well. With Kakashi-sensei he had his general training and also the development of genjutsus. He also wanted to test his theory of genjutsu and brain manipulation. Not to mention that I had to start packing Naruto and Sasuke, as well as building their summons and magical ninja shop. I also had to think about what to buy for Naruto's birthday in less than a month and I also wanted to modify the guest floor which, at this point, was no longer a guest floor. He wanted to add a bathroom to Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei's rooms and, if he could, a study for each, as well as move the armory to the first floor.

I had too many things to do. He had to make a schedule and relegate tasks that his clones could do in order to have more free time. Otherwise, she would go crazy and burn out before her time. So he created a few clones to keep memorizing the hospital's texts and the encyclopedias of botany and zoology that he had bought. He would ask Mina-senpai for medical books so that he could study in advance the areas of the brain he was interested in manipulating, even though he had quite a bit of knowledge thanks to his studies in psychology. It never hurt to expand and brush up on knowledge.

On the other hand, what could he buy Naruto? The clearest option was to pack his suitcase and summon, but would he have time? That was the crux of the matter. Almost everything would have to be done by her since her clones couldn't use her magic so it would be hard and time-consuming work, but she still had 25 days ahead of her. I could try. He wrote it down in his diary. He also jotted down several ideas for creating new genjutsus. He couldn't contain his sinister smile at the thought of using a genjutsu where the protagonists were inferis and a dark lake in Kabuto.

"You have gloomy thoughts again. I could feel you even inside the suitcase," Kakashi-sensei said behind him, climbing the stairs. Who do you want to kill now?

"I was thinking about the genjutsus I want to perform," he replied, nipping his killer instinct in the bud. In Kabuto, if possible.

"Ah, Kabuto... I don't know whether to pity him," Kakashi-sensei scoffed. Seina. Thank you for the gift, both gifts. I would never have imagined something like this. I assure you that I will use it.

"You're welcome, Kaka-sensei," she joked, using her brother's nickname.

"Not you, too," he snorted a laugh. I've had enough of Naruto. By the way, wait a second. I have something to give you.

It left in a swirl of leaves from the studio and reappeared less than a minute later. He had a bundle wrapped in a rag with him. He handed it to her who, intrigued, picked it up, realizing that, from the weight and feel, it appeared to be some kind of weapon. He unwrapped the package and, with a gasp, saw that they were his father's famous weapons. He took one of them in his hand, gently, remembering his father using one of these in Kurama's memories. He looked at Kakashi-sensei, not knowing what to say.

"I wanted to give you something special as a gift for your promotion," he explained when he saw the question on his face. I wanted to wait until after the exams to ask the Third But, unfortunately, he died so I had to wait for Tsunade-sama to accept the position before I could claim them.

"You mean there are things my parents didn't give us?" He asked with a hiss.

"I'm afraid not. Your parents didn't live in the Hokage mansion but in a rented house, and it was destroyed in the attack. The only thing that could be saved was what your parents had on them when they died. In your mother's case, nothing since it was the day of her birth, in your father's case, his weapons...

Seina swallowed when she heard that all of her parents were lost. I had already imagined it, but having a confirmation was hard to assume. His gaze returned to his father's personalized kunai. With these weapons he would be able to teleport like her when she appeared, using fuinjutsu. Just thinking about it, he could think of an infinite number of uses. He carefully left the weapons on his desk and picked up his journal. I would also investigate how to get the most out of this jutsu, and re-practice its appearance.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," he said sincerely. He put down the diary and gave him a big hug.

Her master hugged her against him momentarily. Then he turned away, remembering Naruto.

"Why give them to me?" She asked, looking at his face.

"And not share them with your brother?" To begin with, he doesn't have the lightning-type nature needed for this jutsu, and besides, he already has something of your father.

"The rasengan."

"Exactly. It's funny, but Naruto looks a lot more like your mother while you share more characteristics with your father. You'd both be proud of the two of you.

Seina nodded with a smile. He had never stopped to think about who he was most like since he didn't know his parents. If Kakashi-sensei, who was his father's student and apprentice, told him such a thing, it must be true. Still, he doubted that his father was a wizard reincarnated as a ninja.

"If I use these kunai, there'll be no way to hide who I am," she thought, realizing the problem.

"True, but after our talk yesterday and seeing how you hide your kekkei genkai less and less... are you going to let that stop you?"

"No.

"Then there's no point in worrying about whether they get found out or not. You simply have to make yourself strong enough so that, even if they know it, your father's enemies won't be able to harm you.

He nodded again. Kakashi-sensei was right. There was no point in worrying ahead of time about something that might or might not happen. The only thing he could do now was to start using both the chakra and his magic while fighting. Something he hadn't tasted since he spoke to his team last night about his newfound determination to stop hiding. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to train with them and show them what I was capable of. The only thing Voldemort had been right about was that magic is power, and how close he came to showing everyone how true he was.
Chapter 25
The next day, Seina headed to her classes at the hospital as usual. What was curious was to find both Mina-senpai waiting for her and Shizune, the apprentice of the new Hokage. As soon as they saw her, they rushed her to the practice room they used for their classes.

"Seina-san, we've been waiting for you," Shizune greeted her, and she nodded. Tsunade-sama has been studying the recipe book you gave her, and I have tasted the samples you gave her.

"The verdict?"

"They are 120% more effective, on average, than the medicines we currently have. That's what I was talking about right now with Mina-san.

"I've only had time to flip through the book you gave me yesterday, but I'm shocked too," she assured him, pulling out her copy. I don't know how it's possible that you've done all this in such a short time studying our books, but I must congratulate you.

"Tsunade-sama would tell you the same thing about being here, and she's very demanding!" Shizune assured him with a big smile. In fact, I had to force her to stay in her office, but I wanted to talk to you personally. As she is so engrossed with her new position, she has sent me to examine your knowledge, if you are willing, and has offered to teach you personally.

"You have a gift, Seina," Mina-senpai interceded. I've been teaching you what I can so far with the time we have, but if I were you, I wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"That's fine," she said, a little nervous but excited at the same time. When do we start?

She spent the next few hours being questioned by Shizune, just as Mina-senpai had done months ago. Seina didn't flinch or hold back in any response, proving her worth in style. There was no way he wanted to miss the opportunity for Hokage herself to teach him what she knew. When Shizune ran out of questions to ask him, he sat down on the stool with an astonished and excited expression.

"Mina-san was right," Shizune shook her head. Your knowledge is impeccable. You have a gift. I will speak with Tsunade-sama this afternoon. Tomorrow stop by as usual and I'll hear from you.

"Thank you very much," he bowed. He gathered his things and left the hospital with a huge smile.

She went straight to the training ground where she knew her team would be waiting to train with her. When she arrived at 10 o'clock, she saw how she was the first to appear. He created a few clones to warm up in the meantime, but it wasn't even 5 minutes later when he saw Naruto's blonde hair glow in the sunlight.

"Me! Kakashi-sensei greeted, closing his book and putting it away. How were your medical classes?

"I haven't taken a class. Shizune has been examining me. He says that Tsunade-sama will teach me personally if I impress her.

"Really!?" Naruto exclaimed, lunging at her.

"I'm sure she's been impressed," her master assured her. Congratulations, Seina.

"Hn," Sasuke told her and helped her up from the ground.

"You'll see his face when I give him X-ray glasses," she smiled from ear to ear, making Kakashi-sensei laugh. Well, do we start training or what?

"What a hurry all of a sudden!

"Now that I'm not going to hold back so much, I want to see what happens," he shrugged, referring to his magic.

"Hmm... It is ok. You and I will fight. Don't hold back.

"Huh... Mmm... Okay, she thought aloud. I wasn't going to use any spells or curses.

Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, surely correctly interpreting her hesitant tone, but he didn't challenge her to use his full power. Maybe because even he wasn't sure what he could do.

"Why don't we do something?" I'll send my clones first and don't be shy.

"That's fine with me.

He watched as Kakashi-sensei created a single clone and left the field alongside Naruto and Sasuke. Seina used all the spells necessary to give herself the upper hand, most of which were routinely used in field missions by the Aurors. The only thing that gave away where he was was the grass trampled under his feet, the only thing that the bracelet of invisibility couldn't make disappear. Even so, she disappeared by hiding near a tree while her master's clone tried to search for her by acquiring a taijutsu stance.

He began by conjuring a flock of dozens of birds to distract him, causing them to attack him. Then he conjured all kinds of animals to jump on him. He watched as he disposed of them, some with greater difficulty. He thought about how to go on but, wanting to see if he was really able to feel his magic or not, he cast a decapitating spell on her. Since it was a colorless curse, he didn't even notice and was shocked. The clone vanished into a ball of smoke, much to the astonishment of his team.

"Did you just cut off my clone's head?" Kakashi-sensei asked with an incredulous smile on his lips. Impressive. I haven't even seen it coming. Once again.

He summoned another clone for her and, from his hiding place, thought about what to do. He had already proven his theory. Now he wanted to try something else, but hesitated to do it. What would happen if he used legeremancia as a form of genjutsu? In the event that it worked and left, for example, the clone catatonic, what would happen when those memories returned to Kakashi-sensei? When he tried something less aggressive, he realized that the clone had no brain. It was literally a black hole connected to Kakashi-sensei. Interesting. He left that line of attack. She began to cast other spells at her, some as a joke and some more malevolent, until, a short time later, Kakashi-sensei stopped her.

—… Naruto, Sasuke, you guys start training with my clone. I have to talk to Seina for a second.

Seina followed Kakashi-sensei deeper into the forest. He used every spell he knew to make sure they were alone and that no one was going to hear them, or read lips, and he sat down on a fallen log in front of his master.

"When you told me that your limits were power and imagination, I don't know if I fully believed you..." Maybe I didn't realize what it meant," he said with a serious face. You can read minds, enslave people, decapitate them, blow them up... I think I'd better ask you what you can't do no matter how hard you try.

"To revive the dead," he replied sincerely, after some thought, "and I suppose to produce real love."

—... Is that your only limitation? He asked in utter astonishment. How do you know you can do everything else?

"I told you.

"Yes, power and imagination, but I want to know how you do it since it's not a jutsu.

"I told you I have a secondary energy," she sighed. I eat the chakra, but I don't need seals. I just think of something, and I do it.

"Let's see if I understand." "You're telling me," Kakashi-sensei began exasperatedly, "that you have a totally new kekkei genkai that doesn't even use chakra. One that, it seems, we can't perceive.

"Yes.

"God," he took a deep breath. We're going to have to train a lot, Seina. I hope you know. No one can know what you're capable of, you know what I mean? Jutsus decapitates as many as you want, but if you're going to enslave someone, don't let anyone know. There are some skills that will need to be kept a secret.

"I know. "I trust you," he said to her for the first time, "that's why I've taught you a little bit of everything. Well, that and because I wanted to see what would happen.

Kakashi-sensei seemed more animated as he listened to her, but he still had a serious expression, and perhaps even fearful of what might happen to him if they learned of the full extent of his powers. They sat there a while longer. She was waiting for him to tell her what he was thinking and her teacher was staring into nothingness with a contemplative face, as if he were thinking at a thousand miles an hour.

"I think I'll have to rethink how I train the full extent of your powers. If most of your skills are like that imperceptible jutsu, you won't be able to use it in training. Honestly, those destructive abilities of yours aren't necessary for C-rank missions.

"It's all right. I'll use less dangerous jutsus, let's say.

"Less dangerous," Kakashi-sensei snorted with a laugh. What would you say are your most dangerous jutsu?

"In what sense?" To kill someone or not to kill them?

—… To kill.

"Hmm... I can think of many ways to kill someone: from making their blood boil, using cursed fire, making them explode, turning them inside out, depriving them of oxygen, turning them into an object... I don't know. Anything you can think of.

The Blacks had been a veritable mine of information and, curiously, his paternal family had not been left behind either, despite their good reputation. Kakashi-sensei looked at her with a blank face and nodded.

"All those jutsus, save them for actual combat. If you find yourself facing an enemy to kill, you can use them. Let's get back to training. I think until further notice you will train your other powers with my clones.

Assented. When they returned to the clearing, they saw how Naruto and Sasuke were fighting a pair of clones. The training began again, this time without using her invisibility, and Kakashi-sensei's clones attacked her again. As you could see, the fight was even. He limited himself to using transformations and spells, as well as less dangerous spells interspersed with ninjutsu and taijutsu. It was the first time he had fought Kakashi-sensei using virtually all of his power. He immediately noticed the difference because the jonin seemed to be holding back much less than usual. If it wasn't for his spells, I wouldn't be able to see him as fast as he was.

Fed up with jumping out of her trajectory and avoiding punches, she decided to practice her appearance again. He disappeared from the spot where he was about to receive a blow and reappeared from his back. He tried, but couldn't shake off the invisible spell. Using a levitation spell left him dangling by his foot in the air to his astonishment. The other clones adapted to his appearances without batting an eyelid. A short time after that, all the clones were defeated and new ones took their place.

Seina couldn't stop smiling the whole time. He was having the time of his life. Almost every time he trained with the other Aurors, he held back, and although he was doing it now, it was obvious that Kakashi-sensei was a much better opponent than any wizard or witch.

"Stop.

He stopped attacking, falling to his feet in the grass among the clouds of smoke from the clones. He caught his breath after all the effort he had put in for so long. Hell, he had to train his magic resistance more. Naruto and Sasuke fell into the grass, having fought like her against the clones of the jonin, and Kakashi-sensei sat down in front of them.

"We have to integrate Seina's powers into the group. That means more team training. I know you love it," the jonin laughed at Sasuke's moan.

They started training again after lunch. Kakashi-sensei seemed to have suddenly changed his mindset. Ironically, I had the feeling that I was doing an intensive. The problem was that it wasn't entirely clear to me that it had a foreseeable end.

The next day, at 8 a.m. in the hospital, not only Mina-senpai and Shizune were waiting for him, but also Tsunade-sama. They ushered without a word into the previous day's classroom, feeling a kind of déjà vu, and she sat down in her seat.

"I've looked at the recipe book, your samples, and I've received your feedback from Shizune," the Hokage said right off the bat. You are more than qualified to serve in the hospital and learn everything I know. Honestly, you've impressed me like few people before. I want to offer you to be my apprentice, if you wish.

"It would be a great honour that you would gladly accept, Tsunade-sama.

"Perfect," the Hokage smiled. From now on, I will replace Mina in your studies. You've already told me about your use of clones to study, so I want you to learn all this.

He pointed to a veritable mountain of books that made her blink in astonishment. Still, he didn't complain. Tsunade-sama nodded in satisfaction at his silence, and then went on to detail her study plan. He soon noticed the leap in quality between Mina-senpai and the Hokage.

"Since I see that your knowledge of iryo ninjutsu is intermediate, you will come with me to Lee's operation, if possible, or to another of equal complexity. I just want you to see what you can aspire to.

"Hai."

"Besides, I'll use one of your potions." The one that repairs the nerves. I believe that with the combination of my trading experience and your potions, Lee will recover much faster than anticipated.

"I have something that might help," he said, smiling. He took out the glasses he had made on purpose.

"A pair of glasses?" He asked, holding their hands with a confused expression. Then he put them on and gasped in surprise. How is this possible!?

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"Try them on, Shizune.

"Impossible! Shizune exclaimed, looking down at his own arm.

He knew he must be looking at his own fabric. The glasses not only acted like X-ray vision piercing flesh, but also allowed the samples to be seen in their real coloration, with the structures illuminated by a spell. Those goggles had been his blueprint for his rune mastery, but the idea had been purely Hermione. With these glasses, and George's chain of stores, they had become the richest magical family in the United Kingdom.

"How is that possible?" The Hokage asked into the air, examining the glasses with a hawk's eye.

"Fuinjutsu," she told him.

All eyes were on her, astonished.

"You... you made X-ray goggles without X-rays with fuinjutsu," Tsunade-sama said delightedly.

"I'd like to talk privately, with Kakashi-sensei present if possible," she said.

The Hokage looked at her for a few seconds, analyzing her request, and then nodded.

"Come on, I'll have him come to my office."

Minutes later, he found himself in Tsunade-sama's office. It was much clearer, save for the filing cabinets and essential furniture. They had even painted the walls a beige color instead of leaving them green. Kakashi-sensei appeared soon after. Seeing her there alone with the Hokage, he seemed to understand what it was.

"Well, we're all here," the Hokage began, watching Kakashi-sensei glance up at the ceiling. Is anyone going to tell me what's wrong?

"Could you raise the safety barriers, Hokage-sama?" The jonin asked. The Hokage listened curiously. Thank you. I'll get straight to the point. Seina has a new kekkei genkai.

"A kekkei genkai?" The Hokage asked, looking at her in surprise. So, the glasses aren't made with fuinjutsu?

"I can only activate them with my kekkei genkai," she told him, "but it's like fuinjutsu.

"I see.

"Seina didn't just make those glasses. Another of his inventions is this bracelet," he showed her the discreet silver bracelet. With him I become invisible. No one is able to detect me. Not because of the chakra, not because of the smell, the temperature, the sound. Nothing.

"Okay," he nodded slowly. And what else can you do?

"Everything. Summoning things out of thin air, transforming things into other things, creating barriers, making things disappear... Look at this," she said, thrusting her entire arm into her fanny pack.

"How is that possible!?"

"The inside is bigger than the outside.

Tsunade-sama blinked his eyes wide open. He tried to undo a non-existent genjutsu, without success. Kakashi-sensei took advantage of the moment of silence to update her on everything related to Naruto and her. From their connection with Kurama, Danzo's anbus, the stranger who attacked the village, his kekkei genkai... To say that the Hokage seemed exasperated was an understatement.

"I see. Thanks for the info, Kakashi. Tomorrow I was supposed to have another meeting with Commander Jonin and the commanders of other departments. I guess that's what he wanted to talk to me about.

"There's one more thing...

"Surprise me," sighed the Hokage, resting her head on one hand. What is it about?

"Itachi Uchiha may be innocent.

—... Do you have proof of that?

"Just circ*mstantial. I didn't want to draw attention to myself while I wasn't here.

"I see. You've done well. Show up tomorrow at the meeting with Shikaku. If what you're saying is true, we're going to need help unraveling all of this." Then he looked at her. As for your kekkei genkai, as Kakashi has told you, be careful about what you show. Medicine and fuinjutsu items are fine, but keep everything else to yourself. On the other hand, as I see that your inventions are of great use, I think it would be better for us to arrange some kind of contract to supply you with the material, and a commission payment, in exchange for said inventions. Do you think it's okay for me to talk about it with the heads of departments tomorrow? Not everything, just your inventions.

"That's fine with me. In fact, I was hoping for something like this as I have a lot of ideas that I would like to try.

"Perfect.

They left there more relieved, especially their master. He put an arm around her shoulders, seeing how she, too, seemed less tense than before, and they walked out of the Hokage tower.

"You were right to call me. He wanted to talk to her about just that," his teacher urged. Now at least you have the support of the Hokage. Well played.

"I know," she nodded with a sigh. The truth is that I felt guilty for keeping everything I can do to myself, considering that it could help a lot.

"I know. That's why I didn't say anything against it the other day," he said, alluding to their talk. Let's go. The others are waiting for us to train.

They went back to the clearing where they normally trained. They spent the morning training ninjutsu, much to Naruto's delight.

"These fire jutsus are more complicated than they look," Naruto complained, throwing himself into the grass.

"That's because you're used to using wind nature. You'll see that the more you practice, the easier it will be," Kakashi-sensei advised. Ah, I almost forgot. Naruto and Sasuke, remember your medical check-up the day after tomorrow afternoon at the hospital.

"Eeeeh?" But we're doing just fine!

"New orders from the Hokage." That's what happens when the leader is a doctor," Kakashi-sensei shrugged. If you want to complain, you know.

"Yes, of course! Do I look like an idiot? If I complain he'll send me to the hospital with a punch!

Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke laughed in his face. Seina, who had already been examined, rolled her eyes. It was just a formality. Still, he had to admit that maybe he was right about the punch. He suppressed a laugh at the sight of his brother's horrified face.

"It's not a big deal, Naru.

"Leave it. He's so stupid that he can't stand 5 minutes in the hospital without complaining," Sasuke sneered.

"Take that back, fear!"

"Why do I open my mouth early?" Kakashi-sensei sighed.

They made their way back to the house, their stomachs rumbling with hunger and sweaty from training. He spent the afternoon studying one of the books Tsunade-sama had given him. She and her multiple clones, much to Naruto's boredom. At least, that was his intention but, after an hour of harassing her, Naruto convinced her to continue working on her created summons.

"Your clones can study for you, nee-chan, but they can't stop this," he had sworn to her for the umpteenth time.

"Could it be that you want me to end my summons so that I can start creating yours?" She asked irritably.

"Heh, heh," his brother touched his head blushingly. Maybe?

—Hn. Dobe.

She sensed Sasuke's thoughts about how she was hardly seen outside of training and gave up. I was right. Between the hospital, his research, and training, he didn't have time to be with Naruto and Sasuke without working on something. With Kakashi-sensei out of the house doing who knows what, they were on their own to laze around.

"Don't you feel strange?" Sasuke asked, wiping the words out of his mouth. It's as if, despite trying, things don't quite return to normal.

"You're right. I feel like something bad is about to happen," Naruto confessed to them. The problem is, I don't know what or when. It drives me crazy!

"Maybe it's a mixture of both," she shrugged. Perhaps things are not going to be the same as they were and, at the same time, we are still in danger. Who knows?

"It bothers me that I can't do anything not feel that way," Sasuke mumbled. I don't even remember the last mission we had.

"He's right. I want to go back to doing missions again. I can't stand staying here any longer," Naruto complained.

"You're the least fit to open your mouth, dobe," Sasuke hissed. Who was it of the 3 who went away for a month while the rest of the team was here, stuck at home as prisoners?

"I knew you'd throw it in my face sooner or later!" Naruto groaned. Plus, I almost died! I don't know what you're complaining about!

Seina sighed as she saw them start arguing again about who had had it worse. He managed to separate them, threatening to take their textbooks again if they didn't shut up, and they began to work on the invocations. Naruto, who could use the runes, was in charge of carving them into the rock while Sasuke, with the sharingan activated, copied his brother to speed up the process. She was simply in charge of shaping them, animating them, and activating the runes when they were ready. In less than 5 hours she was satisfied with the number of creatures she now had at her disposal.

"I think we can finish in a couple of days at this rate!" Naruto said, using the clones to carve the runes.

"It could be.

"Seina, for my sake you can leave my summons in your suitcase," Sasuke said. Personally, I don't think I get much use out of a suitcase just for me.

"Then you don't want a suitcase?"

"It wouldn't be bad to have all this but, being practical, with a suitcase, yours, for the whole team is more than enough. It would be more practical for Naruto and me to have those modified tents in the future, when we have missions with other people.

"Ugh... The fear is right. As long as we can summon our summons, I have no problem with them staying here, if you don't mind.

Seina blinked at her teammates' mature decision. While it is true that it was not quick to create a suitcase, it is not that it was much work for him either. Still, if both Sasuke and Naruto were okay with sharing the space in their suitcase, it seemed perfect to her. He sensed Sasuke's thought that this way he would have more free time instead of spending more time on something unnecessary. He patted her on the shoulder, understanding where his concern and decision came from, but he said nothing.

"It's all right. Then we can focus on finishing all the summons.

"Yosh! Let's try to finish them today! Naruto encouraged. Both she and Sasuke nodded.

That's how Kakashi-sensei found them hours later, when he appeared on the stairs. He stared at the huge red dragon that Sasuke had liked and that she had created for him from a few huge stones.

"I see you've made great progress.

"We'll finish this project tomorrow," she said, suppressing a yawn.

"By the way. I've been talking to Tsunade-sama about your brother, Sasuke...

—...Well?

"Apparently you've been looking for your family's archives in the old documents of the Third.

"And what did you find?"

"That's the question. Someone has stolen them.

"What!?" Naruto shouted. But that means something weird is going on! We were right!

"I don't know if you were right about everything, but it's clear that there's someone who doesn't want Tsunade-sama to read those files. Only the documents from a year before the massacre are missing, so if Tsunade-sama hadn't been looking for them expressly, he wouldn't have noticed since the filing cabinet isn't totally empty.

Seina frowned as the team pondered what they had just learned. What was the point of simply stealing the papers? She would have left a fake copy so that no one would suspect anything. That would have given her more time, if she was to blame for all this stuff, to avoid getting caught. Unless the culprit was totally confident that no one was going to look at those files, or they thought they had more time to replace them with fakes, or they were simply arrogant enough not to care if they knew something strange was going on when they stole those files... Which option was the right one? I didn't know that.

"And how do we know those papers existed to begin with?" She asked, realizing that perhaps they hadn't been stolen.

"They existed," sighed Kakashi-sensei, ruffling his hair thoughtfully. This has already been confirmed by the restricted staff in charge of document management. They were in the same office as the Hokage. That means someone stole those files for a short period of time: from the death of the Third to the ascension of the Fifth Hokage.

"And why did the Hokage have those secret files in his office?" Sasuke asked, sulkily.

Until now he had not opened his mouth, but he sensed that his feelings were contradictory. On the one hand, he was almost guiltily glad that he had reason to believe in his brother's innocence, but on the other hand, he was angry that clues about Itachi's innocence made him rethink how he felt about his family's killer. He had believed for so long that Itachi was the culprit that now he didn't know exactly how to feel.

Add to that the fact that someone was plotting, even now, against his family... Seina would also be furious. The only thing stopping Sasuke from flying into a rage and stabbing anyone who gave him the wrong look was knowing that both Seina and Naruto, and now Kakashi-sensei, weren't going to let him be until the truth was known. And it was true. I wasn't going to stop until they had a clear culprit with real evidence. Even if he had to use his powers to find out.

"I'd probably think they were safer in their office than in the archive..." Curiously, he was right. They have only been stolen after his unforeseen death," the jonin explained to them.

Seina frowned as she thought about who might have stolen those documents. Now it was obvious that they had an enemy in the village. After all, Sasuke wasn't going to stop until he knew the truth, and Seina knew that the culprit wasn't going to just let him get caught like that. Sooner or later, a confrontation between the two was inevitable.
Chapter 26
The next day Tsunade-sama handed him the contract they had talked about, to his astonishment. Once again, the lack of bureaucracy of the ninja villages surprised her. Although, since the ninja villages were really a military dictatorship, he didn't know why it still amazed him.

"Your master has checked that everything is correct. All that's left is for you to read the contract and sign. Take it home and take a couple of days to brush up on the stitches.

"Hai."

"Let's start with your training. Shizune has told me about everything you can do, so I won't value your theoretical knowledge again. I hope you read the books and if you have any questions I will answer them the next day. From now on, half of your hospital hours will be spent treating patients. When you are not with me you will take on the role of the nurses, they will explain to you what they require of you. When I'm in the hospital, you'll follow me as I deal with difficult cases. Understood?

Seina nodded firmly. He had basically acquired a rank similar to that of a medical intern. I already knew what was going to happen. She would take care of patients with conditions she knew how to treat and then learn as the shadow of the Hokage. Actually, I preferred it to being in the same class day in and day out. That would help him interact with people, cultivate a good image, and also give him experience.

He listened as I explained how to take notes for patients' medical records, administrative and inventory tasks, maintenance of devices, procedures and protocols, etc. Most of them were logical things that I had already studied both in this world and in the previous one. Tsunade-sama eventually introduced her to the medical staff, explaining her role in the hospital, and left her with them to begin to familiarize herself with the staff and the hospital.

"Welcome, Seina-san," the head nurse, Sanoka, greeted her with a smile. Tsunade-sama has explained it all to us. Today you will be with me so that I can evaluate you. As soon as I know what you can do, I can assign some patients to you. Start.

Seina followed the nurse around the floor. As soon as he saw the first patients, he knew it wasn't going to be that bad. Most were civilians who had been involved in an accident or who suffered from minor ailments. He spent the rest of the morning disinfecting, dressing wounds, relieving colds and allergies, repositioning dislocated bones, and administering treatments. Oh, and making medical reports.

"I thought it was going to take you a lot longer," Sanoka urged. Your clones were a good idea.

"I'm used to using them to save time," she shrugged. If I treat someone and do the paperwork at the same time, I won't have to sit down and do it later.

"I wish I could do the same," the nurse sighed.

He wasn't a medical ninja, so all the work she'd done in a couple of hours would have taken up the rest of the day. First of all, because he didn't use a chakra to treat patients, and secondly, because he had to deal with documentation in his spare time. Medical ninja took care of more serious cases and other ninjas. After all, civilian nurses and doctors weren't trained to dodge kunais from badly wounded ninjas.

"In any case, I congratulate you on the work you have done. From now on I will take care of the most serious cases of the plant: open wounds, broken bones, etc. That will lighten the work of all of us more efficiently. I will inform Tsunade-sama of my decision.

"Thank you.

He just walked out of the hospital. Even though she had been busy all morning, she didn't feel tired. I could have gone around the hospital curing most of them without any problem. Between his iryo ninjutsu and his medical spells, there were few cases that he couldn't solve right off the bat on the civilian floors of the hospital.

When he got home, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei had made the meal while Sasuke was setting the table.

"How did it go in the hospital?" The Jonin asked.

"Good. Now I'm treating people in the hospital." He sat down heavily in front of her at the table.

"That's great!" Naruto rejoiced. Goodbye textbooks!

"I'd like to," she laughed. Tsunade-sama gave me a mountain of books. In fact...

She summoned a few clones to read while she ate. Those books wouldn't read themselves. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the sight of it and it seemed that Kakashi-sensei wanted to do the same, but he held back. Naruto groaned in exasperation at the sight of him.

"And what are you going to do every morning, now that I'm in the hospital?"

"Train," Naruto and Sasuke said in unison. Kakashi-sensei blew a laugh.

"I'm afraid not. Now that Seina will be in the hospital every morning for more hours, we will train in the afternoon. You can take the morning to rest or to practice alone.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked sullenly. We could train!

"Naruto, I have more life than training with the two of you," the jonin rolled his eyes. Not only am I your teacher, I also serve the village as the jonin that I am.

His brother sighed when he heard it, but stopped complaining. Seina didn't know what she was doing when she wasn't with them, but she imagined that now it must be something related to those stolen papers. Sasuke glanced at her as he sensed her thoughts.

"Sasuke, I'd like access to your clan's documents," Kakashi-sensei asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you're asking to visit the houses," she said, seeing that the jonin couldn't remember the address of the Uchiha compound, "probably to see if your family had any documents."

"Exactly. Since your parents' house is under Seina's jutsu, I know that no one has been able to steal anything in all this time, and before you left, you were being watched by the anbu, so I don't think anyone could have entered there undetected. If there is any type of file that we can consult, it will be of great help.

"Okay," Sasuke agreed. Let Seina tell you the secret.

Kakashi-sensei turned to look at her, and she nodded. He conjured up a pen and paper and wrote down the secret of the Uchiha complex. His sensei read it and then reduced it to ashes.

"I'll go and have a look tonight."

"Was this discussed at the meeting?" Seina asked, eating a piece of meat.

"No. Right now, Tsunade-sama wants to avoid leaking out information that he is investigating what happened. After all, we are certain that someone wants to cover it all up. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that she's being spied on or that there's some traitor among us.

"Hmm... If I had more time, I could do a few things for the interrogation department.

"I would talk to Tsunade-sama about this problem about you," the jonin advised. Between the hospital and training, you won't have time to fulfill the contract.

Seina frowned as she realized she was right. He finished his meal, and then took out the contract that the Hokage had given him. Kakashi-sensei confirmed that this was the contract he had reviewed on her behalf earlier that morning. He was talking to her about the points of the contract and advised her to wait to talk about her lack of time before signing it.

"Tomorrow afternoon, while Naruto and Sasuke are in the hospital for their check-up, we'll train kenjutsu if that's okay with you. Then we'll go back to normal training.

A while later, they started their daily training which consisted of, basically, training as if they were in real combat against him using everything they had at their disposal. She was satisfied to see how she had managed to learn various ninjutsu of each chakra nature and how she had greatly improved her taijutsu after countless sessions against Kakashi-sensei. When he went to take his usual bath, he felt the jonin leave the house. Surely to investigate the Uchiha clan.

From what I had seen, I would have a while. The Uchiha clan was not exactly small but the largest in Konoha, or perhaps the second with the most land and buildings. He didn't care about that matter, knowing that Kakashi-sensei would be fine, and alone, while he researched it. He relaxed in the huge bathtub.

"Aaah. This is life," she muttered to herself in the waters with mineral salts at the perfect temperature.

That reminded him of his mission to put Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei in a private bathroom. He even felt guilty that he was enjoying a bathroom alone when the two of them shared a sink. Huge, but shared. He would take advantage of the afternoon of the next day to do so, if he could. He mentally gave up on creating a studio for each of them, considering that their rooms were big enough for them to set one up inside if they wanted to. Less work, he told himself. She got out of the bathtub an hour later and lay in bed without even eating dinner.

The next day, Tsunade-sama rethought her schedule at the hospital.

"You'll go every other day, 4 hours a day," he finally told her. That will leave you time to rest and be able to make your inventions in your free time. Oh, by the way. I forgot to tell you that you will be paid for your service at the hospital. I will have your salary recalculated according to your category and the time worked. You will receive your payment on a monthly basis.

Seina was surprised. I hadn't expected to get paid, but now that I thought about it, I was not only studying but also working. He figured it was only fair that he should be paid for it.

"Hai." Thank you for everything, Tsunade-sama.

"There's no point," the woman smiled. Today he is back in the hospital again. I'll have Shizune talk to the supervisor to get her new schedule in mind.

Seina stepped out of the Hokage Tower. Not only had he agreed to supply the shinobi forces with his inventions, but he had managed to change his day in the hospital from 3 to 4 days, depending on the week. All this charging 2 independent payments. She was so excited that she couldn't hold back her smile the whole way. Although they did not lack money to live, being 4 people in the house who provided money to eat, he liked to have something fixed within the village in addition to the possible missions.

"Good morning, Seina," a nurse called when he saw her. You can check in here. How was your work yesterday?

He talked for a couple of minutes, seeing that it was not yet the time to enter, and then he went to change his clothes for the white uniform they wore in the hospital and that they had given him yesterday. He spent the next 4 hours treating all kinds of patients. The morning just passed. When she got out of the hospital at noon, she went straight home. To her surprise, no one was there, so she left a couple of clones making the food while she went to her studio.

He wanted to study the fuinjutsu that his father put into the modified kunais so that he could replicate it. While she could disappear without the need for fuinjutsu, her father's and the Second's technique had certain advantages. For starters, she didn't have a limit to the number of people she could "teleport" with the jutsu before injuries occurred, and she could teleport whatever she wanted without the need to teleport herself as well. In fact, that was the most incredible thing about jutsu. His father had apparently used it to move Kurama's lady bijuu away from the village. She could think of a thousand ways to use it in a similar way.

For example, he could plant seals all over the world and then teleport there in a second, speeding up missions. If he used the seals in this way, it was clear that he could get out of a jam without any problems. In addition, he could use it on his enemies, teleporting them to a previously erected death trap or moving them away from the battle, making them appear in the middle of the ocean. The drawback of the technique was how little information I had about how it worked and the chakra expenditure. For her, the second factor wasn't something to worry about, but not knowing how it worked was a huge problem.

He had no manuscripts from his father, and he hadn't taught the whole technique to anyone either, so he'd have to look up information about the Second Hokage's jutsu. I already knew that it wasn't on the scrolls in the public library, so I'd have to look elsewhere. Just as he was reviewing the ninjutsus given to them by Kakashi-sensei, he remembered the stolen scroll.

"Here you are," he smiled as he placed the huge scroll of parchment on the desk. See...

She slowly unrolled the parchment, reading the techniques, and was impressed. Kage bunshin was the last written technique. No wonder his brother had learned it. It was the first one he saw. What luck. There were other surprising techniques. Such as chakra barriers, genjutsu, jutsus stolen from other villages, and even a resuscitation technique that made his hair stand on end. After a while he found what he was looking for. Hiraishin no jutsu.

—... It should be noted that this jutsu, contrary to what one might think, uses the principle of summons rather than being a modification of the blinking body jutsu. Once someone or something is "marked", it will be marked forever. It is important to keep this in mind because if we mistakenly use this jutsu to transport ourselves to someone who is quite far away we could experience chakra depletion due to the distance that could kill us instantly. Because of this, it is advisable to practice with short distances and increase the distance between transports to know the chakra that this jutsu requires of the individual.

Seina continued to read excitedly the Hokage's words. He really was a genius. He felt the presence in the magical barriers and knew that he would have to leave his research for later.

"We're home!" Naruto shouted, as if he couldn't hear him.

"I'm coming," he put the scroll down as it was and closed the door. Where have you been?

"We were in the dojo," Sasuke said.

"Good idea," she told them, impressed.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"I don't know. I've been here for a while and he hasn't shown up." He shrugged.

They talked for a while, waiting for their master to come to eat. Seina told them what she had read on the forbidden scroll but, surprisingly, neither of them seemed interested in the technique. Sasuke because he didn't want to die depleting his chakra and Naruto because he didn't have the right nature to use jutsu, much to his dismay.

"Me! Kakashi-sensei greeted as he walked through the door. I see you're all here.

"We've been waiting for you, Kaka-sensei," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Give me 5 minutes."

They started eating while listening to Naruto and Sasuke talk about training at the nearest dojo. Kakashi-sensei didn't tell them anything about the research at the Uchiha compound, but judging by his face, it hadn't been in vain. Seina remembered the baths she was suddenly planning to add. He cursed for having forgotten. I could have used the alone time to do it. Well, I would that very afternoon if I could.

"I'll let you rest for an hour," the jonin said to her. Then we'll start training.

Assented. They all went to their respective bedrooms to rest for a while, except for her. He went back to the studio to practice sealing. He thought it was impressive that Tobirama had been able to create a jutsu that allowed something to be sealed instantaneously. Even so, that implied that the teleportation jutsu was actually 2 sequential jutsu. Incredible. He used a stone he had collected to do this kind of testing and used the seal. It only took a couple of tries to regulate the chakra flow and make it not explode due to the seal.

"Now comes the funny part," she muttered to herself, throwing the stone out of the window into the garden.

She mentally thought about what she was going to do until, irritated and excited, she realized that she could use a clone for this since she didn't need magic. With much less hesitation, he summoned several clones to test hiraishin. Some exploded due to the acceleration with which they appeared at the marked point. That's how he realized that using more chakra than allowed increased the speed itself, but also the chances of deterioration of the user. He tested his theory with a conjured porcelain vase, making it appear in the garden, and watched as it shattered as soon as it appeared.

"Interesting.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice asked from upstairs.

"Tasting hiraishin."

He listened as Sasuke closed the window, with a snort of laughter, and continued to try. It got to the point where his clones and delicate objects survived the journey unharmed, much to his delight. She repeated it several times with different objects to make sure it was safe, and then she used the jutsu. It was like blinking. In the blink of an eye, he was going back and forth, as if his brain couldn't comprehend what was going on in between, how fast everything was happening. What he noticed, compared to his appearances, was that the feeling of dizziness that some experienced was non-existent. Perhaps because it didn't feel like being inside a fairground ride but, rather, like running in a straight line at the speed of light without bumping into anything along the way. Much more comfortable for the user's stomach.

He reappeared in his study, calling his brother.

"Send me a couple of clones!"

"Naruto and Sasuke have to go to the hospital," Kakashi-sensei's muffled voice reminded them from his room.

He must have had the door open, otherwise the silencing spell wouldn't have allowed him to hear anything.

"Ugh," Naruto complained, but he sent her the clones he requested. Come on, fear! The sooner we go, the sooner we'll come back.

He heard Sasuke sigh, but he came out of his bedroom. She, meanwhile, sent a clone of her with a Naruto clone to see if the workings were the same. To his little surprise, both clones appeared at the same speed, but at the cost of expending more energy. Which meant that as I tried to transport larger people or objects, I would have to increase the chakra expenditure. He used a spell to find out how far away the stone was and created a chart on which he planned to write down his experiments with different objects and distances.

"I see you're entertained," Kakashi-sensei said, appearing through the door. He looked at his notes. I don't think your father was as conscientious as you. That scroll isn't...? You know what? I haven't seen anything.

"I needed some information on how jutsu works," he shrugged. What it doesn't explain to me is whether a user can use the stamps of other users or only the ones they create themselves.

"Why do you want to know?" Kakashi-sensei asked, leaning against the desk beside him, curiously.

"From what I know of the fight, Kurama used what he calls a queen bijuu in the attack..." My father surely used this technique to displace the attack. That means there are stamps of my father out there. What if there is something important hidden from my father, something that only he had access to?

"Logically, you shouldn't be able to find it since the technique uses the user's chakra and, being dead, it vanishes.

"But not in hiraishin," she replied with a triumphant smile. The first step in this technique is a permanent sealing jutsu. Then comes teleportation.

"Do you mean that everything that is marked with this technique is marked forever?" Kakashi-sensei asked, surprised. I didn't know that. Your father used those pre-sealed kunais so I never saw him seal anything else in combat. At least, when I was present.

"I could do some testing. I just need someone to use the seal on something.

"Maybe, but another time." Now it's your turn to train with your wakizashi.

He sighed, leaving his things as they were. He went down to the garden accompanied by Kakashi-sensei. Just as he was about to draw his weapon, he noticed how both Sasuke and Naruto became completely disconnected from their mental bond. Seina stifled a laugh when she heard why both Sasuke and Naruto wanted to disconnect completely, temporarily, from their mental bond. Kakashi-sensei listened to her and raised an eyebrow by way of question.

"Sasuke and Naruto," she laughed, unable to help himself. They want to silence the link during the check-up at the hospital. Apparently they're embarrassed that I found out about something weird...

"I see. So you can disconnect from them." Kakashi-sensei snorted a quiet laugh.

"Yes. I've always wondered why you haven't asked us about the mental link," she confessed.

"I wanted to do it, especially at first," the jonin admitted. It's not a common thing and it has its disadvantages, but I think it's the best thing that could happen to Sasuke.

"Why do you think so?"

"Both you and I saw what Sasuke was like before he joined you mentally. Being connected to someone was just what I needed at that moment after so many years of loneliness. Besides, I imagine your connection doesn't allow you to deceive each other, does it? Kakashi-sensei asked, and she nodded. Not being alone, and knowing for sure that your intentions are good, has lifted a weight off Sasuke's shoulders. Otherwise, it would have been much more... reluctant, so to speak, to accept certain things.

"Isn't that why you didn't try to stop us from staying connected?"

"Were you going to listen to me?" Kakashi-sensei laughed casually. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop you either. Besides, I knew that sooner or later you yourselves would put limitations on your mental bond. I don't think Naruto wants to know some of your intimacies, and vice versa.

"Neither of them are at that point," she rolled her eyes, causing her master to choke at what she was alluding to. Equally, now we almost always have the link partially closed. Instead of listening to ourselves, we perceive emotions and the direction of some thoughts. Although it's getting easier and easier to know what they're going to think almost before they think it.

"I know. I see it every day in your training. Most of the time you look like one in 3 bodies.

"Well, enough talk. Shall we start or what? She asked, impatiently.

They spent a long time training kenjutsu. Since she was completely alone in her mind, for the first time in quite some time, it was easier for her to focus all her attention on the arduous combat. Kakashi-sensei, of course, was not slowing down, quite the opposite. He was thankful for this as he saw how it had improved markedly since he bought the wakizashi. It was because of her mental connection that Kakashi-sensei wounded her hours later in the arm, when Naruto slammed open the connection shouting that he couldn't find Sasuke.

"Stop," Kakashi-sensei said, seeing how he had hurt her by distracting himself. Let me see it. What happened?

"Naruto says he can't find Sasuke," he informed him as quickly as possible.

"Heal your arm," the jonin commanded in an authoritative voice. What else does Naruto say?

They started walking quickly as she healed the superficial cut with spells and iryo ninjutsu. Naruto, meanwhile, was on the verge of hysteria as he was nowhere to be found for Sasuke nor could he contact him mentally. Seina tried too, but either Sasuke was blocking them completely, or he was unconscious. He told his teacher as they ran across the rooftops in the direction of the hospital. He watched as he frowned.

"Can you locate Sasuke?"

"As soon as we stop running," she said.

"Nee-chan! Naruto shouted, appearing at the door of the hospital. I haven't been able to find the fear! No one has seen him in the hospital for a while! He's not here!

"Leave her for a second, Naruto," Kakashi-sensei ordered.

He used the locator spell anchored to Sasuke's earring and saw how Naruto was right in saying that it wasn't there.

"He's not in the village. It is moving very fast in a northerly direction.

"Let's go. We need to inform the Hokage of this.

It took them a minute to reach the Hokage tower and another few minutes to be attended to due to the seriousness of the matter. Tsunade-sama raised an eyebrow at the sight of the jonin's impassive face and Naruto visibly biting his tongue to keep from screaming.

"What's the matter, Kakashi?"

"Sasuke has been kidnapped from the hospital. Seina has located him outside the village moving in a northerly direction.

The Hokage's face darkened as she listened to him. Then Seina realized why. To the north was Otogakure, where Orochimaru supposedly stood. He clenched his fists in anger as he realized that he had most likely been the one who had ordered his teammate kidnapped. Naruto, with the bond wide open, understood everything at once and turned red with anger.

"Shizune, call Shikaku Nara," the Hokage ordered her assistant. Tell him I want him here right away. Seina, you, and Naruto assemble a team of 5 people of genin or chunin rank.

"Are you going to send my whole team out there?" Kakashi-sensei asked with an irritated look. With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, you could meet Orochimaru or Itachi.

"With all due respect, Kakashi," the Hokage returned with a clear reproach. You know where we stand here... I need someone who is aware of the situation to investigate what has happened. You know what I'm talking about.

Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything even though he clearly wanted to complain. The Hokage urged them to go in search of their equipment, handing them a scroll with their orders. She and Naruto left, leaving their master with Tsunade-sama. Seina felt like something was slipping through her fingers. Kakashi-sensei was right to wonder if it was the right thing to send a team of 5 genins and chunins to rescue Sasuke knowing who it was that had kidnapped him. What was it that the Hokage was avoiding revealing to instead send them away from the village at a time like this?

Notes:
The action starts right now, boys and girls! Still, it's a long story so I hope you're prepared for slow burn.
Chapter 27
"Who did we recruit?" Naruto asked as soon as he left the tower.

"It's not like we know a lot of chunin," she sighed. We should count on Shikamaru and our friends. Even if they are genin, we know how to work with them and what kind of skills they have. He sends a pair of clones in search of Shino and Kiba. We're going for Shikamaru and Chouji. I imagine some of them will want to come.

He used a spell to search for Shikamaru and realized that he was in the direction of the hospital. They ran over there and saw him talking to Lee and Neji. As soon as they saw their serious faces, they stopped waving.

"What's going on?"

"Sasuke has been kidnapped. Tsunade-sama has ordered us to go and rescue him. We have to recruit a team of 5 people," she told him succinctly. Are you up for it? Where's Chouji?

"Chouji has indigestion," Shikamaru chuckled. I was visiting him.

"Are you coming or what?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Yes, yes. "What a remedy," sighed Shikamaru.

"I want to be part of it, too," Neji told them, including himself in the conversation.

Seina and Naruto looked at each other.

"It's all right. Byakugan will do us good.

"We're missing a person," Shikamaru said. Who else are you thinking of asking for help?

"Our clones are looking for Shino or Kiba.

Lee, at that point, turned around with his crutches and started walking back to the hospital. They saw him leave with a sad and desolate expression. If it weren't so urgent, I'd try to comfort him, but now wasn't the right time. Neji watched him disappear with a slightly worried face. Then Seina remembered that today was Lee's operation, if his previous analyses were correct. Hell, he was going to miss it.

"Yatta! Naruto exclaimed. Kiba joins in. Shino is on a mission with his father.

"Perfect. There are 5 of us now.

"He's waiting for us at the north gate.

"Do you have to get something from home?" Seina asked.

"I don't think so. I imagine this rescue won't last long.

"They haven't gone very far," she said, not caring that they wondered how she knew. We can find Sasuke within a couple of hours at most.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his words.

"I always thought you had more than one ace up your sleeve," the genius acknowledged aloud. Apparently I'm finally going to be able to figure you out.

"In your dreams, Shikamaru. Let's go. We are wasting time.

She had the fanny pack with all her stuff so she wasn't worried about having to extend the mission if necessary. They rushed to the north entrance and saw Kiba waiting next to the entrances and exits control desk. Seina approached, nodding in her direction, and handed him the scroll that Tsunade-sama had given to the ninja. He examined it for a few seconds and then looked at them. He put the scroll away and let them record his departure.

"Good luck and good hunting," he dismissed them.

They nodded and left the village.

"Wait a minute, who's the leader?" Neji asked, looking alternately at her and Shikamaru.

They exchanged glances and Shikamaru nodded in his direction. Seina, seeing that she did not intend to mutiny, shrugged her shoulders.

"Me, apparently.

"And what's our plan?" Kiba asked.

"Sasuke has one of my stamps right now, so I know where it is," he informed them, walking in that direction. We'll get to him with one of my invocations. As soon as you get closer, you'll investigate how many enemies you have in front of you and draw up a plan according to Shikamaru's help.

"That's fine with me.

"Can you summon toads like Naruto, too?" Kiba asked.

"Let's go. Now you'll see.

She was almost excited to have an excuse to use her Hungarian horntail. That thought brought a smile to Naruto's face for the first time in hours. Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru followed them into a lone clearing.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu.

The huge dragon over 20 meters long appeared flapping its huge wings. It was a perfect replica of the dragon that attacked her when she was just 14 years old: big, furious, full of horns and thorns with its yellowish eyes perched maliciously on them. He heard the collective gasp of his teammates, minus Naruto, and jumped up and sat on the back of the gigantic creature.

"Let's go. What are you waiting for? She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"A dragon!?" Shikamaru asked, stunned. Q-But what? How is this possible!?

"Ask her about the road," Neji said, jumping up behind her and quickly regaining her composure.

Naruto pushed Kiba and Shikamaru and then jumped after them. Seina flew in the direction of Sasuke. Judging from what he could perceive, the ninjas who had Sasuke hadn't slowed down since they captured him in the hospital. At the speed at which their dragon was flying, however, it would not take long for them to arrive. What he wanted to avoid at all costs was for them to cross the country's border, even though he knew it would take quite some time to get to that point. In addition, this way his team avoided getting tired along the way, which was always an advantage.

"How is that possible?" Shikamaru asked behind him. Dragons don't exist!

"They exist now," she told him, without further ado.

"Why did that sound like you created it?"

"Because I created it," he answered. Fuinjutsu is very useful, don't you think?

"What?" Is this a fuinjutsu construct? Ugh, I knew I would get a headache accepting this mission.

"Hey! Be careful what you say about my sister! Naruto defended her when he realized why she said that.

There was a tense silence. Shikamaru was almost blowing smoke out of his ears from how fast he was thinking while Neji, Kiba, and Naruto were impatient to get into combat. She simply wanted it all to be over and for Orochimaru to rot in Otogakure knowing that he hadn't been able to get hold of Sasuke.

"We're fast approaching Sasuke," he said, sensing the closer presence of his locator spell. I'm going to fly higher so we don't get detected. Neji, what's the rank of your byakugan?

"We're too high," he shook his head, frowning. My byakugan specializes in the close details, unlike Hinata.

"Okay, I'll send another summoner to take a closer look," she said, no problem.

He summoned a bird native to the area, giving thanks for having thought of it, and sent it ahead of them.

"We should go down right in front," Shikamaru suggested, speaking in his ear. That way we won't fall into any possible traps.

Seina used a couple of incantations to keep them from being noticed and then landed behind a hill. He glanced at his team, seeing that they were fine, and motioned for them to wait while he gathered the necessary information. He used a couple more summons to lighten the day, and before long, he saw them.

"That's 4 people. They have ninja bands from Otogakure. They seem to be carrying Sasuke inside a white trunk.

"Anyone recognizable?" Shikamaru asked.

They all look like mid-range ninjas. They don't outnumber us. Equally, Naruto and I will use clones to level up the fight if necessary, but I would try to use the surprise factor and make them fall into a trap. I would also wear earplugs. From what I know of my opponent's abilities in chunin exams, they use sound to attack. Shikamaru, anything to say?

"It's troublesome," he sighed. We don't know anything certain about his abilities. I agree with you to catch them off guard. How long do we have until they get to our point?

"Maybe 10 minutes, so let's get to work." Take. Stoppers," he handed them the conjured plugs just in case.

They left Neji hiding in the top of a tree to be their lookout while the others prepared the ground. Seina first used her father's kunais, wrapping the clearing at strategic points, and staked several of his smaller invocations to give her vision at every possible angle. Shikamaru modified the terrain with Kiba's help to create the shadows he wanted while Naruto hid a bunch of clones in the trees, and surrounding the perimeter.

They watched as Neji signaled them to approach, silently. She would take it upon herself to retrieve her teammate while the others fought the ninjas, if necessary. As soon as they were upon them, he made a sign and Shikamaru caught them with his shadows. The trunk with Sasuke inside fell to the ground. Just as he was about to get hold of the trunk by jumping with the hiraishin to it, someone attacked them from behind and appeared out of nowhere. He was a sick-looking stranger. He was dressed in white, had white hair, and skin was as pale as snow. Honestly, he looked like he was about to go to the other neighborhood. However, appearances can be deceiving.

"Be careful!

Seina created an earthen barrier between the two, protecting her team from the stranger's weapons.

"That's bones!?"

"Keep an eye on Sasuke!" She caught their attention.

"Too late," said a voice on the other side of the barrier.

The boy leapt through the air, dodging all his traps, in Sasuke's direction. Seina used the hiraishin to get there first, and then exchanged one of her clones for the trunk just as the stranger landed on top of him.

"I can't hold them anymore!" Shikamaru shouted in an exhausted and nervous voice.

"You f*cking brats!" Do you think we're just any ninja!? A gray-haired guy in lilac shouted.

Seina returned with her team, carrying Sasuke.

"Cover me," he ordered.

He saw how the trunk was sealed with fuinjutsu. Curse. He noticed Naruto and Shikamaru's gaze as Kiba and Neji faced the strangers.

"Can you open it?"

"It's sealed with fuinjutsu. It's going to take a while to get it out.

"Are you there safe?"

"Yes," Neji said.

He could feel the locator rune inside and knew that the earring couldn't have been removed, so logically, Sasuke was inside.

"Incoming attack!"

"Stand down!" She shouted. They obeyed him, jumped beside him, and he raised another barrier.

He noticed how the attack of what appeared to be a bunch of arrows was just a distraction. Naruto grabbed Neji and the trunk upon perceiving her orders and she grabbed Shikamaru and Kiba. She watched as her brother leapt into the air, dodging the attack from the right side, at the same time as she fell to the other side of the clearing using the hiraishin with 2 passengers. Unfortunately for Naruto, the new and fifth member was hoping for just that. He watched them disappear into the forest, also pursued by the ninja who had shot the arrows. He cursed mentally as he realized they were being torn apart.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu," he summoned 20 clones to leave them with Kiba and Shikamaru.

"Go after them!" Shikamaru told him when he understood his intentions.

"Oh, no! You're not going anywhere! Said a ninja who was 4 heads both tall and wide.

He lunged at her with his clenched fist raised, ready to smash her out of the way. Seina didn't use the teleportation justu but instead let it get close to her, and when she was about to impact with her fist, she used the death curse at point-blank range. The ninja didn't even have time to open his eyes in panic and fell dead to the ground, to the astonishment of everyone present. He dodged the fist using the hiraishin before it hit his face, barely an inch away.

"Jirobo! A female voice shouted. DAMN YOU!

"Hey. You two will fight us," Shikamaru called out from behind them.

He left them behind, running at full speed after Neji and Naruto. He followed his brother's thought and saw how Neji had been separated from his Naruto along the way. He summoned a few clones to help Neji and continued on his way north. Luckily he could see Shikamaru's fight through his summons, so he sent a couple of birds in Neji's direction in case he needed more help.

—… -sengan! He heard with his own ears. He knew his brother was near. STOP PULLING BONES!

Seina appeared in another clearing, this one much larger. He watched the sick boy using his bones as weapons in amazement. The trunk with Sasuke was set aside to one side, waiting to be picked up by the winner. Naruto saw her appear and interceded as the stranger pounced on her. She let them struggle as she approached the trunk. She examined fuinjutsu as best she could, but despite being an expert in runes, she didn't have much knowledge of ninja seals. He cursed again in his mind. He used the conjured X-ray goggles to at least make sure his teammate was in there safe and sound.

She saw him unconscious, lying on the inside of his box. His breathing was somewhat irregular and he seemed to be sweating profusely, but other than that, he seemed fine. He must have been drugged so that he would not wake up prematurely. He wracked his head wondering how he could get him out without undoing the fuinjutsu. It was clear that he couldn't use the chakra without knowing the consequences it would have on Sasuke, so he opted for his magic. She thought of summoning Sasuke by using her earring in reverse and connecting him to her. Then she thought about protecting him as she destroyed the trunk and sent the consequences to hell until she sensed Naruto's thought of whether he couldn't open the trunk with his magic.

"Of course... What an idiot I am," he said in a whisper and used the alohom*ora to open the trunk.

He watched as the fuinjutsu tried to resist his enchantment but eventually faded before the power of his magic. The trunk opened. He ran Sasuke out and destroyed the container just in case. He knew then that it must have been a simple fuinjutsu to close the trunk, otherwise he didn't have them all with him.

"Watch out, Seina! Naruto yelled at him. He appeared in the distance with Sasuke in his arms as the tree beneath his feet exploded. Fears!

"Take care of this one, Naruto." I'm going to examine Sasuke and then help Neji.

"Done.

He activated Sasuke's bracelet and his own and they went into the forest. He climbed a tree and left his teammate lying down. He used a diagnostic spell to see what was wrong with him and saw how he was indeed stoned to the eyeballs. Luckily, it didn't look like it was going to affect him negatively. The effect of the sleeping pill simply had to pass. He healed the few wounds he had, realizing that he was practically immaculate. The slight defensive wounds showed that he had tried to defend himself, but obviously he had been caught in the hospital when he didn't have his weapons on him. He didn't even have his fanny pack. It had been a great plan, why deny it.

He pulled out his dwarfed briefcase and left it inside with a couple of clones. One to take care of him and one to make him fade away by informing her if Sasuke was suffering from complications. He went out in search of Neji and found him badly wounded, but still standing. He had the byakugan activated and looked like he was fighting with a half-spider guy. The ninjas were crazy... One of his clones vanished reporting information. He raised an eyebrow as he realized that he was using the spider web everywhere to move, so he grabbed the nearest thread and used a fire spell to destroy them.

"How are you?" Seina asked, appearing beside him. Neji didn't even look at her.

"Have you destroyed all their cobwebs?" He asked.

"Yes," she put a hand on his back and began to heal him.

"Thank you. It's hidden somewhere. He's using my blind spot," he informed her.

"I know," she said, and with her spellbound vision she could see his aura perfectly. I can feel their presence. He's at 5.

Neji turned with his chakra-laden palm as she used the first water jutsu she learned to uproot the tree on which her rennet enemy was perched.

"Salt." You can't hide from us," she said calmly.

"We'll have to see that," he heard the rustling of the trees.

"Your 6!"

Neji deflected the arrow he was trying to hit in his blind spot, and Seina disappeared behind the ninja. He watched as he turned around when he felt it on his back, but it was too late. He kicked him toward Neji, who waited for him with a malicious smile on his lips and junken in his hands, ready to fight on his turf. He watched as Neji leapt in his direction, disabling a few tenketsus from his right arm.

"ARGH! He tried to jump back, but she jumped to meet him again, sending him back to Neji. AAH! Damn brat!

"You're not that strong now that you're in my range, are you?" Neji asked, closing more pressure points on his torso.

Suddenly, the Otogakure ninja pulled an arrow from his left hand, the only one he could move, and tried to stab Neji in his right side. Still, Neji's vision was enough to alert him to what was going to happen and the ninja was thrown into the air of a kaiten. Seina, bored, pushed him back to Neji's technique with her clones. His summons vanished upon impact with the kaiten, but not before making sure that his enemy's face slammed into his ally's chakra. He saw how Neji took advantage, when he came out of the technique, to finish him off with a couple of fingers on his forehead. The enemy ninja contracted a couple of times and then fell backwards, bleeding from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Ugh.

"Situation?" Neji asked, catching his breath and jumping to his side.

"I've got Sasuke. Naruto is fighting the white-haired one. Shikamaru and Kiba were with the girl and the lilac one. The other one is dead..." He blinked, gathering the information he had just received. Let's go. My clones have just informed me that the girl has died, but Kiba needs medical help. Let me pick up this corpse for a second.

"And Naruto?"

"You can manage," she told him, knowing that Naruto had a Portkey attached to her if he needed to run away. Take my hand.

Neji listened to him without hesitation. They then appeared in the previous clearing through the use of hiraishin. He saw how Shikamaru was battling with the last opponent while Kiba seemed to be catching his breath. Akamaru was on the ground, unconscious or dead.

"Seina! Can you heal Akamaru!? Kiba pleaded when he saw them arrive.

"Neji, help Shikamaru. I'll take care of Kiba and Akamaru," he ordered, kneeling beside the puppy.

He used a couple of diagnostic spells to see who needed the most help. She saw that Kiba had a couple of broken ribs, but Akamaru seemed to be in worse shape so she let a clone take care of her companion and she took care of the dog. It took him a few minutes to put the displaced bones back in place and heal the broken bones with iryo ninjutsu. He also stopped a slight internal bleeding and closed the cut on one of his ears. He saw how he had consumed some kind of substance so he didn't dare to give him anything because of the possible side effects. He used his magic to give the puppy energy, but let it rest.

"He'll be fine," she informed Kiba, and Kiba stifled a cry. How are you?

"Much better. Thank you. What has happened to the others?

"We've got Sasuke back. Naruto is fighting with another one of them. There's only this one left alive," he nodded to the ninja split in two. She shook her head at the sight of him. Let's pick up the corpses. Maybe it will do the village some good.

"Got it.

They took the girl and the mountain she had killed and put it in the scroll of the dead. Suddenly, he raised his head as he realized that Naruto was not alone. I was with Gaara! He suppressed a smile as he noticed the redhead's change. Then his summons caught Temari and Kankurou in the forest, heading in their direction. What a coincidence.

"We're not alone," she smiled.

"Huh?"

Just as Kiba opened his mouth to ask what he was talking about, a great gale swept away half of the enemy. He heard the sound of the puppets swooping down on one half. Neji and Shikamaru covered their faces, shielding themselves from the leaves and dirt, jumping out of there as soon as they could.

"What a surprise! A female voice exclaimed. I didn't think I was going to see you so soon, Nara.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Luckily we were arriving in Konoha today, so your Hokage asked us for help," Kankurou replied, "although I don't think you needed it very much..."

Seina took advantage of the moment of chatter to decapitate the last half, who was rising, appearing at his side with the help of her father's kunai and brandishing the wakizashi sharp with her magic capable of cutting up a tree in two. He felt a few glances on his neck as he put the corpses away in his parchment.

"Thank you for the help," he said, though they had only served as a distraction. I'm glad to see you in better condition.

Temari and Kankurou nodded, their expressions serious but cordial.

"We're so sorry for what happened.

"That's old water," he waved off. After all, I arrested you and handed you over to the interrogation department.

Kankurou, Shikamaru, and Kiba blew a laugh upon hearing it. Temari smiled. He looked in Naruto's direction, seeing how they had just defeated the last enemy.

"Gaara must be with your brother.

She nodded. He collected all but one of the kunai.

"We'd better pick up all the traps," he said. I'm going for the others. Stay here. See you shortly.

By the way, he would take the opportunity to take Sasuke out of his suitcase alone. It appeared in the other clearing. He gazed with a raised eyebrow as everything was filled with sand and how the enemy lay dead on the ground. Naruto even seemed guilty of seeing him lifeless.

"I was sick, nee-chan," he spoke without even turning to look at her. How could Orochimaru's * send him? I was on the verge of death!

"I don't think Orochimaru cares much about his people," she sighed. She watched as Gaara looked at her as he walked to her side, tilting his head in her direction. Hi Gaara. Glad to see you again.

"Seina... I wanted to see you and your brother to say thank you. Helping you is the least I could do.

"You don't have to thank us," she smiled. That's what friends do, isn't it?

—… "Yes," Gaara smiled slightly.

The 3 of them looked at the lifeless body of their enemy. Another child used in the hands of an unscrupulous and remorseless adult. He carefully stuffed him into the parchment. I almost didn't want to hand him over to Konoha, knowing what they were going to do to him, but I also didn't want to leave him there alone like he's worthless. In the end, he decided to take it because, despite being young, he had wanted to kill his brother and was still his enemy.

"Where's Sasuke?" Gaara asked.

"It's in that tree. He's sleeping. It will take a short time for the drug to wear off.

Even though they had been able to get him back, he knew that Orochimaru would not rest until he had gotten him. For that reason alone, he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Naruto, sensing her concern, stood up straight.

"Let's go. We must go back to the others and go back to the village.

"What are you going to do?" Seina asked Gaara.

"Our orders were to support you in battle," he almost shrugged. I guess we should go back to Suna.

"Why don't you come with us to Konoha?" She offered. Surely Tsunade-sama would prefer to talk to you in person, and then you could rest.

"If you don't mind, I think we'll take the offer."

"Great! Naruto exclaimed. Let's take the fear and get out of here.

Naruto put Sasuke on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and then grabbed his arm. Gaara accepted her other hand with some astonishment, as if it was the first time in a long time that she had initiated physical contact of her own volition, and she used the hiraishin again. They appeared in less than a second next to Shikamaru and the others, who hit a boat at the sight of them. Seina picked up the last kunai.

"Gaara has agreed to return with us to Konoha," he informed them all. Let me heal your wounds and then we'll come back.

"Are we going to fly back again?" Kiba asked with a slightly excited smile on his lips as he watched as he checked that the others were okay.

"Flying?"

"Too long to explain. Kuchiyose no jutsu.

He summoned his dragon again. Shikamaru ignored the fearful and incredulous cries of Temari and Kankuro and climbed up behind her, followed by her team and Naruto carrying Sasuke in her arms. Gaara only blinked a few times and jumped up to his side. He took one last look at the clearing, checking that everything was back to normal, and took flight. They arrived in Konoha in no time. Luckily, no one had died or been badly injured, so he let them quietly regain their strength while Suna's team tried to understand that they were flying on a dragon that was not supposed to exist.

He stopped near the village and returned his summoning to the suitcase.

"Nee-chan, I think he's waking up!" Naruto informed him.

They all turned to watch as Sasuke began to stir in the arms of his brother, who carefully set him down on the ground. Seina touched his forehead with a medical jutsu, but found that he was simply waking up. It cured his headache before he could open his eyes.

"Sasuke?" Can you hear me?

"Ugh... What the hell happened?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"You've been kidnapped, but you're safe now," he assured her. We are close to the village.

He sat up as best he could, with Naruto's help, and accepted the thermos of water she handed him. He coughed a little and handed the bottle back. She helped him up, and between her and Naruto, they helped him walk until he could completely remove the effect of the drug.

Notes:
Hey!

I've realized that, perhaps, I should put some labels with warnings so as not to hurt anyone's sensibilities. That's why I've changed the category to "explicit" and added a few more tags.

In advance, I will say that almost every chapter has the possibility of someone dying so I'm going to skip adding this warning before each chapter, but keep that in mind. After all, they're ninjas and I'm trying to write a story that's as realistic as possible. I'll review the story from the beginning by putting a caveat in the first chapter.

What I will put are pre-chapter warnings related to explicit torture, rape, sex, and something else.

You can write to me in the comments if you have any doubts or questions, but, at the moment, I can't think of anything else.

I'll leave you with another chapter!

Chapter 2: 28-32

Chapter Text

Chapter 28
To his little surprise, Kakashi-sensei emerged from a branch as soon as he saw them in the distance. He waited for them at the edge of the entrance. His usual carefree posture was conspicuous by its absence, as was the p*rn book and the serene face. He frowned with his arms crossed, straight as an ironing board.

"Hell. Kakashi-sensei looks like he's going to run away if we don't hurry," Naruto whispered, even though he knew his master could hear them perfectly.

"I see you've all come back safely," the chunin at the door smiled at them. Good job. Registration.

Seina and the others checked in. As soon as he put the pen down on the table, Kakashi-sensei was there beside them to examine the 3 of them with a hawk's eye and then, as if reluctantly, he wandered his one eye over the others.

"We're fine," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"That's true," Seina nodded when she saw Kakashi-sensei look at her. Sasuke should go to the hospital in case the drug he's been given has any side effects, but otherwise, nothing has happened.

"Well done, team," he congratulated them, relaxing. I'll take Sasuke to the hospital. Go directly to the Hokage Tower.

Seina and Naruto handed Sasuke to him and watched as he disappeared in the direction of the hospital. He turned to look at the others, who were looking on somewhat surprised at the scene.

"Has he been waiting for you here all along?" Kiba asked.

"Maybe..." I was there when Tsunade-sama gave us this mission, so I knew the danger we could run.

"Danger?" Neji asked.

"It's Orochimaru who's trying to kidnap Sasuke," she told them, much to the disbelief of the others. We could have met him.

"And why send us?" 2 chunin and a few genin?

"Lack of manpower," Shikamaru replied without having to think about it. And maybe a few more factors...

"The thing is, we're safe, we've recovered Sasuke and defeated 5 enemies. There's no point in worrying about it anymore," she reassured, walking into the village. Let's go. The sooner we talk to Tsunade-sama, the sooner we can go and grab a bite to eat.

"Yatta! I can't wait to eat a bowl of ramen!

"Not at all, Naruto!" Kiba shouted. The rest of us have to fit in the restaurant too!

"By the way, how's Akamaru?"

"He's regained consciousness. It's much better.

He listened as Naruto, Kiba, and then Kankurou argued about where they were going to eat while the others walked silently in front. He watched as Temari and Gaara watched the village with much more curiosity than they had done before. When they entered the Hokage tower, they were not kept waiting. It was clear that Tsunade-sama was waiting for his return.

"I've been told Sasuke is in the hospital. Alive. "Good job team," the Hokage smiled at them. Seina, report.

He stepped forward and began to explain what had happened concisely and effectively. He also handed him the parchment with the bodies to study and accepted the note so that they would receive their pay from the B-rank mission. Tsunade-sama, after hearing their report, got up and examined them one by one, giving them the go-ahead.

"You've cured them, haven't you?" He asked rhetorically, seeing the tears in his clothes. Good job. Sunagakure team, once again thank you for your support. You can take the day off and return to Suna tomorrow, if you prefer.

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama. We took the offer," Temari thanked him, when he saw that Gaara wasn't going to speak.

They left the Hokage tower to collect their pay. Naruto and Kiba couldn't stop smiling as they realized how much money they were going to charge for a few hours of mission.

"Are you going to the hospital?" Neji asked. I'm going to see Lee, if you'll come with me.

"Yes. "If you want, we can meet in an hour for dinner," she proposed. This will give us time to refresh ourselves and do what we need to do.

"Shall we meet at the yakinuku then?" Shikamaru yawned.

"Why don't you show us around the village?" Temari asked Shikamaru. Last time we didn't see anything.

—… Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, but reluctantly agreed. See you there in an hour.

They said goodbye to each other. Neji, Naruto, and she went to the hospital unhurriedly. When they arrived, Neji left in the direction of the operations plant while they waited in the waiting room. Interestingly, Kakashi-sensei wasn't there.

"Do you think he'll be with the Teme?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's been kidnapped in this very place...

Naruto frowned upon hearing it, looking around in paranoia. Seina, however, knew that at that very moment the hospital must be much safer than before. It was clear that both Tsunade-sama and the relevant ninja would have combed the building from top to bottom. About 10 minutes later, Neji appeared again, with a faint smile on his lips.

"How's the eyebrows?"

"The operation went well. He's recovering," he confirmed. He has apparently begged Tsunade-sama to let him go to our aid, but he has not been allowed to leave the hospital, much to his dismay.

"I'm not surprised. The last thing Tsunade-sama would want is for him to re-injure himself the same day he had surgery.

"And what about Sasuke?"

"No idea," Naruto muttered, crossing his arms. Neither is Kakashi-sensei.

"They'll be testing him. We'll meet at the yakinuku in half an hour. If you want, you can go change your clothes in the meantime.

Neji looked down at his uniform and nodded. A few minutes after his departure, Sasuke appeared, walking on his own two feet, accompanied by Kakashi-sensei. He was wearing the clothes he left the house in, as well as his fanny pack and his guns. If he hadn't lived the last 4 hours he wouldn't have thought he had been kidnapped during his medical check-up.

"Well?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"I'm fine, dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes, irritated. There is no longer any trace of the sleeping pill.

"Apparently they wanted him intact, so they didn't do anything to him," the jonin told them tersely.

"And how did they kidnap you in the hospital?" She asked.

"Someone used a genjutsu to put the nurses to sleep who were preparing the boxes for the check-up and then pretended to be one of the toilets.

"It was a sonorous genjutsu," Sasuke sighed. I could barely realize it and start to defend myself when they pricked me in the neck with a needle.

"It must have been the girl. He used genjutsus on his flute. And now he is safe in the village?

"Yes. I'll tell you later.

"Great. Let's go have dinner with the team," Naruto informed him, tactlessly.

"I got it," Kakashi-sensei rolled his eyes too, but he couldn't suppress his smile. I'll wait for you at home.

As they walked to the restaurant, this time with her and Nasuke's decision in the middle, Seina began to brood over Orochimaru. If Itachi was innocent, and looked good, and had visited the village under the guise of capturing her brother and her to make sure of Sasuke's safety, why not ask him for help against Orochimaru? She could use one of her summons to find him and deliver a letter to him. The only thing that could happen was that he refused to do anything about it or, on the contrary, that he did something to remedy it. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't sense anything negative about telling Itachi what was going on in Konoha. If you didn't already know...

"What are you thinking?" Naruto asked, glancing at her sideways.

"Then.

Sasuke glanced at her sideways as well, but since they had the connection at the minimum to give each other space, he didn't really know what she was thinking. They arrived 5 minutes before the restaurant time, but saw that both Suna's brothers, Shikamaru and Kiba, were already present. The only one missing was Neji, who showed up at the appointed time with new clothes and damp hair.

"Lucky," Shikamaru muttered under his breath enviously.

Temari and Kankurou were talking animatedly with Kiba, who had left Akamaru at home or at the vet, while Gaara looked out the window with a thoughtful face.

"How are you?" Neji asked Sasuke cordially.

"Good," and that was all in the face of his teammate's irritated tone.

"Seina and Naruto rescued you right away," Shikamaru informed her somewhat amusedly, staring at her. I think they could have done it without our help, to be honest.

—Hn.

"Hey! We help too!

"Kiba, don't be an idiot. Didn't you see how that ninja collapsed dead without Seina touching him? Shikamaru rolled his eyes, then looked down at her. I wonder how you did it.

"Obviously with a jutsu," she said quietly, looking at the letter. Speaking of lethal jutsus... Wasn't it you who executed the girl? I saw how his body was full of holes. It could only be you with your shadows.

Shikamaru and Seina stared at each other, facing each other. Shikamaru smiled, looking less tired than ever. Surely he knew that there was something strange about this jutsu, perhaps it was yet another clue to him about the puzzle that Seina presented so interestingly to Shikamaru. Sooner or later, if he hadn't already, he would deduce that he had other powers. Shikamaru was a genius, after all. The other members of the table watched in silence as they challenged each other with their eyes, without opening their mouths.

She noticed how both Sasuke and Naruto were leaning in her direction without realizing it, ready to defend her if necessary. Naruto irritated and Sasuke moody. Shikamaru saw his brother's expression first, which clearly had his brow furrowed in his direction, and then Sasuke's stiff stance. The most interesting thing was Gaara's sidelong glance, sitting diagonally, on Shikamaru. He shrank lazily, as was his wont, and that was all. Kankurou sighed deeply.

"What the hell was that?"

"Nothing. I was just curious.

"What a tense curiosity," he complained jokingly.

"Leave him an idiot," his sister said, rolling her eyes. Well? What's the best dish on the menu?

They had dinner and chatted for a couple of hours. Neji seemed to have taken the stick off his ass thanks to his loss to Naruto. Kiba, on the other hand, seemed slightly calmer about the arrogant exam boy. Temari and Kankurou, on the other hand, had taken an obvious and huge weight off their shoulders while their brother, Gaara, no longer looked like a murderer on the verge of a psychotic break, but someone in search of redemption. I could hardly believe how everything had changed in less than a couple of months.

"I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted," she said yawning, a while later when they had finished eating.

"And me. I'm going to see Akamaru," Kiba nodded, looking worried. The dinner wasn't bad, we have to repeat it.

"We're going to the inn," Temari said good-bye. We'll leave tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock.

They said goodbye, each going his own way. He looked out over the streets full of life despite the dark sky. Curiously, she didn't feel unprotected inside the village, even though Sasuke had been kidnapped inside. Now that it was no longer enough, there was no point in crying. All they had to do was remedy it in case it happened again and they knew how to do it easily.

"Let's go. "I want to know what Kakashi-sensei knows," Naruto urged them.

"After this talk I'm going to sleep so hard," she moaned, remembering that the next day she had the morning free to laze around.

He watched as Sasuke's fists clenched, feeling just as irritated and angry as he had hours ago. He hated that he had been caught off guard and had to be rescued. I knew he wasn't going to slack off tomorrow. I imagined him training even harder to avoid feeling as helpless again. The truth is that, if he had not fallen into genjutsu, he could have easily escaped. Either fighting with them or wearing the bracelet.

"I want one of those earrings Kakashi-sensei has," Sasuke asked tersely.

"It's all right. Tomorrow I'll give you another one," she accepted without question, knowing what she was talking about.

Sasuke had fallen into a genjutsu despite being an Uchiha with the sharingan and having trained not to fall into an illusion. His blood must have boiled at the thought. What had happened this afternoon corroborated his theory that non-"optical" genjutsu was even more dangerous. Sasuke hadn't realized what was happening because "nothing" had changed, he had simply been put to sleep by manipulating his brain with an illusion.

"Oh, guys, are you here yet?" It didn't take you long than expected," Kakashi-sensei greeted them from the couch, closing his p*rn book.

"We wanted to know what's happened in the meantime," he explained calmly before Naruto could open his mouth to ask for answers like a madman.

"I could have imagined it," Kakashi-sensei sighed. As I have already explained, a person has infiltrated the hospital. Tsunade-sama has ordered increased security for the entire building from here on out, so I doubt it will happen again.

"And why did you send us to rescue Sasuke with the potential danger we were in?"

"I'm afraid you're not very safe in the village either, none of you. I've been investigating Danzo on Tsunade-sama's orders. The heads of departments he met with the other day are aware of everything and are trustworthy, but they don't know how many moles there may be in each department or who they are. Imagine if Tsunade-sama had sent a team to rescue Sasuke that turned out to be infiltrated by Orochimaru or Danzo," he shook his head, sighing. They would have sabotaged the mission, letting them escape with him. In fact, they think that's what may have happened at the hospital. Someone could have let them get to Sasuke to easily get him out of the hospital. If it wasn't for your connection and Naruto, it would have taken us a lot longer to figure it out.

"What about you?" You could have gone," Naruto asked.

"That's what I would have preferred, but someone had to stay here to see what happened once word got out, unofficially speaking, that Sasuke had been kidnapped. They don't want to alert anyone that anything related to the root is being investigated so they decided to give me this task because I'm in the loop, I'm not a traitor and I don't work in any of these departments.

"Tsunade-sama has used Sasuke's kidnapping as bait to see if anyone would bite..."

—...And? Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I'm afraid nothing," said the jonin. Then he seemed to think whether to say something or not. From what I've heard, Danzo has been quietly trying to recruit a member of each clan to his forces. He tried to recruit your academy buddy, Shino, a few years ago, but he didn't succeed.

Suddenly, Itachi came to mind. Had he been recruited by Danzo? How was it possible that Danzo could recruit konoha shinobi into his paramilitary army without the village brass noticing? Unless, of course, the previous Hokage had been aware of everything and looked the other way, or else he had been so incompetent that he hadn't noticed anything, giving Danzo carte blanche anyway. It was too strange, no matter how you looked at it.

"Why don't the clans refuse this practice?" He asked, realizing something very important. If Danzo has a ninja from every clan, couldn't he be aware of the secrets of all the families in Konoha?

"It is quite possible that it is," Kakashi-sensei nodded, much to Naruto's indignation.

"So was it possible that he had recruited Itachi to spy on his clan and then used some information to blackmail him?"

—… It's quite possible, too," the jonin frowned. In fact, something related I wanted to investigate. I want to know which members of each clan are part of the root and what official missions they have participated in and what kind of mission it was. Assuming all the essential information reaches Danzo's ears, I'll have a good idea about what he knows about Konoha's restricted affairs and what he might have been up to.

"And couldn't you interrogate one of Danzo's ninjas?" Naruto asked.

"First of all, we don't know who they are, and secondly, they all have a stamp on their tongue that prevents them from letting go of Danzo's secrets. Even the Yamanaka's technique doesn't work, as Danzo probably enlisted the help of one of them to outwit his jutsu with the seal.

"And me?" She asked. I could try.

Kakashi-sensei stared at her and sighed wearily, which made him understand that he had already thought about it and had made it a last resort. She smiled slyly.

"If there is no other choice, I will ask you for help. Still, we must first know who the root constituents are. Can you think of a way to do that, Seina?

"That's relatively easy," she cut in. I can simply read the thoughts of the ninjas or I could even use the seal as a locator, if I had a sample one handy.

"Try to read as many minds as you can while you're going about your normal life, not going in search of unknown ninjas on the spur of the moment. About the second... Better than not, yet. Could you find Danzo's base with your powers without exposing yourself?

"Probably. I used this jutsu to find the rook in the chunin exam." He conjured an arrow-shaped stick out of thin air and put it in the palm of his hand. It's in that direction.

Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and Sasuke watched as the arrow swung in a southeasterly direction. The jonin looked up with a heavy look. She disposed of the arrow knowing what it wanted.

"You know what to do.

"I'll get to it tomorrow," he promised.

All I needed was a map of Konoha and a spell. As he moved around the village, he could close in on the search without having to go in that direction explicitly. She would do the same thing in the hospital and in the Hokage tower and everywhere she could use the spell without anyone seeing her. Things were piling up for him to do...

The next day, instead of lazing around, he woke up with a tired groan. To begin with, he remembered that Gaara and his brothers were leaving the village so he went to see them off along with Shikamaru, much to his surprise. Then, he dedicated himself to making the earring to Sasuke, who put it on without saying a word, but full of relief before going to train with Naruto in the garden. He searched for the map of Konoha in his copied library files and discarded everything to the west with the point of origin being his home. He would keep it in his fanny pack for when he could use the spell discreetly.

He spent the morning at home, alone, adding a bathroom in Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei's rooms. It was quite easy as he only enlarged the bathroom they shared and then split the room in two. He modified the layout so that the door opened inside Sasuke's bedroom and then created another bathroom to do the same with Kakashi-sensei. It was over before they even got home.

With a smile, he sent a couple of clones to prepare the meal while she looked at the schedule he made in her journal. The most urgent thing was to think about what I could give Naruto to him. Since I didn't want him to waste time packing a suitcase, I had ruled out giving it to him, as well as the magic tent as it was more of a necessity and not a gift for pleasure. Honestly, it was blank. That's how Kakashi-sensei found her, scowling into nothingness as she sat on the sofa.

"What's going on?" He asked, sitting down next to her and putting away the manuscript his brother gave him for his birthday.

"I'm thinking about what to get Naruto," he confessed. Some things seem useful to me, but I can't find them a gift as such and then there are other things that I know he would like but that seem to me details more than gifts...

"Actually, the one who has to like the gift is your brother, right?" As much as something is a simple detail in your eyes, if he likes it, why not give it to him?

"I suppose so," she sighed.

"Besides, you have a little more than 15 days left to buy him something." I'm sure you'll come up with something.

"Hn. Have you thought of anything to give him?" He asked curiously, seeing how she smiled. Oh, that's right.

"I've talked to Takeuchi. I have paid him an amount of money in advance so that, starting with his birthday, he can eat free ramen until the next birthday.

Seina began to laugh as she realized that Kakashi-sensei was both a genius and a troll. He'd gifted Naruto something he knew he'd like without messing around too much, and yet he knew it couldn't have been cheap to pay him an entire year's worth of ramen. Also, because of the way he had said "see you next birthday" it made him think that he would do the same thing again the following year, saving him from thinking about what to give him for life.

"I don't know why I'm surprised.

Still, that didn't mean he was any closer to finding something to give his brother. He collapsed onto the couch seat with an incipient headache and felt a touch on his leg. He lifted his head from the cushion and watched as Kakashi-sensei pointed to his lap with some surprise. She lay down well, instead of twisted, and put her legs on top of him. He watched as he took out his manuscript again, reading the unpublished text and placing a free hand on his legs as if nothing had happened.

Even though he should be thinking about Naruto's gift, he couldn't help but relax and fall asleep. He woke up suddenly, he didn't know how long later, hearing the voices of Naruto and Sasuke arguing as usual. He picked up a cushion to cover his head with a groan of irritation, listening to the suppressed laughter of Kakashi-sensei, who still had his hand resting on his ankle and had been caressing his leg slowly with his thumb.

"We're back!" Naruto shouted, appearing in the doorway.

"You don't have to swear...

Kakashi-sensei laughed silently again, though he could tell by the movement of his body.

"What are you doing there?" His brother asked, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Seina is trying to sleep, without much success," Kakashi-sensei replied calmly, turning a page of the manuscript, "and I am reading your gift.

"Uh. Well, I'm starving," Naruto complained.

"Come on, dobe. The food is ready," Sasuke said from the kitchen. Put this on the table.

He listened as Kakashi-sensei closed the book, putting it away, while Naruto and Sasuke set the table to eat. He rose at the last moment, unwillingly, accepting his master's hand and stifling a yawn. They ate quietly, but despite their relaxed morning, nothing was going to stop Kakashi-sensei from destroying them during training that afternoon.

"Go take a shower," the jonin told them, hours later when it was already dark. Tomorrow you have an even tougher day.

Naruto groaned tiredly, but the 3 of them listened to him. That night he slept like a log.
Chapter 29
The next morning it was his turn at the hospital, so he left home before he could see the others. When she got there, she saw how Tsunade-sama was waiting for her while chatting with Sanoka. As soon as he saw her walk through the door, he smiled in her direction and called out to her with one hand.

"Good morning, Seina. I was talking to Sanoka about your progress." She raised an eyebrow, waving at her as well and hoping for something more. He says that you do a great job here but that there is nothing that really challenges you.

"Still, I like the job and having experience," he shrugged.

"I know, that's why I've assigned you as an emergency personnel of the civilian plants along with other medical ninjas, but from now on, you'll move to the shinobi plant. In fact, I would like you to come with me today to review a difficult case since you were unable to be present at Lee's operation.

"What's it about?" He asked as they walked to the other side of the hospital.

"The patient's name is Hayate Gekko. He reportedly has a chronic lung ailment and is currently in an induced coma.

"He's Yugao's boyfriend!" She exclaimed, realizing who she was going to be treating.

"Do you know him?"

I know his girlfriend. From time to time we train kenjutsu. She's very worried about him.

"I see," Tsunade-sama smiled, ushering her inside. With a bit of luck we will be able to find out what's wrong with him and heal him today.

They arrived at the room where Hayate was being watched 24 hours a day. He was in a coma, as expected, but his complexion was so pale that, if it weren't for his breathing and the sound of his heart in the machines, I would have thought he was dead. Tsunade-sama picked up the report, showing it to her so she could read it beside her. Seina read what was written carefully.

—The patient suffers from an abnormal and persistent dilation in the bronchial tubes that remits when direct treatment is applied for at least a few weeks. This alteration may be related to the inhalation of toxic gas at least 5 years ago. The disease presents with chronic cough and productive expectoration, especially in the morning.

He glanced at the values of the analyses, seeing that most of them were normal except for a few. To begin with, he knew from what he was reading that he had an infection, probably in his lungs. He could deduce this from the history of blood tests even before his induced coma, where the infection was still present. She was not a qualified physician, nor had she been in her previous life since she never showed up for the exams, but she remembered reading some of this in one of Hermione's medical journals. Add to that his newfound knowledge, and he had a clear idea of what might be going on.

"Well?" Tsunade-sama cut off his thoughts. What can you tell me?

"That the toxic gas he inhaled compromised mucociliary clearance," he replied, since everything pointed to that. That means that the elimination of the mucus is not effective and, in addition, I am quite sure that it has a partial or total destruction of the bronchial wall which means recurrent infections due to contact with the usual inhaled bacteria, which would explain its blood test.

—… "Well seen," Tsunade-sama said, looking at her in surprise. Do you want to rate it first?

"Of course.

He approached the patient and first used iryo ninjutsu to try to figure out what was happening to him. As soon as he ran his hand over his chest, he knew he was right. His lungs were in very bad shape. The toxic gas had destroyed his ability to get rid of his natural mucus properly, while weakening his lung tissue, allowing it to come into contact with the bacterial flora, which also caused almost chronic opportunistic infections. In addition, the second attack in the invasion had left him with a collapsed lung and something else that he was unable to distinguish from the jutsu due to the previous involvement.

He used a medical spell to find out what was wrong with him. An unrolled parchment appeared, which he picked up on the fly and read how, in addition to the bronchiectasis that had diagnosed him with iryo ninjutsu, he also had a condensation of the lungs due to an inflammation of bacterial origin. Hell, no wonder he was in a coma. Just one cough and you could choke.

"He definitely has bronchiectasis and pulmonary condensation.

"Leave me a second," Tsunade-sama said, appearing beside him with a serious face.

She saw how she verified what she herself had discovered, even though it had been overlooked in the doctors' reports because one disease was camouflaged with another. Tsunade-sama opened her eyes and then put on her magic glasses, staring at Hayate's naked torso.

"You're right. That technique you've used... I guess you can't learn.

"No.

"Can I read what it says?" He asked. Seina handed him the scroll. Go. It's like having a complete diagnostic report!

"Maybe I could create some kind of invention so that someone else could use this jutsu," she thought aloud. Tsunade-sama turned the second to look at her. Some kind of bed with fuinjutsu or something. I don't know.

"Come to my office this afternoon, and we'll talk about your first orders." Let's move on to the patient. What do you think is its treatment?

"Hmm... You will need removal of fluid in your lungs as well as lung lavage, repair of bronchial walls and mucociliary clearance, reduction of inflammation, antibiotics and recovery from pulmonary surfactant. Pretty much in that order. Then a lot of rest.

"I agree. But we'll start giving them antibiotics now," Tsunade-sama told him. We don't want the infection you have, in addition to being chronic, to worsen while we treat everything else. Thanks to your jutsu, we know exactly what antibiotics to give him, so I'll ask for them to be brought to me now.

He spent the next 3 hours treating Hayate next to the Hokage. As promised, he administered the relevant drugs parenterally and then began treatment. Tsunade-sama dedicated herself to cleaning her lungs and removing fluid while she fortified her bronchial walls and tissues at the same time to prevent a total collapse of the lung. After that, when his lungs were completely clean and the tissue returned to normal, the inflammation of each tissue fiber went down, also healing the tissue of the upper respiratory tract that had been affected by coughing so much.

"I'll also give him a potion to recover his blood," Tsunade-sama informed him, noting the treatment in Hayate's paperwork. Explain to me the patient's development.

"If we've done our job right, the chronic infection you have right now should go away with the antibiotic, and it should be the last infection you have due to bronchiectasis. Once your condition normalizes within a day or two, the surfactant should be produced normally by your own lungs, replacing the artificial surfactant that we have administered to you. We should monitor him daily to check that there are no relapses or blockages but, in general, he should be cured in about 2 or 3 weeks.

"I congratulate you," the Hokage smiled at him. You've really impressed me. You are right. Your body, now that your lungs are back on track, should be able to start functioning normally. Patient Hayate Gekko is assigned to you. A thorough review day in and day out is not enough, being monitored all hours of the day.

"Hai," he bowed, accepting the position. I'll take care of him.

"I know you will." Come on, Shizune must be pulling his hair out with the paperwork I've left him.

Seina couldn't suppress a laugh as she imagined Shizune, nervous and worried as she was, with the Hokage's confidential paperwork. He left the hospital with a huge smile. Not only had they saved one person's life, but Yugao will be very happy to know that her boyfriend will wake up and, moreover, he will never have lung complications again.

"And that smile?" Sasuke asked as soon as he appeared in the door.

"I've been moved to the ninja floor of the hospital," he said, seeing how they had already set the table. Do you know who Tsunade-sama and I have dealt with today? Yugao's boyfriend.

"To whom?" Naruto, who didn't know Yugao yet, asked.

"The jonin who always looked sick, the one who was the master of Sakura's genin team.

"Ah!

"And how are you?" Kakashi-sensei asked with interest.

"Cured. In a few weeks you will be able to walk out of the hospital on your own.

"That's good news," Kakashi-sensei smiled. Yugao is going to go crazy.

"I have to go talk to Tsunade-sama again about the assignment this afternoon," she sighed, remembering that detail. I don't know how long it will take me to get back.

"Don't worry," Kakashi-sensei assured him. We'll be at the training ground.

They ate quietly, unhurriedly, talking about the rasengan that their brother wanted to modify in the future. Shortly after lunch, he made his way back to the Hokage Tower to get rid of his meeting as soon as possible. When he got there, however, he was in for a surprise. Tsunade-sama was not alone, but there was also Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, the one who seemed to be the anbu commander and the pervert of Jiraiya.

"Ah, Seina. You're early," Tsunade-sama said in the air.

"He didn't tell me a time, so I thought the sooner the better."

"Come in, come in. I'm going to raise the barrier," replied the Hokage, urging him to take a seat on the sofa or chairs.

Jiraiya sat first in one of the free chairs, followed by the anbu in another chair. She, shrugging her shoulders, sat down on the couch next to the parents of her fellow academy students. Tsunade-sama sat down last, in the remaining chair.

"The only one you don't know must be the Anbu Commander Ryu," the Hokage nodded to the anbu sitting next to him, covered from head to toe by a white robe and a white dragon-patterned mask. You already know the others.

"Delighted," she said to the anbu, with an amused smile.

The commander bowed his head without saying anything. Shikaku Nara, beside him, leaned back wearily against the couch, crossing his arms lazily. The others seemed to be waiting for the Hokage to start the meeting expectantly.

"I'll get straight to the point. Kakashi showed me the other day the gift you gave him for his birthday. I know perfectly well that it would be a great resource for the village to distribute some of those bracelets on a limited basis." Seina nodded at his words.

"I'd like to see the effect of that bracelet first," the anbu spoke for the first time.

"All right," she said and activated the bracelet.

This time there were no gasps of surprise, but there were speculative glances. Shikaku slowly stood up straight, and then stretched out a hand in his direction. Seina let him touch her arm to make sure he was there. He watched as Shikaku took his arm in his hands and seemed to stretch his jacket between two fingers, still invisible. The anbu tried to get out of a non-existent genjutsu, as well as Jiraiya, while Tsunade-sama just smiled from ear to ear.

"Go back."

"What was that?" It's like it doesn't exist! Jiraiya thought aloud, half-alarmed and half-delighted.

"What else can you do?" The Anbu asked. Could we ask you for a list of things?

"It depends on what you ask for. I imagine it may take me a while to give you exactly what you want, but I don't see it as impossible. In fact, he was thinking of something for the interrogation department.

"What?" Inoichi asked excitedly.

"A chair of truth or, for example, bracelets that electrocute the prisoner every time he tells a lie. Kind of. I also have to think about how to turn my diagnostic jutsu into some device so they can use it in the hospital.

"Fair diagnosis?" Shikaku asked. Can you tell everything that happens to someone with a single jutsu? Try it on me, please.

Seina cast the spell on him, grabbing the scroll in the air and handing it to him without looking. They watched as Shikaku read his own medical history silently before slowly rolling his eyes back on it. He handed the report to Inoichi, leaving him to read it with an astonished face.

"I think you and I should talk at length, Seina-san," Shikaku told her, his chocolate eyes shining with typical Nara geniality.

"If we're going to talk that much, call me Seina," he said.

"Great. You can call me Shikaku.

"And me, Inoichi."

"You can call me the great warrior Jiraiya," said the pervert, opening his arms grandly and taking the heat out of the conversation.

"I'll still call you ero-senin," she said cynically, provoking laughter.

"Back to the subject. Do you have any requests for Seina? The Hokage asked.

"I'd like to have a pair of these bracelets," the anbu asked, without a second thought.

"I'd like to know how you hid the Uchiha family," Shikaku asked with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

"You know we Nara trade with the Hyuga, don't you?" The territory of the Hyuga is next to the territory of the Uchiha but, curiously, when Ensui last visited the Hyuga clan, and passed by what is supposed to be the, shall we say, territory of the Uchiha, he was unable to remember its exact location. It's like I've forgotten. The funny thing is, I looked in my maps, but it didn't show up," Shikaku explained to them as Seina smiled more and more without being able to help it. It's like he's disappeared from everywhere. Even from my memories. As soon as I found out that you had other powers and that Sasuke is your teammate... It was only necessary to add 2+2. This is up to you, right?

"That's right. The location of the Uchiha clan is now a secret.

"But why?" The Hokage asked.

"Because the council forced Sasuke Uchiha to live in his parents' house unless he wanted to have to involuntarily give up his land to the village," Commander Jonin explained.

"You—have you hidden the location of something so that no one remembers where it is?" The Anbu asked, sounding a little stunned. What can you hide?

"Anything you want," he smiled. The advantage of jutsu is that no one will ever be able to find what I am hiding, but the disadvantage is that it needs me to be the keeper of the secret, that is, I am the only one who can reveal the location of something to someone who does not know the secret.

"Do you know what this could mean for Konoha?" Jiraiya asked gravely.

"I know that perfectly.

"I see. Your home is also a secret, isn't it? Tsunade-sama asked.

"And Kakashi-sensei's house, too."

"What else do you have in your hands?" Shikaku asked.

"I'm trying to find out where Danzo's base is and who it is.

There was silence as they internalized his words. It was Shikaku, with little surprise, who pulled himself together first with a calculating face.

"No doubt Kakashi has asked you to use your powers. Well? What have you discovered?

"Without exposing myself too much, I've been triangulating the location of its base. It is located to the east of the hospital.

Inoichi exchanged glances with Shikaku.

"Once again we're getting away from the main business," sighed the Hokage. We're just here to talk about the commissions we can do with Seina.

"You're right. As I've said before, Seina and I can talk at length about her powers," Shikaku nodded. Otherwise, we'd be here all afternoon.

Tsunade-sama turned the conversation back to her inventions, but Seina knew they hadn't forgotten what she could do. I could feel the lingering gaze, from time to time, from all of them. Still, I'd rather talk to one person than have to spend the whole afternoon talking about what I could and couldn't do. In the end, Seina got a list with her first commission from the village. He thought that was the end of the talk, but surprisingly, it wasn't.

"Well, now comes the second part of this meeting," sighed the Hokage. Jiraiya has requested to gather information about Orochimaru and has asked you to accompany him on a mission.

Seina turned quickly to look with a raised eyebrow at the man. Did he want her to go with him?

"I see you're wondering why you," Jiraiya said. I have a couple of reasons to ask you. To begin with, your parents asked me to be your godfather, as well as Naruto, but I see that I've done a lousy job. It's easy for me to relate to Naruto, but it's something else with you.

—… I see. You have a lot of things to clarify for me, I guess," she replied with a hint of anger, her eyes fixed on the dark eyes of Jiraiya who was looking at her with a guilty face.

—… That's right. On the other hand, with your powers, I know that you can take care of yourself and at the same time be of great help in this mission. If it wasn't Sasuke who Orochimaru wants, he'd ask for your entire team, but given the prospects, it's better that he doesn't.

"And when is this mission?"

"We'll go out tomorrow, if that's okay with you."

Seina looked at the Hokage, who had the final say on everything, and she nodded. He turned to Jiraiya and nodded as well, accepting the mission. He would give Jiraiya a chance because he was her godfather, chosen by her parents explicitly, and because he wasn't really a bad person. She also didn't want to spend the rest of her days getting angry at him for his behavior and endangering Naruto, so she would also make an effort to get along with him.

"It's getting late. We'd better leave it for today.

She left the Hokage tower accompanied by Shikaku and Inoichi.

"When you get back from your mission, I'd like you to stop by my house," Shikaku said. As soon as I have an afternoon to spare, I'll let you know.

"All right.

He said goodbye to both shoulders and headed for the training ground. By the hour, he assumed his team should have been training for at least a couple of hours. When he arrived, he saw how they were training kenjutsu with their respective weapons.

"Me, Seina. How did the meeting go? Kakashi-sensei asked, closing his book.

"Well, well... Shikaku wants to talk to me alone," he shrugged, "and apparently I'm going on a mission with the pervert tomorrow."

"Do you have a mission?" Sasuke asked, taking a break from the fight. Where?

"I'll tell you later," he sighed, frowning.

"It's all right. Come on, it's your turn to train kenjutsu with me," Kakashi-sensei told him, putting away his book and drawing his weapon.

Here's how the rest of the afternoon went. Distracted thanks to her team. When it was time for dinner, at home, she knew she was going to be overwhelmed with questions. She explained to them everything they had discussed in the Hokage tower and what she and Jiraiya were supposed to do.

"So at last the Hokage decides to investigate Orochimaru's whereabouts," Kakashi-sensei frowned. Be careful, Seina.

He didn't give her any advice or words of encouragement. He continued the conversation, distracting his worried brother's attention with the promise of carrying out a mission themselves if possible. That night, while the others went to bed, he spent the time preparing bentos for the mission and going over his inventory. He hadn't been on a long mission in a while, so he didn't have to change much about his fanny pack. Just as he finished tidying up the kitchen and turned around to go to sleep, he heard the characteristic footsteps of his jonin sensei.

"I just wanted to talk to you alone before you went to sleep," he said.

"Okay. What's going on?

"I just wanted to remind you that if you find yourself in a bind, use all the skills you need to survive, okay?" He asked firmly, putting his hands on his shoulders. It doesn't matter that anyone notices, it matters that you come back safe and sound.

"I know. I'll do it," he promised, nodding.

She hugged him, burying her face in his chest momentarily, and etching his masculine scent into her brain. He felt a hand stroke her hair gently before she pulled away. I could stand in his arms all night, but I didn't think it was the right thing to do. He preferred to sleep so that he could put up with the pervert from Jiraiya for the duration of the mission.

"I'm going to sleep." I need all the rest in the world to talk to the pervert.

Kakashi-sensei laughed silently, and she instantly felt it in his chest. He went to sleep without looking back. He could feel him walking out of the house, a little curious, and wondered where he would go without his ninja attire at that time of night.

The next day, he saw Jiraiya waiting for him at the gates of the village. She nodded cordially at him, watching him stare at her speculatively without knowing why, and then they left the village. They walked at a brisk pace for quite some time, saying nothing, even though he could have used one of his summons to get to their destination faster. Still, he decided to take that quiet break for what it was. Unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't agree to walking in silence.

"It's curious," he began in an interested and thoughtful tone. Seina didn't bite, so he kept talking. You might be wondering what I'm talking about.

"I'm not really interested," she cut off in a bored tone.

"What I'm curious about," he said, ignoring her entirely, "is the visit I received last night from Kakashi.

—…

—… Hmm... Aren't you curious? Do you know why you visited me?

"Probably to tell you to put your hands where you can fit, you old pervert," she replied calmly. It wouldn't be the first time. Now that's funny. Whereas, due to the crappy p*rn book Kakashi-sensei reads, he could also be said to be a potential pervert.

Jiraiya mumbled a few words incredulously as he heard it. He didn't know if it was because he had called his novel crappy or because he had called him perverted and old in the same sentence. He watched as he turned red out of the corner of his eye, holding back a chuckle. How he loved to hang out with people. He understood perfectly well why his former father and his friends had not tired of playing pranks.

—… Kakashi warned me that it might happen," he sighed under his breath, probably talking to himself. Perversion aside... What I find interesting is that he took the trouble to seek me out, privately, to... warn me that he would make me pay for it if something bad happened to you.

"And why is that curious?" She turned to look at him. I told you myself that I would break your legs if anything happened to my brother. For the time being, you have escaped because what happened in Shukuba was not your fault but Kabuto's and the circ*mstances. I would do the same for Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei. My team is my family.

"Do you really think you could break my legs?" The pervert laughed with interest.

Seina stopped dead in the middle of the road. She turned slowly to face him. She didn't want her to have the slightest doubt about what she was going to say to him because, from what she was hearing, he hadn't taken her seriously when she warned him of what would happen to him if he put his brother in danger the other time. He stared into Jiraiya's dark eyes, and he snapped up straight, stopping laughing. He felt Kurama's anger inside him as he realized that he was underestimating them as well.

"If I wanted to, I wouldn't just break your legs," he said, without blinking. Like I told you... That would be the last of your troubles. I assure you. Believe me or not, I don't care.

He resumed his march alone, as Jiraiya seemed to be pinned to his spot. Within a few seconds, the sanin cleared his throat and walked behind her. He could feel the pervert's staring on his head, but he completely ignored it as he walked in the direction of the country of the Rice Paddies. If he was going to use the trip to fix the atmosphere between the two of them, it was clear that he had not succeeded. Not only had he put her in a bad mood with his, but then he had spent the whole day in silence, perhaps contemplating his threat. Why couldn't he have shut his mouth from the beginning?

Luckily, he agreed to go faster so they reached the border at dusk after hours of running through the trees.

"Let's stop here for dinner and sleep," he said simply, entering a small village still in his territory.

They dined in silence. She because she didn't want to talk to him and he because he seemed to be choosing the right words to try to strike up a conversation without them pulling each other's hair. In the end, when she saw him fiddling with chopsticks, frowning, and stifling the occasional sigh, she was fed up with the silence. He set his plate half-full on the table with a dull thud and gave it his full attention.

"Say what you want to say," he hissed at her at last, irritably.

"I'd say it, but every time I open my mouth it feels like I'm screwing up with you." Maybe it's better not to say anything.

"You're screwing up because you don't take anything seriously!" I told you to take care of my brother and look what happened. You fell into genjutsu because Itachi, I-TA-CHI," he remarked slowly and staring at him, "knew your vices and used them against you. Don't you care about anything other than spying on women and writing those p*rn books? My brother is the last blood tie I have left. Do you understand why it's hard for me to leave it to you? He's a ploverhead half the time! He needs someone responsible with him! Besides, if you're our godfather... where the hell have you been all this time while they were trying to kill us or when we had to go live alone at the age of 5 because they kicked us out of the orphanage? Naruto may be dazzled by a pair of jutsus that my father used, but not me. The family is always there, not when you feel like it. So no. I don't think it's funny that Kakashi-sensei visited you to remind you of what I just said. He's my teacher and he cares about me, which you find hard to understand, apparently. Why is that?

He picked up his plate again with more force than necessary and continued his dinner. He had already managed to anger her again. I didn't know how he did it. Perhaps it was the resentment he harbored inside. He remembered Sirius. His previous godfather who was put in jail without trial on the same day of his parents' death, the one who spent more than a decade in Azkaban remembering his friends and his goddaughter so as not to go crazy. The one who escaped from prison, swimming for days in the icy waters of the ocean, eating rats and food from the trash just because she had seen Pettigrew in a photograph and knew he was a potential danger to her at Hogwarts.

What had Jiraiya done all those years? He hadn't been imprisoned, and he wasn't just any ninja. Had he even tried to have custody of his brother and his own? Still, even if he had been denied custody, couldn't he send a measly letter? Couldn't I tell them it existed? Couldn't he contact them and tell them about their deceased parents that no one alluded to? Naruto had met him by chance in Konoha. They hadn't even known of his existence thanks to him, but by mere chance. She was burning with rage as she compared Jiraiya to Sirius, who died defending her and went through a veritable hell for years to support her, rather than leave the country never to return.

Jiraiya had won over his brother by using his father's jutsu as a gift. That had been enough for Naruto, but not for her because she saw that action for what it was. A crass and unsubstantiated attempt to connect with his student's son. He knew because he hadn't tried it on her as they both knew that he couldn't buy Seina as easily as Naruto, who was 11 years old both physically and mentally.

"Do you know why it's impossible for me to just accept you?" He said before going to the bathroom to change his sleeping clothes. Because while you were out there, probably spying and sleeping with women and writing crappy p*rn books, my brother and I were surviving alone in Konoha. Our parents chose you to take care of us in case they weren't there, and when you had to, you weren't up to the task. Why the hell did you agree to be our godfather, then?

He went to sleep on his futon, his back to Jiraiya, who sat on his futon next to him. He cast a spell on her space just in case, even though he knew it wouldn't stoop so low as to touch her, and ignored him. He didn't even put away his weapons or take off his fanny pack. She didn't trust him or feel safe around him. He didn't give a sh*t if he found out.
Chapter 30
He woke up the next day without a hitch. He saw how Jiraiya was awake, with a somewhat tired face, in the same posture as the day before, reading a scroll. He looked at her for a second with an expression he couldn't decipher, but she didn't look back at him. He changed his clothes and they went downstairs to have some breakfast. In blessed silence. Then, they resumed the march out of the land of Fire. In more silence. When half a day passed, Jiraiya opened his mouth.

"What you told me yesterday gave me a lot to think about," she confessed in the most serious tone I had heard from him to date. Surely I have failed you. I am sorry. I thought it would be easy to come back, to reconnect with you, that I wouldn't have to delve too deeply into my... feelings and actions. It was like that with Naruto, but not with you. Do you know what my job is as a ninja?

"No.

"I'm a spy. Konoha's spymaster, you might say," he said. Seina raised an eyebrow at the hearing, but didn't ask. It's something I started doing in the previous wars and then it became something I liked. By the time your father became Hokage, my position was firm. When he died and you were orphaned... I knew I couldn't take you with me without constantly putting you in danger. Besides, I didn't want to take you out of the village where your parents had lived because that was their home, your home. And, why fool you, I wouldn't have known how to take care of 2 babies either. You know how I am. A real disaster.

"And why didn't you go back to the village?" Why keep spying?

"Because no one has the connections I've made for more than 30 years. Women are not only fun but also a part of my job, believe it or not. Also, not all of your enemies are inside the village. Your father angered many people in other places...

Seina didn't say anything. Now that he had a coherent explanation he could even understand it, though that didn't take away from the fact that he hadn't sent a single letter to say it existed.

"And why not visit us or send us a letter?" He asked, insisting.

—... — sighed, touching her hair. Have you ever put something off because you couldn't deal with it, until you inadvertently it's been too long to know what to do with that problem so you just wait for it to be solved as if by magic?

"I don't procrastinate," she said. He had learned that lesson the hard way during his time at Hogwarts and then in his youth.

"yes, well. If there's one thing I know about you, it's your strength. The problem is that there are people who don't have that level of courage and drive. Some people who cower at the pain they know is coming.

"If there's one thing I know, it's that problems don't go away or solve themselves," he told her much more calmly than before. Will you ever do something like that again?

"No. I'm afraid I can't ignore some things anymore, no matter how hard it is for me to face them...

"It's all right. I accept your sh*tty excuses. I forgive you, but don't ever do it again.

"And that's it!?" The Sanin exclaimed beside her, watching her as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Forgiveness is not excusing the offender's behavior, but letting go of resentment and looking at the other as a human being despite their mistakes," she recited Hermione's words, looking him in the eye to let him know she was serious.

He didn't know why those few sentences they exchanged were enough to change his mind. Perhaps because he felt the sincerity of his confession and had not tried to excuse himself, but had admitted to having failed, to be a coward and to want to change. That was all you could ask for when you were asked for forgiveness. He wasn't a bad person, despite his questionable decisions. If he tried to change, Seina would gladly forgive him.

He felt Jiraiya's convulsive emotions beside him. He didn't try to read it. He let her think silently about their conversation and assimilate that she forgave him. The next silence, though expected, was totally different. When they crossed the border into the country of the rice paddies, Jiraiya began to explain to him what they were doing there. After all, they were on a mission.

"We don't know exactly where Orochimaru's base is, but we know it's in this country.

"I could use my powers.

"Yes, why not. Try to point us in the direction and we'll ask the villagers we meet along the way if they know any information related to it.

He used the spell to lead them in the right direction and they rectified the path. It didn't take long for them to reach the first village, if you could call it that. The place wasn't abandoned, but it looked like the setting for a horror thriller. I could feel the malice that came from the place, as if some people were corrupted for some reason.

"There's more life in a funeral," she spoke.

"I know, but maybe we can find out something. Do you have money?

"Are you really asking me for money to go drinking in some seedy slum?" I'm sure they'll poison you or something like that. Besides, why should I give you MY money? You get paid more than I do!

"Of course not! Who would poison me? He asked rhetorically, ignoring his last question.

"How are you so sure?" As far as I know, Tsunade-sama could easily poison you." He rolled his eyes in his indignation. Then he sighed. Be.

He pulled a wad of counterfeit bills out of his fanny pack. Jiraiya accepted them with a chuckle and then asked him to keep an eye on him. She readily accepted the order as she had no desire to enter such a sinister village. She sat on a tree branch until she heard someone approaching in a somewhat awkward way. She saw with her spell the golden aura of what appeared to be a teenage girl. He threw a kunai at her to make her leave.

"Who are you?" He asked.

He received no reply. He simply pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it in his direction, quickly fleeing. Seina watched as he left, wondering if he should have apprehended her, but followed Jiraiya's orders not to draw attention to himself with ninja arts. Besides, something told him that they would see each other again. Otherwise, why approach her and let yourself be seen before escaping? Something smelled bad.

He turned his head as his spells caught the unmistakable sound of Jiraiya's flip-flops rushing swiftly in his direction. She watched him appear with a surprised expression until she saw the crowd behind him, wielding knives and frying pans.

"Hell...

"Run!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" He shouted and ran into the woods.

They were running away from the villagers for a while until finally they turned their backs on them and found some sort of abandoned place on a large rock. It looked like a temple or something similar but quite small.

"But what happened?" She asked, glaring at him.

"Nothing major. The thing is, they had no information about Orochimaru.

"What's next?"

"We'll have to go to the next village." We have no idea where the entrance is or how many enemies there are or anything.

"I've met a girl, a ninja. He let himself be seen and then fled.

"Oh?" Has he attacked you?

"No. It's been strange. I think he was trying to get my attention.

"Don't let your guard down.

Jiraiya took out a map and analyzed the location of the next village. They started walking after gathering their things. It didn't take long for them to arrive. This other place was the complete opposite of the previous one. The streets were full of people and the shops were overflowing. Just walking through the door they witnessed a fight between a couple of drunks that ended with a broken window and an unconscious man against a wall.

"Nice place," he said sarcastically. In the face of silence, he turned to look. Seriously? Once again?

"Do you know a better place to know the village rumors?"

He rolled his eyes at the window of a half-naked woman. In the end, Jiraiya asked him to take a tour of the village in search of information. They met later on the nearest hill, off the bustling streets. She turned around, using the legermancia to see if she could discover anything of value, but nothing. There was no one actively thinking about Orochimaru or, if there were, they were not within his range. When she got tired of spinning around like an idiot, seeing how some eyes were beginning to follow her, she left there and went to the meeting point.

He waited alone for a long time. Interestingly, he felt a déjà vu when he heard movement among the leaves again. This time he didn't have time to throw the kunai that the same girl from the other time appeared, prostrating herself on the ground as if her shoulder hurt from a wound.

"You again?"

He tried to stand up to get away from her, who was walking in his direction, but then fell back to the ground with a groan of pain. Seina avoided raising an eyebrow. What would his shoulder pain have to do with him not being able to walk? It was clear that it was a performance. He heard a few more people approaching his position. He caught the girl in flight at the same time that the kunais of his enemies hit the ground, right where she had been leaning. He created a few clones to get rid of them and then ran off in the direction of the temple, with the girl in his arms.

"Who are you?" He asked, laying her on the floor.

The girl took off her hat, revealing orange-brown hair, and proved that she was right, thinking she was young and female.

"My name is Sasame Fuuma. I'm sorry I mistook you for an Oto ninja the other day." He watched as he grabbed his shoulder again in pain.

"Let me see your wound," he ordered, keeping it in his range of vision at all times.

Sasame, if that was really his name, took off his shirt and let him see the cut. Seina looked at it with critical eyes and saw that it was a clean, if somewhat deep, cut. No doubt they had done it with a kunai. Still, something about that cut struck him as odd. It was too clean. It seemed as if he hadn't fought back. He looked at the scruff of Sasame's neck, who was turning his back to him, and sanitized and healed the cut by hand. He didn't want to teach her his abilities or heal her completely, if she really was his enemy.

"Who were those who attacked us?" She asked.

"They're ninja from Oto. They protect Orochimaru's base.

Sasame was explaining the situation to him. How the feudal lord and his ambition opened the doors to Orochimaru, how he recruited ninja from all the clans of the country, how his cousin Arashi had been chosen, and how he never returned. Apparently, Sasame was the only one of the Fuuma clan who was on the trail of her cousin and who hadn't given up. As she spoke, Seina began to hear the characteristic chiming of spiders that had been burned into her mind after her encounter with the acromantulas.

He discreetly activated her spell, but checked how they were alone in the house. Still, minutes later he heard about 3 people perching on the nearby trees. He ignored Sasame's tears as he stood up at the very moment when the house seemed to be crumbling under its foundations. He opened the door and saw that everything was full of spiders and cobwebs. A wicked laugh echoed throughout the place, coming from each of the spiders.

"He's using the sound of each spider to hide his position!" Sasame said, as if he didn't know.

He cast a spell on one of his father's modified kunais to render it invisible and then threw it far away, with no one noticing where it fell. He closed the doors of the house.

"Come on." He grabbed Sasame by the good arm and picked her up quickly.

He used the hiraishin to escape the house smoothly, appearing behind the backs of enemies.

"Stay here," he commanded in a whisper.

He climbed down from the tree after putting a pager on Sasame without him noticing. She used the bracelet to go unnoticed and a ground jutsu to move across the ground to her enemies. She saw that, sure enough, it was the 3 from before who had attacked them. He decided to get rid of the spider guy first, appearing behind him and knocking him out with a stupefy. Just as the other 2 realized something was going on, Jiraiya appeared with a huge summoned toad that threw them into the air.

"Let's go back!" One of them shouted, grabbing the ninja he had knocked unconscious and hurrying away.

"What happened?" He asked when they were finally alone.

"They seemed to be after the girl, Sasame.

"A girl?" Where is he?

"Here."

Seina and Jiraiya turned to look at her. While they were distracted, he used the spell to retrieve the weapon he had thrown into the air.

"I see it's collapsed. Mmm... We'd better get away from here.

They left the scene of the battle with Sasame. Seina explained what the girl had told her in great detail.

"Fuuma?" From the Fuuma clan? I met a man named Hanzaki in the village. He tried to steal my money, but I taught them a lesson. The bad thing is that they didn't have any information.

"He and his minions betrayed the clan," Sasame explained. Then he lowered his head. I can take you there.

"Really?"

Seina looked at her. I didn't trust her, but if I had information I would accept her help. They ran after Sasame. It took them barely 15 minutes to reach their destination, a place high in mountains covered in clouds.

"How are we going to do it?" She asked. I don't think we can just go into it.

"I think we'd better eat something first." I'm starving," Jiraiya laughed, unable to contain himself.

Seina looked at him with a blank face. Still, he allowed himself to be convinced because she, too, was beginning to feel hungry. Jiraiya took out a bento that she ended up sharing with the two of them.

"I'm going to make tea," Sasame said, smiling.

He took some bamboos to fill with water a little farther on. Seina followed her with her gaze and then raised an eyebrow in Jiraiya's direction, who nodded in her direction. Before he could realize it, he swapped with a shadow clone and watched from a tree branch. Luckily he had already eaten everything he needed, so he accepted the tea willingly. She and Jiraiya made up the story of falling asleep on top of the food, much to Sasame's surprise. They watched as he ran to warn his cronies.

Luckily for Sasame, he seemed to have scruples and refused to be "killed." Otherwise, I would have slit his throat for trying something like that.

"Push Sasame aside!" One of them hit her.

Sasame flew off at the same time as the ninja tried to stab them with his blades. He caught her in the air, seeing that she was unconscious, as the clones vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Kage bunshin!?"

"I knew we'd see each other again," he said, from the top of a rock. He left Sasame on the ground.

"Wretch! One of them snapped at her and lunged at her, raising his double blades.

It didn't take long for Seina to realize that they were pretty mediocre. He dodged the body stabs, using the slightest movement as he examined his foe. When she got tired of him, she dodged an attack and put her hand on him with the stupefy loaded. He fell unconscious, much to the anger of the other ninja. To his dismay, Jiraiya sent him flying with the rasengan.

"There's only one left.

"Look at it, it's there," Jiraiya said.

They watched, side by side, as she transformed from a man with a hump to a girl with chakra wings. Seina raised an eyebrow at what she was seeing.

"Be careful! Jiraiya shouted as the girl threw a chakra cannon in his direction.

Seina lunged at the pervert, taking his hand, and disappeared with the hiraishin loosely.

"But what?" You've used hiraishin! Jiraiya exclaimed, somewhat stunned, from the branch of the tree he had prepared earlier.

"We'll talk about that later.

They saw how the girl threw herself on the ground, taking her companions with her in a jet of light, but leaving Sasame behind.

"Let's go. I want to talk to her," Jiraiya said.

Seina picked up Sasame and set her against the trunk of a tree a little farther away. He woke her up with a spell. She watched as she looked at them in astonishment and shock.

"Q-what?" She asked herself aloud. How did you know?

"Ever since you called Hanzaki a traitor. He told me everything, you know? The pervert informed him, crossing his arms. Although I don't think Seina trusted you from the beginning.

"You're a very bad actress," he said dryly.

"But how?" She insisted, between worried and indignant at his words.

"You should have cut your leg instead of your shoulder to begin with. That would make it more believable that you can't 'walk' without me carrying you," she sighed, seeing how she really looked like a girl who had been manipulated. Also, you said you had mistaken me for an Oto ninja when I clearly have my ninja band on my neck and I know you saw it, 2 times in fact.

Jiraiya suppressed a laugh as he saw Sasame's face red with embarrassment at his words. Just as she lowered her head, they saw her pull out a kunai, ready to commit suicide. Jiraiya slapped him.

"Idiot!

"What are you going to do with me?"

"We should punish you," the sanin looked at her. What do you think?

"I think he just wants to know what happened to his cousin," she sighed again. She's just an unconscious child.

"It's all right. Show us the entrance to the base, and then head back to the village, got it?

"H-hai."

They went after her, again, in the direction of Orochimaru's base. The mission was to locate the base and also investigate why Orochimaru was so interested in Sasuke, so he imagined that they would have to go inside. Honestly, what was the point of this mission being carried out by a sanin with a brand new chunin? The rank of this mission was out of its category. Daemons. He wasn't getting paid enough for this sh*t.

"It's there," Sasame cut off his train of thought, pointing to an entrance that opened onto a distinctly subterranean base.

"It's all right. You go back to the village. We'll take care of that.

Jiraiya and Seina watched as he turned around and disappeared into the forest. The sanin turned to look at her.

"The base must be full of traps, so I'll send a summon first to investigate for us.

"That's a good idea, but leave it to me," he said. My summons are connected to me so I can see through their eyes and I've marked them with shiki jutsu so we can spawn in a safe place with hiraishin.

"How is that possible?" Jiraiya asked, stunned.

"My summons are my creations," he rolled his eyes. Kuchiyose no jutsu.

He summoned a few animals: from voles to insects. With them they could enter the base without having to take any risks, being able to first see what was happening down there and appear somewhere sheltered without activating any traps. In addition, by leaving a sealed kunai behind, they could return whenever they wanted using the hiraishin as well. He saw through his eyes the entrance and then a long corridor lit by the dim light of the candles. It was pretty gloomy, why lie.

"What do you see?"

"There's a long corridor that ends in a room where there are 3 doors. There's no signal or anything like that. I'm sending my creatures on either side. Let's see what they find.

They waited in silence as she, eyes closed, controlled his summons. The hallway on the left was dark, but I could see a bright light in the background. When his mouse arrived, he saw a long, dark-haired, pale-complexioned girl dressed in a kimono playing a musical instrument on top of a light platform. There was nothing but her and the objects she was interacting with, so she gave up. He told Jiraiya what he had seen.

"Hmm... A woman with an instrument?" Why would someone like that want Orochimaru? I'm sure he's one of his minions. What about the other hallways?

"Give me a few seconds..."

In the corridor on the left was a laboratory with a pile of apparatus and medical books. There were notes scattered everywhere.

"I think I see someone," he informed, noticing how his creations in the center aisle had run into an open door. Appears to be Kabuto... And Orochimaru.

"Are you seeing Orochimaru?" He asked instantly.

"Huh... "I don't think it's him," he finally said. Wasn't the Third supposed to have sealed his arms?

"That's right.

"Then it's not him, or they've been cured." He's using them like it's nothing.

"It must be a trap. The real Orochimaru, if he was here all along, knows we're here. What about the other minions who escaped? Do you see them?

"No. They're nowhere to be found.

"Then I'd say it's them in disguise."

"Shh... They're talking.

"Do you think they'll bite?"

"I'm sure you do. Sasame is alive. She will guide you here. It will be easy to kill them with this new form without them expecting it. That will give Orochimaru-sama time to flee.

"Yes, they're the minions from before disguised as Kabuto and Orochimaru. They believe that Sasame will lead us to the base.

"And they're right. If it wasn't for your jutsu we would have entered.

"Orochimaru seems to have fled," she sighed, not knowing whether from relief or disappointment.

"Is there anything else down there?"

"A laboratory with papers. I think they've left him in a hurry. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that I sent a fly, I don't think we would have been able to get in," he said. You could send a clone to get the documents.

"It's all right. Do it. We'll leave the others down there. There's no use in confronting them if they're just low-ranking minions.

Seina sent a pair of clones to the fly that had infiltrated through the vent in Orochimaru's lab. She watched as her clones gathered everything they could, mostly papers and filing cabinets, before returning to her with the hiraishin.

"Wow, wow, so much stuff! Jiraiya hissed, picking up his clone's documentation. With this, we will keep Konoha entertained for a long time. Let's go back to the village. I'll leave a few explosive talismans to destroy this base from afar.

He undid the summons, blinking at so much information, and tucked the papers into his fanny pack before Jiraiya's stunned gaze. They turned around, ready to go back the way they had come, when Seina heard, and located, Sasame waiting for them on the precipice before.

"Ugh... Sasame is waiting for us upstairs.

"I see you've listened to me," Jiraiya complained, making a big leap. Didn't I tell you to go back to the village?

"I couldn't do it!" I wanted to know what happened to Arashi-ni-chan!

"I wasn't there," she said, shrugging. There were only the guys from before dressed up as Orochimaru. Apparently, Orochimaru fled as soon as he found out we were here.

"Oh, no! This is my fault! Sasame cried. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to explain how she knew. He promised to see him in exchange for handing you over!

"I see," Jiraiya sighed. Surely he just used you and didn't even think to tell you if he's down there or not.

"I'm sure he took it!"

Seina and Jiraiya exchanged awkward glances as they listened to him crying his eyes out. What could they say to comfort her, knowing what Orochimaru was like? Most likely, he was right, or worse, that he was dead and that was why I hadn't seen him in months.

"Let's go. Let's go back to the village. Other members of your clan are waiting for you there.

They left Orochimaru's base with a small amount of loot. Sasame, however, seemed devastated by the news. By the time they reached the village he had stopped crying, but seemed on the verge of collapse as he realized that everything he had done, including trying to drug them, had been for nothing. Even worse, he was almost guilty of killing 2 people with his acts.

"What a joy to see you again, Sasame," a red-haired woman said to Sasame. Are you ok?

"I didn't manage to rescue Arashi-ni-chan..."

"Oh, my dear. I'm sure it will show up sooner or later," he assured her.

"We will take good care of her, Jiraiya-sama," the one who seemed to be the leader of them all assured her.

"I'm sure you do," Jiraiya smiled. Come on, Seina. We must return as soon as possible.

"Hai."

They left the village behind, waving goodbye to the people. Well, Jiraiya. Seina simply started walking in the direction of Konoha. The mission had lasted less than expected. He had barely been out of the village for 3 days, but it had seemed eternal. Perhaps he had become unaccustomed to missions?

"What did you see in the papers?" He asked when he couldn't resist his curiosity.

"Blood tests from several ninjas. I think I know for sure," Jiraiya sighed. If he's right, I know why he wants Sasuke. Do you know what Orochimaru's cursed seal is?

"It doesn't ring a bell," he frowned, wondering if he'd heard anything of that. No. Nothing.

"I'm not surprised. It's a technique that Orochimaru has created. It uses senjutsu chakra to confer on its wielder abilities similar to sage mode.

"The Wise Way... The use of physical, spiritual and natural energy to increase the user's capabilities, doesn't it?

"Exactly. We know that he uses this technique since he sealed someone in Konoha many years ago. We were able to study the seal thoroughly, but we don't know how it does it or why exactly.

"It's clear that Orochimaru gets something out of the seal. If it didn't have any benefit for him, I don't think he'd bother giving "power" to his minions.

"That's obvious. I hope that with these notes we can decipher the what at all.

"And what does all this have to do with Sasuke?"

"That's what I'm going for. I believe the seal is connected to another Orochimaru jutsu. The Reincarnation Jutsu. Orochimaru has been obsessed with immortality for years," Jiraiya said, and Seina groaned at the description of someone who might pass for Voldemort's son. We don't know for sure, but we think the seal is a safeguard from.

"Don't tell me. A piece of his essence in the seal that he can use to reincarnate whenever he pleases and that, as long as it exists, will mean that Orochimaru is alive in some way or another," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"How did you deduce that?" Jiraiya asked, surprised.

"Coincidence," she sighed, then stifled a hysterical laugh. Fantastic. So you want to give this seal to Sasuke to have as a possible body, right?

"That's right. Like I said. Maybe we'll have a secure confirmation with the papers. And more detailed information on how it works because, at the moment, we are blank.

Seina shrank from exhaustion. Horcruxes? No. They weren't like the horcruxes she destroyed a lifetime, but they were very similar. It seemed that Orochimaru had somehow managed to implant some of himself into the bodies of his victims in order to possess them. Something from your chakra? All seals could be undone as long as it was known how without having to cause death, unlike a horcrux on a person. For that reason alone, I knew that it wasn't a piece of soul that I was implanting in them. That comforted her more than she wanted to admit.

"We'd better hurry up and cross the border," Jiraiya told him. We will rest tonight in a village in the land of Fire and continue tomorrow on the road to Konoha.

No sooner said than done. It took them another day to return to Konoha. As he passed through the huge gate of the village, he couldn't hold back a sigh of relief at being back at home, sweet home. He returned home after handing the report and papers to Tsunade-sama, who greeted them with a surprised smile.

"Take the day off tomorrow, Seina. You've earned it.

He received his mission pay and returned home. Fortunately or unfortunately, the house was empty so she went straight to the bathtub to relax.
Chapter 31
Hours later, while still in the bathtub, he noticed the presence of Naruto and Sasuke entering the house.

"Are you back!?" Naruto asked mentally.

"That's right. I'm taking a bath. Now I'm going down.

He reluctantly climbed out of his stupendous bathtub and dressed in his pajamas. He went downstairs and saw them sitting on the couch.

"How did it go?" Sasuke asked without saying a word.

"Good, good. We've found Orochimaru's base and several documents you should be reading right now.

"Is Ero-senin alive?"

"Yes. In fact, we've come to a kind of truce," she confessed.

"Until I see it, I won't believe it.

"Was he there?" Sasuke asked, returning to the mission.

He fled. Better, actually," he shrugged. We don't know for sure, but apparently, Jiraiya thinks he wants your body for himself. To use you as a... Meat suit, you might say.

"Eww!

"Why is that?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"He's obsessed with immortality. I guess you're a very juicy body, having the sharingan and being young, and all that.

"Eww! Naruto said again, disgustedly. Orochimaru is totally insane!

"Crazy, yes, but he's a genius too. You have to be careful with those kinds of people," he reminded her. He yawned, unable to help himself. I think I'm going to sleep soon, guys. I'm sleepy.

"But it's not even 9 o'clock at night!" Naruto looked at him with the eyes of a slaughtered lamb.

"Leave her alone, dobe," Sasuke gave her a slap as he rolled his eyes. Nothing will happen to you if you don't talk to Seina a couple more hours before bed.

"Good evening."

"Good evening, nee-chan.

"See you tomorrow, Seina.

He climbed the stairs and threw himself on the bed, wallowing in the comfort of his trusty mattress. There was nothing like being at home. He fell asleep almost without wanting to, peacefully. To her bad luck, she wasn't as tired as she had hoped, so she woke up in the early hours of the morning, having fully regained her energy. He cooled off a bit and went down to the living room with a couple of books to get some work done and prepare breakfast. When he came downstairs he was surprised to see a dim light from one of the floor lamps next to the sofa. He looked out the window and saw that it was all black.

"Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, blinking a couple of times when she saw him on the couch. What are you doing down here?

"Seina." I've already been told you were home. Welcome," he smiled at her from behind his mask. I couldn't sleep.

"Have you been around for a long time?" He asked, going to the kitchen to get a glass of juice or something.

"A couple of hours. What are you doing awake?

"Same thing. Maybe I should have waited a few hours before going to sleep yesterday. Now I don't have enough sleep to sleep on," she sighed.

He returned to the living room with his glass, sitting down beside him. He saw how she was wearing her pajamas. This time a pair of grey pants and a black t-shirt. He looked at his mask, present even when he was alone. He wasn't wearing the ninja sash so I could see his different eyes. One of Obito's, the black eye, and the other his, the dark gray.

"Can I ask you something?" He saw how I nodded. Why are you wearing a face mask? Is it a personal preference or is it for a particular reason?

"My first mask was given to me by my mother," he confessed. He discovered that I had a more developed sense of smell than normal and thought that by covering my nose, he could protect me from certain smells. Then, when she died, I didn't want to take it off because it reminded me of her. He died when he was only 4 years old.

"I'm sorry," she said to him at the confession.

He put his hand on her arm, squeezing it for a second before letting go and grabbing his glass of juice. He watched her drink with a gentle face and raised an eyebrow at her, tilting the glass in her direction. The jonin, surprisingly, not only did not refuse her offering, but took off his mask at her astonished expression, and then snatched the glass from her hands.

"You didn't have to take it as a challenge," she joked.

"You've seen my face," he shrugged. What's more, you fed me. I think I can stand it when you see me without the mask.

He smiled at her without his mask for the first time. She stared at him in amazement. It was the first time I had seen her smile in its entirety, not just intuiting it. He put the glass down on the coffee table, but didn't put his mask back on. Seina couldn't help but smile at his act of trust and, a few seconds later, at the arm that passed over her shoulders as if nothing had happened. He watched as he twisted his body a little on the couch, turning more sideways and blocking the lamp behind him so that the light wouldn't hit his eyes directly, no matter how dim.

Seina didn't turn him down. She leaned back on him, accepting the invitation for what it was, and put her legs on top of his, practically sitting on his lap. He grabbed his T-shirt with his remaining hand as he felt how he had just hugged it to his chest, as if it were the most normal and easy thing in the world. He felt the weight of his head in hers as he buried his nose in her hair, and even though he hadn't been sleepy, he felt his eyes close as if nothing had happened.

"How is that possible...?" He whispered into her hair.

"What?" He asked in a thin voice against his chest.

"Drive me crazy like no one has ever done before," he confessed to her for the first time. I thought it was... flawed for not loving anyone until you came along.

"You're not defective," she scolded.

"Oh, isn't it?" Seina, you're only 11 years old, almost 12," he snorted a somewhat hysterical laugh. I'm 13 years older than you. You and an adult-...!

"I won't be 12 forever. You already know that.

Seina hugged him tighter. He thought about what he could say to her to ease his worry. To him, she must have been some kind of adult in a child's body that confused his senses. Was she a child or the adult she really was mentally? He imagined that this dichotomy must have worried him and made him doubt whether he was right in the head or not. If he was really falling in love with her, and he believed so, Seina was sure it was her adult personality and not her adolescent physique. The problem was that he didn't know what was different and special about her.

"It's time for you to explain your past..." Otherwise, you'll let him suffer because of his feelings for you for nothing," Kurama told him, seeing what predicament he'd gotten himself into.

"You're right," he thought to Kurama, then gathered his strength, burying his face in his chest. I have to tell you something. Something only Naruto and Sasuke know due to us sharing minds from time to time.

"Am I finally going to know everything?" Kakashi-sensei asked curiously.

"Everything?" She asked, suppressing a pleased laugh.

"I knew there was something else you weren't telling.

"I think you'll be the last one I tell about." It has to do with a reincarnation. Mine, to be exact.

Kakashi-sensei fell silent. Seina put her thoughts in order. He closed his eyes and breathed in its scent.

"Something happened when I died last time..." Souls are not supposed to remember what they experienced, but I woke up with my memories.

"You were reincarnated in this body.

"That's right. I died when I was 120 years old. That's why you feel like I'm an adult." She unintentionally pulled away from him to look him in the eye, still in his arms. I'm 132 years old, Kakashi. I'm older than you.

Kakashi-sensei looked at her in astonishment before laughing. He suppressed a laugh for several minutes, hugging her tightly back against him as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't even hesitate to believe what I was saying. Probably because she knew there was something strange about her beyond her kekkei genkai.

"How did you die?" And what was your name? Where were you from? He asked in an enthusiastic voice, as if he were a small child.

"My name was Harriet Lily Potter-Black. I died tripping over the marble staircase of my house. I know... A stupid death. I was playing with one of my granddaughters and tripped over a toy, hit my head unconscious instantly, otherwise I could have saved myself with a snap of my fingers. The rest is history.

"What kind of name is Harriet?" He asked curiously.

"An otherworldly name, of course.

"Another world?"

"Yes, one without ninjas, but with wizards and witches. I was a witch. I'm a witch. If there was one thing we knew, it was that magical powers reside in the soul and souls are the ones that reincarnate—she knew it better than anyone because of the horcrux on her forehead...

"Now I understand everything. "Your kekkei genkai is magic," he said delightedly, like a little child, "and everything you know how to do you already knew how to do in your other life.

"That's right. I was a master of several magical arts. Luckily, except for a few things, I can use everything I've learned over 110 years.

"Unbelievable...

"Oh, Kakashi. "You have no idea what I'm capable of," she laughed quietly, "and now that I can use the chakra... As soon as I know how to fight Kurama... I could raze an entire village by myself without any effort.

Kakashi-sensei shuddered in his arms, and buried his face back in her blond hair as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you, for exposing yourself to show me that I'm not all that crazy," she whispered gratefully.

"I'd do anything for you."

"I know," he murmured into his hair. And by the way, I like the sound of my name on your lips.

They were talking, in whispers, for the rest of the night. Seina told her everything she wanted to know, and Kakashi-sensei answered all the questions she asked him frankly. It was as if the last, but most important, barrier between them had been destroyed. He spent the whole night with his face uncovered, buried in his hair or with his jaw cradling his forehead, as if he didn't want to let her go. It was only when the room began to light up with the lights of dawn that Kakashi-sensei slowly let go of her, but not before kissing her on the head.

"I'd do anything for you, too," he said hoarsely with complete assurance, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and slowly resting his lips on her jaw for a few infinite seconds that tasted like little.

She watched him go upstairs to put on his uniform, biting her cheek so she wouldn't grab him by the neck and kiss him as she wanted to do. She set the table and then went to change herself. He walked past a practically asleep Sasuke before entering his room. He lay down on the bed, burying his face in his pillow so that no one would see the huge, stupid smile on his face. She dressed quickly, full of energy, despite having spent the last 5 hours awake.

Kakashi-sensei was found again on the stairs. She felt like a schoolgirl with her first love. He smiled at her, watching her gesture return. He put his hand on her shoulder, walking down the steps beside her and separating himself from her when they reached the dining room. As usual, she sat next to Naruto and Kakashi-sensei sat in front of her. Feeling brave, he placed his foot next to Kakashi-sensei's as he spoke to Sasuke, sitting in front of Naruto. He saw out of the corner of his eye how he didn't change his expression when he noticed his foot, in fact, he felt the jonin's leg leaning against his.

"Do you want me to make breakfast this week?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Seina was stunned to hear him. He watched as Naruto turned slowly, pale, surely horrified, in his direction. Kakashi-sensei seemed to have heard nothing, but his foot had stopped caressing his ankle. Why was everyone looking at her for an answer? He cleared his throat at what he was going to do.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Sasuke," he began softly, "but cooking isn't your thing. Maybe it would be better if we divided the tasks more efficiently, you know, so you don't have to cook. Or do you like to cook?

"Hn," he answered. Seina held back a sigh as she realized that he didn't seem disappointed or hurt by her words. He watched as she slowly began to smile. I know perfectly well that I cook like an ass, but I wondered how far you were going to go to avoid eating my food.

"Are you saying that all this time you knew that you cook awful, and yet you fed us several times?" Naruto asked incredulously, indignant and dumbfounded at the same time.

Sasuke's shoulders began to jerk with laughter and he knew he was laughing at them despite his face being lowered. She and Kakashi-sensei watched him with blank faces, and she with her mouth down.

"I don't like to cook, so I thought if I gave you a taste of my food at the beginning, you'd relegate me from that task," he explained, and when he looked up he saw that he was smiling from ear to ear. You ought to have seen each other's faces when I gave you those cereals.

"WHAT A BASTARD!

Seina couldn't suppress her laughter any longer and burst out laughing. Then something unusual happened. Sasuke started laughing with her, crying with laughter. Kakashi-sensei only shrank in relief when he saw that he wasn't going to cook.

"The look on Kakashi-sensei's face when he tasted that fish dish of yours," she laughed, her stomach hurting.

Naruto leaned against the table, laughing at the memory, while she and Sasuke laughed at Kakashi-sensei, who could only sigh in exasperation.

"Thank you for reminding me of that bad drink," joked the jonin, "and I mean that literally.

"You told me you were on a diet," Sasuke scoffed. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing in your face.

"God, what a bastard you are," she smiled. I see that Kurenai-sensei was right. We're all trolls on this team.

"Well, guys. I'm going to go. I have a solo mission," Kakashi-sensei informed them.

"Here, take one of my bentos that I made and didn't eat," she said, handing him the ration of food.

"Thank you, Seina.

"Come back soon."

Kakashi-sensei ruffled her hair before disappearing as if nothing had happened.

"What do you intend to do?" She asked. I have the day off, so I'll take the opportunity to make some things of my order and give them to Tsunade-sama.

"We could help you," Sasuke said. We also have nothing to do.

"Yosh! Where do we start?

He summoned the list and the chest full of material he had been given. I had to make at least 20 bracelets, 10 X-ray goggles, 20 bottomless fanny packs, figure out a way so they could use the diagnostic spell, and... make an indestructible table? He stayed at the last point, thinking, until he shrugged. That was the easiest thing of all.

"We've got our work cut out for us, but I think we can finish everything but one thing today.

"Can't you use the clones to carve the runes?" Sasuke asked.

"It's true! He almost forgot." He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. So, while you are in charge of engraving the runes, I will think about how to make the diagnostic spell usable.

That's how the whole morning went. Listening to their clones, Naruto and Sasuke completed the first stage of runes on the material she provided them after transforming the raw materials into the goggles, bracelet, and fanny pack. Then, when he had nothing left to transform, he went on to think about how he could design the spell in the form of a runic sequence into some object.

To begin with, I needed the spell to be connected to some small, easy-to-handle object. Maybe a metal wand or a wooden disc. All he needed was to fit the runes he wanted to write. The more energetic the material, the less time it would need to be recharged, so I figured it would have to be a quartz and metal wand that I could carve the runes into under a metal knob so they wouldn't try to mess them up. That wand, in turn, would connect it to a specific tray so that it could take the paper from there.

He tried it first on a wooden stick but, although it worked, he perceived that the wood was too weak to withstand prolonged use. Still, what I wanted to know was if I had written the runic sequence correctly and succeeded.

"How are you doing with that?" Sasuke asked, looking over his shoulder. We're already here.

"Give me a moment to try it." He carved the sequence into the metal, then permanently placed the quartz tip, which was the one that gave the spell power to the runes. Ta-chán! Let me give it a try.

The scroll came out of nowhere but, unlike his medical spell, it was much more extensive. Hell, he had forgotten to limit the spell. On those sheets was his medical history from birth in great detail, not just the general features.

"Maybe I should change it," she sighed, but Sasuke shook his head.

You should leave it at that," his brother assured him.

"Well, let's see what Tsunade-sama says.

He finished activating the other items that Naruto and Sasuke had finished, and then they tried each and every one of them.

"They all seem to work," Seina smiled. He conjured up a chest to put it all in and stood up. I'm going to take this to the Hokage. Do you want to come?

"I think I'm going to train," Sasuke sighed.

"And me!"

"I'll see you later, then."

He left the house in the direction of the Hokage Tower. Since he had nothing to do, he took his time. He watched as a pair of birds flew over the village, one eyebrow raised, realizing it was a signal for some jonin. He shrugged and walked into the compound, nodding to several guards. She noted in surprise how the atmosphere seemed charged, nervous, as she waited for her turn to be greeted by Tsunade-sama. He listened with spellbound ears how, apparently, quite a few prisoners had escaped from a prison for criminal ninja.

"Did you hear that, Naru, Sasuke?" He asked mentally. Apparently, they've all run away because of Mizuki!

"We know. We're in the hospital," Sasuke told him. We have found in the river 3 half-drowned men, and now Kakashi-sensei carrying a couple of escaped prisoners.

"Huh. What a coincidence.

"We're going to the tower, nee-chan.

Seina mentally disconnected from the call, realizing why it was taking so long to get it through. A few minutes later, Tsunade-sama arrived accompanied by his entire team. Kakashi-sensei smiled in her direction, letting her into the office first.

"What a day," sighed the Hokage. I didn't remember how much I hate office work. The Kakashi report?

"Here you go, Tsunade-sama," he handed her the rolled-up scroll and raised his hand, ready to leave.

"Not so fast!" The Hokage called him.

Seina suppressed a laugh as she realized why she'd wanted to get out of the office so badly. He saw her tired, exasperated face before he turned around again. Naruto and Sasuke watched everything in silence, as if they didn't know what was going on.

"Another S. Toma rank mission.

—… Hai," he nodded with a sigh. Seina patted his arm. See you later.

The door opened again, interrupting the meeting before he could leave. It was Iruka-sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The entire team watched as Kakashi-sensei gave Pakkun one of the tasks Tsunade-sama had given him as if nothing had happened. The jonin disappeared before the Hokage could ask for anything else, but not before winking at him shamelessly. Tsunade-sama sighed, but accepted his departure.

"I'm afraid you have another mission, Iruka. Sasuke and Naruto will accompany you.

"What?" Where?

"Find Shizune and defeat Mizuki."

"What!?" Naruto shouted. And what about Seina?

"I've got another mission in store for her," the Hokage turned her eyes to him. I know it was your day off, but we can't afford it.

"It's all right. I was just coming to give you what you asked for," he said, lifting the chest.

"Leave it for me here, thank you."

"Wait a minute! Why are we doing 3 different missions? Naruto insisted. The 3 of us could go!

"Why do I say that, Naruto?" Tsunade-sama snapped, slamming his fist on the table and making it creak. Seina is more needed on another mission, period.

Now he was beginning to understand the reason for the indestructible table. He blew an inaudible laugh and cast a spell on the table without anyone noticing. The Hokage kicked them out of the office, but not before getting angry at Naruto's manners. Naruto and Sasuke sent him disappointed glances before leaving behind Iruka-sensei.

"ARGH! THESE BRATS! He shouted, picking up the chair and tossing it out the window before Seina's gaping mouth.

The glass gave way to such brute force, and the chair flew away. Soon after, they heard a tremendous bang and someone screaming in pain. Seina closed her mouth when she realized her jaw was dropping. The ninjas were completely insane. He cast a spell at the window, repairing it instantly, and Tsunade-sama turned in his direction with a calmer smile.

"Thank you for that. I wouldn't want to have to replace it again.

"I WENT BACK TO THE VILLAGE AFTER SHOWING THEM WITH MY FISTS WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THOSE PIRATES!"

Seina felt herself lose energy at the highly exuberant presence of Guy-sensei, who opened the door wide with another tremendous knock.

"Another one like it!" Hokage exclaimed, sulkily. Then he turned to his assistant. Call Guy's genin.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama.

"Eeeh?" Are my students going on missions? Guy asked, with a smile so white it dazzled her.

"They will serve under Seina," Tsunade-sama informed her, looking at her with bright eyes.

He listened as Guy-sensei and Tsunade-sama argued like children as he waited for his team for a new mission. When Neji, Lee, and Tenten appeared, Seina was about to throw herself out of the window behind the chair. Compared to Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei had too much energy. The 3 genins saw his exasperated and tired face, and smiled.

"Good, Guy's team. You're finally here. I have a mission for you. You'll need to escort 3 men back to Katabami and drive the Kurosuki family out of the city. Your leader will be Seina.

"When are we leaving?" Neji asked.

"This afternoon." "Once you've had some rest in the hospital," Tsunade-sama informed them. Take advantage of the time to prepare yourselves and get out of my sight. They will be waiting for you at the front door in 3 hours.

"Hai," he turned to his new team. See you later.

Seina didn't think twice and left with a sigh. He was beginning to understand why Kakashi-sensei was running away from Guy-sensei. It was too intense. Before he could go home for a leisurely meal, a hand grabbed his arm. He knew, from what he had heard, that it must be Lee. He swallowed another sigh as he realized he was right.

"What's going on?"

"Come, let's have some ramen and I'll tell you!" He said, pulling her down the stairs.

They saw a couple of chunins pass by with the Hokage's chair before leaving the tower behind. Seina bit her tongue to keep from laughing. They went to Ichiraku, his brother's favorite shelf, and sat down to eat a bowl of noodles.

"Well?" What did you want to tell me? He asked curiously.

"Guy-sensei told me that the guy who leads the village and the Kurosuki is one of the Swordsmen of the Mists. He says her name is Raiga.

"Hmm... It sounds familiar to me from having read it in the book Bingo.

They were eating in silence. She reads because she seemed hungry and she because she wanted to revisit her memoirs. He didn't remember that this Raiga was very important, but he couldn't take the heat out of it if Guy-sensei had taken the trouble to mention it to Lee.

"I'm going home to pick up a few things. I'll see you later." He said goodbye temporarily, putting his share of the money on the counter.

He didn't need to grab anything, but since there were a couple of hours to go before meeting time, he could laze around and see how many benthos he had left under a spell on his fanny pack. Still, it never hurt to check things a couple of times. Just in case...

Notes:
The long-awaited moment has arrived. The full stop... From now on it will be something else, my friends. Keep waiting for a slow burn, but....

Oh, and related to the comments. A couple of things:

1. That story is a slice of life, in addition to the entire main plot, so don't expect every chapter to have explosions and existential revelations. A bit of content is necessary to make the plot realistic. I want a story that, when you read it, you can feel what the protagonist feels. I don't want to write the kind of story that jumps from the exciting moment to the next exciting moment. I've written others like this before, and I think writing it this way is more immersive, so to speak. If you don't like it then I'm afraid you won't like this story because there's going to be a lot of more "quiet" and "boring" content. It's okay, it's not for everyone, and I get it.

2. Regarding the "rape" tag. Don't worry. There's not going to be an explicit rape, and they're not going to rape Seina. It's more about their missions and what they can see. I won't say more to avoid spoilers. I only put the label like this because I didn't have any more space underneath to put another label. Also, when necessary, I'll give you a warning before you start the chapter and tell you where the narrative begins so you can skip it if you want.
Chapter 32
When it was time to leave his house, he sighed with weariness. Still, despite feeling some more Shikamaru-like laziness, a part of her was excited, as always. The same thing had happened to him when he was working as an Auror and had to do field missions, and now it was not going to be any different. Being in the thick of the matter was his thing.

He walked slowly to the front door and saw Neji waiting in the distance. He was alone with those who seemed to be his clients. He saw her as soon as he arrived and nodded his head in her direction. The 3 men turned. I didn't even know their names.

"Seina." These are our customers.

"Good afternoon. My name is Seina Uzumaki. I will be the one to lead this team in this mission.

"Yosh! I'm here! Lee hurriedly greeted.

"What enthusiasm! Tenten sighed wearily.

Seina listened intently to the customers' names as she inspected them. It was clear that one of the three couldn't wait to leave the village. He was looking in the direction of Katabami and was more restless than the others.

"Let's go. Let's not waste time.

They began to walk in the direction of the land of the rivers, between the land of the wind and the land of fire. He knew it wouldn't be long before they arrived, so they kept a normal pace as Lee spoke to customers with his usual cheerfulness. Neji and Seina stood quietly in the queue, letting the rest of the team maintain harmony with the customers.

"Do you think we'll meet with a lot of resistance?" Neji asked.

"Probably. If the leader is truly a Swordsman of the Snow, he has to be strong." Our mission is to kick them out of Katabami so that's what we'll do, by hook or by crook.

"I'm worried about Rokusuke," the Hyuga spoke softly, and she nodded. He seems too restless.

"I know, let's keep an eye on him in case he hinders our mission. "The last thing we want is for him to come up with crazy ideas like acting on his own without our permission," she said. Neji nodded, accepting the order for what it was.

Hours passed, walking smoothly along the way, until he saw how the customers began to drag their feet from exhaustion.

"Let's stop around here for a bite to eat and rest," she ordered. Neji, can you find a sheltered place nearby?

"Byakugan! There's a creek nearby in a fairly safe clearing.

"Perfect. Guide us there and we'll stop for a while.

The customers smiled when they heard it, walking with more courage. He immediately saw the enclosed area Neji was talking about, perfect for fighting if necessary. She let the clients settle on some stones while Neji checked that they were alone, and then she with her spells. He put up magic barriers to alert her of any intrusion and took out a bento to eat with them.

"Don't you eat, Lee?" He asked, watching as he was training against some huge blocks of stone.

"Now I'm coming!"

"Leave it. I don't know where he gets his energy from," Tenten confessed.

Seina smiled, but watched as Rokusuke quickly ate a few rice balls, as if that was enough to hurry them back away.

"What can you tell us about the Kurosuki family?" She asked, ignoring the customer's haste.

"The leader, Raiga, showed up a long time ago. He overthrew the previous leaders and took control of the people. Now, every time someone opens their mouth against them or just feels like it, they take them and bury them alive.

"He's completely crazy!" said the other. Even though he knows what he is doing, he performs ceremonies as if they were dead and even cries at funerals.

"The last to be buried alive was Kanpachi," Rokusuke clenched his fists. How much longer are we going to rest here? We could pull Kanpachi out of the grave!

"How long has it been since you were buried?" She asked.

—… About 4 days.

"Forget it. Many days have passed. I know it's sad, but—" another customer comforted.

"I'm afraid your companion is right," she said compassionately. Even if we ran away, after that period of time...

There was a heavy silence where everyone pondered the death of a man at the hands of a madman. They rested for a while longer until he saw that Rokusuke was getting very nervous.

"Let's go. Continue.

They continued down the road for a while longer until Lee jumped up.

"I know where we are!" At the curry restaurant of life!

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Curry of life. I ran this way for 3 days in my sleep," Lee explained, his eyes narrowing in sleep. It was a miracle.

"Yes, of course," Tenten said with a laugh.

Lee gasped at the sight of a person in the distance, running up to her as if nothing had happened.

"Sanshou baa-san!" Lee shouted, waving as he ran like a lunatic.

"Heavens! He heard the old woman say when she saw him.

Seina watched as the miners stared at a nearby mountain with jaded expressions. He knew then that it was the mine where they worked. They had arrived.

"Come in, come in," the old lady urged, making them sit at the only table in the restaurant. I'll bring you some curry.

He half-listened as he explained how they met. As he spoke, he handed everyone a horrible-looking bowl of curry. The sauce was literally black and seemed to boil with a life of its own. Seina didn't take a single bite at the sight of the tortured expression of the others except Lee. He made the food disappear every time he put a spoonful in his mouth and left the plate clean without shedding a tear, to everyone's astonishment.

"It's a monster," whispered one of the customers, blowing his snot and grabbing the glass of water with trembling hands.

"And what about Karashi?" Lee asked, as they recovered from the meal.

"Karashi perked up after your visit. He wanted to make himself strong, so he went to the village to join the Kurosuki," Sanshou sighed.

Rokusuke's eyes went straight to him, and as he expected, he was stunned. He stared at the paper wall as if he had all the answers to the mysteries of the universe, his fists clenched and his jaw tense. It was clearly a potential nuisance.

"Seina! We have to add to the mission to rescue Karashi! Lee asked with a firm, pleading expression.

"It's all right. Do Sanshou-san have rooms available? She asked. As soon as the owner nodded, she turned to her team. We will take 2 rooms and stay here until this is resolved. Since we're so close to the mine and the town, it will serve as our headquarters while we investigate what's going on out there.

Seina paid the money for the rooms, giving her a couple of days in advance. As soon as they parted later, as night began to fall, Seina sent a couple of clones to keep an eye on the customers. Neji, Tenten, and Lee talked while she silently pondered what to do. You could order the customer to stay in place or intimidate them, but those tactics didn't work with someone determined and stubborn. Besides, I didn't want to waste time trying either. It would be like trying to break through a wall with headbutts.

Just as he thought, a while later when it was already totally dark, one of his clones broke down to convey the pertinent information to him while the other clone stayed in the scene. Neji watched as he rose.

"What's going on?"

"Rokusuke has tried to escape to the village," she announced. She was sure he'd try, so she was watching him with a few clones. He is now unconscious. I'll go talk to him when he wakes up.

"What are you going to tell him?" Tenten asked.

"I'll gladly ask you to stay here," he shrugged.

Otherwise, he would have his clone keep an eye on him for the duration of the mission. The last thing I wanted was to have to take care of a rebellious civilian who ignored no one and put everyone in danger.

The next morning, they all went downstairs for breakfast while she knocked on customers' doors. They opened it with some surprise.

"I'd like to talk to Rokusuke-san alone, please.

"Of course. He just woke up.

She entered the room and closed the door behind her. Rokusuke, as soon as he saw her, was distressed. Perhaps because he knew that someone had knocked him unconscious and put him back to bed, even though he hadn't seen her.

"I hope you don't try to meddle in the mission again," she said, staring at him and not blinking. I know you're worried about your friends, but your recklessness would have jeopardized not only you but the mission. Do you understand?

"Hai." Simply... I couldn't sit idly by.

"We'll see if anyone is alive today," she nodded, seeing that this was her concern. In the meantime, stay here.

He saw how he nodded guiltily. She didn't scold him anymore because, even though she swore she wasn't going to leave the room, Seina didn't trust him anymore. I'd leave a few clones to the old curry one, just in case. She went downstairs alone, letting him ruminate on what he had just told her. Neji raised an eyebrow and she nodded.

"We'll go to the village to observe the atmosphere," he informed the others and his team. I want to know how many enemies we have in front of us, where they are hiding, their schedules, everything. If their ringleader is this Raiga, I don't think they'll leave here without us eliminating him.

"You mean—" Kill him? A customer asked, looking somewhere between disgusted and horrified that they had to get their hands dirty.

"Yes. We'll see.

For Seina, that seemed to be the only viable option to accomplish the mission. If Raiga hadn't been a ninja, but a civilian, she was sure things would have been very different, but since he hadn't, I couldn't see him giving up the territory he'd conquered without a fight. At that point, Seina would be faced with ensuring the safety of her team, and the mission, which could mean eliminating them.

"Stay here while we watch the town." We'll be back in a few hours.

They left the restaurant, leaving behind the civilians, and their hidden clones. He hesitated about leaving one of his summons to see what was happening live but, as in the end there were only 3 miners and an old woman, he gave up.

"Look, there's a good place to hide and investigate what's going on," Neji said. Seina came to her senses and saw that she was right.

"Well seen. Let's go spy.

They were watching the vantage points where Raiga's henchmen seemed to be hiding as workers began to emerge from the mine. Seina knew what was going to happen before it happened when she noticed the exhausted swaying of an old man laden with material. He heard Lee and Tenten gasp at his side as he collapsed from weight and exhaustion, and how the Kurosuki thugs quickly approached to threaten him with a beating if he didn't stand up.

"Permission to proceed?" Lee asked, standing up and looking at her expectantly.

"Go," he allowed. They were just civilian thugs, so Lee wouldn't have a problem.

"Come on, Lee!" Tenten encouraged him quietly, watching as he beat each of them up. Yatta!

They went down to the mouth of the mine. The old man, terrified, asked Lee to hit him and when Lee refused he began to beat himself out of fear of being buried alive. A gong sounded as Lee grabbed his hand to stop him.

"What's that?" Neji asked.

"It's another burial!"

"Should we intercede?" Neji asked, waiting for his orders.

"Hmm... Let's rescue the buried one and try to get hold of a minion to extract information from him. Right now, the most worrying thing is meeting the leader. Let's move.

She jumped into the air in the direction of the funeral followed by her teammates. It didn't take long for them to arrive, for they saw the procession of men in robes from afar, carrying a white coffin in the air. He threw several sealed kunais into the cemetery, carrying himself behind one of the men carrying the coffin on his shoulders. He knocked him out in one fell swoop with the stupefy, and then pivoted on top of him to do the same with the other.

The coffin fell to the ground at the same time as Neji and the others stepped into the cemetery. He left him in there, no matter who it was, while the kunai flew. Fortunately, this Raiga was not there with them. Still, he could see a look on his neck that told him he wasn't far away. Just when there was only one thug left, Lee stopped in his tracks.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked, brandishing a metal rod with which he had knocked several people unconscious.

"It's Karashi!" Lee said with a smile.

The smile, however, was short-lived in the face of Karashi's arrogant and cowardly attitude. After everything she'd heard from Lee, she found it hard to believe that the man she was talking about was that walking trash. Judging by Neji's somewhat contemptuous look, she wasn't the only one.

"No one praises you for making curry!" He shouted like a spoiled child. He avoided rolling his eyes. I had to become a man and go out and conquer the world instead of staying in a restaurant that has hardly any customers!

Lee punched him, unable to contain himself.

"Read! Tenten exclaimed, in shock.

"Let me talk to you," she said, watching as Lee tried to convince Karashi to drop his stupid pretensions and go back to his mother.

Seina let them speak and went straight to the coffin. He opened the lid with a spell, seeing that it contained a frightened miner on the verge of tears.

"You're safe," she said, helping him out of the box.

"Are you okay?" Tenten asked behind him.

"Yes, just scared. Let's bind these people. I'll have my clones take them somewhere else, just in case...

I didn't want to leave them there so someone could untie them. Luckily, with the stupefy I knew they would be sleeping for about 6 hours. He made a round, tying and checking that everyone was under the influence of his enchantment, and then summoned the clones. He sent Karashi back to the village with his clones and then collected his kunai. He watched Neji staring into the distance atop a cliff.

"Do you think it's there?"

"Yes.

"Let's get this over with now that he's alone.

"Yosh! Let's free Katabami!

They jumped there, arriving at the place indicated by Neji without any problem. They did not see him, but they noticed his presence.

"Get out at once!" Neji challenged. We know you're there.

A fog began to form, which Seina had seen before. Ugh. Raiga fought like Zabuza, or so it seemed. He knew how to get rid of the mist quickly, but he let him believe he was protected, waiting for him to reveal himself to them so they could attack him. Lee lunged at him when they saw a silhouette, though he was dodged. What he didn't expect from that interaction was the second voice, a childlike voice, that told him the pattern of Lee's movements, it seemed. He quietly re-released his father's kunais and began to mold chakra.

"Futon: daitoppa," he intoned mentally. He took a big breath and sped it out, clearing the summit they were on. Now!

They attacked him from all sides, forcing him to grab his weapons from behind. To everyone's surprise, those weapons were capable of throwing lightning. Still, he wasn't fast enough at pointing the gun at her as he used the hiraishin around her. He heard the voice, which clearly came from some sort of suitcase on his back, telling him as quickly as possible where he was.

"You're done cheating, you cretin!" He said, confusing him and attacking him from underneath instead of from behind.

Tenten's kunai was spot on and the backpack fell to the ground. Between Neji and Lee, they were able to pull Raiga away from the bundle.

"Damn you! The criminal shouted. He aimed both weapons at the same time and a huge bolt of lightning struck.

Seina used her spells to make sure everyone was okay as she teleported right in front of her enemy, punching him with all her might along with the stupefy that threw him, almost unintentionally, off the ledge. They saw him fall several meters below, hitting a rock and being buried by the same stone. It hadn't been his intention, but he accepted the end that had occurred.

"It's a boy!" Neji said with some surprise. He opened the bag. You were the one who was confusing my byakugan, right?

"Who are you?" Lee asked. Are you friends with Raiga?

Raiga and I are one. Ever since he found me.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

The boy, who had no expression on his face, told them his story. How Raiga spared his life, how she took care of him, took him out of his village where everyone repudiated him... The story suddenly reminded him of Haku, how little he could hear about his devotion to Zabuza. He wondered why, once again, he was running into another child who had been brainwashed with a few good deeds before being used as another weapon.

"What do we do with him?" Lee asked.

"My clones have already left the minions in a safe place. The one I haven't seen was Karashi.

"Ugh," Neji growled, at the mere mention of that idiot. Let's see what he's done now.

"We'll take the child with us." I'll have a clone take it to the restaurant.

Lee carried the child in his arms. For a few seconds, they stared down the cliff at Raiga's half-buried body. He found it curious that he should be buried like the people he himself had murdered.

"Is he alive?" Tenten said.

Seina turned slightly to see his answer, but Neji shook her head. Behind Neji, he caught a glimpse of the boy's face and thought he saw a glimmer of a smile and the reflection of those red eyes. He avoided squinting as he realized that, instead of sad, he seemed content. He looked at Raiga's body with a foreboding. When Lee, Tenten and Neji turned their backs on him, he threw a stupefy at the boy, knocking him unconscious instantly.

He used the hiraishin to appear next to the body. All it took was a medical spell to realize what the boy had seen with his special eyes. Raiga was alive. Badly wounded, but alive.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but you weren't lucky today," she whispered. He pretended to have his pulse and killed him with a deadly curse. Then he ripped the ball-playing swords out of his hands.

She returned to the top where they were waiting for her with eyes full of curiosity.

"I wasn't going to leave them down there for anyone to take," he shrugged. Give me the brat. I'll have him taken to the restaurant.

Somewhat tired, they made their way to the mouth of the mine where he had sent his clones earlier. When they arrived, he groaned in frustration as he realized that Karashi's idiot seemed to have rebelled against them again, freeing the few thugs from Lee's first fight that he didn't knock unconscious with his magic. That would teach him not to quit work halfway, he told himself.

"Let's go. Let's get this over with," he sighed.

They went down the hill expecting the attack at any moment. Just as they reached the bottom, they dropped huge balls of rock, ready to crush them. They dodged it easily, hiding and letting everyone believe they were dead.

"Hahahaha." Those brats shouldn't have messed with the Kurosuki family.

Seina appeared behind him, tapping his shoulder a couple of times. They all turned away at their victim's gasp of surprise.

"Hello people," she greeted in a sweet voice. I think it's time for you to go to sleep. Futon: daitoppa!

She gathered a lot more chakra than before, irritated and exasperated that these arrogant and weak civilians kept touching their balls, and sent them flying. He didn't even give his team a chance to show off because the breath of air slammed them all against the stone, knocking them all out at once and causing them to fall to the ground like stringless puppets. He turned to Karashi, who was now pale as snow as he realized that his stupid plan had dissolved in less than 5 minutes.

—… "Remind me not to anger her in the future," Tenten whispered to Lee and Neji.

"And you... I see you haven't learned anything from what Lee has told you before," he said to Karashi, walking in his direction.

"I hope you're ready, Karashi!" A villager shouted at him, as everyone approached him menacingly.

"If I hadn't, they would have killed me!" He defended himself.

"Well, now I'll be the one to smash your head open with this hammer!"

"Wait a minute! Lee shouted, interceding in the fight to defend Karashi.

Seina watched from afar as Lee mediated for Karashi, who didn't deserve it, and how in the end everything was resolved thanks to the help of the old man they saved earlier. When they left, Lee grabbed his arm tightly to take him away. Meanwhile, his clones grabbed the Kurosuki mob and handcuffed them.

"We're done with these," Seina told them. Let's go back to the restaurant.

"Hai!

Chapter 3: 33-37

Chapter Text

Chapter 33
When they got there, the old woman had made them another horrendous bowl of curry. Seina sighed as she made it disappear in her mouth to avoid a stomach ulcer, and perhaps an esophageal ulcer. He watched as Karashi was reunited with his mother, accepting his punishment by eating a curry even worse than his own, sweating profusely and crying from how spicy it was. The boy, on the other hand, was still sleeping under his spell.

"Ugh, how can you eat the curry without fainting?" asked Tenten. I think I'm going to lie down for a while to calm my stomach.

Seina snorted a laugh as she left the restaurant. She moved far enough away, sitting on a branch, that neither Karashi nor her mother could see her eating. She heard Neji's footsteps approaching her.

"I understand everything now," Neji laughed, climbing up beside him.

"Do you want to?" He asked, showing her another pair of chopsticks.

"If you don't mind..."

"Not at all," there was a comforting silence as they ate normal food.

"He wasn't dead, was he?" Neji asked suddenly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"No. I saw the boy's smile and his red eyes. I knew he was capable of confusing your dojutsu, so I wondered if it wasn't his residual powers that were confusing you once again. I was right.

"You killed him," Neji said, with aplomb, but without accusing her.

She nodded. Neji hadn't seen her kill with the deadly curse like Shikamaru and Kiba, but she was present when they talked about it. He wasn't stupid so he could add 2+2 like Shikamaru.

"Were you the one who put the brat to sleep?"

"That's right. I didn't want him to know what I was going to do.

"Why?" Neji raised an eyebrow, looking straight at her.

"Because I want to see if the child is a problem..."

"You're going to let him think he's alive and see what he does next." Go. Pretty twisted. I would never have thought of it," Neji frowned, "but it's the smartest thing to do, and the most efficient thing to do, under the circ*mstances.

"Not just him. Karashi is someone who is easy to manipulate. He's had his head eaten twice in a row. I want to see what happens.

"You expect me to use it to get to Raiga." It makes sense. Do you think it will?

"No one else will," she answered. The child is smart. If he plans to go out on the sly, he will end up thinking about it too.

"And what do we do if it happens?"

"Raiga is dead. We will let him accept his death as final. What he does next is none of our business. From what I've heard, the old lady plans to keep the child. Maybe that's what he needs: to know for himself that Raiga isn't coming back. As for Karashi, I think we'll have to talk seriously with him. Lee's words seem to go in one ear and out the other.

"You've surprised me," Neji told him a few minutes later. Knowing what your brother is like, I would never have imagined how different you are in comparison. Naruto wouldn't have thought of any of this.

"Naruto is too good, much more than me. Maybe too much to be a ninja.

"We're the dark side, Seina. We always have been and always will be," Kurama reminded him.

"I didn't mean it as a flaw," he looked at her with a serious face. It was a compliment.

Seina sighed. He didn't know if it was a real compliment or not, despite what Neji might believe. These machinations would have been overlooked with Naruto's age in his old life. In fact, he had overlooked them, costing him a lot of pain, blood, and tears. That was why he wanted to avoid making the same mistakes at all costs, using his experience to do so.

That night, when they returned inside the restaurant, he kept an eye on what was happening thanks to his invocations. He watched as the brat convinced Karashi to carry him to Raiga's body. He opened his eyes at the same time as Neji.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked, half asleep.

"The boy has escaped with Karashi.

"NANDE!?" Lee shouted. Tenten covered his mouth, shushing him. We have to go after them!

Seina climbed out of the window and ran, leaving a safe distance. As expected, they were found next to the body. They watched from afar as he cried, hugging one of Raiga's cold arms.

"Do you think I'm a bad person for not feeling guilty?" He asked Kurama as he watched impassively as Lee and Tenten came to comfort the boy and then proceeded to reproach Karashi for their actions.

"Why would you feel guilty?" That brat and the lightning guy were your enemies. Could it be that you feel guilty that you don't feel guilty, dwarf?

"Maybe you're right..."

"I'm always right. Plus, just because they're so young doesn't mean they're not just as dangerous as an adult. You yourself sensei is the feasible proof of that. Wasn't it genin at only 5 years old and killed a lot of people soon after?

Kurama's words calmed her down. Realizing that, in reality, the child would be fine in the care of someone normal and growing up without being a weapon at Raiga's hands. No matter how you looked at it, it came out on top. They returned to the village the next day. Dragging Lee away from another bowl of curry and leaving Karashi, Grandma, and the brat behind.

When he returned to the village, he learned everything that had happened from the gossip of the ninjas and some civilians. He smiled as he heard how his brother's mission and Sasuke had been a success.

"You're finally back!" Tsunade-sama told them as soon as he saw them. How was the mission?

Seina proceeded to explain to him everything that had happened. He handed her Kiri's weapons, seeing the Hokage's interested face, and accepted the congratulations. They collected their wages and left, but not before telling Tsunade-sama that the next day he would have to help in the hospital because of the injuries from the prison break.

"Ugh. Free at last," Tenten sighed. I'm looking forward to a good swim.

"There are two of us now..." I'm going this way. See you again," she said goodbye, raising a hand.

He came home yawning. When he opened the door, he saw how Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were preparing the food while Sasuke set the table.

"Nee-chan! Naruto called, leaving the kitchen to throw himself on top of her. You're back!

He overwhelmed her with questions without giving her time to answer. Sasuke slapped him at the same time as he rolled his eyes. He watched over his brother's head as Kakashi-sensei smiled in his direction, moving something in a frying pan. She explained back to them everything that had happened, much to the excitement and interest of Naruto and Sasuke, sitting at the table.

"I see it's been a relatively easy mission," said the jonin, putting the food on the plates. You could almost have done it on your own.

"No. Without Lee and the others, one would have a couple of broken bones. You can't imagine what Karashi was like, let alone one of the customers.

"Yes. It would have been ugly if you killed your client for being an idiot," Sasuke smiled at the laughter of the jonin and Naruto.

They ate and laughed, talking about their respective missions. They cleared the table and washed the dishes. Just when he thought the 4 of them had some time to talk and laze around, Kakashi-sensei got up.

"Well, guys. I have another mission, so I must go," Kakashi-sensei told them.

"Another one?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes. The village is full of missions, apparently," he sighed. Tsunade-sama doesn't stop exploiting us. In fact, I know you have something special in store for these airheads this afternoon.

"Eeeh?" What!? Naruto exclaimed very interestedly.

"You'll see. See you later!

That "special" thing Kakashi-sensei was talking about turned out to be a somewhat rare mission for the genins of Konoha. Luckily for Shikamaru and her, they had been spared from taking care of 3 students from the academy for a day and a half. Shikamaru because he was forced to help in the organization of the event since he was not genin and she because she had to work in the hospital. Seina had to mentally disconnect so as not to hear Sasuke and Naruto's complaints when she realized that they were going to spend the night outdoors with dwarves 7 years old, or younger.

The next morning, she went straight to the hospital after eating breakfast alone at home. Kakashi-sensei was still on a mission while Sasuke and Naruto would not return until the afternoon. So, when he arrived at the hospital, he saw the general chaos in the less serious shinobi plants.

"But what's going on here?" She asked, as soon as she saw him.

There were patients everywhere, most with moderate injuries, while the medical ninja went up and down quickly. It was the first time I had seen such chaos in the hospital.

"We don't have enough medical personnel in the village," a nurse told him, "and we civilians can't treat ninjas, so there are a lot of patients to treat since the prison break.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." You know what you have to do," he avoided rolling his eyes at the surprised and ridiculously relieved expression of some of the doctors and medical staff present.

He spent the next 4 hours treating one patient after another. He disinfected wounds, healed them, gave antibiotics, repositioned bones, administered potions, put some to sleep... When he finished his shift, he saw the clones vanish at his command, and received all the information he had gathered. He noticed that, on civilian floors, some of his clones had even had time to check inventory and help with paperwork for other doctors. The only ones that remained to be cured were the more serious cases that he had not dared to touch without Tsunade-sama's consent.

"Thank you very much, Seina-san," bowed to what appeared to be the department head of the hospital's east wing. Without your help it would have taken days to get back to normal.

"Tsunade-sama asked me to come for a reason," he said, taking the heat out of the matter.

He went home with his stomach rumbling with hunger. Since there was no one there to train with, he created a few clones to advance his medical studies and others to continue making inventions, anticipating the Hokage's request to save time. In the meantime, she took out her diary to see what things she had to do or investigate that she no longer remembered.

"Hmm... The summons thing is now complete and successful," she muttered to herself, crossing the item off the list. Same with the contract review and my clones are reading the books.

Then he saw the next point and was stunned. Naruto's gift. He had completely forgotten that it was his birthday in October. There were only 7 days left and I was still blank on what to buy or do for him.

Hours later, Naruto and Sasuke returned home shuffling from exhaustion.

"Never again," Sasuke murmured, burying his face in a cushion on the couch.

"What happened?" She asked curiously.

—Hn.

"I'll never be an academy teacher, nee-chan," Naruto sighed, throwing himself back in an armchair. We got lost and on top of that it rained on us! Good thing I was carrying one of your bentos because we spent the night in a cave!

Seina suppressed a laugh as she listened to her brother's adventures. Luckily, despite getting lost like a fool and having to sleep in the open, nothing had happened. Except that Sasuke had sucked all the energy out of him.

"And on top of that, one of the girls kept screaming and blushing every time I looked at her. Ugh. Kill me, please.

Naruto and Seina laughed at him. He didn't know why he expected compassion if neither of them was one of his lunatic fans.

"Why don't you take a bath while I make dinner?" She offered, rising to her feet.

They dined in silence, each deep in thought or regaining energy. She couldn't stop thinking about her last worry. Clothes? Weapons? Any inventions? He couldn't give him anything related to ramen since Kakashi-sensei had beaten him to it, and he didn't even know what Sasuke had bought him.

"Sasuke," he called mentally, watching him lift his eyes from his dessert. "What did you buy Naruto for his birthday?"

"A yukata." We couldn't go to the summer festival because of the chunin exams, but I remember him saying he would have liked it. I've never seen him in traditional clothes so I thought he'd need one. I talked to Kakashi-sensei so I couldn't buy him any ramen, which would have been the easiest thing to do.

Seina avoided sighing as she realized it was a nice gift. Why wouldn't he have thought of it? They went to bed a short time later. Just as he got into bed, he noticed how the magic barriers let Kakashi-sensei through, so he went to sleep with a smile on his lips when he realized that everyone was fine.

By the next morning, Naruto had regained his usual energy, much to the exasperation of Sasuke who was still lazing on the couch and didn't feel like training with him.

"It's all right! I'll go by myself! He exclaimed as he left the house when she refused to go to training.

He would have liked to go, but he had to think about what to buy him before time ran out. That's how Kakashi-sensei found her, stretched out despondently next to Sasuke on the couch.

"I see you're full of energy," he joked on his way to breakfast.

"I still don't know what to buy Naruto," she said without lifting her head from the cushion.

"Are you still with that?" Kakashi-sensei asked, picking up his bowl of cut fruit and some toast, and sitting down in the armchair instead of the table. You know what? We could go for a walk around the village, see if you can think of something.

"I suppose it's better than nothing," she sighed, accepting the offer. Are you coming, Sasuke?

"I don't... Let me recover from yesterday," he whispered, almost sleeping.

A while later, when Kakashi-sensei had eaten breakfast and dressed, they walked out into the village. It seemed strange to him to have free time to do absolutely nothing. Even more so when he hadn't seen his master for more than a few hours for a few weeks. They walked in comforting silence until they reached the most bustling neighborhoods of Konoha.

"A set of tea?" Kakashi-sensei asked, looking at a shop window. Or perhaps, bedding?

"Ugh. Too impersonal. Also, Naruto hardly drinks tea.

"Any books?" Seina turned to look at him with stinging eyes. Already. Better than not. Weapons already have. Sasuke has bought her clothes... and something personalized? For example, brushes and pens and stuff.

"Hmm... It could be. To a bad guy, I can buy that.

"I'm actually surprised you don't do anything personalized to her," Kakashi-sensei said, glancing at her.

"I thought about it, but what I wanted to do was too much for the time I have. Now I have even less time.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll come up with something." Naruto is a clown at his core. Even if you gave him a joke kunai, he'd be delighted," Kakashi-sensei comforted her, putting his arm around her shoulders as if nothing had happened.

She was stunned to her spot as she listened to him. Of course! How could it not occur to him before? Naruto loved to play pranks and she had been the owner along with George of the best chain of joke shops in Europe and then America and Asia.

"Kakashi-sensei... You're a genius," he assured her fervently.

He didn't know if it was what he saw in his eyes, perhaps the mischievous, amused gleam at the memory of George's old jokes, but he shuddered. Then he shrugged, pretending that nothing had happened.

"I know," he said, his tone slightly arrogant. She punched him powerlessly in the side that she didn't even try to dodge. Ow.

"I have to buy candy and a few other things," she told him energetically. She took him by the hand and dragged him to the nearest store. You'll see his face when he sees it! Hahaha.

—… Maybe I should have shut up," the jonin muttered quietly to himself, letting himself be carried away by her.

They arrived safely at the store in question. As soon as he saw that it was full of people, more than half of them children in the double digits, he knew that Kakashi-sensei would not want to enter if he could help it.

"You can wait for me here if you want," she assured him outside the tent. It didn't take long.

"Take your time," he smiled, pulling out his p*rn book to wait alone on the street.

Seina stepped into the crowd. He took a bunch of candies of the same type to turn them into the canary creams and then candies of different types to mix them and transform them into sprinkles of all flavors. He practically took a kilo of candy, to the astonishment of the customers and the joy of the clerk.

When he came out, putting the huge package in his fanny pack, he saw how Kakashi-sensei was staring at who appeared to be Guy-sensei and Lee a few feet away. Saying they "appeared to be" was a good choice of words because, obviously, they weren't his favorite eyebrows. Unless Lee had put on 100 pounds in a couple of days since he saw him on the last mission.

"Who are those?" She asked, standing next to her master.

"Let's find out," he said, walking silently until he reached the backs of the two impostors, who seemed to be pointing to the Hokage mansion. I! Guy, Lee. What's wrong with the Hokage mansion?

"N-n-it's not like we're looking for Kono's confidential information!" began the one dressed as Lee.

"Idiot! The other exclaimed, punching him and shutting him up suddenly. Don't listen to him. Hahaha.

Seina stared incredulously at the worst impostors and spies in ninja history. Did they really think they were cheating on someone?

"um," Kakashi-sensei muttered.

"Act matter-of-factly," whispered Impostor Guy, as if they couldn't hear him. Then he turned around with a bright smile. I'm Guy!

"And I'm Lee!"

"Guy and Lee, huh?" I notice you are a little different," Kakashi-sensei replied. Seina glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, seeing how she was staring at them with a blank face, obviously not believing a word.

"It's your imagination!"

"Didn't you say you were going to walk around the village 5 times doing the handstand, Guy-sensei?" She spoke with a somewhat devilish smile.

Both impostors turned to look at her, as if they hadn't realized she was there all along. He shuddered at the somewhat lustful expressions of both spies. Ew. Kakashi-sensei stood almost brazenly in front of her, covering her with half his body, as he discreetly shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"I don't know... There's something weird.

"AAH! One of them pointed behind Kakashi-sensei. There's a kite flying around and eating battered pork!

Seina couldn't suppress a silent laugh of derision. Kakashi-sensei stared at them for a few seconds, not moving, perhaps because the excuse was so pathetic that it was impossible to believe. In the end, he played dumb and turned around.

"Where?" The impostors ran away. Eeeh!? I don't see it!

When they were alone, Seina turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Pathetic.

"Actually, yes. Let's see what they come up to.

They followed his trail across the rooftops to a more residential area of the village. They climbed down to a tree branch, leaving the impostors in their range of vision. They watched as they caught their breath and laughed at having "deceived" them. Minutes later, when they were back on their way somewhere, she and Kakashi-sensei climbed down from the tree.

"Hmm... We should tell that to Tsunade-sama.

"Who's going to swallow that it's Guy-sensei and Lee?" She rolled her eyes.

"I've seen more ridiculous things," he confessed as he walked beside her to the tower of the Hokage.

"Well. It's been a productive morning. I already know what to get Naruto and we've discovered a couple of spies. What more could you ask for?

Kakashi-sensei laughed. Seina couldn't help but send him a smile as she sensed how much... Kakashi-sensei was happy at his side. As they arrived at the tower, Seina thought about her almost platonic relationship with the jonin. While I didn't want to make any slip-ups, let's say, physical, that didn't mean I could only be with him other than the moments alone that came by chance. They couldn't go on a regular date, but maybe they could do something else. Above all, because he knew less and less how little contact they had alone. I just needed more.

"Ah, Kakashi. What's wrong?

"There's a couple of guys in the village pretending to be Lee and Guy. I thought I should know.

"Shall we kick them out, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"No, leave them," the Hokage began to smile wickedly. This is going to be fun.

Seina laughed maliciously as she understood what she was going to do with the pair of cats who were wandering around the village. For a moment he thought of joining the chaos of the Hokage, but seeing how Kakashi-sensei had the day off, he preferred to spend it with him as much as possible.

"Would you like to eat out?" Kakashi-sensei asked as soon as he stepped out of the tower, stepping ahead of her. We can try a new restaurant.

"I'd love to," he smiled.

They walked around the village, chatting about what they wanted to eat, and talking about everything a little. A while later, they saw a sushi restaurant they hadn't visited before so they went inside. The interior surprised him as the rounded armchairs with high backs gave a pleasant feeling of privacy, as well as the light from the wall lamp above the table made the restaurant more intimate.

"Not bad," she said, looking at the Japanese-themed décor.

"What are you going to ask for?"

They were reading the menu and exchanging opinions about some dishes. Minutes later, the waiter took their order. As soon as he left, he lifted a spell so that they could talk quietly. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, and she nodded.

"It's very useful, that spell of yours.

"It's not really mine. I stole it from one of my most hated professors, and my father's and godfather's archenemy," she smiled.

"One of the most hated?" Kakashi-sensei asked with interest.

"It's a very long story. In short, this man was my old mother's best friend, but at school he was brainwashed into joining a terrorist cult whose leader was very much like Orochimaru. Perhaps even worse. Both this man and my father were in love with my mother. For my father, it was love at first sight at age 11. For years he was trying to get me to go out with her, without much success, until one day at the age of 16 my father humiliated this other man with his friends. My mother wanted to help him, but... Snape didn't want his help. He reacted badly and paid for it with my mother.

"Did she reject him out of embarrassment?" Kakashi-sensei asked, deducing what had happened.

"That's right. He called it mudblood in front of a bunch of students, so my mother cut off her friendship with him. Shortly after that, my paternal grandparents died at the hands of this terrorist and my father was forced to grow up. In the end, he ended up winning over my mother, and the rest is history.

—... What's that mudblood?

"A wizard or witch whose parents are not wizards or witches," he replied tersely. My best friend, years later, proved that there is no such thing. Apparently, magical families who had non-magical children, also called squib, gave them up for adoption to civilian families without a single magic drop in their veins. What they didn't realize was that a squib with another squib, or a wizard or witch, can have magical offspring. Rekindle the kekkei genkai, so to speak...

"So some of your mother's ancestors were a squib from a magical family. And your father?

"My father, unlike my mother, was descended from a family with a lineage of more than 1000 years. People like him were called purebloods. Same with my godfather. In fact, my father and godfather were related. My godfather's great-aunt was my grandmother. Both my old father and I were more like my godfather's family than my father's. I don't know if that's a big compliment, considering the Blacks were all crazy to a greater or lesser extent.

Kakashi-sensei laughed at this, unable to help himself.

"I understand a lot of things now," he joked.

"You laugh. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, but over the years I've realized that I have the same character as them. Unfortunately. My godfather was killed by his cousin, and I almost killed my second cousin.

"Really?"

"Yes. They had a city house with a wall full of their servants' heads," he explained, seeing his eyebrows raised in surprise. It was full of dark creatures, poisoned and cursed weapons. Even the magical protections of the house were... Malignant. There was talk of "Black madness" for a reason. I even once found a piece of soul in a locket. Of all the places I could have hidden it...

"What?" Kakashi-sensei asked, almost disbelievingly. Seriously?

"Yes. My own godfather, despite loving me and sacrificing himself for me, manipulated Snape into being eaten by a werewolf. I was only 15 years old. Luckily, my father found out in time and saved him.

"No wonder this Snape was resentful.

"Me neither, but that doesn't mean he had to pay for it with me," she rolled her eyes. And yet, he died in my arms, poisoned by the leader he had followed throughout his adolescence.

Seina momentarily undid the spell as she watched the waiter approach with his food. He put it down on the table and left. He activated the spell again as he looked at the food.

"I can hardly believe you lived in a totally different world. To think that your paternal family was more than 1000 years old when here the ninja villages are less than a century old...

"Sometimes I don't think there's that much difference between the two worlds, but then I remember what I saw. I saw wonderful things that you would never imagine, but also terrible things. Far worse than what I've read, heard or seen here.

—… I don't know if I want to imagine it.

They were talking about his work as an Auror and what he had seen. While it was true that they talked about their lives that night, they didn't go into much detail about their tumultuous adolescence. So he took the opportunity, because of his interest, to explain how he spent the first 17 years of his life on the verge of death. The more he talked about the hardships he went through to get rid of Voldemort, the more Kakashi-sensei frowned in disgust.

"I don't even know where to start..." I can't think of incompetence, negligence...

"I know. It took me many years of therapy to assimilate all the manipulations that led to my first death, she confessed, but I couldn't change the past. Well, actually that's debatable, but you know what I mean.

Kakashi-sensei snorted a laugh, shaking his head.

"In the end, I understood that I could get on with my life and really live it, or I could carry on my past and let resentment the years I had left to live. It was hard for me to let go of those emotions. You can't imagine how much. Until one day George told me what he knew his deceased twin brother would tell him, if he could talk to him from the grave: to live thinking that they had won even though many people had tried to sink them, and that he must look to the future and live fully or he would end up destroying himself by making those who had killed him win the last battle. despite having given his life so that it was not so.

There was silence as they finished eating their meal. Kakashi-sensei seemed lost in thought, staring at the table as if he had the answers to the mysteries of the cosmos.

"Isn't living like this clinging to life out of spite?" He finally asked.

"Sometimes, in order to survive, we do things that aren't very healthy," she said. One can live out of spite until one finds another reason to live, as long as one survives long enough. You can hardly find different reasons for living in death.

"If I had any doubts about your age, I think you've just dispelled them," Kakashi-sensei joked.

"You're not wise because you're old," she smiled.

"No. I suppose not.

They paid and left the restaurant, seeing how it was still quite early. He mentally connected with Sasuke and Naruto to see what they were doing. He couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw that Naruto was with the imposters from before, teasing them on the outskirts where the rice fields.

"What's going on?"

"Guess who's with the impostors right now?"

—… No. Naruto?

"Yes. From afar he thought it was them," he laughed as he explained, "until he saw the supposed Lee up close.

—…

"Sasuke is on a mission with Hinata and Kiba. I don't think he'll come tonight for dinner or sleep.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head. They walked home, laughing at the misadventures of the spies, and chatting about Naruto's gift. As they entered the door, a hand grabbed his arm. She turned around somewhat surprised. He saw how the jonin seemed to be finding the right words for what he wanted to say.

"I don't mean to be so arrogant as to tell you that I know what you went through in your previous life. I know that you are strong, more than I imagined, and that you accepted what you were given in that life... But I want you to know that, in this life, you have us. You've got me, and I'm going to do my best to make sure you don't get a tenth of what happened to you.

"I know," she smiled with emotion at his words.

She hugged him tightly, unable to help it, and let herself be hugged for a few minutes. When he pulled away, as it barely reached below his breastplate, he grabbed him by the collar of his waistcoat and pulled him down. He saw Kakashi-sensei's surprised face as he pulled down his mask enough to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you.

He turned around, walking up the stairs to his study. He had to get out of there or he'd do something he might regret. He could hear how he stood there for a long time, perhaps startled at his audacity.
Chapter 34
"Good! You learn very quickly," Tsunade-sama congratulated her the next day. Soon you will be operating on your own without support.

Seina nodded. I was learning everything the Hokage knew, and more. There were certain techniques that she knew that Tsunade-sama didn't even know about simply because they didn't require chakra but physical intervention. He hadn't been a doctor in his previous life, but he'd had to work miracles in the face of some injuries to companions during some missions.

It had been 3 days since his meal with Kakashi-sensei alone. About 3 days where all her team was on different missions outside the village, except for her. He took time alone by advancing in his theoretical studies and going to the hospital every day. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was to stand still. When he returned home that afternoon, after spending practically the entire day in the hospital, he ran into Sasuke.

"Wow! I didn't think you would come back until tomorrow.

"It wasn't a big deal," he said over a snack. It was just a matter of catching a thief. Where is the dobe and Kakashi-sensei?

"Naruto is on a mission with Neji and Tenten in the land of the Birds. Kakashi-sensei, I think, had an A-rank mission.

"What about you?" What have you been up to? He asked with interest, sitting down next to her.

"I've been making good progress in the hospital. In fact, I have half of the textbooks left that Tsunade-sama gave me a couple of months ago. If it weren't for my clones... It would be pretty clumsy, really.

"Ugh. It's clear that I don't have your calling. I'd rather have 10 S-rank missions in a row than study the entire library.

"Actually, these books aren't from the library. They're medical books," she laughed at the sight of his face. The scrolls I copied from the library I have yet to read. I read only the ones that interested me at the time.

—…

"I'm afraid if you want to become a jonin you'll have to study some books," she warned, patting him.

"I think I'll start using clones while I'm here," Sasuke sighed, realizing that it was better to advance slowly than to run.

"Why don't we go find someone to train with?" Seina told him, when she had had enough of talking about studying.

"Maybe tomorrow," Sasuke sighed again. I'm tired of running up and down after a thief.

Seina laughed at the hearing, but accepted his commitment. The next day, they went in search of someone to train with when they were surprised by Yugao and her boyfriend Hayate.

"Seina! La Jonin smiled when she saw them. He pulled Hayate to his side. Tsunade-sama told me that you both treated Hayate. Thank you so much.

"Thank you. I owe you my life," Hayate nodded. He looked like another person without his usual sickly look.

"You're welcome.

"Where are you going?" Will I ever meet your brother? Yugao asked, smiling.

"He's on a mission. I don't think it will take long to come back. We were going to see if we could find someone to train with," he shrugged.

"Why don't you train with us?" Hayate offered surprisingly.

Yugao, although it looked like they were on a date, nodded. Perhaps he felt that he had to pay in some way for the fact that Hayate was alive, and totally healed. Seina and Sasuke exchanged doubtful glances.

"If that's okay with you," Sasuke agreed.

"Great. Let's go to our old training ground.

They walked through the village to the forest area they occupied the other time. Hayate, who had been the jonin sensei of his graduating class's Team 1, was explaining how his team disbanded while he was in the hospital.

"When I woke up, I found that one of my students was so traumatized that he left him as soon as he came out of the forest of death," he shook his head, "while the other was so injured that, even if he could be a ninja again, he preferred to leave before he even knew his medical verdict. The only one who is still a ninja is my former kunoichi, but she has preferred to join an intelligence squad rather than follow the usual ninja path.

"We know. You're talking about Sakura, aren't you? She asked rhetorically. I'm glad she's found something she likes and decided to be mature about her priorities.

"For a moment I thought he was going to refuse the offer," Sasuke interceded.

"Why do you say that?" Hayate asked.

"Sakura is one of Sasuke's fans," she turned to look at him. Don't you remember the tantrum she caught when she wasn't put on your team?

"Do you think I would have stayed a field ninja just to be closer to Sasuke," Hayate sighed. Honestly, from what I know of her, I wouldn't have been surprised. It took me almost 2 weeks to get him to speak to his teammates at first and get him to practice without crying.

Seina rolled her eyes at Sakura's attitude. He also couldn't take much pride in her because she was only a child, but certainly with that level of immaturity being a ninja would be very risky for her, and for her peers.

As soon as they arrived at the training camp, Seina and Sasuke told them a bit about their skills and both jonin decided to fight the two of them with everything. Here's how they spent the rest of the morning. Seina, who was already using hiraishin without hesitation, surprised Hayate more than once. It was clear that he was an expert in kenjutsu, but Kakashi-sensei was much more of an all-rounder than he was, and it showed in what Seina and Sasuke had learned. Then he saw the perfect opportunity to try something he'd been working on. A new genjutsu that affected balance.

He used Sasuke to cover himself while molding the chakra and making the hand seals. He directed the chakra towards both of them and instantly saw how it worked. They both fell to the ground in their circles, their eyes unable to look at a fixed point because of the dizziness. He undid it instantly when he saw Yugao about to vomit. He jumped towards them with the medical ninjutsu already prepared. Still, he couldn't do anything to help them. He had to let them recover on their own after a few minutes.

"W-what was that?" She asked, her face pale, lying on the floor.

"A genjutsu."

"A genjutsu?" Hayate asked, sitting down, his face stunned. But what is Kakashi teaching you?

"I created it," she smiled. Isn't that great?

"You could have killed us both," Yugao thought aloud, recovering completely. For a moment... I thought I was going to throw up.

"You were going to throw up," Sasuke, who had seen his gagging, assured him. Seina stopped the jutsu just in time.

"It's not possible," Hayate shook his head.

"Yes, it is," she rebutted, "and I had a theory as to why. Now that I know I was right...

He grinned from ear to ear, thinking about how he could use genjutsu to manipulate or destroy someone.

"I think I'll try the genjutsus I've created on some mission.

Sasuke looked at her and she opened their connection so that he could not only perceive her thoughts and emotions but so that he could see exactly what he was going to do, and how he had come to that conclusion. He showed her his theory about the brain and what genjutsu really was, about how he had used genjutsu to make Yugao and Hayate's brains believe they were perceiving a sonic disturbance that culminated in a real loss of balance.

"I'm glad I'm not your enemy," Sasuke shook his head at the confusion of both jonin. You're crazy, but you're a genius. I want you to teach me how to do that.

She nodded. Yugao and Hayate, meanwhile, called it quits. Seina realized that both she and Sasuke had held up quite well against both of them, even though their final "defeat" was just a random coin when using their new genjutsu. She noticed how sweaty she was, after several hours of non-stop moving, and swore she would take a long bath.

When they got home, to their surprise, they found Naruto and Kakashi-sensei talking at the table.

"Nee-chan, be afraid! Where were you?

"Training, dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"How was the mission?" She asked.

"Good. We meet Kakashi-sensei in the land of the Birds.

"It was a coincidence, but it's a good thing he was there," sighed the jonin. The mission ended up being too much for 3 genins, although they did quite well up to that point.

He made them promise that they would tell him everything after showering, so he preferred not to take the long-awaited bath so that he could go down to the dining room as soon as possible. When he came downstairs he saw that Sasuke had already showered and changed, sitting in a chair with damp hair and barefoot. Naruto explained to them in great detail what had happened on the mission. How they had to investigate a ghost that later turned out to be someone in disguise, how they protected the feudal lord from assassins, etc.

"Wow. You always get the most entertaining missions," she told him with a smile.

Kakashi-sensei stifled a laugh. "You didn't really miss anything. Naruto, as always, ended up making it more complicated with his inability to let it be.

"Hey! Thanks to me, we found out the truth!

"Hn. Typical of the dobe.

Seina listened as they argued with a smile. Kakashi-sensei looked over Naruto's head, smiling at his relaxed countenance, and touching his foot under the table.

Unfortunately for them, the next day they gave their jonin sensei another mission so they ended up training with Guy-sensei and Lee. He spent the whole morning doing ridiculous training and taijutsu exercises, but noticed how he had improved quite a bit after having practiced new katas with his clones. Guy-sensei even pointed him to a dojo on the other side of the village where he would find good opponents to further improve his hand-to-hand combat.

"Only Jonins and other ninjas go in that dojo. I'm sure it will be of great help to you.

"Thank you, Guy-sensei.

"You're welcome, Seina-chan! WE HAVE TO NOURISH THE ETERNAL FLOWER OF THE NEXT GENERATIONS!

He blinked, slowly fleeing from there. He silently thanked Lee for distracting his master and left with his team. The next day, with only one day left before his birthday, Tsunade-sama sent them on an unannounced mission. Luckily, he'd be with his team, in addition to Shino, again on a field mission. Unfortunately, he would miss his birthday with Kakashi-sensei and the other genins.

"Eeeeeh! Are we going on a mission right on our birthday!? Naruto shouted. What an injustice!

"Shut up, Naruto!" A lot of times missions take precedence! Tsunade-sama threw a stapler at him. Naruto dodged her. Plus, when you get back, you'll have a few days off. Isn't that okay with you?

"Ugh. I suppose so.

"What's the mission about?" She asked before he could change his mind.

"It's just a fact-finding and elimination mission. You have to travel to the Land of the Sea and investigate the monster Kaima. Since your client is there, you can leave as soon as possible. Seina, you will be the leader of the team. Shizune.

"The country of the Sea is made up of several islands," Shizune began, showing them a map. Lately they attacked and robbed several ships, the only mode of transport. Reports say they were attacked by a sea monster.

"So our mission will be to eliminate him?" Naruto asked, more excited.

"Not only that. Since the land of the Sea has no hidden village, every month it pays the land of the Sea monthly for its protection, but recently the monster attacked the ship that was sent to the land of the Sea.

"I suppose we'll have to protect the next ship and get rid of this monster," she said. Tsunade-sama nodded.

"That's how we'll keep things going.

Seina took the papers Shizune handed her, putting them in her fanny pack. They walked out of the tower to the nearest park, to talk for a few seconds.

"Do we have everything we need?" She asked. I have a few bentos ready, just in case. I don't know if they'll last the whole mission, though.

"I'm ready.

"And me!"

"I'll have to be away for 10 minutes to get my backpack," Shino replied in his usual tone.

"It's all right. You can go, Shino, we'll be waiting for you at the door in 15 minutes.

"Until now.

They turned around to go to the gate closest to their destination. It was somewhat absurd for him to think about the mission. They hadn't even left the land of Fire many times, and yet they'd all been sent to the land of the Sea with a mere map and a couple of pages of documentation. Basically, they had to make a living. If it weren't for the books he read and his mental experience, they would be more lost than a clam in a jug. Although, looking at his chunin rank, perhaps it wasn't that far-fetched.

When they arrived, they slowly waited at the registration table. A pair of chunins he didn't know at all watched them for a few seconds before looking back at the passers-by. It took Shino barely 10 minutes to show up at the door, probably because he already had a backpack ready to leave just in case. They checked their departure and set off. As soon as they left the village gate behind, he picked up the papers he had saved.

"Let's look at the documentation they've given us," she said. See... The center of the Sea country is the Island of Haha, so we will have to go there by boat. Supposedly, the reports talk about--a half-man, half-fish monster? Huh.

"What?" Sasuke asked, leaning over to look at what was written.

"I'm sure they've been wrong!"

"Or maybe he's a ninja with some modifications," she said. The ninjas in this world were just as crazy as the wizards. It wouldn't be unreasonable for something like this to happen. Anyway, let's go to the port and ask the locals to see if they know anything about it.

"We should arrive in a couple of hours at a brisk pace," Shino mused.

"As long as we get there before sunset..." I wouldn't want to meet that monster at night for the first time.

They spent the rest of the journey in silence, running through the trees. Not that it was very interesting either, except for the fact that they didn't have an adult with them to take care of the equipment. Luckily, they arrived even before nightfall, so they watched the port village from the top of the hill.

"That island must be Haha," Sasuke said, looking at the map and pointing to the central island.

"Let's go downstairs." "We have to hire a boat to take us," she said.

"Yosh! My first boat trip!

—…

As soon as they set foot in the village, he knew by murmurs that they had all been affected by the monster. He could hear several people complaining about lack of food and price inflation. He even sensed a scuffle in the distance. It wasn't out of the ordinary. Every time people suffered from eating, these kinds of situations appeared. Unfortunately, that meant that several thugs might try to scam them out of hiring the boat.

"This is what I can give you," they heard a man's voice in front of a restaurant.

The dark-haired girl was carrying a backpack almost bigger than her and had a face full of bandages. Not only was his appearance somewhat sad, but his eyes perfectly reflected that desolation. Naruto, of course, couldn't help but intrude when the situation pulled his sensitive strings.

"Wait a minute! Naruto said, walking up to the two of them. This fish looks quality! How can you give him that measly paycheck!?

Seina listened to the excuses of the man who seemed to be the owner of the restaurant with a serious face. Just as I thought, the whole port was affected by the situation. Still, the girl didn't open her mouth to complain or to thank her brother for trying to defend her. He just lowered his head even more and ran off.

"Hey! Naruto called, running after her.

Seina let him go. He knew he would be back soon once he was satisfied or the girl explicitly refused his help. The gentleman, somewhat gossipy, began to tell them the girl's story. A diver named Isaribi from Haha Island who, some time ago, disappeared along with a bunch of islanders. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she was the only one who reappeared, so everyone treated her with contempt and distrust.

"Do you know where we can hire a ship to take us to the island of Haha?" He asked the fish lord.

"I don't think you'll get anyone to take you," he told them truthfully. Many people have lost their boats and the few who keep their boats no longer go out to sail after sunset.

They watched the sun set as it began to set. He knew that, despite trying to avoid it, they hadn't gotten what they wanted.

"Are there any good inns around here?" He asked her then.

They listened to the native's directions and then left. Seina and Sasuke watched the confrontation that Naruto was witnessing at that very moment, with narrowed eyes. Those two guys didn't just give him a hard time, they sounded like something to him. They watched as the girl gathered her things, helped by her brother, until she raised her head to look at him for the first time and then fled in terror. He exchanged a glance with Sasuke at his attitude.

"Let's go find Naruto," she said. If what that man says is true, we won't get them to take us to the island.

"What if tomorrow morning we can't get anyone to take us to the island either?" Sasuke asked.

"Then we'll fly." Honestly, I'd rather avoid a showdown tonight. Even more so knowing that none of the expert sailors in this village dare to go out when it gets dark out of fear.

"That makes sense," Shino nodded. Although perhaps going out at night would be a great opportunity to investigate.

"I'll send one of my summonses," Seina said. That way I'll know if there's anything to worry about.

"Look, there's the dobe.

"Nee-chan, did you see that?" He asked angrily. Why does there always have to be bullies everywhere?

"Dwarf... "I just remembered something important," Kurama told her, startling her. One of those guys who's seen your brother's clown, his voice, we've heard it before.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes. In the emo brat bout in the chunin preliminaries. He was one of the supposed genins on Kabuto's team.

Seina's heart skipped a beat. He saw how they were arguing about whether or not it was worth following the girl and knew they had to get out of there.

"Let's go to the inn, boys," she ordered.

Something in his voice must have alerted them that something was wrong because they instantly shut up. They found the inn, if you could call it that, on the beachfront. It was a two-story house with a sign on the door. At first glance it looked like just another house, like the houses on either side that surrounded it. They entered the hotel. They saw an old man accompanied by a small child.

"Welcome to Shirakigu Inn. How can I be of service to them?

"We need a room," Seina said, "for one night, please."

The man handed them the key, and she paid the money. The room was medium-sized, upholstered with typical tatami mats, a window and a small low table. There was also a small sliding door closet that held the bedding and futons.

"Well?" Sasuke asked, knowing something was up.

Seina lifted a spell so that no one could spy on them and then drew the sky curtains. He used a couple of magic barriers, just in case, and then sat down on the ground.

"The man who saw Naruto..." It's Yoroi.

"Yoroi?" Who's that? Naruto asked.

"How do you know what Naruto has seen?" Shino asked, surprised. ¿Perhaps... Can you see what he sees?

"We're connected," he shrugged. We are twins.

"The same Yoroi I faced in the chunin exams?" Sasuke asked with a frown. Are you sure?

"Kurama told me, why don't you ask your yang half, Naruto?"

"My Kurama is almost always asleep, he says I'm boring him.

Seina avoided groaning in frustration. Why did she always have to do it all?

"Yes, that same one.

"Why is it so important?" Shino asked, not seeming fully aware of what happened during the invasion.

"This guy was one of Kabuto's team members in the exam," Sasuke informed him. Then it turned out that Kabuto was working with Orochimaru.

"So, logically, Yoroi probably works for him.

"Exactly," she nodded. That may mean that Orochimaru is here and, perhaps, that the monster we're looking for is his thing. Maybe one of his experiments. This poses a grave danger to Sasuke.

They all turned to look at him. His fists were clenched, but he seemed to be calm.

"And what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"If we recognized him, they must have recognized us," Shino said coldly. We should assume that we are being watched.

"Exactly. I will now sneak out and use my summons to guard the sea and the harbor. Hopefully I'll see something useful. In the meantime, we should decide whether to continue with this mission or reject it because of the danger it entails.

"We can't leave these people like this!" Naruto replied right off the bat.

"Naruto, think of Sasuke," Shino admonished. Other teams can cope with this situation, but Sasuke is a priority target for Orochimaru.

"What do you think, Sasuke?"

—… We haven't missed a mission so far. I wouldn't want to fail without trying," Sasuke replied, much to Naruto's delight. Besides, you can get us out of any trouble so I know we'll be okay.

Seina sighed. He was right. The Portkey he had given her, after the previous scare, could lead her to him at any given moment and also acted as a reverse summon, summoning Sasuke to her. So, if the worst happened, I could rescue him. Also, just because Orochimaru could be present didn't mean it was accurate. They could not refuse missions at the slightest hint of danger. If so, what kind of ninja would they be?

"What are your orders, Seina?" Shino finally asked.

"If we knew for sure that Orochimaru was here, the most reasonable thing to do would be to abort the mission, but I agree with Naruto and Sasuke. I have the means to rescue him if necessary. Also, I'm going to leave one of my stamps outside the village, somewhere safe, in case we need to flee immediately.

He left the room with his invisibility bracelet activated. He summoned a couple of birds. One to drop one of his sealed stones in the distance for the hiraishin and another to watch over the sea and the harbor. She returned unseen to the room and sat against a wall, visualizing the sea. He saw how, indeed, there was not a single boat sailing. He was waving the currents for a long time, but he didn't find anything unusual. Just as he called his bird back, he saw something peeking out of the waves. It was the girl Naruto had followed, Isaribi. Minutes later, Yoroi stepped out of the sea, as if he had been waiting for them, and knew he had made the right decision.

"They're not coming. They will be hiding like rats. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow," the other boy said to Yoroi.

"No, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Let's go. We need to report this.

They disappeared into the fog in the direction of an island. Seina brought her seagull back and, once hidden among the trees, undid the summoning. When he came to, he saw how Naruto and the others had taken out 4 futons and prepared them for sleep.

"What happened?"

"They were waiting for us," she said, stretching. The funny thing is that I have also seen the girl, Isaribi, swimming in the middle of the sea as if nothing had happened.

"Don't you believe...?" Sasuke asked, sensing the direction of his thoughts.

"The monster was half fish, half human," Shino recalled.

"I don't know, but it's suspicious. The others have talked about informing someone. It's clear that something is going on here.

They heard someone knocking at the door. They turned, with several weapons in hand, but it turned out to be the old man from before. Apparently, a person was waiting for them on the ground floor to talk to them. The man who summoned them was Hitode, his client and also the man responsible for the security of the ships that transported the money from the payments to the Land of Water.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't add our meeting point in the mission request," he apologized. As soon as I have been informed of your presence, I decided to come and talk to you.

"What's it about?" She asked, sitting in front of him with her companions on either side.

"It's about the departure of the ships. It was scheduled for tomorrow at noon, but has been brought forward to early tomorrow. A lot of people want to strengthen our agreement with the Land of Water, so we've been forced to bring the trip forward.

"It's all right. We'll be at the port first thing in the morning," she assured him.

"The monster has the fishermen and sailors anxious, so I hope they can help us.

Seina nodded her head at his bow, followed by her team. They went back up to their room. They ate one of their benthos and used the shared bathroom before going to sleep. Seina listened as her brother fell asleep, followed by Shino, as she thought about what had happened earlier that afternoon. It was clear that the mission was more complex than they had expected. Not only did they have to eliminate this "monster" that the sailors were talking about, but he also began to suspect that it was, in fact, a person. Not to mention, they weren't the only ninjas in the village at that very moment.

If Kaima was really Isaribi, what could they do? The only option he could see, in that case, was to interrogate her to find out why she was attacking her neighbors' fishing boats. I didn't know if she wanted to keep thinking about what would happen if she was the culprit, but the truth is that there were several factors that pointed to her being the one who was causing all this. To begin with, the monster was clearly a person with transformative properties, surely an experiment. Then there was the fact that she was the only one who "returned" or was released after her disappearance and, interestingly, shortly thereafter said monster appeared. Not to mention that he had seen her swimming quietly in the sea, at night, when no one had the courage to go into the water, not even by boat.

"What are you thinking about?" Sasuke asked.

"We have a reasonable suspicion that Isaribi is the monster people talk about..." The ship departs at dawn and will carry the money that Hitode has collected. Most likely, they will try to steal it.

"Are you going to set a trap for him?"

"I think we should follow her." As soon as she transforms or uses a jutsu that proves she's the culprit, we'll capture her. At the same time, we should protect the boat as it is a clear target. Maybe the sea monster doesn't act alone, maybe it's just a pawn... Mmm...

He fell asleep with the outline of a plan in mind. I was beginning to understand what I had to do.
Chapter 35
They woke up the next day at dawn. As soon as he saw that they were all more or less conscious, he took out a bento and while they ate he began to explain to them what he had thought.

"We've got a couple of hours before we leave, so here's what we're going to do. Shino, Naruto. The 2 of you are going to find Isaribi and follow her. "If we're right and she's the sea monster, I want you to capture her," he ordered. They both nodded with serious faces. Sasuke and I will go to the port and try to talk to the natives to find out something about the disappearances that the man told us about yesterday.

"You plan to investigate the connection between the monster, Isaribi and the disappearances," Shino thought aloud.

"That's right. After the confrontation of those ninjas yesterday against Isaribi I have serious doubts that she is stealing and attacking the ships of her own volition. If so, these ninjas who are using Isaribi have to be based somewhere.

"And what about Orochimaru?"

"We don't know if he's here or not, but let's assume that he is and be careful. If it's anywhere, it must be in the place where the disappearances took place. All the more reason to find out where that base is.

"Yosh! Let's get off the ground as soon as possible!

"Eat your food first, dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

They ate in relative haste, full of energy and eager to get out of the inn. Naruto and Shino bid them farewell to set off in search of Isaribi while she and Sasuke made their way to the port. There were quite a few people for the time it was, especially considering that most of them were scared to go out to fish.

"Who do we ask?"

"Hmm, maybe a fisherman?"

"Excuse me," Sasuke called to the first fisherman they encountered. Do you know anything about the disappearances that everyone is talking about?

"Why do you ask?" He asked suspiciously. Then he saw their ninja bands. Ah, ninjas. I don't want to talk about it.

"Could you tell us at least when the disappearances started and when they started having problems with the sea monster?" She asked.

—… "Ten years ago," the man muttered, picking up the net from the ground. A couple of years later the sea monster emerged, and the rest is history.

They left, seeing that he didn't want to talk any further. Sasuke glanced at her sideways.

"Why didn't you ask him about Isaribi?"

"Because of our interest in her, I could have come to the conclusion that Isaribi is the monster and taken the law into our own hands, hindering the mission. Plus, there are a lot of people here to ask. We can intersperse questions so that no one suspects what we are trying to corroborate.

That's how they asked a few people, those who wanted to collaborate. The people, gripped by fear, were very reluctant to open their mouths. At least until they learned that their mission was to get rid of what they were so terrified of. It wasn't until half an hour before they set sail that they got lucky. They found a woman accompanied by her elderly mother.

"There was a time when we ran out of fish, so we had to try our luck on Kikai Island. Legend has it that this island is full of demons and that all those who approach it disappear.

She explained how she and her husband tried their luck on the island's reef. Apparently, she returned home with a booty, but without a husband. The funny thing was to know that it happened 10 years ago. Just what the first fisherman had told them. According to several others, Isaribi had returned to the village between 1 and 2 years after his disappearance.

"It's clearly related.

"Nee-chan! Naruto shouted just then. It was her!

"Have you captured her?"

"That Yoroi got it and took it away," his brother growled.

"Come here. "There's no point in you chasing her," he ordered. He turned to look at Sasuke. Let's go find Hitode's boat.

They made their way to the ship. Seina discreetly summoned a few birds for aerial vision in order to avoid surprises. It was thanks to a conjured seagull that he saw Naruto and Shino rushing to the harbor. When they were all together, Naruto caught his breath as he explained and taught her what had happened.

"What do we do now?" His brother asked.

"Now that we know it's related, the ship will most likely be attacked," Shino nodded.

"Not only that. Orochimaru definitely has something to do with all this.

"But we have a clue," Sasuke reminded him, nudging him. The disappearances took place around Kikai Island. Surely that's the base.

"Possibly. What we're interested in now is protecting the ships," she recalled. I think I know how to do it so we don't get attacked. All I have to do is let them go unnoticed.

"Genjutsu?" Shino asked.

"Let's just say so...

What he planned to do was get the entire crew on their boats and then use a spell to divert attention. They were very easy to use. In fact, she was an expert at using them because of her old and unwanted fame. Once they reached their destination and could pay the contract, they would no longer have to deal with the ships or Hitode and could go after Isaribi and the others.

"Let's go. I'm going to explain my plan to Hitode.

He had them all get on the ships and then put the spell on each of them. Immediately he saw how the people on the ground began to look away, unable to see what was in front of them. He jumped into the ship and signaled to Hitode that he could set sail. The journey, thanks to her spell, went by quite quickly. She saw with her seagulls and other birds how Isaribi appeared transformed in the middle of the sea, confused by the lack of boats. Then, Yoroi and a guy wearing a white doctor's coat also appeared. Then, under the surprised gaze of all of them, he transformed into another sea monster.

"Look! A sailor said, pointing to the water. It's the monster!

"No! There are 2 monsters! There!

He gave thanks for having silenced the boats as well, while rolling his eyes discreetly. Didn't they know that screaming only got them noticed?

"Now is the perfect time!" Another sailor urged.

"No. We know where your base is. Our mission now is to protect the ship and facilitate payment to the country of Water," she refused. We'll take care of them later.

He saw how some opened their mouths to complain and order him what to do, with haughty expressions. She felt a twitch in her eyebrow as she realized that she was being looked down upon because she was a minor and, on top of that, a woman. To dissuade them, he let out a faint killer instinct. They all turned pale and slammed their mouths shut. As soon as he noticed the shaking and how a man looked like he was about to on himself, he gave up.

"We know exactly what our mission is," Seina said in a silky voice, looking over her shoulder. As I said, we'll take care of them later, when Hitode-san has paid Kirigakure. Until then, let's continue with the journey without drawing too much attention to ourselves.

The sailors quietly returned to work, avoiding her and her teammates. He saw how Sasuke had shot them withering glances, just like Naruto, and how Shino had stood up straight like a statue with the sun shining on his black glasses. Seina leaned against the ship's forecastle, half-ignoring them.

"What are we going to do with your base when the payment is made?" Sasuke asked.

"We have to capture at least Isaribi or our mission won't be complete. Besides, it seems that there is another person with the same transformation," she sighed, remembering it.

"I'm sure Isaribi is just a victim of all this!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Lower your voice, dobe," Sasuke hissed, giving him a slap. Do you want the whole ship to know that we know who the monster is? What do you think they'd do to him if they knew, huh?

"Sasuke is right. The townspeople have a clear grudge against her," Shino nodded. If you really want to save her, it's best that no one knows the truth.

"It's all right. We'll do the following. We'll capture Isaribi, we'll try to capture the other transformed uncle as well. Orochimaru's minions. Yoroi and the other guy, we'll eliminate or capture those. In the event that all goes well, we'll enter his base to find out if there's anyone left alive besides Isaribi.

"Do you think it's possible?"

"It's been 10 years, but you never know," he shrugged. In addition, we will try to take as much documentation as possible with us, if it exists. Finally, we'll destroy the base so you can't use it again.

"Great. We've got a plan," Sasuke stretched, watching them approach the shore.

"I'm going to talk to Hitode. He's the one who carries the money, so we'll have to protect him until he hands it over. Maybe they're waiting for us on land.

Seina approached the man. He explained what was going to happen: how he was going to put him under "genjutsu" so that no one would see him, how he was going to personally accompany him to deliver the payment while his team guarded the ships, and how he would finish his part of the mission right then and there. As soon as Hitode paid the dues to the Land of Water, his protection would no longer be the responsibility of his team, but of the ninjas of Kirigakure.

Minutes later, Seina and her client, both under the enchantment, disembarked discreetly surrounded by the others. He stood behind him, watching with his birds and with the vision that Sasuke and Naruto provided him with their mental connection. Still, nothing happened. As soon as they reached the rendezvous point, she deactivated the spell and followed him inside.

"Good morning!" The customer greeted good-humoredly. I'm Hitode, the payment guy.

"I see you've made it," said a ninja from Kirigakure, with a hint of sarcasm. Curiously, he didn't look down on her because of her age, but because she was from Konoha. Incredible.

He was dressed in the typical Kiri uniform, with a matching dark grey cuirass and protections and a sweater and trousers of the same colour, albeit a couple of shades darker. He had black hair and gray eyes. There was practically nothing special about him, except his serious, somewhat mischievous expression. By his side, he was accompanied by his team. A boy who looked out the window disinterested and another shy-looking boy with glasses and white hair. He saw his gaze averted as she gave them the obligatory review, a little blushing.

"Here you go.

Seina was very attentive to how the money was counted and the postures of Kiri's ninjas. Not that they had an open war, but they weren't friends either. But they weren't enemies either. He looked at the bandaged sword on the shy boy's back, and suddenly thought of Zabuza and Raiga. She avoided showing curiosity, lying silently next to the customer. As soon as the jonin gave the go-ahead and pocketed the money, Hitode turned to her.

"Thank you very much for your work, Seina-san.

She nodded, accepting the thanks.

"From now on, we'll take care of your protection," the jonin informed her, his eyes fixed on her. If Konoha's team is able to take down the threat, that is.

He smiled helplessly at the jonin's childish provocations. Despite being 12 years old, just turned 12, it didn't mean she was a girl. He held back a laugh to be able to answer.

"Thank you for caring about us," she said, amused. Then he winked at her. I know he won't sleep tonight.

Hitode suppressed a laugh that everyone heard. He kept the catchphrase he wanted to say out loud about them, at least, not being so incompetent. He bowed slightly to Hitode and left in a swirl of leaves. He preferred not to turn his back on them for as long as he could. He appeared next to Naruto and the others, who were waiting bored for his arrival. As soon as they saw her, without the spell on, they stood up straight.

"All right. Now it's up to you.

He removed the spell from the ships and ignored the confused faces of some, who looked at the ships wondering how they hadn't seen them coming. Luckily, the spell didn't work like invisibility, so it wasn't as strong a shock as his bracelet.

"I'm starving!" Naruto complained.

"Let's go eat at a restaurant." Then we'll have to continue with the mission.

They ate, of course, fish. They avoided talking about the mission, aware that they weren't the only ninja in Haha, so they ate in silence. A while later, when it was still broad daylight, they went out in search of a place to talk alone. They ended up on the other side of the harbor, far from the Hitode ships where the Kirigakure ninjas would be. He used a couple of spells to get them to spy on us and they sat down to talk.

"Good. It's up to us to finish this mission. We'll go straight to Kikai Island. If it's the base, just as we think, we'll infiltrate. The logical thing would be for Yoroi, the other guy in the robe, and Isaribi to be there, so it will be easier to go straight to the source than to hunt them down one by one.

"How are we going to get to the island?" Shino asked.

"I'll have one of my summons fly over the area and throw a sealed stone. Then I will transport us there by hiraishin," he informed them. Since I have another seal in the first port, once we finish the mission we can easily return with the prisoners.

"That's fine with me," Sasuke nodded.

"Once we're on Kikai Island, we'll do the following. I'll send out a few summons alongside Shino's kikaichu to detect traps and sketch out a map of the entrances to the base. You'll also check if your enemies are in there. Once my summons find a place on the sly, I'll transport us in there.

"When do we start?" His brother asked with a desire for combat.

"Right now. Kuchiyose no jutsu.

His trusty seagull appeared, standing on a rock. He handed her a stone with the seal for hiraishin and sent her flying in the direction of Kikai Island, the furthest of all. They waited for a while for her summoning to do its job, with her half-watching what she did every time she concentrated. Half an hour later, the seagull arrived on the island. She manipulated it into dropping the stone into a small clearing surrounded by leafy trees. He let him stand around, watching the enemy base.

"Come on," she stood up.

"At last!

He undid the spells and let them take his hands and arm. A second later, they appeared on Kikai Island. He grabbed Shino's arm, holding it, as he saw him stagger as he first endured the teleportation jutsu. They took a quick look at the area where they had landed, but there was nothing special. He used a stick and a spell to find out where the entrance to the base was, much to Shino's silent astonishment.

"There it is," he said. As soon as they descended to the rocks, they saw the entrance to a cave. Shino.

"Hai."

He sent a couple of insects to keep Shino company. They observed, from the branches of a tree in front of the mouth of the cave, the tunnels dug into the mountain.

—...-do! You told me the ship was leaving today! A voice shouted.

Seina made her summon zoom in to spy on them more comfortably. He opened the connection so that Naruto and Sasuke could see what was happening. Shino must have been listening to everything, as she was, thanks to his kikaichu.

"I saw the messenger with the money!" Those ships were supposed to set sail today! I promise you, I saw it! Isaribi swore, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, but you haven't done what we agreed to.

"But he promised me he'd get me back to normal!" I've given him everything he's asked for!

"But not those ships. We've lost some of our funding because of you. Still, you'll have a better chance of remedying it.

"Then you're going to give me back my old body?"

"Of course. Do it right, and I'll think about it in a few weeks.

Seina watched the 3 people in the middle of the hallway. They were Yoroi's companion and the guy in the white coat, as well as Isaribi. It was clear that she was being manipulated and used to do the dirty work in exchange for "returning" her to normal. Full-blown blackmail. From the way the doctor had spoken, they had no intention of letting her go, or of helping her. Even so, it was now clear to her that Isaribi was a victim so they would capture her without harming her. The guy in the robe should also be caught since he apparently knew or had been responsible for Isaribi's change. Surely he would have information from Orochimaru's experiments. As for the other two... They were expendable, but I would try to capture them if possible.

"I'm going to use the hiraishin," she warned, watching as another summoning had landed in what appeared to be a laboratory.

He grabbed his team and they reappeared inside the base. They saw, in silence, the transformed and unrecognizable corpses of the disappeared people inside a kind of vertical glass buckets filled with liquid. After a while, he heard the barefoot footsteps of what appeared to be Isaribi behind them. He gestured and they hid on either side of the entrance. The door opened and they watched as he walked inside, looking from side to side. Would he have detected them? He hadn't used any spells or his bracelet, so it might be possible.

He threw a sealed kunai to the ground, drawing his attention to the other side. She snapped her fingers to make him turn back to her, her expression surprised and fearful. Just as she reached out to grab a rope next to the door, Seina used the hiraishin appearing on the marked kunai behind her and knocked her out. He caught it before it could touch the ground. I knew I wouldn't wake up for 6 hours at least. After the last time, he thought to make sure that his enemies were really unconscious with the stupefy.

"We've got one," she said in a whisper. It's clear that he's not a ninja and hasn't been taught how to use his powers.

"What do we do with it?" Shino asked.

"She won't wake up for a few hours, so I'm going to hide her in the harbor." I'll use the hiraishin to get back and forth in less than a second. Now I'm coming.

No sooner said than done. He appeared on the outskirts of the first village, where his bird had thrown another sealed stone, and he handcuffed, silenced, and hid it under spells so that no one could find it. He reappeared in his kunai in the lab. He watched as Shino and Sasuke were staring at a slab of the ground, looking interested as Naruto kept watch near the door.

"My kikaichu has found an entrance. You can feel the draft.

"Let's go down!" Naruto silently exclaimed.

"Do you really want to separate us?" She rolled her eyes. Well, that way we'll waste less time. Naruto and Shino, the 2 of you together. If something happens, you know.

"Pull that rope, nee-chan," Naruto said. I want to see what I was going to do.

He pulled both strings, knowing that he might regret it. One opened the hatch they were studying while the other lifted the wall. As soon as he did, he began to hear the growls and roars of some animals that he had not been able to hear before because of the natural soundproofing of the rock. He narrowed his eyes as he realized that his spy spell had become somewhat limited, so he used the auras spell to see through the walls.

"See you now!" Naruto said and jumped into the hole, followed by Shino.

—… "Look, he's an idiot," Sasuke sighed.

Seina used 3 deadly curses on what appeared to be huge lions, or something like that, and watched as they fell to the ground lifeless. A bit anticlimactic. He used the spell to camouflage them and divert attention, and they went out into the tunnel again. They walked in silence, in the direction of their invocations, which had followed the doctor to another room. The door was half-open when they arrived, but Seina grabbed Sasuke's arm again and used the seal in his summon to teleport. Presently they saw him turn away, fixing his eyes, or at least trying, on the spot where they had appeared. He mentally noted that this spell wasn't entirely effective against ninjas. Perhaps because it didn't hide the chakra or the smell, it simply tricked the brain into thinking they weren't interesting. Apparently, not enough.

"I know you're there..." I'm sure you're Konoha's brats," the guy snorted a laugh.

He rolled his eyes and removed the spell.

"Oh, very interesting," the man muttered, staring at Sasuke. You're the one I was talking about.

"You mean Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked, grimacing with a disgusted grin. It's here?

"Here?" Of course not, but he did visit us 2 weeks ago. He was pretty that you had screwed up his plans," the doctor smiled with a slightly insane twinkle in his eye. He was thinking about getting your body, but he didn't have time. He had to use another body so now he will have to wait 3 years, greedy, before using you.

"I'm afraid Orochimaru will have to hold on," she said. It wasn't done with Sasuke before, nor will it be done with him in the future.

"You don't know how powerful it is, child," he hissed. He will reward me handsomely if I take him to his new body.

"I don't think you understood me," she sighed. The only one who's going to be captured today is you.

The guy smiled, surely believing that he was effectively distracting them. She, who had seen another person approaching with her spell, rolled her eyes. He saw him do something on the other side of the wall closest to them. Judging by the movements, he was putting on an explosive seal and was about to explode it to knock them out. He grabbed Sasuke and appeared on the other side just as the stone exploded over where they had been perched.

The doctor turned instantly, sensing his presence, his hands ready in the form of a seal. She recognized the last 3 seals as a water jutsu that she used regularly so Sasuke, with the sharingan activated for a while, molded chakra for a lightning jutsu at the same time that she wielded her wakizashi to defend herself from the super outstretched arms of the other attacker. The jet of water shot out at them, but since the lightning speed was higher, Sasuke managed to hit it first.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the doctor fell to the ground, convulsing as he was electrocuted due to the collision between his water jutsu and Sasuke's lightning jutsu. She jumped from his back, shielding his side from attack. A couple of seals later, Sasuke used the first genjutsu she created and both ninjas fell to the ground and, seconds later, vomited. Seina kicked the doctor, turning him on his side so he wouldn't choke on her vomit, and then threw a pair of stupefy at both of them.

"Great. It turned out better than I expected," she said as she made sure they weren't going anywhere. I'll send them to Isaribi.

He sent both ninja with their other prisoner. Since he had already bewitched the hideout before, he wouldn't have to personally carry them. He smiled as he realized how useful jutsu was. Sasuke nodded as he watched them disappear.

"Let's go to see-

A loud explosion silenced him. They turned in the direction of the sound and then exchanged glances. He connected with his brother as they ran.

"Cursed Yoroi has set off some kind of trap before he fell unconscious!"

"It's not a trap, Naruto! The building is collapsing!" He yelled at her, dodging a rock from the ceiling. Grab the prisoner and Shino.

"I've got them!"

Seina picked up Sasuke and then reappeared at Naruto's side, next to his summon that he had left with him. He undid all the summons in a second and teleported them all to the harbor with the hiraishin just as the ceiling vault completely detached above their heads. They fell to the ground, inadvertently stepping on the prisoners he had left there earlier. He rejoined, apologizing to Sasuke for screwing him up, and threw another stupefy at Yoroi.

"Look! Naruto shouted from the top of the tree. From here you can see the smoke!

They jumped to his side to watch the destruction of the island. Seina sighed as she realized that she hadn't been able to pick up any documents of value.

"Well, at least we didn't have to destroy it," he stretched, feeling his back crack with some relief. We've captured them all, so the sea monster has been eliminated for good.

"What if they ask us for proof?" Sasuke asked.

"Leave that to me," she smiled. Let's go find Hitode, he's probably back from his trip.

She let Naruto and Shino come forward while she took out her suitcase and put the prisoners in the cells she had built for just that. Then he transformed some stones into the heads of the sea monsters and put them in a sack.

"This will help us keep the villagers safe and avoid questions at the same time," she sighed. I'll leave a couple of clones here just in case.

Sasuke and Seina got out of the suitcase. He put it away and they went down to the harbor. Unfortunately, Hitode hadn't arrived yet, so they waited to hear from him while assuring everyone who asked them that the problem had been solved. The heads of both monsters were examined and insulted from afar, still somewhat fearful of the damage they had caused. When his client arrived at the port, everyone knew that the monsters were dead.

"I can hardly believe it," Hitode said, looking at the pale-faced heads. Thank you so much for helping us. We are truly grateful to you. Come, we invite you to a dinner.

"We don't want to take advantage of your kindness. Besides, we should go to Konoha, while it's still daylight," she refused, "but thank you for the offer.

They burned the heads by general consensus. When they left the harbor they took one last look at the sea before running.

"It wasn't bad," Naruto said with a smile. I hope you and Tsunade-sama can help Isaribi get back to normal.

Notes:
Hey!

Thanks to your comments, I have realized that you are right. It's very difficult to decide the pairing of Naruto and Sasuke if you haven't seen any kind of interaction. I should have thought about it... You're only going through chapter 35 when I've already written more than 115 chapters and I know that some of the couples you've said are a bit absurd (e.g. Itachi/Naruto don't fit anything in this story, you'll see).

I therefore withdraw my request. You can still comment couples, but there won't be a vote count or anything like that. This way I can surprise you too, which didn't happen with Seina/Kakashi. Plus, it's going to be a side romance so don't expect it to get too much of the limelight.
Chapter 36
They arrived at the village when it was already dark. They checked in at the entrance and went into the missions department. At that hour, the Hokage would surely not be in its tower unless it was an emergency. They reported that they had accomplished the mission and handed over the prisoners, who were instantly picked up by the interrogation department.

"See you soon, Shino.

"See you later!"

"Good evening."

Sasuke didn't even answer. They walked slowly to their home, feeling tired after several days of tension from the threat of Orochimaru. When they arrived, they saw that Kakashi-sensei was not there. Still, when they entered the kitchen-dining room, they saw some gift-wrapped packages on the table.

"Look, nee-chan! Naruto exclaimed, rushing to investigate. One is for you and one is for me.

"I have to give you your gifts, too," Sasuke cut in. One minute.

They waited at the table, hungry, for their teammate to come down with a couple of packages. She handed one to Naruto and one to her. As soon as he took his first look at it, still folded, he knew it was another yukata for the summer fair. He saw Naruto's smile out of the corner of his eye as he examined his dark-colored yukata with silver leaves. Hers was mostly navy blue, almost black, with small, delicate white and violet flowers to match a white obi with a violet gradient.

"She's beautiful Sasuke," she smiled at her friend, who was looking away at the smiles she and her brother.

"It's true, he's afraid! I didn't know you had such good taste.

He left it carefully on a chair as he picked up the other package. Kakashi-sensei's gift was considerably smaller, but as soon as he opened it, he knew it would probably be a lot more expensive. He avoided a sound of surprise at the sight of the 2 gold kanzashis, one gold and the other white, inside a padded jewelry box. It was clear that the jonin and Sasuke had coordinated because they were hairpins to wear in yukata or kimono. The golden, princess-style, fan-shaped with small gold threads hanging from it was engraved with the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. The other, made of white gold, pendant-style, had a rounded, flattened tip, with the symbol of the Namikaze clan on one side and the shape of a rose on the other. Hanging from the tip, he saw the gold threads finished in the silhouette of a bird.

She was stunned to see the jewelry Kakashi-sensei had bought her. Even though she knew how overloaded some of the kanzashis could be, she had given him something that she had bought herself. They were elegant and delicate pieces. Something he would wear without hesitation. He suppressed a smile as he realized he had soaked it.

"Huh," Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow at his gift. Interesting, and very expensive.

Seina watched Naruto teary-eyed hug the plush toy in the shape of a cup of ramen and the little note Kakashi-sensei had given him to let him know that he could eat free ramen in Ichiraku. The last gift, from Naruto, was a huge basket of different products for his long baths. Including bath bombs with mysterious figurines inside!

"By the way. Congratulations to both of you," Sasuke said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Thank you, Sasuke, and Naru.

"Yes, thank you, fear. I can't wait to try these joke candies! Thank you Seina-nee!

They packed up while their clones went about making dinner. He didn't know when Kakashi-sensei would return, but he left a dish prepared for him just in case. They were chatting about what they planned to train, now that the missions had been reduced due to the village being fully operational again. Seina was willing to learn as many jutsus as possible, and she had the perfect teacher for it.

He went for a long bath while he left a clone doing the mission report. The next morning he would have to deliver the scroll to Tsunade-sama before going to the hospital to do his shift, so he planned to take the rest of the day to be lazy. He fell asleep thinking about Kakashi-sensei's gifts. Knowing what he was going to give Naruto, he would never have imagined that he would buy him a pair of gold hairpins...

The next day, before going to the hospital, he handed the scroll to Tsunade-sama. He opened it and glanced over it, stopping abruptly at the mention of Orochimaru. I didn't know which piece I was reading exactly, but I didn't have to be a genius to guess it either.

"You can go to the hospital, Seina. We'll talk later.

She spent the morning distracted between patients. With each passing day, I had more patients with more complex cases. She, who knew that she was being given some cases to test her and make her try her best, did not hesitate to accept them. She knew that every person she managed to heal was a success for her. It was not only a good thing for the reputation of the hospital, and the village, but also for Seina. When she was given her first abdominal hernia that morning to resolve on her own, she knew it was a full stop.

Iryo ninjutsu, despite being able to treat many things, was still not able to solve medical problems where it was not required to repair or remove dead tissue. For example, if I had to get rid of a piece of necrotic tissue or something similar I could have done it with a jutsu, but in a hernia where the problem was that an organ or tissue was sticking out through the muscle wall... That was something else. Even so, there were patients who could not even be treated with iryo ninjutsu due to the involvement of various organs and tissues. If Hayate had been affected by more than his lungs, they might not have been able to cure him in such a short time. He should have been operated on or treated intermittently for months.

So, as he examined his patient, a civilian, he realized that he might be able to operate on him without opening it. He first used the glasses he invented for Tsunade-sama. He looked at the affected area, realizing that, fortunately, it was a small hernia that had not affected the intestine itself. He was already expecting it due to his diagnostic spell, but it didn't hurt to make sure. The problem had been the wall of muscle. He saw that it had marks that were characteristic of a scar. He picked up the papers of his diagnostic spell again and began to look for some previous operation. As soon as she found him, she knew what had happened.

"I see you had an operation to remove your appendix," he said. The musculature surrounding the scar has given way, so the intestine has protruded into that weaker area.

"I see... Are you going to operate on me now?"

"I won't need to open it," he said with a smile. I have seen the problem and can treat it without the need for an operation. I'll just put him to sleep so he doesn't feel pain, and when he wakes up, he'll be ready to go.

"Really?" The man asked in astonishment. I thought I should stay resting today!

"If it were a normal operation, yes. Well, let's get started.

It put the patient to sleep and numbed the area. He put his glasses back on and used a spell to push the piece of intestine inside. He then used iryo ninjutsu to close the hole in her abdomen where the intestine had come out. Finally, he reinforced that area by removing its internal wound and increasing the thickness of the wall. He examined him again with his glasses, checking that everything was in place, and then used the diagnostic spell. He left the numbing spell on the hernia area, programming it to unravel over the next 2-3 days. When she could do nothing more for him, she woke him up from his induced sleep, curing his headache with a jutsu before he even opened his eyes.

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times. As soon as he saw her and realized she was in the hospital, he lowered his eyes to her abdomen. The frankly astonished face of his patient was reward enough. He knew that his quick treatment had saved him money, because if he had been resting in the hospital for the afternoon, he would have had to pay even more than for the operation.

"Thank you very much, Seina-san," he bowed. It's amazing. Seriously.

"You're welcome.

He handed her the discharge papers, and went to change. Before he could enter the locker room, he was approached by a ninja medic with a surprised expression.

"Was that the hernia patient?" Why is he gone?

"It's already treated," she informed him.

"Already?" But how is he walking on his own two feet? I should be doubled over from the anesthesia!

"I didn't have to open it. I simply put him to sleep and operated on him using the glasses.

"What!?" Su shouted and drew the attention of other medical ninjas.

"There was no need to open it," he shrugged. He didn't have his intestine affected, just his abdominal wall.

She explained to them, repeating to herself, what she had done and then left in exasperation. With the glasses and his spell to push the bowel he had done what many could not without opening his patient. I hoped they wouldn't start asking for the jutsu because I wouldn't know what to say to them. As soon as he left the locker room, he headed home. To her surprise, as she was walking through the village, Naruto and Sasuke appeared and took her to the barbecue restaurant.

"What's this all about?" She asked, tired.

"We're going out to eat to celebrate your birthday," Sasuke said tersely.

"Huh. It is ok.

As soon as they reached the yakiniku they saw that they were all sitting there. Presenten saw all of his friends from the academy and even Neji and his team. The only one missing was his teacher, who would surely continue on his mission. The first to see her was Ino.

"Seina! Congratulations! We hardly see each other! Ino exclaimed, slapping Chouji as she stepped out of her seat to throw herself into his arms. We have to be alone! Hinata, you, Tenten and me.

"Of course. We can go to the hot springs this afternoon, if you like," she smiled.

The others belatedly wished her brother and her a happy anniversary. In a corner, Hinata blushed at the mention of hot springs, but nodded. The problem came when Naruto complained that he wanted to go too. What was supposed to be an afternoon of "girls" turned into a group get-together at the hot springs. She didn't care, much to Ino's chagrin. It's not like they're all going to bathe in the same bathroom. He wondered whether to mention Sakura, but a sidelong glance from Sasuke made him shut his mouth.

"It was supposed to be just for girls," Ino sulked.

"Come on, Ino, don't stress," Tenten comforted her. We can all go and leave them lying there.

Seina laughed at the shocked face of Lee and Naruto's betrayal. They ate amidst discussions, laughter and conversations. It was fun to be with his friends again. I felt like I hadn't seen them for months, apart from the missions they shared. Chouji, for example, hadn't been greeted for weeks.

"Are you fully recovered, Hina?" She asked, sitting down in front of Hinata.

Neji, despite having apologized and removed the stick from his ass, was sitting at the other end of the table next to Shikamaru. Hinata nodded. She made the gesture of putting her hands to her chest, but she aborted it herself, clearing her throat.

"I'm fine. I've been doing missions without any problems," Hinata smiled quietly, but without stuttering.

"Great! I'm glad.

"Did he really give you a whole year's worth of ramen?" He listened to Kiba, laughing shrill at Naruto's words.

"It's actually a good gift," Shikamaru thought aloud. He didn't have to think much about it, and yet he hit the nail on the head.

"What more could you expect from Guy-sensei's eternal rival! Lee wept with emotion at Kakashi-sensei's genius.

"In fact, it reminds me of Shikamaru," Chouji ate. Although Shikamaru is even lazier.

"Ugh... Ramen?" Seriously? Ino said. I could have invited him to a restaurant with more dishes.

"Well, that's what Naruto's airhead likes," Tenten shrugged. What did he give you, Seina?

"Don't say it! Kiba exclaimed. I'm sure it's something to do with the bookstore!

"A voucher to buy books?" Neji asked, surprised.

"I'm sure it's something to do with the hospital," Chouji said. Although, well, it may be some medical book.

"Kanzashi," she cut off before they could continue bouncing ideas.

"Did Kakashi-sensei buy you kanzashi?" Kanzashi for kimono? Tenten asked in the face of the silence of the others.

"I would never have guessed," Kiba said, shaking his head.

"Sasuke bought Naruto and me some yukatas for next year's summer festival," she explained.

"Huh. Actually, now that you say it, it's a good gift idea," Ino blinked. And what is it like?

"They are," Sasuke said, picking up a piece of cooked meat. He bought her a pair.

"Each with the symbol of my parents' clan," she answered.

There was another silence, this one more thoughtful. Jewelry, such as kanzashi, was sometimes passed down from generation to generation so such a gift had more value than they might initially think because she had no one to pass on her jewelry to.

"I knew Kakashi-sensei is just pretending," Shikamaru sighed.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Nothing major.

Seina knew what Shikamaru was talking about because she had that epiphany months ago, and Sasuke yesterday apparently. They exchanged a glance until she smiled and bowed her head almost imperceptibly, agreeing with him. They finished their meal laughing, and when dessert arrived, they handed him the gifts. He received a mixture of books, chocolates, some clothes and even weapons.

"Yosh! Let's go to the hot springs! Lee exclaimed, leaving the restaurant. A hot bath is what we need!

They went to the hot springs just outside the village. As soon as she entered the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, she took a look around. He suppressed a wicked grin at what he was going to do. She used a spell before stripping naked, knowing that there were some perverts in Konoha who spied on the girls in the hot springs. Jiraiya the first. She heard the boys play dumb on the other side of the wall as she bathed before entering the water.

"Aaah. "This is life," Tenten muttered, leaning against the stone and closing his eyes.

"Mmhmm..." he only managed to say, resting his head on his arms crossed on the stone.

"Why do I have the feeling that you and Hinata will surpass me breastwise?" Ino complained, to Hinata's embarrassment. How is it possible that you have that breast at 12 years old?

"Ino! The aforementioned whispered and shouted at the same time, red as a tomato.

"What?" It's just us, that's okay.

"My mother had a big chest," she said. Maybe it's the genes.

"Then I'll take it raw," Tenten laughed. My mother is tall, slender and quite flat. I hadn't noticed, but Ino is right. What size are you? A 90?

"Maybe because, in addition to the ninja bra, she's also wearing a slightly baggy black jacket," Ino sighed.

Seina shook her head, closing her eyes again. What a conversation. She assumed it was normal, considering the age of her friends. They had just entered adolescence so I knew I would have to endure tears, jealousy, envy and drama everywhere. The only good thing was that ninjas were less dramatic than civilian teenagers.

She was listening to them half-heartedly, relaxed, when her spellbound ears caught the boys' conversation.

"Are you okay?" Naruto, Sasuke? Chouji asked.

"Huh. It's true. You are very red! Kiba exclaimed. What's wrong with you?

"Naruto," Shino called, with a curious tone of voice. Aren't you seeing through Seina's eyes?

"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted. She and Sasuke choked. OF COURSE NOT! We can close the connection, you idiot!

All the girls stopped talking, having heard their brother's scream.

"I knew it! Shikamaru said, his voice full of energy. I knew you were connected in some way! And Sasuke too!

"We're not seeing anything!" Sasuke hissed. It's a Seina jutsu to be heard from afar. We forgot to turn it off.

"They were talking about—" "stuff," Naruto confessed in a thin voice. She burst out laughing as she realized what had happened. Nee-chan! Stop laughing!

"No. "That's very funny," she replied.

"Good-bye!"

He had the feeling that they had both deactivated the earring, despite having no proof. He kept laughing at Naruto and Sasuke's embarrassment. When he turned around, he saw Ino and Tenten raise an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"We forgot to turn off a jutsu that increases the hearing range," he explained with a huge smile. Hinata understood instantly, fainting. Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke were red as a tomato, and that caught the attention of the others.

"You mean your brother and Sasuke—" You've heard our talk about our... boobs? Tenten asked, clearly holding back a laugh judging by his trembling lips.

As they looked at each other in silence, they began to laugh loudly. Ino, once she understood how funny it was, joined them. She was sure they could hear them from the other side of the wall. He woke Hinata with a spell, touching her forehead with a finger. They had to reassure him that nothing bad had happened before he realized it wasn't that big of a deal.

Hours later, they emerged from the thermal baths. They watched as the boys waited at the door, teasing Sasuke and his brother. He saw Kiba's sly smile and, curiously, Neji. Even Shikamaru and Shino seemed amused at what had happened.

"Did you enjoy our conversation?" She asked mockingly, clasping her arms with Naruto and Sasuke's.

"You could have reminded me of the earring," Sasuke hissed quietly, but didn't turn away.

"Yes, it was a very educational talk!" She started laughing again, accompanied by Tenten and Ino.

Naruto seemed unable to respond, blushing like never before.

"What were you talking about?" Shikamaru asked. They didn't want to say it.

"From our tit*," Ino rolled her eyes.

More than one choked at Ino's direct and frank response, including Hinata.

"Hinata-sama! Neji said in shock, though Seina could tell he was joking rather than serious. Especially since he saw the corner of his lip tremble with laughter.

Hinata turned red again. He cast a spell on her to calm her down, watching as she blinked in confusion for a few seconds as she felt more relaxed. After that they went home, happy to have spent the afternoon together.

"I can't believe you were talking about—" Naruto said, scratching his nose.

"Don't you talk about your parts?" Or girls? Or guys? She asked.

Sasuke ignored her, pretending she wasn't listening, while her brother blushed again. Less violently, though. Then something occurred to him. Would Naruto and Sasuke have been given the "talk"? While it is true that sexuality was superficially explained in the academy because in some missions they would be forced to seduce people, he did not remember having a seminar on reproduction. Daemons... Maybe I should talk about it with Kakashi-sensei. His brother obviously hadn't had his parents to explain it to him, and Sasuke had lost his own years ago.

When they got home, to everyone's joy, they saw how Kakashi-sensei had arrived before them. He was not alone, but accompanied by a clone.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto greeted, with a smile. What are you doing?

"Whose blood is that?" She asked, looking more closely and noticing that it was quite stained with blood.

"It's not mine, don't worry. That's what I was about to pick up.

"Pick up?" She asked in confusion. Didn't I tell you that everything in the house is full of runes? If you don't clean it in less than a couple of minutes, it disappears.

—...Really? He asked himself and turned to look at the floor. More than one would kill for such a jutsu.

She cast a spell on him as he turned to look at her. The blood disappeared from his clothes, and from his body. She flinched at the notice, looking down.

"Thank you, Seina.

"Are you hurt?"

"Just a couple of scratches. I'm going to take a shower.

She nodded. He left a couple of clones making dinner while they sat on the couch, chatting. When Kakashi-sensei came downstairs, in his pajamas and barefoot, he immediately saw the scratches of which he spoke. He had a visible one, superficial but large, on one arm and also on the hand of the same limb. He didn't even have to tell her to sit next to him. He handed her his arm and she used iryo ninjutsu to heal him. He was curious to know how they had been made if his clothes were spellbound...

"Anything else?"

"A few..." he pointed to her torso and leg.

It looked as if he had been hit from the right with some jutsu or weapon. He finished dressing the wounds he indicated. Before letting him go, he used the diagnostic spell to check that was it.

"You're done.

"By the way, happy birthday," he smiled at her. I saw that you have opened the presents.

"Thank you very much. They were beautiful," she nodded, smiling back.

"I'm going to Ichiraku tomorrow!"

Seina blew a laugh at the sound of it.

"How was your mission?" Jonin asked, leaning back next to her on the couch. What was it about?

"We had to capture a sea monster in the land of the Sea and protect the ships in the village so that they would pay Kirigakure without being robbed," Sasuke summed up.

"In the land of the Sea?" Kakashi-sensei frowned.

"Yes. "We know what you're thinking, Kaka-sensei," Naruto cut in. That was Orochimaru's base.

"Was he?" His master asked, somewhat alarmed. He turned to look at her. Have you destroyed an Orochimaru base?

"It was actually one of his henchmen, trying to bury us in there," Sasuke replied.

—...Why don't you tell me what happened from the beginning?"

Seina told him how they arrived at the port and had to sleep that night because no one dared to sail at night, how they had witnessed a confrontation between a girl and Orochimaru's henchmen who turned out to be Yoroi and her other teammate whose name they couldn't remember. How everything pointed to Isaribi being the monster, the disappearances, the reappearance of Isaribi, the Kikai island that everyone thought was cursed, the encounter with the ninjas of Kirigakure, the capture of the enemies, the destruction of the base...

"I see you've been very busy," the jonin frowned again.

"You know, now that we've told you all this..." I just realized something. What did that guy mean that Orochimaru would have to wait 3 years before he could get his hands on Sasuke's body? She asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I think I'll talk to Tsunade-sama about that, if he's not already looking into it.

Seina, despite having prepared dinner, did not eat dinner. It was full of the barbecue that midday. He wanted to wait for Naruto and Sasuke to leave so he could talk to him about a couple of things alone. Kakashi-sensei seemed to understand, seeing her lying on the couch, so he ate slowly to make time. Minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto went to bed yawning. When they were alone, the jonin raised an eyebrow at him, eating a piece of fruit beside him.

"Do you know if Naruto and Sasuke have been given the talk?" He asked directly, clearly alluding to sex. Kakashi-sensei choked.

"Q-q-what?" He stammered as he coughed. He slapped her on the back.

"We went to the hot springs today and heard a conversation about breasts," she rolled her eyes with a smile at the memory. Apparently they were as red as a tomato. So, I thought if someone had given them the talk, you know... I didn't give it to Naruto and I doubt very much that anyone would do the same to Sasuke. At most, academia.

"That's a good question," Kakashi-sensei thought aloud. He sighed. I'll have to ask them directly.

"Better you than me," she said with a shrug.

Seeing how he continued to think, staring into nothingness, he took his half-eaten apple and stole it. The jonin looked at her, with an amused expression, but made no move to dodge her. As soon as the fruit was gone, the remains vanished and he wiped his hand full of juice with a spell. Silently, he leaned against the couch and leaned back on his side. She felt Kakashi-sensei's arm wrap around her, pulling her toward him.

"By the way. Thank you for the gift. Maybe you've gone a little too far, but they're really beautiful.

"As soon as I saw them, I knew they were for you," he whispered into her hair.

Against that he could say nothing more. He closed his eyes as he relaxed against his chest. He felt a hand caress his back, preventing him from shuddering with pleasure. He didn't know when, but he slipped into a sleepy candle in Kakashi-sensei's arms. She felt him lift her up the stairs with her. The last thing he recognized was the sound of his bedroom door opening before he fell asleep.

"Good evening, Seina," and lips on her forehead.

chapter 37

A few days after her belated birthday celebration, Seina continued with her usual routine, which basically consisted of being an apprentice at the hospital, training with Kakashi-sensei when available, visiting the dojo recommended by Guy-sensei, performing rune errands for the Hokage, studying with her clones, and researching genjutsu in her spare time. His master, as promised, spoke to Sasuke and Naruto. For a couple of days they were unable to look him in the face without blushing, much to their amusem*nt. Still, she was more at ease knowing that they were aware of everything they needed to know about sex and puberty.

A few days later, when Naruto was still internalizing the sex education talk, he was sent on a mission with Tenten, Neji, and Lee to the hidden village of the Star. Sasuke was given a solo assignment to babysit a rich kid for a couple of days, much to his horror. They overwhelmed her in the hospital, giving her patient after patient, as if they wanted to force her to find her limits. Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei continued to do S-rank quests and disappear around the village doing who knows what. Something told him that he was still investigating, albeit much more stealthily, about Danzo and Itachi.

"We hardly see each other," she complained one morning, when she found only Sasuke.

"You're the busiest one. If it weren't for the fact that you delegate a lot of work to your clones, we wouldn't see your hair.

"Ugh. Don't remind me.

He thanked that jutsu because otherwise he would have three times as much work in the same time. That same morning they ended up training ninjutsu and dueling. Kakashi-sensei, at the request of the three of them, had begun to write down all the jutsus he had copied, so they had a mountain of techniques to learn. She, who cheated like a scoundrel with clones, learned a whopping 3 or 4 jutsus per week while Naruto and Sasuke learned at most 1 or 2. His brother because he didn't have the same chakra control as them, despite his tenacity, while Sasuke because he didn't have his chakra reserves, no matter how much he exercised his energy reserves and had good chakra control.

Even at the rate at which Seina was going, he would be unable to learn in less than a year the more than 1000 jutsus that Kakashi-sensei had burned into his prodigious brain. With the average of 4 jutsus per week, it would take more than 5 years to be able to use all the jutsus perfectly. In addition, he had yet to learn the S-rank jutsus that were in the scroll stolen from the first Hokage, which, seeing their size, were quite a lot. Still, he had made it his mission to learn as many ninjutsus as possible and was not going to back down.

I had so many things to do that, at times, I almost confused the days. Since there was practically nothing out of the ordinary happening, it was more difficult to know by heart what day of the week it was. Time passed and I had to learn so many things that I didn't have free time where I didn't do anything. About 2 weeks later, Naruto returned from his mission and Sasuke was sent on another one. In all the time he did not see Kakashi-sensei. The first half because of a mission outside the village, and the second half because she was too tired to wait for him awake when he showed up at home in the early morning.

Just as mid-November arrived, Tsunade-sama called her into his office. The table was full of papers. She was accompanied by her assistant, Shizune, who seemed to be trying to bring order out of the chaos.

"Ah, Seina. Sit down, this is going to be a long one," he gestured with a shake to the chair. If I find what I'm looking for, of course...

"Here it is!" Shizune replied, with a relieved smile. Here you go, Tsunade-sama.

"Perfect, thank you Shizune. You may be wondering why I called you. I've wanted to talk to you for days, but I haven't found the time. "I have several things to talk about," sighed Tsunade-sama. To begin with, we've finished fully interrogating the enemies you captured in the Land of the Sea. The girl, Isaribi, is a victim of Orochimaru and Amachi so she has been released. Right now he's in the hospital to try... cure your condition.

"May I know what information the interrogation department has discovered?"

"I can tell you some official things, like that Amachi worked for Orochimaru, experimenting on the natives of the Sea Country for 10 years. His intention was to create modified ninjas who could carry out extreme missions that other ninjas cannot. Orochimaru helped him with his experiments, and then took his research for himself. Amachi, in fact, is quite resentful of it. As for the others, Yoroi and Misumi, they were just Orochimaru's pawns. They hardly knew anything. They simply stuck to the few orders Kabuto gave them during the invasion. In relation to the Land of the Sea, his orders were to help Amachi with his research and to force Isaribi to steal the money to finance the project.

"And what about that Amachi said about Orochimaru having to wait 3 years for a new body?"

"Orochimaru has a jutsu that allows him to change bodies, take control, extend his life. "From the papers and other documentation you stole from the base in Rice Country, we know what he was planning with Sasuke," Shizune said, holding up a pile of papers she remembered stealing from Orochimaru's secret lab. When you stopped Sasuke's kidnapping, he was forced to use someone else if he didn't want to perish due to his arm problem. Now he must be recovering, inhabiting another body, but longing for Sasuke and his sharingan. Still, these papers have helped us a lot to understand what Orochimaru is up to and have also led us to another of his secret bases. Although there is still a lot of work to be done.

"On the other hand, I'd like to tell you about your latest missions. You've completed several missions with genins in your charge. "All of them a success," said the Hokage, looking at a register. I've read your reports and the reports of your subordinates on every mission. See.

—…

"Listen to this: "Our leader, Seina Uzumaki, detected that the enemy, Raiga, was still alive despite my statement that he was dead. He suspected that the child's kekkei genkai might have interfered with my byakugan, and under this reasonable doubt he checked the enemy's condition, found that he was still alive, and then finally eliminated him. I'm sure that if he hadn't had the cold-bloodedness or logic to wonder and make sure if he was alive or not, Raiga would have attacked the people again. Causing possible casualties, damage and lengthening the mission," Tsunade-sama read. He knew what mission he was talking about as soon as he heard Raiga's name. He devised a trap to test Karashi's loyalty and the boy's, while letting him give up his idea of saving him by making him believe that he had died from wounds from the previous fight, and not from a calculated execution of a Konoha ninja. This diverted attention from the village and, perhaps, saved Konoha a potential enemy in the future" and continues "... after Karashi's last betrayal, Leader Uzumaki took care of all of them with a single wind jutsu, saving us all from going into combat."

"Here," Shizune interceded, handing him another scroll.

"Under the command of the leader, Seina Uzumaki, we investigated the clues and discovered early on the involvement of the traitor Orochimaru in the mission. Considering the grave danger our teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, could be in, he took the necessary measures to keep us safe, personally taking it upon himself to protect him while the team, in turn, investigated the disappearances, Isaribi as a possible sea monster, and the Orochimaru base. We also take care of protecting the ships of the client Hitode and the client itself during the delivery of money." Tsunade-sama looked at her, her eyes peeling her eyes off the paper for a few seconds. "Even though it was not within the parameters of the mission to investigate Orochimaru, the leader judged the possibility of collecting and capturing the ninjas and the sea monster as a priority for Konoha. He made the pertinent plans to infiltrate the base without endangering, at any time, the group, let alone Sasuke Uchiha. His effectiveness as a commander and his skills allowed him to carry out both missions, as evidenced by the fact that we are all alive, the agreed mission has been fulfilled and we have returned to Konoha with 4 enemies, Orochimaru's minions."

Seina listened as he read what appeared to be his teammates' personal assessments. I didn't know where I wanted to go. Was he going to tell her that he was overdoing it? Perhaps so, considering the danger Orochimaru posed to Sasuke. But what else could I do? I had a golden opportunity!

"I could also read you the assessments that Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and also Sunagakure's brothers made when you rescued Sasuke, but I think that would be a waste of time. You're overqualified.

"What?"

"All these missions," Tsunade-sama said, picking up the scrolls—... I'm sure you could have done them on your own. What's more, I think that, in some cases, having teammates has been a burden for you. Not to mention that the people at the hospital keep harassing me, continually telling me what you have supposedly done that is impossible to do but, if possible, ask you to teach them.

"You did a hernia operation without opening the patient," Shizune cut in, unable to help but stun. You saved him at least one day of rest. You also restored vision to a boy who had an accident with chemicals and cured 4 patients with acquired deafness.

"Do you know how many people I've got day and night asking me why you're just a chunin?" How many people laugh in my face, telling me how wasted you are with B-rank missions? Tsunade-sama groaned in frustration. Too much. On top of that, I compare you to Shikamaru, who rose through the ranks on the same day as you... There is a clear difference. If you had been born in my time you would have been a jonin for years, if only for control over your new kekkei genkai.

"So what's going to happen?" She asked.

He understood what they were saying. They were right as Shikamaru, despite his intelligence, was only a 12-year-old boy while she was an expert auror, a witch with ninja training, stuffed into the body of a teenage girl. Not to mention the experience and expertise that his previous 120 years of life brought him. Obviously there were clear differences between the two. In fact, he would be more surprised if Shikamaru or any of his friends and classmates were up to the task, for the mere fact that they didn't have a kekkei genkai as their magic. He simply had too much power and experience on his hands. Essentially, I was cheating.

"Here's what's going to happen: for the next month and a half, until the new year, I'm not going to assign you any missions. During this time, Shizune will take over my duties during the first half of the morning while I am teaching you in the hospital. From Monday to Sunday. On the second half of the morning, Shizune will replace me. We'll also use your clones to advance as quickly as possible.

"I mean, I'm going to do an intensive in medicine," realizing that he was going to spend every morning for weeks in the hospital.

"Exactly. And that's not all. So far, I've neglected another aspect that a ninja medic has to take into account: combat," the Hokage smiled. We'll fight every other day, so you can keep training with your team. I hope you're ready for this new stage because I won't be gentle. I know you can learn a lot, so I expect a lot from you. In exchange for your effort, you'll learn everything I know. All. When January comes, if you've reached the level I expect you to reach, I'll promote you to tokubetsu jonin. If you manage to get promoted, you'll start doing A-rank and maybe S missions with other purely jonin teams, or even solo. From there, you'll have 5 months to prepare for the jonin promotion exams. If you're up for it, that is.

Seina was silent for a few seconds, but she knew she was going to accept. He liked the idea of focusing on learning as much as possible in just a couple of months. If Tsunade-sama was able to give her so much time, she would double her studies so as not to be left behind. Besides, who would say no to a promotion when even as a chunin she wasn't sent with her brother and Sasuke to the middle of the missions? And that was the only thing that would have held her back.

"I do.

La Hokage smiled broadly.

"Very well. Go home. Rest because tomorrow we start with your final training in iryo ninjutsu, and in the afternoon, we will start training in combat.

Seina bowed in appreciation and left. I couldn't believe what had happened. Still, I hadn't contemplated it as a possibility. He came home automatically. When he walked through the door, something in his expression must have alerted Kakashi-sensei, who had returned from a mission, that something was wrong because he stopped preparing dinner.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I think so," he began to smile. Then he couldn't hold back his laughter. Apparently I'm overqualified.

"Did Tsunade-sama tell you that?"

He nodded, controlling his laughter. He explained to them in broad strokes what had happened in his office. Contrary to what he might have expected, Kakashi-sensei only smiled with a somewhat proud expression.

"Honestly, Seina, I've thought the same thing more than once. I'm proud. I know you'll make it. What's more, I'll try to talk to some colleagues in case they can train with you in the afternoons when I'm on mission. Tenzou will surely agree to help you. And Yugao," the Jonin muttered aloud.

She touched his hand, bringing him to his senses. He smiled at her as he listened to his dedication to her.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.

"I'll be Kakashi-senpai right now, if you like." As soon as you reach the rank of jonin you can just call me by my name," he smiled delightedly. You'll see Naruto's face when he finds out.

He bit his tongue so as not to make a sexual joke, smiling. Even if he rose through the ranks, he was still 12 years old.

"By the way, I thought you said it would be a long mission.

"Actually, things went much better than planned. Especially, as soon as I wore your bracelet.

"I'm glad it helped.

They were talking about their mission, what the Hokage had told her, and why Orochimaru wanted Sasuke and why he had to wait 3 years. A while later, seeing that Sasuke did not return from his mission, they began to have dinner alone. While he was having dinner, he couldn't help but summon 20 clones to continue studying. He had promised it to the Hokage, so he planned to keep about 20 clones a day on a constant basis. At the rate at which they consumed the books, they would finish reading what was left of them by the beginning of December. She silently thanked her occlumency for helping her absorb such a volume of knowledge, because otherwise she would be screwed in spite of her clones. That night she went to sleep early, excited for the new day. Kakashi-sensei watched her leave with an amused smile on her face. Surely deducing the reason for his excitement.

The next few days were chaos. He hardly went home for lunch, dinner and sleep, so it took him a day to be reunited with his brother who had just returned from his mission. Tsunade-sama was a real sergeant. Not only did he teach him all the medical techniques he knew that he had yet to know, but he forced him to practice them 100 times before using them on a patient. Luckily, with his other 20 clones, he was learning at an exponential rate. Shizune, beside him, was soft as a feather, yet very competent.

In the afternoons, the first thing the Hokage did was fight her to find out her level. She was visibly impressed with his skills. In fact, according to her, the only thing that had saved her from being attacked with her brute force was the fact that they both knew that she could simply dodge her with her disappearances and hirashin. Contrary to what others had taught him, Tsunade-sama fought always thinking about how to protect his vital organs from fainting long enough to heal himself in the event of a serious injury.

Her way of fighting, coupled with Guy-sensei's many flexible movements, designed for each situation, and Kakashi-sensei's efficient and calculated kata, were making her an escapist. It was as if his chip had been changed. Now he knew what he lacked when he fought with taijutsu. The blending of the 3 styles was his perfect taijutsu style.

"I don't know what the Hokage is teaching you," his teacher told him one afternoon, "but it has worked for you. When I try to hit you, it's like trying to catch smoke with my hand. Now it's just a matter of you becoming an expert in this style.

In the evenings, while training with Kakashi-sensei, Yugao or Hayate, and to a lesser extent with Tenzou, he also used his clones to practice ninjutsu. She was thrilled with Tsunade-sama's training, but she didn't want her average of 4 ninjutsus per week to suffer.

One night, when he was coming quite late from the training camp where he practiced ninjutsu, he met all his team at home.

"Nee-chan! Naruto called, lunging at her in an embrace. I almost haven't seen you in 10 days! I can't believe you're going to be promoted to tokubetsu jonin this January!

"Actually, I can. Kakashi-sensei has told us everything," Sasuke said. Congratulations. There is no other person who deserves it more from our promotion.

"It seems so. If all goes well.

"Of course it's going to be fine!" Naruto encouraged her, with his usual optimism.

"As for the fact that we don't see each other..." I was thinking of creating a shed or something similar in the garden, with all kinds of protections and with the interior much larger than the exterior. That way I can practice ninjutsu and train in there without having to go to the training ground.

"Really!?" His brother gasped with excitement as he realized he wouldn't have to waste time looking for an empty spot when he wanted to practice. Sugoi!

"Don't you have enough things to do?" Kakashi-sensei asked with a laugh, pointing to his 20 clones studying in the garden.

"That's just a moment," he rolled his eyes with a smile. I just need it to have 4 walls and a bunch of runes. I can cast a spell on the ground to look like grass and the ceiling on a false ceiling. Mmm... I'll do it tomorrow, when I have time.

"How was training with Tsunade-sama?" Sasuke asked, setting the table.

"Good. Look at this.

He picked up a blunt knife and placed it on the edge of the table. He used his index finger and thumb, putting them in a circle, and then snapped his index finger against the knife. He shot out and crashed into the wall as if he had thrown it with the full force of his dominant arm, rather than with a finger. They turned to look at his satisfied smile with expressions of surprise and a little dread at the sight of his newfound strength.

"Oh, no," Naruto whispered, his face comically terrified. You're like the old one, but in an improved version, and young.

Kakashi-sensei began to laugh at the sound of this, covering his face with one hand to calm himself without much success. Naruto gave him a withering look that was totally ignored. Sasuke, meanwhile, stared at the knife stuck in the wall with a cautious expression.

"You laugh!" The old woman at least only has her strength, but Seina-nee can blow you up with a wave of the hand without touching you!

"And make you vomit with a genjutsu," Sasuke nodded seriously.

"What?" Kakashi-sensei asked suddenly. What genjutsu are you talking about?

Then he realized that he hadn't shown him his first creation. Seina turned to look at him, smiling.

"Do you remember how you asked us to create a genjutsu?" Well, this is the result of my new technique. It works every time. Basically, genjutsu attacks areas of the brain that are related to balance, making you believe that they are injured or absent. The victim falls to the ground in the round instantly due to the sudden change of "balance" versus "imbalance". The brain is not perceiving a false external situation, but an internal one, so the victim does not know what is happening since his body and brain are not able to distinguish that what is wrong is something in the brain itself. By then, the victim begins to vomit lying on the floor. Enough time to finish someone off.

"Have you invented a genjutsu that manipulates the brain against itself, but with physical consequences?" Kakashi-sensei asked, incredulous. Stunned. And you've tried it.

"Yes, it works just as I described. Hayate and Yugao can confirm this for you.

"Is that what you were up to the other time?" How do you always come to such crazy conclusions that somehow make sense and work? Kakashi-sensei groaned as he smiled. Can I see it? Without the sharingan, if you will.

"It's okay. I've already shown it to Sasuke. If you want, you can copy it as long as it doesn't leave here.

"I give you my word.

"I don't want to throw up," Sasuke warned, his face green. You'd better prove it to the dobe, who hasn't seen it either.

"Hey! Naruto shouted, but quickly relented. It is ok! But don't throw up!

"I promise, Naru. Prepared?

He watched as Kakashi-sensei raised his ninja band and activated the sharingan while his brother looked like a poor man about to be executed. He made the corresponding seals and molded the chakra. Naruto fell to the ground in a round, his face pale and his eyes confused by the loss of balance. He immediately stopped the genjutsu, kneeling beside Naruto.

"Ugh. Never again," he swore, pale and still lying on the floor.

"Interesting," Kakashi-sensei said, with the sharingan still active looking at Naruto. It really works by manipulating the brain more than we thought... Crazy, but genius at the same time.

"That's what I said..."

That's how it happened another day. The next few days were a repetition. Every day he learned something new, but his schedule was always the same. I was with the same people, with a few exceptions, I had the same time to do the same thing with variations. She was lucky that the routine was something she was used to enduring because, if it had been Naruto, she would have started complaining that they "always did the same thing."

Observing the difference in herself was enough to give her strength and keep her from fainting. He no longer dealt with the easy cases in the hospital, but with the incurable ones. She operated on her own, she had assistants when necessary, some doctors consulted her about things... The mountain of books Tsunade-sama gave him, which he had half-read when he started his intensive, shrank by a third. He learned even more ninjutsu than he had scheduled for those weeks, and improved so much at taijutsu that Tenzou admitted that was no longer his weak point by far.

He felt on top of the world because it seemed like everything was going smoothly. I was hoping something would go wrong. To his astonishment, nothing bad happened.

Chapter 4: 38-42

Chapter Text

Chapter 38
One day, Tsunade-sama waited for her in a huge clearing.
"I want to introduce you to someone today," he said with a smile. He has been with me for many, many years, and I know he will faithfully serve you as well. Kuchiyose no jutsu.
Out of the huge cloud of smoke appeared a giant white and blue slug. Yes, a slug. Seina stared at her as the one who seemed to be the chief summoning of the slugs bent down and curled her eyes to look at her.
"Hello again, Tsunade-sama," the huge slug said in a super feminine voice.
"Katsuyu, I wanted to introduce you to my apprentice," he nodded. She is Seina. I'd like you to sign your contract.
"Oh, a new apprentice?" It is ok.
He saw a large scroll of parchment appear before his feet. Tsunade-sama opened it, showing the countless names that had served alongside Katsuyu over the years. The last name was that of the Hokage.
"I know you have some kind of summoning with your powers," she said, sitting down next to him, "but Katsuyu is a medical summoner. With its help you will be able to heal many people at once, especially if we take into account your gigantic chakra reserves. Honestly, Seina, you'd give Katsuyu a lot more than I did. It's time for him to have a new summoner.
"Do you have that much chakra, Seina-san?" Katsuyu asked curiously.
"Call me Seina," he said. I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, and an Uzumaki.
"Wow. I've never had a summoner with your stats. It will be an honor to serve by your side.
"It's all right. I'll sign the contract," she smiled. Should I write my real name or the name everyone knows?
"It doesn't really matter. What matters is your blood.
He cut his finger with a kunai and wrote his name in blood next to Tsunade Senju's. Since he knew that virtually no one would see what was written, he used his real name.
"Seina Namizake, you're the daughter of the Fourth Hokage!" The slug was surprised. I didn't expect it.
"Good! Katsuyu, come back, please. Seina will try to summon you right away.
Katsuyu disappeared, nodding. Tsunade-sama didn't even explain what to do, so he molded the chakra, in the same amount he had perceived using the Hokage, and summoned Katsuyu. Or at least he tried.
"Wait. "I want to try something," Kurama said. Mold your chakra next to mine and invoke it.
"What's up?"
He started over, using both his chakra and the chakra Kurama offered him, and invoked Katsuyu. The huge slug appeared again, glowing almost imperceptibly orange with demonic chakra. It even seemed to vibrate from the abnormal energy he had given her.
"Unbelievable! He shouted, instead of speaking quietly as before. This must be...
"The Kyubi chakra?" Tsunade-sama asked, his eyes wide. You've molded your chakra with that of the bijuu to invoke it!
"Kurama asked me to," he shrugged. Now I see why.
"I feel like I have three times the energy, Tsunade-sama, Seina-sama.
"You don't need to call me honorifics.
"You are my summoner, the daughter of the deceased Hokage and the apprentice of the new Hokage," she replied tersely.
"Wait a minute! The Hokage cut off. Katsuyu, how many people do you think you could heal with the energy you have now without Seina transferring more chakra to you.
"Easily 400 or 500 people.
The Hokage turned to look at her with a stunned expression. Seina smiled. As soon as he understood what had just happened, Tsunade-sama's lips stretched into a somewhat malicious smile.
"Did you know that this form of Katsuyu is only an incomplete form?" Tsunade-sama informed him. The slugs of the Shikkotsu Forest are, in fact, all the same entity. Together, they form the true form of Katsuyu.
"Does that mean you're much bigger, Katsuyu?" She asked the slug in astonishment.
"That's right. The portion of chakra that Tsunade-sama uses to summon me at this size is meant to leave him room to fight and heal at the same time. You have used the same amount of chakra as she has, so my size is the same as when Tsunade-sama invoked me.
"And what if I summoned you, giving you a lot more chakra?" What proportion to your actual size do you have now?
"This shape only represents 5% of me.
Seina almost choked on her tongue as she realized that Katsuyu's true form was colossal. I couldn't imagine. The slug in front of him was as big as the Hokage's mansion, slightly bigger than the toad chief that Naruto summoned. He turned breathlessly to the Hokage, who was already waiting for his gaze.
"I want to try it," she declared like a lunatic.
She undid all the clones she had studying to gather her entire chakra into her. La Hokage nodded the face of someone who is about to start playing with his favorite toy. Katsuyu disclaimed himself without saying anything.
—Kurama-
"I know. Let's go. This is finally getting interesting! The bijuu exclaimed inside.
Considering the chakra he had spent to form only 5% of Katsuyu, he did the relevant calculations and divided the expenditure in half. One half she would put with her chakra, the other half she would receive from Kurama. Still, I had more than enough.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
The chakra expenditure was quite a bit higher, but much lower than expected considering Kurama's help. The slug that appeared... I couldn't see his face. He raised his head, his neck aching, but he was unable to see the end until Katsuyu curved back to the ground.
"It's the first time I've stepped foot in the outside world in its entirety..." Katsuyu said, marveling. Her voice, despite being very feminine, was deep from how gigantic she was.
—… "I can't believe it," Tsunade-sama whispered beside him. I've only seen Katsuyu this size in its natural habitat, once.
"Huh... perhaps we haven't thought about it too much," Seina cut in, pointing to part of the forest that had been buried under the summoning.
Luckily, part of his body was summoned in the river and in the huge clearing they had been in.
"How tall should it be?"
—460 meters
"Hell," Tsunade-sama said, her voice cracking. It's going to take a while to get to the top.
"Tsunade-sama!" Several voices shouted.
Seina saw with some horror, and a growing laugh, the shocked faces of the ninjas who had come to her training site at the sight of the gigantic slug appear. Some I didn't know, others, like Genma, stared open-mouthed at the invocation as if they couldn't believe it.
"Oh, guys. I was just practicing with my apprentice the Katsuyu summoning.
"E-this is Katsuyu!?" One asked fearfully.
"The full form, yes.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, minna-san," Katsuyu spoke, hunching back to look down.
"Don't apologize," Tsunade-sama's hand shook. What we have to do is keep practicing. Oh, and think about how to get to your head without taking 5 minutes. You can go to your posts!
Seina watched as some reluctantly backed away, curious about what was happening there. He waited until everyone had left before turning to the summoning.
"I think I have the solution. Katsuyu, do you mind if I put something on top of your head with one of my stamps? Then I could use the hiraishin and appear there.
"It's all right.
"Great! Kuchiyose no jutsu.
He again used the summoning jutsu to summon one of his winged creations. Tsunade-sama and Katsuyu watched intently, the Hokage with glowing eyes, as its white abraxan appeared with its huge wings.
"Let's fly," she said to Tsunade-sama, jumping on top of the meekly waiting animal.
"I can't believe I'm riding a winged horse out of nothing," the Hokage muttered behind her.
The flight was relatively short. As they flew, he tried to compare Katsuyu's height to some monument he had visited. The first one that came to mind was the Eiffel Tower but, according to Fleur's information, it was only 330 meters tall. Katsuyu far surpassed that height. He jumped out of the abraxan above Katsuyu's head. It was so big that it would fit his house and all his land, and he would have room to spare.
"What a sight," Tsunade-sama smiled.
He noticed the Hokage's watchful gaze as he watched as he pulled a random stone out of the fanny pack, bewitched it to be indestructible, used the sealing jutsu on it, and stuck it at that very spot to Katsuyu's head with a permanent spell.
"Does it bother you like that?" He asked the slug.
"Not at all. I don't even notice it.
"Great! Now I'll be able to get up here in less than a thousandth of a second!
Tsunade-sama couldn't stifle a laugh. She spent the afternoon with Katsuyu by her side so that she would get used to the chakra expenditure she had to pay to have her there. Still, even with the chief of the slugs there, the chakra expenditure was a drop in the ocean. They were also practicing acid attacks, splitting them into smaller slugs, and rapidly recombining.
"My biggest disadvantage is my speed," he told her at the end of training. Compared to Manda or Gamabunta, I'm the slowest summon.
"Hmm... Will you let me try something?" He asked.
"What are you going to do?"
"Make it lighter," she said. I can easily do it with my powers.
"And how long will this jutsu last?"
"Until I take it off, obviously. Actually, it's an advantage to have the full form of Katsuyu here because when you activate this jutsu, each of its parts will be less heavy.
"Which will give it more speed because of its lightness.
"Can you lighten my weight, Seina-sama?" It would be a great advantage for me.
He used the spell on Katsuyu's gigantic form, noticing a rapid exhaustion of his magic. While it was true that he wouldn't have to renew the spell unless he deactivated it at some point with a finite, that didn't mean it required little magical expense to put it on for the first time. His magic, unlike his chakra, did not count on Kurama's almost limitless reserves. He gave thanks for the power he had at his disposal or he would have fainted suddenly.
Tsunade-sama grabbed her arm as she staggered, and made her sit on the ground. She saw her teacher's green hand touch her forehead, but she knew she wouldn't be able to see what was happening to her.
"Too much spending at once. I'll be fine. I just have to eat.
"I imagine you've got some food in your fantastic fanny pack." Eat. We're done for today." He turned to look at the summons. How do you feel, Katsuyu?
"Very light, Tsunade-sama.
They watched it decompose, faster than before, and how its small parts seemed to slide quickly across the floor as if they were skating on the ice.
"Pretty impressive," the Hokage muttered with a smile. You and I will have to practice Katsuyu too. You can go to rest.
"Got it, Tsunade-sama. See you next time!"
"Let's go. Now it's time to have dinner and recover. Tomorrow will be another day.
When she walked back home through the village, she noticed a lot more stares than she was used to. Most, if not all, were from ninjas who had seen Katsuyu and had already gossiped that she had succeeded in summoning her. He ignored them, pretending they weren't there, and kept walking. It was to be expected that he would gain some reputation among the ninja forces. If it weren't for her work at the hospital, it would be for being the apprentice of the Hokage. As long as it didn't negatively affect her, or her team, she didn't care.
When she got home, she saw that she was alone. He read the note left for him by Naruto and Sasuke, who were on a joint mission, and ate dinner by reading a book. He knew that it would take days for Kakashi-sensei to return to his mission village, so he had no qualms about eating dinner and locking himself in his bathroom to relax his muscles.
"It wasn't bad this afternoon," Kurama said suddenly. He bounced on the water. You've seen what we can do without even trying. I can't wait for old Tsunade to give you the go-ahead to train with the plant guy.
"With Tenzou?"
"Yes, that one.
"We'll have to train away from the village. You've seen what happened today.
"Meh. You can't hide who you are. They'll have to suck it up and accept it.
"I suppose..."
A couple of days later, even though nothing had really changed, she noticed how some ninjas started to tilt their heads as she passed by. Above all, chunins, some jonin and the ninjas of the hospital. I didn't know why they were giving it so much hype now. Perhaps because they hadn't paid enough attention to it before to notice its progress. Summoning the full form of Katsuyu, which not even the Hokage could do, was apparently worthy of respect. The only thing it showed in his eyes was that he had more chakra, but people were easily impressionable so he stopped thinking about it.
He was walking through the village, looking for the bookstore, when he saw Kakashi-sensei in the distance heading towards the Hokage tower. She wondered if to say hello to him, but she guessed he was very busy. Still, he saw Genma stop him under the shade of a tree. If it wasn't for the fact that he had been watching them and had his spell activated, he wouldn't have seen the exchange.
"Kakashi, I finally find you. What the hell have you been teaching your kunoichi?
"Hello, Kakashi. How are you? How about your mission? Kakashi-sensei said wryly. Let's see, what has Seina already done?
He listened as Genma burst out laughing at the expectant, unsurprised, question of the jonin.
"I don't know! Maybe summon the full form of Katsuyu, or create and use a new genjutsu on Hayate that knocked him out or, maybe give you a bracelet that- you know. He used the Kyubi chakra to summon Katsuyu, Kakashi. It's not even been a year since he graduated from the academy! Who would come up with such a thing?
"To her, of course," replied her master boredly. You don't know a quarter of what he does and it crosses his mind every day, Genma. Besides, why are you telling me all this?
—… "I was one of his father's bodyguards, Kakashi," Genma whispered. I've been watching from afar, as best I could, and now-
"Does he remind you of his father now?" Tell me about it. Naruto is copied from Kushin-
"Not only that! "He's far surpassing his father," he told her worriedly. Minato had an entry in the bingo book of the other countries. How long do you think it will take for Seina to have her own photograph put in that book?
—… The only thing we can do is train her, just like Tsunade-sama, Tenzou, Yugao, Hayate, Guy and I are doing. Still, I find it funny that you think she doesn't know how to take care of herself. Although it may not seem like it, it could make the most of Konoha's ninjas go around.
"I've been talking to Raido. Do you think Seina would agree to let us train her too?
"Yes. He loves to learn new things so he won't turn you down.
"Great. Let's see if I can find her to talk to her.
Seina suppressed a smile. It fell silent and appeared on the branch above their heads. Kakashi-sensei raised his head the instant his feet touched the tree.
"Look. "Here it is," he said to Genma. Didn't you want to talk to her?
"Where did you come from!?"
"Wait for me," Kakashi-sensei said, ignoring the other jonin. It didn't take long.
He sat on the branch watching it go deeper into the tower of the Hokage. Genma jumped to his side, squatting down.
"Have you heard all that?" How did you do it? I haven't noticed you.
Seina pointed out the earring, even though she didn't use it to spy like her team. Its slope functioned as a poison detector.
"The bracelet isn't the only thing I can do. I heard you.
"You- Ugh." I see. I'll assume you've heard it all. Well?
"As Kakashi-sensei said, I like to learn new things. You're an expert in poisons, aren't you?
"Among other things, yes. Both Raido and I are taijutsu specialists. Raido has a lot of experience as an assassin, and is an expert in kenjutsu. If you train with Yugao and Hayate, I imagine you'll be interested in that.
"That's right. Honestly, you'd better come to an agreement among yourselves. I have every other day off in the afternoons." He shrugged. I don't have any more free time.
"I'll talk to the others," Genma nodded thoughtfully.
They were talking about what he was going to teach him, and rebounding to his team, when they trained. They also talked about the famous bingo book where, apparently, his father once appeared with an S rank and an explicit note to "flee immediately". He endured an incredulous sound. His father... the father who had supported and lulled her, protected with his life on the day of her birth... It had been so dangerous that the bingo book had recommended fleeing rather than fighting it with caution.
"Me. I'm back. "I see you've agreed," Kakashi-sensei said.
She jumped out of the tree, followed by Genma. They said goodbye right there, watching the ninja disappear, and then headed home.
—… So you've summoned Katsuyu's final form. Why am I not surprised?
"Hey. Tsunade-sama wanted to see her, too," she defended herself. The jonin snorted a laugh. Besides, it wasn't a big deal. Half of the chakra I used was given to me by Kurama.
"And how big is it?" He asked curiously. No one has ever seen it in its entirety.
"According to her, 460 meters.
—...460 meters? Kakashi-sensei asked dumbfounded. Now I understand why Genma was so hysterical. What a way to get attention. Well, what are you going to do to it?
"I had to put a seal on it to use the hiraishin," she said, feeling her lip tremble with laughter at the comical situation. You should have seen Genma's face.
Kakashi-sensei stifled a laugh at the thought of it. When they got home they saw how Naruto was preparing food.
"Naruto!" When are you back? She asked, smiling.
"An hour ago. You were busy in the hospital so we didn't tell you anything," Sasuke replied behind him. Do you know that we met Ino and Shikamaru? Apparently, everyone is talking about a certain invocation of a certain person...
He avoided laughing at his teammate's pointed gaze, also avoiding Kakashi-sensei's somewhat exasperated, and amused, expression.
"And we missed it!" I want to see her, nee-chan!
"Maybe out of the village, when I don't destroy half the forest again," he laughed.
The jonin stifled a groan of exasperation at his statement as Sasuke shook his head in little surprise. They were eating, talking about what they had done on their mission, and what they had learned those days when they were gone. That same afternoon, since Kakashi-sensei had the rest of the day off and it was his afternoon off, they began to train in their newly opened hut.
"I still can't believe this exists, and look I've seen what you did inside the suitcase..."
"But he's great for training!" And enooooormeee! Naruto shouted, his voice echoing.
The hut, basically, looked like a grandiose clearing with trees, the bewitched sky and huge false windows through which the light also entered the side walls. Luckily, the runes and protection spells were enough to keep the structure from being destroyed by countless jutsus crashing into the walls.
"I have something to teach you," she told them, with a broad smile she couldn't contain.
"You're scaring me," Sasuke said.
"Do you remember when we talked about chakra natures?" I've been trying something and I've managed to create a new ninjutsu by mixing 2 different natures.
It had taken him days to get a single such ninjutsu. He had had to go over the theory of hand seals, chakra molding, he had even read purely theoretical scrolls from his copied library. Well, his clones. It had taken me more than 100 tries before I found the right combination, but now I understood how to do it.
He conjured up a huge stone in the middle of the field. He then molded the chakra and made the relevant hand seals. His jutsu had no name, so he simply shot boiling water and steam out of his mouth, which, in addition to being at a harmful temperature, was also corrosive. It had been Kurama who advised him to use the yin chakra as well to corrupt the jutsu, giving it that extra touch. The rock broke into pieces under the force of its water cannon and, seconds later, began to disintegrate into dust due to corrosion of the rock.
—...Did you just invent a new element? Sasuke asked.
"No. The boiling element is used by some people in Kiri," Kakashi-sensei denied. Even so... It's amazing.
"I've been trying it, but I need an open space or I'd poison us all." If I mix Kurama's demonic chakra on top of that and then use a spark, it explodes.
"Are you saying you've tried it?" The Jonin asked seriously.
"Only with a very small amount. The explosion was no bigger than an explosive talisman.
"Can we learn how to use it?" Naruto asked, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Of course. If Seina explains it to you, it's just a matter of molding the chakra the way she does, with the right amount, and using the appropriate seals.
Both Sasuke and Naruto turned to look at her, looking expectantly. That's how Naruto and Sasuke set about learning the new ninjutsu while she and Kakashi-sensei fought with everything, as always. She ended up crushed, but very satisfied. Despite the progress he had made researching new jutsus, he knew that he would have to loosen up on something or he would burn out before his time. She felt like Hermione studying for fifth-grade exams or during her campaign to become a minister.
A few days later, Genma and Raido showed up to her ready to train. They kept up quite quickly as they were used to training with their father, who had also been adept at using hiraishin.
"This reminds me of the old days," Raido exclaimed, brandishing his weapon.
"And yet I'm almost more afraid of your 12-year-old daughter," Genma muttered under his breath.
"Don't be a whiner, Genma! We know you like it!
Seina tested her new jutsu, releasing a stream of boiling water and steam. They jumped away, stifling a scream. She, meanwhile, realized that it was taking less and less time for her to mold the chakra and make the stamps. He intercepted them with the hiraishin and a flying kick. Genma crashed into a tree, but unfortunately changed while flying with a log. Even so, he couldn't fool his bewitched ears. She reappeared behind him making the hand seals of a normal water jutsu. The torrent swept him away. Raido took advantage of his distraction to attack her, but a tap on the ground split the rock and destabilized him. Another use of hiraishin, a feint to dodge his weapon, and with the help of an impedimenta, Seina managed to have enough time to throw it at Genma with a chakra-less punch.
"Ugh. "Slow down for a moment," Genma said from the ground, wet from head to toe. It's not fair that you have so much stamina. We're supposed to be the ones who have to beat you up! Not the other way around!
"What was that last jutsu?" Raido asked, sitting down on the grass.
—...How much has Kakashi-sensei told you about my abilities? He asked, using a spell to give them privacy.
"Tell us about what?"
"That troll didn't tell us anything," Genma said, drying his clothes with a blast of chakra. Why?
"Let's say I know how to do a lot of things... Do you want me to give you an example?" Why don't you stand up, seeenseeei? He asked, lengthening the syllables, with a wicked smile that he tried to hide.
"I don't know whether to do it..." Raido nudged him. It is ok!
He threw an invisible tarantallegra at her. He saw how his feet began to tap dance, causing him to move helplessly from here to there, jumping and doing pirouettes, while screaming and trying to keep his balance with his arms. Raido was speechless, his face a poem, for exactly two seconds. Then she started crying with laughter. That was enough to make her start laughing too, hitting the ground as Genma moved around the clearing jumping and chipping her feet quickly. He stopped the spell when he caught his breath.
"I'll never forget this moment," Raido swore, wiping tears from his normally serious face.
"What the f*ck was that!?"
"My example," he smiled broadly. It could have hurt you a lot, considering there's a cliff over there and I was controlling your feet, don't you think?
Genma lay back on the floor, looking down at his legs as if he had been betrayed. She and Raido continued to laugh from time to time, remembering his face. That's how Kakashi-sensei found them, returning from another mission with the p*rn book in his hand and his face buried in its pages.
"Me! How did your first training session go?
—…
Raido began to laugh again, causing Kakashi-sensei to raise his head and eyebrow at the hearing. You only had to see his mischievous smile to know that he had done something.
"Let's just say that the class was held by Genma, but for dance!" He burst out laughing. He dodged the senbon his friend sent him. You've missed it.
"That aside," sighed his victim with a tired face, "it was good training. Your style of kenjutsu is noticeable in Seina. Now I'm calmer.
"Yes. We can help her improve, but she already has a good foundation. All that's left is to practice.

Chapter 39
So it was that Genma and Raido, with a clear conscience because they saw that she could defend herself, continued to practice with her when they had free time. Naruto and Sasuke, who did have quests, trained with their masters when they could, but there was a clear difference between the two. While she was training practically all day, they had to do missions and could not afford to practice and learn new jutsus while working. As was obvious.

When they were at home, he let them practice with his clones so they could shorten the distance again. The only thing they achieved in the end was that all of them ended up in ruins from training since it was the only thing they did in their free time.

"Have you read everything I gave you yet?" Tsunade-sama raised an eyebrow. You're done sooner than I expected.

"With the help of my clones, it's been a lot easier.

"I suppose so... It is ok. I'll give you an extensive exam, I hope you're ready.

This exam was a written exam with a practical and oral part. He spent the whole day answering questions from the Hokage. When he was over, the relief of finally having fulfilled one of his goals was immense.

"I'll let Shizune correct it," he said, gesturing to the more than 50 pages of questions, "but if you've answered as well as the other part of the exam, there won't be much to correct."

While waiting for the Hokage's adjutant's response, he set about solving strange hospital cases. The truth was that with his diagnostic spell there was little "strange" about them since he knew exactly what was happening to the patient, but treating them was a very different thing. Isaribi, the girl they captured on the mission in the Land of the Sea, was one of those cases. Tsunade-sama, instead of helping her, gave her the folder with her initial notes and left her alone to wake up.

"Consider this a test!" He had said as he walked back to his office, his back to her.

He left her there with his former enemy, as if nothing had happened. Seina rolled her eyes as she read Isaribi's medical history. At the same time, Isaribi looked at her nervously, as if he didn't know what to think of her until she asked him to calm down.

"I'm not going to do anything to you," he assured her. You were my mission, just that.

"I know... I'm so sorry for everything that happened. I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place," he confessed. I couldn't stand my appearance and the hatred of the villagers any longer. Especially when I was to blame for them being so afraid.

"I know, that's why I captured you," Seina sighed. We thought that if we took you with us to Konoha your innocence would be proven and you could be treated here. It is fate, or Tsunade-sama's, that you have given your case to me.

"So you're iryo nin?"

"Yes. I hope I can help you," she nodded. See. To begin with, I have a question.

"Go ahead.

"What do you want to get out of the treatment?" Would you want your human body back in its entirety or would you rather get your human aspect back while maintaining your new faculties?

"I don't see how the second option would be possible. I hadn't even thought about it.

"Oh, I assure you it's possible," she laughed. In fact, right off the bat, I'd say it's easier than reverting to human. Your DNA has been transformed, not just your appearance. That implies that in order to "cure" you we would need to modify your DNA again.

"And how would you manage to maintain my faculties, but restore my normal appearance?"

"I can think of several ways. I'd have to think about how to do it, but I need to know first which option you choose. Before you decide anything, I just want to assure you that both are possible.

"Thank you.

"I'll give you a couple of days to think about it, okay?" In the meantime I will do the same. Still, I need to examine both ways to see what I should do.

That's how he came to value Isaribi in his human form and in his transformed form. Returning him to his human appearance in his human form would be ridiculously easy. I would only need to tattoo a few runes on him so that he would never have to worry about it again. The problem was how to make it keep its human look, or an aesthetically pleasing change, while transformed. The simplest option would be to implant a metal piece under the skin with runes that would physically modify its appearance. She could do the same with a bracelet or an earring, but that way she would never have to worry about losing or destroying the one thing that kept her looking "human." He left the hospital with all the necessary information.

In her spare time, knowing that she had given herself a deadline of 2 days, she created a runic sequence on a flat, rounded piece of titanium to endow it with human skin, human teeth, reduce its limb musculature and suppress the fins. Basically, its swimming abilities would be greatly reduced as it would only have interdigital membranes, as well as its gills on each side of the neck. In return, it would have to look normal with the sole exception of said membrane and gills. Easy and simple. He couldn't even take the credit, though. Ancient Egyptian wizards and witches had been using such a sequence, in reverse, to change their human heads into animal heads for centuries, making Muggles believe they were gods.

In the event that he wanted to get rid of his transformation entirely, he would have to put it to sleep and use a cell manipulation jutsu to get his cells to purge the foreign DNA. It would be a slow and tedious process, but perhaps he could speed it up with a genjutsu to manipulate Isaribi's brain. The problem is that she didn't know if it would work and/or if it would kill her due to such acceleration.

Either way, when his new appointment came, he had options for both cases. If Seina were Isaribi she would have been left with her improved ability to swim and dive. However, Isaribi had been a victim of Orochimaru and Amichi for 10 years, so he would most likely prefer to forget everything, even if it meant losing an advantage at sea. She walked into the hospital mentally writing down what she needed to take to operate on her. Nothing prepared her for her patient's decision.

"I want to keep my skills. They have ruined my life for many years, but... If I can now go back to being normal and being able to breathe underwater... I'll be the one to win something, after all.

"Wow. "You've surprised me," she admitted. I thought you'd rather forget everything.

"I thought about it. Until this morning that was my decision, but then I realized that skill itself is not a bad thing. My problem is how they experimented on me without my consent, how they forced me to do their dirty work, how they took away my trust to such an extent that I couldn't defend myself from the attacks of my neighbors. Simply... Existed.

"I understand," Seina nodded. I'm glad you made this decision. I've got it all ready. Both for one thing and for the other.

"Now?" Isaribi asked, surprised.

"Yes. I just have to anesthetize the back of your neck. I'll make a small wound on your neck and put a titanium talisman on it with fuinjutsu.

He asked for a drop of blood in his transformed state, which was when the foreign DNA was activated, and proceeded with the operation. It only took him 10 minutes to anesthetize her locally, sterilize everything, put the implant under her skin, activate the runes, and heal her wound.

"Let's try and see if it works." How are you feeling?

"I feel a tingling all over my body, but it's going away.

"Great. We'll wait for it to stop and then you'll need to transform.

About 5 minutes later, Isaribi stood up to try to transform. He managed to transform, but kept his body intact. As soon as she saw his hands and arms, she began to cry. I expected it to give excitement.

"How is that possible?" He wondered. I would never have imagined that-

She burst into tears, throwing herself into a hug, and then examined herself in a mirror she had prepared especially for that purpose. He touched his face, his hair, examined his teeth until, little by little, he realized that it was real. She transformed back into a human at his request and watched as she had returned to her original appearance.

"I can go home," she cried with a beaming smile. I'm not a monster anymore.

He comforted her for a while until he couldn't stay with her anymore. He examined her one last time before letting her go, and filled out the report before he got lazy. Luckily, no one seemed to have heard of Isori's recovery, so she left before she could be peppered with medical questions.

When she got home, her whole team was waiting for her, much to her surprise.

"You're all here!" What a surprise!

"We just met at the entrance to the village," Sasuke told him.

"Were you in the hospital, nee-chan?" Naruto asked, as if he didn't know his schedule by heart.

"Yes. In fact, he was treating Isaribi.

"The girl experiment of your mission in the Land of the Sea?"

"The same. He's decided to keep his new abilities, but only if he could get back to his human appearance." What about you? What have you been up to? Something interesting?

"No, just a move where bandits showed up," Sasuke sighed. It could have been more interesting.

"Mine was more interesting!" Our client, Princess f*ckku, hired Ino and me to arrange a date for her with the man she was in love with.

"What's that?"

"Apparently she wanted to introduce herself personally, but she was so nervous that she put on about 20 kilos so Ino, who was a copy of her thin self, had to impersonate her to make the man fall in love.

Kakashi-sensei, she and Sasuke snorted a laugh at the ridiculous reason why they had hired a pair of ninjas.

"And what happened in the end?" Kakashi-sensei asked. With you being hired, I know it wasn't that easy.

"Eeh, hehehe," Naruto scratched his head with a blush on his cheeks.

"Oh, I don't miss this. "Let me see what happened, Naru," she said, smiling.

Sasuke and Seina watched as Naruto recapped everything that happened. From Princess f*ckku's explanation, to Ino's disappointment when she realized that the suitor was as fat as the princess, to his crappy way of seducing Ino... The good news came when Naruto started to get impatient as Ino wasn't very convinced to continue seducing the suitor. She and Sasuke watched as he transformed into a henge and felt like peeing. Instead of going to the bathroom or transforming back into his original self, he started pissing in the middle of the garden, much to the annoyance of his client.

Seina couldn't breathe from laughing as she watched him run with his pants down and his hands on his parts, surely holding his penis as he pissed running. Sasuke, beside him, was crying with laughter. The best came moments later. Ino opened the paper door to the inner courtyard and raised her hand with an enchanted expression, looking at the rainbow and believing it was raining. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that it was Naruto's that he was touching with his hand.

"Is it so funny?" Kakashi-sensei asked curiously when he saw how she and Sasuke, at that point, could not speak or breathe.

She motioned for him to come closer, crying, and touched his forehead with a finger full of magic while implanting the memory in his mind. He watched through tears as Kakashi-sensei saw Naruto's memory. He watched as they shook their shoulders, trying not to laugh out loud.

"Wait, I have another memory to show you," she cleared her throat, remembering Genma.

He handed her a copy of his memoir. Although he tried not to laugh out loud at his fellow jonin, he couldn't help but double over with laughter when he saw Genma tap dancing and Raido cracking up laughing. Sasuke and Naruto, who had seen what was happening to him, started laughing again.

"God... My ribs hurt," he admitted minutes later, when he caught his breath.

"You've given me a lot of material," the jonin smiled broadly. I've never seen that look on Genma's face, even though he's always making jokes and teasing people.

"Did you make the food?" She asked.

"We didn't have time to get started.

"It's okay. I'll leave a few clones cooking.

"I've seen that you don't have your clones studying textbooks anymore," the jonin noticed. Have you finished studying?

"At least until I have to study the books for the jonin exams," she groaned.

"Take a break until then." You have 2 weeks left to get promoted.

"I can't believe you're going to be promoted, nee-chan!" Naruto smiled. It's great!

"Best of all, we learn at the same time," Sasuke said, putting down the glasses and plates. Also, Naruto and I can go straight from chunin to jonin.

"That is, if you get promoted next June."

"Where will the exams be next year?" Naruto asked.

"In Sunagakure," smiled the jonin. You have been very lucky considering that the place of the exam is done by lottery.

"What do you mean we've been lucky?"

"Because in some villages it's better not to send genins from Konoha to take the exam..." For this team, all villages except Sunagakure pose a real danger. Even so, you will be accompanied by your jonin sensei so there will be no problem.

"Does that mean I won't be able to go?" She asked, frowning.

"Right off the bat, I don't think so. Although we could ask Tsunade-sama. If it had been Kumogakure, I would have said a resounding no. Not only did Kumo attempt to kidnap your companion Hinata, betraying a newly signed peace treaty, but he also tried the same with your mother.

"Really?"

"That's right. For this team to go to Kumogakure would be dangerous. Sasuke for his dojutsu and Naruto for being the son of who he is... Although it would also be dangerous to go to Kiri, because of the sharingan and Yagura's purge, and also to Iwagakure because of the defeats they suffered at the hands of the Fourth and also because of me.

"f*ck, we can't go anywhere with you," Naruto complained. Half joking, half serious.

Seina stifled a laugh. Sasuke gave his brother a slap on the wrist, rolling his eyes.

"The truth is, we have a lot of enemies. Every village has them, to be honest. Our strongest alliance is Sunagakure. The other villages don't even have that.

They were talking about the chunin exams for a while longer. The biggest question was who would take his place temporarily so that his team could sit for the exam. I assumed that Team 10 had the same problem. In any case, they won't have to worry for another 7 months.

The last few weeks of training were the hardest. Not only was he in the hospital every morning and trained half the afternoons with the Hokage, but he also had to practice in his spare time to accomplish his ninjutsu goals while also finishing his team's gifts. He decided, due to lack of time, not to complicate his life by thinking and went on the fast track. He grabbed the ninja tents and began his magical project. Since he had done the same process with the suitcase he used for his summons, building a magical tent inside a gigantic house was much easier and faster.

To her various jonin teachers, who helped her practice every week, and to Shizune and Tsunade-sama, as well as Katsuyu, she also gave a few details. He made different types of bottomless backpacks for the Jonins, while he gave Shizune an infinitely long journal, as he knew how much he liked to write about anything and how much he hated losing papers or clutter. Tsunade-sama was given a bracelet with a henge written in runes. Treating Isaribi had given him the idea, and he knew that the Hokage, since she had confessed it to him, was constantly using the transformation jutsu to look younger. That way, with the bracelet, you could stop consuming chakra and not worry about your appearance. The most difficult had been Katsuyu. What do you give to a slug that talks about 460 meters high? He ended up handing her a "voucher" for the use of another spell she wanted.

"How did you do it?" Shizune asked, delighted, days later. No matter how hard I try to get to the end, I never run out of pages!

"It's very easy. A jutsu to duplicate the blank pages each time one is filled and another to increase the dimension of the diary inside.

"Easy," the Hokage snorted with a laugh. Maybe for you. Come, I have to show you my last medical jutsu.

He followed the Hokage into an empty hospital classroom. He bewitched the place so that no one could spy on them and nodded.

"What I'm going to show you now is my last trump card. The ultimate iryo ninjutsu that a person can use on themselves on the verge of certain death. This jutsu is called sozo saisei or creation of rebirth. Do you see this seal on my forehead? The little violet diamond pointed at her. That seal is called the "strength of a hundred." When I am mortally wounded in battle, I unleash this seal, causing instant total mitosis. That means I can regenerate instantly, effectively being immortal.

Seina looked at her dumbfounded. He looked at the small stamp he had previously overlooked, thinking it was a tattoo.

"The problem with this is that, if used to regenerate major wounds, it shortens the life of its wearer due to the limited number of mitotic divisions in the human body. If you use it to regenerate an organ it won't have the same impact as if you use it, for example, on the verge of death after being crushed in its entirety by a rock. Likewise, you don't necessarily have to use this jutsu to regenerate your body, you can use your stored chakra as an extra chakra reserve to fight.

He was explaining to him the seals needed to start his seal on his forehead and also to untie it. He informed him that until he spent an extended amount of time constantly gathering X amount of chakra, it would not be fully completed.

"Will the time needed to complete the stamp be the same in your case as it is in my case?"

"The seal has a finite limit, that is, although it can store an infinite amount of chakra, it is only able to constantly accept a finite amount of energy. So, even if you have your huge reserves, you can't flood the seal in the hope of filling it in a minute. That's one of the disadvantages.

"I see.

"It takes me exactly 2 years to fill the seal every time, and only if I give it the maximum chakra consistently every day of the year. If at any time I were to stop storing the chakra for any reason, it would take a little longer to fill it.

"And what if I filled it with my chakra and Kurama's?" He asked with scientific interest.

—… I don't know. Equally, I wouldn't try. This is primarily a medical jutsu and the Kurama chakra, like that of the other bijuus, is corrosive if not molded properly.

"It's all right. When can I start? Seina asked, excited by the new challenge.

"Now.

He handed her a mirror so that she could put the seal in the middle of her forehead. It wasn't visible yet, but I could feel it on his skin. Immediately he felt a kind of... emptiness originating from the seal, as if thirsty. He manipulated a chakra thread up to his forehead, beginning to fill it in. He immediately realized that Tsunade-sama was right about the "entry limit." Using more chakra would be like trying to put a melon through a keyhole. Physically impossible. He metaphorically tied that chakra thread to the seal with his mental barriers, and disregarded it.

"Well done," Tsunade-sama said, touching his forehead. I can feel your chakra storing. If you don't faint for a single day, in 2 years this diamond-shaped seal will appear on your forehead. Then you'll know it's complete.

"In 2 years..." I can hardly imagine it, she thought aloud.

"Time passes quickly. You'll see. It will happen faster when you return to active forces in a week's time," Tsunade-sama assured him with a smile. You've held up well all this time. I'm proud.

"Huh. "Sometimes I could hardly tell from one day to the next," he said sarcastically, "and I haven't seen my team for up to 10 days. It's been strange.

"Normal. Not only have you been working with them consistently for over 8 months, but as far as I know, you live with them too," he shook his head. I couldn't have lived with Orochimaru and Jiraiya in the same place. We would have killed ourselves.

Seina laughed as she imagined the punches the pervert would have taken if he had lived with Tsunade-sama. Still, had they lived together, perhaps Orochimaru would have taken a different path... They would never know.

Notes:
Hey. I just wanted to say a couple of things.

1. For all my readers who use translators to read this story: I tried google translate to see if the translation was worth it (it was pretty bad, to be honest). There are some details, especially related to pronouns, that it's not able to translate correctly. I tried using "chatgpt" and although it can't translate a whole chapter, the translation is much better than other translators. Try it and see if you like it.

2. I have a question to ask you. Let me explain the problem to you first.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm writing to Kurama as if he's an important part of Seina. Unlike Naruto's Kurama-yang who is asleep 90% of the time, as in the canon, half of Seina is awake 90% of the time. What does this mean... who, logically, is also attentive when Seina, for example, starts to explore her body or when she is with Kakashi in a less platonic way. Now she's 12-13 years old and we all know what hormones are like at about that age, and from then on.

As you know, I have written many chapters in advance. To be honest, I've written some VERY explicit snippets of Seina where we might consider a Seina/Kurama just for the fact that they share a body and, in the future, chakra. Yes, if you're imagining Seina using the Kurama chakra to masturbat*, that's what I'm referring to (and a few more things we'll talk about).

The question: do you want me to leave the pieces explicit, so Seina's relationship with Kurama will be more intimate and less platonic? Sure enough, it would be Seina (Kurama)/Kakashi. Or, on the contrary, do you prefer it to be a purely Seina/Kakashi story with Kurama watching, but totally platonic?

I'm in time to modify some things, but I'll still put the chapters intact as a series in case someone wants to read them. We have until chapter 90 to change the explicit bits so I'll leave you voting in the comments.
Chapter 40
January 1 was a turning point in his ninja career. The third since he started classes at the academy. She had managed to graduate alongside her brother, as she always wanted, she had reached the rank of chunin when the opportunity presented itself, and now she was promoted thanks to her skills.

"Chunin Seina Uzumaki," Tsunade-sama called from her office chair. After analyzing your quest log, assessing your intellectual and physical faculties, examining your mastery of iryo ninjutsu and due to your mastery of your kekkei genkai... You are awarded promotion to tokubetsu jonin.

"Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama. I won't let her down," he replied, bowing.

"Report immediately to your commander, Shikaku Nara. "He'll explain your new duties to you," the Hokage informed him, as was protocol.

"Hai." Excuse me.

He said goodbye to the Hokage's office, avoiding smiling back at Shizune, and closed the door behind him. I couldn't believe it. It had been weeks since he started his intensive, and yet he felt as if it had been yesterday. He couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that, during all this time, he had barely seen his family and that, now, he could finally get back to normal. She felt somewhat disconnected from her team. It was sad, but it didn't surprise him. After all, he had spent almost 9 weeks alone or in the company of Shizune and Tsunade-sama.

When he arrived at the jonin department, he saw how some ninjas of his rank or jonins came and went. Some seemed to be resting, talking to their comrades, while others were looking closely at maps.

"Seina! Kurenai-sensei greeted her as soon as he saw her. What are you doing here?

"IF YOU'RE HERE, IT MUST BE BECAUSE YOU'VE ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL!" OH, POPPY FLOWER! Guy-sensei shouted, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing her in the air. I KNEW YOU'D MAKE IT!

Seina snorted a laugh, letting him shake her. She was thankful that she had lost her shame years ago because the countless looks on her person would have made her red like Hinata, or at least pale with anxiety.

"Poppy...?" Kurenai wondered.

"The poppy means success," said a voice he instantly recognized. It was Ebisu. I imagine Guy is saying that Seina-san has been promoted.

"That's right," she answered, back on the floor. A tokubetsu jonin, to be exact.

"Wow! Congratulations," Kurenai smiled. Some congratulated her from their sites as well. You'll be looking for Shikaku-sama then. His office is on the top floor. Corridor on the right, last door.

He walked in search of Commander Jonin's office, following the instructions. It was practically impossible to get lost because the right aisle only had 2 doors, and one of them had the name of S. Nara on a small wooden plaque. He called a couple of times.

"Go ahead.

He walked into the office, and his eyes wandered all over the place. It was a square room. It had only one window on the right, but it was so large that it lit up the whole room. Under the window, he saw a couple of chairs set up for visitors. There was a sofa with a small coffee table on the left, next to the door, and in front of it was the large table full of ordered papers from Shikaku Nara. Behind him and on the left wall, there were a bunch of gray filing cabinets to match the couch.

"Ah. I wondered when I was going to see you again," Shikaku smiled. He motioned for her to sit with her head. Congratulations on your promotion to tokubetsu jonin. Although, judging by your exponential improvement, you'll be promoted back to jonin in less than 5 months.

"Thank you. I didn't expect it, to be honest...

"Neither did Tsunade-sama. She was so pressed on what to do with your case that she didn't even think about promoting you to tokubetsu jonin," she informed him in a calm voice. In fact, I was the one who proposed the plan. Maybe you don't remember, but I told you that I wanted to talk to you at length about quite a few things, so when he called me to explain what was going on with your qualifications and ask for advice, I knew it would be a good opportunity.

"I see. Now I'm under his command so it wouldn't be weird to have contact with me, wouldn't it? She said, pretty sure she was right.

"Exactly. The Hokage has solved your little over-qualification problem, I have procured a ninja with a new kekkei genkai for my department and, at the same time, I remove the suspicion of why we are in contact. It's a win-win," Commander Jonin smiled slyly.

"Naras... Kurama growled in exasperation. She could almost see his eyes roll.

"Good. Let's start with your introduction. Hokage aside, you answer only to me, and no one else. When you are on a mission with other jonin, unless you are appointed by the leader, you will answer to the jonin that I indicate to be the leader. That means that from now on, whenever there is an attack on the village, the chunin will answer to you, as well as the civilians, if necessary," Shikaku said, somewhat bored. I know you know all this because of your studies, but it's protocol to remind you. With that said, let's talk about your duties. From now on, the range of expected missions is minimum A rank. That poses a likely risk to you. You already know that.

"What should I do if I have visitors..." Unofficial? She asked, remembering Kakashi-sensei's words about Danzo and his recruitment.

"I don't think he's stupid enough to do it," Shikaku snorted, knowing who he was talking about. In any case, you have the right to refuse, and to defend yourself if necessary...

"Got it.

"Continuing with this toss... Since, in addition to your combat skills, you are an iryo ninja you can be recruited for 2 types of missions: S-rank mission with imperative need to carry a combat medic and/or A-rank mission where a doctor would not be bad, but is not a priority. On the other hand, considering your powers, it would be poor resource management not to send you on high-priority missions. In short: get used to the few S-rank missions I'll give you to start with because once you're jonin you know what to expect.

Seina snorted a laugh at the commander's frankness. I honestly wasn't surprised by his words. He knew perfectly well of the myriad situations Shikaku should have imagined where his powers would be the perfect solution for Konoha. On top of that, she added her healing powers, taught by Hokage herself...

"I'll give you a pass to go to the dressmaker we use." He will take your measurements and give you a few uniforms. When they have some damage, you can go to the apartment in question to renovate them. Take a day off. Starting the day after tomorrow you will be called to serve. When I think it's appropriate, I'll call you to have that talk we're talking about. Oh, by the way, call me Shikaku. I have a feeling we'll see each other quite a bit...

He left Shikaku's office with the pass in his hand. It took barely an hour for his measurements to be taken and he was out of there. They assured him that he would be ready the next day, so he went home quieter. He walked around the village, watching people feast everywhere. The only ones who didn't seem to notice the difference were the ninjas, whose job didn't have vacations as such but days off leave that could be revoked at any time.

"Seina! Ino's voice called. We hadn't seen you in weeks!

She was accompanied by Chouji and Shikamaru, and Asuma-sensei. Shikamaru, who normally looked like she was on the verge of a nap, seemed to agree with her friend.

"I've been digging deep with Tsunade-sama," she smiled. A week and a half ago I finally passed his final exam.

"Really!?" Ino shouted with a huge smile. He lunged at her. I can't believe it!

"You're studying with Mina-senpai, aren't you?"

"Yes. It's a tough study, but I like it.

"According to Naruto, you're going to be promoted," Shikamaru cut in with clear interest. He's a clown, but I don't think he's kidding us.

"Naruto was telling the truth. I've been promoted to tokubetsu jonin," she smiled.

"Tsk... I knew it was going to happen," Shikamaru smiled slightly. This looks like my father... How problematic.

Ino couldn't believe that Naruto had told the truth, while Chouji congratulated her, as well as her jonin sensei. He promised that he would meet them more now that he had relatively more free time. He was talking to them for a few more minutes, but it was clear that he was interrupting what appeared to be a workout. He said goodbye and went home to relax for the rest of the day. She still couldn't believe she had been promoted. Shikaku had hinted that the Hokage had been pressed, but by whom? The hospital? The council of elders? I wasn't entirely sure, but I mentally jotted down that information.

He knew that most ascendees, in peacetime, usually took quite a long time to move from one rank to another. There were a few exceptions, obviously, but she didn't remember anyone except Shikamaru and her being promoted to chunin at the first opportunity after only 8-9 months of being genin. I also didn't know of anyone who would have been promoted back to tokubetsu jonin after only 4 months being chunin. And, from what she had heard, if she passed the jonin exams she could be promoted back to jonin in less than 6 months.

He was beginning to understand the disconnection Kakashi-sensei told him about. He felt far away from his team academically speaking. But what could he expect? Naruto and Sasuke were 12 years old, not 132 like her. Even if he was still chunin... she realized the kind of missions she had been sent on were of a higher rank than those Shikamaru did. Perhaps because Shikamaru didn't have as much ambition as she did and was happy doing what he was told. Perhaps for other, more sinister reasons.

He thought of Sasuke again. He had promised her months ago that they would hunt Itachi down as a team, that he would not leave them behind. Now she was the one who was leaving them behind, but what could she do but train with them? When the chunin exams come around in 6 months, it would be the two of them who will be overqualified. Unless... unless Naruto and Sasuke raised their level so much that Tsunade-sama had no choice but to do the same thing he did to her with the rest of his team. Shikaku had told her that the minimum rank of her missions would be A-rank, but she could go on missions with her team if they were tokubetsu jonin like her, right?

When he got home, with a new plan in mind, he realized no one was there. He looked at the notes on the table and suppressed a groan of frustration when he saw that they were all on mission.

"Take the opportunity to relax while you can," Kurama advised. The Nara has made that clear to you. He plans to use you in as many missions as he can now that you're under his command. Maybe you won't get a break for a long time.

"I find it funny that he didn't even ask me about my abilities. We both know that everything that's written in my files isn't all I can do.

"He'll know sooner or later when he reads your mission reports. Why wonder and waste your time when he will end up knowing it anyway?

"You're right...

"Something she told you today made me think... Do you remember that the old Senju told you that she was being pressured? What had they told him about how "wasted" you were doing B-rank missions? Kurama asked. Seina frowned as she thought about the conversation. The Nara has told you that he himself proposed a solution to the Hokage when she asked him for advice and, interestingly, he has also said that you would do A- or S-rank quests, implying that giving you less complex quests was a waste of resources.

"You think he was the one who was pressuring the Hokage," she said, realizing that he was quite possibly right.

"What I think is that Commander Jonin doesn't see you as just any ninja. You've drawn his attention above the other ninjas under his command. He asked you to visit his house, then confessed to asking the Hokage to promote you so he could have you in their ranks and, as if that wasn't enough, he told you to call him by his name.

—… Do you think that's good or bad? She asked, not knowing where she wanted to go.

"I don't know. Be that as it may, it is not possible to change the past and go unnoticed, so you just have to move forward.

"yes, well, even if I could, I wouldn't change a thing. I told you that we would fight together and that couldn't have been possible if I had been a "random" ninja, as you say.

"I know... But, as that other uncle, the one from the Senbons, told you, it's quite possible that in a short time your face will appear in the bingo books of the other villages, and it will have nothing to do with your kinship. You are not only the apprentice of the Hokage but also of Kakashi, who has his own entry in the bingo book. As soon as they know that you are my jinchuriki and who your parents were...

"I know, but I'm ready. As soon as I have a spare moment, I'll talk to Jiraiya and Tenzou. "If you give me the go-ahead, we could start training the first part," she told him, remembering her training with the Kurama chakra. If they tell me that I can free you from the seal somehow we'll train you out.

"I'm looking forward to it.

He relaxed for a while, meditating so as not to think about what Kurama had told him. Things were getting more and more complicated, and rightly so. Minutes later, he noticed someone entering the property. He opened his eyes, hesitating whether to stay in the huge tub any longer, but he wanted to see his team so he got out of the water and got dressed. When he came down the stairs he came face to face with Kakashi-sensei, covered in blood.

"Are you okay?" She asked as soon as she saw him.

"Yes. It's not mine," the jonin smiled behind his mask. Give me a few minutes to shower and we'll talk.

Seina went into the kitchen to make some tea and biscuits. Kakashi-sensei wasn't lying when he said a few minutes because he came down in less than 10 minutes, dressed in his uniform, but without the vest or mask.

"I've heard about it," he said as soon as he appeared in the room. Congratulations, Seina. I knew you'd make it.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she smiled, sitting down on the couch and setting the tray down on the coffee table.

The jonin sat down next to her, accepting a cup of tea, and picking up a chocolate brownie she had made herself the day before. He sensed a hint of pain as he sat down beside her, even though he seemed completely whole, and raised an eyebrow in his direction. Kakashi-sensei snorted a laugh and stretched his foot in her direction. He ran his hand down her leg, noticing how she had a sore ankle, and healed it.

"You don't miss a single one anymore.

"Why would I leave you with a sore ankle when I could heal it in a couple of seconds?"

"Custom, I suppose," his master shrugged with a sigh.

"Do you think I'll have a mission with you from now on?" She asked.

"Did Shikaku-sama tell you anything about it?" He raised an eyebrow in her direction.

Seina couldn't help but smile at the sight of a chocolate stain on the corner of her mouth. He reached out his hand and withdrew it with one finger, as if he were a small child. He watched, suppressing a laugh, how she blushed adorably. I could hardly believe that the murderer recorded in the bingo book was this same man who was ashamed to receive affection.

"He told me I'd do A and S rank missions. That I can get used to it.

"Hmm..." he frowned at her reply. So, I imagine that sooner or later we will coincide. I guess it had to happen, sooner or later.

"Nothing I haven't done before," she reminded him, to comfort him.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I like it," he frowned again, setting the cup down on the table. Although being a ninja, what could I expect?

He took her shoulder gently and pulled her to him. She let him hug her for the first time in days, maybe weeks. He kissed her on the jaw before leaning against her chest. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him as well.

"Do you have anything to do tonight?" Kakashi-sensei asked, stroking her hair.

"No, as far as I know.

"Then keep it for me," he said.

Seina smiled in surprise. What would he be up to? She tried not to think too much about it, preferring to be surprised. They both listened to Naruto and Sasuke before they even crossed the property's fidelus. Still, he didn't push it away from his chest until the front door opened, slowly letting it go. She sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"NEE-CHAN! Naruto shouted as he walked through the door.

Seina had enough time to slam her eyes open before catching her brother in the air, falling backwards. Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke snorted a laugh at the sight of him.

"Tell me you've been promoted!" He yelled in her ear, making her shudder. She nodded. YATTA! Congratulations, nee-chan!

"Congratulations, Seina. When is the jonin exam? Sasuke asked, sitting down in an armchair. Is it before chunin's?

"Yes. "Early May," Kakashi-sensei replied, picking up his cup.

"How do you know?" Naruto asked. He believed that the dates were not decided until the last moment.

"Only for the chunin exams," the jonin denied. If you had read the scrolls that Seina has copied above, you would know that jonin exams are different.

"Different how?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"To begin with, candidates must be at least chunin and have been recommended for the examination by Hokage himself. Seina already has Tsunade-sama's nod and rank. Unlike the chunin exams, these exams are individual so Seina doesn't need a full team of 3 like you.

"Do you know where the exam is being held this year?" She asked.

"It's not decided yet. It will be decided in early April.

"I won't be so lucky if it's here or in Suna," she said, sighing.

"You never know," he smiled at her, again behind his black mask. Either way, there's no point in worrying.

They cooked dinner together, except Sasuke, and they were having dinner and reconnecting. Now that she would have more free time, they arranged to train when they could. Naruto and Sasuke, since they were still genins, would surely still have solo missions without Kakashi-sensei and without her, so it was more likely that he would see his master more than his brother. It was clear that they both wanted to level up. In fact, the only thing that kept them from being genins was that the exam was done once a year. Otherwise, they would have already ascended like her.

"Even though you're still genins on paper, it's clear that your true level is chunin," Kakashi-sensei assured them. Still, it's not all combat so the exam is necessary to progress.

"Do you think the other genins in our class will take the exam?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably. "Neji could have been promoted if it hadn't been for his behavior," she said, "and I think the others, now that they know what to expect from an exam, will sign up to do it again, too.

"So we'll all be together again!" Naruto smiled. Well, without you and without Shikamaru.

"I'll find you someone to fill Seina's gap in the exam," Kakashi-sensei told them. It will only be for the practical exam so it won't be difficult.

A while later, after dinner and chatting about everything a bit, Sasuke and Naruto went to bed. Seina, when she was alone with the jonin, raised an eyebrow at him, remembering perfectly her previous request. Kakashi-sensei nodded.

"Come," he said in a whisper as he left the house.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously and amusedly.

Instead of answering her, Kakashi-sensei picked her up and used the shunshin to get them somewhere. Stunned, she stifled a cry of surprise as she clung to him. They disappeared and reappeared in a few seconds in their master's old house. He walked with her in his arms to the back where, to his astonishment, he had deliberately placed a blanket at the foot of a large oak tree. He noticed a closed basket in a corner and a folded blanket beside it.

"I know our circ*mstances aren't the most usual in the world," Kakashi-sensei admitted, laying her down on the blanket, "so I figured if we couldn't go anywhere, we could at least sneak out here for a while.

Seina blinked, still surprised, at his words. I would never have imagined him capable of doing something like that, of taking the initiative. Especially when, until a few months ago, he had expressed feeling like a madman for having feelings for her. He realized how much he was risking. He wasn't talking about his reputation but about his heart. Kakashi-sensei was pulling out all the stops not knowing if she would change her mind in the future. Otherwise, why take the initiative and continue with this if you thought they wouldn't get to any port? Unless he was convinced of it.

She leaned over and pulled down his mask, leaving her beautiful face exposed. He couldn't contain himself like all the other times, so he did what he wanted to do. She kissed him. It was a closed-lip kiss, demure, but enough to make himself understood. He felt the faint conscious pressure of Kakashi-sensei's lips on his, and the male hand squeezing his hand in an attempt to stop before crossing the lines any further. It barely lasted a couple of seconds, but it was enough.

"Thank you, Kakashi.

He stifled the urge to use the transformation jutsu to change into his adult form because he knew it would ruin everything, that the temptation of his adult body would be too much. Kakashi-sensei sat against the log, laying her on his lap, and she closed her eyes as she buried her face in his neck.

"How long do you think we should wait?" She asked.

"We both know there's always going to be someone who has a problem with the two of us being together. Maybe your brother and Sasuke, maybe the civilians who know us...

"I haven't lived all this time and endured all the I've endured to get someone to tell me what to do," she almost hissed, with a somewhat wicked amusem*nt. He was just asking about us.

"About when would it be more appropriate to have a relationship... intimate?

"I suppose so.

"In 3-4 years.

So when I was 15 or 16 years old. By then, she would be a high-ranking veteran ninja and an adult in every way. He understood why she had told him that number. She was somewhat relieved to know that he, too, agreed that they weren't ready for anything else for a few years. On the other hand, 3 or 4 years was a long time to ask Kakashi-sensei not to date anyone for sex. After all, sex was one of the ninjas' stress-relieving remedies.

"I know what you're thinking. Forget it," Kakashi-sensei cut off his thoughts.

"I'm not going to ask you to wait for me all that long," she said, a little sadly.

"You don't need to ask me. I don't want to be with anyone like that. I don't want to be with anyone else in any way, actually. Don't you remember how I told you that my relationships are very sporadic? He wasn't lying. The last time I slept with someone was 2 years ago, and the time before that time was another 3 years before. Also, I've never slept with any of my fellow ninjas, but with civilians I don't know who I didn't want to have any kind of relationship with. I'm a man, but I value intimacy, and my survival, more than sex.

"Why," she answered, astonished at the frankness of his reply. Well, I don't intend to be with anyone either. In case you were wondering. As you can see, although they are maturing, boys my age are 12 years old.

"I see. I hadn't thought of it that way. In other words, you're not attracted to them, are you? Should I care more about men my age? Kakashi-sensei joked, pulling her closer to him.

"You don't have to worry about anybody," she smiled. The only person I love is you.

—… And I you," muttered the jonin, regaining his earnestness. That's why I'll wait for you as long as it takes, if you're willing to give us a chance.

"It's all right. About 3 years," she promised.

She felt the kiss in her hair. They spent a few hours on the blanket in the back garden of the house, eating desserts and drinking juices that Kakashi-sensei had arranged. They talked about a little bit of everything. From his past, from Kakashi-sensei's past, from his family... The only thing they didn't talk about was the future. It was a taboo subject, exiled in limbo. They didn't want to talk about how long they would have to wait to actually be together because that would make the wait longer, despite how sweet it would have been to daydream about what they might be doing in a few years.

When he went to sleep that night with a smile, he felt his heart clenched in a fist and a somewhat bitter aftertaste in his mouth as he realized how close and yet how far he was from Kakashi. Before losing her train of thought, she told herself that the only thing she could do was enjoy herself in the meantime minute by minute, knowing that the desired moment would come one day.

Notes:
Hey.

I've read you. Kurama will remain as a platonic character.

Equally, as some would say, you have made a tremendous mess. I have NEVER said that I would participate in the Seina/Kakashi pairing, a partnership that I was not going to change. His only involvement would have been as an observer and giving his chakra to Seina in solo scenes. I don't know why you thought it was going to be a threesome, but nothing could be further from the truth. Still, you made me laugh, and someone gave me an idea for one last scene.

I will upload the chapters in another link, as part of the series, in case anyone wants to read them.
Chapter 41
Seina headed to the Jonin department the next day to receive her first uniform. Even though he had been given the same vest in his promotion to Chunin, since it was not mandatory to wear it, he had not worn it. He knew his clothes were much safer than that vest, so he didn't waste time sewing runes on him or enchanting him. The jonin uniform, even if it was tokubetsu jonin, was something different. If "different" were a synonym for "mandatory".

"Here you go," said one of the dressing room attendants. Put it on. It should fit you like a glove.

He put it on, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. First the navy blue pants, then the sweater, then the vest. Everything else was personal touch-ups, so he put back on his fanny pack, gloves and knee-high closed boots. As I thought, not a single hint of skin peeked out from under my chin. He put a few quick spells on his clothes so he wouldn't roast and walked out of the cubicle. The boy, in his twenties, smiled at her when he saw her.

"It looks fantastic on you. Ninjas of today..." He shook his head. You are getting younger and younger.

"Thank you for the uniform," she said, bowing slightly.

As soon as he came out of there, as he had captured with his spy spells, someone appeared to give him a message from Tsunade-sama. She made her way to the Hokage tower unhurriedly, feeling a little strange about wearing new clothes. Even his wakizashi had had to be repositioned to his back due to lack of space due to the vest.

"Ah, Seina," the Hokage smiled as soon as she saw her enter. The uniform looks good on you.

"Thank you, even though I feel weird.

"You'll get over it sooner or later," he assured her. I wore a similar uniform for years. When I changed it for these clothes, I almost didn't recognize myself.

"Here's Tsunade-sama," Suzune interceded as usual, handing him a scroll.

"Oh, yes... I have a mission for you," the Hokage smiled. We'll wait for the rest of your team to come.

"What is it about?"

A couple of knocks on the door cut off what I was going to ask. He turned to look at the newcomers. The only one he recognized was Tenzou. The other two he had seen around the village and knew that they belonged to the Aburame clan and the Hyuga clan.

"Good. You're all here. Yamato, Muta Aburame, Tokuma Hyuga, and Seina Uzumaki. "You've been summoned for the next mission," the Hokage said, tossing the scroll to Tenzou, or was it Yamato?—. Your mission is to investigate the clue of one of Orochimaru's bases in the Land of Ice. Find that base, grab what documentation you can, and destroy its hiding place. As many minions as you find, eliminate them and return with their corpses if you can. Is that clear? Yamato, you will be the leader.

"Hai."

"Leave as soon as possible."

They left the Hokage tower, leaving the mission department behind, and followed Tenzou to the entrance.

"See you in half an hour at the north gate," he informed them, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Seina used the hiraishin to appear in her room. Even though he could use his magic to appear in his room, he always preferred to use the chakra while he could to prevent them from discovering their tricks up their sleeves. It didn't take him a second to realize that there was no one in the house so he checked that he had everything he needed: warm clothes, weapons, the suitcase, the magic tent, potions, his complete medical kit, more spare clothes, stones already prepared with the shiki jutsu to use the hiraishin... The only thing he needed to supply was the benthos, so he went to the kitchen and got enough to last him a few weeks. As he left them under a spell, prepared in advance, it didn't take long for him to have everything ready.

He took the opportunity to leave a note on the table, looking at his brother, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei's own notes, and disappeared after a final visit to the bathroom. When he arrived, he found Tenzou waiting alone, staring at what appeared to be a map.

"Hey.

"You're early," he smiled. Congratulations on your promotion, Seina.

"Thank you. Should I call you Yamato or Tenzou? He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tenzou is my real name, well, my first name," he confessed. Better call me Yamato from now on.

"Huh. It is ok.

First name? He didn't go any further as it was none of his business and it wasn't the right time. I'd have to get used to thinking of him as Yamato, but it wouldn't be a big deal. Shortly after that, Muta and Tokuma appeared. Muta, unlike Shino, had light brown hair, straight and long as far as I could see. Like the others in his clan, he had the typical black glasses, the gray coat that covered up to his chin, and a kind of jar full of insects that were not Kikaichu, in addition to his usual kikaichu. Tokuma looked a lot like Neji, but with short hair except for two strands framing his face. He wore his ninja band as a bandana on his head, covering his forehead, so he imagined that he was from the secondary branch of the clan.

"Good. We're all ready. Let's go.

They registered their departure at the registration table and left the village. Yamato jumped onto the nearest tree branch and ran. Seina was a little surprised that she didn't receive any information about the mission and that she had left Konoha in a hurry, but she didn't say anything. He just followed the speed at which Yamato was moving through the trees in a northeasterly direction. He wondered if he should tell her that he could summon a creature capable of flying them, saving them the trip, but he metaphorically shrugged.

They ran for hours without a break. Luckily, it was winter, so it wasn't too hot in the land of Fire. When they stopped, the sun was shining high, so he knew it was noon. His stomach roared, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything for hours, ever since he had eaten breakfast first thing in the morning. Perhaps they heard his stomach agonizing because Yamato stopped and stopped at the nearest clearing, still within the land of Fire.

"We'll rest and eat here." We will also take the opportunity to talk about the mission.

He sat down on a stone, casting a spell to save himself an ass, and pulled out his bento. Muta and Tokuma looked at her strangely, clearly wondering how she had gotten the black box bigger than the fanny pack inside it. Still, they didn't ask him. Nor did they say anything to Tenzou when they saw him carrying a small backpack, a gift from him, from which he took out another bento. Compared to Tokuma's backpack and Muta's shoulder bag strapped to his jar, they seemed to be carrying nothing.

"As you know, Orochimaru has several bases all over the world. We knew of the most recent one, that of the country of the Rice Fields, and also of the base of the country of the Stones. For the past 2 years he has been using these two bases, but they have already been destroyed," Yamato reported. In fact, Seina has destroyed two Orochimaru bases so far this year. That of the country of the Rice Fields and that of the country of the Sea. The latter we thought was abandoned, but it turned out not to be. The documentation that Seina collected together with Jiraiya-sama at the base in the country of the Rice Paddies was enough to take us to the base near Kusagakure.

Muta and Tokuma watched her curiously for a few seconds before turning to their leader.

"Kakashi-senpai and his team eliminated this last base and gathered enough information to make us believe that there is one more base in the land of Ice. Fortunately, or unfortunately, so far we haven't met Orochimaru head-on, but it could be a possibility. It can also be a trap," Yamato said seriously. Also, we must bear in mind that, on the other side of the land of Ice, with whom we have a tense relationship, is Kumogakure, with whom we do not have the best of relations either... Any questions?

"Why is your relationship with Shimogakure so tense?" She asked, who hadn't read any of it.

"The Land of Ice is a small country whose village of Shimogakure is almost always forgotten. His daimyo received Konoha 7 years ago to sign a trade treaty, an alliance, but he tried to betray us and slaughter the team that was sent. Kakashi-senpai, Itachi Uchiha, Sugaru Nara and I were the envoys back then. From Konoha we believe that Shimogakure was influenced by its neighbor, Kumogakure, to prevent us from having any kind of relationship with the only territory that links the land of the Clouds with the rest of the continent by land. It wouldn't be strange to think so, by then Kumogakure had already tried to steal the byakugan so we know that his intentions were not, and are not, good.

"Then we'll have to be careful with Tokuma," Muta said dryly, glancing sideways at him.

"Not just with Tokuma," Yamato sighed. I hope they don't remember me because I don't think I will be very well received if they notice our presence.

He saw Yamato's pointed gaze and knew that he wasn't just talking about himself. It was clear to Seina that he was also referring to her. After all, the ones who disgusted his father the most were the ninja of Kumogakure. To be exact, the Raikage A and its jinchuriki Killer B. Which his father, apparently, didn't finish off because of a call to retreat from Konoha during the last ninja war. He didn't know for sure whether or not they wanted to kill her, but it would be easier to assume they did and be alert.

That's great. Three-quarters of his team was in danger stepping on the land of Ice. He wasn't even surprised. Actually, now that she thought about it, was Seina safe somewhere? With all the quarrels that were "inherited," he was surprised that the ninja could leave their villages without putting themselves in danger of being the target of some historical revenge that no one remembered in their entirety anymore.

"From the documents extracted at the other base, everything points to Orochimaru being interested in people with ice dojutsu. Many of them fled decades ago south by boat to Kirigakure, but some remain hidden in the land of Ice. In addition, the country's cavernous terrain seems to influence the construction of Orochimaru's bases. Perhaps because of the saving of resources and the natural defensiveness of the area.

"Honestly, I'm surprised Orochimaru doesn't have a base in every country," she said exasperatedly.

"What makes you believe that?" Tokuma asked.

"Well, he's not just any exiled ninja, he's a criminal with ambition. He's not hiding, waiting for people to forget him, but he's carrying out his plans regardless. If I were him, I'd have a hiding place everywhere so that when I had to move to follow my plans, I'd already have a base ready to hide without getting caught," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"You're right," Muta said. The Land of Ice is a good candidate for one of its bases. Not only does he know that he rejected our alliance, but he stands with our enemy Kumogakure. Orochimaru is a traitor, but he's no fool.

"That's right. Today we will cross the border into the country of the Hot Springs and rest there.

They gathered their things and set off again. They kept running for hours. The sun was setting in the west when they crossed the border and into the woods of the Hot Springs country. They avoided villages and roads, preferring to continue towards the border with the land of Ice. When it was already dark, they stopped near a village a few miles from the land of Ice.

"This is the only night we'll get a good night's sleep, boys and girls," Yamato said, walking toward the villa. Rest while you can.

They went to a small inn and asked for a room. The woman, a civilian, gave them a bad look when she realized that they were all going to sleep in the same space. Their problem, clearly, was their presence. He had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing in his face when he realized what he was thinking. Yamato, and the others, noticed, but didn't say anything to him. The opinion of the civilians did not affect the ninja at all in most situations.

"I think he thinks you're perverts or pedophiles." I'm not sure," she said with a smile, closing the door behind her.

"Seina, the barriers," Yamato said, gesturing in circles with his finger. Let him think what he wants. We are not here to please a civilian.

She nodded when she saw his expectant face, having put up the necessary magical barriers to protect them and to avoid being spied on. Muta and Tokuma left their things on the ground, securing the perimeter with the Kikaichu and Byakugan, but they were alone. Yamato sat down on the mat, taking out the map he'd seen him flipping through again, and placing it on the coffee table.

"We're here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map. The ninja village is located just 100 kilometers from this point. Then there is an extensive terrain between Shimogakure and Kumogakure that consists of a mountain range with an unknown cavern system. Orochimaru should be based in this area.

"It's about 250 kilometers of terrain," Tokuma frowned, looking at the distances. If we're not lucky, we can be searching for days.

"That's what you're here for," Yamato smiled. Between the three of you, you'll be able to triangulate the base faster, and avoid Shimogakure and Kumogakure.

"The three of us?" Muta asked, somewhat surprised. He turned to look at her. I thought you were our reinforcement and our iryo nin.

"I am," she agreed, "but I have other abilities too. I can find the base of Orochimaru using my powers.

"Powers?"

—… "I have a kekkei genkai," she finally said. It was strange for him to say it so directly to people who were not in his circle, but what else could he do?

"Seina's powers aren't a secret at all, but few people know about it," Yamato interceded. With their help we will be able to know the direction of the Orochimaru base, once we reach it between the Byakugan and the Kikaichu we will be able to investigate the base from the outside and from the inside. Seina will also send her sealed summons, and when we find a hidden place, she will use the hiraishin to transport us inside without being seen.

"Is that how you infiltrated the other base?" Tokuma asked, smiling slightly.

"That's right.

"What are we going to do with Orochimaru's servants patrolling the area?" Muta asked. If we attack them, we will alert them to our presence.

"I'm afraid so. You'll have to go unnoticed among them, if there's anyone watching the area, before entering the base. Once you destroy the base, you'll encounter potential attackers, so you'll have to keep an eye out for your escape.

"I could use hiraishin to get back here," she said, remembering him.

"Could you teleport us 350 kilometers with the hiraishin?" 4 people? Muta asked, astonished.

"Yes. I've been testing. A few times in a bad way, I could use one of my summons to fly out of there.

"It's all right. Here's what we're going to do," Yamato began.

In the end, they agreed that they would infiltrate the Orochimaru base without sounding the alarm. Once they took as much documentation as possible, eliminated Orochimaru's minions inside the base, and destroyed the base, they would be tasked with eliminating potential enemies outside the barracks. If this was not possible due to their numerical inferiority, they would use the hiraishin to escape from there as close as possible to Shimogakure without being detected by them. From there, they would return on foot to cross the border into the Hot Springs country, and then march to Konoha.

From just listening to everything they had to do, he knew it would take days to accomplish the mission, if they wanted to do things right instead of rushing and running. They went to sleep after dinner and took a quick shower. He didn't even take off his uniform. He just put his vest next to his wakizashi, within reach, and fell asleep on the futon.

The next day he woke up suddenly to hear Yamato move beside him. He checked that they were alone and stretched, stretching, before putting on his vest again and slung the wakizashi over his back. He watched as Muta and Tokuma woke up, being fully alert despite having slept all night like the others. They had breakfast and used the bathroom before leaving the inn.

"We still have a couple of hours before the sun rises," Yamato said. As soon as we cross these mountains you will notice the sudden change in temperature, so it will be better to have your clothes ready at hand. Let's go. We have no time to lose.

They ran, using the cover of the forest so they wouldn't be seen, and crossed the mountain that separated the border between the land of the Hot Springs and the land of Ice. As soon as he approached the foot of the mountain he began to notice the drop in temperature due to the altitude to which they were climbing. He reinforced the spells on his clothes, frowning at the thought of the runes he hadn't had time to sew, and jumped into a gap between 2 mountains.

They took advantage of a few minutes of rest to put on warm clothes. He put on his reversible jacket, hat and neck gaiter. His gloves were the same as always, full of spells and runes, as well as the underwear he wore. As soon as he put on his coat, light, comfortable but warm, he felt the difference.

He looked around using the aura spell, but, like his spy spell, he didn't catch anything either. They were really alone. Yamato stood up, motioning for them to go on, and they crossed the narrow corridor between the mountains. They saw in the distance how the snow was beginning to pile up. When they came out on the other side of the valley all he could see was a snowy forest, and if he sharpened his eyes with enchantments, in the distance he could see that the forest was completely white with blue reflections produced by the ice.

"We've arrived. Stay tuned. We don't want to be perceived in these lands.

Seina jumped after her team down the mountain. Luckily, it wasn't dawn yet so they went unnoticed without too much effort. If it weren't for the fact that they were in enemy territory, he would have stopped and sat on a rock to listen to the snowflakes fall on the trees. I could barely hear the occasional bird and vermin in their burrows, sheltering from the cold.

Before he set off into the land of Ice, he cast a spell at the feet of his team. It would be useless not to make noise if they left the road full of footprints in the snow. Yamato glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and nodded in his direction while Muta and Tokuma, in front of them, didn't seem to notice. At least Muta because he knew that Tokuma was periodically activating the byakugan to check that they were alone.

In silence, they ran under the snowy grove until they passed Shimogakure hours later, when dawn had already begun to rise. Yamato led them inland until they found a small hill surrounded by pine trees. He motioned for them to stop and, with a gesture, asked her to put on the necessary spells to go unnoticed.

"Good. "We're 20 kilometers west of Shimogakure," Yamato said, pulling out the half-folded map. We should look for a place to camp temporarily. The place where we have to look there is no forest so, if we go during the day, it will be easier to be discovered.

"You plan to attack at night," Muta thought aloud.

"That's right. Now what we have to do is encircle the Orochimaru base on the map, if we hide without attacking we shouldn't attract much attention. Seina, could you use your powers to make us go unnoticed?

"Yes. I can easily camouflage ourselves. If we don't make noise and hide our chakra, they won't realize we're here.

"Perfect. You can start looking.

Seina conjured an arrow and placed it in his hand, ignoring Tokuma's wide-eyed eyes and Muta's shudder. The arrow turned decisively until it pointed northeast. Yamato made her walk around to make sure which direction the base wasn't.

"It looks like he's pointing in this direction," he pointed his finger on the map. It's too big a region. We will have to get closer progressively. Tokuma, can you see anything in that direction?

"Negative. Just the forest and the beginning of the glacial plateau.

"It's all right. We'll start looking in that direction from closer. Seina.

She used the spells on her team, watching them become translucent and camouflage themselves with the environment. Muta was so still that she could almost mistake him for the tree behind him despite being able to see its golden aura. They left the clearing in a northeasterly direction. When they reached the end of the forest, Seina saw what Tokuma was talking about. I could only see ice and snow, and in the distance, huge mountains tinged with white. Yamato had her use the spell periodically, adjusting her team's path as they ran over the ice.

Tokuma, with the byakugan activated, first alerted them to the presence of a team in the distance.

—Team of 5 ninjas at 11 o'clock.

"Can you tell if they belong to Shimogakure?"

They're too far away.

"Mute, send one of your kikaichu. I want to know where they are at all times and what organization they belong to.

"Hai."

"In the meantime we'll take a little detour.

They deviated from the route they had chosen, dodging enemies whether they were Shimogakure, Kumogakure, or Orochimaru ninjas. Within minutes, when Tokuma stopped seeing the unknown team, Yamato stopped them behind an icy rock.

"Have you discovered anything, Muta?"

"They seem to be ninjas from Shimogakure. From what I've heard, they're investigating disappearances in the area.

"Hmm... "Interesting," muttered the jonin, frowning. If it's Orochimaru's thing, he must have been too indiscreet to get the attention of a ninja village as small as Shimogakure.

"Why not ask Kumo for help?" She asked. Maybe they're not allies, but based on what you said, they seem to listen to Kumo more than Konoha.

"Perhaps Orochimaru was not indiscreet. Maybe he's kidnapped someone important," Tokuma offered.

"Maybe. We won't know until we find him. If it's really your business. Seina, address?

He conjured another arrow and led the way. They must have been 100 kilometers away from Shimogakure, right halfway between the village in the land of Ice and the border with the country of Cloud. They had to be close. Hours later they stopped at the foot of a small hill. There was no tree that could protect or hide them, but at least they couldn't attack them from behind. With their spells, the byakugan and the kikaichu of Muta, they were able to eat more relaxed. Seeing how Muta and Tokuma had brought ninja rations instead of a bento, he offered them food that they gladly accepted.

"How do you keep the food safe?" Tokuma asked, examining his bento. And hot!

"It's a combination of fuinjutsu and my powers," she said, chewing on the chicken. It is not until the lid of the bento is opened that the jutsu is deactivated, so the food is left in a kind of...

"Temporal limbo?" Muta asked, when he couldn't find the words. It's very ingenious.

"So to speak.

"I imagine your fanny pack is made the same way, too," Tokuma said, looking at her with the byakugan. I can't see anything weird, but it's obvious that it's bigger on the inside than on the outside.

"That's right. I've got a tent in here," she smiled, patting her fanny pack, "and guess what.

"Is it bigger on the inside, too?" Muta asked, with the typical restrained astonishment of the Aburame.

"Bingo."

"I think it'll be the first time I've used it on a mission. I'm even excited.

Yamato snorted a laugh at the sound of it.

"We'll serve you well." Do not worry. As soon as we know where Orochimaru's base is, we'll look for a nearby place to settle until nightfall.

They finished eating in silence. Just as he put away his empty bento, Tokuma and Muta called Yamato's attention with a silent signal. Seina pricked up her ears and listened to the quick footsteps heading in her direction. Yamato turned to look at her, giving her a command with his eyes, and she raised magic barriers as quickly as possible to divert attention from the place they were occupying.

Kneeling under their spells, they watched as another team of ninjas appeared. They stood a couple of feet away, clearly confused.

"Didn't you say you felt them here?" One barked, turning to look at a pale-skinned, brown-haired, gray-eyed teenager. Aren't you kidding us?

"I know what I noticed. Snow doesn't deceive.

"And yet they're not here," said another, grabbing the boy by the neck rather tightly. Find them.

Yamato beckoned them with Konoha's ninja code. Each village had its own code, secret obviously, and was necessary to be promoted to jonin. Seina had learned it at Shizune's orders when she had accepted his promotion and training. He hadn't thought he'd need him on his first mission as a tokubetsu jonin.

"Wait for my sign.

"I can't find them," confessed the boy, who was now beginning to think he was one of the Yuki with the special ice kekkei genkai.

"Then what good are you to us?" The first man shouted, his face flushed with anger. If it weren't for your skills... I'd kill you myself.

"Orochimaru-sama won't like it," another ninja said tersely. You know he wants it for himself.

"And that's why he's not dead.

"Let's go." Arguing we won't find those rats.

"I'm sure they're more Shimogakure ninjas," one snapped, gesturing toward the boy. I told you we should have faked his death. Now they don't stop looking for him. I'm tired of loitering in the snow because of this one.

"Shut up, you idiot," ordered the one who appeared to be the leader. Let's get going.

Seina, with her active legeremancy, perceived the thoughts of her enemies. A couple of them agreed with the one who complained, thinking that the Shimogakure ninjas were simply looking for the Yuki boy because of his abilities. The boy, on the other hand, seemed to be somewhere between angry and spiteful about how he was treated despite having voluntarily presented himself to Orochimaru. The leader was a jumble of negative emotions, but he seemed unclever. Fortunately, he was more jealous of Yuki's abilities than he was of his task.

The one that worried him was the one that grabbed Yuki by the neck. Not only was he full of malice, but he also doubted that they were Shimogakure ninjas. After all, in the past 15 days they had killed a couple of Shimogakure teams without any problems while their team had managed to hide from them easily, denoting that they were not as mediocre as the others.

Yamato turned to be informed of what they had perceived. After all, except for him, they were a team with tracking skills.

"They're out of my range of vision," Tokua said quietly, relaxing slightly.

"Mutates?"

"I've been able to put one of my females without them noticing. They head west.

"Seina?"

"They're gone," she nodded. He took advantage of his direct gaze to send Yamato a mental message that startled him. The boy is a Yuki and has volunteered to Orochimaru. The guy who grabbed him by the neck doesn't think we're a Shimogakure team. They've already killed 2 teams so far this month and none of them have put up a fight before.

Yamato nodded at the team's words, blinking in their direction as if he hadn't heard anything.

"The boy seems to have spotted us by the snow," he said. We'd better get out of here. Seina, we'll use one of your summons. Can you summon something that flies undetected?

"Yes, but I'll need to increase the perimeter of the barriers or he'll perceive us again."

"Do it.

He proceeded to use protective barriers and then summoned his dragon. Muta and Tokuma didn't say anything when they saw him, but he could see how stunned he was by their gestures. He bewitched his creation with the same camouflage enchantment and they quickly soared into the air.

"Use your jutsu to know the direction," Yamato said.

Seina controlled the dragon as, static on her back, she used the spell as a compass. It took them barely half an hour to get to the place. He knew it as soon as the arrow turned sharply, pointing west again. Yamato, seeing him, made him take a detour to what appeared to be another unnamed mountain range.

"This is the place. Let's get away and find a place to settle away from the snow. Tokuma.

Seina waited for the directions of the Hyuga, who was using his dojutsu to find them a sheltered spot away from the ice and snow plateau. A few minutes later he descended as far as he could to a sort of depression in the wall of a very narrow and lofty gorge. He couldn't go down with the dragon, so they jumped into the narrow gap between the two mountains at the same time he summoned his magical creature. He used the chakra to climb down the cold, rocky face of the mountain until he reached the site that Tokuma had sighted.

"Well seen, Tokuma," Yamato congratulated. They won't be able to see us here unless they're actively looking for us. Seina, you can pull out your tent if you want.

Luckily the site was enough to extend the ninja tent, and literally nothing more. The door of the tent was right on the edge of the gorge. He used his powers to put up a few magical barriers, avoiding using chakra barriers that could be detected by ninjas. A few drops of blood later and the team entered the tent.

Seina entered last, closing the "door" firmly and feeling the cold leave behind. The first thing they saw was the entrance, and beyond that the living-dining room. On the ground floor there was also the kitchen, an infirmary, a full bathroom, an armory and a miscellaneous room in case you needed an extra space. On the upper floor were all the rooms, about 10, each identical with a full bathroom. Each room had a double bed with a trunk at the foot as a wardrobe, bewitched windows as in all the rooms of the store, an empty shelf to keep things close at hand and a bedside table with a lamp.

"How is that possible!?" Tokuma asked, his byakugan activated. Ugh, I'm getting a headache. But this is awesome!

Muta, on the other hand, looked like a statue looking through his glasses at the real house he had inside. Yamato just shook his head and proceeded to follow her onto the couch. There was no fireplace, but it wasn't cold either. The whole store was filled with runes and enchantments to make it the perfect temperature, so that it would maintain itself and not need pipes, sewers, or electricity. Basically, it was a 100% magical store.

"Tokuma is right, Seina. You're a genius.

"You can choose any room. They're all the same," she said, nodding the compliment. Also, the kitchen is full of food so we can cook or continue eating benthos.

Minutes after leaving her things on the bed in the first room she caught, Seina joined the others in the kitchen. Tokuma seemed the most excited of them all, talking about the room having a full bathroom, and the magic windows. Muta, curiously, was nodding quite enthusiastically while Yamato was quietly smiling.

"I'm envious of Kakashi-senpai now," Yamato sighed.

"It's only been 2 weeks since I gave you your tent," she smiled, stifling a laugh. I don't think I made her serve too much.

"Does Kakashi-senpai have one of these?" Muta asked.

"My whole team. It was a Christmas present.

"I'll get the fanny pack," Yamato nodded, with a little-boy smile. Now I'm carrying it all here.

"Do you know each other before?" Muta asked curiously.

"Yes. Yamato-sensei trained me for the chunin exams and also from time to time for my promotion to tokubetsu jonin.

They were talking that afternoon as they waited for nightfall. They had already verified that there was indeed a base, that it was being protected, and they had discovered its location.

"You'll have to hide us while we move through the snow," Yamato told him. It was fortunate that your powers confused him, otherwise we would have had to eliminate them and that would have forced us to modify our plan.

Seina nodded, not much encouragement. Plans never used to go perfectly, so he settled. He just hoped it wouldn't go completely awry like it had with some of his plans...
Chapter 42
"Good. "The time has come," Yamato said, glancing outside the tent. I warn you that it is very cold.

"I could use my powers," she interceded before they could leave the tent.

Yamato and the others looked at her contemplatively before nodding. He cast a couple of spells on each. He nodded at Yamato's expectant eyebrow. When they went outside, they would notice it right away. She put on all her winter clothes again and tightened the laces of her panties so that it covered her nose. The only thing he had uncovered were his eyes. As soon as she came out of the tent and stood horizontally against the chakra rock, she knew she had done well to bewitch them.

The snow was falling heavily, the wind was cold and strong, and it was heavy with snow and ice. Not to mention, it was dark when it was only 4 in the afternoon. He barely heard some animals stirring in their nests at the top of the gorge. Bewitched under their camouflage enchantment and the other spells that had protected them before, they climbed to the top to face the mountain range that hid the base of Orochimaru.

"It's huge.

"Yes, but it's our mission. Tokuma, can you see anything from here?

Seina watched silently as the Hyuga analyzed the structure in front of him.

"I see only a few empty passages extending south of the range.

"We'll have to get closer." Seina, can you bring us closer with your invocation?

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," he summoned the same dragon again and used the same spells.

They made a long detour, approaching the nearest mountain while Tokuma analyzed the situation from the air. He moved his dragon as close to the mountain as possible, knowing that the byakugan had a certain rank, and let Yamato signal him where to go.

"There are some areas full of booby traps and explosives," Tokuma said.

Seina was surprised to hear it. The bases she had been on had no external trappings. What's more, for a criminal's secret base, they didn't have much internal defense either. Yoroi brought down the base with some previously planted explosives, but other than that, it had been extremely easy to infiltrate. Yamato must have been thinking something similar, frowning and squinting.

"I see the entrance!" Tokuma exclaimed quietly. He directed it to her. There he is.

"Muta, Seina. It's your turn.

He summoned a few of his smaller creatures to enter the base accompanied by Muta's Kikaichu.

"Let's back up to the north," Yamato ordered, pointing to the area where Tokuma hadn't seen any traps or anyone. We'll hide there in the meantime.

It took a few minutes for them to return to their starting point, falling on top of an icy white rock. He uninvoked his dragon as he watched as his insects and mice crept into every nook and cranny of Orochimaru's cavern. He saw quite a few people moving back and forth. Some were carrying lab supplies, others were dragging unconscious people, others were simply going from one place to another.

"There's a lot of people in there," she confessed. So far, I've seen about 30 different people.

"What else can you see?"

He explained what he had seen so far in a fluke. He found bedrooms, a dining room, what appeared to be kitchens, many more bedrooms... It wasn't until he went deep into the cave that he could see anything useful, such as the huge laboratory with all kinds of equipment that was being used at that very moment.

"They have several unconscious people tied up on stretchers in the lab. It looks like they're about to start an experiment.

"I've found several traps," Muta said beside him. The place is full of them inside.

"Looks like we've found an active Orochimaru base," Yamato thought aloud. He is going to great lengths to protect both the base and the land around it. Maybe he's here right now.

"What's the plan?" Tokuma asked.

"We're going ahead with what we planned. We don't have to face it. We can take the documentation and destroy its base while avoiding it.

Now he had a pretty clear map of the cave, at least for a couple of miles around. The base was immense. I could spend all night spying on them without reaching the end of the caves.

"Find a safe place to transport us," Yamato ordered. Could we communicate with your summons and the Kikaichu?

"In my case, yes," she said. Muta nodded a second later.

"Perfect. We'll split into 2. Seina will come with me and Muta with Tokuma. You will be in charge of planting the explosives around the base while Seina and I will collect the documentation.

"There's a pretty big warehouse. There doesn't seem to be any trickery there," Muta advised.

He nodded, knowing what he was talking about. He made one of his summons travel there. When he was in a blind spot of the door, he nodded to Yamato. He let me take his arm. Muta and Tokuma followed suit. She molded the chakra and a millisecond later she found herself inside the cavern accompanied by her team. Muta gave one of his Kikaichu to each of them, to communicate and to have them located. Seina did the same. He handed a pair of spiders to each of them and nodded.

"Expect communication in an hour," Yamato silently pointed to Muta and Tokuma.

They parted at the mouth of the cavern that acted as a storehouse. Muta and Tokuma stayed in there, planting explosives, while Seina showed Yamato the way. They reached the lab in a few minutes.

"4 enemies, 2 possible unconscious civilians," she said, nodding her head. Permission to put them to sleep?

"Proceed.

He used the spell from the other side of the door. Since it was an area spell, everyone fell to the ground, asleep, at the same time. The sound of the bodies crashing into the ground alerted Yamato that they were knocked out, so he opened the door after making sure there was no alarm or trap. He came in with his katana drawn, but it wasn't necessary. He glanced quickly over each body and then motioned for her to grab as much as she could.

Seina didn't hesitate for a second. He took everything he could get his hands on and put it on a scroll, much more efficient than putting it in his fanny pack and then having to separate it manually. Meanwhile, Yamato checked the protocol that they were unconscious, tied up the enemies, and the hostages, and stuffed them into another scroll. They both planted a few high-powered explosive talismans before leaving. Seina closed the door with a spell so that they wouldn't find out what had happened.

They walked on to the next room of value. A kind of library that he had recently seen thanks to one of his white mice. On the way they met a couple of ninjas who were talking about training. Yamato said they passed by, using the roof to avoid them.

"Enemies?" Yamato asked as he reached the library.

"None.

"Pick up the paperwork, I'll plant the explosives."

As soon as he saw the more than 5 shelves of parchments, books, and filing cabinets, he summoned a couple of clones to speed up the task. It took him 10 minutes in a hurry to put it all away. Just as they were about to leave, his ears and his invocations caught those who least wanted to see. He turned to look at Yamato in a hurry.

"It's him.

"Close the door. Use the hiraishin to transport us somewhere else," Yamato quickly ordered after thinking about it for a couple of seconds.

He used a spell to seal the door and grabbed Yamato's already outstretched hand. A second later he used another of his summons to switch places. They appeared in a section that was being explored by their insects. Most were empty rooms. Considering the time, he wasn't surprised.

"Find a place where we can communicate with each other," Yamato said.

Seina entered one of the bathrooms, which were also empty, and sealed the door and silenced the cave. He nodded to Yamato.

"Muta, Orochimaru is here. "You may soon know that you are not alone," he whispered to the kikaichu that landed on his index finger. In half an hour we'll meet at the warehouse for a pick-up. Don't interact with anyone.

Seina took advantage of the moment to continue spying. It seemed that the upper levels were all rooms, bathrooms, warehouses, canteens, kitchens, leisure spaces, training spaces, etc. He was beginning to realize that, given the size and number of rooms, Orochimaru must be thinking of housing a real army in the mountains. Luckily, only the first 2 plants were being used. He communicated all this to Yamato once he stopped speaking Kikaichu.

"If it's here, it's because it must be an important base. You probably have another lab. Have you seen any entry down?

"Hmm... I could follow him with one of my bugs," he said, frowning.

"Do it. We'll blow all this up in a bad way. Follow. We have little time before we are discovered.

They came out of the bathrooms after putting out more explosives. It wasn't a very busy or important area, but they didn't plan to leave anything standing if possible. They went back the way they had come, on foot, seeing how there was beginning to be movement on the lower floors. When they walked over the heads of a pair of ninjas with the Otogakure ninja band, they knew that some of them were beginning to realize that something was up.

"We should have been called to remove the bodies a long time ago," one spoke, walking toward the lab.

"Maybe this time the experiment went better. We'll be notified.

"After more than 150 attempts?" The other hissed, incredulous. I don't think so. Maybe we should go and see what's going on.

"It's all right," sighed his colleague. If you shut up once and for all.

"Would you rather be the one to tell Orochimaru-sama that we missed something?"

—… No.

They continued to use the roof. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Yamato pulled out a kunai, when he heard Muta's voice address his summoning.

"Tokuma has discovered a secret laboratory. It looks like Orochimaru's private laboratory. I haven't been able to spot it with my kikaichu, so it must be behind a sealed wall.

Seina touched Yamato's arm up, pointing out what she had just heard from the rest of the team. Yamato frowned, putting the kunai away.

"Am I confusing you?" She finally asked.

Yamato nodded. Seina used the confundus spell just as they were less than a meter away from the lab door. They watched as they stopped in their tracks. They watched as they blinked, as if they had suddenly remembered something, before turning.

"I forgot it's our turn in the kitchen!" One exclaimed. If we don't hurry, Akira will kill us.

They turned and left. Yamato raised an eyebrow in his direction, but nodded with a faint smile. He motioned for him to show him the way to the supposed laboratory, so he resumed his path in the direction of his summoning with Muta. When they got there, they saw them hiding behind some boxes. It looked like a dead-end road that had been used to store boxes and what appeared to be building materials.

"Behind there," Tokuma waved his hands.

Yamato turned to look at her, to see if she could provide some information, but shook his head. All of a sudden, he didn't notice anything. When he opened his senses, he noticed a kind of sensation, like a tingle, centered on the wall.

"You're right. There's something.

"An earth jutsu would fire the seal," Tokua said. You can only disable the seals or try to sneak in a summon.

"None of us are experts in fuinjutsu," Yamato denied. We'd alert you.

They stopped waving when they noticed the presence of more enemies. Luckily, it was a single man walking through the halls in an unknown direction. Seina looked at Yamato, having an idea.

"I could try to teleport us to the other side without touching the seal," she said.

"How?" Yamato asked. Tokuma and Muta watched her.

"Look me in the eye and think about what you've seen," he said to Tokuma.

He nodded. Suddenly, Seina immersed herself in Tokuma's memory. The byakugan made her dizzy momentarily, but she recovered when she realized that it was only a black-and-white memory, and a negative. Strange, but not the weirdest thing in the world. When the memory of the place clung to his mind, he stretched out his arms to hold each other. He closed his eyes and appeared there. He saw the somewhat shocked faces of Tokuma and Yamato as they first felt a magical apparition. Still, they recovered instantly.

Seina sent a summoning alongside the Kikaichu of Muta while Tokuma scanned the place with the Byakugan active.

"Take the documents and everything you can.

He took out the parchment he had used to store things again, realizing that he would soon be completely filled with it, and began to pick up documents and folders. The others did the same as Yamato planted the explosive talismans where Tokuma pointed at him, who could see the weaknesses of the rock with his dojutsu.

"It's getting closer," Tokuma said suddenly, waving his hands in a hurry.

"Stop what you're doing. Let's go," Yamato ordered. Then he turned to her. Get us out of here.

Seina grabbed her team and used the hiraishin to leave while also summoning all of her creatures. The change in temperature would have left her in shock if it weren't for his spells. They fell into the rock they had used earlier to plan their entrance, atop the mountain range.

—Seina-

"I'm going," she cut in, knowing they were short on time. Kuchiyose no jutsu. Wait, let me do something at the entrance first.

They climbed onto the dragon again. Yamato frowned at her request, but accepted it. He directed his dragon to the entrance of the cavern. He conjured a huge rock from afar to block the entrance and then bewitched it so that they could not get out. I didn't know if it would do much good, but I had to try. Had he known, he would have used fiendfyre inside the cavern. Yamato nodded at the sight of him and ordered them to fly farther.

"Count down to 3, 2, 1," Yamato ordered, watching them walk away from the mountain. Now.

Muta, Tokuma and Yamato made the pertinent signs. They heard a thud inside the rock followed by many other explosions, some much closer to the surface. He watched as a part of the rock began to break until one more explosion brought down the first portion of the mountain. They watched as the great chunk of snow, ice, and stone broke off and fell down the hillside in a deafening sound.

He heard screams and howls of pain and agony, and then people began to evacuate the cavern through the front door, or at least they tried. They listened as they crowded against their great rock, unable to move or destroy it.

"They're moving the other way in search of a way out!" Tokuma exclaimed. Everything is collapsing from within!

Then, something happened that wasn't expected. A chunk of the mountain snapped in half, flying out, and a gigantic violet snake appeared with what looked like small horns around its head. The snake hissed, shaking the rock and debris off it.

"You owe me 100 sacrifices, Orochimaru!" The snake hissed, spitting the aforementioned from its mouth.

The enemies began to trickle like rats out of the gigantic crack that had split the rock in 2.

"They've got to be around here. Look for them and bring me their heads! Orochimaru shouted angrily, climbing into the serpent's head.

"Retreat Seina," Yamato said quietly.

He didn't have to ask again. He sent his summoning into the gorge and uninvoked it right above it. They went inside the tent, noticing how the protections were still in place, and sighed.

"Now they'll be looking for us everywhere," Muta said in a serious voice. We should go.

"I know," Yamato sighed. Seina, do you think you can take us back?

"Yes," he nodded. If I didn't use the chakra, I could use a Portkey.

"Perfect. Pick up the tent and get us out of here.

It took them exactly 5 minutes to put it all away. Seina only had to use a spell to fold the tent and store it in her fanny pack while Tokuma, Muta, and Yamato watched her back.

"I'm here," he said, standing up in the space he had just vacated.

He handed them both arms and used the seals. He felt the distance, despite his colossal chakra reserves that Kurama was responsible for enlarging by constantly filtering some chakra into him. They appeared on the outskirts of the village in the land of the Hot Springs. Yamato raised an eyebrow, probably thinking that he was going to transport them to the outskirts of Shimogakure.

"Let's go. Let's go back before anyone notices our presence. Soon Orochimaru will start researching the possible teams that have approached the land of Ice and I wouldn't want to be here...

They ran without looking back. He knew from the silence that it must be quite late. Despite everything, it had been only 2 days since they left Konoha. They were lucky to find the base so quickly. He could have easily wasted an entire week patrolling the land of Ice while dodging his enemies. When they entered the land of fire, a few hours later, it was already early in the morning.

"Tokuma, find a campsite for the night," Yamato ordered his teammate, seeing that everyone was tired. We can afford to stop for a night to regain our strength. We're far enough.

Seina set up the tent again while Muta and Yamato set a few traps to alert them of enemies, and Tokuma guarded the far perimeter with his byakugan. A couple of magic barriers later and everyone went inside. He took a long bath in his private bath, and wiped his clothes with a spell. He put away all his winter clothes again and stretched himself down the stairs. When he got downstairs, only Muta was sitting in the kitchen.

"This shop of yours is very interesting," he said. Are you going to sell them?

"I have a contract with Tsunade-sama. She's the one who's distributing my inventions.

"It makes sense. It wouldn't do us any good if something like that, or anything else useful, fell into enemy hands.

"Ah," Tokuma sighed, appearing through the door. I can't believe we're so close to home. Hiraishin is an amazing jutsu. What kind of jutsu did you use to enter Orochimaru's lab?

"It's like hiraishin but without the seal. I just need to know where to go. Still, it has a downside. Unlike hiraishin, I can't send things without going myself.

Although, now that he thought about it, he could do that by using a Portkey Charm on the item he wanted to send elsewhere. Yamato was the last one, his hair still wet, and sat down next to him. Seina, who had more bentos than expected, pulled out one for each. He accepted the thanks with a smile, eating the food that was still magically ready.

"Rest the few hours that remain until dawn," Yamato advised. We will depart shortly after sunrise.

Seina said goodbye to the others, wishing them good night, and went to sleep the remaining 4 hours before the sun rose. He fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the soft bed.

Hours later, he woke up at dawn. Within a few minutes, after using the restrooms and eating some breakfast, he found himself again guarding the tent while Muta and Yamato removed the traps. The rest of the way was relaxed, compared to the tension I had felt being in the land of Ice. Hours later, they stopped momentarily for lunch, and then resumed their march. They arrived in Konoha as dusk began to fall.

Seina registered and accepted Yamato's offering to take care of the remainder of the mission. He handed her the parchment he had used to steal the documents and other things, and went home. When he arrived, he noticed how his team was full even before he entered. He couldn't even open the door because his brother opened it wide with a gigantic smile.

"Nee-chan! He shouted, lunging at her.

"Let her in, dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Kakashi-sensei is upstairs," Naruto reported.

"I'm actually here," his master cut in, appearing through the door. How did your first mission as a tokubetsu jonin go?

"Good. A lot of cold, a lot of ice, and Orochimaru," she rolled her eyes in amusem*nt. Luckily, we escaped easily.

"Have you met him?" Jonin asked, frowning. I guess sooner or later it was to be expected. I imagine you've gone in search of the possible base of the Land of Ice.

"An Orochimaru base?" Sasuke asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"But how many bases does that man have?" Naruto said exasperatedly.

"A few," Kakashi-sensei said. I imagine you've destroyed it, so now it's got one less.

"Yes. He didn't like it at all that we brought everything down on their heads. He had to use a giant snake to save his life.

"Command."

"What?"

"Command, that's the name of the snake," Naruto said. A huge, lilac one, isn't it?

"That one. At least we were able to steal all the documentation, some corpses, and catch a few enemies alive.

"Have you seen his arms?" Kakashi-sensei asked. She nodded. How did he have them?

—… Now that you say it—" she thought, remembering Orochimaru. He was cured.

"So he's definitely changed his body. At least we know that, for another 3 years, he can't get hold of Sasuke. Maybe that's enough to leave you alone for a while," Kakashi-sensei comforted Sasuke.

"I hope so.

He went to take a shower while the others prepared the food. Well, except Sasuke. He came down in his pajamas after almost 4 days in the new uniform. They were talking about their respective missions. Of how Naruto and Sasuke had been sent to retrieve some jewels stolen by bandits, of Kakashi-sensei's mission in the land of the Stone a few weeks ago... She went to sleep first, feeling the hours of exhaustion of the last few days.

Chapter 5: 43-47

Chapter Text

When he woke up the next morning, he saw that the other members of his team were free.

"We can train today, if you like," Kakashi-sensei said, seeing how everyone had the day off.

"I have to go see Tsunade-sama.

"I can imagine. We'll be in the dugout in the meantime," the jonin nodded.

"Yosh! We can finally all train together again! Naruto smiled from ear to ear.

—Hn.

Seina left, picking up the report that one of her clones had made while eating breakfast. The protocol for the Jonin was the same as for the Chunin. Everyone reported to the Hokage during the hours she was in the tower, or to the mission department when she wasn't. The reports, in turn, were filed by Commander Jonin once the Hokage gave the go-ahead and the mission was completed. Thus, Seina and the other jonin did not have to report directly to Shikaku. He would receive Tsunade-sama's reports and, if necessary, call them to his office when they finished off the Hokage.

The funny thing about this whole process was that Shikaku was the one who recommended the missions for the Jonins to the Hokage. Tsunade-sama, however, had the last word and was the one who handed them the mission, or the missions department if she was not available, or Shikaku if she officially called them to his office. Thus, the jonin commander was not only aware of all the missions of the jonin, but he was also the one who advised the Hokage on what missions they could do according to which ninjas since he knew perfectly well the abilities of the shinobi and their availability.

This saved time for the Hokage, who only had to focus on sorting out the Chunin and Genin missions, village administration, and foreign policies. At the same time, this process kept the Jonin commander up to date with everything that was happening, who was precisely the one who was in charge of more complex issues of A and S rank. That meant that both the Hokage and the Jonin commander had the two essential positions responsible for all the shinobi forces in the village, and they knew what was going on at every moment.

Then there was the Anbu commander, who supplied his military forces with all kinds of ninja of different ranks. The latter's reports went directly to the Hokage and then delivered to the Anbu commander, bypassing the Jonin commander. Thus, the archive of these missions was completely confidential and secret as the anbu were answerable only to the Hokage, and to other anbu. Unlike the Jonin headquarters, no one knew where the Anbu headquarters was except its members. Not to mention, I had to be full of traps. Thus, secret missions were carried out only by anbu. Normally, they were missions that they didn't want to be tied to Konoha such as assassinations, kidnappings, sabotage, chasing enemy ninjas, etc.

"Go ahead," Tsunade-sama pulled her in, snatching her out of her thoughts. Ah, Seina. I was waiting for you. Yamato has told me everything. Good job.

"Here's my report," she said, handing the scroll to Shizune.

"We have a lot of material to study and research. More than I could have imagined. It will take days to get it in order," Tsunade-sama smiled. Without you we wouldn't have made it.

Seina didn't say anything. Maybe it would have cost more, but she wasn't sure that all the credit was hers.

"Look at this," the Hokage said. Shizune handed him some photographs. Sound familiar?

"Yes. It's a laboratory instrument," he said, taking the picture. Is this something we stole from Orochimaru?

"That's right. Thanks to the fact that you were able to take everything that was in his lab and bring it back, we have discovered another clue. Take a good look at the instrument.

"It's a modified condenser tube," she thought aloud, seeing how instead of a cooling propeller she had a pair. One of them with blue fluid.

"Exactly. This kind of instrument is only made by one company," Tsunade-sama smiled wickedly. We now know that Orochimaru buys lab parts from this manufacturer so we can go straight to the source.

"With 4 of your bases destroyed in such a short time, you're sure to have to contact the manufacturer again," Shizune said enthusiastically. If we're lucky, the seller may have sent your package to some meeting point.

"That means if you have records of your sales, we'll know how many bases you have and where they might be," she thought.

"Exactly. With a bit of luck Orochimaru will not have fallen for that detail or been so cautious as to ask for his order to be sent somewhere else," Tsunade-sama said. In fact, I've already sent another team to contact the manufacturer. I wouldn't want Orochimaru to think the same and try to clean up his trail.

"And what about ninja gangs?" She asked, realizing. What about the uniforms, the food, and all that? Someone must be filling in for Orochimaru. If he had stolen such a large amount of goods, we would have found out. That means you're buying them legally.

"Well seen," Tsunade-sama nodded. Shizune, investigate the clothes of the prisoners we have so far. I want to know where it came from.

"Do I ask that you also investigate possible manufacturers of metallurgy?"

"Yes. As much as we can. If we can compare the shipments of the orders of each thing, perhaps we will have the exact location of the bases of Orochimaru.

"What about you know who?" She asked, referring to Danzo.

"We'll talk about it this afternoon, and more. Show up with Kakashi at 4 p.m. You can go to rest.

"Hai," he accepted the order. He bowed and left.

She went straight home with the hiraishin. The last thing he wanted was to see someone while walking through the village and have to stop and chat. When he entered the booth he saw how Naruto and Sasuke were training new ninjutsus. For a moment he took pity on his average of 4 new ninjutsus a week, realizing that he was behind schedule according to his curriculum.

"Ah, Seina. Welcome. Be. It's your turn," he threw the scroll at him as soon as Kakashi-sensei entered.

He glanced at what was written and saw that they were fire jutsus. That's how he started training again with his team. He spent the entire morning training the new jutsu alongside his 20 clones. Another 20 clones were set aside while they studied the dozens of books he had to read for his jonin promotion exam. Luckily, many of them I had already learned so I could move up to tokubetsu jonin so I knew I had time ahead of me.

"Katon: goka mekkyauku," he intoned for the first time, molding the chakra after the seals.

A veritable sea of flames shot out of his mouth, covering much of the ground in front of him. Luckily, the inside of the dugout was as big as a football field so it didn't hurt anyone. He tried giving it more or less chakra, seeing how he could control the flow of flames.

"Try my chakra," Kurama thought curiously.

The flames changed color as Kurama's demonic yin chakra empowered him. They turned into black flames that seemed to have a life of their own. For a second he remembered the fiendfyre, but he realized that controlling these flames was much easier in comparison. He stopped the flow of chakra, watching the grass recompose itself thanks to the runes, and tried another jutsu by molding half of his chakra with Kurama's.

—Katon: goen no jutsu.

He molded the chakra in half and saw how the tongue of fire, in addition to being much more localized and powerful, such as a jet of pressurized water, had a black appearance with a reddish interior.

"You're molding Kurama's chakra with yours, aren't you?" Kakashi-sensei asked, watching the tongue of fire with interest. Very interesting.

"Ugh. How do you get them to listen to you? Naruto asked, crossing his arms beside her.

"Listen to me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Naru, Kurama is not my slave or my subordinate. He's my equal. If you treat your other half like an ass, how do you want me to help you?

Naruto frowned as he pondered his words.

"I thought you got along with him.

"I get along well, but..." "Sometimes we fight," his brother confessed. He complains that I, the idiot, touched him.

Seina sighed as she heard him. He imagined what had happened because he could sense it because of his bond. Naruto was sometimes too impatient, so that must have irritated and the Kurama yang, who was already one of the most irascible beings he knew. If you add to that the fact that, at times, Naruto was very stubborn and didn't want to give in... They had the perfect recipe for failure. He had left his brother too alone with his Kurama, perhaps he needed to intercede a little with the help of the Kurama yin.

"Let me talk to them later," Kurama said. My other half will understand when I show him our relationship.

"I suppose..." She sighed.

"Listen to me. Your brother will eventually understand what you know. You have an advantage because of your circ*mstances.

"It's all right. Tonight I'll open our link for you to talk to.

They kept training for a few more hours. She fought with the team using all her abilities, seeing the distance between her and Kakashi-sensei get shorter and shorter. Still, the jonin was clearly a fighting genius. If I ever had a chance to beat him, it would be by "cheating." Kakashi-sensei seemed to notice it as well because he smiled in her direction with a competitive edge that he had never seen in his eyes before.

"I think I'll have to start training harder," he said in an amused tone, but he knew he meant it.

"You've improved a lot," she smiled at Sasuke and Naruto. I'm 100% sure you'll get promoted this time, if you don't screw up by being late...

"I got it," Sasuke said, elbowing him in the side.

As they ate, after showering, Seina remembered the Hokage's request. Kakashi-sensei nodded thoughtfully. Naruto and Sasuke, meanwhile, frowned.

"Is it about Danzo?"

"It looks good," she said.

"You'll tell us what happened," Sasuke said.

"Yes, you can," Kakashi-sensei interceded. There are things that you better not know according to which people.

"We'll know all the same," Naruto rolled his eyes, touching his forehead.

Seina rolled her eyes as well as she listened to her brother. He could perfectly conceal information if he wanted to. Still, he didn't want to argue about Danzo so he let it run under his master's exasperated face. After lunch, he went with Kakashi-sensei to the Hokage Tower. Interestingly, Shizune ushered them into Tsunade-sama's personal home. Hokage, Shikaku and his teammate Inoichi were waiting for them there. Oh, and the anbu commander hiding. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, seeing her golden aura with her spells. Kakashi-sensei glanced at him sideways, but ignored him.

"Can you put up some kind of barrier?" Her teacher asked. She nodded, using the appropriate spells. Perfect. Well, we're back to the same here.

"It's about Danzo, isn't it?" Shikaku asked, then nodded. There's no other reason why Seina is here.

"That's right. "But Seina is my apprentice," said the Hokage, in an exasperated tone. I trust her on these matters. Shizune, can you give them a rundown of what we've discovered so far?

"Excuse me. Danzo Shimura has been unofficially investigated. The investigation is ongoing and looks set to go on for a very long time. We began to investigate the vicinity indicated to us by Seina and have verified the presence of several Ne members in the southeast of Konoha. We have trusted personnel stationed there, so we have compiled a list of potential ninjas and cross-referenced them with ninjas who were allegedly recruited from different families. So far, we're pretty sure that several members are from different clans. Children believed dead.

"Many other ninjas seem to be from civilian families or have lost their identity entirely. According to the statements of Tenzou and Kakashi, who were members of Ne for some time, most of them do not even know or remember their own names. It is possible that they belonged to some clan. Perhaps they were even recruits from other countries, kidnapped as children and induced into Ne. In fact, we're pretty sure that most of the members share this profile. Clan members seem to be the exception to the rule.

"And where did he get so many children without anyone knowing?" She asked.

"Everything points to an orphanage," Shikaku sighed. If he had access to one, he could have taken as many children as he wanted without drawing attention to the parents. To do this, he would need the collaboration of at least the midwife of the orphanage.

"That makes sense," the Hokage thought aloud. Shizune, put it in your diary.

"It would also be possible that he kidnapped children from other countries. Even if the parents were looking for their children, we wouldn't be aware of it here in Konoha," the Nara said again.

"What else do we know about Danzo?" Inoichi asked, returning to the subject.

"We're still investigating the lack of files on the Uchiha clan, but they've completely disappeared. If they still exist, he must have them in his secret base," the Hokage confessed. Kakashi has been investigating the possible documentation of the Uchiha clan. Thanks to the jutsu Seina used to protect the Uchiha lands, we know that no one has been able to enter, so the complex is intact. If anbu protected these lands from intruders until the death of the Third, then we can tentatively accept the fact that Danzo has been unable to get hold of anything from the Uchiha.

"I can confirm that an anbu member was stationed at the Uchiha complex consistently until Sasuke Uchiha's graduation to genin.

"That means there were a few months where the compound was unprotected," Kakashi-sensei interceded. Seina didn't use that jutsu until some time after Sasuke graduated.

"We'll have to make do with what we've got," Hikaku said, sighing. Well? What did you find?

"I'm afraid there are clear indications that the Uchiha were planning a coup d'état. Tsunade-sama is already aware of everything. In short, thanks to some secret notes and so on, I have discovered that the Uchiha disagreed with the treatment they were given in the village. The contemptuous way in which some treated them, as well as the fact that the second Hokage had been a Senju again despite the Uchiha being one of the founders of the village, prompted some of its members to begin to rebel against the Third, who did not stop the rumors circulating in the village.

"Rumors that perhaps spread by Danzo himself," Tsunade-sama said, frowning in Shikaku's direction, who nodded his head. That's going from bad to worse.

"That's right. Some in the Uchiha clan, however, seemed to remain neutral in the face of what was happening. One of them, Shisui Uchiha.

"Shisui Uchiha was Itachi's second cousin. They were pretty good friends, as far as I can remember.

"Maybe that means Itachi didn't agree either.

"And now comes the worst," Shizune sighed. We have found evidence that Orochimaru worked and continues to work with Danzo. At least they're in touch. Danzo provided him... specimens to Orochimaru for his experiments. In fact, he provided him with his secret laboratories here in Konoha before he was exiled as a criminal. In the stolen documentation we have found evidence that Orochimaru is obsessed with having a body with a kekkei genkai. He even had plans for when he got hold of Itachi Uchiha's body. A plan that we believe has failed or has not yet been carried out.

"Is Tenzou a Senju?" She asked suddenly. I had just had a mixture of epiphany and foreboding.

"No," the Hokage replied firmly. Why do you ask?

"So how do you have Hashirama Senju's abilities?"

"Orochimaru kidnapped him shortly after his graduation to genin," Kakashi-sensei said, sitting next to him on the couch. It experimented on him, and on many other children. Tenzou was the only survivor. He escaped from Orochimaru's lab with such bad luck that he was... found and captured by Danzo in Ne.

"But where did Orochimaru get the genetic material to do his experiments?" She asked, realizing that they didn't seem to have fallen into that question either.

—…

"Why do you think he used Hashirama Senju's genetic material?" Shikaku asked, leaning back in his seat with a straight face.

"Because it's the fastest and most reliable option. If he succeeds in changing Tenzou's DNA to have the same DNA as Hashirama Senju, not only will he have managed to reproduce an extinct kekkei genkai, but Tenzou, by reproducing, will perpetuate Orochimaru's experiment. Plus, it's easier to do an experiment with DNA that you already know has the genetic information needed for your research than to start from nothing. What's more, by being able to study these cells and compare them with those of Tenzou, a successful experiment, Orochimaru would gain a lot of information on how to repeat the test.

"Seina is right," said the Hokage worriedly. Orochimaru would be able to rob my grandfather's grave and do all that.

"No. I don't think it was Orochimaru," she denied, realizing what had bothered her. I think it was Danzo.

"Explain," the Hokage ordered.

"I don't think Orochimaru had access to some biological material. Otherwise, why did he need Danzo's help to found a lab? He would have been able to create one clandestinely in Konoha without help, as he has done multiple times with his bases across the continent. I believe that Danzo was the one who provided him with the individuals with which to experiment and, above all, the genetic material of Hashirama Senju in exchange for something. Perhaps Tenzou didn't escape from Orochimaru, but let him go on purpose as payment to Danzo... I'd investigate ninja graves with kekkei genkai." As he spoke, something else occurred to him. Can the sharingan be transplanted when the carrier is dead? What happened to the corpses of the members of the Uchiha clan?

"I don't have that information," Tsunade-sama replied, after exchanging new worried glances with Shizune. We'll investigate the graves of the murdered members of the Uchiha clan, and my grandfather, for starters. If we see that there is something strange... We'll have to investigate the other tombs.

"It hadn't occurred to me that Orochimaru would use the First's genetic material," Shikaku thought aloud, more serious and tense than ever before, "but it makes perfect sense. What's more, I'm now coming up with several theories.

"Like what?"

"To begin with, the fact that Danzo now has members of the Aburame clan and the Yamanaka clan in his paramilitary forces, and that he abducted Tenzou with the skills of a Senju, shows that he is very interested in the kekkei genkai. Enough to reach out to clans to try to recruit members personally, even though they knew it might reach the Hokage's ears. Perhaps, he's crazy enough to steal Hashirama Senju's cells. If true, Danzo would be interested in knowing how to breed the kekkei genkai and would need the help of someone smart like Orochimaru, whom he could also use as a scapegoat if things went wrong. For Danzo, if Orochimaru managed to reproduce a kekkei genkai, even if it was just one, it would be very profitable since he would have enough subjects available, if he really used the orphanages to supply his ranks, in which to test a new kekkei genkai. If he failed, well, he simply had to expel Orochimaru from Konoha as the criminal that he is. Which happened.

"Then it wouldn't matter if they were civilian orphans. If I could introduce you to my grandfather's kekkei genkai... He would have a possible army with a kekkei genkai powerful enough to control a bijuu.

"Exactly. What's more, I think Danzo had some Uchiha in his forces. If he was the one who created the conflict with the Uchiha, he would have been interested in having someone from the inside give him information about what they thought they were going to do in order to act accordingly," Shikaku continued. In reality, it doesn't matter whether or not he was the creator of the conflict. In any situation, it was a necessity for Danzo to have a mole. Also, we've known for a long time that Danzo hasn't been too fond of Uchiha. Probably out of envy, and out of fear. He was even the instigator of the council's move to requisition the land from Sasuke. Still, he's interested in kekkei genkai...

"Are you suggesting that Danzo plotted all this to get rid of the Uchiha at the same time as he got hold of a few sharingans?" Inoichi asked, horrified.

"Think about it, Inoichi. He has a handful of children with no parents, no clan, no one to claim them, and on the other hand, he has several kekkei genkai that can... Assemble in these children as if they were a toy with extra accessories. Danzo could be making an army to his liking. And I mean that literally.

"This is more serious than I thought," the Hokage finally said. The problem is that we have no idea what numbers Danzo actually has. If we rise up against it, it may succeed in reducing us. Even more so when you possibly have ninjas with different kekkei genkai stolen.

"I'd start by looking at the tomb of the first Hokage," Shikaku said. What Seina says makes a lot of sense. Tenzou has his grandfather's kekkei genkai. That should be enough to investigate the body and shouldn't draw attention if we do it discreetly.

"You'd better beef up the security of Hokage Tower first. "Every nook and cranny," said the anbu, speaking for the first time in a long time. The last thing we need is for Danzo to have the slightest idea that we're going after him.

"Seina?" Could you do something like that in my office with your powers? Her teacher asked.

"I might. I'd have to figure out how to do it so as not to leave out the anbu escort, but it's doable.

"Perfect. "Let's move on to the next item on the list," said the Hokage. Itachi Uchiha. Go ahead, Kakashi.

After thinking about what happened thanks to Seina and Sasuke, it was clear that something strange was going on. I found in the Uchiha complex plans for the coup d'état, as I said, but also the wooden copy of the sacred tablet of the Uchiha. It's a very old relic, and a private one, so I'll just say one of the points that I made in the table: to get the mangekyo sharingan one must see their best friend or the closest person die. I got this kind of evolution by watching ... a Obito. Itachi, according to the scriptures I found in Fugaku Uchiha's private and secret office, developed it with Shisui's suicide.

"You mean you saw him die?" Shisui's body was never supposed to have been found.

Fugaku didn't say it in words, but it gets the better of you. Shisui had nothing of value in his house. No documents or any kind of evidence. It was clean. "Conscientiously," his teacher emphasized. I don't think it was a suicide, it was premeditated. It was a couple of weeks before the massacre, so maybe it's related to the coup d'état. On the other hand, I have researched the multiple crime scenes. Whoever did it was very good. They left no trace in the blood stains on the floor or on the wall or furniture. Still, I've made an outline of how it all seems to have happened.

>> I'm pretty sure there are 2 starting points of the attack. It is clear that some fought back while others fled. This is very important since the blood of the people who fled reflects that they were attacked from behind, at different points of the complex. If only one person had attacked, people would have fled in one direction, but the directions of both attacks are opposite.

"Which means that either it was 2 attackers killing at once or Itachi played with them, appearing in front of them as they fled and making them change direction before proceeding to attack them again from behind..." muttered the anbu.

"Exactly. I have also studied the bloodstains and compared the number of stains that appear to be from a single victim with the number of dead that appear on the tombstones of the Uchiha family. According to the record, 63 people were killed, including ninjas and civilians of the clan. The numbers match. Then I've been researching the time when the trail of Itachi was lost before the crime and after the crime. Based on Sasuke's memoirs, we know the exact time he killed his parents, who were his last victims. Thus, Itachi should have killed 63 people, of whom only 15 were civilians, in approximately 45 minutes. Of the 48 ninjas he killed, only a third did not have the sharigan, and of those 48 ninja only 12 were genins or students of the academy.

"With that data, it's very hard to think that there wouldn't have been resistance.

"In fact, the number of people who fled and was shot in the back is only 8. While the other 7 died in their homes cornered. That means that the ninja of the Uchiha clan didn't take to the run, so it would be logical to think that they put up a fight. The one they could at least...

"I mean, we're pretty sure he wasn't alone," Inoichi muttered.

"That's right, but all the Uchiha except Itachi and Sasuke, and that fake Madara who we don't know who he is, are officially dead, so it's hard to deduce who the other attacker is.

"This gives more weight to the theory that Itachi is innocent," Tsunade-sama said, his expression irritated by how a 13-year-old boy had been wronged. Still, it can't be ruled out that he was simply an ally of his and simply wanted to get rid of everyone.

"That hypothesis doesn't make much sense," Shikaku denied. Otherwise, it would be more logical for him to have killed his brother. What's more, after listening to Kakashi the last time Itachi attacked him inside the village, I must agree with him in saying that it's very strange that he let himself be seen. Everything points to the fact that he did so expressly. Itachi was an anbu. He's an elite ninja. He could have gone unnoticed if he had wanted to. If we pull the hypothesis that Danzo is involved in all this and that the Third One, in some way, protected Sasuke from Danzo... it would not be unreasonable for Itachi to approach the village once he learned of the Third Hokage's death to see how his brother was doing without the Hokage's protection.

"That means we have to find some evidence linking Danzo to this whole mess. Have you found anything else of value at the Uchiha resort, Kakashi?

"I'm afraid not. All the useful documentation, which was very little, did not speak of the Uchiha's plans. At the former Uchiha police headquarters, there is even less information, as expected. If there ever was, it has already been stolen.

"I don't think so. Obviously they weren't going to leave anything incriminating them in a public place," Shikaku nodded, craning his neck in tension. Well. You've found quite a bit of useful information.

"We must know who the second possible attacker was," said the Anbu commander. At that time, we didn't lose any other ninja in exile, so we have a hole in our defenses.

"I know," sighed the Hokage, leaning wearily on one hand.

"Permission to open Hashirama-sama's tomb, Hokage-sama?" The Anbu asked.

"Do it yourself. Take my grandfather's body and bring it here. Shizune will secretly prepare an autopsy room. Meanwhile... we must capture one of Ne's ninja alive, fake his death, and prepare a cell for his interrogation. Also in secret. We will keep him alive as long as it takes until we manage to break the seal that Tenzou spoke of. Kakashi, you'll be in charge of capturing it. Until further notice, you'll stay in the village waiting for one of them to sneak out of Konoha to carry out a Danzo mission. Be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. I will send a letter to Jiraiya to return to the village as soon as we have the prisoner.

Kakashi-sensei nodded beside him. Tsunade-sama glanced over the others, one by one.

"There's not much else to do about Danzo at the moment. We don't want to alert you that we're on your trail, so we'll act little by little. Back to Orochimaru. Inoichi, you're in charge of interrogating the prisoners captured by Tenzou's team at the base in the Land of Ice. Shikaku-

"I know. I will try to find its basis indirectly with what we have.

"Very well. "You're missing, Seina," he said with another sigh. I think what I'm going to ask of you is the riskiest thing of all. I want a map of Danzo's base and a figure of how many members it has. If possible, their faces, a locator... Whatever you can.

Seina felt Kakashi-sensei's tense leg next to her for a second, but then relaxed. She nodded to the Hokage. He could do it perfectly well without going inside the base.

"So, if everyone knows what to do..." You can retire.

chapter 44

The next morning, Seina woke up with the feeling that everything had changed again somehow. Kakashi-sensei now became the one who was tied to the village until further notice, while she had returned to actively doing quests. Luckily, Naruto and Sasuke had been too tired to argue with them when they got home after several hours in Tsunade-sama's tower.

"I have to go put guards on Hokage Manor," Seina said as she sat down to breakfast. You can join me if you want.

"Are you going to put runes?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, and a few spells. Runes are more reliable in the long rune," she explained. I was thinking of using clones to speed up the task, but if you want you can come and I'll explain what I'm going to do.

"That's fine with me. I may not be able to activate them, but I can carve them like you," Sasuke shrugged.

"Actually... I've been thinking about that, you know?

"In a way so we can activate runes?" Kakashi-sensei asked with interest. What did you come up with?

"This world doesn't have magic, but it has the chakra and the natural energy. Natural energy is what keeps the runes I use in my inventions active once I activate them with my magic for the first time. That means that, in some way, nature's shizen energy must be akin to magic...

"Do you think that if we use natural energy we could activate the runes without you having to activate them first?" Sasuke asked. She nodded. Could it be done?

Kakashi-sensei, seeing the looks of the whole team, pondered the question a little.

"Actually, there are people who use senjutsu, which is what the combination of shizen energy with a person's physical and spiritual chakra is called. In fact, Jiraiya-sama is adept at using this technique so I could teach you.

"Really!?" Naruto exclaimed upon hearing it. The pervert had it well hidden from him!

"Don't get too excited. I have no idea if he will agree to help you or not. I don't even know how he trained to get to that point.

"But imagine it! If Seina-nee was right and we knew how to use senjutsu, we could use runes!

Seina smiled at the sight of Naruto exuberant, while Sasuke nodded excitedly silently. She knew that, in part, studying runes would make them not feel so detached from her. In fact, that was one of the reasons why I had mentioned shimen energy. That and because knowing runes would be an advantage for his team. Still, I didn't know if it would actually work activating runes. It was one thing to bring neutral energy into their runes and another to mix natural energy with a person's chakra.

To their pleasant surprise, Kakashi-sensei eventually accompanied them to the Hokage tower. He spent the whole morning explaining how to use the runes under his watchful eye, and teaching him how to carve them correctly. Hours later, as Sasuke, Naruto, and their clones carved the bulk of the runes, Seina watched as Kakashi-sensei began his first steps with the runes. It felt strange since she was now acting like the teacher, and not the other way around. Even so, Kakashi-sensei understood everything he was saying on the fly, so it was not difficult for him to explain everything to him in detail under the anti-spy spells he had placed.

"I didn't know it was so complicated," his master confessed later, when they had unmarried for a bite to eat. You make it look extremely easy when you invent something.

"Normal. I've been a rune master for 94 years," she smiled. If I couldn't do something so simple in minutes, I'd retire.

The jonin shook his head at her words, a little incredulous as every time he reminded him of his age. They finished protecting the Hokage's mansion a couple of hours later. Tsunade-sama met with them when he sent her a note.

"Are you done yet?" How does it work? Tsunade-sama asked.

"Basically, the jutsu is activated when the doors and windows are closed. Always. In the event that the entrance areas are broken, for example, a broken window, there is a way to manually activate the jutsu—he demonstrated how to do this with a drop of blood and a chakra pulse in the hidden runic cluster. The downside of this is that if the tower were to be destroyed, this jutsu would not work as it is tied to the structure.

—How many spaces have this protection?

Seina listed the rooms she had thought would be useful such as the bedroom, the private office, the public office, the meeting room, and one of the guest rooms.

"Since you ordered Shizune to use a space for Ne's prisoner, I thought you could use one of the empty rooms. That way, even if he screamed, no one would hear him from the outside.

"Hmm... Well thought out. Is there a way to seal someone inside a place so they can't escape?

"Of course.

"Good. As soon as Shizune modifies the room, I'll call you back.

Seina was explaining to him how the barrier worked. How she acted as a "bubble" silencing and confusing possible spies who might be on the walls or even spy on her from afar through the windows. Well, everyone except her. That meant that the anbu hiding in the walls of the room would stay outside the barrier, so they wouldn't be able to see or hear if the Hokage called them. It was a big inconvenience, but necessary. To make up for that shortcoming, the Hokage would have to use houseplants or perhaps a false wall where their ninjas could hide inside their office and therefore inside the barrier.

"What if there's already someone inside my office and I seal them inside the barrier with me there?"

"I'd thought about it before, so I've made these other glasses to see auras. That's how I use my powers to perceive people," Seina explained, handing him a pair of rune-filled glasses. You will be able to check before sealing inside if there is anyone else than expected. I could have thought of something else, but we're a bit short of time...

"This is perfect," Tsunade-sama smiled, putting on his glasses. How do you come up with these things?

"Is that how you always see everything?" Kakashi-sensei asked, trying on his glasses. You can spot someone through walls. Huh. Incredible.

"Not always, but I use it often.

"How far do they go?"

"About 10 meters.

He let them play with the glasses as he gathered his things in the fanny pack. Tsunade-sama activated the runes for the first time after ascertaining that there was no one suspicious in his office. His anbu bodyguards, inside the room, didn't say a word. He watched as he put his glasses in one of his secret pockets and sat down in the chair.

"I wanted to give you this, Seina," the Hokage said, handing him a map. This is where Danzo's base is. I know you could find her with your powers, but at least that saves you some time. Here's the front door, if you can call it that, but we don't know how big it is inside.

"Great," she said, taking the map and memorizing it with her occlumency. I'll get to that today.

"Perfect. If it takes you a few days, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you don't get detected.

She nodded. He would use a few spells on his summons so that no ninja could detect them. He would also need a notebook and something to sketch out a map as he made his way into the base. Casting a spell on ninjas was more complex, but I could get an idea of how many ninjas were inside. Just as he thought about it, he remembered the old map of the marauders. I could make a similar one, but I needed to anchor the map's runes to the non-existent magic barriers at Danzo's headquarters... Mmm... Interesting.

He noticed his master's intense gaze on his forehead and blinked, coming to his senses. Tsunade-sama had an eyebrow raised in his direction, but he didn't ask. He said goodbye to his teacher by leaving with his jonin sensei. Naruto and Sasuke were talking in front of them about their latest C-rank mission while Seina walked alongside Kakashi-sensei thinking about the pros and cons of creating a map. In the end, she decided to talk to her teacher in the privacy of her home to see what he thought.

To her little surprise, when they entered her property, behind the magical barriers, Kakashi-sensei turned to look at her.

"Well?" What did you come up with?

"Let's sit down and I'll explain."

Naruto and Sasuke, when they heard their exchange, turned curiously.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, sitting down in the dining room chair.

"I've come up with something for my mission to spy on Danzo, but it has some drawbacks. I was thinking of a map. Do you remember when I told you about the map of my father and his friends? She asked, accepting the cookies her brother handed her. Well, the same thing, but with the Danzo base.

"That would be great!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile. Old Tsunade would know who Danzo's minions are and could also plan an attack beforehand.

"Yes, but someone could also steal the map and try to reproduce it. Perhaps they also thought that Konoha has this technology to spy on other countries and that could lead to a big conflict.

"Then Seina just has to hide the map, make it so only the Hokage can see it or something." I don't know, with the powers he has, he can do anything," Sasuke shrugged.

"Another drawback is that I need to put a magic barrier around Danzo's base. To do this, I need to place inside, somewhere hidden, a runic chamber with a stone powerful enough so that the barriers don't collapse. After that, he could create a map from afar using the barriers to identify everyone who stepped foot in Danzo's barracks.

"But you need to go inside," Kakashi-sensei confirmed aloud. She nodded. And can't your summons or clones do it at all?

"I suppose part of the process does, but eventually I would have to go in and activate the barriers.

"And why don't you use your powers to put them all to sleep from afar and keep them prisoner?" Naruto asked. Sasuke and Seina looked at him with some astonishment, but Kakashi-sensei shook his head firmly.

"Even if you could capture those who are currently inside the base, who tells us that these people are 100% of the shinobi under Danzo's command?" He refuted his brother El Jonin's proposal. Also, our main problem is that we don't know the identity of any of them. Imagine that Seina captures 50 out of 100 Danzo minions. The other 50 realize that something is up and hide until further notice, or perhaps they are plotting something away from Danzo's barracks. We would have lost all the advantage we have now. Even if we could undo the seals on their tongues in a short time, that doesn't mean they themselves know the identity of Ne's other companions.

"Yes," she sighed, seeing that he was right. I hadn't even thought about it, Naru, but Kakashi-sensei is right. If I manage to make the map and Tsunade-sama spies on them for a while, sooner or later most of them will show up at the barracks and he will know who they are.

"In the meantime, Jiraiya-sama should have enough time to think of a way to undo his seals without Seina having to intervene. We don't know what might happen if he used his powers on the prisoner of Ne. No, Tsunade-sama's strategy is the most efficient and least risky. A ninja can die on a mission without attracting attention, but having half of Danzo's forces disappear without further ado would not go unnoticed," Kakashi-sensei said. Then he turned to look at her. To make the map, how much time would you need inside the Danzo base?

"At least an hour to get everything ready, if I can get in about 3-4 clones." "Me in person, maybe 10 minutes," she replied. Before that, I need to think of some kind of magic barrier that is not counterproductive to erect and that is as easy as possible.

"We'll have to talk to Tsunade-sama about this," Kakashi-sensei said. She may summon the council to her office at some point. With Danzo away from his barracks, it should be less dangerous for you to enter.

"That is, I'll have to coordinate it with Tsunade-sama." Well, be that as it may, I'll have to plan it out beforehand before I talk to her. I need to think about what to do in my studio.

He went to his studio to think about what he needed to do to create a map. To begin with, I needed the map sketched out prior to the magic barrier. He would then have to use a locked room in Danzo's barracks to put his rune chamber, he could even use the fidelus to hide it so that Danzo would never realize it was there. In addition, he needed a magical barrier that would not hinder the work of the ninjas or be perceived by Danzo as a result of its activation. That is, he couldn't put up a magic anti-ninja barrier, if it existed, because Danzo would realize that he couldn't get into his own base... But... He could put up a magical barrier against house elves. It would be of absolutely no use since there were no house elves in this dimension, but it would be enough to activate the runestone inside the chamber. After that, he would only have to bind the previously sketched map with the active stone with a few spells. And voilà!

Everyone inside the barrier would see themselves on the map, and they wouldn't realize there was such a barrier. He wrote down his steps, realizing that so far it was relatively easy. Kakashi-sensei, however, was right. He couldn't let many people realize that such a map existed or that would increase the value of his head. I would have to make the map only visible to authorized people with blood. Hence, blood runes and blood magic. Of course. Actually, he didn't even know why it had worried him. If she used the same runes on the map that she used with her fanny pack, only Tsunade-sama, whoever she decided, and Seina would be able to see the map.

It was clear that the biggest problem was getting into Danzo's base. I didn't know what traps were in there, or if they could detect it with some experimental powers... He urgently needed to send his summons inside to get an idea of what was coming his way, and to make the map.

"Well, what stone can I use?" She thought quietly to herself, looking at her collection of crystals and minerals. Mmm...

He selected an intermediate one, enough to activate a single barrier, and began carving the runes with his sharp tools. It took him barely an hour to complete the first part. The other part would have to be in the same barracks as Danzo. He put the stone down in one of the drawers and picked up one of his large blank scrolls of parchment. He stuffed everything he needed into his fanny pack and walked out of his study.

When he came downstairs, a couple of hours later, he found Naruto cooking with Sasuke's help while Kakashi-sensei was sitting on the couch reading a book. He looked at her over the pages.

"Are you done scheming yet?" He asked with a faint smile.

"I think so. I'll test the waters tomorrow. I need to make a map beforehand so I'll send my summons first. As soon as I'm clear, I'll ask Tsunade-sama to take Danzo away from his barracks with an appointment.

"Be careful.

"I'll have it," she said, stretching out on the couch and putting her legs in his lap. I've thought about it thoroughly.

He felt Kakashi-sensei's hand on his ankle as he read. He heard his team arguing in the background while mentally disconnecting. He remembered that the next day he had to go to the hospital to make his rounds. I didn't have to go to work there every day anymore, only Thursdays and Fridays. That meant he was paid less with his job as a doctor, but he had more free time for other things. How to train, place orders on time for the Hokage, and continue studying.

He woke up from his sleeping candle when he felt Sasuke approaching them.

"Dinner is ready.

He straightened up, stretching. Kakashi-sensei held out his hand and pulled his deadlift with a laugh. He watched as Naruto was putting the food on the table at the same time as Sasuke sat down in his usual place.

"Are we going to train tomorrow?" Sasuke asked, looking at Kakashi-sensei.

"Yes. Now that I'm confined to the village until further notice, I have more time, so we can keep training. Above all, you, Seina. Sasuke and Naruto will easily pass the exams, but you still have a lot of things to study.

"I know," she groaned. I've made a schedule for myself so I should finish studying the texts in 2 months.

"You've got time.

"What's the jonin exam like?" His brother asked curiously. Is it very different from chunin's?

—The jonin exam consists of 4 stages: a written exam, a survival exam, one-on-one battles, and carrying out a mission in 7 days maximum. All stages are taken individually. In the first part, in the written exam, the candidate undergoes a temporary stamp so that he cannot use chakra to copy. During combat, he also can't fight summons or assistance animals like the Inuzuka's dogs. While in the survival exam you can only carry 2 weapons and nothing else.

"Ugh... That means you have to know the books Nee-chan is reading by heart, right?

"I'm afraid so," Kakashi-sensei's troll smiled with his eyes closed.

"It seems very difficult," Sasuke frowned. How long does the survival test take? And what types of missions are done?

"It depends on the difficulty, you can have one mission or another. During the survival exam, each person receives a scroll with a quest, but they must also steal a second scroll. This cuts the number of candidates in half. Once the survival test is over, those who remain fight one-on-one. Those who have qualified have one final test: to carry out one of the two missions in the scrolls they have obtained in the survival test. There are easy, moderate, and difficult missions. As you can imagine, everyone wants to have the scroll with the easy quest, but it also means having less time to complete them.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her with some horror as they heard everything she would have to do. She, however, began to feel that competitive feeling that always surfaced when faced with a challenge that seemed insurmountable. She couldn't suppress her excited smile as she realized that she would be all alone in those exams. He wouldn't have to hide from potential teammates. That had taken a weight off his shoulders. She heard a snort of laughter in front of her.

"Seina doesn't seem to care too much.

"I'm looking forward to that day.

"You'll get a lot of attention. "I hope you know," his master warned. Many will believe that, because of your age, you are fresh meat. Although others, the smarter ones, will surely leave you out.

"Why?" His brother asked.

"Because the candidates are recommended by the Kage. If Seina is in the exam, it is because she was personally recommended. That means he shouldn't be too weak despite his young age.

"In short, I won't have many allies during the exam," she rolled her eyes. I don't care.

They finished dinner chatting about the jonin exams. That night, when he lay down in his bed to go to sleep, he realized that, at least for a few weeks, he would have more time to be with Kakashi-sensei. Even though they lived in the same house, I missed him. Suddenly, it crossed her mind to go to her room to be alone with him. Interestingly, a part of himself was embarrassed to feel that desire. She was behaving like an insecure teenager. I could hardly remember what it was like to feel that way because it had been so long since I had lost George... Almost a lifetime.

She had never imagined that she would be able to love someone again with the same intensity with which she loved George. Even though Kakashi-sensei wasn't her late husband, that didn't mean she loved him more or less, simply... She loved him differently than she loved George. George, in his heart, had been a total joker. He had liked to laugh at life. To live it to the limit, almost carefreely. That didn't mean he was irresponsible, but, compared to Kakashi-sensei, he lacked the seriousness with which the jonin took things. That quality of George's had excited and irritated her countless times in equal measure.

Kakashi-sensei, on the other hand, only seemed carefree, but he wasn't really. Actually, he was one of the most protective and considerate people I had ever been lucky enough to meet. Unlike George, Kakashi-sensei was much more restrained and took things, perhaps, too seriously, although he tried not to show how much it affected him according to what things. He was the kind of person who stored any shred of information about his loved ones simply because he appreciated those details.

Her relationship with George had been like a roller coaster. Full of very high highs and very low lows, surprising and unusual. Sometimes, too intense, for better and for worse. I couldn't comment on what it was like to be in a full-fledged relationship with Kakashi-sensei, but for now, it was a 180-degree turn. Kakashi-sensei was sleeps on the couch talking about his most secret feelings, one-on-one dates where the important thing was just the two of them and not the place, hard workouts to make sure they returned home... They were like different sides of the same coin.

He got out of bed with a pounding heart, but he was going to do it. He climbed the stairs and, before he could hesitate, knocked softly on the door. It didn't take even 5 seconds to open. Kakashi-sensei looked at her somewhat surprised, but let her pass.

"Seina." Is something wrong? He asked, tapping her shoulder.

"No. Well, yes. Don't laugh, but I miss you," she confessed, feeling herself blushing in the dark.

—… I miss you too," she confessed after a surprised pause. These last few months have been crazy, but you'll see how everything stabilizes.

"I suppose you're right.

"Do you want to sit down?"

Seina sat down without a word. The mattress was identical to his. Super comfortable. Kakashi-sensei sat down beside him. Before he could say anything more, his teacher took his hand, kissing him on the back.

"Don't do those things or I'll have to hug you."

"I can't hold your hand, but you can leave me prostrate with a kiss?" The Jonin smiled, taking off his mask. I don't know if I think it's fair.

He kissed her hand again, looking her in the eye as he did so. He had to avoid swallowing noisily when he saw something in his eyes that he didn't want to define.

"You can hug me whenever you want," he said quietly.

Seina hugged him. He buried his face in her neck, feeling his arms wrap around her as well. A second later, Kakashi-sensei lay on the bed with her on his chest.

"You can kiss me whenever you want," he murmured against her skin.

"I'll keep that in mind..."

He didn't know how, but he fell into a deep sleep. He didn't even wake up when he put her under the blanket, but he should have tucked her in before he went to sleep too.

He woke up the next day in pretty much the same posture. In shock. His idea had not been to sleep all night in Kakashi-sensei's arms, but that was exactly what had happened. The jonin was obviously awake, though lying beside him.

"How did you sleep?"

"If you keep stroking my hair, I'll go back to sleep," she reproached him, though she didn't mean it.

"I'd better stop then," I laughed quietly, feeling the vibrations in his chest. We both have a lot of things to do.

"Ugh, why are you reminding me?"

The thought of Danzo cut him off completely. He had to talk to Tsunade-sama first in order to carry out his plan in full, but in the meantime he could create the map.

"I'll go take a shower," she sighed. I don't feel like dealing with Danzo at all.

"If Tsunade-sama sent you that mission, it's for a reason. As much as I don't like that he mixes you up with him and his... Plans.

"I know, but I'm a big girl," she reminded him. He managed to get another laugh out of her. Besides, I don't intend to put myself in danger. Do not worry.

"I know," he said before appearing in his own room.

It had been difficult, but she had learned to value herself as a person, rather than as a tool, with therapy. It took years, but he finally realized that his life was valuable enough not to foolishly put himself in danger as he had done multiple times during his teenage years. He wanted to live for many years with his family, so he couldn't make mistakes or be reckless. It had taken her a while to accept that she couldn't act the way she had for years at Hogwarts, but having family that depended on her had helped her tremendously.

When he was reminded of his memories in therapy, he realized how little he had appreciated his own life. He had been on the verge of death countless times without any need or sufficient reason. He had confronted an adult knowing that he was an ally of Voldemort rather than consulting with another professor besides McGonagall. He had risked his life to save a girl he didn't know, simply because she was the little sister of a friend he'd only known for a year. He nearly lost his soul to the Dementors for saving the life of his godfather, whom he had believed to be responsible for the deaths of his parents hours earlier. He had even participated in the tournament without asking for legal help about the magic contract, assuming that he had been told the truth. Not to mention how she let Umbridge torture her for an entire year, instead of getting rid of her or bowing her head.

She had been a real idiot. Naïve, someone easy to manipulate, short-sighted... Years later, in therapy, that had embittered her for months. She had realized how many things she could have done differently without having to suffer so much along the way, how much her teachers and other authority figures had failed her. She had been manipulated in such a way that she had sacrificed her life rather than seek another opinion on the horcrux on her forehead. Where in the prophecy did it say that Voldemort had to kill her to destroy the piece of soul in her scar? Dumbledore had been many things, but he was not omniscient. It had taken her years to realize that. Hermione hadn't even accepted that truth until years later, when Seina used a pansy to gather enough irrefutable evidence that helped her open her eyes and stop burying her head in the sand like an ostrich.

He turned off the water, ceasing to think of the turbulent beginnings of his old life, and got dressed. I had a long day ahead of me. The last thing he needed was to have an inner conflict thinking about the hardships of his other self.

chapter 45

Seina, invisible, approached the vicinity of Ne's barracks. He remembered the map he had seen of the Hokage and knew it was in front of it, even though he couldn't make out a building or an entrance. He had to admit that Danzo, no matter how much he disliked him, was no ordinary ninja. He summoned his creatures from the top of a branch, hidden a few feet away in the leaves with his bracelet and spells.

The process was the same as always. Send out her summons, spy from afar, sketch out a mind map (or on paper, in this case), use the hiraishin to introduce her clones or her, as needed, and return again with the hiraishin. He hadn't realized it, but he had unwittingly developed a unique infiltration modus operandi. Perhaps that's why Tsunade-sama had sent her to the land of Ice with Tenzou. Sorry, Yamato. To her, traps were not a threat because she could jump them using the blind spots of the places she infiltrated.

The drawback of all this was the time I wasted studying the base beforehand. Until I was sure that it was possible to enter safely, it could take hours. It would have been much quicker to walk through the door and deal with whatever he found. It would also have been infinitely more dangerous. Since he wasn't in a hurry and didn't want to risk his neck, he took his time.

He began to draw a small map on a piece of paper. It was his first map sketch and it wasn't tailor-made. It simply helped him to have addresses and get an idea of how many spaces there were, what they were and where they were. The first thing he saw was a long underground tunnel that branched off like a labyrinth. Fortunately, despite the twists and turns he made to try to confuse a possible infiltrator, only one tunnel led somewhere, and there were no secret rooms along the way. About 6 forks were cul-de-sacs with a multitude of traps while the royal road gave way to a large triangular hall with very high grey concrete walls whose roof, at the level of the village floor, was made of glass. He observed that the glazed roof was under a genjutsu, as well as a multitude of fuinjutsu barriers.

This same vestibule had a central bridge surrounded on either side by a deep pit that jutted into the earth, like the rest of the underground base. Surely it would have taken months to build everything from the most absolute secrecy. He saw about 2 huge columns from which beams protruded, along with gigantic pipes that he did not know what they contained. On the other side of the hall was an entrance, the size of a double door, that led to the true base of Danzo.

Interestingly, he hadn't come across a single ninja so far. As he entered through a tiny crack in the door, using his summoned insects, he gazed again into the darkness. It was clear that the criminals loved secret bases inside caves. It took him almost 20 minutes to find the first door. It turned out to be a supply warehouse, but nothing major. He saw new uniforms hanging on hangers, white masks piled on a shelf, weapons, backpacks, etc. The next discovery was another warehouse, but for cleaning and maintenance products.

He saw some kitchens in the right wing of the complex next to a surprisingly small canteen. At most, it could be used by about 10 people. It was clear that it wasn't meant for Ne's ninjas to eat there. At least, not all of them. He spent several hours inspecting the right wing. It was empty. As the whole barracks seemed to be. He checked the time with a spell, realizing that it would soon be time to eat, and waited patiently.

In the meantime, he continued to investigate the complex. As far as I could see, it stretched out under Konoha's west mountain. The same mountain where his father's face was carved. No wonder they had so much space. The lighting, however, left much to be desired. He only had time to reach the first door on the left wing when he began to hear life. He stopped all his creatures, even though they were under protection spells, and spied.

He didn't recognize anyone because they all had the same uniform with white masks on their faces. Some were adults while others were clearly children. No one spoke. They didn't even look at each other. They acted like robots. Seina shuddered as she perceived the gloomy environment in which these people lived day after day. He watched as they walked to the kitchen, standing in single file without anyone asking them to. A window opened and hands pulled out a metal tray of food. The first in line picked it up without saying a word and left. So did the second, the third, the fourth... Curiously, he wondered where they were going to eat until he saw someone approaching the left aisle.

One of them opened the door and saw for a few seconds what appeared to be a 5-square-meter room. There was a raised bunk nailed to the top of a wall, under which was a small desk with a couple of drawers, and a wooden chair that seemed to be most uncomfortable. On the opposite wall, a fairly tall 4-drawer chest of drawers. The door closed and he couldn't see anything else. He knew then, with some regret, that each of them was going to eat alone in his claustrophobic windowless room, lit by oil lamps or candles.

Suddenly, he remembered Yamato. He had been a member of Ne by force. Why hadn't he told the Hokage about the living conditions of Ne's ninja? Although, on second thought, Kakashi-sensei had told him that Danzo recruited him personally. Would he be just talking about his recruitment? Or, perhaps, was there something else? As far as she knew, there was no map of Danzo's base. They hadn't even known where he was, even though his own master was recruited into Ne. Would Danzo have another base? He took notes to ask later.

I had already spent almost 5 hours spying on Danzo's base and I hadn't even reached the halfway point. He waited a while until everyone received their food and the kitchen window was padlocked before moving again. He had counted about 38 people with trays. He didn't know how many more there might be in the kitchen since he had only seen one person serving the food behind the opaque window, but he doubted that 38 people represented the total, real number of Danzo's forces.

Hours later, he discovered in the left wing a huge room with closed cubicles for showering and relieving himself. It was clear that there were no distinctions of sex. Everything was the same. Grey floor, grey walls, torches, grey doors... The only thing that was different was the white sink. There weren't even mirrors. But for what? If no one took off their mask in public. Even the string of showers and toilets were isolated from each other so that they had total privacy and avoided discovering each other.

The more time she spent in there spying on them, the more depressed she felt. The fact that everything was gray sucked his energy away. He wondered if it had really been done on purpose, and if it had been set up like this to keep Danzo's servants in constant depression at bay. The sound of several guns clashing on the right wing caught his attention. It was a huge training room. He watched two strangers fight with their katanas. They were on their own and seemed totally focused on the fight.

He left them alone, seeing that it was nothing important, and continued into the left wing. Except for the shared bathroom, all the rooms were a carbon copy of each other. He counted 100 rooms in total and 4 shared bathrooms for every 20 rooms, in addition to the first one he saw. He took out a bento of food, feeling the sun overhead, and fed himself as he continued his mission. He walked into a few rooms, watching people eat or sleep, or staring at the ceiling with blank faces. I didn't know any of them. Most of them looked like normal people. They didn't have any clan traits or anything like that, so he gave up. I had more important things to spy on.

The right wing turned out to be another disappointment. There were only service-related things like the laundry, the kitchen, the pantry, the freezer, the fridges, a garbage area, a huge incinerator, and a relaxation room with sofas and a table. He only saw a couple of hooded people going around doing household chores. They incinerated some clothes full of tattered blood, cleaned the kitchen, put away the leftovers, grouped the garbage inside a cart, put several washers and dryers... It was all so automated that he wondered how long Danzo had been operating to get to this level of efficiency. Would he have dismantled Ne when ordered to do so by his father or had he just made it look like he?

He closed the journal and slowly unsummoned his creatures, away from the anbu of Ne. He had spent the whole holy day in the tree. He deserved a break. He showed up at home, using his magic to avoid attracting attention. He had his chakra under control, but he wasn't going to risk having such a good hiding place right in front of Danzo's base. As soon as he knew they were in the dugout, they were probably training. He left a couple of clones cooking while he made his way to his studio to start transcribing the dirty sketch he'd made of part of the base onto a parchment. He still had a lot to discover.

"Nee-chan?" Naruto called a while later.

"I'm here, Naru.

He left things on the desk. He saw Naruto and Sasuke drinking some juices, their foreheads beaded with sweat.

"How did the training go?"

"Good. "We're improving our kenjutsu quite a bit," Sasuke informed him. And you?

"Why don't you go take a shower and then we'll talk?"

They left her alone setting the table while they went to shower. A few minutes later, Kakashi-sensei appeared at the door. Unlike his brother and Sasuke, he didn't seem to have a single hair out of place.

"How's your day?"

"Slow," she sighed. He handed her the napkins. Taking. When do you think you'll be able to leave the village?

"I suppose soon, if Danzo sends someone on a mission." Have you been able to find out something?

"Are you talking about Danzo?" Sasuke asked, walking down the top steps with his brother after a record-breaking shower.

"Yes. The base is much larger than expected. It stretches below the mountain like a labyrinth. So far, I have only been able to infiltrate the entrance and 2 of the 3 wings of the barracks. I think the biggest part remains to be seen. There are at least 100 rooms down there, although today I only counted almost 40 people.

"Hmm...

They were talking a little more about Danzo before moving on to the next topic. Then they all went to sleep. He would have liked to stay a little longer lazing around, but he had plenty of things to do the next day.

He woke up early to go to the hospital. It was Thursday, and on Thursdays and Fridays I worked at the hospital all morning. Tsunade-sama had given her an office in a ninja plant, where she handled the most serious cases. Luckily, he didn't have any patients with a supposed incurable disease or amputated arms, so he dedicated himself to sorting and filing the paperwork after taking a tour of the plant curing the most serious ones.

Just as he was about to return to his office, a team of ninjas appeared, carrying a badly wounded colleague. He saw a pair of iryo nin running up to them, their hands green for the medical justu. Since there were quite a few medical personnel available, he turned around to go on his way. They knew where she was if they needed her. She didn't have time to take 2 steps that called her name.

"Seina-san!" We need help!

He turned instantly, following briskly to the gurney with the convalescent patient who was being carried to the operating room. As he changed his clothes and disinfected his arms, they explained to him what his diagnostic wand, already distributed by the hospital, had found.

"He's got a perforated liver, lacerations on his torso, he's electrocuted, and—" His eyes have been gouged out. "It's a Hyuga from the secondary branch," he whispered the last thing.

—… I see.

What a problem. A ninja whose main tool is his eyes, no eyes. He went into the operating room, seeing how the injury to his liver and the resulting hemorrhage were being healed. One person was taking care of his bare chest full of bruises while another seemed to be channeling the lightning nature chakra that was surely still in his body. Seina tended to the wounds on his wrists, marks of bindings, as she watched the half-naked man in front of her.

"Could anything be done with his eyes?" A voice next to him asked. It was another iryo nin, his face worried.

"Maybe. Let me try something.

He moved closer to the head, displacing the iryo nin that was stopping the bleeding, and analyzed it with his magic. In theory, the only injuries that magic couldn't heal were wounds caused by dark magic. Obviously, this wasn't the case so, in theory, it could regenerate his eyes. The problem was that he didn't know for sure if he could do it or if he required special care as he was the eyes of a Hyuga.

"Let one Hyuga come with the seal and one without the seal." Fast.

One of the nurses rushed out of the operating room as she temporarily stopped the bleeding. I didn't want to close his wounds until I knew whether or not I could make him new eyes. Not even 10 minutes later, Neji came in accompanied by Hinata. They both looked with even paler faces at their relative on the operating table.

"They're here, Seina-sama," the nurse called. He felt a twitch in his eyebrow at the nurses' honorific.

"What have they done to him!?" Neji exclaimed in horror as Hinata covered her mouth with her hands.

"I need to examine your eyes to see if I can regenerate them.

—… Of course. Whatever you need," Neji said, surprised at his words.

"Hinata."

Her friend swallowed and stood beside her. He scanned it with his magic and chakra, realizing that it was similar to Kakashi-sensei's sharingan. It connected the brain differently. Then, he did the same with Neji. As soon as he got the results, he realized that he couldn't carry out the operation without removing the seal. He wondered if he could use the finite incantatem as he did with the seals in the jar where Sasuke was kidnapped. It wasn't an extremely complex seal, so I had a hunch that I could do it without it having any consequences for the patient. Then he thought about the consequences of removing the seal... I was between a rock and a hard place.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I have to remove the seal before I can regenerate his eyes..."

—… Then... You can't do anything for him, can you? Neji asked, devastated.

"On the contrary. That's the problem.

Neji and Hinata, and someone else behind her, gasped at the sound of her. It didn't take long for them to understand what he was saying.

"T-you can take the seal off it?" Hinata whispered in shock.

"I think so. I'm not an expert in fuinjutsu, but I think I can. If I do, I may cause a political problem in your clan. You know that, don't you?

"To a Hyuga, his eyes are his most precious commodity," Hinata said, her tone firmer but her voice equally soft. Do it, please. I will bear the consequences. I won't let anything happen to you.

"I'd like to see how they try," Seina snorted with a laugh. I'm more concerned about you.

"Why?"

"Because if I can unseal it, which I haven't thought of trying before, that would mean I can remove Neji's seal." I'm not going to let him walk out of here with a slave seal on his forehead and be able to take it off.

Neji choked at the sound of her. Hinata gently tapped her shoulder, as if hesitating about whether or not she would be rejected, but her cousin seemed distracted. Blinking quickly with shining eyes as he realized that, perhaps, he would walk out of the hospital free. She, seeing that she had the approval of the heiress of the Hyuga clan, turned in her patient's direction. He touched her forehead with a finger full of magic.

"Finite incantatem," he intoned to himself.

He felt his magic run through the seal that oppressed the optic nerves and part of the brain, undoing the fuinjutsu in its wake just as he thought it would. He heard another gasp as the green seal disappeared from the forehead of his patient, Tetsu. He laid his hands on the empty sockets and began to use his magic with his newfound medical knowledge to reconstruct organs for the first time in his life. He had seen healers do it in his other life. He had never believed that he would need to know such a spell, so since he didn't have the knowledge, he simply improvised.

At first she had to think about where to start until she realized she could use the fabrics she had as a starting point. I imagined that this is what they did with limbs that were mistakenly amputated in magical disappearances. He began making the eyes from the optic nerves, based on what he had learned from Hinata and Neji's eyes. As soon as he realized it was working, he smiled. It was a tedious, time-consuming process that required quite a bit of magic to compensate for the fact that I wasn't using a spell as such. She noticed someone wiping her forehead, beaded with sweat, while she kept her eyes closed, focused on her task.

Hours later, he noticed his eyes back in place. When she opened her eyes, blinking at the bright light, she saw how the rest of the wounds had been healed while she worked. Still, no one had left his side. Surely interested to see if it worked or not. When he pushed his hands away and revealed his patient's new eyes, they bent down with astonished faces to examine him.

"I'm going to sit for a while," she moaned, feeling her body tense. What time is it?

"4:00 p.m.," one of the Iryo Nin informed him militarily of the time.

He sighed as he realized he had skipped the meal. He should have gone home 2 hours ago.

"You can go to rest," said a companion. We'll end up here.

"It's all right. See you tomorrow.

He walked out of there without a second thought. Right at the door, Hinata and Neji, whom she had forgotten, were waiting for her. He remembered his promise to Neji and knew that he would not leave the hospital as quickly as he had imagined.

"Seina! How's Tetsu? Hinata asked worriedly.

"It's all right. "He's got his eyes again," she whispered. Come to my office.

They accompanied her momentarily to her office, full of all kinds of protections. He closed the door behind them.

"Do you have the byakugan?" Neji asked as soon as he entered.

"The eyes are healthy and their brain connection is the same as yours, so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to activate dojutsu.

Hinata and Neji looked surprised and relieved to hear it. Seina motioned for Neji to sit on one of the visitor chairs stacked in a corner.

"Take off your band, Neji.

"Are you really going to do it?" He asked, staring at her with something in his eyes he couldn't describe.

"Yes. I've told you before. You can keep putting on if you want the band, but I'm not going to let you walk out of here with that label if they forced you to put it on. Do you want me to take the stamp off?

"Neji-ni-san, please let me take it away from you.

"Are you sure, Hinata-sama?"

"Yes.

"Then take it from me, please."

It took him 2 minutes to clear his forehead. Neji, looking at herself in a mirror, couldn't believe it. He got up slowly, as if in shock, and hugged her tightly. Seina let him vent, pressing him against her, and stroking his hair. Why were the children, and adults, of this world so lacking in love and support? At that moment, his stomach roared, shocking them all. Seina began to laugh silently. Neji pulled away, a smile on his lips and his eyes somewhat red.

"I'm sorry. You must have gone hours without eating.

"It's okay. Perks of the trade. Are you okay, Hina? She asked, watching Hinata continue to cry.

"Yes. We should let you rest and eat.

Neji nodded. He could put the band on his forehead with trembling hands. Minutes later, they left the hospital. For a moment he wished to show up at his house, but he knew he needed to talk to the Hokage. She made her way to the tower, crossing her fingers for luck, and almost cried when she realized they were still in the office. Her secretary, an undercover ninja, let her in right away.

"Come in, come in," Tsunade-sama said, waving a hand. Is something wrong?

"I'm afraid so," she sighed. Today in the hospital we treated a group of ninjas who had just arrived from a mission. One of them was a Hyuga from the secondary branch who had had his eyes gouged out. I have managed to regenerate them.

"What!?" Tsunade-sama exclaimed, blinking.

"yes, well, that's not why I'm here. To do so, I had to remove the seal. I've also removed the seal from Neji.

—… Ugh," Tsunade-sama groaned. No doubt imagining the repercussions. Thank you for telling me as soon as possible.

"Neji still wears the ninja band on his forehead, so I guess you won't notice for a while, if the iryo nin keep their mouths shut and Tetsu Hyuga doesn't do anything that will make them try to activate his seal.

"I'll talk to them personally.

"Besides, Hinata was there. He has given me explicit permission, in front of witnesses, to take it away.

"Well. That gives me a little more peace of mind," the Hokage confessed. She may only be 12 years old, but she is still the heir to the main branch.

"Maybe we can cover all this up until Hinata succeeds her father, or has more support from the secondary branch. She wants to abolish the seal so, sooner or later, the Hyuga will stop using it.

"That's if they don't trade Hinata for her little sister, but I like your proposal." I'll have to think more deeply about this with Shizune, and Shikaku.

Seina couldn't hold back a laugh when she heard Commander Jonin's name. He could imagine the look on his face when he heard about this. Tsunade-sama snorted a laugh at her, surely knowing what she was thinking, and threw her out of his office shaking his head. After that, she went straight home. When he arrived, he found Kakashi-sensei in the garden doing push-ups with one arm behind his back, and using a single finger to go up and down.

"Where have you been?" If it wasn't for Naruto and Sasuke, I would have believed that you had been kidnapped.

"In the hospital." A last-minute operation. I'm going to eat something, I'm starving.

"I hear your stomach rumbling from here," he said, smiling, glancing at her sideways.

"What about you?" What are you doing?

"I was bored. Besides, I already told you I'd increase my training," he joked.

"I didn't think you meant this.

She went into the house, still laughing, and saw that a dish had been left for her. She warmed him up in a second with a spell and stepped out onto the porch again. While eating he watched his teacher do exercises, realizing that it was the first time he had seen him train his body on his own.

"Where are the others?"

"I have no idea. I think they've gone shopping," he said, lifting some ninja weights that looked very heavy. I don't know how you were able to stay in the village for almost 2 months without going out.

"Unlike you, I wasn't waiting at home playing with my thumbs for my mission to begin.

Kakashi-sensei let out a laugh, raising the bar. Seina looked at him as he ate his apple. With a mischievous hint she suppressed a smile, ready to joke a little with her master.

"It's a pity you didn't take off your shirt. You would have made my day a little more," he spoke, as if nothing had happened, biting into his apple.

The jonin choked, blushing. The weights wobbled for a second before he regained his composure. Seina felt her shoulders shake with laughter.

"Seina!

"What?" He asked with innocent eyes that fooled no one.

Kakashi-sensei looked at her, trying to hide a smile as he shook his head. Then he put the weights down all at once. Before he could blink a few times, he unzipped his vest, pulling it off in one swift motion along with the mask. Then he grabbed his sweater in both hands, pulling it up so slowly that he could see clearly how his muscles contracted with his mere posture. Seina felt her jaw drop as she realized she had gambled.

"Is it better?" He asked with a total troll smile at the sight of his shocked face.

"Weren't you lifting weights?" He raised an eyebrow, crossing his legs over his ankles.

The jonin didn't say anything else. He picked up the weights again and exercised while she ate her fruit and watched him intently. Since he had invited her to do so, why refuse?

"I think I'll have to stop wearing the T-shirt," he began, suppressing a laugh. That's how I train better.

"Are you challenging me, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, drawing her name into a lower tone of voice.

"Not at all.

"Are you sure?" Because I can make this situation so much more... Hard.

He watched as she swallowed at his words. Their eyes made contact. Seina stared at him with heavy eyelids, tilting her head in his direction and staring at him. He watched as he swallowed again. She leaned back in her seat slowly, opening her posture wider and putting one arm behind her head as she watched him silently exercise. He decided right then and there that he had to change his strategy. She was not entirely satisfied with her platonic situation, and Kakashi-sensei, whether he knew it or not, had just given her permission to seduce him. He'd have fun driving him crazy.

"You're dangerous," the jonin finally recognized, putting the weights down and sitting down on the grass. Too early for you to be so...

"So what?" She whispered, crossing one leg over the other a thousandth slower than usual. An act that was attentively contemplated by his master.

"So tempting.

"Oh?" Are you telling me you like danger?

"Yes, I can do something with it," he smiled almost painfully.

They were silent for a few minutes, staring at each other, until Kakashi-sensei got up from the ground and picked up his clothes. He approached her, still half naked, and put his hands on either side of her head. He leaned over her slowly until his lips brushed her ear. Seina looked at the bare torso in front of her. He only had to bend over a few inches to touch it with his body, but he didn't.

"If you had a few more years..." We'd continue this in my bed right now," he whispered.

All the hair on her body bristled as she heard her sensual words directly in her ear along with the rubbing of her skin on her ear. He felt a surge of heat sweep through his body. Her nipples became erect at the same time as her breathing quickened. He grabbed her hair before she could leave, and win this round. He kissed her collarbone and climbed slowly, taking his time as he massaged her head, using the tip of his tongue with his half-open mouth to run down her neck, her lips and nose brushing against the skin of her neck.

The satisfaction of hearing his choked gasp in his ear was indescribable. It reached his ear.

"For now, you can use your shower while I use my bathtub," she murmured, in the sexiest voice possible.

She let go, giving him a light kiss just below her ear. He stood up and disappeared into his room using his magic. He fell to the ground, his legs trembling with excitement. Luckily, the spells didn't allow anyone to hear what was going on in her room, so Kakashi-sensei didn't hear her take a deep breath as she caught her breath.

"Are you going to f*ck him one of these days?" Kurama asked, with little interest. That's one of the few things I don't miss.

"I didn't know you were a voyeur.

"To be honest, it's not like I want to see you, but I have to admit that this is the first time I've not felt completely disgusted at the thought of you and sex. I would have preferred to kill my other jinchuriki before. Now... It's more indifferent to me. Also, I'm unable not to see what's going on around you, or have you forgotten?

"Not at all. As for f*cking me, for now, you'll have to go to sleep if you don't want to see what I'm going to do," she smiled, somewhat incredulous that she was talking about her sexual desires with Kurama.

He washed his body as the huge bathtub quickly filled. That Thursday she masturbat*d for the first time in this new life. He felt, as if under his skin, Kurama stop paying attention to him. It was strange to think that I wasn't entirely alone. It never would be. Sasuke and Naruto could be distanced, but not Kurama because he literally lived inside his body. They weren't sharing the mind right now, but he knew what he was doing. As I said: weird. What turned her on the most was knowing that Kakashi-sensei would surely be using his shower to masturbat* at the same time as her right now, knowing that she was masturbating too.

He knew this because he had clearly seen the erection of his pants. She had felt her beautiful bristle like his own, the erect nipples, the muscles twitching at his stimulus, his panting in her ear, his almost imperceptible trembling when his tongue touched her body... He groaned, his fingers ending as he remembered her look and his words. The confession that he was thinking of making it his own right then and there.

He stood in the bathtub for a while, staring at the ceiling. He disappeared underwater for a few minutes to clear his mind. She felt the cold air over her breasts and part of her torso, as she remained submerged. A few minutes later, he came out again to breathe. He said a pitiful farewell to his bathroom and got dressed. Contrary to what one might have thought, he didn't feel a shred of shame about masturbating, about what happened in the garden, because Kurama knew, or because his teacher knew that he had masturbat*d with him in mind. There was something good about being a teenager again...

chapter 46

After a while, he went downstairs. She saw him lying on the couch, his eyes closed. His hair was damp and he wasn't wearing his waistcoat, but he was still wearing part of his uniform. He opened his eyes as he listened to her. His heterochrome eyes locked on his, a hint of desire that hadn't disappeared.

"How about the bathroom?"

"Unbelievable. I should use the tub more often," he said, drawing a laugh from her. And what about you showering?

—… Very stimulating.

"Mhmm...

Kakashi-sensei lifted his feet as he prepared to sit down and put them on his lap. To his surprise, he grabbed her by his legs and threw her on top of him. It fell on his torso in a sharp thud. She leaned on top of him, feeling him wrap his strong, purposeful arms around her.

"Ow. You're lucky I like you," she joked, rubbing her chin.

"I know.

Seina stood up on his torso, looking him in the face. He had meant it, instead of following the joke. He didn't know if it was because he felt lucky, because he thought he was out of his league, or because he felt inferior to it. Either way, I wasn't going to let it go. With her face a few inches from the jonin's face, she stared into his eyes.

"I'm very lucky, too," he confessed, just as seriously.

He watched his features soften at his words. He looked at her with tender eyes. If it weren't for the fact that she was literally leaning on his chest, and could hear from a distance with his spells, he wouldn't have been able to hear the excited, almost trembling rhythm of his heart. She found it surprising to know that she had such an effect on a person as restrained as Kakashi-sensei, but she couldn't deny that she loved to realize that when he looked at her, her heart sank a little faster.

"You make it really hard not to kiss right now.

"Who's stopping you?"

Kakashi-sensei cradled her face with one hand, bringing his lips close to hers in a sweet, closed-lip kiss. Her eyelids closed without her consent as she enjoyed the moment. Unfortunately, at that very moment he heard Naruto and Sasuke arrive on the front lawn. The jonin stood up straight, holding her in his arms, before kissing her a couple more times like a thirsty man. Only when the front door opened did he let her go. They exchanged one last long-laden glance before sitting down next to him.

"We're home!" Naruto shouted, appearing in the living room with a few bags.

"Stop screaming, dobe," Sasuke sighed behind him. I'm going to develop tinnitus living with you.

Seina laughed at Sasuke's joke. At least, I thought it was a joke. Naruto was still trying to develop his inner voice. Kakashi-sensei, beside him, shook himself with laughter in silence.

"But what do you say, be afraid! Naruto shouted again, making everyone shudder. You should be super glad to have me here always!

"I prefer Seina," Sasuke said, with a devilish smile on his lips.

"This is a full-blown betrayal!" Besides, Seina prefers me! His brother answered, crossing his arms.

"Actually, I prefer Kakashi-sensei. He doesn't give me tinnitus or headaches. Contrary to the two of you.

Kakashi-sensei burst out laughing at the indignant faces of his team.

"Aw. I prefer you too," he confessed jokingly. He raised a hand and they high-fived.

"This is a MUTINY!"

His master stood up, winking behind his brother and Sasuke's back. He knew he meant it, despite his amused tone. She let him pick it up, taking her hand, and they all went to the kitchen to put the groceries in their place and start making dinner.

"You know, something very strange happened to me this afternoon," Naruto said. I've seen Neji and Hinata walking around the village. As soon as Neji saw me, I had the impression that I was almost going to cry! I swear!

"It's true," Sasuke nodded beside him. He looked excited. I don't know why seeing the dobe's face has had such an effect on him...

Seina choked when she heard it. Daemons. I hoped it had nothing to do with this afternoon, although everything pointed to it. Kakashi-sensei, beside him, patted him on the back as he raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Why do I think you know anything about that?" The Jonin asked.

—… Well. Perhaps, hypothetically, this noon may have removed the seal from Neji, one of his cousins from the secondary branch, and, perhaps, regenerated both of his eyes after they were ripped out on a mission.

"What!?" Naruto shouted, wide-eyed.

"When he saw Naruto, he must have remembered you," Sasuke thought aloud.

He felt the jonin's piercing gaze on his face. He had to bite his lips to keep from laughing. He didn't even know why he was surprised at the things he did. In the end, he sighed, accepting his defeat.

"I've talked to Tsunade-sama, so there's nothing to worry about. I think... Besides, he had permission from the heiress of the clan," he excused himself again.

—… You have more and more compelling reasons to be kidnapping fodder, or recruitment. I'm not quite sure," Kakashi-sensei muttered under his breath.

"No one's going to kidnap me. Successfully at least.

"I'll take you at your word.

"Has Neji's eyes been gouged out?" Naruto asked, his face pale.

"Not Neji. To his distant cousin, Tetsu.

It took a few minutes for his brother, and Sasuke, to regain their usual color as they imagined having to treat someone with empty sockets. Kakashi-sensei, who would surely have seen worse, didn't even bat an eyelid. He recalled how he popped out an enemy's eye on his first C-rank mission just because he had insulted them. No. It was clear that it hadn't affected him.

The next day, Seina returned to the hospital. Again, he noticed the whispers they thought he couldn't hear. He ignored the praise, and a few words of jealousy, to head to the locker room. Unfortunately, a few iryo nin would not leave her alone.

"Seina-san." We heard what you did yesterday with the patient without eyes. Could you explain how you did it?

He swallowed a groan of frustration. What was I going to tell them? What had used magic? Fortunately, something extraordinary happened. Shizune appeared through the door and saved her. She almost cried tears of relief as she walked out of there with the other Hokage apprentice.

"I saw you needed a ransom," Shizune whispered. Tsunade-sama believed that something like this could happen.

"I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to hide the fact that I can't teach them how to reproduce my jutsus. I feel bad.

"We know. Come, Tsunade-sama wants to talk to you.

She changed her clothes again, a little confused. As soon as they arrived at the Hokage's office and he saw her accompanied by Shikaku, he groaned in exasperation. Commander Jonin smiled slyly at his reaction.

"Again?"

"I'm afraid so. The news about Tetsu's eyes has reached far away," Tsunade-sama sighed. Luckily, no one has noticed his stamp. I had a very clear talk with the people who assisted you in the operation, in addition to Neji and Hinata.

"So what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Shikaku repeated with an incredulous laugh. Seina, you've given both eyes back to a person with a dojutsu.

"Even I can't regenerate organs like that," Tsunade-sama confessed.

"Ugh. My head is starting to hurt. Had I known-

"No! I don't want you to think your powers are something you should hide," the Hokage interceded, knowing what she was going to say. You've brought a person back to life, Seina. It's something to be proud of.

"Anyway, even if you knew, you would have done it," Shikaku said in a tired voice. Not only are you competitive, but you're also a good person. You couldn't shake off the guilt knowing that you could have given him back his sight and you didn't.

Seina gave him a murderous look before crossing her arms, irritated but amused at the same time. Was it so easy to read? He was losing his troll touch that he had cultivated for years.

"The thing is, now a lot of people will be wondering if you could help them with their amputations. Even the council has asked me to order you to help as much as possible ninjas who have been forcibly retired due to injuries.

"And what's going to happen?" He sighed as he asked her the same question he had been asking her months ago.

"On Thursdays and Fridays, you'll treat retired ninja with amputated limbs. Even if you only manage to help 2 out of 10 people, that means our ranks are going to increase in number. "That's how I get rid of the council, too," Tsunade-sama muttered at last.

"We'll compile a list of potential patients for you," Suzune said. Our idea is for you to schedule appointments to your liking in your personal office. On Thursdays and Fridays, we will set up an operating room for you and assign a team of nurses, aides and medical ninjas to assist you, if necessary. What do you think?

"It's all right. I still work those days in the hospital, so I don't mind getting attached only to amputees and patients like that.

"Take the day off. Then we'll let the rumor machine relax," the Hokage urged. We will take advantage of this week to give you the list as soon as possible.

"That's fine with me.

"How's it going with Danzo?" Shikaku asked.

I'll take advantage of today to keep spying. I think it will take me a week, or maybe a little longer, to get everything ready. When I need it, I'll let you know so you can get Danzo out of his burrow.

"Perfect.

"Oh, I have a question. Why didn't Tenzou or Kakashi-sensei know where the base was?

"Kakashi was only recruited a few days before he betrayed Danzo. Obviously, Danzo didn't trust to reveal the location of the secret base to him without Kakashi earning it," Shikaku explained. Tenzou, on the other hand, was with Danzo for 8 years. The problem is that his kekkei genkai was so important to Danzo that it separated him from the other recruits. Maybe to protect him, maybe for another reason... The fact is that Danzo had him close at all times, hosting him with him, and training him personally.

Seina nodded at the words. Now I understood a lot of things. He walked out of there, a weight off his shoulders. At least I wouldn't have to go back to the hospital in a few days. He hoped that would dissuade his colleagues at the hospital from continuing to ask him about things he didn't know how to answer.

The walk to the base of Danzo, invisible, was even relaxing. He wanted to be alone for a while, even if it was to spy on a psychopath. He sat down in the same tree, summoned the same creatures, checked that the driveway was the same (and that the others were going nowhere), and then walked down the lobby to the true base. Contrary to expectations, there were more ninjas moving around.

Some went to their rooms, others seemed to visit the showers while others practiced in various training rooms. He counted the heads again and realized that the number was no longer 38, but 61. He mentally wrote down that number. If I had seen the faces of each and every one of them the other day, I would have known if the number was really even higher. Still, it was clear that they were more than expected. There were about 100 rooms, and Danzo apparently didn't trust some of his recruits to sleep at the base. Perhaps out of mistrust or, perhaps, because it would be very strange if so many ninjas suddenly stopped living in their apartments. I didn't know that. He needed documentation and possible records to find out, but that was out of his command.

He walked into the last corridor he had to walk, but he quickly realized it wasn't going to be that easy. The central wing was ironically split again like the roots of a tree. He stifled a sigh as he began to sketch out the new forks. He observed how those new corridors were practically deserted. If it wasn't for hearing the sound of a couple of people walking further in, he would have thought there wasn't a soul.

"We'll have the new group of recruits in place right now," a man said in a monotone voice.

"What about Yamanaka and your cousin?"

"They're young, but Danzo-sama wants to give them a chance to personally serve him as a bodyguard. Between Yamanaka's special jutsu and Torune's poisonous insects, no one will be able to get close to him. They make a good team. They will go far.

"Mhmm... It's a shame about Sasuke Uchiha.

"I don't think he cares that much. The best one is Itachi. He's in a different league right now. Plus, you don't need it. He is most interested in his companion, the jinchuriki. It's turning out to be the real surprise. However, it is also untouchable.

"It was to be expected... With Hatake protecting her, being the apprentice of the Hokage, and under the command of Shikaku Nara, there would be great reprisals. Plus, her father's former bodyguards have an ear and an eye on her. It's impossible to do anything.

"For now, but Danzo-sama is patient, and we still have a lot of things to do.

Seina frowned as she saw them approaching the most populated part of the base. He considered following them, but saw that it didn't make sense. Their talk had been private. That was the only reason I had been able to hear them talk about anything. It was clear that they were not ordinary recruits. They seemed to be aware of Danzo's movements. He pondered what he heard, but told himself that it would be better to stick with his original plan.

He found a library with all kinds of scrolls. Some that left her in shock. They had techniques from other countries that everyone thought had been lost, or even personal jutsus of people who had been stolen. He wanted to copy it all, but he held back. There was another training room, another locker room, a canteen, a laboratory, a meeting room, a filing cabinet, and what he was looking for, Danzo's office.

He heard footsteps behind him. With a frantic heart, he realized that it was the same Danzo. He was dressed in a black and white yukata, accompanied by a cane and a pile of bandages that covered the right side of his face. Interestingly, he didn't use his cane for support like someone with a disability would. He watched as one of the hooded men from earlier walked back into the central wing, heading for the office.

"Ah, Tatsuma. I thought it would take longer.

"I only had a small errand to run, nothing major, Danzo-sama," he apologized, closing the door behind him.

"How's Sai?"

"It's all right. He has shown no signs of failing in his training. He has managed to kill his brother without any problems.

"Good, good. I have a mission for him. It will be his first mission in Ne. I want to know if he is strong enough to obey me and sacrifice himself if necessary.

"What's it about?"

"Homura and Koharu told me about a ninja who resented Konoha. Unmo Samidare. One of our teams killed their team as collateral damage on a mission. He apparently swore revenge. Tsunade doesn't think we need to do anything preemptively, despite our objections. Killing this ninja will be a good opportunity for Sai. If he succeeds, I'll start pulling the strings to introduce him to Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki's team. They will need a third party for the chunin exams.

"Do you plan to spy on Team 7?"

"Yes. It is of priority interest. Not only is it composed of 2 jinchurikis and an Uchiha with the sharingan active, but its master is one of the most powerful and skilled elite jonin in this village. Seina Uzumaki lives up to this with her promotion.

"It's a shame we can't recruit her.

"I know. A doctor of such caliber, still having her whole life ahead of her to improve, would have been a great addition.

"I'll order Sai to come and see him."

"Do it. I'll be waiting for you. I only have a few minutes before I go back.

"Got it.

The spider he was using as his eyes moved slowly, confidently in the shadows, and stared at Danzo's desk. It was very tidy. There was nothing of sentimental value, just ready-to-use office supplies and a small stack of books or journals. He watched as Danzo looked at a photograph of a Kirigakure ninja in what appeared to be an unofficial bingo book. She read the handwritten data from the ceiling, surprised to see how complete it was. It was clear that he had a mole in Kirigakure.

A sound at the door made him raise his head.

"Go ahead," the door opened. A boy of his own age entered. UPS. Sit down. I want to tell you about your first mission. Think you're ready?

"Hai."

Seina shuddered as she noticed the unfeeling voice. If it weren't for the fact that I could hear his breathing, I would have sworn it was a corpse. What he could see of her young, slender arms made him think he had never been out in the sun. It was milk-white. With her short black hair, the skin on her bare neck looked even paler.

"Find it and get rid of it." Don't let me down.

"I will not fail you, Danzo-sama.

Seina left her creatures in their positions as she stood up instantly. He needed to tell the Hokage. The watchman watching Danzo's movements would find out sooner or later, but at least it gave Kakashi-sensei time to prepare. She appeared near the tower, at one of the hidden spots she used to appear unseen, and deactivated the bracelet. He made his way to the office.

"Tsunade-sama is in a meeting.

"Could you give him a note?" It's urgent.

"Of course. I will try.

Seina took out a sheet of paper and wrote a short message. He bewitched it without anyone noticing, and folded it before handing it to the secretary. The undercover ninja rose from her seat, heading for the door. He saw a couple of knocks on the door.

"Go ahead.

"I have an urgent note for you, Tsunade-sama.

The Hokage must have made some kind of gesture because the secretary went inside. It didn't take him even 2 minutes to receive a reply. The secretary handed him a sealed parchment and a note.

"Give it to Shikaku and call Kakashi."

"Thank you," she said to the secretary before turning around. Naruto? Sasuke?

"Nee-chan, what's wrong?"

"Are you with Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, what's going on?" Sasuke asked. Through his eyes he saw Kakashi-sensei's frown as he saw how they had stopped dead in their tracks in the middle of their training.

"Tell him to hurry to the Jonin barracks prepared for a mission." Tsunade-sama's orders.

"Nee-chan says to go quickly to the Jonin barracks. A mission.

"Does it have anything to do with Danzo?" He listened to Sasuke as if he was next to him, talking to the rest of the team.

Kakashi-sensei sat up, putting away the kunais by touching the rune of his sheath on his leg.

"I suppose he's listening to me," the jonin said, staring into Sasuke's eyes. I'm going there.

He finished descending the stairs before walking a little hurriedly towards the Jonin barracks. It didn't take him even 10 minutes to arrive. He greeted the few who were resting there before heading straight to Shikaku's office.

"Come in," the commander raised his head. He only had to look at his face and the parchment in his hand to see what was going on. Give it to me.

He let him read Tsunade-sama's instructions in silence. A few minutes later, another knock on the door caught the jonin's attention. He ushered the next person in, correctly imagining that it was Kakashi-sensei.

"Can you...?" Shikaku asked, gesturing a finger at the office. He bewitched the office so they wouldn't be spied on even before he finished the sentence. Perfect. Well? What information do you have?

"Danzo is going to send a boy on his first mission. He intends to eliminate a certain Unmo Samidare, a ninja from Kirigakure. According to him, one of our teams killed his team as collateral damage and has sworn revenge.

"Ugh. I know what you're talking about. Raido's team was the envoy.

"Apparently the elders of the council have advised Tsunade-sama to remove him, but she doesn't agree.

"And now Danzo plans to take liberties unofficially..." Kakashi, by express order of the Hokage, your mission is to capture that child and secretly bring him alive to Konoha. Leave no clues.

"Do I make them think he's dead or missing?"

"Dead." There can be no doubt.

"Got it.

"Do you know where the kid is now?" Shikaku asked.

She closed her eyes as she focused on the insects she had infiltrated the base. It took her a few minutes to find him in one of the rooms.

"He looks like he's packing." He should leave the base right now.

"Description?" Kakashi-sensei asked, turning to look at her.

She looked him straight in the eye, piercing his memory with a bit of active lelegency. Shikaku watched it all with a raised eyebrow. His master nodded, blinking a few times at the memory of others. It was the second time he had done it, so Kakashi-sensei wasn't surprised.

"I've got it.

"Go.

Kakashi-sensei turned around, giving him a final wink before leaving.

"Take a chair, Seina. What else can you tell me?

He was explaining what he had seen in great detail. He quoted word for word the conversation of what appeared to be Tatsuma Aburame with another stranger, and then Tatsuma's conversation with Danzo. The commander also studied his map in dirty, incomplete, but quite extensive.

"You're doing a good job. You can leave it for today," he congratulated her, handing her the map.

"Thank you. Excuse me.

He went home to rest. I had a lot of things to do and it had only been 3 weeks since the new year. When he arrived, he saw that Naruto and Sasuke were missing. His notes on the table let him know that they had just left on a mission, so he took advantage of his solitude to leave his clones studying the texts needed for the jonin exam. In the meantime, seeing that he had a couple of hours before dinner, he went into the booth ready to study his quota of ninjutsus for that week.

chapter 47

The weekend just went by. Since there was no one at home except her, she devoted herself to studying, training ninjutsu, and creating new genjutsus. Tsunade-sama hadn't asked him for any other inventions, so he was glad to have some "free" time for his personal interests. He also didn't have to go to the hospital, so by the time the last Tuesday in January arrived, he had almost convinced himself that he could relax while he went through the lists of amputees at his discretion.

For better or worse, she was called to another mission on Wednesday. She was the last one to arrive at the office, so when she saw Yamato, Tokuma, and Muta already reunited, she had a faint idea what it was all about.

"Welcome back, Team Yamato. Since you functioned perfectly last time, Shikaku thinks you are best suited for this mission," Tsunade-sama said. I agree with him, so you'll be sent to deal with another one of Orochimaru's bases.

"Are we going to keep destroying their bases indefinitely?" She asked to the thoughtful silence of her team. One of these days we would have to nip the problem in the bud.

"I know," sighed Tsunade-sama. The problem is that Orochimaru is not just any rival. We wouldn't be able to bring him back alive for questioning as I'm sure he'd find a way to escape. Removing him would be the most efficient option, but until we know how he is using the living corpse reincarnation jutsu it would be useless. You yourselves discovered that he has already changed bodies again, who knows what else he can do to escape.

"He could make us believe he's dead while secretly regaining his strength," Yamato nodded.

"Exactly. Still, you're right. In this mission, we will include eliminating as many ninjas as possible under the command of Orochimaru. You know we're coming for him. That we eliminate their people will not surprise you.

Seina agreed. He assumed that removing their bases and cutting some weeds was just as effective in the long run. Orochimaru could continue to build bases, but it was easier to destroy something than to create it. Sooner or later frustration and constant persecution would encourage him to fight back. Perhaps that was what Tsunade-sama and Shikaku were hoping for. A frontal attack on Konoha. But it could also go very wrong... They could start chasing their teams while conducting field missions.

"Here's the mission, Yamato. You're back to being the leader of the team. One of the prisoners you captured was transferred to the base in the land of Ice from a base in the country of the Cascades, so we're sure that base will continue to be operational. We think Orochimaru doesn't know we have this information because you destroyed his labs.

Seina listened in silence as the Hokage informed them of everything pertinent before kicking them out of her office. Yamato, once again, gave them half an hour to prepare before leaving. Since he had nothing to do but grab a few benthos, go to the bathroom, and write a note for his missing team, he sat on the couch while he waited for the time to come. When the time came, he left his house.

"This mission is going to be a repeat of the previous one," Yamato sighed. You can imagine what awaits us.

"At least there won't be any snow," Tokuma smiled.

Seina stared at him, realizing that he was a Hyuga. One part of her wanted to remove the seal, if she had any, while another part recommended that she wait until she spoke to Tsunade-sama. He decided that the best thing to do was to make the sensible decision. Right now, there was no Hyuga elder who could activate Tokuma's supposed seal, so there was no need to risk removing the seal. The last thing he wanted was for someone to steal his eyes during the mission so he could use them.

They ran off into the land of the Cascades. He spent the whole morning jumping from tree to tree. He mentally jotted down using the shiki jutsu on one of his bewitched stones so that he would have coordinates in the future where he could use hiraishin in the land of the Cascades. The only interesting thing in the whole morning was their stop for lunch.

"This mission is going to be a little more troublesome," Yamato said, sitting next to him on a log. Not only do we have to steal the documentation but we also have to eliminate our enemies.

"Why should that be a problem?" She blinked. I can think of several ways to do this without putting ourselves in harm's way.

"Oh, yes?" Yamato raised an eyebrow in his direction. How would you do it?

"Reinforcing the base from within, using barriers so they can't get out, and setting fire to Orochimaru's barracks from the inside. I tried it the other time, although it came out half so-so.

—… Cruel, but efficient, Tokuma thought, nodding.

"Another way would be to destroy the base so that we were carrying them to the entrance. Once they came out in droves, we would only have to finish them off one by one. It would take less time to carry it out, but it would be more dangerous because we would be attacked.

"What do you need to prepare the first plan?"

"Time. The walls could easily be reinforced—a couple of spells would do the job—but the barriers would be something else. You would need to prepare them beforehand and place them around the base without them noticing.

"And the fire?" With a few water jutsus they could easily turn it off.

"He wasn't talking about a fire jutsu," she hissed a laugh. I'm talking about a fire that I can summon with my powers and that doesn't fade.

Yamato's calculating expression hinted that he was seriously thinking about it.

"It's actually a good plan. If we're lucky, maybe Orochimaru will be inside the base.

"Do you think that would be enough to kill him?" Muta asked with clear doubts.

"I don't know, but it's a good way to take care of all your ninjas at the same time. We wouldn't leave any enemy alive like this.

When they entered the land of the Cascades, she was impressed. The vegetation was lush, green and full of life. The sound of rushing water and waterfalls was a constant presence in the distance. I had to admit that the place was beautiful. Since it was night, Yamato asked him to take out the tent so they could sleep without worry. They didn't even have to stand guard as the guards he had put around the tent would alert them all instantly.

The next morning, while they were having breakfast, Yamato sat down next to her.

"How much time do you need to get everything ready?"

"To calculate it, I'd first have to know more or less the area I need to cover.

"Then you'll need Tokuma to take a look first," Yamato muttered. We will leave after breakfast in search of your base. Today it is our top priority to find it and have everything ready for tomorrow, in the event that it is not possible to act today. Once we get there, Tokuma will provide you with the necessary information. While you prepare what is necessary to carry out the plan, Muta will infiltrate with his kikaichu and Tokuma and I will prepare the ground in case the plan fails and we need to eliminate them outside the base. Once Muta informs us of what he has found and you have finished your part, you will enter your summons to teleport us safely into the base with the hiraishin. From here, we will follow the same procedure we used the other time: Muta and Tokuma on the one hand, Seina and I on the other hand to be able to communicate and cover our backs.

He spent the rest of breakfast thinking about what he would have to do. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time for herself when Yamato got up. A few minutes later, they were back in the middle of the forest. Presently he heard the sound of the water again, as was the custom in this country.

"Seina, give us an address," Yamato said. She conjured the arrow, used the spell, and pointed in the direction. Let's go. Tokuma, you go ahead. Muta and Seina, the full-backs, I'm in charge of the rearguard.

They ran for hours, deeper into the land of the Cascades, until Tokuma saw something.

"There's a ninja movement in front of you.

"Let's hide."

They followed Tokuma under his invisibility spell, and stood in front of a waterfall. The entrance was behind this one so it was a bit anticlimactic. Still, if they hadn't explicitly searched for Orochimaru, more than one wouldn't have realized that the waterfall hid an enemy ninja base. When the Hyuga, a few minutes later, nodded, Yamato silently motioned for them to follow him. He immediately realized that he was leading them to another hiding place that they had seen out of the corner of their eyes along the way, barely a 5-minute run from the base.

"We'll stay here until further notice," Yamato ordered, clearing some logs to pitch the tent. What have you seen?

—The base appears to have only 2 levels, although one is completely underground. I estimate that each plant is about 8 meters high.

Seina wrote down the measurements that Tokuma was telling her, making a mental calculation of how many rune stones she would need to plant. Contrary to what he was doing at Danzo's base, he wasn't going to erect any magic barriers here. I simply wanted the walls to be impenetrable with runes. It's quite a different thing. He knew the scope of a stone, so he would have to place a runestone so that the boundary of both barriers would merge without leaving any dead spots. Considering that each stone had a reach of 5 meters, you would need at least 50 meters or so, per floor.

"I'll need to work on this for a few hours with the help of my clones," he finally reported.

"Perfect. We'll stop for a while to eat and then we'll continue with the plan.

They ate some bentos while talking about what they had to do when they finished eating. Then, she was left alone with her stones and carving tools. She summoned 30 clones to help her with the task. It took him 15 minutes to design the runes and 30 minutes to carve them to perfection in a single stone. I knew it would take at least 3 hours to finish the job.

When they returned, almost 2 hours later, they found her sitting in the middle of a conjured wooden box where she was leaving the already carved stones and another box of stones to be carved. In the end I had decided to make a few more, just in case.

"How long do you have left to finish?"

"About 20 minutes, but you can talk if you want." I'll leave my clones with this.

"Perfect. Muta, why don't you start?

"I've managed to sneak in without being detected. My kikaichu have counted about 100 enemies. I haven't been able to perceive Orochimaru, or Kabuto, so I'm pretty sure he's not here. Most of them are in the underground plant. More than a laboratory, it looks like a military training base.

"I'm not surprised. The land of the Cascades is strategically well located," Yamato frowned. A base like this, small, shouldn't draw too much attention. It's probably a headquarters where your elite ninjas rest between missions.

"All the more reason we have to eliminate them.

"I agree with you," he nodded. We'll try to steal information, but if what Muta says is true, I don't think we'll find anything interesting.

"I'm done," she cut off, laying down the last stone of the 150 runestones she had prepared.

"How do they work?"

—Each one has a range of 5 meters, so they have to be placed every 9.5 meters, approximately, so that there are no dead spots. Since they only work by reinforcing the materials inside the barrier, they don't need to be activated as they are already active.

"Great. We'll split half for each team," Yamato said, gesturing for Muta and Tokuma to take the half. Now, when we get to the base, Muta will guide one of your summons to get us inside safely.

Seina nodded. They left the tent behind, under the multiple magic and fuinjutsu barriers, and headed back to the base. It was starting to get dark so it was the perfect time to attack without anyone noticing. He summoned an insect to follow the Kikaichu of Muta, and looked inside at the base. It was gloomy, claustrophobic, and even more distressing than the previous one as the sound of the water hitting the stone could be heard reverberating in the distance. He saw a few people moving from there to there, but nothing major.

The base seemed to have the bare minimum to live on. I didn't even have a library, like the others. Muta led her to a cupboard full of food. As soon as he saw that they were alone, he opened his eyes. He nodded to Yamato. They held her arms as she molded the chakra needed for hiraishin. A millisecond later, they were inside.

"You to the west," Yamato said silently. Seina handed each of them an invocation as she accepted Muta's kikaichu in turn. See you here in an hour.

I had only seen 3 Orochimaru bases, but they all seemed to have been built following the same pattern. They were so gloomy that they discouraged her. How could the ninja of Otogakure live here? Well, at least, those who performed in and around the Cascade Country. They placed the stones on the ceiling, glued to the stone with a permanent spell, until they found a room that appeared to be a canteen. Inside were 3 ninjas talking, sitting on stone benches.

"There's no way to get near the village," one complained, referring to the huge tree in the middle of a lake where the country's hidden village stood. They have it well protected.

"That was to be expected. We'll have to keep trying.

"Maybe Orochimaru-sama will try.

"That will mean we've failed," interceded another, scathingly. I don't want to have to tell you that we haven't been able to do that. And you?

There was a silence. Seina and Yamato stayed behind to spy on them a little more, but it was clear that the conversation was over. They left there after laying the stone, and continued on their way to the east of the base. Luckily, or unfortunately, they didn't find anything else. There were only rooms and more rooms, a few medieval-looking bathrooms, and little else. Yamato signaled for them to go back and go downstairs. There they met Muta and Tokuma, planting more of their stones. She, in addition to the stones, reinforced the walls with her magic so that they could not be destroyed. He wouldn't want to realize that they had found a hole through which to flee.

"I thought I heard something," they heard a voice approach them.

"I'm sure it's the ones upstairs putting the packages in."

"It can't be. They shouldn't be here for half an hour.

Seina stood still as the two ninjas approached her position. They saw them pass by a few meters but, unfortunately, they stopped suddenly. Yamato silently pulled out a kunai as she silenced the hallway for whatever might happen.

"He came from here," said one, at the crossroads.

"There's nothing here.

—…

The ninja, still still, did not answer. Suddenly, his uniform was torn to shreds as he activated what appeared to be Orochimaru's cursed seal. He understood what had just happened as the ninja leapt up and grabbed one of Muta's kikaichu.

"It's just a bug," said the companion sarcastically.

"He's not just a bug,. He is a Kikaichu of the Aburame of Konoha. They've infiltrated the base!

Yamato lunged on top of them, followed by Tokuma. The plug of Muta's backpack opened, letting her cloud of insects escape, as she made the appropriate seals to use a genjutsu. He let the leader and the taijutsu specialist battle it out while Muta attacked from afar as support. She was the iryo nin of the team so, unless the situation called for it, she didn't have to go into combat. He watched as they fought, surprised that no one would come to their aid, until one fell at the hands of Tokuma and his junken.

Yamato, strangely, seemed to be having more trouble with the sensory ninja that Muta's kikaichu had discovered. Perhaps because he couldn't use his wood element without destroying the structure by burying them all. Seina frowned as she saw a kind of meat dagger graze Tokuma's arm, who was a short distance away. Yamato took advantage of the moment of distraction to impale him by the back of the neck. The demonic seal was instantly deactivated, and Tokuma finished it off in front.

"Are you okay?" Yamato asked quietly, obviously realizing that no one had heard them. They nodded. Good job with the genjutsu, Seina. Mutates.

"I'm done," said the Aburame, who was disposing of the bodies.

Seina came down with her hand ready with the iryo ninjutsu. Tokuma let him heal the cuts and the bleeding wound on his left arm.

"What keener senses," Tokua whispered, frowning. It's the first time we've been detected.

"Luckily nothing happened," Yamato sighed. Although we should keep in mind that there may be more ninjas of his caliber. We're no longer dealing only with low- and mid-level ninjas.

"I could put the kikaichu of Muta under the same camouflage jutsu," she offered, sensing the feelings of self-flagellation of a stoic Muta. That way you could use them undetected.

"Wouldn't you waste a lot of time?" His companion asked.

"Just put them all together in the same place." It would be easy to cast a spell on several subjects while they were in a certain place.

Yamato nodded as Muta quietly turned to ask permission. The Kikaichu of Muta swarmed before her. It took him barely 2 seconds to use the spell on all of them. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Muta's shoulders relaxed imperceptibly before his insects rode back into his body.

"Let's move on. "I want to get out of here as soon as possible," Yamato whispered. Seina, remove the genjutsu.

He removed the genjutsu and the silencing spell and went on with their mission. Half an hour later they managed to finish planting their stones. They returned to the surface without further trouble, so at the entrance, he used the fiendfyre enchantment for the first time in this new world. Yamato and the others shuddered at the sight and hearing the angry screams of their fire basilisk, which went like an exhale into the base. It didn't take a few seconds for some of them to start screaming. Yamato erected a rock wall as she reinforced it from the outside.

"Under cover," Yamato ordered. Those who have been saved off base will return soon.

So it was that they hid among the upper branches of the trees, listening to the dying howls of the ninjas trapped at their base. Yamato put a hand on her shoulder, probably to comfort her. He watched as Tokuma and Muta, around them, leaned in his direction as the leader. He thought it was sweet, but unnecessary. He had seen countless people die in terrible ways throughout his old life. The ninja believed that being burned alive was a terrible thing. None of them knew what it was like to see someone slowly rot to ashes due to an Egyptian curse, or bleed out in hours after vomiting their own organs due to a magical barrier. The latter was put in his home after receiving death threats during the weeks after Voldemort's fall.

A long time later, some ninjas began to appear who had not been found in the cave. Some fell into the traps. Others, after seeing what was happening, were intercepted by Muta's invisible Kikaichu. Seina didn't have to do anything while her team eliminated their enemies. As they were arriving in dribs and drabs, they had time to dispose of the corpses and set more traps again. It was slow, methodical, laborious work that lasted much of the night well into the early hours of the morning.

"Let's go to rest," Yamato conceded at 3 a.m. We'll put more traps around the base. With a bit of luck they won't notice that something weird is going on and we'll just eliminate them.

"How could they not notice?" Tokuma asked, entering the tent minutes later, when the perimeter of the cascade was mined from different types of traps. If the water of the waterfall was almost boiling... They should see the steam from afar.

"You might think it's some internal glitch," Yamato shrugged. Anyway, we're not going to make it so easy for them. Let's have dinner and then take a break for the rest of the night.

No one complained. They were tired, hungry, and somewhat tense after the mishap in the cave. Seina took the opportunity to take a shower before going to sleep. It didn't take her a minute to fall asleep.

When he woke up suddenly, hours later, he realized that it had just dawned. He washed his face before going downstairs for breakfast.

"Well, team, if there's nothing to object to today, we'll finish the mission. The straggler ninjas must have already run into our traps. If necessary, we will finish them off. Then we will retreat to Konoha.

A few minutes later, after breakfast, Seina put the tent away. With the help of Tokuma and Muta they made their way to the various traps, seeing how they had all bled to death from their injuries, or due to the consumption of suicide pills. Some, as far as they could see, had escaped. They hadn't even stopped to help their companions. Perhaps for fear of falling into another trap. He could see from the footprints how one of them had gotten close enough to the entrance to the base to realize it was sealed. Nor had he tried to break the stone that blocked the only exit.

"Our job is done," Yamato nodded. We will get rid of the bodies and the traps. Seina, can you remove the rock from the entrance? You'd better not pique Orochimaru's curiosity with your powers.

As Muta and Yamato disposed of the corpses, Tokuma guarded the perimeter with his byakugan and she removed the stone. He had to move out of the way to let out the black, stinking smoke, the result of having burned everything inside the base. He made the smoke disappear before they could attract attention and retrieved all his stones with an action. Before leaving, he also removed the spells he had used to reinforce the walls. Orochimaru would wonder why they hadn't been able to flee, but he wouldn't have any kind of evidence that could give him the answer or a clue.

He magically erased the footprints and jumped to Tokuma's side. He saw how many fish in the pool where the water of the waterfall fell were floating, dead. Surely they wouldn't have endured the temperatures of the waterfall that night. They left in search of Muta and Yamato. They were found sealing the last corpses for Konoha.

"Let's leave before anyone from Takigakure shows up."

They started running in the direction of Konoha. They didn't stop for hours even though more than one of them had their stomachs growling. When they crossed the border, with the sun high, Yamato made them stop to rest. Seina, as she ate, thought about the mission. It seemed strange to him that he had finished in less than 2 days. Not that he had much to compare with being only his second A/S rank mission, but he had expected the odd setback. The fight they had inside the base didn't even count since it was a 4v2, and she didn't even actively participate. Nor had they found any documentation, nor had they captured anyone alive...

When they arrived in Konoha tonight, almost at midnight, Seina headed home. Just as he thought, everyone was sleeping, so he dined alone at the kitchen table as quietly as possible. To his surprise, Naruto appeared in the doorway.

"Nee-chan, I knew it was you," his brother smiled. I feel like we don't see each other almost.

"That's because we hardly see each other," he said with a laugh. How was your mission?

"Good. Easy. Do you remember Ayame, Teuchi's daughter? She was kidnapped a few weeks ago so we had to go rescue her from bandits. It turned out that they were a cooking group who wanted her advice as the daughter of an expert cook," Naruto suppressed a laugh at her incredulous face. The funniest thing of all was that Ayame gained about 10 kilos while being with them because they gave her to try all the dishes. So old Teuchi has had to prepare a diet ramen to make him lose weight.

Seina snorted a tired laugh and continued to eat her bento. What didn't happen to his brother didn't happen to anyone. It reminded him of his old self.

"And your mission?"

"Good," she sighed. We destroyed another of Orochimaru's bases... And we eliminated their ninjas.

—...Have you killed them all? Naruto asked, somewhat shocked. She nodded. Old Tsunade must be very determined to take him down.

"I'm not surprised. Orochimaru is a plague. We destroyed their base in Otogakure, the base of the land of the Sea, the base of the land of Ice, and now the base of the land of the Cascades. Not to mention the one that Kakashi-sensei destroyed, and even then it is certain that it has more bases out there.

Naruto frowned.

"Do you think we'll be able to finish him off someday?"

"I don't know... That's what I asked the other day, but even those at the top aren't sure about it. Apparently, the most efficient thing to do is to destroy its bases in order to drown it indirectly.

—...Do you think he's given up on Sasuke? Naruto whispered, staring at the ceiling with a worried expression.

He must have been quite worried because he hadn't even called him "feared." Seina got up from the table, picking up things in an instant, and then sat down on the sofa accompanied by her brother. It had been a long time since they had a moment alone and I missed it. Until they moved here, they had spent almost every day together, so it wasn't strange to him at times to feel Naruto's sadness and melancholy when they talked about his previous apartment, even though he had been small and his landlord a total idiot.

"I don't think so," she said finally, accepting her brother's arm on her shoulders. I think he has other things to worry about now. You still have a little over 2 years left until you run out of time in your new body. You know...

"What?" Naruto asked curiously when he didn't finish the sentence. She hesitated whether to continue.

"I've been thinking we should send a letter to Itachi.

—...What? Why? Naruto asked with unusual seriousness.

"We're pretty sure he's innocent, but even if he wasn't, I'm pretty sure he's worried about Sasuke, too. If we sent him a letter now, we'd have time for him to get used to us.

"And what are we going to tell him?" "Hi, we're your brother's team and we think you're innocent"?

"And why not?" What if it really isn't? Nothing, as long as we don't give you confidential information. However, if he's innocent, and he looks like it, I think he'll be interested in keeping up to date with Orochimaru. Who knows, maybe he'll even end up helping us. Even if Itachi isn't innocent, he won't want Orochimaru to kill his brother before he does it himself.

"I see. Whether innocent or not, we win. Sasuke comes out on top.

"Exactly. Honestly, I don't even think he'll answer us. Itachi has been in exile for years playing the role of a criminal exiled ninja. Even if it's just an alibi, in the end, when you pretend for so long that it's a thing, you end up believing it. That's why I feel the need to send you that letter now because-

"Because then you'll be giving him time to stop acting and get back to normal," Naruto cut in, seeing where his thoughts were going.

"Yes.

"Should we tell Sasuke?"

"I'd tell you. It's about his brother.

"And Kakashi-sensei?"

—… I don't think he'll like the idea very much, but if we explain what I just told him, he'll just look the other way. What we can't do is lie to him or we'll lose all trust," she said firmly.

"Then there's no point in talking about this anymore," his brother shrugged nonchalantly. Do you know that the other day I saw the Kiba team? They say they are training hard for the chunin exams. Apparently, it will be held in something called the Infernal Desert.

"Huh. I don't like the sound of that.

"Don't swear," Naruto hissed a laugh, "but I'm not going to give up. We'll win no matter what!

Seina yawned, very tired, and nodded. I knew why he said that. Both Sasuke and Naruto were eager to rank up so that they could be put back with her on the team. Looking at the string of C-rank missions they had done despite being genins, it was very likely that they would be able to do A-rank missions under his command.

"Come on, you'd have to go to bed." Tomorrow you have to go to the hospital, right?

"Don't remind me," Seina moaned, "and I still have to shower and change."

"Then we'd better go to bed."

He said goodbye to his brother at the door of his room. She took a quick shower, enough to feel clean, but fast enough not to lose any more sleep. He fell asleep when his head touched the pillow.

Chapter 6: 48-52

Chapter Text

chapter 48

The next day, Seina walked to the hospital yawning. He had liked the chat with Naruto in the middle of the night, but now he was paying the consequences of sleeping sh*t 2 days in a row. When she arrived, she went straight to her office, noticing that the gaze had diminished until only a few were watching her sideways curiously. He had his first patient within an hour, so he set up his new operating room to his liking and prepared to give his first patient an eye back, and the vocal cords and tongue to the second patient of the day.

A knock on the door of her office roused her from her reverie.

"Seina-sama," one of the assistants called, surprising her with the new honorific. Your first patient is here.

"Let it happen."

The door opened and the ninja walked through. She recognized him from the ninja log photograph attached to his medical record. Her name was Iwana Akame, and she had lost her eye years ago on an espionage mission.

"Sit down." Iwana Akame-san, isn't it?

"That's right.

"I've read your history. It says here that he lost his eye more than 7 years ago, so I'd like to examine him first." The patient nodded quietly, sitting on the table. It will only be a moment.

He cast a diagnostic spell checking that he was in good health, and updating his medical history. Then, he analyzed his eye, removing the patch to physically examine it as well. As I thought, my wound was completely healed. He would have to open it again in order to reconstruct an eye identical to his other eye.

"I can reconstruct it," he said, seeing her expectant face. I'm going to knock him unconscious before I start.

"Will I be able to leave the hospital today, or will I have to stay in the hospital?"

"I eat a lot of rest in the hospital for the rest of the day, but I don't think it's necessary.

They talked for a few minutes about what he was going to do to him before he agreed to have surgery. Seina knocked him unconscious and pinned him down just in case. He had to use an iryo ninjutsu to scrape off the scar and also the last layer of tissue lining the eye socket. Then, he used the chakra mixed with his magic to guide the spell/ninjutsu. He didn't really know how he was doing it, but the other time it worked, so he didn't worry too much about the "hows."

The eye slowly began to form under his hand, even though he wasn't seeing it. I felt the blood vessels emerge, the optic nerve extend, the different chambers form, and fill with fluid. It took her almost 2 hours to finish the procedure, concentrating to the fullest on what she was doing. When he finished, he felt a few beads of sweat beading his forehead and the back of his neck. He wiped them dry before blinking and fixating on the patient's new eye.

It was identical to his other eye and, according to his diagnostic spell, was in perfect condition. The only problem was that, being new, he had perfect vision while the opposite eye had suffered over time. The difference was so small that he knew he could get used to his perfect vision with his left eye. Still, he put a few drops in her right eye to improve her vision. He used an iryo ninjutsu to soothe the area he had just treated, reducing any inflammation, and put an eye drop on it to moisten it.

"Finite incantatem." Nerve.

The patient blinked, suddenly standing erect in spite of the clear dullness that stupefy always produced. Then he realized he could see with both eyes. He watched her clear astonishment suppress a smile.

"The operation has been a complete success. I've put eye drops in her eye. I'll give you a prescription to exchange at the counter," he said, sitting down at the table to jot down the instructions. You will need to put a drop in your new eye every night, or before bed, for a week. If you notice any changes or blurry vision, go back to the hospital.

"Thank you very much. I never thought I'd be able to see with both eyes again," she confessed, bowing to him and taking the recipe.

"I'll give him a couple of days off to rest his new eye." If nothing unusual happens, you will be able to return to missions on the third day.

She finalized the paperwork and fired him. I hadn't even had to use the operating room. The wound had been so small that he had been able to sterilize the area with his spells. Well, that, and the runes he had in his office to make it totally sterile. The next patient had it in less than an hour so he took the time to file the paperwork and change the paper on the stretcher, which was conjured. He studied the profile of the next patient and saw that his wounds were more extensive than Akame's. The only pro was that they still hadn't healed.

Hours later, he left for the locker room. That afternoon, when he finished eating alone again, he ran into Naruto and Sasuke, who had been training with Chouji and Ino.

"Since you and Shikamaru are constantly doing B and A rank missions, and both teams are missing a member, we thought it would be best to train together a couple of times a week until the chunin exams," Sasuke explained, as he ordered his fanny pack. Also, since Kakashi-sensei isn't in Konoha much lately, we need another jonin to guide us.

"So you're training with Asuma-sensei?" She asked, sitting in the armchair. Huh. Has he told you who his team's substitute will be?

"He doesn't know. According to him, he won't know until he registers his team for the exams," Naruto shrugged.

"Then there's no point in asking. Registrations are not until May or June.

"When do you have to register?"

"In April."

"There's not much left, either," Sasuke glanced at her before turning his gaze back to the things she'd left on the table. You're hardly going to have time to study and train.

"I know," he frowned. Studying doesn't worry me. Every time I have a free moment at home I use the clones, but the training... I need to find other rivals since Kakashi-sensei is very busy with Danzo, and his missions.

"Didn't Cejotas-sensei recommend a dojo where only jonins go?" You could stop by more often.

"That's not a bad idea. In addition, Genma and Raido also told me that they would help me train, and I think Hayate is more available than Yugao to help me with my kenjutsu.

They talked for a while while waiting for Sasuke to finish before going to the training booth. They were fighting with everything for a couple of hours, Naruto and Sasuke against her. She noticed at once how much they had improved while she was gone, but she still saw that she could easily beat them. Sasuke's sharingan was useless against his spells as he could neither copy them nor anticipate their attacks, while Naruto was so unpredictable that it was predictable to her, who was his sister and part of his team.

"Ugh! It's impossible to punch yourself! Naruto shouted, throwing himself on the grass.

"Did you think a pair of genins would be able to beat a tokubetsu jonin with a new kekkei genkai, dobe?" Sasuke sighed, catching his breath. It's like fighting Kakashi-sensei.

"How have you improved so much?" Naruto asked, unable to let him go.

"My opponents in combat are not genin, nor are they always the same jonin," he shrugged. The more you fight with different people, the better you become. It's just experience.

"You're right. We're used to doing low-ranked missions that don't challenge us. Even when we train, we train with the same people," Sasuke frowned. Then he looked directly at her. What advice would you give us?

"Sign up with me at the dojo." They may be very good at us, but we will have different opponents every time we go to training. I would also continue to train the ninjutsus that Kakashi-sensei left us. In addition... Mmm... I could do a kind of fake Forest of Death in here.

"No! Why don't you make a desert? Naruto asked, rising suddenly. The chunin exam is in the desert so we could get used to it.

"I don't see why not. You could modify the weather conditions to resemble the desert, turn everything into sand, create oases and areas full of dunes, hidden fake creatures, etc.

"Really?" Sasuke asked with a small smile. It would be perfect to prepare us.

"I could make some dolls in human form to fight you. Although I'd have to figure out how to do that. I wouldn't want them to be so strong that they end up hurting you.

As soon as he thought about it, he remembered the Room of Requirement. If I could do something like that... That would be incredible. I would have to make another booth just for it while the others used the main booth for training. That's great. More things to do. I also had to put an end to Danzo. He scored mentally going back to his base on Saturday.

He went to take a shower, feeling tired and sweaty from the day, and left his clones to study and cook. He also had to refuel the benthos that they had under stasis and that they had been consuming with the missions. She took a leisurely shower, using one of the luxurious, scented shampoos she reserved for when she knew she wasn't going on a mission.

"Do you know when Kakashi-sensei will return?" Naruto asked as she went down to the kitchen, dressed in her pajamas.

"I was hunting down one of Ne's new recruits. I don't think it will take much longer to come back.

Sasuke looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He explained to them what he found at Danzo's base that he hadn't told them until now because of his mission.

"I can't believe I have so many people," Naruto frowned, setting the table next to Sasuke. Can you imagine having to return all of them to Konoha's forces?

"Maybe it's impossible," Sasuke said. Many of them don't know anything other than Danzo... Perhaps they resist being absorbed by Konoha.

"There's not much point in thinking about it right now. More than the ninjas, the main problem is Danzo. His future is to die or be imprisoned for life, do you think he will allow it after all the trouble he has taken to have a secret army?

He shook his head as he thought about it. He did not envy the Hokage at all, nor the other high officials. I already had enough things to do and I was just a simple tokubetsu jonin. With everything she did, she felt exploited. At least he was recognized for his work with a big salary, even though he didn't spend it on practically anything. Now he understood why Kakashi-sensei bought him something so expensive. It was clear that he must have enough money saved up not to blink twice when buying gold jewelry. It was the same for her. He had no children, no family except Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei, so everything he collected he had kept except for a few gifts.

"Can we continue to train together tomorrow after the hospital?"

"Of course.

He went to sleep a short time later. He needed to digest what his 20 clones had studied, rest his mind, and get back to normal rhythm.

She woke up the next day almost more tired than she went to bed. He needed a second shower and a good breakfast to come to. Luckily, she had only one patient that morning and would be assisted by the team provided by the Hokage. He arrived at the hospital a couple of minutes early.

"Today's patient has an amputated right arm," he said as he updated his 2 assistants, handing them the chart. It's a 2-month-old amputation, so it will be easier to remove the scar tissue than in a healed amputation. First, I'll remove the tissue so it will start bleeding. You will be in charge of keeping the bleeding at bay and monitoring the constants.

"Seina-sama, your patient has arrived," the helper called. Shall I let him in?

"Yes, go ahead.

Seina made him sit on the gurney and explained what was going to happen. The ninja was so excited to get his lost arm back that it didn't even take 5 minutes for the operation to begin. They laid him on the metal gurney, unconscious, while Akane monitored his vitals and injected him with the anesthesia. It would have left him immobile, but being his arm he needed to be able to move his limb as it regenerated it. He began to remove the tissue while his other assistant, Yue, began to control the gushing blood.

"Vital constants," Akane muttered to her left.

"Stable bleeding.

"Good. I start with regeneration.

He molded his chakra along with his magic and initiated ninjutsu. They spent almost 5 full hours reconstructing his arm and stopping the bleeding as the blood flowed freely through the new blood vessels. Thanks to Merlin, she wasn't bombarded with questions as she watched the tissue begin to grow from the amputated limb.

"Stable state.

"He's lost 10% of his blood.

"That's easily fixed," she said, pulling out the vial to increase her blood reserves. You will need rest today. The anesthesia should wear off within half an hour. I will ask a nurse to monitor you every hour after you wake up.

She also wrote down painkillers and everything she needed to recover without discomfort, but she was sure that as soon as the anesthesia stopped working and her blood levels returned to normal she could go home. She saw how she had missed her departure time so she went straight to the locker room. Just as he was about to go home, he was visited by an auxiliary ninja from the Hokage. She suppressed a sigh and a groan as she realized she was being summoned to Tsunade-sama's office.

To her surprise, Tsunade-sama was standing in her office.

"At last. You've finished later than expected.

"Last-minute paperwork. Well?

"Not here. Come with me.

As soon as he took her to his personal and private space, he knew what he was doing there. The first one they saw was, curiously, Kakashi-sensei. His uniform was a little dirty, so he deduced that he had just arrived from the mission with his prisoner. As soon as he saw her, he smiled in her direction.

"Seina."

"So you've brought the boy in at last."

"That's right. Kakashi has managed to get hold of Danzo's recruit and fake his death. Shizune has him sedated up to his eyebrows," Tsunade-sama reported, walking to the room he had sealed days before. As we thought, it has a stamp on its tongue, so it's going to be impossible to get anything out of it until we remove the seal. Inoichi has tried to use his dojutsu on him, but to no avail.

"You want me to try."

"Yes. If you see that you're going to hurt him, leave him. We love him with all his mental faculties.

"Besides, we don't think you know much about Danzo's movements," said a voice behind him. It was Shikaku, sitting in a chair. We just want a test subject to study the seal.

"It's all right. Let's see what I can do.

He leaned over the ninja and opened one eyelid. It crept easily into his mind. Not only did she have no magic barrier that could stop her, but she had been so brainwashed that the natural protections of her mind had been stripped away. At that moment he felt sorry for the boy. He noticed the seal right away because it was everywhere. Curiously, it seemed to prevent him from chakra analyzing his memories and also from Sai, which was what the boy was supposedly called, from talking about them. What he couldn't recognize from the seal was its magical presence, so he poked around in his mind with total impunity. Half an hour later, he knew everything.

As soon as it left his mind, he couldn't suppress a sigh.

"What did you see?" Shikaku asked, who, unsurprisingly, had realized that he had managed to infiltrate the ninja.

"His name is Sai. It's a new name. He's barely had it for a year and a half. Until then, he was identified as Saitama by another slightly older boy who answered to the name of Shin. Shin and Sai were close friends, practically brothers. Danzo made them fight to the death as long as the winner was indoctrinated into Ne and left the orphanage. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Shin was suffering from a degenerative disease that eventually killed him during combat. Sai, at Shin's request, led his recruiter to believe that he had killed Shin and was thus induced into Ne. Sai suppressed these memories with the help of training. Danzo bestowed upon him the name Sai, leaving behind the name given to him by Shin before he died.

"And what about the mission?"

"You don't know anything else about Unmo Samidare. He was just following orders. Nothing else.

"That was to be expected," sighed Tsunade-sama. You've given us quite a bit of information, though.

"We can ask Seina for help in interrogating them all.

"Jiraiya-sama had better manage to destroy the seal," Shikaku refused Shizune's proposal. Seina is already doing too many things. Also, leaving so many high-caliber ninjas with an unknown seal can be dangerous.

"You're right. As soon as you finish the map of the base, consider yourself relegated from this mission in relation to Danzo," Tsunade-sama ordered. At least, until further notice. Come on, let's leave the prisoner alone.

They walked out, leaving Shizune to touch up Sai's medication and anesthesia. He wore special shackles so he couldn't use his chakra, even if his life depended on it. They went into the living room to follow the meeting more relaxedly. Seina sat down on the couch and then Kakashi-sensei sat down next to her. She looked him up and down, seeing his somewhat disheveled appearance, and held out her hand. While he healed the few scratches he had, Tsunade-sama poured them some teas and coffees with some biscuits. The Hokage, seeing her master's hand in hers, snorted a laugh.

"It must be a plus for you to have an expert doctor on the team, Kakashi. Now you don't have to go to the hospital like you're a doomed man.

"No comment," said the jonin, taking the cup of tea.

"What can you tell us about Sai's mission?" Shikaku asked, nipping the banalities in the bud.

"As Seina reported, Sai has been sent to kill Umno Samidare. The mission was risky as he was not alone. Unfortunately for Sai, it didn't look like he was going to leave his team anytime soon, so he tried to get rid of all of them with an ambush. It went wrong," Kakashi-sensei sighed. He killed Samidare and one of his companions, but at the cost of being badly wounded. I had to intervene and finish with the third member of the group. Luckily, the scene was perfect for faking Sai's death, so I left some clues for the Kiri hunters and took Sai in hiding. If it weren't for Tsunade-sama Sai, he would have died, so I'm sure Danzo will believe he's been killed in combat against an entire group of Kirigakure ninja.

"I don't like that investigating Danzo is splashing us like this," Tsunade-sama frowned angrily. I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if Sai had been captured, dead or alive. Sooner or later they would have known who it is.

"True, but the problem has been solved. Danzo thinks he's dead, Sai is our prisoner, Kiri doesn't know who attacked them, we can study Danzo's seal calmly, and Seina has been able to read Sai's mind... Actually, this is a big win for us," Shikaku reminded him.

"I will send a messenger to Jiraiya to get him back to the village as soon as possible. I want you to study this stamp as soon as possible." He turned to look at her. When will you be able to finish off the map?

"Tomorrow is a good day. If Danzo is away from base, he could do it in a few hours.

"Perfect. Need assistance? Shikaku asked. Both he and the Hokage looked at Kakashi-sensei, and Seina knew what they were asking.

"Not necessarily, but if you stay calmer, Kakashi-sensei can serve as a lookout for me if he wants.

"I'll go with you," his master said.

"Great. Another thing about to pay off," Tsunade-sama smiled, rubbing his hands together. Oh, by the way, Seina. I have a list for you. It's in order of priority, but we're not in a hurry. Take the breaks you need.

He picked up the scroll from the Hokage and opened it, taking a quick look. It was a list of things they wanted me to come up with. Until now, as far as she knew, none of her inventions, except for medical items, had been distributed to the public or to ninja who did not belong to anbu. He wasn't surprised. A magical tent falling into the hands of his enemies would be a real nightmare. They could have a combat battalion in the middle of Konoha without them noticing. The only items that any jonin had were the ones she had personally gifted, and given to loyal, trickle-down ninjas.

She left the Hokage residence accompanied by Kakashi-sensei.

"Ah... "I can't wait to take a good bath," he sighed. I've gotten used to it.

I knew he was saying it because of the magic tent with its own bathroom. Seina smiled. He didn't even pretend to feel bad about being able to shower or bathe during missions. Hygiene was paramount. In fact, it should be paramount, especially in missions, since wounds produced in combat could become infected if not cleaned in time.

"You can take a bath while we train."

"Do you plan to train this afternoon?"

"We're all at home, so yes. In fact, we are going to train in the dojo that Guy-sensei recommended to us. I'm sure that's how Naruto and Sasuke, and I, get experience.

"That's a good idea. If anyone knows taijutsu, it's him, but don't tell him I told you," Kakashi-sensei asked with a mischievous smile.

"I don't think he'd believe me if I told him," she laughed, imagining Guy-sensei's face.

When they got home, Naruto and Sasuke were waiting impatiently for her in the kitchen.

"Kakashi-sensei!" We thought you were dead," smiled his brother, the troll.

"Hello, Naruto. We should practice those manners.

"Put a plate on it, dobe," Sasuke elbowed him.

Kakashi-sensei decided to eat first before taking his long-awaited bath so, for the first time in several days, the entire team was eating as before. He touched her foot with his as he explained what he could of his latest mission, making her smile. When Naruto found out that he was going to take the afternoon off to relax, he couldn't help but cross his arms with a pout on his lips.

"Stop complaining, Naru. If we don't train with Kakashi-sensei for a day, we're not going to die.

"I know, but it's been a long time since we've trained together.

"We can train tomorrow afternoon, if you want, and we're all available," said the jonin in a pacifying manner. Then he looked at her. We need to talk about what you've discovered so far about the Danzo base. When you're done with training, come and see me.

She nodded. Sasuke and Naruto asked him, curiously, what they were talking about. They explained to them how the next day, the very first day of February, they were going to infiltrate the Danzo base. That afternoon, while the jonin was resting, they were training ninjutsu in the dugout. 50% of the ninjutsus he had learned were already made of water, as it was the element most related to it, so he wanted to take the opportunity to increase his fire ninjutus. It was a shame that living in the land of Fire was his least used jutsu.

—Katon: ryuka no jutsu.

Flames shot out of his mouth in the direction of a huge steel cube he had conjured to test it. He could see how it quickly unraveled as the torrent of fire hit its surface. He cut off the chakra flow and remolded his reserves using new seals.

—Katon: haijingakure no jutsu.

He blew in front of him, but soon saw that something was wrong. Supposedly, the jutsu was the equivalent of the mist jutsu they used in Kiri to hide, but with ashes. Still, there were more flames than ashes at the mouth of the air.

"You're molding too much chakra to create fire," said Kurama, who had been watching somewhat boringly, as always. You need enough flame to create ash, but not enough to turn the jutsu into another fire jutsu. Try to use only 50% katon nature mixed with your normal energy.

Seina tried it out by following Kurama's directions. He instantly noticed the difference. If before 75% was fire and 25% was ash, now the percentages had been reversed. It made sense. The jutsu didn't have enough "strength" to be a full-fledged fire jutsu. That made him realize something. What would happen if I did the same thing with a water jutsu? The fog ninjutsu he had learned months ago didn't follow the same procedure as the fog curtain was composed of tiny droplets, not steam.

"I have to prove this," he thought to Kurama, who had been following his train of thought.

"You'd better stay away from your brother's clown and emo.

She jumped to the side, leaving even more space between herself and her team, who were also practicing ninjutsu individually. He molded the chakra using the first water jutsu he learned. Instead of transforming the entire chakra into water nature chakra, he mixed the transformed half with another half of untransformed chakra. To his surprise, he created fog.

"What? Why did I just recreate the fog jutsu?" He wondered to himself, and to Kurama. That's 2 different jutsus!

"Hmm... What did you think was going to happen?"

"Steam?" I wasn't sure about it, to be honest.

"Steam needs a source of energy, like fire, and you haven't used any.

"But how did I recreate the fog jutsu if that is NOT how the chakra is molded to use the mist jutsu?"

"Did you think there's only one way to do each jutsu?" Kurama sneered, laughing. If that were the case, there wouldn't be as many ninjutsu or as many people being able to use the same jutsu without having access to the necessary scrolls.

Seina blinked. It was true. Ninjutsus were not like spells. The spells were very specific. He couldn't kill someone with an alohom*ora, but he could use a water jutsu to kill and to hide because his particularities were much more general than an enchantment. Could it be that her previous experience as a witch had limited her in terms of ninjutsu? While it was true that he had done some research on how to create a new jutsu by combining various chakra natures, that had been because he already knew it was possible. I wasn't doing anything new.

"Of course! If I mold water nature chakra plus fire nature chakra I should create steam, right? And if I mold earth nature chakra with normal chakra it should create sand or dust.

He was testing the different types of chakra nature all afternoon, combining them with his normal energy. He quickly realized that not all tests were equally successful. In some cases, mixing 50% chakra nature and 50% untransformed ying-yang energy was enough to create mist or ash. In other cases, such as when he tried to create dust, that ratio was not correct. Even so, he found that he could create different elements using an unknown combination of chakra of X nature plus normal chakra. That meant that a lot of people who could use certain elements naturally weren't the only ones who could, in theory, create new elements. He had tried it before with his boiling water, but mixing various chakra natures in equal amounts.

"This means you have 2 ways to create the same thing," Kurama thought. One would be using an identical blend of different chakra natures and another combining a chakra nature with normal chakra, in unknown proportions.

"Exactly. That means that, in principle, ANYONE could use ALL of the items. Even better, if I could know how to replicate these jutsus without having to mold so much chakra of different natures, I would waste less time using ninjutsu.

"I wouldn't explain how to do it..." Let them think it's another peculiarity of yours.

Seina sighed. He knew why Kurama said that. Not only would he be enlarging the target over his head, but he would be giving Konoha's enemies an advantage. No, it's better to keep it to himself.

"I've got a lot of work ahead of me," he thought, sitting down on the grass. It will take me months, maybe years, to know exactly how to shape the chakra to recreate all the elements.

"Luckily for you, youhave time.

chapter 49

He left the booth a while later, letting his brother fight with Sasuke, and went to take a shower. Kakashi-sensei was waiting for her on the couch reading a scroll. He sat down next to her, laying out the static, but clean, map he had just made yesterday. The jonin leaned over, putting down the parchment, as he stared at the map intently.

"It's smaller than I expected," Kakashi-sensei muttered, "but it makes sense. How much time do you need to put up your barrier?

"About half an hour. This is not a very complex barrier. I thought about using one of the more central rooms. I'll go in with one of my invocations and the hiraishin.

"It's all right. I'll be your watchman while you do your part. Nor can I do much more if we don't want to be discovered. Tsunade-sama's meeting with Danzo is in half an hour, but we can go," his master nodded.

Seina teleported into the tree near the Danzo base she had been using, with Kakashi-sensei holding her hand. As soon as he sent his summons to Ne's headquarters, he realized that he could send one of his creatures to Tsunade-sama's office to make sure Danzo was there. He quietly remarked this to Kakashi-sensei, who nodded silently. It took him a few minutes to go the right way and blow up the entire lobby. The inside door was locked, but it wasn't a problem for his fly, which could sneak through the crack between the door and the floor.

Under camouflage incantations, no one noticed his artificial insect, even though there were a couple of people moving up and down. He had to search for an empty room, spying on some who slept or meditated sitting on the floor, before finding an empty bedroom.

"I'm going in," he said to Kakashi-sensei.

Both activated their bracelets before wearing the hiraishin. He fell to the ground silently, looking around to make sure they were alone. His spells indicated to him that the nearest person was a ninja 3 rooms away. Kakashi-sensei stood by the door, still, while she enlarged the room and erected a false wall behind which she planned to place the runic chamber. Even if they suspected something, they would go crazy trying to find the source of the magic barrier's power. Mostly because I was going to hide it with the fidelus. He placed the previously rune-carved stone and began to charge it with his magic. He felt the barrier spreading, undetectable, delicately. With his eyes closed, he realized the moment when the barrier contained the entire barracks inside.

He lifted the wall, leaving a stone with the shiki jutsu so that he could easily teleport, and put the fidelus. It didn't change anything in anyone's eyes. The room was the same size again, the wall was the same wall as before, and the space I had created no longer "existed." He gently touched Kakashi-sensei on the shoulder. He signaled to let him know what he was going to do and teleported them back with the hiraishin into the secret chamber he had just built. He silenced the space.

"Now they can't find us even if they want to," he said quietly, even though he knew they couldn't hear them.

"You could have easily infiltrated on your own," Kakashi-sensei muttered.

"It's not bad to have some company," she smiled, glancing at him sideways as she set the map down. Now all that's left is to connect the stone to the map.

It took him even less time than it had taken him to do everything else. If there's one thing he'd studied with Hermione in his book days during his rune mastery, it was the marauding map. Kakashi-sensei looked at it all behind his shoulder, with an interested face. They watched as the names of the ninjas inside the barracks began to appear.

"Why is there one called 'Second'?" His master asked.

"The map shows the names that people respond to, so that person must think that their name is or is the 'Second-in-Command.'

"Huh.

That had come as a tremendous surprise to Hermione and her. Contrary to what they had believed, the map could not distinguish between people with the same first and last name, as happened with Bartemius Crouch, not because it did not make distinctions between different people but because the people with those names did not call themselves Bartemius Crouch Junior or Senior, for example. The name was linked to magic, to the soul, but they had to be accepted by their bearer as their identity name. The funny thing was that most people did accept the name their parents gave them, even if they liked it more or less.

That was why the map at Hogwarts didn't show cases like the ones they were seeing here, because they weren't brainwashed ninjas who had lost their identity. If they had used the map when she was 4 years old, her name would not have been listed as Harriet Potter but as "Abnormal" or "Weirdo" because that was the name she had accepted as her own because of the Dursleys.

"We've got what we wanted. We can get out of here.

"Where's Danzo?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Go on with Tsunade-sama.

He gathered all his things, taking one last look around the room, and accepting Kakashi-sensei's hand. They left there a millisecond later, reappearing at home. He undid his summons and deactivated the bracelet. Kakashi-sensei stretched out, relaxing his posture.

"This must be the easiest mission I've done this year," he confessed. Will you let me see the map?

Seina handed it to him. They both watched as people moved up and down.

"I recognize this name," Kakashi-sensei said, pointing to one of the labels. It's Torune Aburame. For a while it was considered for anbu because of its poisonous kikaichu. I wondered what had happened to him.

"Honestly, I don't understand how most of the ninja in the village haven't noticed. It's like an open secret.

"An open secret, what?" A voice behind him asked. Sasuke.

"I'm sure it's something from Danzo," said his brother, sweating thoroughly. I'm going to take a shower.

They waited for them to shower before Kakashi-sensei explained to them that their mission had been a success. Even so, Seina would not be satisfied until he gave her the map and disregarded, for the moment, Danzo.

Which happened the next day. Tsunade-sama ushered her into his private office inside the mansion, where Shikaku and the fully hooded Anbu commander were waiting for them.

"Well?" The Hokage asked as soon as she sat down.

She smiled as she pulled the scroll out of her bottomless fanny pack. He spread it out on the coffee table, their faces intrigued by the realization that they weren't seeing anything, and activated it with a premeditated phrase.

"Show me your secrets, Pikachu," he said to the magic map, suppressing a laugh.

"Who's Pikachu?" Commander Anbu asked.

"It works," Shikaku muttered in amazement. This is unbelievable.

—To make the map disappear you simply have to say 'Thank you, Pikachu' by tapping the scroll.

"Wasn't there a less stupid phrase than that?" The Hokage asked in exasperation.

He saw Shikaku's lip tremble for a second before being controlled. The anbu said absolutely nothing. He kept staring at the names and the map of Danzo's base.

"It had to be something that no one would ever think or say," she answered, defending herself.

"Yes, and that's your only motive," Commander Jonin smiled, avoiding the Hokage's gaze.

Seina didn't say anything. It had taken him a few minutes to think about the password. Until he realized he could stay with them every time they used the map. When he imagined the Hokage or the Anbu commander in a serious meeting using the password in front of more people, he couldn't suppress his laughter. Besides, he hadn't lied. No one knew what a Pikachu was. Reason enough to use it for security reasons.

"We have a big advantage because of you, Seina," her teacher spoke, ignoring Shikaku. Unless we need you personally, consider yourself relieved of this case.

"Hai."

He bowed and left with the hiraishin. She went straight home, where she had a pile of books to read for her jonin promotion exam. He left his clones with the reading as he entered the booth, to practice some more ninjutsu. That's how Naruto and Sasuke found her, hours later, surrounded by the copied scroll that Kakashi-sensei had given them with all the techniques he had stolen with his sharingan.

"Have you given him the map yet?" Naruto asked. She nodded. What's going to happen now with Danzo?

"I have no idea. I've finished my homework and I've been relegated from everything Danzo-related.

Sasuke frowned. He was the one who most wanted to know what was finally happening with Danzo because, if they were right, he was to blame for the death of his parents. A part of Seina, however, was tired of continually thinking about Danzo. Now that her teacher had the map, she was more relieved to "let it be." Unlike many people in the wizarding world, ninjas were far more competent. Perhaps because they had far fewer scruples and considerations. Perhaps because, although it may not seem like it, they lived in a military dictatorship.

"By the way, where is Kakashi-sensei?" She asked.

"I have no idea. I think he said he had something to do in the village," Sasuke informed him.

"I'm sure he's gone for another one of those erotic books."

Seina smiled at her brother's words. How often did Naruto think the pervert published a new book? Either way, I had a lot of things to do. He had left the Hokage's requests half-finished, so he had to catch up on the orders. That's how she spent the whole afternoon accompanied by Sasuke and Naruto, who decided to help her carve the necessary runes.

"Do you think he'll use this chair against Danzo?" His brother asked, staring at the wooden chair.

"You'd better ask, dobe, if it will work," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why wouldn't it work?" Although we'll find out soon, I imagine.

"Why don't we train together tomorrow?"

Seina shrugged. The next day was only Monday, so I didn't have anything planned except studying, and I knew perfectly well that I would use the clones to read the heavy theory books. He had yet to talk to Kakashi-sensei about the possible letter to send to Itachi, if they sent it in the end, and return to the dojo again to practice his taijutsu. Not to mention his experiments with ninjutsu and genjutsu that had stalled due to Danzo, the hospital, and missions to destroy Orochimaru's bases.

He knew, from their bond, that both Sasuke and Naruto had realized the tremendous weight he had taken off by detaching himself from the root. Maybe that's why her brother was inviting her to train with them a day in advance. Still, Seina wanted to do something different, so she came up with another idea.

"What do you think of us having dinner together in the village?"

"Great!

"But no ramen," Sasuke agreed, ignoring Naruto's horrified expression.

"It's not fair!

"Why don't you write a note for Kakashi-sensei while I'm collecting all this?"

It took him just a couple of minutes to sort out his things and pack the orders, dwarfing the chair so he wouldn't have to carry it. Her brother and Sasuke were waiting for her at the door, discussing, as always, which restaurant they could visit.

"I don't feel like fish!"

"Not even a barbecue of just meat, dobe!"

"Why don't we go to the Akimichis' restaurant?" We know you eat well and they have a very varied menu," she said, somewhat exasperated, being the voice of reason.

Naruto and Sasuke, seeing that it was the best option to satisfy both egos, accepted his proposal. It was starting to get dark and a little chilly, but they took the walk quietly. He couldn't even remember the last time they were together without doing "anything" productive. When they arrived at the restaurant they had to wait a few minutes to sit down, so they stood talking about training, of course.

"I can't wait to take the exam," Sasuke confessed. The missions are so easy that I get bored. Also, I didn't become a ninja to babysit half the time.

Naruto laughed in his face as Seina stifled a laugh. He didn't know what his brother was laughing at, if he was in the same situation. Noticing her mocking thought, Naruto turned to look at her with an exasperated expression. I didn't know exactly what he had thought, but they were so connected that I could imagine him as if he had heard it.

"I really don't know why we want to go up," she thought aloud. With genin's salary, we can live peacefully without putting our lives in danger.

"We're sorry for the delay," a voice interceded. They can already pass.

She turned, nodding at the waitress's cordial expression, and they followed. They were given a table in the corner. She sat with the wall behind her, accompanied by Sasuke who also didn't want to turn his back on the entire restaurant, while Naruto sat alone in front of them on his own bench.

"Would you really like to be a genin all your life?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"And it's just you, who has been promoted twice in less than a year," Sasuke rolled his eyes, behind the menu.

"I'm just saying, why do we want to be jonin?" I don't know. Now I wonder because I've never set a goal except to be the best, but...

"Now that you're getting closer to your goal, you don't even know why you wanted to be a jonin?" Sasuke asked, glancing at her sideways. Or, what to do after you reach your goal?

"I could have stayed chunin, and absolutely nothing would have happened.

"But you're too competitive. Like the dobe, strangely, and like me. That's part of why we're a good team.

"Hey! Naruto exclaimed, realizing that she had insulted him indirectly.

He picked up the menu, looking over the menu, when he felt someone's gaze on his forehead. He looked up and met Sakura's pale, green eyes. He hadn't seen her in a while, so he was surprised to see her physical change. She had her hair cut short, down to her shoulders, and was no longer wearing her typical red dress but a tank top of the same color and dark shorts. He kept his violet gaze fixed on the eyes of Sakura, who was accompanied by Ino, until she turned her face away with a surprisingly impassive expression. The funny thing about it all is that he didn't even look at Sasuke. Maybe because he was consciously covering his face with the menu.

"Interesting...

"Huh?" What? Naruto asked, who hadn't seen anything with his back turned.

"Nothing major.

Luckily for Sasuke, Ino hadn't seen them nor had Sakura told him they were there. He watched as they sat in the distance, talking, ignoring their equipment. Seina finally looked away, returning to the menu when the waiter arrived. The interaction had barely lasted a couple of minutes, but he didn't know what its purpose was. Equally, it's not like he cares about Sakura so he ordered his plate and closed the menu.

"I don't know how you can crave sushi at this hour.

"What do you care?"

He sighed as he heard his brother and Sasuke's new discussion. They ate dinner while talking about and a little bit of everything. Since they were in public, they didn't talk about anything very private or serious so the atmosphere was relaxed and relaxed. When they got home hours later, Kakashi-sensei still hadn't returned, so they discarded the note they'd left and went to sleep hours later, after playing a few games of cards.

The next day, he woke up with a smile. Since they had nothing to do, and were still alone, they went to Guy-sensei's friend's dojo. They spent a few hours training with the various jonin who frequented the dojo. She walked out of there sweaty from head to toe, her limbs strangely light from exertion, and she felt the new weights taking effect.

"I'm going to take a shower and deliver the order to the Hokage," he said. It didn't take long.

"I'll start making the food," her brother answered, waving her away with a distracted wave of his hand.

He took a quick shower and picked up the package he had prepared. When he arrived at the Hokage tower, curiously, he wasn't there. The one sitting in the leader's seat was Shizune, who willingly took the package from her once she enlarged it. Seina hesitated to ask him what was going on, but let it go. He didn't feel like complicating his day, so he just left. What he didn't expect was to bump into his former patient, Tetsu, accompanied by Neji and Hinata. Just by looking at his expression, he knew it hadn't been a coincidence and had to stifle a groan of exasperation as he realized what was going to happen. Luckily, they were in the park next to the Hokage tower, which was almost always empty. Apparently, no one wanted to walk too far under the building of someone throwing chairs out the window.

"Seina-sama, I just wanted to thank you for what you did," he said as soon as he started. She made a 90-degree bow that made her a little uncomfortable. If it weren't for your help, my life would have ended.

"I'm glad I helped you," he said, tapping her shoulder.

She tried to urge him to get up, but to her horror, not only did he not do so, but Hinata and Neji bowed to him again. He let out a mini-sigh that fortunately made them sit up. He glanced sideways, but few people were watching them. Maybe a couple of civilians looked at them curiously before continuing down the street, but nothing serious so she breathed easier.

"Has anyone heard about...?" She asked curiously.

"No. Everyone thinks I didn't lose my eyes," Tetsu said, fully convinced. They think I just went blind.

Seina relaxed. That was the best chance of all. The Hyuga realized his concern instantly. Hinata touched his arm, assuring him that Tetsu was right.

"Then I'm calmer.

"Testu wanted to say thank you personally. We're just here to accompany you," Neji nodded with a slight smile.

"There's no point. That's what a doctor does, isn't it?

Her friend's face looked thoughtful when she heard it. She seemed to want to ask him something, or perhaps talk to him alone, so she addressed Neji with a sly expression and he understood on the fly. Tetsu and Neji went a few feet further, leaving them alone. He felt his stomach rumble with hunger and realized his team would be wondering where he was. Naruto still wasn't impatient enough to open the link wide, but he wouldn't be surprised to hear it in his head anytime soon.

"What's the matter, Hina?" He asked, sitting down on a bench under a tree.

"Do you know that Ino, when she signed up for the hospital, talked to me about signing us up at the same time?"

"Something said to me, yes.

"I didn't sign up with her," Hinata said, in her typically very soft voice, "but I wanted to.

"Why didn't you?" For your father? Because of what your clan would say?

Hinata nodded, looking at the dirt floor.

"But I saw what you did with Tetsu. You saved his life. No. You gave it back to him.

"Hinata, if you want to sign up for the hospital, do it. You already know that Tsunade-sama will support you if needed. I'd like to see what your clan does about it.

Hinata smiled slightly at the thought before getting serious again. They fell silent, while Hinata tried to muster the strength to make a decision.

"Do you want some advice?" He finally said. Her friend, after all, was a 12-year-old girl who had lost her mother long ago.

"Of course.

"No one can live your life for you. Not your father, not your clan. I know you'll think I'm saying it too lightly because I don't have anyone breathing down the back of my neck and criticizing everything I do. You're partly right. But tell me, why can't you sign up for the hospital if you can save your colleagues' lives with that knowledge? What's wrong with that? Are they going to get mad because "it's not what a Hyuga does"?

Hinata nodded silently at his last sentence. He didn't even raise his head. Seina began to grow angry as she realized that so long away from Hinata had caused her clan to sink their venomous teeth into her again.

"Well, let them be angry, Hina. What you have to ponder is... How would YOU feel if you lost Kiba or Shino on a mission when you probably could have saved their lives by signing up for the hospital, just as you wanted? Would you ever forgive yourself? Would you feel guilty? Would you think day after day what an idiot you've been for not having the courage to do what your heart asked, simply because your father and your clan are so intolerant that they are unable to comprehend that more knowledge is never bad despite not being "what a Hyuga does"? In a few years you will be a fully grown person and, surely, you will not depend on your family. You'll have money to move if you want to, no one will be able to tell you what to do. And if you sign up for the hospital and they're idiots enough to threaten you or something," she began, feeling her blood boil, "come to me and we'll help you." I can't offer you my home without first talking to my team, but I'm sure they wouldn't refuse to offer you a place to live away from your clan.

Hinata nodded fervently, still with her head down. Seina grabbed his chin, lifting his head. He saw how her eyes were white and full of tears. He didn't know if it was because of his support or because he imagined his team dead, unable to heal his mortal wounds. He knew that Hinata had a lot of problems at home. Worst of all, she was a much gentler person than one might expect being a ninja and, to make matters worse, the heiress of one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. Although, perhaps Hinata was gentle because of the treatment she received. Surely it was a mixture of both factors.

Seina, being Harriet, had suffered something like Hinata. Unlike her friend, however, she had had a stronger thorn in her side and had not been intimidated, though they had tried by all means. Had Vernon and Petunia achieved what they set out to do, Harriet would have been like Hinata. Insecure, indecisive, someone easy to terrify with a look. The difference between Harriet and Hinata was that she, in her old life, had been more inclined to anger than fear. Had she not met her friends, had she been away to Hogwarts for 9 months of the year, Seina knew for a fact that she would have killed them before she came of age in one of her many outbursts of anger and resentment.

"Thank you, Seina. I'll think about what you've told me. I promise.

"And remember: if something happens to you or you feel like you're in danger in your house, come to me or Naruto or Sasuke.

"Where the hell are you, nee-chan?" His brother called. Speaking of the king of Rome.

"Now I'm coming. "I'm talking to Hinata," she said, avoiding rolling her eyes at her friend. I'm going to eat something. See you soon, Hina.

Hinata said goodbye to her, walking towards where Tetsu and Neji were waiting for her. Seina, totally hungry, used the hiraishin to teleport home. Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for him at the table, their faces exasperated and irritated.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized. I've been approached by Neji, Hinata, and Tetsu.

"The one with the eyes?"

"Yes. He wanted to thank me and make sure no one had noticed that he didn't have the seal. I think Tsunade-sama has led them to believe that he was blind, but that he still had his eyes. And then—" he sighed. I've been talking to Hinata.

He proceeded to show them the memory of the conversation. Both Sasuke and Naruto frowned upon realizing that Hinata was possibly in danger at home.

"For my sake," Sasuke said, seeing what he wanted. Hinata is not one of my fans. You can stay here if you have problems.

"What a father! His brother snapped, his face red with anger. How can he treat his own daughter like this!? For me you can also stay here if you need to!

"We'll have to talk to Kakashi-sensei, but I don't think he'll refuse. Still, I hope Hinata doesn't really need it.

"Tell me about what?" Kakashi-sensei said, appearing unexpectedly with a shunshin in the middle of the dining room.

"Hell! Naruto gave a boat. Do you want to make us have a heart attack!?

Seina and Sasuke snorted a laugh at the sight of Naruto's irritated expression with a hand on his chest. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, sitting down across from her at the table, realizing that they hadn't even started eating despite how late it was.

"Well?"

"It's Hinata. He seems to have problems at home. Problems that may end up with her on the street.

"You've offered to stay with you here," the jonin said without having to think twice. What kind of problems?

"Apparently your clan refuses to let you study anything but junken. Hinata isn't exactly the paragon of the Hyuga fundamentals." He rolled his eyes. She wants to sign up for the hospital, but she's afraid they'll refuse, or worse.

"Hyugas," Kakashi-sensei muttered under his breath. He touched her foot with his foot. For me you can stay here if you have problems. The question is whether she will feel comfortable living here when I am here. Still, until that assumption is presented, there is no point in thinking about it. Maybe Hinata will be in for a surprise.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Tsunade-sama isn't going to let anything happen to him just because he's studying at the hospital.

Seina thought about it for a few seconds. It was the same thing he had said to Hinata a few minutes ago. Actually, Kakashi-sensei was right. In the worst-case scenario, Hinata wouldn't stay on the street, that's for sure. Until nothing bad happened, it would be foolish to worry in advance. They started eating after preparing another dish for their teacher. He did not explain to them what he had been doing, except that he had been with Tsunade-sama in his private home in Hokage Manor. It was obvious that it was something from Sai, or whatever it was really called. Whatever it was, he shrugged.

Notes:
Hey!

I wanted to clarify something. It seems that Seina has a lot of responsibilities, but, in reality, this is not the case. He only works 10 hours a week at the hospital and this is the only stable job he has. The orders of the Hokage every x week are not all magical shops, in fact, on the contrary: they are potions, unbreakable kunais, the diagnostic spell with runes so that they can use it in the hospital... Likewise, the missions he has are carried out from time to time and the training only takes up what a full working day does to any person (7-8 hours a day).

Maybe it doesn't seem like it to you because you're reading the information out of order, but I, who have it schematized so as not to get lost, see that it doesn't do as much as some of you imagine, except in a few exceptions of history, and in those cases Seina herself already takes it into account.

On the other hand, we are approaching 300 reviews! The other day I was looking at the Naruto/Harry Potter page and I realized that we are in the top 1 thanks to all of you. Thank you chic@s!

Pd. Don't worry. There's a lot of history ahead.

chapter 50

The next day his plans to train all together went to sh*t. She was summoned to the Hokage's office early in the morning.

"Ah, Seina. Just in time.

"Tsunade-sama," she greeted. In less than a second, he analyzed the blond man in his 30s standing in front of Hokage's office.

"I've assigned you a new mission. This gentleman's name is Fuuta Kobayashi. He is a merchant from the land of the Cascades. Fuuta-san has learned of rumors that someone is planning to kidnap him for ransom. "Your mission will be to accompany him, pretending to be his daughter, and protect him until he returns to his country," the Hokage said. Fuuta-san has to make a series of stops along the way, so you'll serve as his secret bodyguard. He will tell you the details of the route himself. You can use the meeting room auxiliary.

"Come with me, Fuuta-san," Seina said, nodding her head.

They went into the auxiliary room, next to the Hokage's, so they could talk. Normally the details would have been given to him with the Hokage present, but being his apprentice had its advantages and disadvantages.

"Well?" What can you tell me about the route?

Fuuta Kobayashi was a handsome and intelligent man. Despite his young physical age, he did not despise her presence, but watched it in silence as Tsunade-sama spoke of the mission. He had looked at her curiously, in a sly way, but his instincts told him that he did not wish her ill. Kobayashi explained the 3 stops he had to make: one in the north of the Land of Fire, another in the Land of Iron and a final stop within the territory of the Land of the Cascades. Luckily the road was straight north and then straight west towards his home village. Still, I expected to spend several days, if not weeks, away from home.

He would have to walk the road at a civilian pace, unable to use his tent. Ugh. Just thinking about it made him lazy. Not to mention, it was his first solo mission. Protecting a civilian whom they wanted to kidnap. Perfect. Fortunately, the stops he had planned were only business meetings that, according to the client, would only last a few hours. Unimportant meetings that your daughter could attend without drawing too much attention to herself. After all, the sons used to inherit the family business.

"Do you have everything to go?" She asked.

"Yes, it's all tucked up at my inn. I just have to go get the things I've brought with me.

She accompanied him to the inn, walking by his side in silence as he mentally said goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei, until further notice.

"Should you take something?" Kobayashi asked suddenly.

"You don't have to. I'm always ready for anything.

He had his fanny pack loaded to the brim, after all. He used a scroll to seal his client's things. He took advantage of the inn's bathroom to change his tokubetsu jonin uniform into more civilian clothes.

He basically ended up transforming his uniform into less military pants, his sweater was left intact while the vest became a black down jacket. He even tweaked the boots so they wouldn't know they were ninja in origin. The fanny pack became a feminine, crossbody, leather bag while the kunais holster tucked it into her new, bottomless jacket pocket. Finally, he made the ninja band disappear with a spell and tweaked his face a bit to look like someone else: his golden blonde hair turned copper blonde, like the client's, and his eyes became more bluish.

When he came out of the bathroom, Kobayashi had to blink a couple of times when he realized that she really looked like his daughter, with the same hair tone and her features somewhat more rounded as him.

"From now on, don't call me by my name, if possible. Call... Yuri.

"It's all right. It's up to you," he said, referring to the mission.

She nodded. They left that same morning. It was hours before noon, so I wanted to get out as soon as possible. He checked into the ninja table, discreetly passing the scroll and its identification to the chunin. They began to walk in silence, listening to the conversations of other people coming and going from Konoha. The farther they got from the village, the more abandoned the road leading to Fuji City, north of the Land of Fire, became.

Seina had activated the spy spell and the spell revealed to see the auras. Luckily, the customer didn't seem willing to talk, so he was distracted by watching the road. They walked all day, stopping to eat one of their benthos in a wooded area. Then they walked on a little further. They slept in a small village with only one inn. Kobayashi fell asleep instantly as she put on all sorts of protections before closing a single eye. He woke up hours later, at dawn, when the client was still sleeping. She waited for a couple of hours for him to wake up, studying the textbooks she always carried with her.

"Good morning, Seina-san," he greeted her as soon as he saw her wide awake, dressed, and studying. I see that you never stop.

"I have a lot of things to do," he said, slamming the book shut and putting it away. You can go to the bathroom if you want, I'll be watching from the outside.

Minutes later, the two had breakfast at a nearby street stall. He was wearing the same clothes, cleaned with a spell, but transformed into something different. Still, no one looked at them twice. They set off north. Seina would have liked to say that the next day was different, but it wasn't. All morning they just made you walk in silence. Perhaps because you could tell that the client liked not having to talk about trifles to fill the void. Still, as they neared their destination, Seina had to ask about the meeting.

"The meeting you're attending, will I have to interact in any way?"

"I don't think so. I'm a very private person so I imagine that if they ask you something it will be something personal, rather than related to the meeting.

"I see. Anyone would wonder where their new daughter came from.

"No one knows about my life outside of Takgakure, so I don't think it's strange for them to learn that I have a daughter I've never talked about," he shrugged.

"And as for those rumors—who gave you that information?" He finally asked. Maybe I should have asked earlier, but it wasn't really relevant to the mission. I was going to protect him no matter who he was.

"A friend of mine from Takigakure. He claims to have heard it here in the land of Fire from a certain Zangei. He told me it was a conversation between this man and another man in a bar.

"And how important is it for them to try to kidnap him and ask for a ransom?" She asked, now totally curious.

"How much do you know about the land of the Cascades?" The customer asked with a sigh.

"Let's say not much, and tell me everything."

"In the land of the Cascades there is a special fountain, capable of giving a magical water that we call the Water of the Hero. Whoever drinks it will be capable of great feats during the time that the effect of this water lasts, although at the cost of a few years of life less. This special water only emerges from the source once every 100 years, and the volume that is produced is limited. The person in charge of protecting the source is the leader of Takigakure. Right now their leader is Hisen, a decent and honest man. The problem is that it is a highly coveted commodity and Hisen has some detractors for limiting its use. Seeing that some people were thinking of getting hold of the water, he secretly commissioned me to hide it.

"He thinks somebody wants to get hold of the water," she said. Kobayashi nodded. So why do you think they want to kidnap you and ask for money from your kidnapping if what they're looking for is that water?

"I think they're planning to force me to give them the water and blackmail Hisen with the fact that they have it and ask him for money to get it back."

"That's absurd. Why would Hisen give them money if they already have what they wanted? Unless they believe that Hisen would act desperately and foolishly pay his ransom even though they wouldn't deliver the water to him.

"That's all I can think of.

"What were your friend's words when he told you about all this?" She insisted.

"That my head was going to be exchanged for 100,000 ryo."

Seina didn't quite understand anything. There was something wrong with the story. He understood the interest in kidnapping Kobayashi since he was supposedly the only one who knew where that water was, but how did he explain the money? Kobayashi was just a simple merchant. What was so special about it? In addition, his client's theory about extorting money from Hisen, the leader, didn't quite add up either. The kidnappers would simply keep the money and water. He didn't think Hisen was stupid enough to agree to pay for it. At that point, he would either accept that Kobayashi was going to die and that he had lost his water, or he would send some ninja to retrieve both.

They got going again. Now that he knew all this, his boredom had suddenly passed. His old instincts told him that something else was going on, and he thought he would get to the bottom of the matter if it were possible. They stopped for lunch in Fuji City. It was a small town, but full of life. He was not surprised that it was the first meeting point of Kobayashi's meeting. They ate at a restaurant and rented a room at a somewhat luxurious inn in the center of the city where they would spend the night at their client's request. She didn't care. In short, he was paying for it.

He changed his clothes to something more traditional. After all, she was the supposed heiress of Fuuta Kobayashi.

"It's here," he said, stepping into a sort of conference room. Start in 10 minutes.

She nodded. She braced herself for long hours of business chatter, bland smiles, and boring talking points as she posed as a 12-year-old civilian girl. It all started as he imagined. There were greetings, banal comments, smiles in his direction, even the occasional pat on the shoulder. He had to restrain himself from sticking a kunai in the crotch of more than one filthy old man. He sat next to his supposed father as he watched everyone with hawk eyes.

No one paid any attention to him for almost 3 hours so he kept his slight smile, nodding very occasionally. They left after several bows and signed agreements. His client seemed satisfied, so he didn't say anything as they walked towards the inn.

—...-osa. It seems to be his daughter.

"Actually, better for us. We'll catch them both. So Kobayashi will have reason not to resist.

"And then what?" We won't be able to let them go! Are you really going to kill a little boy, Motoi?

"Do you have scruples now?" Murasame says the other guy is willing to negotiate a lot of money if we get what he wants.

—… It's okay, but you take care of the girl.

"Gather the others. We will ambush them when they leave the village. Keep an eye on them in the meantime. If you leave the hotel I want to know.

He walked on slowly, waiting to hear something else, but to no avail. The conversation between these guys was over, but he could feel the look on his neck of one of them so he used the windows to look behind him. She saw him standing in a corner, leaning against a wall while pretending to read a newspaper and eat anko. She surreptitiously watched them from time to time, but it was no match for a ninja like her. Judging by his appearance, he must have been a bandit, or a trained civilian. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to find him in the crowd.

They planned to kidnap them and, once they achieved what they set out to do, kill them. Apparently, Kobayashi wasn't so far off the mark with his suspicions. He owed his life to his friend, and to her as soon as he saved her. They went into the hotel and had dinner. A couple of hours later, when they went to the room they had for them, she sat him down on the sofa in the living room.

"Does the name Motoi or Murasame ring a bell?" He asked bluntly.

"No. Why?"

"Nothing major.

He hadn't even had to think about it, so it was clear he wasn't lying to her. The question was, should I tell the client what I had heard, which could cause them stress, or should I shut them up and act without them knowing? The truth is that he preferred not to tell her anything. To begin with, they looked like bandits that he could easily liquidate. Not to mention, I didn't know how the client would act if they knew they were in danger. He might get nervous and intrude on his mission, as he had before. So he shut up what he had heard and bewitched Kobayashi into a deep sleep. He put him to bed, accompanied by several hidden clones surrounding him, as well as a couple of summons that would allow him to see if he woke up or was attacked.

When he didn't care about his client, he transformed the kimono with a wave of his hand and put on black clothes, leaving his ninja sash hidden.

"Let's see where you are," she muttered to herself as she went to the bathroom and opened the window into the hotel.

He let one of his bats fly as he sat on the edge of the bathtub. It didn't take long for her to find him as she was looking at the door of the hotel and, at the same time, the top floor where they were staying. He didn't know if he had figured it out on his own or heard it, but either way, he seemed to know that Kobayashi was there. Maybe it would be the plant of the rich? Luckily for her, her target was hidden in a darker alley, behind a tree. He watched him for minutes, but he was alone. He used the hiraishin to appear from his back.

He didn't even notice that she was now watching him from the top of the wall, lying horizontally between the windows of two different buildings. She saw him glance from time to time in both directions, checking that he wasn't drawing attention to himself, before turning his attention back to the hotel.

"Stupefy," she intoned mentally, knocking him unconscious instantly.

She took it up to the roof of the same building, to keep an eye out for another possible visit, and enchanted the outdoor terrace with a few spells so they wouldn't be seen. He took everything he had, petrified him, bound him up, and revived him. The man didn't even have time to blink that Seina was already on his mind.

"We've got our jobs, guys," Motoi said, appearing through the hiding place door. Someone wants a certain Kobayashi from Takigakure alive. A high-end trader. According to the information we've been given, this guy will make a stop in the city of Fuji before going to the Land of Iron, so we'll have to kidnap him before he steps across the border.

"Don't you think Konoha will intervene while on their territory?"

"That's the funny thing: Kobayashi doesn't know we're after him, so he won't ask Konoha for reinforcements.

"For our sake, I hope that's true," another guy replied, sharpening knives. How much money are we talking about?

"20,000 ryos."

"Little money," spat an old man with a blinded eye. We would have to divide the spoils among 5.

"Then don't participate, Hayame. We'll split the loot among the 4 of us.

"When do you plan to arrive in Fuji?" To whom, and where, will we deliver?

"Leave the delivery to me." Kobayashi will stop Fuji on February 12 for his reunion. We'll be keeping an eye out a day ahead of time just in case.

Seina delved deeper into his mind. Watching the last conversation between Motoi, the leader, and Gensaburo, his new prisoner. She watched her client, accompanied by her, from Gensaburo's eyes. He knew that Motoi expected him to send him a message with a pigeon they had trained if Kobayashi went ahead with his plans, so he was going to take advantage of it. First he would have to take the pigeon that Gensaburo had hidden, then he would force him to write a letter. When the troupe of bandits appeared, he would finish them off, but not before finding out what else Motoi knew about the whole affair.

He disappeared a few alleys away. He took the box with the pigeon out of its hiding place, returning to the roof he was using in the middle of the night as an interrogation room.

"Empire." He writes a note to Motoi saying that Kobayashi and his daughter are leaving tomorrow at dawn. You've heard it said by one of the 2 civilians hired to accompany them to the border with the country of Iron.

He watched as he wrote the note without putting up any resistance, his eyes completely clouded with the curse. He let me send the dove.

"Avada kedavra."

He vanished the body into nothingness and went back to the hotel room. He didn't even have to go into the main room to know that his client was still sleeping. He wouldn't wake up for another 8 hours. More than enough time to get rid of the other bandits without him noticing. He slept in the secondary room, in a Western-style bed like his own at home.

When he awoke, the faint rays of the sun were beginning to filter through the window. Nothing had changed during the night, so he checked all his weapons before sneaking out of the hotel. He reached the roof he had used, invisible, and summoned 3 more clones. One was transformed into Kobayashi while the other two became a pair of tall and strong men who looked somewhat bored. He left the city at dawn, just as Gensaburo had promised Motoi.

It didn't even take them 20 minutes to walk when he sensed the presence of the others. He expressly took a dirt road into the woods. As soon as he had them where he wanted, the other 4 members appeared, including the half-blind old man from Gensaburo's memoirs.

"Very well, Kobayashi. You're going to come with us without resistance, or you and your daughter might end up... Wounded.

Seina couldn't stifle a snort of laughter that caught the bandits' attention. She jumped out of place accompanied by her clones. The bandits didn't even have time to blink before they found themselves unconscious. He killed everyone except Motoi. He kept his money and disposed of all the guns and corpses before reviving him.

"Hello.

"P-but what happened!?" Who the hell are you!?

"That's irrelevant," she said, grabbing his hair straight and delving into his mind.

He looked at the memoirs again from the leader's point of view. Going deeper and deeper until he got to what he wanted. Murasame was a renegade ninja from Amegakure. He had offered Motoi money in exchange for capturing his client before leaving the borders of the Land of Fire. Probably because he preferred not to set foot on his renegade neck in Konoha territory. This was getting spicier and spicier. What were so many different people up to? Why had Kobayashi been told that his head was supposedly worth 100,000 ryos when these people wanted him alive? Something was missing. Bandits from the Land of Fire, renegade ninjas from Amegakure, rebels from Takigakure... This mission made less and less sense.

"Avada kedavra."

He left, making the last body disappear. He returned with the hiraishin to the hotel room and woke the client up with a nerve. She let him get up alone, making all his clones disappear, and get ready in the private bathroom. He came out minutes later, seeing her sitting on the couch as if nothing had happened.

"Ah, Seina-san. Are you awake yet? He asked with little surprise. We can order breakfast in the room, if you want.

She nodded. The fewer people around them, the easier it would be to protect them. They had breakfast in silence before packing up what little they had in the hotel room. With some boredom, he walked the same path he had traveled minutes before, but this time without bandits lurking. Still, Motoi had provided him with relevant information. Like there were other people wanting to kidnap Kobayashi alive. Ninjas who would wait for them to leave the border of the land of Fire. As soon as he approached the border with the Land of Iron, he would have to double the security.

He looked through the eyes of their summons, a few dozen yards ahead of them, and saw that they were alone. Fortunately, the day passed quite quickly. Motoi had met Murasame at the Amegakure border and they were going in the opposite direction, so he knew they were relatively far from danger. At dusk, they crossed the border into the Land of Iron in search of the nearest village or city.

"In principle, the meeting is in 2 days, so I'm a day in advance," the client told him. We can stay one more day in Yoshiba City before departing for Takigakure.

"That's fine with me.

When they entered the inn and settled down as in the last few days, Kobayashi motioned for him to sit down. With some curiosity, Seina listened to him.

"Why did you ask me about a certain Motoi and Murasame?"

Seina stared into his eyes. Had he hidden something from her? He had a strange feeling that his client knew more than he was telling him.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I thought it was curious. I don't know you very well, but I don't think you would ask if it wasn't important.

"Do you know them?"

"No. I've been thinking about them, but I'm sure they don't," the customer firmly denied.

"Motoi was a bandit who wanted to kidnap him on the way out of Fuji. Apparently, he was hired by an Amegakure ninja named Murasame," he explained succinctly.

"Was it?" Fuuta Kobayashi asked, somewhat pale.

"It was. This morning I eliminated him and his team of bandits. I also questioned him. He gave me this name. He said he wanted him alive in exchange for 20,000 ryo.

"I said everything was very quiet," the customer muttered to himself. Thank you for protecting me, Seina-san.

"It's my mission. Still, it seems Murasame isn't acting alone. There's something about all this that I don't like.

He saw a muscle pop almost imperceptibly in the customer's face and the twitching movement of his shoulders and knew definitely that he was hiding something.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Why don't you think I'm telling you everything?"

Seina stared at him, exasperated, and finally sighed. He seemed to be debating whether to tell her something secret or simply not to tell him at all.

"If you have important information, you should tell me." Bandits have already tried to kill him, and so do ninjas from Amegakure, so for his sake I would start talking.

"Hisen didn't give me the water," he said after a few minutes of tense silence. He has it hidden. He suspects a person in Takigakure so he made it seem that I had the water in order to set a trap for him, and catch him red-handed.

"It's bait," he understood at last.

"I'm afraid so.

Hisen, the leader of Takigakure, must know exactly who the traitor was. Otherwise, why form this whole show? He needed evidence to blame one of his ninjas or allies. Doing what he had just done, he killed two birds with one stone because Kobayashi was being protected by Konoha while he was investigating the moles in his organization. Honest, decent, but cunning, apparently. Still, it was clear that the traitor was also smart. He could have gone after Kobayashi himself, but he sent renegade ninja to do the dirty work. Thus, despite being a traitor, he avoided being caught getting his hands dirty, just as Hisen was doing. That's what I said. A total circus.

"The only thing we know for sure is that they'll try again soon. By this time the ninjas of Amegakure must already know that the bandits they have hired have failed. If you're even remotely intelligent, you'll suspect that you're not alone, so starting tomorrow, I'll put you under genjutsu as we travel to Yoshiba City. With a bit of luck, we'll go unnoticed.

They went to sleep after dinner in the dormitory. Now that he knew all this, it was clear to him that they would try to kidnap him again. Surely they would suspect her, the daughter who appeared out of nowhere in the land of Fire. If it were up to her, she would have taken the client and they would have flown off, but she knew she had to be more discreet with the skills she showed to foreigners and the criminals who were after them. The best option would be to use their magic so that they couldn't detect them. As long as they didn't actively attract attention, they could easily go unnoticed. Still, the hard way, he would end up using his powers to flee with the client and avoid a confrontation.

The next day he woke up at dawn, as usual, to realize that Kobayashi was still sleeping. He took a quick shower and dressed in civilian clothes. He also ordered breakfast to his room, pretending to be Kobayashi. Just as his clone under henge was handed the multiple plates, the customer appeared freshly dressed.

"I want to get out as soon as possible, if you don't mind," she said. It will take us a day to get to Yoshiba and I would like to arrive before dark.

"Of course.

They ate in silence. They left the inn and headed north again. Seina stopped a few minutes later, on the way, to check that they were alone.

"I'm going to put us under the genjutsu. From now on, try to make as little noise as possible. If you have to reach me, touch my arm.

"It's all right.

Seina used all the relevant spells, summoned her creatures, and activated the modified revel she used to see auras. With all that and his spy spells, he could see anyone coming from afar. They didn't run into anyone for hours, but they saw people in the distance walking along the roads. People alone, others in groups, the odd samurai... They stopped for lunch in a small village and then resumed their journey under more spells. They arrived even earlier than anticipated.

"Ah, Yoshiba. Have you ever been here?

"No, but it's interesting," she said aloud. He had already planted another of his sealed stones just in case, just in case.

"Land of samurai and iron mines, or so they say. The people here are pretty much neutral in any situation you might encounter. A good reason to do business with them," he confessed.

Seina nodded half-heartedly. He wasn't interested in doing business with anyone, for the time being, but he would keep that in mind. They stayed in another luxurious hotel, although this one was Japanese-style.

"How long are you going to stay?" The receptionist asked.

"About 2 nights.

Seina looked around with feigned childlike curiosity. No one was watching them and he didn't perceive chakra, but when he turned to look at the receptionist he saw through the huge decorative mirror on the wall that one of the customers who had been sitting in the hotel lobby had disappeared. It had only taken him a second to turn around, and he seemed to be gone. He blinked, not narrowing his eyes in confusion. She kept looking around, as if bored, but nothing unusual other than that.

When they were able to go to his room, Seina took the customer's hand with a fake smile. Kobayashi looked at her a little strangely, but he must have understood that something wasn't right because he just smiled back. Meanwhile, Seina sharpened all her senses, but she did not perceive any malicious presences. He closed the door behind them firmly. He then began to protect the room with his magic, preferring not to raise any chakra barriers so as not to attract attention.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know yet, but I think we have company. And this time from a ninja," she confessed. There was no point in denying it. Don't open the door without me present, understand? Neither do the windows.

They dined back in the room despite having an all-you-can-eat buffet at the hotel restaurant. Soon after, with nothing to do, Kobayashi left for a long bath while Seina summoned several of her creatures. It didn't take long for him to realize that they were being watched by the same man. He didn't look the same, but he did have the same black robe with a tear at the bottom and a mud stain on his right wrist. If it weren't for the fact that her insects went unnoticed at night and were able to detect auras, like her, she wouldn't have seen it. He was tucked into the rooftop vent of the casino across from the hotel, peering through its grilles as he hid his presence.

Daemons. He had been right to think that it had vanished suddenly. Without a doubt, he was a ninja. He left one of his summons with the ninja while he busied himself with a plan. This one wasn't going to be as easy to capture as Gensaburo. He hesitated whether or not to attack him in the middle of the night. I knew he was a ninja, not a bandit, so I had no idea what his capabilities were. To top it off, I didn't have any reinforcements. Did she want to risk being injured and potentially endangering the customer? It would be better to try to avoid direct combat while you could. He would stick to Kobayashi like a limpet for the 2 days they stayed in the city. Then I'd see...

Notes:
Hey!

Thank you all for the feedback. Yes, I'll do a week-long schedule of his life a few chapters down the road. We've reached chapter 50, almost 300 reviews, 600 pages of word and we're not even 1/4 of the way through the story... I don't know what I was thinking when I started writing.

Enjoy Seina's solo quest!

P.S. 1. About the name of the marauding map... I also think Harry had heard in school that his name was "Harry", but knowing your name is different from ACCEPTING your name. If at home, for 16 hours of the day they call you "abnormal" you eventually start answering by that name, especially if they have been calling you that for years. That's why in chapter 49 I say that the name must be accepted by the person as his own and be the name to which he responds, generally speaking.

P.S. 2. On confidential information... Hahaha. Harry has always confided everything he has discovered to Ron and Hermione because they were his best friends and had his full confidence. Do you really think it's weird that Seina now does the same thing as literally part of a ninja team consisting of her biological brother, her love interest, and her best friend/brother? Even more so considering that at times he shares his thoughts with Naruto and Sasuke... It's as canon as possible, actually, that I've written.

chapter 51

The next day they left the hotel to visit Yoshiba quietly. The meeting wouldn't happen until the next day, so they had nothing to do but walk around.

"What are your businesses about, if you may ask?"

"They're nothing secret. There are no iron mines in Takigakure, so we export the material from the Iron Country, which is our neighbour. I've been in charge of meeting with both parties for years to agree on shipments and stuff.

Seina nodded. Just listening to it made him bored again. He looked at the stalls on the street, trying to catch a glimpse of the ninja, but it wasn't impossible. He had gone away during the night, while he was sleeping, and had lost track of him. He knew he couldn't be too far away when his client was clearly his target. He spent the rest of the day on high alert, but nothing happened.

Nor did anything happen the next day, when Kobayashi had their meeting, or in the evening when they slept one last time at the hotel before leaving the next day. Or the next day when they left west for Takigakure. If it weren't for the fact that she had seen him and seen with her own eyes that he was a real ninja, she might have thought she was crazy and that she had imagined everything. In addition, a small part of her was beginning to notice that something was wrong, and her instincts had always helped her get out of more than one predicament.

With each passing meter and getting closer to the border with the Cascade country, the more tense she became in the face of the inevitable fight. Even Kobayashi himself noticed how close she was to him, discreetly observing the surroundings with wide awake eyes despite walking for hours.

"We must be about to get to Cascade country," the customer sighed a little relieved, minutes later.

Seina knew it too because they began to hear water running as they walked along the dirt road. Unlike the Land of Iron, where the vegetation was less luxuriant and stone hills were more common than rivers, the Land of Cascades could be heard from afar. It also had hills, like its neighboring country, but that, added to the multiple rivers that were born further north, changed its ecosystem to a more humid one thanks to the waterfalls that fell down these stone hills, and that later became large and small rivers that entered the country of Fire.

"Could we stop for a bite to eat?" The customer asked, giving her away completely.

She nodded, avoiding rolling her eyes. It was clear that they weren't alone, even if he couldn't detect them within his spell range, so his cover was shattered. What adult would ask their 12-year-old for permission to eat? He sighed as they approached the stream they had heard. Suddenly, an aura that he had not seen until that moment, approached them using the water to hide, entering their range of vision at an immense speed. Seina grabbed the client and leapt into the air, dodging the chakra threads tied to a kunai.

He fell on a large stone in the distance, without even looking at Kobayashi. The ninja in front of him was definitely not Murasame. He wore a black robe with red clouds covering him from his nose to his knees. Underneath it, from what little he could see, he was wearing a ninja uniform with dark pants and sandals. On his forehead he wore a Kusagakure ninja sash with a stripe down the middle, horizontally, denoting that he was a renegade ninja. Seina was exasperated as she realized that this guy was another ninja who loved Kobayashi.

"I don't know what Konoha is thinking, child, but you'd better hand over your client to me."

The ninja's killer instinct was very powerful, so much so that Kobayashi next to him began to tremble and breathe heavily. Seina endured it with her mental barriers without much trouble. At that very moment, however, he realized that he had only 2 options: flee with the client or fight to the death.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Kage bunshin no jutsu!

"You wanted it.

She left her 4 clones with the client, knowing that they could use the hiraishin to escape if necessary, and focused on the fight. Her enemy wasted no time and used a water jutsu that she dodged with a dirt wall. He pounced on her with a kunai in her hand that she defended with her wakizashi, despite not wanting to engage in a kenjutsu fight. They exchanged a few blows before the ninja jumped away from the path of the fire jutsu sent to him by one of his clones. She took the opportunity to become invisible.

"That won't do you any good with me," said a voice behind her, and she was kicked into a tree.

What had just happened? How had he detected her!? It spun in the air, propelling itself back against the trunk and disappeared and appeared using the hirashin after the ninja, who was already lunging at his clones. He repelled her with the same kunai a thousandth of a second afternoon, so Seina wounded his right shoulder. She fell into a puddle and was immediately attacked by a water whip despite being invisible. Then he understood. He was using the water he had created with his chakra to know his whereabouts.

—Katon: haijingakure no jutsu.

The water evaporated thanks to his fire jutsu. The ashes were scattered everywhere, making it difficult for everyone to see. Luckily, his aura spells gave him enough information to know that the ninja had moved, hiding on a branch. Seina took advantage of the quiet moment for a couple of her clones to disappear with the client through the hiraishin. He gave thanks for putting one of his smaller summons to Kobayashi. That way I would see if I was okay or what was going on. A new torrent of water dissipated some of her ashes and she jumped before he could locate her. Then, as it landed in a dry area, a breath of air cleared what was left of ash.

"I've had enough of you," he said, looking down at her from the other tree.

It disappeared much faster than his eyes could grasp. He had to defend himself using the wakizashi and various spells, but the ninja was very strong. She noticed a few blows that she couldn't avoid, watching as he was putting her on the defensive in such a way that she couldn't make hand seals to perform any ninjutsu. Luckily, I had those 2 remaining clones I had hidden, and their magic. Unfortunately, the ninja in front of him didn't seem to need hand seals to attack her with water jutsus so he was managing to dodge all of her attacks.

In a somewhat desperate counterattack, Seina swapped with one of her clones, using the academy's jutsu. The clone was split in two with a spear of water as Seina leapt after the ninja's back without him being able to dodge her spell and the unbalancing genjutsu of her remaining clone at the same time.

"Confringo! The spell pierced through the swift barrier of water, striking the ninja's shocked face.

The explosion of fire tore off his arm and part of his torso. Seina knew, as she saw him fall to the ground bleeding profusely, that the battle had turned in her favor. The ninja used the same water jutsu he had seen Zabuza use to cover his wounds, though his torso was so emaciated that it was impossible for him to rise from the ground except to get to his knees.

"Who are you?" She asked, panting.

But the ninja didn't answer. He just stared at her with a defeated expression before trying to kill her one last time using the river water. Seina used hiraishin to disappear before being drowned. When the water level returned to its original level, he saw that the ninja was breathing his last breaths, bleeding from the mouth as well, so he cast the death curse on him and ended his suffering.

Only then did he begin to notice the tremendous cold he felt because his hair and neck were soaked even though his clothes were waterproof, the pain of some bruises and resentful bones, the pounding heart that was beginning to calm down. She was surprised to realize that it was the first time she had been injured in this way. She didn't have anything broken or bleeding, but damn if she felt the punches and blows from the water jutsu that had hit her.

He dried his body instantly with a hot air charm, thanking her for his magic with a sigh of relief. He then washed away the sweat with a spell and healed his wounds with an iryo ninjutsu. He took the corpse, putting it away on a parchment, and returned the clearing to normal. After that, he disappeared.

"Seina-san!" The customer called as soon as he saw her appear. For a moment I believed the worst!

"I'm fine," she nodded.

"And what happened to that guy?"

"He's dead.

His client's face, still pale, was beginning to regain its usual hue. Seina sat down beside him, exhausted from so much stress and combat.

"We'd better fly the rest of the way," she said. I know we still have another enemy ahead of us, this Murasame, and I don't even know who this ninja was. He has more enemies than he realizes.

"It seems so.

"I'm so sorry it's going to be cold," he said, one of the reasons he hadn't summoned one of his creatures, "but I'm afraid it's necessary.

Seina summoned her dragon, sending a conjure to the client so that he wouldn't realize it was a dragon, and not just any other summons. A few minutes later they were flying the rest of the way to Takigakure. Just what I hadn't wanted to do I had ended up doing... Luckily, he didn't feel the cold thanks to some spells, but he did notice the customer shivering behind his back despite the extra jacket he had put on. It took them barely half an hour to cross the border and into the land of the Cascades. Had they continued on their way, it would have taken hours.

When he saw the great tree of Takigakure in the distance, he got as close as possible, using various disillusioning spells to go unnoticed for a while longer. He stopped just a 15-minute walk from the village gate, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders by having arrived in the village without another fight in between.

"Let's go. "We're very close," he ordered, putting another spell on his client just in case. Until we walk through the door you won't be safe.

They walked in silence, dodging visitors going in their direction, until they saw the chunin at the entrance. He removed the spells, disappeared into the crowd, and walked slowly until it was his turn.

"Next.

Seina stepped forward.

"My name is Seina Uzumaki, tokubetsu jonin from Konoha. This is my client, Fuuta Kobayashi.

He handed them the Hokage's scroll, leaving them to examine it as much as they wanted, and then signed the register under the watchful eyes of the ninja at the door.

"Hisen-sama is waiting for you in his office.

Seina followed the ninja's directions, knowing that despite being alone they were being watched. She, who had no evil intentions, let him be. I just wanted to finish the mission once and for all. His Kage's residence was located at the top of a hill, at the foot of a large staircase, which allowed him to see the village in its entirety. It didn't look as grand as Hokage Manor, but it was pretty. They were made to wait in the hall, under the watchful eye of another undercover ninja posing as a secretary.

"They can pass. Hisen-sama will attend to you now," he spoke, minutes later.

Kobayashi rose from his chair and she pulled away from the wall where she had been leaning. Hisen was a middle-aged man with brown white hair and a well-groomed beard. He watched as she got up to greet her client, checking that she was okay, before turning to her.

"Seina-san, good job. Thank you so much for accompanying Fuuta on her journey.

She bowed her head respectfully, accepting the thanks even though she had been paid for it.

"You can spend the night here to rest, if you wish.

"You won't need to, but thank you for the offer."

"As you like." At least you can visit the village or grab a bite to eat before you leave.

"That's what I'll do," she smiled.

For all that the mission had been, the end seemed abrupt and short. He said goodbye to Kobayashi, who also thanked him for saving his life twice, and then left the leader's house to go investigate the village. It wasn't like Konoha, which had unevenness due to geography, but everything was flat at the foot of a gigantic and colossal tree. The village, in the shape of a ring, surrounded the tree as if it were a historical monument. The people, however, were very much like those of Konoha. They went around shopping, laughing, talking, arguing...

He stopped at a random restaurant for a bite to eat, even though he could use one of his benthos, and bought a few seeds of plants typical of the area that did not exist in Konoha. Just as he was about to leave the village to return to Konoha, he came across a dark-haired brunette girl with gray-green hair and orange eyes. They stared at each other from both ends of the street.

"It's another one of mine," Kurama said unnecessarily. They were so connected that she'd noticed it without him telling her. It's Chomei, the seven-tailed.

Seina approached the other girl slowly, watching as she did the same. They met in the middle of the street, as if it were a movie. The girl, jinchuriki like her, began to smile from ear to ear with the same effusiveness as her brother. Suddenly, she knew that she was not his enemy but an ally. He watched as the villagers passed them by, as if nothing was happening, and wondered if they knew.

"Hello! What's your name? I am Fu. I'm the jin--Seina covered his mouth with one hand before he could continue.

"I know. My name is Seina Uzumaki.

"He's talking to you too!?" I thought I was the only one! The girl exclaimed, as if nothing had happened.

"Let's go somewhere talk," she sighed, smiling.

Fu took her home, surprisingly. She lived alone in a small apartment with one bathroom, one bedroom and a kitchen. They sat down at the table to talk while Fu made tea.

"Chomei says you're the jinchuriki of the Kyubi.

"From Kurama, yes.

"Did he tell you his name!?" Fu smiled in surprise.

"We're friends," she said. So you're able to talk to him too, aren't you?

"Yes. Pretty much from the start. Chomei is very cheerful so he doesn't mind interacting with me. Although I would never have believed the same of Kurama's K-.

"I want to try something, dwarf," Kurama caught her eye. Fist bump.

Seina blinked strangely, but she listened. She stretched out her arm, leaving her fist within reach of Fu, who stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Then, she blinked too, and with a hint of understanding in her eyes, she stretched out her arm until her fist bumped against his. Suddenly, Seina was no longer in Fu's dining room in Takigakure. He found himself in a kind of infinite chamber where a light of unknown origin illuminated the place where he had awakened. In front of him was a colossal creature with 6 legs and 7 tails in the shape of orange wings. He was gray, with several horns on his head area, and appeared to have a helmet on his face. At his feet was Fu, who was jumping up and down looking at the one who should only be Chomei.

"Unbelievable!

Seina looked over her shoulder, seeing Kurama's dark red fur. She looked up, up, up until her violet eyes met Kurama's red eyes, who was leaning over her with a smile. Then he turned to look at his fellow bijuu.

"Brother.

"Brother.

Chomei's voice was much higher pitched than Kurama's, and he seemed rather more excited than he was. She noticed the gaze of the other bijuu on her, crouching down until she was horizontal in front of both jinchurikis.

"I never thought this moment would come," Chomei said. I thought we would live and die without ever seeing each other again.

"Times have changed," Kurama said above her head, lying with her between his front legs. I've finally found a decent jinchuriki.

Seina sat on Kurama's leg, listening as the two bijuus talked at length about other times. Fu came over to him after a while.

"It looks like they can go on talking for days.

"Unfortunately I don't have that much time," she said. I must return to Konoha.

"Are you here with your team?"

"No. I'm a tokubetsu jonin so I've done the mission solo.

"Wow! But, you must be my age!

"12 years?"

"Exactly!

"I was promoted recently," he shrugged. My genin team will be taking the chunin exams this year again. And you?

"Of course! It will be my first time!

"I'm sure you do," she smiled, tapping him on the shoulder. How long have you been able to talk to Chomei?

"Forever. My parents died a few years ago on a mission so they introduced me to Chomei and gave me this flat, as well as signing me up for the academy. The next few days after that, Chomei talked to me and we became friends," he explained in great detail.

He was talking to Fu and Chomei for a while longer, but eventually he had to leave. He'd told Hisen he wasn't staying overnight, so he had to leave before it got late. She and Kurama said goodbye to them both, promising that they would see each other again, and accompanied her to the gate of the village where she registered her departure.

"That's been good," Kurama said, as if nothing had happened, though he knew he was excited to have spoken face to face with his brother.

"Why didn't you tell me you could talk to your brothers like that?" Why didn't you try Shukaku?"

"Shukaku wouldn't have been receptive. I noticed it right away. He needed the beating your brother gave him to come to his senses.

"Maybe next time we'll see each other," she comforted him. He noticed how Kurama nodded before disappearing into the depths of his being.

As soon as Seina went a little deeper into the forest, away from Takigakure, she used one of her stones to return to the land of Fire. He appeared a few minutes from the gates of Konohagakure, as if he hadn't been thousands of miles north just now. He finished walking the last few meters, feeling a relief that was difficult to explain when he saw the doors of his home.

"Registration number?" The Chunin on the afternoon shift asked.

She handed him her ID, letting them check it. After that, he went to the Hokage tower, knowing that he would remain there for a while longer. It had been more than a week since he had left Konoha, and he had saved himself an extra day of mission. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Seina! "You're early," Tsunade-sama exclaimed as he saw her appear at the door. How did your first solo mission go?

She gave him an exasperated look that caused her teacher to raise an eyebrow. He took out the scroll with the corpse of the ninja who had attacked them.

"In the end, it was more work than expected. We've been attacked by bandits and a renegade ninja. I had to use my summons to save the last stretch to Takigakure, or we would have been attacked a third time.

"And the customer?"

"Safe and sound.

"Well done. I imagine here is the body of the ninja who attacked you.

"Yes. He was a renegade ninja from Kusagakure. I didn't recognize him.

"Maybe you'll take some money on his head," Tsunade-sama admitted. I'll turn it over to the department. I look forward to your report tomorrow. You can go, rest.

"Hai."

He bowed and left with the hiraishin. She showed up at her house, tired from the trip, and saw how Naruto and Sasuke were present in the dining room, but she noticed Kakashi-sensei's presence in her room thanks to the magic barriers.

"Nee-chan! You've been late! Naruto said, picking her up.

—Hn. How did it go?

"Good. Stressful, but okay. I had to get rid of a lot of people," she moaned tiredly, throwing herself on the couch. Bandits, renegade ninjas from Kusagakure, ninjas from Amegakure... Ugh. Everybody wanted his head.

"At least you're not hurt," Kakashi-sensei said, appearing down the stairs and looking her up and down.

"It's not because they didn't try. In fact, I brought the corpse of the last one.

"A ninja?"

"Renegade of Kusagakure." On top of that, I had to be attacked by someone who was dressed like an ass, can you believe it? He said jokingly, to ease the slightly tense atmosphere.

Sasuke snorted a laugh at not having waited for his words as Naruto laughed at his feigned regret. Kakashi-sensei just rolled his eyes.

"Why do you say that?"

"He must have been wearing lycra like Guy-sensei!"

"No. He was wearing a hideous robe. Black with red clouds," she laughed at the memory. Now that he was dead, it was even funny. Where the hell would he have gotten that ridiculous robe?

Kakashi-sensei choked upon hearing her, causing the entire team to turn to look at him. Contrary to the amused laughter of his disciples, the jonin seemed somewhat horrified at what he had just heard. Seina raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding what the problem was.

"What's wrong with you?" His brother asked with his usual tact.

"Black robe with red clouds, you say?"

—… Yes," she said, surprised. Why?

"That robe is worn by Akatsuki.

"What is Akatsuki?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi-sensei seemed to understand that they had no idea what he was talking about. He frowned as he pondered whether or not to tell them what was going on, or if he had told them before. In the end, he shrugged. I'm sure he would have calculated that now that they had a name they'd try to figure it out on their own if I didn't tell them the truth.

"Akatsuki is the organization to which Itachi belongs. They are renegade ninjas, mercenaries from all countries. They appeared a few years ago," he explained. Then he looked at her. Did you only come across one?

"Yes.

"It's a strange thing. They usually go in pairs.

She shrugged. She was sure that when she was attacked there was only one enemy. Otherwise, he would have seen his aura if it was within his range of vision.

"Do you know what else happened to me?" He said suddenly, remembering Fu.

He told them everything that had happened along the way: the bandits, the hours he walked endlessly, the villages and cities he visited, Takigakure and his encounter with Fu. To say that Naruto was interested in their meeting was an understatement. Hours later, when he had nothing more to say, he went to his study to write the report that Tsunade-sama expected the next day. Then, with all the time in the world, he took a long bath and put on his pajamas for the first time in more than a week. Dinner is still a while away, but no one was going to stop her from getting comfortable after so many days of mission.

chapter 52

The next day, Wednesday, Tsunade-sama ushered her into his office with a straight face. After what Kakashi-sensei had told them the day before, they could imagine what it was all about.

"Do you have your report?" The Hokage asked. Seina tossed it to him. Thank you.

He read it quickly before handing it to Shizune, who was waiting standing beside him.

"I see. You've been very lucky to run into just one of them.

"I know. Kakashi-sensei told me about it yesterday.

"I've seen the corpse myself. He was a renegade from Kusagakure who appears in the bingo book. You will receive a reward for bringing his head to us. Did you see anyone else, other than that ninja?

"No.

"Then you're luckier," the Hokage sighed with relief. We found a scroll with instructions. They were going to kidnap Kobayashi to exchange him for money.

"For 100,000 ryo?" That's the rumor that got to Kobayashi.

"It seems so.

"But that means there's someone in Takigakure who wants to kidnap or pressure Kobayashi, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but that's none of our business. Unless we get rehired," the Hokage shrugged. For now, I'm happy that your mission went well and the fact that no one noticed that you killed an S-rank ninja that appears in the bingo book. Otherwise, you'd now be in the crosshairs of even more people. With any luck Akatsuki won't link his death, or disappearance, with you.

"I don't think they can recognize me. I spent the entire mission transformed into a mini-version of the client to look like his daughter," Seina shrugged.

"All the better. You can go, Seina. You have the day off.

Seina left the office thinking about what she had just heard. Was that guy an S-rank ninja? It had taken her a long time to kill him. In fact, he had so few injuries due to the modifications to his clothes, and yet his ribs had suffered from the blows of his sealless ninjutsu. If it wasn't for her magic and her new genjutsu she didn't know what could have happened because he had her on the ropes, on the defensive... Perhaps he would have to employ another tactic against stronger enemies. Instead of attacking her, he would start by sending his clones until he got an idea of who he was fighting, but something had to be done.

He went out into the village, feeling the February sun on his skin. In 2 weeks the month would end and March would begin. In April, Tsunade-sama would present her as a candidate for the jonin exams, and the lottery for the exams would be held to find out which village had to take them. I just prayed it wasn't Kumogakure.

"Seina! A voice behind him called.

It was Ino accompanied by Chouji and Shikamaru. She stopped dead in the middle of the street, waiting for them to reach her, and stared at Shikamaru's bored expression and her friend's enthusiasm.

"What a long time! Where have you been?

"Yesterday I came from a mission, and before that I was busy in the hospital. How about you?

"Now we were going to train with Shikamaru," Ino said. He won't take the chunin exam with us, but he helps us train as a team from time to time.

"Why don't you come with us?" Shikamaru asked surprisingly.

"Do you want me to help you train?" She asked, blinking. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke could come...

"Great! That's a good idea, Shika! Ino exclaimed, squinting at him.

"What?" I have good ideas, you know. In addition, Seina is tokubetsu jonin. With her and me training against you, we're sure to push your limits.

"Naru, Sasuke, do you want to train with Ino's team?" She asked mentally as the others argued in front of her.

"Really? Of course, let's go right now!"

His brother tuned out as he quickly began to dress. He came to, seeing that they were now arguing about where to train, while Chouji quietly ate some fries. In the end, they were left at Team 10's training ground, which was closer to the village from their previous training camp that they hadn't set foot in for months.

Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the field before them. He didn't need to open his bond, he just had to listen to them arguing as usual. She looked irritably at Shikamaru for proposing it, but said nothing. After all, she knew that Naruto and Sasuke need to train with various adversaries.

"Well?" How do we train? Ino asked.

"I would train in taijutsu among you. It's the weak point of the whole team.

"What else would you recommend?" Shikamaru asked, even though he wasn't examining himself with Ino and Chouji.

"For starters, if I were Ino, I'd try to use the clone summoning jutsu to get them to take care of my body while I used their dojutsu. For Chouji and you, I would try to learn the odd ninjutsu. Shikamaru, for you jutsus would be very useful to hide while using your shadows instead of being in plain sight while Chouji, who is clearly the support of the group, would be useful to learn defensive jutsus. After all, you are not a strike team but a capture and interrogation team.

"Yosh! What about us?

"Keep up our training. If we train everything, Naru," he rolled his eyes.

"I don't know if I have enough chakra reserves for bunshin kage," Ino said, frowning worriedly.

"Then you should train your chakra reserves," Chouji interceded for the first time. Seina is right. If we can do what he says, we would improve a lot. You would no longer be totally unprotected, Shikamaru could attack from more points without directly endangering himself, and I could defend you from more threats without having to use my own body.

"You're right. What jutsu can you teach me to hide me?

"What kind of nature do you have?" She asked.

"I have no idea. Asuma-sensei has us going over the basics," Shikamaru replied with a sigh.

"Then I'll show you the 3 jutsus I know," he shrugged. Some of them should work for you, I imagine.

That's how Seina began teaching Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji the ash-concealment jutsu. It took Team 10 a long time to get the hang of ninjutsu. Still, after 10 attempts, Shikamaru was able to produce a slight ash while Ino and Chouji couldn't even create a flame. After that, Shikamaru hung out with the jutsu until he got it and fell asleep, panting on the grass.

"Clearly you two have no affinity for fire," Sasuke heard Ino and Chouji say. Do you want me to teach you the Ground Concealment Jutsu?

"Yes, please," Ino sighed.

Interestingly, Sasuke was right. Both Chouji and Ino had a clear affinity for earth, so it took them less time to get them to use ninjutsu properly. The problem came later, when Ino ran out of chakra and couldn't get out. Seina had to pull her out using another jutsu before she got nervous underground.

"How about us taking a break?" She said, pulling out a bento to Naruto's hungry gaze.

"Ugh. I have hardly been able to do anything," Ino sighed. My bookings don't allow for that much.

"The more you practice ninjutsu, the more reserves you'll have. It's like a muscle, after all. One way to practice faster is to stick a leaf somewhere on your body with chakra," she said, "so you consume little chakra while practicing your control and increasing your reserves.

"Is that what you do?"

"Something like that," she said, thinking of the invisible seal on her forehead that kept filling, and the chakra that Kurama constantly gave her to enlarge her reserves, stretching them like a stomach.

"You should put weights on your limbs," Sasuke said. If you are going to train in taijutsu, it will help you improve your endurance and speed.

"When we get back to the village, we'll buy some weights," Ino promised, to Shikamaru's angry groan. All of us, Shikamaru!

"Do you want us to practice some taijutsu?"

Team 10 sighed in unison at the energy of their team, who were not tired at all. Chouji fought Naruto, Sasuke fought Shikamaru, and she paired up with Ino. He planned to teach her the same style of taijutsu that she had learned: a cross between Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-sama, and Guy-sensei. After all, he believed it was the best style for any doctor and Ino was also studying to be her team's doctor.

"Just skim me!" Don't waste your strength trying to give me stronger! She said, as she punched Ino again. Use my strength against me by diverting my movements!

He let Ino intercept the next kick. Ino listened to him and deflected his kick instead of stopping it with his arms. She used her hand to make her leg follow its trajectory, without using force, while avoiding being attacked. He noticed that Ino had been attentive to his movements, copying his style. He smiled as he saw that I was moving forward. Still, he wasn't able to stop the next punch when he quickly reversed course by using one hand on the ground to knock it down with a low kick.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she heard her moan.

"Yes. I'll only get a purple.

Seina laughed at her, giving her a hand to her feet.

"I see you've got what I wanted to show you.

"Let me try again," Ino said.

She agreed. They were exchanging katas. Not to hurt herself or use all her strength, but more slowly so that Ino could get used to the movements. When they left for the village, hours later, Ino assured him that she would practice her peculiar style of taijutsu, that she would buy the weights, and that she would begin to increase her reserves so that she could create, even if she was a shadow clone to watch over her defenseless body while using her clan's techniques.

"Could we meet another day to practice?" Ino asked. We could train a couple of hours a week.

"Why don't we train here every Monday?" She said, seeing that her team was also amused by the idea.

"That's fine with me.

"Great! Ino smiled.

They said goodbye a little later, seeing how the 10 team was too tired to continue training.

"We're so much better," Naruto confirmed. Sasuke nodded.

"You can tell they haven't trained that hard.

"Honestly, I don't understand. How much does Asuma-sensei plan to teach them any new ninjutsu? I know that all 3 of you have the blood inheritances of your clans, but more knowledge never hurts.

"I know. My clan was adept at fire techniques, even though they had the sharingan," Sasuke nodded. Maybe it's just Asuma-sensei's thing.

"It doesn't look like it. It's the same with Hinata's team.

"And in the case of the eyebrows."

By the time they got home, it was time to eat. Surprisingly, Kakashi-sensei was waiting for them with the food done.

"I was waiting for you," he said as soon as he saw them. Have you been training? Why don't you take a quick shower?

They exchanged a glance, for it was usually Kakashi-sensei who was the busiest of them all, but they obeyed. They went downstairs to eat, minutes later. Seina always felt like a new person after a good shower. As he sat down at the table, he raised an eyebrow in the direction of the jonin, but the jonin only shrugged.

"Nothing happened, before you ask me. I just found myself with more free time than I expected. Were you training together?

"Yes, and with Ino's team," Naruto replied. He proceeded to explain everything that had happened with hairs and signs—... And in the end we agreed that we would train together every Monday.

"That's a good idea. After all, your competitors in the chunin exams will be other genins, and Seina will go over the basics, which should never be forgotten. Do you want us to train this afternoon or are you too tired?

"Tired, us!?"

That's how they spent the afternoon inside the hut, fighting Kakashi-sensei and his clones. He was happy to think that his teacher wasn't wasting time, but was also getting something out of training with them, which he sensed thanks to his expression of concentration.

"You're at the level of a jonin," he congratulated her at the end of training, when Naruto and Sasuke were semi-conscious on the grass. No one will be surprised if you're promoted again in a few months.

"Thank you," she nodded, "though after my solo fight with Akatsuki it's clear that I need more training.

You need more varied training. They're different things," he said. That man was an S-rank renegade ninja, Seina. You've only been out of the academy for less than 2 years and you still managed to beat it.

"Because I had my magic and my genjutsu.

"And?" There are people out there who have another kekkei genkai, just because of that they are less ninjas than someone who doesn't have special abilities?

—… No.

"Then why do you think using your magic is playing dirty?" That's what ninjas do!

"Hmm... Yes, you're right. Sometimes I forget.

She was no longer an Auror, but a ninja. Maybe he couldn't have won that ninja without his magic, but he had his magic, so why was he self-flagellating? Ugh.

"I'll see if I can talk to other S-rank colleagues," Kakashi-sensei muttered. If you're going to keep finding yourself in this type of situation, you'd better prepare.

"Ugh. Don't remind me.

The next day, Naruto and Sasuke were called for a mission while Kakashi-sensei vanished in search of his high-ranking friends. She remained in the house, cleaning and finishing a few orders of potions, the only thing the Hokage usually asked for, when her master appeared again.

"Let's go. I've found someone to train with.

"Really?" If you're only gone 25 minutes!

"It's been lucky.

They left the house in the direction of the forest. Waiting there lying on the grass could only be one of Shikamaru's relatives. His hair was in a high ponytail and his eyelids drooped a little more than his friend's, and he had a small beard, but other than that, he looked like a copy of Shikaku.

"Ensui, this is Seina.

"A pleasure," he said, rising slowly. Shikaku told me about you.

"Are you his cousin or nephew?"

"Nephew," he smiled. Am I so similar?

"Do you really have to ask?"

Ensui snorted a laugh. Kakashi-sensei leaned back on the trunk of a tree, watching their interaction with his arms folded. Seina turned to look at him. He was the one who had arranged the training, something would be on his mind. Supposed.

"Are you also an anbu like Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, inspecting him.

"What makes you believe that?" His master raised an eyebrow. She raised another eyebrow in his direction.

"All your colleagues are anbus, except for those who were associated with my father, who are probably also or were anbu, and the new senseis you talk to because they are new senseis, like you.

"You've got you well booked, Kakashi-senpai," the Nara smiled in his direction. Then he turned to look at her with some interest. Why don't we have a mini warm-up duel? That way I can see what you're made of without your teacher explaining it to me.

"That's fine with me," he nodded, realizing with a smile that he hadn't verbally claimed to be an anbu, but it had been implied in his words.

He didn't finish the sentence that he threw himself at the Nara at the maximum speed possible, quite fast considering that he had the weights on his limbs. Ensui, somewhat surprised, vanished, but she followed him with her spellbound eyes. With one punch he tore the tree where he was hiding, while using the hiraishin to disappear before he could catch her with his shadows. He knew Shikamaru very well, so he knew how to counter him.

"Maxima tenebris," he cast the spell nonverbally, as always, watching as the clearing where they were fighting plunged into a bubble of total darkness.

She could see Kakashi-sensei take out his modified goggles to observe what was happening, while Ensui seemed to hesitate before trying to put her under genjutsu to no avail. It took him less than 2 seconds to realize he had failed before he gave up and tried to attack her using his other senses. Since she hadn't activated the invisibility bracelet, which also soundproofed her, Seina knew that the only way he was locating her was by sound. They exchanged kunai blows until Ensui had had enough and tried to dispel the darkness with a wind jutsu, without much success again.

Seeing how she had him trapped, unable to use her greatest asset, Seina changed tactics so that the fight would not end.

"Lumos maxima."

Ensui gave a pained groan, covering his eyes instantly at the ultra-bright light source in front of his face, and then parried his kick to the chest while still with his eyes closed. Seina undid the darkness at the same time as they both jumped back. Then she realized that Ensui had predicted it and had caught her a millisecond later. She tried to move, checking that she was tied up perfectly.

"You almost blinded me," he said, blinking a couple of times. Tell me, how would you get out of this?

"I can think of a few ways," she smiled a little trollly. Which one do you want: the painful one or the painless one?

—... Painless?

"Somnus."

Ensui fell asleep at the power of his spell. One second he was awake, the next he was snoring. Perhaps he had gone too far with the amount of magic. The shadows melted when Ensui was no longer able to control them while asleep. Kakashi-sensei came down from the tree.

"You definitely need more opponents at once to stretch your limits," he spoke, glancing at her sideways. Can you wake him up?

"I suppose," he said. Nerve.

Ensui woke up slowly, his face tired. After all, he had been sleeping soundly under its influence for a couple of seconds. As soon as he saw her, he knew what had happened and groaned in exasperation.

"How did you do it?" No, wait. It has to be something related to your strange powers. Can you teach me the Darkness Jutsu?

"No. I'm afraid only I can do it. I am sorry.

"I could imagine," he sighed. Are you immune to genjutsu? I didn't feel like you broke free or fell into it.

"I am.

Ensui looked at Kakashi-sensei with a calculating face. What would he be thinking? I had no idea, but it sure wasn't good.

"See why I told you I needed more people?"

"Now I do.

Seina frowned as she listened to them. Kakashi-sensei turned to look at her.

"How about fighting several ninjas at once?"

"What?" I'm just tokubetsu jonin, in case you forgot. Do you want me to fight multiple anbu at once? She asked, incredulous. I only win because they are unable to fight my kekkei genkai.

"And, as I told you, your kekkei genkai is not going away," his master replied. You need someone to push your limits when you fight using your kekkei genkai alongside your usual skills. Otherwise, you won't advance any further.

"Kakashi-senpai is right. Besides, not only would we be helping you, but you would also be helping us," Esui said, rising to his feet. So far few people have beaten me so fast because I've never fought someone with your powers. If I could train with you, you'd force me to improve my shortcomings, you understand? Now I understand a few things...

Ensui looked at his master, who was smiling behind his mask in a sly way.

"You've been fighting her when she uses her powers, haven't you?" You've had to improve your creativity and employ new strategies to avoid being approached. No wonder you're even more of a bastard training now.

Seina folded her arms, glancing amusedly at Kakashi-sensei, who was ignoring them both while smiling mischievously. Ensui looked at her again.

"How about training once a week?" He asked. I'd like to come up with some way to defeat your shadow jutsu, if that's okay with you.

"That's fine with me. Mondays are reserved for my team and the Shikamaru team.

"Tuesdays?"

"Look at my two kohais making decisions for themselves," Kakashi-sensei cried feignedly, obviously mocking both of them. You won't need me right now.

Seina raised an eyebrow as she tried to stifle the giant smile that wanted to escape. He cast a prank spell on her without her noticing. When he opened his mouth again to continue talking, he couldn't help but start singing. Ensui stared at him in astonishment until she realized what had happened, staring at her out of the corner of her eye, and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when Kakashi-sensei looked at her in horror. He deactivated the spell.

"Are you sure you want to go that way, Kaka-sensei?" She said, in the sweetest voice possible.

"Maa... Better than not. "Not a word of this, Ensui," he ordered, half jokingly and half seriously.

"Of course," the Nara smiled, lips quivering with effort.

"And as for you," Kakashi-sensei whispered, leaning over her. No more joking jutsus for today!

He picked it up, threw it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and ran away. Seina couldn't help but laugh as she remembered his singing and his expression of momentary terror. He felt the shunshin and saw them appear in front of the house. He opened the door with her on his shoulder, still laughing. He remembered that Naruto and Sasuke weren't there, otherwise he would have taught him the memory instantly.

"Are you going to keep all the ninja in Konoha?" Kakashi-sensei asked, carefully setting her down on the ground.

"Only the ones who don't have a stick in their ass and the ones who need a stick taken out of their ass.

Kakashi-sensei let out a surprised laugh. They prepared food between the two of them while talking about everything a little.

"Do you really think I need to duel more than one ninja at once?"

"Definitely, yes. Even when we fight, you never give it your all. You're afraid of hurting me, and rightly so," he admitted. You may not be able to use your deadliest abilities in a workout, but fighting a lot of people will force you to use less damaging abilities more creatively.

"It's all right. I'll listen to you.

"Leaving that aside... Do you want us to have dinner tonight in the village?" We don't have anything to do and there's no Naruto or Sasuke," the jonin smiled.

"I think it's great. What do you feel like eating?

"I don't care, really.

"You know, come to think of it, I've never seen you wearing anything other than your uniform," she thought aloud. When was the last time you wore civilian clothes?

—… I don't even remember," Kakashi-sensei smiled, shaking his head. Today may be the first time in years.

Seina smiled. When they ate, facing each other, she felt Kakashi-sensei's foot on her ankle again, just as she liked it.

Chapter 7: 53-57

Chapter Text

Chapter 53

When night came, Seina changed into her usual uniform for street clothes. The truth is that he didn't even know what to wear since wearing a uniform for so long had saved him from thinking about it. In the end, he shrugged and put on black jeans along with a navy sweater, black boots he conjured out of thin air, and a jacket. As she descended the stairs, she saw Kakashi-sensei sitting in an armchair, waiting for her.

"Wow," she said, nodding. He saw her cheeks flush.

"Do you like it?" He asked almost shyly.

Seina nodded. In fact, he had dressed almost like her except that he wasn't wearing a sweater but a dark gray button-down shirt, probably over an undershirt. Instead of a mask, he wore a black scarf wrapped a couple of times to cover his face.

"You look beautiful, too," she smiled.

They walked around the village, talking about trifles until they found a restaurant to eat. Seina was surprised to see an interior courtyard with a glass roof, green vines that gave it a cozy touch, oil lamps and tables separated by wooden latticework. They were seated, with the occasional surprised look, at a table at the end of the terrace.

"Welcome to the Konoha Garden, do you know what you're going to ask for, or shall I give you a letter to think about?"

"The letter, please."

Seina picked up the menu the waiter was holding out for her and lifted a couple of spells as soon as she left. He decided at once what he wanted and set the letter on the table, watching with a smile as the jonin seemed absorbed in what he was reading. It always surprised him to stop and think about how attractive Kakashi-sensei was, and how strange it was to him that he hadn't had a serious relationship.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, catching her off guard.

"I was thinking how strange it is to me that you didn't date anyone seriously," she confessed.

"To have a serious relationship, I would have had to expose myself to someone," she shrugged. You know it's not my thing. Why do you find it so strange that he was alone?

"Because you're not only physically attractive, but you're also smart, powerful, and a good person. What more could you ask for?

Kakashi-sensei blushed helplessly. Seina avoided laughing as she realized how much it always affected her to receive a compliment. Then he lost his smile as he realized that maybe it was because no one had given him sincere compliments. Foolish, but better for her.

"Why are you blushing?" Am I not telling the truth? People are stupid, but that works in my favor," she smiled, fully acknowledging the truth.

"I guess I'm not used to being genuinely told things like that..." and so directly.

"Get used to it. I'd fight with people just to be with you," he half-joked.

Kakashi-sensei put the letter down on the table, unable to hide behind it any longer, and fixed his gray eye and black eye on his. He blinked when he realized that the joking mood had suddenly changed for some reason he didn't know. They watched each other in silence until he spoke.

"In a few years, I'll be the one fighting for you." You know that, don't you?

"What?" Why do you say that?

"Why?" Seina... You are the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, the daughter of the heiress of Uzushiogakure, the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage, an excellent doctor, you were promoted to chunin and tokubetsu jonin in less than 2 years after leaving the academy and, because of your trajectory, you will already be jonin. Not to mention, Jiraya-sama is your godfather, I'm your master, and other A- and S-rank ninjas are your training partners. You're way above average, and people have started to notice that. What do you think will happen when you're 15, 16 or 17 years old?

Seina, who had just understood what he meant, relaxed. With an incredulous and somewhat comforting hint, she realized that Kakashi-sensei was afraid of losing her in the future because of others' interest in her. How ridiculous. Still, the fact that Kakashi-sensei admitted that he would fight for her... He didn't know how to describe it, but it ignited a flame inside him that hadn't existed before.

"Kakashi, love... It doesn't matter," he said softly, unable to suppress his affectionate call. Kakashi-sensei was noticeably surprised to hear her. You know why? Because I only want you, and not anyone else. They can admire me, harass me, desire me, envy me, hate me... I don't care. I only care about my people. Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade-sama, my friends, Shikaku, Tenzou, Yugao... but, above all, you. Do you think they would win me over so easily with a few nice words and a bouquet of flowers without really knowing me? Just knowing what I show publicly? Just because I'm now someone in the public interest?

The waiter came to his table, interrupting his chatter. Kakashi-sensei stared at her, giving her his full attention, but he ordered what he wanted from the letter and she did the same. The waiter left quickly when he noticed the tense atmosphere. The jonin stared at the table wide-eyed, thinking about what he had said to her a few minutes before, until he raised his head.

"I understand.

"Like I said, I'm the one who has the best chance of fighting someone, simply because there are more people who know your true self because of how long you've been friends.

"You're wrong," Kakashi-sensei interceded, cutting off the next thing he was going to say. No one really knows me, Seina. Except for you. God, why couldn't you have 3 more years?... What I mean... It's just that I love you too. There has never been anyone else, then or now, who I want to be with. So there's no point in you fighting anyone for me because... I'm already yours, do you understand?

Seina nodded with a lump in her throat. Kakashi-sensei put his foot beside hers, comforting her, unable to hold her hand on the table. There was another silence, though this one was filled with desire and understanding. At that moment she also wished she was 3 years older so she could kiss him, but she held back knowing that sooner or later she could do it in public, whenever she wanted, without anyone looking at them with disdain. Not that she minded the contemptuous looks, but she knew she couldn't have a full relationship with someone 13 years older at just 12 years old. It didn't matter if it was in the wizarding world or in this ninja world.

"Even if I don't have to fight to be with you, I'll have to chase away your admirers somehow," she smiled, breaking the tension with a half-joke. Not to mention, I'll kill anyone who hurts you.

Kakashi-sensei seemed surprised again by his words, as if he hadn't realized what he would be able to do for himself, and for his loved ones. A part of her understood that it was difficult for her teacher to assimilate, that she was no longer alone now and that, if something happened to her, she had someone to defend her from any circ*mstance. It pained him to realize that, until she came along, he had been alone against the world for years. Her colleagues were great, but Kakashi-sensei didn't enjoy the same friendship she had had with Ron and Hermione, who had given practically everything for her for long and arduous years, or with Naruto and Sasuke, who were literally and figuratively her siblings with whom she lived and shared practically everything, including her mind.

She made a mental note of reminding him from time to time that she was there. I'd have to think of some way to make him see it more than just being there for him, and living together.

"Here's your order. I hope you enjoy it.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. The conversation had been heavy, necessary, and comforting, but heavy. He brought out a lighter topic to chat, and they dined with new smiles on their lips. A few hours later, they returned home after a walk around the village. As soon as she crossed the stone wall, she felt a hand grab her waist and pull her until lips rested chastely on hers. Her hands involuntarily raised to her hair and face, caressing it for a couple of seconds before being deposited on the floor.

"Thank you, Seina.

"You're welcome. You know I'm Team Kakashi against the world.

"My team doesn't. Our team," he corrected.

"All the better.

"I like it.

Kakashi-sensei's happy, genuine smile followed her into her dreams. He didn't expect the dinner to end with a serious, romantic talk of his intentions, but he wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

The next day she was called for a mission but, to her surprise, she was not the only one who received the letter. Kakashi-sensei received another note that same morning that made them think they had a mission together. The first in more than 3 months. Seina could hardly suppress her smile. When they arrived at the Hokage tower, their hopes were confirmed when Tsunade-sama nodded for them both to go to his office together.

"Well, well... I was waiting for you. Do you remember the man who makes the modified labware?

"Yes.

"No.

Seina and Kakashi-sensei exchanged glances before the jonin raised a curious eyebrow at the Hokage. Tsunade-sama sighed.

"Yes, maybe I haven't told you. I don't know who I've told what," she muttered to herself. Tenzou's team stole modified lab material from one of the bases it destroyed. Thanks to that clue, we were able to find the person who was providing Orochimaru with said material. I sent a team to protect this person, and with some luck, we got there before Orochimaru. This man, Akira Yukimura, was taken away and taken into the custody of a Chunin team while we tried to set a trap for Orochimaru.

"Don't tell me, has something gone wrong?" Didn't work? She asked, biting a tired sigh.

"Yes and no, we destroyed another of your bases last week while you were on mission. The problem is that Orochimaru has caught on to the deception and has managed to track down Yukimura. The team that protected him is missing, as is Yukimura.

"How do you know they're not all dead?" His master asked with a serious face.

"The scene of the crime." There are signs of a confrontation, but not enough blood for any deaths. Right now we have 4 ninja from Konoha kidnapped by Orochimaru and a civilian we had to protect," Tsunade-sama sighed. I'll give you the information about the team I sent and Yukimura, but we don't have a single clue as to where they are. The traps we set for him were a last trick to find out what else he has bases. Now we're in the dark.

"What is our mission?"

"Your mission is to find Konoha's comrades, the civilian if possible, and rescue them. If you find a new base, destroy it and steal the documentation you find. We need another thread to pull... Kakashi, you will lead this mission. You can leave at once.

"Hai."

She and Kakashi-sensei walked out of the Hokage's office with frowns.

"Do you have it all?" His master asked out of sheer protocol. They both knew that he never left the house without everything he needed, and more.

"Yes. We can go out whenever you want.

"Let's go to the park for a moment," he nodded.

They went to the park next to the Hokage tower. It was becoming a ridiculous habit to stand there and talk for a while. Seina lifted some spells so that they could not be spied on.

"Try giving me an address."

—Akira Yukimura.

The conjured arrow circled until it came to a firm stop to the northeast. Kakashi-sensei frowned again when he realized the direction. I didn't even have to explain why. To the northeast was Kumogakure. Was he using his base's proximity to Kumogakure to prevent them from searching for him? I didn't know that.

"Let's go. We have no time to lose.

"I have a stone sealed in the land of the Hot Springs," she said. We could go there with the hiraishin.

"Good idea," smiled the jonin. We will exit through the northern gate and then use the hiraishin.

And that's exactly what they did. It took them a couple of minutes to get to the north gate, and another couple of minutes to register their departure. Then, hiding behind some trees, Seina used the teleportation jutsu. They fell to the ground a millisecond later, with a pair of kunai in hand just in case. Luckily, there was no one there thanks to his active spells. Seina, without even having to listen to new orders, put on a couple of anti-spy spells and checked the address again.

"I like the fact that you anticipate my requests," Kakashi-sensei confessed with another smile.

"It was the logical thing to do.

"I see you're to the north. Maybe we'll get lucky and avoid going near Kumogakure. Can you summon one of your beasts to fly away?

Seina cast a calculating glance at the clearing.

"I think I'll need more space."

"Let's find another, bigger clearing."

It took them about 15 minutes to find a site large enough and far enough away from civilization to surreptitiously summon their dragon. As soon as they rose, invisible to everyone's eyes, Seina followed the direction of the spell she had active. Luckily, the runes and spells on their clothes were enough to keep them from freezing due to how high they flew in a northerly direction.

"We're coming to the border of the country," she said, seeing the sea in the distance. It looks like the base is not on land.

"So it seems," Kakashi-sensei frowned. I'm not surprised. A base in the middle of the sea goes more unnoticed than one on land. Logically, this must be an important base for Orochimaru. Can you locate him with that spell?

"Yes, of course.

He used the spell again, but this time looking for Orochimaru. To his relief, the arrow pointed in a totally different direction. Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow at the sight of him, his face calculating. As soon as they reached the shoreline, they headed out into the ocean in the bright sunlight. Luckily it was still tomorrow so they could see from far away what was in front of them, which was basically nothing but water and more water.

"Look," Kakashi-sensei called, pointing to a point in the distance. There seems to be a small rocky islet.

Seina pricked up her eyes, realizing she was right. They flew up to the small island that was barely bigger than half a football stadium. It was all gray, steep rock, with little vegetation located at the top. He was able to count a few trees and a few hedges, but nothing more. Surely there must not have been much life on the island, except for Orochimaru's minions.

"Go around the island."

He listened, tilting his dragon to spin on its wings using his own inertia. As soon as he saw the back, he realized where the base was. It was as if half the islet had been torn away to build floors in the hollow, protected by the same stone from all angles except its front face.

"Follow me."

Seina sprang from her summoning after her master, summoning the dragon in turn, and falling to the top of a tree without making any more noise than a leaf would make when it fell to the ground. Thanks to the invisibility bracelet they hadn't been able to see them fall, but from here they could see a watchtower on the left hand side and a few ninjas moving up and down watching. Kakashi-sensei beckoned him with Konoha's jonin code.

"Send one of your creatures to inspect the area and tell me what you see."

She nodded. He summoned his faithful insects and sent them on a tour of the base. It was slow work as they were very high up, but after half an hour they finally snuck into the Orochimaru barracks undetected. Who was going to detect them after bewitching them invisibly? They slipped through the cracks and vents, giving him a perfect view of what was inside.

The first corridor he saw was gray, tiled, and crowded with people walking to and fro dressed in white coats and reading scrolls he couldn't recognize. He even saw a few people being carried away on stretchers who were trying to resist, others dead and people unconscious. It was definitely a laboratory. He communicated all this to Kakashi-sensei, who did not seem surprised.

"Introduce us.

She nodded. He found a cleaning closet with the door ajar and snuck in one of his insects. They then teleported. He hurriedly cast a spell on the small cleaning room on the top floor, making it disappear from the map. They activated the invisibility bracelets before leaving. Seina used her powers to guide them through the crowd, watching the people passing by as if nothing had happened. Some weren't even ninjas. How was that possible? Had Orochimaru hired or trained so many people in medicine without anyone noticing? How many years ago did this whole illegal research empire have been going on?

They had to go down 2 floors before they found the civilian they had come to rescue. Contrary to what they might have thought, Yukimura was not being tortured or imprisoned in a cell. He was working to make more laboratory apparatus although, from the explosive seal on his neck, he did not appear to be doing so of his own volition. Luckily, he was practically alone except for a few minions who followed his orders and helped him complete Orochimaru's orders faster.

Kakashi-sensei, seeing that they were civilians, didn't think twice and knocked them all unconscious with a pinch on the neck and a display of speed that made him go unnoticed. Seina cast a spell on the room so that they could talk loudly, and so that if anyone approached, they would want to go somewhere else. Ah, magic... How he adored her.

"It's a fuinjutsu necklace," Kakashi-sensei sighed as he examined Yukimura on the ground.

"Can you take it off?"

"I'd need time to study it. I'm not as adept at fuinjutsu as I'd like...

"I imagine if we break it somehow, it's going to explode."

"Exactly.

"What if I enlarge the necklace without breaking it?" She finally asked.

Kakashi-sensei looked up at her, looking thoughtfully.

"If you can do it without breaking any seals, nothing should happen.

He enlarged the necklace little by little, but the fuinjutsu remained active while nothing exploded. When the necklace was large enough to pull Yukimura's head out without issue, Kakashi-sensei rescued it and left it on the ground, touching his pulse just in case.

"It's all right. You have some stamp in Konoha, right? He asked. She nodded. Send it back with one of your clones. Take him to the Hokage for questioning if necessary.

"Hai."

He summoned a clone and had it hold Yukimura before disappearing with the hiraishin.

"What do we do with all these people?" Most of them are not ninjas but civilians with medical training.

"I've figured it out..." We only have 2 options: we capture them or execute them. Even though they are civilians, they work for Orochimaru. We don't know if it's by force or not, but they're still Konoha's enemies..." sighed his master again. The truth is that it would be very useful for Konoha to have them alive so that he could interrogate them. If it turns out that they are working for Orochimaru voluntarily, they will be executed by the interrogation department. Could you put them in your suitcase cells? I wouldn't want to send so many strangers to the village all at once.

"Of course. In fact, I thought of the cells with Sasuke so that the prisoners wouldn't be able to wake up from a magic coma so they won't cause problems until I get them out again.

"Perfect. Just what we need.

Kakashi-sensei nodded with a pleased expression. He began to collect the bodies of the unconscious civilians while Seina took out the suitcase, opened it, and summoned a few clones to take care of the imprisonment. A few minutes later, they had even stolen all the documentation related to the modified Yukimura models that were in the room.

"Let's go back to the top floor. We'll comb the building from top to bottom," Kakashi-sensei told him before leaving the bewitched room. Can you stop people from climbing to the higher levels once we've already combed them?

"Easily.

"I remember you told me about a spell to put people to sleep, didn't you?"

"Yes. The Somnus Enchantment. It's a wide-ranging enchantment.

"Could you use it to put everyone to sleep at once?" Kakashi-sensei asked with interest. She nodded. Would it affect me?

"If you stand behind me, no. I can steer the enchantment in one direction.

"Great. Then we'll do the following...

They went from there to the top floor. Seina, at Kakashi-sensei's orders, put them all to sleep all at once. The bodies began to fall to the ground without much difficulty. After all, no one could resist his enchantment. As soon as they heard it, they came out of the stairwell. She and her clones began collecting the bodies while Kakashi-sensei stole the documentation and anything else that could be of any use. The corpses were vanished into nothingness at the orders of the jonin, while those torn between life and death due to human experiments were cured by their clones in their cells.

He bewitched the staircase so that they could not climb up and they went down to the new floor. The building turned out to have 5 floors, one of them underground, but they were all civilians except for a couple of low-level ninjas that Kakashi-sensei easily cut down without their help. When they reached the end, however, they realized that Konoha's team wasn't there.

"Try looking for each of them by name: Mamoru Inuzuka, Kotetsu Hagane, Yanjirobee Futaba, and Natori Kirihara.

Seina obeyed. He quickly realized that Orochimaru had gambled on Konoha.

"They're not here," Kakashi-sensei finally said, "though fortunately they all seem to be in the same place.

"What do we do now?"

"Our mission is to rescue Konoha's team, Yukimura, steal the paperwork, and destroy the base, and that's what we'll do," he replied firmly. She nodded. Let's go. We'll plant some explosive seals to destroy the base completely.

They were divided to speed up the work, putting the seals at load points in the structure. Seina tried not to think about the state of the team they should have rescued, preferring to hurry up to blow up another Orochimaru base before leaving. Half an hour later, the entire building, as well as the watchtower and the outer hut, was filled with explosives.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu.

They rode away from there, mounted on their dragon. When they were far enough, they set off the explosives. It didn't take a minute for the building to collapse in on itself, disappearing.

"It's a pity you still don't know how to form a sjujudama with my chakra," Kurama lamented. We could have blown up the whole island.

"Maybe next time."

"Transport us back to the land of the Hot Springs," Kakashi-sensei ordered when they saw the building explode properly. We have no time to lose.

Seina summoned the dragon into mid-air, grabbed her master in her hand and walked away. They fell to the ground an instant later. It didn't take long for him to use the locator spell again, checking that they were even further south than his position.

"What sealed stones do you have in the south?"

"I have one in Konoha and one in the Land of the Sea.

"Perfect. We'll go to Konoha first.

chapter 54

That's how she and Kakashi-sensei returned to the starting point only to realize that the kidnapped chunin team was even further south. Seina used her other stone, in the land of the Sea, crossing her fingers mentally.

"We must be closer," Kakashi-sensei said with a straight face. We've been very lucky.

The arrow was now pointing southwest so they knew exactly which direction to go, even though what was in front of them was more water.

"Another base at sea?" He asked with some surprise. There was already a base around here.

"Something tells me that this base is in the Land of the Waves..." Relatively close. If so, it would be easy for Orochimaru to trade materiel and prisoners from one base to another if he needed to, he thought aloud, referring to the lab base that destroyed his equipment along with Shino herself months ago. We must have been very close to the base when we did that mission to Tazuna... As it turns out, we were luckier than we thought.

They flew in the direction of the unknown base for minutes. When they crossed the imaginary border between the Land of the Sea and the Waves, Seina realized that Kakashi-sensei was right. All this time there had been a base a few miles from the bridge they helped build, without anyone noticing. They saw her from afar again. It was a small island, also made of gray rock, with even less vegetation. The only difference is that there was no structure built into the rock.

"It looks like the entrance is hidden.

"We'll go down to the top of that peak," the jonin said.

They fell to the sheer top of the island, realizing how high it really was, and climbed down the slope wearing the invisibility bracelets. Kakashi-sensei pointed to small holes in the stone in the distance, which, when examined closely, were artificial holes to ventilate the base.

"I can smell a lot of people in here," he beckoned. Send one of your summons.

Seina did. The first thing he found were cells and more cells as far as the eye could see. At the bottom of it all was the stone staircase that led to the upper and lower levels.

"Introduce us.

He obeyed again when he made sure they were covered by the bracelet. They appeared in the stairwell, listening to the cries of some prisoners and the angry, resigned silence of many others. The funny thing was that no one raised their voices. I would have thought that someone, some stupid person, would be screaming for his release, but he wasn't. What the hell would they have seen or done to them so that no one would want to draw attention to themselves?

Kakashi-sensei touched his arm, signaling them to go down the stairs in search of Konoha's team. An arm held her back for a millisecond before she realized someone was climbing the stairs. She stood stunned, half-hidden behind her master's body, while the jailer came up sulkily with trays in his arms full of really tasteless-looking food. As soon as he passed by he saw a black seal on his neck, and he wondered if that was the seal Orochimaru had wanted to put on Sasuke.

"Here's your food, you scumbag!" He shouted as soon as he appeared in the upstairs hallway. If you don't want to go hungry, you'd better eat it.

Seina turned again, seeing Kakashi-sensei have both eyes uncovered, one gray and one black, and staring at the stairwell. They heard the ninja hand out the food before continuing down the stairs, following the direction of his spell. The lower floor was another corridor with more prisoners, just as it was on the lower third floor. It wasn't until they reached the top floor, at sea level, that they discovered the infirmary, a testing lab, and more cells.

He had to hold his breath when he saw the condition of some prisoners. He knew, thanks to his auditory spells, that some were dead or on the verge of death. Some were so emaciated they were unrecognizable, others seemed to have undergone all sorts of experiments. It was inhumane. Kakashi-sensei walked silently to one of the cells, pointing his head inside. He instantly recognized the ninja. He was one of the chunins who frequently worked at the front gate as a guard checking in and out ninjas and civilians.

"We've got to get him out of here." His heartbeat is very weak," she said with some urgency as she listened to the slow, irregular beating of his heart.

"Let's look for the others."

The rest of the Chunin team, fortunately, was only a few cells away. Unfortunately, they were all badly injured. The Inuzuka, in addition to being on the verge of death, seemed in shock as he stared wide-eyed at his dead ninken beside him.

"Get them out of here." I'm in charge of the ninjas on this floor," Kakashi-sensei said.

Seina had obeyed his every command without question, but when she realized that she wanted to face an indeterminate number of Orochimaru's minions alone, she felt her eyes squint and had to bite her tongue to keep from openly disobeying. He must have seen it written on his face, because he tapped her shoulder comfortingly and knew she was asking him to trust him. He felt a nervous twitch in his cheek, but he reluctantly agreed.

He turned his back on him, knowing he was entering the lab, as he prepared a few Portkeys with some unsealed stones in his fanny pack. He threw a stone at each of them, using the coordinates of the summit where they had fallen, and activated the Portkeys. He had no idea what the fuinjutsu surrounding the cells meant, but he preferred not to accidentally activate it using the hiraishin...

He disappeared from there without a sound. He appeared at the top a second later, seeing how they were piled on top of each other. He threw a few barriers to protect his back while examining his new patients and created several clones. He had to focus on ignoring his spider in Kakashi-sensei's ninja gang before using the diagnostic spell.

One of them had an onset of sepsis due to an amputated leg, another was in shock and had several broken ribs that had miraculously not punctured a lung, the third was unrecognizable and had multiple organ failure, and finally, the fourth ninja suffered from a brain hematoma, as well as several broken bones and a slight brain hemorrhage. Perfect.

She left her clones treating 3 of them and focused on the guy with the worst prognosis, being assisted by a clone. He didn't know how long he was reversing the multi-organ failure, ignoring Kakashi-sensei's fight with Orochimaru's jailers, but he knew that they would have to stop somewhere nearby to set up his magic tent so he could continue treating them. What was clear to me was that if I didn't treat them to stabilize, they would die in minutes or a few hours.

Kakashi-sensei appeared just as his clones began to reanimate the ninja from the brain bruise. She stopped dead in her tracks behind her barriers, carrying a girl her own age, perhaps a year older than her, unconscious on her shoulder.

"Situation?" He asked from behind his barriers. Seina dropped them in the face that she was no longer alone.

"Very bad. I need to stop somewhere safe, otherwise this one and that one"—he nodded to the ninja who was torn between life and death—"will die in an hour or two at most."

"Return us with the hiraishin to the nearest place," Kakashi-sensei commanded. We can't stop here.

He used the clones without a word to teleport them all to the land of the Sea. They fell to the ground with the wounded equipment in their arms. It didn't take long for Kakashi-sensei to put the prisoner on the ground, handcuffed and unconscious, and took out his tent identical to his, though he didn't need to give people explicit permission to enter. They took the ninja and put them in the infirmary.

"I'm going to set some traps around the tent," the jonin informed him. I'll be here in a couple of minutes.

He nodded as he swapped with his clone, magically reanimating the ninja, who seemed to have suffered another cardiac arrest due to hiraishin. Daemons. Why had he wanted to be a ninja doctor or jonin? She could have stayed in Konoha as the chunin master of the academy!

"The Inuzuka is out of danger," said one of his clones. The one with the amputated leg is being treated. At the moment he is stable.

"Great," she said, lifting a weight off her shoulders. Wash them and dress them in new clothes.

He cast another revive spell when his clone stopped blowing air. With relief, he listened to his heart begin to beat faintly again. He felt the presence of Kakashi-sensei behind him, in the doorframe, analyzing the picture. Then he walked the few steps that separated them, standing beside them.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Help my clones, if you like.

It took several hours for the swelling to reduce thanks to a brain drain. If he hadn't had his magic, he would have had to pierce his skull to suck out his blood, which was much riskier. Luckily for him, with magic he could treat it more easily and more efficiently. The one he was most concerned about now was the ninja with the multi-organ failure. With his magic he had been able to reverse some things, as well as with the potions he had given him, but he was still on the verge of death. Fortunately, since he had reversed the trauma that had caused his multi-organ failure, he hoped that, by keeping an eye on him and stable, he would be able to move forward in a few days thanks to his magic.

"What's the prognosis?" Kakashi-sensei asked quietly when he saw her try the gravelier one again. His name was Kotetsu, if I remembered correctly.

"The severe trauma has been healed and I am treating the infection effectively. I have recovered full respiratory and cardiovascular function, but my liver is still affected due to a rupture that I have already healed. In general, the inflammation has also gone down and his clotting system should be reactivated now that he no longer has fractures or ruptures... I'll need to be by his side or have a clone watching him all the time, but if he makes it through tonight I think he'll survive," he finally sighed.

"And the others?"

"I'll get his leg back easily since it's a recent wound," he nodded at the ninja dressed in white hospital pajamas freshly sponged in a sponge. The Inuzuka has been lucky. I only had fractures and little else. Not even his lung has been punctured, although the appearance of it appeared to be in much worse condition.

"But he has lost his ninken," Kakashi-sensei said, looking at the dead dog at the foot of his bed.

"And I was in shock," she went on. You will need help recovering from this.

"And Natori?"

"Is Natori the bruise boy?" She asked. Kakashi-sensei nodded. It was also serious, but I was able to drain the blood... The problem is that I don't know if he will have any after-effects due to his injuries.

"I see... "His wounds seem more recent than Kotetsu's," the jonin muttered, watching them closely.

"That's for sure. Kotetsu would surely have been assaulted at least 3 days ago. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this bad. The one with the amputated leg suffers from sepsis, so it was probably amputated a day or two ago at most.

"It looks like they tortured one a day..." With the clear exception of the ninken, which, due to rigor mortis, has been dead for at least 4 days.

"What did you find down there?" She asked, remembering that they had been separated for a few minutes. And who is the prisoner?

"You'll find it ironic, but the girl looks like an Uzumaki. She was the first to feel me, surprisingly," Kakashi-sensei confessed with a frown. It seems to be of the sensitive type. Have you used your powers to get them out of their cells?

"Yes. I've seen fuinjutsu and I didn't want to accidentally activate it using chakra.

"That explains how he didn't feel you before I even attacked them with a genjutsu. It seems that even though he is of the sensitive type, he is unable to perceive your powers. That solves one of my doubts. We should have something for lunch, or dinner.

"Dinner?"

"Believe it or not, it's only recently started to get dark," Kakashi-sensei smiled in his direction. You were too focused to notice, but we skipped the meal too.

"It's a good thing I've got the food ready," he snorted a tired laugh.

As they ate in the infirmary, attentive to his patients, he explained how he had fought the jailers using his sharingan and a mixture of taijutsu and genjutsu.

"Do you know that I used your theories about genjutsu to create a new one?" He said with the enthusiasm of a small child. When we get back, I'll show you. Today I tried it for the first time, but it was a resounding success.

"And what does he do?"

"It makes the brain believe I'm not there.

"Huh," she blinked, realizing his genius. This genjutsu plus the bracelet makes you really invisible, doesn't it?

"That's right. Now I can use chakra without giving away my position," the troll smiled in his direction. That means that, for all practical purposes, I am truly invisible.

"So that's why you told me to leave without hesitation!"

"I had it under control," he shrugged. Besides, I knew that you were most needed by healing others.

He punched him in the arm, without much force. The home run didn't even try to dodge it, letting it hit him.

"Hey! What's that all about?

"That's to worry me," she growled without really being angry.

Kakashi-sensei put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him, and kissing her on the forehead. He let her stand up straight to finish her meal, as she glanced at the unconscious ninjas.

"I should put the prisoner in a cell," he said at last, when they had finished a piece of fruit.

Seina took the suitcase out of her fanny pack, letting him take care of it. Still, in the few minutes it took Kakashi-sensei to put the supposed Uzumaki in a cell, none of his patients regained consciousness. Honestly, you'd be surprised if they did it for a few hours.

"What are we going to do with the mission?" What's going to happen to the prisoners we've left at the base? Now there's no one to feed them, he thought aloud as he realized that.

"I've been thinking about it, actually. Many were in very bad shape, so if you tried to recover them, it would take a long time to stabilize them before you could move them. Not to mention, Orochimaru may soon suspect that something has happened to the base... The best thing we can do is to send one of my hiraishin clones to Konoha to inform Tsunade-sama of all this and let her decide what to do.

And that's what they did. They sent a clone of his master and a clone of him so he could come back with an answer or a team, if needed. Kakashi-sensei, at his side, waited patiently for an answer from the Hokage. In the meantime, she went over the drips with serum and so on that she had given her patients. They seemed to have gone days without eating anything, so I had to do something about it or they wouldn't make it.

Suddenly, Kakashi-sensei raised his head.

"Your clone will return with a team," he said. I'll wait for you where you have the seal.

Assented. Konoha's team that had returned with their clone was none other than Shizune, Hayate, and Genma. As soon as they appeared through the door of the infirmary, they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the 4 beds occupied and the dog dead on the floor. It didn't take Shizune a second to step forward, heading for the beds. Seina quietly explained the condition of each of them, letting him see that there was nothing more to be done to treat them.

"You've done a great job. They owe you their lives," he sighed when he finished inspecting Kotetsu and Natori. It will be better not to move them until they regain consciousness.

"I was afraid of that.

"Shizune, stay with them watching them," ordered Kakashi-sensei, who was still the leader of the team. Hayate will stay here guarding the tent while the rest of us take care of Orochimaru's prisoners. Come on, Seina.

"What are we going to do with the prisoners?" She asked, walking out of the magic shop.

"Tsunade-sama wants us to dispose of the corpses and treat those that can be recovered," he informed her as she and Genma walked beside him.

"How many prisoners were there?" Genma asked, pulling the senbon out of his mouth.

"I imagine more than 100..."

"The interrogation department is going to on us, Kakashi. You'll see Anko's face when he sees how much work they have ahead of them.

"That's not our problem," Kakashi-sensei said lazily. Then he turned to look at her. It's your turn, Seina.

He raised both arms and molded the chakra to use hiraishin. Luckily, his master had had the great idea of asking him to leave a sealed stone at the base because otherwise they would have had to fly back from the land of the Sea.

"Wow. No wonder we are not able to find its bases...

They slipped inside with one of their summons, falling into the corridor on the top floor. Some prisoners watched them awake from behind the bars of their door windows, others were still unconscious... or worse, dead.

"We'll start with this plant. Genma, would you rather take out the prisoners or mine the explosives base?

"I prefer explosives," he confessed bluntly. You know that fuinjutsu is not my strong point.

"Then you know what you have to do. I'll stay here with Seina taking out the prisoners while she heals them.

Genma began to plant the explosives while Kakashi-sensei undid the fuinjutsu from the first cell, teaching her, and her clones, how to remove the seal without it activating. He didn't quite understand how it worked since he didn't know the basics of fuinjutsu, but it helped him get some prisoners out by imitating what he was doing without any problems.

As soon as he had his first patients, he began to heal their wounds with the help of Katsuyu's small slugs while his clones continued to free prisoners. Of the first 10 released, 2 of them had succumbed to previous wounds so he piled them into a pile away from the others.

He didn't know how long he was examining Orochimaru's prisoners, but he realized several things. The first was that most of them were civilians or low-ranking ninjas, the second was that there were ninjas from different countries, and the third, that Orochimaru had not yet experimented with all of them. It seemed that the newer prisoners had been placed on the upper floors, while the prisoners who had been there for some time, and who had been used in Orochimaru's sick experiments, occupied cells closer to the laboratory on the first floor. The only exception had been Konoha's team. Perhaps because he didn't intend to use them as an experiment, but to punish Tsunade-sama for repeatedly destroying his bases. I didn't know for sure.

Hours later, almost at midnight, the pile of corpses was quite large, but at least most of them had survived.

"Do you think any of them will die in the next few days?" Genma asked quietly, seeing the treated prisoners unconscious.

"Maybe. Some of them, despite being physically well, are not at all... Present.

"No wonder," sighed Kakashi-sensei. Who knows how long they've been here or what things they've been done to or seen.

"Imagine having to wait your turn knowing what they're going to do to you," Genma spat, biting his senbon again. Damn bastard.

"We will put them in the cells, separated from the other prisoners," Kakashi-sensei said as they began to put the bodies away. I wouldn't want them to attack us in panic, or turn out to be our enemies.

It didn't take long for them to pick it all up. He had to use his summoning to fly away so that he could destroy the base from the air with the explosive talismans that Genma had planted. As soon as they were sure that it had been destroyed, Seina used the hiraishin to return to the tent. Kakashi-sensei parried Hayate's katana with a kunai before he realized it was them and ceased his attack.

"How are the others?"

"Mamoru has woken up," he said tersely as they entered the tent. He is inconsolable.

"I'm not surprised.

Seina didn't say anything. He could faintly imagine what it meant to lose an animal like his ninken. After all, Hedwig had been something similar to her, though they never fought together. The only time Hedwig went into battle was to save her from a deadly curse. He didn't want to think about what would have become of her if Hedwig had been even more present in his life as Mamoru Inuzuka's ninken.

He didn't go into the infirmary. Everyone listened from the outside as Shizune tried to comfort him without much success. A while later, Shizune called her into the infirmary. The Inuzuka pretended to be sleeping behind a curtain that separated him from the others while the others remained unconscious.

"How do you see Futaba-san's leg regenerating?" The doctor asked quietly.

"I'd thought about it, especially so that when she wakes up she won't be shocked to realize that she's had her amputated, but—"

"Sepsis is a problem, isn't it?" Shizune sighed. She nodded. I already imagined that if you hadn't done it it would be for a reason.

"Until she gets better, I wouldn't even try, but it won't do anything to regenerate her in a few days or weeks.

"Okay. Good to know.

"I'll leave several of my clones here to keep watch," she said. We can go outside if you want.

Shizune nodded. Seina left a couple of clones as usual: one to stay there, just in case, and one to be uninvoked in case something happened. He had figured out early on that if he did so, information could be sent to each other while keeping any situation at bay with the remaining clone.

"They're still stable," Shizune reported as the others waited for them outside the infirmary. Nothing has changed while you were away. How has it been at the base?

"We've destroyed it and taken back quite a few prisoners. Seina has healed them. We have them in special cells," Kakashi-sensei said, leaning against the wall.

"How many living prisoners are we talking about?"

"About 140.

"Wow! I don't know if Tsunade-sama has that many people.

"The interrogation department is going to be very busy," Hayate thought aloud.

"The question is, when can we go back to Konoha?" Genma asked, rolling his eyes in boredom.

Kakashi-sensei and Hayate looked at her and Shizune with a clear question on their faces.

"As far as it goes, they're stable. "We could call Tsunade-sama so he can have a medical team ready just in case," she began, "but I don't think it's going to be a good thing to bring the hiraishin back to everyone but Natori.

"What's wrong with Natori?"

"He's got a bruise in his brain. Seina has effectively drained blood from his brain, but he's right to think that hiraishin might affect him.

"In fact, when we got here using the hiraishin I had to resuscitate him a third time in less than 15 minutes," she replied, much to the surprise of Genma, Hayate, and Shizune. Still, Kotetsu needs constant attention so I would send him back to Konoha as soon as possible.

"Okay... You'd better go back with Seina's help and take everyone with you except Natori," Kakashi-sensei said, looking at the reinforcement team. Also take the scroll with the corpses so they can begin to examine them. In the meantime, Seina and I will fly back to Konoha with Natori, and the prisoners. If we don't sleep tonight we should get to the village in a boat.

Seina snapped up straight as she received her clone's information almost at the same time as everyone heard the screams coming from the infirmary. He appeared at Mamoru Inuzuka's side just in time to grab his hand full of sharp claws that had been released by his clone, blown up due to a punch. Claws that he almost used to slit his own throat. Hell, he was strong! Kakashi-sensei and Genma appeared at his side a millisecond later, pinning him to the bed as Shizune quickly injected a sedative into his neck. He struggled against the hands of both jonin, but soon tired and the sedative took effect.

He cast a spell on him to check that he hadn't been hurt before she could stop him. Fortunately, his clone gave them enough time to prevent him from committing suicide. He watched as Kakashi-sensei and Genma tied him up on the bed with fuinjutsu handcuffs while Shizune treated his puncture wound in a couple of seconds. Hayate, keeping an eye on the other patients, watched them from the infirmary.

"He's going to need to be hospitalized for a while," Genma sighed. Should we cover up his ninken?

"Go now, Shizune. The sooner you get to Konoha, the better.

"Hai."

Seina helped Shizune move the patients. Genma took Mamoru, Shizune took Kotetsu, and Hayate took Yanjirobee. One of her clones took it upon herself to return them to Konoha while she moved Natori with a levitation spell out of the tent. Kakashi-sensei picked up the tent and the traps.

"Follow me." I'll find a clearing so you can summon your dragon.

They walked slowly with Natori in the air until they reached a somewhat clearer area. Seina left the patient on the floor as she summoned her creature. He had to stick it to the dragon's back so it wouldn't move or it could fall, even though he wasn't going to let it happen. The dragon soared under a disillusioning spell in the direction of Konoha.

"What a day," she sighed, realizing that not a day had passed since they had left the village in search of Yukimura.

"Didn't you want to be a jonin?" Kakashi-sensei asked with a smile, holding a hand on Yanjirobee's shoulder like her. He reached out his other hand to tuck a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear. Luckily we'll get to Konoha quickly and then you can sleep as much as you want.

"What about you?"

"I'll have to tell the Hokage everything, but it will be a few minutes. Surely Shizune is already telling you everything.

The rest of the flight, while somewhat long, was uneventful. Natori didn't even move a muscle as he was held down just in case. She and Kakashi-sensei remained silent, relieved that the mission was over after all the setbacks.

Chapter 55

When they arrived in Konoha, they were quickly allowed to take Natori to the hospital, where Hokage herself was waiting for them.

"Kakashi, Seina. I'm glad to see you back," she greeted, indicating where she wanted Natori to be dropped. You have given me a lot of work with so many corpses.

"We still have to give you all the prisoners alive," Kakashi-sensei said without flinching.

"Stop by the interrogation department. I don't want anything to do with anyone until Inoichi gives them the go-ahead. I'll wait for you in my office later.

She and her teacher exchanged a glance before leaving. He ended up accompanying Kakashi-sensei to the interrogation department, listening to him talk in whispers to several high-ranking ninja in the department. Seina was accompanied by Anko to the cells in the basem*nt so that she could take out all the prisoners she had in her suitcase.

"Damn Orochimaru! She muttered angrily when she saw how an entire floor had been filled with people, most of them imprisoned by Orochimaru and treated by her. It will take weeks to interrogate them all.

"That's not my problem anymore," she replied in a tired voice. Anko snorted a laugh.

"Go to sleep, brat.

Seina was gone before I could change my mind. He found Kakashi-sensei now talking to Inoichi and the guy who took care of the chunin exams, Ibiki Morino if he remembered correctly. As soon as she appeared at the door, all eyes were on her. Kakashi-sensei and Inoichi smiled in her direction while Ibiki stared at her with an inscrutable expression.

"You've done a good job," he said, and then looked at his master. We'll start right now with the ninjas of Orochimaru. You can be sure of that.

"What will happen to the civilians and the other ninja we've kidnapped and rescued?"

"It will depend on what they know and what the Hokage decides," Inoichi shrugged.

"Well, if you don't need me, I'll go to sleep," she said.

"See you soon," Kakashi-sensei said goodbye as well. The others nodded. I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a shower first.

"I thought it didn't need to be said," he snorted a tired laugh.

They walked out of there. As soon as they reached the first corner, Kakashi-sensei unexpectedly took her in his arms and used the shunshin. In a few seconds they found themselves in the house.

"Huh. Thank you," she said as she put her feet on the ground.

"You looked like you were about to crash to the ground," he smiled closing one eye, clearly mocking her.

Seina punched him in the arm again.

"Nee-chan! Naruto shouted. She groaned, utterly exhausted. Where have you been!? You haven't left a note!

"We had a rather urgent mission together," Kakashi-sensei replied. If you don't mind, let's sleep for a while. We'll talk tomorrow.

—P-but-

"Turn down the volume dobe. Can't you see that they're not paying attention to you? Sasuke rolled his eyes, appearing through the door. We'll question them later.

Seina took a shower and went to sleep in less than 10 minutes.

When he woke up it was noon. She had only slept about 6 hours, but it had been enough to bring her back to normal. Going downstairs he noticed that his brother and Sasuke had grown tired of waiting for them and were training in the hut while Kakashi-sensei was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Good morning. How did you sleep? The Jonin smiled in his direction.

"Deeply.

He decided to grab a piece of fruit and wait for lunchtime, so he sat down on the couch next to Kakashi-sensei, eating a banana.

"What do you read?"

"I'm not sure yet... It's a science fiction book with murders." He shrugged, showing her the cover. I just know that there are a lot of rats.

"What?" She laughed as she listened to the explanation. Where did you get it? That wasn't in the library, was it?

"No. I bought it second-hand. I'm starting to understand why they resold it.

He leaned back on his side, closing his eyes, while Kakashi-sensei read his ridiculous book. He could hear the birds in the garden, using the different trees to play and lay their nests. The heat of spring was beginning to be felt, even though February had not yet ended. It was a week before March. He would have exactly one month left to find out where the jonin exams were taken, and he still had a few things to go over. Still, she was confident that she would make it.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seina opened her eyes when she heard the question. He saw how he had left the book on the armrest. An arm rested on her shoulders and pulled her along. Luckily, he wasn't wearing the vest so he was able to bury his face in his warm chest. It wasn't as hard as the vest, but what a fabric... I had to admit that I was in top form.

"Not at all.

They heard Naruto and Sasuke's footsteps and argument before they even opened the door.

"Were you like that when you were 12 too?" Kakashi-sensei asked surprisingly.

"Huh. No," he laughed. I was always rather distant and tried to go unnoticed, although, to my bad luck, I didn't succeed...

"When you were 12 years old, you killed a basilisk and saved the life of your best friend's little sister, didn't you?"

"That's right. Good memory.

"How could I forget?"

"What were you doing when you were 12 years old?"

"We were at war, so I imagine he'd be with your father, sabotaging some mission of our enemies.

"What a depressing talk," Naruto complained, appearing through the door.

Seina sat upright, sighing, and Kakashi-sensei picked up his stupid book again. Sasuke completely ignored Naruto as he sat in the armchair in front of the couch, standing in front of them behind the small coffee table.

"What was that you wanted to talk about this morning?"

"Oh, yes! Do you know where we've been on mission this week? His brother asked, but no one answered. He rolled his eyes, seeing how no one was playing along. We were in Takigakure.

"Really?" Why?

"Because Hisen, the leader, was killed last week.

"Really?" She asked again, but this time surprised and very interested. He seemed to have everything under control a few weeks ago.

Naruto and Sasuke explained to him how the rebellious ninja that Hisen had been afraid of, and who had gone after Kobayashi, eventually got fed up with waiting and finished off the leader of Takigakure. Hisen's eldest son became the next leader, but he needed Konoha's help to end the internal problems.

"And why hire a team of genins and a chunin?" She asked aloud.

"That's what I said," Sasuke replied, glancing at Naruto. Apparently, he didn't have access to the village's money due to complications with his promotion, so he had to hire the team he could with his personal money.

"We beat Suien the hell out!" That's what counts!

"I'm not really much surprised," his master interceded for the first time. After all, the 2 of you have the level of a chunin despite not holding the position.

"And the other chunin was Shikamaru, so it wasn't too difficult," Sasuke shrugged.

"What about you?" Where were you?

"Rescuing a civilian and a Konoha team that was protecting him. "They were kidnapped by Orochimaru," she replied. Why do I feel like all but a couple of my quests are only about Orochimaru?

"Because he's the biggest threat to the village right now," the jonin laughed. Tsunade-sama knows that your powers give you a great advantage in hunting it, and avoiding it. If you hadn't been with me for yesterday's mission, I would have needed a Hyuga or an Aburame, as well as a doctor. By the time we had found the civilian and the team of chunins, more than one would have died.

"Were they in such a bad state?"

"Yes. Luckily I would say that they will all survive.

"What do you want to do today?" Kakashi-sensei asked, rising from the couch. We can take the opportunity to train all together if you want.

"By me, perfect," she said. Tomorrow and the day after I have to work in the hospital so I won't be available.

"Great! I want to keep practicing fire ninjutsu," Naruto said, jumping too energetically from his seat.

"I want to learn the genjutsu you told me," she said, staring at a smiling Kakashi-sensei.

"I promised I'd show you."

"What genjutsu are you talking about?"

Kakashi-sensei was explaining to them how he had created it, how it worked, its limitations, etc. His master's new genjutsu covered one of the weaknesses of his invisibility bracelet. With the bracelet active, one could go completely unnoticed as long as one did not use the chakra with visible effects, that is, one could use the chakra to produce a henge without anyone noticing because the effect reverted to oneself under invisibility, but one could not use a fire ninjutsu because, despite the invisibility, Everyone would notice the huge fireball that had appeared out of nowhere.

Actually, it was a very big weakness that limited the bracelet from escaping, going unnoticed and infiltrating, but not from attacking invisibly. This was due to the fact that the rune bracelet was meant for her to wear alongside her magic, which was already undetectable to ninjas. In fact, this contraption had been illegal in the wizarding world due to allowing criminals to flee undetected. But who was going to stop him from creating one and using it?

With Kakashi-sensei's genjutsu, which manipulated the brain to make his victim believe that his attacker did not exist, not being detected by any of the senses, his master had achieved, as an indirect effect, that his chakra could not be detected.

"Basically, the brain thinks there's no one attacking it, so it convinces itself that it can't perceive someone else's chakra because it thinks there's no one," she summed up, after listening to Kakashi-sensei and seeing Naruto's somewhat confused face.

"Exactly!

—… I think I understand," his brother said, clearly lying.

Sasuke sighed at the sight of her unconvinced face.

"Think of it another way, dobe: your enemy is suddenly a civilian, and you're a ninja hiding out of the back by throwing a kunai at him from the back from the top of a tree. By the time he realizes it, he'll be dead.

"Ah! Now I get it!

"What?" Seina asked incredulously. Kakashi-sensei exchanged a blank stare with her. How did you understand it with that cheap analogy and not with the exact explanation?

"Analogy?" What are you talking about?

Seina rolled her eyes and proceeded to explain what an analogy was to her brother as Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei trembled with laughter.

"Be that as it may, I understand that. Let's take action!

They were practicing genjutsu. According to Naruto and Sasuke, it was like not seeing Kakashi-sensei anymore. It just didn't show up on his radar. Seina had to accept his words and see him through the open link because they couldn't put her under the genjutsu. After that class, they continued to practice the mountain of ninjutsu that Kakashi-sensei had given them. Later, when they got tired of training ninjutsu with the dozens of clones, they practiced some taijutsu and kenjutsu.

"I think it's time to quit," Kakashi-sensei finally said, putting his weapon away. We've been in here all afternoon.

"And I'm starving."

They showered again while their clones prepared dinner. Tonight, after several months, since they had nothing to do and were all together, they drew a deck of cards. The ninjas, of course, couldn't help but cheat, so the winner was the one who cheated the most without anyone noticing. Basically, her. Because she could transform the cards into whatever she wanted, and everyone knew it, her team spent more time trying to slow her down than cheating themselves. In the end, the game was a real mess.

"There are no 9 fives in this deck!" Sasuke exclaimed, picking up the pile of letters and going through them.

"Oh, isn't it?" She asked with a huge smile.

Kakashi-sensei snorted a short laugh behind his cards. Naruto, meanwhile, kept sorting out his cards. He hadn't yet realized that others could get ahead of his moves because they knew he was ordering them from less to more. Every time his brother drew a card from his left hand he could imagine that it was a card from about 1 to 5, and vice versa. The most troll was Kakashi-sensei, who used genjutsu against Naruto and Sasuke and, against her, cards up her sleeve that she quickly exchanged.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, leaving a card face down on the table. She threw other cards over her. Kakashi-sensei, on his left hand, looked at them suspiciously.

"If I pick them up, they'll all be the same, won't they?" He sighed.

She didn't say anything. As everyone thought, he ended up winning again in the face of Naruto and Sasuke's complaints.

"f*ck," his brother cursed. You should use your powers to play pranks on the villagers and not to beat us to the cards!

"Jokes like what?" She asked with a grin from ear to ear. How is it?

He transformed the cards into an animated teddy bear in the blink of an eye and had him launch himself with a high-pitched battle cry in his brother's face. Naruto only had time to widen his eyes before falling backwards to the floor still sitting in the chair, screaming and trying to rip off the teddy bear that grabbed his head with the 4 stuffed legs with superhuman strength.

There was a short second of silence where Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke watched in amazement at what had just happened before they started laughing out loud. Sasuke more than Kakashi-sensei, but it was obvious that he was trying not to laugh at his brother shamelessly.

"I love you oni-chan!" The teddy bear said in a tiny voice without letting go of Naruto.

Seina began to cry with laughter, and she and Sasuke fed each other through the bond. Best of all, I felt Naruto's horror and watched him try unsuccessfully to get away from a stuffed animal. He transformed the bear into the cards again, watching his brother's face red with effort and indignation.

"SEINA! Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing an accusing finger at her. NOT AGAINST ME! AGAINST FEAR!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she excused herself as she wiped away tears. I don't want to turn the house into a combat zone with jokes.

Naruto began to smile as he felt in his own flesh the laughter that had caused Sasuke and her to see him.

"You know what I just came up with?" He laughed again, watching his team shudder. I want to give Kiba a stuffed dog that only activates when he's alone and tries to jump on his leg, you know? Like a real dog! Imagine the look on her mother's and sister's faces when she tells them over and over again that the stuffed animal is alive and is throwing itself on her leg like a bitch in heat!

Naruto and Sasuke, who were watching her imaginary scene with her, began to crack up laughing with her. They knew Kiba so well that they could imagine his horrified face. Kakashi-sensei stifled a few laughs at the thought, probably thinking of the same thing. He had to calm down to catch his breath.

"It's been a while since you've made a joke," smiled his brother.

"Have you played a joke on someone like this before?" The Jonin asked, somewhat surprised.

"The old pervert."

"Did you play a prank like this on Jiraiya-sama?" He asked again, much more incredulously.

"He gave her a spellbound card to make her look like a drag queen!" Naruto laughed, and then Sasuke at the memory. Best of all, he was the only one who couldn't be seen!

Kakashi-sensei turned to look at her, looking at her with an expression that was somewhere between pleased, surprised, and interested.

"Can I see it?"

Seina held up a finger, thinking of her brother's memory, and implanted her memory in him. Kakashi-sensei pursed his lips to keep from laughing at the sight of Jiraiya in the bubblegum-colored afro and super tacky makeup, but the longer his memory stretched and he saw people bumping into lampposts and tripping at the sight of him, the less he could hold back his laughter. She ended up crying with laughter for a few minutes. She and Naruto, Sasuke, and watched him laugh out loud like few times before.

"Tsunade-sama would pay you money for this memory," his master swore to him when he recovered from his laughter. I can't believe it. In the end, it will turn out that singing is the least of it.

Kakashi-sensei looked at her with a smile, surely remembering his own joke moment with Ensui. She winked at him without Naruto and Sasuke noticing.

The next day he had to go to the hospital, as he did every Thursday and Friday. As soon as he arrived, he noticed that there was more noise than usual.

"What's going on?" He asked one of the nurses.

"We have a few civilian patients waiting to be discharged," he said as he signed papers. Apparently they were imprisoned somewhere.

"Huh...

He understood instantly who he was talking about. These people must have been the civilians they rescued who had been placed in the hands of the interrogation department. If they were here, it must have been because they were no threat. He let them do it as he made his way to the locker room. He changed thinking of the team of chunins they had brought back to Konoha.

As soon as he arrived at the ninja plant, he saw Kotetsu and Natori side by side in the semi-crit wing. He was surprised to see them there when they had been in such bad shape the night before, but better for them. One of his assistants approached him with the patient's medical history that he had scheduled for today.

"Seina-sama." Here's the record," he greeted her, handing her the paperwork. The patient is currently waiting in Operating Room 4.

He skimmed through the entire medical history. Just as he had told Tsunade-sama, he had managed to invent something with runes so that everyone could use his diagnostic spell. That something was a "wand" of quartz and metal with runes attached to a tray of blank paper. All they had to do was touch the quartz part to the patient and make sure the tray only had blank paper. Now, every qualified iryo nin, and loyal to Konoha, in the hospital had one of these registered to their ninja number. In fact, they only worked when the ninja in question activated them because they were bound to him with blood runes. This decreased the likelihood that no one else would be able to use them and there was no point in them being stolen. Everyone was happy to have something that saved them hours of paperwork, patients could be treated faster, more efficiently, and she was much less burdened.

He went into the operating room and started his day as usual. He had only reserved 2 slots that morning for 2 patients so when he finished an hour ahead of schedule he dedicated himself to organizing the paperwork: documents that had to be filed in the hospital, others were secret, medical records that had been replaced with more recent versions that had to be destroyed, etc. Usually her clones did it while she organized the appointments for the next few weeks, but she had a lot of time to kill and, unless she was asked for help, she didn't have to be hanging around the hospital taking the work away from other doctors.

When she left her office, she found a recent graduate genin waiting for her in the living room. As soon as he saw her, he jumped up.

"Tsunade-sama has asked me to give you this," he said, handing her a sealed note.

"Thank you.

He watched as she left after bowing to her. She raised an eyebrow, but let it be. The note turned out to be a request from the Hokage to come and see her after lunch. Seeing that it was not an order, he deduced that it must not be very serious or urgent. When he got home, his team had already prepared the food and was waiting for it at the table.

—How was your training?

"We've gone in with Team 8," Sasuke said. It's gone well... At least when Naruto's idiot stopped laughing like a lunatic.

Naruto burst into laughter, wiping away a tiny tear as he listened to it.

"I couldn't stop remembering what you said about the stuffed dog for Kiba!"

"And since the dobe doesn't understand what it's like to dissemble, he's started laughing in his face as if nothing had happened," Sasuke rolled his eyes, though there was a hint of a smile on his lips. Obviously Kiba got and asked him what he was so amused. To which the dobe could only laugh so they ended up fighting like a couple of guys in the mud.

Kakashi-sensei snorted a short laugh as Seina began to laugh softly.

"This team is literally a circus of clowns," the jonin said as he saw his disciples burst out laughing again.

"As if you weren't..."

Kakashi-sensei ignored Sasuke's words.

"Then you want to train together?" Sasuke asked. I think today I'll be able to learn that lightning ninjutsu.

"Then I have to go see Tsunade-sama.

"Hey! Me too! Naruto said with a smile. Did you get a note saying to go see her this afternoon?

"Actually, yes.

Seina blinked as she realized that only she and Naruto had been called to the Hokage's office. He saw the calculating expression on his master's face and knew he was imagining something, so when their eyes met, he raised an eyebrow.

"I think it has to do with yesterday's mission.

Then he remembered. The red-haired girl. Kakashi-sensei had told her that he thought she was an Uzumaki. It had to be that. Naruto, of course, started asking questions while she thought. Kakashi-sensei answered him as much as he could. After all, they didn't know for sure.

"We need to go to the office, nee-chan!" Naruto shouted when he found out the possible why.

"I suppose the sooner we go, the sooner we'll know..."

Notes:
Hey!

Happy Summer Vacations! To those of you who have at least...

I've been writing another Naruto/HP story to de-stress from this one, but I still can't decide on who the fem partner can be! Harry so, once again, I'm going to leave it in your hands, but giving 4 names:

-Itachi.
-Sasuke.
-Gaara.
-Shikamaru.

I'll leave it there.

Chapter 56

Sasuke, unlike his enthusiastic brother, felt the jumble of feelings inside him. He raised an eyebrow, probably when he sensed his concern mixed with reticence and insecurity. While Naruto was happy and joyful because they had possibly discovered a distant relative they didn't know existed, she couldn't help but feel otherwise. It's not that she didn't want to have any more blood family, but the girl hadn't been a prisoner of Orochimaru. That was the problem.

If she had been found in a cell, things would have been totally different, but they were not. Kakashi-sensei captured her as a prisoner because she was one of Orochimaru's minions. She didn't know what her duties at that base were, but it was clear that she wasn't a hostage. She may have been only 12 or 13 years old, a child in the eyes of many people, but she was still a ninja according to what her master had told her. That meant she wasn't just an ordinary civilian girl. Just from her experience as a ninja, Seina knew she had to be a little more mature. Those 12 or 13 years in a shinobi were like 14 or 15 years in a civilian teenager. More than enough to realize what was right and what was wrong.

So what was someone like her doing at an Orochimaru base? Was he there voluntarily? Did he feed the prisoners? Did he help in the experiments? Did he take care of cleaning? Was she being manipulated by Orochimaru? I didn't know that. Until he knew in full detail that person would be a potential enemy of Konoha, but how could he explain all that to Naruto when he didn't know what they had seen there or what had happened. His brother was already totally excited.

Worst of all, if she really was an Uzumaki, it meant that Seina had to vouch for her since she was the firstborn of the firstborn of the leader of Uzushiogakure. Even though her mother had not accepted the leadership of a country in ruins, she was still the princess of Uzushiogakure, and had been treated that way in Konoha even after her death. Seina, in the future, would be forced to accept the leadership of a clan of 3 people. The same would happen to Sasuke with his family. Not even Kakashi-sensei could spare himself from attending meetings from time to time as leader of the Hatake clan, despite having only one member.

Perhaps that girl's future in Konoha depended on her, not Naruto, and she knew that she would have little scruple about getting rid of that Uzumaki if she turned out to be a danger to her brother and her. That led her to the second problem. How would his brother take it if he was... get rid of it? Maybe I wouldn't understand, maybe I'd blame her... Maybe, maybe, maybe...

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked, losing some of his enthusiasm.

She looked him in the eye for a few seconds, quickly debating whether to explain all this to him or not. After all, I didn't even know if I was an Uzumaki or not. Maybe I was creating a mental movie for nothing.

"Seina." What's going on? Naruto asked again. Now totally serious. What aren't you telling me?

They were standing in the middle of the street, on their way to the Hokage tower, but he knew that his brother would not advance another step until he got out of him what he was thinking. So they stopped on a stone bench near the bank of the river and opened their bond wide. Naruto, and Sasuke, delved into their memories of the base and how Kakashi-sensei brought that girl with him, unconscious, and how she was not a prisoner but a pawn of Orochimaru. He explained to them the whole problem, everything he knew could happen, everything he had just thought about.

When 10 minutes passed, Naruto finally found out everything, and lost all the enthusiasm of a few minutes ago. They heard their brother's mental groan perfectly, and his question to himself as to whether being an adult was always so troublesome and depressing. Naruto hadn't even considered the negative part of having another family member. That was the problem for his brother, who always saw everything positive and never stopped to think about what could go wrong.

She, in her previous life, had been just the opposite. He always saw the negative side, but then he was surprised when things didn't end badly. It had taken him many years, various experiences, and his friends, to realize that, in truth, reality was not a tale of roses or a series of catastrophic misfortunes. It was more of a mix of both. Naruto, however, didn't seem to realize that and she feared that it would cause her sadness and disappointment in the future when her expectations didn't match reality.

"And what do we do?" His brother finally asked.

"Nothing yet," she consoled him. First we have to find out whether or not it is an Uzumaki. If it's not, it's not our problem. If it is, then we'll think of something.

But when they arrived at Tsunade-sama's office about 10 minutes later, their hopes that it was a mistake went up in smoke.

"She's an Uzumaki," Tsunade-sama said. We have matched their DNA with that of other Uzumaki and you are related on your mother's branch.

"What degree of kinship are we talking about?"

"Practically none. It must be a very distant cousin, but it's clearly from your clan.

"Yes," she answered, not knowing what to say.

"And what's going to happen to her?"

"That's what I wanted to talk about, and that's why I called you as soon as I heard about it. Because of the information Kakashi gave me, I decided to get rid of the DNA evidence, but she continues to be interrogated with the other prisoners. If it hadn't been an Uzumaki you wouldn't be here, but it is.

"You're going to use the time of the interrogation to give us time to think about what to do with her, aren't you?" She asked, seeing where the shots were going.

"Exactly. There are only 2 possibilities: either she is a manipulated hostage of Orochimaru or she works voluntarily, and consciously, for him. If it is the latter, it is clear that she will be imprisoned, like the other prisoners.

"What if it's the first case?" Naruto asked.

"If it's a manipulation of Orochimaru, it means that, in reality, he's just another victim. In that case, it will be your responsibility since you, Seina, are the heir presumptive of your clan and, until you have a son or daughter of your own, Naruto is your heir. I guess you've figured it out by now." He looked at her with his serious, brown eyes, the Hokage. She nodded silently at his implicit question. Even if she is at your own risk, she will not be able to leave Konoha during a long probationary period during which she will be monitored. If she betrayed Konoha, her custody would cease to belong to you and she would be imprisoned.

"But, until that happens, if it does, she'd be my responsibility," he sighed wearily as his teacher nodded. Naruto raised an eyebrow. We would have to help her find a place to live, work, watch over her, renovate her, etc.

"Another option would be to disinherit her," Tsunade-sama went on. If you officially kick her out of the clan, she will no longer be an Uzumaki in name, and it will not be your responsibility. Her custody would then be left in Konoha's hands, and the responsible departments would take care of her until she betrayed Konoha or served her probationary term.

"How many months is this period?" Naruto asked, biting his tongue at her mental warning not to yell about disinheriting her or not.

"Depending on the interrogation and what we discover. It can be a period of 3 to 12 months.

"Naruto and I need to talk about this privately," she replied, seeing that she already knew everything she could. Until she is questioned, we won't know exactly what has happened to her.

"It's all right. As soon as we know more we will let you know.

"Thank you very much, Tsunade-sama.

They left quietly. Seina knew they weren't going to train for a long time that afternoon. Naruto, at least, recognized that they should talk in private and not in the middle of the street, so they headed home as quickly as possible to have the relevant discussion. When they arrived, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were sitting at the table waiting for them.

"We didn't know if you want us to leave for a while or what," Sasuke said very bluntly.

She and Naruto exchanged glances, but after all, Sasuke was family and part of his team.

"Stay. Maybe an objective opinion will help us.

"So she's an Uzumaki, isn't she?" I could imagine it. He used chakra chains to attack me," Kakashi-sensei said. They are very common in the Uzumaki clan.

"Old Tsunade says we either take care of her or we disinherit her.

"That is if he turns out to be just another victim of Orochimaru," she interceded, seeing that Naruto already took him for granted. If we take care of it it will be our responsibility for 3 to 12 months, depending on how dangerous they think it is.

"And what do you intend to do?"

The expectant faces of Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke caused her and Naruto to exchange glances again. Seina knew without having to ask her what her brother thought. He was the positive of the two and she was the realist.

"I'm inclined not to disinherit her," she said at last. His brother took a deep breath at his words. For the time being. Until we know what has really happened to her, that is my position.

"That means you have to start thinking about what to do with her," Kakashi-sensei thought aloud. Do you want me to live here?

Sasuke frowned as he realized that this was something he had to think about. The truth is that he didn't trust her knowing what she knew until now so he wasn't going to let her get into his house, his sanctuary, which he also shared with 3 other people.

"No. This house belongs to the 4 of us. She's solely my responsibility, and Naruto's to a lesser extent, so I'm not going to introduce her here knowing that she'd be intruding on your lives as well. Besides, I don't trust it. This house is safe, the safest in all of Konoha. He should be out of his mind to get it in here, being a pawn of Orochimaru.

He immediately saw Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei relax almost imperceptibly. Naruto, who was serious as few times before, also saw it. Added to her argument, her brother didn't even try to convince her to let her distant cousin live with them.

"My idea would be to see how much money Naruto and I have saved and buy a small flat for her. If the apartment was our property, I could modify it as I wanted to keep an eye on it even from afar without her noticing. That would give her an illusion of privacy, relax her from an unfamiliar village, and ensure Konoha's safety.

Kakashi-sensei nodded thoughtfully.

"That's not a bad idea. I imagine that even if you wanted me to live here, it would be a shock to her too. It's in everyone's best interest to give them their space. If you can keep an eye on her like this, all the better," the jonin urged with a smile. I see you've got almost everything figured out. In fact, you could ask Tsunade-sama if she knows of any ninjas who need to hire someone to earn a living wage. Having a job, even though it is a civilian job, will give him more freedom and independence compared to living on the money you give him monthly.

"That's a good idea. So neither Seina nor Naruto suffer from having to take responsibility for her at the same time as her...

"Cousin?"

"At the same time that your cousin gains Konoha's trust and her own independence.

"What is clear to me is that if she is released, I will talk to her personally to make sure she really is innocent," she said, staring at her brother. If I realize that her long-term intentions are to run away or betray us, I will take it upon myself to return her to the interrogation department and disinherit her.

There was silence as she and her brother stared into each other's eyes. This was the one thing he wasn't going to compromise on and he wanted Naruto to know without a doubt. Even if he got mad at her for rejecting his supposed cousin. He wasn't going to let a potential enemy get close to his family, let alone being a pawn of someone who wanted Sasuke to use as a meat suit just because he had the sharingan.

"This gets interesting," Kurama muttered in a sinister voice. I never thought I could have a duel against myself.

Seina knew why he said that. Both his brother's eyes and his own were glowing red. It was the first time he had so sharply overridden his brother's opinions, and that had piqued the Kurama-yang's curiosity in Naruto. In the end, with the bond open and feeling her master's and Sasuke's chakra tense, her brother bowed his head in surrender to her. He knew that what he was doing was to protect them all and Naruto couldn't fight it because he also wanted to protect the entire team above all else.

He heard the disappointed tongue snap of Kurama-yin, his Kurama, as his other party in Naruto backed away. He saw his red eyes disappear into Naruto's new blue eyes.

"Well... That has been... "Curious," Kakashi-sensei said with feigned calm.

Sasuke breathed again after spending several seconds still, holding his breath. She and Naruto finished shaking off the bloodlust of the bijuu, fully regaining their sanity.

"We'll do as Seina-nee says," her brother finally answered. He's right. As much as I want to, and I'm an Uzumaki, I can't forget that I was with Orochimaru and that it would be dangerous not to know what her intentions are or to let her live here.

"I'll talk to Tsunade-sama to find out when she'll be released." That way we'll know how fast we have to move to buy that apartment," she said. Do you want us to go tomorrow afternoon to look at apartment prices?

Naruto nodded, curiously excited to look at more floors even though it wasn't for them.

"What do you think of us going in for a while this afternoon as we had thought?" Kakashi-sensei asked, rising almost too energetically from the table. Maybe you'll do well to get that adrenaline out of your body.

They trained for a few hours in the dugout that afternoon. Seina gave it her all in training against Kakashi-sensei while Naruto and Sasuke practiced ninjutsu. She was thankful that her teacher noticed that she needed to blow off steam using taijutsu and kenjutsu because when she finished, sweating from head to toe, panting, she felt much better. The long bath he took that night was like being reborn.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi-sensei asked quietly as he walked down the stairs to the dining room. The previous thing has been a bit intense.

"I'm fine. Sooner or later Naruto and I were going to have some confrontation considering our temperaments." He shrugged. I'm glad it didn't go any further, although Kurama would have liked to duel with his other half.

"Better not," his master said slowly, clearly imagining him. At least not in the village.

Seina snorted a short laugh. Kakashi-sensei squeezed his shoulder affectionately.

"Can you help me make dinner?"

"Of course.

It was clear that Kakashi-sensei was trying to distract her, but since he was not in the habit of asking for help in preparing food, she happily accepted. Naruto and Sasuke were taking a bath, so he would seize the moment between the two of them alone. Even if it was only 10 minutes. He slapped her hip and started walking to the kitchen.

"What would you like for dinner?" The Jonin asked, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Something cold. Actually, I'm in the mood for a salad.

"It's all right. I'll do something more hearty and you'll take care of the salad, shall you?

That's how the rest of the team found them a while later. Seina was laughing out loud at a story of Asuma-sensei that her teacher was telling her.

"You should have seen his red face when he threw tea all over the place the first time he met Kurenai.

"I didn't know Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei are together," Naruto said, appearing through the door.

"Hey, I'd say they don't even know it themselves. Asuma still can't bring herself to ask him out, but I don't think it will be long." Kakashi-sensei looked over his brother's head, winking at him. I don't think he wants to let it go.

They ate dinner laughing, forgetting what had happened hours ago as if nothing had happened. Seina continued her routine of working at the hospital, training with her team, and commissions for the Hokage. When Monday arrived, they went to the training camp where they had arranged to meet the 10th team. Strangely, or perhaps not considering that the leading voice of Team 10 was Ino, when they arrived at the clearing they were already waiting for them.

"At last! If I had to listen to one more complaint, I would have strangled Shikamamaru.

Sasuke and Naruto laughed mockingly at the tired face of Nara, who was lying on the grass. As soon as he noticed everyone's gazes, he stretched out and stood up with a heavy body.

"How did you get to Chunin Shikamaru?" His brother asked incredulously.

"For the same reason as your sister," he replied somewhat scathingly. Are we going to train or what?

"Did you use the weights like you said?"

"Yes, of course. Asuma-sensei said it would be a good idea so we didn't take them off even to live a normal life.

"That's good. What are you training with Asuma-sensei?

"The basics, as always, but when he saw that you had taught us concealment ninjutsu, he offered to teach us a pair of fire jutsu," Ino grinned from ear to ear. Apparently, it was thought that we were not interested in learning it.

"What jutsu did he teach you?"

"An offensive one.

"Gokakyu no jutsu."

"Huh. Not bad for beginners," Sasuke nodded.

"You have relatively little time to learn new jutsus and train with us every Monday, so I would teach you the most useful jutsu.

"Like what?"

"Ino and Chouji have earth nature, so I'd start by learning the barrier jutsu that will serve to protect you and also create a hiding place, if necessary," she began. And you, Shikamaru... To be honest, I would focus on genjutsu.

"Genjutsu?" Ino asked, exchanging glances with Chouji. Why?

"Why?" Shikamaru's greatest weapon, besides his brains, is his shadows. In fact, the jutsu I taught him the other time was meant to be used with his kekkei genkai. Shikamaru's problem is the weakness of this jutsu: he can only use it if there is some kind of shadow," she explained with hairs and signs. Shikamaru watched her intently. That means any enemy who knows how their technique works also knows how to avoid it. That leaves Shikamaru with 2 options: either he's smarter than his enemies to catch them or he comes up with another way to use his kekkei genkai.

"Are you saying that with genjutsu I could use my shadows in a different way?"

"Of course. I imagine a dynamic genjutsu where time passes for your enemy faster." He shrugged as he thought about it. Imagine making him believe so gradually that it's night that he doesn't even realize it's daytime.

"That's impossible. There is no genjutsu like that," Shikamaru instantly denied.

"Not yet," Seina smiled, "but it must not be too hard to invent.

—… If there was such a genjutsu, I could use ash concealment to discreetly activate the genjutsu and then, while I'm tiring my enemy, make him believe that I can't use my kekkei genkai and then finish him off with my shadows without him noticing," Shikamaru thought aloud, his face serious and calculating. Could you do it? Could you invent a genjutsu like that?

"Of course. In fact, I'm coming up with something else to counteract the weakness of your shadows when it's night or there's no light...

"Are we going to start training or are you going to keep scheming for a long time!?" His brother exclaimed, causing him to give a boat.

Seina nodded. They hadn't come to talk, they had come to train, so that's what they did. The morning passed quickly. He ended up fighting all 5 at once, but none of them were a match for his spells, and Team 10 was no match for his taijutsu either. Still, when they left the clearing, I was even excited for a new challenge.

What Shikamaru needed, besides a genjutsu, was a source of light that he could use for combat. Enough to be able to create shadows in the dark. He jotted it down in his diary, taking it out of his fanny pack, as they walked back home to eat.

Notes:
Wow. You surprised me.

I put those 4 names since they are the ones I see the most with fem! Harry. If I had to consider characters like Shisui I would have to rethink the story, but it is possible since at the moment any possibility is feasible. At the moment, the votes are going like this:

-Shikamaru: 15.
-Itachi: 11.
-Gaara: 4.
-Sasuke: 3.

Those of you who have voted for 2 names I have counted each vote. I don't take threesomes into account as, honestly, it's a lot of work to write in a long story. I think I'll do a mini-series with your threesomes or cop proposals, but not for now.

I will leave the vote open until next Friday. If nothing changes, Harry's partner in the other story will be Shikamaru.

Chapter 57

The next day was curiously similar to the day before. He had arranged to meet Ensui at a hidden training ground, but he hadn't expected him to bring friends with him.

"Yugao-sensei?" She asked, surprised when she saw her in profile.

"Seina! Nice to see you. You can just call me Yugao if you want," she smiled, turning to look at her. I've been told that we'll be at the same level right now.

"Huh. Yes, if you're talking about jonin rank," he snorted a laugh, knowing that Yugao was an anbu.

"You already know Yamato, but I don't think you know Seichi Onikuma.

"Another anbu?" She asked wearily. Delighted.

The stranger was tall, strong, slender, with short light brown hair and gray eyes. He seemed affable, like Yamato, and very calm. He smiled in her direction, waving at her.

"On Kakashi-senpai's advice, we are here to help you with your training for the jonin exams," Yamato smiled, "and also to train ourselves.

—According to him, you never give your all when you train, so he thinks that fighting against more opponents of a higher level will help you to overcome your limits.

He nodded at Yugao's words. As soon as he heard it, he started thinking about how the hell he was going to face the training that was coming his way. Ugh. Damn Kakashi-sensei.

"Let me help you, dwarf," Kurama said, almost vibrating with excitement. The other day I was left wanting blood.

"It's all right. They wanted it." He grinned from ear to ear. I will use your chakra and my powers. I don't plan to use a single jutsu. Let's see what they do against us.

"I see you're up for it," Sensui snorted with a laugh. Why don't we start?

Seina accepted Kurama's generous chakra, feeling lighter than ever. She saw the dark, orange glow surround her like a cloud of smoke. Before they could blink, she was ejected at top speed. Ensui wasn't able to dodge his punch, even though he had covered his face. He leapt into the air thanks to his ultra-enhanced reflexes, dodging a kick and punch from Seichi and Yugao. Yamato tried to catch her in mid-air with a branch, but couldn't due to the speed of her disappearance. It appeared behind him releasing a torrent of magical water with one hand and a huge lightning bolt with the other.

He set about dodging their attacks, realizing that Kurama's chakra was enough to match his speed with that of the anbu. As soon as Yugao pounced on her and saw Ensui out of the corner of his eye molding his chakra to capture with the shadows, she used a lumos solem to blind him, smiling at the sound of pain. Still, Ensui already knew that trick and used his shadows even as he closed his eyes. He disappeared again. She reappeared behind him.

Ensui rose into the air with an exclamation and bolted at Seichi, who was already lunging at her again.

He summoned a branch of Yamato, threw it back at her, and turned it into a small dragon with a spell. He watched as he tried to wriggle away without much success and then disappeared again. He watched them plummet from above. Yugao sensed her first, looking in her direction and leaping into the air to intercept her. Bad decision.

"Levicorpus, stupefy."

He left her dangling by one foot in the air, realizing that the other opponents were ready to attack her again. Before touching the ground he saw the shadow hidden between some branches so he took out the wakizashi and used it to avoid stepping on the ground, nailing it to the ground and using it as a pole. A millisecond later he was gone. He appeared right where Seichi was throwing a punch so he covered his face with one arm and, with the other arm free, used a curse.

"Locomotive mortis."

He swallowed a laugh when he saw his big eyes as he felt his legs stuck together like cement. Even so, his balance was such that he managed to jump onto a tree branch with both legs joined. Ensui and Yamato wasted no time in attacking her with kenjutsu from both sides. He summoned his wakizashi, wounding Ensui in the shoulder, and created another wakizashi out of thin air. However, it was clear that she was not prepared for a kenjutsu battle against 2 expert anbus. Feet on her back sent her flying across the clearing, and before she could break free, she was trapped in a wooden coffin. Luckily, he could touch the wood with a finger so he faded it, falling to the ground.

Fortunately, Kurama's chakra helped her get up before Ensui could catch her again after recovering from the surprise. He disappeared several times to confuse them, escaping before they could realize where he was.

"Petrificus totalus."

Ensui fell to the floor on his face, straight as an ironing board, but conscious. An invisible curse in the direction of Yamato, who was preparing to use the mokuton again caused him to fall repeatedly, preventing him from molding the chakra to attack her. She appeared after him, throwing another stupefy. The last one standing, left for last, was her new colleague Seichi, who almost looked at her in fear.

"Accio Seichi's vest," he intoned mentally. The ninja screamed as he felt him inexorably approaching her. He tried to attack her with several kunai that he dodged. Stupefy.

The fight was over then. Seina stopped using Kurama's chakra, feeling all the tiredness all at once. He had to kneel on the grass to catch his breath, panting and sweating like never before.

"It's been great! What a beating we've given them!"

"Normal. They don't know how to defend themselves against my spells," she admitted. If I hadn't had your chakra to match our physical conditions, they would have beaten me in less than a minute.

"As soon as your body matures, you'll have the same stamina as these ninjas. Don't worry," Kurama comforted her. The fact that you're now able to earn them using your unknown genkai kekkei doesn't detract from your merit.

"I'm going to revive them."

It revived everyone and petrified Ensui, who was the first to sit on the grass as he stared at her with a totally shocked face.

"It's been incredible. I just realized that it's impossible to beat you," he admitted at last, without even blinking. Your kekkei genkai gives you too much of an advantage.

"Just like the Kyubi chakra," said a voice behind him. How old do you say you are?

"12," she answered. Then he thought in his head. Rather 132...

Suddenly, he didn't know why, it occurred to him to think what would have happened if Voldemort had had access to his training as a ninja plus his powers as a dark wizard. He shuddered and couldn't help it. I would never, ever have been able to kill him with all the luck in the world. Had the wizards and witches of your world had access to the chakra, they would have owned the planet.

Something similar was happening to him in this strange ninja world. Right now their only rivals were ninjas because they could use the chakra. However, he had so much knowledge, so many spells and curses available that it was laughable. Magic was a kekkei genkai too powerful to be fought with normal jutsu. He hadn't even used his worst enchantments to attack them, but he could imagine a thousand ways to kill these 4 anbus without the slightest effort...

"We've been beaten by a 12-year-old girl," Seichi stared into infinity with a huge smile. 4 anbus.

"You know what that means, don't you?" Yugao asked. We need more training.

"We need more training with Seina," Ensui said. Right now he has become the perfect person to train against.

"Why do you say that?" She asked curiously.

"Because there's no way to defeat you!" We don't have enough information about your powers to think of a strategy against you. And what does a person do when he finds something or someone he can't conquer or overcome?

"Train harder, and better until you achieve it.

"Ugh," she moaned as she realized they wanted to use her as a training dummy.

There was debate about whether to refuse or not. After all, if he wanted to fight an anbu, he had Kakashi-sensei at hand, but in the end, he gave up. Once a week I wouldn't kill her. Speaking of Kakashi-sensei.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, having felt a genjutsu a long time ago.

"You got me," Kakashi-sensei laughed tersely, deactivating his bracelet and dropping his new genjutsu. Ever since you started attacking. I knew you'd be coming, so I've been waiting as stealthily as possible. Genjutsu gave me away, didn't he?

She nodded. The 4 anbus groaned in frustration in unison at the sight of him. Now not only had she beaten them to a 12-year-old girl, but they hadn't even noticed the presence of Kakashi-sensei, who didn't have his kekkei genkai.

"I'm impressed," his teacher said in his direction. Even though you keep limiting your powers...

Seina raised a hand without saying anything in the direction of a huge tree in the distance. A spell later and the tree flew through the air, practically being sprayed with sawdust. The pale faces of her training colleagues didn't surprise her.

"What do you want?" What kills them? He said somewhat sarcastically.

He repaired the tree as if nothing had happened, before the astonished gaze of the ninja.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a shower," she said goodbye. See you next Tuesday.

Kakashi-sensei walked beside him, his hands in his pockets. He noticed her sideways gaze, unable to stifle a sigh. He raised a tired eyebrow in his direction.

"Don't you feel better after training with them?"

"You know I do, Kaka-sensei," she replied in troll fashion. The problem is that now they're going to want to train every 2 by 3.

"You didn't want to go into anbu?" His master smiled mercilessly. Here's what awaits you.

—… I feel like every time Sasuke and Naruto catch up with me I leave them behind again.

"That's normal. Neither of you has your powers.

Kakashi-sensei put his arm around her shoulders, comforting her, when he saw that it was one of her real concerns.

"Besides, neither of us is training with higher-ranking ninjas, except me.

"Maybe they should join the training."

"What Naruto and Sasuke need is to ascend to chunin in order to advance. They're stuck in a stalemate right now," Kakashi-sensei said. Luckily, they are intelligent and work on their own so as not to be left behind. Otherwise, the gap between you would be unreachable. Also, remember that you spent almost 2 months in Konoha without doing quests while training with a sanin. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto have had that luck or the time to spare.

"Yes. I don't think the old pervert spent his time training my brother 12 hours a day every day when they went in search of Tsunade-sama.

"I don't think so either," Kakashi-sensei snorted with a laugh. Don't worry, Seina. You'll see how little by little it fixes itself. In fact, having you on their team is a good thing. You've heard Ensui.

"Ugh.

"Come on, why don't I invite you all to a yakinuku?" The Jonin said before squeezing his shoulders and putting his hands in his pockets again. We could celebrate the end of February.

Seina accepted his words of consolation and opened their bond to talk to her team. Unsurprisingly, as soon as he told them that Kakashi-sensei was inviting, they didn't even think twice about it. They ate at the barbecue restaurant for quite some time, talking animatedly about training with the 10 team. As soon as they wanted to return to the house, walking calmly through the village, Kakashi-sensei received a notice to go to the Hokage's office.

"What's going to happen now?" Sasuke asked. The last time he left so abruptly was because of the chunin exams.

"I have no idea.

"Maybe it's something to do with the prisoners you captured?" Naruto asked mentally.

"It could be—"

As soon as they arrived at the house, Seina went to her study. She left the clones to study, as she usually did, while she made lights for Shikamaru. His idea was to create about 12 metal spheres that could be activated and deactivated at will, and that were connected to an enchanted sack so that Shikamaru could summon them without having to pick them up. The light should be enough to produce shadows within a few centimeters to 2 meters, depending on the sphere, so if your friend was as smart as he thought he was, he knew he would use them wisely to catch someone even in the dark of night.

Genjutsu was another matter. To begin with, the idea of making someone believe that time passed much faster than normal was a good one, but how quickly could time pass without someone noticing that something strange was happening? In order for the illusion to be useful throughout the day, you would have to spend half an hour in the illusion for every minute in reality, at most. That, after doing several calculations, meant that if Shikamaru wore this jutsu at 12 noon he would need at least 8 minutes to make someone believe that it had gotten dark or, in other words, to make them believe that instead of 12 noon, it was 8 or 9 in the afternoon and, therefore, at night.

Those 8 minutes were nothing when one was not in mortal danger, but for Shikamaru they could represent 8 minutes risking one's skin to survive. Still, if she made time pass faster, she was sure they would notice that something was wrong because, even if the brain was being manipulated into believing it was night, anyone could check the time on a clock and notice the incongruity, even if they were convinced it was night.

He wondered what would happen to a person in that case. What would weigh more heavily on that person? The genjutsu or the irrefutable fact that it was impossible for it to be night at 12 noon because they knew the time thanks to a clock? Could I mentally kill someone because of that? Too many unanswered questions, but it was very interesting. In the end, it was said that such genjutsu was better than none.

He set about investigating which areas of the brain corresponded to everything that needed to be changed in the brain. He spent the whole afternoon in the studio. When he left for dinner, Kakashi-sensei still hadn't returned, and the other two were in the hut training.

The next day, she realized that Kakashi-sensei was on a mission when she herself was called to Shikaku's office.

"Ten." Take this scroll to Sunagakure. These are details of contracts between our villages, so there are people who are very interested in them," Commander Jonin said, throwing a scroll at him. No one should get hold of it.

"Who should I give it to?"

"To Sunagakure's advice." They still don't have Kazekage, so they take care of the village for the time being.

"Still?"

"Yes. Don't ask me why.

"Oh, that's right. I have something for Shikamaru. Can you give it to him?

He handed him the package he had prepared for his friend with some instructions. I wanted him to start training with them before the following Monday. Why not take the opportunity to have your own father hand you the gift?

"What is it?" asked Shikaku with some surprise, touching the small black velvet bag containing the spheres.

"I'll let you find out with Shikamaru," she smiled. I'm out of here.

"Good luck.

The last thing he saw before leaving the office was Shikaku's curious face, examining the package without opening it. He knew he wouldn't open it until he gave it to Shikamaru. Too bad to miss their reactions, but that's life. He wrote a note to his team and sent it home with a clone. With everything on him, he made his way to the main gate to the west of the village.

He searched, as was customary, and walked out at a steady pace until he found a clearing away from the main road.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu.

He summoned his thestral, remembering that he had more creatures than his dragon, and under an invisibility spell flew off in the direction of Sunagakure. It was a real shame that he didn't have one of his stones sealed with the shiki jutsu to shorten the path. Still, he realized that he could launch them from the air as he moved in the direction of the land of the Wind. For hours that was her only task: to throw sealed stones from the air and go unnoticed.

Hours later, when it was time for lunch and he had already crossed the border into the country of the Rivers, he did not stop. He ate one of his ready-made benthos in the air, keeping his creature in a straight line, and thought about how ridiculous this mission was. It kept flying incessantly until it reached the border of the land of the Wind a couple of hours later. He pondered whether to stop for a while to stretch his legs, but decided to keep flying.

Shikaku had given this mission to her because he knew some of her powers. He must have known that he was going to use one of his creatures to go faster. That meant she was counting on no one to hit her in the air. Which, in turn, meant that it wasn't entirely safe to go overland carrying the scroll in question. Otherwise, other ninjas might have taken him to Sunagakure.

He arrived at the ninja village in the country of Wind as dusk began to fall. She stopped near the huge stone barriers that surrounded her and removed her spells. He walked for a few minutes at a leisurely pace, watching the front door guarded by a few chunins. Perhaps Jonins, considering the precarious situation they were in.

"Stop! One of them called as he saw her approaching. From Konoha?

"That's right. I have my commander's scroll here.

She threw the scroll at her from afar, letting her study it as much as she wanted, but they didn't keep her waiting. He checked into the entrance without question under the watchful eye of 3 ninjas.

"Where can I find the council to deliver the package?"

"Wait here. We've called someone to come with you.

That someone turned out to be Gaara. As soon as he saw each other, he noticed the surprise on his poker face.

"Seina?" It's been a long time since I've seen you." He smiled very slightly in her direction. Then he nodded to the other ninja. Are you on a mission?

"Yes. Playing the messenger, can you believe it?

"I'm surprised you're in perfect shape. I don't see a grain of sand in your clothes.

Seina raised an eyebrow with a smile in his direction. Gaara raised another eyebrow. It looked funny.

"You've been flying, haven't you?"

"Of course.

"I should have guessed... How are Naruto and Sasuke doing?"

"Looking forward to taking the next chunin exam."

"I'm not surprised. You were promoted to tokubetsu jonin, right? The jonin exams are before the chunin exams, so you can't have done it already.

"Exactly. I passed the Tsunade-sama exams to become an iryo-nin.

"Congratulations.

They were chatting along the way, as they walked through their home village. It was totally different from any other village or city I had ever seen. The houses were rounded, some even entirely round, sand-colored with small windows. The streets were tremendously narrow and some structures even seemed to be connected by streets within tunnels on the surface.

"What's it like to live here?" She asked. I'm talking about the weather, the houses... Everything is so different.

"Almost all of life is done inside enclosures because there is always sand or sandstorms outside. In addition, it is windy practically all day, which makes it impossible to do some things outdoors.

"I mean, no picnics, right?"

"No," Gaara snorted a slight laugh. I'm afraid it's totally different from Konoha.

"I don't know... Still, there's something mysterious and charming about it.

—… You must be one of the few foreigners who believes it.

"That's because people almost never know how to appreciate what they see or what they have. It's a human flaw.

Gaara watched her in silence, contemplating her words. Then he looked almost differently at the village in front of him.

"Do you think I should appreciate it?" To this village?

"These houses and this arena have not caused you pain," she said, staring at him, "but their people.

—...Do you think that one day I will be forgiven and paid for my actions?"

"Of course. I'll tell you something someone told me a long time ago: it doesn't matter what you are born into, but what you become. You may have acted like a monster until recently, but what really matters is the fact that you have decided to change and amend your actions. What more could you ask for from someone who is repentant from the heart? If people aren't able to see how much you've changed and how much you're trying to repair the damage you've caused... So, those people aren't worth it, but I'm sure they'll be the exception and not the majority. If you don't try, you'll never be at peace with yourself, right? So, what are you waiting for?

They walked in silence the rest of the way. Gaara was totally immersed in thought and she was watching the village. The mansion of the Kazekage was large, but in the same style as the other houses. Gaara escorted her to the council, where she found only a couple of people accompanied by guards who were clearly Jonin.

"Baki-sensei," the redhead greeted him beside him.

"Gaara." I see you're accompanying Konoha's envoy. Welcome to Suna.

"Thank you. Here I have the scroll.

Seina made the transaction under the watchful eyes of several people. They verified that it was the official scroll and sealed his mission scroll as he had turned it in. It only took her 10 minutes to get out of there again, being escorted back by Gaara.

"Do you want to see my brothers?" He asked. They're home right now. If you need to rest for a while, you can do so.

"Thank you. It won't hurt to stretch your legs after so many hours flying.

Seina accompanied Gaara to his house, which was just as rounded as the others. It was a fairly large 2-storey structure. The truth is that she wasn't surprised considering that her father was the late Kazekage. The interior, however, couldn't be more different. The walls were all white to provide illumination due to the somewhat smaller windows than usual, while the floors were stone covered by easily shakable carpets.

"I'm home now. I'm bringing a visitor.

"Who?" Kankuro asked, appearing through the door. You!

"Me! She sneered. He heard a woman's laughter approach. Nice to see you again.

"Stop complaining, you idiot," the older sister gave him a slap.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission," he rolled his eyes at the obvious, avoiding making another joke at his expense. Gaara has invited me to rest for a while before leaving again.

Temari and Kankuro glanced fleetingly at their brother, their expressions surprised and vaguely pleased. Maybe he didn't invite a lot of people? They offered him a cup of tea, which he gladly accepted. They chatted for a while about everything and nothing. It was fun to notice the differences between these people and the villagers of Konoha, but he didn't dislike Suna or its inhabitants. In fact, something told him that Gaara would solve his problems with the people of Sunagakure in no time. I just hoped I was right.

Chapter 8: 58-62

Chapter Text

chapter 58

His return to Konoha was quick. A hiraishin and appeared on the outskirts of the village as if nothing had happened. He handed over the pertinent parchment and went home as if nothing had happened. He didn't expect to find Kakashi-sensei at home, and he was right, but neither was Naruto.

"Are you alone?" He asked Sasuke, appearing through the door.

"Are you back yet?" Yes, it didn't take long.

"I teleported back.

"Huh. Do you want me to heat you food too?

He accepted the offer as he went off for a quick shower. It's not like she sweated a lot considering she used a summon to take her there and then teleported back, but she had sand everywhere despite how little she had walked the streets of Suna. When he came downstairs, Sasuke had already set the table for dinner and had warmed up some leftovers for the two of them.

"There are only a few bentos left," informed Sasuke, who wasn't even cooking breakfast.

Seina summoned a few clones to cook while they ate dinner. Apparently Naruto had another C-rank mission near Konoha, looking for I don't know what bug for I don't know what investigation.

"I was with Hinata and Shino, so you'll be fine," Sasuke shrugged.

"Do you know I saw Gaara this afternoon?" He was very sorry for everything he did.

"Normal. After you and Naruto brought him to his senses, anyone would be horrified that he behaved like a monster, even though it wasn't exactly his fault... Why are all our parents sh*t? Sasuke asked suddenly. Even your father, who loved you, could have screwed up your life. And look, my father! He couldn't think of anything but a coup d'état.

"Maybe it didn't occur to him," she said.

"He was still the leader of the clan. He could have refused and put an end to any rebellious thoughts as soon as it appeared, and we wouldn't be like that now.

Seina shrugged at the thought of Sasuke's angry words. The truth is that more than once he cursed his father for what he did to them, but he knew that if he had done it was because he had no choice or had not seen any other way out in the midst of the crisis. Could she hate him for it? Yes. Did it do her any good to hate him when he was dead? Sasuke sensed his thoughts, which he didn't mean, and changed the subject with the frown of contemplation.

"Tomorrow is March 1. You have less than a month left to find out where the jonin exam is held, right? Where do you think it will be your turn?

"How lucky I am in Kumo.

"Imagine Kakashi-sensei's face if it happened," Sasuke hissed a somewhat odd laugh.

"Why do you say that?"

"Am I really going to have to say out loud that your relationship with Kakashi-sensei is different from mine or the dobe's relationship with him?" He gave her a pointed look. He considers you special to him. Let's leave it at that.

"You're smarter than I thought," she smiled. I thought it would take you longer to realize it was different.

"I'm not your brother's idiot. Also, being connected to a 132-year-old witch has taught me a thing or two.

"Like what?"

"Like the friends and family who really love you are the most important thing," Sasuke said, staring at his dessert plate, "and that power isn't everything.

She knew at once that he was talking about her, and Voldemort respectively. Sasuke looked up from his plate almost with effort. Despite everything he had seen in his memoirs, what he himself had experienced and the time they had spent together he was still an introvert, though not shy, with difficulty expressing his emotions and feelings. It would take much longer than a year to reverse everything I had suffered, but I knew I would succeed.

"Have I ever said thank you?" I don't remember... But I'm thankful that you took me out of my home and took me in when no one else did. I know you think that's what a real team does, but funnily enough, Naruto wouldn't have done that without you telling him. Maybe not Kakashi-sensei either. Besides—" Seina remained silent as Sasuke took his time, choosing the right words, "I'm not just talking about giving me a place to live but about—" Everything. Now I know and can acknowledge that without you I would have lost my mind months ago. I don't know what would have become of me if you hadn't been here with me all this time. So thank you Seina. You are a sister to me.

Seina, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. I would never have imagined that Sasuke would be able to say all that out loud to him. He already knew, of course he knew, because they shared a mental bond that allowed him to perceive everything without needing Sasuke to confess it to him in words, but to hear it from his own mouth... He got up from his seat with a small lump in his throat.

"Come here, fear," she said, grabbing him by the shirt and tugging at him as Sasuke stifled a laugh at Naruto's nickname.

She hugged him for a long time at the side of the table. Sasuke, who used to shy away from any contact other than during training or when arguing with Naruto, hugged her tightly as he buried his face in her neck like a small child. Although, in reality, that's what it was. A little boy. He had only recently begun his adolescence and was even many years away from considering himself an adult physiologically speaking, just like her.

"You're my brother too, and I'm not going anywhere, okay?" He whispered, knowing that Sasuke needed to hear him in words as well. I love you.

He felt it nodding on his neck, choking out a quiet, trembling sob. Then, in a thin voice that he barely heard even with his spellbound ears, Sasuke spoke.

"I love you too."

Seina couldn't suppress the giant smile that colonized her face all at once. He hugged Sasuke tighter, as if he were an adorable 12-year-old baby, and buried his face in his hair. He didn't know how long they were standing, hugging, comforting each other. She knew Sasuke needed that hug so she waited for Sasuke to decide he had enough, minutes later. As he let her go slowly, her eyes a little red and fleeting, Seina grabbed his chin so that he could look straight at her.

"Hey. There's nothing to be ashamed of, is that clear to you?

Sasuke nodded, knowing that she meant it completely, and that it was useless to fight her when she got really stubborn.

"I hope you know that, from now on, you've given me implicit permission to hug you whenever I feel like it," she joked, smiling.

Sasuke snorted a laugh, accepting her words, and sat back down in his chair. They finished dinner jokingly, but they both knew something had changed for the better between them. It made her happy to think that Sasuke hadn't refused to get hugs because, perhaps, it was just what he wanted.

The next day Seina went to the hospital as she does every Thursday. Nothing unusual happened, except for the fact that he was running out of amputee ninjas to heal. When he returned home, Naruto hadn't returned yet, but Kakashi-sensei had.

"Hello Seina," the jonin smiled in her direction. You arrive just in time. I just made something to eat.

"How was your mission?"

"Good. Nothing major," Kakashi-sensei shrugged. I had to deliver some scrolls to a base in Konoha on the border with the land of the Cascades.

"Why would they send someone of your level to hand out scrolls?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Because they were highly confidential, of course.

"Like Seina's, then.

"Were you sent to hand over confidential documents?" Kakashi-sensei asked, turning to look at her curiously.

"To the land of the Wind."

"Huh. "Curious," the jonin muttered to himself. Neither Sasuke nor Seina asked him. Are you going to do anything this afternoon?

"I'm going to keep creating a genjutsu for Shikamaru. Why?

"In case you wanted to train." What genjutsu is it?

Seina was explaining what she had thought to help Shikamaru, and the other Nara, who were always a bit sold out when they used their kekkei genkai.

"It's not a bad idea for a Nara to use genjutsu. I think it will serve him well.

"Too bad Shikamaru is already chunin," Sasuke said sarcastically.

"Yes, but maybe he wants to become a jonin, and Seina's help can give him the rank with less effort.

Mysteriously, that same afternoon he received a note at home brought by one of his summoned creatures. Since the house was under the fidelus, the only way for them to contact them was thanks to a couple of creatures she had created that she had left with Tsunade-sama and Shikaku.

"Look, speaking of the King of Rome.

"The king of where?"

Seina waved a half-hearted hand, reading the note. He felt some surprise when he realized that it was from Shikaku and asked him to come to his house to see him. What the hell?

"Apparently I have to go see Shikaku. See you later.

"See you later, Seina."

He headed southeast toward the hospital. The Nara clan lived relatively far away, but walked slowly as they surveyed the village. She realized that the only reason he had called her home must be the spheres of light she had given to Shikamaru. Ugh. He hoped he hadn't screwed up metaphorically by giving him something to improve his clan's kekkei genkai. The last thing he wanted was for them to think he was belittling his special abilities.

As he passed by the hospital, approaching the Nara grounds, he began to notice an insistent look on his neck. It wasn't the typical fleeting glance of civilians or other ninjas who now recognized her as the Hokage's apprentice. It was a persistent thing. As if they were harassing her. Still walking, he sharpened his hearing, though he didn't hear anything unusual and activated his modified revel to see auras, to no avail. There were too many people on the street to make out the person who was watching her.

As soon as he saw the entrance of the Nara clan on the other side of the dirt road, he noticed how the presence was left behind, though his eyes remained on his person until he disappeared through the entrance. The Nara clan was the first clan, with living people, that he visited. There were Naras from top to bottom, but there was a clear harmony and tranquility in the air that did not exist in some parts of the village. Shikamaru was waiting for her, leaning against the trunk of a tree. As soon as he saw her, he yawned lazily and got up.

"Hey Seina. "I'm sorry for bringing you here," said his friend. Between my father and Ensui I have hardly been able to use your gift.

Seina snorted a laugh. Just as I had thought.

"What did you want me to come for?"

"I'm sure it's to talk to you about one of your inventions." They're waiting for us at my house," Shikamaru said, walking deeper into the clan's grounds.

A few minutes later, Seina set foot in the house of her friend and Commander Jonin for the first time. It was a 2-storey house, typical Japanese, with light-coloured wood and green tatami mats. It had a large front garden with a grey stone path. He left his boots at the entrance and accepted the indoor slippers his friend handed him.

"Ah, you're here at last," Shikaku said as soon as he saw her enter the room. We're trying to figure out how you did it. Since this is now a gift to the Nara clan, and our property, we can study it as much as we want.

"Contrary to the other inventions I give Tsunade-sama?" Another sarcastic laugh snorted.

Shikaku was not alone. He was accompanied by Ensui and 3 older people who must have been other Nara, probably the clan's advisors. Commander Jonin did not deny, nor did he admit, that he had studied his other inventions, but Seina knew that he had. Someone as smart, and curious, as Shikaku wouldn't have missed the opportunity to do so.

"By the way, can I talk to you alone for a moment?" She asked, remembering the presence that had followed her.

"What's it about?" He asked, without getting up. Is it confidential? Something private of yours?

—...Right?

"Then you can say it right here if you don't mind," he said somewhat lazily.

"Okay," she shrugged at the 6 pairs of eyes, all Nara, staring at her. Someone has followed me to your house. They did not dare to enter, but they followed me to within 20 meters of the entrance to your territory.

—… I see. "I don't suppose you were able to find out who he was," his commander replied rhetorically with a serious face.

"I couldn't tell him apart from so many people, but I know he followed me because I left him behind. At your doorstep.

—By 'leaving behind' do you mean that they were still there when they stopped following you? One of the unknown Naras asked abruptly. She nodded.

"Ensui."

The anbu rose without a word, disappearing in a swirl of leaves. He answered only to the Hokage, being an anbu, but Shikaku was still the head of the family. Shikamaru, who had been quiet with a frown, urged him to sit beside him. Seina sat across from Shikaku, next to her friend and Ensui's freshly emptied hole.

"Who could it be?" Shikamaru asked.

Shikaku sighed, saying nothing. The other Naras exchanged calculating glances.

"If I'd known, I would have gotten up," Shikaku complained to himself. Now you don't go, you go, stop until I tell you.

He was silent for a few seconds, surely weighing the pros and cons of saying whatever it was he was thinking to his son, and to his clan's advisors.

"Seina, these are Suzaku," he pointed to a man who looked a lot like Ensui. Then he pointed to an older man with his hair in a ponytail and a straight, flowing lady with clan features. Shota and Hana.

She nodded respectfully to each one. I didn't know any of them by sight, but you could tell they were Naras by birth, not by marriage. They all had wide-eyed, thoughtful eyes, but they smiled in his direction genuinely when they were introduced. Ensui returned a few minutes later, before Shikaku's wife, Yoshino, could finish pouring some tea and biscuits without anyone asking.

"You should have warned me," his wife scolded, ignoring her exasperated expression.

"I was going to get up when we were all seated, Yoshino.

Seina looked away, holding back a laugh. He saw the half-embarrassed, half-exasperated expression on Shikamaru's face, who sighed like his father, and had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Ensui sat down beside him, accepting Yoshino's cup of tea. They watched as he quickly went to change, or so he said, and then they heard him leave the house.

"Well?" He asked when they were alone again.

"With the 20-meter range Seina has given us, I searched the clan's perimeter. I have seen some possible recent footprints at the top of a tree pointing this way, but nothing more. Whoever it was, it's gone.

"I'm afraid they'll be back."

"Who is it?" Suzaku asked.

"From the ninja of Danzo," Shikaku sighed, finally acknowledging the truth. The fact that Seina has noticed the presence of an unknown ninja in the vicinity of the clan makes me think that it is not her who is being watched, but me.

"Why are they watching you?" His son asked, clearly worried. And which Danzo are you referring to? The Third Party's counselor?

"How many Danzos do you know, Shika?" Yes, I'm talking about that same man. I'm sorry, but I can't talk about him or anything related to him. Orders of the Hokage.

Seina glanced sideways at Shikamaru's irritated, stubborn expression. It was clear that he would try to find out what was going on. Shikaku seemed to read the same thing on his face because he sighed again. The other Naras, less impetuous than their friend, said no word. They seemed too busy thinking to themselves.

"Well, let's get back to what really matters. The spheres of light. Can only Shikamaru use them, or can we also use them because we share blood ties?

"That depends on the restrictions I put on it. Right now they are meant to be used by Shikamaru.

They were talking about the spheres and whether they could order a few more for other Naras to use. She didn't care. Since it was a private request not very useful to other ninjas in Konoha, Shikaku had called her to negotiate some kind of payment.

"What can we offer you in return, Seina-san?" Shota asked. Our clan, in addition to our kekkei genkai, specializes in the production of remedies and medicines.

"I thought that, being in your interest, we could come to an agreement," Shikaku said shamelessly. In addition, we have a research lab in the mountains that I would like you to protect us with a few of your barriers, and while we're at it, I'd also like to negotiate protections for the clan itself.

"You don't ask for anything," she laughed all over her face, eliciting a snort of laughter from Shikamaru. It is ok. I will protect your lab and your clan, as well as their forest, and give you 20 Light Sphere Kits. What do you offer me in return?

"Can you give us 10 minutes to deliberate?"

Seina nodded. Shikamaru escorted her to the backyard along with the plate of biscuits.

"I had forgotten that, despite being 12 years old, you are still the heir to your clan. If it had been Naruto—" Shikamaru laughed, leaving the phrase hanging in the air. What would interest you most about this agreement?

"Pet a deer," he said automatically.

Her friend watched her with a blank face. Someone else might think he had said it jokingly, but Shikamaru was bright enough to realize that it was quite the opposite. The Naras had special deer, and she loved animals. And they were so adorable! You could already imagine one of those baby fawns. Aw!

They were called in a few minutes later.

"Well?"

"We offer you 20 different types of medicinal plants that we plant that are not found in Konoha, nor in the land of Fire, a medicine book created by our clan in exchange for your use for your own consumption and that of your equipment, and some fuinjutsu scrolls from the Uzumaki clan that were gifted to the Nara clan decades ago.

Seina thought about it. Actually, it was a good deal. With only one plant of each type she could easily cultivate them, the medicine book would surely have new recipes that she didn't know about, and her clan's fuinjutsu... That was something sentimentally valuable, as well as useful since I had no idea about fuinjutsu except for the basics.

"I'll take the deal," she said, holding out her hand to Shikaku.

"Great!

They sealed the deal with a handshake, a gesture more common among businessmen in cities than in a ninja village, but Shikaku didn't bat an eyelid. They finished settling their exchange for the rest of the afternoon and agreed that Shikaku would pay for a C-rank mission expressly to be sent to the labs with her team. The clan's lands, as they were too busy, could not be placed under the fidelus, and neither did Shikaku. He preferred that he use his magic barriers to prevent anyone but a Nara and a clan guest from entering his forest, which he easily achieved that same afternoon with blood runes and a few other protections attached to magically charged stones.

"When do you think you'll be able to put up the barriers for the rest of the clan?" Shikaku asked, as they emerged from the forest a while later.

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning if it goes well with you."

"Perfect. I'll make Shikamaru and Suzaku wait for you. I'll talk to the Hokage to give you the mission for the day after tomorrow, then. Is that okay with you?

"Yes. As for the spheres, I'll need a couple of days to have them all ready. Are you okay with me delivering them to you by next Wednesday at the latest?

Shikaku nodded with a smile on his face. The other Nara had left, and Shikamaru had gone from entering the forest due to tiredness, or so he said. As soon as they passed Shikaku's house before she left, she saw how someone had prepared a package of scrolls and books for their leader. Seina carefully tucked them into her fanny pack, realizing that some of the scrolls were handwritten by her ancestors.

"I'll prepare the plants for you to take with you tomorrow." I imagine you'll be able to wear them all without any problems, right? He asked, knowing it was true. She nodded. Then tomorrow our end of the bargain will be over.

He left the Nara clan with a huge smile on his face. Since she didn't feel like getting another surprise and being watched again, she used hiraishin to show up at her house. When he went inside, seeing that it was already dark, he saw how Naruto had returned from his mission and how he told Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei what had happened to the bikochu insect they were looking for.

"Seina-nee! You've missed my whole story! You're going to laugh your ass off! Naruto exclaimed as soon as he saw her.

Kakashi-sensei, who had been half-ignoring his brother after a book, raised his head to smile in his direction.

"How did it go with the Nara?"

"I have a lot to tell me too.

Under the curious gaze of her team, Seina told them about everything that had happened as soon as she left the house in the direction of the Naras. When he finished, Naruto was sitting on the edge of his seat in excitement, staring at the scrolls of his clan that he had left on the table. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, also interested, watched over their shoulders as he opened them for the first time.

"I noticed something this afternoon," she said, as they leafed through their little haul of knowledge. If our cousin exists, and these scrolls exist, that means there must be more of our clan out there.

"You intend to look for him," Sasuke asked rhetorically. She nodded. It makes sense. I've ever wondered why you haven't been more interested in fuinjutsu, being who you are and how you are.

"I'm interested, but I'm always doing something.

"If you want, I can teach you the basics," Kakashi-sensei offered. I'm not an expert, but your father taught me a few things, as well as Jiraiya-sama.

"I wanted to ask you something, too. You said that our cousin used chains to attack you and that's why you thought she was an Uzumaki. What chains are you talking about?

"I don't really know how your mother did it. I never asked her, but I know that she could use several chains at once to attack and raise chakra barriers on her own without needing to use fuinjutsu or ninjutsu. When I saw how this little girl used the chains, I remembered your mother and, logically, I thought that they must be related.

"I see. That's something I'm going to look into as well.

He went to sleep thinking about his clan. He had never paid much attention to the Uzumaki clan. Perhaps because she had believed that only she and her brother remained, and because her parents' house in Konoha, as well as all her things, had been destroyed. Still, the fact that he now had irrefutable proof that there were more Uzumakis out there and that other people had things belonging to his family in their possession had completely changed his mind. Now he needed to find out as much as he could about his clan, and his father's secret clan. Honestly, her ancestors were practically a mystery to her, and Seina had never been able to resist deciphering a good riddle. This time was going to be no different.

Notes:
Well, chic@s... As I said, yesterday was the end of the vote for the fem! Harry from my other story. Here's the vote count:

- Gaara: 5
- Itachi: 20
- Sasuke: 3
- Shikamaru: 24

It's been very close. I thought I was going to be a street Shikamaru, but then many of you voted for Itachi all at once... In the end, there is almost a tie. So, the fem! Harry will be Shikamaru.

We're also approaching 400 reviews, which I think is incredible (and I was trying to write a comic story and ended up being a serious story in the second chapter lol). Thanks to tod@s!

chapter 59

The next day, Seina finished the job at the Nara clan in no time. Shikaku, as he had promised, had all the plants ready for her. He sent them with the hiraishin to his house under the watchful eye of Shikamaru and who turned out to be his uncle, Suzaku.

As soon as he returned home, he saw Naruto and the others looking at the dozens of potted plants that the Naras had given him.

"Where are you going to plant all this?"

"In the suitcase," she said automatically. A lot of people come into my tent and if I plant them here and we have another invasion like last year we could lose the plants if they destroy our house.

"That's a great idea," Kakashi-sensei thought aloud. The suitcase is like a tent, but totally private, and you always carry it with you so the risk of losing your belongings is practically zero.

"I know. In fact, I've already copied all the scrolls we have here and temporarily stored them in a trunk inside my suitcase. Right now inside the suitcase I would need to create a house, just in case, but I know that if we lost this house we would lose practically nothing of value. Just the clothes, dishes and so on.

That was something he had thought about more than once, but he had never stopped to meditate consciously. The fact that she now had important things to protect, such as the Uzumaki scrolls, the Nara book, or even the plants, had pushed her to consider creating a house inside her suitcase. He never took off his fanny pack, not even to sleep when he went out of his house so he knew that the suitcase, being inside the fanny pack, was protected.

If in the future they lost the house they had bought and repaired in Konoha, they would always have their suitcase to live in temporarily while they could rebuild their house on their land, which was now permanently theirs and their brother's, and they would not have lost what was truly valuable. What he couldn't allow was for what happened to his parents to happen once again: lose everything.

That led her to another of her old ideas. Build a house outside Konoha. The ninja had no property outside of their home village or, at most, their home country. It was unthinkable. Firstly, because no foreign country would give permission to build and own some property that could be used by enemy ninjas, and secondly, because why did they need a house far away if they never traveled for pleasure and did not have a holiday?

The only reasons a ninja took vacations were to get married, to rest due to injuries sustained on missions, to the birth of a child, or to the death of a close relative. Considering that, normally, they only married once in their lives and had on average 1 or 2 children, it meant that in about 10 years maybe a ninja had only enjoyed 3 vacations. So what was the point of buying a second home that they were only going to use on rare occasions? The only ones who bought second homes were the big clans, those that had many members, since they all paid for the purchase and it was used more frequently.

Even so... Seina saw another obvious reason to buy a second home, one that no one knew existed except, perhaps, the Hokage. What would happen to her brother and her if someone came to Hokage with less scruples than Tsunade-sama? Where would she and Naruto go if they had to flee Konoha for some lurid reason? They could live in the suitcase, or in the magic shop, but the protections I could put on both would not be as powerful as having a place of residence with magical barriers or under the fidelus.

One might wonder why he had begun to seriously consider all this, but the truth is that knowing that they had a distant cousin had made him realize something else. With the loss of the village in the land of the Whirlpools, all the Uzumaki who might have survived found themselves scattered across the world with no place of their own to call home. Even her own mother had been a refugee in Konoha when she lost her village.

Seina had been unpleasantly reminded that she was the heir to the clan, so she had to do something about it, because it was now clear that the Uzumaki didn't consist just of her brother and her, and if her distant cousin of 12 or 13 years old existed, that meant that there could be more Uzumakis out there.

He blinked at the sight of Naruto's hand in front of his face.

"What are you thinking so strongly about, Seina-nee?" He saw the curious faces of his team. How long had she been meditating to herself as they watched her?

"A few things..."

I'd have to think more seriously about all this alone.

"We just wanted to know if you want us to help you with the plants and create the light spheres.

"Yes, it wouldn't be bad. I have to create a space for the plants in the suitcase, but you can help me with the spheres while I do that.

"Great. What do we need to do?

Seina transformed the material into the metal spheres and left a few clones with them to teach them the runic sequences and carve the necessary runes. He went into the suitcase, seeing the small room he had conjured up as soon as he came down, and the structure with cells on the right. In the distance, about 800 meters or so, began the different habitats he had designed for his summons, so he had more than enough space to build a large house between the front door and the ecosystems in the suitcase.

He began to build a herbology area, inside a stone structure and huge translucent windows that he bewitched so that they would not let in the light from the enchanted ceiling of the suitcase. He transformed raised planting stations into multiple rows, so that he did not have to bend over, and built at home free-standing, perforated ducts to water the plants. He also used runes on the ground to keep it clean and runes on the margins of each station to control the temperature. Thanks to Shikaku's information, he knew that plants required different types of soils, temperatures, and had different water and solar needs, so he would conjure different solar cycles depending on the plants he planted in the seasons, open more or less the small taps in each season, and modify the runes to have the optimal temperature.

"Wow! His brother exclaimed, appearing at the door an hour later. This is unbelievable!

"How does it work?" Kakashi-sensei asked, examining his work by the side of the double glass door.

"Each table or station is separate from the next table," said one of them, 2 meters by 2 meters. That allows me to control the temperature, the amount of water, the matter in the soil, and the solar cycle so that they grow in optimal conditions.

"And where are you going to get the different soil to plant them?" Sasuke asked, seeing how the potting soil Shikaku had given him was obviously different in some cases.

"That's easy. I just have to replicate the potting soil.

"At this rate, you're going to need a clone down here tending to the plants all day. Especially if you manage to grow more of each type.

"Why don't you create a house-elf with your magic?" Sasuke asked. If you've already done it with your creatures, could you create something else... to take care of this?

"Hmm... He could, but he would end up taking care of a lot of magical things down here.

"And?" His brother asked, confused.

"That would be dangerous. I could inadvertently turn it into a genius loci.

"Genius loci?" What is that? Kakashi-sensei asked with almost childlike curiosity.

"Genius loci are magical spirits that appear in a certain magical place. For example, my old magic school was 1000 years old and thousands of people passed through it, so as time went by, it came to life because of the huge amount of magic I received," he shrugged at the incredulous expression of his team. In the end, when I attended Hogwarts, the castle had a life of its own and control of some of the things that happened inside. He was able to move stairs, open and close doors, send help, guide you through his corridors, deny you passage, control the temperature...

"Did all this be done by a building?"

"Yes, and the spirit of Hogwarts, according to my friend Hermione, must have been quite young. Think of it as a gigantic castle, and despite all the magic it absorbed for so long, it almost never received magic directly. It only absorbed residual magic. Unless someone donated magic to him in his hidden runechamber... What comes to be your heart and what controls the magical barriers.

"And what does this have to do with creating a servant?" Naruto asked again.

"To create a servant, as you say, I would have to flesh him and my magic. Much more magic than I give to my summonses since they have no consciousness of their own except for a few guidelines to look like animals. I wouldn't be giving magic to the environment, as it happened at Hogwarts, but to a specific body. As time went on, it would eventually come to life. "The problem with this is that not all genius loci are benevolent," she said before they could interrupt her. Its personality has to do with the magic it absorbs, which in turn has to do with the personality of the person who gives it to it, and the atmosphere of the place where it has been created. It could be that it was benign since I would create it to take care of plants, but it could also acquire my tendencies more... and Kurama's, who is a part of me.

"I see. Your school's genius loci was benevolent as it was children who provided it with magic, wasn't it? His teacher asked rhetorically, realizing the problem. She nodded. What if it was something more malicious?

"Nothing would happen to me, as its creator, because it would be a reflection of me. If I added a runic chamber, gave more magic to our house and a genius loci appeared, it would surely kill anyone with bad intentions who approached our door, it would maintain the comfort of the house, it would help us find information on scrolls... I don't know at all. Perhaps we would also punish ourselves if we overdo something he considers bad.

"Like what?"

"Like, for example, training inside the house with a training hut and ending up breaking a wall or something," he shrugged again. My family's mansion had a very young genius loci as well, and the same was true of my godfather's town house, though he was clearly more malevolent and mean. He didn't like strangers living there, so he took care of nothing, was never clean, and hid dark creatures and dangerous magical gadgets so you could stumble upon them. He also didn't let anyone into the rooms with valuables or into the library.

"Wow...

"The wizarding world must have been utterly ridiculous," Sasuke said aloud, "and dangerous.

"It was. That's how I feel in my head," Seina joked. Are you done with the spheres?

"We've done half of it by ourselves, though your clones must be finishing now. Let's check it out.

Naruto and Sasuke left to finish the order while she replicated the soil from each pot on different tables and planted the different plants. Kakashi-sensei helped her, remaining silent, though he clearly felt like talking about something. A few minutes later, he didn't beg and spoke.

"What are you worried about?" I know you've been thinking about something for days. You know that if you need anything...

"I know," she smiled, planting the last plants and turning on the small taps to let the conjured water start flowing. Right now I have a big mess in my head. I don't know if I want to think about it alone, if I want to talk to you alone or include Naruto and Sasuke. I don't even know where to start.

"I see.

Seina sat on a conjured log, staring at the newly created stations as if they had the answer to her tremendous mental mess. Kakashi-sensei sat down beside him, wiping his hands with a rag he pulled out of thin air.

"So far I've had so much to do that I haven't thought about much else but my surroundings, you know. I'm talking about my brother, Sasuke, you, my late parents, the village... but learning that we have family, no matter how far away, has made me realize that there are probably more Uzumaki out there. People I've never stopped to think existed. Suddenly, I now have to start acting like the leader of a clan that I've always thought contained only 2 people. To top it off, my distant cousin may be working with Orochimaru, so maybe she's more of an enemy of Konoha than a possible relative. Hell, now I totally understand how Sasuke feels.

"But that's not all, is it?" I thought you had already thought about your cousin.

"Yes, yes. I haven't changed my mind. I think it's a number of things that disturb me. For starters, I now know that there's a good chance that there are more Uzumaki out there that I don't know about. On the one hand, none of us have virtually anything material from our ancestors, and on the other hand, if I take my distant cousin as a reference, they don't seem to have a safe place to exist either.

"Wow. I see that the crisis was greater than expected.

"Oh, and I also want to have a place outside of Konoha, in the land of Fire, secret.

"What?" Kakashi-sensei asked, looking at her with his eyebrow raised. For what?

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Both my brother and I are jinchuriki and Sasuke is the last Uchiha and one of Orochimaru's targets. You saw what happened when the Third One died until they promoted Tsunade-sama, and then the whole thing with Danzo. I'm a ninja, but I'm also a witch with 120 years of experience in a totally different world, Kakashi-sensei. Do you know what one of the most famous proverbs of my land said? "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and accept whatever comes."

The jonin thought of his words silently. It seemed that his words had not affected him much, despite bordering on betrayal of Konoha. Actually, that was just what I had just said. If things got so bad that he feared for Sasuke's life, Naruto's, and his own, he would leave. It's as simple as that. He was a ninja because she wanted him. He served Konoha because she loved him. In the worst-case scenario, if the village were to turn against his family, he would say goodbye to Konoha faster than it takes to say "quidditch."

"Remember when I said the team is family?" In the beginning we weren't a true team, but I knew that eventually we would be because there are few things that unite more than eating, sleeping, fighting, living, and killing together. Do you think I said that as a joke? Do you think I was joking when I said I'd kill for you? He asked gravely. You are my family. If Orochimaru continues to attack Sasuke, sooner or later I will kill him. To him and his entire organization until not a single stone is left standing, not a single ninja experiment, not a single one of his hostages... There won't be anything left for anyone to use to revive it. Nothing.

"Seina," Kakashi-sensei cut in, placing her on his lap. I get it. Calm down, baby. We're all fine.

He blinked as he realized why he was saying that. He saw his eyes reflected in Kakashi-sensei's ninja band and was shocked to realize that they were red again. Kurama didn't say anything inwardly, but he sensed his feelings tied to his own. It wasn't just Seina riding in a rage at Konoha's supposed future betrayal, shaken with rage at the sight of her team being chased and hunted... They were Seina and Kurama. He closed his eyes, leaning against his master's chest, trying to calm himself. A hand on his head stroked his hair as if he hadn't been on the verge of losing his sanity moments before.

"Honestly, I've never stopped to think about what I'd do if I was betrayed in the way you describe..." I'm sure I wouldn't have cared if I were alone because of how apathetic I've been, but now...

"Now?"

"Now I've got you. I've got you. I avoided thinking about it because I didn't want to face the fact that I would betray Konoha, no matter how much it hurt... It's a thought that even scares me, why lie.

"Let's hope that day doesn't come..."

Kurama's words were just what she was thinking. Seina closed her eyes, avoiding having to continue talking about the same thing. What a mess. All she wanted to do by explaining everything she felt to Kakashi-sensei was for him to help her untangle everything that was happening, and they had ended up talking about betraying Konoha. She should have thought about it on her own with a good bubble bath and essential oils. He noticed the jonin's sigh before he even heard it. His chest rose slightly, with his head still resting on it, and then he lowered.

"Why don't we go to your initial troubles?" For starters, why don't you ask Tsunade-sama to send you to Uzushiogakure? It's a country in ruins, but I'm sure with your powers you could retrieve information from your clan. On the other hand, having a hidden place seems good to me. You're right that maybe it's necessary considering who your brother, you and Sasuke are. What I've come up with is... why don't you rebuild Uzushiogakure and remove it from the map? Since they destroyed those lands, no one has taken them into account, so it would be easy for you to put them under the same spell as this house.

Seina sat up lazily, her mouth a little distorted. The weight he had felt in his stomach disappeared in one fell swoop when he heard the jonin's solution. He smiled as he realized that it was true that sharing your problems with others could help solve them more easily than being alone.

"Kakashi-sensei, you are a genius. I'd also like to have a territory closer to Konoha, but the Uzushiogakure thing can work... And it would kill two birds with one stone.

I could already imagine what I could do with those lands. If the whole country were reformed, the Uzumaki would have a place to settle without having to ask for a residence permit in Konoha, where she, the heiress of the clan, was. Perhaps it would never again be a village as such, but at the very least it would be a protected territory for his clan that no one could access. If they grew and bought different types of farm animals, they would be self-sufficient. He explained everything he had just thought to his master, seeing his thoughtful face.

"I don't know if there will be enough members of your clan to need so much space or food.

"yes, maybe you're right," she sighed, a little discouraged.

"You know, Seina... Maybe you'd have to stop thinking about the potential members scattered around. So far, you've only found your cousin. It could be that it's the only one and that you spend your whole life looking for people who don't exist.

—… You are right. I will try to restore Uzushiogakure to recover documentation and material from my clan and to have a hidden place. If more Uzumakis appear than expected, I'll see what to do. There's no use breaking my head now.

Kakashi-sensei bent down to kiss her on the cheek before getting up from the trunk.

"Let's go. Naruto and Sasuke must have died of boredom up there.

She took her hand and let him pull her out of the new magic greenhouse. Seina closed the doors with a wave of her hand. When they had dinner, he wasn't satisfied with what he had talked about with Kakashi-sensei, but then, in the bathroom, he realized that he could no longer stress about something that had not yet happened. What if their master was right and the unknown girl was the only survivor except for them? No. He had to focus his energies on something productive, something that would serve him well right now, like finding documents and belongings of the Uzumaki and creating a hiding place for the worst-case scenario.

The next morning, when he woke up early to go on a mission with Sasuke and Naruto, he was feeling much better. He made it his goal of that mission to stop thinking about the problems and stresses he was having and focus on hanging out with his team, with whom he had not had a joint mission for months.

"How long do you think it will take us to get there?" Naruto asked as they started walking through the forest.

"Maybe a little less than half a day at this rate," Sasuke said, looking at the secret map Shikaku had given them. It's deep in the mountains.

"Ugh. Can we go back to Konoha with hiraishin? I don't want to miss tomorrow's training session with Shikamaru and the others.

Seina rolled her eyes without her brother seeing him. Naruto was obsessed with training. Sometimes he was even worse than Sasuke. Although she had to admit that she would rather return to Konoha and sleep peacefully in her bed than camp in the middle of the mountain and have to return to the village after walking for 10 hours.

"Do you know I saw Sakura the other day?" His brother asked suddenly. He walked past me and recognized me, but he didn't make a bad face at me like he did before. It was very weird.

"Weird?" Why do you say that?

"He used to look at me with disgust, do you remember?" At least when you weren't there because I was afraid of you. When I saw her, she looked at me as very serious. Maybe she looked angry? I don't know.

She nodded half-heartedly. The truth is that he didn't give a damn about Sakura. Good for her if she had matured a little, but she didn't care. It was so far out of his orbit that he didn't even remember it existed unless someone mentioned it. If Naruto was really right and angry, what was his brother's fault for it? As long as he didn't do anything against his team, he would let it be.

"I hadn't seen her in a while. "Since the chunin exam," Naruto continued.

"Actually, we saw her relatively recently in a restaurant," she interceded in a disinterested voice. You didn't see it because you were sitting on your back. Sasuke covered himself with the menu so he wouldn't see it. It was very funny.

—Hn.

"Really?" His brother laughed at the sight of it.

"Yes. Now that you say it... That time he stared at me. Yes it's weird, yes.

"I think she's jealous," Sasuke cut in. She wanted to be part of Team 7 and be the best kunoichi of our graduation. Do you remember his yelling at Ino, saying that he was better than her? I think he's realized that he can't compete against you. Not even against Naruto, whom he always insulted when you weren't around. Not to mention that he now works in the village and doesn't do field missions. Basically, you're everything she's not.

"And that's my problem?" He sighed wearily and more disinterestedly.

"Don't listen to him.

They went on to talk about their friends they barely saw, and their training for chunin exams. He would use those hours to catch up with Sasuke and Naruto while charging some money for doing an easy C-rank mission.

chapter 60

When they arrived at their destination, they saw a cement structure, gray, with medium-sized windows, straight lines and 2 floors. Seina surveyed the terrain and saw that there were only a couple of traps, but no barriers to deter potential enemies. Perhaps because it was located in a rather secret spot in the mountains where few foreigners would stop to look.

"What barriers are you going to put up?"

"I think I'll put a few in to stop anyone with bad intentions from passing through." That means thieves wouldn't even be able to get past the first barrier.

In the end, he ended up putting up that barrier and others to protect the building from possible natural, man-made and accidental disasters. He also erected a barrier so that people who weren't expressly looking for that place would be diverted elsewhere before they could find the lab. Finally, he transformed some logs into a couple of large stone deer statues and carved a few runes.

"What are they for?"

"To defend the place, dobe.

"But how will they distinguish between enemies and the Nara?"

"They'll be disabled until the first Nara activates them. They just have to put a drop of blood on their head the next time they come to the lab. Basically, if someone gets past the barriers of evil intent and is not a Nara, they will be attacked anyway. Only a Nara will be able to disable them so they can filter out people who come here without their permission—even if it's just to watch.

Seina watched the sunset in the distance as she put her things in her fanny pack. Sasuke and Naruto, who had helped her carve some runes and guarded the perimeter while she was busy with the barriers, were sitting on a fallen log.

"Do you want us to leave now?" He asked, seeing how comfortable they were sitting.

"Yes.

"Do you know...?" We could hang out more with our friends from the academy," she said. We hardly see them, and we will see them even less when you ascend.

"It wouldn't be bad to train with them.

"You don't mean training with them, dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "but social activities.

"Ah. How to meet up to go for a bite to eat?

"Exactly. We already see each other every Monday with the 10 team. We could meet on Wednesdays, for example, each week to chat, even if it's just for a while with the others. I haven't seen Tenten for months, for example.

"I don't care.

"By me, well!

"Great. I'll ask Ino to prepare it. If there's anyone capable of bringing us all together, it's her.

"Are we leaving, or what?" My ass is getting square.

Sasuke, who always took advantage of any excuse to give his brother a slap on the wrist, threw a gauntlet at his head that made Naruto scream with indignation. Seina sighed as they began to argue again. They really were kids. He grabbed them both by the ears unexpectedly and appeared a few minutes from the entrance to Konoha, dragging them both away.

"Hey!

"Ow! My ear! His brother shouted.

"You didn't say your ass hurt?" I'm doing you a favor! "Why does your ear hurt the most now?" he exclaimed in troll mode. Sasuke snorted a laugh. Let's go. I'm looking forward to getting home.

They entered through the door when it was completely dark. They hurried through the missions department to report and then went home. He wouldn't have minded crossing paths with one of his fellow academy students, but they didn't find anyone interesting on the street.

"Are you here yet?" Kakashi-sensei asked, looking over his shoulder at them as he prepared dinner. How did it go?

"Good. Nothing unusual has happened.

"It almost bordered on boredom," Sasuke said unceremoniously. What's more, I don't even know why we went.

"Ah, who knows what Shikaku might be thinking," Kakashi-sensei said, as if he couldn't imagine.

Seina knew perfectly well why her entire team had been hired. It was a favor from Shikaku for them to spend time together, and get paid at the same time. In addition, being vigilant while concentrating deeply in the middle of the mountain never hurt.

"I'm going to see the plants." Now I'm coming.

He went down to his new greenhouse and checked that everything was in place and working perfectly. She looked at the space in front of her, realizing that she would need time to build a house to her liking.

"Dinner is done!"

His master's voice came through the open doorway, so after taking a final look, he climbed the stairs and closed the suitcase behind him. He listened to the table being set up, his brother and Kakashi-sensei chatting about nonsense. Sasuke, curiously, seemed abstracted looking into nothingness. He didn't need to fully open their bond to know he was thinking about something serious. Still, no one asked, and Sasuke didn't open his mouth to tell them what was eating away at him.

He sat down in his usual place, exchanging a curious glance with Kakashi-sensei in front of him. Naruto, of course, seemed to have noticed nothing as he spoke through his elbows.

"What do you think we should practice with the 10 team tomorrow?"

Seina spent dinner in silence, as did Sasuke, listening as her brother and Kakashi-sensei chatted about training, exercises, and military strategy. He glanced surreptitiously at Sasuke, but when he saw that he was smiling slightly at Naruto's idiocies about training kenjutsu by doing the handstand on one hand, he realized that perhaps it was nothing serious.

It was during dessert, a while later, that Sasuke spoke off the spur of the moment.

"I want to send a letter to my brother.

Naruto choked drinking next to him. Seina tapped him quickly when she heard him cough. Kakashi-sensei, however, turned in his seat to stare at Sasuke.

"Why?"

"The evidence points to something else happening that day. Now I truly believe that Itachi is not entirely guilty, even though he is not entirely innocent either... I think he did what he could with what he had," Sasuke sighed, looking more mature than the 12-year-old boy he was. I almost always forget that when it happened I was only 13 years old. He was only a few months older than me.

"You already knew that. Why now?

"By Seina and Naruto's cousin." Let me speak, dobe," Sasuke cut off when he saw Naruto open his mouth. It has nothing to do with her directly, but your situation has made me realize that, even if Itachi is innocent, we would have a lot of work ahead of us to get her back to Konoha...

"You want to start communicating with him to pave the way," she said.

Sasuke nodded.

"I don't just have to think about all the things we'd have to do in Konoha to get him reinstated. I also have to think about how to convince Itachi to come back. Honestly, I'm not sure which part will be the hardest...

"What if you don't want to come back?" Kakashi-sensei asked suddenly.

"So... There's no point in convincing him to come back, but I'll find a way to let everyone know the truth. Even if that doesn't bring my brother back to Konoha.

—… You've matured a lot," Kakashi-sensei smiled, congratulating him. A year ago you wouldn't have been able to think clearly about Itachi, and now look at yourself.

Sasuke nodded. Seina sensed how Sasuke was happy at his master's recognition and how, in his heart, he knew that Kakashi-sensei was right in saying that months ago he would not have been as mature as he is now. He remembered the Sasuke of the first day. The one who hesitantly agreed to eat that bento, the one who confessed that killing his brother was not his greatest desire but his goal. Months ago, Sasuke wouldn't have even considered that Itachi was innocent. I would have punched him just by saying it out loud. How things changed...

"What are you going to say in the letter?" His brother asked.

"And how are you going to get it to him?" Kakashi-sensei asked then, though he was already looking at her.

"I'm sure Seina can help me deliver it to you," Sasuke confirmed what everyone was thinking. What I'm going to write to you... I don't know yet. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I'll start thinking about what I want to tell you.

"You have time, so think about it. You should also consider that there is a remote possibility that we will all make a mistake and that he will turn out to be guilty...

"You think that if he is guilty, Itachi could manipulate Sasuke or take advantage of him in some way, don't you?" She said rhetorically. It was the only possibility he could think of in the face of Kakashi-sensei's words.

"Exactly.

"I'll think about what to write to him so I don't give him important information." I'm going to bed.

Sasuke rose like an exhale. I sensed that he wasn't as tired as he wanted them to think. Rather, it seemed that they had surpassed the quota of emotions that their... New brother could endure. She smiled as she remembered how Sasuke considered her a sister. An older sister was waiting, even if she was physically younger than him by a few months.

"Ugh. I think I'm going to bed too. I've had too many serious talks in too few days," Naruto complained. Good night.

"Good evening, Naru.

"Good evening."

They were left alone, thoughtful, pondering the situation of Sasuke and Itachi. His smile, however, piqued the curiosity of Kakashi-sensei, who brushed his foot against his ankle.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing. I was just remembering that the other day Sasuke called me his sister, can you imagine? She whispered, drowning out a high-pitched cry about how adorable Sasuke was.

Kakashi-sensei laughed softly at the sight of her amazed expression.

"I'm not surprised. Your relationship is that of brothers rather than friends. Besides, Sasuke, although it may not seem like it, leans on you many times. What does Naruto think of this?

"He doesn't know, or if he does, he hasn't said anything.

"I'll go with the first option," he hissed another laugh. Had he found out, there would have been a competition for your attention.

Seina got up from her chair too vigorously. He circled the table under the watchful eye of the jonin and sat down on his water. She saw the somewhat surprised, but delighted expression before being hugged. I needed it.

"It's not a competition.

"I know.

She pressed him tightly against her, feeling his warm, firm, slender body against her torso. A hand automatically rose to stroke her hair, pulled back into a carefree bun, and the nape of her neck. If it had been a cat, it would have been purring.

"Do you know that Sasuke also hinted that he knows our stuff?"

"What?" He asked, giving a small bounce.

"Yes. According to him, our relationship is... special, but it was clear what he was talking about.

"And you didn't say anything else?"

"You know my situation isn't exactly ordinary," she laughed. What are you going to tell me?

"Wow.

For a second she worried that Kakashi-sensei would doubt them now that someone suspected the truth of their relationship, but, to her joy, she only pressed her tighter against him as if he knew what she was thinking. He rose from his chest, regretting having to, and sighed.

"I'm going to bed." Good night," he kissed her on the cheek.

"Get a good night's sleep."

The next day he woke up early. It was Monday so I had the long-awaited training session with the 10 team. To his surprise, and Naruto's indignation, as soon as he stepped into the forest he received a note asking him to report to Shikaku's office.

"What!?" But we did come yesterday on a mission! His brother shouted. Seina-nee, Shikamaru's father's old woman and lazy man are exploiting you!

"You'd better go and see what you want." Maybe it's not a mission.

He said goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke, heading to Commander Jonin's office. She knew that the only reason he would call her directly into his office was because of a mission or something very serious and confidential. Seen that way, I expected it to be the former. I had enough headaches for a week now.

"Go ahead. Ah, you've come fast.

"It was relatively close.

"Yes, the training. I almost forgot," Shikaku lied blatantly. I knew I didn't forget anything. I'm afraid we have an emergency. We need you to hunt down a jonin we had stationed on the outskirts near the border with the Hot Springs country. He killed civilians, attacked comrades and then fled.

"Can I see your ninja documentation?"

"Here you go," he said, shoving a summary card toward her. His name is Mezu Minamoto.

Seina quickly studied the token, looking at the ninja's frontal photograph, and then read his abilities.

"Why send me?"

"Because we don't know where he is. Apparently, it was not an entirely spontaneous attack. You must have planned where and how to flee. If they sent a team of hunters, it would take a while for them to reach the base of the frontier and then hunt it down. "The problem," Shikaku went on before he could ask, "is that he took confidential documents related to maneuvers against Kumogakure. That base, after all, is the closest to our enemies within the land of Fire.

"I see.

"I need you to capture him and get all the paperwork back as soon as possible."

"What if you've already sold it?"

"Take it back and eliminate those who have read it."

—...What if it has already fallen into the hands of the Raikage?

"Then go away." That information is not valuable enough to attack head-on.

"I understand.

Seina walked out of there at a brisk pace. He had everything to go, so he went to the north gate to get out of the village. It took him only 10 minutes to get there and register his departure at the registration table. He walked through the forest, watching out of the corner of his eye as civilians came and went from Konoha chattered animatedly. None of them imagined that the 12-year-old girl who had just passed by them was about to hunt down a traitor from Konoha and possibly eliminate a lot of people.

He used hiraishin to go to the Hot Springs country, comparatively closer to the border base than Konoha.

—Mezu Minamoto.

The conjured arrow swirled in his hand. Surprised, she realized that she had turned to the west. Could it be that he was running in the direction of the Land of the Rice Paddies? He summoned his dragon, his fastest mount due to its wingspan, and took off at full speed. The arrow guided her during the flight. It took him half an hour to reach the border between the country of the Hot Springs and the country of the Rice Paddies.

"Where have you gone, little rat?"

The arrow followed her until it turned all the way and she knew it had found it. The place was familiar. In fact, wasn't that the village he visited with Jiraiya on that mission he did with him? He landed as stealthily as possible and summoned his dragon. He activated the bracelet and started running again. He had to suppress a wry laugh when he realized that he was indeed in that seedy city where the girl had been left. What was his name?

"Sasame," Kurama reminded him, his voice bored. No wonder you forgot it. She was pathetic.

"How little empathy you have, Kurama.

He activated the bracelet, towering over a tree for a greater range of vision. He used the x-ray goggles to see what was going on inside a seedy bar. She found him there accompanied by a man of unremarkable appearance. He sharpened his ears to hear only them.

—I told you I'd make it, didn't I? You'd better pay me because now I'm going to have Konoha behind my ass," Mezu said, quietly.

"I'll decide if the information is worth it."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I'm not going to show you all the papers. I'll show you a couple of pages at most. If you don't want them, I can go to another one. I have several people interested.

"It's all right. Show me those pages.

Seina continued to watch. He glanced around the bar, seeing how crowded it was, and realized that he could easily get hold of Mezu and kill his customer without anyone noticing them. He climbed down from the tree, his chakra as hidden as possible wrapped in his magic, and entered the bar after a half-drunk patron.

"Hey Kato! I thought I wasn't going to see you today!

"I'm always up for one more beer," laughed the man in front of him, letting the door close on its own and talking to the waiter.

She passed them, using a spell so as not to bump into people, who moved past her without touching her without even blinking. He slowly made his way to his goal, without anyone noticing.

"Empire." Sit calmly.

Mezu blinked slowly, staying still in his seat without opening his mouth. The other man didn't even notice how carefully he read the 2 pages of confidential documents. He took out one of the senbon he taught him how to make Genma, loaded with poison, and plunged it into his neck at the same time as he petrified it. He glanced around the bar, but no one looked in his direction. Likewise, they would only have seen one man sitting quietly and another reading a piece of paper with fixation. They would only have sensed that something was wrong if they had looked into their victim's eyes, wide open in fear, unable to move as he quickly died from the poison.

A minute later, the unknown man died. He knew because his heart stopped and his eyes lost their brightness, becoming empty.

"Leave the bar and head to the main entrance of the village.

Mezu stood up. Seina picked up the pages in the man's hands. He used a spell to make Muggles, civilians, look the other way as he vanished the corpse into nothingness. Then, he left the bar and made his way to the main entrance. She observed her target a few feet in front of her. He followed it through the air, using the walls so as not to stumble invisibly into civilians. As soon as he left the village, he mentally directed him to a more remote place.

"I'd ask him what he's done with those papers..." You know if this is their first buyer.

"Good idea," he said to Kurama. Then he ordered Mezu to speak. Have you given or sold these papers to anyone else?

"No.

"How did you get out of the border base without anyone being able to follow you?"

"I have an accomplice who helped me escape and cover my tracks.

"What's the name of this accomplice?" Is there anyone else who is working with you to betray Konoha?

Seina listened to Mezu's monotone reply. Luckily, he hadn't had time to sell the documents even though he planned to sell them to more than one buyer as Kurama thought. The accomplice was another dissatisfied jonin whom Mezu had half-convinced to help him through manipulation and some emotional blackmail. Fortunately, his target had only counted on that one person before betraying Konoha, though his plan was to get back in touch with him and start convincing more people to join him against the village.

The reason? He was a psychopath with a desire for blood. He thought that peacetime was not a good thing, but a boredom, something undesirable. He preferred to betray Konoha, with all that entailed, simply for the morbidity of continuing to kill people indiscriminately. Shikaku was right to think that it had not been spontaneous, but Mezu himself had confessed under his influence that he had pre-empted his own plans by killing those civilians in a fit of bloodlust.

"f*cking psychopath," she growled, knocking him unconscious with one punch.

He put him in the suitcase, in one of the cells, after putting the chakra handcuffs on his hands and feet. He also tied him up with his magic, just in case, and petrified him. He quickly climbed out of the suitcase, disabling the magic barriers, and ran into the forest.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." "Give this note to Shikaku," she said, handing a small note to her clone she had just written.

In it, Seina informed him that they had another ninja at the border base capable of betraying them. The question was, did she capture him or let Shikaku take care of it later? She waited high up in a tree, sheltering herself among the branches so that no one would see her. It took exactly 15 minutes for his clone to return with a quest scroll and a note. He read the note first.

"Come back with the paperwork and Mezu. S.

Seina shrugged her shoulders and used the hiraishin to turn back. The forest near the village, which he knew perfectly well from the times he had seen it, welcomed him. He walked toward the door, realizing that it had only been a couple of hours since he had left Konoha.

"Good mission?" The Chunin at the entrance asked, surprised.

"Excellent," she smiled, baring all her teeth.

It took him a few minutes to reach the interrogation department, where he left Mezu, still unconscious under Ibiki's watchful and chilling gaze.

"Good job, Uzumaki. Go give the papers to Shikaku. It will be waiting for you.

She nodded. The walk to Shikaku's office was relatively short. They didn't even make her wait in the living room with the other jonin resting. There was a knock on the door.

"Go ahead.

Shikaku stopped writing the reports, looking up, and sighed when he saw her appear. He handed her the paperwork without her having to ask for it. He checked, he didn't know how, that it was all there and nodded.

"Excellent as always. You can go and get paid.

"Hai, hai," she yawned.

"Are you going to the training camp?"

"Yes. Why?

"Tell Shikamaru what he's learned to do," the commander smiled before dispatching her and continuing to write his report.

Seina came out of there again, feeling terribly tired. He wished the day was over and it had only just begun...

chapter 61

What Shikamaru taught him was amazing, as he knew it would happen. He had learned how to create strategic points of light to use shadows in the dark thanks to spheres of light. If he was already dangerous before, now Shikamaru had leveled up.

The next day, luckily, went by relatively quickly. The whole morning was busy with the anbus team that had made her promise to train with her. Kakashi-sensei went on a mission, so he didn't see him all day. The same thing happened on Wednesday, a day he had planned to set aside to meet his friends but, to his bad luck, it was not to be since they had all been sent on a mission except for his team.

On Thursday, as always, he went to the hospital. He quickly realized that the medical ninjas, and the civilian doctors, had made a clear effort to discharge most of the patients who had come from the Orochimaru base/jail the previous week.

"Seina-sama, here's the patient's history I had prepared for today.

"Only one?" What happened to the other man?

"He has been called unexpectedly on a mission," said his assistant with a sorrowful face.

"What's going to be done to him?" By the way, is Yanjirobee still here?

"I think so. Let me look at it for a second... Yes. It's still here. He is tentatively scheduled to be discharged on Sunday.

"Then aim at Yanjirobee in my second slot of the morning. Let's see if he can leave the hospital with a new leg.

He reviewed the first patient's complete history. He had lost an ear, the vision in one eye, and part of the letter due to severe burns caused by an explosive talisman. He first healed his burns with one of his magic creams, regenerated his ear easily as it was an area of the body without many blood vessels that bled copiously, and then dedicated himself to repairing his vision.

"Here," Seina said, handing him the recipe. You will need to apply this ointment every night until it disappears. Surely in less than a week you will be totally free of burns.

"Thank you very much.

The chunin bowed to him before leaving his office. He cleaned and sterilized the entire room before calling his assistant.

"Let him come if he can." I'm ready to see you. Oh, and send my assistants, please.

The first to arrive was the patient, who was resting on the same floor as her. As soon as she saw him, on crutches and a new pair of glasses he wasn't wearing when he was rescued, she knew she'd seen him before. He was one of the chunins who had chased Naruto after his brother "stole" the secret scroll from the first Hokage. Luckily for him, as soon as he saw her, he didn't make a bad face or insult her. If he had, he would have made sure to tease her with a spell as soon as he got out of the hospital.

"You can sit on the stretcher," she said, seeing him still standing by the door.

"Thank you.

As he sat alone, he flipped through his medical history to see if his sepsis had subsided enough to regenerate his leg. He also reviewed the other analytics and saw clear progress. Honestly, except for the leg, he could go home as scheduled on Sunday.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," one of his assistants called, rushing into the operating room.

"It's okay. We've just walked in.

He spent exactly 2 hours reconstructing her leg. He did it more slowly than usual because, after all the injuries he had suffered, he could not afford to lose more blood than necessary while regenerating his blood vessels and tissues. When he woke up from his spell, he couldn't take his eyes off his leg with almost watery eyes.

"I thought I wasn't going to tell. Then I thought I wouldn't get my leg back.

"But you've recovered," she comforted him. Maybe not from the mental aftermath, but physically you've beaten Orochimaru.

"I know, though that doesn't comfort me much right now..."

He dismissed him as he thought, suddenly, of the Inuzuka. What would have become of him? Would he still be under 24-hour surveillance? Would he have made any progress? In the end, he decided to ask, taking advantage of the few minutes he had left in the hospital before the end of his shift.

"What happened to Mamoru Inuzuka?"

"They took him to the psychiatric examination department," the receptionist informed him with a sympathetic grin. He seemed to need more care than we could give him here in the hospital.

"Thank you.

Seina left the hospital. It was clear that such attention was rather psychological. He wasn't surprised.

"Seina, have you gone out yet?" Sasuke mentally asked.

"Yes, why?" She asked quickly at the suddenness of his call.

"We came from training and we crossed paths with Neji and Hinata's team, so we thought about going to eat, you know where.

"Of course!

He turned around, down an alley to head downtown, and went in search of Akimichi Restaurant. When he arrived, a few minutes later, they were all seated. Sasuke had saved a seat for him on his left hand, between him and Neji.

"Seina," Neji greeted when he saw her, smiling. Long time no see.

"That, that. Where have you been? Tenten asked, in front of her. We almost don't see you!

"That's logical. Between field missions, his work at the hospital, and his training, of course he must not have much free time, Shino thought aloud, in his usual monotone.

"We were thinking of telling you all if you want to meet every Wednesday for lunch. Like a tradition! His brother said.

"That wouldn't be bad! You know I always sign up for any meal," Kiba said.

"YOSH! This is the first tradition of the Konoha 12! Guy-sensei will be dying of envy for getting over it!

They talked and laughed for a long time. Seina learned that Hinata and Neji now trained together pretty much whenever they could at home, that Hinata had improved a lot in her family's junken, and had also started water manipulation training. Tenten had acquired new pieces for his weapons collection from missions in several countries. Shino, on the other hand, had begun breeding poisonous kikaichu and acquiring poison resistances after his scare against Kankurou months ago. Lee continued to learn new forms of taijutsu alongside Guy-sensei, while Kiba and Akamaru had managed to increase their repertoire of ninjutsu to become stronger as a couple. Akamaru had even grown a bit since she last saw him.

"What about you?" Tenten finally asked, when everyone had finished explaining their news.

"We're still training hard and learning all the ninjutsu that Kakashi-sensei knows.

"It will take years!" Lee exclaimed with a surprised expression. He wasn't the only one.

"We're actually going at a good pace," Sasuke shrugged. With clones we can learn a jutsu as fast as so many clones think. Ever since I realized that Naruto and Seina surpass me in chakra capacity, I have been constantly performing chakra exercises to increase my reserves. At first I could only summon one shadow clone, but now I can have up to 4 active and it hasn't even been a year.

"In addition, we trained with different ninjas in the dojo recommended by Guy-sensei. Seina-nee also trains with some of Kakashi-sensei's friends.

All eyes turned to her, who nodded.

"I only train one day a week, but it's incredible. In fact, one of Kakashi-sensei's colleagues is Shikamaru's cousin.

"And we also train with the 10 team every Monday!" Naruto smiled, slurping his noodles. Ramen had been ordered despite having a full menu of different dishes... His brother was amazing.

"What!?" Kiba shouted. Luckily, someone had thought to give them a table away from the others, near the front door. Why are you training with them?

"Ino asked us for help," Sasuke said. They were apparently worried about the chunin exams, especially when Shikamaru won't be teaming up with them.

Seina sighed as they all started talking about each other at the injustice of them practicing together, and leaving each other aside. Between Kiba, Lee, and Tenten they told Naruto where they were, when, and at what time. I knew that the following Monday I would see them all there looking forward to training together so as not to be left behind.

As they talked about it, Neji turned to look at her discreetly.

"By the way, can I ask you about your forehead?" He said quietly. Now that I'm by your side, I can feel it.

"It's a seal that Tsunade-sama taught me to complete my training with her. I have to fill it up for a while before it takes effect.

"Is it the same seal that Tsunade-sama has on his forehead?"

"Yes.

Neji didn't inquire further about the seal. He probably knew he couldn't tell her anything without the Hokage's permission, so he didn't waste his saliva trying to interrogate her.

"I'm guessing you're going to take this year's chunin exams, aren't you?" She asked Neji.

"Of course. This year I won't make the same mistake as last time. Also, the exam is in Sunagakure so I'd be wasting a valuable opportunity if I don't go.

Seina knew why he said that. Neji, like Sasuke or her, would not be welcome in some villages. It was better for him to take the exam in the land of the Wind than anywhere else except Konoha. Even more so now when Seina had removed the seal from his forehead and no one, except a few, knew it. Tenten, who had heard it all, nodded earnestly when his eyes connected. She didn't know if she and Lee knew about the seal, but she hoped they would protect Neji from needing it because if they didn't... They could be in trouble with the Hyuga clan.

A while later, when she began to feel tired, she decided to go home to the disappointment of her brother and the others. They agreed that they would see each other on Monday to train all together and that, taking advantage of the fact that they were all already together, they would also eat together on the same Monday to kill two birds with one stone. Seina thought it was perfect.

Sasuke, beside her, stood up with her. He had improved tremendously, but social interactions continued to weigh him down and drain him. He was truly an introvert. Naruto, seeing that he was going to be left alone, also got up saying goodbye to the others.

"What did you think of eating together?" It's been great!

"Whatever you say, but all the talk leaves me exhausted.

Seina nodded. When they got home he noticed that Kakashi-sensei was present, but locked in his room. It seemed strange to him, but he didn't say anything about it to his--to his brothers. They, since they were not connected to the magical barriers of the house, which in reality he had put up out of pure paranoia since under the fidelus they were not needed, did not perceive it. If it weren't for the barriers, he wouldn't know either, as Kakashi-sensei's locked door and windows were magically soundproofed, and his spells couldn't penetrate his runic protections. Not to mention the jonin chakra, which was fully contracted to go unnoticed.

"It's clear that something is wrong with him..." Kurama nodded figuratively.

"I'll wait for him to come out, or at least until Naruto and Sasuke go to sleep.

However, the wait seemed eternal. Kakashi-sensei showed no signs of life, and Naruto and Sasuke didn't know anything. She spent the afternoon in her suitcase, accompanied by a small army of clones, sketching and transforming materials to start building her house inside. She hoped the project would distract her long enough not to go crazy at the mystery of Kakashi-sensei.

Her team was down there with her, but it was clear that they had no idea how to build a house from scratch.

"Think about a lot of things I can skip: the plumbing work, the electrical system, the sewer, the gas, the heating and ventilation... Even the garden wouldn't really be real even though it looked like it all the way," she said, explaining to them what she really had to do. I can make up for all these things with runes. This would be a truly magical house, unlike ours which is more of a hybrid.

"So what do you have to do?"

"I guess thinking about what rooms you want me to have, right?" Sasuke asked.

"I was thinking that since we don't have space limitations, I could make a U-shaped house. The right wing can be the bedrooms, the central wing the common rooms and the left wing the leisure area. It doesn't even have to have 2 floors, if it's large enough horizontally.

"That would make the construction work a lot easier, since you'd only have to put up walls and the roof..."

"Exactly," he smiled in Naruto's direction. The question is, what do we want it to have?

"Are we thinking of this house as a passing through, or can we put as much as we want in it?"

"We're going to continue to live in the house upstairs," he pointed out of the suitcase, "but if we have to rebuild it, this new house should have everything we don't mind losing..."

"In other words, more than the house, the important thing is the irreplaceable belongings of our clans, isn't it?" Sasuke finally said, nodding. Then we should build an impenetrable chamber. Down here are the cells. The chance of them escaping is virtually zero, but I wouldn't want to have confidential documents stolen from us.

"Well seen.

When they went up to the outside world, he saw that night had fallen. It was time for dinner, and Kakashi-sensei was still in his room. It got so late that Sasuke and Naruto went to sleep and left her alone in the living room. He wondered whether to wait down there, in case he came down for dinner, or whether to go straight to his room and knock on his door.

"Why don't you go ask him directly and stop wasting time?"

"What if he's asleep? And if it's nothing, he's just tired?"

"And yes, and yes, and yes?" Kurama sneered, terribly bored. You won't know what's wrong with him until you talk to him. Are you going to stay down here all night waiting for him to show up?

"I guess you're right..."

"I'm always right, dwarf. Don't forget.

Kurama's yawn made him smile. He felt how he was going to sleep inside her, leaving her alone. Seina took the opportunity to turn off the lights after grabbing something to eat on a plate. Judging by the hours he had spent cloistered in his room, he must have been hungry. Just as she stepped on the first step, ready to climb, she heard one of the doors on the upper floor open. She lit the floor lamp next to the sofa and sat waiting.

As soon as she saw him appear on the frame of the stairs, she had to suppress a surprised inspiration when she saw his face. He was dressed in pajama pants and a dark short-sleeved T-shirt, barefoot, as if it wasn't cold yet. He wasn't wearing the ninja band, as you'd expect, or his face mask, but he was wearing his invisibility armband. That's why he was able to see his expression in full. He was paler than usual, looking exhausted and even a little sad.

The first thing he did when he stepped on the floor was turn to look at her, not surprised to find her sitting on the couch. He looked at the food, the dark dining room, the lamp, at her and sat down beside her. Seina had to bite her tongue not to ask him what had happened, even though something had clearly happened. She remembered how much she had hated being harassed in her old life, so she took a deep breath and steeled herself with patience. It didn't even touch him since he had no idea how it would feel to him not knowing the reason for his... state. He let him quietly eat the bowl of mash, the piece of meat, and the peeled fruit he had prepared for her, taking a little of everything from that night's leftovers.

After a while, when he was decimating the last pieces of orange, he spoke.

"It's always the same when I see the... aberrations that they do to children. There are people who are very sick. And I thought I was half crazy! And yet, it's not comparable to what some people do.

He understood instantly. Whatever he had seen on his last mission, it was clear that it had not been pretty. Hurting children, the elderly, the sick, and animals always turned his stomach. Above all, he mentally pointed out, to defenseless civilians since some ninja children and elders were not exactly Little Sisters of Charity. Not even the ninken, now that he thought about it, but he was beating around the bush.

She stretched out an arm, leaving it to him to make the decision to take her hand. Kakashi-sensei didn't think twice. He took her hand, interlacing his fingers, and leaned back on her shoulder as she had done many times before. It would have been somewhat comical, were it not for the situation that had brought them here, to see their teacher of almost 1'90 lean on his shoulder like a child silently asking for comfort.

Then he had an idea.

"Can I try something?" He asked.

He noticed how he nodded against her neck, so Seina hugged him to her chest and closed her eyes, thinking of all her loved ones then and now. He kissed her on the head as she mentally chanted the Patronus spell. He knew it had worked as he heard and felt Kakashi-sensei's shocked gasp against his neck, where he had buried his face as he hugged him. His guardian did not appear in corporeal form, but his lips lit up with the characteristic mist of an incomplete expecto patronum.

Suddenly, something happened that would never have been expected. She felt the jonin's shoulders tremble in her arms, and she felt the tears run down her skin. She realized that either the mission had affected him more than she realized, he wasn't aware of how much it had affected him, or he had more than one trauma on the surface that needed to be healed.

Seeing that a simple kiss wasn't going to be enough, she closed her eyes again and enveloped him completely with her magic. He let her cry in his arms for a long time. At first she tried to stifle her sobs, but in the end she could not contain herself because of the feelings invoked by the Patronus. Seina silenced the ground floor so they couldn't hear him.

"I'm here. You're not alone anymore," she comforted him. I'll take care of you.

He didn't know how long they were there. He didn't even notice when he fell asleep, totally asleep, in his arms. Seina couldn't fathom how surprised she was that she wasn't dozing, as ninjas did in the presence of another person, but was completely unconscious. He couldn't hold back a smile as he realized the trust he was placing in her. Normally, they only slept so soundly in their bed, and alone, behind some protections. Unless the other person is completely trustworthy.

She hesitated for a second about whether or not to cast a spell on him to appear in her bed, but finally decided that she seemed to need a deep sleep, even if it was just one night. He took Kakashi-sensei in his arms and appeared in his own bed.

That was the first night they slept together in his bed. It wasn't the sexiest situation, nor the best of scenarios, but Seina wouldn't have changed it for the world.

chapter 62

When he woke up the next day, Kakashi-sensei was still asleep in his arms. He hadn't even changed his stance. It was very early and she had nothing to do that Saturday so she busied his hair, comforting him, even though he was asleep. It took him a couple of hours to wake up. He knew at once that he was awake by the movement of his head on his neck. He even knew when he himself realized he was awake, because for a second he stood still before relaxing again and continuing to use it as a pillow.

He didn't say anything as he went from stroking her hair with one hand to stroking the nape of her neck and shoulders. He merely hugged her tighter, silently consenting to her. He didn't know how long he was gently touching it, but he didn't care.

"Seina... "Thank you," he said hoarsely, without raising his head.

"You don't have to thank me. You're not alone anymore, okay?

"Okay.

They both knew what they weren't saying, but they had both heard. Kakashi-sensei no longer had to give thanks for something that was human, because even though he had had no one before, she was now there for him. It hurt his heart to think that he was thanking her because the fact that he was comforted or helped was something so unusual that it was worthy of gratitude.

"I should get up.

"Why?"

"Because right now your brother and Sasuke will wonder where you are."

"I'll tell you I need to be alone," she shrugged. I don't have to do something if I don't want to. The question is, do you want to lift?

—… No.

So they didn't get up all morning. His brother asked him if he was okay, but left when he realized that nothing was wrong. Kakashi-sensei, now lying beside her, sharing the pillow with his face buried in her hair, didn't even open his eyes.

"I don't know what you did to me last night, but it's like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

"I hugged you with my magic.

"Really?" His lips smiled, resting on his forehead. It was like... to free me from my sins. I felt totally protected, as if nothing bad could happen to me in your arms.

"And nothing bad would have happened to you." Magic reacts with feelings, you know? I've told you more than once that it almost has a life of its own. In this case, it's all about my magic. I guess my magic and I wanted to protect you from the cruel world.

"You did it.

Seina closed her eyes. Yesterday he thought of all his loved ones. This time, I wanted to think only of Kakashi-sensei. The man she was falling head over heels in love with. She focused her thoughts on him and placed her hand on his cheek again. He heard another gasp, this one more ecstatic than surprised, when he felt its magic again.

"It's something different today," he concluded. I feel love, but it's different... Seina...

He half sat up to look her in the eye for the first time in a long time. He couldn't say what he wanted out loud, but he didn't need imagination to know what he wanted to ask her.

"It's different because I'm only thinking about you.

He saw in her totally uncovered face the emotions change rapidly: doubtful hope, some shock, disbelief, and a timid happiness. It was so fast that he almost missed it. Best of all, it was seeing Kakashi-sensei's face full of love on his. He watched in the dim light of his room as he closed his eyes, savoring its magic surrounding him. When he opened his eyes again, he could read the desire on his face.

"You're torturing me. You don't know how hard it is to contain me right now," she confessed in a whisper.

And that's how they got out of their room before they could do anything they were going to regret later. Kakashi-sensei returned to her room to get dressed while she showered and changed her clothes. When they went downstairs for breakfast they realized that Naruto and Sasuke were training in the booth, judging by the screams coming from the open door that they could hear from the house.

"What do you want to do today?" She asked.

His teacher shrugged. I was much better than the day before. Actually, it looked much better than it did even before yesterday. He was glad to think that his magic had helped him overcome old sorrows. Even she hadn't noticed that Kakashi-sensei needed him, from how well he always pretended to be fine. Now that he knew the problem was more serious than he expected, he wondered if he couldn't do something about it. He had used the Patronus to physically invoke positive feelings, so why not go in that direction?

"What are you thinking?"

Kakashi-sensei's voice cut his train of thought. He blinked as he realized that he had plunged back into another of his machinations, as he called them. She saw how he looked at her with a smile, with an affectionate expression.

"You'll see.

"Should I be worried?"

"On the contrary.

"I have to go to the psychic evaluation department," he confessed suddenly.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I can stay close by while I buy a few things.

—… "All right," he said slowly, as if he'd had to fight with himself to accept her company. The important thing was that he had accepted their help.

They entered the village after momentarily saying goodbye to Sasuke and Naruto. He knew that they both suspected something was up, considering they hadn't even known Kakashi-sensei was in the house to begin with. They walked in the direction of the apartment in silence. He would have a lot to talk about when he was visited, so it was clear that he didn't feel like talking. She, for her part, was looking at the windows in search of ideas for both her inventions and possible gifts.

Then she saw a jewelry store with pendants in the window and had an idea. Could he somehow trap the Patronus inside a sphere or container as a pendant? Logically, the answer was no, because once it stopped feeding the spell, it would simply vanish. It wasn't like a transformation, which was permanent, or a conjuration, which lasted as long as as all the magic was applied to it when conjuring an object. It was also not like other enchantments that remained active until the finite incantatem was used.

However, there was one kind of magic that was always permanent. The runes. The funny thing is that he had never considered creating a Patronus with runes. What was the point if in their ancient world they were only used against Dementors and to send messages? Dementors were not ordinary creatures and he was also not very useful as a messenger as everyone could hear the messages. So, as far as she knew, no one had ever thought of using the Patronus to treat depression and alleviate trauma, but the idea had merit. In fact, if it worked, it could prove to be a very important tool for the suicide ninja in the village.

"We're here," Kakashi-sensei said, stopping near the apartment. See you later?

"Of course.

He smiled as he realized that she was making an effort to implicitly ask if he would wait for him. If all he needed was an assurance that he hadn't changed his mind, Seina would gladly repeat it over and over again. She watched him disappear into the crowd before turning in the direction of the store with minerals and crystals. He mentally went through his warehouse of materials, thinking about what he needed to buy to test his theory about the encapsulated Patronus.

In the end, since he didn't know if it would work, he bought different teardrop-shaped minerals, so that they wouldn't bother him while he was wearing them on his chest. He also bought a few chains, went to the bookstore in search of new reading material, then bought different types of seeds to plant in the Yamanaka's shop... He ended up in a small tea shop near the psychic assessment department, reading one of his new books over tea and biscuits. It was the closest he would come to looking back on his time in the UK.

"Seinaaa! A voice shouted in the distance.

She raised her head as Lee, accompanied by Guy-sensei, greeted her with a wave of his arm so fast that it was almost invisible. Beside her, her master was smiling so broadly that the morning sun bounced on his white teeth and dazzled her, making her cry from how bright they were.

"Hi Lee, Guy-sensei," she greeted when she had them at her table outside the room.

Since they were in an area farther from the center, the shops could afford to have tables on the street, something that was unthinkable in other neighborhoods. It made sense, considering that the psychic assessment department needed more peace and relaxation than any other department in the village.

"You can sit down, if you like.

And so it was that his quiet morning, the one he planned to spend reading and lazing around while waiting for Kakashi-sensei, went down the drain. They sat down in front of her, surely they had come from training so she offered them to taste their tea once the waitress brought them a couple of cups.

"What are you doing here alone?"

"I went to buy some things," she said, pointing to the book she'd left on the table, "and now I was lazy. What about you?

He heard how, contrary to what he had thought, they were going to train now. They wanted to stop by Tenten's parents' shop, which sold training equipment, to buy I don't know what ribbons with knives to use on one of their katas. They really were totally insane. For 20 minutes he nodded as they explained to him in detail what they planned to do. When they finished, they asked him the question he feared they were going to ask him.

"Do you want to come with us?"

"Maybe another day," she smiled with a sorrowful expression.

"Huh?" My eternal rival! Guy-sensei exclaimed, looking behind her.

Seina looked over her shoulder, watching Kakashi-sensei approach with a more carefree air than she had 2 hours ago. He had his hands in his pockets and was walking straight up to them.

"Me, Guy, Lee," he greeted as he sat down next to him. What are you doing here?

"We were telling Seina about our training plan!"

She exchanged glances with her master out of the corner of her eye with a tortured expression. Kakashi-sensei, upon seeing him, coughed to hide his laughter, though neither Guy-sensei nor Lee noticed. They were giving him a summary, again, of their plans.

"We've got to leave before we lose the sun, but we'll be in touch!"

"Yes... Good-bye," Kakashi-sensei waved them off, waving his hand with little fanfare.

They watched them leave at a rapid pace.

"Where will they get so much energy?" She sighed. Just being in his presence makes me tired.

"Now you understand why I avoid Guy," the jonin replied, stealing a cookie from him without even asking. Hmm... butter?

"And vanilla." How are you?

"Good," he smiled at her. I've even surprised them. I've been given 2 days to finish de-stressing so I'll take it easy.

"Great.

"How was your walk?"

He was explaining what he had bought, though he didn't tell him what he was up to. I didn't want to say anything until I knew how to do it. Soon after, they returned home for a walk through the streets of Konoha. Seina spent the rest of the weekend in her studio, testing the runes and tweaking the sketch of the suitcase house with the rest of her team. Kakashi-sensei did as promised, taking it easy, while she distracted her team with practically hourly workouts.

When Monday rolled around, all the other genins in their class were waiting for them in the training clearing. Not a single one was missing, much to Naruto's excitement. Ino, when she found out that they went to eat without them, screamed at the top of her lungs until it passed when Tenten told her that they planned to eat together every Monday, if possible.

"What's that about you?" Kiba asked Shikamaru, who was talking to Sasuke about some new strategies.

"They're spheres of light," he replied in his typically tired tone. Then, seeing that the others were interested in learning more, he proceeded to throw her under the bus. Seina made them for me.

Guy's team and Team 8 turned to look at her with interested and curious expressions. She, in troll mode, shot a pointed glance at Shikamaru, who was smiling calmly.

"They just make light.

"Fascinating," Shino said, pulling up his glasses. Shikamaru can now use his shadows even in the dark.

That led to discussions about how to use them, what strategies they would employ, what else they would be useful for, etc. Seina sat down on the grass next to Chouji when she saw that they weren't going to train for a long time. Ultimately, it was Sasuke who imposed order simply because he didn't want to lose training time. He gave a loud whistle that silenced them all.

"Are we going to train or what?" He rolled his eyes. Seina suppressed a smile as she listened to her little brother-baby-cactus. Sasuke sensed it and pointed his finger at her, avoiding smiling grudgingly. For.

"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked, looking from one to the other.

"They must be talking to their mental link.

Seina stifled another laugh as she saw how they had found another topic to argue about. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in her direction and she raised her hands innocently.

"What?" I haven't opened my mouth!

"Come on, Seina-nee! Naruto exclaimed, grabbing her arms to lift her up. We can train while they argue.

His brother's words had the desired effect, and everyone fell silent. Finally. As there were too many people, they were divided into 3 groups of 4 so that they could train with people other than their teammates. That's how Seina started training with Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru, or rather, how she fought all of them together.

"Too slow, Shika," he exclaimed as he exchanged blows with Neji, avoiding his chakra-laden fingers.

Shino tried to catch her with his kikaichu while she was distracted, but quickly realized that it was impossible. As soon as he noticed that one of his insects landed on it, he expelled them with a chakra burst of wind nature. Shikamaru used his curtain of ashes to obstruct his vision. He really was a genius. He didn't talk about it with his new team, but it was clear that he had realized that with byakugan Neji could track him down while Shino's scattered bugs would also serve as radar. In turn, he could use the shadows thanks to his light spheres to trap her an instant before she noticed. The problem with all this? Little did Shikamaru know that she could also see them thanks to her modified revel spell.

She kicked Shikamaru, the only one who couldn't see her, causing him to hit Shino. Neji, although he could see her, was unable to defend himself from her blows due to his speed being much higher. He threw it at Shino as he began to stand up, causing him to fall again.

"Ventus duo."

The wind spell sent the ash to Shikamaru, who had to cover his face to keep from drowning. He lunged at them, preventing them from molding the chakra for another ninjutsu, and drew his wakizashi to attack Neji. Wide-eyed, he pulled out a kunai from his sleeve as quickly as possible to stop his weapon in mid-air while, with his other hand free, he sent another spell at Shino.

"Rictusempra."

Watching Shino burst into giggles was enough to divert everyone's attention, including Neji and Shikamaru's. She landed a thin-chakra-laden punch at Neji, who flew away with a groan of pain, and then lunged at Shikamaru, who tried to intercept her with a shadow that she dodged, disappearing and appearing behind him.

"Petrificus totalus." "Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said with a smile. I won.

"I think you've broken a couple of my ribs," Neji complained from the ground a few feet away.

"Hinata," she called.

The doubles match slowly stopped and her friend turned around, panting deeply from her fight against Sasuke and Ino. As soon as he saw his cousin on the ground, he quickly walked over with a worried face.

"There's nothing wrong with him. Just a few broken ribs.

"Alone?" He heard Kiba say under his breath.

"Did you finally sign up for the hospital?"

"Not yet," Hinata confessed, looking down at the floor. Seina lifted his chin.

"Do you want me to show you how to heal him?"

That's how Hinata received her first iryo ninjutsu class. Seina explained to all those interested, which were all of them, how to heal Neji's broken ribs. It was Hinata herself, with the help of Ino, who was enrolled in the hospital, who cured her cousin. Her friend's beaming smile as she realized that she had learned a new ninjutsu and had healed someone was indescribable.

"Why don't I teach you some iryo ninjutsu every Monday?" Seina offered. You can ask your father for permission to enroll you in the hospital after the chunin exams.

"Huh. "Well thought out," Shikamaru thought aloud. When you've risen through the ranks, your father will be less reluctant to let you study for hours in the hospital.

"And besides, the fact that Hinata learns some medicine every Monday will also help her for the exam. Above all, because you don't miss a day specifically to study iryo ninjutsu since you are also training with others.

"Do you really want to teach me?" Hinata asked, her face shocked and blushing, almost afraid to accept his words. I don't want to be a nuisance.

"Hina, she just offered it to you herself," Ino rolled her eyes. Take advantage of studying with a doctor who has been trained by the Hokage. I know I will.

"Would you mind teaching me too?" Tenten asked. We don't have a doctor in our team, and seeing that each of your teams has or will have one...

"Actually, it would be more efficient for me to know these jutsus as well because of my byakugan.

Shikamaru looked at her with an exasperated face, and amused, when suddenly everyone thought it useful to know something about medicine. Before they all went to eat together, Seina, with the help of Sasuke and Naruto, taught them the basics of iryo ninjutsu. By the time they left the training camp, all of them, except Lee for obvious reasons, knew how to heal superficial wounds with the mystic palm. A fact they talked about at length while eating a barbecue.

The next day, his relaxation period ended as if nothing had happened.

"Again?" She asked, seeing how Kakashi-sensei had also received a warning.

"It seems so," he smiled, "though we may not be together again."

But as it turned out, it did. He didn't know if he wanted to get used to doing missions with Kakashi-sensei, alone, because then he would have a hard time having to adapt to other teams with whom he didn't have the same confidence. Still, he remembered his teacher's words months ago. Genin teams or even genin-masters always used to work together as they had trained and conducted many missions together. The strange thing had been that, until now, she had been put with Yamato and the others. Although, now that she thought about it, Yamato had also trained her for a while. In the end it was going to turn out that they weren't giving her teams of strangers as she thought.

"You have another mission," Shikaku cut off his thought. Obviously, Kakashi will act as the leader and Seina will be the team doctor. You worked fine on your own the other time so I can save 2 more ninjas on your team.

"What's the mission about?"

"It's an escort mission for a major merchant in the Land of Fire. You'll have to accompany him to the Land of the Wind where he has to negotiate some contracts. You'll then need to escort him back to Hi no Miyako. He will be waiting for you at the hotel.

Shikaku waved them off, lowering his head back to his paperwork. They left there in the direction of the hotel where their client was staying. He glanced sideways at his master's calculating expression, one that only a lucky few could recognize in his neutral face.

"What's going on?"

"Then we talked.

Seina accepted it, realizing that it had to be something more serious than she expected.

That "then" turned out to be hours later. They had picked up their client, set off, walked for hours, eaten in one of the villages they met along the way still in the land of Fire, walked on until nightfall, and then stopped to sleep that night at one of the inns they found in another village. still in the land of Fire.

To say that I was sick of walking so slowly would be an understatement. His client, moreover, was a man who bordered on obese and who wouldn't stop talking through his elbows, so his walk became even longer. Seina made a little girl's face to avoid having to converse with him, ignoring her master's accusing looks, and let him talk to Kakashi-sensei for the entire 12 hours.

"I didn't think my torture would end," Kakashi-sensei sighed in exasperation as the client went to sleep after dinner.

Seina snorted a slightly mocking laugh, stretching the futon on the floor. The client had asked for a room to himself while he could, so she and Kakashi-sensei were sharing the next room in case the unthinkable happened, although, with their barriers, it was virtually impossible for them to attack him in his room.

Hands caught her unexpectedly, tickling her. She gave a shocked cry, unable to contain herself due to the tickling he was tickling her.

"Who's laughing now, huh?" Kakashi-sensei smiled broadly as he teased her.

"Stop! She laughed. The jonin stopped tickling him. It's not my fault! Maybe you could talk to him about your erotic book and see if he shuts up?

He gave another squeal as his hands rested on her thighs, making her cry with laughter.

"Ugh. "You're disgusting," Kurama said suddenly. So there is no one to sleep.

"What am I pissing for?"

"Are you going to keep teasing me?"

"No!

Kakashi-sensei stopped in his tracks, letting her catch a breath as she lay on the floor, laughing shamelessly at her sitting next to him.

"It's a good thing you put up those barriers, otherwise the whole hostel would have heard you screaming." I didn't know you were so tickled," Kakashi-sensei smiled, taking off his mask, vest, and ninja sash. I'll keep that in mind.

"Do you want me to play you back with another joke?"

"I didn't say that," he hurriedly said, throwing up his hands like the troll he was.

"Look, you're stupid.

"Is that what you tell your superiors?" He laughed quietly, picking her up from the floor and settling her into his lap as if nothing had happened.

"Not all of them.

Seina hugged him, burying her face in his neck. A hand automatically rested on her hair, caressing it slowly, taking her time.

"We should talk about this mission.

"Then speak," she said, not moving an inch. I hear you perfectly.

Kakashi-sensei snorted a laugh near his ear, but did not move it.

"Do you know that in the land of Rivers, somewhere in those lands that separate the land of the Wind from the land of Fire, there is Akatsuki?" Konoha doesn't know in which area exactly, but there are indications that point to it. Some missions I've done have been to try to encircle their territory.

"And we know more or less where he is to avoid them?"

"The safest thing to do would be to cross through the south of the country, under the ninja village, but that would lengthen the journey both there and back, and it doesn't assure us that this area is not guarded. I've chosen to go north, close to the Land of Rain, as the territory of the Land of Rivers narrows and, in addition, this road is in a straight line with Konoha so we will walk less stretch in potentially dangerous territory.

"So, Akatsuki controls a territory between the ninja village in the land of the Rivers and the border in the north with the land of Rain?" A territory we're going to pass through? How do you know we won't cross paths with any of them?

"From what I've been able to see, they seem to be avoiding operating near their borders, so that should work in our favor," he sighed. Do you remember the mission Shikaku gave you to deliver those documents to Sunagakure? You did well to fly away. If you had followed the path in a straight line from Konoha to Suna, I don't know if you wouldn't have come across one of them. Once again.

"He could have told me something," she mumbled. Kakashi-sensei kissed her on the forehead, comforting her.

"I'd probably think I'd told you something, or that since you were alone and wouldn't have to hide your skills from a team of strangers, you'd rather fly."

"And why don't we use hiraishin to get there without having to cross the Land of Rivers?"

"Hmm... Yes. It's actually a good idea, although I don't know what Haruyama will say if we put it to him. We'll talk to him tomorrow. We'd better go to sleep.

Seina obeyed his orders easily. They put both futons next to each other, but she fell asleep surrounded by Kakashi-sensei's arms for the third time in her life.

Chapter 9: 63-57

Chapter Text

chapter 63

The next day, when they told the client about their plan, he seemed somewhere between excited about not having to walk at least 5 more days and nervous about what it would mean to teleport so many kilometers. In the end, the idea won out that it would only be a second while the walk would not be taken away from him in any other way.

"And how does this jutsu work?" The customer asked interestedly, looking at Kakashi-sensei.

"Seina can explain it to you, if you wish. It's the only one that can teleport us that far.

Haruyama turned to look at her, blinking in surprise. Seina smiled a little less innocently. After all, he wouldn't be so foolish as to still think she was just a child, would he? Did he think Konoha would send anyone to protect him?

"I thought it was your apprentice, Kakashi-san.

"And she is, but she's also the Hokage's student. Seina is tokubetsu jonin. In this case it acts as my booster and also as our doctor, in case that... "Something happens," the Jonin shrugged.

"I must admit that I didn't think you'd be so capable, Seina-san.

Seina nodded without a word. I didn't want to wind this man up anymore.

"This jutsu doesn't hurt. It's faster than the blink of an eye, literally," she reported. Although you could knock him unconscious for a few seconds to spare him discomfort, if he prefers.

"I hadn't thought about it. Would it be possible? He asked, indirectly questioning his abilities.

"Of course.

"Then let's do it." I'm sick of walking.

"Stupefy."

The customer fell to the ground, deadlifted. Kakashi-sensei looked at her with a raised eyebrow, suppressing a clear laugh, and took one of Haruyama's arms.

"You don't know how much I wanted to do that," she confessed, listening to her master's muffled laughter.

Seina grabbed Kakashi-sensei's other arm and they disappeared. When they reappeared, they realized that they had not taken into account something very important about the desert. Sandstorms. The sand and wind swallowed them up suddenly, blurring their vision momentarily. Luckily they were still holding hands because of the hiraishin.

"How many minutes are we from the entrance to the village!?" He shouted to be heard above the howling of the wind.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" We're just a few minutes away!

He summoned the dragon as quickly as possible and then used a magic barrier to protect himself from the sand and wind. Kakashi-sensei brushed the sand from his hair, finally opening his eye to see where they were.

"A great idea!"

Kakashi-sensei picked up the client, still unconscious, and climbed into his dragon. It took them only a couple of minutes to reach the entrance, whose guards were sheltering among the rocks of the gorge. They fell back to the ground, knocking out their creature just a few feet away, so he was thankful for the lack of visibility. The ninja of Sunagakure stared at them somewhat dumbfounded, but Kakashi-sensei pretended that nothing was wrong as he registered. He watched with little surprise as they were the only ones entering Suna.

As soon as they had passed through the village, putting on some conjured handkerchiefs to protect their faces, they went straight to the hotel. The receptionist looked at them with a stunned face.

"Have they just arrived?" What luck! This storm doesn't look like it's going away for a few days.

"Oh, yes?" "Then we're really lucky," said the jonin, clearly bored. Could you give us an adjoining room?

"What a mess," she began to laugh in the elevator. Good thing he was unconscious.

His master snorted a laugh, silently agreeing with him. As soon as they reached the client's room, he resurrected him. She let Kakashi-sensei deal with it while she put a barrier in the room, and a locator spell in her hair, just in case.

"Unfortunately my contact in Sunagakure won't arrive for at least 2 days. The idea was for me to get there after him." Haruyama's tired voice heard as he surveyed the bathroom. I'll take the opportunity to relax in the hotel's spa, so you can take it easy for a few days.

"All right. We'll talk tomorrow about their protection.

The next day was a bit weird. The client, as he had said, spent the whole day at the spa receiving massages and who knows what else so she was left alone while Kakashi-sensei covered him by going with him. She, for her part, took advantage of the morning to stop by the women's spa and then read a book in her room. If it weren't for the storm, he would have taken the opportunity to visit the village, but seeing the whirlwinds of sand that hid even the building in front of him a few meters away, he thought that perhaps it would be better to stay inside.

The next day was similar. Supposedly, the other merchant had set out to reach the village that same day, but seeing the storm that continued unabated, Seina and Kakashi-sensei silently accepted that the mission would surely take longer than expected.

"At this rate you won't be able to cross the desert for another week," Haruyama complained, when he himself realized that the meeting might be postponed, "and I've seen all I could see of this damned hotel.

Seina rolled her eyes unobtrusively, looking away with no reflective surfaces, just in case. Kakashi-sensei, the poor fellow, had to calm him down with his words. Still, his calm was short-lived. Haruyama was someone who was used to drinking and frequenting different places every night and staying locked up, even if it was in a hotel suite it was not in his plans.

"When will the other guests be able to arrive?" He asked a hotel worker with a frown. And how much will we be able to get out of here?

"I'm afraid the storm will last at least another day, but you can entertain yourself in our entertainment room.

The entertainment room turned out to be a cross between a casino and a performance hall on the ground floor of the hotel. She and Kakashi-sensei followed him as he played cards. It seemed like that kept him entertained for a couple of hours, but in the end a losing streak put him in a bad mood again. And it was only early afternoon. Tired of dealing with him, she discreetly cast a spell on him to make him fall asleep in an armchair until his co*cktail arrived.

Kakashi-sensei sighed beside him. They both took out a book and began to read, dispatching the waiter when he arrived with the drink. She woke him up at dinnertime. Then, when they had finished supper, she bewitched him again so that he would fall into a terrible sleep.

"You're doing it, aren't you?" Kakashi-sensei asked as they entered his shared room, behind the magic barriers.

"Of course. I'll keep it that way until the other merchant arrives.

His master didn't even flinch at his brazenness. He simply smiled with a clearly appreciative gesture.

The next day a miracle happened. The storm ceased suddenly. His client, with a huge smile on his face, left the hotel in the direction of the nearest best restaurant. She and Kakashi-sensei followed him a few meters behind. Now that they were no longer locked up, she had put one of her summons on his clothes so that she could keep a close eye on him without anyone noticing.

Between his summons, his spell, and Kakashi-sensei's prodigious sense of smell, it was impossible for them to lose sight of him. To everyone's surprise, the other merchant arrived at the village that same morning accompanied by none other than Gaara's team. The two men greeted each other warmly, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time, when they met again at the hotel after lunch.

"I thought I'd be the last one to arrive and I almost went crazy in here!"

"You were lucky. We managed to take shelter before we found ourselves in the middle of a storm. Fortunately, with Gaara-san present, nothing happened and we were able to cross the desert much faster.

Seina saw Gaara's half-pleased face. Perhaps because they were praising him at the same time that they were reminding him why he had been so useful in a sandstorm? No doubt because of the controls I had over it thanks to Shukaku.

"Seina." I didn't think I'd see you again so soon," Gaara smiled, slowly walking to her side. He looked at Kakashi-sensei. Have you come with your team?

Just the two of us.

She left Kakashi-sensei watching the client from afar while she spoke to Gaara. Apparently, he had been making progress with some civilians, rebuilding some houses collapsed by the wind with the help of his sand. In addition, he was also going to take the chunin exam with his brothers since none of them were promoted due to the fact that obviously their main goal in the previous exams was not to ascend but to invade. It was a rare thing to talk to an old enemy, but it was clear that Gaara was changing at a rapid pace.

"And what is Naruto doing?" And Sasuke?

"They're obsessed with training," he rolled his eyes. Now all of us, the genins of my class, meet every Monday to fight and train.

"Then they're all coming to take the exam, aren't they?"

"Yes. Except for Shikamaru, who is chunin.

"Seina," her master called. Let's get in.

The client and the other merchant started the meeting, leaving them all out. He saw how the team of Baki, Gaara's jonin sensei, was also present for the duration of the meeting.

"So we won't see the Nara in the chunin exams," Temari smiled slyly. A pity. I would have liked to have beaten him again.

"I don't know if Shikamaru would say the same..."

Temari and Kankuro snorted a laugh at the sound of it. Seina watched as Baki watched them with some interest on his stern face. Then, perhaps somewhat bored, he turned to strike up a conversation with Kakashi-sensei, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

"We heard you were recently promoted," Temari asked rhetorically, glancing at her tokubetsu jonin uniform, identical to that of the Konoha jonin.

"That's right.

"What are you going to do now?" Ascend again or wait a while?

"Why would I wait?" He shrugged. I'll be doing the jonin exams this year.

"But how old are you?" You must be 12 or 13 years old like Gaara!

He shrugged again. They chatted for a while until they got tired. When they had nothing more to say, he leaned against the wall, next to Kakashi-sensei, who was still talking to Baki about a special kind of Sunagakure food.

After a while, Haruyama came out with the other man, patting him on the shoulder with a big smile. Seina imagined that it was all over for good. The mission was getting tremendously long and only 6 days had passed. Now that I thought about it... Escort missions weren't his thing. I found them dull and tasteless. He suppressed a yawn as they left the meeting room for the hotel buffet.

"Have you finished meeting yet?" Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Yes! Much earlier than expected, too! We have easily reached an agreement so we can march tomorrow," he confirmed. Seina almost burst into tears of relief.

"All right.

Now that she knew they were leaving the next day, Seina smiled as she used the hotel's spa for the last time. That night they ate well and went to sleep early. Even Haruyama seemed to want to go up to his room earlier than planned of his own volition.

The next day, he said goodbye to Gaara and his team and left the village. Haruyama again agreed to be teleported unconscious with the hiraishin, so they wasted no time and reappeared in the land of Fire. Since Seina had not been to the civil capital, where the daimyo resided, they would have to go on foot escorting the client.

"Anyway, being able to be somewhere else in the blink of an eye is fascinating," Haruyama urged, nodding in his direction. I thought this trip would cost me 2 weeks, but in the end it will take half as long. I'll be able to take a week's vacation since I already had it provisionally occupied!

Seina rolled her eyes. Hadn't I been trying the hotel's spa for the past 3 days? How well some of them lived. Hi no Miyako, the capital, was southwest of Konoha, closer to the country of the Waves than to the village. That is where he had teleported them at the request of Kakashi-sensei, who knew the distances well and knew that they would take less time to get there than if they returned to Konoha or to the point near the border with the Land of Rivers where he had used hiraishin to go to Sunagakure.

They stopped for lunch after several hours on the road, in a very small village. Haruyama began to tell them about the grandeur of the capital and its renovated house... Blah blah blah. Honestly, Seina stopped paying attention to him. They arrived at Hi no Miyako as dusk began to fall. They accompanied him to his home, where they were invited to stay and rest that night, but left before he could convince or pressure them.

"We can quickly return to Konoha," Kakashi-sensei assured him. Thanks for the offer, but you don't need to bother.

"Oh, yes, the wonderful hiraishin. So that's as far as our adventure goes, Kakashi-san, Seina-san. Thank you very much for your service.

"It's been a pleasure.

Seina bowed silently. They said goodbye to Haruyama and left. He took in as much of the gigantic capital as he could, seeing the Japanese daimyo's castle atop a hill.

"I'm sure you'll be able to see it all at your leisure sooner or later," Kakashi-sensei assured him.

He left one of his sealed stones a few minutes from the capital, under the watchful eye of Kakashi-sensei, who saw him hide it and put up a few barriers imperceptible to Muggles. There would be no point in leaving a seal if someone later took the stone or built on top of it, etc. He used the hiraishin for the third time, appearing near Konoha.

"I don't like escort missions," she complained as soon as she stepped on the ground. What a bore.

"I've noticed," he snorted a laugh. They're too devious for you. Luckily, we've saved ourselves a week as babysitters thanks to you.

"Don't even mention it," she said firmly. Had he known, he would have proposed it as soon as he left Konoha.

Kakashi-sensei snorted a laugh again at her words, putting his arm around her shoulders affectionately.

"Let's go. Let's put an end to this once and for all.

Checking back to the village, the way to the mission department, and back home was, by comparison, a piece of cake. It took barely an hour for them to get through the front door. Seina, hearing the silence, understood that they were alone.

"Luckily tomorrow is Wednesday and I have nothing to do," she moaned in relief, throwing herself on the couch.

"If you want, you and I can train more calmly, just by yourself."

"That's fine with me.

They went to sleep soon after. They weren't too tired, but it was nice to get back into a routine at home. The next day, they woke up a little later than usual. Kakashi-sensei's more "calm" training consisted of a taijutsu and kenjutsu fight. Who was he kidding? I definitely didn't know what relaxation meant.

"In 2 weeks you'll finally know where it's your turn to take the jonin exam." Are you nervous?

"No.

"Not a bit?" Kakashi-sensei asked, watching her curiously.

"No. On the other hand, if I get the worst, I can sign up without giving my last name and change my appearance for the duration of the exam.

"Maybe it's not enough. Your name is on more and more people's lips. You are even known to 2 jinchurikis from different villages. Not to mention the people who saw you fight in the chunin exams, and the rumors that Tsunade-sama has chosen another apprentice.

"It's just rumors.

"Maybe, but I'll bet you anything that some people outside our country know your name, and they're not exactly people to be trusted.

Seina looked at his face seriously and somewhat worriedly. What conclusion did you want me to come to? Did you want him not to sign up for the exams to be in Kumo? That he was more careful when it came to showing off some extraordinary abilities? His teacher seemed to read it on his face because he sighed, touching his forehead as if his head hurt. He realized how tense he was, sitting next to him on the artificial grass in the hut.

"Turn around.

Raising an eyebrow in his direction, thoughtful, he listened. She conjured a rock under her butt to pull herself up a little, sitting behind the jonin's back, and began massaging his shoulders with her hands laden with green chakra. Kakashi-sensei visibly relaxed as his fingers squeezed his overworked muscles and massaged the back of his neck.

"Are you that worried?"

"Of course. I can't even imagine what I would feel if...

"But nothing's going to happen," she cut him off, hugging him from behind. Then he whispered in her ear. Trust me.

For a second he seemed to want to say something, but he bit his tongue. He just nodded, clasping his hands, and resting his head on hers. Seina kissed him on the cheek. I knew perfectly well how difficult it was to think or imagine that a loved one could be in danger, even more so when I had previously had no one to worry about but myself. That had happened to her with Ron and Hermione, and she was sure that Kakashi-sensei had done the same thing to her father when he was her sensei, or even to her late genin team.

"You know... Now I'm beginning to understand why there are so few high-ranking ninjas and why many ninjas retire in their 30s or 40s," his master thought aloud.

He understood instantly why he said that. Ranking up meant more dangerous missions, a higher chance of getting hurt or killed. That meant you could more easily lose your loved ones than a simple chunin.

"Have you considered retiring?" Seina asked curiously.

"I hadn't thought about it. "Until now," he confessed. The truth is that right now I don't see myself retiring.

"Me neither," she laughed, giving him another kiss on the cheek. Plus, you're a big asset to Konoha. I don't know if they would let you retire so soon.

"I know. Maybe 10 years from now.

"And what would you do with your life if you retired?" I can't imagine you without the uniform, to be honest.

"Well, I could accept my position in my clan, to be the full-time leader. Could... teach.

"Teach?" Who?

"Seina, do you want to have children?"

She was momentarily stunned because she had never thought about it. She, despite her mental age, had her whole life ahead of her, but... now that I thought about it. Did you see yourself having children with Kakashi-sensei? The answer came immediately. She didn't even have to think about it, she didn't even have to imagine him taking care of her children.

"Yes. And you?

Kakashi-sensei rolled around in his arms so he could look her straight in the eye.

"The truth is that before I met you I would have said no. In fact... I can only imagine having children if it's with you.

"I know you'll be a wonderful father," she smiled.

Kakashi-sensei's eye closed, excited. He rested his forehead on hers as if he couldn't speak. Seina couldn't contain herself, so she bowed her face and kissed his lips gently. A hand gently grasped his face. Then he kissed her again with short kisses. Once, twice, three times, like I couldn't stop. She smiled.

"You're still torturing me," he said over her lips in a whisper. I wish all the tortures I've suffered were like that.

Notes:
Hello tod@s. I haven't died, I just went on a trip and forgot to upload the chapter. Sorry.

The bad news doesn't end there... :(. Now I have a lot less time to continue writing, so to give me time to write, we're going to move back to 1 chapter per week.

As for the other story fem! Harry/Shikamaru, there's still plenty of time left for me to hang it up. I like to finish one story first before starting another.

chapter 64

The next day Kakashi-sensei was called to another mission. Without it. Seina was left alone in the house since neither Sasuke nor Naruto had returned yet. Luckily, it was Thursday and he had a job at the hospital so the day was shorter. The same thing happened with Friday, just as lonely. On Saturday, however, with nothing to distract her, she spent the whole day in her study.

He had almost forgotten his idea with the Patronus, but now that he had time he could gladly take it up again. The runes to make the ore he intended to cast a spell unbreakable were easy, common. He had to create several sequences whose goal was to retain the Patronus within the ore. One of them didn't work. Another seemed to work for a few minutes, but then the Patronus vanished. In the end, he tried another way. Instead of holding back his spell, he tried absorbing it.

"It worked!" She exclaimed to Kurama, who was watching him with interest through her eyes.

"Why?"

"I don't think these minerals have enough power to hold such powerful magic. By changing the runic sequences I can make it so that it is my Patronus spell that brings energy to the stone, and not the other way around, while the mineral acts as an anchor of the spell. Once the ore itself has energy, the second part of the sequence can be activated so that the Patronus is encapsulated in the stone.

"Huh. I think I get it. With the modifications you've made, your spell is giving magic to the stone and, at the same time, this energy is used to be able to "hold" it, right?

"That's right. It is not a corporeal patronus, but incomplete because some of the energy has been used to activate the runes of the ore itself. Even so, this is already enough for someone to feel the same feelings of happiness and serenity that are felt with a full patronus.

Seina repeated the experiment a couple of times, to see that it worked. Grinning from ear to ear, he realized that it had been a resounding success. She took the first silver chain pendant with a teardrop-shaped opal, flat, and put it on. The moment the pendant touched her skin, she felt a feeling of serenity, happiness, comfort and love that was difficult to explain. It was like coming home to loved ones after a mission, like bathing when it's cold in winter, like a hug from a loved one. He noticed how the stress progressively decreased so his muscles felt relaxed, ready for anything.

I had done 3 successful tests, but I would do one more for her. He took out the opal and wiped it off before putting it away in a fluffy conjured box. The other pendants were a labradorite and an amethyst, but she wanted something different. He rummaged through the multiple drawers of the transformed chest of drawers until he found something interesting. A dark gray moonstone.

"Ugh... sentimentality, dwarf?" Kurama asked, realizing why the stone had caught his eye.

It was the same color as Kakashi-sensei's eye. He took it out of the drawer, examined it, and then used it for his new invention. That night he slept like a baby thanks to the influence of his new pendant.

The next day, a Sunday, he was awakened by the voices of his brothers. He came downstairs in his pajamas.

—...-Hey, we'd be too late, dobe!

"If it's daytime!"

"Because we haven't slept!" Sasuke shouted, giving his brother a slap on the wrist.

Seina laughed as she watched Naruto and Sasuke argue. They turned to look at her, their expressions less angry.

"Seina-nee!

"Have we woken you up?" Sasuke asked. She shook her head. I wouldn't have been surprised, with what this pighead shouts.

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Shut up, dobe. I'm going to sleep.

"Rest," she wished.

He listened as they went to their respective rooms, arguing. She shook her head as she made herself breakfast for herself. She took advantage of that quiet morning to read the Nara book, amazed at all that they had researched over the years. They really were geniuses. They had dedicated themselves to cultivating all kinds of plants to see what medicinal characteristics they possessed.

When he looked up from his book, he realized that it was the middle of the day and that his brothers were still sleeping.

"I'd better start making something to eat..."

With the help of his clones, he cooked a few plants and took inventory of what they had to buy and the bentos he had to fill. She would take advantage of that same afternoon to go shopping by herself, if possible. He heard Sasuke's door open before he yawned down the stairs.

"How did you sleep?" She smiled, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good. It was just what I needed.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sasuke's ears flushed when he kissed him, but he also noticed the faint smile on his lips. Of the 3, Naruto was the most effusive: he would throw himself on top of her, hug her, hold her hand, cry on her shoulder... She was less enthusiastic, preferring the occasional hug and kiss, but it had nothing to do with Sasuke, who had initially kept them three feet apart. And he meant it literally.

"How did the mission go?"

"Good," he repeated. It was just an escort mission.

"Ugh. Don't talk to me about those.

Sasuke snorted a laugh. He had to call Naruto to wake up to eat. When he came downstairs, their eyes still glued together, he found them sitting at the table talking and laughing. That same afternoon, so that they could go back to sleep at a more or less normal time, they trained very hard until they fell asleep.

The next day, they met again with the other teams.

"I'd like to practice some ninjutsu," said Ino, with whom he had trained with Shino and Sasuke that day. I feel like I'm improving my taijutsu, but apart from my kekkei genkai I don't have anything else to lean on.

"Has Asuma-sensei shown you what kind of nature you have?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. Shikamaru has a fire-like nature, Chouji has a water-type nature, and I have an earth-type nature.

"Not bad... Between the 3 of you cover quite a few weaknesses. Why don't I teach you some more earthy, but offensive, ninjutsu?

"Great!

"And us?" Shino asked with his usual calmness.

"Your biggest weakness is melee, Shino. I would buy some weights from you and do taijutsu exercises with Sasuke, and Hinata. How are you doing with genjutsu?

"I'm a beginner," Shino admitted. Ino nodded as well.

"We have a lot of training to do," Sasuke frowned. Maybe we'd be better off making some kind of plan. There's no point in training like that.

"I know. In fact, I was thinking of going person by person to examine their weaknesses and make a more efficient plan," she said. Right now we're training whatever we want.

Sasuke whistled at the others to come closer. The others, who were warming up to avoid injury, approached curiously. They explained what they had thought.

"And how are we going to do it?" Neji asked.

"Let me take out a notebook to write down..." He reached into his fanny pack, pulling out his diary, and opened it to a random page. Show me... Let's start with the people whose weak point is taijutsu.

"Shino, Ino, Chouji and I," Shikamaru said.

"Okay, those who don't know genjutsu more than the beginner level?"

"Pretty much everyone, except for you, and Sasuke, Naruto.

Seina was writing down on a board. The people who knew the most taijutsu were the ones who had no idea about genjutsu and knew very little ninjutsu, such as Lee, Tenten, and the Hyuga. Those who knew how to attack from afar were the ones who knew the least about taijutsu, like Team 10 or Shino, while those who had the most knowledge of ninjutsu were the more balanced, like Kiba or his team. She thought about it for a few seconds, surrounded by her friends, until she realized that they had to change the way they trained.

"Look. We have little time for exams so I would focus on 2 things: eliminating the biggest weakness in each one and learning a few ninjutsus. I would split the 4 hours of training into 2 blocks: one for taijutsu for everyone and one to learn ninjutsu.

"I'd pair those who know the most about taijutsu with those who know the least," Sasuke thought aloud. So we would move faster.

"Well seen. Do you all know your chakra nature? She asked.

He watched as Team 8 and Neji's team shook their heads.

"You can buy the chakra papers in the village. We will divide ourselves into groups to learn ninjutsu of your greatest affinity. In fact, if you wait a few minutes I can go buy some papers and that's how we start today while you warm up.

Everyone was fine with the idea, realizing that it was more efficient to use a predetermined schedule than to randomly fight each other. Seina went to the village to buy the so-called chakra papers. Why weren't Kurenai-sensei and Guy-sensei capable of doing something as silly as that? He already knew that not all teams were destined for combat like his, but it never hurt to know how to defend themselves...

When he returned, he saw them fighting between couples and threesomes, as they had planned. Lee was explaining a few combos to Shino and Shikamaru while Neji was fighting Ino and Tenten against Chouji. The others had strategically matched up to cover more weaknesses, such as Hinata against Naruto, who was the most unpredictable of them all, and Sasuke against Kiba to push him to the limit. No doubt it was Shikamaru or Sasuke's doing.

She took advantage of the time they were practicing taijutsu and shurikenjutsu to think about what ninjutsus to teach them. The most basic thing was the concealment jutsu, so you could sneak out, attack protected, and hide. They also needed a defense jutsu, such as the earth wall, and an offensive jutsu, such as the water jet or the fireball... She wrote down the natures she knew so far about her friends and realized that, between Sasuke, she and Naruto could be divided into 3 groups.

"Let's pause!" Ino gasped, lying on the floor in a sweat. I need to drink some water.

Everyone sat on the ground, breathing deeply. Seina threw her self-ellatable canteen at them to drink.

"Why don't we try the papers now?" Tenten asked, leaning back in his arms. I'm curious to know our natures.

"Here, pass the papers." Can you tell me what main nature you have? I'm doing some groups to divide the training.

"I have a fire-like nature," Shikamaru said. Kiba nodded as well.

"Huh. "Apparently I do too," Neji replied, looking at his paper in ashes.

"Water?"

"Me," Chouji and Hinata held up.

"I'm an earth type," Ino informed him.

"Me too," Shino said.

"And wind and lightning?"

"I'm wind!" Tenten smiled.

"Okay. So we're all there. Naruto is a wind-type and Sasuke is a lightning-type.

He watched Lee somewhat sadly as everyone talked about ninjutsu when he was unable to use the chakra in that way. She approached him discreetly, realizing that she could include him in other ways.

—Read. How about learning kenjutsu and wound healing manually?

"Really?" Lee smiled again, beaming. I'd love to!

"Actually, everyone should know how to do it. Imagine that Tenten and Neji run out of chakra to heal the team...

"You're right, Seina! I must train hard and learn as much as possible!

She smiled. That's how the remaining hours of training went. Seina took care of Hinata, Chouji, Ino, and Shino to teach them water and earth-type nature ninjutsu while Naruto focused on Tenten and Sasuke on Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji. They left the training camp having made great progress. Lee was learning with one of his clones and practicing on another clone.

"How about going to the yakiniku?" Tenten asked. They have big tables there.

"Great! Isn't it, Akamaru?

"What else do you think we should do?" Shino asked as they walked back to the village.

"You should put on weights to improve your speed and endurance.

"And chakra exercises, too!" Ino interceded in front of him. If it wasn't for the exercises I've been doing, I wouldn't have been able to use all that ninjutsu.

They ate practically in silence from the hunger they all had. That same afternoon, when they returned home, they trained in the dugout much harder for hours. Until Kakashi-sensei arrived unexpectedly.

"Me! Still training?

Seina waved at him from the ground, exhausted, while Naruto and Sasuke gasped in the middle of their kenjutsu fight. He sat beside her, watching his students fight fiercely, and then looked at her.

"You look like you're about to go to sleep," he said, glancing at her sideways.

"I'm not surprised. I've been training all day.

"Oh, right. Today is Monday. And tomorrow you have more training with Ensui and the others.

Seina closed her eyes, groaning with laziness. Then, she felt like she was being taken in her arms unexpectedly. He took her inside the house without her asking, but he had to admit that she was grateful that he was no longer using his legs.

"I should take a shower," she admitted. I'm sticky.

Kakashi-sensei laughed when he heard it.

"Do you want me to take you to your room?" He asked, smiling down.

"Can you?" She asked, opening her eyes like a lamb.

"You don't need to tell me twice.

He left her in his room, resting her on the floor carefully, and then left to take a shower as well. A while later, when she was already showered and wearing her pajamas, she went downstairs, much more relaxed.

"How was your mission?" Naruto asked Kakashi-sensei over dinner. What have you done?

"I've escorted a ninja from one of Konoha's bases near the border.

"A traitor?" She asked, finally remembering Mezu's accomplice.

"Yes. Apparently, Shikaku wanted to wait a few days to investigate whether he was working alone or if there was someone else, but luckily it was only one person.

They talked for a while longer, but they were clearly all tired. They all went to sleep much earlier than usual. It was only when he walked past his study again that he remembered the pendant. He took the box with the pendants and went to the room of Kakashi-sensei, the muse of his invention. He knocked on the door with a couple of knocks.

"Seina?" He asked almost as he opened the door, probably smelling it. Is something wrong?

I just have to teach you something.

He let her into his room. He saw how he had everything very well tidied up, although you could tell that someone lived there permanently. There were a couple of scrolls open on the desk and one of those erotic books in the window with a seat, perfect for relaxing reading. He sat down in the trunk at the foot of the bed, which had a folded blanket over it, and showed him the box with the 3 hangings.

Kakashi-sensei looked at the pendants with identical silver chains curiously.

"What are they for?" He asked. He smiled to see how he knew her.

"Do you remember what I did the other day with my magic?" The spell I used? Well, I've managed to absorb it in here," he said to the mineral that hung more or less teardrop-shaped. These were tested, but they work.

She tapped her chest, where she had her own pendant, to indicate that she had tried them for a long time.

"Do you have one, too?"

"Of course. It's like getting high, but without the bad consequences," she laughed, showing him her pendant.

Kakashi-sensei blinked at the sight of it, examining it in his bare hand with intense curiosity and a calculating gleam. Then, he stared at her with that eye of his that was virtually identical to the moonstone he had chosen. Dark grey that could be mistaken for black depending on the light. He watched as he took the amethyst pendant, delicately touching the stone that hung from the chain. As if she had been electrocuted, she realized that he had realized why she had chosen the stone that hung from her neck.

He hadn't planned to use amethyst because of the color of his own eyes, which were much lighter, but equally violet, but because it was an abundant mineral and therefore somewhat cheaper than others so he could afford to use it in several tests. He watched as he was silenced. As soon as he touched his skin, he knew from his irregular inhalation that he was feeling it.

"It's unbelievable. He leaned over the bed and kissed her on the lips as if nothing had happened. Even now I feel better.

"You're welcome. I'll let you sleep. Good night.

"Good night," he kissed her on the cheek again before letting her go.

Her dark eyes followed her until she closed the door.

The next day, Tuesday, she had to encourage herself to go to the training camp. Honestly, she didn't feel like training with 4 anbus at all, but she wasn't one of those who canceled plans without a very good reason. When he arrived, Ensui was talking animatedly, strangely, with Yugao and the others.

"Hey.

"Good morning, Seina," they chanted.

"Shall we begin?"

Sighed. He accepted the Kurama chakra again, as it was the only way to increase his speed and stamina to that of the other anbu, and jumped dodging the others' attacks. He used the darkness spell, leaving the entire clearing in a black bubble, and activated his bracelet. He quickly moved before they could continue to attack his last position. He used the last genjutsu created by Kakashi-sensei so that he could use the chakra and waited.

"You don't need to try to dispel the darkness," Ensui told them somewhere in the clearing. It's impossible.

"Do you perceive it?"

"No.

"Strange. I used to be able to feel the Kurama chakra," Yamato reported. Not anymore.

He conjured a few animals to attack them as she went inside the earth and summoned a few hidden clones in case she needed to swap with the hiraishin. They spent a while looking for her and trying to get away from her vermin. Nonetheless, Kakashi-sensei's genjutsu seemed to be working perfectly. Slowly he pulled his hand out of the ground, where he could see someone perched waiting.

"Cantis."

Seina bit her tongue hard as Yamato began to sing uncontrollably at the top of his lungs. He listened as the others snorted their laughter, coughing after a second of absurd silence. Oh, I had just started trolling them... He sent a most harmless curse to Yugao, listening as he cursed and inadvertently dropped his katana on the ground when his fingers became as flimsy as jelly.

"Eblubio." Seichi's high-pitched screams almost made her laugh. Expecto patronum.

She summoned her Patronus to give them light in the midst of the darkness, to distract them before leaving them all with multiple stupefy, but as soon as she saw the corporeal form it was taking she was dumbfounded. He was no longer a deer. It was changing. Whatever it was, it hadn't quite changed yet, but it looked like some kind of fox or some animal on all fours.

"What the hell is that?"

Yugao's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and immediately knocked them all unconscious. Shaking his head, thinking he would find out what had just happened, he undid the darkness before bringing them back to consciousness. Ensui, seeing them all, stifled a laugh and a tired groan at the same time.

"Can you give me back my body?" Seichi demanded, floating several feet off the ground like a zeppelin. She restored him to his normal body while laughing. Thank you.

"I don't think this is very good," Yugao said, watching his fingers move in all directions in horror.

Yamato, meanwhile, didn't open his mouth. He just glared at her without saying anything, to stop him from singing any further. He brought them all back to normal with a laugh. He spent the whole morning teasing them. Instead of training with them in normal combat, the 4 Anbus proposed that he hide every time in order to find her and avoid their attacks. Seina, who was somewhat tired, accepted the peace offering. He had no idea how many times he successfully hid from them using spells, magic barriers, runes, ninjutsu, his clones, genjutsu... The truth is that he had to admit that they had the courage to keep trying again and again after the dozens of prank spells he used on all of them. Ninjas... They were all most stubborn.

chapter 65

At lunchtime, he received a note to go to the Hokage's office. Curiously, he slowly made his way there. When Tsunade-sama arrived, he hurried her in.

"Seina, how are you?" He asked, looking at her tired appearance. Have you been training?

"Yes, with Yugao and the others.

"Sit down if you want," he thumbed his chair against the wall. I've called you here for a couple of reasons. I'll start with the most... simple. Kakashi told me that you want to find documents from your clan. He asked me if I had any that I could give you considering that my grandmother was Mito Uzumaki, but the truth is that I don't have much of her. At least, nothing major. He also told me that you wanted to explore the ruins of Uzushiogakure to see if you could find anything buried there of value.

"That's true.

"I see. My idea is to let you go with your brother and Sasuke there... Think of it as a week-long vacation.

"Really?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes. I understand your situation well and I think you need this. Also, going with your team will give you time to relax before the chunin exams and reconnect. I think after everything you've done, you deserve it," her teacher smiled with a hint of pride in her eyes. Suddenly, it was like seeing a shadow of Andromeda watching her pick up her first master's degree a lifetime and a half ago. She blinked as she listened to her teacher continue talking. Now... The most complex issue. Karin Uzumaki. The girl you rescued from the Orochimaru base.

"So he's innocent?" She asked upon hearing the word "rescue."

"Not quite... Do you want me to explain what we've discovered?" She nodded. It is ok. Her name is Karin and she is 13 years old. His mother was the Uzumaki, but he did not know his father. He lived with his mother in Kusagakure until September last year. In fact, Karin was one of the participants of the last chunin exam. The one in Konoha.

"Really?" She asked, totally surprised. He hadn't even noticed her.

"Yes. Shortly after the examination, his mother passed away due to deadly chakra depletion. Apparently, both Karin and her mother were taken in to Kusagakure in exchange for using their chakra with healing characteristics on the ninja in the village. Both let their patients bite them, giving them the chakra to heal them. His mother was led to her death by Kusagakure due to her leader's demands. When she died, Karin was forced to take on her mother's role in the village for a few weeks. Then, Kusagakure suffered a surprise attack where many people died. Karin was saved in part because of her healing chakra. Orochimaru found her and, amazed by her ability, offered to take her with him to Otogakure.

"So he left voluntarily, didn't he?"

"Yes. But, you must understand, that between his mother's death at the hands of Kusagakure, the surprise attack, and Orochimaru's surprising kindness, it is only natural that he left with him. Karin was in a vulnerable emotional state at the time, and Orochimaru easily took advantage of that.

"And what else happened between the time she agreed to go with Orochimaru and when we found her?"

"Orochimaru and Kabuto studied their abilities, and from what he heard, it seems that they managed to reproduce them in a few... volunteers. In fact, Karin was present at these experiments. One of them semi-successful. Maybe it sounds familiar. They tried it on a boy with a kekkei genkai whose characteristic was to use bones as weapons and be able to extract them from the body.

Seina instantly remembered who he was talking about. The boy who died confronting his brother and Gaara when they rescued Sasuke. He felt a chill as he realized how connected everything was. I would never have imagined that this boy had been there, attacking them, and not dead thanks to Karin. Her distant cousin. The world is a handkerchief.

"Another experiment was done on a boy named Jugo. According to what Karin knows, this boy willingly approached Orochimaru to be cured of his... fits of rage. Karin doesn't know exactly what they were about, but she did see Orochimaru use his chakra to heal him. Whether or not he was effective in curing these unknown attacks we don't know, but we do know that he didn't die so we don't think it was a completely failed experiment. After that, when they no longer needed her present, they sent her to the base where you found her.

"And what was he doing there?"

"Apparently, Karin, in addition to having this healing chakra, is sensitive to the chakra. You can track and locate someone by their chakra. His role at the base was to serve as a doctor, if necessary, and to prevent prisoners from escaping by tracking their chakra.

"I imagine that if anyone managed to escape, they would also be chased by Karin so that they wouldn't give away the location of the base," she laughed wryly.

"Exactly. Then you found it and the rest is history.

"And what is she like?" Do you regret going with Orochimaru? Can he betray Konoha?

"Luckily for Karin, she's spent very little time under Orochimaru's yoke, so she still feels a bit guilty about the living conditions of some of the prisoners she saw. The thing is, Orochimaru helped her when everyone left her stranded, so a part of her feels grateful and indebted to him. In addition, he has a somewhat ... fluctuating. One moment she's quiet, the next she's screaming or playing innocent. We honestly believe that he is now trying to figure out what awaits him and what his new position is here in Konoha... Still, it seems like we rescued it before it could get any worse. With a little help, they believe that it will be possible to help her with these mood changes that she presents.

"And what does that mean for her?"

"Opinions have been very close, to be honest..." I wanted to talk to you about her to see what you thought.

"From what you've told me, it looks like a potential danger.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," sighed the Hokage. She will be monitored for at least 6 months. The question is, do you want to take care of her knowing what you know now or will you leave her custody to us?

"I have to talk to Naruto.

"I imagined it. That's why I wanted you to go to Uzushiogakure this week to think about it. As soon as you come back, I want an answer. You can leave today if you want.

Seina took the scroll given to her by the Hokage with permission to leave the village. He avoided sighing again as he realized that, once again, he would have to talk to Naruto about it. Last time they tentatively agreed to give Karin a flat, but now she didn't know what to think. He understood what Tsunade-sama had told her about her vulnerable emotional state, but that didn't take away from the fact that Karin, like all ninjas, was wary of situations like that. Was he just an idiot, or was he worse off than the interrogation department had discovered? Maybe both. Until I talked to her personally, I wouldn't know.

He stopped dead in the middle of the stairs. That was it. Why talk to Karin before deciding what to do with her? Now that it had occurred to him, he knew it would be impossible to stop thinking about it. In fact, it seemed to him the most necessary and logical thing to do under the circ*mstances. He wanted to talk to Karin before talking to Naruto about the situation. She returned to the Hokage's office, who ushered her in with some surprise.

"Is something wrong?"

"I want to talk to her. I've been thinking about it and I've realized that I need to talk, at least once, to Karin.

—… It is ok. Let me write you a note so you'll be let in to see it.

And so it was that Seina went, her stomach rumbling with hunger, to the interrogation department. She was still in a cell, as expected, so she was accompanied by one of the chunins. He would stay out, for whatever might happen, to prevent Karin from trying anything.

As soon as the cell opened, he saw Karin with her back turned. He had red hair, short at the shoulders, and wore typical prisoner clothes with no pockets or seams that could be used to attack or escape. In fact, those clothes were so flimsy that if he tried to use them to strangle her, they would be torn to pieces. She was sitting on a single bed, on top of the thin mattress with no sheets. There was nothing else. If they were thirsty, hungry or wanted to go to the bathroom, they had to ask for an escort and/or bring them whatever they needed.

"Karin... My name is Seina Uzumaki.

She saw how she was stunned when she heard him, still turning her back on him. Slowly, he turned in his seat to look at her. He saw for the first time the face of his distant relative. She had reddish-brown eyes and the same pale skin that her mother had, and she had in the photographs.

"Uzumaki?"

"That's right. "I'm Kushina's daughter," he informed her. Karin took a deep breath, surprised to hear him. I have a twin brother, Naruto. He would be here with me, but I came unexpectedly when Tsunade-sama told me everything.

Seina activated her legeremancia. Not that she liked to read other people's minds, considering how much she hated that they had read it to her, but it was necessary. Karin thought frantically. Her thoughts were a mixture of joy at having found people from her clan, a hint of guilt for what she had done, sadness and anger at being imprisoned, and a growing hope at having found her.

"He told me that you agreed to go with Orochimaru voluntarily..."

"Yes," Karin confessed, looking down at the floor. I didn't have anything else in Kusagakure so I thought it might be useful in another way.

"And what did you think when you became aware of Orochimaru's human experiments?"

"By then it was too late," she laughed at herself. I didn't have anyone else so I thought the best thing for me would be to put my head down and find a way to... deal with everything. She was an idiot accepting Orochimaru, but I thought, "What are you going to do to him?"

"But now you're here. And that's changed everything, hasn't it?

"That's the problem. Now it's like everything has been ripped out of me. Once again. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going crazy in that prison," she said in a thin voice.

Seina saw in his thoughts what he meant. Karin herself had begun to notice his sudden mood swings, his silent depression that sometimes flared up, his anxiety about living under the stone. Before she met Orochimaru, she wasn't like that, so she herself had realized what the common denominator of her new woes was. Despite knowing this, Karin was unable to remedy it because she was only 13 years old and was caught between a rock and a hard place. She had no native village, no family, no great powers to help her flee, Orochimaru had her information and her blood... She had made up her mind to leave with Orochimaru and realized that he had screwed up, which contributed to her growing anger at the world and at herself.

Still, Karin was smart. His idea had been to bow his head, do as Orochimaru told him, and wait for a chance to get out of that mess. She knew that Orochimaru was being hunted, so she told herself that sooner or later someone would finish him off, and she would take advantage of the time interval while Orochimaru's minions reorganized to flee as far away as possible.

"It's all right. I'm leaving tomorrow with my team on a week-long mission," she informed him, thinking about what he meant. When I come back, we'll talk again.

Karin nodded a little more encouragingly. I didn't want to tell her that I'd be out of there in a week because I still didn't know what they would do with her. The fact is that now that he had talked to Karin, he realized that she was more convinced that she was more innocent than he thought. Perhaps he wouldn't have said the same if he had captured her years later, but right now Karin had only been a minion of Orochimaru for a few months. With Orochimaru himself, he supposedly only spent a few weeks, so Karin was more guilty of illegally holding these people than of colluding with Orochimaru and his experiments.

"Hi Seina. "You've been late," Sasuke told him as he read a scroll.

"We've been waiting for you, nee-chan!"

"I have gone to speak with Tsunade-sama," he informed them. He has given me permission to visit Uzushiogakure for a week.

"Really!?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement. All of us?

"Eh, no. "Not Kakashi-sensei," she said with a somewhat guilty expression. By the way, where is it?

"He went on a mission recently.

"Maybe that's why you didn't give me permission to come," she shrugged as she sat down at the table. Do you want to leave today or tomorrow?

"Tomorrow morning."

"Okay. Then I'll take the opportunity to explain something else. About Karin.

"Karin?" Who is Karin? Naruto asked, but Sasuke seemed to understand.

"She must be your distant cousin, right?"

She nodded. He began to explain to them in great detail all that Tsunade-sama had told him and what he had gained from his short visit to the interrogation department. Naruto was even more convinced than before that he needed help since he was innocent while Sasuke, seeing that in the end the situation wasn't so bad, shrugged his shoulders.

"So, we're agreeing to buy an apartment nearby for herself, aren't we?"

"Of course!

"I think it's the best option you have.

And that's what they did that same afternoon, accompanied by Sasuke. It didn't make sense to expect Karin to pay rent right off the bat since she didn't have a job, so the best thing for everyone was to buy an apartment in Naruto and her name. Not that I needed much space and they lived in an area far from the center so the prices were cheap. At the real estate agency they were looking at photographs and analyzing several floors until they saw a fourth floor 5 minutes from their house. It had 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a pantry-laundry room, a kitchen-dining-living room and a terrace.

"I like this one," she and Sasuke said in unison.

"It's completely renovated, so the price is 120,000 ryos," the agent informed them, showing him the photographs. We can go and take a look, if you prefer.

They nodded, leaving the real estate agency, and started walking towards the apartment on the outskirts. He was always surprised by the difference in prices between the flats in the centre and the more secluded ones. Perhaps because the center offered more protection, it was in the middle of the hustle and bustle and had everything you need within a few minutes' walk. Even so, it seemed ridiculous to her that an apartment on the outskirts, renovated, cost 120k when the apartment that she and Naruto had rented in the center cost close to a million having one less room, no laundry and no renovation. Although I had to admit that they had lived 5 minutes away from the academy and the Hokage tower, and were very close to the bunker in the mountains.

When they arrived at the apartment they saw that the fourth floor was the top floor. The apartment looked like it had been built relatively recently, perhaps a decade earlier, and was close to other blocks of flats. On the same block there was a small market and more shops.

They entered through the door of the apartment, observing the layout. As soon as you entered there was a small entrance with a closet for shoes and another recessed one for jackets. Then you could see the living room and on the right hand side was the kitchen with a small square table for 4 people that constituted the "dining room". Right in front, straight ahead with the entrance, was a door to a room, on the right side was the second somewhat smaller room, then there was the bathroom and then the pantry-laundry room, which fell just to the side of the kitchen. The terrace, with double glass doors, was on the left, where the living room and the living room were located.

"Wow!

"I like it," she reiterated, looking at the freshly painted walls, the new kitchen and entryway cabinets, the gleaming bathroom, and so on. What do you think?

"It's all right.

"Shall we keep it!?"

"We'll keep it," she nodded. Then he turned to the officer who was with them. When can we sign the papers?

"We can go back to the real estate agency and get the paperwork done this afternoon, if it's good for you."

An hour later, Seina and Naruto owned a new apartment. With the keys in hand, they spent the whole afternoon getting the apartment ready. They changed the lock, bought bedding, towels, kitchen utensils, etc. She, meanwhile, dedicated herself to transforming furniture to save money. He set up the room and the living room, leaving the rest empty. They would give Karin a monthly payment so that she could buy whatever she needed or wanted, so she didn't worry about the flat anymore. The last thing he did before closing the new property with the new key was to put up all kinds of barriers to protect Karin and also to keep an eye on her. Just because she was remorseful didn't mean she couldn't hurt Konoha.

"Who would have thought that buying an apartment would be so tiring?" Naruto complained, throwing himself on the couch a while later.

"It's even dark for us.

She let her clones make dinner, so tired she was, and lay down next to Naruto. Her brother hugged her like a stuffed animal under the amused gaze of Sasuke, sitting on the couch.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"I'd like to go first thing," she said. Uzushiogakure is on the east coast of the Land of Fire, so it will take less time if we use the hiraishin to the Land of the Sea and then fly. Still, it will take a while to get there.

"If we do it as you have planned, we should be there before noon, from what I remember from the maps..."

"I'm sure you do. I imagine that flying from the Sea Country to Uzushiogakure must be about 2 hours of flight, approximately.

They dined enthusiastically. After all, it was the first time they had been on leave, and on top of that the 3 of them together. And without adult supervision.

The next day they woke up at dawn for breakfast. Naruto was so excited that he was already wearing his usual uniform. It was still the same black and white ensemble in deference to his late father. Sasuke, like her, was still in his pajamas.

"Calm down, Naruto, or you'll end up blown up," she told him, watching him vibrate in the chair.

"How do you want me to calm down?" Let's go investigate the ruins of our clan!

"I know, that's why I want you to have enough energy for what's ahead. There's going to be a lot of shattered buildings, rubble everywhere, probably even decomposed corpses," she replied with hairs and signs, to get the idea. If we want to walk around without dropping something on us, I'll have to reconstruct as much as I can with my magic.

"And what do we do?"

"You'll stay with me and help me." The Uzumaki were experts in fuinjutsu. If no one has stolen more techniques from the clan, it is probably because they cannot overcome the barriers or traps that are placed there.

"What if we use clones?"

"That's what I was thinking. You'll stay with me helping me rebuild zone by zone. You'll send the clones to detonate the traps you see and collect documentation with the naked eye. In fact, I'm going to take one of the trunks that we have upstairs to put things in that we'll examine more closely later.

Half an hour later they had everything ready and had cleared the kitchen and table. They left Konoha through the central gate, the one closest to them, and then disappeared with the hiraishin into the land of the Sea. They fell behind their barriers in the same spot they had used months ago on one of their missions.

"Ah! How long it's been since we've been here! Naruto smiled, resting his head on her arms in the air.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her excitement.

"Let me summon myself, Seina," Sasuke said. I never get a chance to use the biggest summons you created.

She nodded. They searched for a nearby clearing, the same one Kakashi-sensei had found for her when they rescued the team of chunins, and watched as the huge red dragon, a Chinese fireball, that Sasuke had liked, appeared. He bewitched him so that they would go unnoticed and they set off.

"Can you direct me?" Sasuke asked. With that locator spell.

Seina conjured the arrow and activated the spell. Once they got going, all that was left was to hang out. As it was a straight line, they sat down as they gazed at the dim morning light over the ocean. Even Naruto was silent, marveling at the scenery. Even so, the relaxation only lasted a while because it was all sea and more sea.

"Do you think Karin will be under surveillance after 6 months?" Naruto finally asked, still thinking about it.

"I'd say yes, as long as I have the moral support to do it.

"Yosh! We will give you all the support in the world!

"I wonder what we'll find in Uzushiogakure," Sasuke thought aloud. We know it's in ruins, but it's true that no one ever talks about stolen jutsus or anything like that. Maybe they were burned? Did someone take them?

"It could be," he frowned at the thought. We'll find out this week. I'll leave a sealed stone here, so the next time we come, it won't take that long.

"You could send your clones to pick up debris and stuff while you're in Konoha.

"Huh. It's true. I hadn't even thought about it.

There was silence for the remainder of the journey until they saw the island from afar. He conjured a few binoculars so they could see her. The first thing he noticed were the strong eddies surrounding the island. They were so powerful that I was sure they would have destroyed more than one ship. As they got closer, he could see the ruins. The buildings, taller than they were wide, were destroyed. Some remained fairly intact, but seemed on the verge of collapse. He saw the hills scattered on all sides, surrounding the village itself, and a huge river coming down from the mountains and splitting Uzushiogakure in two.

"What a current," Sasuke whistled as he saw that even the river was rushing down to the sea.

"Drop us down on one of the hills," she said as they began to fly over the village.

He set foot on dry land almost in disbelief. They stood there, like statues, staring at the vastness of the village in front of them. From the top of the hill, they could see more closely the destruction of the village. Seina and Naruto battled sadness and rage at the sight of what their ancestors' home had been reduced to. Sasuke at least had the Uchiha complex intact, but what they had done to the Uzumaki had no name. Simply out of fear of their power. Bastards.

"Let's go. This village will not reform itself," he said when he caught his breath.

Naruto and Sasuke followed her down the hill. They had 7 days ahead of them, and they planned to do everything possible to normalize the village and recover as much valuable as possible.

chapter 66

Despite her inner promise to rebuild everything, she soon had to admit to herself that it was a colossal job. On the first day, they were going around the village making a dirty map of the places where their locator spell told them that there was documentation, weapons or something valuable, which was not in a few places. They marked on the map all the places he planned to rebuild first, to safeguard their clan's belongings.

"We'll have plenty of chances to come back, dobe," Sasuke had told Naruto when they realized that they might not have time to reform everything in 7 days. Now no one knows what we're doing. Let Seina protect this place and no one will be able to access it anymore.

The second day was when the renovations began. They sent their clones to rummage through the rubble for documents and other things while they rebuilt. Seina used a restorative spell, Naruto sent his clones to check for traps or barriers, and Sasuke was in charge of organizing the things they were given to him as they found them in the trunk with compartments.

It was slow and rigorous work. Almost every house had some sort of trap or barrier but, fortunately for them, the damage had disabled them simply because they collapsed. The only intact traps they found are the ones she reconstructed herself. Traps from the buildings themselves that were easily identifiable thanks to their clones, who exploded every time they "died".

The third and fourth days were exactly the same. When they finished renovating buildings with valuable objects, they realized that there was a hidden area with more documents. Unfortunately, they found the door to the hiding place, but did not dare to enter as the protections were intact, being an underground cavern full of unknown fuinjutsu. Just getting closer, he got goosebumps when he noticed the malevolent barriers that surrounded the Uzumaki's secret chamber. He didn't even try to forcibly dispel the seals with his magic, as he had done with the simple seals they used to lock Sasuke inside the tub when they kidnapped him.

"We'll have to come here with someone expert," she muttered. I don't dare use my powers with such a seal.

"We can tell ero-senin," Naruto said. He is a master of fuinjutsu.

Happy with their hefty booty, they spent the last few days renovating as many buildings as possible and all the bridges. To follow some kind of order, he went street by street. Naruto and Sasuke would push away everything that was rotten and spoiled so that it could vanish into nothingness, and put away some new things that they found.

"It's going to take months to get this all in order. We are only rebuilding Uzushiogakure, but there are more villages near the coast.

"As I told you, with the hiraishin you will be able to get ahead of the task much faster.

"Are you going to protect the island now?" Naruto asked. We only have one day left here. You'd better hurry.

Seina used all kinds of spells and magic barriers since there was no one to see him. When it was over, almost an hour later, the island was once again protected behind an invisible shield. They dined on their last meal on the island, eating outside the tent to watch the sunset over the hills.

"I wrote that letter I told Itachi," Sasuke said abruptly. I'd like you to read it.

"Really?" Naruto asked dumbfounded, who knew perfectly well how private Sasuke was.

"Yes. I don't want to give you any confidential information, just in case, so I thought you could check it out in case I said... a little more.

Seina took the letter Sasuke held out to her, kept in his fanny pack, and set her plate of food on a stone. Naruto, next to him, read Sasuke's words silently at the same time.

—Itachi,

You may not believe me, but I'm Sasuke. I'm writing this letter to you because my team and I believe you're innocent, and we've found quite a few clues that point to it. Tsunade-sama is looking into it, but until we have conclusive proof you are still an exile from Konoha.

For my part, I've thought a lot about everything that happened. How you acted, why you did it, why you left me alive, why you gave yourself away in Konoha recently when you knew exactly how to hide... Everything points to you being innocent. A year ago I couldn't have written these words without infuriating just thinking about you, but thanks to Seina and Naruto I've managed to see beyond. Now I'm not full of hate, although sometimes I'm still angry with you. Now I have more than just rage.

You're my brother. You are also the murderer of our family. I want to believe that you regret it, that you forced it. I want to have my brother around again. I want you to come back to Konoha one day, for people to know that you're innocent, even if we have to admit that our clan screwed up.

You can reply to this letter, if you want, but whatever you say I will find out the truth with the help of my team so if you try to lie to me... save yourself.

Sasuke.

"It's... "interesting," Naruto finally said with unusual seriousness. You're letting him know that you know what happened to your clan, do you think that's a good thing?

"The fact that Sasuke knows the truth, the whole truth, implies knowing that. Itachi is no fool. Even if he thought that Sasuke didn't know now, he would imagine that he would know in the future.

"So, okay with you?" Sasuke asked directly.

"What grates me the most is the mention of Tsunade-sama. If it turns out that this letter is leaked later, it may reach the ears of Danzo, who seems to be one of the instigators of this whole imbroglio," he replied, wondering what might happen if he sent it as it was. I would say, "We're looking into it." If Itachi is smart, he will read between the lines and, if leaked, the Hokage will be able to defend itself by saying that it knows nothing of any official investigation.

"Hn... You are right.

Sasuke picked up the letter, crossing out that phrase. You could tell that it wasn't the first sketch he'd done, nor was it the tenth time he'd reread what he'd written. They finished their dinner in silence, while everyone thought about Itachi, Uzushiogakure, and the mess they were in. They returned to Konoha using hiraishin, tired of flying. Upon arriving, he saw someone who nearly lost his life at the registration table. It was Kotetsu.

"Seina-san," he called to her as soon as he saw her appear. He stood up and bowed to her. Tsunade-sama has told me that I owe you my life.

"I'm glad you're okay. Luckily, we were able to rescue you in time.

"Thank you very much.

"Yes, thank you. I can't imagine this job without Kotetsu," said the other tablemate, also chunin. When I was told that I had been kidnapped by Orochimaru, I feared the worst.

Seina nodded, accepting the thanks. It was his job so he would have done the same for anyone, but he knew what it felt like when a healer or doctor helped your loved ones when you couldn't do anything.

"I'm dead," Naruto complained, shuffling wearily. And I thought it was going to be a relaxing week.

"Then go to sleep, dobe," Sasuke said. I'll finish making the arrangements a la carte.

She said goodbye to her team, going to her room to take a shower. As she washed her hair, she thought about Sasuke's sincere, if reticent, words. What would happen if Itachi replied to the letter simply to tell them to f*ck off? Even though Sasuke had admitted to thinking about it, and reluctantly agreeing to leave his brother alone if he didn't want to be helped, Seina knew that the prospect hurt her.

So, he finished his shower quickly and put on his pajamas before entering his study. He closed the door behind him and sat down at the desk, picking up a blank piece of paper and a conjured pen. He thought a lot about what he wanted to convey to him, about Sasuke, about Naruto... And he started writing.

"Dear Itachi,

My name is Seina Uzumaki and I am your brother Sasuke's teammate. I know you've received a letter from him. I know what's in it and what Sasuke isn't saying out of fear.

As you know, I have a brother, Naruto, so I can't imagine doing to him what you've done to Sasuke. I know you were only 13 years old when you killed your clan, the same day you let Sasuke live for some reason. From asking people why you did it and why you left him alive, I know they would tell me that you went crazy or that you're a psychopath who didn't need any reason to do it. But I think they would be very wrong...

I think you did what you did because you had no choice, because, at the time, you didn't see any other way. Perhaps, you believed that your only option was to save Sasuke at the expense of others. Maybe you were right, maybe you weren't. You killed a lot of people, some of them probably innocent, and that will cost you to pay for it. That's just what you're doing, right? You are paying for your sins while suffering away from home, away from Sasuke. You self-flagellate yourself thinking that Sasuke deservedly hates you. You want him to finish you off, and not someone else, because you think that's what you deserve. You believe that will bring peace to Sasuke and close this bloody chapter of your history. Wrong.

I know something you don't: Sasuke doesn't hate you. Not anymore. Sasuke used to hate you and suffer. Now he's only suffering because he's discovering that maybe you're innocent and that he's hated you for something you may not have done voluntarily. He feels guilty for not even thinking of any other possibility except that you were guilty. He sees Naruto and me and I know he feels sad that you're not with us. Now he doesn't want to kill you, but to bring you back to Konoha. Funny how many twists and turns life takes, right?

I know you're not going to answer our letters. Somehow, I feel a connection to you, to your intentions. Part of me doesn't know why, while part of me tells me it's because we're both the "big brother." I've researched you. I know you loved Sasuke. I know you still love him. How can you not do it if it's your little brother and you're Itachi Uchiha, the teenager who adored his brother?

I know you've spent years away, away from Konoha, being hated by the one you least wanted to hate you. I know that a part of you is no longer the same as it once was. I know that a part of you has mistakenly accepted that you are the bad guy, the wolf among the sheep. When a person spends so much time pretending to be something they are not, they can eventually become that.

Sasuke told me the other day that he loved me, that I was his big sister. That made me feel even closer to him, and to you. Now thanks to Sasuke we are family, Itachi. That's why I'm going to do everything I can to help you bring you back, to find out the truth. My own little brother, Naruto, has taught me something I sometimes forget: you can never lose hope.

For all this, I promise you that we will find out the truth and that you will return to Konoha if you are innocent.

Seina.

Pd. I owe you a beating for torturing Kakashi-sensei. You're family now, but that doesn't mean I can't punish you for hurting my loved ones.

Seina wiped the ink with a wave of her hand and folded the letter. It was considerably longer than Sasuke had written, but he hadn't written anything that Itachi didn't know or could imagine. Nothing that could harm Konoha.

When he woke up the next morning, on a random Wednesday, he realized that it was already April. He felt a drop in his stomach as he realized that the draw for the chunin exams had already been done. Everyone already knew the destination. He left the house to the Jonin barracks, where the lists of those admitted for the examination were hung, and came face to face with Kakashi-sensei returning from a mission.

"Hello Seina," her master smiled when he saw her. Are you here to watch the giveaway?

"Good or bad?"

"Do you want me to tell you, or would you rather see it yourself?"

He pointed a thumb at a plank behind him. Seina walked around him, feeling him follow her with his hands in his pockets, until she reached the briefing note. Kirigakure. He had to hold back a relieved sigh as he realized the worst hadn't happened. It wasn't the best of places, but it wasn't Kumogakure. He checked how his name was on the list, next to an unknown Yamanaka, and turned around.

"It could have been worse," she admitted. Kakashi-sensei nodded. Have you just come on a mission?

"From a second mission." You've been away for many days," he said, putting an arm around his shoulders as they drove out. How did it go?

"Good, good. I have many things to tell you, but now I have to go and see Tsunade-sama. It's about Karin. My distant cousin.

"Ah. Has he told you anything yet?

"Yes. Turns out he's not as guilty as I thought. I'll tell you.

"I can go with you, if you like."

She nodded. He was explaining to her about the apartment they had bought, what it looked like, where it was, etc. He would reserve Sasuke's letter for him to report to himself and what they had found at Uzushiogakure. It was never good to talk about private matters in public in a ninja village.

"What do you think of Kirigakure?" Kakashi-sensei asked as they waited to be attended to by the Hokage.

"Good. I think it's perfect, considering you know.

"Yes. I don't think I know anyone who took the exam there, but I might ask. Any information is good.

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

"Seina-san, Kakashi-san?" They can happen.

La Hokage smiled at the sight of her, sending a curious glance to her master.

"I guess you're here for Karin."

"Yes, I've talked to Naruto. We agree to take care of it as long as it is necessary. We have bought an apartment for her in which I have put up certain barriers to keep an eye on her.

"Perfect. Then I will give the order for her to be released tomorrow afternoon. Did you find a lot of things in Uzushiogakure?

"Quite a few. I'm going to need the pervert to come with us to examine a secret chamber protected with fuinjutsu.

"Didn't you open it with your powers?"

"I didn't dare. Even from afar, chakra-laden barriers can be perceived. The last thing I want is for it to collapse or for something to happen that destroys what it contains.

"Next time I come to the village, I'll let you know." "I suppose you must have left a seal there so that you can teleport," her teacher said with little surprise. By the way, I imagine you already know where you've been. Not bad. I don't think you will get bored in Kirigakure.

Seina snorted a sarcastic laugh at his words.

"You've got exactly one month left to start the exam. I would take advantage of you to have Kakashi examine your theoretical knowledge and to train as much as possible.

Assented. They bade Tsunade-sama farewell, walking out of the Hokage's tower at a slow pace. Not that they were in much of a hurry, considering it wasn't even half a day. They walked in silence, thinking about their things. Seina could now only think about 3 things: Karin, Itachi, and the jonin exams. I didn't know which was more important. Perhaps Karin because hers was a more dramatic situation, which needed more urgent attention, than everything else. Still, he had already done all he could for her.

What she didn't expect, the next day, when she and Naruto went to see her to accompany her to her new apartment and chat for a while, was her horrified expression at the sight of her brother.

"T-t-you!" He exclaimed, turning pale and pointing a trembling finger at Naruto.

She and Naruto exchanged confused glances under the watchful eye of Inoichi Yamanaka and Anko. Karin looked really scared. I didn't know why. It had something to do with his brother.

"What's wrong?"

"I can feel an evil chakra within you!" He whispered as he shrugged.

"You mean Kurama?" His brother asked bluntly. I'm not surprised. I am the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. Just like Seina.

"You're a jinchuriki!?" Karin asked, totally stunned. I couldn't notice it!

Seina shrugged. Maybe because he always used to hide his chakra in his magic? Perhaps because Kurama himself helped her hide his presence? The Kurama-yang in Naruto didn't seem to have so much regard for his brother. Whatever it was, he found it curious that Karin couldn't notice her Kurama-yin.

"Interesting... Kurama said. Maybe you're right, and it's your magic that hides my presence. Even though I hide my chakra, it's still a part of you. I should have noticed it the other time.

They managed to convince her, by talking, that Naruto didn't want to hurt her. Karin seemed to accept her words when her Kurama made an appearance, scaring her, to prove that she wasn't lying when she said that she was also a jinchuriki. He realized that if he had wanted to hurt her, he would have done it the first time they met. Naruto's genuine character was what won Karin, who agreed to stay in Konoha and be watched for at least 6 months while joining the ranks of the village.

"I can't believe he's here," Karin said, looking at the buildings as she walked between her and Naruto. My mother told me about your mother. About how she had been sent to Konoha when it all happened...

"And why didn't you come to Konoha too?"

"I don't know. I guess my mother was afraid she would be used for her special gift. And look," Karin thought aloud, her expression bitter. He settled in a village that eventually fulfilled his fears.

"No one here will use you like that," she said gravely. At most you can volunteer, but no one will order you to die like your mother.

"I hope so.

"Old Tsunade is a righteous person. You'll see that Seina is right.

"Look. This is your new apartment.

Karin, Naruto, and she stared at the white façade of the building for a few seconds. Karin didn't seem to know what to say when she was shown the flat to herself. She looked at it all with bright eyes, overwhelmed, and then sat down on the couch she was given. Fluffy and comfortable.

"Wow. My home wasn't that comforting.

"We have prepared a monthly payment for you, so that you can take care of the food and furniture you are missing," she informed him, "but Tsunade-sama wants you to find work in the village to reintegrate yourself.

"I know. He told me.

"What would you like to work on?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Inoichi-san has given me the opportunity to work for him in his flower shop part-time. The salary is fair enough to live on my own, but with your paycheck, and because I don't pay rent, I think I'll manage.

"You also have to go to the apartment weekly, don't you?"

"Yes. To keep track of me.

Karin was going to have a lot of freedoms because she was a child and because Inoichi would make sure to read her intentions week after week. She knew that Tsunade-sama had also allowed her to have that independence because she knew that Seina would be watching her closely. Otherwise, he doubted he would have let her live alone without an escort. At least a few months.

They were talking about trivial things with Karin. They talked about Sasuke, his other friends, Kakashi-sensei, his training... Seina wondered what would happen to Karin's military career. She was a genin, so if she was reinstated, she should be able to continue to rise. The thing is, she knew that it was practically impossible for her to be allowed to take the chunin exams that year. Mostly because she would continue to be watched during that period and they were not going to allow her to leave the village even to pick mushrooms. Who knows what would happen the following year...

"We don't know much about her," Naruto said, when Karin was left alone in her new apartment. We've only been talking about ourselves.

"I don't think Karin wants to reminisce too much about the past right now. The best we've been able to do is distract her from the situation she's in.

When they got home, Kakashi-sensei was making dinner and Sasuke was waiting for them sitting at the table with the card in his hands. Seina knew that she had finally decided to send the letter to Itachi. Sasuke handed him the letter. He didn't even ask her how she planned to send her to Itachi. The truth is that since he wrote his own letter he was thinking about how to do it so he created a pigeon, one of the most common birds in the world, just for that. He had to load it with runes so that he could program it with the point me spell and so that it would be undetectable to everyone except the target of the locator spell. So, all he had to do was send it to Itachi with the folded letter.

It would take days to get to him, but I knew it would come. Sooner or later. He left the house so that no one would see his own letter, which had been kept in his fanny pack, tied up to him. He didn't want to give Sasuke false hope if Itachi didn't soften. He watched as it flew far west. He realized that it was all in Itachi's hands. Seina could continue to send him letters, even if he didn't answer, but it wasn't them who would have to decide what to do with the opportunity she had been given. As much as it was hard for him to understand Naruto's stubbornness.

The next day it was as if everyone had a firecracker lit in their ass. Sasuke and Naruto were sent on a mission, Kakashi-sensei handed her a packet of exam questions and disappeared, and she was called to train Tsunade-sama. Apparently, now that they knew where the exam would take place, everyone was somewhat anxious to ensure that she was well prepared so that she would not be slapped.

"Huh. Actually, it's not bad to decode secret codes," she said aloud to Kurama, the only one who couldn't leave her alone.

"Humans and your stupid exams," he yawned.

Suddenly, Seina entered another kind of student maelstrom. On Monday he trained with the other genins, on Tuesday with the anbu and Kakashi-sensei, on Wednesday with the Hokage, on Thursday and Friday he worked in the hospital and on the weekend he took it to rest and do impromptu theoretical exams with the help of his teacher and Shizune.

She almost forgot that there was such a thing as a mission until 8 days passed and she was called to Shikaku's office.

"I have another mission for you. It's a solo one. Ten. Give this confidential document to our contact in the Cascade country.

Seina picked up the roll, tucking herself away in her fanny pack. Luckily, he had seals nearby so he left Konoha and teleported with the hiraishin. The mission lasted literally an hour. The trickiest part was finding Konoha's contact while hiding in the lush forest of Cascade Country. He handed it to her, received a coded note, and left again.

Shikaku was waiting for her, unsurprised to see her.

"I know you leave seals wherever you go, so I knew it wouldn't take you long to complete the mission. In fact, from now on, you're going to be in charge of delivering confidential documentation to the sites that I know you can teleport quickly. This will increase your quest quota for jonin exams while giving you time to study and train.

Seina nodded. He should have imagined it. When he returned home, he found Sasuke and Naruto, who had come from their mission covered in bruises. He didn't even ask. He set about curing them while his clones prepared dinner.

"How was your week?"

"Good. I've been totally busy. Tomorrow I was scheduled to visit Karin as it's Sunday and I have nothing to do.

"And Kakashi-sensei?"

"He went on a mission 3 days ago," he shrugged. It seemed pretty important so I doubt I'll be back anytime soon.

"Do you know if Itachi has received my letter yet?" Sasuke asked.

"I should. Unless it was a long way away.

Sasuke didn't ask again. Seina knew that a part of him hardly wanted to question her about whether Itachi had read her letter, or not. The truth is, I wasn't lying when I told him I didn't know. The pigeon was scheduled to leave a couple of hours after Itachi took the cards. That would give him time to write and read what they had to say.

Sunday went by more slowly than Saturday. He went to visit Karin. He saw how he had made good use of his monthly paycheck, buying a few more pieces of furniture for his enjoyment and also filling the furniture with pots and towels. She had been hired part-time at Inoichi's flower shop, just as she had said, so every morning she spent 4 hours in the shop.

"Not bad. I know something about flowers, but I'm learning a lot from Inoichi's wife.

"Have you met Ino?" His brother asked.

"No. I don't know if they want me to meet her so early.

"Maybe that's not why. Ino is training hard for the chunin exams.

"Like Seina."

"Are you going to take the jonin exams?" Karin asked in surprise.

"That's what I mean, yes.

"Then I wish you the best of luck."

They finished chatting, saying goodbye to a crazy week, in Karin's apartment. Kakashi-sensei did not return from his mission, as he had imagined, so he had dinner with Sasuke and Naruto as they talked about the chunin exam. She fell asleep noticing how suddenly someone entered the house through the window, but she knew it was Kakashi-sensei so she closed her eyes and stopped resisting giving up.

chapter 67

It started the third week of April in the same way. He spent more time outside the house than inside so he didn't have time for anything else but training, working in the hospital, reviewing theory and resting. Naruto and Sasuke received some unpromptu news.

"What!?" How are we going to have another teammate? His brother shouted, half enraged and half indignant.

"Don't you remember that the chunin exam is in teams of 3?" Kakashi-sensei asked one night when they all met for dinner. Both this team and team 10 need a third party in order to sign up for the exams.

"And who is it?" Sasuke asked, getting to the crux of the matter.

"There are only 2 possible candidates. A girl named Matsuri... and Sasuke's fan, Sakura.

"Ugh," Sasuke complained, cowering back in his seat. Do we have a choice?

"None of the candidates seem to me to fit the dynamic of your team, so I chose Matsuri simply because it won't give you any problems, Sasuke. The last thing you want is poor coordination in an official exam.

Seina suddenly remembered Sakura's staring when they saw her in the restaurant weeks ago. Was Sakura considering taking the chunin exams at that time? Had he been thinking about impersonating her for weeks? He didn't know, though he didn't care much either. He had believed at the time that Sakura had matured a bit since he clearly knew that Sasuke was next to her, covering himself with the menu so as not to see her, and he hadn't said or done anything. Now he didn't have them all with him.

"You'll have to train with her from now on to see what level she's at," her master informed them. You don't want to have to carry a dead weight in exams just because you don't know what capabilities it has. In addition, from now on you will have some C-rank missions with her so that you can learn how to work together.

"What happened to your team?" She asked.

"Nothing bad. They have simply decided not to move up the ladder and work in the village with the family businesses.

Seina frowned as she stared at him. He had never considered being a genin for life and, moreover, working in the village as a civilian. Although, now that I thought about it, it made sense. Ninjas were paid considerably more than a civilian, regardless of rank. On the other hand, being genin implied low-risk missions. If they combined it in this way, many people could live more comfortably as a genin than by working a full day as a civilian.

After that, Naruto and Sasuke started seeing Matsuri a couple of times a week. It turned out that his level was ridiculously low compared to Sasuke and Naruto. I wasn't particularly good at taijutsu, or genjutsu, or ninjutsu. According to Sasuke, Matsuri herself confessed to them that she only wanted to be promoted to chunin so that she could teach at the academy. Since he didn't have military aspirations like Sasuke and Naruto, he had dedicated himself to consolidating the knowledge of the academy without stepping out of his comfort zone. In fact, their strong point was their theoretical knowledge so, at least, it would help them to pass the first written part without much trouble. Oh, and his mastery of shurikenjutsu. Apparently, he was able to hit targets from tens of meters with a simple glance.

"In the end, we've decided that the dobe and I will be in charge of attacking from close up while she attacks from afar with kunais and shurikens. In addition, her jonin sensei has offered to help her learn how to set traps so that she can serve as a rearguard.

"Not bad," she thought aloud. Although in Suna it is more difficult to set traps. There is hardly a single tree to hide in.

"And how are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

They were having dinner alone since Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were on a mission. It was Thursday, so he had spent the whole morning in the hospital and in the afternoon he went to the dojo to train with new rivals.

"Good. I can hardly believe that, in a month's time, less, I'm going to take the exams...

"Me neither, really. These last few weeks have been total chaos. Since the beginning of April, actually.

"Tell me." I haven't even been able to open the trunk with the things we took from Uzushiogakure. I think tomorrow I'll take it easier and start reviewing it.

No sooner said than done. The next day, after coming home from the hospital, Seina took the trunk and enlarged it in the middle of her large study. As soon as she looked inside, she realized that it would take weeks to put the slightest semblance of order, so she summoned a few clones to help her. Most were economic and legal documents, scrolls with ninjutsu, memories of some ancestors, scrolls to teach fuinjutsu, and stolen scrolls. He noticed that despite there being quite a few scrolls on fuinjutsu, there was almost no fuinjutsu jutsu explained. Would they be in the chamber?

"Look at this! One of his clones said, handing him a scroll. There are localities marked on a map.

Seina picked up the ancient-looking map. It was a little yellowish, but it had been preserved really well. He restored it with some magic, watching as it took on color again and repaired the areas with scratches and holes caused by the rubble. It was a map of the Land of Fire, and the surrounding area, in particular. He saw in disbelief that there was a mark a few kilometers from Konoha. Maybe 10 or 20 kilometers? Unfortunately, the map didn't tell him what it was. Maybe it was a Frankish house, maybe someone's grave, maybe a cave with more scrolls... I had no idea.

"Interesting," he muttered aloud.

He summoned his clones and put everything back in the trunk, albeit neatly. The trunk, of course, was kept in the most protected place: his fanny pack. Honestly, the map thing kept her on tenterhooks for the next few days. If what he had marked on the map had no value, they would not have captured that information in a document that could be stolen. They had risked someone finding it and stealing it because, whatever it was, it was more important for another Uzumaki to find it than for the information to be lost in oblivion. That meant that, logically, she had to figure out what it was. Whatever was within walking distance of Konoha, he knew that Kakashi-sensei or Tsunade-sama would have told him something if he knew.

On the penultimate Sunday in April, when she was home alone, she was called to another mission.

"Another shipment?"

"It's essential documentation for contracts. The merchant left it here. Today we received the note from the jonin we sent to escort him.

"You need me to take it away as soon as possible, don't you?" Where is he?

"In the land of the rice paddies. Be careful.

Seina bade farewell to Commander Jonin. He sighed as his day of relaxation was interrupted. He got there with the hiraishin. Then it was just a matter of looking for the Konoha jonin escorting the client. It took him just 10 minutes running to get to them. He found them in a village. The customer was sipping sake, visibly nervous, while the jonin stood next to him without opening his mouth. He noticed it as soon as he undid his magic shield around his chakra a bit. Using a chakra fluctuation pattern, he made it clear to her that he was from Konoha. He watched as she relaxed, stopped crossing her arms, and went in search of her to the alley across the street.

"I guess you have the paperwork," he said as soon as he reached his side. Seina handed it to him. For a moment I thought I wouldn't make it in time. Thank you.

"You're welcome. If that's all done, go back to Konoha.

The unknown jonin nodded. Seina left, looking for a hidden place to use the hiraishin back. It had only taken him half an hour to accomplish a mission that would have taken someone else at least a day. The hiraishin was awesome. He started walking to the entrance of Konoha when he stopped in his tracks. I could take advantage of the fact that I was out of Konoha to go and look at the map.

He had to question himself, feeling somewhat guilty, whether to go or not. After all, it was the first time he had done anything that wasn't implicit or explicit in his orders. But of course, he also didn't want to tell anyone what he was looking for because: 1) he didn't know what he was looking for, 2) if it wasn't confidential someone would have told him that there was something related to his clan nearby.

"Do it. I want to know what this is all about, too," Kurama urged, as if he were the demon on his shoulder.

"Ugh. Okay!

He quickly pulled the map out of his fanny pack and headed invisibly toward his destination. He first had to use the hiraishin to go to the south gate and then ran another 10 minutes to the marked spot. He made a detour of the site, but it was such a large map that the point covered quite a bit of ground. Since he didn't know what he was looking for either, he couldn't use his locate spell, so he had to do it the old-fashioned way.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu.

He climbed atop his thestral so he could see anything out of the ordinary from the air. As soon as he rose above the treetops he saw something strange. It looked like a Japanese-style house, half-in ruins, a few hundred yards from where it had taken off. He went there, feeling a growing excitement. He looked like one of those archaeologists in search of treasure. He walked around the structure and knew he was in the right place as soon as he saw the spiral above the front door.

It was a kind of house built on wooden beams. It was clear that they had built it this way so that fewer animals could sneak inside. Part of the façade was crumbling and the wooden fence had fallen to the ground on the right side. The roof was in pretty good shape, save for a couple of broken shingles and one of the corners that had lost much of its coverage.

"I repair.

He watched as the structure seemed to go back in time, repairing itself, until it was intact. As if the years hadn't passed. He reinforced all the beams and walls before entering. With his spells he realized that no one was there, so he slowly climbed the stairs. He sent a couple of clones to blow up the protective barriers, if any, but nothing happened.

It looked like an abandoned home in the middle of nowhere. If it hadn't been for the fact that I'd seen it from heaven, I wouldn't have found it. It was very hidden. That piqued his curiosity even more. When he walked through the huge door, he realized at once that it was neither a safe house nor an abandoned home. It was a temple. From the door frame he could feel the cold and stuffy atmosphere. He got all the hair on end when he stared at the wall in front of him, a few feet away, and saw at least a couple dozen masks with different demon shapes.

He began to hear a ringing in his ears that he hadn't heard in more than a century. He walked slowly, wishing above all else that this wasn't what he thought it was. As he entered, he observed a ritual altar on the stone floor.

"They've used it recently!" He exclaimed to Kurama, who was silently contemplating everything.

It appeared to have been cleaned recently, although he saw some dry leaves that made him think it hadn't been used since before last fall. He circled the altar and stood a few steps away from the wall of masks. There was one of them that was much more powerful than the others.

"Ssseinaa...

Seina shuddered as she heard the voices coming from one of the masks. It had a pair of horns, the eye sockets were deep and droopy, and the open mouth showing a string of pointed teeth with a pair of large fangs. It even had ears that end in a beak. It was creepy. Even more so because I noticed that it wasn't just any object.

"That mask... It's alive.

He shuddered again. He used a spell to lower the mask, which put up no resistance. As soon as he had her in front of his face, he closed his eyes to try to discover the truth. In the darkness he heard even more clearly the whispers that came from that object. It wasn't until he touched the mask with his magic, probing its properties, that he realized the truth... It was horrocux.

The mask fell to the ground without her dropping it. He chimed on the wooden floor and stared down. She didn't care because she was horrified. It was the most powerful horcrux he had ever encountered. Suddenly, he began to feel a tremendous cold in there. All his magical senses were telling him that it was no ordinary temple. What had his clan been up to years ago? Not even Orochimaru had been able to create a horcrux with his seal! How could that mask be even more powerful than Tom Riddle's diary?

"Haven't you noticed?" That mask has more than one soul.

His heart was pounding at his discovery and Kurama's words. Would it be possible? Whose souls were they? How had they gotten there? Why? He looked at the altar on the floor, facing the wall of masks, and his blood ran cold. Wouldn't it be that...? His mind was racing a thousand miles an hour.

"You'd better go back before someone misses you," Kurama reminded him with an almost worried hint in his voice.

Seina put the mask back in place with a spell and then came out of there whistling. Before leaving, he obviously concealed the temple with the fidelus. I wasn't sure if anyone had been hanging around recently, but the fact that they had cleaned the altar and not the rest of the floor suggested that they had. Someone else knew about the temple and was pretty sure he had used the altar for something. He had so many questions that he came to Shikaku's office not knowing how he got there. He had to use his mental barriers to pretend that nothing had happened.

He didn't train anymore that day. The next day he used the other genins as a distraction, missing his team at home. Surprisingly, Kakashi-sensei arrived in Konoha on Tuesday from his mission. He was found in the clearing chatting with the other anbu.

"Good morning, Seina.

"Kakashi-sensei!" What are you doing here?

"I knew I'd find you here, so I wanted to see how much you've improved."

Seina tried not to disappoint. He raised his mental barriers to the max as he fought 4 anbuses at once, using his magic to level a fight that, in advance, was lost. When they stopped, all panting, a while later, she watched out of the corner of her eye as her master squinted at her. Something calculating. He said goodbye to everyone with his stomach rumbling with hunger.

"Is something wrong?" Kakashi-sensei asked as soon as they were alone, walking to the house.

"Why do you ask?"

The jonin raised an eyebrow, pointing with his eye at her tense shoulders. As soon as he saw it, his muscles automatically relaxed, but it was too late. He had realized that something was wrong, of course.

"I'll tell you later."

They came home in silence. Naruto and Sasuke were still on mission, so he wondered whether to tell him what was happening or wait. In fact, did he really want to tell her what he had discovered?

"You're frowning again," Kakashi-sensei cut off his train of thought. He put a hand on her knee, stopping her trembling suddenly.

Seina blinked when she realized her leg had given her away again.

"Seina, what's the matter?" You're worrying me," Kakashi-sensei said seriously, kneeling before her with his hands on his knees.

"Do you remember the documents we went to Uzushiogakure to pick up?" I was organizing them the other day and found a map. "I'd marked a few points on it," he explained. Her teacher nodded as he listened intently. The fact is that one of these points was very close to Konoha so when I went on a mission on Sunday, when I came back...

"You went to see him.

"Yes. It was a ruined temple. I restored it and went in. There were about 30 masks in the shape of demons and an altar on the stone floor. I grabbed one of the masks...

"Seina! Kakashi-sensei exclaimed with a serious face. You didn't pick it up with your hands, did you?

"Of course not! I'm not an idiot." He gave her an indignant look, but I knew he meant it because of the worry he felt. The thing is, they're not normal masks.

"What do you mean?"

"They're alive. At least one of them is a horcrux. A horcrux... multiple. I didn't even know such a thing could exist. And what's worse. I'm sure someone was there recently. Maybe less than a year ago. I think they used the altar," he said quietly.

There was a tense silence as they both thought aloud about what this might mean. Kakashi-sensei got up from the floor, sitting down beside her on the sofa.

"Let's take it one step at a time. The horcrux thing. You told me that one of those was an object with a soul inside, didn't you? So that mask you saw had multiple souls according to you," she nodded. For what reason do you think they used the altar and that someone was there?

"They cleaned the altar, but the rest of the floor was full of debris. Also, I saw a couple of dry leaves on top of the altar, but nothing else so I imagine they fell through the broken ceiling after it was cleaned and used.

—…

"There are only 2 ways to use such an item: to insert a soul or to remove it," she continued.

"I see. You think someone used it for one thing or the other.

"That's right. Right now the temple is under the fidelus so no one else can find it. There was no lack of masks in the gaps in the wall. Probably because to use them you have to use the altar there and it's no use taking them away," she thought, remembering the fuinjutsu engraved on the altar.

"Great. So, you can put off this mystery until a few weeks from now.

"And that's it?" She asked, her nerves on edge.

"Answer me this: Can anyone find this temple?" Does it matter if you look into it now or leave it for later?

"I suppose not..." I didn't even know it existed until a few days ago," she blinked in astonishment as she realized she was right.

"I'd wait for you to finish your jonin exams." Forget about this temporarily. No one can access the temple now, so half the problem is solved. We'll look into everything related to masks later.

"You're right.

He felt his body relax for the first time in days. Kurama seemed restless ever since the temple was discovered, but he didn't talk to her. She could sense that she was thinking deeply about something that was eluding her.

"Listen to Kakashi..." Sooner or later we will discover the truth of that temple.

Seina surrendered to the decision of the majority. They were right. Now that he had hidden the temple, whoever had used it would not be able to use it again. There was no point in worrying when I had so many things to do. He was quite surprised to realize that the nerves he had been carrying for days had vanished in less than 30 minutes in the presence of his master.

When Naruto and Sasuke returned from their C-rank mission with Matsuri, he showed them his memory of the map, the temple, and then the conversation with Kakashi-sensei. To say that his team was dumbfounded by what he had found was an understatement. They surrendered to the evidence that they now had no time, neither they nor she, to investigate it, but Seina knew they hadn't forgotten.

She didn't forget the other markings on the map either. One of them near Amegakure, another in the south of the Cascade country. He considered that there might be more temples, but he had to stop thinking about it when he saw that there was nothing he could do right now. If she were sent somewhere nearby, she would seize the moment. Until then... He would take it more slowly.

On Thursday afternoon, a couple of days after his talk with Kakashi-sensei and the other two, he locked himself in his study to answer the mock exams Shizune had given him. It took him a couple of hours to write everything he thought needed in the blanks. Naruto, every time he saw her taking exams, he would turn white and shudder. To her, however, it did not seem so difficult. He remembered the exams he took at Muggle university... Now that was a new level of difficulty.

"Honestly, every time I see you I feel less like taking the exam," Sasuke confessed that afternoon, "but at the same time I don't want to be a chunin for life.

"Then you don't have a choice," Seina snorted with a wry laugh. Also, weren't you studying the theory for the chunin exams?

"Yes, but I don't have half as much stuff as you. I can't compare it. Luckily, with clones I'm 4 times faster studying.

"I wish Naruto would study in advance as well.

Seina could imagine what was going to happen when Naruto wanted to be promoted to jonin and was forced to study all the necessary books. He would try to get her and Sasuke to help him study, giving him lessons or something. As if I saw it!

When the last weekend of April arrived, about 15 days before the jonin exam, Kakashi-sensei dragged her to the dugout to train with her. He saved the hours they spent eating, everything was revision and training: to make traps, to hide, to stalk his victim, defensive barriers of fuinjutsu, manufacture of a shelter, manufacture of homemade weapons, methods of hunting, fishing and gathering... Seina ended up crushed. His brain ached.

He knew that many of those things he might not use just because he had his magic available, but it wasn't bad to refresh your knowledge, and learn new things, just in case.

Notes:
Well, well... Things start to get more interesting.

Chapter 10: 68-72

Chapter Text

chapter 68

The first week of May came almost unexpectedly. Tsunade-sama relieved her of the 4 days of work in the hospital so that she could train those mornings as well. Seina spent every other afternoon at the dojo to practice her taijutsu. On Monday he practiced with the other genins, on Tuesday with the anbu, on Wednesday with the Hokage, and on Thursday and Friday with Kakashi-sensei if he was available. On the weekend, he was still taking practice theory exams, so he had the whole week full of things to do.

Karin, whom they saw once a week, promised to teach him the basics of adamantine chains whenever he wanted. Seina, who was very curious about such a skill, took him at his word, but asked him to leave it until after the examination.

"I'd rather keep that skill as my ace up my sleeve, so I wouldn't use it in exams," he confessed. Right now I have more things to go over.

"It's okay! Karin replied with an exasperated smile. It's not like I'm going to move out of here.

Seina, Naruto, and Karin laughed at his sarcastic joke. Karin, with the help of Inoichi and the psychic assessment department, had begun to treat her mood swings and cure her depression. In fact, every time they saw her, she seemed like a new person.

"Having a safe home to live in changes everything," he acknowledged when Naruto told him. Before, I was always worried about something. Now I can breathe easy. And on top of that, I've found more Uzumaki family!

Seina continued to train, but was also overpowered by questions from Kakashi-sensei. She spent more than an hour immersed in the tomes and parchments that were there... borrowed for information on the promotion examinations in Kirigakure. Actually, it was Shino who got him the information he was looking for since the draw had only a few times fallen in Kirigakure, apparently.

"So Kirigakure," Shikamaru told him on the first Monday in May. What do you think of the site?

"They say it's one of the toughest!" Ino exclaimed, her face worried.

"Shut up, Ino! You're going to sink it! Kiba said. Akamaru barked a couple of times, climbing into his lap. Say yes, Akamaru.

"The truth is, it could have been worse... I'm looking for information about that place in the library, but there isn't a lot of useful information.

"Wasn't I going to look for someone who had taken the exam there, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, but it's very busy too.

"I know of someone who took the exam there," Shino said suddenly. My uncle, actually. If you want, you could ask him to meet with you to give you information.

"Really?" She smiled, far less worried. Thank you Shino!

That meeting took place about 6 days later, on Sunday. Seina had arranged to meet Shino at a tea shop near the Aburame clan, far from the hustle and bustle of downtown. The streets, less busy, were surrounded by several parks and in the distance, surrounding the Aburame clan, was a good stretch of forest. Shino's uncle was tall, white, with short curly hair kept at bay because of the ninja band on his forehead. He wore the same black glasses, though his jacket was dark gray, almost black. He carried a crossbody bag on his back in which, no doubt, he had insects other than his kikaichu, such as Muta with his shokaichu worms. His spellbound ear confirmed it to him from afar.

"Seina-san?" Shino has told me enough about you," he greeted in a serious voice. She stood up to greet him, and then they sat down at a table. He told me that you need information about the Kirigakure exam venue.

"That's right. I have tried to look for as much information as possible, but I would like to check it with someone who has participated in those exams.

"Of course," Shiro nodded. The enclosure where the physical tests are carried out is called the blood swamps. It's a huge expanse of land where one-third is land and 2-thirds is gigantic swamps with all sorts of aquatic creatures. The weather is wet and cold, fog is present for much of the day. The forest is so lush that it hardly lets in light, but you can find shrubs and fruit trees.

Seina nodded at the description of the Aburame. You would have to take a closer look at edible plants to avoid poisoning yourself. That was something they were given from the academy, but it never hurt to study the plants of Kirigakure. In addition, I would also look for information about wildlife.

"What would be your recommendation?"

"Avoid the swamp at all costs, unless you have to go there. I used my insects to find a hiding place in the wooded area, although I had the misfortune to start my examination at an entrance to the swamp.

They talked for a long time. Shiro was very conscientious with his descriptions and didn't mind giving her advice on how to help her, even though she hadn't asked him about it. According to Shiro, the compound had a few gates evenly spread around the perimeter. Unlike Death Forest in Konoha, which had more than 50 gates, the Blood Swamp only consisted of about 10 gates. That meant she would enter the venue accompanied by more people.

That was good, and bad. For starters, I would assume that I could find an opponent first and hunt him down. On the other hand, it also exposed her to more people. I was sure she would be one of the youngest participants, so some might think she was the weakest and go after her. Still, if he planned it right, he could finish the test very soon. The problem is that they wouldn't let them out of there for the 5 days of the exam regardless of whether or not they had finished their part.

"Once you finish that part in the swamp, you'll have to choose a quest from the 2 scrolls you've recovered. People, because of this, will try to save their strength inside the swamp by hiding for as long as it takes once they have their pair of scrolls.

Which meant that if she ran out of scroll it was going to cost her twice as much to get her hands on 2 scrolls again because, obviously, her rivals would have dug in with her loot. He thanked Shiro and went home, stopping by the bookstore first in search of the books he needed.

He later recounted everything he had learned to his team who, curiously, were all present at home.

"What will be your strategy?" Her master asked, sitting across from her at dinner.

"I'll try to get a scroll on the first day." As soon as possible, in fact, to prevent them from starting to make traps that could be a problem for me," she explained under the watchful eyes of her brothers and Kakashi-sensei. After that, I'll make myself a shelter in the forest and use my summons to find something to eat from my shelter.

"I imagine you'll avoid the swamp at all costs."

"That! Based on what Shino's uncle has told you, it seems like hell for you!

She nodded.

"The fact that I can't take my fanny pack with me is a bummer, but at least I can take it with me for the mission after.

"You don't need to take her," Kakashi-sensei said. With all your powers, you can create all kinds of weapons from scratch and make yourself an inaccessible shelter. Your biggest problem is grabbing that scroll from an enemy in time.

The next day, the last Monday before the exam, Ino and the other genins decided not to train in order to spend the day goofing around the village. They started the morning by going to the thermal baths. Since it was Monday and early in the morning, there was practically no one there except them. Seina took off her clothes as she listened as her friends talked about Hinata's new hobby, knitting.

"It's harder than it sounds," she told them in her calm, soft voice, more excited than usual, "but my idea is to learn how to knit something bigger for Christmas presents."

"I'm sure you can, Hina," Tenten told her. I am incapable of creating anything with my hands.

"And you're the weapons expert!"

"Don't remind me. My mother always laughs at me when she sees me cooking.

"I don't understand how it's so hard for you to cook," she shook her head. You just have to follow some written instructions.

"You can't talk!" Tenten pointed a finger at her. The opinion of someone who looks like they've been cooking for 50 years doesn't count!

Seina cracked with laughter in his face. If only I knew... He watched as Ino nodded fervently at Tenten's words while Hinata seemed to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Hinata, surprisingly, cooked very well despite being the heiress of one of the most powerful clans in the land of Fire. If her house wasn't under fidelus, she would offer to help them learn to cook.

—By the way, how are you doing with Sakura on the team? Seina asked Ino.

"Ugh. Not bad. We've had to train a lot to integrate her into the team. The truth is that Sakura is just as cerebral as Shikamaru, despite not being a genius, but the problem is that she has trained practically nothing while working in the village. "My team is a bit of a mess right now," Ino sighed. If I hadn't trained with you all these weeks, I'd be worried because both Sakura and I aren't experts in hand-to-hand combat.

"You still have time," Hinata reminded him. Exams are in a month's time.

"Besides, the survival part is only 5 days. Between the 3 of you you will be able to do it.

"Please, let's get back to knitting," Ino pleaded, dipping her head in the water. I don't want to talk about exams or training.

Seina and Tenten laughed while Hinata smiled comfortingly at him. He remembered Karin and made a mental note of inviting her on the next outing so that she could start meeting people her own age. It's a pity she worked in the morning, otherwise she would have gone looking for her to accompany them.

"By the way," Tenten began slylyly. Why don't we talk about something else?

"Like what?" She asked reluctantly at the sight of his mischievous face.

"Do you like anyone?"

Hinata turned red as a tomato in less than a second while Ino burst out laughing. Seina avoided sighing. The stormy age he had tried to avoid had arrived. Hormones, crushes, jealousy, envy... Ugh. Who liked being a teenager?

"We don't need to ask Hinata," Ino said. Hinata, who had regained the usual paleness on her face, blushed violently again. Do you still like Naruto?

Hinata looked at her with a horrified face, but Seina had known about it for years. Any idiot would figure it out. Her friend seemed to realize she wasn't surprised and was even more horrified.

"Don't worry, Hinata. It's none of my business who Naruto has a relationship with, unless it's a danger to him," he said calmly.

"Do you like it or not?"

"S-s-yes," he whispered very softly. Seina grabbed his chin to lift his head, "but I know he doesn't see me that way.

"Naruto isn't interested in those things yet," she replied. It's nothing personal. The squigglehead only thinks about training and ascending.

"Seina is right. You give it time.

"And you, Tenten?" Ino asked, asking a round of questions. I've never seen you interested in anyone.

"Well, I've seen a very cute boy in the dojo," she smiled, curling a lock of wet hair coquettishly, "but we only exchanged glances last time. Nothing major. Maybe the next time I see it, I'll jump in.

"Well, I've turned the page with Sasuke. Now I'm looking for someone else... available.

Seina had to hold back a laugh at the words of Ino, a 12-year-old girl. Anyone listening to her from afar would think she was a 40-year-old divorced woman with a couple of children. Then, suddenly, all eyes turned to her.

"You're missing, Seina.

"I like them older," she said with a mischievous smile.

Hinata and Ino choked on hearing her while Tenten began to laugh uproariously. Hinata seemed to give up on her blushing while Ino, when she recovered, came dangerously close to her to interrogate her, her face excited by the information she had provided. Ah, the gossip...

"But then you like someone!?"

"Saa... Who knows.

He didn't say anything else, but all of them, including Hinata, took those words as an affirmation. As soon as she emerged from the hot springs, Ino approached her team with the face of someone on a life-or-death mission.

"You! Do you know who Seina likes? He questioned them.

"What?" What are you talking about, Ino? Naruto asked, squinting at her.

"You're his team, you must have the slightest idea which older man he likes.

All eyes turned to her, who was quietly cracking beside Tenten and Hinata. Naruto turned red with indignation at Ino's words, as if she couldn't like anyone.

"I think he's kidding you, Ino," Chouji said as he saw her laugh.

They started arguing about whether he liked someone, or not, and whether he was older or not. The only ones who looked at her contemplatively were Neji and Shikamaru. Sasuke avoided being dragged into the argument as Naruto and Ino fought over whether she, if she liked anyone, would have told her brother. Because of this reasoning, according to Naruto, since he hadn't said anything to him, it meant that he didn't like anyone. She pulled herself together with a smile as she saw how he had trolted them all.

"All I've said is that I'd rather have someone older," she said. Not that I liked someone...

Those words were enough to calm everyone down. Apparently, no one found it strange that he preferred someone else... ripe. Ino pouted when she realized that maybe he had cheated on her. The only one who glanced at her sideways with an amused expression was Sasuke. No doubt he knew that she wasn't being completely sincere, and that she really liked someone.

They headed in the direction of a random restaurant to eat as a group. Luckily, they found a table in an outdoor courtyard large enough to fit everyone and where Akamaru could eat with them. Poor civilians. A ninja dog was the least of his problems. If only they knew that Shino was full of insects...

"What was that question about?" Kiba asked with interest. What have you been talking about?

"Logically, they must have been talking about..." "Guys," Shino said in a calculating, and slightly nervous voice.

"Girl stuff," Ino said, shaking her hair cheekily. You wouldn't understand.

"Are you calling us idiots?" Neji asked in an exasperated voice.

"Besides, I think someone here has a certain... Someone else is on the same page, isn't it? She said with a smile from ear to ear looking at Shikamaru.

She gave him a look that was somewhere between exasperated and poisoned when the others realized that she was alluding to him. They began to question him, but with so many voices it was impossible for him to learn anything and answer.

"Seina-nee! What are you talking about?

"From Temari." I noticed a certain chemistry between the two of them. And by the way, she asked me about you when I went to Suna a few weeks ago.

"True what?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke. He looked him up and down with more exasperation and slapped him as he rolled his eyes. Ow!

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was somewhat blushing so everyone took his words as a sacred text. They ate while laughing and talking about a little bit of everything. Seina noticed how they were getting older and older. It was obvious. Each time they had more and more mature worries and thoughts. It amused her to realize that, despite going through adolescence herself, too, she felt like she was a spectator half the time, which meant she would be watching all future and gaffes up close. Ah, the rich blackmail...

That night, when Naruto told Kakashi-sensei everything that had happened today, his master raised an eyebrow in his direction while clearly suppressing a smile. When Sasuke and Naruto went to sleep, and the two of them were left alone, he smiled mischievously at her.

"So you like them older..."

"Was he lying?" She laughed. The last thing I want is for Ino to get it into her head to pair me with one of them. Can you imagine me with Lee?

Kakashi-sensei stifled an automatic laugh, coughing.

"So what?" Are you paving the way? He asked. I can't really imagine you with Lee, or Kiba, or any of them. They're not bad guys, but...

"But they're boys," she cut in, looking at him with seductive eyes, "and I want a man.

He bit his tongue to keep from laughing at how she swallowed heavily, with dilated pupils, as he watched her and listened to her words. She felt more naughty than seductive so she simply got up from her seat with a measured, slow step and kissed his cheek to continue torturing him some more.

"Good evening, Kakashi-sensei.

He climbed the stairs holding back another laugh. She realized she had stopped breathing as soon as she heard him take a heavy breath up the stairs. He closed the door behind him, thinking of the strange day he'd had.

The next day he continued his last week of training as if nothing had happened. The 4 anbus, instead of training with her throughout the morning, helped her consolidate what Kakashi-sensei had taught her specifically for the exam: attack from the shadows, hide, and wait patiently

"That's pretty much what we do at Anbu, you know. Seichi said.

"Besides, with your powers, it's your best strategy.

Ensui and Yugao nodded.

"Sometimes it's better not to draw attention to yourself by using ninjutsu and stick to evasive training. It is seldom advantageous to engage in direct combat.

The last to give him advice was Tsunade-sama. The final Wednesday before the exam.

"I know a lot of people will have overwhelmed you with last-minute strategies and training. The only thing I'm going to tell you is to trust your abilities and think with a cool head. Your goal is not to ascend but to survive, even if you don't ascend. You can always try your luck next year as long as you're still alive," he said in a firm voice. That means that, if you don't see yourself able to continue, hiding until the end of the test is your best option.

"I know.

"That said. I know you won't need to hide, so I just wish you luck with the quests that fall to you on the scroll," Tsunade-sama smiled, and then continued with a strange twinkle in his eye. I'll bet on you.

Seina snorted a laugh at the catchphrase. It had been a good speech... until it came to the end.

The last 3 days before leaving for Kirigakure seemed like an eternity. Her team went in and out of the village doing short missions while she, who had decided to relax by doing absolutely nothing to go fresh to the exams, well, she had absolutely nothing to do. That was the question. Bored, she went out to the village at noon on Friday and bumped into Karin returning from her job at the flower shop.

"Seina! He called from across the street. I thought you were going to Kirigakure.

"Yes, tomorrow. I'm making time while I'm trying to relax.

Karin snorted a sarcastic laugh when she saw that she wasn't relaxed at all. Not that she was nervous, but she was full of energy so she couldn't stand at home and stare at the wall as if nothing had happened. Hell, it felt like Naruto.

"Why don't I invite you to tea at my house?"

And that's how Seina accompanied Karin home. It was the second time the two of them had been alone. The first was the time he visited her in her cell.

"Do you know I sometimes think of Orochimaru?" Karin spoke suddenly, looking at the coffee table in front of the sofa. When I find myself thinking about him I feel like you do now: I can't sit still, I have to do something to try not to think about him. Although, at least, you don't suffer from my sudden mood swings.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked for the first time. Orochimaru was a taboo subject that they never touched on directly, but I had to know it.

He just drew some blood from me a few times, but it didn't hurt me like... as well as everyone else. That's why sometimes I feel guilty about being here, like it's nothing, because he didn't treat me badly after all. At the same time, I know he's not a good person. Just because it didn't hurt me doesn't mean it didn't hurt a lot of people.

"You're right.

"I've been discovering that thanks to Inoichi, and Anko.

"Anko?" Anko from the interrogation department?

"Yes. He often comes to see me on my visits to the psychic assessment department. She was one of Orochimaru's first victims working for him. Having a person who has already been through the same thing as me, worse in fact, made me rethink a lot of things. If Anko can move forward after everything he did to her, so can I.

Seina saw Karin's determined face and knew in that instant that they would be fine. Her distant cousin had been rescued in time, so Karin would no longer become just another puppet of Orochimaru. Still, he would keep an eye on her. Just in case.

chapter 69

"Well, jonin candidates. You have been selected to sit for this ascent examination in Kirigakure," Tsunade-sama began, walking in front of them. You are gathered here because I believe that you have what a good jonin should have: discipline, academic knowledge, a good track record of missions, leadership, a good level of taijutsu and ninjutsu but, above all, enough maturity to accept the increase in power that comes with being a jonin. We'll leave tomorrow morning.

Seina left in a swirl of leaves. It was night, but no one was home. He felt somewhat sad when he realized that Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei were on a mission on the last day before his jonin promotion exam. When he went to dinner, however, he noticed the notes on the table. With a smile on his face, he read the words of encouragement and encouragement from his team. He ate dinner, took a shower, and headed to his study to check his supplies one last time.

He would spend 5 days in the infamous Blood Swamps. Like Konoha with its Forest of Death, Kirigakure had a special place to test its ninjas and foreign ninjas. It was a swamp area. Surprised? Apparently, from what he had been able to find out from Shiro since he learned that his destination was Kirigakure, it wasn't all water. There was a dense forest that then gave rise to different types of swamps. Some without any vegetation and others with leafy trees that covered the sun. Add to that the fact that the fog was a constant thing 90% of the time in Kirigakure... The place wasn't very appealing to him.

He went to his room meditating on what was coming to him until, finally, he decided to forget it and go to sleep.

The next day, he woke up and dressed in black clothes from head to toe. From the thin long-sleeved hooded jacket, his elbow-length gloves to his mayahs. She couldn't wear the tobuketsu jonin uniform since it was a jonin promotion exam, but at least she could wear whatever clothes she wanted to go unnoticed. He tied his wakizashi into his fanny pack, holstered it on his left thigh, and put on his trusty black closed-toe boots.

After a quick breakfast, he met the other candidates at the southern entrance of the village. Some seemed somewhat nervous while others were more confident, chatting with each other. They sent her a couple of glances, as they had done since they realized her recommendation, but they let her be saved by a few smiles and nods. He was already fine. It was an individual exam, so I didn't have to start building alliances.

As soon as Tsunade-sama arrived, accompanied by her ninja escort and Shikaku, they left the village. He was left in charge of all Shizune, with the help of Shikaku's right-hand man. The road was quite fast, especially since they only had one day to get to Kirigakure. Seina was very slow to pass by, but she took the opportunity to listen to the conversation of the others as a distraction. As expected, everyone was talking about the exams and, above all, Kirigakure.

Some of them had set foot on the soil of the land of Water before, so they knew how to answer several questions from other candidates who had not been so lucky. He listened attentively as they described the village, the people, the problems they had had until recently with Yagura... As soon as dusk began to fall, they arrived at the port that was to take us to Kirigakure. He was thankful that he didn't get seasick on the boat or he wouldn't have been able to sleep all night as they reached their destination.

"Ah, we're here," Tsunade-sama's voice heard the next day. What did you think of the trip?

"Short, considering I've been asleep," she answered, reaching his side at the bow of the ship.

Tsunade-sama and Shikaku laughed when they heard it.

"You're lucky," the Nara told him. Some have only slept a couple of hours.

"Some people just can't sleep on boats. Maybe it's nerves, though.

"We should be there in less than 30 minutes," the captain reported from the helm.

"I'll go and tell the others."

"Are you nervous?" The Hokage asked, watching Shikaku go into the boat.

"Not much, really. Rather excited. I've trained as much as I could, so now it's time to see if it's enough.

"I'm sure you do.

Tsunade-sama squeezed her shoulder, and they both turned to watch them approach the harbor. Seina was greeted by a retinue of ninjas, led by the newly appointed Mizukage Mei Terumi. He found very interesting what had been cooked in Kirigakure for years. A large part of it was glad that they had turned the page and that users with kekkei genkai were no longer being chased by the puppets of the old Mizukage.

—...-ro enjoy your stay in Kirigakure, Tsunade-sama," the Mizukage's voice roused her from her reverie.

"Thank you very much. I can't wait to try the hotel's hot springs again," the Hokage smiled politely, drawing a laugh from the Mizukage.

"Of course. Everyone asks about them.

He listened with one ear to the conversation between the two Kage as he glanced at the ninjas who had greeted them. Some, a minority, had a jaded look on their faces while the others looked serious, but somewhat gentler. He blinked as he realized there was a face he knew. It was the boy who had received payment from that client in the land of the Sea months ago. When he made that mission to protect the ships and eliminate the sea monster. He had the same whitish hair with the same glasses, but it seemed to have grown a bit vertically. He was even wearing the same uniform and the same gun bandaged on his back.

Beside him, a tall, haughty-looking man wore an eye patch that also covered part of his temple. He wondered what had happened to him as he disembarked and waited to be taken to his quarters. They would only be there for a few nights since the next day was the written exam first thing in the morning, but he would take the opportunity to relax as much as he could. He wasn't even going to practice anything because he didn't trust that they hadn't... Retouched the room, so to speak, with spy jutus.

He felt a look on the scruff of the neck, but he didn't turn around. He walked until he caught up with the Hokage again, who was still talking to the Mizukage. He escorted them to a huge, luxurious-looking hotel that was clearly for dignitaries and people with money. When they got inside, Seina didn't drop her jaw out of sheer experience. It was colossal. It even had a fountain inside the lobby itself, along with some decorative pools that split the gigantic entrance in two. The walls were so high that he could have summoned the small version of Katsuyu without it reaching the ceiling.

"What do you think, Seina?" Tsunade-sama asked, turning to look at her. Even Katsuyu would fit!

"That's what I was thinking," she replied, smiling back.

She watched as the Mizukage turned to look at her at the Hokage's attention on her.

"Do you like it?" Mei Terumi asked with a smile.

"It's a work of art," he nodded. Gigantic, but beautiful.

"Thank you. We are very proud of this hotel.

Seina nodded. They were right. They each gave them their own room on the same floor, while Tsunade-sama and Shikaku were sent to an upper floor along with the escort. Still, seeing the huge room just for her with its own bathroom, she couldn't complain. The first thing he did was check if there was anything wrong. Seeing that there was nothing he could have detected, he erected a couple of invisible barriers.

He left the room after he had seen what it looked like. He hadn't left anything behind since he always carried his fanny pack with him, but he had enjoyed walking around the hotel rooms with the rest of the jonin candidates. When she came downstairs, the Mizukage was about to leave the hotel lobby accompanied by her entourage while the Hokage and Shikaku sat on one of the many crescent-shaped couches that had been scattered throughout the lobby. Her spy spells, increased to 50 meters for this special test, caught the Mizukage's whispered conversation with the guy with the eye patch.

—...-heh. They seem strong. There are a couple that jump out at you.

"The girl is one of them, isn't she?" Mizukage asked. Tsunade-sama has a clear interest in her.

"If by girl you mean the blonde teenager dressed in black, yes. Luckily, there is no Hyuga among the candidates so I have been able to analyze them from afar with my eye.

"I think it'll be very interesting, Ao. More than we expected...

"Should we tell you about Yagura?" The ninja's voice was a murmur that he barely picked up with his spells even though he was still in range. Our relations with Konohagakure suffered greatly during these years. Maybe if we tell them the truth we could formalize an alliance. After all, the same thing happened recently with the Fourth Kazekage, and they are still allies.

"I'll think about it. Not another word of that, Ao," the Mizukage cut off firmly.

Seina pretended that she didn't hear anything, but wondered what "eye" he was talking about. And why did he think it was fortunate that there wasn't a Hyuga among the participants? I had to communicate this information to the Hokage or Shikaku because, whatever it was, this guy had a covered eye that was able to analyze people from afar and who knows what else. With some irritation, he realized that perhaps he had come to meet them with this man precisely because of his ability. That way, I had more information about them than they did about Kiri's candidates. What I didn't quite understand was the second part of the conversation.

She connected her gaze with Shikaku's, knowing that it would take little for him to realize that she wanted to talk to him. He watched as he turned to look at the Hokage and continued talking for a few minutes. After a while, he got up with his hands in his pockets and started walking as if nothing had happened. Seina followed him from afar, stopping first at the bar counter to order a juice that she didn't start drinking until she checked that it was clean. Then he wandered around the hotel until he came to where Shikaku had been hiding. He saw with some amusem*nt that it was a cleaning room. He cast a spell on the room under the watchful eye of his commander and placed the juice on a shelf. He spoke as soon as he saw his eyebrow raised in the form of a question.

"The guy with the eye patch..." He apparently has some ability that allows him to see from afar and, according to him, analyze candidates. I don't know in what sense he said that. According to him, "luckily, there is no Hyuga among the candidates so I have been able to analyze them from afar with my eye."

Shikaku sighed loudly at the sound of it. He swept his gaze thoughtfully across the room before settling on her.

"I didn't expect it, but now that I know it was to be expected," Seina raised an eyebrow at his contradictory words. Problematic.

"There's something else... This guy asked the Mizukage if they should tell us about Yagura. He has said that our relations suffered over the last few years and that, perhaps, if we were told the truth about Yagura we could formalize an alliance. He said that, after all, it was the same with the Fourth Kazekage and that we are still allies.

—...Did he say it like that?" Shikaku asked seriously, leaning against the wall and staring into his eyes.

"Yes.

"Anything else?"

"No, that's all. La Mizukage has said that she would think about it and not talk about it anymore.

"Let's get out of here." If you hear anything else, you know.

Seina came out first, the half-drunk juice in hand. It was clear that something strange had happened with Yagura, the previous Mizukage. What the guy in the patch, Ao, was alluding to was that the Fourth Kazekage had recently attacked Konoha. The only strange thing about Sunagakure's invasion was that it wasn't really the Fourth Kazekage who instigated the invasion, but Orochimaru disguised as it. He sipped what was left of his drink as he wondered if that was what Ao was talking about. Would it mean that Yagura wasn't really Yagura? I didn't know that.

Actually, he didn't care too much. He had to focus on his exam. That night he tasted the hot springs that Tsunade-sama spoke of. They were just as amazing as the rest of the hotel. If it wasn't for the fact that it was an expensive place, and he was in Kirigakure, he wouldn't have minded staying a few more days on vacation. She closed her eyes, leaning against the stone, just like the other women. She only heard a couple of occasional whispers that didn't distract her from her relaxation, so she allowed herself to stay for a long time.

Dinner, by comparison, was a quick affair. Before long he was back in his single room and fell asleep under a few protection spells.

The next day, they were sent to the academy to take the written exam. It didn't even take 15 minutes to seat them in random seats, far away from each other at individual desks. Each table had a pencil and an eraser, nothing else. As they handed out the exams, one of the jonin from Kirigakure explained the rules.

"Now one of our experts will come to each table. It will temporarily seal you so that you can't use ninjutsus. When you walk out the door, you will be released from the seal. This exam consists of 5 written questions. Read them carefully and answer them concisely in the space you have been given. The one we catch copying will be kicked out of the exam for good. You will have 2 hours to answer the exam. When you're done, get up and leave the room quietly. You won't know the note until after the survival stage is over, 6 days from now. If your grade is less than 5, you will be failed and will not be able to continue with the exam.

Seina listened as a few, the exception, complained about the correction system. In part, he also found it odd to have to take the survival test if he was going to fail the written exam. Why risk it?

"Hush! "You're here because you've accepted the risk that this exam entails," the Kirigakure ninja shouted, casting murderous glances at those who complained. That means putting your life on the line even though there may be no reward. That's what a jonin does. If you don't agree, you can walk out the door right now.

No one left. Seina received her stamp a few minutes later. She looked at the face-down exam in front of her and knew it was time to give it her all. Shizune and Kakashi-sensei had overwhelmed her with oral questions for the past month, so she was sure she would pass. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let her leave the village. About 10 minutes later, when everyone was sealed and had their exam, the jonin told them they could start.

Seina quickly turned the paper over, seeing how it had a blank page for a question. The first question was a secret code. The second was a complete map of a fictional village with text depicting an infiltration mission. The third was similar, but would require mathematical calculations. The fourth question required 3 different ways to solve a mission that seemed impossible at first glance, while the fifth question dealt with knowledge of the history of ninja countries and how they were applied to a supposed mission from 20 years ago.

He had less than 30 minutes per question so he started solving the easiest thing, the second and third questions. It was actually a relief not to have to cheat because he could focus all his attention on his exam. If someone copied from her, it was none of her business. A lot of people wouldn't make it through the survival stage and half would go out into the street in one-on-one combats. Seina had counted just over 100 participants, so she knew that few people would make it to the fourth stage.

An hour and a quarter later, I had answered the second, third, and fifth questions. The fourth question required some thought about various ways to solve a seemingly failed mission, but luckily, I had quite a bit of experience to draw on. That, and with a bit of passive legeremance to see if he could capture something interesting, he ended up writing the question in 20 minutes. The last 25 minutes were devoted entirely to code.

He had to read the page of the novel on which the code was based several times, but in the end, he pulled it out. The most important thing about the codes was to focus on the letters or symbols that were repeated the most, since they usually corresponded to the most frequent vowels and consonants of the alphabet. After that, it was just a matter of playing around with the page that contained the key. It turned out that each sentence of the code corresponded to a paragraph on the novel page, and each letter of the code was the previous letter of the first word on the page containing that letter.

Luckily, what helped him solve it was to see how the description of a place in the novel was separated into 4 well-defined paragraphs, without conversation, just the same number of lines as his code. He checked with the few minutes he had left that everything was correct and turned the exam around. He got up and walked out of the huge room. A ninja from Kirigakure, being watched over by ninjas from all other nations, removed the seal without any problem. He felt his chakra swirling around his body again, untethered, and nodded his thanks to the ninja before leaving. He mentally went over the seal, realizing that he had been given a new fuinjutsu for free.

Some of his fellow candidates were waiting for him outside, chatting about the questions. Seina tried not to listen to them as she had never liked to talk about an exam after the fact, unlike Hermione.

"Let's go back to the hotel for lunch," one person said, when he saw that everyone had left.

The meal was somewhat tense. The candidates were voluntarily separated by country, distanced from their rivals, but at the same time they were aware of their own fellow villagers. Seina, after eating, took her last shower in the next 5 days, or so she thought. He left his fanny pack in a secret place in his room, and handed the key to the Hokage along with everyone else.

"The time has come for you to test yourselves in the swamp," the Hokage spoke to them, gathered in the hall before leaving for the examination area. I can only tell you to act wisely and don't lose your nerve. You are all worthy of being jonin. Now it's your turn to prove it. Good luck.

Seina felt strange only with her wakizashi slung on her back and her kunai hidden in a pocket. He had been totally dependent on his fanny pack for a long time. Now he would have to fend for himself, with nothing but 2 guns. He didn't even have a measly bandage, but it didn't matter because he could easily conjure them up. The drive to the access area to the Blood Marshes was silent. He noticed how most of his group of 10 people were much more nervous than before. Despite this, no one withdrew. He didn't know how the others were doing, as they had been randomly scattered around the perimeter in small groups. Still, I imagined they would be more or less as tense.

Seina silently picked up the scroll handed to her by another jonin, the event's organizer. If they wanted, they could open it before entering the forest, and exchange it peacefully. If they didn't want to, they could open it inside so that no one could know the difficulty of the mission they had been given. He wondered what to do, but in the end, he decided to open it privately.

"In 5 minutes the next part of the exam will begin. On the fifth day, at 7:00 p.m., the race will end. Remember. You must get at least 2 scrolls, no matter if they are scrolls with quests of the same difficulty. This means that at least half of you will go home. On the sixth day, you'll be given a choice of one of the quests from the scrolls you've collected, so choose wisely. Good luck.

Seina ventured into the forest, leaping over a branch with the spy spells activated to the maximum. He could see other opponents in the distance, running to hide in the distance. She used several spells and activated her bracelet to become invisible. When she was sure that she could not be seen, heard, smelled, or perceived, she opened the scroll. The first thing he saw was the moderate difficulty level. He had been assigned the intermediate mission. The question now was, did he consciously search for a scroll with the easy quest, or would he keep the first scroll he could find? If he chose the second option, it would be a matter of luck for him to get an easier mission because, in a bad way, he could always keep the moderate-level mission he had in hand.

In the end, after thinking about it for a few minutes, he realized that it was better to move fast before the others dug in and started mining the area with traps. Luckily, she could use her summons, so she let them spread far and wide, surrounding her beyond what she could see with her spells, and went in search of the first scroll with a locator spell. If the scroll he stole right off the bat turned out to be easy difficulty, he wouldn't have to consider hunting his rivals anymore. I would simply have to endure 5 days in hiding. If, otherwise, it turned out to be a hard-level scroll... I could spend the other days hesitating about whether to keep that scroll or go in search of another one.

The forest was full of poisonous animals, small and large, which he dodged using the branches of the trees. Luckily, he had his spells because he could see very little through the dense fog that covered everything and was soaking his face with water. Luckily, all her clothes were spellbound to be waterproof so the humidity didn't bother her at all. The spell told him to take a detour so he continued in the new direction, to the east.

On the way, he stopped to transform a stone into a bottomless canteen, which he filled with a water bottle and kept it in his newly enchanted bottomless zippered pocket next to the parchment. She would have used it to store food and medicine that she hid in her fanny pack if it weren't for the fact that before she entered the swamp she had been searched from top to bottom and she didn't want them to reach into her pocket and realize that she was bottomless. Fortunately, he could now use his pocket to store things and keep his hands free. The bad thing would be to eat since I would have to cook the food unless I wanted to get sick. At most, he could pick a few fruits, if he came across something edible along the way. Besides, it would soon be totally dark and I would see less than I already saw.

He needed somewhere to hide. He hesitated whether to continue chasing his rival, but in the end, he decided to follow the ninja's trail. She could turn any area into a safe haven, but the more time she gave her opponents to dig in, the worse for her.

He spent hours following the ninja from afar. He knew he hadn't noticed her because he hadn't set a single trap in her direction. In the distance he heard an explosion and roars that made his hair stand on end. From the sound of the water, he knew that someone had gone into the swamp and awakened some monstrous creature. Luckily, the ninja he was following seemed to want to get away from the swamp, or at least hadn't gone there yet. Perhaps because he or she also knew that it would be night right now.

When he stopped, hours later, he approached as stealthily as possible. He saw how he had left several traps surrounding a tiny clearing. In the center were some large gray stones, one diagonally on top of the other horizontally, and behind this another stone. Seina saw how there was a gap between the stones in which the ninja seemed to have built a shelter. If it weren't for the fact that I could see his aura with the spell, I might have missed it. The naturally broken branches he had placed over the hole covered it perfectly without looking like a hiding place.

Still, he was no match for her. He used the somnus spell so gradually that the ninja didn't even realize he was being attacked. Then, to check that he was really asleep, he threw a stupefy in the direction of the body. Keeping the somnus spell active, Seina vanished the leaves at the entrance and observed Iwagakure's ninja totally unconscious among the rocks.

"Look, you're a cheat," Kurama said suddenly. He jumped up and down the branch in surprise. With your magic it is impossible for any ninja to win. You even make it boring.

"And what am I to blame?" She rolled her eyes.

"Just realize that if it weren't for your kekkei genkai, it would take years to get to where you are.

"I'll say it again, and what am I to blame? Not that I was the only one with a kekkei genkai!"

"I know. That's why people have so much anger than they have dojutsus or kekkei genkais. I would have liked to fight.

"I know, Kurama, I know.

She levitated the ninja from his hiding place and posed him in front of her. To make sure that the stupefy had hit the target, he threw another one at him and bound him hand and foot with bewitched chains. He couldn't get away, even if he tried with all his might.

"Scroll Action," he cast the spell in the ninja's direction.

The scroll flew out of an inside pocket, piercing his jacket, and caught it on the fly. He analyzed it for anything weird or a fake, but it was clean. As soon as he opened it, he stifled a sigh. Of course. It was a difficult mission. He put it in his pocket next to his other scroll. For a moment he thought about leaving the ninja on the ground, unprotected, but then he discarded it. He wasn't such a bad person. He programmed a spell so that the chains would dissolve in a few hours, to give himself time to flee. Then he repaired his jacket and levitated him back to his hiding place, putting the branches back in their place.

If he was smart, he would check that he had the scroll when he woke up. Otherwise... Well, that wasn't his problem anymore. He left there, returning the way he had come. He knew that most of them must be moving around the area looking for hidden rivals, so the safest option was to find an area to hide as close to the front door as possible. After all, no one would think that any candidate would be there for 5 days waiting to finish the exam without lifting a finger. That was exactly what I was going to do.

Fate had given him a scroll with an even more difficult mission, so he either settled for his moderate-level mission or put himself back in harm's way in an unknown place with all manner of dangerous fauna and flora and countless enemies to get his hands on another scroll. The truth is, he didn't have to think about it too much. He would rather do a more or less difficult mission than have to hunt down another ninja waiting to be attacked in a place called Blood Swamp. She had been lucky that Iwagakure's ninja didn't seem ready to start looking for someone until the next day and had stayed in the forest, which was safer and more familiar to her being from Konoha.

It was dark when she found a tree with a very dense crown and branches thicker than she was where she could hide in the air. He knew right away that he had found a perfect place. I was barely 10 minutes away from the entrance area, so I knew I would go unnoticed. He took several stones and woods and started building a mini tree house. He used the wood to create the ground between the 2 branches closer together and then raised the walls and a roof. He also transformed some stones into a pair of square windows on each side and ended up with a rectangular wooden door. It took only half an hour to get the structure in place. Then, he used fidelus to keep the secret so he didn't have to worry about someone stumbling upon the house. Finally, he used the expansion spell to enlarge the interior.

There were no rooms or anything like that, but he could stand up and walk around in the 10 square meters he just built and protected in less than an hour.

He had his summons investigate some area to hunt and/or fish while sitting on the newly conjured couch. It took him a long time to find an area with water in the middle of the forest. Unfortunately for him, it was not a lake but a pool of murky water. Other of his invocations found the beginning of the famous swamp. The water had a layer of green that didn't let you see the bottom. As far as his eyes could see, it was full of tall, slender trees that covered the sky. I didn't even want to imagine what would be down there waiting for the test participants.

Still, I had to eat something or I wouldn't have the strength to finish the survival stage. Even less to fight and do the mission without a single break. If he managed to find an area to fish or hunt and could get his hands on a good amount of food, he wouldn't have to leave the house for the rest of the exam, as he could keep it fresh for days with a spell. The water was the only thing that didn't bother her, as she could easily refill the bottle if she ran out of the liters of water she had gotten with the aguamenti and her bottomless canteen.

In the end, he fell asleep without finding anything interesting.

chapter 70

By the time he awoke at the first light of dawn, his stomach was rumbling with hunger. His metabolism, being a ninja, was much more active than in previous life so he knew he would have to feed soon. He reactivated his summons and got to work. To his astonishment, he found an area with several hazelnut trees full of fruit. He sent one of his clones through the hiraishin to collect as much as he could in a conjured bag. Luckily, he noticed how it seemed like a hard-to-reach area in the woods, so no one had gotten there yet. She watched with her squirrel's eyes as her clone disappeared using the hiraishin the same second he appeared before her with the seal he had prepared beforehand.

As he ate a few hazelnuts for breakfast, rationing the ones he had for other days, he brought his invocations closer to the perimeter of his base. It was useless for her to go too far away, considering that she was not willing to face anyone, unless she had no other choice. In the end, he decided to use the locator spell to find a rabbit near his barracks. It was easier than taking a lollipop away from a child. He simply summoned him with an accio and killed him with the deadly curse. Then he prepared it with another incantation and cooked it to perfection with his magic.

Her only task was to eat and go unnoticed, so she conjured up several glass containers so that she could keep different portions of food fresh during those days. He would need to hunt more than a rabbit, so when he was completely full, he left the house again. It was a pity that I couldn't leave the enclosure with the 2 scrolls. He was even finding the exam boring, considering that all he was doing was hiding. Still, he knew that going unnoticed was one of a ninja's best tools, and one of the skills they were being forced to wield right now. Otherwise, they would have just let them out when they got hold of the second scroll.

He spent the whole morning foraging for animals for his food store. By the time noon came and his stomach rumbled again, he had found a couple more rabbits and even a grison he was going to eat. As soon as he got closer to the swamp he noticed the difference in flora and fauna. There were many more birds, not to mention the different species of snakes, spiders, toads, crabs and even crocodiles. I didn't know what the hell the water had, but everything was gigantic. One of those spiders would normally occupy the palm of his hand, but even from afar he knew it was bigger than his head.

With a shudder, he avoided getting any closer and returned to the comfort of the forest. But not before he came across a half-assaulted mango tree from which he picked all the fruit he could and, further inland near its base, a raspberry filled to the brim with fruit. He had to send his clones to do the dirty work because, once again, it was full of huge spiders. No wonder it was full of raspberries... He jumped into his treehouse with a bag full of stuff. He spent the rest of the afternoon organizing his reservations. With what I had, I could get through the 5 days if I didn't exercise actively. A few bad times, I could go hunting nearby again.

That day culminated in hearing the dying cries of someone relatively close. He didn't know what the hell was going on, but he wasn't going to go out and investigate it either, so he sent out his summons. It was the middle of the night when he found the remains of a rival ninja. He watched as a species of giant crocodile ate him on the edge of the swamp. He could see a chain stuck in one of his remaining ankles and knew he had fallen into some trap, with the misfortune of being left to fend for himself and then devoured by the marsh animals. Seina summoned her creatures with some disgust. He went to sleep on the huge sofa with a plush touch and super comfortable cushions.

The next morning, she was awakened not by her spell but by someone brushing against her magical barriers. He snapped his eyes open, straightening up, as he summoned his creatures once more. He ate breakfast with the sky still dark while his insects investigated what had happened. He didn't see anything, but he didn't let his guard down. He was surprised that anyone would come so close to his part of the forest. It was the part I had entered right off the bat, so I knew the area. He wondered if it had been a fluke or if anyone thought he might be here. I didn't know if he liked the second option... If he was right, it meant that someone had been looking for her and had noticed where she had entered the swamp.

On the second day she didn't come out of hiding, totally paranoid. He took the opportunity to stretch, meditate and eat when he played. In addition, he also bathed in a small conjured bathtub and cleaned his only set of clothes. Since he had nothing to do and his creatures were circling the perimeter in defense, he pulled out the missions he had kept in his bottomless pocket. The first mission he had received, of medium difficulty, asked him to steal some secret scrolls that were to be found on Naga Island. The other mission, the difficult one, was to rescue a client from a gang of criminal ninjas in a small village within the country of Lightning.

Just knowing where the second mission was happening, he knew he was going to discard it. He didn't want to have to go near the place where his father had made so many enemies. Naga Island, however, was one of the islands surrounding Kirigakure to the south. The difficulty was that I had no clue as to where the scrolls were, except that it was Honsho's treasure. He wondered if all the missions would be the same. Then, he wondered something else. Could the missions be repeated? If so, I would need to carry out the mission before someone else would otherwise imagine that I would be disqualified... Still, he had 3 more days to think about a strategy so he didn't get overwhelmed by the mission.

He went to sleep around midnight. He was jolted awake once again by noticing a presence in front of his barriers. He saw through the window how it was pitch black so he activated his summons again, placed just within the limit of his magic barriers, and lay back on the couch with his eyes closed. It took him a few minutes to reach the point of disturbance of his magic barriers.

"Where has he gone?" A ninja hissed, leaping from the top of a tree. Didn't you say he came in this way?

"He came in this way. I saw it perfectly," rolled his eyes, who seemed to be a ninja from Kumo. I don't know why you insist on continuing to search here. We've already taken 2 detours and nothing. It's not there.

"Oh, yes?" And where is it then?

"Of course not here," sighed the other. Why are you so determined to seek it out? We could have picked up anyone else's scroll, with how easy it was for me to catch that ninja from Kusagakure in the swamp...

"You've seen his relationship with the Hokage. "We have to kill her to teach her a lesson," said the first, full of hatred. It was also from Kumo. Also, this is the perfect time to get rid of Konoha ninjas. You've heard the Raikage. The death of a calf won't come as much of a surprise.

"All this will be of no use if we don't get another scroll so that we can get through the two, and I'm not going to give you my second scroll."

"Don't worry. Sooner or later it will appear. It can't have gone very far undetected.

"I wouldn't be so sure," the second ninja spoke under his breath as his companion left.

Seina came to, opening her eyes. He felt his body rise in temperature from the anger he had felt when he heard them. They were planning to get rid of her simply because she was young and close to the Hokage, and because the Raikage had hinted that the exams would be useful in getting rid of the competition, apparently. He sat up in his place, unable to sleep without first deciding what to do.

"What are you going to do with that pair of idiots?" If you let them loose, you know they can go after your Konoha teammates.

"I know. I wasn't going to let them loose. I think it's going to be necessary to get out of here, at least once...

"You're going to kill them," Kurama purred with a satisfied look. Finally some blood.

"I don't think the Raikage is entirely wrong. This may be the perfect time to extract a little information from the minds of my enemies.

"I can't wait to see it.

"Tomorrow." "I'm going to sleep tonight," she promised, going back to bed a little calmer.

He'd hunt down that pair of, interrogate them, and then get rid of them. Their hours were numbered and they didn't even know it...

The next day, at dawn, he had a mixture of fruit and a piece of meat for breakfast. He checked that he had enough rations left to keep him from starving, and he left the house. She approached the perimeter of her barriers, verifying that she was totally alone with her spells. Then he got to work once more. He would use barriers to hold them there, once they entered the protected clearing. Then he began to build a small bonfire with stones and sticks. He conjured up a skinned rabbit and skewered it on top of the fire. Finally, he left one of his clones cooking the fake rabbit while she sat and waited on top of a branch under all sorts of spells.

Hours passed, completely bored at the top of the tree, watching as her clone cooked the damn rabbit over and over again while waiting for her guests to arrive. Luckily, he had brought something to eat and the canteen, so he ate at the top of the tree at noon without having to return to his base. Then he waited for a long time for them to return. In the end, they seemed to see smoke from the bonfire because they showed up as the sun went down. Seina could see them from afar, observing her clone from the branches of a tree about 10 meters away. One of his insects approached them silently, so he could see up close how they beckoned to each other.

The most braggvy and angriest ninja was the first to jump on her with an electrically charged punch. The other jumped after him without attacking, perhaps hoping that his companion would be enough to finish the job. As soon as he had them within his barriers, he used the genjutsu at full power. He watched as they fell to the ground in a round, deprived of all their senses and their balance destroyed by their mental manipulation. A couple of stupefy later, magical chains and a vanishing enchantment caused them to find themselves completely naked on earth. He took the 3 scrolls on top of them and vanished everything else. Even their ninja bands.

With some malice, he used the same seal that had been put on his hand during the test and that he had memorized with his mental barriers to investigate in the future. He didn't know if it would work, so it petrified them. He returned to normal the clearing he had used to set the trap, vanishing the fake rabbit, the bonfire, the clone, and the barriers, and grabbed both ninjas into his perimeter. I could almost feel Kurama leaning into his cage, sharing his eyes as if he were there and not merely looking through it.

"Finite incantatem."

He watched them come to, their eyes slamming open. He saw first-hand how they realized with their own eyes their precarious situation. After all, the prey had become the predator. The smartest ninja closed his eyes momentarily, probably understanding what was going to happen, while the other looked at her full of hatred.

"Whoa, whoa... A little bird told me you were looking for me. You've found me! I congratulate you both. It only took you 7 hours," she laughed wickedly as she sensed the growing fear in one of the ninja. The other seemed unable to comprehend his situation. You should have given up when you couldn't find me the 2 times you passed by, but I see you're not very smart.

He removed the petrifying spell from the most stupid one, watching as his brown eyes instantly narrowed and he began to move, or at least he tried to, inside his full-body bandage of chains.

"When I get out of here I'm going to kill myself, brat!" I want to see the useless old woman of your Hokage weep over your dead body!

"Blah, blah, blah," she yawned falsely. The thing is, you're not going to get out of here because I'm going to kill you. They won't even hear you if you yell because I have something called a barrier placed here. In fact, that's why you couldn't find me. I heard something you said about your Raikage. That interested me a lot, why lie. Enough to hunt you down.

"I'm not going to tell you anything!" He yelled at her and spat in her direction. Seina dodged him. AAH!

"That must be the seal I've put on you," he informed her with another evil grin. Maybe they shouldn't have taught me how it's done during the exam. I have a good memory.

The ninja continued to scream in agony while his companion watched him as best he could, petrified next to him. In the end, he grew tired of trying to use a jutsu and twisting his sealed chakra reserves. She heard him gasp, looking at it as if it were a laboratory experiment. He removed the spell from the other ninja in the meantime. To her little surprise, he didn't try to attack her. He just fell silent.

"What are you going to do to us?" The second ninja asked as calmly as possible.

"I'm going to find out everything you know, and then I'll kill you," he replied honestly.

"You've heard my mate, we won't tell you anything.

"I have exactly 2 days to torture you. Believe me. On the fifth day you will have told me everything. I'm only 12 years old, but I know how to get information out of someone in the most painful way possible. Do you want us to try it?

"f*ck you, bitch!" The other replied.

"Crucio!

The curse of torture flew out of his hand, without thinking, slamming like scarlet lightning at the first ninja. The screams shook a few leaves from the trees before giving way to convulsions of extreme pain. None of these ninjas had ever suffered anything like this. They hadn't felt each and every pain receptor in their body overcharge at once to the point of feeling inexplicable pain. She stopped torturing him after a minute.

The second ninja looked horrified at his companion, who was now crying from his position on the ground like a baby. I didn't know if it was her sobs or the piercing cries of pain, even though I hadn't cut a single cut, but she changed her mind.

"Please, we'll tell you all you want, but be merciful.

Seina laughed at his words. Did they think I was an or what? The first ninja seemed to recover a bit from the torture, shunning his gaze as he finally understood that he was in a serious predicament. The other ninja seemed to realize that it wasn't going to work, so he didn't ask for mercy again. His face, however, was fearful of what was going to happen.

"How do I know that what you're going to tell me is true?" Hey? She asked rhetorically. I'm going to get all the information that you have in your brains. I'll steal everything from you. All. I want to see how you planned to kill me, why, the secrets of your village, your loved ones... When there is nothing left to know, I will give you the death you thought I was going to give me. And, if one day I run into one of your most cherished colleagues whom I will recognize from your memories, well... Who knows what I'll do to them.

He saw how they paled as they listened to her. He petrified one of them and hovered over the other with fully active legeremancy. He delved into his mind for a long time. He knew then who he was, his family, his friends, his ex-girlfriend, his team, his tastes, what he disliked, his devotion to Kumogakure, his hatred of Konoha because his grandfather and father had died at the hands of his father's army in the previous war, the words of the Raikage encouraging them to level the ranks of the enemy villages, his desire to find her, sexually abuse her and break her bones with fists, electrocuting her, while satiating his desire for revenge...

"Oh, J. This is going to be a terrible death, don't you think? He spoke by name as it burst out of his mind.

"What have you done to me!?" The black boy shouted from the floor, his hair cut short and slicked back a little disheveled.

"I've stolen everything from you. Now it's Nurui's turn—as soon as he called the other by name, they knew what had just happened.

"No, no, no! Please! I'll tell you everything!

"I don't believe you. I'm sorry," she offered before using the legermancia on him.

After an hour, he saw that Nurui didn't quite agree with the Raikage's plans, but what could he do? He allowed himself to be swayed by J simply because he wanted more of his fellow jonin candidates to pass the test. The fact that Konoha's chunin were collateral damage didn't seem to affect him too much. He had wanted to give her a quick death. Execute her so that she wouldn't feel anything, so as soon as it left her mind, she brandished the wakizashi before she could comprehend it and decapitated him.

Blood poured from the wound to his colleague, lying beside him under his petrificus totalus. The head, which had rolled a few inches, showed Nurui's terrified expression seconds before he died. J glanced sideways at his companion and then watched as he wiped the gun with a conjured cloth. His pupils were compressed into needle points as he knew he was on the verge of death and was not even capable of committing suicide of his own volition. She removed his chains, knowing that he could not move, and used one of the lightning jutsus he knew. It wasn't as powerful as what he'd stolen from J and Nurui's heads, but it would serve as long as he destroyed it with a tiny portion of the brute force Tsunade-sama had taught him to use.

It took just 20 minutes to kill him from cardiac arrest. He didn't even have to wait for bleeding from one of his burst organs to kill him. The lightning jutsu on the heart was enough to stop him slammingly. He watched as he slowly died until he was sure that he was completely cadaverous. He disposed of the bodies, fading them into nothingness, and then cleansed the clearing of blood and bodily fluids.

"I see that being reborn hasn't changed you..." You're still the same person who hunted down those mages relentlessly and slaughtered them for years without anyone noticing.

"Sometimes even capturing bad guys as an Auror wasn't enough. I wasn't going to let those murderers and rapists go free just because they were rich. Now it's not going to be any different.

"For a moment I forgot what you're capable of. It won't happen again.

He returned to his hidden cabin with his loot. I had 3 other scrolls so I had more options to choose from. Fortunately for him, a couple of them were of moderate difficulty while the rest were of easy difficulty. One of the mid-range missions involved going to the Hot Springs country in search of an A-rank criminal ninja, while the other involved escorting a VIP client from the Land of the Wind to the Land of the Cascades. The easy task, however, was to deliver a special scroll to a meeting point in the land of the Rivers.

When he read the content of the missions, he changed his mind. She was no longer interested in Naga Island but in the mission of the Hot Springs country. The main reason was because she didn't have a client who could bother her, and to make matters worse, she had the coordinates of several points in the Hot Springs country that she could use for a Portkey and had even left one of her rocks with the shiki jutsu to use the hiraishin.

That night, as he ate dinner, he wondered what to do with the other scrolls. In the end, he decided to keep them. This ensured that at least 2 people would be disqualified from the exams.

The last few days were soporific. I only came out of the hut to stretch my legs and to do some kata inside the magic barriers. The hours passed little by little, as he took it as a break more typical of a vacation than a jonin exam. Luckily, no one else came looking for her or wondered if anyone was so close to the front door. He heard and saw with his invocations some fights in the distance, in the swamp, but nothing interesting.

When the fifth day arrived, an hour before the end of the exam, Seina vanished her cabin and put her food reserves in a tupperware that she put in her pocket along with the canteen and the 2 scrolls she had selected as "loot". The other 3 he would keep just in case, but he didn't think he needed them. With just 5 minutes to go before 7:00 p.m., the agreed time, he removed the barriers and hurried to the door. She saw with her spells that she wasn't the only one waiting for the exam to end. Even so, he didn't take off his invisibility until a gong sounded and the doors opened. She jumped out of the tree, regaining her visibility in the fall, and emerged after a ninja from Sunagakure, who looked at her strangely with a raised eyebrow.

"Congratulations on passing the test, candidates," the ninja told them. We will now return to the academy, where the next part of the test will be explained to you and you will be given your exam grade.

Seina followed the group, noting that most of them were a little bruised or looked paler and hungrier than when they started. The only one who looked the same as before was Kiri's ninja, probably because he had an advantage being at home. When he arrived at the academy he walked over to Konoha's group, nodding to the smiles and nods of his classmates, and waited.

"Congratulations. Of the 106 candidates who started this exam, about 84 made it to the next stage, and now there are 67 left alive. In a few minutes, an examiner will verify that you have the 2 scrolls needed to pass this stage and one of our medical ninjas will check that you can continue with the exam. If you don't have all 2 scrolls, at the end of the medical check-up, you will be asked to leave. You can rest until then.

Seina listened as everyone began to whisper to their groups. The Konoha team was not going to be less, so he turned so as not to be left out. He heard the tagline of one of the chunin.

"It's a pity, but better alive without the scrolls than dead," a Nara consoled what appeared to be a Yamanaka.

"It's not fair! They teamed up to steal my scroll!

"Like me," she said, drawing the attention of the 15 people accompanying her from Konoha.

"Were you attacked in a group too?" The boy, perhaps 17, asked, frowning.

"Yes. There were 2 of them.

"Well, Shihiro is right. It will be again," the boy comforted her, touching her shoulder.

"They didn't take the scrolls from me," he rolled his eyes. In fact, I took 3 from them. If you want a pair I can give them to you.

"Really!?"

"Shhh, lower your voice," his friend chided him. He turned to look at her with a hint of astonishment. Do you really have 3 scrolls to spare?

"Those who attacked me had one scroll too many, surely they wanted to finish the mission by taking mine from me," Seina took the 3 scrolls and handed them to the ninjas of Konoha, who were huddling to cover up the delivery.

There were no rules against what I was doing, but it wouldn't be very well regarded by ninja candidates from other countries so it was better to prevent them from knowing.

"Do you mind if I take one?" Another boy asked with a serious face.

"Go ahead. I already have mine.

"How lucky you are, Yamato! A friend of his congratulated him, seeing that he had obtained his second scroll by pure chance.

"Thank you very much, Seina-san," he said, followed by the Yamanaka.

"Attention! Get into 5 Indian rows! One of the Jonin from Kirigakure called, accompanied by a medical team. The sooner we finish here, the sooner you can eat and rest. Once you've been given the go-ahead, you can come to this table with your written exam scores. If you have failed, you will not continue with the exam.

Seina had to wait for a while while the medical ninjas went person to person, checking that they were okay and healing the wounds and so on. When it was his turn, almost an hour later, he showed the scrolls to the jonin, who nodded back his loot, and let the iryo nin pass. The ninja used a medical jutsu to check on her condition, but when he realized that she didn't have a single scratch, he let her go with a surprised face. He walked with his heart in his fist to the table with notes that everyone was looking at. It didn't take long for him to find himself as he was at the tail end of the list. Seina Uzumaki. 9'26. He felt his breath slip away as he realized what an incredible grade he had gotten. I couldn't believe it.

A while later, when only those who had passed the test remained, about 36 people, one of the examiners spoke to them again.

"You all have the 2 scrolls you need. As you know, the difficulty can be low, moderate or difficult. Now you have to choose one of the missions, but you should keep in mind that, depending on the difficulty, you will have more or less days to complete it. For the easy missions you will have 3 days, for the intermediate missions about 5 days and for the difficult missions, about 7 days. If you don't finish the quest by the deadline, you won't pass the test.

Seina walked out of the ninja academy with the rest of the team, suppressing a tremendous smile. When he arrived at the hotel, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was Kakashi-sensei!

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a grin from ear to ear. I thought you were on a mission!

"And I am," said the jonin, smiling back. I'm the Hokage's messenger until I return to the village.

Seina understood instantly, turning to look at Tsunade-sama who was smiling beside Shikaku.

"How did it go?" The Hokage asked.

"Good. A 9'26 and 2 scrolls," he shrugged.

"I can't believe my student is about to match me in rank," Kakashi-sensei laughed, tapping him on the shoulder. I knew you'd make it.

The Hokage touched his forehead, using a medical jutsu to check on his condition. Once again.

"You're great.

"Not a scratch," she nodded.

"Come, let's all go to dinner," the Hokage suggested.

That's how she found herself dining between Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama, surrounded by Konoha's ninjas at Kirigakure's most luxurious hotel. When they got up from the table to say goodbye and go to sleep, they ran into another group of ninja. Unfortunately, they were from Kumogakure. Luckily, the Raikage wasn't present at the time.

"Whoa, whoa... I can hardly believe it. "Kakashi Hatake," said one of the jonin, looking at his master. I didn't imagine I'd find you around here instead of on the battlefield. I heard that someone came up with the great idea of giving you a genin team.

"Times change," Kakashi-sensei shrugged seemingly lazily.

"I didn't know A was so interested in Kakashi," Tsunade-sama interceded, appearing out of nowhere.

"The Raikage likes to be informed," he replied casually. His gaze fell on one and then on the other. He finished looking at her, his expression hard to decipher. It's not exactly a secret, though.

Seina held his gaze with violet eyes inherited from her mother. Would that ninja be watching her or her father? He noticed how some of Kumo's ninjas moved slightly. He sensed his discomfort in the presence of the Hokage, Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake, and the Hokage escort plus all the jonin candidates, of which there were many. In the end, it came to nothing. The ninja of Kumogakure left and they continued to their plant.

"Beware of those," Tsunade-sama advised. Tomorrow don't play dumb in your fights.

I didn't need to tell him twice. As soon as he could, he would have to give all the memories to Inoichi. He must have been interested to see what he had seen. In the meantime, I would say absolutely nothing. He had already put himself in danger enough by warning Shikaku of Ao. Kakashi-sensei bade her goodnight, assuring her that he would watch their fight from start to finish this time, and let her rest. The bath she took was a luxury, despite having washed herself during the exam so as not to come out smelling of swamp. When he noticed that he was starting to nod off, he got dressed and went to sleep.

Notes:
Hey.

Someone left me a comment saying that they thought this part of the story was too slow. Maybe it is because I thought of it to be a slice of life, in addition to addressing the main plot of this fanfic.

Anyway, I just wanted to reiterate that there will be a time jump and that you are not going to read all the following years in the same way until I am older. I think the way I've approached it is the best way for this story. You'll see, but not yet.

I'll just say that there are curves ahead of you.

chapter 71

The next day came as an exhalation. There were only 36 candidates remaining, so only half would carry out their missions the next day. When he got to the arena he saw a board with names paired together. He approached, following the crowd of jonin candidates, and saw how he had been touched by a kunoichi from Kirigakure whom he knew absolutely nothing, in the seventh bout.

"We'll start fighting in 15 minutes. You'll have 20 minutes to knock out your opponent or make them surrender. As in the previous stage, killing is allowed, so think carefully about surrendering.

He did the math and realized that he had to fight in at least 2 hours and 20 minutes, if someone didn't surrender before or died. Seina leaned against a wall in the candidates' box as she watched Mei Terumi begin the jonin exams. The people, of course, went crazy when they saw the first opponents. The first and second fights were fairly evenly matched, lasting the 20 minutes. In the first match, an opponent fell K.O. while, in the second match, no one wanted to give up so both participants were disqualified for not being able to defeat the opponent before the time limit. The third fight was a real shame for the ninja from Iwagakure. He lost in just 5 minutes.

The fourth and fifth fights were fairly even, but there was a winner while in the sixth fight a ninja had to be resuscitated by the medical team at 7 minutes. Unsuccessfully. The winner came out with a huge smile, celebrating his victory. Seina couldn't have been more disgusted. Sooner than expected, it was her turn. Kirigakure's only kunoichi candidate smiled in his direction, with a string of sharp teeth and a menacing expression. She seemed totally confident of her victory. Probably because he looked 12 years old while his opponent was at least 4 years older and took 2 heads off him.

"Ready for me to humiliate you in front of all these people, brat?" He asked in a whisper, his opponent barely moving his lips.

Seina felt an irritated twitch in her eyebrow at the thought that a 16-year-old wanted to put her in her place. Her initial idea had been to show her skills a little more, to show that she was there for a reason, but after seeing how the other woman was taking it as a joke just because she was younger than her... For that reason alone, he decided to make a fool of her by ending the fight as soon as possible in the most humiliating way possible.

The jonin repeated the rules to them while they stared at each other, measuring each other before starting.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes.

"Yes.

"Wait for my signal," there was silence as the examiner stepped aside, perpendicular to a wall. Hajime!

Seina jumped back, dodging a fairly quick backstab. As he flew, he used the shunshin to disappear. He then attacked her with a clone, distracting her with a water jutsu that he knew wouldn't do anything to her, while performing the seals of her original genjutsu. The girl stood motionless, wrestling with her in imagination, not noticing that she wasn't real. Another shunshin and knocked her out with a blow to the head. It was clear that he wasn't very skilled with genjutsu, let alone one that used chakra mixed with his magic and was virtually undetectable. It was also becoming increasingly clear to him that the best genjutsu was the one that could not be distinguished from reality.

The jonin came down to the ground, with a surprised face, and found that he was unconscious. He gestured for the medical team to take her away.

—Winner of the match by K.O., Seina Uzumaki of Konohagakure.

He came out of there listening to the excited cheers of the people. A few seemed disappointed that the mud fight of 2 teenagers had lasted barely 5 minutes. He made his way to the box, getting patted on the back by his Konoha teammates. He saw Tsunade-sama's blank face, avoiding smiling beside the Mizukage.

"I didn't know you were so good at genjutsu," Shihiro, the Nara, told him.

"And why should you know?" She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Now I understand why Shikamaru complains about you from time to time," he laughed, leaning against the wall beside him.

They watched the rest of the fights closely. Of the 15 Konoha members who had reached this point, about 11 managed to beat their opponents. The boys to whom he gave the scrolls, luckily, won the battles.

"This is taking too long," the Yamanaka complained. Just as blonde, but with short hair and gray eyes. Physically, he resembled Draco's idiot. I'm looking forward to finishing these exams.

"You're not the only one," sighed a Konoha kunoichi, her face exhausted. If I had known, I might have thought about it. I'm exhausted.

Hours later, Seina and the others met with the Konoha delegation again. Kakashi-sensei was the first to congratulate her with a big smile. He could see, over his shoulder, the gazes of some ninjas over his group. After all, they had the most candidates alive in the last phase of the exam. If they did the last part right, Konoha would have 11 new jonins in their ranks... to the misfortune of the other countries.

"You'll be looking forward to going home." "I can imagine," Kakashi-sensei said, walking beside her, ignoring the looks. I remember my jonin exams... Luckily, I had to do them in Konoha.

"You were promoted when you were 12 too, weren't you?" She asked him with some curiosity.

"That's right. I spent more years being a chunin than genin," the jonin mocked himself.

"I find it unbelievable that you've lived longer as a mid-range and high-ranking ninja than you have been a genin or an academy student..."

"Those were different times," he said with a sigh. Still, even in peacetime, villages can't waste talent. In the end, we're still a ninja village.

Seina nodded. That was one of the reasons why she and Shikamaru, at only 11 years old and having been only genin for less than a year, had been promoted to chunin. He took advantage of the silence between the two to listen to the whispers of the other participants and their delegations.

—...-na of their genin. He was promoted to chunin last year," muttered a ninja from Iwagakure.

"I thought the famous Kakashi Hatake didn't accept genin teams.

"Until now, apparently.

"Another one of his students is an Uchiha. The last survivor of the massacre.

"I've heard something else," the voice of a kunoichi cut off. Apparently, Uzumaki is also the apprentice of the Hokage. I heard one of the disqualified people from Konoha say it.

Seina avoided showing surprise at the gossip that swirled around her, and Kakashi-sensei. Luckily, nothing they had heard was really important or secret so he let it go. Being the student of someone like his jonin sensei had to have certain drawbacks... He spent the afternoon with the rest of Konoha's group, away from the other participants. The next day he would leave to carry out the mission he had chosen in the country of the Hot Springs and, in less than 5 days, he would finish the mission.

"I suppose you already have a plan, don't you?" Kakashi-sensei asked, walking beside him through the hotel grounds.

"Yes. In the end, I decided on the mission of moderate difficulty," she confessed with a smile.

"Hmm... Let me know how it goes. I'll be leaving for Konoha tomorrow morning, so I won't be here to greet you back, but Tsunade-sama and the others will stay.

"It's okay. It was great that you came. Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.

"I wasn't going to miss it for the world..." even if your fight lasted less than 5 minutes," he smiled at her.

That night, after having eaten dinner together for the last time, he went to bed after a long bath. He had his fanny pack strapped tightly to his waist and right leg again, and all his weapons back in their holsters and secret pockets. She fell asleep fully dressed, eager to finish the exam once and for all.

The next day, he woke up at dawn suddenly. He checked that she was alone and safe before leaving her room. He met the others in the hotel lobby and each was escorted to the correct exit from the village. He signed up in the special registers for the examination and handed over his parchment to be sealed.

"You have exactly 5 days to complete your mission," the Kirigakure jonin informed him, handing the scroll back to him. If you do not return here before the time limit, you will be disqualified.

She bowed her head, nodding at the last-minute instructions. Their mission was relatively easy. He only had to capture an A-rank Kirigakure fugitive. Dead or alive. I hadn't decided on that point yet. After all, if it was a normal mission, he would have taken him to Konoha alive without hesitation as he would surely have useful information for his village. Being a ninja exiled from Kiri, why would he do them the favor of handing over a criminal alive without even getting paid for it? He opted to interrogate the ninja and then kill him, as he had done with his enemies in Kumo.

When 8 o'clock struck in the morning, they were let go for the last time. Seina started walking in the direction of the harbor. He would make the paripé of taking a boat, making everyone believe that he was there, albeit hidden, and then he would use the hiraishin to appear in the land of the Hot Springs. Even if he hadn't left one of his sealed stones there, he could have used his summons to blow up the ocean that separated Kirigakure from the mainland in a couple of hours. For that reason alone, he was already ahead of the others.

"Passage to the Land of Fire?" A sailor asked. She nodded. It will be 3,000 ryo.

He paid the amount and boarded the ship. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there were several of his rivals on board. After all, the ship to the land of Fire was the most direct route and left them at a central point on the continent. Still, it would take hours to reach land. He slipped into the cargo hold, feeling the speculative gaze of several people, and then used the hiraishin.

He sensed the chakra expenditure instantly. Even though she could afford it, she wasn't used to using the teleportation jutsu to travel so far. He fell a millisecond later to the ground, bending his knees with a dull growl, and jumped at the same time to the nearest branch. Luckily there was no one there, so she took the opportunity to move somewhere else, in case she had been detected, and took out the scroll with her man's information.

Jinbei Biwa. The younger brother of Juzo Biwa, one of the ancient swordsmen of the Mists. Supposedly, both brothers defected from Kirigakure at the same time, but were separated on the mainland due to unknown causes. Juzo attacked the ancient Mizukage, but he was eventually killed, and lost his weapon to the village until he reached Zabuza. His brother, meanwhile, remained in exile. As soon as he received the news of his brother's death at the hands of Yagura, he went into hiding for months. Now, it seems, the Kirigakure hunters had spotted it in the land of the Hot Springs. He took a look at the description of his abilities without being surprised. Water Jutsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Silent Murder, etc. Typical. He put the scroll away.

The first thing she did was to cast a spell on herself so that no one would detect her. He used a locator spell to head in the direction of Jinbei. It took him several hours to scour the forests of the neighboring country, realizing that he was a bit on the ass of his victim's location. He stopped at noon to eat one of his benthos and then continued on his mission, thinking that the ship he had taken this morning had not yet reached port. A couple of hours later he was lucky. As soon as he saw the branch in his hand spin, he realized that it had passed by him. She turned back, seeing the arrow pointed back in front of her, and surrounded Jinbei's secret residence.

It was an abandoned store. It looked so bad that it didn't surprise him that I was occupying it. After all, renovating it would be a nightmare and no one wanted to spend their money on something that is better torn down than fixed. The entrance door was locked with X-shaped wooden sticks so that no one could enter. At least, no civilians. He could see broken glass from afar and an old ochre-colored cloth covering the entrance from within.

She used her X-ray glasses to look inside, checking that her man was there. Sure enough, it was. His face matched the ninja log photograph he had been given. He seemed to be fixing some holes in a pair of pants. He was so distracted that he knew he could use the moment to introduce a couple of his summoned insects. A couple of spiders were enough. A few minutes later she was able to see him more closely through the multiple eyes of his summons. He was a thin, slender man with the pale face typical of Kiri ninjas. His hair was short and disheveled, and his mouth was covered with bandages. He wasn't wearing the ninja band, but he saw it on top of a dresser. She looked unkempt, so he knew she hadn't touched her in a while.

He waited all afternoon, patiently, until he went to sleep after warming a prepared dish on a small fire. He didn't know exactly what he did day in and day out except hide, but he didn't seem to need to. It had a futon on top of some wooden logs, a good-sized 5-drawer dresser, a space with cooking things tucked into baskets, and even a coffee table that was missing a leg that had been repaired using books so it wouldn't lose its balance. The broken front door was full of traps while the back door, still functional, was buried behind a thick layer of leaves as camouflage. Oh, and full of pitfalls, too.

When he knew he was totally asleep, or so it seemed, he crept down to the tent and used his somnus spell. She sent one of her clones with the hiraishin to check that she wasn't faking it, and when she saw that it was clear, she teleported herself. He instantly sent him a stupefy to knock him unconscious, followed by an incarceus and a petrificus totalus.

"You're becoming an expert at sneaking people out," Kurama urged. You could be a good ninja hunter.

"I think I have too many obligations," she said with some exasperation.

"Weren't you the one who thought you wanted to be the best at everything?" The bijuu reminded him with some sarcasm before mentally walking away.

"Let's see what's on your mind, Jinbei Biwa..." Seina thought to herself, lifting an eyelid.

It entered the ninja's mind instantly. He saw with little surprise that it was a gloomy, cloudy, and somewhat bloody place. He easily found his brother's memories as it was what he thought about the most. He saw how he lived in Kirigakure under Yagura's yoke, how they decided to rebel and clandestinely formed a group of dissidents whose goal was to overthrow the Mizukage. A group that did not have any success. It wasn't until the two brothers left Kirigakure for the first time that she found something that shocked her.

His victim's brother, Juzo, had joined a group called Akatsuki despite his younger brother's indecision and pleas not to. Why had she been so surprised by this information? Because his partner in Akatsuki had been none other than Itachi Uchiha, newly recruited a few days after the massacre of his family. He was surprised that Itachi had joined Akatsuki so quickly. According to Jinbei's memoirs talking to his brother, Itachi was received in Akatsuki still wearing his blood-stained anbu uniform, so either it was a great coincidence that Itachi was recruited in such a short time, or they were waiting for him...

Jinbei knew very little about his brother's missions, but he knew that he had had a few missions with Itachi before being sent back to Kirigakure on the mission that ended his life at the hands of Yagura. Jinbei was in a mixture of sadness, guilt and anger at losing his brother to his own village. What kept him a secret was the knowledge that he was wanted and that if he was caught, he would not be able to avenge his brother. What he wanted most was to know what happened on that mission but, unfortunately, Yagura was dead so his best bet was to try it with Itachi.

Seina came out of her mind, thoughtful, and executed it with a lightning jutsu straight to the heart. He realized that it was late in the morning, so he pulled out his tent and put the corpse away in a sealing parchment. He would sleep in his victim's hiding place and, in the morning, he would walk back to the port to pass time. Sometimes, if something happened to slow her down, she could teleport back to the port where she had left another sealed stone. He already had a few, scattered around the continent and marked on a detailed map so as not to lose track of them.

He ate dinner, bathed, and fell asleep. The next day, she set off back to Kirigakure after dismantling the secret hideout, reinforcing the abandoned tent, leaving a stone with the shiki jutsu, and putting it under the fidelus in case she ever had to use it herself for her missions. Jinbei was many things, but foolish it was clear that he wasn't.

The next 2 days were a repeat of each other. By the third day he arrived at the port and boarded the first ship of the morning bound for Kirigakure. She spent the journey atop a sail, gazing at the horizon undisturbed by anyone. Luckily, there were no ninjas on the ship she had hired, so she was left alone with her thoughts. When he arrived in Kirigakure in the evening, he made his way to the gate.

"Stop! Who are you? The ninja in the registry asked.

"My name is Seina Uzumaki. I'm one of the participants in the jonin exam," he explained. My name should be on the record from 3 days ago.

He waited for them to check it out, checking the special records, and then they nodded. He handed her the parchment that had been sealed at the same stop days ago and wrote her name back in the register, watching as they signed, too.

"We've warned someone. A companion will escort you back to finish your mission.

"Thank you.

Seina waited about 10 minutes for one of the event's jonin examiners to show up, staring at the fog that obscured the visibility of the low-lying areas of the village. As soon as he appeared at his side, he stood up and handed him the scroll of his mission. The ninja silently checked the paperwork and let it pass with him inside.

"We'll go to a room prepared for you at the academy. There you will have to present the body as evidence.

Assented. It didn't take long for her to get to the academy, seeing that at that time there was no one but her and Kiri's ninjas along with Konoha's representative, Shikaku. He handed over the scroll of his mission, as well as the body, once he took it out of the sealing scroll. A ninja hunter, dressed in the typical attire of Kiri's ninja hunters, approached the corpse to verify that it was him.

"It's Jinbei Biwa. Interesting death. Raiton jutsu in the heart? The ninja asked rhetorically, standing up and looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes.

"Congratulations. Completed the mission and the jonin exams. You can return to the hotel with your representative.

Seina bowed, accepting the congratulations and her new promotion, and left accompanied by Shikaku and Kiri's bodyguard. Due to the recent fall of Yagura and considering Kirigakure's internal and external conflicts, it seemed that the Mizukage wanted to have as few security issues in the village as possible during the event. Besides, he also had an excuse to keep an eye on them all.

"I've earned 10,000 ryo thanks to you," Commander Jonin grinned from ear to ear.

"What?" She asked, puzzled at the abrupt confession. Why?

"I'll let Tsunade-sama tell you," Shikaku laughed, walking with his hands in his pockets. It's a good thing this exam is only once a year... It's too much work.

"But you literally haven't done anything but laze around in a luxury hotel," she sighed, causing the Kiri ninja who was silently accompanying them to choke, perhaps due to his insubordination, a second before regaining his composure.

"You still don't know what it's like to have to avoid Tsunade-sama and his gambling addiction. In the end, I was convinced.

Seina bit her tongue to keep from laughing out loud at Commander Jonin's indignant tone. He felt his shoulders jerk at the thought of it. If there was one thing that was true about the Tsunade-sama rumors, it was that he always lost all bets. I didn't understand how he did it or why he kept trying to gamble. It was ridiculous and funny at the same time.

"You could have made more money.

"Making the Hokage lose?" No thanks. I don't want him to punch me back to Konoha. I'll settle for just one bet.

He glanced sideways at the somewhat incredulous face of Kiri's ninja, whose name is unknown, before rearranging his features to a poker face.

"We're here. "Good evening," he wished them politely, bowing and dropping them off at the door of the hotel.

"Tell me, was the exam interesting?" Shikaku asked with feigned calm.

"I've learned a lot of things, that's for sure.

"Oh, yes?" I'm glad. Congratulations on your promotion, by the way. I knew you would make it.

He left her in front of his room, bidding her farewell. She went to take a shower, took off her guns, and fell in instantly.

The next day, he woke up at dawn suddenly, as always. When he realized he had the day off, he went back to sleep for another hour, taking advantage of the fact that he had nothing to do. A while later, he came downstairs for breakfast. He saw how the rivals with the easy missions were there. Waiting for teammates like her as they rested and celebrated their promotion. From Konoha, the only one who was present was Shihiro.

"Are you here yet?" He asked with some surprise. A little faster than I expected.

"I arrived last night.

They exchanged congratulations on their new promotions to jonin. Tsunade-sama, when he appeared, smiled broadly in his direction while avoiding Shikaku's gaze. Seina bit her tongue to keep from laughing as she realized she was trying not to think about her failed bet.

"What did you bet?" She asked. The Hokage sighed.

"How many days would it take you to complete the mission?" "I said one day," Tsunade-sama confessed, to the astonishment of the new jonin from the different countries present. Shikaku said 3 days.

Shihiro, beside him, stifled a laugh at the sound of it. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, with a calculating expression. He winked at her. Gradually, the new jonin were separated by delegations, leaving only Seina and Shihiro from Konoha until another pair of new jonin came down from their village for breakfast. They sat down at a secluded table, leaving Tsunade-sama at the tip, while they waited for the rest of the entourage.

"Why do I have the impression that it didn't take you 3 days to complete the mission?" Shihiro asked, sitting at his right hand.

"Actually, they're both right," she shrugged. It took me a day to complete, I just dragged out the mission so as not to draw attention to myself.

"I knew it! The Hokage exclaimed indignantly, rising suddenly. I have to talk to Shikaku!

"Did you finish the mission in a single day?" Another colleague from Konoha asked, stunned. How is this possible?

"I've done a mission before in the land of the Hot Springs, and I can use hiraishin.

"I see. That's why you gave Genichiro the easy assignment even though you could have kept it yourself," Shihiro thought aloud.

"Are you saying you can use the hiraishin at such a distance?" Another asked, still a little shaken.

"It just depends on the amount of chakra," and he sent them a piercing look, referencing his jinchuriki status.

Soon after, they began to eat breakfast, celebrating their promotion. He still couldn't believe it, but he would have time to get used to it.

chapter 72

The last 3 days he was supposed to use to carry out his mission were spent at the hotel, relaxing. It was a reward for everyone to be able to be there, without doing missions, after having passed the exams. Honestly, Seina couldn't believe it was jonin. Not tokubetsu jonin but jonin. To her, in fact, it was not far from the duties she had had hitherto. According to his new friend Nara, that was because he had only been a tokubetsu jonin in the role, but he had had virtually the same duties as a regular jonin.

She shrugged. The only thing that changed was that he could now lead his own teams of fellow jonin, he was paid a little more, he would have higher-ranking missions, and with some fun, he realized that he could theoretically have his own genin team. As soon as she thought about it, she had to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous it would be if they gave her, 12, a team of 10- or 11-year-old genins. It was clear that this was not going to happen for a few years. Now that he thought about it, did he really want to take care of a group of brats in the future? I wasn't entirely sure.

When they returned to Konoha at the end of the third week of May, the last day of the jonin exams, Seina still did not accept her promotion. Every step they took as they approached the village convinced her that it was true. Then he began to remember all the things he had left behind, so to speak, those last few weeks.

For starters, I was looking forward to seeing Sasuke and Naruto again, whom I had seen very little lately. I also wanted to go back to the hospital and do missions that weren't handing over scrolls or confidential documents. He had to find out about the Uzumaki temple he had hidden and set aside in a shadowy corner of his mind. Not to mention the other spots on the map. One of them could have looked into it during the exam, but it didn't even cross his mind at the time.

She had so many things to do that she felt a little stressed. Why lie? She hadn't even met Matsuri, the genin who was going to replace her in the chunin exams. And he hadn't spoken or had a long meeting with Tsunade-sama and Shizune for months.

She told all this to her teacher on the way back.

"You've reached the top, Seina," he congratulated her with a smile. Now you have a lot more time to yourself. What's your next goal?

"Keep learning ninjutsu," he replied automatically. I've put it aside a bit and I'd like to pick it up again.

"We'll have to talk about the hospital, too." There are no more people with serious amputations. Just more cosmetic issues that don't require a whole day's work.

"I know. I noticed it in the last consultations.

"The bad thing about your promotion is that until Sasuke and Naruto are promoted to chunin, due to the disparity in ranks, you probably won't have any missions together.

"I don't mind waiting a month.

"I see you're very confident.

Seina nodded. He knew his team would get promoted. They had learned from last year's mistakes. Mistakes that weren't very big. So I had faith that they would get it without any problems.

"By the way... Could you give me an appointment to talk?"

The Hokage's honey-colored eyes locked on his, silently asking him if he was important or not. She nodded with a heavy stare. The Hokage frowned at the sight of him.

"We'll talk as soon as we get to Konoha, is that okay with you, Shikaku?" The Hokage called over his shoulder. The Nara nodded.

The arrival in Konoha took place that same afternoon. A few hours after the ship touched down on dry land. When they reached the south gate there was more than one companion waiting for their return with nervous and worried faces. Seina was waiting for her at the door with a retinue of small children. Literally the 11 of her class, with whom she trained and met, were waiting for her.

"Seina-nee! Naruto shouted as soon as he saw her.

She waved at him as she walked the last few meters to the entrance. As soon as she stepped into the village, Naruto pounced on her. Sasuke approached more calmly, staying close to both of them.

"Well?"

"I've been promoted," she nodded.

Suddenly, everyone started congratulating her. He noticed other people's amused eyes. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata had even conspired to buy her bath products she liked, expensive chocolates, and silver hoop earrings.

"You're the first in our class!" Ino gushed out, "And at only 12 years old!" We had to celebrate.

"Thank you all very much.

They told him to go for a drink, but he had to refuse in order to talk to the Hokage. Still, they wouldn't let him be and convinced her to have dinner a few hours later at the Akimichi's restaurant.

"You'll see her later, brats," the Hokage said goodbye to her, who was waiting for her. Now it's coming with me.

"What!?" We haven't seen Seina for weeks! Naruto shouted.

"I said later!"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, apologetic, but nodded when she mentally asked them to give her a few hours to talk to her teacher. Then he would tell them everything, but now he needed to tell them what had happened.

"Damn brats. They never listen to anyone," the Hokage muttered as they walked to her office.

Seina bit her tongue to keep from laughing, seeing Shikaku's sly smile. As soon as they entered the office, the Hokage activated all the barriers and protections. He didn't quite sit down in his chair, with a sigh, as he asked what was wrong.

"Well?"

"Where do I start?" She joked sarcastically. To begin with, the Raikage ordered its participants to eliminate a few of our own.

"What?" The Hokage tensed in the seat. How do you know?

"A couple of idiots tried to hunt me down, thinking I was the weakest. As soon as I realized it, I set a trap for them and then interrogated them. In the end, I was the one who eliminated them and stole their scrolls.

"So that's why you had 3 extra scrolls," muttered Shikaku, who was leaning against a wall. Maybe we should call the Anbu commander and Inoichi.

"Ugh. It is ok! Let them come," sighed her teacher as she massaged her temple.

It didn't take 10 minutes for those mentioned to appear.

"What's the problem?" Commander Anbu asked from behind his mask.

"Seina, can you explain everything from the beginning?"

He fervently wished he had a thought, but since it had not occurred to him until now that it was really necessary, he had to start by talking from the beginning. He explained to them about that guy's eye, Ao, the strange talk he had with the Mizukage before she told him to shut up, his encounter with Kumo's ninja and his interrogation, his capture of Biwa and what he had discovered in interrogating him, more clues that didn't fit Itachi, the strange death of Yagura the old Mizukage...

She talked for half an hour without being stopped. Konoha's senior officials listened intently as she explained, in great detail, what she had discovered during the exams. When it was over, the atmosphere was tense and calculating.

"Good job," said the masked anbu. This information can be very useful to Konoha.

"That A," Tsunade-sama growled. I knew I would try something like that.

"It was predictable. "A is the most military Kage of all," Shikaku said. The most surprising thing about all of this, honestly, is what is cooking in Kirigakure. For starters, based on what Seina has discovered in Biwa's mind and what she heard from Ao... All indications are that Yagura, the former Mizukage, was supplanted a long time ago.

"Why do you say that?" Inoichi asked, who had been silent, thoughtful.

"Yagura had been behaving erratically for almost 3 years when, until then, he had reigned quietly. For a while I considered various hypotheses about his new behavior. From mental illness, blackmail, internal conflicts... The question is, who supplanted the Mizukage? And for what reason? The Nara wondered to himself. Something doesn't fit. What did Akatsuki gain by removing Yagura from power?

"Akatsuki..." They're mercenaries, aren't they? She asked, having little information about the criminal gang. Could it be that someone paid Akatsuki to eliminate him? Anyone from Kirigakure?

—… "It could be," replied the Hokage. There are too many unknowns. We don't have enough information to answer these questions.

"But we know something important: the new Mizukage knows that Yagura was impersonated in some way. How did you know? The Anbu said.

"As Tsunade-sama said, there's no way of knowing..."

"The most important question is, what happened to my brother Isobu?"

"Who?" She asked, totally surprised.

"When I was inside your mother, I heard the rumors that reached her ears. Yagura, the jinchuriki of the Sanbi, was said to be a perfect jinchuriki as he could overpower Isobu and use it to fight Kirigakure's enemies. In fact, that's why they made him Mizukage so young, according to your father.

"Good question... She said, totally stunned. Then he relayed the question to the others. What happened to his bijuu?

The grown-ups' gazes were fixed on her. He watched as they exchanged glances, clearly realizing that he would have to be somewhere. When a jinchuriki died without the bijuu being removed, the seal was completely undone, allowing the bijuu to escape to the outside world. So, if Yagura had died unexpectedly without the bijuu being removed first, where was the Sanbi?

"I didn't even remember that Yagura was a jinchuriki," Tsunade confessed. Good question.

"Either they took him out before they killed him without anyone noticing, or the seal came off and now it roams freely.

"And they can't seal it again?"

"No," Inoichi laughed. No one, except the Uzumaki, had that kind of ability. That is why the bijuus are extracted before their jinchuriki dies of old age. We have tools to transfer them to sacred objects, but only when they are pre-sealed.

When he heard those words, he could see in his mind the demon mask of Uzumaki Temple. He had to hold back a telltale shudder, nodding at what he had just learned. He left there a while later, when they couldn't get anything else out of it. Upon opening his bond with Naruto and Sasuke, he realized that the others were training at the training ground while waiting for him to leave the office.

"At last," Shikamaru yawned. A little while longer and we would have left it for another day.

"Is it all talked about yet?" Sasuke asked, putting his hands in his pockets comfortably.

She nodded. She knew she would be questioned later about what it was all about. They went to dinner at the Akimichi's restaurant, as was customary. For most of the conversation, they were questioning her about the exams: what the written exam was like, the tests in the blood swamp, the kind of missions she was given to choose from, her mission, her fight against the other kunoichi... In the end, Seina ended up giving up on so much talking. She had spent almost 9 days without speaking for more than 5 minutes and now she was not allowed to breathe.

"Let's change the subject," Sasuke suggested when he sensed it. If I were Seina, the last thing I would want to do is keep talking about exams.

"Didn't you invite Karin?" Seina asked Sasuke quietly.

"According to Naruto, he didn't want to come," he shrugged. I don't even know her yet.

"We'll introduce her to you tomorrow if you want."

He watched as Sasuke nodded. Karin was reluctant to get together with her friends. Perhaps because she had never had so many peers her age who didn't want something from her. Still, it was said that it would go little by little. I would start with Sasuke and then introduce him to Ino and the other girls. Then, when she was completely comfortable, she would introduce him to the others.

"And what have you been doing all these days?"

"Train," several voices answered in unison.

"It seems like that's all we do," Ino groaned.

"You are the ones who need it most," Shikamaru told him, his face tired.

"Why do you say that?"

Neji's curious question had everyone setting their sights on Team 10. Everyone knew that both Team 10 and his own needed a temporary replacement, but they apparently weren't aware of the difficulties they were having integrating Sakura, who had stopped training hard since taking the job in the cryptanalysis squad.

"It's Sakura. You have to train a lot to level up. Otherwise, it would just be dead weight for Ino and Chouji.

"Why?"

"Apparently he stopped training and focused fully on his new job.

"Then why do you want to be promoted to chunin?" Kiba asked in exasperation.

"I don't think Sakura wants to be left behind," Ino sighed. Can you imagine? To be the only one in our class who is a genin for the rest of her life.

"I understand, but at least he could have continued training in his spare time," Neji frowned. What kind of ninja stops training altogether?

"The one who only uses his brain," Kiba replied mockingly.

"I'm sure Sakura-san will get better in the next few weeks," Hinata said in a soft, conciliatory tone. You just need to get used to the training again.

"That's the problem!" We're less than a week into June and the exams are in 3 weeks," Ino groaned.

Seina didn't quite understand what the problem was. The only thing that could hurt Ino and Chouji were those 5 days of survival exam in the desert. Sakura would give them an advantage in the written test, so they should return the favor in the physical tests. They simply had to achieve their goal and survive for 5 days. They didn't even have to fight unnecessarily. It was clear that the best situation was for everyone to have the same theoretical knowledge and be equally good at physical aptitudes, but not everyone had an easy time at everything. That's why the test was done as a team.

Obviously, if it had been a jonin exam, Sakura would have perished during the 5 days she spent in the swamp, had she been there. Luckily for them, and especially for Sakura, it was a joint effort.

"You know... I think I'll give you my gift for your promotion before the exam. It will be more useful to you this way," she snorted a laugh, knowing exactly what she was going to give them.

"What!?"

"What gift is it?"

"You'll see.

"It's not fair! Now I won't be able to stop thinking about it.

"Seina!

The voices of her friends made her smile, as they argued about what it was that she planned to give them that was so useful. They went home a while later, assuring that they would see each other in a couple of days like every Monday.

"What do you want to give us?" Naruto asked excitedly as they walked through the village in the direction of home.

"Some things so they can survive in the desert," he rolled his eyes. You'll see, Naru.

When they got home, they saw that Kakashi-sensei was missing. Apparently, according to his note, he was on a mission. Seina took the opportunity to show them everything that had happened during those days, opening their bond so that they could observe their memories as if they had been there. Both Naruto and Sasuke were serious and angry when they saw that they tried to kill her. Sasuke, especially, paid attention to Biwa's part, as he knew he would.

"Why is it that every time we learn something new, I feel that this mystery is getting harder and harder to solve?" He sighed.

"Because we clearly don't know half of what's really going on," Naruto said in a show of maturity and seriousness.

The next day, Sunday, he took the day completely off. And he meant it. He didn't lift a finger. He lazed around the house while his brothers looked on indulgingly. I couldn't believe he was now jonin. The news hadn't sunk in yet. In the afternoon, she decided to go see Karin so Naruto and Sasuke accompanied her to her apartment. Karin, as soon as she opened the door, fell in love with Sasuke, much to the amusem*nt of Naruto and her. Sasuke, meanwhile, looked totally uncomfortable at the sight of his blank face.

"Seina! You're back!

"Hi Karin. I just wanted to stop by and see you and introduce you to Sasuke, he's my other teammate.

"Come in. We'll talk inside.

"Nee-chan has ascended!" Naruto said, unable to contain himself.

"Really?" Congratulations! Karin smiled, ignoring Sasuke. I knew you'd make it.

They talked for a while, but clearly Karin didn't seem to want to look Sasuke in the face, as if she was embarrassed, while Sasuke looked like a silent film actor. He had sat on the couch and hadn't opened his mouth. She and Naruto exchanged confused looks, amused, and curious, and let Karin take the conversation wherever she wanted so as not to make her uncomfortable.

A while later, as they said goodbye to Karin, Sasuke shot out the door with Naruto behind him. Karin sighed at the sight of him.

"Can you find out what happened?" She asked.

"Nothing. I've clearly made him uncomfortable, so I didn't want to complicate the situation any further.

"Is that why you didn't say a word?" She asked. What a weird way to lighten up a situation.

"He saw that I liked it, and as soon as he noticed it, he looked like a dead man," Karin sighed.

"Don't worry. Sasuke is an introvert. Simply by having a normal relationship with him, everything will be fixed.

Karin nodded. The truth is that he was right. As soon as Sasuke had seen the bright, enraptured eyes, and Karin's blushing had become tense like a broomstick. Clearly he hadn't felt the same way. Still, as he had told Karin, ignoring him was not the best way to solve the situation. The best thing to do would be to act naturally. If Sasuke didn't like Karin... Well, that was hopeless, but they could try to be friends.

She found Sasuke in front of the floor, waiting for her. He seemed less uncomfortable, but his hands in his pockets, his shoulders somewhat tense, and his averted gaze told him enough.

"Don't worry. She just wants to be your friend," she confirmed as soon as she stood beside him.

"Come on, be afraid. Karin will soon realize that you are an idiot.

"Like you then?" Sasuke hissed, returning to normal as if nothing had happened. Naruto winked at him behind Sasuke.

He left them arguing back home. As soon as they arrived, they saw Kakashi-sensei having a drink in the kitchen.

"Kakashi-sensei!" "You're finally back," Naruto shouted.

"Hey guys. "Congratulations, Seina," Kakashi-sensei smiled. Shikaku told me.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.

"From now on you have the same rank as me. I'm not your sensei anymore," he reminded her with another proud smile. From now on you can call me by my name.

"It's all right. Thank you... Kakashi.

"It's weird to hear it," Naruto muttered. Sasuke nodded, "but it makes sense.

As they ate dinner, Naruto opened up the topic of what had happened to him in the exam. Kakashi-sen-Kakashi, didn't look too surprised except for a twitch on his cheek that he saw with his perfect vision. Seina groaned as she had to tell it again.

"We'll talk more about this tomorrow, if you like," he said.

"Why don't I show it to you and that's it?" She sighed. It's a long memory, but I'm tired of telling the same story about 50 times.

Kakashi nodded. She implanted his memories with a tap on his temple. In contrast to remote literacy, implanting memories had an advantage: the other person could recall that memory as if it were their own. In other words, everything Seina had experienced would feel like her own and she would get more information than if she only let her see a memory. Comparatively, implanting a memory was like wading into a pensadera while displaying a memory was more like playing a video on a television.

Kakashi was not only seeing what she saw, but he was also feeling what she felt, what she stole from their minds, Kurama's words... All. When it flashed out of his memory, a while later, it seemed... angry. Contrary to Naruto and Sasuke's explosive rage, Kakashi was more of the kind to get angry in silence. Tense in his seat, with a gloomy expression and a dangerous look.

"I'm glad you're all right," he said at last, in a calculated calm voice.

"And that you killed those clowns," Naruto hissed. He began to see a reddish color in his eyes.

Sasuke kicked him in the shin under the table to bring him out of his trance, but he didn't reproach him for his words. They finished dinner before they all went to sleep. Seina was so exhausted after the 2 weeks of exam that she didn't even try to be alone with Kakashi. He only gave her a kiss on the cheek when Naruto and Sasuke weren't looking and walked up the stairs behind his brothers.

Notes:
Double surprise!

Update on Saturday and a new chapter of the spin off. You can go and read Shikaku's POV and his reflections on Seina, Kakashi, etc.

See you next week!

Chapter 11: 73-77

Chapter Text

chapter 73

The last Monday in May came inexorably. It was as if nothing had changed. During the morning he trained with the other academy classmates, or the 12 rookies as some called them, while in the afternoon, after his group meal, he went over the Uzumaki documents he had not read.

"What's all this?" Naruto asked, seeing the multiple mountains into which he had separated the documents. He picked one up at random. A census from 1920?

"Yes, it may be. There's a little bit of everything here. It will take us a long time to find out what they contain.

"I don't know if I should be reading these things," Sasuke said. They are confidential documents of your clan.

Naruto and Seina exchanged glances.

"Stay. The clan's jutsus are kept in the trunk," he pointed with a thumbs over his shoulder. These are all documents that are almost of no importance to Naruto, Karin, and me anymore.

"Don't even say it. These are contracts from 100 years ago.

That's how Sasuke consented to help them read the scrolls. Seina, realizing the chaos in front of her, decided to make another diary with infinite pages so that she could transfer the information from the scrolls to the diary. It wouldn't be the original document, but it would be much more accessible. There, on the ground, I had documents of contracts that had already expired, censuses, taxes, cadasters... All kinds of administrative documents that he kept for posterity in his diary out of sentimentality, not because it was of any use.

The most important things they had retrieved were the jutsus and books to learn fuinjutsu. I would read them to him someday, once I put them in order of difficulty, but right now I didn't have time to learn something new from 0.

"By the way... Itachi hasn't sent any letters, has he? Sasuke asked as he looked intently at the scroll in his hands.

"No. "It was clear that I wasn't going to answer," she said, "but I wouldn't be discouraged.

"I'd keep sending him letters!"

"Exactly. You can send them short letters. Talk to him about what's happening to you, unimportant things. If you do it consistently, you'll see how Itachi will eventually give up and answer.

Sasuke nodded. That same night Sasuke gave him another letter to send to Itachi. Seina did not write another letter. I had already told him everything I had to say for a while. Maybe I'd send him one from time to time, so he could get used to it. Still, he remembered the pendants with the patronus. I had thought about giving the other 2 pendants to Naruto and Sasuke as an ascent gift, but who else but Itachi would need one of those? In the end, he decided to send a short note and one of his pendants, the opal one, next to Sasuke's letter.

"Dear Itachi,

I'm Seina again. I'm just writing to tell you that the pendant is a gift to you. Try. Maybe you'll be surprised.

She created a jewelry box and inserted the pendant. He summoned the dove and sent it flying in the middle of the night. What he hadn't told Itachi, obviously, was that in addition to a pendant, he was a pager. I was hoping he would at least try it once. As soon as he put it on his neck, he would know where it was.

The next day, instead of going to train with the anbu, she was called to Shikaku's office. She was somewhat excited to have her first mission as a jonin, but soon realized that little had changed. She was the first to arrive, but behind her came what appeared to be Shino's father, Shibi, Tokuma, and Yamato.

"Welcome, everybody. You have a quest near the Valley of the End. Our informants have described a new band of mercenary ninjas who are congregating there. Your goal will be to eliminate them all. Shibi, you will be the leader.

Seina listened to Shikaku's last briefing before he kicked them out of the office. Shibi gave them about 20 minutes to gather their backpacks, if necessary, so Seina and Yamato, who had their magic fanny packs with them, went straight to the north entrance to wait for the others.

"Congratulations, Seina. How do you feel now that you're jonin? Yamato smiled as they walked.

"At times I don't believe it, but then I realize that my life hasn't changed much either.

"I'm not surprised. As a tokubetsu jonin you were performing pretty much the same missions as as a jonin now. For you I don't think it makes much difference. Still, you should be proud of your promotion.

"I am.

He turned to look at Tokuma and Shibi as they appeared, carrying a pair of backpacks on their backs. They had no time limit and could not predict how long it would take them to finish the mission, but it was obvious that at least one day would be spent outside the village. If Shibi found it odd to see how they only had his fanny pack, he didn't mention it. Tokuma, obviously, was used to seeing him take things out of his backpack that shouldn't fit, so he just nodded in his direction.

They set off at a brisk pace, taking the trees, heading north. Apparently, a band of mercenaries had recently formed and had been extorting small villages in the hope that word would not spread to Konoha. Seina didn't understand how they thought they wouldn't find out, if Konoha had military bases, spies, and informants everywhere in the Land of Fire, and outside the Land of Fire, why lie.

The ninjas they were hunting were a mix of defecting chunins and jonins, some retired, who had not attracted attention to their respective villages due to hiding for years in exile. Why had they now allied themselves and started to do their thing? I didn't know that. Konoha was interested in that information, so Seina imagined that this was why she was there, as well as as a medical backup. Otherwise, in addition to killing those ninjas, Shikaku would have ordered them to take the leader with them back to the village.

"Muta told me that you can locate someone or something without having a trace of them," Shibi said, almost asking rhetorically. Is that true?

"Yes.

"Then lead us to them, and we'll avoid wasting time."

Seina used her locator spell, running into the team's head with Shibi and Yamato one step behind her and Tokuma in the rear. They spent several hours running, stopping for lunch at noon.

"When we find them, Tokuma will take care of counting the number of enemies. In the meantime, Yamato and I will surround the perimeter of his base by mining it with traps. Seina, do you have any jutsu to lock them inside to prevent them from escaping?

She nodded.

"Then you'll be in charge of creating a barrier to trap them inside." Once we have them where we want them to be, we will eliminate them.

They resumed their march. At the rate they were going, they reached the area where they had supposedly seen the mercenaries in a short time.

"We're farther west than expected," Tokuma said, looking with the byakugan in the distance.

"But we're in the right place," she said.

"Have they moved their base?"

"Or, perhaps, it was a trap," Shibi muttered. Let's get a little closer. Tokuma, can you see it from here?

"Not yet.

It began to get dark when they found the "base" of the mercenaries. It was a hut in the middle of nowhere, made of wood, quite large. It looked like the ranger huts I'd seen before. It was placed on a tower of logs in the form of a beam, to give visibility, in the middle of the treetops, but without protruding above them to avoid being easily seen.

"I can see 16 people," Tokuma whispered, staring at the house in front of them. A few seem quite strong.

"Seina, go with Yamato to put up the barrier. Tokuma and I will go around the base to the other side setting traps. I'll leave you one of my kikaichu just in case.

She and Yamato slipped to the other side. He wondered what barriers to put up without them noticing until, in the end, he decided to put a simple barrier charged with the stupefy spell surrounding the house. He buried the carved stones along the perimeter, just one meter beyond Yamato's mokuton traps.

"And what do you say this barrier does?" He asked quietly.

"If they touch it, they'll be unconscious. So do we, so you have to be careful.

He nodded at the warning. They were far enough away that they wouldn't be heard, but it was still better to work quietly. They finished circling the perimeter, crossing paths with Shibi and Tokuma, and then hid in the top of a tree from whose branches they could see the hut perfectly.

"Are you all set?" Then, looking at her through his tinted glasses, he said. You're our doctor, so try not to melee.

Everyone nodded. Shibi raised both arms, letting his hundreds of kikaichu escape. Thanks to the cover of the night, the insects went unnoticed, buzzing silently as they spread over the wooden beams. He did not know how many minutes they had waited, but the terrified and pained screams of some of the enemies alerted them that the attack had already begun. As expected, some of them were terrified and were chased by the Kikaichu, while some enlightened people could think of nothing else but to set fire to the insects using a katon jutsu inside the hut.

"Stop, you idiot!" Another shouted, but it was too late.

They all jumped out of the burning hut, throwing themselves into the void. Shibi's insects led them to their barriers. The ninja tried to distance themselves, not surprisingly, by leaping into the air away from the Kikaichu. To their bad luck, they fell to the ground like flies, unconscious. As soon as they saw it, they turned away from their barriers as if they had the plague.

"He's one of the Aburame clan!" They're from Konoha!

"Stop yelling,," another silenced him.

I knew why some were afraid. It was both disgusting and fascinating to watch Shibi kikaichu knock unconscious ninja dry, killing them by chakra depletion in less than a couple of minutes. It was the least tragic death possible, considering that he had seen Shino kill someone by stuffing his insects into his victim's body to devour his flesh. I didn't even want to imagine what that person had felt before they died.

"Where are they?"

Yamato at that time used the mokuton to impale 3 ninjas, further reducing the group from 16 to 11. Tokuma and Shibi jumped to the ground to fight Yamato, giving away their position, while Seina became invisible ready to intercede if necessary. Between Tokuma's byakugan, Yamato's defense/attack, and Shibi's insects, the ninjas were no match for Konoha's 3 experienced jonins. He went down to the ground when he saw that practically all but a couple were dead.

"We're not going to tell you sh*t, you Konoha scum!" A ninja of unknown origin spat on the ground. Even if you kill us, you haven't finished us off by any means!

He raised an eyebrow as he heard her words. Just at that very moment, his spellbound ears caught a branch breaking off almost 25 meters away. Then he heard the almost imperceptible breathing of a ninja spying on them. Tokuma, with the byakugan activated, seemed to see it at the same time she heard it. Seina glanced at him.

"Permission to check the state of the enemies?" She asked the leader.

Shibi and Yamato turned to look at her without saying anything. Everyone knew they were dead, so his question was unnecessary. Still, Shibi nodded in her direction, and Seina made her way to the nearest corpse, out of sight of the enemy watching them. He was invisibly bewitched by the bracelet, activated the modified reveal, and disappeared. The ninja didn't even see it coming. He collapsed on the branch, deadlifted. He picked it up and reappeared at the team's side.

Shibi and Yamato looked at him with a bit of surprise before turning to the mid-range ninja they were interrogating. The latter, seeing the new enemy unconscious, seemed to change his attitude radically. Nervous and worried, he started yelling in her direction about how it was "impossible." Perhaps he meant that Seina had been able to detect him despite the genjutsu in which he had hidden? Was he such an idiot that he hadn't seen Tokuma's eyes, which were on intermittently all this time?

"We can do it painfully or painlessly," Shibi said with astonishing calmness, his voice monotonous and stern. Whatever you prefer.

"It's all right! Talk!

He began to tell them a story about how Mezu, yes, that Mezu, had contacted them months ago to create a group of mercenaries. Apparently, Mezu's idea was to kill two birds with one stone: with the mercenary gang he would have become rich while satisfying his thirst for blood by selling himself to the highest bidder. To the misfortune of the enemies he had convinced, Mezu disappeared days before the agreed date to gather all here. Even without him, they were all determined to follow his plans. Mostly because everyone wanted more money than they had being fugitives, exiles, or retired ninjas that no one paid attention to.

"Hmm... "The story doesn't sound false," Shibi said after he had been knocked unconscious again. I am interested, however, in talking to the one Seina has captured. I want to know if he's a new recruit or if there are more of these out there.

She bound him with her unbreakable conjured chains and then revived him. The ninja's eyes opened the instant the stupefy stopped working. He tried to fight their bonds but, unfortunately for him, they were of magical caliber. He was listening to a similar story, almost too much.

"Why do I feel like you're lying?" Shibi asked the ninja as he began to cover him with his kikaichu.

Seina quietly caught his attention. The jonin nodded in his direction for him to speak.

"Permission to try to interrogate him?"

"Go ahead.

"Empire," he intoned mentally, putting a finger to his temple. Tell me everything you know about your mercenary group. Don't miss a single detail.

The ninja, under his unforgivable curse, talked and talked and talked. It took them an hour to listen to all the plans, the conversations he remembered, the names of the men who had formed a team, the missions they had done and those they had pending, Mezu and his recruitment, his motives, etc. Luckily for them, there were no more mercenaries waiting outside the protections. Even he shouldn't have been out of the booth that night, but, apparently, he'd gone out to... pissing, and then some, right at that moment.

"Interesting, this technique of yours," Shibi said unfazed as the last enemy howled being devoured by his insects.

They disposed of the corpses, tore down the hut, removed the traps and guards, and brought everything back to normal. No one would notice what had happened there. When they had finished, his stomach was rumbling with hunger. If it were up to her, she would have used the hiraishin to return instantly, but she wasn't the leader of the mission. Instead of staying overnight there, and resting a little, they ran the rest of the night at high speed, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one to see them.

They arrived just as dawn was breaking in Konoha. He cashed in the mission and then went home. If she had any advantage of not being the leader, it was not having to stay behind to report on the mission while the companions went home to sleep. When he got home, he noticed how some of them were awake in their rooms. He took a shower and went to sleep.

When she woke up about 5 hours later, it was a couple of hours to noon so she went to her study, seeing that she was alone in the house, and began to prepare the gifts she was going to give to her friends. I was thinking of creating different backpacks, depending on the style of each one, although the funny thing, obviously, was that they were all bottomless backpacks. That way they could carry as much material as they wanted, and most importantly: water.

"We're back!" Naruto exclaimed as he walked through the front door. Seina-nee? Are you awake?

"If she's not awake, she'll be awake now, with so much screaming, dobe.

"I'm in the studio.

Sasuke and Naruto appeared at the door. They stopped to look at all the backpacks he had prepared for his friends with curious expressions.

"Is this what you said would be useful for exams?"

"We already have one. What are you going to give us? He asked him like the little boy that was Naruto.

"I was thinking of one like this," she said, momentarily taking off her necklace to show her brothers. It serves to calm the person, avoid suicidal thoughts and give them encouragement and lucidity. In fact... I sent one to Itachi with your letter.

"Really?"

"Yes. With a bit of luck he will put on the pendant, which is also a locator.

Sasuke and Naruto snorted a laugh upon hearing it. Seina let them try on the last test pendant she had made so that they would realize the positive effect of her invention. Naruto kept the blue pendant while Sasuke decided to choose another opal to make him a new pendant. Minutes later, when he finished carving the runes and using the spell, Sasuke put on the pendant with a tiny smile. Would she have chosen it because she liked the color or because I had told her that Itachi's pendant was made of that material?

That afternoon, after the 3 of us had lunch together, Kakashi-sens-Kakashi arrived. It was so rare to call him by any other name than "sensei" that he forgot that they now held the same rank. As soon as they entered the door, they smelled the characteristic stench of blood.

"Hell, Kaka-sensei," Naruto exclaimed. Have you rolled around in a pile of corpses or what?

"Or what," he said with a monotonous sigh. I'm going to take a shower.

They watched him disappear like an exhale up the stairs. He didn't even have time to catalog his appearance to see if he was injured or not. He came down half an hour later, dressed in another uniform that was completely clean, except for his waistcoat.

"Can you heal my rib?" He asked, without even having to question it. I think I've also breathed toxic gas.

Seina nodded. He wondered what he had done to break a rib when all his clothes were bewitched and sewn with runes. In addition to the broken rib, he had bruises all over his torso and back. Luckily, curing him was nothing to her.

"Can I use the diagnostic spell?"

Seeing her nod, he cast the spell on her. As it turned out, he was right. It wasn't a very deadly poison gas, luckily. He spent some time healing the damage to his lungs and tissues caused by whatever he inhaled. When he was over, there was no trace of his struggle left on his body.

"What happened?"

"We're approaching one of Akatsuki's hideouts near the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. It was deserted, but full of traps," Kakashi frowned as he explained. One of my colleagues had to be hospitalized after falling into one.

"Really?"

"Not just anyone gets into Akatsuki, Sasuke. They are all S-rank ninjas.

"But, nee-chan killed one of them," Naruto said confused.

"Because, curiously, he was alone, your sister caught him off guard with her powers and he underestimated her.

Seina nodded. Without his powers, she would surely have died or been badly injured before she managed to kill him. Although, if he hadn't had his magic, he would have simply walked away with the hiraishin. Most likely I wouldn't have been able to eliminate him, but I would have lived to see the sun rise another day.

When June 1 arrived, a couple of days later, he noticed a certain excitement in the air. Maybe it was because he lived with Sasuke and Naruto, who were looking forward to taking the chunin exams, or maybe it was already the middle of summer in Konoha. Seina more than once thanked the runes she had embroidered on her clothes and the spells she had active, otherwise, she would be sweating it out.

The week just passed. He worked at the hospital on Friday, Saturday and Sunday training with his team. In his spare time, he found himself frequenting the suitcase where he had kept all the scrolls of the Uzumaki that had been rescued. Kakashi, as promised, began to explain the basics of fuinjutsu. He found them to be very similar to runes, much to his surprise. They were like another language, with a slightly different vocabulary and a different grammatical formulation. Even so, they were still a language.

Karin, despite being an Uzumaki and presenting more physical characteristics to the Uzumaki than she and Naruto, had no idea about fuinjutsu. Her mother had specialized in healing and wasn't even a ninja. Speaking of his distant cousin, the next week when he went to see her one afternoon, he explained the theory of adamantine chains.

"There's really not much to say about the 'theory,'" Karin told him over tea at her house. My mother told me that each user has a different number of strings. At the same time, the color can vary, the thickness, the shape... Even its function.

"Really?"

"Absolutely! My chains are rather offensive. I've only managed to produce 4 and only when I feel I need them. I still have a lot to train with them.

Seina thought of her mother. According to what some of his acquaintances had told him, such as Genma or Raido, his mother Kushina had been able to summon 8 chains. I didn't know if the number of chains was related to the user's power or their training with them. Either way, his mother's chains had been so powerful that they held Kurama within their barrier and prevented other ninja from breaking through them. In addition, he could use them offensively and defensively. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that her mother had been amazing.

Notes:
Here's a new chapter.

Thank you for all your reviews! I don't know if you've noticed, but we're approaching 500 reviews and we're not even halfway there.

As for the Seina/Kakashi interaction, I can assure you that there will be little things between them even before the time jump occurs. You'll see.

Regarding Itachi's POV in the spin offs... Yes, a POV of Itachi is coming but it won't be for a few episodes. I know exactly what I want to write, but to get to that point I need the central story to move forward. Be patient, people!

And Shikaku... Did you think, without having read his POV in the spin off, that it was obvious that he knew about Kakashi's feelings or did you think he didn't? Let me know in the comments, I'm curious. The question is... If he knew about it since chapter 30, why hasn't he done anything about it until then? ;)

chapter 74

The next day, Seina was called on another mission alongside Kakashi, Genma, and Raido, curiously. It was Hokage herself who ordered them to come to her office, rather than Shikaku, so they knew it was going to be something out of the ordinary.

"What's it about?"

"We have received information from one of our spies about the land of the Hot Springs. "Kumogakure has managed to negotiate an unofficial contract in exchange for land to build a base near the border with the Land of Fire," Tsunade-sama growled at the audacity. Apparently, the works started 2 weeks ago and we haven't even noticed. Your mission is to sabotage the base, the building, the construction company, the contract... Anything you can think of. We need the country of the hot springs to back down from the agreement.

Just hearing the magnitude of the mission had to hold back a tired groan. This mission was not one of those that ended in a couple of days.

"Kakashi." You will be the leader of the mission. Take as much time as it takes.

They left at a slow pace. They were all ready to go, so they set out through the north gate in the direction of the Hot Springs country.

"Seina, you have a stamp there, don't you?" His teacher asked. She nodded. Perfect. Let's not waste time then.

Everyone grabbed her arms and she molded the chakra to use hiraishin. They appeared in a town near the border of the Land of Fire.

"We'd better find the base they're building and then a hidden place so we can make our own temporary base," Kakashi said. This looks like it's going to be a long time... Seina, can you give us an address?

"Why don't we fly?" She asked. From the sky we would not be detected and we would arrive earlier without falling into any trap.

"Good idea.

It didn't take long for him to summon his creature and then rise from the clouds under multiple cloaking spells. Genma and Raido couldn't get over their astonishment at the sight of their black dragon. Perhaps they had thought he was talking about another kind of flying summoning? The thing is, getting to Kumo's half-built base was a piece of cake. As soon as they saw her from afar, they noticed the platoon of Kumogakure ninjas who seemed to be watching over and protecting their new territory in the middle of the forest of the Hot Springs country.

"I saw a place to take shelter about 10 minutes ago," Raido said, looking over the dragon's shoulder. With a few barriers we should be well protected.

"Guide us."

Seina followed Raido's directions, turning back. The "place" to take shelter was nothing more or less than a dense area of forest from which rocks with bubbling water protruded. He didn't even know how he'd seen it from how lush the trees surrounding the small clearing with hot springs were. They jumped out of their summoning due to there being no room to land, and Seina summoned him into mid-air. Kakashi set up his own shop while she set about putting magical barriers next to Raido and Genma's barriers and traps.

They trained inside, ignoring the exclamation of Raido, the only one who hadn't used one of these tents before, and sat down at the dining room table. Kakashi took the reins of the discussion.

"Okay. Now that we're here, let's start planning a plan. To begin with, we need to know how many ninjas are guarding the building, how many are guarding it, how often teams rotate, how much area they are guarding, etc.," he said. We also have to find out which construction company is doing the work, how many people know about this deal, what kind of deal it is...

"Then we'd better split into teams."

"Yes, much to my regret, that's the most optimal, but also the most dangerous..." We'll make 2 teams: one to track down the building and the ninjas protecting it, and one to find out about the deal." Kakashi looked at her. You're more useful at gathering information from the agreement, while I'm better able at tracking down Kumo's ninjas. That leaves the 2 of you with a preference?

"I'll go with Seina," Genma said after he and Raido exchanged glances.

"Then I'll go with you, Kakashi."

"Perfect. We've got the whole day ahead of us, so we can start now.

"Do you want me to leave you one of my summons so that we can communicate?" He said to his teacher. He nodded, accepting one of his spiders.

"Can you communicate with your summons?" Raido asked.

"Not quite. I perceive all that my creatures perceive because they are my creation and are linked to me. If you talk to him, it's like I'm listening to him, but I can't answer verbally.

"Very ingenious. It would be amazing if you could talk through them.

"Actually, I think they have no vocal cords, and they're under a silencing jutsu. That way no one notices they're there.

They left the store shortly after their conversation. None of them wanted to stay there longer than recommended, especially considering that their enemy was Kumo and that she was there. In fact, as soon as he thought about it, he realized that the best option for gathering information discreetly would be to change his appearance. He stopped Genma in his tracks outside the tent.

"Wait a minute. I've got an idea.

Genma raised an eyebrow, but nodded in his direction. Seina used a couple of spells to change her clothes and appearance, looking like a brown-eyed brunette girl in a green and blue kimono. Then, he did the same with Genma, transforming him to look like his father. Finally, they kept their ninja bands to avoid being recognized.

"Wow. "You are unrecognizable," Raido exclaimed. Kakashi blinked in his direction. I can't even notice anything weird.

"Come on," she winked, tweaking her voice a little so as not to be recognized.

They said goodbye to the others and walked in the direction of the nearest village.

"How are we going to do it?" She asked. Do we mingle with people to see if we hear anything? Do we look for someone suspicious and follow them?

"Yes to the former, no to the latter. We should look for a builder. From what we've seen from the air, they don't have a work camp near Kumo's base, so I imagine they'll be staying in the nearest village.

"But that's a very stupid thing to do, isn't it?" People will start asking questions.

"Maybe they have the farthest camp from the village," he shrugged. As soon as we get there, we'll find out.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at a brisk pace. As soon as she saw the first people, Seina took Genma's hand and made a childish face. Genma didn't even bat an eyelid. He started smiling while pointing his finger like a typical tourist. She went along with him, but she was really sharpening her ears for something interesting. They were walking around at a snail's pace, but no one was talking aloud about anything that had to do with Kumo and the construction company.

In the end, he gave up and activated his passive legermanence to receive people's superficial thoughts. Tired people, lustful thoughts, anger, sadness over the death of a family member and the breakdown of a relationship... There were no very strange or unexpected thoughts.

"Do you want us to stop and eat one of these?" Genma pointed to an anko stall.

She nodded. He knew he had said it so he would have an excuse to sit still for a long time. Seina sat down on the stool and waited for his order with disinterest. Then he began to listen to someone who was afraid. She was an elderly woman.

"Eiji doesn't remember what happened years ago, but I do... Why is he so stubborn!?" Come. As soon as they find out, they'll come. And they always find out, he thought in a fearful mental voice. I don't know how he can be such an idiot. Oh, sir, why would he have taken that stupid job? About 45 years working to throw it all away now just for a few measly ryo.

"Oto-san?" Can I go to the bathroom? She asked, tugging at his sleeve.

Genma nodded, blinking. Seina got lost in the crowd of clientele and then used her powers to camouflage herself. He went out in search of the lady, who was walking very slowly, with a limp, down the street. Just as he had thought, she was an elderly woman. A grandmother. He hadn't heard anything explicit about Kumo or the construction company, but something in his thoughts caught his attention. He got close enough to Grandma to use the imperius curse on her. He directed her to a nearby park to sit on a bench.

"Let's see what's going on, oba-san..."

Seina used the legeremancia on it with the utmost care. The lady, Keiko, was a retired former seamstress. She had worked since the age of 13 and had retired, along with her husband Eiji, 5 years ago. Eiji had been a builder, a mason, many years ago. Neither of them wanted to go back to work. In fact, they had their house paid off and a little savings. The problem? Keiko had been diagnosed with a chronic illness that required medication to alleviate its effects, and that had eaten up much of her money. If they went on like this for too long, they would run out of money with which to eat.

Apparently, her husband had agreed to do some small jobs in exchange for some money with which to buy medicine. Until he was approached 3 weeks ago by a man who offered him a lot of money for one last construction in the middle of the forest. Eiji had accepted the job without hesitation, as the money would be more than enough to cover his wife's medicine for years. Keiko, when she found out, felt guilty that her husband had to go back to work, even if it was only for a few months, but as soon as Eiji told her what they were doing, and for whom, she begged him to leave him.

Seina delved a little deeper into the couple's last arguments before letting her go. Eiji had only told his wife that he had seen Kumo's ninjas prowling the building before bowing their heads. He wanted nothing to do with anything except the money he and the other men had been promised.

He returned to Genma before anyone could suspect, even though the exchange had only lasted 10 minutes.

"Look, just in time," his supposed father told him as he appeared from the bathroom address.

They ate quietly for a few minutes. Then they left. They moved away from the more bustling streets in search of some quiet place with few people.

"Muffliato," he mentally intoned, feeling the spell go off. We can talk calmly.

"What did you find?"

Seina was telling him word for word what she had heard, what she had done, and what she had discovered. When he finished, the jonin looked pensive as he pondered his words.

"It's interesting. "It looks like we have a thread to pull now," Genma said. Have you marked the woman?

"Obviously. The men go home every night so as not to attract attention, so I figured her husband would be back this afternoon. I have left him one of my invocations.

"Well done. We will interrogate the husband discreetly. As much as he wants to put his head down, he must know more than he tells his wife. We'll see if Eiji knows the name of the construction company and if he can tell us how many people work, the shifts, etc.

"What do we do with the agreement?" It is obvious that Eiji, nor any worker, will have this information.

Eiji and the others are just pawns. Let's look into that until the husband comes home.

"Where do we start?"

"By the government building," Genma nodded to a three-story building in the distance. Let's start by finding out if they have any incriminating files in there.

"What time are the city hall workers going to eat?"

"Well seen," Genma smiled in his direction. We will wait for them to temporarily vacate the building to eat. Let's go. Let's go check out your schedule.

Luckily for them, the midday break started in 20 minutes, so they hid near the building while they waited for the time to come. Seina watched as they left with one of their tiniest summons. As soon as there was no one, Genma was teleported into the building without anyone noticing. He was so easy with hiraishin and its summons that he even found it boring. Although, even without the hiraishin, he only had to use an alohom*ora to get in easily.

"Start looking," Genma said. I'm staying here. They have to be documents without signatures, stamps, without customer data, etc.

Seina nodded as she moved around looking for filing cabinets and safes. He opened desk drawers, folders, filing cabinets, double-bottomed drawers, safes... But he didn't find anything. Everything seemed to be in order. The documents pertaining to contracts had all the necessary signatures, stamps and data so I knew it was impossible for them to be what I was looking for. He went to the second floor and then to the third, but nothing. In the end, seeing that it was only half an hour before the city hall workers returned, he tried to use the locator spell despite not knowing what he was looking for.

"Point me fraudulent documentation.

To his surprise, the arrow pointed him in a direction that he kept zooming in on until he returned to the first floor. Genma appeared beside him with a frown. He had some papers in his hand that seemed to be important.

"Have you found anything?"

"My jutsu tells me there's something here.

"In the locker room?"

"So it seems," she said, pointing to the small lockers with different names, which appeared to belong to the employees. Whoever it is, someone is very confident in the privacy of their locker.

He cast a spell on the locker, seeing some food, handkerchiefs, a pill bag, and the like. He noticed that the space in the cell seemed somewhat smaller than it should be.

"A double bottom?" Genma hissed a laugh as he pulled out the wood.

"Bingo."

He picked up the cream-colored folder and opened it. She and Genma flipped through the pages, realizing they had what they needed. Seina duplicated the contract and left the original as it was to prevent them from realizing that anyone knew what was going on. He also duplicated the pages that Genma found and then they left, but not before reading the name of the owner of the locker. Proprietary, rather.

"We'd better get away from the village for a while." Many people have already seen us spend a few hours in the village.

They went into the woods, seeing that the sun was beginning to set, although it would take hours at dusk. They pulled out the papers to see what was going on. Seina read the pages carefully, realizing right off the bat that something was wrong.

"The names don't match.

"What do you say?"

"The names. "Look," he showed her the list of hires. While rummaging I found the papers of the same construction company, but the staff was totally different.

"This looks bad," Genma said with a serious expression. Can you think of a reason why they would write down the names of people illegally hired to carry out an illegal work?

Seina thought about it. If she were the one organizing all this, she would try to have the minimum documentation. Papers generate traces, so why write down names? Unless... He opened the folder again, looking at each person's details.

"They're all over 60," he exclaimed in surprise.

"Exactly. Grandparents die from many different causes.

"Do you think Kumo intends to eliminate them all once the job is done?" She asked with some horror.

"How is that illegal base going to be untraceable if more than 50 civilians know where it was built?"

"What sons of bitches," he blurted out, unable to contain himself.

He turned his hair on end when he realized that it was very possible. Who was going to investigate the deaths of a few old people? A heart attack here, a bad fall there... Not even that. Most, if they were smart, should not have told their families anything about their new job thinking it would save them from being eliminated. They could disappear quietly and no one would know what had happened. Had he used the usual employees of the construction company, it would have been impossible to kill them all without someone asking questions. They just couldn't.

They ate in silence, meditating on what they had just discovered, high up in a tree. They waited for hours for Eiji, the husband of the woman he interrogated without her noticing. When he appeared in the village, he felt sorry just to see him. He was a frail-looking grandfather who walked at a slow pace with a clear hump from work. And to think that there were people capable of taking advantage of old people like him... She almost felt guilty for dragging him before she went up to her house.

He used legibility on it as he had done on his wife. Eiji, as they thought, knew more than Keiko. He knew the names of most of the grandparents who worked all day at the Kumo base. He knew that what he was doing was illegal and that it could get him into a lot of trouble with the land of Fire, with whom the country of the Hot Springs had several agreements, but he could not afford not to do it unless he wanted to let his wife suffer for years until she died of disgust from the pain.

The construction company had "hired" them only in name, because they had not signed any contract. All the construction company did was find capable employees and supply the materials and machinery to the new workers, who were paid directly by Kumo's ninjas. Every day they received a payment of X money but, as they did not know when the work was going to be finished, they would not give them the corresponding remaining part until they finished. In other words, they might not even receive the agreed money if Kumo crossed the wires and eliminated them first.

The last thing he got out of his mind was how Eiji, along with his "retired" colleagues, thought that there was about a week left of work to complete the base. He let her go after erasing her memory.

"Well?" Genma asked.

"We'd better go back to the store." The others have already returned a while ago.

They were back in the store in a few minutes. As he already knew, thanks to his creature, Kakashi and Raido were inside waiting for them.

"Finally, what have you been doing outside all day?"

"We have a lot of information," Genma said, "and documents.

He handed him what they had found and explained in great detail what they had discovered until it was time for Eiji's interrogation. Seina resumed the narrative by talking about what she had seen in Grandpa's mind. When it was over, Kakashi and Raido exchanged glances.

"What about you?"

"The base is at least 500 square meters, from what we have been able to deduce from the work. About 46 civilians work there. They're also being watched over by a squad of 4 Kumo ninjas, a jonin and 3 chunin I would say," their master explained, "but that's not all. There are more ninjas combing the perimeter. In total, I have recorded the smell of 12 different people.

"That much?"

"Yes, they seem very interested in the work.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"You have to find out how many people and who are involved in this. Once we have the list of the corrupt ones, we will eliminate them somehow," Kakashi said. That will end the conflict over the country of the Hot Springs.

"And how are we going to get rid of the base?" We cannot afford a direct confrontation. We could cause an international incident.

"I know. We also have to take care of the civilians who are working on the site.

"I can take care of that," she said. I can modify their memory so that they forget that they have built a base for Kumo and pay them with money stolen from Kumo or the construction company.

"That's a good idea," Raido nodded. That would leave us alone with the problem of Kumo's ninjas.

"We can't let them live. They know who the hired civilians are and who have helped them build in this country. As soon as they see that the others have disappeared or that the civilians have been paid, they will know that something has happened.

—… I know," sighed his master sternly. The good thing about all this is that if we kill them, even if they know it was us, they won't be able to accuse us of anything because of the illegality of their actions. They would have to admit why we have eliminated them, and that would not sit well with the other countries.

"That will be retaliation from Kumo, though."

"We don't have a choice. Even if Seina changes their memories, as soon as they get back to Kumo they'll know something's up.

"Wait a minute. I have an idea," she began to smile from ear to ear as she realized the obvious.

"Surprise me," Kakashi said, smiling in his direction. Genma and Raido turned to look at her.

"Let them finish the work without our intervention. Let's let Kumo's ninjas return to their village, let's eliminate those who stay behind. I can protect civilians with a couple of weak barriers to prevent them from being attacked.

"And the base?"

"Very easy. Don't you remember what I did with Sasuke's house? She asked with a troll grin.

Kakashi stared at her with a blank face for a few seconds. Then he started laughing out loud at Genma and Raido's astonishment. It took him a couple of minutes to catch his breath, catching his ribs with laughter. She wiped away a tear as she regained her pale skin.

"You're a genius, Seina," her master swore proudly.

"Can someone explain to me what you mean by Sasuke?" Raido held up a hand like a small child in class. Genma nodded, exasperated and amused.

"With her powers, Seina can hide whatever she wants, making herself the keeper of the secret of what she has hidden. That means that unless she tells us where Kumo's base is, no one will be able to find it," her master smiled to the surprise of the other jonin. Which means that Kumo's brand new base will disappear from the map. No matter how hard they try to use it, they won't remember where it is or be able to find it. This way, we won't have to confront them or destroy the base, or interfere with the construction, nor will they know that we are behind the disappearance of their base.

"Not to mention that the base they've paid to build will now be Konoha's without the village having to pay a single ryo for it," he winked at Genma and Raido's shocked faces.

"I like this plan.

"All we have to do is wait for them to finish the work. Once they leave, we'll clean up the country's traitors from the Hot Springs and eliminate the small squad left behind, and problem solved.

chapter 75

The next day the entire team set out to find the corrupt people in the land of the Hot Springs. Luckily, Kumogakure had been discreet and had only manipulated those closest to his base. The village had a construction company, corrupt people in power, and many people capable of constructing a building. Why did they want to expose themselves more by going to the main village being able to use a distant village full of civilians? Better for them, actually.

They kept a close eye on the base's progress, acknowledging that Eiji was right when he thought they would need at least 7 more days to finish. It was all wood and stone and had no electricity, but water powered by a mill and water from the stream that ran through it. If it were a more complex building, it would have taken months for 46 elderly people to complete the work.

By the third day they had nothing to do but wait, so they took turns spying on them and playing cards. With their invocations, it was easy for them to go unnoticed from the sky. Genma and Raido spent as much time outside, enjoying flying carefreely.

"If it weren't for you, we'd be about to engage in combat with a Kumo platoon," Raido said. It's not something that turns me on.

"Oh, doesn't it excite you to die?" Genma asked with dark humor. And I thought adrenaline was adrenaline.

Raido rolled his eyes in the direction of his friend. Kakashi was lounging on his side, on the couch, reading a novel. Seina lay down, putting her legs in his lap before the raised eyebrows of the other jonin. Still, they didn't say anything as she closed her eyes to see if the time passed faster.

By the fourth day, Seina locked herself in her room in Kakashi's tent to wipe out the gifts of the other genin. She was so bored that she didn't even create clones to speed up the work. That's how Kakashi found her at noon.

"What are you doing?" Bottomless backpacks?

"Yes. I'm going to give them to the other genin as a gift of promotion.

"Well thought out. "That reminds me that I haven't given you my gift for yourself yet," his teacher told him. It's in Konoha.

"What is it?"

"You'll see," Kakashi laughed. It's a surprise.

Seina pouted jokingly. I could wait a few days to receive a gift. The other jonin sat in the armchair under his false window, watching him work in silence.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked curiously.

"A little bit of everything. I'm glad we're on missions together again. Sasuke and Naruto have just 10 days left to start the exam and get promoted. Can you imagine us doing missions as the new Team 7? He smiled with an amused expression. I've almost forgotten the chaos you caused together.

"I haven't forgotten that Sasuke owes us reports," she said, making him laugh. Laugh, but a deal is a deal.

"Only you would want to be together again so you don't have to make a report."

"We're back!" Genma sang from afar. We've got some new information!

"Let's go. We'd better see what happened.

They walked to the dining room, where they used to meet simply to use the table, and saw Raido and Genma sitting around muttering.

"Well?"

"A couple of workers were injured today," Raido informed them. In order not to slow down, 2 ninjas from Kumo have started to help in the construction.

"At the rate at which they are going, they will finish the work this afternoon, a few days ahead of schedule.

"Interesting," his master muttered as he stared into nothingness thinking at a thousand miles an hour. Let's keep an eye out for the completion of the work. It is now that we must start acting. Seina, we will go out tonight in search of civilians in danger and thus begin our plan. The two of you stay watching them from the sky just in case.

Everyone nodded. They waited for the builders to return to their homes to go in search of all of them. All she had to do was bewitch them with a confused modified barrier, so that Kumo's ninjas would believe as they approached that they had been killed. The corrupt government members who had signed the accords were left unprotected. After all, they were just as guilty as Kumo in all of this and if their enemies eliminated them, all the better for Konoha. That way it would never again occur to them to go against the alliances of the land of Fire in favor of another country.

"Do you think all this will be necessary?" She asked when they killed the last grandfather bricklayer.

"I'm afraid so. It's what we would do in wartime to protect our secret bases.

"But we're not at war.

"For now..." Most of a ninja's skills are meant for combat. What do we serve for in a world without war? His teacher asked rhetorically. Kumogakure has more effective ninja than any other nation. That is why they are always interested in a conflict to which they can send their ninjas, the asset that moves their economy the most, unlike in Konoha. Even more so when they are the most remote country of all the big countries.

"You mean trying to extend your territory illegally to be in the 'thicket' of the great nations?"

"Exactly. If they had achieved what they proposed, they would have a base on our border, which means between the lines that we would have the country of Rayo as neighbors. Good for them, bad for us. Now we are separated by 2 countries from our greatest enemies. We need to keep it that way.

"We could propose to Tsunade-sama to go out in search of more secret bases in other countries. If we do the same thing we're going to do now, we'd have a bunch of safe houses for Konoha and eliminate strategic points against the village.

"You're right. With your skills, we could take a lot of advantage away from the other countries in favor of Konoha. I will discuss this in my report.

When they arrived at the store, they saw that Genma and Raido had not returned, so the work was not yet finished. They went in search of the rest of the team, activating their invisibility bracelet to move discreetly through the forest.

"What's missing?" A Kumo ninja visibly bit a grunt as he spoke to a builder.

"Just the last part of the floor, sir," said the old man, looking at the ground submissively.

"Then get it over with. Z, C. Help them. I want to leave before the sun goes down.

What appeared to be chunins, one black and the other pale as snow, hurried to listen to him. He wasn't surprised. The guy giving orders must have been over 2 meters tall and had an arm the size of his 12-year-old body. He sat on a stone as he watched absentmindedly as a group of civilians ran up and down collecting leftover materials, machinery and tools while another group of grandparents entered the base of a single storey, carrying pieces of wood.

She and Kakashi watched as the other ninja guarding the perimeter passed by near their treetop hideout, unaware that they were there. For 40 minutes they waited for the last part of the base to be finished. When they had finished, they all set off back to the village.

"You know what to do," the ninja muttered to the watcher team.

Seina followed them with a hint of malice. He watched as one of the teams of 4 ninjas tried to pounce, hundreds of meters away, on the grandparents before standing hesitantly looking around. She quickly sent a compulsion spell to the civilians to make them move as quickly back to their homes as possible while the ninjas were still confused.

As soon as they disappeared through the forest, he watched as they shook their heads, thinking they had killed them all. Yet another compulsion spell sent them back to base to report that they had finished off the builders.

"They haven't even had time to shout," one said to the jonin in command.

"Good. Go get the villagers. Shi's team will stay at the base. My team will be waiting for you to the east near the waterfall we saw the other day.

Genma and Raido, mounted on their dragon, put up no resistance when she led them back to the village on Kakashi's orders. Meanwhile, they watched as Shi's team began to set traps around the base, not realizing that he had already introduced several of his summoned creatures into it, and as the other team of 4 headed east.

"Send another one of your summons to keep an eye on them," his master nodded silently to those who had just left.

Seina obeyed. He followed them with one of his birds so that they could not escape his vision. Between the dragon, the spider at the base, and the bird, he began to feel a headache as he tried to see everything at once. He ignored Genma and Raido, trusting that they would be okay and that they knew what was happening, and focused on the team that was leaving in the direction of Kumo.

They spent almost an hour waiting for the Kumo ninjas sent to the village to take care of eliminating the corrupt and destroying the documentation. By the time they got back to the eastern team, they got a good scolding for "being so useless." He watched as they sped away from their new base, reprimanded by their superior for taking so long to annihilate 4 defenseless civilians.

"Let's wait for Genma and Raido."

"I'll bring them back."

He again used his mental connection with his dragon to bring the rest of the team back. A few minutes later, the 4 of them were watching as Kumo's ninjas calmly set traps and complained about the other jonin. His master told him to teleport them into the base, so he listened.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"I don't know. I thought I heard a thud.

"Well, go and see it."

Seina cast a spell on Genma and Raido just in time. They stood still, using the roof to camouflage themselves, watching as another Kumo ninja opened the wooden door to look inside. He took a quick look, but even he seemed to think that it was impossible that anyone had invaded them. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as his master performed his genjutsu to hide his chakra. The chunin didn't even see it coming. One second he was standing there, looking bored, and the next second his head rolled on the ground, staining him with blood. The body fell to the ground at a dead weight, literally. Seina closed the door with a wave of her hand.

"Z?" The other voice asked with much less boredom. What the hell are you doing? Z!

Seina waited on the doorframe for him to walk through. As soon as he opened the door and looked inside, she cast the death curse at him point-blank. The body fell to the ground with its eyes open in horror, the last expression he had when he saw his companion killed.

"Are you okay there or what?" A voice asked from outside. If you're so bored, why don't you come here and help us?

"Shi?" Z?

—…

It was just at that moment that they realized something was terribly wrong. He had to admit that, unlike his other two companions, those who were left out setting traps took the new situation seriously from the beginning. Unfortunately for them, it was 2 against 4. They let them into the base to avoid the new perimeter traps.

What he didn't imagine was that a lightning jutsu would be thrown through the window. Luck or had they really been spotted? Seina disappeared before a black bolt struck her. The sound of the windows shattering gave away his team, who had thrown themselves through them to avoid being electrocuted to death. Luckily, they couldn't see them due to the spells they were wearing and her master and her master's active bracelet.

He used his magic to transform various logs and stones into animals, distracting them without getting close to them. He watched as his new creatures attacked them fiercely, ignoring kunai's wounds, kicks, and lightning jutsu. He didn't even have to intervene in the fight beyond distraction because Genma ended up throwing some strategic senbon at them that left them in a mess. Raido and Kakashi finished them off without much fuss.

"Good job, boys and girl," Kakashi congratulated, deactivating the bracelet. We've managed to get hold of their base. Let's remove the traps and let Seina use her powers to hide her.

"The corpses?"

Kakashi didn't answer. He burned the corpses to nothing. He did the same with the other two. When they had finished getting everything ready, Seina laid the foundation under the fidelus. He handed the address paper to his master and let him keep the address for the Hokage.

"We have to go to the village to change the memory of the civilians and that's it.

"Well, let's go."

It took him a couple of hours to find them all and make them separate from their families for a few minutes, without attracting attention, so that he could modify their memories. When it was over, everyone thought they had built a holiday home for a rich man, a colleague of someone corrupt in the city council. They knew it was illegal for them to be hired and use the construction company for personal purposes, but none of them remembered that Kumo had actually been their client. They all had the money promised and would never work again, or need it again.

"Can we use the hiraishin to get back?" She pleaded, exhausted from the mission.

"We can use hiraishin to get back," Kakashi smiled.

"Thank God," Genma muttered to Raido.

She let them grab her arm and they disappeared. When she noticed the dry and warm environment of Konoha, she almost burst into tears of relief. Just thinking about what life would be like without hiraishin or its appearances...

"Ah, home, sweet home.

"Who knew we'd be done so soon?" Raido asked in the air. When we left I thought it would take a couple of weeks.

"Luckily it all went smoothly, actually.

They walked to the registry and then to the Hokage's office. Genma and Raido left since they were not the leaders of the mission, but Seina accompanied her master for lack of something to do. It's not like I'm in a hurry. When they arrived, it was just getting dark. Tsunade-sama looked like he was about to leave when his secretary ushered them in.

"I was going to leave just now," she said, sitting down again. I'm glad to see you. Mission status?

"It's been a success.

"Good. I'll wait for your full report tomorrow, but for now you can give me a summary.

Seina listened as Kakashi told her other teacher everything that had happened. From the documents they seized, those involved, the construction company, the Kumo teams, the construction of the base and how they finished the work. As soon as Tsunade-sama realized that not only had they managed to avoid a direct and indirect confrontation with Kumo, but that the base had been stolen under their noses, as if nothing had happened, she began to smile like a maniac.

"You're telling me that Konoha now has a secret base that no one knows anything about, can't be located, and on top of that, it's gotten away with it for free at the expense of Kumo's money?"

"In short, yes.

"I'll give you all a plus for this.

"Actually, it was Seina's idea.

"I should have imagined it," the Hokage smiled in his direction, her eyes shining with approval. Oh, hell! I'd love to see A's face when his ninjas tell him they don't remember where they built the base.

They left the Hokage crying with laughter, probably imagining the Raikage, and left to collect the mission. With each step he took as he approached the house, the more he felt as if he had forgotten something. He thought of Sasuke and Naruto, but couldn't think of anything. He thought of his friends, but he didn't remember either. He had it on the tip of his tongue. He didn't know why, but the more he thought, the more he remembered the bottomless backpacks he'd made.

"What are you thinking?" Kakashi cut off his train of thought.

"I'm forgetting something. Something to do with backpacks.

"With the backpacks you're going to give to your friends?" She nodded. Maybe you'll forget Naruto and Sasuke's gift? After all, they already have one of your fanny packs.

"Of course! She exclaimed, as if lightning had struck him. Birthday!

"From whom?"

Seina stared into his eye, momentarily connecting their minds to show him a picture of Itachi.

"Is today your birthday?" I didn't know," Kakashi said when he realized that June 9 was Itachi's birthday.

Assented. I'm sure Sasuke wanted to send a letter to Itachi congratulating him. It would be the first congratulations since I was 6 years old. It had been 7 years ago. By the time they got home it was dark night. His brothers were arguing as they made dinner. Maybe because Naruto, although he could cook, was only decent while Sasuke was a nightmare in the kitchen.

"I'm telling you, Seina never does it like that.

"You shut up! Someone who cooks aberrantly can't have an opinion!

"Are you really telling me to shut up, dobe?" Sasuke growled. You? The one who can't open a can of tomato?

She and Kakashi exchanged glances as they heard them fighting thanks to the open windows.

"Is it too late to go back to the land of the Cascades?" His master sighed as he opened the door.

Seina snorted a laugh at the sound of it. Hearing this, Sasuke and Naruto turned around.

"Nee-chan!

"Hn. It's a good thing you're here. I can't stand another day alone with Naruto.

"HEY!

"Shut up, dobe. Stick with your can.

Naruto glared at him. She and Kakashi went to take a shower, leaving Naruto and Sasuke arguing behind. Would they ever stop cooking? He sighed with pleasure as he climbed into the bathtub. A while later he crawled out of the tub. In his pajamas, he went downstairs to see what the others were doing. Fortunately, they seemed to have stopped fighting and were running out of food.

"Today is Itachi's birthday, isn't it?" She asked.

Sasuke stood still for a second as he put the glasses down. Then he nodded.

"I've thought I'd send you another letter. I didn't know when you'd come, but I've already written it down.

"Great. I can send it to you right now, if you want.

He handed her the letter to send. Seina, taking advantage of the fact that they were busy, wrote another note for Itachi. It was a simple congratulations, but he hoped that Itachi would know that they remembered him. He sent his pigeon in search of him, wherever he was.

The next day, shortly after waking up, he noticed something unexpected. Itachi had put on the pendant he had given her. Surprised, she realized she was somewhere far away in a southwesterly direction.

—How do you feel in your last week of exams? Kakashi asked his brothers.

"Good.

"I can't wait to finish."

"You haven't even started," she laughed. How about Matsuri?

—Hn.

"What he fears is that she's not a bad ninja. It's not the same as being with you, but I know we'll approve with her," Naruto shrugged. His ultimate goal is to be a chunin so he can teach at the academy, so he's as eager to move up the ladder as we are.

Matsuri... If she remembered correctly, she was one of the few people who didn't say anything against, or for, Naruto and her in the academy. For that reason alone, he didn't like him, or like him. As long as he didn't leave Naruto and Sasuke stranded during the exam or put them in danger in any way, he didn't care what he did or didn't do at the academy.

As she was brushing her teeth, a knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. It was Kakashi. He had something wrapped in his hands. Suddenly, she remembered the gift he had promised her.

"Is that the gift you told me about?"

"That's right. Here you go, albeit with a bit of a delay. Congratulations Seina.

As soon as he opened the paper, he realized it looked like an album. He blinked as he realized it could only be an album of one thing... He opened the lid looking at the first photograph. It was from his father and his pregnant mother. They were both smiling as they posed on one of the red river railings. Her mother wore a long, pastel sky blue strapless dress with white sandals and her hair in a high ponytail with a couple of strands framing her face. His father, on the other hand, wore black pirate pants and a white short-sleeved shirt along with his ninja sandals. They were both smiling, clearly strolling around the village on a day off.

"Where did you get them?"

"I had to ask, but I found more photographs than I expected..." Your parents would be proud of you for everything you've accomplished. "Naruto, too," Kakashi told her, hugging her to his chest as they both stared at the footage. Did you know that Kushina was best friends with Mikoto, Sasuke's mother?

He pointed his finger at a pale-skinned woman with black eyes and hair. She was just as pregnant as her mother, maybe something else. Mikoto, Sasuke's mother, was a carbon copy of her son. Also Itachi. They spent a while more talking about the photographs, the people who were in them and when they were taken. Seina kept the gift in her fanny pack, just in case, and vowed to herself that she would show it to Naruto and Sasuke when they returned from training. I was sure they would be excited to see their mothers together and happy, before everything went to sh*t.

chapter 76

As expected, Sasuke and Naruto took their time examining the photographs. Seina duplicated the album for Naruto and gave a few copies of Mikoto's photographs to Sasuke. Kakashi, as soon as he saw Naruto's watery eyes, vanished from the house so he wouldn't have to comfort him.

When the last Monday before the chunin exams arrived, Naruto couldn't contain himself from the excitement.

"The first time I see Suna, nee-chan!" He said with a smile from ear to ear.

"Do you think you're ready for the exams?"

"Of course. In fact, it's nothing compared to last time," Sasuke nodded.

"You and Kakashi-sensei will come to see us in the final battles?"

"Kakashi for sure. I'll beg Shikaku to send me on a mission to Suna." He snorted a laugh. It's the only thing I can do.

He listened as Naruto ranted against Shikamaru's father while Sasuke bit his lip to keep from laughing. Seina hoped he would do her that small favor. All in all, it was only a day of fighting. Speaking of which...

"Do you know who will train you for your fights this time?"

"From what we understand, Kakashi-sensei won't train us this time. Apparently, he has found us 2 different jonins to train with.

They were talking about the exams as they walked to the training ground. They saw how some were already there waiting. Seina hadn't seen them for several days, but she immediately noticed the excited, nervous atmosphere around them. Unlike last year, they now seemed unafraid to take the exam.

"Seinaaaa! Ino shouted before lunging at her in a hug. We almost thought we wouldn't see you before we left for Suna this Saturday!

"I didn't even have them all with me, really," she confessed. Although in the end we finished earlier than expected. By the way, I have your gifts.

"Really?" Kiba said with the face of a small child. Akamaru barked and ran to his side, putting his paws on his knees.

"aw. "Hello Akamaru," she smiled, stroking his head.

Kiba's ninken jumped on her, much to her surprise. Seina caught him on the fly, cradling him in her arms like a baby. Seeing him, Kiba rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Look, you're heavy, Akamaru.

"Leave it. Look how adorable it is.

The little dog barked, wagging his tail at a thousand miles an hour under Kiba's exasperated gaze. Ino and Tenten, however, seemed to be a little envious at the sight of the cutie in their arms. Changing the topic of conversation, he pulled the custom backpacks out of his fanny pack.

"You know, I've always wondered how you made the inside of your backpack bigger than it really should be," Chouji asked. Imagine all the food I could keep in there without having to carry it.

"Look, now that you say it," Seina tossed him her red shoulder bag as the symbol of her clan.

"No! Ino gasped as she realized what she was saying. You don't say...?

"Are they like your fanny pack!?" Tenten shouted, eyes shining.

He finished handing out the shoulder bags, fanny packs and backpacks of different colors. She watched with great satisfaction, sitting among her siblings, as the others enjoyed exploring their new gift and laughed at the realization of what they could do with one like that during the exam.

"They're indestructible, too, so they won't break, even if you stop a kunai with it," he informed them. Once you activate it, only you will be able to take something out of your backpack so no one will be able to steal from you.

"What if we need a colleague to pick something up?" Neji asked.

"Then, you'll need whoever you want access to donate a drop of blood on a seal inside." Look, pass me your suitcase.

He showed them how to activate them for the first time and how to give permission to others so they could use it as well. They spent a while trying to get bigger and bigger things in. In the end, they realized that even if they didn't blink, they could get a huge rock inside simply by putting the mouth of the backpack on its surface with the intention of storing it. Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji looked like they were about to have an aneurysm due to the impossibility of what they were seeing, much to the amusem*nt of Naruto and, secretly, Sasuke.

Instead of training hard, they went over some more subtle techniques for copying, setting traps, seeking or creating shelters, etc. When they finished, everyone felt satisfied, and ready, for the exam. As they walked to another restaurant to have the last meal before the exam, Seina was explaining to her more academic friends how jutsu worked.

The rest of the week passed like an exhale. Kakashi was doing some last-minute solo missions to make up for the fact that he would be going with Sasuke, Naruto, and Matsuri to Suna to be with them. After the week of exams, they would return to Konoha where their brothers would start their solo training again for about 3 weeks. Matsuri would temporarily no longer be part of Team 7 and it would be his jonin sensei who would be in charge of his training for the final bouts. That meant that, if all went well, starting in the second week of July, both Naruto and Sasuke and their other genin friends would know if they had ascended or not.

Seina planned for a few weeks alone while they trained.

"You could take the opportunity to study some of the 50 things you have in your journal," Kurama yawned as he listened to her internal tirade. God knows you have things to do so you don't get bored.

"You're right... The most important thing is to study fuinjutsu, but I don't have anyone expert to check my progress with. At most, I can study and memorize the scrolls I pulled from Uzushiogakure, but I can't bring myself to try anything on my own that I don't know they've used before without any problems. The last thing I want is to have an accident.

"You also had to research the medical potions in your world. Maybe you could start with that.

"That can be just as dangerous as fuinjutsu..." I'm not a master of potions, so I foresee several cauldron explosions.

So what the hell do you want to do? He grunted irritably. And what about your mother's chains? Or are you going to tell me it's dangerous, too?

"That... That's a good idea. I have Karin on hand who I can ask questions if necessary, and she doesn't seem to be that dangerous if I train alone.

"Finally..." Dwarf...

"What's wrong?" She asked curiously as she listened to his hesitant tone.

"I want you to find a way to protect me with your magic."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Don't you remember what you saw in my memoirs?" The damn Madara managed to manipulate me with his f*cking sharingan! If that * has managed to control me, how do I know that no one will be able to do it again?

"You're right," she thought in surprise.

"I'm always right. Your magic is immune to genjutsu so I know it will work to protect me. I give you my chakra, you give me your magic and we both fight together.

"It's all right. I'll start by training adamantine chains and study how to cover you with my magic.

"That's easy. Use the chains to connect us. Chains are a good chakra conductor, so why wouldn't you be able to pass your magic on to me in the same way if the chain starts from you?

"You're a genius, Kurama, but I still won't know if it works until I can create a chain."

"Then you know what you have to do.

Seina, with her new goal in mind, was more prepared to see her team depart on Saturday. He accompanied them to the front door on the west to say good-bye. They couldn't believe that the moment they had been waiting for an entire year had arrived.

"Have fun," he said, with a touch of melancholy, "and don't die.

"f*cking advice," Sasuke hissed with a laugh. Thank you Seina.

"See you soon, nee-chan.

Naruto hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground. When he put her on the ground, under the amused gaze of Sasuke and Kakashi, she swallowed tears dramatically. Seina avoided laughing out loud at the sight of her twin brother's sad and excited face. Then, seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to start a hug, she walked up to him and hugged him tightly, feeling him wrap his arms around her gently before resting her head on his shoulder.

He saw over Sasuke's shoulder the stunned gaze of Ino, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee, who were talking a few feet away. He let go a minute later, seeing that it was time to leave. Finally, he said goodbye to Kakashi, who was smiling at the scene.

"Take care of my brothers, Kakashi.

"I promise.

Seina raised a fist and let it bump into her. It's not like they could hug him too without anyone looking at them even more strangely.

"Brothers?" What do you mean? Naruto asked in astonishment. She ignored him. What do you mean, Kaka-sensei?

Kakashi ignored him as well, pulling out his latest p*rn book. Sasuke put his hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened.

"Seina is my sister, too, dobe.

"Huh!? You will say MY sister!

"That's what I said: my sister. Are you deaf or what?

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

—Hn.

Seina watched them leave as they argued for the sake of arguing, as always. She stood at the gate of the village looking at his back, accompanied a second later by Shikamaru.

"It's going to be weird," he confessed. I haven't gone that long without seeing any of them before.

"I know.

"So..." Sasuke considers you his sister. I'm not surprised. Should I say "congratulations"?

"Come on, Shika. I invite you to breakfast.

They walked away from the door in the direction of the center. Just as Shikamaru had said, it was strange to notice the absence of all his friends and brothers, of Kakashi. The village felt a little sadder without them. Luckily, she and Shikamaru had each other for as long as it lasted. They ate and talked for a while, hanging out under the warm Konoha sun while missing their teams.

The following week she didn't have much time to get bored or miss her team as she was called to a new mission. This time solo.

"Your mission is to rescue a nobleman's son. His name is Hakuseki Miyazawa. He is 5 years old. "You've given us a picture of you," Shikaku said, holding out the picture. According to the information they have provided us, they have apparently received a blackmail note. Here you go, if it's worth anything.

Seina read the note.

"Miyazawa, we have your son safe and sound. Give us 10,000,000 ryo and we'll get it back to you alive. You have until June 23 to gather the money and leave it in a bag at the Tenchi Bridge, in the ruins of the monument.

"Do you mind if I keep it?" Maybe it will help me somewhat.

"Keep it." You must rescue the child before the scheduled date. These are the coordinates at which he disappeared.

"And the captors?"

"The family wants you to eliminate them," he looked at her with grim eyes. It doesn't matter who they are.

"Got it.

He left, keeping the boy's photograph and the blackmail note. She found it odd that the family didn't try to find out who was to blame for their son's kidnapping, and why. Would they be people totally unrelated to the family? Or, perhaps, relatives? Shikaku's catchphrase about him eliminating them, whoever they were, made her hesitate. He had only 4 days before the deadline so he went off.

He went out the north door. As soon as he reached a clearing, away from curious glances, he summoned his mount. Even though he had the coordinates of the last place he was seen, he knew that if they were smart, it would be far away or hidden in the same city. So, to avoid setbacks, he used his locator spell right off the bat.

For hours he flew in an unknown direction. As he got closer to the border with the Land of Grass, he realized that they might be more of an idiot than he realized. Why hide a child you have kidnapped near the place you have given as the exchange point for your blackmail? It was dusk when he finally found the boy's location. He appeared to be sequestered in a house on the outskirts of a small village a 10-minute run from the ruins of Tenchi.

He took advantage of the growing darkness to get off his saddle in a tree as close to the house as possible. He watched guards armed with spears and metal armor surround the entire perimeter. There were also several people on the roof and some in the windows. Whoever owned the 3-storey house in front of him wasn't just anyone starving.

He noticed movement on the ground floor. They began to light oil lamps and the servants ran to and fro with what appeared to be dishes and food. Underneath his invisibility bracelet he watched in surprise as a ninja from Kusagakure appeared, looking around intently. Was Kusagakure involved in the kidnapping? As far as Seina knew, Kusa had an alliance with Konoha. Why risk breaking the alliance by kidnapping a child? Now Seina was at a crossroads because her mission was to rescue Hakuseki and kill his captors. Whoever they were.

Another option would be to kill all the captors and people involved and leave the ninja alive. They would have failed their mission, but they would have no need to kidnap Hakuseki again because their client would be dead.

"Are you really going to leave them alive?" These guys have betrayed your alliance. They deserve punishment.

"And what do you want me to do, Kurama?" They continue to be our allies. I can't disassemble it MYSELF without the consent of the Hokage.

"If you don't punish them in some way, they'll think Konoha is weak, that they can do whatever they want without repercussions because you're allies. What you should do is kill them without them having proof that Konoha is behind their murder.

"As soon as Hakuseki returns to his family safe and sound, they'll know it was us.

"That's right. They will know that their actions have been punished, and yet they will have no evidence to end your alliance.

Seina pondered Kurama's words deeply. In fact, her first idea had been to kill them, but the issue of alliance stopped her in her tracks. The truth is that Kurama was right. Letting them go without punishment, without punishment, would show Konoha's weakness against Kusa. He knew that large villages had the prestige they had for their actions. Great nations were "untouchable" in large part because they were infamous. Anyone could attack Konoha, but everyone knew that Konoha would retaliate as soon as it could, and whenever it had done so, it had wiped out foreign armies to such an extent that decades later they still looked at Konoha with nervousness and resentment despite not being the largest military power.

They didn't have the largest army, unlike Kumo, but they did have the largest number of ninja with different kekkei genkai. The Hyuga, Uchiha, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Uzumaki, Inuzuka, Kurama, Akimichi, Senju, etc etc. It was very difficult to fight an entire country of ninjas with genetic advantages. A single Uchiha was capable of bringing an entire platoon of enemies under his genjtusu. If you added to that all the other clans...

No. He couldn't leave those Kusa ninjas alive. Not that he cared much either, as he had to continue to show strength while representing the village. As long as Konoha was powerful, fewer people would threaten her family. That, really, was all that mattered to him.

She pitched her tent in a safe place, left a couple of clones there to take care of the boy once she rescued him, and waited for night to fall completely so she could go unnoticed in front of all the civilians. It wasn't until the family went to the large dining room to eat that they heard something useful.

"I told you not to," a woman's voice whispered.

"What else could I do?"

"At least you could have left it all up to the ninja instead of intervening!"

"Calm down. Now they're here protecting us, aren't they?

"If you think they won't be able to find him, you're stupider than I thought.

"Be careful how you talk to me, woman," the man hissed. I'm doing this for our family.

"No. You're doing it for yourself.

The conversation was settled. There was a tense silence that he was able to perceive even from outside the house. Despite not seeing them, he understood that they must be a couple or married couple arguing about the kidnapping. From what he heard, Kusa did not appear to have kidnapped the child but the civilian. The ninjas were just protecting them from the man's sh*t by kidnapping and sending a note so happily. How useless. He had even given a locality near his home for the exchange.

Hours later, when everyone was asleep except for one of the ninja and a regiment of civil guards, he approached the house. He entered through an open window of someone in the service, in the east wing. He watched the sleeping woman with calculating eyes. Servants were dedicated to obeying their boss's orders, but they were still people with a will of their own and generally knew more than their "masters" realized. He wasn't surprised. Many times they were treated as invisible beings, even though they heard and knew everything that happened in the house.

Much to his chagrin, he killed her with an avada kedravra. It didn't take long for him to eliminate all the servants as they were all asleep and none of them noticed his presence. Since he used his magic and no one screamed as he died, the ninjas didn't find out that he had infiltrated inside the house. About 20 minutes later there was no one alive in the servants' wing.

He used one of his summons to observe the house, seeing how there was a ninja dozing in front of the owners' door and another by their open window. The one who was awake was guarding the entrances periodically. He had to use the locator spell to distinguish a secret entrance in the house's private library. Instead of opening it, he sent one of his creatures to examine the place for possible traps.

He saw through his eyes a narrow, steep corridor that was pitch black. The end of the tunnel forked into 2. One cell was empty, while the other was the kidnapped child sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor. The stone walls had no windows. The only entrance was a metal door, armored, with a small padlocked door through which, surely, food was passed. He stared with disgust at the buckets that had been given to the prisoner to relieve himself. One filled with a little urine and the other for feces.

Luckily, it seemed that the cubes were changed regularly. Probably one of the servants. He had done well to kill them all. Above all, seeing the chains that surrounded the child and tied him to one of the walls.

He teleported with the hiraishin to the cell. The boy didn't even realize he wasn't alone. Despite being pale, bruised, and thin, he was still sleeping soundly. She silenced him with a spell and opened his chains with an alohom*ora. A hiraishin later and the boy disappeared from there as if by magic. He returned to the servants' wing to regroup. With the child out, he could act more comfortably.

He crawled up the wall hiding his chakra with his magic. The ninja sitting on the roof in front of his client's window didn't even realize he was there. First he petrified him with a colorless spell, so that he could not move as soon as he saw the green glow of his curse.

"Petrificus totalus." Avada kedavra.

He faded the window pane without making a sound. It took him exactly 5 seconds to walk slowly to the marriage bed. The woman, curiously, turned around at that moment. Maybe she was more perceptive than her husband and the ninjas of Kusagakure, maybe she couldn't sleep... Be that as it may, he opened his eyes in the darkness and looked ahead of him, in his direction, as if he could anticipate what was going to happen. As soon as his eyes fell to the window through which he had entered, he blinked. He watched curiously as his victim's brain struggled to wake up as it realized something was going on and he couldn't tell what.

He saw the second when the woman realized there was no glass. She opened her mouth to scream, but Seina was quicker. The flash of green light momentarily lit up the room. The door burst open and the ninja who was supposed to protect them and who had been resting behind their door frame entered.

He glanced around the room. First to the customers, who seemed to be asleep, then to the room, then in the direction of the window where his companion was.

"Petrificus totalus."

The ninja fell to the ground with a worried expression. It took another 5 seconds to kill the only remaining living people in the room. He waited for the sound of the body falling to the ground to catch the last ninja's attention. It appeared as an exhalation up the stairs. Seina was waiting for him on top of the doorframe.

"Empire."

The unknown ninja stopped dead in his tracks. He tried to battle her without success. Not only did he not know what was going on, but he was much weaker than she was mentally.

"Kill the civilians protecting this house. Don't leave anyone alive. Then kill yourself.

He turned around as if nothing had happened, a kunai in his hand. Seina barely had time to climb out of the window and onto the roof that the screams began to reach her ears. There were nearly 40 spear-wielding warriors, but none were enough to take down a ninja who was moving faster than his eyes could see. They dropped like flies in a few minutes. He watched as the last ninja put the kunai around his neck and cut it off himself, propelled by his command.

Mounted on a tree, she verified with the spell of auras that they were all dead. When he didn't see any aura for 30 meters around, he went to the tent. His clones had sedated the boy and treated his wounds. His dirty clothes had been changed and washed with a sponge, apparently.

He had to deliver him to his parents in Konoha, so he simply took him in his arms and used the hiraishin to safely return to the village.

"It was quick," the ninja in the log remarked as he saw her return.

"Those who kidnapped him were frankly idiots," she said. He carried the boy on his shoulder as he searched with his other hand.

The chunin hissed a laugh before letting her into the village. He hurried to his feet, knowing that the parents would be very worried about getting their son back, and went to the missions department. He held the son for only 5 minutes when both parents stormed through the door. The mother was crying profusely, and seemed to have been crying for hours. The father, on the other hand, seemed to deflate from relief at the sight of his son alive. Even he had red eyes from shedding tears in solitude.

"Why don't you wake up?" The lady asked in the air.

"I gave him a sleeping pill so he wouldn't wake up in the middle of—" their rescue. You will wake up within a couple of hours.

"Are they all dead?" The man asked directly, almost maliciously. She nodded. Not bad.

"Thank you very much, shinobi-san. We are indebted to Konoha.

Her clients left, probably in the direction of the hospital, and she collected her pay. He went home to rest.

chapter 77

When he left the hospital on Friday, where he now helped with complex operations in addition to regenerating limbs and organs, he realized that Sasuke and Naruto should be about to finish their test in the desert. Just a couple more days and they would be back home.

That afternoon he went in search of Karin to continue training his adamantine chains.

"Try pushing your chakra out of a point on your body in the form of a chain. Focus on just one. You'll see how hard it is to master it.

Seina listened to him. He closed his eyes as he imagined a chain in his right hand. He pushed his chakra into his hand, just as he did with ninjutsu when he pushed the chakra into his mouth. Suddenly, he felt something very strange. It was as if he could feel the chain coming out of his arm, from the tenketsu in his hand. He opened his eyes as he saw Karin launch herself the other way with a scream, dodging her chain that flew out at full speed.

"Wow! You've done it!

He smiled at the sight of the medium-sized chain, identical to the one in his imagination. It was golden, shimmering, with a braided pattern similar to that of a pendant. The tip, however, ended in a sharp, double-edged triangular blade with a kunai-like beak. All of it shone wrapped in chakra.

"Unbelievable," she said when she saw her new creation. It's hard to control, though. If I don't focus on it, I notice how it will disappear.

"That happens to me all the time. It's the lack of practice.

"Try using our combined chakras.

He vanished his chain. He was always curious about what would happen if he used the Kurama chakra for certain things, so he didn't think twice. He molded both chakras equally, and called back the chain in his right hand. Karin gasped as she sensed the difference instantly because of her abilities. Seina, meanwhile, examined the new chain. It was amber in color and gleamed bright with the power of a bijuu.

He sent her to the nearest tree. The chain swooped down so fast on his bullseye that he barely saw it. The tree was torn to shreds as the adamantine chain hit it like a whip. The next tree, which he stabbed with the chain, exploded.

"Wow," she exclaimed, totally delighted. He noticed Kurama's excitement at seeing the destruction of their combined powers.

"I've never seen my chains do anything like this," Karin said, looking at the sawdust tree. My chains cut, yours destroy.

"It must be Kurama's chakra.

"You should try to try them as a defense, too."

That's how Seina spent the whole afternoon with Karin, testing the chains. When she wore them without Kurama's chakra, the chains more closely resembled Karin's. They were more... docile, less malicious. He could cut down a tree in the same way, but not blow them up so violently. He tried summoning them elsewhere in his body. The easiest thing was the stomach, the back, and the hands. I didn't know why. Perhaps why ninjas molded the chakra in the stomach and were more accustomed to using the tenketsu of their hands?

Attacking with the chains was also much easier than defending with them. It was like throwing a kunai. Protecting oneself with the chains was like trying to stop a shuriken with a new arm. Strange. It would take practice to use a single chain. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to use more than one.

"I'm crushed," she complained hours later. I think I'm going home to rest.

"I'm not surprised. You've spent the last 5 hours training," Karin shook her head. By the way, the day after tomorrow your Suna team is back, right?

"Yes. I can't wait to hear how it went.

"Do you think that one of these days we could try—" meet again? I promise to behave in front of Naruto and Sasuke.

"Of course. In fact, you could accompany me to the front door to greet them, if you want. That way I could introduce you to my friends.

"Really?"

"Sure," he reiterated. I'd thought about it before, but I was looking for a situation that wouldn't be too uncomfortable for you.

"I'd like to walk you to the entrance!"

"It's all right.

As promised, Karin accompanied her to the entrance of the village on Sunday. There he found Shikamaru waiting lazily leaning against a tree. He saw them coming from afar with some curiosity.

"Shikamaru, this is my distant cousin, Karin Uzumaki.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a little bow. Seina has told me a lot about all of you.

"I'm glad Seina and Naruto have found someone else in their family.

"How long have you been here?"

"Just a few minutes. I imagine they'll come before the sun goes down.

They waited longer than expected as they talked about Karin's past. Well, Karin's non-confidential past. Shikamaru, who was no fool, knew that they were hiding something. Still, he was empathetic enough not to ask Karin there. She knew that sooner or later he would overwhelm her with questions to satisfy her curiosity.

"So, you like Konoha?" Shikamaru finally asked.

"Yes. Much more than Kusa.

"Look! Here they come! She said as she saw them appear on the horizon.

Karin and Shikamaru turned to look west. They watched them approach in silence, listening to the laughter come closer as they walked in the direction of the village. As soon as they turned to look at the doors, they saw them standing there.

"Nee-chan! Naruto shouted.

He started to run before the amused gaze of those present. Kakashi didn't even try to stop him. Seina waited with a smile on the entry line. She had to counter her brother's impulse as he pounced on her.

"We made it through the first and second rounds, Seina-nee!"

"I knew you'd make it."

"Hi Karin!

"Congratulations, Naruto.

Shikamaru clicked his tongue just as the other genins appeared. In order not to make a fuss at the entrance, they made them pass and walk into the village. Sasuke, who finally came to his side, smiled in his direction with a small smile. Then, seeing Karin, he seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but hearing how she only congratulated him sincerely, he relaxed.

"Karin, let me introduce you to our friends," she said, seeing everyone staring at her distant cousin. The team of Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino are another team and then there's the team of Neji, Tenten, and Lee.

"Nice to meet you, Karin!" Lee exclaimed, sending him a thumbs up.

"Another girl at last!" Ino said. Tenten nodded fervently. We need to compensate for our numbers.

The others greeted Karin as if nothing had happened. Seeing how she was accepted without problems, Karin lost her temper and started talking to Ino, Tenten and Kiba. Like I knew it was going to happen. Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, Chouji, and Hinata were telling her and Shikamaru about their experience in the hellish desert of Suna.

"It would have been a lot harder if it weren't for the fact that we had your gift," Chouji assured her. I took a lot of food and water, especially water.

"Chouji is right," Hinata nodded. Thanks to you, we didn't have to spend hours looking for water in the middle of the desert.

"I only took about 20 2-liter bottles," Chouji told Hinata. And I finished them all!

"I'm not surprised. It was horribly hot," Sasuke confessed. Then he said mentally, looking at her. And I was wearing the enchanted clothes you gave me.

"And what have you done, nee-chan?"

"A rescue mission, working in the hospital, researching some things I put aside," he shrugged. Oh, and train with the chains.

"With chains?" Neji's voice came from behind him.

"Adamantine chains," he said.

Hinata gasped at the sound of it, while Neji looked surprised. Chouji, on the other hand, didn't seem to know what he was talking about.

"They're the chains worn by the Uzumaki clan!"

"Exactly. I've only summoned one so far, but I'll keep training.

They talked for a while longer before saying goodbye to each other. They were all tired from the exam and the trip, so they promised to see each other for another day. Seina, however, highly doubted that they would meet in the coming weeks. As soon as they recovered from the fatigue they would start training for the next 3 weeks before returning to Suna for the final fight.

When they arrived home, leaving Kakashi behind to talk to the other jonin sensei, Naruto and Sasuke told him something they hadn't dared to say in public.

"We have to tell you something we saw in the chunin exam," Sasuke began, sitting down on the couch.

"Maybe you'd better see for yourself."

They both opened the bond to him as much as possible and showed him the series of memories. He saw the outward journey, his visit to the village, the written exam, the preliminary round, the meeting with Team 10, and Ino's words about a greenish-haired nutcase with orange eyes who killed a giant scorpion with a kunai for fun... As soon as he heard those words, he knew who he was talking about. With that description, and so young, he could only be talking about Fu, the jinchuriki of Chomei. Sasuke, and then Naruto, had thought the same thing thanks to seeing her memory of meeting her in Takigakure. Even so, they didn't see her in person until days after the start of the test in the hellish desert.

Seina watched one of her team's fights with curiosity and attention. Apparently, they had heard screams from afar and had run into Neji's team, who saw with the byakugan something strange in the distance. What had caught everyone's attention was a match between Gaara, Fu, and an unknown guy with Suna's ninja gang who was trying to extract Shukaku from him. He watched as they defeated him all with a strange feeling in his chest.

"If he had succeeded, your friend would be dead," Kurama said sternly.

Luckily, the guy had been captured and no one had been hurt. He knew he would eventually be interrogated and, perhaps, executed. What worried her was that her brother had been there, and he was also a jinchuriki. Until now, it had not been considered that someone would try to extract their bijuus. As far as she knew, the last time anyone tried it was with her mother on the night of her birth. It had been almost 13 years, so you could say it was something out of the ordinary.

"The fact that any genin should have tried so boldly in his own village is troubling. If it really is a genin.

"You're right. It is clear that he has not acted alone.

Sasuke and Naruto finished showing him their memories until they left Suna.

"Well?" What do you think? Sasuke asked.

"Which is worrisome, obviously. Just when Gaara is getting along better with the Shukaku, who is no longer giving him trouble, someone tries to extract it from him. Why?

Naruto blinked his face in surprise. He and Sasuke exchanged glances.

"You're right. It hadn't occurred to me to think of it that way.

They talked a while longer about the chunin exam and their training with the chains, which was the only new thing I could tell them that they didn't already know. He heard the door open. Kakashi walked through the door closing his p*rn book at the same time.

"Well, guys. I've already got someone to train you individually," he smiled as he appeared through the doorframe.

"Really!?" Who is it?

"You, Naruto, will be trained by Yugao and you will be trained by Sasuke by Anko.

"Anko?" The madwoman with the kunai? He asked, his face a little pale.

Seina and Naruto stifled a laugh at the sight of his concern. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Anko's new nickname.

"The madwoman of the kunai?"

"In the previous examination Chunin threatened someone and then sucked a kunai like a psychopath," she smiled from ear to ear. I can't wait to see what he teaches Sasuke.

Kakashi snorted a laugh at such an absurd explanation. He sat down on the couch after grabbing a drink so he could continue talking to them about his workout.

"Anko may be a little... Questionable, what ninja isn't?, but he'll teach you a lot of things. You'll see. You need opponents other than the ones you're used to to improve. Naruto has never fought with an expert in kenjutsu and infiltration like Yugao, while you, Sasuke, will be fine with fighting someone unpredictable to push your limits with the sharingan.

"Hn. Okay.

"When do we start?" Naruto asked, rubbing his hands.

"The day after tomorrow, Tuesday." Take the rest of your rest day, as well as tomorrow. There's no point in starting a new workout stressed.

That's how, to de-stress, they ended up playing a board game arguing about who was cheating. As if they didn't all cheat! Seina went to sleep with a smile on her face after having spent the entire afternoon with her family.

The next day, since no one had anything to do, except Kakashi who had to arrange Yugao and Anko's papers so that they would have no missions for the next 3 weeks, they spent the morning in the pool. He conjured a net to play volleyball at the request of Naruto, who challenged them both for a 2-on-1 match.

"Ah! You don't have to throw it with so much power!

"One more point for the winning team!" She exclaimed, high-fiving Sasuke, both smiling. Didn't you say you could beat us even if you were alone?

"As long as you don't use your brute strength!" Naruto shouted. You're going to sh*t. Kage bunshin no jutsu.

Sasuke and Seina cracked up laughing as they saw Naruto's clone appear out of nowhere to help him win. The fierce fight to emerge as the volleyball winner continued for a few hours until they were discovered by Kakashi.

"Who's supposed to win?" His voice asked out of nowhere.

He was watching them from the top of the roof, his book in his hand. Naruto pouted and didn't say anything because, even with his clone, he was still losing miserably to Sasuke's sharingan and his chakra-augmented brute strength. Sasuke predicted where he was going to fall, with their open bond she saw it too, and he shot so hard that Naruto could only dodge the ball most of the time unless he wanted to break his arms or fade his clone from the impact.

"How am I going to win against these two cheaters?" He muttered quietly to himself.

They started laughing in his face again. Hours later, when they were completely wrinkled, they got out of the pool to eat something. Seina could hear her stomach rumbling with hunger as they prepared an impromptu barbecue in the back garden. To everyone's astonishment, Sasuke decided to take care of making the meat, and it turned out to be edible. Not that he had to do much except turn over and turn the pieces of meat she'd seasoned, but it started somewhere.

"You'll cook by yourself, Sasuke," she said.

—…

He saw the pale, somewhat green faces of Kakashi and Naruto and had to look away from laughing again. Sasuke pretended that he hadn't seen them, tongs in hand, very focused on the conjured barbecue.

"I must admit it's not bad," Kakashi confessed when they had eaten in the garden.

—Hn.

"It's the first time you've cooked something decent, he's afraid.

—…

Sasuke sent him a murderous look as he ate his piece of meat.

"I can't believe you're 3 weeks away from promotion," she smiled.

"We'll be able to do quests with you right now, nee-chan!"

"That is, if Tsunade-sama or Shikaku-sama wants to put you together," Kakashi interrupted. He watched Naruto deflate and Sasuke frown, "but there's a good chance you'll do a mission or two together.

"Just a few?"

"Seina is jonin. He hasn't done B-rank missions in over half a year," his master shrugged. You'll be doing B-Rank missions at first, so I doubt you'll be put together, but in A-Rank missions you might team up.

"How long will we be doing B-rank missions?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"I'd say a short time. As I already told you, despite being genins, you have had the qualities of a chunin for months. You've been doing C-rank missions and some B-rank missions. Which is unheard of for a genin. Tsunade-sama is smart. Your talent won't waste much more time on low-ranked missions.

"And do you think he'll put them with me?"

"Yes. Remember that this team, Team 7, has a specialization like Team 10 or 8. Your specialization is your adaptability. You're the most versatile team of all when you're together: you can track, fight, interrogate, infiltrate, assassinate, and heal. Tsunade-sama will eventually bring you together again, you'll see.

"Things Seina can do on her own," Sasuke reminded her. Why would they put us together when one person is capable of doing it all?

"Because few missions are solo. The one who is taking advantage of Seina's rank, and skills, to carry out team missions alone is Commander Jonin. Look, anbu. Never, and there are no exceptions, are solo missions. They are always performed in a squad of 4.

"Why do you say he's taking advantage?" She asked curiously.

"Because he knows that with your powers and abilities you are not in danger by carrying out solo missions. This way, Konoha avoids having to pay the salary of a squad of 4 ninjas since they only pay you. That means that the money from the remaining 3 ninjas who are not on a mission with you can be used to accept a different mission. Which means that using yourself as a ninja is like using a 3x1 where Konoha always comes out on top.

"Hmmm... I had never thought of it like that.

"It only took me a couple of hours to find out about your rescue mission," Kakashi said. Did you know that such a mission, if not for your powers, should be done by a team of 4? Maybe some very experienced jonin could have pulled it off somehow, but you rescued your client in less than a day. Without even having to wake him up.

"How did you find out?" She sighed.

"The Chunins of the Missions Department. One was a colleague of Anko's.

"Ugh. Gossipy ninjas.

"It's part of being a ninja," he said guiltily. As if you didn't do the same.

Seina snorted a laugh. It was true. He had been spying on people ever since he was able to use his magic again in this world. He had nowhere to cling to reproach others for not eavesdropping on other people's conversations or sniffing out information. In fact, she was sure that it was Anko who provided her with the information without Kakashi having asked for it. He looked like a gossip, despite his psychopathic appearance.

The rest of the day passed relaxed. The 4 of them were at home without being called to missions or anything like that, so they took the opportunity to talk as much as possible before Naruto and Sasuke started their new training.

When Wednesday arrived, Seina didn't have time to say goodbye to them because she was called to another mission. She thought it was another one of her solo missions, but when she arrived at the Hokage's office she found that she was the last to arrive. There he found a lot of people: Kakashi, Yamato, Hayate, Shikaku, Shizune, the Hokage, and even a pig.

He raised an eyebrow in the direction of the pig in the pink vest and pearl necklace. I hadn't seen him for a long time.

"No way. "You're here at last," the Hokage told him.

"I just found out.

"Whatever," he waved a hand disinterestedly. You're here for a new mission. A confidential one. You are all loyal to Konoha, so you've been tasked with finding our enemies' spy bases in the Land of Fire and... Take.

"Take them?" Hayate asked with a hint of surprise.

"Yes. This has to do with Kakashi and Seina's previous mission. They went to the Hot Springs country to stop the illegal construction of a Kumo base," he explained to Hayate and Yamato. Thanks to Seina's ingenuity, and powers, instead of destroying her and attacking Kumo's ninjas head-on, they waited until they finished construction to eliminate the few enemies that were left behind and... hide the base.

"Before you ask," Shikaku stepped forward, stifling a clear sigh. Seina is able to hide anything with her powers. When she does, only she can reveal the location of what is hidden. It doesn't matter how hard you try to locate. All traces of what is hidden vanishes.

"Exactly. That means Konoha now has a new base in the country of the Hot Springs thanks to Kumo, and no one but us knows where it is.

Seina felt the gaze of Hayate, Yamato, and the hidden anbus on her face. She had to make an effort not to blink at the sensation of being watched.

"Once you know this..." I want you to comb the entire land of Fire for enemy bases. Each and every one of them. Eliminate the ninjas that reside in them, take control of the base. So, Seina," her teacher stared at her, "I want you to hide her location. You have about 3 weeks to complete the mission. Then you'll return to rest and for Kakashi to accompany me to Suna to represent Konoha, and his team. You can leave as soon as possible. Kakashi, you will be the leader of this mission.

They bowed before leaving. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the magic barriers momentarily deactivated when the door was opened before being activated again.

"I guess we're all ready, aren't we?" Kakashi asked in the air, seeing that everyone had one of their bottomless backpacks. The others nodded. Then we will depart directly to the north gate.

"What's the plan?"

"Konoha is more unprotected in the north, so we'll start there and then work our way down. "We have a lot of ground to cover, so let's take the air with the help of Seina's summons," her master said as they walked north. He looked at her, who was walking on his left side. Could you teleport us to the border with the country of the Hot Springs? Then we'll keep talking about our plan.

She nodded. They walked silently in the direction indicated. Once they went a little deeper into the forest, Seina used the hiraishin to teleport them all to the designated spot. When they arrived, they made sure they were alone, despite the fact that their magical barriers were still active.

"Perfect. Now we can talk without anyone listening to us.

"You plan to use Seina's locator jutsu to discover possible bases, don't you?" Yamato said, sitting down on a stone.

"I have to say something," she interceded. The locator may not be entirely reliable.

"Why do you say that?" Yamato asked.

"Because if Seina tries to find an enemy base, for example, in Kumo, she might tell us the direction, but she doesn't tell us the distance. Maybe the base is on the other side of the country or outside our borders, right? Kakashi asked rhetorically, showing that he was more attentive than he sometimes seemed. She nodded in surprise. What we can do is look for "Konoha enemy bases." Bases may appear for people who don't belong to any ninja villages, but avoiding them and marking them on a map should be enough for Tsunade-sama.

"Well seen. Then she can do whatever she wants with that information.

"Definitely. Here's what we'll do...

They listened to Kakashi develop his plan to use the 3 weeks as efficiently as possible. Seina, as she listened to him, sighed as she realized what this mission entailed.

Chapter 12: 78-82

Chapter Text

chapter 78

As I expected, the mission wasn't a piece of cake. They flew for hours in the direction of the nearest "Konoha enemy base." As soon as they arrived, watching from the sky, they saw that they were just petty bandits who were dedicated to plundering some merchants in Konoha. Hence the "enemies" of the village. They marked it on Hayate's map and continued.

The next base was outside the boundaries of the land of Fire, so much to their chagrin, they left it behind without even finding out what it was. It continued to fly west. The idea was to comb the entire terrain as they flew from right to left and then left to right, and successively as they descended from north to south.

It was heavy work. Luckily, since they were flying at high speed, they weren't subjecting themselves to so many dangers, nor were they getting tired. In addition, bird's-eye vision was often enough for them to decide whether what they had found was of importance, or not, without having to go ashore. But that didn't mean it wasn't deathly boring to have to be conscious maneuvering his dragon.

"You know what they say about 'the third time is the charm'?" Yamato said, looking down at the ground when they found the third potential enemy barracks. I think they're right.

"And it's only taken us 2 days," she replied sarcastically, "and countless miles flying without a break.

And he meant it. Right now they were at the height of the Tenchi Bridge. The same one he flew over a few days ago on his last mission. They had traversed much of the north without stopping as, surprisingly, there were fewer bases than expected. Maybe why didn't it pay to have a base so close to the border? I didn't know, nor did I feel like thinking about it. He reckoned that they had only covered 1/6 of the territory of the land of Fire, so he had to reserve his mental strength while he could.

"I count only one squad," Kakashi said with the sharingan activated. They look like Iwa ninjas.

"They're not using it. They're just maintaining it.

"It seems... We're going to have the disadvantage if we fight them from the ground. No doubt they will have all kinds of traps and those stones that hide the base I am sure serve more than just to hide them.

"Can I intervene?" She asked, raising a hand as if she were in class.

"What are you going to do?"

"Send them to sleep." Obviously you'll notice since it's not an immediate jutsu, but once you get the jutsu... catch, they won't be able to resist and within a couple of seconds they'll be unconscious. From up here we should be safe as soon as they try to defend themselves.

"Do it. "I want to see this," said his master as he bent down to look at everything.

"Somnus."

Seina focused her magic in the direction of the enemy base. He tried to gradually increase the power of his spell, but as soon as one of them staggered at his post they all knew something was wrong. The mentally strongest resisted more than just the team's dead weight.

"Genjutsu!"

"Kai!

"Kai! The first to fall under his spell fell to the ground snoring. It doesn't work!

"Activate the barrier!"

They heard another dull thud against the ground and how the two remaining ninjas, with sleepy movements, tried to activate some kind of defense. Seeing that they had already been discovered, Seina increased the potency of her magic. They fell like flies to the ground. There was silence in the enemy base, broken only by the snores and deep breaths of the ninja.

"Have I ever told you that I'm glad you like me?" Yamato asked when they saw that no one was going to wake up.

Kakashi snorted a laugh. He sent a couple of clones to analyze the supposed traps and barriers. One of them purposely stepped on one of the traps that he must have been able to see with his eye activated. The other approached the nearest Iwa ninja to check that he was truly unconscious. The ninja didn't stop snoring.

At the end of the 5 minutes, after the clone entered the stone fortress, Kakashi, the original, stood up on his dragon's back.

"We can go in.

They fell to a safe point. Yamato and Hayate executed the ninjas with a pair of strategic senbons while she followed Kakashi's base inside.

"What do you think they'd do here?"

"Wait. Perhaps it was also a resting place for Iwa ninjas who crossed our borders. After all, they are in enemy territory.

He understood what I was talking about. Wait. Wait for a new war where a base on foreign territory would be needed. Of course.

"Luckily there don't seem to be many traps within the base itself," his master remarked. Let's take as much documentation as possible and get rid of everything that could be potentially dangerous.

Half an hour later, they had combed the 3 hidden plants of the Iwa base from top to bottom. Hayate and Yamato had dismantled quite a few traps and activated others to consume.

"It looks like it's all done.

"It's Seina's turn."

It didn't take him a minute to lay the foundation under the fidelus. They left everything clean, so as not to let anyone snoop around in the middle of the forest, and left.

"I can't believe we found an Iwa base in the land of Fire," Hayate said that night, inside Kakashi's tent as they ate dinner. And activate!

"So you can see that we can never trust each other..."

"Still, I was hoping for more bases," Yamato confessed. We have covered quite a lot of ground in 3 days to only find a barracks of these characteristics.

"Perhaps the most worrisome bases are on the border with the country of Fire, but in the other countries. They're not under our jurisdiction, so we can't do anything about them," Kakashi said. For now, of course.

Seina, after dinner, went to take a shower. She was combing her hair when Kakashi knocked on the door. Being close by, she opened it herself.

"Hey.

"Hey," he smiled amused in her direction. Can I come in?

He let him pass without a word.

"Is something wrong?"

Does something have to happen to come and see you?" He asked. I've just missed you.

"aw. If I told Yamato or Hayate, they wouldn't believe me," she laughed. I've missed you too.

"I know it's not the right thing to do, considering we're on a mission, but we haven't spoken alone in weeks.

Seina took him by the hand, tossed the comb onto the bedside table, and dragged it to her bed. Kakashi got carried away. He lay down on his bed and hugged her against him. They were silent for a while. Seina stroked his bare hand, listening to it purr under his ear.

"It's going on forever..."

"What?"

"Grow up. I've already done it once. You can't imagine what it's like to do it again.

"That's true. I can't imagine it.

Not that he was the most suitable person to talk about childhoods, considering that he had practically not had one due to the death of his mother, the suicide of his father, the murder of Rin, the accident of Obito, and the death of his parents. Just thinking about it, she squeezed his hand, trying to comfort him. He felt a kiss on his head.

"Seina... Do you think about the future?" He asked her suddenly.

"In what sense?" About our relationship?

"Yes.

"Of course I think.

"We've never talked about the most important things.

"How...?"

"Like whether or not you want to have children, if you want to get married, if you would still carry your mother's name with all that entails..."

"I'd like to have children and get married, would you?"

"I've never even thought about it that much, but when I think about having a serious relationship with you, I can easily imagine it," he confessed. Every time I think about it, the more I want to. To get married and have children with you.

"So, we both agree that we want to have children with each other, don't we?"

"It seems so.

"As for the last name..." I already led 2 families in my previous life. I don't care if I'm the leader of the Uzumaki clan or not. Even if I passed the leadership to Naruto, I would still support him in everything he needed, and I know he would do well.

"Anyway, if you took my last name, you'd still be a clan leader. You couldn't get rid of that responsibility so easily," Kakashi said, choking out a laugh.

"I'm going to teach my brother everything I know, and learn what I have to do in this world myself. If something were to happen to me, I know I would have taught him everything he needed. Regardless of whether I leave my last name or not.

"Good idea, but I'd rather not think about that scenario." He pressed her against him. No "just in case something happens to you".

"Back to the subject. I would have to talk to my brother to get him to accept the position. He wouldn't have any choice, really.

"Then would you accept my last name?"

Kakashi asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. She raised her head to look him in the eye. He didn't want to leave any doubts.

"Yes.

She bent over him, momentarily lowering his mask, and laid her lips innocently on his. He felt him kiss her a couple of times, cradling her face with his hand.

"I should let you sleep."

"I know.

If he had been at home, he might have asked her to stay, but they weren't at home. They were in the middle of a mission with Yamato and Hayate. He pulled up her mask, giving her one last kiss on the cheek, and let her rise.

"Good evening, Kakashi.

"Good night, honey.

He went to sleep, unable to suppress the stupid smile on his face.

The next day they had breakfast and went hunting again. It didn't take long for them to find a new base, but it turned out to be abandoned. They also claimed it for Konoha after cleaning it from top to bottom of traps and old documents. After that, they flew for hours except for the small lunch stop at noon. They flew all afternoon, bored, and night came.

"We'll get to Konoha tomorrow," Hayate said, looking at the map as the others set the table. At this rate we are not going to need the 3 weeks that Tsunade-sama has given us.

"I don't think so. I estimate that in about 10 days we will be back in Konoha. If we had had to go on foot, maybe we would have even fallen short with 3 weeks... We will continue a couple of hours after dinner and stop before midnight.

No sooner said than done. Seina yawned a while later, in the middle of the dead night, as they flew under her disillusioning spell Konoha. On the way, they found a bandit base and an illegal flea market hidden in the mountains.

"Tsunade-sama will rub her hands together as soon as she sees this," Yamato hissed a laugh.

For the fourth and fifth days of the mission, they flew over the area south of Konoha. Unsurprisingly, they found another bandit base. They always took advantage of the proximity to the village, and the merchants with money, to lay their foundations for stealing. That was why many genin and chunin were sent out of the village to deal with them on a regular basis. In fact, deterring bandits was an almost traditional mission of ninja villages.

"By now we should have covered 45% of the ground.

"About 2700 km?" Hayate calculated on the air.

"More or less. We must have another 3000 km to go south.

Seina didn't want to calculate how much that was in square miles or she would burst into tears.

At dawn the next day, they rose and resumed their work for the sixth day in a row. Immediately, as they approached the border with the land of the Rivers, they saw where their arrow was aimed. She and Kakashi exchanged a look, probably thinking the same thing. That's where Akatsuki was. That's where Itachi was, according to his locator on the pendant he gave her. It was crystal clear now that they were in the same place.

They had also detected another enemy base beyond the Amegakure border. Interestingly, this was also where one of the points marked on the map he found in Uzushiogakure was located. With some concern and disappointment, she realized that it would be dangerous to go alone to investigate it since she knew, thanks to her spell, that they had enemies inside.

Still, his arrow had pointed them to more than one base in all directions outside their borders. It was obvious that it was going to happen since all countries, enemies and allies, had their own bases within their territory. They had wasted more time searching for these clues outside their borders than locating some bases within them.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked, sitting next to him on his dragon's back. He smiled at her when he saw her yawn. Tired?

"Boring.

"Better to be bored than to have to fight," he said, putting an arm around his shoulders as Yamato and Hayate looked on somewhat surprised.

"I'm not arguing with you, but that doesn't mean it's still boring.

He yawned again. Its only function was to make the dragon fly in the direction its locator was pointing. Yamato and Hayate were in charge of looking for something suspicious under their heads, while Kakashi was in charge of keeping an eye on the sky in case something could put them in danger. So Seina didn't have to worry about much of anything except controlling the flight.

"Look, there's something strange down there," Yamato said, pointing his finger.

"It doesn't belong to the direction of Seina's jutsu.