Nearly four years had passed since that rainy night in Konoha. The boy who'd once fit in the crook of Tsunade's arm now ran ahead of her on dirt roads, asked the same question a hundred different ways, and somehow still had energy left over at the end of the day when everyone else wanted to sleep.
They were headed southeast, toward Onshimoto village near the border of the Land of Tea. It was known for its sushi and its sake, which was reason enough for Tsunade, and for its size, which was reason enough for Naoki, who had never seen a village bigger than the handful of small towns they'd passed through so far.
The sun hung low over the road, throwing long shadows across the dust. Tsunade led the way, her blonde pigtails swaying with each step. Shizune walked a little behind her, Tonton tucked in her arms, and between them Naoki bounced along like he hadn't been walking since sunrise.
"Hey, Tsuna-nee!" He said it like it was the first time he'd asked. "Can you help me learn how to use chakra? I wanna be a ninja and do all sorts of amazing jutsu!"
Tsunade didn't even look down. "We've talked about this, kid."
"But I'm almost four!"
"Almost isn't four." She said it flatly, the way you say something you've said a hundred times before. "And even if you were, your body can't handle what you're carrying. You've got more chakra in you right now than most Chunin have their whole lives. Try to mold that at your age and you're not learning a jutsu, you're tearing your own coils apart."
Naoki's face fell, but only for a second. "Then how do I ever start?"
Before Tsunade could answer, Shizune spoke up, her voice gentle but firm. "It's not that you can't ever start, Naoki-kun. It's that we have to be careful about how." She glanced at Tsunade before continuing. "Your coils are still growing. If you push too much chakra through them too fast, especially with reserves like yours, they can tear, or swell, in ways that don't heal clean. It's not like a scrape you can just wait out. It could affect you for the rest of your life."
Naoki went quiet at that, his excitement dimming into something more thoughtful.
Tsunade nodded, taking over. "That's why, when we do this, it's not going to be you just molding chakra and hoping for the best. I'll draw up a seal — an absorption seal. It pulls away anything past what your coils can safely take before it does damage. It's slow, and it's not going to feel great, but it's the only way I'd trust doing this with someone your size." She glanced sideways at him. "I've seen an Uzumaki's coils overload before. It's not something I want to see happen to family."
Naoki didn't fully understand all of that, but he understood family, and that was enough to make him walk a little straighter.
"So I'll really get to start?" he asked.
"When I say you're ready. Not before." Tsunade fixed him with a look that had ended arguments with far tougher people than a not-quite-four-year-old. "And don't get a big head about it, understood?"
"Yay! Tsuna-neechan and Shizune-neechan are the best!" He was already forgetting the warning, bouncing a few steps ahead of them on the road.
As they crested the next hill, the village came into view below — rice fields stretching in every direction, the green stalks catching the light and swaying like something alive. Smoke rose from cooking fires scattered across the village, and even from this far off, Naoki could smell grilled fish and hear, faintly, the clatter of pans and the sounds of laughter.
"Wow," he said, eyes wide. "It's so big!"
Tsunade huffed a laugh and ruffled his hair. "Not as big as Konoha, kid. But it's got its charms."
They wound down into the village as the light started to fade. Lanterns flickered on one by one along the main street, casting warm orange light across the packed dirt road. The air was thick with woodsmoke and frying batter, the sharp bite of vinegar from a sushi stall, and underneath all of it, the warm smell of sake drifting from every open doorway. Naoki's stomach growled loud enough that Shizune laughed.
They stopped outside a pub strung with faded paper lanterns, laughter and the clink of dishes spilling out through the open doors.
"Tsuna-neechan," Naoki tugged at her sleeve. "Why are we at a pub? I thought you were gonna help me with my chakra."
"Patience." Tsunade smirked down at him. "Food first. You've been talking my ear off all day, you've gotta be starving."
"I wasn't talking your ear off!" His cheeks puffed out. "I was just... asking a lot. Politely."
Tsunade barked out a laugh, and even Shizune hid a smile behind her sleeve. "Sure, kid. Come on."
Inside, warmth wrapped around them first — the low crackle of a fire, the smell of grilled meat thick enough to taste, easy conversation rolling through the room. A waitress led them to a table in the corner.
"Three platters of your best sushi, the good sake, and juice for the kid," Tsunade said, not missing a beat. "And make it quick, we're starving."
The meal came fast and disappeared faster. By the time they stepped back out into the night air, the stars were already out, and Tsunade stretched with the satisfied groan of someone who'd eaten exactly as much as she'd wanted to.
"Shizune, pick up fuinjutsu paper, brush, and ink while we're here," she said. "I'll draw up the seal myself once we've got everything. It's too late to start tonight anyway — we'll rest up and get to it properly in the morning."
"Understood, Tsunade-sama." Shizune adjusted Tonton in her arms and looked down at Naoki. "Come on, Naoki-kun. Let's go find a shop before everything closes."
As they walked, Naoki glanced up at her. "Shizune-neechan, what's the seal actually going to do? Tsuna-nee said it pulls chakra away, but how?"
"Think of it like a sponge," Shizune said, choosing her words carefully. "When you mold chakra, some of it will flow into the seal instead of staying in your coils. That way, even if your body tries to push out more than it can safely handle, the seal catches the extra before it causes any harm. It won't stop you from learning. It'll just keep you safe while you do."
"So it's like... training wheels," Naoki said, testing the idea.
Shizune blinked, then laughed softly. "That's actually a good way to put it, Naoki-kun."
The shop, when they found it, was tucked into a quiet side street, its windows crowded with kunai and shuriken and coiled ninja wire that caught the lantern light. The smell of oiled metal and leather hit them the moment the door creaked open. Naoki's eyes went wide, taking in shelves stacked with scrolls, racks of blades, an entire wall given over to nothing but senbon.
Shizune watched him look around and let herself hope, quietly, that this time would be different.