The next day, Naruto and Seina were going to meet their temporary teachers for the first time while Sasuke stayed home resting, or so they thought.
"You! The pervy blockhead!"
"Pervy blockhead…?" Kakashi-sensei asked incredulously.
Seina felt a vein throb in her head when she saw who Naruto's new teacher was.
"One time I did my sexy no jutsu and this guy fainted from all the blood loss!"
"Your sexy no jutsu? What kind of technique is that?"
"NA-RU-TO…" Seina hissed. "I told you we would NEVER talk about that and you would NEVER do that technique again, or I would break both your legs."
Kakashi-sensei looked at her, surprised, while Naruto's new teacher blushed violently. Her jonin sensei raised an eyebrow at the reactions of everyone, and she exhaled heavily, gritting her teeth in anger.
"It's a jutsu Naruto created where he transforms into a naked girl. Since we're twins, his female form looks a bit like me in a few years. Not only did he teach that technique to Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, but he also showed it to THIS PERVERT!"
"…"
"Hahaha," Naruto laughed nervously, seeing Kakashi-sensei's face.
"Why don't we have a chat alone, Ebisu?" Kakashi-sensei said calmly, slamming his porn book shut with a fake smile.
The mentioned one followed him, unable to avoid it. They went far enough that she couldn't hear them, which was obviously her teacher's intention. When they returned, Ebisu was as pale as snow and seemed unable to look in her direction. Naruto jumped when Kakashi-sensei squeezed his shoulder. She knew, from their bond, that the grip was bordering on painful.
"And you. No using that jutsu, got it?" he whispered dangerously in his ear. "You don't want Seina to break your legs, right?"
"H-h-hai, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi-sensei let him go, clearly angry, then looked toward a tree. Seina turned to look at her new instructor. He was dressed identically to the other jonin but had some sort of facial armor on both sides of his face. He had brown hair and dark eyes and generally seemed like a friendly ninja.
"Ah, Tenzou. You're just in time," Kakashi-sensei said, putting an arm around his shoulders. "This is Seina."
"Nice to meet you, Tenzou-sensei," she said, bowing.
"Likewise, Seina. Let's go, we'll talk a bit about your training in private."
Seina said goodbye to Naruto, who was still arguing with Ebisu, and to Kakashi-sensei. She walked alongside Tenzou-sensei to a new training field, much further away from the village.
"This is the training field I usually use. Here we will have privacy to train without anyone spying on us. First of all…"
Seina watched in surprise as he used mokuton. Was Tenzou-sensei a Senju? She thought there were none left in the village for years.
"I know what you're thinking, but no, I'm not a Senju," Tenzou-sensei smiled. "My powers were a side effect of an experiment."
"Someone experimented on you? That's inhumane!" she growled, outraged.
"It is, but I'm alive and have this great ability, so it wasn't all misery. Do you know what Hashirama Senju used mokuton for?"
"To create Konoha's forests."
"And to control the Kyubi."
Seina raised an eyebrow as she realized where this was going. She remembered how she mentioned Kurama's wish to Kakashi-sensei and how, instead of freaking out, he looked thoughtful. Now she understood one of the reasons she was training with Tenzou-sensei. The chunin exam was a perfect excuse to give her this opportunity and at the same time focus on helping Sasuke with the sharingan. Not only that, he was giving Naruto and her experience with other elite ninjas. She suppressed the urge to click her tongue, realizing that, once again, the practical mentality of ninjas caught her off guard.
"You want us to train with Kurama," she stated, saying the Kyubi's name aloud for the first time in front of a stranger.
"Kurama? You mean the nine-tailed fox?"
"That's right. He has a name and feelings, like people."
"Kakashi-senpai mentioned something about your situation, but I never imagined you had, indeed, a relationship with your… guest."
"Ask him how he plans to do it. Will he remove the seal? Modify it?"
"Kurama asks how you plan to do it, if you'll remove the seal or modify it."
Tenzou-sensei looked at her with a blank expression, appearing somewhat sinister.
"You can talk to him," she nodded. "That might make things easier. I plan to modify the seal to allow a greater flow of his chakra."
"If what he says is true, you'll be able to take a large portion of my chakra. You must get used to it, or it could corrupt you, causing you to lose consciousness and transform into a kind of hybrid between a human and me."
"And if I succeed?"
"Then you'll maintain your human form but have my power at your disposal."
"But even then, you won't have access to the outside world," she said, confused. "Are there more steps to training with you?"
"Of course. Once you control that state, you'll have to release me from the seal," Kurama read her concern upon hearing this. "You'll still be my jinchuriki, unless someone extracts me from you, but I'll be able to come and go as I please and give you all my power."
"Wow... I see I have a lot of work ahead."
"Seina?" the jonin called her, bringing her back to reality. "You were talking to him."
"He told me everything I need to do. I have a long way to go."
"Let's put Kurama aside for now," Kakashi-senpai has given me a full report of your abilities so I can help you more efficiently. What do you know about your opponent?"
"He uses sound to attack and is quite fast. Other than that, I know little of his abilities. I saw him punch the air and break a genin's glasses. He also made him vomit even though the attack didn't physically hit."
"Mmm… I see. The best option will be to train with your ears covered. That way, you'll have an advantage, and his attacks won't be as effective. At the same time, we'll improve your speed and taijutsu, and we'll also train in ninjutsu. Senpai told me you have a water nature, but it wouldn't hurt to have another type of technique at your disposal. I myself am an expert in water and earth ninjutsu, so I hope to help you with that."
"Aren't we going to train in genjutsu?"
"No. We only have a month, and it seems you're immune to Kakashi-senpai's genjutsu, so I doubt a genin from Oto can defeat you with an illusion. Since you already have an advantage in that field, it's better to focus on other things. On another note, back to Kurama… I'd like to modify your seal and start working with his chakra too. If we train hard, you could have a significant advantage in the fight."
"When do we start?" she asked, bouncing in her seat.
"Now."
Tenzou-sensei made her fight against him using all her abilities. Except for magic, Seina gave it her all. She didn't know how long she fought the jonin, but she was determined not to lose within 10 minutes. Luckily, training with Kakashi-sensei had made her much stronger than she was just five months ago, and it seemed she was even surprising her new sensei.
"You've impressed me," he praised with a smile. "I see it won't be too hard to train you. Now that I know your level, we can start the real training."
They created a schedule for the entire month before starting to train. Seina mentally said goodbye to free time and classes at the hospital until further notice. He planned to train her for about 12 hours a day. She didn't know whether to applaud his dedication or cry. She hadn't even started and was already tired. Even so, she wasn't going to give up. This opportunity to train with a jonin different from her jonin-sensei for a month without missions or other obligations wouldn't come again.
That same day, they trained with clones, just as she had done since leaving the academy. Some trained kenjutsu and shurikenjutsu, others taijutsu and physical endurance and speed training, and the last group, which also included her, ninjutsu. Training without hearing anything was quite uncomfortable, but with her aura-seeing spells and chakra perception, she could counteract that disadvantage.
When the day ended, Tenzou-senpai examined her for injuries and let her go.
"Tomorrow I'll modify your seal, and we'll start working with Kurama's chakra too. Good night, Seina."
"See you tomorrow, sensei."
When she got home, she saw she was the last one to arrive.
"You're finally back," Naruto called, and she just groaned in exhaustion. "How did it go with that guy, Tenzou?"
"Great. He wants us to train 12 hours a day, can you believe it?"
"What!? That many hours? We're barely going to see you!"
"It's not like you're going to see Kakashi-sensei or me either, so…" Sasuke shrugged.
"You're going away for the whole month?" she asked, interested.
"I'm afraid so," Kakashi-sensei sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking thoughtful. "I have to tell you something about what's going on so you'll understand why I'm making these decisions."
"What's going on?" Naruto asked, frowning. "Why is everyone acting so weird?"
"It seems those three Grass ninjas you encountered in the exam weren't really them. They were impersonated by an exiled ninja from Konoha, Orochimaru," he raised a hand when he saw their horrified expressions. "From what we've discovered, he planned to take Sasuke. Fortunately for us, the fact that you passed the test so quickly saved your lives."
Seina and Naruto instantly looked at their teammate, who was white as a sheet.
"What do you mean? Kidnap him?" she asked.
"To literally take over his body. What's clear is that Orochimaru is infiltrated in Konoha."
"I see… You're taking Sasuke away from the danger."
"That's right. The fact that I can help him with his sharingan is another motivation, but yes. He isn't safe here. Orochimaru is hiding; we don't know where, but he's waiting for us to make a mistake. The other day Guy, Lee's teacher, saw that Kabuto guy lurking around the hospital. We don't know exactly what he was doing there because he escaped, but it's clear he was up to something and is working with Orochimaru."
"I knew that guy wasn't trustworthy," she hissed, recalling Kabuto's fake demeanor.
"Really?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "He seemed so normal!"
"He's a ninja, Naruto. Ninjas know how to blend in. Or should," Kakashi-sensei shot a pointed look at her brother. "Another reason I'm taking charge of Sasuke's training is his rival. Gaara. He is definitely the jinchuriki of the Ichibi. The worst part is that he doesn't have the same control over the bijuu that you do. He killed three genins in the forest alone, and since then, he's attacked other ninjas. That genin is a ticking time bomb. Luckily, thanks to your warning and our vigilance, no one has died outside the exam. Yet, at least..."
"How is all this going to end?" Seina asked, disliking all these coincidences.
"For now, the exam will proceed as scheduled. Each of you will have the permanent protection of a jonin for the month. Then we'll see. Oh, one more thing. It may seem unfair, but during this month, don't go anywhere alone except to train with your jonin-sensei. The village is full of strangers, some of them very dangerous."
Naruto and she nodded. She thought about Kakashi-sensei's words. She had dinner, showered, and went to bed. The following days were almost identical copies of each other. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei were gone. She woke up, had breakfast, and went to the training field where she spent the next 12 hours training, with an hour to eat her bento with Tenzou-sensei. At night, she got home, had dinner, showered, and went to bed. Naruto, who woke up a bit later than her, only saw her at night, and they barely had time to talk about their training with their mouths full.
The only thing that changed day by day was how much she was learning. By the fifth day, she had significantly improved her kenjutsu and taijutsu skills, and had learned two earth ninjutsu techniques: the rock concealment jutsu that Kakashi-sensei often used, and the earth wall jutsu. To increase her speed, Tenzou-sensei added more weight to her ankle weights, and to enhance her overall muscle endurance and strength, he made her swim against the current for hours, using a rock tied to her with a rope to push her limits.
"I find the level at which you're progressing very interesting," he said one afternoon while they rested for half an hour. "With the large number of shadow clones you can summon at once, you could learn all the ninjutsu I know in a year, or less, at this rate. The only limitation of ninjutsu is knowing how to mold chakra, practice, and having chakra reserves, and you meet all the requirements to become an expert."
"Do you mean I could learn a lot of ninjutsu?" she breathed deeply, lying in the grass.
"That's right. In a few years, you could become a true ninjutsu monster. If we add to that the fact that you're immune to genjutsu and that each passing day you're getting better at kenjutsu and taijutsu, you could go very far as a ninja. Don't be surprised if they try to recruit you for ANBU soon."
"Hn."
Not to mention how she planned to be a good medical ninja, use her magic, and train with Kurama. Yes, she could go very far.
"In fact, if you had been born during the Second War, you would already be a veteran ninja at your age. They wouldn't have wasted your talent in the academy for 6 years," he shook his head as he thought about it. "Come on. The break is over. Let your clones continue training ninjutsu while I teach you how to use earth element traps."
She got up reluctantly and gathered her strength for the second part of the day. Tenzou-sensei was just as strict as Kakashi-sensei when it came to real training. Sometimes, she almost didn't notice the difference between them until she realized that Kakashi-sensei was much more of a jerk when attacking. She wondered if they had ever been on the same team.
That same day, Naruto told her for the first time about a certain ero-sennin.
"How is it possible that you attract all the perverted ninjas in the village, Naruto?" she asked as they ate. "And what did you say his name was?"
"I think he said Jiraiya."
"Huh," she said, surprised. Could it be possible...? "And you say he agreed to train you?"
"That's right! He's going to teach me a lot of things! Did you know he can summon toads?"
"Mmm... he seems better than pervert number one," she thought aloud.
A few days later, Seina heard about him again. Apparently, he was trying to teach Naruto how to extract chakra from Kurama by forcing him to interact with him through a life-threatening situation.
"Are you telling me he threw you off a cliff?" she hissed, hearing Naruto's excited words, clearly unaware of the danger. "And what would have happened if you hadn't been able to use Kurama's chakra to save yourself? Why didn't he just modify the seal so you can access it?"
"Uh... I don't think he knows we can interact with Kurama-yin and Kurama-yang."
"Mmm... Could you give this to that pervert from me?" she asked sweetly.
She wrote a small letter with a prank spell and a countdown. Who did that Jiraiya think he was? From what she understood, he was a great ninja and an expert in fuinjutsu, so... why use drastic methods? She knew Naruto hadn't told him anything about Kurama because it was a secret he shared with her, too. But it also didn't seem like Jiraiya had bothered to ask Naruto if he had had an incident with Kurama before. Maybe he thought that, since nothing had happened before, he had to force the connection between them? What an idiot. That's what Naruto got for leaving the sensei Kakashi-sensei had found for him. She was sure that, perversion aside, Ebisu knew perfectly well what he could and couldn't do with her brother.
The next day, as expected, Naruto laughed during dinner as he explained how Jiraiya looked like a drag queen with the overdone makeup and the bubblegum pink hair that Seina had given him as a gift for almost killing her brother. She hoped he liked it because it would last him a whole week. The funniest part of it all, she thought maliciously, was that he himself couldn't even notice the difference in his appearance.
"You should have seen people's faces," Naruto laughed as he told her the story in a whisper. "One person even walked straight into a lamppost."
Seina saw it all through Naruto's thoughts. She ended up crying when she saw the thick-lipped makeup, heavy eyeshadow, and pompous fluorescent pink hair. Except for that incident, where Seina's letter was completely ignored, nothing else happened. The first week passed, then the second week, and the third week arrived.
As soon as she arrived at the training ground, she knew something was wrong judging by the serious expression on the jonin's face.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid your brother is in the hospital."
"What!?" she shouted. She had just seen him a couple of hours ago. "How is that possible? I have to go see him!"
"I'll accompany you to the village."
"How did you find out?"
"I passed near the hospital. I saw him with Jiraiya-sama this morning."
"That... old man," she hissed. "Him again?"
"Again?"
"A few weeks ago, he threw Naruto off a cliff to force him to use Kurama's chakra."
Tenzou-sensei sighed deeply upon hearing this.
"I will talk to him, Seina. It's clear he's not aware of your abilities."
Naruto was unconscious. Apparently, he had used too much chakra, even for him. She spent the whole afternoon with her brother, but he didn't wake up. The medic assured her he would wake up in 2 or 3 days and that he would have no lasting effects, fortunately. Unfortunately, the idiot who was helping her brother train showed up on the second day just as she was visiting her brother. As soon as she saw him, her eyes narrowed with anger. Jiraiya stood in the doorway and looked at her as if he had seen a ghost, but quickly recovered.
"Ah, you must be the sister. Seina."
"And you must be the idiot who almost killed my brother, twice."
Jiraiya laughed with a guilty tone and touched his head.
"Yes. I'm afraid the knucklehead has no remedy. He always pushes the limits."
"That's what senseis are for, to help their students not to overdo it," she said with disdain she managed to hide quite well.
The ninja, with enormous gray hair and dressed in a gray and red kimono with matching pants and wooden sandals, sighed again.
"Yes. The truth is, it's been a long time since I've taught anyone. I should apologize to your brother."
"Just teach him properly and don't let it happen again," she asked, trying to be more cordial upon seeing his guilty face.
"Would you break my legs if I don't?" he asked, recalling her letter, with curiosity.
"Hn. After this last incident, your legs would be the least of your problems," she whispered, stroking her brother's hair. She looked over her shoulder at him with a serious expression and turned her face away, clearly dismissing him from there.
On the third day, Naruto woke up as if nothing had happened. Despite her brother's convalescence, Tenzou-sensei had only given her an hour a day to visit him, so she took the opportunity to go to the hospital right after lunch. To her surprise, Naruto was awake and dressed in street clothes.
"Nee-chan!"
"Naruto! You're awake!" she exclaimed, quickly approaching his bed. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. I just needed to recover for a few days," her brother assured her. "I think I overdid it training."
"If you weren't in the hospital, I'd give you a smack. Do you know I found out you were here from Tenzou-sensei? That pervert didn't even come close to telling me!"
"I see you're very lively," said Shikamaru, clearly amused.
Both turned to look at him. He was carrying a basket of fruit as a gift.
"Fruit? I brought him ramen," Seina chuckled.
"Seriously?" Naruto shouted, jumping up.
Shikamaru and Seina watched as Naruto devoured the noodles while explaining that the fruit was actually for Chouji, who was also hospitalized due to overeating. Again. Teenagers... they didn't understand their limits.
"He's here," Kurama warned her. "The other jinchuriki."
Seina sharpened her hearing and heard the soft sound of sand. It was so unusual in Konoha that she quickly found its location in the hospital. Her suddenly serious face was enough for Shikamaru to realize something was happening.
"What's going on?"
"The ninja who killed those three in the forest is here," she informed him.
"What's he doing here?" Naruto asked nervously.
They left the room and saw the redhead enter another room.
"That's Lee's room!" Shikamaru said with a worried expression.
They quickly walked over and saw the sand swirling around Lee. Gaara of the Desert was practically leaning over him, observing him with a cold, emotionless expression. Naruto, of course, was the first to speak up, ordering him to move away from Lee.
"Why are you here?"
"To kill him."
"What!?"
"For what? You already defeated him! Do you have something personal against him?"
"Not at all," he said, as if it were nothing, "but I want to kill him."
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Naruto shouted, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.
"Calm down, Naruto. Can't you see his eyes? There's no reasoning with him," she said at the same time Shikamaru ordered him to shut up.
"We're three against one! Get out of here!"
Seina suppressed a groan of frustration. Naruto wasn't going to let him attack Lee, but he wasn't realizing the danger they were all in either.
"Shut up, Naruto!" Shikamaru hissed, grabbing him by the shirt. "Can't you see he has monstrous power?"
"Seina and I have our own monsters," he interrupted. "You can't beat us."
Shikamaru opened his mouth again, but Seina grabbed his hand when she saw Gaara's expression change. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten about Lee, and that was enough for her. Maybe Naruto could convince him to leave by talking. Shikamaru watched her with a somewhat fearful face, and she squeezed his hand to convey reassurance. She wouldn't let them die, even if she had to reveal her powers. Shikamaru relaxed slightly next to her.
"A monster? The same thing happened to me. When I was born, I took my mother's life in the process, and my father made sure I became the strongest shinobi. He made me a monster from the moment I was born."
Hearing those words, even though she already knew he was the jinchuriki of Suna, was like a cold shower. She cringed at the pain that oozed when he spoke of how his father had tried to kill him countless times and how the only bonds he felt with his family were of hatred and a desire to kill.
"I am nothing but a terrible weapon at the service of the village, handled with the utmost caution. Like a relic of the past that must be eliminated… So, why did I come into this world?"
She listened to how he had sought a reason to live, to not be dead inside, and had found it by killing everyone who crossed his path. Killing those who wanted to kill him gave his life meaning. Once again, she wondered what kind of world she had been reborn into. A world where parents destroy their children's lives while still in their mothers' wombs, a world where people were chess pieces for players in the shadows, easily replaceable… Though, seen that way, maybe it wasn't so different from her old world.
"You're wrong," she said. Everyone turned to look at her. "You're not alone. Your father is human trash. He shouldn't have treated you like that. However, your father is the exception, not the rule. True family loves you, no matter how you are."
"…"
"Look at Naruto and me," she continued when she saw she had captured his attention. "We are like you."
"You… are jinchuriki?" he asked, astonished, and for the first time, they saw something other than hatred and bloodlust.
"That's right. For many years, a lot of people despised us, some still do. They even tried to kill us in the orphanage a few times… Luckily, we had each other. Because blood ties are not always about hatred and death; sometimes they are more than that. You had bad luck with the scum that calls himself your father, but it doesn't have to be that way if you change."
"…Change?" he asked, as if he didn't know what that was.
"Family isn't born, Gaara, it's made," she answered as gently as possible. "You just have to find people who accept you, and you'll see that it's not necessary to prove your existence by killing innocent people."
"No one would accept me in Sunagakure," he said, with an ironic and hate-laden tone. "I am destined to be alone, hated. A monster. After all the deaths… who would?"
"I would."
"So do I."
Shikamaru seemed more awake than ever, hearing the truth about Naruto and her existence for the first time. Gaara, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his bloodlust. The sand was slowly returning to the gourd, as if he were doing it unconsciously. Seina heard Guy-sensei move at last, when she stopped speaking, and appear at the door.
"That's enough. Let Lee rest in silence," the jonin asked them.
Gaara made a decision and left, looking back at them one last time over his shoulder. They left Guy-sensei with Lee and went to Naruto's room. Seina saw that she had only a few minutes left to be with her brother before going to train again with Tenzou-sensei. Shikamaru seemed to hesitate about whether to open his mouth to ask them something, but in the end, he sighed and remained silent.